Accessibility in 360º video players

Accessibility is a key requirement for any multimedia tool and application. With the current trend towards immersive experiences, such as Virtual Reality (VR) and 360o video, it becomes key that these environments are adapted to be fully accessible. However, until recently the focus has been mostly on adapting the existing techniques to fit immersive displays, rather than considering new approaches for accessibility designed specifically for these increasingly relevant media experiences. This paper surveys a wide range of 360o video players and examines the features they include for dealing with accessibility, such as Subtitles, Audio Description, Sign Language, User Interfaces and other interaction features, like voice control and support for multi-screen scenarios. These features have been chosen based on guidelines from standardization contributions, like in the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) and the International Communication Union (ITU), and from research contributions for making 360º video consumption experiences accessible. The in-depth analysis has been part of a research effort towards the development of a fully inclusive and accessible 360º video player. The paper concludes by discussing how the newly developed player has gone above and beyond the existing solutions and guidelines, by providing accessibility features that meet the expectations for a widely used immersive medium, like 360º video

Analyzing data streams using a dynamic compact stream pattern algorithm

A growing number of applications that generate massive streams of data need intelligent data processing and online analysis. Data & Knowledge Engineering (DKE) has been known to stimulate the exchange of ideas and interaction between these two related fields of interest. DKE makes it possible to understand, apply and assess knowledge and skills required for the development and application data mining systems. With present technology, companies are able to collect vast amounts of data with relative ease. With no hesitation, many companies now have more data than they can handle. A vital portion of this data entails large unstructured data sets which amount up to 90 percent of an organization’s data. With data quantities growing steadily, the explosion of data is putting a strain on infrastructures as diverse companies having to increase their data center capacity with more servers and storages. This study conceptualized handling enormous data as a stream mining problem that applies to continuous data stream and proposes an ensemble of unsupervised learning methods for efficiently detecting anomalies in stream data

Warmblood fragile foal syndrome type 1 mutation (PLOD1 c.2032G>A) is not associated with catastrophic breakdown and has a low allele frequency in the Thoroughbred breed.

BackgroundCatastrophic fractures are among the most common cause of fatalities in racehorses. Several factors, including genetics, likely contribute to increased risk for fatal injuries. A variant in the procollagen-lysine, 2-oxoglutarate 5-dioxygenase1 gene (PLOD1 c.2032G>A) was shown to cause Warmblood fragile foal syndrome type 1 (WFFS), a fatal recessive defect of the connective tissue. Screening of multiple horse breeds identified the presence of the WFFS allele in the Thoroughbred. PLOD1 is involved in cross-linking of collagen fibrils and thus could potentially increase the risk of catastrophic breakdown.ObjectivesEstimate the frequency of the WFFS allele (PLOD1 c.2032G>A) and determine if it is a risk factor for catastrophic breakdown in the Thoroughbred.Study designCase-control genetic study.MethodsGenomic DNA from hair and/or tissue samples was genotyped for the WFFS allele. Fisher's Exact tests were performed to compare allele and carrier frequencies between the case cohort (catastrophic breakdown, n = 22) and several cohorts with no record of injury (n = 138 raced/trained at same track and season and n = 185 older than 7 years and raced during same season), nonracers (n = 92), and a random sample without consideration for racing history (n = 279).ResultsThe frequency of the PLOD1 c.2032G>A variant in the Thoroughbred breed is low (1.2%). Seventeen of 716 Thoroughbreds tested were carriers (2.4%) and no WFFS homozygotes were detected. Only one catastrophic breakdown case carried the WFFS allele. No statistically significant difference in allele or carrier frequency was identified between case and control cohorts (P>0.05 in all comparisons performed).Main limitationsThis study evaluated cases from one single track.ConclusionsThis study demonstrated that the PLOD1 c.2032G>A associated with WFFS is present at very low frequency in Thoroughbreds and is not a genetic risk factor for catastrophic breakdown

