Search

Owing to the rarity and heterogeneity in biology and presentation, there are multiple areas in the diagnosis, treatment and follow-up of soft tissue sarcoma (STS), with no, low-level or conflicting evidence.During the first Consensus Conference on the State of Science in Sarcoma (CSSS), we used a modified Delphi process to identify areas of controversy in the field of sarcoma, to name topics with limited evidence-based data in which a scientific and knowledge gap may remain and a consensus statement will help to guide patient management. We determined scientific questions which need to be addressed in the future in order to generate evidence and to inform physicians and caregivers in daily clinical practice in order to improve the outcomes of patients with sarcoma. We conducted a vote on STS key questions and controversies prior to the CSSS meeting, which took place in May 2022.Sixty-two European sarcoma experts participated in the survey. Sixteen strong consensus (≥95%) items were identified by the experts, as well as 30 items with a ≥75% consensus on diagnostic and therapeutic questions. Ultimately, many controversy topics remained without consensus.In this manuscript, we summarise the voting results and the discussion during the CSSS meeting. Future scientific questions, priorities for clinical trials, registries, quality assurance, and action by stakeholders are proposed. Platforms and partnerships can support innovative approaches to improve management and clinical research in STS.

Nowadays laser scanners play an important role in technology and research, when it comes to measure 3D coordinates physically and in real time of any object under observation. Laser scanners have to measure the 3D coordinates of these objects in shortest time and with the smallest measuring error. A novel laser scanner called Technical Vision System (TVS), which uses Dynamic Triangulation and DC motors, was developed and proven to represent a fast and reliable scanning system. Previous research used the step response of the TVS mechanical actuators (DC motors), which can overshoot if certain controller parameters of the closed-loop control are selected. If the overshoot is undesirable, a trade-off must be made between speed and overshoot of the step response. Thereby, present paper describes a new approach to control the actual angular position of the TVS DC motors using a trapezoidal profile for the DC Motor velocity. The DC motors step response is replaced by a trajectory response, which allows the reduction of the relative angular error of the DC motors shaft to a value less than or equal to 0.1 percent. Also, the design of the control system, to implement the trapezoidal trajectory profile for the DC motor velocity in practice, is described in detail.

Purpose Following the emergency use authorization of BNT162b2 by the Food and Drug administration (FDA) in early December 2020, mRNA- and vector-based vaccines became an important means of reducing the spread and mortality of the COVID-19 pandemic. The European Medicines Agency labelled immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) as a rare adverse reaction of unknown frequency after vector-, but not mRNA-vaccination. Here, we report on the long-term outcome of 6 patients who were diagnosed with de-novo, vaccine-associated ITP (VA-ITP), and on the outcome of subsequent SARS-CoV-2 re-vaccinations. Methods Patients were included after presenting to our emergency department. Therapy was applied according to ITP guidelines. Follow-up data were obtained from outpatient departments. Both mRNA- or vector-based vaccines were each used in 3 cases, respectively. Results In all patients, the onset of symptoms occurred after the 1st dose of vaccine was applied. 5 patients required treatment, 3 of them 2nd line therapy. All patients showed a complete response eventually. After up to 359 days of follow-up, 2 patients were still under 2nd line therapy with thrombopoietin receptor agonists. 5 patients have been re-vaccinated with up to 3 consecutive doses of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines, 4 of them showing stable platelet counts hereafter. Conclusion Thrombocytopenia after COVID-19 vaccination should trigger a diagnostic workup to exclude vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT) and, if confirmed, VA-ITP should be treated according to current ITP guidelines. Re-vaccination of patients seems feasible under close monitoring of blood counts and using a vaccine that differs from the one triggering the initial episode of VA-ITP.

Problem. Laser scanning devices are widely used in Machine Vision Systems (MVS) of an autonomous mobile robot for solving SLAM problems. One of the concerns with MVS operation is the ability to detect relatively small obstacles. This requires scanning a limited sector within the field of view or even focusing on a specific point of space. The accuracy of the laser beam positioning is hampered by various kinds of uncertainties both due to the model simplifying and using inaccurate values of its parameters, as well as lacking information about perturbations. Goal. This paper presents the improvement of the MVS, described in previous works of the authors, by robust control of the DC motor, which represents the Positioning Laser drive. Methodology. For this purpose, a DC motor model is built, taking into account the parametric uncertainty. A robust digital PD controller for laser positioning is designed, and a comparative evaluation of the robust properties of the obtained control system with a classical one is carried out. The PWM signal formation by the microcontroller and processes in the H-bridge are also taken into account. Results. The obtained digital controller meets the transient process and accuracy requirements and combines the simplicity of a classic controller with a weak sensitivity to the parametric uncertainties of the drive model. Originality. The originality of the paper is in its focus on the MVS of the autonomous mobile robot developed by the authors. Practical value. The implementation of the MVS with the proposed controller will increase the reliability of obstacles detection within a robot field of view and the accuracy of environment mapping.

