Online MoCap Data Coding with Bit Allocation, Rate Control, and Motion-Adaptive Post-Processing

With the advancements in methods for capturing 3D object motion, motion capture (MoCap) data are starting to be used beyond their traditional realm of animation and gaming in areas such as the arts, rehabilitation, automotive industry, remote interactions, and so on. As the amount of MoCap data increases, compression becomes crucial for further expansion and adoption of these technologies. In this paper, we extend our previous work on low-delay MoCap data compression by introducing two improvements. The first improvement is the bit allocation to long-term and short-term reference MoCap frames, which provides a 10-15% reduction in coded bitrate at the same quality. The second improvement is the post-processing in the form of motion-adaptive temporal low-pass filtering, which is able to provide another 9-13%savings in the bitrate. The experimental results also indicate that the proposed online MoCap codec is competitive with several state-of-the-art offline codecs. Overall, the proposed techniques integrate into a highly effective online MoCap codec that is suitable for low-delay applications, whose implementation is provided alongside this paper to aid further research in the field

The sleep quality of patients with insomnia under the influence of subtle energy fields

Background: The article evaluates the current state of insomnia treatment for patients without neurological, psychiatric, and somatic disorders. An important goal consists in developing non-drug therapies for insomnia, possessing no side effects. Following this research direction, we put a special emphasis on non-medicamental methods for correction of sleep disturbance in persons with psychophysiological insomnia.Methods: Authors propose a method of insomnia treatment in which patients sleep on the specialized Bio Velocity mattresses (the ‘activated mattress’ therapy). The conditions of patients before and after the treatment are assessed by clinical, psychophysiological, electroencephalographic methods, and by the Voll method, which studies the meridians of organs and systems, including the nervous system.Results: We show the effectiveness of the therapy by demonstrating improving psychological indicators, EEG data, and the Voll diagnostics data in a group of patients.Conclusions: The activated Bio Velocity mattresses can effectively be used by patients with the sleep disorders in addition to and, partially, as a replacement of conventional tools and medicine.

Complete Nondiagonal Reflection Matrices of RSOS/SOS and Hard Hexagon Models

In this paper we compute the most general nondiagonal reflection matrices of the RSOS/SOS models and hard hexagon model using the boundary Yang-Baxter equations. We find new one-parameter family of reflection matrices for the RSOS model in addition to the previous result without any parameter. We also find three classes of reflection matrices for the SOS model, which has one or two parameters. For the hard hexagon model which can be mapped to RSOS(5) model by folding four RSOS heights into two, the solutions can be obtained similarly with a main difference in the boundary unitarity conditions. Due to this, the reflection matrices can have two free parameters. We show that these extra terms can be identified with the `decorated' solutions. We also generalize the hard hexagon model by `folding' the RSOS heights of the general RSOS(p) model and show that they satisfy the integrability conditions such as the Yang- Baxter and boundary Yang-Baxter equations. These models can be solved using the results for the RSOS models.Comment: 18pages,Late

Durable remissions are rare following high dose therapy with autologous stem cell transplantation for adults with "paediatric" bone and soft tissue sarcomas

BACKGROUND: The role of high dose therapy (HDT) with autologous stem cell transplantation (AuSCT) for the treatment of bone and soft tissue sarcomas remains investigational. There are few reports examining this strategy focusing on the adult population. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed our experience of adult patients undergoing HDT and AuSCT for 'paediatric' sarcomas. RESULTS: A total of 17 patients (14 male, 3 female) with median age at transplant of 24 years (range 20 – 41) were identified. The diagnosis was Ewings sarcoma/PNET (10), osteosarcoma (5) and rhabdomyosarcoma (2). Status prior to HDT, following conventional-dose chemotherapy +/- surgery +/- radiotherapy, was complete remission (CR) (6), partial remission (PR) (6), stable disease (1) and progressive disease (4). There was no transplant-related mortality. Two patients remain disease free beyond four years and both received HDT as part of their primary therapy (CR1 and PR1) however, the median progression free survival and overall survival following AuSCT for the entire cohort was only 7 months (range: 2–92 months) and 13 months (range: 2 – 92 months), respectively. CONCLUSION: HDT and AuSCT infrequently achieves prolonged remissions in adult patients and should only be considered in patients who are in a PR or CR following conventional-dose therapy. Further studies are required to define the role of HDT with AuSCT for adult patients with sarcoma

