Effectiveness of slow motion video compared to real time video in improving the accuracy and consistency of subjective gait analysis in dogs

Objective measures of canine gait quality via force plates, pressure mats or kinematic analysis are considered superior to subjective gait assessment (SGA). Despite research demonstrating that SGA does not accurately detect subtle lameness, it remains the most commonly performed diagnostic test for detecting lameness in dogs. This is largely because the financial, temporal and spatial requirements for existing objective gait analysis equipment makes this technology impractical for use in general practice. The utility of slow motion video as a potential tool to augment SGA is currently untested. To evaluate a more accessible way to overcome the limitations of SGA, a slow motion video study was undertaken. Three experienced veterinarians reviewed video footage of 30 dogs, 15 with a diagnosis of primary limb lameness based on history and physical examination, and 15 with no indication of limb lameness based on history and physical examination. Four different videos were made for each dog, demonstrating each dog walking and trotting in real time, and then again walking and trotting in 50% slow motion. For each video, the veterinary raters assessed both the degree of lameness, and which limb(s) they felt represented the source of the lameness. Spearman’s rho, Cramer’s V, and t-tests were performed to determine if slow motion video increased either the accuracy or consistency of raters’ SGA relative to real time video. Raters demonstrated no significant increase in consistency or accuracy in their SGA of slow motion video relative to real time video. Based on these findings, slow motion video does not increase the consistency or accuracy of SGA values. Further research is required to determine if slow motion video will benefit SGA in other ways

Spectrum Generating Algebras for the free motion in S3S^3

We construct the spectrum generating algebra (SGA) for a free particle in the three dimensional sphere $S^3$ for both, classical and quantum descriptions. In the classical approach, the SGA supplies time-dependent constants of motion that allow to solve algebraically the motion. In the quantum case, the SGA include the ladder operators that give the eigenstates of the free Hamiltonian. We study this quantum case from two equivalent points of view.Comment: 29 pages, 1 figur

Inverse problem of a buried metallic object

[[abstract]]In this paper we address an inverse scattering problem whose aim is to discuss the CPU time for recovering a perfectly conducting cylindrical object buried in a half-space. First, we use Fourier-series or cubic-spline methods to describe the shape and reformulate the inverse problem into an optimization one. Then we solved it by the improved steady state genetic algorithm (SSGA) and simple genetic algorithm (SGA) respectively and compare the cost time in finding out the global extreme solution of the objective function. It is found the searching ability of SSGA is much powerful than that of the SGA. Even when the initial guess is far away from the exact one, the cost time for converging to a global extreme solution using by SSGA is much less than that by SGA. Numerical results are given to show that the inverse problem by using SSGA is much better than SGA in time costing.[[notice]]需補地點及國別[[conferencetype]]國際[[conferencedate]]20051004~2005100

Primal-dual genetic algorithms for royal road functions

Copyright @ 2002 IFACBased on Holland's simple genetic algorithm (SGA) three have been many variations developed. Inspired by the phenomenon of diploid genotype and deminance mechanisms broadly existing in nature, we have proposed a primal-dual genetic algorithm (PDGA), see (Yang 2002). Our preliminary experiments based on the Royal Road functions have shown that PDGA outperforms SGA for different performance measures. In this paper, we present some further experiment results, especially onthe dynamic performance of PDGA over SGA, and give out our explanations and analyses about ehy PDGA outperforms SGA based on these results. Through the primal-dual mapping between a pair of chromosomes, PDGA's performance of exploration in the search space, especially during the early generations, is improved and thus its total searching efficiency is improved

Differences between European birthweight standards: impact on classification of ‘small for gestational age’

We describe a quantitative and comparative review of a selection of European birthweight standards for gestational age for singletons, to enable appropriate choices to be made for clinical and research use. Differences between median values at term across standards in 10 regions and misclassification of ‘small for gestational age’ (SGA), were studied. Sex and parity differences, exclusion criteria, and methods of construction were considered. There was wide variation between countries in exclusion criteria, methods of calculating standards, and median birthweight at term. The lightest standards (e.g. France's medians are 255g lower than Norway's medians) were associated with fewer exclusion criteria. Up to 20% of the population used in the construction of the Scottish standard would be classified as SGA using the Norwegian standard. Substantial misclassification of SGA is possible. Assumptions about variation used in the construction of some standards were not justified. It is not possible to conclude that there are real differences in birthweight standards between European countries. Country-based standards control for some population features but add misclassification due to the differing ways in which standards are derived. Standards should be chosen to reflect clinical or research need. If standards stratified by sex or parity are not available, adjustments should be made. In multinational studies, comparisons should be made between results using both a common standard and country-based standards

Exact BER Performance of Asynchronous MC-DS-CDMA over Fading Channels

In this contribution an accurate average Bit Error Rate (BER) formula is derived for MC-DS-CDMA in the context of asynchronous transmissions and random spreading sequences. We consider a flat Nakagami-m fading channel for each subcarrier. Our analysis is based on the Characteristic Function (CF) and does not rely on any assumption concerning the statistical behavior of the interference. We develop a new closed-form expression for the conditional CF of the inter-carrier interference and provide a procedure for calculating the exact BER expressed in the form of a single numerical integration. The accuracy of the Standard Gaussian Approximation (SGA) technique is also evaluated. Link-level results confirm the accuracy of the SGA for most practical conditions

PDGA: The primal-dual genetic algorithm

Copyright @ 2003 IOS PressGenetic algorithms (GAs) are a class of search algorithms based on principles of natural evolution. Hence, incorporating mechanisms used in nature may improve the performance of GAs. In this paper inspired by the mechanisms of complementarity and dominance that broadly exist in nature, we present a new genetic algorithm — Primal-Dual Genetic Algorithm (PDGA). PDGA operates on a pair of chromosomes that are primal-dual to each other through the primal-dual mapping, which maps one to the other with a maximum distance away in a given distance space in genotype. The primal-dual mapping improves the exploration capacity of PDGA and thus its searching efficiency in the search space. To test the performance of PDGA, experiments were carried out to compare PDGA over traditional simple GA (SGA) and a peer GA, called Dual Genetic Algorithm (DGA), over a typical set of test problems. The experimental results demonstrate that PDGA outperforms both SGA and DGA on the test set. The results show that PDGA is a good candidate genetic algorithm