Resilient video coding using difference expansion and histogram modification

Recent advances in multimedia technology have paved the way to the development of several applications, including digital TV broadcasting, mobile TV, mobile gaming and telemedicine. Nonetheless, real time multimedia services still provide challenges as reliable delivery of the content cannot be guaranteed. The video compression standards incorporate error resilient mechanisms to mitigate this effect. However, these methods assume a packet-loss scenario, where corrupted slices are dropped and concealed by the decoder. This paper presents the application of reversible watermarking techniques to facilitate the detection of corrupted macroblocks. A variable checksum is embedded within the coefficient levels and motion vectors, which is then used by the decoder to detect corrupted macroblocks which are concealed. The proposed method employs difference expansion to protect the level values while histogram modification was employed to protect the motion vectors. Unlike previous published work by the same author, this scheme does not need the transmission of side information to aid the recovery of the original level and motion vector values. Simulation results have indicated that significant gains in performance can be achieved over the H.264/AVC standard.peer-reviewe

THE CONTRIBUTION OF SIMPLE PRESENT TENSE MASTERY TOWARD SPEAKING ABILITY OF THE SECOND YEAR STUDENTS OF ISLAMIC SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL AL-QASIMIYAH SOREK 1 PELALAWAN REGENCY

This research is aimed at finding out the contribution of simple present tense mastery toward speaking ability. The subject of this research is the second year students of Islamic Senior High School Al-Qasimiyah Sorek 1 whereas; the objects of this research are students’ simple present tense mastery and their speaking ability. The population of this research is 35 students. Because the number of population is lower than 100, the writer takes all population as sample. In this case, the writer uses the total sampling technique. In collecting data, the writer used test. The test was used to find out the contribution of simple present tense mastery toward students’ speaking ability. In analyzing data, the writer uses the simple regression analysis. The simple regression formula is as follows: Based on data analysis, done by using SPSS 17.0 version program, it can be seen that Fo is 18.121. it is higher than F table either at 5% or 1%. At level 5%, F table is (4.13) and at level 1%, F table is (7.44). So that, the writer can conclude that Ho is rejected and Ha is accepted. It means that there is a positive significant contribution of X toward Y (students’ simple present tense mastery toward speaking ability of the second year students of Islamic Senior High School Al- Qasimiyah Sorek 1 Pelalawan Regency). The percentage of the contribution of simple present tense mastery toward speaking ability is 35% after calculating r².100. It means that the contribution of simple present tense mastery toward speaking ability is 35% and the rest 65% is influenced by other factors. Finally, in accordance with writer’s investigation, the students’ simple present tense mastery is classified into enough and the students’ speaking ability is classified into good

What is the experience of receiving healthcare for neck pain?

This study used a descriptive phenomenological approach to describe the experience of finding and receiving health services for neck pain. Nineteen participants (18 females, 1 male) with neck pain (>3 months) were interviewed using a semi-structured questionnaire guide. Interviews were recorded, transcribed and coded. Two overarching themes described the experience: complexity in finding effective health care; and the need for informative, personalized, respectful communication. Complexity in finding effective health care was attributed to the variable approach and effectiveness of different health professionals, the need to experiment with care to find what works, the need to differentiate temporary versus permanent treatment effects, concerns about treatment side effects and the sense that financial factors influence personal treatment choices and provider behaviours. The need for informative, personalized, respectful communications was broken down into the following subthemes: the importance of being listened to, seen and believed; the need for useful information; and a desire to have outcomes formally tracked as a means of individualizing treatment. Overall, patients struggled to navigate the variable health services and providers that were available and that provided variable outcomes. They often did so through a trial and error approach. As such, patients remain open to unproven, even controversial treatment options. Research evidence was not a key ingredient in patient decision-making about accessing health services. The environmental, personal, health behavior factors interacted to contribute to health service utilization and would increase the burden of these for both the individual and society at large. The effectiveness of neck pain interventions is dependent on complex interactions between the context, individual, and health care provider, therefore, physiological responses cannot be considered as being distinct from these determinants

Villages and Globalisation: Introduction

A short introduction to the Villages and Globalisation issue of Architecture and Culture journal. Guest edited by Ben Stringer

The impact of extracerebral organ failure on outcome of patients after cardiac arrest : An observational study from the ICON database

Publisher Copyright: © 2016 The Author(s).Background: We used data from a large international database to assess the incidence and impact of extracerebral organ dysfunction on prognosis of patients admitted after cardiac arrest (CA). Methods: This was a sub-analysis of the Intensive Care Over Nations (ICON) database, which contains data from all adult patients admitted to one of 730 participating intensive care units (ICUs) in 84 countries from 8-18 May 2012, except admissions for routine postoperative surveillance. For this analysis, patients admitted after CA (defined as those with "post-anoxic coma" or "cardiac arrest" as the reason for ICU admission) were included. Data were collected daily in the ICU for a maximum of 28 days; patients were followed up for outcome data until death, hospital discharge, or a maximum of 60 days in-hospital. Favorable neurological outcome was defined as alive at hospital discharge with a last available neurological Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) subscore of 0-2. Results: Among the 469 patients admitted after CA, 250 (53 %) had had out-of-hospital CA; 210 (45 %) patients died in the ICU and 357 (76 %) had an unfavorable neurological outcome. Non-survivors had a higher incidence of renal (43 vs. 16 %), cardiovascular (56 vs. 45 %), and respiratory (62 vs. 48 %) failure on admission and during the ICU stay than survivors (all p < 0.05). Similar results were found for patients with unfavorable vs. favorable neurological outcomes. In multivariable analysis, independent predictors of ICU mortality were renal failure on admission, high admission Simplified Acute Physiology Score (SAPS) II, high maximum serum lactate levels within the first 24 h after ICU admission, and development of sepsis. Independent predictors of unfavorable neurological outcome were mechanical ventilation on admission, high admission SAPS II score, and neurological dysfunction on admission. Conclusions: In this multicenter cohort, extracerebral organ dysfunction was common in CA patients. Renal failure on admission was the only extracerebral organ dysfunction independently associated with higher ICU mortality.publishersversionPeer reviewe