In this chapter, the authors design, simulate, and implement an optimal controller for a rotary pendulum while addressing real-world phenomena. The controller, called linear-quadratic-regulator (LQR), minimizes a cost function based on weights that penalize the system's state error and controller effort. The control objective is to reach the desired system state in an optimal way. The rotary pendulum consists of a pendulum attached to a rotary arm actuated by a motor. It is a great system to design and analyze different types of controllers. This system is underactuated, nonlinear, sensitive to initial conditions, and has 2 DOF. This chapter's main contributions are the mathematical modeling of the system taking into account nonlinear friction, the characterization of the plant using measured data from the physical system using the nonlinear squares and the trust-region reflective algorithms, comparison of linear and nonlinear behaviors, and implementation on real hardware considering discrete phenomena while using hardware-provided tools such as position decoding and PWM generation.

Nowadays, laser vision systems have allowed the development of different applications such as reverse engineering, manufacturing, navigation systems and, structural health monitoring (SHM). However, most of the machine vision systems for structural behavior analysis have restricted field of view, consume high levels of computational resources for image processing and require special illumination conditions to achieve lower error rates. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to present a technical vision system (TVS) for structural behavior analysis using dynamic laser triangulation and k- Nearest Neighbor (k-NN) machine learning regression algorithm. The proposed vision system was tested in order to demonstrate the practicality of it, different deformations and displacements were analyzed over real structures in controlled laboratory conditions to assure the reproducibility of the experimentation. The TVS prototype proved to be a reliable option on SHM tasks, presenting balance between precision and operating ranges, without the issues aforementioned.

Diagnosis of residual or recurrent tumor in soft-tissue sarcomas (STS) is a differential diagnostic challenge since post-therapeutic changes impede diagnosis.To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of quantitative dynamic contrast enhanced (DCE)-MRI and diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) to detect local recurrence of STS of the limb.Prospective.A totalof 64 consecutive patients with primary STS of the limbs were prospectively included 3-6 months after surgery between January 2016 and July 2021.A 1.5 T; axial DWI echo-planar imaging sequences and DCE-MRI using a 3D T1-weighted spoiled gradient-echo sequence.The quantitative DCE-MRI parameters relative plasma flow (rPF) and relative mean transit time (rMTT) were calculated and ADC mapping was used to quantify diffusion restriction. Regions of interest of tumor growth and postoperative changes were drawn in consensus by two experts for diffusion and perfusion analysis. An additional morphological assessment was done by three independent and blinded radiologists.Unpaired t-test, ROC-analysis, and a logistic regression model were applied. Interobserver reliability was calculated using Fleiss kappa statistics. A P value of 0.05 was considered statistically significant.A total of 11 patients turned out to have local recurrence. rPF was significantly higher in cases of local recurrence when compared to cases without local recurrence (61.1-4.5) while rMTT was slightly and significantly lower in local recurrence. ROC-analysis showed an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.95 (SEM ± 0.05) for rPF while a three-factor multivariate logistic regression model showed a high diagnostic accuracy of rPF (RDCE-MRI is a promising additional method to differentiate local recurrence from benign postoperative changes in STS of the limb. Especially specificity in detection of LR is increased compared to morphological assessment.1 TECHNICAL EFFICACY: Stage 2.

Nowadays artificial intelligence and swarm robotics become wide spread and take their approach in civil tasks. The main purpose of the article is to show the influence of common knowledge about surroundings sharing in the robotic group navigation problem by implementing the data transferring within the group. Methodology provided in article reviews a set of tasks implementation of which improves the results of robotic group navigation. The main questions for the research are the problems of robotics vision, path planning, data storing and data exchange. Article describes the structure of real-time laser technical vision system as the main environment-sensing tool for robots. The vision system uses dynamic triangulation principle. Article provides examples of obtained data, distance-based methods for resolution and speed control. According to the data obtained by provided vision system were decided to use matrix-based approach for robots path planning, it inflows the tasks of surroundings discretization, and trajectory approximation. Two network structure types for data transferring are compared. Authors are proposing a methodology for dynamic network forming based on leader changing system. For the confirmation of theory were developed an application of robotic group modeling. Obtained results show that common knowledge sharing between robots in-group can significantly decrease individual trajectories length.

Friction is one of the significant factors to degrade the transient accuracy of positioning systems. In this respect, the present paper proposes implementing a nonlinear control to perform friction compensation to improve the positioning accuracy for a controlled DC motor of a laser positioning system with friction, which is assumed to be appropriately described using a dynamic friction model. The global asymptotic positioning stability proof was performed using Lyapunov's direct method.

