Low-Complexity TTCM Based Distributed Video Coding Architecture

Abstract. Distributed Video Coding (DVC) is a promising coding solution for some emerging applications, where the encoder complexity, power consumption or memory requirements are constraint the system resources. Current approaches to DVC focus on improving the performance of the WynerZiv coding by improving the quality of the reconstructed side information or by improving the quality of channel codes. Up to date, no attention has been paid to the problem of key frames coding where a low-encoding complexity scenario is also needed. This work focuses on key frames coding in its effect to the Wyner-Ziv frames decoding aiming to implement a very low-complexity Turbo Trellis Coded Modulation (TTCM) based DVC architecture. In this paper, we propose a new key frame coding scheme which has very low complexity and memory requirements for the TTCM based distributed video codec. Results show that the proposed intra frame codec for key frame coding outperforms the JPEG2000 and the Intra H.264 AVC codecs in terms of encoding-time and memory requirements, with better RD performance

E-government adoption: A cultural comparison

This is the author's accepted manuscript. The final published article is available from the link below. Copyright @ Springer Science + Business Media, LLC 2008.E-government diffusion is an international phenomenon. This study compares e-government adoption in the U.K. to adoption in the U.S. In particular, this study seeks to determine if the same factors are salient in both countries. Several studies have explored citizen acceptance of e-government services in the U.S. However, few studies have explored this phenomenon in the U.K. To identify the similarities and differences between the U.K. and the U.S. a survey is conducted in the U.K. and the findings are compared to the literature that investigates diffusion in the U.S. This study proposes a model of e-government adoption in the U.K. based on salient factors in the U.S. A survey is administered to 260 citizens in London to assess the importance of relative advantage, trust and the digital divide on intention to use e-government. The results of binary logistic regression indicate that there are cultural differences in e-government adoption in the U.K. and the U.S. The results indicate that of the prevailing adoption constructs, relative advantage and trust are pertinent in both the U.S. and the U.K., while ICT adoption barriers such as access and skill may vary by culture. Implications for research and practice are discussed

Implementation of neuro-oncology service reconfiguration in accordance with NICE guidance provides enhanced clinical care for patients with glioblastoma multiforme.

BACKGROUND: Brain tumours account for <2% of all primary neoplasms but are responsible for 7% of the years of life lost from cancer before age 70 years. The latest survival trends for patients with CNS malignancies have remained largely static. The objective of this study was to evaluate the change in practice as a result of implementing the Improving Outcomes Guidance from the UK National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE). METHODS: Patients were identified from the local cancer registry and hospital databases. We compared time from diagnosis to treatment, proportion of patients discussed at multidisciplinary team (MDT) meetings, treatment received, length of inpatient stay and survival. Inpatient and imaging costs were also estimated. RESULTS: Service reconfiguration and implementation of NICE guidance resulted in significantly more patients being discussed by the MDT--increased from 66 to 87%, reduced emergency admission in favour of elective surgery, reduced median hospital stay from 8 to 4.5 days, increased use of post-operative MRI from 17 to 91% facilitating early discharge and treatment planning, and reduced cost of inpatient stay from £2096 in 2006 to £1316 in 2009. Patients treated with optimal surgery followed by radiotherapy with concomitant and adjuvant temozolomide achieved outcomes comparable to those reported in clinical trials: median overall survival 18 months (2-year survival 35%). CONCLUSIONS: Advancing the management of neuro-oncology patients by moving from an emergency-based system of patient referral and management to a more planned elective outpatient-based pattern of care improves patient experience and has the potential to deliver better outcomes and research opportunities

Targeted genetic analysis in a large cohort of familial and sporadic cases of aneurysm or dissection of the thoracic aorta

PURPOSE: Thoracic aortic aneurysm/aortic dissection (TAAD) is a disorder with highly variable age of onset and phenotype. We sought to determine the prevalence of pathogenic variants in TAAD-associated genes in a mixed cohort of sporadic and familial TAAD patients and identify relevant genotype–phenotype relationships. METHODS: We used a targeted polymerase chain reaction and next-generation sequencing–based panel for genetic analysis of 15 TAAD-associated genes in 1,025 unrelated TAAD cases. RESULTS: We identified 49 pathogenic or likely pathogenic (P/LP) variants in 47 cases (4.9% of those successfully sequenced). Almost half of the variants were in nonsyndromic cases with no known family history of aortic disease. Twenty-five variants were within FBN1 and two patients were found to harbor two P/LP variants. Presence of a related syndrome, younger age at presentation, family history of aortic disease, and involvement of the ascending aorta increased the risk of carrying a P/LP variant. CONCLUSION: Given the poor prognosis of TAAD that is undiagnosed prior to acute rupture or dissection, genetic analysis of both familial and sporadic cases of TAAD will lead to new diagnoses, more informed management, and possibly reduced mortality through earlier, preclinical diagnosis in genetically determined cases and their family members

Re-examining the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT): Towards a Revised Theoretical Model