Author Attributions in Medieval Text Collections:An Exploration

This article examines the role and function of author attributions in multi-text manuscripts containing Dutch, English, French or German short verse narratives. The findings represent one strand of the investigations undertaken by the cross-European project ‘The Dynamics of the Medieval Manuscript’, which analysed the dissemination of short verse narratives and the principles of organisation underlying the compilation of text collections. Whilst short verse narratives are more commonly disseminated anonymously, there are manuscripts in which authorship is repeatedly attributed to a text or corpus. Through six case studies, this article explores medieval concepts of authorship and how they relate to constructions of authority, whether regarding an empirical figure or a literary construction. In addition, it looks at how authorship plays a role in manuscript compilation, and at the effects of attributions (by author and/or compiler) on reception. The case studies include manuscripts from the thirteenth to fifteenth centuries, produced in a range of social and cultural contexts, and featuring some of the most important European authors of short verse narratives: Rutebeuf, Baudouin de Condé, Der Stricker, Konrad von Würzburg, Willem of Hildegaersberch, and Geoffrey Chaucer. The preliminary findings contribute to our understanding of author attributions in text collections from across northern Europe and point towards future lines of enquiry into the role of authorship in medieval textual dissemination

The use of interim data and Data Monitoring Committee recommendations in randomized controlled trial reports: frequency, implications and potential sources of bias

Background: Interim analysis of accumulating trial data is important to protect participant safety during randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Data Monitoring Committees (DMCs) often undertake such analyses, but their widening role may lead to extended use of interim analysis or recommendations that could potentially bias trial results.Methods: Systematic search of eight major publications: Annals of Internal Medicine, BMJ, Circulation, CID, JAMA, JCO, Lancet and NEJM, including all randomised controlled trials ( RCTs) between June 2000 and May 2005 to identify RCTs that reported use of interim analysis, with or without DMC involvement. Recommendations made by the DMC or based on interim analysis were identified and potential sources of bias assessed. Independent double data extraction was performed on all included trials.Results: We identified 1772 RCTs, of which 470 (27%; 470/1772) reported the use of a DMC and a further 116 (7%; 116/1772) trials reported some form of interim analysis without explicit mention of a DMC. There were 28 trials ( 24 with a formal DMC), randomizing a total of 79396 participants, identified as recommending changes to the trial that may have lead to biased results. In most of these, some form of sample size re-estimation was recommended with four trials also reporting changes to trial endpoints. The review relied on information reported in the primary publications and methods papers relating to the trials, higher rates of use may have occurred but not been reported.Conclusion: The reported use of interim analysis and DMCs in clinical trials has been increasing in recent years. It is reassuring that in most cases recommendations were made in the interest of participant safety. However, in practice, recommendations that may lead to potentially biased trial results are being made

How do multi-stage, multi-arm trials compare to the traditional two-arm parallel group design – a reanalysis of 4 trials

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>To speed up the evaluation of new therapies, the multi-arm, multi-stage trial design was suggested previously by the authors.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In this paper, we evaluate the performance of the two-stage, multi-arm design using four cancer trials conducted at the MRC CTU. The performance of the design at fictitious interim analyses is assessed using a conditional bootstrap approach.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Two main aims are addressed: the error rate of correctly carrying on/stopping the trial at an interim analysis as well as quantifying the gains in terms of resources by employing this design. Furthermore, we make suggestions for the best timing of this interim analysis.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Multi-arm, multi-stage trials are an effective way of speeding up the therapy evaluation process. The design performs well in terms of the type I and II error rates.</p

A UK consensus on optimising CVD secondary prevention care: perspectives from multidisciplinary team members

Although overall cardiovascular (CV) mortality has declined in recent years, patients with clinically manifest cardiovascular disease (CVD) remain at increased risk of recurrent CV events. To minimise the likelihood of future CV events following an acute myocardial infarction (MI), changes in diet and lifestyle, alongside pharmaceutical interventions, such as dual antiplatelet therapy, a β-blocker, an ACE inhibitor, and a statin, are recommended within current clinical guidelines. The use of cardiac rehabilitation (CR) programmes has been shown to be highly effective in reducing mortality and morbidity following MI, and a cost-benefit analysis suggests that increasing the uptake of CR to 65% among eligible patient would result in potential cost savings of over £30 million annually for the NHS. The involvement of a multidisciplinary team (MDT) of healthcare professionals is central to delivering post-MI care, with initial and/or ongoing input from cardiologists, hospital-based specialist pharmacists, specialist nurses, GPs, dietitians, smoking cessation specialists and practice-based and community pharmacists, among others. This consensus statement was developed based on a meeting of HCPs actively involved in delivering CV secondary prevention care at primary and secondary care centres across the UK. Recognising that HCP team configuration and availability of resources/services vary by location, the authors have focused on three common themes which have broad relevance in CVD secondary prevention, specifically: integration of care, medicines optimisation, and encouraging patient activation. Opportunities for MDT members to improve outcomes in post-MI patients are suggested and examples of best practice models which have been implemented successfully are described