Comparison of Acceleration Techniques for Selected Low-Level Bioinformatics Operations.

PubMed

Langenkämper, Daniel; Jakobi, Tobias; Feld, Dustin; Jelonek, Lukas; Goesmann, Alexander; Nattkemper, Tim W

2016-01-01

Within the recent years clock rates of modern processors stagnated while the demand for computing power continued to grow. This applied particularly for the fields of life sciences and bioinformatics, where new technologies keep on creating rapidly growing piles of raw data with increasing speed. The number of cores per processor increased in an attempt to compensate for slight increments of clock rates. This technological shift demands changes in software development, especially in the field of high performance computing where parallelization techniques are gaining in importance due to the pressing issue of large sized datasets generated by e.g., modern genomics. This paper presents an overview of state-of-the-art manual and automatic acceleration techniques and lists some applications employing these in different areas of sequence informatics. Furthermore, we provide examples for automatic acceleration of two use cases to show typical problems and gains of transforming a serial application to a parallel one. The paper should aid the reader in deciding for a certain techniques for the problem at hand. We compare four different state-of-the-art automatic acceleration approaches (OpenMP, PluTo-SICA, PPCG, and OpenACC). Their performance as well as their applicability for selected use cases is discussed. While optimizations targeting the CPU worked better in the complex k-mer use case, optimizers for Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) performed better in the matrix multiplication example. But performance is only superior at a certain problem size due to data migration overhead. We show that automatic code parallelization is feasible with current compiler software and yields significant increases in execution speed. Automatic optimizers for CPU are mature and usually no additional manual adjustment is required. In contrast, some automatic parallelizers targeting GPUs still lack maturity and are limited to simple statements and structures.

Daylight control system device and method

DOEpatents

Paton, John Douglas

2007-03-13

A system and device for and a method of programming and controlling light fixtures is disclosed. A system in accordance with the present invention includes a stationary controller unit that is electrically coupled to the light fixtures. The stationary controller unit is configured to be remotely programmed with a portable commissioning device to automatically control the lights fixtures. The stationary controller unit and the portable commissioning device include light sensors, micro-computers and transceivers for measuring light levels, running programs, storing data and transmitting data between the stationary controller unit and the portable commissioning device. In operation, target light levels selected with the portable commissioning device and the controller unit is remotely programmed to automatically maintain the target level.

Daylight control system, device and method

DOEpatents

Paton, John Douglas

2012-08-28

A system and device for and a method of programming and controlling light fixtures is disclosed. A system in accordance with the present invention includes a stationary controller unit that is electrically coupled to the light fixtures. The stationary controller unit is configured to be remotely programmed with a portable commissioning device to automatically control the lights fixtures. The stationary controller unit and the portable commissioning device include light sensors, micro-computers and transceivers for measuring light levels, running programs, storing data and transmitting data between the stationary controller unit and the portable commissioning device. In operation, target light levels selected with the portable commissioning device and the controller unit is remotely programmed to automatically maintain the target level.

Daylight control system device and method

DOEpatents

Paton, John Douglas

2009-12-01

A system and device for and a method of programming and controlling light fixtures is disclosed. A system in accordance with the present invention includes a stationary controller unit that is electrically coupled to the light fixtures. The stationary controller unit is configured to be remotely programmed with a portable commissioning device to automatically control the lights fixtures. The stationary controller unit and the portable commissioning device include light sensors, micro-computers and transceivers for measuring light levels, running programs, storing data and transmitting data between the stationary controller unit and the portable commissioning device. In operation, target light levels selected with the portable commissioning device and the controller unit is remotely programmed to automatically maintain the target level.

POPCORN: a Supervisory Control Simulation for Workload and Performance Research

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hart, S. G.; Battiste, V.; Lester, P. T.

1984-01-01

A multi-task simulation of a semi-automatic supervisory control system was developed to provide an environment in which training, operator strategy development, failure detection and resolution, levels of automation, and operator workload can be investigated. The goal was to develop a well-defined, but realistically complex, task that would lend itself to model-based analysis. The name of the task (POPCORN) reflects the visual display that depicts different task elements milling around waiting to be released and pop out to be performed. The operator's task was to complete each of 100 task elements that ere represented by different symbols, by selecting a target task and entering the desired a command. The simulated automatic system then completed the selected function automatically. Highly significant differences in performance, strategy, and rated workload were found as a function of all experimental manipulations (except reward/penalty).

Feature Extraction and Selection Strategies for Automated Target Recognition

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Greene, W. Nicholas; Zhang, Yuhan; Lu, Thomas T.; Chao, Tien-Hsin

2010-01-01

Several feature extraction and selection methods for an existing automatic target recognition (ATR) system using JPLs Grayscale Optical Correlator (GOC) and Optimal Trade-Off Maximum Average Correlation Height (OT-MACH) filter were tested using MATLAB. The ATR system is composed of three stages: a cursory region of-interest (ROI) search using the GOC and OT-MACH filter, a feature extraction and selection stage, and a final classification stage. Feature extraction and selection concerns transforming potential target data into more useful forms as well as selecting important subsets of that data which may aide in detection and classification. The strategies tested were built around two popular extraction methods: Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Independent Component Analysis (ICA). Performance was measured based on the classification accuracy and free-response receiver operating characteristic (FROC) output of a support vector machine(SVM) and a neural net (NN) classifier.

Feature extraction and selection strategies for automated target recognition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Greene, W. Nicholas; Zhang, Yuhan; Lu, Thomas T.; Chao, Tien-Hsin

2010-04-01

Several feature extraction and selection methods for an existing automatic target recognition (ATR) system using JPLs Grayscale Optical Correlator (GOC) and Optimal Trade-Off Maximum Average Correlation Height (OT-MACH) filter were tested using MATLAB. The ATR system is composed of three stages: a cursory regionof- interest (ROI) search using the GOC and OT-MACH filter, a feature extraction and selection stage, and a final classification stage. Feature extraction and selection concerns transforming potential target data into more useful forms as well as selecting important subsets of that data which may aide in detection and classification. The strategies tested were built around two popular extraction methods: Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Independent Component Analysis (ICA). Performance was measured based on the classification accuracy and free-response receiver operating characteristic (FROC) output of a support vector machine(SVM) and a neural net (NN) classifier.

The analysis of selected orientation methods of architectural objects' scans

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Markiewicz, Jakub S.; Kajdewicz, Irmina; Zawieska, Dorota

2015-05-01

The terrestrial laser scanning is commonly used in different areas, inter alia in modelling architectural objects. One of the most important part of TLS data processing is scans registration. It significantly affects the accuracy of generation of high resolution photogrammetric documentation. This process is time consuming, especially in case of a large number of scans. It is mostly based on an automatic detection and a semi-automatic measurement of control points placed on the object. In case of the complicated historical buildings, sometimes it is forbidden to place survey targets on an object or it may be difficult to distribute survey targets in the optimal way. Such problems encourage the search for the new methods of scan registration which enable to eliminate the step of placing survey targets on the object. In this paper the results of target-based registration method are presented The survey targets placed on the walls of historical chambers of the Museum of King Jan III's Palace at Wilanów and on the walls of ruins of the Bishops Castle in Iłża were used for scan orientation. Several variants of orientation were performed, taking into account different placement and different number of survey marks. Afterwards, during next research works, raster images were generated from scans and the SIFT and SURF algorithms for image processing were used to automatically search for corresponding natural points. The case of utilisation of automatically identified points for TLS data orientation was analysed. The results of both methods for TLS data registration were summarized and presented in numerical and graphical forms.

Volitional and automatic control of the hand when reaching to grasp objects.

PubMed

Chen, Zhongting; Saunders, Jeffrey Allen

2018-06-01

When picking up an object, we tend to grasp at contact points that allow a stable grip. Recent studies have demonstrated that appropriate grasp points can be selected during an ongoing movement in response to unexpected perturbations of the target object. In this study, we tested whether such online grip adjustments are automatic responses or can be controlled volitionally. Subjects performed virtual grasping movements toward target 2D shapes that sometimes changed shape or orientation during movement. Unlike in previous studies, the conditions and task requirements discouraged any online adjustments toward the perturbed shapes. In Experiment 1, target shapes were perturbed briefly (200 ms) during movement before reverting to the original shape, and subjects were instructed to ignore the transient perturbations. Despite subjects' intentions, we observed online adjustments of grip orientation that were toward the expected grip axis of the briefly presented shape. In Experiment 2, we added a stop-signal to the grasping task, with target perturbation as the stop cue. We again observed unnecessary online adjustments toward the grip axis of the perturbed shape, with similar latency. Furthermore, the grip adjustments continued after the forward motion of the hand had stopped, indicating that the automatic response to the perturbed target shape co-occurred with the volitional response to the perturbation onset. Our results provide evidence that automatic control mechanisms are used to guide the fingers to appropriate grasp points and suggest that these mechanisms are distinct from those involved with volitional control. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Alternating evolutionary pressure in a genetic algorithm facilitates protein model selection

PubMed Central

Offman, Marc N; Tournier, Alexander L; Bates, Paul A

2008-01-01

Background Automatic protein modelling pipelines are becoming ever more accurate; this has come hand in hand with an increasingly complicated interplay between all components involved. Nevertheless, there are still potential improvements to be made in template selection, refinement and protein model selection. Results In the context of an automatic modelling pipeline, we analysed each step separately, revealing several non-intuitive trends and explored a new strategy for protein conformation sampling using Genetic Algorithms (GA). We apply the concept of alternating evolutionary pressure (AEP), i.e. intermediate rounds within the GA runs where unrestrained, linear growth of the model populations is allowed. Conclusion This approach improves the overall performance of the GA by allowing models to overcome local energy barriers. AEP enabled the selection of the best models in 40% of all targets; compared to 25% for a normal GA. PMID:18673557

APPARATUS FOR MEASURING NEUTRON CROSS SECTIONS

DOEpatents

Cranberg, L.

1959-07-14

An apparatus is described for analyzing the nuclear reaction products resulting from impingement of nuclear particles against a selected target material and automatically recording the number of reaction prcducts in selected energy levels. The target is bombarded by ions from a particle accelerator and the target potential is cyclicly varied over a particular energy range by a modulator. A nuclear reaction detector is lccated adjacent the target to produce pulses for each reaction product. The output from the detector and the modulator are coupled to a function sampler, for generating a pulse in respcnse to each detected event having an amplitude proportional to the amplitude of the instantaneous target potential. The later pulses are coupled to a multichannel analyzer, whereby nuclear reactions are recorded in appropriate channels of the analyzer in correspcndence with the magnitude of the energy of the impinging ions.

Robust autofocus algorithm for ISAR imaging of moving targets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Jian; Wu, Renbiao; Chen, Victor C.

2000-08-01

A robust autofocus approach, referred to as AUTOCLEAN (AUTOfocus via CLEAN), is proposed for the motion compensation in ISAR (inverse synthetic aperture radar) imaging of moving targets. It is a parametric algorithm based on a very flexible data model which takes into account arbitrary range migration and arbitrary phase errors across the synthetic aperture that may be induced by unwanted radial motion of the target as well as propagation or system instability. AUTOCLEAN can be classified as a multiple scatterer algorithm (MSA), but it differs considerably from other existing MSAs in several aspects: (1) dominant scatterers are selected automatically in the two-dimensional (2-D) image domain; (2) scatterers may not be well-isolated or very dominant; (3) phase and RCS (radar cross section) information from each selected scatterer are combined in an optimal way; (4) the troublesome phase unwrapping step is avoided. AUTOCLEAN is computationally efficient and involves only a sequence of FFTs (fast Fourier Transforms). Another good feature associated with AUTOCLEAN is that its performance can be progressively improved by assuming a larger number of dominant scatterers for the target. Hence it can be easily configured for real-time applications including, for example, ATR (automatic target recognition) of non-cooperative moving targets, and for some other applications where the image quality is of the major concern but not the computational time including, for example, for the development and maintenance of low observable aircrafts. Numerical and experimental results have shown that AUTOCLEAN is a very robust autofocus tool for ISAR imaging.

Automatic target validation based on neuroscientific literature mining for tractography

PubMed Central

Vasques, Xavier; Richardet, Renaud; Hill, Sean L.; Slater, David; Chappelier, Jean-Cedric; Pralong, Etienne; Bloch, Jocelyne; Draganski, Bogdan; Cif, Laura

2015-01-01

Target identification for tractography studies requires solid anatomical knowledge validated by an extensive literature review across species for each seed structure to be studied. Manual literature review to identify targets for a given seed region is tedious and potentially subjective. Therefore, complementary approaches would be useful. We propose to use text-mining models to automatically suggest potential targets from the neuroscientific literature, full-text articles and abstracts, so that they can be used for anatomical connection studies and more specifically for tractography. We applied text-mining models to three structures: two well-studied structures, since validated deep brain stimulation targets, the internal globus pallidus and the subthalamic nucleus and, the nucleus accumbens, an exploratory target for treating psychiatric disorders. We performed a systematic review of the literature to document the projections of the three selected structures and compared it with the targets proposed by text-mining models, both in rat and primate (including human). We ran probabilistic tractography on the nucleus accumbens and compared the output with the results of the text-mining models and literature review. Overall, text-mining the literature could find three times as many targets as two man-weeks of curation could. The overall efficiency of the text-mining against literature review in our study was 98% recall (at 36% precision), meaning that over all the targets for the three selected seeds, only one target has been missed by text-mining. We demonstrate that connectivity for a structure of interest can be extracted from a very large amount of publications and abstracts. We believe this tool will be useful in helping the neuroscience community to facilitate connectivity studies of particular brain regions. The text mining tools used for the study are part of the HBP Neuroinformatics Platform, publicly available at http://connectivity-brainer.rhcloud.com/. PMID:26074781

Application of automatic threshold in dynamic target recognition with low contrast

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miao, Hua; Guo, Xiaoming; Chen, Yu

2014-11-01

Hybrid photoelectric joint transform correlator can realize automatic real-time recognition with high precision through the combination of optical devices and electronic devices. When recognizing targets with low contrast using photoelectric joint transform correlator, because of the difference of attitude, brightness and grayscale between target and template, only four to five frames of dynamic targets can be recognized without any processing. CCD camera is used to capture the dynamic target images and the capturing speed of CCD is 25 frames per second. Automatic threshold has many advantages like fast processing speed, effectively shielding noise interference, enhancing diffraction energy of useful information and better reserving outline of target and template, so this method plays a very important role in target recognition with optical correlation method. However, the automatic obtained threshold by program can not achieve the best recognition results for dynamic targets. The reason is that outline information is broken to some extent. Optimal threshold is obtained by manual intervention in most cases. Aiming at the characteristics of dynamic targets, the processing program of improved automatic threshold is finished by multiplying OTSU threshold of target and template by scale coefficient of the processed image, and combining with mathematical morphology. The optimal threshold can be achieved automatically by improved automatic threshold processing for dynamic low contrast target images. The recognition rate of dynamic targets is improved through decreased background noise effect and increased correlation information. A series of dynamic tank images with the speed about 70 km/h are adapted as target images. The 1st frame of this series of tanks can correlate only with the 3rd frame without any processing. Through OTSU threshold, the 80th frame can be recognized. By automatic threshold processing of the joint images, this number can be increased to 89 frames. Experimental results show that the improved automatic threshold processing has special application value for the recognition of dynamic target with low contrast.

Using suggestion to model different types of automatic writing.

PubMed

Walsh, E; Mehta, M A; Oakley, D A; Guilmette, D N; Gabay, A; Halligan, P W; Deeley, Q

2014-05-01

Our sense of self includes awareness of our thoughts and movements, and our control over them. This feeling can be altered or lost in neuropsychiatric disorders as well as in phenomena such as "automatic writing" whereby writing is attributed to an external source. Here, we employed suggestion in highly hypnotically suggestible participants to model various experiences of automatic writing during a sentence completion task. Results showed that the induction of hypnosis, without additional suggestion, was associated with a small but significant reduction of control, ownership, and awareness for writing. Targeted suggestions produced a double dissociation between thought and movement components of writing, for both feelings of control and ownership, and additionally, reduced awareness of writing. Overall, suggestion produced selective alterations in the control, ownership, and awareness of thought and motor components of writing, thus enabling key aspects of automatic writing, observed across different clinical and cultural settings, to be modelled. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Relational Motives Reduce Attentional Adhesion to Attractive Alternatives in Heterosexual University Students in China.

PubMed

Zhang, Qiuli; Maner, Jon K; Xu, Yin; Zheng, Yong

2017-02-01

In heterosexual individuals, attention is automatically captured by physically attractive members of the opposite sex. Although helpful for selecting new mates, attention to attractive relationship alternatives can threaten satisfaction with and commitment to an existing romantic relationship. The current study tested the hypothesis that although a mating prime would increase selective attention to attractive opposite-sex targets (relative to less attractive targets) among single participants, this effect would be reduced among people already committed to a long-term romantic partner. Consistent with hypotheses, whereas single participants responded to a mating prime with greater attentional adhesion to physically attractive opposite-sex targets (relative to less attractive targets), participants in a committed romantic relationship showed no such effect. These findings extend previous research suggesting the presence of relationship maintenance mechanisms that operate at early stages of social cognition.

Computer-aided placement of deep brain stimulators: from planning to intraoperative guidance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

D'Haese, Pierre-Francois; Pallavaram, Srivatsan; Kao, Chris; Konrad, Peter E.; Dawant, Benoit M.

2005-04-01

The long term objective of our research is to develop a system that will automate as much as possible DBS implantation procedures. It is estimated that about 180,000 patients/year would benefit from DBS implantation. Yet, only 3000 procedures are performed annually. This is so because the combined expertise required to perform the procedure successfully is only available at a limited number of sites. Our goal is to transform this procedure into a procedure that can be performed by a general neurosurgeon at a community hospital. In this work we report on our current progress toward developing a system for the computer-assisted pre-operative selection of target points and for the intra-operative adjustment of these points. The system consists of a deformable atlas of optimal target points that can be used to select automatically the pre-operative target, of an electrophysiological atlas, and of an intra-operative interface. The atlas is deformed using a rigid then a non-rigid registration algorithm developed at our institution. Results we have obtained show that automatic prediction of target points is an achievable goal. Our results also indicate that electrophysiological information can be used to resolve structures not visible in anatomic images, thus improving both pre-operative and intra-operative guidance. Our intra-operative system has reached the stage of a working prototype that is clinically used at our institution.