A functional material is a term used for a material with properties that fit a specific application. These properties can be intrinsic to a material, or the material can be tuned for obtaining the desired properties. Some materials can be used by themselves as functional materials, while others support functional materials. Zeolites are nanostructured porous materials that can be used as functional materials or used as supports for other functional materials. Quantum dots are luminescent materials with plenty of applications such as biomarkers, photocatalytic degradation, or biocides. However, the use of quantum dots is limited by the effect of moisture or heat on them. The applications of quantum dots can be improved if proper support is used. In this work, a brief overview of the use of zeolites as supports for quantum dots is offered, and their applications in optical devices are discussed.

Robotic group collaboration in a densely cluttered terrain is one of the main problems in mobile robotics control. This article describes the basic set of tasks solved to model a robotic group behavior during the distributed search of an object (goal) with parallel mapping. The navigation scheme uses the benefits of the authors' original technical vision system (TVS) based on dynamic triangulation principles. According to the TVS output data, fuzzy logic rules of resolution stabilization were implemented; with the aim to improve the data exchange. Modified dynamic communication network model and implemented the propagation of information with a feedback method to improve the data exchange inside the robotic group. For forming the continuous and energy-saving trajectory authors are proposing to use the two-steps post-processing method of path planning with polygon approximation. The combination of our collective TVS scans fusion and modified dynamic data exchange network forming method with adjustment of the known path planning methods can improve the robotic motion planning and navigation in unknown cluttered terrain. The authors presented the results of group effectiveness based on unique detected data, analysis of completion time, and entropy reduction results based on the size of a robot group.

Friction is a nonlinear phenomenon present in all mechanical systems and significantly impacts the control area. Currently, there exist a large number of systems that require precise positioning control to achieve optimal performance. The present paper seeks to estimate friction torque for a controlled direct-current motor (DC motor) for the positioning laser of a 3D machine vision system. The relative positioning error that causes this phenomenon using the LuGre friction model is identified. Later a feasible solution for high-performance positioning control for the positioning laser using friction compensation is proposed.

There are different devices capable of discriminating optical and optoelectronic noise, however, the cost of its implementation and maintenance is expensive. This paper examines the possibility of digitally integrating Finite Impulse Response (FIR) filters into the transducer of an OSS systems to obtain better performance in a real operating environment. In this paper we propose the evaluation of the implementation of different FIR filters in different photo-sensors transducers, such as the Light-Dependent Resistor (LDR) and the Light Emitting Diode (LED).

One focus of present chapter is defined by the further development of the technical vision system (TVS). The TVS mainly contains two principal parts, the positioning laser (PL) and the scanning aperture (SA), which implement the optomechanical function of the dynamic triangulation. Previous versions of the TVS uses stepping motors to position the laser beam, which leads to a discrete field of view (FOV). Using stepping motors, inevitable dead zones arise, where 3D coordinates cannot be detected. One advance of this TVS is defined by the substitution of these discrete actuators by DC motors to eliminate dead zones and to perform a continuous laser scan in the TVS FOV. Previous versions of this TVS also uses a constant step response as closed-loop input. Thereby the chapter describes a new approach to position the TVS laser ray in the FOV, using a trapezoidal velocity profile as trajectory.

Background In soft tissue sarcomas (STS) radiotherapy (RTx) may be applied pre- or postoperatively with advantages and disadvantages on either side. We examined the effect of preoperative radiation on wound healing in patients with STS of the extremities and the pelvis. Methods Between August 2008 and March 2011, 32 patients with an average of 54 years (SD 18.7) and with STS (all Grade 2 or 3) were treated with a planned wide resection after neoadjuvant RTx leaving a rim of uninvolved soft tissue around the tumor. Preoperative RTx was given at an average dose of 51,5 Gy (SD 4.6) and mean follow up was 12.2 months (SD 9.8). The results were compared to a consecutive series of 60 patients treated later on without neoadjuvant RTx. Results R0 resection were performed in 31 of 32 patients. Impaired wound healing (IWH) occurred in 19 patients (59%), revision surgery had to be performed in 17 patients (53% of total). Four patients had to undergo 2 or more revisions. One patient had to be amputated and one patient died due to septic complications after revision surgery. IWH was seen more frequently in the lower (18 / 28) than in the upper extremities (1 / 4), yet this was not statistically significant in our series (p = 0.223, Fisher’s exact test). Comorbidities were not found to be of influence. In the control group, revision surgery was necessary in 18% of the patients (p = 0.0006). Conclusions Radiotherapy is effective in local tumour control, but causes a high rate of impaired wound healing (59%), if applied prior to surgery. This frequently resulted in one or more revision surgeries delaying the schedule of further therapies. The authors recommend RTx to be applied only in selected cases in a neoadjuvant setting.

The present paper shows the experimentation results and the steps taken for the detection of presence and distance of objects using a low power laser scanning system developed at the Engineering Institute of UABC, called the Technical Vision System (TVS). The obtained experimental results, using two different sensors and forms of amplification are shown. This TVS has been developed as part of multiple thesis research done previously [1]; however, it has been presenting problems detecting objects relatively close to the system.

