The perception of touch and the ventral somatosensory pathway.

In humans, touching the skin is known to activate, among others, the contralateral primary somatosensory cortex on the postcentral gyrus together with the bilateral parietal operculum (i.e. the anatomical site of the secondary somatosensory cortex). But which brain regions beyond the postcentral gyrus specifically contribute to the perception of touch remains speculative. In this study we collected structural magnetic resonance imaging scans and neurological examination reports of patients with brain injuries or stroke in the left or right hemisphere, but not in the postcentral gyrus as the entry site of cortical somatosensory processing. Using voxel-based lesion-symptom mapping, we compared patients with impaired touch perception (i.e. hypoaesthesia) to patients without such touch impairments. Patients with hypoaesthesia as compared to control patients differed in one single brain cluster comprising the contralateral parietal operculum together with the anterior and posterior insular cortex, the putamen, as well as subcortical white matter connections reaching ventrally towards prefrontal structures. This finding confirms previous speculations on the 'ventral pathway of somatosensory perception' and causally links these brain structures to the perception of touch.

Omnidirectional Depth Computation from a Single Image

Omnidirectional cameras offer a much wider field of view than the perspective ones and alleviate the problems due to occlusions. However, both types of cameras suffer from the lack of depth perception. A practical method for obtaining depth in computer vision is to project a known structured light pattern on the scene avoiding the problems and costs involved by stereo vision. This paper is focused on the idea of combining omnidirectional vision and structured light with the aim to provide 3D information about the scene. The resulting sensor is formed by a single catadioptric camera and an omnidirectional light projector. It is also discussed how this sensor can be used in robot navigation applications

Plane-to-plane positioning from image-based visual servoing and structured light

In this paper we face the problem of positioning a camera attached to the end-effector of a robotic manipulator so that it gets parallel to a planar object. Such problem has been treated for a long time in visual servoing. Our approach is based on linking to the camera several laser pointers so that its configuration is aimed to produce a suitable set of visual features. The aim of using structured light is not only for easing the image processing and to allow low-textured objects to be treated, but also for producing a control scheme with nice properties like decoupling, stability, well conditioning and good camera trajectory

Multimodal evaluation for medical image segmentation

This paper is a joint effort between five institutionsthat introduces several novel similarity measures andcombines them to carry out a multimodal segmentationevaluation. The new similarity measures proposed arebased on the location and the intensity values of themisclassified voxels as well as on the connectivity andthe boundaries of the segmented data. We showexperimentally that the combination of these measuresimprove the quality of the evaluation. The study that weshow here has been carried out using four differentsegmentation methods from four different labs applied toa MRI simulated dataset of the brain. We claim that ournew measures improve the robustness of the evaluation andprovides better understanding about the differencebetween segmentation methods.

La perception de la productivité dans l'industrie hôtelière de luxe : le cas de la Suisse romande