Directional emittance surface measurement system and process

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Puram, Chith K. (Inventor); Daryabeigi, Kamran (Inventor); Wright, Robert (Inventor); Alderfer, David W. (Inventor)

1994-01-01

Apparatus and process for measuring the variation of directional emittance of surfaces at various temperatures using a radiometric infrared imaging system. A surface test sample is coated onto a copper target plate provided with selective heating within the desired incremental temperature range to be tested and positioned onto a precision rotator to present selected inclination angles of the sample relative to the fixed positioned and optically aligned infrared imager. A thermal insulator holder maintains the target plate on the precision rotator. A screen display of the temperature obtained by the infrared imager, and inclination readings are provided with computer calculations of directional emittance being performed automatically according to equations provided to convert selected incremental target temperatures and inclination angles to relative target directional emittance values. The directional emittance of flat black lacquer and an epoxy resin measurements obtained are in agreement with the predictions of the electromagnetic theory and with directional emittance data inferred from directional reflectance measurements made on a spectrophotometer.

Algorithm for Automatic Detection, Localization and Characterization of Magnetic Dipole Targets Using the Laser Scalar Gradiometer

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-06-01

TECHNICAL REPORT Algorithm for Automatic Detection, Localization and Characterization of Magnetic Dipole Targets Using the Laser Scalar...Automatic Detection, Localization and Characterization of Magnetic Dipole Targets Using the Laser Scalar Gradiometer Leon Vaizer, Jesse Angle, Neil...of Magnetic Dipole Targets Using LSG i June 2016 TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION

A long-term target detection approach in infrared image sequence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Hang; Zhang, Qi; Wang, Xin; Hu, Chao

2016-10-01

An automatic target detection method used in long term infrared (IR) image sequence from a moving platform is proposed. Firstly, based on POME(the principle of maximum entropy), target candidates are iteratively segmented. Then the real target is captured via two different selection approaches. At the beginning of image sequence, the genuine target with litter texture is discriminated from other candidates by using contrast-based confidence measure. On the other hand, when the target becomes larger, we apply online EM method to estimate and update the distributions of target's size and position based on the prior detection results, and then recognize the genuine one which satisfies both the constraints of size and position. Experimental results demonstrate that the presented method is accurate, robust and efficient.

Bottom-up influences of voice continuity in focusing selective auditory attention

PubMed Central

Bressler, Scott; Masud, Salwa; Bharadwaj, Hari; Shinn-Cunningham, Barbara

2015-01-01

Selective auditory attention causes a relative enhancement of the neural representation of important information and suppression of the neural representation of distracting sound, which enables a listener to analyze and interpret information of interest. Some studies suggest that in both vision and in audition, the “unit” on which attention operates is an object: an estimate of the information coming from a particular external source out in the world. In this view, which object ends up in the attentional foreground depends on the interplay of top-down, volitional attention and stimulus-driven, involuntary attention. Here, we test the idea that auditory attention is object based by exploring whether continuity of a non-spatial feature (talker identity, a feature that helps acoustic elements bind into one perceptual object) also influences selective attention performance. In Experiment 1, we show that perceptual continuity of target talker voice helps listeners report a sequence of spoken target digits embedded in competing reversed digits spoken by different talkers. In Experiment 2, we provide evidence that this benefit of voice continuity is obligatory and automatic, as if voice continuity biases listeners by making it easier to focus on a subsequent target digit when it is perceptually linked to what was already in the attentional foreground. Our results support the idea that feature continuity enhances streaming automatically, thereby influencing the dynamic processes that allow listeners to successfully attend to objects through time in the cacophony that assails our ears in many everyday settings. PMID:24633644

Bottom-up influences of voice continuity in focusing selective auditory attention.

PubMed

Bressler, Scott; Masud, Salwa; Bharadwaj, Hari; Shinn-Cunningham, Barbara

2014-01-01

Selective auditory attention causes a relative enhancement of the neural representation of important information and suppression of the neural representation of distracting sound, which enables a listener to analyze and interpret information of interest. Some studies suggest that in both vision and in audition, the "unit" on which attention operates is an object: an estimate of the information coming from a particular external source out in the world. In this view, which object ends up in the attentional foreground depends on the interplay of top-down, volitional attention and stimulus-driven, involuntary attention. Here, we test the idea that auditory attention is object based by exploring whether continuity of a non-spatial feature (talker identity, a feature that helps acoustic elements bind into one perceptual object) also influences selective attention performance. In Experiment 1, we show that perceptual continuity of target talker voice helps listeners report a sequence of spoken target digits embedded in competing reversed digits spoken by different talkers. In Experiment 2, we provide evidence that this benefit of voice continuity is obligatory and automatic, as if voice continuity biases listeners by making it easier to focus on a subsequent target digit when it is perceptually linked to what was already in the attentional foreground. Our results support the idea that feature continuity enhances streaming automatically, thereby influencing the dynamic processes that allow listeners to successfully attend to objects through time in the cacophony that assails our ears in many everyday settings.

Attention capture by contour onsets and offsets: no special role for onsets.

PubMed

Watson, D G; Humphreys, G W

1995-07-01

In five experiments, we investigated the power of targets defined by the onset or offset of one of an object's parts (contour onsets and offsets) either to guide or to capture visual attention. In Experiment 1, search for a single contour onset target was compared with search for a single contour offset target against a static background of distractors; no difference was found between the efficiency with which each could be detected. In Experiment 2, onsets and offsets were compared for automatic attention capture, when both occurred simultaneously. Unlike in previous studies, the effects of overall luminance change, new-object creation, and number of onset and offset items were controlled. It was found that contour onset and offset items captured attention equally well. However, display size effects on both target types were also apparent. Such effects may have been due to competition for selection between multiple onset and offset stimuli. In Experiments 3 and 4, single onset and offset stimuli were presented simultaneously and pitted directly against one another among a background of static distractors. In Experiment 3, we examined "guided search," for a target that was formed either from an onset or from an offset among static items. In Experiment 4, the onsets and offsets were uncorrelated with the target location. Similar results occurred in both experiments: target onsets and offsets were detected more efficiently than static stimuli which needed serial search; there remained effects of display size on performance; but there was still no advantage for onsets. In Experiment 5, we examined automatic attention capture by single onset and offset stimuli presented individually among static distractors. Again, there was no advantage for onset over offset targets and a display size effect was also present. These results suggest that, both in isolation and in competition, onsets that do not form new objects neither guide nor gain automatic attention more efficiently than offsets. In addition, in contrast to previous studies in which onsets formed new objects, contour onsets and offsets did not reliably capture attention automatically.

Automatic labeling of MR brain images through extensible learning and atlas forests.

PubMed

Xu, Lijun; Liu, Hong; Song, Enmin; Yan, Meng; Jin, Renchao; Hung, Chih-Cheng

2017-12-01

Multiatlas-based method is extensively used in MR brain images segmentation because of its simplicity and robustness. This method provides excellent accuracy although it is time consuming and limited in terms of obtaining information about new atlases. In this study, an automatic labeling of MR brain images through extensible learning and atlas forest is presented to address these limitations. We propose an extensible learning model which allows the multiatlas-based framework capable of managing the datasets with numerous atlases or dynamic atlas datasets and simultaneously ensure the accuracy of automatic labeling. Two new strategies are used to reduce the time and space complexity and improve the efficiency of the automatic labeling of brain MR images. First, atlases are encoded to atlas forests through random forest technology to reduce the time consumed for cross-registration between atlases and target image, and a scatter spatial vector is designed to eliminate errors caused by inaccurate registration. Second, an atlas selection method based on the extensible learning model is used to select atlases for target image without traversing the entire dataset and then obtain the accurate labeling. The labeling results of the proposed method were evaluated in three public datasets, namely, IBSR, LONI LPBA40, and ADNI. With the proposed method, the dice coefficient metric values on the three datasets were 84.17 ± 4.61%, 83.25 ± 4.29%, and 81.88 ± 4.53% which were 5% higher than those of the conventional method, respectively. The efficiency of the extensible learning model was evaluated by state-of-the-art methods for labeling of MR brain images. Experimental results showed that the proposed method could achieve accurate labeling for MR brain images without traversing the entire datasets. In the proposed multiatlas-based method, extensible learning and atlas forests were applied to control the automatic labeling of brain anatomies on large atlas datasets or dynamic atlas datasets and obtain accurate results. © 2017 American Association of Physicists in Medicine.

Signal-Noise Identification of Magnetotelluric Signals Using Fractal-Entropy and Clustering Algorithm for Targeted De-Noising

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Jin; Zhang, Xian; Gong, Jinzhe; Tang, Jingtian; Ren, Zhengyong; Li, Guang; Deng, Yanli; Cai, Jin

A new technique is proposed for signal-noise identification and targeted de-noising of Magnetotelluric (MT) signals. This method is based on fractal-entropy and clustering algorithm, which automatically identifies signal sections corrupted by common interference (square, triangle and pulse waves), enabling targeted de-noising and preventing the loss of useful information in filtering. To implement the technique, four characteristic parameters — fractal box dimension (FBD), higuchi fractal dimension (HFD), fuzzy entropy (FuEn) and approximate entropy (ApEn) — are extracted from MT time-series. The fuzzy c-means (FCM) clustering technique is used to analyze the characteristic parameters and automatically distinguish signals with strong interference from the rest. The wavelet threshold (WT) de-noising method is used only to suppress the identified strong interference in selected signal sections. The technique is validated through signal samples with known interference, before being applied to a set of field measured MT/Audio Magnetotelluric (AMT) data. Compared with the conventional de-noising strategy that blindly applies the filter to the overall dataset, the proposed method can automatically identify and purposefully suppress the intermittent interference in the MT/AMT signal. The resulted apparent resistivity-phase curve is more continuous and smooth, and the slow-change trend in the low-frequency range is more precisely reserved. Moreover, the characteristic of the target-filtered MT/AMT signal is close to the essential characteristic of the natural field, and the result more accurately reflects the inherent electrical structure information of the measured site.

Development of an automated ultrasonic testing system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shuxiang, Jiao; Wong, Brian Stephen

2005-04-01

Non-Destructive Testing is necessary in areas where defects in structures emerge over time due to wear and tear and structural integrity is necessary to maintain its usability. However, manual testing results in many limitations: high training cost, long training procedure, and worse, the inconsistent test results. A prime objective of this project is to develop an automatic Non-Destructive testing system for a shaft of the wheel axle of a railway carriage. Various methods, such as the neural network, pattern recognition methods and knowledge-based system are used for the artificial intelligence problem. In this paper, a statistical pattern recognition approach, Classification Tree is applied. Before feature selection, a thorough study on the ultrasonic signals produced was carried out. Based on the analysis of the ultrasonic signals, three signal processing methods were developed to enhance the ultrasonic signals: Cross-Correlation, Zero-Phase filter and Averaging. The target of this step is to reduce the noise and make the signal character more distinguishable. Four features: 1. The Auto Regressive Model Coefficients. 2. Standard Deviation. 3. Pearson Correlation 4. Dispersion Uniformity Degree are selected. And then a Classification Tree is created and applied to recognize the peak positions and amplitudes. Searching local maximum is carried out before feature computing. This procedure reduces much computation time in the real-time testing. Based on this algorithm, a software package called SOFRA was developed to recognize the peaks, calibrate automatically and test a simulated shaft automatically. The automatic calibration procedure and the automatic shaft testing procedure are developed.

Software for Partly Automated Recognition of Targets

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Opitz, David; Blundell, Stuart; Bain, William; Morris, Matthew; Carlson, Ian; Mangrich, Mark; Selinsky, T.

2002-01-01

The Feature Analyst is a computer program for assisted (partially automated) recognition of targets in images. This program was developed to accelerate the processing of high-resolution satellite image data for incorporation into geographic information systems (GIS). This program creates an advanced user interface that embeds proprietary machine-learning algorithms in commercial image-processing and GIS software. A human analyst provides samples of target features from multiple sets of data, then the software develops a data-fusion model that automatically extracts the remaining features from selected sets of data. The program thus leverages the natural ability of humans to recognize objects in complex scenes, without requiring the user to explain the human visual recognition process by means of lengthy software. Two major subprograms are the reactive agent and the thinking agent. The reactive agent strives to quickly learn the user's tendencies while the user is selecting targets and to increase the user's productivity by immediately suggesting the next set of pixels that the user may wish to select. The thinking agent utilizes all available resources, taking as much time as needed, to produce the most accurate autonomous feature-extraction model possible.

Sequential feature selection for detecting buried objects using forward looking ground penetrating radar

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shaw, Darren; Stone, Kevin; Ho, K. C.; Keller, James M.; Luke, Robert H.; Burns, Brian P.

2016-05-01

Forward looking ground penetrating radar (FLGPR) has the benefit of detecting objects at a significant standoff distance. The FLGPR signal is radiated over a large surface area and the radar signal return is often weak. Improving detection, especially for buried in road targets, while maintaining an acceptable false alarm rate remains to be a challenging task. Various kinds of features have been developed over the years to increase the FLGPR detection performance. This paper focuses on investigating the use of as many features as possible for detecting buried targets and uses the sequential feature selection technique to automatically choose the features that contribute most for improving performance. Experimental results using data collected at a government test site are presented.

A long-term target detection approach in infrared image sequence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Hang; Zhang, Qi; Li, Yuanyuan; Wang, Liqiang

2015-12-01

An automatic target detection method used in long term infrared (IR) image sequence from a moving platform is proposed. Firstly, based on non-linear histogram equalization, target candidates are coarse-to-fine segmented by using two self-adapt thresholds generated in the intensity space. Then the real target is captured via two different selection approaches. At the beginning of image sequence, the genuine target with litter texture is discriminated from other candidates by using contrast-based confidence measure. On the other hand, when the target becomes larger, we apply online EM method to iteratively estimate and update the distributions of target's size and position based on the prior detection results, and then recognize the genuine one which satisfies both the constraints of size and position. Experimental results demonstrate that the presented method is accurate, robust and efficient.

Let's get specific: the relationship between specificity and affinity.

PubMed

Eaton, B E; Gold, L; Zichi, D A

1995-10-01

The factors that lead to high-affinity binding are a good fit between the surfaces of the two molecules in their ground state and charge complementarity. Exactly the same factors give high specificity for a target. We argue that selection for high-affinity binding automatically leads to highly specific binding. This principle can be used to simplify screening approaches aimed at generating useful drugs.

Processes in the Resolution of Ambiguous Words: Towards a Model of Selective Inhibition. Cognitive Science Program, Technical Report No. 86-6.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yee, Penny L.

This study investigates the role of specific inhibitory processes in lexical ambiguity resolution. An attentional view of inhibition and a view based on specific automatic inhibition between nodes predict different results when a neutral item is processed between an ambiguous word and a related target. Subjects were 32 English speakers with normal…

A real-time optical tracking and measurement processing system for flying targets.

PubMed

Guo, Pengyu; Ding, Shaowen; Zhang, Hongliang; Zhang, Xiaohu

2014-01-01

Optical tracking and measurement for flying targets is unlike the close range photography under a controllable observation environment, which brings extreme conditions like diverse target changes as a result of high maneuver ability and long cruising range. This paper first designed and realized a distributed image interpretation and measurement processing system to achieve resource centralized management, multisite simultaneous interpretation and adaptive estimation algorithm selection; then proposed a real-time interpretation method which contains automatic foreground detection, online target tracking, multiple features location, and human guidance. An experiment is carried out at performance and efficiency evaluation of the method by semisynthetic video. The system can be used in the field of aerospace tests like target analysis including dynamic parameter, transient states, and optical physics characteristics, with security control.

A Real-Time Optical Tracking and Measurement Processing System for Flying Targets

PubMed Central

Guo, Pengyu; Ding, Shaowen; Zhang, Hongliang; Zhang, Xiaohu

2014-01-01

Optical tracking and measurement for flying targets is unlike the close range photography under a controllable observation environment, which brings extreme conditions like diverse target changes as a result of high maneuver ability and long cruising range. This paper first designed and realized a distributed image interpretation and measurement processing system to achieve resource centralized management, multisite simultaneous interpretation and adaptive estimation algorithm selection; then proposed a real-time interpretation method which contains automatic foreground detection, online target tracking, multiple features location, and human guidance. An experiment is carried out at performance and efficiency evaluation of the method by semisynthetic video. The system can be used in the field of aerospace tests like target analysis including dynamic parameter, transient states, and optical physics characteristics, with security control. PMID:24987748

Towards an automatic statistical model for seasonal precipitation prediction and its application to Central and South Asian headwater catchments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gerlitz, Lars; Gafurov, Abror; Apel, Heiko; Unger-Sayesteh, Katy; Vorogushyn, Sergiy; Merz, Bruno

2016-04-01

Statistical climate forecast applications typically utilize a small set of large scale SST or climate indices, such as ENSO, PDO or AMO as predictor variables. If the predictive skill of these large scale modes is insufficient, specific predictor variables such as customized SST patterns are frequently included. Hence statistically based climate forecast models are either based on a fixed number of climate indices (and thus might not consider important predictor variables) or are highly site specific and barely transferable to other regions. With the aim of developing an operational seasonal forecast model, which is easily transferable to any region in the world, we present a generic data mining approach which automatically selects potential predictors from gridded SST observations and reanalysis derived large scale atmospheric circulation patterns and generates robust statistical relationships with posterior precipitation anomalies for user selected target regions. Potential predictor variables are derived by means of a cellwise correlation analysis of precipitation anomalies with gridded global climate variables under consideration of varying lead times. Significantly correlated grid cells are subsequently aggregated to predictor regions by means of a variability based cluster analysis. Finally for every month and lead time, an individual random forest based forecast model is automatically calibrated and evaluated by means of the preliminary generated predictor variables. The model is exemplarily applied and evaluated for selected headwater catchments in Central and South Asia. Particularly the for winter and spring precipitation (which is associated with westerly disturbances in the entire target domain) the model shows solid results with correlation coefficients up to 0.7, although the variability of precipitation rates is highly underestimated. Likewise for the monsoonal precipitation amounts in the South Asian target areas a certain skill of the model could be detected. The skill of the model for the dry summer season in Central Asia and the transition seasons over South Asia is found to be low. A sensitivity analysis by means on well known climate indices reveals the major large scale controlling mechanisms for the seasonal precipitation climate of each target area. For the Central Asian target areas, both, the El Nino Southern Oscillation and the North Atlantic Oscillation are identified as important controlling factors for precipitation totals during moist spring season. Drought conditions are found to be triggered by a warm ENSO phase in combination with a positive phase of the NAO. For the monsoonal summer precipitation amounts over Southern Asia, the model suggests a distinct negative response to El Nino events.

