DarwinGSE: Towards better image retrieval systems for intellectual property datasets.

A trademark's image is usually the first type of indirect contact between a consumer and a product or a service. Companies rely on graphical trademarks as a symbol of quality and instant recognition, seeking to protect them from copyright infringements. A popular defense mechanism is graphical searching, where an image is compared to a large database to find potential conflicts with similar trademarks. Despite not being a new subject, image retrieval state-of-the-art lacks reliable solutions in the Industrial Property (IP) sector, where datasets are practically unrestricted in content, with abstract images for which modeling human perception is a challenging task. Existing Content-based Image Retrieval (CBIR) systems still present several problems, particularly in terms of efficiency and reliability. In this paper, we propose a new CBIR system that overcomes these major limitations. It follows a modular methodology, composed of a set of individual components tasked with the retrieval, maintenance and gradual optimization of trademark image searching, working on large-scale, unlabeled datasets. Its generalization capacity is achieved using multiple feature descriptions, weighted separately, and combined to represent a single similarity score. Images are evaluated for general features, edge maps, and regions of interest, using a method based on Watershedding K-Means segments. We propose an image recovery process that relies on a new similarity measure between all feature descriptions. New trademark images are added every day to ensure up-to-date results. The proposed system showcases a timely retrieval speed, with 95% of searches having a 10 second presentation speed and a mean average precision of 93.7%, supporting its applicability to real-word IP protection scenarios.

Developments in Image Processing Using Deep Learning and Reinforcement Learning.

The growth in the volume of data generated, consumed, and stored, which is estimated to exceed 180 zettabytes in 2025, represents a major challenge both for organizations and for society in general. In addition to being larger, datasets are increasingly complex, bringing new theoretical and computational challenges. Alongside this evolution, data science tools have exploded in popularity over the past two decades due to their myriad of applications when dealing with complex data, their high accuracy, flexible customization, and excellent adaptability. When it comes to images, data analysis presents additional challenges because as the quality of an image increases, which is desirable, so does the volume of data to be processed. Although classic machine learning (ML) techniques are still widely used in different research fields and industries, there has been great interest from the scientific community in the development of new artificial intelligence (AI) techniques. The resurgence of neural networks has boosted remarkable advances in areas such as the understanding and processing of images. In this study, we conducted a comprehensive survey regarding advances in AI design and the optimization solutions proposed to deal with image processing challenges. Despite the good results that have been achieved, there are still many challenges to face in this field of study. In this work, we discuss the main and more recent improvements, applications, and developments when targeting image processing applications, and we propose future research directions in this field of constant and fast evolution.

[Satisfação com o Internato Médico em Portugal]. / Satisfação com o Internato Médico em Portugal.

INTRODUCTION: In the last years, the global context of medical education and Medical Residency programs in Portugal suffered substantial changes. The primary objective of this study was to evaluate and characterize medical residents ́ satisfaction with medical residency programs in Portugal and to identify features that could be improved. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We utilized as model the survey Postgraduate Hospital Educational Environment Measure that has been developed in the United Kingdom and is speci cally targeted to medical residents. The survey was translated and adapted to the Portuguese reality. The survey was available online during April and May of 2016. RESULTS: A total of 3456 responses were obtained, corresponding to a response rate of 35%. Endocrinology/Nutrition, Cardiology, Anesthesiology, Family Physician and Gastroenterology were the specialties in which the degree of satisfaction was higher, while Forensic Medicine, Medical Oncology, Internal Medicine, General Surgery and Pneumology showed the lowest level of satisfaction. DISCUSSION: This study presented a high response rate when compared to previous studies. Portuguese medical residents presented high levels of satisfaction. Depending on year of medical residency, region, type of specialty and type of hospital marked asymmetries were noticed. CONCLUSION: The survey ́s results should constitute in the future a support tool for the implementation of local and national measures relating to the medical residency. It is advisable to regularly conduct satisfaction surveys to medical residents.

Introdução: Nos últimos anos, o contexto global da formação médica, e em particular do Internato Médico em Portugal, sofreu profundas alterações. O presente estudo teve como objetivo avaliar e caracterizar a satisfação dos médicos internos com a realização do Internato Médico em Portugal e identificar aspetos passíveis de melhoria.Material e Métodos: Foi utilizado como modelo de inquérito o questionário Postgraduate Hospital Educational Environment Measuredesenvolvido no Reino Unido e dirigido a médicos internos, o qual foi traduzido e adaptado à realidade portuguesa. O questionário esteve disponível online durante os meses de abril e maio de 2016.Resultados: Foram obtidas 3456 respostas, correspondendo a uma taxa de resposta de 35%. Endocrinologia/Nutrição, Cardiologia, Anestesiologia, Medicina Geral e Familiar e Gastrenterologia foram as especialidades nas quais o grau de satisfação foi mais elevado,enquanto que Medicina Legal, Oncologia Médica, Medicina Interna, Cirurgia Geral e Pneumologia apresentaram o grau de satisfaçãomais baixo.Discussão: O presente estudo apresenta uma elevada taxa de resposta comparativamente com estudos prévios. A nível nacional, no global, os médicos internos apresentaram níveis elevados de satisfação, destacando-se marcadas assimetrias de acordo com o ano de especialidade, região, tipologia de instituição e de especialidade.Conclusão: Os resultados deste inquérito poderão constituir uma ferramenta de apoio à implementação de medidas de âmbito local enacional relacionadas com o Internato Médico, sendo desejável a realização regular de inquéritos de satisfação aos médico internos.

Activation of NF-kappaB and COX-2 expression is associated with breakthrough bleeding in patients using oral contraceptives in extended regimens.

The objective of the present study was to determine whether there is an increase in endometrial inflammation associated with the occurrence of breakthrough bleeding in patients using an oral contraceptive in extended regimens. The presence of nuclear factor NF-kappaB and Cox-2 expression was determined by immunohistochemistry in endometrial samples removed by hysteroscopy from patients with breakthrough bleeding during continuous use of an oral contraceptive containing gestodene. All patients had a history of menorrhagia associated or not with the presence of uterine pathology. The percentage of endometria showing a positive staining reaction for NF-kappaB in cell nuclei was significantly higher in patients with breakthrough bleeding than in those with amenorrhea. Cox-2 expression in the endometrium was also significantly more frequent in patients with breakthrough bleeding. The occurrence of breakthrough bleeding in patients with uterine pathology using combined oral contraceptives is associated with the activation of endometrial inflammation through the NF-kappaB pathway.

Testosterone replacement therapy in the climacteric: benefits beyond sexuality.

Testosterone therapy during menopause has a wide range of benefits that reach beyond the realm of human sexuality. This is a consequence not only of the widespread distribution of androgen receptors in various extragonadal tissues but also of the conversion of androgens to estrogens in the tissues in which aromatase expression is present. For this reason, testosterone therapy during the climacteric years will not only supply androgens but will also stimulate estrogen production in tissues that express aromatase. Furthermore, the bioavailability of androgens to the tissues depends not only on the rate of their production by the postmenopausal ovaries and adrenals but also on the circulating levels of sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG). Tibolone inhibits SHBG production in the liver, thus increasing free testosterone levels. The association of tibolone with testosterone as a form of androgen replacement therapy during the climacteric is discussed, as is the use of low-dose testosterone, tibolone or the association of both in perimenopausal patients with signs of androgen deficiency. Testosterone treatment has a boosting effect not only on human sexuality but also on the sensation of well-being, a stimulatory effect conferred by the increase in beta-endorphins.