Automated edge-detection technique for measurement of brachial artery reactivity: A comparison of concordance with manual measurements

Concerns have been raised about the reproducibility of brachial artery reactivity (BAR), because subjective decisions regarding the location of interfaces may influence the measurement of very small changes in lumen diameter. We studied 120 consecutive patients with BAR to address if an automated technique could be applied, and if experience influenced reproducibility between two observers, one experienced and one inexperienced. Digital cineloops were measured automatically, using software that measures the leading edge of the endothelium and tracks this in sequential frames and also manually, where a set of three point-to-point measurements were averaged. There was a high correlation between automated and manual techniques for both observers, although less variability was present with expert readers. The limits of agreement overall for interobserver concordance were 0.13 +/-0.65 mm for the manual and 0.03 +/-0.74 mm for the automated measurement. For intraobserver concordance, the limits of agreement were -0.07 +/-0.38 mm for observer 1 and -0.16 +/-0.55 mm for observer 2. We concluded that BAR measurements were highly concordant between observers, although more concordant using the automated method, and that experience does affect concordance. Care must be taken to ensure that the same segments are measured between observers and serially.

Using measurement data in a TSPSM project

One of the challenges for software engineering is collecting meaningful data from industrial projects. Software process improvement depends on measurement to provide baseline status and confirming evidence of the effect of process changes. Without data, any conclusions rely on intuition and guessing. The Team Software ProcessSM (TSPSM) provides a powerful framework for data collection and analysis, in addition to its primary goal as a basis for highly effective software development. In this paper, we describe the experiences of, and benefits realized by, a team using the TSP for the first time. By reviewing how this particular team collected and used data, we show features of the TSP that make it a powerful foundation for software process improvement.

Are echo techniques comparable for measurement of left ventricular dysynchrony? Comparison of real time 3D and tissue Doppler echocardiography in patients with ischaemic cardiomyopathy

Tissue Doppler (TD) assessment of dysynchrony (DYS) is established in evaluation for bi-ventricular pacing. Time to regional minimal volume by real-time 3D echo (3D) has been applied to DYS. 3D offers simultaneous assessment of all segments and may limit errors in localization of maximum delay due to off-axis images.We compared TD and 3D for assessment of DYS. 27 patients with ischaemic cardiomyopathy (aged 60±11 years, 85% male) underwent TD with generation of regional velocity curves. The interval between QRS onset and maximal systolic velocity (TTV) was measured in 6 basal and 6 mid-cavity segments. Onthe same day,3Dwas performed and data analysed offline with Q-Lab software (Philips, Andover, MA). Using 12 analogous regional time-volume curves time to minimal volume (T3D)was calculated. The standard deviation (S.D.) between segments in TTV and T3D was calculated as a measure ofDYS. In 7 patients itwas not possible to measureT3D due to poor images. In the remaining 20, LV diastolic volume, systolic volume and EF were 128±35 ml, 68±23 ml and 46±13%, respectively. Mean TTV was less than mean T3D (150±33ms versus 348±54 ms; p < 0.01). The intrapatient range was 20–210ms for TTV and 0–410ms for T3D. Of 9 patients (45%) with significantDYS (S.D. TTV > 32 ms), S.D. T3D was 69±37ms compared to 48±34ms in those without DYS (p = ns). In DYS patients there was concordance of the most delayed segment in 4 (44%) cases.Therefore, different techniques for assessing DYS are not directly comparable. Specific cut-offs for DYS are needed for each technique.

Proceedings Ninth Asia-Pacific Software Engineering Conference. ASPEC 2002

The following topics are dealt with: Requirements engineering; components; design; formal specification analysis; education; model checking; human computer interaction; software design and architecture; formal methods and components; software maintenance; software process; formal methods and design; server-based applications; review and testing; measurement; documentation; management and knowledge-based approaches.