How the mind shapes action: Offline contexts modulate involuntary episodic retrieval.

PubMed

Frings, Christian; Koch, Iring; Moeller, Birte

2017-11-01

Involuntary retrieval of previous stimulus-response episodes is a centerpiece of many theories of priming, episodic binding, and action control. Typically it is assumed that by repeating a stimulus from trial n-1 to trial n, involuntary retrieval is triggered in a nearly automatic fashion, facilitating (or interfering with) the to-be-executed action. Here we argue that changes in the offline context weaken the involuntary retrieval of previous episodes (the offline context is defined to be the information presented before or after the focal stimulus). In four conditions differing in cue modality and target modality, retrieval was diminished if participants changed the target selection criterion (as indicated by a cue presented before the selection took place) while they still performed the same task. Thus, solely through changes in the offline context (cue or selection criterion), involuntary retrieval can be weakened in an effective way.

TINAGL1 and B3GALNT1 are potential therapy target genes to suppress metastasis in non-small cell lung cancer

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remains lethal despite the development of numerous drug therapy technologies. About 85% to 90% of lung cancers are NSCLC and the 5-year survival rate is at best still below 50%. Thus, it is important to find drugable target genes for NSCLC to develop an effective therapy for NSCLC. Results Integrated analysis of publically available gene expression and promoter methylation patterns of two highly aggressive NSCLC cell lines generated by in vivo selection was performed. We selected eleven critical genes that may mediate metastasis using recently proposed principal component analysis based unsupervised feature extraction. The eleven selected genes were significantly related to cancer diagnosis. The tertiary protein structure of the selected genes was inferred by Full Automatic Modeling System, a profile-based protein structure inference software, to determine protein functions and to specify genes that could be potential drug targets. Conclusions We identified eleven potentially critical genes that may mediate NSCLC metastasis using bioinformatic analysis of publically available data sets. These genes are potential target genes for the therapy of NSCLC. Among the eleven genes, TINAGL1 and B3GALNT1 are possible candidates for drug compounds that inhibit their gene expression. PMID:25521548

Using genetic algorithms to optimize the analogue method for precipitation prediction in the Swiss Alps

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Horton, Pascal; Jaboyedoff, Michel; Obled, Charles

2018-01-01

Analogue methods provide a statistical precipitation prediction based on synoptic predictors supplied by general circulation models or numerical weather prediction models. The method samples a selection of days in the archives that are similar to the target day to be predicted, and consider their set of corresponding observed precipitation (the predictand) as the conditional distribution for the target day. The relationship between the predictors and predictands relies on some parameters that characterize how and where the similarity between two atmospheric situations is defined. This relationship is usually established by a semi-automatic sequential procedure that has strong limitations: (i) it cannot automatically choose the pressure levels and temporal windows (hour of the day) for a given meteorological variable, (ii) it cannot handle dependencies between parameters, and (iii) it cannot easily handle new degrees of freedom. In this work, a global optimization approach relying on genetic algorithms could optimize all parameters jointly and automatically. The global optimization was applied to some variants of the analogue method for the Rhône catchment in the Swiss Alps. The performance scores increased compared to reference methods, especially for days with high precipitation totals. The resulting parameters were found to be relevant and coherent between the different subregions of the catchment. Moreover, they were obtained automatically and objectively, which reduces the effort that needs to be invested in exploration attempts when adapting the method to a new region or for a new predictand. For example, it obviates the need to assess a large number of combinations of pressure levels and temporal windows of predictor variables that were manually selected beforehand. The optimization could also take into account parameter inter-dependencies. In addition, the approach allowed for new degrees of freedom, such as a possible weighting between pressure levels, and non-overlapping spatial windows.

Automaticity in reading and the Stroop task: testing the limits of involuntary word processing.

PubMed

Brown, Tracy L; Joneleit, Kelly; Robinson, Cathy S; Brown, Carli Rose

2002-01-01

We investigated the parameters of involuntary word reading in the Stroop task in 7 experiments. Experiments 1-4 varied response modality and the presence of congruent word trials in a test of the claim that presenting a Stroop color word with only one letter in the target color eliminates the Stroop effect. Experiments 5 and 6 addressed the roles of spatial attention and orthographic processing as possible mechanisms behind the reduction of Stroop effects with the single-letter format. Experiment 7 investigated the limits of involuntary reading under optimal conditions for selective processing of rectangular color patch targets. We found that the single-letter format reduced but never eliminated Stroop effects, spatial attention but not orthographic processing plays a role in the effect of the single-letter format, and word reading is not completely prevented even with austere presentation conditions. We conclude with a defense of the involuntariness criterion for automaticity in the Stroop task, particularly when word reading is viewed in the context of a skilled performance.

Software for Partly Automated Recognition of Targets

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Opitz, David; Blundell, Stuart; Bain, William; Morris, Matthew; Carlson, Ian; Mangrich, Mark

2003-01-01

The Feature Analyst is a computer program for assisted (partially automated) recognition of targets in images. This program was developed to accelerate the processing of high-resolution satellite image data for incorporation into geographic information systems (GIS). This program creates an advanced user interface that embeds proprietary machine-learning algorithms in commercial image-processing and GIS software. A human analyst provides samples of target features from multiple sets of data, then the software develops a data-fusion model that automatically extracts the remaining features from selected sets of data. The program thus leverages the natural ability of humans to recognize objects in complex scenes, without requiring the user to explain the human visual recognition process by means of lengthy software. Two major subprograms are the reactive agent and the thinking agent. The reactive agent strives to quickly learn the user s tendencies while the user is selecting targets and to increase the user s productivity by immediately suggesting the next set of pixels that the user may wish to select. The thinking agent utilizes all available resources, taking as much time as needed, to produce the most accurate autonomous feature-extraction model possible.

SU-E-J-132: Automated Segmentation with Post-Registration Atlas Selection Based On Mutual Information

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ren, X; Gao, H; Sharp, G

2015-06-15

Purpose: The delineation of targets and organs-at-risk is a critical step during image-guided radiation therapy, for which manual contouring is the gold standard. However, it is often time-consuming and may suffer from intra- and inter-rater variability. The purpose of this work is to investigate the automated segmentation. Methods: The automatic segmentation here is based on mutual information (MI), with the atlas from Public Domain Database for Computational Anatomy (PDDCA) with manually drawn contours.Using dice coefficient (DC) as the quantitative measure of segmentation accuracy, we perform leave-one-out cross-validations for all PDDCA images sequentially, during which other images are registered to eachmore » chosen image and DC is computed between registered contour and ground truth. Meanwhile, six strategies, including MI, are selected to measure the image similarity, with MI to be the best. Then given a target image to be segmented and an atlas, automatic segmentation consists of: (a) the affine registration step for image positioning; (b) the active demons registration method to register the atlas to the target image; (c) the computation of MI values between the deformed atlas and the target image; (d) the weighted image fusion of three deformed atlas images with highest MI values to form the segmented contour. Results: MI was found to be the best among six studied strategies in the sense that it had the highest positive correlation between similarity measure (e.g., MI values) and DC. For automated segmentation, the weighted image fusion of three deformed atlas images with highest MI values provided the highest DC among four proposed strategies. Conclusion: MI has the highest correlation with DC, and therefore is an appropriate choice for post-registration atlas selection in atlas-based segmentation. Xuhua Ren and Hao Gao were partially supported by the NSFC (#11405105), the 973 Program (#2015CB856000) and the Shanghai Pujiang Talent Program (#14PJ1404500)« less

AEGIS Automated Targeting for the MSL ChemCam Instrument

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Estlin, T.; Anderson, R. C.; Blaney, D. L.; Bornstein, B.; Burl, M. C.; Castano, R.; Gaines, D.; Judd, M.; Thompson, D. R.; Wiens, R. C.

2013-12-01

The Autonomous Exploration for Gathering Increased Science (AEGIS) system enables automated science data collection by a planetary rover. AEGIS has been in use on the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) mission Opportunity rover since 2010 to provide onboard targeting of the MER Panoramic Camera based on scientist-specified objectives. AEGIS is now being applied for use with the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission ChemCam spectrometer. ChemCam uses a Laser Induced Breakdown Spectrometer (LIBS) to analyze the elemental composition of rocks and soil from up to seven meters away. ChemCam's tightly-focused laser beam (350-550 um) enables targeting of very fine-scale terrain features. AEGIS is being applied in two ways to help ChemCam collect valuable science data. The first application is to enable automated targeting of ChemCam during or after or in the middle of long drives. The majority of ChemCam measurements are collected by allowing the science team to select specific targets in rover images. However this requires the rover to stay in the same area while images are downlinked, analyzed for targets, and new commands uplinked. The only data that can be acquired without this communication cycle is via blind targeting, where measurements are often of soil patches vs. instead of more valuable targets such as rocks with specific properties. AEGIS is being applied to automatically analyze images onboard and select targets for ChemCam analysis. This approach allows the rover to autonomously select and sequence targeted measurements in an opportunistic fashion at different points along the rover's drive path. Rock targets can be prioritized for measurement based on various geologically relevant features, including size, shape and albedo. A second application is to enable intelligent pointing refinement of ChemCam when acquiring data of small targets, such as veins or concretions that are only a few millimeters wide. Due to backlash and other pointing challenges, it can often require several downlink cycles for LIBS measurements to be acquired on small targets. Often targets must first be imaged using the high resolution ChemCam Remote Micro Imager (RMI) and then ground analysis performed to enable a fine-tuned pointing correction on the next commanding cycle. AEGIS is being applied to analyze RMI images onboard and automatically determine the pointing refinement necessary to acquire LIBS data on small targets. This significantly decreases the amount of time and resources required to acquire ChemCam data on such targets. Work is currently in progress to adapt AEGIS algorithm for these applications and integrate the system with MSL flight software. Once integration and testing is complete, AEGIS will be uploaded to the spacecraft for operational use.

Towards automatic patient positioning and scan planning using continuously moving table MR imaging.

PubMed

Koken, Peter; Dries, Sebastian P M; Keupp, Jochen; Bystrov, Daniel; Pekar, Vladimir; Börnert, Peter

2009-10-01

A concept is proposed to simplify patient positioning and scan planning to improve ease of use and workflow in MR. After patient preparation in front of the scanner the operator selects the anatomy of interest by a single push-button action. Subsequently, the patient table is moved automatically into the scanner, while real-time 3D isotropic low-resolution continuously moving table scout scanning is performed using patient-independent MR system settings. With a real-time organ identification process running in parallel and steering the scanner, the target anatomy can be positioned fully automatically in the scanner's sensitive volume. The desired diagnostic examination of the anatomy of interest can be planned and continued immediately using the geometric information derived from the acquired 3D data. The concept was implemented and successfully tested in vivo in 12 healthy volunteers, focusing on the liver as the target anatomy. The positioning accuracy achieved was on the order of several millimeters, which turned out to be sufficient for initial planning purposes. Furthermore, the impact of nonoptimal system settings on the positioning performance, the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) was investigated. The present work proved the basic concept of the proposed approach as an element of future scan automation. (c) 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

The effects of visual search efficiency on object-based attention

PubMed Central

Rosen, Maya; Cutrone, Elizabeth; Behrmann, Marlene

2017-01-01

The attentional prioritization hypothesis of object-based attention (Shomstein & Yantis in Perception & Psychophysics, 64, 41–51, 2002) suggests a two-stage selection process comprising an automatic spatial gradient and flexible strategic (prioritization) selection. The combined attentional priorities of these two stages of object-based selection determine the order in which participants will search the display for the presence of a target. The strategic process has often been likened to a prioritized visual search. By modifying the double-rectangle cueing paradigm (Egly, Driver, & Rafal in Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 123, 161–177, 1994) and placing it in the context of a larger-scale visual search, we examined how the prioritization search is affected by search efficiency. By probing both targets located on the cued object and targets external to the cued object, we found that the attentional priority surrounding a selected object is strongly modulated by search mode. However, the ordering of the prioritization search is unaffected by search mode. The data also provide evidence that standard spatial visual search and object-based prioritization search may rely on distinct mechanisms. These results provide insight into the interactions between the mode of visual search and object-based selection, and help define the modulatory consequences of search efficiency for object-based attention. PMID:25832192

Automatic attentional orienting to other people's gaze in schizophrenia.

PubMed

Langdon, Robyn; Seymour, Kiley; Williams, Tracey; Ward, Philip B

2017-08-01

Explicit tests of social cognition have revealed pervasive deficits in schizophrenia. Less is known of automatic social cognition in schizophrenia. We used a spatial orienting task to investigate automatic shifts of attention cued by another person's eye gaze in 29 patients and 28 controls. Central photographic images of a face with eyes shifted left or right, or looking straight ahead, preceded targets that appeared left or right of the cue. To examine automatic effects, cue direction was non-predictive of target location. Cue-target intervals were 100, 300, and 800 ms. In non-social control trials, arrows replaced eye-gaze cues. Both groups showed automatic attentional orienting indexed by faster reaction times (RTs) when arrows were congruent with target location across all cue-target intervals. Similar congruency effects were seen for eye-shift cues at 300 and 800 ms intervals, but patients showed significantly larger congruency effects at 800 ms, which were driven by delayed responses to incongruent target locations. At short 100-ms cue-target intervals, neither group showed faster RTs for congruent than for incongruent eye-shift cues, but patients were significantly slower to detect targets after direct-gaze cues. These findings conflict with previous studies using schematic line drawings of eye-shifts that have found automatic attentional orienting to be reduced in schizophrenia. Instead, our data indicate that patients display abnormalities in responding to gaze direction at various stages of gaze processing-reflected by a stronger preferential capture of attention by another person's direct eye contact at initial stages of gaze processing and difficulties disengaging from a gazed-at location once shared attention is established.

Methods for automatically analyzing humpback song units.

PubMed

Rickwood, Peter; Taylor, Andrew

2008-03-01

This paper presents mathematical techniques for automatically extracting and analyzing bioacoustic signals. Automatic techniques are described for isolation of target signals from background noise, extraction of features from target signals and unsupervised classification (clustering) of the target signals based on these features. The only user-provided inputs, other than raw sound, is an initial set of signal processing and control parameters. Of particular note is that the number of signal categories is determined automatically. The techniques, applied to hydrophone recordings of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae), produce promising initial results, suggesting that they may be of use in automated analysis of not only humpbacks, but possibly also in other bioacoustic settings where automated analysis is desirable.

Rendezvous terminal phase automatic braking sequencing and targeting. [for space shuttle orbiter

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kachmar, P. M.

1973-01-01

The purpose of the rendezvous terminal phase braking program is to provide the means of automatically bringing the primary orbiter within desired station keeping boundaries relative to the target satellite. A detailed discussion is presented on the braking program and its navigation, targeting, and guidance functions.

SU-E-T-362: Automatic Catheter Reconstruction of Flap Applicators in HDR Surface Brachytherapy

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Buzurovic, I; Devlin, P; Hansen, J

2014-06-01

Purpose: Catheter reconstruction is crucial for the accurate delivery of radiation dose in HDR brachytherapy. The process becomes complicated and time-consuming for large superficial clinical targets with a complex topology. A novel method for the automatic catheter reconstruction of flap applicators is proposed in this study. Methods: We have developed a program package capable of image manipulation, using C++class libraries of The-Visualization-Toolkit(VTK) software system. The workflow for automatic catheter reconstruction is: a)an anchor point is placed in 3D or in the axial view of the first slice at the tip of the first, last and middle points for the curvedmore » surface; b)similar points are placed on the last slice of the image set; c)the surface detection algorithm automatically registers the points to the images and applies the surface reconstruction filter; d)then a structured grid surface is generated through the center of the treatment catheters placed at a distance of 5mm from the patient's skin. As a result, a mesh-style plane is generated with the reconstructed catheters placed 10mm apart. To demonstrate automatic catheter reconstruction, we used CT images of patients diagnosed with cutaneous T-cell-lymphoma and imaged with Freiburg-Flap-Applicators (Nucletron™-Elekta, Netherlands). The coordinates for each catheter were generated and compared to the control points selected during the manual reconstruction for 16catheters and 368control point Results: The variation of the catheter tip positions between the automatically and manually reconstructed catheters was 0.17mm(SD=0.23mm). The position difference between the manually selected catheter control points and the corresponding points obtained automatically was 0.17mm in the x-direction (SD=0.23mm), 0.13mm in the y-direction (SD=0.22mm), and 0.14mm in the z-direction (SD=0.24mm). Conclusion: This study shows the feasibility of the automatic catheter reconstruction of flap applicators with a high level of positioning accuracy. Implementation of this technique has potential to decrease the planning time and may improve overall quality in superficial brachytherapy.« less

Automatic target alignment of the Helios laser system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liberman, I.; Viswanathan, V. K.; Klein, M.; Seery, B. D.

1980-05-01

An automatic target-alignment technique for the Helios laser facility is reported and verified experimentally. The desired alignment condition is completely described by an autocollimation test. A computer program examines the autocollimated return pattern from the surrogate target and correctly describes any changes required in mirror orientation to yield optimum target alignment with either aberrated or misaligned beams. Automated on-line target alignment is thus shown to be feasible.

Conflict Resolution as Near-Threshold Decision-Making: A Spiking Neural Circuit Model with Two-Stage Competition for Antisaccadic Task

PubMed Central

Wang, Xiao-Jing

2016-01-01

Automatic responses enable us to react quickly and effortlessly, but they often need to be inhibited so that an alternative, voluntary action can take place. To investigate the brain mechanism of controlled behavior, we investigated a biologically-based network model of spiking neurons for inhibitory control. In contrast to a simple race between pro- versus anti-response, our model incorporates a sensorimotor remapping module, and an action-selection module endowed with a “Stop” process through tonic inhibition. Both are under the modulation of rule-dependent control. We tested the model by applying it to the well known antisaccade task in which one must suppress the urge to look toward a visual target that suddenly appears, and shift the gaze diametrically away from the target instead. We found that the two-stage competition is crucial for reproducing the complex behavior and neuronal activity observed in the antisaccade task across multiple brain regions. Notably, our model demonstrates two types of errors: fast and slow. Fast errors result from failing to inhibit the quick automatic responses and therefore exhibit very short response times. Slow errors, in contrast, are due to incorrect decisions in the remapping process and exhibit long response times comparable to those of correct antisaccade responses. The model thus reveals a circuit mechanism for the empirically observed slow errors and broad distributions of erroneous response times in antisaccade. Our work suggests that selecting between competing automatic and voluntary actions in behavioral control can be understood in terms of near-threshold decision-making, sharing a common recurrent (attractor) neural circuit mechanism with discrimination in perception. PMID:27551824

Conflict Resolution as Near-Threshold Decision-Making: A Spiking Neural Circuit Model with Two-Stage Competition for Antisaccadic Task.

