Automated object identification and position estimation for airport lighting quality assessment

The development of an automated system for the quality assessment of aerodrome ground lighting (AGL), in accordance with associated standards and recommendations, is presented. The system is composed of an image sensor, placed inside the cockpit of an aircraft to record images of the AGL during a normal descent to an aerodrome. A model-based methodology is used to ascertain the optimum match between a template of the AGL and the actual image data in order to calculate the position and orientation of the camera at the instant the image was acquired. The camera position and orientation data are used along with the pixel grey level for each imaged luminaire, to estimate a value for the luminous intensity of a given luminaire. This can then be compared with the expected brightness for that luminaire to ensure it is operating to the required standards. As such, a metric for the quality of the AGL pattern is determined. Experiments on real image data is presented to demonstrate the application and effectiveness of the system.

Erythropoietin production:evidence for multiple oxygen sensing pathways

The production of erythropoietin (Epo), the glycoprotein hormone which controls red blood cell formation, is regulated by feedback mechanisms sensing tissue oxygenation. The mechanism of the putative oxygen sensor has yet to be elucidated. There is evidence that at least two pathways participate in hypoxia signal transduction. One appears to involve a specific haem protein, and a second implicates reactive oxygen species (ROS). Iron catalyses the generation of intracellular ROS and therefore alters the cellular redox state. We have investigated the effect of modulating intracellular iron content on Epo production in Hep 3B cells. Iron chelation stimulates Epo production at 20% O2 and enhances Epo production at 1% O2, but it has no additive effect on cobalt-induced Epo production. Excess molar iron inhibited Epo production in response to hypoxia, desferrioxamine (DFO) and cobalt chloride and inhibited the DFO-enhancing effect of hypoxia-induced Epo production. We found that sulphydryl oxidising agents exert a differential inhibitory effect on hypoxia-induced versus DFO-induced Epo production, providing further evidence that multiple pathways of oxygen sensing exist.

Cytokine phenotype, genotype, and renal outcomes at cardiac surgery

Cardiac surgery modulates pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokine balance involving plasma tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNFa) and interleukin-10 (IL-10) together with urinary transforming growth factor beta-1 (TGFß1), interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL1ra) and tumour necrosis factor soluble receptor-2 (TNFsr2). Effects on post-operative renal function are unclear. We investigated if following cardiac surgery there is a relationship between cytokine (a) phenotype and renal outcome; (b) genotype and phenotype and (c) genotype and renal outcome. Since angiotensin-2 (AG2), modulates TGFß1 production, we determined whether angiotensin converting enzyme insertion/deletion (ACE I/D) genotype affects urinary TGFß1 phenotype as well as renal outcome.

Rijndael FPGA implementations utilising look-up tables

This paper presents single-chip FPGA Rijndael algorithm implementations of the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) algorithm, Rijndael. In particular, the designs utilise look-up tables to implement the entire Rijndael Round function. A comparison is provided between these designs and similar existing implementations. Hardware implementations of encryption algorithms prove much faster than equivalent software implementations and since there is a need to perform encryption on data in real time, speed is very important. In particular, Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) are well suited to encryption implementations due to their flexibility and an architecture, which can be exploited to accommodate typical encryption transformations. In this paper, a Look-Up Table (LUT) methodology is introduced where complex and slow operations are replaced by simple LUTs. A LUT-based fully pipelined Rijndael implementation is described which has a pre-placement performance of 12 Gbits/sec, which is a factor 1.2 times faster than an alternative design in which look-up tables are utilised to implement only one of the Round function transformations, and 6 times faster than other previous single-chip implementations. Iterative Rijndael implementations based on the Look-Up-Table design approach are also discussed and prove faster than typical iterative implementations.

Merging Knowledge Bases in Possibilistic Logic by Lexicographic Aggregation

Belief merging is an important but difficult problem in Artificial Intelligence, especially when sources of information are pervaded with uncertainty. Many merging operators have been proposed to deal with this problem in possibilistic logic, a weighted logic which is powerful for handling inconsistency and deal-ing with uncertainty. They often result in a possibilistic knowledge base which is a set of weighted formulas. Although possibilistic logic is inconsistency tolerant, it suffers from the well-known "drowning effect". Therefore, we may still want to obtain a consistent possibilistic knowledge base as the result of merging. In such a case, we argue that it is not always necessary to keep weighted information after merging. In this paper, we define a merging operator that maps a set of possibilistic knowledge bases and a formula representing the integrity constraints to a classical knowledge base by using lexicographic ordering. We show that it satisfies nine postulates that generalize basic postulates for propositional merging given in [11]. These postulates capture the principle of minimal change in some sense. We then provide an algorithm for generating the resulting knowledge base of our merging operator. Finally, we discuss the compatibility of our merging operator with propositional merging and establish the advantage of our merging operator over existing semantic merging operators in the propositional case.

Electronic properties of interfaces and defects from many-body perturbation theory: Recent developments and applications

We review some recent developments in many body perturbation theory (MBPT) calculations that have enabled the study of interfaces and defects. Starting from the theoretical basis of MBPT, Hedin's equations are presented, leading to the CW and CWI' approximations. We introduce the perturbative approach, that is the one most commonly used for obtaining quasiparticle (QP) energies. The practical strategy presented for dealing with the frequency dependence of the self energy operator is based on either plasmon-pole models (PPM) or the contour deformation technique, with the latter being more accurate. We also discuss the extrapolar method for reducing the number of unoccupied states which need to be included explicity in the calculations. The use of the PAW method in the framework of MBPT is also described. Finally, results which have been obtained using, MBPT for band offsets a interfaces and for defects presented, with companies on the main difficulties and cancels.

