A variety of algorithms allows gesture recognition in video sequences. Alleviating the need for interpreters is of interest to hearing impaired people, since it allows a great degree of self-sufficiency in communicating their intent to the non-sign language speakers without the need for interpreters. State-of-theart in currently used algorithms in this domain is capable of either real-time recognition of sign language in low resolution videos or non-real-time recognition in high-resolution videos. This paper proposes a novel approach to real-time recognition of fingerspelling alphabet letters of American Sign Language (ASL) in ultra-high-resolution (UHD) video sequences. The proposed approach is based on adaptive Laplacian of Gaussian (LoG) filtering with local extrema detection using Features from Accelerated Segment Test (FAST) algorithm classified by a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN). The recognition rate of our algorithm was verified on real-life data.
Campylobacter is one of the most common bacterial causes of diarrheal illness in humans. This study describes the isolation of Campylobacter lari from seabirds during 4 consecutive summers (2000-2003) in Hope Bay, Antarctic Peninsula. One hundred and twenty-two spontaneously dead Antarctic seabirds were studied. Ten Campylobacter lari isolates from 7 skuas (Stercorarius spp.), 2 kelp gulls (Larus dominicanus), and 1 Adelie penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae) were identified by phenotypical characteristics. Human activity in Antarctica was identified as a possible source of infectious agents, and migratory birds could be carriers of infectious diseases. However, nothing is known about zoonotic enteropathogens causing diseases in humans living in the Antarctic region. We demonstrated that seabirds carried C. lari in their intestines, and that they were settled around the lakes where humans are supplied with fresh water. Consumption of fresh water from Antarctic lakes contaminated with feces of seabirds could be a risk of human campylobacteriosis. This is the first report of C. lari isolated from seabirds in Hope Bay, Antarctica.