130,159 research outputs found
Die Oklahoma Post
No full textWeekly newspaper from Okeene, Oklahoma that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising
Fast mode decision for the H.264∕AVC video coding standard based on frequency domain motion estimation
No full textThe H.264 video coding standard achieves high performance compression and image quality at the expense of increased encoding complexity. Consequently, several fast mode decision and motion estimation techniques have been developed to reduce the computational cost. These approaches successfully reduce the computational time by reducing the image quality and/or increasing the bitrate. In this paper we propose a novel fast mode decision and motion estimation technique. The algorithm utilizes preprocessing frequency domain motion estimation in order to accurately predict the best mode and the search range. Experimental results show that the proposed algorithm significantly reduces the motion estimation time by up to 97%, while maintaining similar rate distortion performance when compared to the Joint Model software
Fast intra prediction in the transform domain
No full textIn this paper, we present a fast intra prediction method based on separating the transformed coefficients. The
prediction block can be obtained from the transformed and quantized neighboring block generating minimum distortion
for each DC and AC coefficients independently. Two prediction methods are proposed, one is full block search
prediction (FBSP) and the other is edge based distance prediction (EBDP), that find the best matched transformed
coefficients on additional neighboring blocks. Experimental results show that the use of transform coefficients
greatly enhances the efficiency of intra prediction whilst keeping complexity low compared to H.264/AVC
Louisa K. Fast March 12th, 1935 Correspondence to Beatrice H. Marsh
No full textA letter from Louisa K. Fast to Miss Beatrice H. Marsh, the executive secretary of the National League of Women Voters. It is dated March 12, 1935. This copy is on onion skin paper.
Louisa K. Fast was a prominent member in the Women's Suffrage Association, which later became the League of Women Voters in 1920. She was employed by the LWV to speak throughout Ohio to encourage women to form local chapters of the group. Later, Miss Fast was employed in the New York office of the International Relations Branch of the LWV. In April 1935 Miss Fast was preparing for the International Conference in Istanbul that was sponsored by the International Alliance of Women For Suffrage and Equal Citizenship.
The collection of Louisa K. Fast correspondence is related to the League of Women Voters. This letter is from a private collection and was loaned to the library by Bonnie Boroff
The results of the Delft Systematic Deadrise Series
No full textIn the present paper the development of the Delft Systematic Deadrise Series (DSDS) is described. The DSDS has been under development for decades by now and consists of a large family of systematically varied hard chine planing monohulls, based on the original research by Clement and Blount, which have all been tested in the same speed range, changing the same parameters and using the same experimental set up. The rationale behind the DSDS is highlighted. The DSDS contains up to now some 24 different models in 350 different conditions all tested in the same speed range between Fn∇ = 0.75 and Fn∇ = 3.0. Recently there has been a new extension to the DSDS with the inclusion of more measurements on hulls with twisted bottom and rocker in the aft ship. These results are presented in this paper.In addition detailed access is facilitated to all the hull geometries used into the DSDS and to all the raw measurement data obtained during the tests by means of free access to a dedicated website.Ship Hydromechanics and Structure
Experimental and numerical investigation on the heel and drift induced hydrodynamical loads of a high speed craft
No full textIn order to provide an insight into the manoeuvring of high speed crafts, an experimental study was undertaken at the towing tank of Delft University of Technology, using a rescue vessel of the Royal Netherlands Sea Rescue Institution (KNRM).Ship Hydromechanics and Structure
Risk factor analysis for fast track protocol failure
No full textBackground: The introduction of fast-track treatment procedures following cardiac surgery has significantly shortened hospitalisation times in intensive care units (ICU). Readmission to intensive care units is generally considered a negative quality criterion. The aim of this retrospective study is to statistically analyse risk factors and predictors for re-admission to the ICU after a fast-track patient management program.
Methods: 229 operated patients (67 ± 11 years, 75% male, BMI 27 ± 3, 6/2010-5/2011) with use of extracorporeal circulation (70 ± 31 min aortic crossclamping, CABG 62%) were selected for a preoperative fast-track procedure (transfer on the day of surgery to an intermediate care (IMC) unit, stable circulatory conditions, extubated). A uni- and multivariate analysis were performed to identify independent predictors for re-admission to the ICU.
Results: Over the 11-month study period, 36% of all preoperatively declared fast-track patients could not be transferred to an IMC unit on the day of surgery (n = 77) or had to be readmitted to the ICU after the first postoperative day (n = 4). Readmission or ICU stay signifies a dramatic worsening of the patient outcome (mortality 0/10%, mean hospital stay 10.3 ± 2.5/16.5 ± 16.3, mean transfusion rate 1.4 ± 1,7/5.3 ± 9.1). Predicators for failure of the fast-track procedure are a preoperative ASA class > 3, NYHA class > III and an operation time >267 min ± 74. The significant risk factors for a major postoperative event (= low cardiac output and/or mortality and/or renal failure and/or re-thoracotomy and/or septic shock and/or wound healing disturbances and/or stroke) are a poor EF (OR 2.7 CI 95% 0.98-7.6) and the described ICU readmission (OR 0.14 CI95% 0.05-0.36).