PubMed

Lo, Chung-Chuan; Wang, Xiao-Jing

2016-08-01

Automatic responses enable us to react quickly and effortlessly, but they often need to be inhibited so that an alternative, voluntary action can take place. To investigate the brain mechanism of controlled behavior, we investigated a biologically-based network model of spiking neurons for inhibitory control. In contrast to a simple race between pro- versus anti-response, our model incorporates a sensorimotor remapping module, and an action-selection module endowed with a "Stop" process through tonic inhibition. Both are under the modulation of rule-dependent control. We tested the model by applying it to the well known antisaccade task in which one must suppress the urge to look toward a visual target that suddenly appears, and shift the gaze diametrically away from the target instead. We found that the two-stage competition is crucial for reproducing the complex behavior and neuronal activity observed in the antisaccade task across multiple brain regions. Notably, our model demonstrates two types of errors: fast and slow. Fast errors result from failing to inhibit the quick automatic responses and therefore exhibit very short response times. Slow errors, in contrast, are due to incorrect decisions in the remapping process and exhibit long response times comparable to those of correct antisaccade responses. The model thus reveals a circuit mechanism for the empirically observed slow errors and broad distributions of erroneous response times in antisaccade. Our work suggests that selecting between competing automatic and voluntary actions in behavioral control can be understood in terms of near-threshold decision-making, sharing a common recurrent (attractor) neural circuit mechanism with discrimination in perception.

Robust Ground Target Detection by SAR and IR Sensor Fusion Using Adaboost-Based Feature Selection

PubMed Central

Kim, Sungho; Song, Woo-Jin; Kim, So-Hyun

2016-01-01

Long-range ground targets are difficult to detect in a noisy cluttered environment using either synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images or infrared (IR) images. SAR-based detectors can provide a high detection rate with a high false alarm rate to background scatter noise. IR-based approaches can detect hot targets but are affected strongly by the weather conditions. This paper proposes a novel target detection method by decision-level SAR and IR fusion using an Adaboost-based machine learning scheme to achieve a high detection rate and low false alarm rate. The proposed method consists of individual detection, registration, and fusion architecture. This paper presents a single framework of a SAR and IR target detection method using modified Boolean map visual theory (modBMVT) and feature-selection based fusion. Previous methods applied different algorithms to detect SAR and IR targets because of the different physical image characteristics. One method that is optimized for IR target detection produces unsuccessful results in SAR target detection. This study examined the image characteristics and proposed a unified SAR and IR target detection method by inserting a median local average filter (MLAF, pre-filter) and an asymmetric morphological closing filter (AMCF, post-filter) into the BMVT. The original BMVT was optimized to detect small infrared targets. The proposed modBMVT can remove the thermal and scatter noise by the MLAF and detect extended targets by attaching the AMCF after the BMVT. Heterogeneous SAR and IR images were registered automatically using the proposed RANdom SAmple Region Consensus (RANSARC)-based homography optimization after a brute-force correspondence search using the detected target centers and regions. The final targets were detected by feature-selection based sensor fusion using Adaboost. The proposed method showed good SAR and IR target detection performance through feature selection-based decision fusion on a synthetic database generated by OKTAL-SE. PMID:27447635

Robust Ground Target Detection by SAR and IR Sensor Fusion Using Adaboost-Based Feature Selection.

PubMed

Kim, Sungho; Song, Woo-Jin; Kim, So-Hyun

2016-07-19

Long-range ground targets are difficult to detect in a noisy cluttered environment using either synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images or infrared (IR) images. SAR-based detectors can provide a high detection rate with a high false alarm rate to background scatter noise. IR-based approaches can detect hot targets but are affected strongly by the weather conditions. This paper proposes a novel target detection method by decision-level SAR and IR fusion using an Adaboost-based machine learning scheme to achieve a high detection rate and low false alarm rate. The proposed method consists of individual detection, registration, and fusion architecture. This paper presents a single framework of a SAR and IR target detection method using modified Boolean map visual theory (modBMVT) and feature-selection based fusion. Previous methods applied different algorithms to detect SAR and IR targets because of the different physical image characteristics. One method that is optimized for IR target detection produces unsuccessful results in SAR target detection. This study examined the image characteristics and proposed a unified SAR and IR target detection method by inserting a median local average filter (MLAF, pre-filter) and an asymmetric morphological closing filter (AMCF, post-filter) into the BMVT. The original BMVT was optimized to detect small infrared targets. The proposed modBMVT can remove the thermal and scatter noise by the MLAF and detect extended targets by attaching the AMCF after the BMVT. Heterogeneous SAR and IR images were registered automatically using the proposed RANdom SAmple Region Consensus (RANSARC)-based homography optimization after a brute-force correspondence search using the detected target centers and regions. The final targets were detected by feature-selection based sensor fusion using Adaboost. The proposed method showed good SAR and IR target detection performance through feature selection-based decision fusion on a synthetic database generated by OKTAL-SE.

Automatic cloud tracking applied to GOES and Meteosat observations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Endlich, R. M.; Wolf, D. E.

1981-01-01

An improved automatic processing method for the tracking of cloud motions as revealed by satellite imagery is presented and applications of the method to GOES observations of Hurricane Eloise and Meteosat water vapor and infrared data are presented. The method is shown to involve steps of picture smoothing, target selection and the calculation of cloud motion vectors by the matching of a group at a given time with its best likeness at a later time, or by a cross-correlation computation. Cloud motion computations can be made in as many as four separate layers simultaneously. For data of 4 and 8 km resolution in the eye of Hurricane Eloise, the automatic system is found to provide results comparable in accuracy and coverage to those obtained by NASA analysts using the Atmospheric and Oceanographic Information Processing System, with results obtained by the pattern recognition and cross correlation computations differing by only fractions of a pixel. For Meteosat water vapor data from the tropics and midlatitudes, the automatic motion computations are found to be reliable only in areas where the water vapor fields contained small-scale structure, although excellent results are obtained using Meteosat IR data in the same regions. The automatic method thus appears to be competitive in accuracy and coverage with motion determination by human analysts.

Technological Areas to Improve Soldier Decisiveness: Insights From the Soldier-System Design Perspective

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-03-01

learning state of the Soldier (e.g., frustrated, confused, engaged), to select the best learning strategies (e.g., feedback, reflection, hints), and...targeted to areas of weakness. This training can be enhanced by the use of “intelligent” agents to perceive learner attributes (e.g., competence...auditory scene would be made, and outlying objects and sounds, or missing activity, could be automatically identified and displayed aurally or visually

A Plane Target Detection Algorithm in Remote Sensing Images based on Deep Learning Network Technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shuxin, Li; Zhilong, Zhang; Biao, Li

2018-01-01

Plane is an important target category in remote sensing targets and it is of great value to detect the plane targets automatically. As remote imaging technology developing continuously, the resolution of the remote sensing image has been very high and we can get more detailed information for detecting the remote sensing targets automatically. Deep learning network technology is the most advanced technology in image target detection and recognition, which provided great performance improvement in the field of target detection and recognition in the everyday scenes. We combined the technology with the application in the remote sensing target detection and proposed an algorithm with end to end deep network, which can learn from the remote sensing images to detect the targets in the new images automatically and robustly. Our experiments shows that the algorithm can capture the feature information of the plane target and has better performance in target detection with the old methods.

Does training under consistent mapping conditions lead to automatic attention attraction to targets in search tasks?

PubMed

Lefebvre, Christine; Cousineau, Denis; Larochelle, Serge

2008-11-01

Schneider and Shiffrin (1977) proposed that training under consistent stimulus-response mapping (CM) leads to automatic target detection in search tasks. Other theories, such as Treisman and Gelade's (1980) feature integration theory, consider target-distractor discriminability as the main determinant of search performance. The first two experiments pit these two principles against each other. The results show that CM training is neither necessary nor sufficient to achieve optimal search performance. Two other experiments examine whether CM trained targets, presented as distractors in unattended display locations, attract attention away from current targets. The results are again found to vary with target-distractor similarity. Overall, the present study strongly suggests that CM training does not invariably lead to automatic attention attraction in search tasks.

Advanced MicroObserver UGS integration with and cueing of the BattleHawk squad level loitering munition and UAV

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Steadman, Bob; Finklea, John; Kershaw, James; Loughman, Cathy; Shaffner, Patti; Frost, Dean; Deller, Sean

2014-06-01

Textron's Advanced MicroObserver(R) is a next generation remote unattended ground sensor system (UGS) for border security, infrastructure protection, and small combat unit security. The original MicroObserver(R) is a sophisticated seismic sensor system with multi-node fusion that supports target tracking. This system has been deployed in combat theaters. The system's seismic sensor nodes are uniquely able to be completely buried (including antennas) for optimal covertness. The advanced version adds a wireless day/night Electro-Optic Infrared (EOIR) system, cued by seismic tracking, with sophisticated target discrimination and automatic frame capture features. Also new is a field deployable Gateway configurable with a variety of radio systems and flexible networking, an important upgrade that enabled the research described herein. BattleHawkTM is a small tube launched Unmanned Air Vehicle (UAV) with a warhead. Using transmitted video from its EOIR subsystem an operator can search for and acquire a target day or night, select a target for attack, and execute terminal dive to destroy the target. It is designed as a lightweight squad level asset carried by an individual infantryman. Although BattleHawk has the best loiter time in its class, it's still relatively short compared to large UAVs. Also it's a one-shot asset in its munition configuration. Therefore Textron Defense Systems conducted research, funded internally, to determine if there was military utility in having the highly persistent MicroObserver(R) system cue BattleHawk's launch and vector it to beyond visual range targets for engagement. This paper describes that research; the system configuration implemented, and the results of field testing that was performed on a government range early in 2013. On the integrated system that was implemented, MicroObserver(R) seismic detections activated that system's camera which then automatically captured images of the target. The geo-referenced and time-tagged MicroObserver(R) target reports and images were then automatically forwarded to the BattleHawk Android-based controller. This allowed the operator to see the intruder (classified and geo-located) on the map based display, assess the intruder as likely hostile (via the image), and launch BattleHawk with the pre-loaded target coordinates. The operator was thus able to quickly acquire the intended target (without a search) and initiate target engagement immediately. System latencies were a major concern encountered during the research.

Band selection method based on spectrum difference in targets of interest in hyperspectral imagery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Xiaohan; Yang, Guang; Yang, Yongbo; Huang, Junhua

2016-10-01

While hyperspectral data shares rich spectrum information, it has numbers of bands with high correlation coefficients, causing great data redundancy. A reasonable band selection is important for subsequent processing. Bands with large amount of information and low correlation should be selected. On this basis, according to the needs of target detection applications, the spectral characteristics of the objects of interest are taken into consideration in this paper, and a new method based on spectrum difference is proposed. Firstly, according to the spectrum differences of targets of interest, a difference matrix which represents the different spectral reflectance of different targets in different bands is structured. By setting a threshold, the bands satisfying the conditions would be left, constituting a subset of bands. Then, the correlation coefficients between bands are calculated and correlation matrix is given. According to the size of the correlation coefficient, the bands can be set into several groups. At last, the conception of normalized variance is used on behalf of the information content of each band. The bands are sorted by the value of its normalized variance. Set needing number of bands, and the optimum band combination solution can be get by these three steps. This method retains the greatest degree of difference between the target of interest and is easy to achieve by computer automatically. Besides, false color image synthesis experiment is carried out using the bands selected by this method as well as other 3 methods to show the performance of method in this paper.

WE-AB-209-05: Development of an Ultra-Fast High Quality Whole Breast Radiotherapy Treatment Planning System

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sheng, Y; Li, T; Yoo, S

2016-06-15

Purpose: To enable near-real-time (<20sec) and interactive planning without compromising quality for whole breast RT treatment planning using tangential fields. Methods: Whole breast RT plans from 20 patients treated with single energy (SE, 6MV, 10 patients) or mixed energy (ME, 6/15MV, 10 patients) were randomly selected for model training. Additional 20 cases were used as validation cohort. The planning process for a new case consists of three fully automated steps:1. Energy Selection. A classification model automatically selects energy level. To build the energy selection model, principle component analysis (PCA) was applied to the digital reconstructed radiographs (DRRs) of training casesmore » to extract anatomy-energy relationship.2. Fluence Estimation. Once energy is selected, a random forest (RF) model generates the initial fluence. This model summarizes the relationship between patient anatomy’s shape based features and the output fluence. 3. Fluence Fine-tuning. This step balances the overall dose contribution throughout the whole breast tissue by automatically selecting reference points and applying centrality correction. Fine-tuning works at beamlet-level until the dose distribution meets clinical objectives. Prior to finalization, physicians can also make patient-specific trade-offs between target coverage and high-dose volumes.The proposed method was validated by comparing auto-plans with manually generated clinical-plans using Wilcoxon Signed-Rank test. Results: In 19/20 cases the model suggested the same energy combination as clinical-plans. The target volume coverage V100% was 78.1±4.7% for auto-plans, and 79.3±4.8% for clinical-plans (p=0.12). Volumes receiving 105% Rx were 69.2±78.0cc for auto-plans compared to 83.9±87.2cc for clinical-plans (p=0.13). The mean V10Gy, V20Gy of the ipsilateral lung was 24.4±6.7%, 18.6±6.0% for auto plans and 24.6±6.7%, 18.9±6.1% for clinical-plans (p=0.04, <0.001). Total computational time for auto-plans was < 20s. Conclusion: We developed an automated method that generates breast radiotherapy plans with accurate energy selection, similar target volume coverage, reduced hotspot volumes, and significant reduction in planning time, allowing for near-real-time planning.« less

Does flexibility in perceptual organization compete with automatic grouping?

PubMed

van Assche, Mitsouko; Gos, Pierre; Giersch, Anne

2012-02-06

Segregated objects can be sought simultaneously, i.e., mentally "re-grouped." Although the mechanisms underlying such "re-grouping" clearly differ from automatic grouping, it is unclear whether or not the end products of "re-grouping" and automatic grouping are the same. If they are, they would have similar impact on visual organization but would be in conflict. We compared the consequences of grouping and re-grouping on the performance cost induced by stimuli presented across hemifields. Two identical and contiguous target figures had to be identified within a display of circles and squares alternating around a fixation point. Eye tracking was used to check central fixation. The target pair could be located in the same or separate hemifields. A large cost of presenting targets across hemifields was observed. Grouping by connectedness yielded two types of target pair, connected and unconnected. Subjects prioritized unconnected pairs efficiently when prompted to do so, suggesting "re-grouping." However, unlike automatic grouping, this did not affect the cost of across-hemifield presentation. The suggestion is that re-grouping yields different outputs to automatic grouping, such that a fresh representation resulting from re-grouping complements the one resulting from automatic grouping but does not replace it. This is one step toward understanding how our mental exploration of the world ties in and coexists with ongoing perception.

Automatic priming of attentional control by relevant colors.

PubMed

Ansorge, Ulrich; Becker, Stefanie I

2012-01-01

We tested whether color word cues automatically primed attentional control settings during visual search, or whether color words were used in a strategic manner for the control of attention. In Experiment 1, we used color words as cues that were informative or uninformative with respect to the target color. Regardless of the cue's informativeness, distractors similar to the color cue captured more attention. In Experiment 2, the participants either indicated their expectation about the target color or recalled the last target color, which was uncorrelated with the present target color. We observed more attentional capture by distractors that were similar to the participants' predictions and recollections, but no difference between effects of the recollected and predicted colors. In Experiment 3, we used 100%-informative word cues that were congruent with the predicted target color (e.g., the word "red" informed that the target would be red) or incongruent with the predicted target color (e.g., the word "green" informed that the target would be red) and found that informative incongruent word cues primed attention capture by a word-similar distractor. Together, the results suggest that word cues (Exps. 1 and 3) and color representations (Exp. 2) primed attention capture in an automatic manner. This indicates that color cues automatically primed temporary adjustments in attention control settings.

Progressive sampling-based Bayesian optimization for efficient and automatic machine learning model selection.

PubMed

Zeng, Xueqiang; Luo, Gang

2017-12-01

Machine learning is broadly used for clinical data analysis. Before training a model, a machine learning algorithm must be selected. Also, the values of one or more model parameters termed hyper-parameters must be set. Selecting algorithms and hyper-parameter values requires advanced machine learning knowledge and many labor-intensive manual iterations. To lower the bar to machine learning, miscellaneous automatic selection methods for algorithms and/or hyper-parameter values have been proposed. Existing automatic selection methods are inefficient on large data sets. This poses a challenge for using machine learning in the clinical big data era. To address the challenge, this paper presents progressive sampling-based Bayesian optimization, an efficient and automatic selection method for both algorithms and hyper-parameter values. We report an implementation of the method. We show that compared to a state of the art automatic selection method, our method can significantly reduce search time, classification error rate, and standard deviation of error rate due to randomization. This is major progress towards enabling fast turnaround in identifying high-quality solutions required by many machine learning-based clinical data analysis tasks.

Error Rates in Users of Automatic Face Recognition Software

PubMed Central

White, David; Dunn, James D.; Schmid, Alexandra C.; Kemp, Richard I.

2015-01-01

In recent years, wide deployment of automatic face recognition systems has been accompanied by substantial gains in algorithm performance. However, benchmarking tests designed to evaluate these systems do not account for the errors of human operators, who are often an integral part of face recognition solutions in forensic and security settings. This causes a mismatch between evaluation tests and operational accuracy. We address this by measuring user performance in a face recognition system used to screen passport applications for identity fraud. Experiment 1 measured target detection accuracy in algorithm-generated ‘candidate lists’ selected from a large database of passport images. Accuracy was notably poorer than in previous studies of unfamiliar face matching: participants made over 50% errors for adult target faces, and over 60% when matching images of children. Experiment 2 then compared performance of student participants to trained passport officers–who use the system in their daily work–and found equivalent performance in these groups. Encouragingly, a group of highly trained and experienced “facial examiners” outperformed these groups by 20 percentage points. We conclude that human performance curtails accuracy of face recognition systems–potentially reducing benchmark estimates by 50% in operational settings. Mere practise does not attenuate these limits, but superior performance of trained examiners suggests that recruitment and selection of human operators, in combination with effective training and mentorship, can improve the operational accuracy of face recognition systems. PMID:26465631

Basic forest cover mapping using digitized remote sensor data and automated data processing techniques

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Coggeshall, M. E.; Hoffer, R. M.