Schematic representation of the QP corrections (marked with ) to the band edges (E and E-v) and a defect level (F) for a Si/SiO2 interface (Si and O atoms are represented in blue and red, respectively, in the ball and stick model) with an oxygen vacancy leading to a Si-Si bond (the Si atoms involved in this bond are colored light blue).

Survival without disability to age 5 years after neonatal caffeine therapy for apnea of prematurity

Very preterm infants are prone to apnea and have an increased risk of death or disability. Caffeine therapy for apnea of prematurity reduces the rates of cerebral palsy and cognitive delay at 18 months of age.

Teenagers born at extremely low birth weight

Adolescence constitutes a major transition for extremely low birth weight (ELBW) teenagers. Recent studies of ELBW teenagers born in the 1980s have provided information about the growth and developmental characteristics of these individuals in adolescence and in early adulthood. ELBW teenagers are shorter and lighter than their full-term peers, and have a smaller head circumference. Cognitive and academic vulnerabilities documented during the school years, particularly difficulties with nonverbal intelligence and arithmetic, persist into late adolescence. Many ELBW children struggle in school and have lower academic achievement levels. The self-concept of ELBW teenagers is generally similar to that of their full-term peers, but their parents perceive them to be more vulnerable over a wide range of behavioural and psychosocial dimensions, particularly depression and attention. ELBW teenagers perceive themselves as needing more assistance in job seeking than do their peers. Physical activity levels and fitness in late adolescence are significantly lower in ELBW teenagers than in their full-term peers, constituting a potential additional health hazard in later life. The outcomes of ELBW teenagers are significantly influenced by socioeconomic, family and parenting factors.

In Situ Single-Crystal Diffraction Studies of the Structural Transition of Metal-Organic Framework Copper 5-Sulfoisophthalate, Cu-SIP-3

The flexibility of the metal-organic framework Cu-2(OH)(C8H3O7S)(H2O)center dot 2H(2)O (Cu-SIP-3) toward reversible single-crystal to single-crystal transformations is demonstrated using in situ diffraction methods at variable temperature. At temperatures below a dehydration-induced phase transition (T < 370 K) the structure is confirmed as being hydrated. In the temperature range where the transition takes place (370 K < T < 405 K) no discrete, sharp Bragg peaks can be seen in the single-crystal X-ray diffraction pattern, indicating significant loss of long-range order. At temperatures higher than 405 K, the Bragg peaks return and the structure can be refined as dehydrated Cu-SIP-3. The loss of guest water molecules can be followed at temperatures below the phase transition giving insight into the mechanism of the dehydration. Addition of nitric oxide gas to the material above the gating opening pressure of 275 mbar also leads to loss of Bragg scattering in the diffraction pattern.

Diabetes management in patients receiving palliative care

A literature review revealed no evidence-based guidelines specific to managing diabetes in the context of palliative care. The purpose of the current project was to describe the management practices of doctors and nurses caring for people with diabetes and advanced disease. Palliative care doctors, palliative care nurses, endocrinologists, and diabetes nurse educators participated in this study. A two-phase project was undertaken: 1) two focus groups, and 2) a cross-sectional survey using a self-completed questionnaire. The focus group and questionnaire data identified that doctors and nurses used a range of practices and blood glucose testing frequencies to control blood glucose based on experience and not according to a robust evidence base. Implications for practice include the importance of collaboration between diabetes and palliative care specialists, and the need to develop clinical management guidelines.

Effect of cataract extraction on the Glaucoma Progression Index (GPI) in glaucoma patients

PURPOSE: To determine the effect of cataract extraction on the glaucoma progression index (GPI) in glaucoma patients with coexisting cataract.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: This is a retrospective noncomparative study. Consecutive eligible patients with glaucoma who underwent phacoemulsification alone or in combination with augmented trabeculectomy were included. All patients had Swedish Interactive Threshold Algorithm-standard 24-2 visual fields within 10 months of surgery. Exclusion criteria included other ocular morbidity, intraoperative complications, and perimetric reliability indices greater than 33%. Comparison was made between the immediate visual fields before and after surgery. The main outcome measure was the change in GPI. Changes in the pattern standard deviation (PSD) and mean deviation (MD) were also assessed. Comparison of means was performed with the paired t test.

RESULTS: Thirty-three eyes of 33 patients (all Whites) were analyzed. The mean age at surgery was 77.0+/-8.7 years. Visual field tests were performed 3.3+/-3.0 months SD before surgery and 5.4+/-2.6 months after surgery. There was a statistically significant increase in the GPI after cataract surgery (from 71.5+/-18.5% to 74.6+/-17.1%; P=0.02). The improvement in MD was also statistically significant (from -11.8+/-5.3 to -10.2+/-5.3 dB; P <0.01), but the change in PSD did not reach statistical significance.

CONCLUSIONS: Uncomplicated cataract extraction resulted in a statistically significant improvement in the 24-2 Swedish Interactive Threshold Algorithm-standard GPI and MD, but not in PSD. Both the MD and the GPI may be influenced by lens opacities, which could make detection of glaucoma visual field progression more difficult for clinicians in glaucoma patients with concurrent cataract.