Repositori Obert UdL

The institutional repository collects, manages, disseminates and preserves publications in open access derived from the academic and research activity of the University of Lleida.

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Open Access
Simultaneous fruit detection and size estimation using multitask deep neural networks
(Elsevier, 2023) Ferrer Ferrer, Mar; Ruiz Hidalgo, Javier; Gregorio López, Eduard; Vilaplana Besler, Verónica; Morros Rubió, Josep Ramon; Gené Mola, Jordi
The measurement of fruit size is of great interest to estimate the yield and predict the harvest resources in advance. This work proposes a novel technique for in-field apple detection and measurement based on Deep Neural Networks. The proposed framework was trained with RGB-D data and consists of an end-to-end multitask Deep Neural Network architecture specifically designed to perform the following tasks: 1) detection and segmentation of each fruit from its surroundings; 2) estimation of the diameter of each detected fruit. The methodology was tested with a total of 15,335 annotated apples at different growth stages, with diameters varying from 27 mm to 95 mm. Fruit detection results reported an F1-score for apple detection of 0.88 and a mean absolute error of diameter estimation of 5.64 mm. These are state-of-the-art results with the additional advantages of: a) using an end-to-end multitask trainable network; b) an efficient and fast inference speed; and c) being based on RGB-D data which can be acquired with affordable depth cameras. On the contrary, the main disadvantage is the need of annotating a large amount of data with fruit masks and diameter ground truth to train the model. Finally, a fruit visibility analysis showed an improvement in the prediction when limiting the measurement to apples above 65% of visibility (mean absolute error of 5.09 mm). This suggests that future works should develop a method for automatically identifying the most visible apples and discard the prediction of highly occluded fruits.
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Open Access
Les famílies migrants llatinoamericanes amb nens, nenes i adolescents, processos familiars i d’aculturació. Una revisió de la literatura
(Edicions de la Universitat de Lleida, 2023) Gutiérrez Rodríguez, Nauzet; Tomás de Almeida, Ana; Rodrigo López, María José; Álvarez Lorenzo, Míriam
Experimentar un procés migratori té efectes i produeix canvis en l’exercici parental de les famílies llatinoamericanes. En aquest procés influeixen variables individuals, socials y culturals. Aprofundint en el tema, el seu estudi ha pres notorietat l’última dècada i s’ha demostrat que és imprescindible continuar analitzant l’impacte de l’aculturació en l’exercici parental de les famílies migrants llatinoamericanes per tal de dur a terme intervencions eficaces des dels sistemes de protecció social i desenvolupar polítiques socials en pro d’afavorir el benestar d’aquestes famílies. Encara queden per aprofundir diversos interrogants; malgrat això, la revisió d’aquesta literatura atorga una aproximació a aquesta realitat, ja que mostra que: • L’economia familiar, l’ocupació, l’estat de la situació admitistrativa, el suport formal i informal i les polítiques socials són clau per al benestar de les famílies migrants llatinoamericanes. • La migració produeix canvis i transformacions en el rol parental. • Múltiples variables influeixen en el desenvolupament de la parentalitat positiva. • Si bé existeixen estudis que aprofundeixen en el pla individual o diàdic de la parentalitat, es requereix aprofundir més en variables contextuals per tal de tenir un marc general de la situació de les famílies llatines en el nou context després de la migració i els seus efectes en la parentalitat. • És important aprofundir en el paper de les institucions públiques com a recursos de protecció i de suport des del sistema sanitari i educatiu i dels serveis socials. • És necessari aprofundir en l’anàlisi dels efectes de les xarxes de suport informals com la família extensa, però també la construcció de noves xarxes de suport transnacionals i en l’adaptació al barri. • Cal disposar d’evidències científiques sobre els efectes de la migració en les famílies i fer intervencions des d’un enfocament positiu i resilient com és el de la parentalitat positiva.
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Open Access
Factors associated with the attraction and retention of family and community medicine and nursing residents in rural settings: a qualitatove study
(Springer Nature, 2023-09-14) Tort Nasarre, Glòria; Vidal Alaball, Josep; Fígols Pedrosa, M. J.; Vázquez Abanades, L.; Forcada Arcarons, A.; Deniel Rosanas, J.