YesBased on a critical review of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), this study first formalized an alternative theoretical model for explaining the acceptance and use of information system (IS) and information technology (IT) innovations. The revised theoretical model was then empirically examined using a combination of meta-analysis and structural equation modelling (MASEM) techniques. The meta-analysis was based on 1600 observations on 21 relationships coded from 162 prior studies on IS/IT acceptance and use. The SEM analysis showed that attitude: was central to behavioural intentions and usage behaviours, partially mediated the effects of exogenous constructs on behavioural intentions, and had a direct influence on usage behaviours. A number of implications for theory and practice are derived based on the findings

Technology as a disruptive agent: Intergenerational perspectives

YesThis study explores how British South Asian parents perceive their children’s technology consumption through their collectivist lenses and interdependent values. The findings for this qualitative study indicate that second and third generation South Asian parents acknowledge the benefits of children’s technology use; but largely perceive technology as a disruptive agent, whereby children are becoming isolated and increasingly independent within the household. The analysis aims to understand how parents view their children’s relationship with others as a result of technology consumption. Accordingly, this paper proposes an extension of the Construal of self conceptualisation and contributes a Techno-construal matrix that establishes a dyadic connection between technology consumption and cultural values. Overall, the study reveals that children display less inter-reliance and conformance typically associated with collectivist cultures, resulting from their technology use. Consequently, parents interpret their children’s shift from interdependence to more independence as a disruptive and unsettling phenomenon within the household

Evacetrapib and Cardiovascular Outcomes in High-Risk Vascular Disease

BACKGROUND: The cholesteryl ester transfer protein inhibitor evacetrapib substantially raises the high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol level, reduces the low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol level, and enhances cellular cholesterol efflux capacity. We sought to determine the effect of evacetrapib on major adverse cardiovascular outcomes in patients with high-risk vascular disease. METHODS: In a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase 3 trial, we enrolled 12,092 patients who had at least one of the following conditions: an acute coronary syndrome within the previous 30 to 365 days, cerebrovascular atherosclerotic disease, peripheral vascular arterial disease, or diabetes mellitus with coronary artery disease. Patients were randomly assigned to receive either evacetrapib at a dose of 130 mg or matching placebo, administered daily, in addition to standard medical therapy. The primary efficacy end point was the first occurrence of any component of the composite of death from cardiovascular causes, myocardial infarction, stroke, coronary revascularization, or hospitalization for unstable angina. RESULTS: At 3 months, a 31.1% decrease in the mean LDL cholesterol level was observed with evacetrapib versus a 6.0% increase with placebo, and a 133.2% increase in the mean HDL cholesterol level was seen with evacetrapib versus a 1.6% increase with placebo. After 1363 of the planned 1670 primary end-point events had occurred, the data and safety monitoring board recommended that the trial be terminated early because of a lack of efficacy. After a median of 26 months of evacetrapib or placebo, a primary end-point event occurred in 12.9% of the patients in the evacetrapib group and in 12.8% of those in the placebo group (hazard ratio, 1.01; 95% confidence interval, 0.91 to 1.11; P=0.91). CONCLUSIONS: Although the cholesteryl ester transfer protein inhibitor evacetrapib had favorable effects on established lipid biomarkers, treatment with evacetrapib did not result in a lower rate of cardiovascular events than placebo among patients with high-risk vascular disease. (Funded by Eli Lilly; ACCELERATE ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01687998 .)

Adaptations in antagonist co-activation: Role in the repeated-bout effect

Eccentric exercise results in an adaptation which attenuates muscle damage from subsequent exercise—termed the “repeated-bout effect (RBE).” Purpose: Study examined antagonist co-activation and motor-unit recruitment strategy, assessed via dEMG, concomitant to the RBE. Methods: Nine participants performed 5 sub-maximal isometric trapezoid (ramp-up, hold, ramp-down) contractions at force levels corresponding to 50% and 80% of maximal isometric strength (MVC). Surface EMG signals of the biceps brachii were decomposed into individual motor-unit action potential trains. The relationship between mean firing rate (MFR) of each motor-unit and its recruitment threshold (RT) was examined using linear regression. Eccentric exercise was then performed until biceps brachii MVC had decreased by ~40%. Surface EMG of the biceps and triceps were collected during eccentric exercise. MVC, range-of-motion (ROM), and delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) were measured 24-hours, 72-hours, and 1-week following eccentric exercise. Three weeks later all procedures were repeated. Results: Changes in MVC (-32±14% vs -25±10%; p = 0.034), ROM (-11% vs 6%; p = 0.01), and DOMS (31.0±19mm vs 19±12mm; p = 0.015) were attenuated following the second bout of exercise. Triceps EMG was reduced (16.8±9.5% vs. 12.6±7.2%; p = 0.03) during the second bout of eccentric exercise. The slope (-0.60±0.13 vs -0.70±0.18; p = 0.029) and y-intercept (46.5±8.3 vs 53.3±8.8; p = 0.020) of the MFR vs. RT relationship was altered during contractions at 80% of MVC prior to the second bout of eccentric exercise. No changes were observed at 50% of MVC. Conclusion: A reduction in antagonist co-activation during the second bout of eccentric exercise suggests less total force was required to move an identical external load. This finding is supported by the increased negative slope coefficient and an increased y-intercept of the linear relationship between RT and MFR.Funded by University of Oklahoma Graduate College Robberson Grant.Ye