Length Of File Research Articles

Automatic summarization of endoscopic skull base surgical videos through object detection and hidden Markov modeling.

Endoscopic endonasal surgery is a medical procedure that utilizes an endoscopic video camera to view and manipulate a surgical site accessed through the nose. Despite these surgeries being video recorded, these videos are seldom reviewed or even saved in patient files due to the size and length of the video file. Editing to a manageable size may necessitate viewing 3 h or more of surgical video and manually splicing together the desired segments. We suggest a novel multi-stage video summarization procedure utilizing deep semantic features, tool detections, and video frame temporal correspondences to create a representative summarization. Summarization by our method resulted in a 98.2% reduction in overall video length while preserving 84% of key medical scenes. Furthermore, resulting summaries contained only 1% of scenes with irrelevant detail such as endoscope lens cleaning, blurry frames, or frames external to the patient. This outperformed leading commercial and open source summarization tools not designed for surgery, which only preserved 57% and 46% of key medical scenes in similar length summaries, and included 36% and 59% of scenes containing irrelevant detail. Experts agreed that on average (Likert Scale = 4) that the overall quality of the video was adequate to share with peers in its current state.

Normalized compression distance to measure cortico-muscular synchronization.

The neuronal functional connectivity is a complex and non-stationary phenomenon creating dynamic networks synchronization determining the brain states and needed to produce tasks. Here, as a measure that quantifies the synchronization between the neuronal electrical activity of two brain regions, we used the normalized compression distance (NCD), which is the length of the compressed file constituted by the concatenated two signals, normalized by the length of the two compressed files including each single signal. To test the NCD sensitivity to physiological properties, we used NCD to measure the cortico-muscular synchronization, a well-known mechanism to control movements, in 15 healthy volunteers during a weak handgrip. Independently of NCD compressor (Huffman or Lempel Ziv), we found out that the resulting measure is sensitive to the dominant-non dominant asymmetry when novelty management is required (p = 0.011; p = 0.007, respectively) and depends on the level of novelty when moving the non-dominant hand (p = 0.012; p = 0.024). Showing lower synchronization levels for less dexterous networks, NCD seems to be a measure able to enrich the estimate of functional two-node connectivity within the neuronal networks that control the body.

Extended XOR Algorithm with Biotechnology Constraints for Data Security in DNA Storage

Background: DNA storage is becoming a global research hotspot in recent years, and today, most research focuses on storage density and big data. The security of DNA storage needs to be observed. Some DNA-based security methods were introduced for traditional information security problems. However, few encryption algorithms considered the limitation of biotechnology and applied it for DNA storage. The difference between DNA cryptography and the traditional one is that the former is based on the limitation of biotechnology, which is unrelated to numeracy. Objective: An extended XOR algorithm (EXA) was introduced for encryption with constraints of biotechnology, which can solve the problems of synthesis and sequencing partly, such as GC content and homopolymer in DNA storage. Methods: The target file was converted by a quaternary DNA storage model to maximize the storage efficiency. The key file could be ‘anything’ converted into a DNA sequence by a binary DNA storage model to make the best utilization for the length of the key file. Results: The input files were encrypted into DNA storage and decrypted to error-free output files. Conclusion: This means error-free encryption DNA storage is feasible, and EXA paves the way for encryption in large-scale DNA storage.

Songs and morphology in three species of the Chorthippusbiguttulus group (Orthoptera, Acrididae, Gomphocerinae) in Russia and adjacent countries.

