Joint source/channel coding for multiple images

A joint source/channel coding algorithm is proposed for the transmission of multiple image sources over memoryless channels. The proposed algorithm uses a quality scalable image coder to optimally allocate a limited bit budget among all the sources to achieve the optimal overall distortion reduction for the multiple reconstructed images. In addition to the conventional un gain, it provides channel multiplexing gain, which can be much more significant. Furthermore, an extended scheme is proposed to provide flexibility between the optimization performance and complexity.     

Acute renal failure and nephrotic syndrome with alpha interferon therapy

Analysis of dimethylsulfoxide reductase from Rhodobacter capsulatus showed that it contained 1 mol Mo and 2 mol GMP. This indicates that the molybdenum cofactor in dimethylsulfoxide reductase is bis(molybdopterin guanine dinucleotide) molybdenum. The absorption spectrum of the molybdopterin guanine dinucleotide released from dimethylsulfoxide reductase after denaturation of the holoenzyme was compared with those of pterin standards of known redox state. The spectra were most similar to pterin standards in the dihydro state and oxidised state. The reduction of 2,6-dichloroindophenol by molybdopterin guanine dinucleotide released from dimethylsulfoxide reductase and by pterin standards was also measured and approximately 2 mol electrons/2 mol molybdopterin guanine dinucleotide were found to reduce 2,6-dichloroindophenol. These results are consistent with the presence of one molybdopterin guanine dinucleotide moiety with a pyrazine ring at the oxidation level of a dihydropteridine and one molybdopterin guanine dinucleotide moiety with a pyrazine ring at the oxidation level of a fully aromatic pteridine. It is suggested that the pyrazine ring of Q-molybdopterin guanine dinucleotide is fully aromatic and contains a 5,6 double bond.     

Hyperspectral image compression using entropy-constrainedpredictive trellis coded quantization

A training-sequence-based entropy-constrained predictive trellis coded quantization (ECPTCQ) scheme is presented for encoding autoregressive sources. For encoding a first-order Gauss-Markov source, the mean squared error (MSE) performance of an eight-state ECPTCQ system exceeds that of entropy-constrained differential pulse code modulation (ECDPCM) by up to 1.0 dB. In addition, a hyperspectral image compression system is developed, which utilizes ECPTCQ. A hyperspectral image sequence compressed at 0.125 b/pixel/band retains an average peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) of greater than 43 dB over the spectral bands.     

Establishing longitudinal factorial construct validity of the quality of school life scale for secondary students

The purpose of this study was to establish the longitudinal factorial construct validity of the Quality of School Life (QSL) scale, which was initially designed to measure the well-being of students in Australian high schools. The items comprising the scale were based on theoretical models and existing measurement instruments concerning the domains of schooling and the quality of life experienced by adults. Three latent structure models, two reported earlier in the literature and one new in this context, were reviewed and their merits compared on the basis of two sets of empirical data comprising, respectively, 5932 secondary students in the 1993 cohort and 8269 secondary students in the 1999 cohort using confirmatory factor analysis procedures. Results indicate that there is strong evidence in support of the factorial construct validity of the Quality of School Life scale.     

JPEG2000: standard for interactive imaging

JPEG2000 is the latest image compression standard to emerge from the Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) working under the auspices of the International Standards Organization. Although the new standard does offer superior compression performance to JPEG, JPEG2000 provides a whole new way of interacting with compressed imagery in a scalable and interoperable fashion. This paper provides a tutorial-style review of the new standard, explaining the technology on which it is based and drawing comparisons with JPEG and other compression standards. The paper also describes new work, exploiting the capabilities of JPEG2000 in client-server systems for efficient interactive browsing of images over the Internet.     

2-track

Multitrack run-length-limited (d, k) modulation codes were recently introduced as a method to increase storage densities in digital recording systems. The authors present a two-track     

Photothermal characterization of thin films and coatings

The principles of non-destructive, non-contact characterization of coatings by means of photothermal measuring techniques are briefly explained. A method of quantitative interpretation is presented, which relies on the relative extrema of the calibrated thermal wave phase lags measured as a function of the heating modulation frequency for coatings deposited by reactive magnetron sputtering. The application potential of this interpretation method with respect to the on-line control of coating deposition processes is discussed.     

Bonding analysis of carbon/epoxy composites with viscoelastic acrylic adhesive

This paper focuses on the analysis of viscoelastic bonding strength of carbon/epoxy laminates with different surface treatments. Bonding is a well known technique, and is widely used in many industrial applications. Rigid bonding aims at transferring structural and vibration loads from one laminate to the other. The use of dissipative bonding material also helps reducing structural vibrations in many key applications. In this work, the bonding strength of carbon/epoxy substrates with viscoelastic acrylic adhesive was measured by means of a wedge test. The surface finish, which plays an important role in bonding, was characterized using a surface profiler and the Ondulo^MD system. Surface roughness and concentration of surface porosities were measured to define the quality of the laminate surface. It is shown that the final crack length decreases with increasing wedge penetration rate and increasing density of surface porosities. The surface pre-treatment with primer also reduces crack length, and thus increases fracture energy. The fracture energy ranges between 300 J/m² and 3000 J/m². The proportion of this energy which is due to dissipation in the adhesive, increases with the wedge penetration rate and reaches up to 60% of the total fracture energy.     

Synthesis and characterization of polyamidoamine conjugates of neridronic acid

Polymer Bulletin - Polyamidoamine conjugates of neridronic acid were synthesized by a one-pot aqueous phase Michael addition reaction of N, N′-methylenebisacrylamide with selected primary and...