VIRTOPSY - the Swiss virtual autopsy approach

The aim of the VIRTOPSY project () is utilizing radiological scanning to push low-tech documentation and autopsy procedures in a world of high-tech medicine in order to improve scientific value, to increase significance and quality in the forensic field. The term VIRTOPSY was created from the terms virtual and autopsy: Virtual is derived from the Latin word 'virtus', which means 'useful, efficient and good'. Autopsy is a combination of the old Greek terms 'autos' (=self) and 'opsomei' (=I will see). Thus autopsy means 'to see with ones own eyes'. Because our goal was to eliminate the subjectivity of "autos", we merged the two terms virtual and autopsy - deleting "autos" - to create VIRTOPSY. Today the project VIRTOPSY combining the research topics under one scientific umbrella, is characterized by a trans-disciplinary research approach that combines Forensic Medicine, Pathology, Radiology, Image Processing, Physics, and Biomechanics to an international scientific network. The paper will give an overview of the Virtopsy change process in forensic medicine.

[Community-acquired pneumonia--pathogens and assessment]

Pneumonia is one of the most important infectious diseases, both in terms of incidence as well as potential severity. Streptococcus pneumoniae remains the most prevalent etiologic agent, accounting for about two-thirds of bacteremic cases. Diagnostic procedures include chest radiography, blood culture, Gram staining and culture of expectorated sputum, urine antigen assays for Legionella pneumophila and pneumococci, and asservation of an initial serum sample for comparative serologic investigations. Molecular biology techniques continue to gain importance for the diagnosis of Chlamydia pneumoniae, Mycoplasma pneumoniae, Legionellae and viral respiratory infections, however, their availability at present is mainly restricted to research and reference laboratories.

Understanding volcanic processes using UV camera measurements of sulfur dioxide and coincident infrasound and seismicity

The exsolution of volatiles from magma maintains an important control on volcanic eruption styles. The nucleation, growth, and connectivity of bubbles during magma ascent provide the driving force behind eruptions, and the rate, volume, and ease of gas exsolution can affect eruptive activity. Volcanic plumes are the observable consequence of this magmatic degassing, and remote sensing techniques allow us to quantify changes in gas exsolution. However, until recently the methods used to measure volcanic plumes did not have the capability of detecting rapid changes in degassing on the scale of standard geophysical observations. The advent of the UV camera now makes high sample rate gas measurements possible. This type of dataset can then be compared to other volcanic observations to provide an in depth picture of degassing mechanisms in the shallow conduit. The goals of this research are to develop a robust methodology for UV camera field measurements of volcanic plumes, and utilize this data in conjunction with seismoacoustic records to illuminate degassing processes. Field and laboratory experiments were conducted to determine the effects of imaging conditions, vignetting, exposure time, calibration technique, and filter usage on the UV camera sulfur dioxide measurements. Using the best practices determined from these studies, a field campaign was undertaken at Volcán de Pacaya, Guatemala. Coincident plume sulfur dioxide measurements, acoustic recordings, and seismic observations were collected and analyzed jointly. The results provide insight into the small explosive features, variations in degassing rate, and plumbing system of this complex volcanic system. This research provides useful information for determining volcanic hazard at Pacaya, and demonstrates the potential of the UV camera in multiparameter studies.

Neurally adjusted ventilatory assist decreases ventilator-induced lung injury and non-pulmonary organ dysfunction in rabbits with acute lung injury

OBJECTIVE: To determine if neurally adjusted ventilatory assist (NAVA) that delivers pressure in proportion to diaphragm electrical activity is as protective to acutely injured lungs (ALI) and non-pulmonary organs as volume controlled (VC), low tidal volume (Vt), high positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) ventilation. DESIGN: Prospective, randomized, laboratory animal study. SUBJECTS: Twenty-seven male New Zealand white rabbits. INTERVENTIONS: Anesthetized rabbits with hydrochloric acid-induced ALI were randomized (n = 9 per group) to 5.5 h NAVA (non-paralyzed), VC (paralyzed; Vt 6-ml/kg), or VC (paralyzed; Vt 15-ml/kg). PEEP was adjusted to hemodynamic goals in NAVA and VC6-ml/kg, and was 1 cmH2O in VC15-ml/kg. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: PaO2/FiO2; lung wet-to-dry ratio; lung histology; interleukin-8 (IL-8) concentrations in broncho-alveolar-lavage (BAL) fluid, plasma, and non-pulmonary organs; plasminogen activator inhibitor type-1 and tissue factor in BAL fluid and plasma; non-pulmonary organ apoptosis rate; creatinine clearance; echocardiography. PEEP was similar in NAVA and VC6-ml/kg. During NAVA, Vt was lower (3.1 +/- 0.9 ml/kg), whereas PaO2/ FiO2, respiratory rate, and PaCO2 were higher compared to VC6-ml/kg (p<0.05 for all). Variables assessing ventilator-induced lung injury (VILI), IL-8 levels, non-pulmonary organ apoptosis rate, and kidney as well as cardiac performance were similar in NAVA compared to VC6-ml/kg. VILI and non-pulmonary organ dysfunction was attenuated in both groups compared to VC15-ml/kg. CONCLUSIONS: In anesthetized rabbits with early experimental ALI, NAVA is as effective as VC6-ml/kg in preventing VILI, in attenuating excessive systemic and remote organ inflammation, and in preserving cardiac and kidney function.