Songs and morphology are compared between Chorthippusmiramae (Vorontsovsky, 1928) that was previously named as C.porphyropterus and two other closely related species, C.brunneus (Thunberg, 1815) and C.maritimus Mistshenko, 1951. We compare them because the calling song of C.miramae was previously shown to have song elements similar to those of other two species. One morphological character, the length of stridulatory file, appeared to be the best character to distinguish between all three species. For C.maritimus and C.miramae, we present the morphological descriptions since they are absent in the literature. We also establish the synonymy C.maritimus = C.bornhalmi Harz, 1971, syn. n. = C.biguttuluseximius Mistshenko, 1951, syn. n. In the song analysis, we analyse not only the sound but also the leg-movement pattern, which is very helpful to find a homology between various song elements. We show that the calling song of C.miramae usually contains two elements, one element being similar to the C.brunneus calling song, and another – to the C.maritimus calling song. Despite some similarities, the calling song elements in C.miramae have some peculiarities. The courtship song of C.miramae is similar to the C.brunneus song, whereas the rivalry songs of C.miramae comprise both the maritimus-like elements and the unique ones. C.miramae generally demonstrates a richer song repertoire than the other two species.

Correlation Lengths in the Language of Computable Information.

Computable information density (CID), the ratio of the length of a losslessly compressed data file to that of the uncompressed file, is a measure of order and correlation in both equilibrium and nonequilibrium systems. Here we show that correlation lengths can be obtained by decimation, thinning a configuration by sampling data at increasing intervals and recalculating the CID. When the sampling interval is larger than the system's correlation length, the data becomes incompressible. The correlation length and its critical exponents are thus accessible with no apriori knowledge of an order parameter or even the nature of the ordering. The correlation length measured in this way agrees well with that computed from the decay of two-point correlation functions g_{2}(r) when they exist. But the CID reveals the correlation length and its scaling even when g_{2}(r) has no structure, as we demonstrate by "cloaking" the data with a Rudin-Shapiro sequence.

Quantifying Hidden Order out of Equilibrium

While the equilibrium properties, states, and phase transitions of interacting systems are well described by statistical mechanics, the lack of suitable state parameters has hindered the understanding of non-equilibrium phenomena in diverse settings, from glasses to driven systems to biology. The length of a losslessly compressed data file is a direct measure of its information content: The more ordered the data is, the lower its information content and the shorter the length of its encoding can be made. Here, we describe how data compression enables the quantification of order in non-equilibrium and equilibrium many-body systems, both discrete and continuous, even when the underlying form of order is unknown. We consider absorbing state models on and off-lattice, as well as a system of active Brownian particles undergoing motility-induced phase separation. The technique reliably identifies non-equilibrium phase transitions, determines their character, quantitatively predicts certain critical exponents without prior knowledge of the order parameters, and reveals previously unknown ordering phenomena. This technique should provide a quantitative measure of organization in condensed matter and other systems exhibiting collective phase transitions in and out of equilibrium.

File Updates Under Random/Arbitrary Insertions and Deletions

The problem of one-way file synchronization, henceforth called “file updates”, is studied in this paper. Specifically, a client edits a file, where the edits are modeled by insertions and deletions (InDels) . An old copy of the file is stored remotely at a data-centre, and is also available to the client. We consider the problem of throughput- and computationally-efficient communication from the client to the data-centre, to enable the data-centre to update its old copy to the newly edited file. Two models for the source files and edit patterns are studied: the random pre-edit sequence left-to-right random InDel (RPES-LtRRID) process, and the arbitrary pre-edit sequence arbitrary InDel (APES-AID) process. In both models, we consider the regime, in which the number of insertions and deletions is a small (but constant) fraction of the length of the original file. For both models, information-theoretic lower bounds on the best possible compression rates that enable file updates are derived (up to first order terms). Conversely, a simple compression algorithm using dynamic programming (DP) and entropy coding (EC), henceforth called DP-EC algorithm, achieves rates that are within constant additive gap (which diminishes as the alphabet size increases) to information-theoretic lower bounds for both models. For the RPES-LtRRID model, a dynamic-programming-run-length-compression (DP-RLC) algorithm is proposed, which achieves a compression rate matching the information-theoretic lower bound up to first order terms. Therefore, when the insertion and deletion probabilities are small (such that first order terms dominate), the achievable rate by DP-RLC is nearly optimal for the RPES-LtRRID model.

