In this paper, we consider smoothing algorithms in delivering stored varied-bit-rate (VBR) MPEG video over high-speed network. The required network bandwidth of a video service significantly affects its cost. Video smoothing techniques promise reduced bandwidth variablity and consequently reduced bandwidth requirement. Because of varying frame size, MPEG video introduces burstiness during trans...

OBJECTIVE Therapeutic hypothermia has proved effective in improving outcome in patients after cardiac arrest due to ventricular fibrillation (VF). The benefit in patients with non-VF cardiac arrest is still not defined. METHODS This prospective observational study was conducted in a university hospital setting with historical controls. Between 2002 and 2010 387 consecutive patients have been ...

The paper presents an automatic method for liver vasculature segmentation in volumetric images obtained during Computed Tomography (CT) patient examination. The method, apart from the CT image, also requires an additional image containing binary liver mask. A modified multiscale vesselness filter (VF) performs vasculature detection. VF response is used to determine the starting voxels for the s...

We have examined the pathophysiological role of readmission of oxygen (and hence production of oxygen-derived free radicals) in the initiation of reperfusion-induced arrhythmias by separating, on a temporal basis, readmission flow from readmission of oxygen. Isolated rat hearts (n = 12/group) were subjected to 10 minutes of regional ischemia and 10 minutes of reperfusion. In controls reperfused...

Identification of the neural pathways involved in retraining the spinal central pattern generators (CPGs) by afferent input in the absence of descending supraspinal control is feasible in isolated rodent spinal cords where the locomotor CPGs are potently activated by sacrocaudal afferent (SCA) input. Here we study the involvement of sacral neurons projecting rostrally through the ventral funicu...

We are aiming to use virtual factory (VF) as the user interface of ubiquitous maintenance environment (UME), which enables us to walk through it with the viewpoint of workers, and the constructor can work intuitively to construct the UME. Constructing the VF, it is general to model the facilities in the factory as 3D objects and to locate them in VR space. But it costs very much. We have adopte...

Inducibility of sustained ventricular tachycardia (VT) and ventricular fibrillation (VF) by programmed ventricular stimulation following acute hypokalemia was studied in 21 anesthetized dogs free of inducible ventricular tachyarrhythmias at baseline. The control mean serum potassium concentration of 3.65 mEq/L was decreased to 2.14 mEq/L by insulin and furosemide administration. Inducibility of...

OBJECTIVE Endothelin-1 (ET-1) production increases during acute myocardial infarction (MI) and may contribute to the genesis of ventricular tachycardia (VT) and ventricular fibrillation (VF). However, the antiarrhythmic effects of ET-1 receptor blockade, examined shortly after MI, have been debated. In the present study, we examined the effects of such treatment on VT/VF during the first 24 h p...