Measurement of functional ability following traumatic brain injury using the Clinical Outcomes Variable Scale: A reliability study

This study determined the inter-tester and intra-tester reliability of physiotherapists measuring functional motor ability of traumatic brain injury clients using the Clinical Outcomes Variable Scale (COVS). To test inter-tester reliability, 14 physiotherapists scored the ability of 16 videotaped patients to execute the items that comprise the COVS. Intra-tester reliability was determined by four physiotherapists repeating their assessments after one week, and three months later. The intra-class correlation coefficients (ICC) were very high for both inter-tester reliability (ICC > 0.97 for total COVS scores, ICC > 0.93 for individual COVS items) and intra-tester reliability (ICC > 0.97). This study demonstrates that physiotherapists are reliable in the administration of the COVS.

The BCD transient recorder revisited: firmware for the ISA-to-USB bridging card and software for the graphical user interface

This report describes recent updates to the custom-built data-acquisition hardware operated by the Center for Hypersonics. In 2006, an ISA-to-USB bridging card was developed as part of Luke Hillyard's final-year thesis. This card allows the hardware to be connected to any recent personal computers via a (USB or RS232) serial port and it provides a number of simple text-based commands for control of the hardware. A graphical user interface program was also updated to help the experimenter manage the data acquisition functions. Sampled data is stored in text files that have been compressed with the gzip for mat. To simplify the later archiving or transport of the data, all files specific to a shot are stored in a single directory. This includes a text file for the run description, the signal configuration file and the individual sampled-data files, one for each signal that was recorded.

Measurement Function Design for Visual Tracking Applications

Extracting human postural information from video sequences has proved a difficult research question. The most successful approaches to date have been based on particle filtering, whereby the underlying probability distribution is approximated by a set of particles. The shape of the underlying observational probability distribution plays a significant role in determining the success, both accuracy and efficiency, of any visual tracker. In this paper we compare approaches used by other authors and present a cost path approach which is commonly used in image segmentation problems, however is currently not widely used in tracking applications.

XSophe-Sophe-XeprView (R). A computer simulation software suite (v. 1.1.3) for the analysis of continuous wave EPR spectra

The XSophe-Sophe-XeprView((R)) computer simulation software suite enables scientists to easily determine spin Hamiltonian parameters from isotropic, randomly oriented and single crystal continuous wave electron paramagnetic resonance (CW EPR) spectra from radicals and isolated paramagnetic metal ion centers or clusters found in metalloproteins, chemical systems and materials science. XSophe provides an X-windows graphical user interface to the Sophe programme and allows: creation of multiple input files, local and remote execution of Sophe, the display of sophelog (output from Sophe) and input parameters/files. Sophe is a sophisticated computer simulation software programme employing a number of innovative technologies including; the Sydney OPera HousE (SOPHE) partition and interpolation schemes, a field segmentation algorithm, the mosaic misorientation linewidth model, parallelization and spectral optimisation. In conjunction with the SOPHE partition scheme and the field segmentation algorithm, the SOPHE interpolation scheme and the mosaic misorientation linewidth model greatly increase the speed of simulations for most spin systems. Employing brute force matrix diagonalization in the simulation of an EPR spectrum from a high spin Cr(III) complex with the spin Hamiltonian parameters g(e) = 2.00, D = 0.10 cm(-1), E/D = 0.25, A(x) = 120.0, A(y) = 120.0, A(z) = 240.0 x 10(-4) cm(-1) requires a SOPHE grid size of N = 400 (to produce a good signal to noise ratio) and takes 229.47 s. In contrast the use of either the SOPHE interpolation scheme or the mosaic misorientation linewidth model requires a SOPHE grid size of only N = 18 and takes 44.08 and 0.79 s, respectively. Results from Sophe are transferred via the Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA) to XSophe and subsequently to XeprView((R)) where the simulated CW EPR spectra (1D and 2D) can be compared to the experimental spectra. Energy level diagrams, transition roadmaps and transition surfaces aid the interpretation of complicated randomly oriented CW EPR spectra and can be viewed with a web browser and an OpenInventor scene graph viewer.