Allometry of male sound‐producing structures indicates sexual selection on wing size and stridulatory teeth density in a bushcricket

AbstractThe majority of bushcricket species (Insecta: Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae) use acoustic signals for mate attraction. Song production and the sound‐producing structures, therefore, can be argued to be under sexual selection. The sound‐producing structures might determine differences in the acoustic parameters of male songs, like the fundamental frequency. We investigated the morphology and scaling relationships of the sound production organs in males of the bushcricket Poecilimon ampliatus. Selection acting on morphological traits can be inferred from allometric relationships. Our results show that heavier and larger males have bigger sound‐producing organs: wing area scales positively with body mass as well as with body size. The length of the stridulatory file and the stridulatory teeth length both increase with wing area. In contrast, the number and density of teeth on the stridulatory file decrease in heavier males. As a result, males with larger wings and longer stridulatory files have a reduced teeth density. Positive isometric scaling was detected for the length of stridulatory teeth, as well as negative isometry for teeth number and teeth density. Wing area in turn seems to be under positive sexual selection, as the relationship of wing size on male body size show a steep positive slope (β = 2.4). The morphological results indicate positive selection on sound‐producing structures and are in line with the female preference for heavier males in mate choice experiments.

Micromorphological differentiation of left and right stridulatory apparatus in crickets (Orthoptera: Gryllidae).

The present study compared micromorphological differentiation of stridulatory apparatus between the functional right tegmen and non-functional left tegmen, analyzed under scanning electron microscope (SEM), among eight Gryllidae species. The results showed that the main differences were found on the length and shape of files and teeth. The length of stridulatory file and teeth number were lower on the left stridulatory apparatus than that on right stridulatory apparatus in all species. However, the ratio between the length of stridulatory teeth and the interval of stridulatory teeth was significantly higher on the left stridulatory apparatus than that on right stridulatory apparatus in Dianemobius fascipes, Polionemobius taprobanensis, Pteronemobius gifuensis, Teleogryllus occipitalis and Oecanthus longicauda. In addition, the length of stridulatory teeth was positively related to number of stridulatory teeth, however, the interval of stridulatory teeth was negatively related to the ratio between the length of stridulatory teeth and the interval of stridulatory teeth for left and right stridulatory apparatus. Our result illustrated that the length of left and right stridulatory file and teeth length could be an effective character to distinguish species. Left stridulatory apparatus was not entirely degraded than right stridulatory apparatus.

Abstract 19906: Evaluation of Approximate Entropy as a CPR Quality Measure

Introduction: The majority of standard cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) quality metrics are based on univariate, linear measures of CPR process. Non-linear measures, such as approximate entropy (ApEn), which characterizes the disorder of a signal, have been utilized in other areas, such as heart rate analysis, to capture phenomena that elude standard linear measures. Objective: To provide a preliminary evaluation of the performance of ApEn as a CPR-quality metric. Methods: Case data for non-traumatic, EMS-treated out-of-hospital cardiac arrests were obtained from the Pittsburgh site of the Resuscitation Outcomes Consortium for the period spanning the years 2010 to 2014. Cases with at least 1 available defibrillator data file containing an accelerometer-derived chest compression (CC) depth channel were included. CC depth data traces were extracted with custom software created in MATLAB (2014b, The Mathworks, Nattick, MA). Individual CC for the entire length of each available file were located with a calibrated peak finding function and used to calculate individual CC depth (mm), rate (compressions/minute) and flow fraction time series, which were reported in averages over 1-minute epochs. Data from cases with multiple data files were merged to reflect the order of recordings. ApEn was calculated for each 1-minute epoch of depth and rate. Correlation coefficients were calculated to assess the relationship between ApEn, CC rate, CC depth and flow fraction overall and stratified by pre/post 5 minutes of CPR. Results: Of a total of 1,278 cases with defibrillator downloads, a subset of 1,266 cases had analyzable CC depth channels. A total of 1,875,209 individual CC were detected and analyzed, covering 18,719 minutes of CPR. Mean (SD) ApEn of CC rate was 0.92 (0.34) and of CC depth was 0.79 (0.23). ApEn of CC depth was weakly correlated with flow fraction (r = 0.22) and ApEn of CC rate (r = 0.27), but not CC rate or CC depth. Both before and after the 5-minute mark, ApEn correlated weakly with flow fraction (r = 0.14 vs. r = 0.24) and ApEn of CC rate ( r = 0.30 vs 0.26). Conclusion: ApEn was only weakly correlated with CC flow fraction, a common CPR quality measurement. Additionally, ApEn of rate and depth were not correlated with the absolute magnitude of CC rate or depth.