REGULATORY APPROVAL OF NEW MEDICAL DEVICES: A CROSS SECTIONAL STUDY

Objective To investigate the regulatory approval of new medical devices. Design Cross sectional study of new medical devices reported in the biomedical literature. Data sources PubMed was searched between 1 January 2000 and 31 December 2004 to identify clinical studies of new medical devices. The search was carried out during this period to allow time for regulatory approval. Eligibility criteria for study selection Articles were included if they reported a clinical study of a new medical device and there was no evidence of a previous clinical study in the literature. We defined a medical device according to the US Food and Drug Administration as an “instrument, apparatus, implement, machine, contrivance, implant, in vitro reagent, or other similar or related article.” Main outcome measures Type of device, target specialty, and involvement of academia or of industry for each clinical study. The FDA medical databases were then searched for clearance or approval relevant to the device. Results 5574 titles and abstracts were screened, 493 full text articles assessed for eligibility, and 218 clinical studies of new medical devices included. In all, 99/218 (45%) of the devices described in clinical studies ultimately received regulatory clearance or approval. These included 510(k) clearance for devices determined to be “substantially equivalent” to another legally marketed device (78/99; 79%), premarket approval for high risk devices (17/99; 17%), and others (4/99; 4%). Of these, 43 devices (43/99; 43%) were actually cleared or approved before a clinical study was published. Conclusions We identified a multitude of new medical devices in clinical studies, almost half of which received regulatory clearance or approval. The 510(k) pathway was most commonly used, and clearance often preceded the first published clinical study

Platelet-derived transforming growth factor-β1 promotes keratinocyte proliferation in cutaneous wound healing.

Platelets are a recognised potent source of transforming growth factor-β1 (TGFβ1), a cytokine known to promote wound healing and regeneration by stimulating dermal fibroblast proliferation and extracellular matrix deposition. Platelet lysate has been advocated as a novel personalised therapeutic to treat persistent wounds, although the precise platelet-derived growth factors responsible for these beneficial effects have not been fully elucidated. The aim of this study was to investigate the specific role of platelet-derived TGFβ1 in cutaneous wound healing. Using a transgenic mouse with a targeted deletion of TGFβ1 in megakaryocytes and platelets (TGFβ1fl/fl .PF4-Cre), we show for the first time that platelet-derived TGFβ1 contributes to epidermal and dermal thickening and cellular turnover after excisional skin wounding. In vitro studies demonstrate that human dermal fibroblasts stimulated with platelet lysate containing high levels of platelet-derived TGFβ1 did not exhibit enhanced collagen deposition or proliferation, suggesting that platelet-derived TGFβ1 is not a key promoter of these wound healing processes. Interestingly, human keratinocytes displayed enhanced TGFβ1-driven proliferation in response to platelet lysate, reminiscent of our in vivo findings. In summary, our novel findings define and emphasise an important role of platelet-derived TGFβ1 in epidermal remodelling and regeneration processes during cutaneous wound healing

Universal access : user needs for immersive captioning

This article focuses on building a prototyping for immersive captioning following a user-centric approach. This methodology is characterised by following a bottom-up approach, where usability and user needs are at the heart of the development. Recent research on user requirements for captioning in immersive environments has shown that there is both a need for improvement and a wealth of research opportunities. The final aim is to identify how to display captions for an optimal viewing experience. This work began four years ago with some partial findings. We build from the lessons learnt, focussing on the user-centric design requirements cornerstone: prototyping. Our prototype framework integrates methods used in existing solutions aiming at instant contrast-and-compare functionalities. The first part of the article presents the state of the art for user requirements identifying the reasons behind the development of the prototyping framework. The second part of the article describes the two-stage framework development. The initial framework concept answered to the challenges resulting from the previous research. As soon as the first framework was developed, it became obvious that a second improved solution was required, almost as a showcase on how ideas can quickly be implemented for user testing, and for users to elicit requirements and creative solutions. The article finishes with a list of functionalities, resulting in new caption modes, and the opportunity of becoming a comprehensive immersive captions testbed, where tools such as eye-tracking, or physiological testing devices could be testing captions across any device with a web browser

Particle methods for a virtual patient

The particle systems approach is a well known technique in computer graphics for modelling fuzzy objects such as fire and clouds. The algorithm has also been applied to different biomedical applications and this paper presents two such methods: a charged particle method for soft tissue deformation with integrated haptics; and a blood flow visualization technique based on boids. The goal is real time performance with high fidelity results