Abstract
The cosmetic result is an important endpoint for breast cancer conservative treatment (BCCT), but the verification of this outcome remains without a standard. Objective assessment methods are preferred to overcome the drawbacks of subjective evaluation. In this paper a novel algorithm is proposed, based on support vector machines, for the classification of ordinal categorical data. This classifier is then applied as a new methodology for the objective assessment of the aesthetic result of BCCT. Based on the new classifier, a semi-objective score for quantification of the aesthetic results of BCCT was developed, allowing the discrimination of patients into four classes.

Abstract
Cosmetic assessment or conservative breast cancer treatment plays a major role in the study of breast cancer techniques. Objective assessment methods are being preferred to overcome the drawbacks of subjective evaluation. In this paper a methodology for the objective assessment of conservative breast cancer treatment is proposed. The quantitative measures used in this research provide an objective way to calculate the overall cosmetic result. We report experiments using support vector machines to derive an optimal assessment rule. The results seem to indicate that it is possible to construct an algorithm for a complete objective classification of the aesthetic result of breast conservative treatment.

Abstract
Purpose: The subjective evaluation of aesthetic results in conservative breast cancer treatment has largely been used without questioning the observer's skills. The aim of this study was to evaluate interobserver agreement of the aesthetic results of breast cancer conservative treatment in three groups of observers with different levels of experience. Methods and Materials: Photographs were taken of 55 women who had undergone conservative unilateral breast cancer treatment and 5 control women with no breast disease. The images were then distributed to 13 observers who were divided into three groups according to their experience in breast cancer treatment: experienced, medium experienced, and inexperienced. They were first asked to distinguish the patients from the controls and for the patients to identify the operated side. Subsequently, they were asked to classify the aesthetic result as excellent, good, fair, or poor. The accuracy in identifying controls, patients, and side of treatment was calculated individually for all observers. The interobserver agreement for the aesthetic result was calculated using observed agreement and multiple K statistic (K) in each of the three groups. Results: Inexperienced observers performed significantly worse than experienced observers in identifying controls, patients, and the side of treatment. Agreement of the aesthetic result was significantly greater in the group of experienced observers (kappa = 0.59) than in the medium experienced (kappa = 0.35) and inexperienced (kappa= 0.33) observers. Conclusion: Previous experience in breast cancer conservative treatment should be considered a prerequisite for the evaluation of the aesthetic results. (C) 2005 Elsevier Inc.

Abstract

Abstract
In this paper we apply a two state switching model to the problem of audio based beat tracking. Our analysis is based around the generation and application of adaptively weighted comb filter-bank structures to extract beat timing information from the midlevel representation of an input audio signal known as the onset detection function [1]. We evaluate our system using a previously published dataset [2] and in performing a direct comparison with the current state of the art, present comparable results. © 2005 IEEE.

Abstract
In this paper we address the issue of causal rhythmic analysis, primarily towards predicting the locations of musical beats such that they are consistent with a musical audio input. This will be a key component required for a system capable of automatic accompaniment with a live musician. We are implementing our approach as part of the aubio real-time audio library. While performance for this causal system is reduced in comparison to our previous non-causal system, it is still suitable for our intended purpose.