This paper proposes the solution of tasks set required for autonomous robotic group behavior optimization during the mission on a distributed area in a cluttered hazardous terrain. The navigation scheme uses the benefits of the original real-time technical vision system &#x0028 TVS &#x0029 based on a dynamic triangulation principle. The method uses TVS output data with fuzzy logic rules processing for resolution stabilization. Based on previous researches, the dynamic communication network model is modified to implement the propagation of information with a feedback method for more stable data exchange inside the robotic group. According to the comparative analysis of approximation methods, in this paper authors are proposing to use two-steps post-processing path planning aiming to get a smooth and energy-saving trajectory. The article provides a wide range of studies and computational experiment results for different scenarios for evaluation of common cloud point influence on robotic motion planning.

With the rapid growth of cities, new problems and challenges have appeared; transportation, communication technology, structural health-care services, industry, education, and many more are used to enhance the quality of life of citizens that live in a “smart city.” Structural health monitoring (SHM) represents a great engineering challenge for providing information in real time and data collection of big data with the help of Internet of Things systems to connect everything in cities. In this chapter, an optical scanning system (OSS) for monitoring the structure’s health is proposed. The OSS operating principle is based on the sensing of a light indicator with a wavelength of 420 nm and the application of digital filters to smooth the electric noise and effects caused by environmental conditions. By using a blue light emitting diode as a photosensor in conjunction with digital filters, such as Savitzky–Golay and moving average, the signal with noise captured from photosensors was smoothed, improving the measurement accuracy of the OSS dedicated to SHM. This chapter also describes different devices and methods used for smart applications based on SHM with signals in the scale of nanometers.

Positioning technologies are useful in a great number of applications, which are oriented for pick and place robots, manipulation of machine tools, especially on machines oriented for artificial vision and detection systems, such as vision-guided robotic systems and object existence in a limited environment. Due to the high demand of those applications, this chapter presents digital control theory application using a laser positioner, which obtains 3D coordinates in a defined field of view. Using the LM629N-8 motion controller, representing the main digital controller for the motion task of the laser positioner as an active element, which is analyzed via modeling and simulation using Matlab-Simulink. Additionally, this chapter focuses on some of the principal sources of uncertainties that exist in a laser scanning system and mainly on the receptive part of such system, which is driven by a brushed DC motor. The processed signal will be analyzed in different environmental conditions to analyze how it is affected by the instability characteristics of this main actuator.

[ES] Este artículo da seguimiento a previas experimentaciones actualmente publicadas acerca de la minimización de ruido ópticoeléctrico en los sistemas de barrido óptico OSS (en inglés, Optical Scanning Systems), implementando técnicas computacionales para el reconocimiento de los patrones que se generan de cada fuente de referencia y que son utilizadas para indicar una coordenada que el OSS monitoreará. Técnicas como análisis linear discriminante LDA (en inglés, Linear Discriminant Analysis) y regresión lineal LR (en inglés, Linear Regression) fueron implementadas para discriminar las señales causadas por otras fuentes distintas a las de referencia. Para aumentar la eficiencia de estos modelos fueron implementados codificación predictiva lineal LPC (en inglés, Linear Predictive Coding) y Cuantiles como extractores de características. Los resultados fueron alentadores con tasas de reconocimiento mayores al 91.2 %, alcanzando en algunos casos una exactitud del 100 %., [EN] This paper is a follow-up to previous researches already published regarding the minimization of optical-electrical noise in optical scanning systems OSS, by the implementation of computational techniques for pattern recognition generated by each reference source used to indicate a coordinate that the OSS will be monitoring. Techniques such as linear discriminant analysis LDA and linear regression LR were implemented in order to discriminate the signals caused by other sources different to the references. In order to enhance the efficiency of these models was implemented linear predictive coding LPC and quantiles as features extractors. The results were encouraging with rates of recognition greater than 91.2 %, reaching in some cases an accuracy of 100 %.

The purpose of any measurement is to obtain the required approximation to the measurand. In particular, when measuring time-frequency parameters, traditional methods require more time for measurement, if the frequency value has to be measured more accurately. It is proved that the principle of rational approximations is a method for estimating an unknown frequency, which is very precise, and requires a relatively short time for measurement. Its main properties are: (i) insensitivity to most known sources of uncertainty; (ii) the time required for the measurement is reduced when measuring higher frequencies; (iii) the accuracy of measurements depends on the stability of the reference frequency standard. The recently investigated property of the principle of rational approximations is the dependence of the measurement error on the width of the pulse in the signals used for measurement. In particular, if the pulse width is smaller, the error in the measurement process decreases more rapidly. However, a generally recognized model of analysing how short the pulse width should be is not yet created. In the present paper, a formalism has been developed to determine the optimum pulse width in order to minimize both the magnitude of the error and the measurement time. Variation of this parameter permits to obtain the best approximation to the measurand from the very first moments of measurement. The minimum time required for the measurement was thoroughly analysed.