La perception de la productivité SUMMARY The main objective of this thesis is the perception of the productivity in the luxury hospitality industry. Despite a lot of efforts which were already made in the field of the production of goods, this concept (productivity) still remains to be defined in the services sector, more still, in that of the luxury hospitality industry. Since the object of this study is the perception of productivity, we decided to analyze the elements considered to be relevant by the top management in this field. Then, it seemed important to evaluate these same elements for the categories of middle-management and by the in-line employees. As perception is not static, it is dependent in an indirect way on its improvement and however also with the means of improvement. The assumption of our work evokes the possible relationship between productivity and its perception (P), (Q) quality and profitability (R). On this basis we built the P-Q-R model: R=F(P,Q) Finally, our research on this model enabled us to establish a mathematical relation between the three predetermined elements: fR=fP+fQ+c That means that the function efficiency of a process of services -(fR) is the sum of its quality function (intrinsic and extrinsic)-(fP) and of its productivity function - fQ (and the constant of regression "c"). To increase the profitability of the most significant manner, it is necessary to increase at the same time the productivity and quality. On the other hand, according to this formula but also according to the perception of the managers, with a constant profitability, either the productivity decreases in favor of the increase in quality, or the reverse. If the dimensions of the model influence positively or negatively the production process of services, then those wí11 influence in same manner our model (P, Q, R). We advance a point of view saying that profitability depends on the labor productivity which follows same dynamics than the perception of the productivity. The identification of the labor productivity as an essential element of successful management of the hotel is fundamental. The question which always remains in suspense is however the relevance of the concept "labor productivity" for the luxury hospitality industry. It was not proven an obvious correlation between this notion and the one of profitability. We still remain at the stage of perception. It results that one interesting way of future research will be the study of this correlation. As in any kind of luxury industry, the real added value does not consist in the volume produced or in the speed with which the product/service is carried out but in the creativity involved in their results. Let us note that the field of luxury is extremely related to the emotions and to the experience provided to the customers. La perception de la productivité... RÉSUME L'objectif principal de cette thèse est la perception de la productivité dans l'hôtellerie de luxe. Malgré tous les efforts qui ont déjà été faits dans le domaine de la production de biens, ce concept (productivité) reste encore à définir dans le secteur des services, plus encore, dans celui de l'hôtellerie de luxe. Étant donné que l'objet de l'étude est la perception de la productivité, nous avons décidé d'analyser les éléments jugés pertinents par les cadres dirigeants dans ce domaine. Puis, il nous a semblé important d'évaluer ces mêmes éléments pour les catégories de cadres moyens et par les employés in-line. Comme la perception n'est pas statique, elle est liée d'une manière indirecte à son amélioration et cependant également aux moyens d'amélioration. L'hypothèse de notre travail évoque la possible relation entre la productivité et sa perception (P), la qualité (Q) et la rentabilité (R). Sur cette base nous avons construit le modèle P-Q-R de départ R=f(P,Q) Finalement, notre recherche sur ce modèle nous a permis d'établir une relation mathématique entre les trois construits prédéterminés: fR=fP+fQ+c Cela signifie que la fonction rentabilité d'un processus de services -(fR) est la somme de sa fonction qualité (intrinsèque et extrinsèque)-fP et de sa fonction productivité -fQ (plus la constante de régression « c ») Pour augmenter la rentabilité de la manière la plus significative, il faut augmenter en même temps la productivité et la qualité. En revanche, selon cette formule mais selon aussi la perception des managers, à une rentabilité constante, soit la productivité diminue en faveur de l'augmentation de la qualité, soit l'inverse. Si les dimensions du modèle influencent positivement ou négativement le processus de production de services, alors celles-ci vont influencer de la même manière les construits de notre modèle (P, Q, R). Nous avançons un point de vue disant que la rentabilité dépend de la productivité du travail qui suit la même dynamique que la perception de la productivité. L'identification de la productivité du travail comme élément essentiel de gestion réussie de l'hôtel s'avère fondamentale. La question qui reste toujours en suspens est pourtant la pertinence de la notion «productivité du travail » pour l'industrie hôtelière de luxe. Il n'a pas été prouvé une corrélation évidente entre cette notion et celle de la profitabilité. Nous restons donc ici encore au stade de perception. Il en résulte que l'une des voies les plus intéressantes de recherche future sera l'étude de cette corrélation. Comme dans toute industrie de luxe, la vraie valeur ajoutée ne consiste pas toujours dans le volume produit, ni dans la vitesse avec laquelle le produit/service est réalisé, mais parfois dans la créativité emmagasinée dans ces résultats. Notons que le domaine de luxe est extrêmement lié aux émotions et à l'expérience fournie aux clients.

Association between weight perception and socioeconomic status among adults in the Seychelles.

BACKGROUND: Few studies have examined the association between weight perception and socioeconomic status (SES) in sub-Saharan Africa, and none made this association based on education, occupation and income simultaneously. METHODS: Based on a population-based survey (n = 1255) in the Seychelles, weight and height were measured and self-perception of one's own body weight, education, occupation, and income were assessed by a questionnaire. Individuals were considered to have appropriate weight perception when their self-perceived weight matched their actual body weight. RESULTS: The prevalence of overweight and obesity was 35% and 28%, respectively. Multivariate analysis among overweight/obese persons showed that appropriate weight perception was directly associated with actual weight, education, occupation and income, and that it was more frequent among women than among men. In a model using all three SES indicators together, only education (OR = 2.5; 95% CI: 1.3-4.8) and occupation (OR = 2.3; 95% CI: 1.2-4.5) were independently associated with appropriate perception of being overweight. The OR reached 6.9 [95% CI: 3.4-14.1] when comparing the highest vs. lowest categories of SES based on a score including all SES indicators and 6.1 [95% CI: 3.0-12.1] for a score based on education and occupation. CONCLUSIONS: Appropriately perceiving one's weight as too high was associated with different SES indicators, female sex and being actually overweight. These findings suggest means and targets for clinical and population-based interventions for weight control. Further studies should examine whether these differences in weight perception underlie differences in cognitive skills, healthy weight norms, or body size ideals.

