IoT-Based Monitoring System Applied to Aeroponics Greenhouse.

The inclusion of the Internet of Things (IoT) in greenhouses has become a fundamental tool for improving cultivation systems, offering information relevant to the greenhouse manager for decision making in search of optimum yield. This article presents a monitoring system applied to an aeroponic greenhouse based on an IoT architecture that provides user information on the status of the climatic variables and the appearance of the crop in addition to managing the irrigation timing and the frequency of visual inspection using an application developed for Android mobile devices called Aeroponics Monitor. The proposed IoT architecture consists of four layers: a device layer, fog layer, cloud layer and application layer. Once the information about the monitored variables is obtained by the sensors of the device layer, the fog layer processes it and transfers it to the Thingspeak and Firebase servers. In the cloud layer, Thingspeak analyzes the information from the variables monitored in the greenhouse through its IoT analytic tools to generate historical data and visualizations of their behavior, as well as an analysis of the system's operating status. Firebase, on the other hand, is used as a database to store the results of the processing of the images taken in the fog layer for the supervision of the leaves and roots. The results of the analysis of the information of the monitored variables and of the processing of the images are presented in the developed app, with the objective of visualizing the state of the crop and to know the function of the monitoring system in the event of a possible lack of electricity or a service line failure in the fog layer and to avoid the loss of information. With the information about the temperature of the plant leaf and the relative humidity inside the greenhouse, the vapor pressure deficit (VPD) in the cloud layer is calculated; the VPD values are available on the Thingspeak server and in the developed app. Additionally, an analysis of the VPD is presented that demonstrates a water deficiency from the transplanting of the seedling to the cultivation chamber. The IoT architecture presented in this paper represents a potential tool for the study of aeroponic farming systems through IoT-assisted monitoring.

Comparison of montage with conventional stereoscopic seven-field photographs for assessment of ETDRS diabetic retinopathy severity.

BACKGROUND: The ETDRS stereoscopic seven-field (7F) has been a standard imaging and grading protocol for assessment of diabetic retinopathy (DR) severity score in many clinical trials. To the best of our knowledge, the comparison between montage and stereoscopic 7F has not been reported in the literature. Therefore, the main purpose of this study is to compare agreement between montage and stereoscopic seven-field (7F) photographs in the assessment of DR severity. METHODS: Stereoscopic 7F photographs were captured from subjects with DR. Montages of monoscopic 7F images were created using Adobe Photoshop CS6 Extended©. The best quality image of each stereo pair was selected and placed on a 150 × 125-inch canvas field according to the standard location from field 1 to 7. All the fields were aligned following the vessels and overlaid using the built-in blending tool. The resulting montage was utilized for grading and compared with grading on stereoscopic 7F photographs. Three independent graders were asked to assess DR severity on stereoscopic 7F photographs and montage. Severity level agreement between stereo 7F and montage was cross-tabulated and the agreement of DR severity levels between stereoscopic 7-field images and montage was analyzed using κ intergrader agreement; statistical significance was set at p < 0.05. RESULTS: A total of 50 eyes were included in the study. There was a substantial agreement between stereoscopic 7F and montage (κ = 0.745, κweighted = 0.867) in assessment of DR severity. Of 50 eyes, 80% of the cases showed complete agreement, and 100% of the cases had agreement within one-step. There was a moderate agreement among graders, and κ-value ranged from 0.4705 to 0.5803. CONCLUSION: In this study, we found a substantial agreement in assessing DR severity score employing non-stereoscopic montage and stereoscopic 7F photographs.

[Breaking paradigms. Intestinal microbiota transplantation: Preliminar report]. / Rompiendo paradigmas. Trasplante de microbiota intestinal: reporte preliminar.

In the fourth century, during the Chinese Dong Jin dynasty, the doctor Ge Hong described good results after the oral administration of a suspension prepared from human faeces in patients with severe diarrhoea or food poisoning. Faecal microbiota transplantation has been used for five years in order to treat different diseases in addition to the severe diarrhoea caused by Clostridium difficile1. This paper aims to confirm that intestinal microbiota transplantation succeeds in reducing the negative impact of diseases such as severe diarrhoea, irritable bowel syndrome, anxiety, allergies, metabolic syndrome and others and that it is not only indicated for severe diarrhoea caused by C. difficile. This preliminary study included six patients who underwent faecal microbiota transplantation, aged 83, 76, 66, 37 and 36 years (four men and two women). An improvement in symptoms of 70% was observed. The methodology and criteria to be followed with donors are described and the results are listed in three tables. The methodology followed for the microbiota transplant is the same as that reported by other researchers for the treatment of C. difficile diarrhoea and other diseases. The discussion addresses the issues raised in other parts of the world in handling different pathologic entities, as well as genetic advances. The conclusions show encouraging results.