Background Liposarcomas are the second most common type of soft tissue sarcomas, 30–50% of these are of myxoid subtype. The aim of this retrospective study was to analyze the local control rate, the metastatic pattern and survival of patients in a consecutive single-institution series. Methods From 1983 to 2015, 43 patients with myxoid liposarcoma of the extremities and trunk wall underwent resections. The margin was defined as R0 (wide) or R1 (marginal). Patients were followed for evidence of local recurrence or distant metastasis. Overall and recurrence-free survival was calculated. Results The mean age was 48.6 years. The lower extremity was involved in 40 cases, the mean tumour size was 12 cm. In 31 cases a wide and in 12 cases a marginal resection was performed. Grading was G1 in 14, G2 in 25 and G3 in 4 cases. Nine patient died in follow-up, 4 of them with metastatic disease, all nonpulmonary. 5-year local recurrence (LR) free survival was 82%. 4 (9.3%) patients developed LR (all R1). Overall survival (OS) was 81% after 5 and 72% after 10 years. In multivariate analysis age and Grading proved to be significant on OS. According to univariate analysis, only age over 48 years and distant metastasis had a significant impact on overall survival. Conclusions Patients with myxoid liposarcomas have a good prognosis. Myxoid liposarcoma has a distinct pattern of nonpulmonary metastatic disease. Therefore, patients with high-risk extremity myxoid liposarcoma should undergo imaging studies of the chest, abdomen, spine and pelvis as part of their staging and follow-up examinations preferably with whole body MRI, or CT scans and MRI of the spine and pelvic region for detection of suspected metastatic disease.

This paper presents the description of a cyber-physical system embedded on an FPGA for 3D measurement in structural health monitoring tasks. The implementation technique and performance evaluation demonstrate the contribution of this paper to the mathematical fundamentals adaptation of an on-site rotatory scanning system to a cyber-physical system. In particular, it is described in detail the design of a virtual angle measurement soft sensing technique based on the information conversion of an optoelectronic signal provided by a rotatory scanning system through an FPGA. Behaving the FPGA as the sensor controller and the actuator in the scanning system. Using the measurement of angles through the proposed embedded system, it can be calculated the coordinates and displacement of specific indicators distributed over a structure under observation. Providing online data exchange from on-site measurement to a remote computational station for real-time or posteriorly data analysis.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present a novel application for a newly developed Technical Vision System (TVS), which uses a laser scanner and dynamic triangulation, to determine the vitality of agriculture vegetation. This vision system, installed on an unmanned aerial vehicle, shall measure the reflected laser energy and thereby determine the normalized differenced vegetation index. Design/methodology/approach The newly developed TVS shall be installed on the front part of the unmanned aerial vehicle, to perform line-by-line scan in the vision system field-of-view. The TVS uses high-quality DC motors, instead of previously researched low-quality DC motors, to eliminate the existence of two mutually exclusive conditions, for exact positioning of a DC motor shaft. The use of high-quality DC motors reduces the positioning error after control. Findings Present paper emphasizes the exact laser beam positioning in the field-of-view of a TVS. By use of high-quality instead of low-quality DC motors, a significant reduced positioning time was achieved, maintaining the relative angular position error less than 1 per cent. Best results were achieved, by realizing a quasi-continuous control, using a high pulse-width modulated duty cycle resolution and a high execution frequency of the positioning algorithm. Originality/value The originality of present paper is represented by the novel application of the newly developed TVS in the field of agriculture. The vitality of vegetation shall be determined by measuring the reflected laser energy of a scanned agriculture zone. The paper’s main focus is on the exact laser beam positioning within the TVS field-of-view, using high-quality DC motors in closed-loop position control configuration.

When a frequency domain sensor is under the effect of an input stimulus, there is a frequency shift at its output. One of the most important advantages of such sensors is their converting a physical input parameter into time variations. In consequence, changes of an input stimulus can be quantified very precisely, provided that a proper frequency counter/meter is used. Unfortunately, it is well known in the time-frequency metrology that if a higher accuracy in measurements is needed, a longer time for measuring is required. The principle of rational approximations is a method to measure a signal frequency. One of its main properties is that the time required for measuring decreases when the order of an unknown frequency increases. In particular, this work shows a new measurement technique, which is devoted to measuring the frequency shifts that occur in frequency domain sensors. The presented research result is a modification of the principle of rational approximations. In this work a mathematical analysis is presented, and the theory of this new measurement method is analysed in detail. As a result, a new formalism for frequency measurement is proposed, which improves resolution and reduces the measurement time.