An analysis of visual adaptation and contrast perception for tone mapping

Tone Mapping is the problem of compressing the range of a High-Dynamic Range image so that it can be displayed in a Low-Dynamic Range screen, without losing or introducing novel details: The final image should produce in the observer a sensation as close as possible to the perception produced by the real-world scene. We propose a tone mapping operator with two stages. The first stage is a global method that implements visual adaptation, based on experiments on human perception, in particular we point out the importance of cone saturation. The second stage performs local contrast enhancement, based on a variational model inspired by color vision phenomenology. We evaluate this method with a metric validated by psychophysical experiments and, in terms of this metric, our method compares very well with the state of the art.

Consumers’ Demand for Pork Quality: Applying Semantic Network Analysis, May 2006

Abstract Consideration of consumers’ demand for food quality entails several aspects. Quality itself is a complex and dynamic concept, and constantly evolving technical progress may cause changes in consumers’ judgment of quality. To improve our understanding of the factors influencing the demand for quality, food quality must be defined and measured from the consumer’s perspective (Cardello, 1995). The present analysis addresses the issue of food quality, focusing on pork—the food that respondents were concerned about. To gain insight into consumers’ demand, we analyzed their perception and evaluation and focused on their cognitive structures concerning pork quality. In order to more fully account for consumers’ concerns about the origin of pork, in 2004 we conducted a consumer survey of private households. The qualitative approach of concept mapping was used to uncover the cognitive structures. Network analysis was applied to interpret the results. In order to make recommendations to enterprises, we needed to know what kind of demand emerges from the given food quality schema. By establishing the importance and relative positions of the attributes, we find that the country of origin and butcher may be the two factors that have the biggest influence on consumers’ decisions about the purchase of pork.

The Construction Of Ethical Competence In The Perception Of Primary Care Nurses


The study intended to understand the perception of nurses of Primary Care Services about the construction of ethical competence on their formation and practices. This is a qualitative study, with an interpretative phenomenological approach and interviews with ten nurses of the community health services of Porto Alegre, RS. The results showed that the interviewed professionals had already experienced situations with ethical conflicts and knew what ethical competence means. The central themes point out three fundamental issues in the construction of the ethical competence: personal values, education and practice. Taking into account that ethical competence is in permanent construction, the study shows the importance to promote organizational and educational activities in a transversal manner, as a tool to cope the moral stress and contribute in improving the quality of care in the primary health attention.


Perceived self-image in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis: an integrative review of the literature

Objective: To learn about the experiences of adolescents diagnosed with idiopathic scoliosis. Method: Integrative review of the literature published within a specified time frame. Results: For both sexes, the predominant clinical symptom of this condition appears to be the negative effect that the deformity exerts on perceived self-image. Quantitative studies used numerical scores to assess perceptions of body image but did not analyse emotional aspects. Patients treated surgically were found to have a better self-image than patients treated with a brace. Quality of life was improved by a reduction in the magnitude of the curve. Conclusion: Spinal deformity exerts a psychological effect on adolescent girls.


Analysis of the physical aspects of quality of life of kidney recipients

OBJECTIVE To identify the main factors of the physical domain modified after kidney transplantation and analyze the influence of those aspects in the perception of Overall quality of life (QOL). METHOD Longitudinal study, conducted with 63 chronic kidney patients, evaluated before and after kidney transplant, using the quality of life scale proposed by the World Health Organization. RESULTS We observed significant improvement in the physical aspects of QOL after kidney transplantation. Significant correlations were observed between physical aspects and the Overall QOL. CONCLUSION The kidney transplant generated improvement in all physical aspects of QOL. The factors that showed stronger correlation with the Overall QOL before the transplant were the capacity to work and pain. After the transplant, the perception of need for treatment was the factor that showed stronger correlation with the Overall QOL.

Trabecular bone score: a noninvasive analytical method based upon the DXA image.