1973-01-01

Remote sensing equipment and automatic data processing techniques were employed as aids in the institution of improved forest resource management methods. On the basis of automatically calculated statistics derived from manually selected training samples, the feature selection processor of LARSYS selected, upon consideration of various groups of the four available spectral regions, a series of channel combinations whose automatic classification performances (for six cover types, including both deciduous and coniferous forest) were tested, analyzed, and further compared with automatic classification results obtained from digitized color infrared photography.

A distributed automatic target recognition system using multiple low resolution sensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yue, Zhanfeng; Lakshmi Narasimha, Pramod; Topiwala, Pankaj

2008-04-01

In this paper, we propose a multi-agent system which uses swarming techniques to perform high accuracy Automatic Target Recognition (ATR) in a distributed manner. The proposed system can co-operatively share the information from low-resolution images of different looks and use this information to perform high accuracy ATR. An advanced, multiple-agent Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) systems-based approach is proposed which integrates the processing capabilities, combines detection reporting with live video exchange, and swarm behavior modalities that dramatically surpass individual sensor system performance levels. We employ real-time block-based motion analysis and compensation scheme for efficient estimation and correction of camera jitter, global motion of the camera/scene and the effects of atmospheric turbulence. Our optimized Partition Weighted Sum (PWS) approach requires only bitshifts and additions, yet achieves a stunning 16X pixel resolution enhancement, which is moreover parallizable. We develop advanced, adaptive particle-filtering based algorithms to robustly track multiple mobile targets by adaptively changing the appearance model of the selected targets. The collaborative ATR system utilizes the homographies between the sensors induced by the ground plane to overlap the local observation with the received images from other UAVs. The motion of the UAVs distorts estimated homography frame to frame. A robust dynamic homography estimation algorithm is proposed to address this, by using the homography decomposition and the ground plane surface estimation.

Target recognition based on convolutional neural network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Liqiang; Wang, Xin; Xi, Fubiao; Dong, Jian

2017-11-01

One of the important part of object target recognition is the feature extraction, which can be classified into feature extraction and automatic feature extraction. The traditional neural network is one of the automatic feature extraction methods, while it causes high possibility of over-fitting due to the global connection. The deep learning algorithm used in this paper is a hierarchical automatic feature extraction method, trained with the layer-by-layer convolutional neural network (CNN), which can extract the features from lower layers to higher layers. The features are more discriminative and it is beneficial to the object target recognition.

Contingent involuntary motoric inhibition: the involuntary inhibition of a motor response contingent on top-down goals.

PubMed

Anderson, Brian A; Folk, Charles L

2012-12-01

Effective motor control involves both the execution of appropriate responses and the inhibition of inappropriate responses that are evoked by response-associated stimuli. The inhibition of a motor response has traditionally been characterized as either a voluntary act of cognitive control or a low-level perceptual bias arising from processes such as inhibition of return and priming. Involuntary effects of top-down goals on motoric inhibition have been reported, but involve the perseveration of an inhibitory strategy. It is unknown whether the inhibition of a motor response can be selectively triggered by a goal-relevant stimulus, reflecting the automatic activation of a top-down inhibitory strategy. Here we show that irrelevant flankers that share the color of a no-go target elicit the inhibition of their associated motor response while other-colored flankers do not, even when participants have sufficient time to prepare for the upcoming target while ignoring the flankers. Our results demonstrate contingent involuntary motoric inhibition: motoric inhibition can be automatically triggered by a stimulus based on top-down goals.

Automatic rapid attachable warhead section

DOEpatents

Trennel, A.J.

1994-05-10

Disclosed are a method and apparatus for automatically selecting warheads or reentry vehicles from a storage area containing a plurality of types of warheads or reentry vehicles, automatically selecting weapon carriers from a storage area containing at least one type of weapon carrier, manipulating and aligning the selected warheads or reentry vehicles and weapon carriers, and automatically coupling the warheads or reentry vehicles with the weapon carriers such that coupling of improperly selected warheads or reentry vehicles with weapon carriers is inhibited. Such inhibition enhances safety of operations and is achieved by a number of means including computer control of the process of selection and coupling and use of connectorless interfaces capable of assuring that improperly selected items will be rejected or rendered inoperable prior to coupling. Also disclosed are a method and apparatus wherein the stated principles pertaining to selection, coupling and inhibition are extended to apply to any item-to-be-carried and any carrying assembly. 10 figures.

Automatic rapid attachable warhead section

DOEpatents

Trennel, Anthony J.

1994-05-10

Disclosed are a method and apparatus for (1) automatically selecting warheads or reentry vehicles from a storage area containing a plurality of types of warheads or reentry vehicles, (2) automatically selecting weapon carriers from a storage area containing at least one type of weapon carrier, (3) manipulating and aligning the selected warheads or reentry vehicles and weapon carriers, and (4) automatically coupling the warheads or reentry vehicles with the weapon carriers such that coupling of improperly selected warheads or reentry vehicles with weapon carriers is inhibited. Such inhibition enhances safety of operations and is achieved by a number of means including computer control of the process of selection and coupling and use of connectorless interfaces capable of assuring that improperly selected items will be rejected or rendered inoperable prior to coupling. Also disclosed are a method and apparatus wherein the stated principles pertaining to selection, coupling and inhibition are extended to apply to any item-to-be-carried and any carrying assembly.

Method for automatically evaluating a transition from a batch manufacturing technique to a lean manufacturing technique

DOEpatents

Ivezic, Nenad; Potok, Thomas E.

2003-09-30

A method for automatically evaluating a manufacturing technique comprises the steps of: receiving from a user manufacturing process step parameters characterizing a manufacturing process; accepting from the user a selection for an analysis of a particular lean manufacturing technique; automatically compiling process step data for each process step in the manufacturing process; automatically calculating process metrics from a summation of the compiled process step data for each process step; and, presenting the automatically calculated process metrics to the user. A method for evaluating a transition from a batch manufacturing technique to a lean manufacturing technique can comprise the steps of: collecting manufacturing process step characterization parameters; selecting a lean manufacturing technique for analysis; communicating the selected lean manufacturing technique and the manufacturing process step characterization parameters to an automatic manufacturing technique evaluation engine having a mathematical model for generating manufacturing technique evaluation data; and, using the lean manufacturing technique evaluation data to determine whether to transition from an existing manufacturing technique to the selected lean manufacturing technique.

Intended actions and unexpected outcomes: automatic and controlled processing in a rapid motor task

PubMed Central

Cheyne, Douglas O.; Ferrari, Paul; Cheyne, James A.

2012-01-01

Human action involves a combination of controlled and automatic behavior. These processes may interact in tasks requiring rapid response selection or inhibition, where temporal constraints preclude timely intervention by conscious, controlled processes over automatized prepotent responses. Such contexts tend to produce frequent errors, but also rapidly executed correct responses, both of which may sometimes be perceived as surprising, unintended, or “automatic”. In order to identify neural processes underlying these two aspects of cognitive control, we measured neuromagnetic brain activity in 12 right-handed subjects during manual responses to rapidly presented digits, with an infrequent target digit that required switching response hand (bimanual task) or response finger (unimanual task). Automaticity of responding was evidenced by response speeding (shorter response times) prior to both failed and fast correct switches. Consistent with this automaticity interpretation of fast correct switches, we observed bilateral motor preparation, as indexed by suppression of beta band (15–30 Hz) oscillations in motor cortex, prior to processing of the switch cue in the bimanual task. In contrast, right frontal theta activity (4–8 Hz) accompanying correct switch responses began after cue onset, suggesting that it reflected controlled inhibition of the default response. Further, this activity was reduced on fast correct switch trials suggesting a more automatic mode of inhibitory control. We also observed post-movement (event-related negativity) ERN-like responses and theta band increases in medial and anterior frontal regions that were significantly larger on error trials, and may reflect a combination of error and delayed inhibitory signals. We conclude that both automatic and controlled processes are engaged in parallel during rapid motor tasks, and that the relative strength and timing of these processes may underlie both optimal task performance and subjective experiences of automaticity or control. PMID:22912612

Group Dynamics in Automatic Imitation

PubMed Central

Wilson, Neil; Reddy, Geetha; Catmur, Caroline

2016-01-01

Imitation–matching the configural body movements of another individual–plays a crucial part in social interaction. We investigated whether automatic imitation is not only influenced by who we imitate (ingroup vs. outgroup member) but also by the nature of an expected interaction situation (competitive vs. cooperative). In line with assumptions from Social Identity Theory), we predicted that both social group membership and the expected situation impact on the level of automatic imitation. We adopted a 2 (group membership target: ingroup, outgroup) x 2 (situation: cooperative, competitive) design. The dependent variable was the degree to which participants imitated the target in a reaction time automatic imitation task. 99 female students from two British Universities participated. We found a significant two-way interaction on the imitation effect. When interacting in expectation of cooperation, imitation was stronger for an ingroup target compared to an outgroup target. However, this was not the case in the competitive condition where imitation did not differ between ingroup and outgroup target. This demonstrates that the goal structure of an expected interaction will determine the extent to which intergroup relations influence imitation, supporting a social identity approach. PMID:27657926

Group Dynamics in Automatic Imitation.

PubMed

Gleibs, Ilka H; Wilson, Neil; Reddy, Geetha; Catmur, Caroline

Imitation-matching the configural body movements of another individual-plays a crucial part in social interaction. We investigated whether automatic imitation is not only influenced by who we imitate (ingroup vs. outgroup member) but also by the nature of an expected interaction situation (competitive vs. cooperative). In line with assumptions from Social Identity Theory), we predicted that both social group membership and the expected situation impact on the level of automatic imitation. We adopted a 2 (group membership target: ingroup, outgroup) x 2 (situation: cooperative, competitive) design. The dependent variable was the degree to which participants imitated the target in a reaction time automatic imitation task. 99 female students from two British Universities participated. We found a significant two-way interaction on the imitation effect. When interacting in expectation of cooperation, imitation was stronger for an ingroup target compared to an outgroup target. However, this was not the case in the competitive condition where imitation did not differ between ingroup and outgroup target. This demonstrates that the goal structure of an expected interaction will determine the extent to which intergroup relations influence imitation, supporting a social identity approach.

KARMA: the observation preparation tool for KMOS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wegner, Michael; Muschielok, Bernard

2008-08-01

KMOS is a multi-object integral field spectrometer working in the near infrared which is currently being built for the ESO VLT by a consortium of UK and German institutes. It is capable of selecting up to 24 target fields for integral field spectroscopy simultaneously by means of 24 robotic pick-off arms. For the preparation of observations with KMOS a dedicated preparation tool KARMA ("KMOS Arm Allocator") will be provided which optimizes the assignment of targets to these arms automatically, thereby taking target priorities and several mechanical and optical constraints into account. For this purpose two efficient algorithms, both being able to cope with the underlying optimization problem in a different way, were developed. We present the concept and architecture of KARMA in general and the optimization algorithms in detail.

The performance of an automatic acoustic-based program classifier compared to hearing aid users' manual selection of listening programs.

PubMed

Searchfield, Grant D; Linford, Tania; Kobayashi, Kei; Crowhen, David; Latzel, Matthias

2018-03-01

To compare preference for and performance of manually selected programmes to an automatic sound classifier, the Phonak AutoSense OS. A single blind repeated measures study. Participants were fit with Phonak Virto V90 ITE aids; preferences for different listening programmes were compared across four different sound scenarios (speech in: quiet, noise, loud noise and a car). Following a 4-week trial preferences were reassessed and the users preferred programme was compared to the automatic classifier for sound quality and hearing in noise (HINT test) using a 12 loudspeaker array. Twenty-five participants with symmetrical moderate-severe sensorineural hearing loss. Participant preferences of manual programme for scenarios varied considerably between and within sessions. A HINT Speech Reception Threshold (SRT) advantage was observed for the automatic classifier over participant's manual selection for speech in quiet, loud noise and car noise. Sound quality ratings were similar for both manual and automatic selections. The use of a sound classifier is a viable alternative to manual programme selection.

How automatic is the hand's automatic pilot? Evidence from dual-task studies.

PubMed

McIntosh, Robert D; Mulroue, Amy; Brockmole, James R

2010-10-01

The ability to correct reaching movements for changes in target position has been described as the hand's 'automatic pilot'. These corrections are preconscious and occur by default in double-step reaching tasks, even if the goal is to react to the target jump in some other way, for instance by stopping the movement (STOP instruction). Nonetheless, corrections are strongly modulated by conscious intention: participants make more corrections when asked to follow the target (GO instruction) and can suppress them when explicitly asked not to follow the target (NOGO instruction). We studied the influence of a cognitively demanding (auditory 1-back) task upon correction behaviour under GO, STOP and NOGO instructions. Correction rates under the STOP instruction were unaffected by cognitive load, consistent with the assumption that they reflect the default behaviour of the automatic pilot. Correction rates under the GO instruction were also unaffected, suggesting that minimal cognitive resources are required to enhance online correction. By contrast, cognitive load impeded the ability to suppress online corrections under the NOGO instruction. These data reveal a constitutional bias in the automatic pilot system: intentional suppression of the default correction behaviour is cognitively demanding, but enhancement towards greater responsiveness is seemingly effortless.

[An automatic system for anatomophysiological correlation in three planes simultaneously during functional neurosurgery].

PubMed

Teijeiro, E J; Macías, R J; Morales, J M; Guerra, E; López, G; Alvarez, L M; Fernández, F; Maragoto, C; Seijo, F; Alvarez, E

The Neurosurgical Deep Recording System (NDRS) using a personal computer takes the place of complex electronic equipment for recording and processing deep cerebral electrical activity, as a guide in stereotaxic functional neurosurgery. It also permits increased possibilities of presenting information in direct graphic form with automatic management and sufficient flexibility to implement different analyses. This paper describes the possibilities of automatic simultaneous graphic representation in three almost orthogonal planes, available with the new 5.1 version of NDRS so as to facilitate the analysis of anatomophysiological correlation in the localization of deep structures of the brain during minimal access surgery. This new version can automatically show the spatial behaviour of signals registered throughout the path of the electrode inside the brain, superimposed simultaneously on sagittal, coronal and axial sections of an anatomical atlas of the brain, after adjusting the scale automatically according to the dimensions of the brain of each individual patient. This may also be shown in a tridimensional representation of the different planes themselves intercepting. The NDRS system has been successfully used in Spain and Cuba in over 300 functional neurosurgery operations. The new version further facilitates analysis of spatial anatomophysiological correlation for the localization of brain structures. This system has contributed to increase the precision and safety in selecting surgical targets in the control of Parkinson s disease and other disorders of movement.

System transfer modelling for automatic target recognizer evaluations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Clark, Lloyd G.

1991-11-01

Image processing to accomplish automatic recognition of military vehicles has promised increased weapons systems effectiveness and reduced timelines for a number of Department of Defense missions. Automatic Target Recognizers (ATR) are often claimed to be able to recognize many different ground vehicles as possible targets in military air-to- surface targeting applications. The targeting scenario conditions include different vehicle poses and histories as well as a variety of imaging geometries, intervening atmospheres, and background environments. Testing these ATR subsystems in most cases has been limited to a handful of the scenario conditions of interest, as is represented by imagery collected with the desired imaging sensor. The question naturally arises as to how robust the performance of the ATR is for all scenario conditions of interest, not just for the set of imagery upon which an algorithm was trained.

Automatic Target Recognition Based on Cross-Plot

PubMed Central

Wong, Kelvin Kian Loong; Abbott, Derek

2011-01-01

Automatic target recognition that relies on rapid feature extraction of real-time target from photo-realistic imaging will enable efficient identification of target patterns. To achieve this objective, Cross-plots of binary patterns are explored as potential signatures for the observed target by high-speed capture of the crucial spatial features using minimal computational resources. Target recognition was implemented based on the proposed pattern recognition concept and tested rigorously for its precision and recall performance. We conclude that Cross-plotting is able to produce a digital fingerprint of a target that correlates efficiently and effectively to signatures of patterns having its identity in a target repository. PMID:21980508

The control of voluntary eye movements: new perspectives.

PubMed

Krauzlis, Richard J

2005-04-01

Primates use two types of voluntary eye movements to track objects of interest: pursuit and saccades. Traditionally, these two eye movements have been viewed as distinct systems that are driven automatically by low-level visual inputs. However, two sets of findings argue for a new perspective on the control of voluntary eye movements. First, recent experiments have shown that pursuit and saccades are not controlled by entirely different neural pathways but are controlled by similar networks of cortical and subcortical regions and, in some cases, by the same neurons. Second, pursuit and saccades are not automatic responses to retinal inputs but are regulated by a process of target selection that involves a basic form of decision making. The selection process itself is guided by a variety of complex processes, including attention, perception, memory, and expectation. Together, these findings indicate that pursuit and saccades share a similar functional architecture. These points of similarity may hold the key for understanding how neural circuits negotiate the links between the many higher order functions that can influence behavior and the singular and coordinated motor actions that follow.

Top-down expectancy versus bottom-up guidance in search for known color-form conjunctions.

PubMed

Anderson, Giles M; Humphreys, Glyn W

2015-11-01

We assessed the effects of pairing a target object with its familiar color on eye movements in visual search, under conditions where the familiar color could or could not be predicted. In Experiment 1 participants searched for a yellow- or purple-colored corn target amongst aubergine distractors, half of which were yellow and half purple. Search was more efficient when the color of the target was familiar and early eye movements more likely to be directed to targets carrying a familiar color than an unfamiliar color. Experiment 2 introduced cues which predicted the target color at 80 % validity. Cue validity did not affect whether early fixations were to the target. Invalid cues, however, disrupted search efficiency for targets in an unfamiliar color whilst there was little cost to search efficiency for targets in their familiar color. These results generalized across items with different colors (Experiment 3). The data are consistent with early processes in selection being automatically modulated in a bottom-up manner to targets in their familiar color, even when expectancies are set for other colors.

[Image fusion: use in the control of the distribution of prostatic biopsies].