System Architecture of a Mixed Reality Framework

In this paper the software architecture of a framework which simplifies the development of applications in the area of Virtual and Augmented Reality is presented. It is based on VRML/X3D to enable rendering of audio-visual information. We extended our VRML rendering system by a device management system that is based on the concept of a data-flow graph. The aim of the system is to create Mixed Reality (MR) applications simply by plugging together small prefabricated software components, instead of compiling monolithic C++ applications. The flexibility and the advantages of the presented framework are explained on the basis of an exemplary implementation of a classic Augmented Realityapplication and its extension to a collaborative remote expert scenario.

Increasing Realism and Supporting Content Planning for Dynamic Scenes in a Mixed Reality System incorporating a Time-of-Flight Camera

For broadcasting purposes MIXED REALITY, the combination of real and virtual scene content, has become ubiquitous nowadays. Mixed Reality recording still requires expensive studio setups and is often limited to simple color keying. We present a system for Mixed Reality applications which uses depth keying and provides threedimensional mixing of real and artificial content. It features enhanced realism through automatic shadow computation which we consider a core issue to obtain realism and a convincing visual perception, besides the correct alignment of the two modalities and correct occlusion handling. Furthermore we present a possibility to support placement of virtual content in the scene. Core feature of our system is the incorporation of a TIME-OF-FLIGHT (TOF)-camera device. This device delivers real-time depth images of the environment at a reasonable resolution and quality. This camera is used to build a static environment model and it also allows correct handling of mutual occlusions between real and virtual content, shadow computation and enhanced content planning. The presented system is inexpensive, compact, mobile, flexible and provides convenient calibration procedures. Chroma-keying is replaced by depth-keying which is efficiently performed on the GRAPHICS PROCESSING UNIT (GPU) by the usage of an environment model and the current ToF-camera image. Automatic extraction and tracking of dynamic scene content is herewith performed and this information is used for planning and alignment of virtual content. An additional sustainable feature is that depth maps of the mixed content are available in real-time, which makes the approach suitable for future 3DTV productions. The presented paper gives an overview of the whole system approach including camera calibration, environment model generation, real-time keying and mixing of virtual and real content, shadowing for virtual content and dynamic object tracking for content planning.

Molecular cytogenetics and gene mapping in sheep (Ovis aries, 2n = 54)

The development of a completely annotated sheep genome sequence is a key need for understanding the phylogenetic relationships and genetic diversity among the many different sheep breeds worldwide and for identifying genes controlling economically and physiologically important traits. The ovine genome sequence assembly will be crucial for developing optimized breeding programs based on highly productive, healthy sheep phenotypes that are adapted to modern breeding and production conditions. Scientists and breeders around the globe have been contributing to this goal by generating genomic and cDNA libraries, performing genome-wide and trait-associated analyses of polymorphism, expression analysis, genome sequencing, and by developing virtual and physical comparative maps. The International Sheep Genomics Consortium (ISGC), an informal network of sheep genomics researchers, is playing a major role in coordinating many of these activities. In addition to serving as an essential tool for monitoring chromosome abnormalities in specific sheep populations, ovine molecular cytogenetics provides physical anchors which link and order genome regions, such as sequence contigs, genes and polymorphic DNA markers to ovine chromosomes. Likewise, molecular cytogenetics can contribute to the process of defining evolutionary breakpoints between related species. The selective expansion of the sheep cytogenetic map, using loci to connect maps and identify chromosome bands, can substantially contribute to improving the quality of the annotated sheep genome sequence and will also accelerate its assembly. Furthermore, identifying major morphological chromosome anomalies and micro-rearrangements, such as gene duplications or deletions, that might occur between different sheep breeds and other Ovis species will also be important to understand the diversity of sheep chromosome structure and its implications for cross-breeding. To date, 566 loci have been assigned to specific chromosome regions in sheep and the new cytogenetic map is presented as part of this review. This review will also summarize the current cytogenomic status of the sheep genome, describe current activities in the sheep cytogenomics research sector, and will discuss the cytogenomics data in context with other major sheep genomics projects.