Multiple description image coding with redundant expansions and optimal quantization

This paper addresses the problem of optimal rate allocation for multiple description coding with redundant signal expansions. In case of redundant descriptions, the quantization of the transform coefficients has clearly to be adapted to the importance of the basis functions, to the redundancy in the representation, and to the expected loss probability on the transmission channel. We derive a rate-distortion optimal solution for the scalar quantization of coefficients in redundant signal representations. The application of the optimal rate allocation to a typical image communication problem demonstrates performance gains with respect to scheme based on uniform quantization with fixed step size, and to solutions based on unequal error protection

Index Assignment for N Balanced Multiple Description Scalar Quantization

In this paper, we address the design of any number of balanced multiple descriptions using the multiple description scalar quantization(MDSQ) technique. The proposed scheme has the advantages of low complexity, the possibility of being extended easily to any number of descriptions and the possibility to trade off between the side, partial and central distortions. Unlike existing schemes, it can produce balanced descriptions at low rates, at the price however of a slightly higher distortion. The behavior of the proposed index assignment at high rate is in the same time similar to state-of-the-art schemes. The proposed scheme offers the possibility to adapt to loss probability, and rate constraints, in playing with both the number of descriptions, and the rate of each of them, to minimize the average distortion. The comparison with the systematic FEC (N; k) scheme shows that the FEC scheme in general gives smaller average distortion, but that our scheme seems to be more robust to sudden changes in network conditions and that receiving all the descriptions in general gives smaller distortions

Multiple Description H.264 Video Coding with Redundant Pictures

Multiple description coding (MDC) o®ers a competitive so- lution for video transmission over lossy packet networks, with a graceful degradation of the reproduced quality as the loss rate increases. This paper illustrates how redundant pictures, an error resilience tool included in H.264/AVC, can be employed in conjunction with multiple state video coding scheme, previously proposed in the literature. The proposed MDC solution is shown to provide superior perfor- mance to state-of-the-art techniques, in terms of improved average luma peak-signal-to-noise-ratio (PSNR), fewer tem- poral °uctuations in the picture quality, and improved ro- bustness to bad estimation of the loss probability in the network

Risk factors for infections caused by carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales: an international matched case-control-control study (EURECA)

Cases were patients with complicated urinary tract infection (cUTI), complicated intraabdominal (cIAI), pneumonia or bacteraemia from other sources (BSI-OS) due to CRE; control groups were patients with infection caused by carbapenem-susceptible Enterobacterales (CSE), and by non-infected patients, respectively. Matching criteria included type of infection for CSE group, ward and duration of hospital admission. Conditional logistic regression was used to identify risk factors. Findings Overall, 235 CRE case patients, 235 CSE controls and 705 non-infected controls were included. The CRE infections were cUTI (133, 56.7%), pneumonia (44, 18.7%), cIAI and BSI-OS (29, 12.3% each). Carbapenemase genes were found in 228 isolates: OXA-48/like, 112 (47.6%), KPC, 84 (35.7%), and metallo-beta-lactamases, 44 (18.7%); 13 produced two. The risk factors for CRE infection in both type of controls were (adjusted OR for CSE controls; 95% CI; p value) previous colonisation/infection by CRE (6.94; 2.74-15.53; <0.001), urinary catheter (1.78; 1.03-3.07; 0.038) and exposure to broad spectrum antibiotics, as categorical (2.20; 1.25-3.88; 0.006) and time-dependent (1.04 per day; 1.00-1.07; 0.014); chronic renal failure (2.81; 1.40-5.64; 0.004) and admission from home (0.44; 0.23-0.85; 0.014) were significant only for CSE controls. Subgroup analyses provided similar results. Interpretation The main risk factors for CRE infections in hospitals with high incidence included previous coloni-zation, urinary catheter and exposure to broad spectrum antibiotics

Fast index assignment for balanced n-description scalar quantization

In this paper, we address the design of any number of balanced descriptions using multiple description scalar quantization(MDSQ), based on fast index assignment. The proposed scheme has the advantages of low complexity, and the possibility of being extended easily to any number of descriptions. Unlike existing schemes, it can produce balanced descriptions even at low rate, at the price however of a slightly higher distortion. The behavior of the proposed index assignment at high rate is in the same time similar to state-of-the-art schemes. The proposed scheme offers the possibility to adapt to loss probability, and rate constraints, in playing with both the number of descriptions, and the rate of each of them, to minimize the average distortion. I

Multiple Description Coding with Redundant Expansions and Application to Image Communications

Multiple description coding offers an elegant and competitive solution for data transmission over lossy packet-based networks, with a graceful degradation in quality as losses increase. In the same time, coding techniques based on redundant transforms give a very promising alternative for the generation of multiple descriptions, mainly due to redundancy inherently given by a transform, which offers intrinsic resiliency in case of loss. In this paper, we show how partitioning of a generic redundant dictionary can be used to obtain an arbitrary number of multiple complementary, yet correlated, descriptions. The most significant terms in the signal representation are drawn from the partitions that better approximate the signal, and split to different descriptions, while the less important ones are alternatively distributed between the descriptions. As compared to state-of-the-art solutions, such a strategy allows for a better central distortion since atoms in different descriptions are not identical; in the same time, it does not penalize the side distortions significantly since atoms from the same partition are likely to be highly correlated. The proposed scheme is applied to the multiple description coding of digital images, and simulation results show increased performances compared to state-of-the-art schemes, both in terms of distortions and robustness to loss rate variations

Multiple Description Coding with Redundant Expansions and Application to Image Communications

<p/> <p>Multiple description coding offers an elegant and competitive solution for data transmission over lossy packet-based networks, with a graceful degradation in quality as losses increase. In the same time, coding techniques based on redundant transforms give a very promising alternative for the generation of multiple descriptions, mainly due to redundancy inherently given by a transform, which offers intrinsic resiliency in case of loss. In this paper, we show how partitioning of a generic redundant dictionary can be used to obtain an arbitrary number of multiple complementary, yet correlated, descriptions. The most significant terms in the signal representation are drawn from the partitions that better approximate the signal, and split to different descriptions, while the less important ones are alternatively distributed between the descriptions. As compared to state-of-the-art solutions, such a strategy allows for a better central distortion since atoms in different descriptions are not identical; in the same time, it does not penalize the side distortions significantly since atoms from the same partition are likely to be highly correlated. The proposed scheme is applied to the multiple description coding of digital images, and simulation results show increased performances compared to state-of-the-art schemes, both in terms of distortions and robustness to loss rate variations.</p