A Real-Time Stereo SmartCam, using FPGA, SIMD and VLIW

Abstract. This paper describes the architecture of a SmartCamera, applied for real-time dense stereo vision. The system is based on two TriMedia SmartCameras, an FPGA for low level image pre- and postprocessing, a single chip SIMD array for disparity calculation for all epipolar lines in parallel, and a VLIW processor for further processing of the image processing applications at hand. The FPGA is the heart of the system, its architecture is a synchronous ring with time interleaved dataslots, enabling virtually parallel image channels. We have simplified the development of image processing functions by creating libraries and an automated compile flow, allowing easy debugging and coefficient tweaking of the functions and run-time controllability for a per-frame image processing sub-task schedular. We have implemented a dense stereo vision algorithm on the platform and measured a 40x processing speedup compared to the same implementation on an existing SmartCamera

Effects of recombinant human granulocyte colony‐stimulating factor on leucopenia in zidovudine‐treated patients with AIDS and AIDS related complex, a phase I/II study

Summary. Twelve male patients, eight with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and four with AIDS related complex (ARC), who had zidovudine associated neutropenia (<1 x 109 neutrophils/l) were treated with recombinant human granulocyte colony‐stimulating factor (G‐CSF) in a phase I/II study. Treatment consisted of daily subcutaneous injections with G‐CSF in a weekly increasing dose of 0·4, 2, 5 or 10 μg/kg body weight until a neutrophil count of more than 3 x 109 neutrophils/l was observed. This effective dose was continued for up to 4 weeks, followed by 4 weeks observation period without G‐CSF treatment. Two patients (both with ARC) reached target neutrophil counts at the lowest G‐CSF dose, whereas nine patients needed 2 μg/kg. One patient discontinued treatment before he reached target neutrophil counts. Mean(±SD) neutrophil counts before and after 1 and 4 weeks of effective dose treatment were 0·65(±0·188) × 109, 6·016(±2·595) x 109 and 5·54(±4·237) x 109/l respectively (P<0·01). The number of monocytes increased from 0·171(±0·113) to 0·501(±0·274) and 0·474(±0·374) x 109/l after 1 and 4 weeks of treatment (P<0·01). Other haematologic parameters did not change significantly. Two weeks post‐treatment the numbers of neutrophils and monocytes had returned to pre‐treatment values. Mild side effects consisting of bone, joint or muscle pain were observed in three patients. Two patients (both with AIDS) did not complete the study. One patient stopped treatment because of fever and malaise, attributable to a generalized cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection and one patient had to stop zidovudine treatment because of severe thrombocytopenia. We conclude that G‐CSF increases the number of circulating neutrophilic granulocytes in zidovudine‐treated patients at relatively low doses and with few side‐effects

Effecten van agroforestry op de waterhuishouding en functionele agrobiodiversiteit : : Verkenning naar de effecten van agroforestry op de waterhuishouding en functionele agrobiodiversiteit : met extra aandacht voor de Zeeuwse context en de mogelijke voor- en nadelen die dit kan bieden voor de Zeeuwse akkerbouw

In deze verkenning zijn de effecten van agroforestry op waterhuishouding en functionele agrobiodiversiteit onderzocht op basis van beschikbare kennis en toegespitst op de Zeeuwse context. Hieruit blijkt dat agroforestry voor beide thema’s potentie biedt om hier positief aan bij te dragen, al zal veel afhangen van het ontwerp en de lokale context. Agroforestry kan extreme weersomstandigheden als droogte en piekbuien enigszins bufferen, en kan nutriëntenuitspoeling naar oppervlakte en grondwater reduceren. Ookverhoogt het de diversiteit in het systeem, wat positieve gevolgen kan hebben voor de functioneleagrobiodiversiteit in de vorm van natuurlijke plaagbestrijding en bestuiving. Al met al biedt het dus kansen opdeze thema’s, maar zal met alleen implementatie van agroforestry de bestaande problematiek niet geheelverholpen worden. Wel kan het onderdeel zijn van een oplossingsrichting voor de verschillende opgaven waarook de Zeeuwse landbouw mee te maken heeft, waarbij een integrale aanpak cruciaal is

Cardiac Surgery-Specific Screening Tool Identifies Preoperative Undernutrition in Cardiac Surgery

Loss of body tissue resulting in undernutrition can be caused by reduced food intake, altered metabolism, ageing, and physical inactivity. The predominant cause of undernutrition before cardiac operations is unknown. First, we explored the association of reduced food intake and inactivity with undernutrition in patients before elective cardiac operations. Second, we assessed if adding these reversible, cause-based items to the nutritional screening process improved diagnostic accuracy. A prospective observational study was performed. Undernutrition was defined by low fat-free mass index (LFFMI) measured by bioelectrical impedance spectroscopy and/or unintended weight loss (UWL). Reduced food intake was defined as the patient having a decreased appetite over the previous month. Patients admitted to hospital preoperatively were assumed to be less physically active than patients awaiting cardiac operations at home. Using these data, we developed a new tool and compared this with an existing cardiac surgery-specific tool (Cardiac Surgery-Specific Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool [CSSM]). A total of 325 patients who underwent open cardiac operations were included. Reduced food intake and inactivity were associated with undernutrition (odds ratio [OR], 4.2; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.1-8.5 and OR, 2.0; 95% CI, 1.0-4.0). Reduced food intake and inactivity were integrated with body mass index (BMI) and UWL into a new scoring system: the Cardiac Surgery-Specific Undernutrition Screening Tool (CSSUST). Sensitivity in identification of undernourished patients was considerably higher with the CSSUST (90%) than with the CSSM (71%) (receiver operating characteristic [ROC] curve-based area under the curve [AUC], 0.79; 95% CI, 0.73-0.86 and ROC AUC, 0.71; 95% CI, 0.63-0.80). Results suggest that reduced food intake and inactivity partly explain undernutrition before cardiac operations. Our new cause-based CSSUST, which includes reduced food intake and inactivity, is superior to existing tools in identifying undernutrition in patients undergoing cardiac operation