The trabecular bone score (TBS) is a gray-level textural metric that can be extracted from the two-dimensional lumbar spine dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) image. TBS is related to bone microarchitecture and provides skeletal information that is not captured from the standard bone mineral density (BMD) measurement. Based on experimental variograms of the projected DXA image, TBS has the potential to discern differences between DXA scans that show similar BMD measurements. An elevated TBS value correlates with better skeletal microstructure; a low TBS value correlates with weaker skeletal microstructure. Lumbar spine TBS has been evaluated in cross-sectional and longitudinal studies. The following conclusions are based upon publications reviewed in this article: 1) TBS gives lower values in postmenopausal women and in men with previous fragility fractures than their nonfractured counterparts; 2) TBS is complementary to data available by lumbar spine DXA measurements; 3) TBS results are lower in women who have sustained a fragility fracture but in whom DXA does not indicate osteoporosis or even osteopenia; 4) TBS predicts fracture risk as well as lumbar spine BMD measurements in postmenopausal women; 5) efficacious therapies for osteoporosis differ in the extent to which they influence the TBS; 6) TBS is associated with fracture risk in individuals with conditions related to reduced bone mass or bone quality. Based on these data, lumbar spine TBS holds promise as an emerging technology that could well become a valuable clinical tool in the diagnosis of osteoporosis and in fracture risk assessment.

Primary Health Care from the perception of women living in a rural area

AbstractOBJECTIVEUnderstanding the perception of women living in a rural area about the actions and services of Primary Health Care (PHC) in a municipality of southern Brazil, which is the only one regarded as predominantly rural.METHODA descriptive study of qualitative approach, carried out with women who lived in the countryside and required health services in the 15 days prior to collection.RESULTSThe results registered low fidelity to PHC attributes, focusing its functional axis on sickness, transforming the unit into small points of emergency care and a bureaucratic place where patients are referred to other types of services. The quality of service offered is compromised to offering quick, fragmented and unequal treatment in the rural context.CONCLUSIONThe findings of this study highlight the need for greater efforts in order to adequate the new care model in the development of appropriate actions as designated by PHC in the rural context studied.

Parent perceived quality of life is age-dependent in children with food allergy.

Food allergy in children significantly affects their quality of life. Its impact can be analyzed by quality of life questionnaires. The aim of our study was to validate the French version of disease-specific questionnaires and to evaluate the quality of life in children with IgE-mediated food allergy. Two validated food allergy-specific questionnaires for quality of life, the parent's and children's forms (FAQLQ-PF and FAQLQ-CF), were translated from English to French and submitted to children with food allergy and their parents. Questionnaires were analyzed in terms of emotional impact, food anxiety, and social and food limitations. NCT 01480427. Sixty-two parents of children aged 0-12 yrs answered the FAQLQ-PF, and 32 children aged 8-12 yrs the FAQLQ-CF. Construct validity of both questionnaires was assessed by correlation between the FAQLQs and FAIM (r = 0.85 and 0.84, respectively). Both FAQLQs had good internal consistency (Cronbach's α = 0.748 and 0.67, respectively). Young children (0-3 yrs old) showed better quality of life scores than older children (FAQLQ-PF global score: p = 0.02). Worse scores were also shown among children with previous severe systemic reactions (FAQLQ-PF global score: p = 0.039), the ones with an allergic mother (FAQLQ-PF global score: p = 0.002), or allergic siblings (FAQLQ-PF emotional impact score: p = 0.034), the ones with multiple food allergy (more than 1 food) (FAQLQ-PF anxiety score: p = 0.04) and among the girls (FAQLQ-CF global score: p = 0.031). Older children, the ones with severe systemic reactions, or with mothers or siblings also affected by allergies, as well as girls, and children with multiple food allergies show worse quality of life scores.

Management of patient dose and image noise in routine pediatric CT abdominal examinations.

The aim was to propose a strategy for finding reasonable compromises between image noise and dose as a function of patient weight. Weighted CT dose index (CTDI(w)) was measured on a multidetector-row CT unit using CTDI test objects of 16, 24 and 32 cm in diameter at 80, 100, 120 and 140 kV. These test objects were then scanned in helical mode using a wide range of tube currents and voltages with a reconstructed slice thickness of 5 mm. For each set of acquisition parameter image noise was measured and the Rose model observer was used to test two strategies for proposing a reasonable compromise between dose and low-contrast detection performance: (1) the use of a unique noise level for all test object diameters, and (2) the use of a unique dose efficacy level defined as the noise reduction per unit dose. Published data were used to define four weight classes and an acquisition protocol was proposed for each class. The protocols have been applied in clinical routine for more than one year. CTDI(vol) values of 6.7, 9.4, 15.9 and 24.5 mGy were proposed for the following weight classes: 2.5-5, 5-15, 15-30 and 30-50 kg with image noise levels in the range of 10-15 HU. The proposed method allows patient dose and image noise to be controlled in such a way that dose reduction does not impair the detection of low-contrast lesions. The proposed values correspond to high- quality images and can be reduced if only high-contrast organs are assessed.