Estudio retrospectivo de anomalías dentales y alteraciones óseas de maxilares en niños de cinco a catorce años de las clínicas de la Facultad de Odontología de la Universidad de Antioquia / Retrospective study of dental anomalies and bone alterations of the jawbones in children 5 to 14 years old of the clinics of the Dental School, University of Antioquia

Introducción: el propósito de esta investigación es efectuar un estudio retrospectivo epidemiológico sobre el tipo y frecuencia de alteraciones a nivel óseo y dental, en pacientes de cinco a catorce años que consultaron la Clínica del Niño y el Adolescente de la Facultad de Odontología de la Universidad de Antioquia entre los años 2000 y 2002. Métodos: se analizaron 428 radiografías panorámicas análogas con adecuada nitidez, densidad, contraste y definición, usando las historias clínicas como soporte. Las placas fueron leídas por un radiólogo dental definiendo el tipo de alteraciones óseas y anomalías dentalespresentes. Se efectúo un análisis estadístico de tipo descriptivo. Resultados: la muestra fue de 232 hombres (54,20%) y 196 mujeres(45,79%). En maxilares se encontraron 33 radiografías de pacientes con imágenes radiolúcidas patológicas (7,68%): 21 de sexo femenino (4,89%) y 12 de sexo masculino (2,79%), y solo un caso (0.23%) con imágenes radiopacas patológicas. En los dientes se presentaron 272 radiografías (63,40%) con presencia de anomalías dentales: 149 pertenecían a hombres (34,73%) y 123 a mujeres (28,67%), que incluyeron 1.120 dientes. Las anomalías encontradas fueron: dens in dente, agenesias, taurodontismo,macrodoncias, dientes en forma cónica, supernumerarios, microdoncias, transposiciones, fusiones, mesiodens, dientes retenidos, geminaciones, espolones de esmalte y perlas de esmalte, en ese orden de frecuencia. Conclusiones: la población afectada poralguna alteración fue del 71,32%

Introduction: the purpose of this study was to carry out an epidemiological retrospective study on the type andfrequency of radiographic dental and bone alterations in patients from 5 to 14 years of age who consulted the Dental Clinic (Child and the Adolescent Clinics) of the College of Dentistry at the University of Antioquia between the years 2000 and 2002. Methods:428 panoramic radiographs with adequate density, contrast and definition were analyzed using also the dental records as support. The films were read by a dental radiologist who defined the type of bone alterations and dental anomalies present. A descriptivestatistical analysis was performed Results: the sample consisted of 232 males (54.20%) and 196 females (45.79%). In the Maxilla and Mandible: 33 x-rays were found with pathological radiolucent images (7.68%): 21 females (4.89%) and 12 males (2.79%); just one patient (0.23%) with pathological radio opaque images. In the teeth: 272 x-rays (63.40%) with presence of dental anomalies: 149 males (34.73%) and 123 females (28.67%), involving 1120 teeth. The anomalies found were: dens in dente, tooth agenesis, Taurodontism, macrodontia, conic shaped teeth, supernumerary teeth, microdontia, transpositions, fusions, mesiodens, retained teeth, gemination, enamel spur, and enamel pearls in this order of frequency. Conclusions: this study showed that the population affected with some radiographic abnormalities was 71.32%.

Retroperitoneal fibrosis and schistosomiasis: a causal relationship?

Retroperitoneal fibrosis (RPF) is characterized by replacement of the normal tissue of the retroperitoneum with fibrosis and/or chronic inflammation. About two-thirds of cases of RPF are idiopathic and one-third is secondary to drugs, infections (tuberculosis, syphilis, actinomycosis, fungal infections), retroperitoneal hemorrhage, or malignancy. We report the case of a patient who was diagnosed as having RPF and schistosomiasis caused by Schistosoma haematobium with histological documentation. He was treated with praziquantel and afterwards with corticosteroids with remission of RPF. To our knowledge, the association between schistosomiasis and RPF has not been described in the literature. We postulate that there is a causal relationship between these two conditions.