The impact of low preoperative fat-free body mass on infections and length of stay after cardiac surgery: A prospective cohort study

ObjectiveSeveral studies have shown low fat-free mass index to be a stronger predictor for mortality than low body mass index. The main aim of this study was to assess the still unknown association between preoperative low fat-free mass index and adverse cardiac surgical outcomes.MethodsIn a prospective observational study, fat-free mass index was determined by bioelectric impedance spectroscopy on hospital admission. Associations between low fat-free mass index and postoperative infections and mortality, as well as prolonged intensive care unit and hospital stays, were analyzed with logistic and Cox regression techniques.ResultsBetween February 2008 and December 2009, 325 adult patients admitted for elective heart surgery were included. Analyses showed that low fat-free mass index, present in 8.3% of patients, was independently associated with occurrence of infections after cardiac surgery (18.5% vs 4.7%; adjusted odds ratio, 6.9; 95% confidence interval, 1.8–27.7; P = .01). Low fat-free mass index also tended to be associated with higher risk of longer postoperative intensive care unit stay (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.7; 95% confidence interval, 0.4–1.1; P = .09). When classifying patients as undernourished by traditional methods (body mass index ≤21.0 kg/m2 or ≥10% weight loss in preceding 6 months), half of patients with low fat-free mass index were misclassified as well nourished.ConclusionsLow fat-free mass index is associated with increased occurrence of adverse outcomes after cardiac surgery. We advocate fat-free mass index as the leading parameter in classifying and treating undernourished cardiac surgical patients, which might improve recovery rates after cardiac surgery

Real-Time and Distributed AV Content Analysis System for Consumer Electronics Networks

ABSTRACT The ever-increasing complexity of generic MultimediaContent-Analysis-based (MCA) solutions, their processing power demanding nature and the need to prototype and assess solutions in a fast and cost-saving manner motivated the development of the Cassandra Framework. The combination of state-of-the-art network and gridcomputing solutions and recently standardized interfaces facilitated the set-up of this framework, forming the basis for multiple cross-domain and cross-organizational collaborations [1]. It enables distributed computing scenario simulations for e.g. Distributed Content Analysis (DCA) across Consumer Electronics (CE) In-Home networks, but also the rapid development and assessment of complex multi-MCA-algorithm-based applications and system solutions. Furthermore, the framework&apos;s modular nature -logical MCA units are wrapped into so-called Service Units (SU) -ease the split between systemarchitecture-and algorithmic-related work and additionally facilitate reusability, extensibility and upgradeability of those SUs

Accuracy of quick and easy undernutrition screening tools--Short Nutritional Assessment Questionnaire, Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool, and modified Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool--in patients undergoing cardiac surgery

The objective of this study was to compare the quick-and-easy undernutrition screening tools, ie, Short Nutritional Assessment Questionnaire and Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool, in patients undergoing cardiac surgery with respect to their accuracy in detecting undernutrition measured by a low-fat free mass index (FFMI; calculated as kg/m(2)), and secondly, to assess their association with postoperative adverse outcomes. Between February 2008 and December 2009, a single-center observational cohort study was performed (n=325). A low FFMI was set at ≤14.6 in women and ≤16.7 in men measured using bioelectrical impedance spectroscopy. To compare the accuracy of the Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool and Short Nutritional Assessment Questionnaire in detecting low FFMI sensitivity, specificity, and other accuracy test characteristics were calculated. The associations between the Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool and Short Nutritional Assessment Questionnaire and adverse outcomes were analyzed using logistic regression analyses with odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals (CI) presented. Sensitivity and receiver operator characteristic-based area under the curve to detect low FFMI were 59% and 19%, and 0.71 (95% CI: 0.60 to 0.82) and 0.56 (95% CI: 0.44 to 0.68) for the Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool and Short Nutritional Assessment Questionnaire, respectively. Accuracy of the Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool improved when age and sex were added to the nutritional screening process (sensitivity 74%, area under the curve: 0.72 [95% CI: 0.62 to 0.82]). This modified version of the Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool, but not the original Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool or Short Nutritional Assessment Questionnaire, was associated with prolonged intensive care unit and hospital stay (odds ratio: 2.1, 95% CI: 1.3 to 3.4; odds ratio: 1.6, 95% CI: 1.0 to 2.7). The accuracy to detect a low FFMI was considerably higher for the Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool than for the Short Nutritional Assessment Questionnaire, although still marginal. Further research to evaluate the modified version of the Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool, ie, the cardiac surgery-specific Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool, is needed prior to implementin