Thermal imaging as a biometrics approach to facial signature authentication.

A new thermal imaging framework with unique feature extraction and similarity measurements for face recognition is presented. The research premise is to design specialized algorithms that would extract vasculature information, create a thermal facial signature and identify the individual. The proposed algorithm is fully integrated and consolidates the critical steps of feature extraction through the use of morphological operators, registration using the Linear Image Registration Tool and matching through unique similarity measures designed for this task. The novel approach at developing a thermal signature template using four images taken at various instants of time ensured that unforeseen changes in the vasculature over time did not affect the biometric matching process as the authentication process relied only on consistent thermal features. Thirteen subjects were used for testing the developed technique on an in-house thermal imaging system. The matching using the similarity measures showed an average accuracy of 88.46% for skeletonized signatures and 90.39% for anisotropically diffused signatures. The highly accurate results obtained in the matching process clearly demonstrate the ability of the thermal infrared system to extend in application to other thermal imaging based systems. Empirical results applying this approach to an existing database of thermal images proves this assertion.

[Suicide in the prime of life: current data]. / Le suicide en pleine force de l'âge: quelques données récentes.

Suicide of people aged 25-59 years old is fastly increasing in France, especially for males, to 38.4 per 100,000 population in 1992 from 37.0 per 100,000 a decade earlier. In fact the suicide rate is decreasing among male adults having an occupation or a job (to 32.3 in 1992 from 33.8 in 1982). On the contrary, the economically inactive and the jobless are experiencing a tremendous growth in their suicide rate (to 74.9 per 100,000 population in 1992 from 60.9 a decade earlier). The trend is observed also among females aged 25-59 years old but the "employed/unemployed" gap is less pronounced. Marital status and occupational groups have also an influence upon the frequency of adult suicide. Since the work of Emile Durkheim a century ago, the profile of suicide has changed in France, due to societal upheavals.

An augmented computer vision approach for enhanced image understanding.

This paper addresses the design concept of a spatially and spectrally augmented computer vision approach toward enhanced image analysis and understanding. The concept of spatially augmented computer vision refers to the inclusion of the stereo disparity measure (1/2-D) along with the two-dimensional (2-D) spatial coordinates of the images, together yielding the augmented (2 1/2-D) representation. The concept of spectrally augmented computer vision refers to the implementation of the multiresolution concept of the wavelet theory to analyze and assess in detail the local properties of the 2-D images. The principal objective in applying this augmented, and more revealing, computer vision approach is to provide the added dimension in spatial and spectral resolutions for the enhanced understanding of images. To this end, imaging techniques are developed to exploit, in an optimal fashion, the information acquired by the camera system to yield useful descriptions of the viewed scenes. Experimental results are provided in support of this research direction.

[Road violence among young people aged 15-24 years]. / La violence routière chez les jeunes de 15 à 24 ans.

During the last decade, the annual number of deaths by road accident in France was approximatively 10,000 whose 3,000 aged 15-24. Road accidents were, and remain, the first cause of death among youngsters and young adults, preceding suicide. Since the early 70's, public authorities were aware of the problem and laws and regulations were implemented, aimed at curbing the disastrous trend. Some results were obtained, but the situation is far from satisfactory. Social, economic, psychological conditions of modern society are favouring road violence, which is today among the most acute public health issues, as far as the young are concerned. Road accidents vary according to the age of the young. Moreover, its rate varies according to the region within the country.