Soft tissue sarcomas (STSs) are heterogeneous cancers associated with poor prognosis due to high rates of local recurrence and metastasis. The programmed death receptor ligand 1 (PD-L1) is expressed in several cancers. PD-L1 interacts with its receptor, PD-1, on the surface of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), thereby attenuating anti-cancer immune response. Immune checkpoint inhibitors targeting this interaction have been established as effective anti-cancer drugs. However, studies on the PD-L1 and PD-1 expression status in STS are commonly limited by small sample size, analysis of single STS subtypes, or lack of combinatorial marker assessment. To overcome these limitations, we evaluated the expression patterns of intratumoral PD-L1, the number of TILs, their PD-1 expression, and associations with clinicopathological parameters in a large and comprehensive cohort of 225 samples comprising six STS subtypes. We found that nearly all STS subtypes showed PD-L1 expression on the tumor cells, albeit with a broad range of positivity across subtypes (50% angiosarcomas to 3% synovial sarcomas). Co-expression and correlation analyses uncovered that PD-L1 expression was associated with more PD-1-positive TILs (P 0.001), higher tumor grading (P = 0.016), and worse patients' 5-year overall survival (P = 0.028). The results were in line with several publications on single STS subtypes, especially when comparing findings for STS with low and high mutational burden. In sum, the substantial portion of PD-L1 positivity, the co-occurrence of PD-1-positive TILs, and the association of PD-L1 with unfavorable clinical outcome provide rationales for immune checkpoint inhibition in patients with PD-L1-positive STS.

Stereoscopic vision systems (SVS) allow performing digital scene reconstruction through cameras. SVS process the obtained images by their cameras from a three-dimensional scene, identifying similarities between the images that correspond to the same scene and, finally, performing a reconstruction process. SVS can be differentiated by the number of cameras and the geometry used in their design. In this chapter, each SVS is classified by its number of cameras, so that it can be divided into binocular vision systems, where there are SVS of two cameras and multivision systems that consist of SVS of three or more cameras. The aim of this chapter is to provide useful information to students, teachers, and researchers who want to learn about the different methods and applications of SVS used in the industry and current research topics. Also, it will be useful for everyone who wants to implement an SVS and needs an introduction to several available options to use the most convenient according to the application.

Robotic group collaboration in a densely cluttered terrain is one of the main problems in mobile robotics control. The chapter describes the basic set of tasks solved in model of robotic group behavior during the distributed search of an object (goal) with the parallel mapping. Navigation scheme uses the benefits of authors original technical vision system (TVS) based on dynamic triangulation principles. According to the TVS, output data were implemented fuzzy logic rules of resolution stabilization for improving the data exchange. Modified dynamic communication network model and implemented propagation of information with a feedback method for data exchange inside the robotic group. For forming the continuous and energy saving trajectory, authors are proposing to use two-steps post processing method of path planning with polygon approximation. Combination of our collective TVS scans fusion and modified dynamic data exchange network forming method with dovetailing of the known path planning methods can improve the robotic motion planning and navigation in unknown cluttered terrain.

This paper proposes an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) to accurately predict the real angles obtained by a Triangulation Vision System. The performance of the ANN is compared with the K-Nearest Neighbors algorithm from previous publications. For the experimentation it was necessary to create a database to train and prove both methods in different coordinates on a determinate area through the dynamic triangulation method. Afterwards, the root mean square error is calculated to obtain the accuracy of each algorithm. Finally, several laser scanning measurements were taken at different distances to analyze the measurement dispersion of both algorithms. This paper proposes an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) to accurately predict the real angles obtained by a Triangulation Vision System. The performance of the ANN is compared with the K-Nearest Neighbors algorithm from previous publications. For the experimentation it was necessary to create a database to train and prove both methods in different coordinates on a determinate area through the dynamic triangulation method. Afterwards, the root mean square error is calculated to obtain the accuracy of each algorithm. Finally, several laser scanning measurements were taken at different distances to analyze the measurement dispersion of both algorithms.

Laser scanning is widely used on 3D coordinates measuring systems, this paper focuses on some of the principal sources of uncertainties that exist on the implementation of a Laser Scanner based on dynamic triangulation and mainly on its passive element. By analyzing the processed signal on different environmental conditions and the issues by the instability of driving of a brushed DC motor, it is proposed the closed-loop control scheme to reduce these performance issues and further experimentation to demonstrate the results obtained with the proposed method.

This paper presents the experimentation to define the final angular position of the Maxon RE 25 brushed DC Motor shaft, when using an implementation in closed-loop position control configuration is proposed of the Digital Precision Motion Controller LM629. Reporting the final angular position through a GUI implemented in LabVIEW. The Digital Controller LM629 generates a trapezoidal velocity trajectory profile, which by integration defines the reference angular position as a ramp for the final angular position of the Maxon RE 25 DC motor shaft. The experimentation and experimental results are described, showing high performance, high precision, and effective positioning time.

This chapter describes different methods and devices that can be used in optical scanning systems (OSS), especially applied to structural health and monitoring (SHM) in order to reduce the interference and losing of resolution in the measurements of the displacements and coordinates calculated by the OSS of a specific structure to be monitored. The principal parts of the OSS are a photo-detector, non-rotating emitter source of light, a DC electrical motor, lens, and mirror. All the measurements and experiments have been realized in a controlled environmental; the optical noise was simulated with a similar intensity than the intensity of the reference signal of the emitter source. Applying analogue filters has disadvantages because part of signal with important information for the performance of the system is removed, but particularly the components will often be too costly. However, there are digital filters and techniques of computational statistics that can solve these problems.