Steganography in Audio Files by Hermite Transform

This work proposes the use of the Hermite Transform (HT) for imprinting audio files with hidden information. One of the most important aspects of this kind of concealment derives from the amount of data that a host file (audio, images, data, or video) can hold. In this particular case, both the host and the hidden files are aud io files. The amount of information that can be hidden- with the suggested technique-occupies half the length of the host file. Furth ermore, the use of the Hermite Transform on audio files helps improve the algorithm performance. Experimental results show that our proposal is efficient and effective, because the audio file concealment is imperceptible to human hearing. Performance of our proposal was assessed using correlation and peak signal to noise ratio. The results strengthen the effectiveness of the method.

A Proposal for Method of Hybrid Storage System to Improve Sequential Access Transfer Rate for Workloads with Low Access Locality

A method of hybrid storage system consisting of HDD and SSD for workloads with low access locality is proposed. In case of low access locality, it is difficult to improve transfer rate by existing methods of hybrid storage systems such as cache or tiering methods. The proposed method stores the head portion of the files into SSD, so the time for reading the head portion of the files can overlap the time for justification of magnetic head in HDD. Because of this, transfer rate can be improved to reduce the time of reading whole length of file. In this paper, we assume practical access locality and evaluate transfer rate of the proposed method and that of the existing methods. As a result, the proposed method has an advantage over existing methods when average file size is around 10MB under low access locality such as video sharing.

Evaluation of the Separation Length of ProTaper Universal Rotary Files

Research Motivation: This study aims to analyze the correlation between the size of ProTaper® Universal rotary files and the length at which separation occurs. Design/Methodology: 120 separated ProTaper® Universal rotary files that broke during root canal treatment were collected from different clinics. The files were divided into the following six groups: Sx, S1, S2, F1, F2, and F3. The length of the separated file was measured, and the length at which separation occurred was determined by subtracting this length from the nonseparated file length. Statistical analysis was performed by ANOVA and Tukey’s post-hoc test using SPSS software. Main Findings: The statistical analysis revealed significant differences between different sizes of ProTaper® Universal rotary files on account of the length at which separation occurred (p < 0.05). Implications: Within the limitations of the materials and methods of this study, a correlation was found to exist between different sizes of ProTaper® Universal rotary files on account of the length at which separation occurred. The Sx files were the longest separated files. This means that if they break and cannot be removed, they could cause more complications than would the other ProTaper® Universal files because of unfinished chemomechanical preparation at the unreached rest of the root canal system.

StreamingTrim 1.0: a Java software for dynamic trimming of 16S rRNA sequence data from metagenetic studies

Next-generation sequencing technologies are extensively used in the field of molecular microbial ecology to describe taxonomic composition and to infer functionality of microbial communities. In particular, the so-called barcode or metagenetic applications that are based on PCR amplicon library sequencing are very popular at present. One of the problems, related to the utilization of the data of these libraries, is the analysis of reads quality and removal (trimming) of low-quality segments, while retaining sufficient information for subsequent analyses (e.g. taxonomic assignment). Here, we present StreamingTrim, a DNA reads trimming software, written in Java, with which researchers are able to analyse the quality of DNA sequences in fastq files and to search for low-quality zones in a very conservative way. This software has been developed with the aim to provide a tool capable of trimming amplicon library data, retaining as much as taxonomic information as possible. This software is equipped with a graphical user interface for a user-friendly usage. Moreover, from a computational point of view, StreamingTrim reads and analyses sequences one by one from an input fastq file, without keeping anything in memory, permitting to run the computation on a normal desktop PC or even a laptop. Trimmed sequences are saved in an output file, and a statistics summary is displayed that contains the mean and standard deviation of the length and quality of the whole sequence file. Compiled software, a manual and example data sets are available under the BSD-2-Clause License at the GitHub repository at https://github.com/GiBacci/StreamingTrim/.