PubMed

Mozer, Pierre; Baumann, Michaël; Chevreau, Grégoire; Troccaz, Jocelyne

2008-02-01

Prostate biopsies are performed under 2D TransRectal UltraSound (US) guidance by sampling the prostate according to a predefined pattern. Modern image processing tools allow better control of biopsy distribution. We evaluated the accuracy of a single operator performing a pattern of 12 ultrasound-guided biopsies by registering 3D ultrasound control images acquired after each biopsy. For each patient, prostate image alignment was performed automatically with a voxel-based registration algorithm allowing visualization of each biopsy trajectory in a single ultrasound reference volume. On average, the operator reached the target in 60% of all cases. This study shows that it is difficult to accurately reach targets in the prostate using 2D ultrasound. In the near future, real-time fusion of MRI and US images will allow selection of a target in previously acquired MR images and biopsy of this target by US guidance.

Comparison and assessment of semi-automatic image segmentation in computed tomography scans for image-guided kidney surgery.

PubMed

Glisson, Courtenay L; Altamar, Hernan O; Herrell, S Duke; Clark, Peter; Galloway, Robert L

2011-11-01

Image segmentation is integral to implementing intraoperative guidance for kidney tumor resection. Results seen in computed tomography (CT) data are affected by target organ physiology as well as by the segmentation algorithm used. This work studies variables involved in using level set methods found in the Insight Toolkit to segment kidneys from CT scans and applies the results to an image guidance setting. A composite algorithm drawing on the strengths of multiple level set approaches was built using the Insight Toolkit. This algorithm requires image contrast state and seed points to be identified as input, and functions independently thereafter, selecting and altering method and variable choice as needed. Semi-automatic results were compared to expert hand segmentation results directly and by the use of the resultant surfaces for registration of intraoperative data. Direct comparison using the Dice metric showed average agreement of 0.93 between semi-automatic and hand segmentation results. Use of the segmented surfaces in closest point registration of intraoperative laser range scan data yielded average closest point distances of approximately 1 mm. Application of both inverse registration transforms from the previous step to all hand segmented image space points revealed that the distance variability introduced by registering to the semi-automatically segmented surface versus the hand segmented surface was typically less than 3 mm both near the tumor target and at distal points, including subsurface points. Use of the algorithm shortened user interaction time and provided results which were comparable to the gold standard of hand segmentation. Further, the use of the algorithm's resultant surfaces in image registration provided comparable transformations to surfaces produced by hand segmentation. These data support the applicability and utility of such an algorithm as part of an image guidance workflow.

Variable Selection for Regression Models of Percentile Flows

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fouad, G.

2017-12-01

Percentile flows describe the flow magnitude equaled or exceeded for a given percent of time, and are widely used in water resource management. However, these statistics are normally unavailable since most basins are ungauged. Percentile flows of ungauged basins are often predicted using regression models based on readily observable basin characteristics, such as mean elevation. The number of these independent variables is too large to evaluate all possible models. A subset of models is typically evaluated using automatic procedures, like stepwise regression. This ignores a large variety of methods from the field of feature (variable) selection and physical understanding of percentile flows. A study of 918 basins in the United States was conducted to compare an automatic regression procedure to the following variable selection methods: (1) principal component analysis, (2) correlation analysis, (3) random forests, (4) genetic programming, (5) Bayesian networks, and (6) physical understanding. The automatic regression procedure only performed better than principal component analysis. Poor performance of the regression procedure was due to a commonly used filter for multicollinearity, which rejected the strongest models because they had cross-correlated independent variables. Multicollinearity did not decrease model performance in validation because of a representative set of calibration basins. Variable selection methods based strictly on predictive power (numbers 2-5 from above) performed similarly, likely indicating a limit to the predictive power of the variables. Similar performance was also reached using variables selected based on physical understanding, a finding that substantiates recent calls to emphasize physical understanding in modeling for predictions in ungauged basins. The strongest variables highlighted the importance of geology and land cover, whereas widely used topographic variables were the weakest predictors. Variables suffered from a high degree of multicollinearity, possibly illustrating the co-evolution of climatic and physiographic conditions. Given the ineffectiveness of many variables used here, future work should develop new variables that target specific processes associated with percentile flows.

Molecular image-directed biopsies: improving clinical biopsy selection in patients with multiple tumors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harmon, Stephanie A.; Tuite, Michael J.; Jeraj, Robert

2016-10-01

Site selection for image-guided biopsies in patients with multiple lesions is typically based on clinical feasibility and physician preference. This study outlines the development of a selection algorithm that, in addition to clinical requirements, incorporates quantitative imaging data for automatic identification of candidate lesions for biopsy. The algorithm is designed to rank potential targets by maximizing a lesion-specific score, incorporating various criteria separated into two categories: (1) physician-feasibility category including physician-preferred lesion location and absolute volume scores, and (2) imaging-based category including various modality and application-specific metrics. This platform was benchmarked in two clinical scenarios, a pre-treatment setting and response-based setting using imaging from metastatic prostate cancer patients with high disease burden (multiple lesions) undergoing conventional treatment and receiving whole-body [18F]NaF PET/CT scans pre- and mid-treatment. Targeting of metastatic lesions was robust to different weighting ratios and candidacy for biopsy was physician confirmed. Lesion ranked as top targets for biopsy remained so for all patients in pre-treatment and post-treatment biopsy selection after sensitivity testing was completed for physician-biased or imaging-biased scenarios. After identifying candidates, biopsy feasibility was evaluated by a physician and confirmed for 90% (32/36) of high-ranking lesions, of which all top choices were confirmed. The remaining cases represented lesions with high anatomical difficulty for targeting, such as proximity to sciatic nerve. This newly developed selection method was successfully used to quantitatively identify candidate lesions for biopsies in patients with multiple lesions. In a prospective study, we were able to successfully plan, develop, and implement this technique for the selection of a pre-treatment biopsy location.

Double ErrP Detection for Automatic Error Correction in an ERP-Based BCI Speller.

PubMed

Cruz, Aniana; Pires, Gabriel; Nunes, Urbano J

2018-01-01

Brain-computer interface (BCI) is a useful device for people with severe motor disabilities. However, due to its low speed and low reliability, BCI still has a very limited application in daily real-world tasks. This paper proposes a P300-based BCI speller combined with a double error-related potential (ErrP) detection to automatically correct erroneous decisions. This novel approach introduces a second error detection to infer whether wrong automatic correction also elicits a second ErrP. Thus, two single-trial responses, instead of one, contribute to the final selection, improving the reliability of error detection. Moreover, to increase error detection, the evoked potential detected as target by the P300 classifier is combined with the evoked error potential at a feature-level. Discriminable error and positive potentials (response to correct feedback) were clearly identified. The proposed approach was tested on nine healthy participants and one tetraplegic participant. The online average accuracy for the first and second ErrPs were 88.4% and 84.8%, respectively. With automatic correction, we achieved an improvement around 5% achieving 89.9% in spelling accuracy for an effective 2.92 symbols/min. The proposed approach revealed that double ErrP detection can improve the reliability and speed of BCI systems.

Unification of automatic target tracking and automatic target recognition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schachter, Bruce J.

2014-06-01

The subject being addressed is how an automatic target tracker (ATT) and an automatic target recognizer (ATR) can be fused together so tightly and so well that their distinctiveness becomes lost in the merger. This has historically not been the case outside of biology and a few academic papers. The biological model of ATT∪ATR arises from dynamic patterns of activity distributed across many neural circuits and structures (including retina). The information that the brain receives from the eyes is "old news" at the time that it receives it. The eyes and brain forecast a tracked object's future position, rather than relying on received retinal position. Anticipation of the next moment - building up a consistent perception - is accomplished under difficult conditions: motion (eyes, head, body, scene background, target) and processing limitations (neural noise, delays, eye jitter, distractions). Not only does the human vision system surmount these problems, but it has innate mechanisms to exploit motion in support of target detection and classification. Biological vision doesn't normally operate on snapshots. Feature extraction, detection and recognition are spatiotemporal. When vision is viewed as a spatiotemporal process, target detection, recognition, tracking, event detection and activity recognition, do not seem as distinct as they are in current ATT and ATR designs. They appear as similar mechanism taking place at varying time scales. A framework is provided for unifying ATT and ATR.

Making the most of data: An information selection and assessment framework to improve water systems operations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Giuliani, M.; Pianosi, F.; Castelletti, A.

2015-11-01

Advances in Environmental monitoring systems are making a wide range of data available at increasingly higher temporal and spatial resolution. This creates an opportunity to enhance real-time understanding of water systems conditions and to improve prediction of their future evolution, ultimately increasing our ability to make better decisions. Yet, many water systems are still operated using very simple information systems, typically based on simple statistical analysis and the operator's experience. In this work, we propose a framework to automatically select the most valuable information to inform water systems operations supported by quantitative metrics to operationally and economically assess the value of this information. The Hoa Binh reservoir in Vietnam is used to demonstrate the proposed framework in a multiobjective context, accounting for hydropower production and flood control. First, we quantify the expected value of perfect information, meaning the potential space for improvement under the assumption of exact knowledge of the future system conditions. Second, we automatically select the most valuable information that could be actually used to improve the Hoa Binh operations. Finally, we assess the economic value of sample information on the basis of the resulting policy performance. Results show that our framework successfully select information to enhance the performance of the operating policies with respect to both the competing objectives, attaining a 40% improvement close to the target trade-off selected as potentially good compromise between hydropower production and flood control.

Effects of laterality and pitch height of an auditory accessory stimulus on horizontal response selection: the Simon effect and the SMARC effect.

PubMed

Nishimura, Akio; Yokosawa, Kazuhiko

2009-08-01

In the present article, we investigated the effects of pitch height and the presented ear (laterality) of an auditory stimulus, irrelevant to the ongoing visual task, on horizontal response selection. Performance was better when the response and the stimulated ear spatially corresponded (Simon effect), and when the spatial-musical association of response codes (SMARC) correspondence was maintained-that is, right (left) response with a high-pitched (low-pitched) tone. These findings reveal an automatic activation of spatially and musically associated responses by task-irrelevant auditory accessory stimuli. Pitch height is strong enough to influence the horizontal responses despite modality differences with task target.

Reward history but not search history explains value-driven attentional capture.

PubMed

Marchner, Janina R; Preuschhof, Claudia

2018-04-19

In past years, an extensive amount of research has focused on how past experiences guide future attention. Humans automatically attend to stimuli previously associated with reward and stimuli that have been experienced during visual search, even when it is disadvantageous in present situations. Recently, the relationship between "reward history" and "search history" has been discussed critically. We review results from research on value-driven attentional capture (VDAC) with a focus on these two experience-based attentional selection processes and their distinction. To clarify inconsistencies, we examined VDAC within a design that allows a direct comparison with other mechanisms of attentional selection. Eighty-four healthy adults were trained to incidentally associate colors with reward (10 cents, 2 cents) or with no reward. In a subsequent visual search task, distraction by reward-associated and unrewarded stimuli was contrasted. In the training phase, reward signals facilitated performance. When these value-signaling stimuli appeared as distractors in the test phase, they continuously shaped attentional selection, despite their task irrelevance. Our findings clearly cannot be attributed to a history of target search. We conclude that once an association is established, value signals guide attention automatically in new situations, which can be beneficial or not, depending on the congruency with current goals.

Additive effects of emotional content and spatial selective attention on electrocortical facilitation.

PubMed

Keil, Andreas; Moratti, Stephan; Sabatinelli, Dean; Bradley, Margaret M; Lang, Peter J

2005-08-01

Affectively arousing visual stimuli have been suggested to automatically attract attentional resources in order to optimize sensory processing. The present study crosses the factors of spatial selective attention and affective content, and examines the relationship between instructed (spatial) and automatic attention to affective stimuli. In addition to response times and error rate, electroencephalographic data from 129 electrodes were recorded during a covert spatial attention task. This task required silent counting of random-dot targets embedded in a 10 Hz flicker of colored pictures presented to both hemifields. Steady-state visual evoked potentials (ssVEPs) were obtained to determine amplitude and phase of electrocortical responses to pictures. An increase of ssVEP amplitude was observed as an additive function of spatial attention and emotional content. Statistical parametric mapping of this effect indicated occipito-temporal and parietal cortex activation contralateral to the attended visual hemifield in ssVEP amplitude modulation. This difference was most pronounced during selection of the left visual hemifield, at right temporal electrodes. In line with this finding, phase information revealed accelerated processing of aversive arousing, compared to affectively neutral pictures. The data suggest that affective stimulus properties modulate the spatiotemporal process along the ventral stream, encompassing amplitude amplification and timing changes of posterior and temporal cortex.

Recent advances in automatic alignment system for the National Ignition Facility

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wilhelmsen, Karl; Awwal, Abdul A. S.; Kalantar, Dan; Leach, Richard; Lowe-Webb, Roger; McGuigan, David; Miller Kamm, Vicki

2011-03-01

The automatic alignment system for the National Ignition Facility (NIF) is a large-scale parallel system that directs all 192 laser beams along the 300-m optical path to a 50-micron focus at target chamber in less than 50 minutes. The system automatically commands 9,000 stepping motors to adjust mirrors and other optics based upon images acquired from high-resolution digital cameras viewing beams at various locations. Forty-five control loops per beamline request image processing services running on a LINUX cluster to analyze these images of the beams and references, and automatically steer the beams toward the target. This paper discusses the upgrades to the NIF automatic alignment system to handle new alignment needs and evolving requirements as related to various types of experiments performed. As NIF becomes a continuously-operated system and more experiments are performed, performance monitoring is increasingly important for maintenance and commissioning work. Data, collected during operations, is analyzed for tuning of the laser and targeting maintenance work. Handling evolving alignment and maintenance needs is expected for the planned 30-year operational life of NIF.

Computer-aided target tracking in motion analysis studies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Burdick, Dominic C.; Marcuse, M. L.; Mislan, J. D.

1990-08-01

Motion analysis studies require the precise tracking of reference objects in sequential scenes. In a typical situation, events of interest are captured at high frame rates using special cameras, and selected objects or targets are tracked on a frame by frame basis to provide necessary data for motion reconstruction. Tracking is usually done using manual methods which are slow and prone to error. A computer based image analysis system has been developed that performs tracking automatically. The objective of this work was to eliminate the bottleneck due to manual methods in high volume tracking applications such as the analysis of crash test films for the automotive industry. The system has proven to be successful in tracking standard fiducial targets and other objects in crash test scenes. Over 95 percent of target positions which could be located using manual methods can be tracked by the system, with a significant improvement in throughput over manual methods. Future work will focus on the tracking of clusters of targets and on tracking deformable objects such as airbags.

Non-targeted workflow for identification of antimicrobial compounds in animal feed using bioassay-directed screening in combination with liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry.

PubMed

Wegh, Robin S; Berendsen, Bjorn J A; Driessen-Van Lankveld, Wilma D M; Pikkemaat, Mariël G; Zuidema, Tina; Van Ginkel, Leen A

2017-11-01

A non-targeted workflow is reported for the isolation and identification of antimicrobial active compounds using bioassay-directed screening and LC coupled to high-resolution MS. Suspect samples are extracted using a generic protocol and fractionated using two different LC conditions (A and B). The behaviour of the bioactive compound under these different conditions yields information about the physicochemical properties of the compound and introduces variations in co-eluting compounds in the fractions, which is essential for peak picking and identification. The fractions containing the active compound(s) obtained with conditions A and B are selected using a microbiological effect-based bioassay. The selected bioactive fractions from A and B are analysed using LC combined with high-resolution MS. Selection of relevant signals is automatically carried out by selecting all signals present in both bioactive fractions A and B, yielding tremendous data reduction. The method was assessed using two spiked feed samples and subsequently applied to two feed samples containing an unidentified compound showing microbial growth inhibition. In all cases, the identity of the compound causing microbiological inhibition was successfully confirmed.

Young Children's Automatic Encoding of Social Categories

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weisman, Kara; Johnson, Marissa V.; Shutts, Kristin

2015-01-01

The present research investigated young children's automatic encoding of two social categories that are highly relevant to adults: gender and race. Three- to 6-year-old participants learned facts about unfamiliar target children who varied in either gender or race and were asked to remember which facts went with which targets. When participants…

SU-F-J-113: Multi-Atlas Based Automatic Organ Segmentation for Lung Radiotherapy Planning

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kim, J; Han, J; Ailawadi, S

Purpose: Normal organ segmentation is one time-consuming and labor-intensive step for lung radiotherapy treatment planning. The aim of this study is to evaluate the performance of a multi-atlas based segmentation approach for automatic organs at risk (OAR) delineation. Methods: Fifteen Lung stereotactic body radiation therapy patients were randomly selected. Planning CT images and OAR contours of the heart - HT, aorta - AO, vena cava - VC, pulmonary trunk - PT, and esophagus – ES were exported and used as reference and atlas sets. For automatic organ delineation for a given target CT, 1) all atlas sets were deformably warpedmore » to the target CT, 2) the deformed sets were accumulated and normalized to produce organ probability density (OPD) maps, and 3) the OPD maps were converted to contours via image thresholding. Optimal threshold for each organ was empirically determined by comparing the auto-segmented contours against their respective reference contours. The delineated results were evaluated by measuring contour similarity metrics: DICE, mean distance (MD), and true detection rate (TD), where DICE=(intersection volume/sum of two volumes) and TD = {1.0 - (false positive + false negative)/2.0}. Diffeomorphic Demons algorithm was employed for CT-CT deformable image registrations. Results: Optimal thresholds were determined to be 0.53 for HT, 0.38 for AO, 0.28 for PT, 0.43 for VC, and 0.31 for ES. The mean similarity metrics (DICE[%], MD[mm], TD[%]) were (88, 3.2, 89) for HT, (79, 3.2, 82) for AO, (75, 2.7, 77) for PT, (68, 3.4, 73) for VC, and (51,2.7, 60) for ES. Conclusion: The investigated multi-atlas based approach produced reliable segmentations for the organs with large and relatively clear boundaries (HT and AO). However, the detection of small and narrow organs with diffused boundaries (ES) were challenging. Sophisticated atlas selection and multi-atlas fusion algorithms may further improve the quality of segmentations.« less

Automatic building identification under bomb damage conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Woodley, Robert; Noll, Warren; Barker, Joseph; Wunsch, Donald C., II

2009-05-01

Given the vast amount of image intelligence utilized in support of planning and executing military operations, a passive automated image processing capability for target identification is urgently required. Furthermore, transmitting large image streams from remote locations would quickly use available band width (BW) precipitating the need for processing to occur at the sensor location. This paper addresses the problem of automatic target recognition for battle damage assessment (BDA). We utilize an Adaptive Resonance Theory approach to cluster templates of target buildings. The results show that the network successfully classifies targets from non-targets in a virtual test bed environment.

