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.

Measuring icon complexity: An automated analysis

Measures of icon designs rely heavily on surveys of the perceptions of population samples. Thus, measuring the extent to which changes in the structure of an icon will alter its perceived complexity can be costly and slow. An automated system capable of producing reliable estimates of perceived complexity could reduce development costs and time. Measures of icon complexity developed by Garcia, Badre, and Stasko (1994) and McDougall, Curry, and de Bruijn (1999) were correlated with six icon properties measured using Matlab (MathWorks, 2001) software, which uses image-processing techniques to measure icon properties. The six icon properties measured were icon foreground, the number of objects in an icon, the number of holes in those objects, and two calculations of icon edges and homogeneity in icon structure. The strongest correlates with human judgments of perceived icon complexity (McDougall et al., 1999) were structural variability (r(s) = .65) and edge information (r(s) =.64).

The impedance cardiogram recorded through two electrocardiogram/defibrillator pads as a determinant of cardiac arrest during experimental studies

OBJECTIVE: Laypersons are poor at emergency pulse checks (sensitivity 84%, specificity 36%). Guidelines indicate that pulse checks should not be performed. The impedance cardiogram (dZ/dt) is used to assess stroke volume. Can a novel defibrillator-based impedance cardiogram system be used to distinguish between circulatory arrest and other collapse states?

DESIGN: Animal study.

SETTING: University research laboratory.

SUBJECTS: Twenty anesthetized, mechanically ventilated pigs, weight 50-55 kg.

INTERVENTIONS: Stroke volume was altered by right ventricular pacing (160, 210, 260, and 305 beats/min). Cardiac arrest states were then induced: ventricular fibrillation (by rapid ventricular pacing) and, after successful defibrillation, pulseless electrical activity and asystole (by high-dose intravenous pentobarbitone).

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: The impedance cardiogram was recorded through electrocardiogram/defibrillator pads in standard cardiac arrest positions. Simultaneously recorded electro- and impedance cardiogram (dZ/dt) along with arterial blood pressure tracings were digitized during each pacing and cardiac arrest protocol. Five-second epochs were analyzed for sinus rhythm (20 before ventricular fibrillation, 20 after successful defibrillation), ventricular fibrillation (40), pulseless electrical activity (20), and asystole (20), in two sets of ten pigs (ten training, ten validation). Standard impedance cardiogram variables were noncontributory in cardiac arrest, so the fast Fourier transform of dZ/dt was assessed. During ventricular pacing, the peak amplitude of fast Fourier transform of dZ/dt (between 1.5 and 4.5 Hz) correlated with stroke volume (r2 = .3, p < .001). In cardiac arrest, a peak amplitude of fast Fourier transform of dZ/dt of < or = 4 dB x ohm x rms indicated no output with high sensitivity (94% training set, 86% validation set) and specificity (98% training set, 90% validation set).

CONCLUSIONS: As a powerful clinical marker of circulatory collapse, the fast Fourier transformation of dZ/dt (impedance cardiogram) has the potential to improve emergency care by laypersons using automated defibrillators.

Automated design of DSP array processor chips

Details are presented of the DAC (DSP ASIC Compiler) silicon compiler framework. DAC allows a non-specialist to automatically design DSP ASICs and DSP ASIC cores directly form a high level specification. Typical designs take only several minutes and the resulting layouts are comparable in area and performance to handcrafted designs.

Effects of very low birthweight on brain structure in adulthood

Very-low-birthweight (VLBW) individuals are at high risk of brain injury in the perinatal period. We wished to determine how such early brain lesions affect brain structure in adulthood. Thirty-two VLBW adults (20 female, 12 male) and, 18 term, normal birthweight sibling control individuals (nine female, nine male) underwent structural MRI at a mean age of 23 years 4 months (range 17 to 33 years; SD 3.4). Images were analyzed using an automated tissue segmentation algorithm in order to estimate whole brain tissue class volumes in native space. Images were then warped to a template image in standard space. There was no significant between-group difference in whole brain, greymatter, white matter, or total cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) volumes. However, lateral ventricular volume was significantly increased by 41% in those with VLBW. The ratio of grey to white matter was also significantly increased (by 10%) in those with VLBW. Group comparison maps showed widespread changes in the distribution of grey and white matter, and relative excess of ventricular CSF, in the brains of VLBW individuals. Increased ventricular volume predicted decreased grey matter in subcortical nuclei and limbic cortical structures, and decreased periventricular white matter. We conclude that these diffuse abnormalities of grey and white matter are a consequence,of the interaction of perinatal brain injury and ongoing neurodevelopmental processes.