The main object of this book chapter is an introduction and presentation of mobile robot path planning using continuous laser scanning, which has significant advantages compared with discrete laser scanning. A general introduction to laser scanning systems is given, whereby a novel technical vision system (TVS) using the dynamic triangulation measurement method for 3D coordinate determination is found suitable for accomplishing this task of mobile robot path planning. Furthermore, methods and algorithms for mobile robot road maps and path planning are presented and compared.

Surface measurement systems (SMS) allow accurate measurements of surface geometry for three-dimensional computational models creation. There are cases where contact avoidance is needed; these techniques are known as non-contact surface measurement techniques. To perform non-contact surface measurements there are different operating modes and technologies, such as lasers, digital cameras, and integration of both. Each SMS is classified by its operation mode to get the data, so it can be divided into three basic groups: point-based techniques, line-based techniques, and area-based techniques. This chapter provides useful information about the different types of non-contact surface measurement techniques, theory, basic equations, system implementation, actual research topics, engineering applications, and future trends. This chapter is particularly valuable for students, teachers, and researchers that want to implement a vision system and need an introduction to all available options in order to use the most convenient for their purpose.

Existen distintos dispositivos capaces de discriminar el ruido óptico y optoelectrónico, sin embargo, el costo de su implementación y mantenimiento resulta costoso. Este trabajo examina la posibilidad de integrar digitalmente filtros de respuesta finita al impulso (en inglés, FIR; Finite Impulse Response) al transductor de un sistema OSS para obtener un mejor rendimiento en un ambiente real de operación. En este trabajo se propone la evaluación de la implementación de distintos filtros FIR en diferentes transductores fotosensores como lo son el resistor dependiente de luz (en inglés, LDR; Light-Dependent Resistor) y el diodo emisor de luz (en inglés, LED; Light-Emitting Diode).

A problem of upgrading an optoelectronic scanning system with digital post-processing of the signal based on adequate methods of energy center localization is considered. An improved dynamic triangulation analysis technique is proposed by an example of industrial infrastructure damage detection. A modification of our previously published method aimed at searching for the energy center of an optoelectronic signal is described. Application of the artificial intelligence algorithm of compensation for the error of determining the angular coordinate in calculating the spatial coordinate through dynamic triangulation is demonstrated. Five energy center localization methods are developed and tested to select the best method. After implementation of these methods, digital compensation for the measurement error, and statistical data analysis, a non-parametric behavior of the data is identified. The Wilcoxon signed rank test is applied to improve the result further. For optical scanning systems, it is necessary to detect a light emitter mounted on the infrastructure being investigated to calculate its spatial coordinate by the energy center localization method.

3D measurement by a cyber-physical system based on optoelectronic scanning instrumentation has been enhanced by outliers and regression data mining feedback. The prototype has applications in (1) industrial manufacturing systems that include: robotic machinery, embedded vision, and motion control, (2) health care systems for measurement scanning, and (3) infrastructure by providing structural health monitoring. This paper presents new research performed in data processing of a 3D measurement vision sensing database. Outliers from multivariate data have been detected and removal to improve artificial intelligence regression algorithm results. Physical measurement error regression data has been used for 3D measurements error correction. Concluding, that the joint of physical phenomena, measurement and computation is an effectiveness action for feedback loops in the control of industrial, medical and civil tasks.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is the presentation and research of a novel robot vision system, which uses laser dynamic triangulation, to determine three-dimensional (3D) coordinates of an observed object. The previously used physical operation principle of discontinuous scanning method is substituted by continuous method. Thereby applications become possible that were previously limited by this discretization. Design/methodology/approach The previously used prototype No. 2, which uses stepping motors to realize a discontinuous laser scan, was substituted by the new developed prototype No. 3, which contains servomotors, to achieve a continuous laser scan. The new prototype possesses only half the width and turns out to be significantly smaller and therefore lighter than the old one. Furthermore, no transmissions are used, which reduce the systematic error of laser positioning and increase the system reliability. Findings By using a continuous laser scan method instead of discontinuous laser scan method, dead zones in the laser scanner field can be eliminated. Thereby, also by changing the physical operation principle, the implementation of applications is allowed, which previously was limited by the fixed step size or by the object distance under observation. By using servomotors instead of stepping motors, also a significant reduced positioning time can be accomplished maintaining the relative positioning error less than 1 per cent. Originality/value The originality is based on the substitution of the physical operation principle of discontinuous by continuous laser scan. The previously used stepping motors discretized the laser scanner field and thereby produced dead zones, where 3D coordinates cannot be detected. These stepping motors were substituted by servomotors to revoke these disadvantages and provide a continuous laser scan, where dead zones in the field of view get eliminated and the step response of the laser scanner accelerated.