Conclusion: Re-admission to the ICU or failure to transfer patients to the IMC is associated with a high loss of patient outcome. The ASA > 3, NYHA class > 3 and operation time >267 minutes are independent predictors of fast track protocol failure
Efficient intra- and inter-mode selection algorithms for H.264/AVC
No full textH.264/AVC standard is one of the most popular video formats for the next generation video coding. It provides a better performance in compression capability and visual quality compared to any existing video coding standards. Intra-frame mode selection and inter-frame mode selection are new features introduced in the H.264/ AVC standard. Intra-frame mode selection dramatically reduces spatial redundancy in I-frames, while inter-frame mode selection significantly affects the output quality of P-/B-frames by selecting an optimal block size with motion vector(s) or a mode for each macroblock. Unfortunately, this feature requires a myriad amount of encoding time especially when a brute force full-search method is utilised. In this report, we propose fast mode-selection algorithms tailored for both intra-frames and inter-frames. The proposed fast intra-frame mode algorithm is achieved by reducing the computational complexity of the Lagrangian rate-distortion optimisation evaluation. Two proposed fast inter-frame mode algorithms incorporate several robust and reliable predictive factors, including intrinsic complexity of the macroblock, mode knowledge from the previous frame(s), temporal similarity detection and the detection of different moving features within a macroblock, to effectively reduce the number of search operations. Complete and extensive simulations are provided respectively in these two chapters to demonstrate the performances. Finally, we combine our contributions to form two novel fast mode algorithms for H.264/AVC video coding. The simulations on different classes of test sequences demonstrate a speed up in encoding time of up to 86% compared with the H.264/AVC benchmark. This is achieved without any significant degradation in picture quality and compression ratio
Cortisol response and immune-related effects of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar Linnaeus) subjected to short- and long-term stress
No full textIt is generally considered that stress causes decreased immune function in fish. In this study we examined in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar Linnaeus) the effects of both short- (a single 15 s out of water) and long-term (4 weeks of daily handling 15 s out of water) stress on plasma cortisol (free and total) and glucose levels, expression of interleukin-1\u3b2 (IL-1\u3b2) and survival of head kidney (HK) macrophages under culture with Aeromonas salmonicida. In the short-term study, samples were collected prior to the application of the stressor, and at 1, 3, 6, 12 and 24 h post stress. Free and total plasma cortisol levels and the percentage of free cortisol increased significantly in the stressed group at 1 and 3 h post stress. Plasma glucose levels were significantly higher than those of control fish at 1, 3 and 6 h post stress. Constitutive expression of IL-1\u3b2 in macrophages isolated from head kidneys in stressed fish was significantly higher at 1 and 3 h post stress. However, lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulated expression of IL-1\u3b2 in HK macrophages, exhibited significantly higher fold increases in unstressed fish compared to stressed fish. In the long-term study, with the exception of an increase in plasma glucose levels at 1 week, there were no significant differences in stress parameters between groups. There was a significantly higher constitutive IL-1\u3b2 expression in macrophages isolated from stressed fish over the first 2 weeks. At weeks 1, 2 and 3 the magnitude of IL-1\u3b2 response of isolated HK macrophages to LPS stimulation was reduced in >90% of the stressed fish. At 4 weeks there was no significant difference in inducible IL-1\u3b2 expression between the groups. Macrophages isolated from stressed fish also showed significantly decreased survival when exposed to A. salmonicida. This study shows a clear pattern from repeated handling stress, whereby effects on immune cells begin with increased constitutive expression of IL-1\u3b2, followed by decreased stimulation of leucocytes by extracellular antigen, and finally decreased leukocyte survival when exposed to A. salmonicida. The implications of these changes in the immune system will be discussed with respect to the use of classical indicators of stress to predict possible effects on the immune system of fish.Peer reviewed: YesNRC publication: Ye
Assessing a speaker for fast speech in unit selection speech synthesis
No full textMoers D, Wagner P. Assessing a speaker for fast speech in unit selection speech synthesis. In: Proceedings of Interspeech. 2009: 2071-2074.This paper describes work in progress concerning the ad-
equate modeling of fast speech in unit selection speech synthesis systems, mostly having in mind blind and visually impaired users. Initially, a survey of the main characteristics of fast speech will be given. Subsequently, strategies for fast speech production will be discussed. Certain requirements concerning the ability of a speaker of a fast speech unit selection inventory are drawn. The following section deals with a perception study where a selected speaker's ability to speak fast is investigated. To conclude, a preliminary perceptual analysis of the recordings for the speech synthesis corpus is presented.
Index Terms: speech synthesis, unit selection, fast speec
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