Heuristic aspect of the lateral root initiation index: A case study of the role of nitric oxide in root branching.

• Premise of the study: Lateral root (LR) initiation (LRI) is a central process in root branching. Based on LR and/or LR primordium densities, it has been shown that nitric oxide (NO) promotes LRI. However, because NO inhibits primary root growth, we hypothesized that NO may have an opposite effect if the analysis is performed on a cellular basis. Using a previously proposed parameter, the LRI index (which measures how many LRI events take place along a root portion equivalent to the length of a single file of 100 cortical cells of average length), we addressed this hypothesis and illustrate here that the LRI index provides a researcher with a tool to uncover hidden but important information about root initiation.• Methods and Results: Arabidopsis thaliana roots were treated with an NO donor (sodium nitroprusside [SNP]) and/or an NO scavenger (2-(4-carboxyphenyl)-4,4,5,5-tetramethylimidazoline-1-oxyl-3-oxide [cPTIO]). LRI was analyzed separately in the root portions formed before and during the treatment. In the latter, SNP caused root growth inhibition and an increase in the LR density accompanied by a decrease in LRI index, indicating overall inhibitory outcome of the NO donor on branching. The inhibitory effect of SNP was reversed by cPTIO, showing the NO-specific action of SNP on LRI.• Conclusions: Analysis of the LRI index permits the discovery of otherwise unknown modes of action of a substance on the root system formation. NO has a dual action on root branching, slightly promoting it in the root portion formed before the treatment and strongly inhibiting it in the root portion formed during the treatment.

Analyzing Log Files for Postmortem Intrusion Detection

Upon an intrusion, security staff must analyze the IT system that has been compromised, in order to determine how the attacker gained access to it, and what he did afterward. Usually, this analysis reveals that the attacker has run an exploit that takes advantage of a system vulnerability. Pinpointing, in a given log file, the execution of one such an exploit, if any, is very valuable for computer security. This is both because it speeds up the process of gathering evidence of the intrusion, and because it helps taking measures to prevent a further intrusion, e.g., by building and applying an appropriate attack signature for intrusion detection system maintenance. This problem, which we call postmortem intrusion detection, is fairly complex, given both the overwhelming length of a standard log file, and the difficulty of identifying exactly where the intrusion has occurred. In this paper, we propose a novel approach for postmortem intrusion detection, which factors out repetitive behavior, thus, speeding up the process of locating the execution of an exploit, if any. Central to our intrusion detection mechanism is a classifier, which separates abnormal behavior from normal one. This classifier is built upon a method that combines a hidden Markov model with <i xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">k</i> -means. Our experimental results establish that our method is able to spot the execution of an exploit, with a cumulative detection rate of over 90%. In addition, we propose an entropy-based approach that speeds up the construction of a profile for ordinary system behavior.

Comparison Between the Accuracy of NovApex Apex Locator and Radiographs in Determining Radiographic Apex.

Determination of the canal working length with radiographs has many drawbacks. Electronic apex locators have been developed to overcome some of these problems. Recently, a newly designed apex locator called NovApex has been introduced. All the studies conducted to determine the accuracy of NovApex have been carried out in-vitro on extracted teeth. The aim of this in vivo study was to evaluate the accuracy of NovApex compared with traditional radiographic method. Twenty-five patients whose lower molars that were candidates for extraction were selected. The teeth were accessed, and the radiographic working length was determined by measuring the length of the initial file 0.5mm short of the radiographic apex. Then, NovApex apex locator was used to measure the electronic working length. Subsequently, the tooth was extracted, and the actual working length was measured by introducing a size #15 K-file into each canal until the file tip was visible at the apex, then 1.5mm was subtracted to attain the working length. Cohen's Kappa was computed for each of the methods versus actual working length as a measure of reliability. The accuracies were compared using Chi-square test. The accuracy of NovApex apex locator and radiographic method in detecting the apical end point within ±0.5mm was 74.7% and 68%, respectively; this was not significantly different (P<0.001). The NovApex apex locator is useful in detecting the apical end point with the accuracy similar to radiographic method. However, neither technique is fully reliable in detecting the apical end point of the canal.