Many applications have been proposed for the frequency measurement principle using rational approximations; every measurement has an error value that is related to the resolution of the measuring tool; in this technique, measuring is done by comparing an unknown frequency and a known frequency signals. Theoretically, the error in measurement in the mathematical model of this principle is limited only by repeatability of the standard. But in practice, for arbitrary combination of unknown and reference signal, the pulse width of the signals can modify the method application; In this work a criterion for choosing the optimal pulse width values is defined, by investigating the relationships between the reference signal’s period and the pulse width.

Computer vision systems have demonstrated to be useful in applications of autonomous navigation, especially with the use of stereo vision systems for the three-dimensional mapping of the environment. This article presents a novel camera calibration method to improve the accuracy of stereo vision systems for three-dimensional point localization. The proposed camera calibration method uses the least square method to model the error caused by the image digitalization and the lens distortion. To obtain particular three-dimensional point coordinates, the stereo vision systems use the information of two images taken by two different cameras. Then, the system locates the two-dimensional pixel coordinates of the three-dimensional point in both images and coverts them into angles. With the obtained angles, the system finds the three-dimensional point coordinates through a triangulation process. The proposed camera calibration method is applied in the stereo vision systems, and a comparative analysis between the real and calibrated three-dimensional data points is performed to validate the improvements. Moreover, the developed method is compared with three classical calibration methods to analyze their advantages in terms of accuracy with respect to tested methods.

A new approach to position the Technical Vision System (TVS) laser ray, which determines the 3D coordinates of any objet under observation in the TVS Field-of-View (FOV), using the Digital Controller LM629 is proposed. This approach reduces significantly the angular position error by at least 82.97 per cent, compared to the previous implementation of a proportional algorithm in closed-loop configuration, using directly a single microcontroller. Present paper identifies the behavior of the DC motor shaft, which represents the main actuator of the TVS Positioning Laser (PL), adjusting an internal trapezoidal velocity profile, generated as the control signal for the DC motor. The reference value for the DC motor actual angular position is computed, using the Digital Controller LM629, which also tracks this actual angular position. The methodology of the new approach is developed in accordance with theoretical concepts. In addition, experimental results show the comparison between the previous implementation and this new approach.

The method of determining the landmarks for a mobile robot based on detection of abrupt changes in the energy characteristics of echo signals from the landmarks is proposed in the report. The noise and electromagnetic waves reflection from the environment are taken into account in synthesis of the optimal system for detecting and estimating the jumps of the echo signals amplitude. The solutions of the system of stochastic differential equations are the probability of detecting the jump of the echo signal amplitude from the landmark, the amplitude jump value itself and its variance. The appropriate conditions for detecting the jump of the echo signal amplitude are established and the recommendations for identification of the landmarks in the form of metal pillars have been developed.

Background Chondrosarcoma is the second most frequent primary malignant bone tumor. Treatment is mainly based on surgery. In general, wide resection is advocated at least in G2 and G3 tumors. But which margins should be achieved? Does localization as for example in the pelvis have a higher impact on survival than surgical margins themselves? Methods From 1982 to 2014, 87 consecutive patients were treated by resection. The margin was defined as R0 (wide resection), R1 (marginal resection) or, R2 if the tumor was left intentionally. All patients were followed for evidence of local recurrence or distant metastasis. Overall and recurrence-free survival were calculated, significance analysis was performed. Results In 54 (62%) cases a R0 resection, in 31 (36%) a R1 and in 2 (2%) patients a R2-resection was achieved. Histology proved to be G1 in 37 patients (43%), G2 in 41 (47%) and G3 in 9 cases (10%). 5-year local recurrence-free survival (LRFS) was 75%. Local recurrence-free survival showed a significant association with the margin status and the localization of the tumor with pelvic lesions doing worst. Metastatic disease was initially seen in 4 patients (4.6%), 19 others developed metastatic disease during follow-up. Overall survival of the entire group at 5 and 10 years were 79 and 75%, respectively. The quality of surgical margins and the presence of local recurrence did not influence overall survival in a multivariate analysis. Pelvic lesions had a worse prognosis as did higher grades of the tumor, metastatic disease and age. Conclusions The mainstay of therapy in Chondrosarcoma remains surgery. Risk factors as grading, metastatic disease, age and location significantly influence overall survival. Margin status (R0 vs. R1) did influence local recurrence-free survival but not overall survival. Chondrosarcomas of the pelvis have a higher risk of local recurrence and should be treated more aggressively.

Mobile robots are remarkable cases of high development technology and systems. Robot community developed a complex analysis to meet the increased demands for the control challenges for the movement of Robot. A model predictive control (MPC) approach is used in combination with feedforward Controller in a context of decoupling controller. Implementation of this algorithm in the ROS system is presented at the end of the contribution.