10 CFR 429.45 - Automatic commercial ice makers.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 10 Energy 3 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Automatic commercial ice makers. 429.45 Section 429.45... PRODUCTS AND COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL EQUIPMENT Certification § 429.45 Automatic commercial ice makers. (a... automatic commercial ice makers; and (2) For each basic model of automatic commercial ice maker selected for...

10 CFR 429.45 - Automatic commercial ice makers.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 10 Energy 3 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Automatic commercial ice makers. 429.45 Section 429.45... PRODUCTS AND COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL EQUIPMENT Certification § 429.45 Automatic commercial ice makers. (a... automatic commercial ice makers; and (2) For each basic model of automatic commercial ice maker selected for...

10 CFR 429.45 - Automatic commercial ice makers.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 10 Energy 3 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Automatic commercial ice makers. 429.45 Section 429.45... PRODUCTS AND COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL EQUIPMENT Certification § 429.45 Automatic commercial ice makers. (a... automatic commercial ice makers; and (2) For each basic model of automatic commercial ice maker selected for...

Automatic lung nodule graph cuts segmentation with deep learning false positive reduction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Wenqing; Huang, Xia; Tseng, Tzu-Liang Bill; Qian, Wei

2017-03-01

To automatic detect lung nodules from CT images, we designed a two stage computer aided detection (CAD) system. The first stage is graph cuts segmentation to identify and segment the nodule candidates, and the second stage is convolutional neural network for false positive reduction. The dataset contains 595 CT cases randomly selected from Lung Image Database Consortium and Image Database Resource Initiative (LIDC/IDRI) and the 305 pulmonary nodules achieved diagnosis consensus by all four experienced radiologists were our detection targets. Consider each slice as an individual sample, 2844 nodules were included in our database. The graph cuts segmentation was conducted in a two-dimension manner, 2733 lung nodule ROIs are successfully identified and segmented. With a false positive reduction by a seven-layer convolutional neural network, 2535 nodules remain detected while the false positive dropped to 31.6%. The average F-measure of segmented lung nodule tissue is 0.8501.

Volition and eye movements.

PubMed

Nachev, Parashkev; Husain, Masud; Kennard, Christopher

2008-01-01

Although the conceptual distinction between voluntary and automatic acts seems intuitively obvious, its neural basis remains opaque. Assigning volition--or some paraphrase such as action selection--to discrete parts of the brain arguably tells us nothing about what volition actually is in neural terms. Equally, exploring the relative sensitivity of discrete brain areas to manipulations of action choice, including its asymptote--free choice--would only be informative if voluntary processes could thereby be reliably isolated. Unfortunately, such manipulations are subject to ineliminable confounds, such as the complexity of the underlying condition-action associations. Here we propose an adaptation of a classic oculomotor task--saccadic choice with asynchronous targets--where the processes engaged in free choice manifest as interference in the performance of an automatic task, thereby circumventing the difficulties in parameterising volition. We suggest that this task may be useful in probing deficits in voluntary action in pathological states.

Individual differences in automatic semantic priming.

PubMed

Andrews, Sally; Lo, Steson; Xia, Violet

2017-05-01

This research investigated whether masked semantic priming in a semantic categorization task that required classification of words as animals or nonanimals was modulated by individual differences in lexical proficiency. A sample of 89 skilled readers, assessed on reading comprehension, vocabulary and spelling ability, classified target words preceded by brief (50 ms) masked primes that were either congruent or incongruent with the category of the target. Congruent primes were also selected to be either high (e.g., hawk EAGLE, pistol RIFLE) or low (e.g., mole EAGLE, boots RIFLE) in semantic feature overlap with the target. "Overall proficiency," indexed by high performance on both a "semantic composite" measure of reading comprehension and vocabulary and a "spelling composite," was associated with stronger congruence priming from both high and low feature overlap primes for animal exemplars, but only predicted priming from low overlap primes for nonexemplars. Classification of high frequency nonexemplars was also significantly modulated by an independent "spelling-meaning" factor, indexed by the discrepancy between the semantic and spelling composites, because relatively higher scores on the semantic than the spelling composite were associated with stronger semantic priming. These findings show that higher lexical proficiency is associated with stronger evidence of automatic semantic priming and suggest that individual differences in lexical quality modulate the division of labor between orthographic and semantic processing in early lexical retrieval. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Automatic three-dimensional measurement of large-scale structure based on vision metrology.

PubMed

Zhu, Zhaokun; Guan, Banglei; Zhang, Xiaohu; Li, Daokui; Yu, Qifeng

2014-01-01

All relevant key techniques involved in photogrammetric vision metrology for fully automatic 3D measurement of large-scale structure are studied. A new kind of coded target consisting of circular retroreflective discs is designed, and corresponding detection and recognition algorithms based on blob detection and clustering are presented. Then a three-stage strategy starting with view clustering is proposed to achieve automatic network orientation. As for matching of noncoded targets, the concept of matching path is proposed, and matches for each noncoded target are found by determination of the optimal matching path, based on a novel voting strategy, among all possible ones. Experiments on a fixed keel of airship have been conducted to verify the effectiveness and measuring accuracy of the proposed methods.

a Method for the Seamlines Network Automatic Selection Based on Building Vector

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, P.; Dong, Y.; Hu, Y.; Li, X.; Tan, P.

2018-04-01

In order to improve the efficiency of large scale orthophoto production of city, this paper presents a method for automatic selection of seamlines network in large scale orthophoto based on the buildings' vector. Firstly, a simple model of the building is built by combining building's vector, height and DEM, and the imaging area of the building on single DOM is obtained. Then, the initial Voronoi network of the measurement area is automatically generated based on the positions of the bottom of all images. Finally, the final seamlines network is obtained by optimizing all nodes and seamlines in the network automatically based on the imaging areas of the buildings. The experimental results show that the proposed method can not only get around the building seamlines network quickly, but also remain the Voronoi network' characteristics of projection distortion minimum theory, which can solve the problem of automatic selection of orthophoto seamlines network in image mosaicking effectively.

Automatic irradiation control by an optical feedback technique for selective retina treatment (SRT) in a rabbit model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Seifert, Eric; Roh, Young-Jung; Fritz, Andreas; Park, Young Gun; Kang, Seungbum; Theisen-Kunde, Dirk; Brinkmann, Ralf

2013-06-01

Selective Retina Therapy (SRT) targets the Retinal Pigment Epithelium (RPE) without effecting neighboring layers as the photoreceptors or the choroid. SRT related RPE defects are ophthalmoscopically invisible. Owing to this invisibility and the variation of the threshold radiant exposure for RPE damage the treating physician does not know whether the treatment was successful or not. Thus measurement techniques enabling a correct dosing are a demanded element in SRT devices. The acquired signal can be used for monitoring or automatic irradiation control. Existing monitoring techniques are based on the detection of micro-bubbles. These bubbles are the origin of RPE cell damage for pulse durations in the ns and μs time regime 5μs. The detection can be performed by optical or acoustical approaches. Monitoring based on an acoustical approach has already been used to study the beneficial effects of SRT on diabetic macula edema and central serous retinopathy. We have developed a first real time feedback technique able to detect micro-bubble induced characteristics in the backscattered laser light fast enough to cease the laser irradiation within a burst. Therefore the laser energy within a burst of at most 30 pulses is increased linearly with every pulse. The laser irradiation is ceased as soon as micro-bubbles are detected. With this automatic approach it was possible to observe invisible lesions, an intact photoreceptor layer and a reconstruction of the RPE within one week.

10 CFR 431.135 - Units to be tested.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... EQUIPMENT Automatic Commercial Ice Makers Test Procedures § 431.135 Units to be tested. For each basic model of automatic commercial ice maker selected for testing, a sample of sufficient size shall be selected...

Time-Varying Expression of the Formation Flying along Circular Trajectories

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kawaguchi, Jun'ichiro

2007-01-01

Usually, the formation flying associated with circular orbits is discussed through the well-known Hill s or C-W equations of motion. This paper dares to present and discuss the coordinates that may contain time-varying coefficients. The discussion presents how the controller s performance is affected by the selection of coordinates, and also looks at the special coordinate suitable for designating a target bin to which each spacecraft in the formation has only to be guided. It is revealed that the latter strategy may incorporate the J2 disturbance automatically.

Visual Benefits in Apparent Motion Displays: Automatically Driven Spatial and Temporal Anticipation Are Partially Dissociated

PubMed Central

Ahrens, Merle-Marie; Veniero, Domenica; Gross, Joachim; Harvey, Monika; Thut, Gregor

2015-01-01

Many behaviourally relevant sensory events such as motion stimuli and speech have an intrinsic spatio-temporal structure. This will engage intentional and most likely unintentional (automatic) prediction mechanisms enhancing the perception of upcoming stimuli in the event stream. Here we sought to probe the anticipatory processes that are automatically driven by rhythmic input streams in terms of their spatial and temporal components. To this end, we employed an apparent visual motion paradigm testing the effects of pre-target motion on lateralized visual target discrimination. The motion stimuli either moved towards or away from peripheral target positions (valid vs. invalid spatial motion cueing) at a rhythmic or arrhythmic pace (valid vs. invalid temporal motion cueing). Crucially, we emphasized automatic motion-induced anticipatory processes by rendering the motion stimuli non-predictive of upcoming target position (by design) and task-irrelevant (by instruction), and by creating instead endogenous (orthogonal) expectations using symbolic cueing. Our data revealed that the apparent motion cues automatically engaged both spatial and temporal anticipatory processes, but that these processes were dissociated. We further found evidence for lateralisation of anticipatory temporal but not spatial processes. This indicates that distinct mechanisms may drive automatic spatial and temporal extrapolation of upcoming events from rhythmic event streams. This contrasts with previous findings that instead suggest an interaction between spatial and temporal attention processes when endogenously driven. Our results further highlight the need for isolating intentional from unintentional processes for better understanding the various anticipatory mechanisms engaged in processing behaviourally relevant stimuli with predictable spatio-temporal structure such as motion and speech. PMID:26623650

Priming production: Neural evidence for enhanced automatic semantic activity preceding language production in schizophrenia.

PubMed

Kuperberg, Gina R; Delaney-Busch, Nathaniel; Fanucci, Kristina; Blackford, Trevor

2018-01-01

Lexico-semantic disturbances are considered central to schizophrenia. Clinically, their clearest manifestation is in language production. However, most studies probing their underlying mechanisms have used comprehension or categorization tasks. Here, we probed automatic semantic activity prior to language production in schizophrenia using event-related potentials (ERPs). 19 people with schizophrenia and 16 demographically-matched healthy controls named target pictures that were very quickly preceded by masked prime words. To probe automatic semantic activity prior to production, we measured the N400 ERP component evoked by these targets. To determine the origin of any automatic semantic abnormalities, we manipulated the type of relationship between prime and target such that they overlapped in (a) their semantic features (semantically related, e.g. "cake" preceding a < picture of a pie >, (b) their initial phonemes (phonemically related, e.g. "stomach" preceding a < picture of a starfish >), or (c) both their semantic features and their orthographic/phonological word form (identity related, e.g. "socks" preceding a < picture of socks >). For each of these three types of relationship, the same targets were paired with unrelated prime words (counterbalanced across lists). We contrasted ERPs and naming times to each type of related target with its corresponding unrelated target. People with schizophrenia showed abnormal N400 modulation prior to naming identity related (versus unrelated) targets: whereas healthy control participants produced a smaller amplitude N400 to identity related than unrelated targets, patients showed the opposite pattern, producing a larger N400 to identity related than unrelated targets. This abnormality was specific to the identity related targets. Just like healthy control participants, people with schizophrenia produced a smaller N400 to semantically related than to unrelated targets, and showed no difference in the N400 evoked by phonemically related and unrelated targets. There were no differences between the two groups in the pattern of naming times across conditions. People with schizophrenia can show abnormal neural activity associated with automatic semantic processing prior to language production. The specificity of this abnormality to the identity related targets suggests that that, rather than arising from abnormalities of either semantic features or lexical form alone, it may stem from disruptions of mappings (connections) between the meaning of words and their form.

Is gaze following purely reflexive or goal-directed instead? Revisiting the automaticity of orienting attention by gaze cues.

PubMed

Ricciardelli, Paola; Carcagno, Samuele; Vallar, Giuseppe; Bricolo, Emanuela

2013-01-01

Distracting gaze has been shown to elicit automatic gaze following. However, it is still debated whether the effects of perceived gaze are a simple automatic spatial orienting response or are instead sensitive to the context (i.e. goals and task demands). In three experiments, we investigated the conditions under which gaze following occurs. Participants were instructed to saccade towards one of two lateral targets. A face distracter, always present in the background, could gaze towards: (a) a task-relevant target--("matching" goal-directed gaze shift)--congruent or incongruent with the instructed direction, (b) a task-irrelevant target, orthogonal to the one instructed ("non-matching" goal-directed gaze shift), or (c) an empty spatial location (no-goal-directed gaze shift). Eye movement recordings showed faster saccadic latencies in correct trials in congruent conditions especially when the distracting gaze shift occurred before the instruction to make a saccade. Interestingly, while participants made a higher proportion of gaze-following errors (i.e. errors in the direction of the distracting gaze) in the incongruent conditions when the distracter's gaze shift preceded the instruction onset indicating an automatic gaze following, they never followed the distracting gaze when it was directed towards an empty location or a stimulus that was never the target. Taken together, these findings suggest that gaze following is likely to be a product of both automatic and goal-driven orienting mechanisms.

Automatically detect and track infrared small targets with kernel Fukunaga-Koontz transform and Kalman prediction.

PubMed

Liu, Ruiming; Liu, Erqi; Yang, Jie; Zeng, Yong; Wang, Fanglin; Cao, Yuan

2007-11-01

Fukunaga-Koontz transform (FKT), stemming from principal component analysis (PCA), is used in many pattern recognition and image-processing fields. It cannot capture the higher-order statistical property of natural images, so its detection performance is not satisfying. PCA has been extended into kernel PCA in order to capture the higher-order statistics. However, thus far there have been no researchers who have definitely proposed kernel FKT (KFKT) and researched its detection performance. For accurately detecting potential small targets from infrared images, we first extend FKT into KFKT to capture the higher-order statistical properties of images. Then a framework based on Kalman prediction and KFKT, which can automatically detect and track small targets, is developed. Results of experiments show that KFKT outperforms FKT and the proposed framework is competent to automatically detect and track infrared point targets.

Automatically detect and track infrared small targets with kernel Fukunaga-Koontz transform and Kalman prediction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Ruiming; Liu, Erqi; Yang, Jie; Zeng, Yong; Wang, Fanglin; Cao, Yuan

2007-11-01

Fukunaga-Koontz transform (FKT), stemming from principal component analysis (PCA), is used in many pattern recognition and image-processing fields. It cannot capture the higher-order statistical property of natural images, so its detection performance is not satisfying. PCA has been extended into kernel PCA in order to capture the higher-order statistics. However, thus far there have been no researchers who have definitely proposed kernel FKT (KFKT) and researched its detection performance. For accurately detecting potential small targets from infrared images, we first extend FKT into KFKT to capture the higher-order statistical properties of images. Then a framework based on Kalman prediction and KFKT, which can automatically detect and track small targets, is developed. Results of experiments show that KFKT outperforms FKT and the proposed framework is competent to automatically detect and track infrared point targets.

Automatic detection of small surface targets with electro-optical sensors in a harbor environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bouma, Henri; de Lange, Dirk-Jan J.; van den Broek, Sebastiaan P.; Kemp, Rob A. W.; Schwering, Piet B. W.

2008-10-01

In modern warfare scenarios naval ships must operate in coastal environments. These complex environments, in bays and narrow straits, with cluttered littoral backgrounds and many civilian ships may contain asymmetric threats of fast targets, such as rhibs, cabin boats and jet-skis. Optical sensors, in combination with image enhancement and automatic detection, assist an operator to reduce the response time, which is crucial for the protection of the naval and land-based supporting forces. In this paper, we present our work on automatic detection of small surface targets which includes multi-scale horizon detection and robust estimation of the background intensity. To evaluate the performance of our detection technology, data was recorded with both infrared and visual-light cameras in a coastal zone and in a harbor environment. During these trials multiple small targets were used. Results of this evaluation are shown in this paper.

A new type industrial total station based on target automatic collimation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lao, Dabao; Zhou, Weihu; Ji, Rongyi; Dong, Dengfeng; Xiong, Zhi; Wei, Jiang

2018-01-01

In the case of industrial field measurement, the present measuring instruments work with manual operation and collimation, which give rise to low efficiency for field measurement. In order to solve the problem, a new type industrial total station is presented in this paper. The new instrument can identify and trace cooperative target automatically, in the mean time, coordinate of the target is measured in real time. For realizing the system, key technology including high precision absolutely distance measurement, small high accuracy angle measurement, target automatic collimation with vision, and quick precise controlling should be worked out. After customized system assemblage and adjustment, the new type industrial total station will be established. As the experiments demonstrated, the coordinate accuracy of the instrument is under 15ppm in the distance of 60m, which proved that the measuring system is feasible. The result showed that the total station can satisfy most industrial field measurement requirements.

Automatic selection of irrelevant object features through working memory: evidence for top-down attentional capture.

PubMed

Soto, David; Humphreys, Glyn W

2009-01-01

Recent research has shown that the contents of working memory (WM) can guide the early deployment of attention in visual search. Here, we assessed whether this guidance occurred for all attributes of items held in WM, or whether effects are based on just the attributes relevant for the memory task. We asked observers to hold in memory just the shape of a coloured object and to subsequently search for a target line amongst distractor lines, each embedded within a different object. On some trials, one of the objects in the search display could match the shape, the colour or both dimensions of the cue, but this object never contained the relevant target line. Relative to a neutral baseline, where there was no match between the memory and the search displays, search performance was impaired when a distractor object matched both the colour and the shape of the memory cue. The implications for the understanding of the interaction between WM and selection are discussed.

An Approximate Approach to Automatic Kernel Selection.