Background: The current shortage of primary care doctors and nurses is causing difficulties in replacement, and this shortage is expected to increase. This situation is more pronounced in rural environments than in urban ones. Family and community care specialty training is a key component of both the transition to clinical practice and the retention of new professionals. The aim of this study is to explore the attitudes and perceptions of internal medicine residents and internal nurse residents trained in a rural teaching unit on factors associated with recruitment and retention, including the role of the specialty training programme. Methods: A qualitative study was conducted. Purposive sampling was used, and thirteen residents from the central Catalonia teaching unit who were in their final year of training participated in semistructured interviews. The data were collected during 2022 and were subsequently analysed with thematic analysis. The study is reported using the COREQ checklist. Results: Six themes emerged from data related to perceptions and attitudes about the factors associated with recruitment and retention: training programme, characteristics of the family and community specialty, concept of rural life, family and relational factors, economic and resource factors, and recruitment and job opportunities. Conclusions: Family and community medicine and nursing residents trained in rural settings expressed satisfaction with the specialty programme and most features of primary care, but they experienced a wide range of uncertainties in deciding on their professional future in terms of living in rural areas, family support, financial support and recruitment. This study identifies individual and structural factors that could be of great use to retain doctors and nurses in rural areas.
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Research can be integrated into public health policy-making: global lessons for and from Spanish economic evaluations
(BMC, 2022-06-18) Trapero-Bertran, Marta; Pokhrel, Subhash; Hanney, Stephen
WHO promotes the use of research in policy-making to drive improvements in health, including in achieving Sustain‑ able Development Goals such as tobacco control. The European Union's new 95 billion Horizon Europe research framework programme parallels these aims, and also includes commitments to fund economic evaluations. However, researchers often express frustration at the perceived lack of attention to scientifc evidence during policy-making. For example, some researchers claim that evidence regarding the return on investment from optimal implementa‑ tion of evidence-based policies is frequently overlooked. An increasingly large body of literature acknowledges inevitable barriers to research use, but also analyses facilitators encouraging such use. This opinion piece describes how some research is integrated into policy-making. It highlights two recent reviews. One examines impact assess‑ ments of 36 multi-project research programmes and identifes three characteristics of projects more likely to infu‑ ence policy-making. These include a focus on healthcare system needs, engagement of stakeholders, and research conducted for organizations supported by structures to receive and use evidence. The second review suggests that such characteristics are likely to occur as part of a comprehensive national health research system strategy, especially one integrated into the healthcare system. We also describe two policy-informing economic evaluations conducted in Spain. These examined the most cost-efective package of evidence-based tobacco control interventions and the cost-efectiveness of diferent strategies to increase screening coverage for cervical cancer. Both projects focused on issues of healthcare concern and involved considerable stakeholder engagement. The Spanish examples reinforce some lessons from the global literature and, therefore, could help demonstrate to authorities in Spain the value of developing comprehensive health research systems, possibly following the interfaces and receptor model. The aim of this would be to integrate needs assessment and stakeholder engagement with structures spanning the research and health systems. In such structures, economic evaluation evidence could be collated, analysed by experts in rela‑ tion to healthcare needs, and fed into both policy-making as appropriate, and future research calls. The increasingly large local and global evidence base on research utilization could inform detailed implementation of this approach once accepted as politically desirable. Given the COVID-19 pandemic, increasing the cost-efectiveness of healthcare systems and return on investment of public health interventions becomes even more important.
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Health and economic impact at a population level of both primary and secondary preventive lung cancer interventions: A model-based cost-effectiveness analysis
(Elsevier, 2021-09-01) Diaz, Mireia; Garcia, Montse; Vidal, Carmen; Santiago, Albert; Gnutti, Gerard; Gómez, David; Trapero-Bertran, Marta; Fu, Marcela; Lung Cancer Prevention LUCAPREV Research Group
Objectives: Robust economic evaluations are needed to identify efficient strategies for lung cancer prevention that combine brief and intensive smoking cessation intervention programmes with screening using low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) at different ages, frequencies, and coverages. We aimed to assess the costeffectiveness of smoking cessation approaches combined with lung cancer screening in the European context at a population level from a societal perspective. Materials and Methods: A microsimulation model that describes the natural history of lung cancer and incorporates several prevention strategies was developed. Discounted lifetime QALYs and costs at a rate of 3% were used to calculate incremental cost-effectiveness ratios, defined as additional costs in 2017 Euros per QALY gained. Results: Smoking cessation interventions reduce the incidence of lung cancer by 8%-46% and are consistently more effective and cost-effective when starting at younger ages. Screening reduces lung cancer mortality by 1%- 24% and is generally less effective and more costly than smoking cessation interventions. The most cost-effective strategy would be to implement intensive smoking cessation interventions at ages 35, 40 and 45, combined with screening every three years between the ages of 55 and 65. Conclusions: Combining smoking cessation interventions with LDCT screening is a very attractive prevention strategy that substantially diminishes the burden of lung cancer. These combined prevention strategies, especially when providing several intensive interventions for smoking cessation at early ages, are more cost-effective than both approaches separately and allow for a more intensified LDCT without losing efficiency.