Influence of heavy-metal contamination on plant response to water availability in white birch, Betula papyrifera

Elevated concentrations of heavy metals in growth substrate are known to reduce root growth more than shoot growth. We hypothesized an increased sensitivity to drought in plants exposed to heavy metals. The hypothesis was tested using birch seedlings grown on a substrate with three levels of Cu–Ni containing slag (0%, 0.5% and 2.5%) mixed with sand, and were either well watered or exposed to drought. The experiment was conducted outdoors for 4 months. Both the slag addition and low substrate moisture reduced plant dry mass. There was a significant slag × moisture interaction. The effect of moisture was most pronounced on slag-free substrate, whereas at the highest slag addition level there was no growth response to moisture. Stem diameter, length of radial file and cell size showed similar responses, but error variation was high and the individual effects were not always significant. The general picture is, however, clear, the effect of moisture on all growth parameters increasing with decreasing slag concentration in the substrate. We conclude that metal-contaminated substrate leads to an inability of the plants to respond to improved soil moisture, an effect which can be seen even at metal levels which do not show any large growth reduction. In addition, reduced plant size, caused by heavy metals, results in feedbacks that increase the relative availability of water and mineral nutrients. At the highest slag addition level, substrate moisture was slightly higher than in controls, probably due to a reduced transpiration, and the senescence was slower, probably due to lower nutrient requirements of the smaller plants.

Ecology of the calling song of two Namibian armoured ground crickets, Acanthoplus longipes and Acanthoproctus diadematus (Orthoptera Tettigoniidae Hetrodinae)

The calling songs of the Namibian armoured ground crickets Acanthoplus longipes and Acanthoproctus diadematus were analysed and described for the first time. Some differences in the length of the cuticular file and the number of the teeth of the pars stridens are also described. The different song patterns are related to differences in the autecology of the two species. Both utilise a broad frequency bandwidth, but the rare and endemic Acanthoproctus diadematus, which lives in interdunal areas of the desert, emits lower frequency signals. These consist of a repetitive sequence of very simple echemes. In contrast the widespread and invasive Acanthoplus longipes, which inhabits open grasslands, emits complex sequences of high-frequency diplosyllabic echemes. Other ecological features, related to the songs of the two species, are discussed.

Towards an effective social care model for arrest referral: Implications for criminal justice interventions for problem drug users

Aims: To assess an operational model for arrest-referral schemes that successfully facilitates the entry of highly entrenched and chaotic problem drug users into specialist drug-treatment services. Methods: (1) An examination of case records from a voluntary arrest-referral service (SMART CJS) based across the Thames Valley region of the UK during 2002–2003; (2) Probablistic database linkage of agency case records with the National Drug Treatment Monitoring System (NDTMS); (3) participant observation and semi-structured interviews with agency staff.Findings: Over half of problem drug users (58%) maintained contact with the scheme following initial contact in police custody. Referrals were made to a wide range of social-care services in addition to specialist drug treatment to include prison-based services, housing support and primary care. This model was able to demonstrate very high levels of specialist drug treatment uptake (53%) following referral. There was a close relationship between the average length of time a problem drug user entered treatment following contact in police custody and the average length of an active case file. Such an approach was considered essential to maintain motivation with clients.Discussion: This social care model has operational validity in ensuring treatment uptake of recidivist problem drug-using offenders. Continuity of care alongside referrals addressing wider community harms including social exclusion and public health should be encouraged.