An Integration Methodology for Automated Recurring Cost Prediction using Digital Manufacturing Technology

The need to account for the effect of design decisions on manufacture and the impact of manufacturing cost on the life cycle cost of any product are well established. In this context, digital design and manufacturing solutions have to be further developed to facilitate and automate the integration of cost as one of the major driver in the product life cycle management. This article is to present an integration methodology for implementing cost estimation capability within a digital manufacturing environment. A digital manufacturing structure of knowledge databases are set out and the ontology of assembly and part costing that is consistent with the structure is provided. Although the methodology is currently used for recurring cost prediction, it can be well applied to other functional developments, such as process planning. A prototype tool is developed to integrate both assembly time cost and parts manufacturing costs within the same digital environment. An industrial example is used to validate this approach.

Tea tree oil (5%) body wash versus standard care (Johnson's Baby Softwash) to prevent colonization with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in critically ill adults::a randomized controlled trial

OBJECTIVES: To determine whether the daily use of 5% tea tree oil (TTO) body wash (Novabac 5% Skin Wash) compared with standard care [Johnson's Baby Softwash (JBS)] had a lower incidence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) colonization.

PATIENTS: The study setting was two intensive care units (ICUs; mixed medical, surgical and trauma) in Northern Ireland between October 2007 and July 2009. The study population comprised 391 patients who were randomized to JBS or TTO body wash.

METHODS: This was a Phase 2/3, prospective, open-label, randomized, controlled trial. Trial registration: ISRCTN65190967. The primary outcome was new MRSA colonization during ICU stay. Secondary outcomes included the incidence of MRSA bacteraemia and maximum increase in sequential organ failure assessment score.

RESULTS: A total of 445 patients were randomized to the study. After randomization, 54 patients were withdrawn; 30 because of a positive MRSA screen at study entry, 11 due to lack of consent, 11 were inappropriately randomized and 2 had adverse reactions. Thirty-nine (10%) patients developed new MRSA colonization (JBS n?=?22, 11.2%; TTO body wash n?=?17, 8.7%). The difference in percentage colonized (2.5%, 95% CI -?8.95 to 3.94; P?=?0.50) was not significant. The mean maximum increase in sequential organ failure assessment score was not significant (JBS 1.44, SD 1.92; TTO body wash 1.28, SD 1.79; P?=?0.85) and no study patients developed MRSA bacteraemia.

CONCLUSIONS: Compared with JBS, TTO body wash cannot be recommended as an effective means of reducing MRSA colonization.

Design and analysis of dual-rail circuits for security applications

Dual-rail encoding, return-to-spacer protocol, and hazard-free logic can be used to resist power analysis attacks by making energy consumed per clock cycle independent of processed data. Standard dual-rail logic uses a protocol with a single spacer, e.g., all-zeros, which gives rise to energy balancing problems. We address these problems by incorporating two spacers; the spacers alternate between adjacent clock cycles. This guarantees that all gates switch in every clock cycle regardless of the transmitted data values. To generate these dual-rail circuits, an automated tool has been developed. It is capable of converting synchronous netlists into dual-rail circuits and it is interfaced to industry CAD tools. Dual-rail and single-rail benchmarks based upon the advanced encryption standard (AES) have been simulated and compared in order to evaluate the method and the tool.

Interpreting the near-infrared spectra of the 'golden standard' Type Ia supernova 2005cf

We present nine near-infrared (NIR) spectra of supernova (SN) 2005cf at epochs from -10 to +42d with respect to B-band maximum, complementing the existing excellent data sets available for this prototypical Type Ia SN at other wavelengths. The spectra show a time evolution and spectral features characteristic of normal Type Ia SNe, as illustrated by a comparison with SNe 1999ee, 2002bo and 2003du. The broad-band spectral energy distribution (SED) of SN 2005cf is studied in combined ultraviolet (UV), optical and NIR spectra at five epochs between ~8d before and ~10d after maximum light. We also present synthetic spectra of the hydrodynamic explosion model W7, which reproduce the key properties of SN 2005cf not only at UV-optical as previously reported, but also at NIR wavelengths. From the radiative-transfer calculations we infer that fluorescence is the driving mechanism that shapes the SED of SNe Ia. In particular, the NIR part of the spectrum is almost devoid of absorption features, and instead dominated by fluorescent emission of both iron-group material and intermediate-mass elements at pre-maximum epochs, and pure iron-group material after maximum light. A single P-Cygni feature of Mgii at early epochs and a series of relatively unblended Coii lines at late phases allow us to constrain the regions of the ejecta in which the respective elements are abundant. © 2012 The Authors Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society © 2012 RAS.

A posteriori-derived dietary patterns and retinal vessel caliber in an elderly population

Purpose. To examine the association between a posteriori–derived dietary patterns (DP) and retinal vessel caliber in an elderly population.