Breast state improvement by using the lymphatic drainage disposable bra pads

Background: The health and good esthetic conditions of the breast are important indicators of women’s life quality. One factor that negatively affects this quality is the breast ptosis, associated with the sagging of the mammary glands due to tissue stretching and the loss of tissue and skin elasticity. New tools and methods able to improve the shape and beautiful contour of the breast are highly desirable.Methods: We investigated how the disposable bra pads by BAE International Inc., having the lymphatic drainage effect for the breast, influenced the female breast state. We applied two methods, the ultrasound elasticity imaging and the pattern recognition of the nipples position, to monitor the breast state dynamics in two groups of females, the study and control ones.Results: Preliminary results showed that both the breast elasticity and the pattern of nipple positions improved for females wearing the bra pads as compared to females wearing regular bras without pads (P<0.05 for the difference between the two groups of females).Conclusions: Overall, the bra pads by BAE can be considered as an effective tool encouraging metabolism by improving the flow of blood circulation and lymph in the breast

The combined diabetes and renal control trial (C-DIRECT) - a feasibility randomised controlled trial to evaluate outcomes in multi-morbid patients with diabetes and on dialysis using a mixed methods approach

Background: This cluster randomised controlled trial set out to investigate the feasibility and acceptability of the “Combined Diabetes and Renal Control Trial” (C-DIRECT) intervention, a nurse-led intervention based on motivational interviewing and self-management in patients with coexisting end stage renal diseases and diabetes mellitus (DM ESRD). Its efficacy to improve glycaemic control, as well as psychosocial and self-care outcomes were also evaluated as secondary outcomes. Methods: An assessor-blinded, clustered randomised-controlled trial was conducted with 44 haemodialysis patients with DM ESRD and ≥ 8% glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c), in dialysis centres across Singapore. Patients were randomised according to dialysis shifts. 20 patients were assigned to intervention and 24 were in usual care. The C-DIRECT intervention consisted of three weekly chair-side sessions delivered by diabetes specialist nurses. Data on recruitment, randomisation, and retention, and secondary outcomes such as clinical endpoints, emotional distress, adherence, and self-management skills measures were obtained at baseline and at 12 weeks follow-up. A qualitative evaluation using interviews was conducted at the end of the trial. Results: Of the 44 recruited at baseline, 42 patients were evaluated at follow-up. One patient died, and one discontinued the study due to deteriorating health. Recruitment, retention, and acceptability rates of C-DIRECT were generally satisfactory HbA1c levels decreased in both groups, but C-DIRECT had more participants with HbA1c < 8% at follow up compared to usual care. Significant improvements in role limitations due to physical health were noted for C-DIRECT whereas levels remained stable in usual care. No statistically significant differences between groups were observed for other clinical markers and other patient-reported outcomes. There were no adverse effects. Conclusions: The trial demonstrated satisfactory feasibility. A brief intervention delivered on bedside as part of routine dialysis care showed some benefits in glycaemic control and on QOL domain compared with usual care, although no effect was observed in other secondary outcomes. Further research is needed to design and assess interventions to promote diabetes self-management in socially vulnerable patients

Electronic Transitions in f-electron Metals at High Pressures:

This study was to investigate unusual phase transitions driven by electron correlation effects that occur in many f-band transition metals and are often accompanied by large volume changes: {approx}20% at the {delta}-{alpha} transition in Pu and 5-15% for analogous transitions in Ce, Pr, and Gd. The exact nature of these transitions has not been well understood, including the short-range correlation effects themselves, their relation to long-range crystalline order, the possible existence of remnants of the transitions in the liquid, the role of magnetic moments and order, the critical behavior, and dynamics of the transitions, among other issues. Many of these questions represent forefront physics challenges central to Stockpile materials and are also important in understanding the high-pressure behavior of other f- and d-band transition metal compounds including 3d-magnetic transition monoxide (TMO, TM=Mn, Fe, Co, Ni). The overarching goal of this study was, therefore, to understand the relationships between crystal structure and electronic structure of transition metals at high pressures, by using the nation's brightest third-generation synchrotron x-ray at the Advanced Photon Source (APS). Significant progresses have been made, including new discoveries of the Mott transition in MnO at 105 GPa and Kondo-like 4f-electron dehybridization and new developments of high-pressure resonance inelastic x-ray spectroscopy and x-ray emission spectroscopy. These scientific discoveries and technology developments provide new insights and enabling tools to understand scientific challenges in stockpile materials. The project has broader impacts in training two SEGRF graduate students and developing an university collaboration (funded through SSAAP)