Using FCD Mapper Software and Landsat Images to Assess Forest Canopy Density in Landscapes in Australia and the Philippines

Using Landsat imagery, forest canopy density (FCD) estimated with the FCD Mapper®, was correlated with predominant height (PDH, measured as the average height of the tallest 50 trees per hectare) for 20 field plots measured in native forest at Noosa Heads, south-east Queensland, Australia. A corresponding image was used to calculate FCD in Leyte Island, the Philippines and was validated on the ground for accuracy. The FCD Mapper was produced for the International Tropical Timber Organisation and estimates FCD as an index of canopy density using reflectance characteristics of Landsat Enhanced Thematic (ETM) Mapper images. The FCD Mapper is a ‘semi-expert’ computer program which uses interactive screens to allow the operator to make decisions concerning the classification of land into bare soil, grass and forest. At Noosa, a positive strong nonlinear relationship (r2 = 0.86) was found between FCD and PDH for 15 field plots with variable PDH but complete canopy closure. An additional five field plots were measured in forest with a broken canopy and the software assessed these plots as having a much lower FCD than forest with canopy closure. FCD estimates for forest and agricultural land in the island of Leyte and subsequent field validation showed that at appropriate settings, the FCD Mapper differentiated between tropical rainforest and banana or coconut plantation. These findings suggest that in forests with a closed canopy this remote sensing technique has promise for forest inventory and productivity assessment. The findings also suggest that the software has promise for discriminating between native forest with a complete canopy and forest which has a broken canopy, such as coconut or banana plantation.

Examination into the accuracy of exchangeable cation measurement in saline soils

Despite the increasing prevalence of salinity world-wide, the measurement of exchangeable cation concentrations in saline soils remains problematic. Two soil types (Mollisol and Vertisol) were equilibrated with a range of sodium adsorption ratio (SAR) solutions at various ionic strengths. The concentrations of exchangeable cations were then determined using several different types of methods, and the measured exchangeable cation concentrations compared to reference values. At low ionic strength (low salinity), the concentration of exchangeable cations can be accurately estimated from the total soil extractable cations. In saline soils, however, the presence of soluble salts in the soil solution precludes the use of this method. Leaching of the soil with a pre-wash solution (such as alcohol) was found to effectively remove the soluble salts from the soil, thus allowing the accurate measurement of the effective cation exchange capacity (ECEC). However, the dilution associated with this pre-washing increased the exchangeable Ca concentrations while simultaneously decreasing exchangeable Na. In contrast, when calculated as the difference between the total extractable cations and the soil solution cations, good correlations were found between the calculated exchangeable cation concentrations and the reference values for both Na (Mollisol: y=0.873x and Vertisol: y=0.960x) and Ca (Mollisol: y=0.901x and Vertisol: y=1.05x). Therefore, for soils with a soil solution ionic strength greater than 50 mM (electrical conductivity of 4 dS/m) (in which exchangeable cation concentrations are overestimated by the assumption they can be estimated as the total extractable cations), concentrations can be calculated as the difference between total extractable cations and soluble cations.

Measurement and state preparation via ion trap quantum computing

We investigate in detail the effects of a QND vibrational number measurement made on single ions in a recently proposed measurement scheme for the vibrational state of a register of ions in a linear rf trap [C. D'HELON and G. J. MILBURN, Phys Rev. A 54, 5141 (1996)]. The performance of a measurement shows some interesting patterns which are closely related to searching.

Expokit: A software package for computing matrix exponentials

Expokit provides a set of routines aimed at computing matrix exponentials. More precisely, it computes either a small matrix exponential in full, the action of a large sparse matrix exponential on an operand vector, or the solution of a system of linear ODEs with constant inhomogeneity. The backbone of the sparse routines consists of matrix-free Krylov subspace projection methods (Arnoldi and Lanczos processes), and that is why the toolkit is capable of coping with sparse matrices of large dimension. The software handles real and complex matrices and provides specific routines for symmetric and Hermitian matrices. The computation of matrix exponentials is a numerical issue of critical importance in the area of Markov chains and furthermore, the computed solution is subject to probabilistic constraints. In addition to addressing general matrix exponentials, a distinct attention is assigned to the computation of transient states of Markov chains.