Methods. This was a cross-sectional study of 288 elderly adults (>65 years) who participated in the European Eye study (EUREYE) Northern Irish cohort. DP were extracted using principal component analysis from completed food frequency questionnaires. Semi-automated computer grading was used to determine the mean retinal vessel diameters (central retinal arteriole equivalent [CRAE] and central retinal venule equivalent [CRVE]) from digitized visual field one images using a standard measurement protocol.

Results. Three major DP were identified in this population, which accounted for 21% of the total variance: a “healthy” pattern with high factor loadings for oily fish, fruits and vegetables, and olive oil; an “unhealthy” pattern with high factor loadings for red and processed meat, refined grains, eggs, butter, sugar and sweets; and a “snack and beverage” pattern with high factor loading for pizza, nuts, and coffee. Multivariable linear regression analysis indicated no significant association between major identified DP and mean CRAE or CRVE in all models.

Conclusions. This is the first study to investigate associations between a posteriori–derived DP and retinal vessel caliber. There was no evidence of a relationship between extracted DP and retinal vessel measurements in this population. However, it is possible that potentially important relationships exist between single nutrients or foods and vessel diameters that cannot be identified using a DP approach. Further studies to examine the role of dietary factors in the microcirculation are required.

Introducing Automated Management Through Iteratively Increased Automation and Indicators

Introducing automation into a managed environment includes significant initial overhead and abstraction, creating a disconnect between the administrator and the system. In order to facilitate the transition to automated management, this paper proposes an approach whereby automation increases gradually, gathering data from the task deployment process. This stored data is analysed to determine the task outcome status and can then be used for comparison against future deployments of the same task and alerting the administrator to deviations from the expected outcome. Using a machinelearning
approach, the automation tool can learn from the administrator's reaction to task failures and eventually react to faults autonomously.

Diagnostic accuracy and reproducibility of tendency oriented perimetry in glaucoma

PURPOSE. To evaluate the diagnostic capability of tendency oriented perimetry (TOP) in glaucoma. METHODS. A): The diagnostic accuracy of mean defect (MD), square-root of the loss variance (sLV), and number of pathologic points (NPP) was calculated in 295 normal and 414 glaucoma eyes (179 early, 112 moderate, and 123 advanced) examined with TOP. B): Threshold fluctuation (F) and its relationship with the loss variance (LV) was measured in 34 normal and 33 glaucoma eyes (mean MD=3 dB; SD=3.9) for TOP and for full-threshold perimetry (FT). C): Twenty-eight eyes with stable glaucoma (mean MD=9.5 dB; SD=7.2) were examined six times to quantify LV error. D): TOP and FT were tested with the simulation program PeriSim using different behavior models. RESULTS. A): The best diagnostic index in early glaucoma (MD

The short-term effect of topical dorzolamide compared with placebo on perimetry testing in normal subjects

Purpose. To study the effect of topical dorzolamide on retinal sensitivity in normal subjects. Methods. 20 normal subjects were prospectively randomized in a two period crossover study. Baseline threshold perimetry (HVF, program 24-2, Statpac analysis) was obtained. The study eye was randomly chosen and then was randomly assigned to receive either dorzolamide 2% or placebo one hour before repeat HVF. After at least two weeks washout the same eye was given the opposite drop one hour prior to repeat HVF. Global indices were compared using a paired T-test. Results. AFTER PLACEBO AFTER DORZOLAMIDE P-VALUE (mean±SD) (mean±SD) MD 0.12±1.4 0.16±1.4 0.82 PSD 1.83±0.6 1.66±0.4 0.04 SF 1.28±0.4 1.24±0.2 0.73 CPSD 1.05±0.9 0.84±0.6 0.35 Conclusion. In this population, topical dorzolamide had little effect on visual function.

Comparison of two fast strategies, SITA fast and TOP, for the assessment of visual fields in glaucoma patients

Purpose: To compare two fast threshold strategies of visual field assessment; SITA Fast (HSF) and Tendency Orientated Perimetry (TOP), in detecting visual field loss in patients with glaucoma. Methods: Seventy-six glaucoma, ocular hypertensive and normal patients had HSF and TOP performed in random order. Quantitative comparisons for the global visual field indices - mean deviation and defect (MD) for HSF and TOP, and pattern standard deviation (PSD) for HSF and loss variance (LV) for TOP - were made using correlation coefficients. Humphrey global parameters were converted to Octopus equivalents, and method comparison analysis was used to determine agreement between the two strategies. Test duration times were compared using t-test. Sensitivity and specificity for these two algorithms were determined according to predetermined criteria. Results: High correlation coefficient values were obtained for MD measurements between HSF and TOP (r=-0.89, P