PubMed

Ding, Lizhong; Liao, Shizhong

2016-02-02

Kernel selection is a fundamental problem of kernel-based learning algorithms. In this paper, we propose an approximate approach to automatic kernel selection for regression from the perspective of kernel matrix approximation. We first introduce multilevel circulant matrices into automatic kernel selection, and develop two approximate kernel selection algorithms by exploiting the computational virtues of multilevel circulant matrices. The complexity of the proposed algorithms is quasi-linear in the number of data points. Then, we prove an approximation error bound to measure the effect of the approximation in kernel matrices by multilevel circulant matrices on the hypothesis and further show that the approximate hypothesis produced with multilevel circulant matrices converges to the accurate hypothesis produced with kernel matrices. Experimental evaluations on benchmark datasets demonstrate the effectiveness of approximate kernel selection.

The NASA Goddard Group's Source Monitoring Database and Program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gipson, John; Le Bail, Karine; Ma, Chopo

2014-12-01

Beginning in 2003, the Goddard VLBI group developed a program to purposefully monitor when sources were observed and to increase the observations of ``under-observed'' sources. The heart of the program consists of a MySQL database that keeps track of, on a session-by-session basis: the number of observations that are scheduled for a source, the number of observations that are successfully correlated, and the number of observations that are used in a session. In addition, there is a table that contains the target number of successful sessions over the last twelve months. Initially this table just contained two categories. Sources in the geodetic catalog had a target of 12 sessions/year; the remaining ICRF-1 defining sources had a target of two sessions/year. All other sources did not have a specific target. As the program evolved, different kinds of sources with different observing targets were added. During the scheduling process, the scheduler has the option of automatically selecting N sources which have not met their target. We discuss the history and present some results of this successful program.

PeptidePicker: a scientific workflow with web interface for selecting appropriate peptides for targeted proteomics experiments.

PubMed

Mohammed, Yassene; Domański, Dominik; Jackson, Angela M; Smith, Derek S; Deelder, André M; Palmblad, Magnus; Borchers, Christoph H

2014-06-25

One challenge in Multiple Reaction Monitoring (MRM)-based proteomics is to select the most appropriate surrogate peptides to represent a target protein. We present here a software package to automatically generate these most appropriate surrogate peptides for an LC/MRM-MS analysis. Our method integrates information about the proteins, their tryptic peptides, and the suitability of these peptides for MRM which is available online in UniProtKB, NCBI's dbSNP, ExPASy, PeptideAtlas, PRIDE, and GPMDB. The scoring algorithm reflects our knowledge in choosing the best candidate peptides for MRM, based on the uniqueness of the peptide in the targeted proteome, its physiochemical properties, and whether it previously has been observed. The modularity of the workflow allows further extension and additional selection criteria to be incorporated. We have developed a simple Web interface where the researcher provides the protein accession number, the subject organism, and peptide-specific options. Currently, the software is designed for human and mouse proteomes, but additional species can be easily be added. Our software improved the peptide selection by eliminating human error, considering multiple data sources and all of the isoforms of the protein, and resulted in faster peptide selection - approximately 50 proteins per hour compared to 8 per day. Compiling a list of optimal surrogate peptides for target proteins to be analyzed by LC/MRM-MS has been a cumbersome process, in which expert researchers retrieved information from different online repositories and used their own reasoning to find the most appropriate peptides. Our scientific workflow automates this process by integrating information from different data sources including UniProt, Global Proteome Machine, NCBI's dbSNP, and PeptideAtlas, simulating the researchers' reasoning, and incorporating their knowledge of how to select the best proteotypic peptides for an MRM analysis. The developed software can help to standardize the selection of peptides, eliminate human error, and increase productivity. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Assisting People with Multiple Disabilities by Improving Their Computer Pointing Efficiency with an Automatic Target Acquisition Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shih, Ching-Hsiang; Shih, Ching-Tien; Peng, Chin-Ling

2011-01-01

This study evaluated whether two people with multiple disabilities would be able to improve their pointing performance through an Automatic Target Acquisition Program (ATAP) and a newly developed mouse driver (i.e. a new mouse driver replaces standard mouse driver, and is able to monitor mouse movement and intercept click action). Initially, both…

Toward automated selective retina treatment (SRT): an optical microbubble detection technique

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Seifert, Eric; Park, Young-Gun; Theisen-Kunde, Dirk; Roh, Young-Jung; Brinkmann, Ralf

2018-02-01

Selective retina therapy (SRT) is an ophthalmological laser technique, targeting the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) with repetitive microsecond laser pulses, while causing no thermal damage to the neural retina, the photoreceptors as well as the choroid. The RPE cells get damaged mechanically by microbubbles originating, at the intracellular melanosomes. Beneficial effects of SRT on Central Serous Retinopathy (CSR) and Diabetic Macula Edema (DME) have already been shown. Variations in the transmission of the anterior eye media and pigmentation variation of RPE yield in intra- and inter- individual thresholds of the pulse energy required for selective RPE damage. Those selective RPE lesions are not visible. Thus, dosimetry-systems, designed to detect microbubbles as an indicator for RPE cell damage, are demanded elements to facilitate SRT application. Therefore, a technique based on the evaluation of backscattered treatment light has been developed. Data of 127 spots, acquired during 10 clinical treatments of CSR patients, were assigned to a RPE cell damage class, validated by fluorescence angiography (FLA). An algorithm has been designed to match the FLA based information. A sensitivity of 0.9 with a specificity close to 1 is achieved. The data can be processed within microseconds. Thus, the process can be implemented in existing SRT lasers with an automatic pulse wise increasing energy and an automatic irradiation ceasing ability to enable automated treatment close above threshold to prevent adverse effects caused by too high pulse energy. Alternatively, a guidance procedure, informing the treating clinician about the adequacy of the actual settings, is possible.

Self-assessing target with automatic feedback

DOEpatents

Larkin, Stephen W.; Kramer, Robert L.

2004-03-02

A self assessing target with four quadrants and a method of use thereof. Each quadrant containing possible causes for why shots are going into that particular quadrant rather than the center mass of the target. Each possible cause is followed by a solution intended to help the marksman correct the problem causing the marksman to shoot in that particular area. In addition, the self assessing target contains possible causes for general shooting errors and solutions to the causes of the general shooting error. The automatic feedback with instant suggestions and corrections enables the shooter to improve their marksmanship.

New rules for visual selection: Isolating procedural attention.

PubMed

Ramamurthy, Mahalakshmi; Blaser, Erik

2017-02-01

High performance in well-practiced, everyday tasks-driving, sports, gaming-suggests a kind of procedural attention that can allocate processing resources to behaviorally relevant information in an unsupervised manner. Here we show that training can lead to a new, automatic attentional selection rule that operates in the absence of bottom-up, salience-driven triggers and willful top-down selection. Taking advantage of the fact that attention modulates motion aftereffects, observers were presented with a bivectorial display with overlapping, iso-salient red and green dot fields moving to the right and left, respectively, while distracted by a demanding auditory two-back memory task. Before training, since the motion vectors canceled each other out, no net motion aftereffect (MAE) was found. However, after 3 days (0.5 hr/day) of training, during which observers practiced selectively attending to the red, rightward field, a significant net MAE was observed-even when top-down selection was again distracted. Further experiments showed that these results were not due to perceptual learning, and that the new rule targeted the motion, and not the color of the target dot field, and global, not local, motion signals; thus, the new rule was: "select the rightward field." This study builds on recent work on selection history-driven and reward-driven biases, but uses a novel paradigm where the allocation of visual processing resources are measured passively, offline, and when the observer's ability to execute top-down selection is defeated.

Naturalness preservation image contrast enhancement via histogram modification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tian, Qi-Chong; Cohen, Laurent D.

2018-04-01

Contrast enhancement is a technique for enhancing image contrast to obtain better visual quality. Since many existing contrast enhancement algorithms usually produce over-enhanced results, the naturalness preservation is needed to be considered in the framework of image contrast enhancement. This paper proposes a naturalness preservation contrast enhancement method, which adopts the histogram matching to improve the contrast and uses the image quality assessment to automatically select the optimal target histogram. The contrast improvement and the naturalness preservation are both considered in the target histogram, so this method can avoid the over-enhancement problem. In the proposed method, the optimal target histogram is a weighted sum of the original histogram, the uniform histogram, and the Gaussian-shaped histogram. Then the structural metric and the statistical naturalness metric are used to determine the weights of corresponding histograms. At last, the contrast-enhanced image is obtained via matching the optimal target histogram. The experiments demonstrate the proposed method outperforms the compared histogram-based contrast enhancement algorithms.

An Experiment Quantifying The Effect Of Clutter On Target Detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weathersby, Marshall R.; Schmieder, David E.

1985-01-01

Experiments were conducted to determine the influence of background clutter on target detection criteria. The experiment consisted of placing observers in front of displayed images on a TV monitor. Observer ability to detect military targets embedded in simulated natural and manmade background clutter was measured when there was unlimited viewing time. Results were described in terms of detection probability versus target resolution for various signal to clutter ratios (SCR). The experiments were preceded by a search for a meaningful clutter definition. The selected definition was a statistical measure computed by averaging the standard deviation of contiguous scene cells over the whole scene. The cell size was comparable to the target size. Observer test results confirmed the expectation that the resolution required for a given detection probability was a continuum function of the clutter level. At the lower SCRs the resolution required for a high probability of detection was near 6 lines pairs per target (LP/TGT), while at the higher SCRs it was found that a resolution of less than 0.25 LP/TGT would yield a high probability of detection. These results are expected to aid in target acquisition performance modeling and to lead to improved specifications for imaging automatic target screeners.

Top-attack modeling and automatic target detection using synthetic FLIR scenery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weber, Bruce A.; Penn, Joseph A.

2004-09-01

A series of experiments have been performed to verify the utility of algorithmic tools for the modeling and analysis of cold-target signatures in synthetic, top-attack, FLIR video sequences. The tools include: MuSES/CREATION for the creation of synthetic imagery with targets, an ARL target detection algorithm to detect imbedded synthetic targets in scenes, and an ARL scoring algorithm, using Receiver-Operating-Characteristic (ROC) curve analysis, to evaluate detector performance. Cold-target detection variability was examined as a function of target emissivity, surrounding clutter type, and target placement in non-obscuring clutter locations. Detector metrics were also individually scored so as to characterize the effect of signature/clutter variations. Results show that using these tools, a detailed, physically meaningful, target detection analysis is possible and that scenario specific target detectors may be developed by selective choice and/or weighting of detector metrics. However, developing these tools into a reliable predictive capability will require the extension of these results to the modeling and analysis of a large number of data sets configured for a wide range of target and clutter conditions. Finally, these tools should also be useful for the comparison of competitive detection algorithms by providing well defined, and controllable target detection scenarios, as well as for the training and testing of expert human observers.

[Study of automatic marine oil spills detection using imaging spectroscopy].

PubMed

Liu, De-Lian; Han, Liang; Zhang, Jian-Qi

2013-11-01

To reduce artificial auxiliary works in oil spills detection process, an automatic oil spill detection method based on adaptive matched filter is presented. Firstly, the characteristics of reflectance spectral signature of C-H bond in oil spill are analyzed. And an oil spill spectral signature extraction model is designed by using the spectral feature of C-H bond. It is then used to obtain the reference spectral signature for the following oil spill detection step. Secondly, the characteristics of reflectance spectral signature of sea water, clouds, and oil spill are compared. The bands which have large difference in reflectance spectral signatures of the sea water, clouds, and oil spill are selected. By using these bands, the sea water pixels are segmented. And the background parameters are then calculated. Finally, the classical adaptive matched filter from target detection algorithms is improved and introduced for oil spill detection. The proposed method is applied to the real airborne visible infrared imaging spectrometer (AVIRIS) hyperspectral image captured during the deepwater horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico for oil spill detection. The results show that the proposed method has, high efficiency, does not need artificial auxiliary work, and can be used for automatic detection of marine oil spill.

Atlas-based automatic segmentation of head and neck organs at risk and nodal target volumes: a clinical validation.

PubMed

Daisne, Jean-François; Blumhofer, Andreas

2013-06-26

Intensity modulated radiotherapy for head and neck cancer necessitates accurate definition of organs at risk (OAR) and clinical target volumes (CTV). This crucial step is time consuming and prone to inter- and intra-observer variations. Automatic segmentation by atlas deformable registration may help to reduce time and variations. We aim to test a new commercial atlas algorithm for automatic segmentation of OAR and CTV in both ideal and clinical conditions. The updated Brainlab automatic head and neck atlas segmentation was tested on 20 patients: 10 cN0-stages (ideal population) and 10 unselected N-stages (clinical population). Following manual delineation of OAR and CTV, automatic segmentation of the same set of structures was performed and afterwards manually corrected. Dice Similarity Coefficient (DSC), Average Surface Distance (ASD) and Maximal Surface Distance (MSD) were calculated for "manual to automatic" and "manual to corrected" volumes comparisons. In both groups, automatic segmentation saved about 40% of the corresponding manual segmentation time. This effect was more pronounced for OAR than for CTV. The edition of the automatically obtained contours significantly improved DSC, ASD and MSD. Large distortions of normal anatomy or lack of iodine contrast were the limiting factors. The updated Brainlab atlas-based automatic segmentation tool for head and neck Cancer patients is timesaving but still necessitates review and corrections by an expert.

The Influence of Endmember Selection Method in Extracting Impervious Surface from Airborne Hyperspectral Imagery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, J.; Feng, B.

2016-12-01

Impervious surface area (ISA) has long been studied as an important input into moisture flux models. In general, ISA impedes groundwater recharge, increases stormflow/flood frequency, and alters in-stream and riparian habitats. Urban area is recognized as one of the richest ISA environment. Urban ISA mapping assists flood prevention and urban planning. Hyperspectral imagery (HI), for its ability to detect subtle spectral signature, becomes an ideal candidate in urban ISA mapping. To map ISA from HI involves endmember (EM) selection. The high degree of spatial and spectral heterogeneity of urban environment puts great difficulty in this task: a compromise point is needed between the automatic degree and the good representativeness of the method. The study tested one manual and two semi-automatic EM selection strategies. The manual and the first semi-automatic methods have been widely used in EM selection. The second semi-automatic EM selection method is rather new and has been only proposed for moderate spatial resolution satellite. The manual method visually selected the EM candidates from eight landcover types in the original image. The first semi-automatic method chose the EM candidates using a threshold over the pixel purity index (PPI) map. The second semi-automatic method used the triangle shape of the HI scatter plot in the n-Dimension visualizer to identify the V-I-S (vegetation-impervious surface-soil) EM candidates: the pixels locate at the triangle points. The initial EM candidates from the three methods were further refined by three indexes (EM average RMSE, minimum average spectral angle, and count based EM selection) and generated three spectral libraries, which were used to classify the test image. Spectral angle mapper was applied. The accuracy reports for the classification results were generated. The overall accuracy are 85% for the manual method, 81% for the PPI method, and 87% for the V-I-S method. The V-I-S EM selection method performs best in this study. This fact proves the value of V-I-S EM selection method in not only moderate spatial resolution satellite image but also the more and more accessible high spatial resolution airborne image. This semi-automatic EM selection method can be adopted into a wide range of remote sensing images and provide ISA map for hydrology analysis.

Target Transformation Constrained Sparse Unmixing (ttcsu) Algorithm for Retrieving Hydrous Minerals on Mars: Application to Southwest Melas Chasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, H.; Zhang, X.; Wu, X.; Tarnas, J. D.; Mustard, J. F.

2018-04-01

Quantitative analysis of hydrated minerals from hyperspectral remote sensing data is fundamental for understanding Martian geologic process. Because of the difficulties for selecting endmembers from hyperspectral images, a sparse unmixing algorithm has been proposed to be applied to CRISM data on Mars. However, it's challenge when the endmember library increases dramatically. Here, we proposed a new methodology termed Target Transformation Constrained Sparse Unmixing (TTCSU) to accurately detect hydrous minerals on Mars. A new version of target transformation technique proposed in our recent work was used to obtain the potential detections from CRISM data. Sparse unmixing constrained with these detections as prior information was applied to CRISM single-scattering albedo images, which were calculated using a Hapke radiative transfer model. This methodology increases success rate of the automatic endmember selection of sparse unmixing and could get more accurate abundances. CRISM images with well analyzed in Southwest Melas Chasma was used to validate our methodology in this study. The sulfates jarosite was detected from Southwest Melas Chasma, the distribution is consistent with previous work and the abundance is comparable. More validations will be done in our future work.

An AdaBoost Based Approach to Automatic Classification and Detection of Buildings Footprints, Vegetation Areas and Roads from Satellite Images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gonulalan, Cansu

In recent years, there has been an increasing demand for applications to monitor the targets related to land-use, using remote sensing images. Advances in remote sensing satellites give rise to the research in this area. Many applications ranging from urban growth planning to homeland security have already used the algorithms for automated object recognition from remote sensing imagery. However, they have still problems such as low accuracy on detection of targets, specific algorithms for a specific area etc. In this thesis, we focus on an automatic approach to classify and detect building foot-prints, road networks and vegetation areas. The automatic interpretation of visual data is a comprehensive task in computer vision field. The machine learning approaches improve the capability of classification in an intelligent way. We propose a method, which has high accuracy on detection and classification. The multi class classification is developed for detecting multiple objects. We present an AdaBoost-based approach along with the supervised learning algorithm. The combi- nation of AdaBoost with "Attentional Cascade" is adopted from Viola and Jones [1]. This combination decreases the computation time and gives opportunity to real time applications. For the feature extraction step, our contribution is to combine Haar-like features that include corner, rectangle and Gabor. Among all features, AdaBoost selects only critical features and generates in extremely efficient cascade structured classifier. Finally, we present and evaluate our experimental results. The overall system is tested and high performance of detection is achieved. The precision rate of the final multi-class classifier is over 98%.

Magnetically guided left ventricular lead implantation based on a virtual three-dimensional reconstructed image of the coronary sinus

PubMed Central

Rivero-Ayerza, Máximo; Jessurun, Emil; Ramcharitar, Steve; van Belle, Yves; Serruys, Patrick W.; Jordaens, Luc

2008-01-01

Aims Left ventricular (LV) lead implantation is feasible using remote magnetic navigation of a guidewire (Stereotaxis, St Louis, MO, USA). A novel software that performs a three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction of vessels based on two or more angiographic views has been developed recently (CardiOp-B system™, Paeion Inc., Haifa, Israel). The objective of this paper is to evaluate: (i) the performance of the 3D reconstruction software which reproduce the anatomy of the coronary sinus (CS) and (ii) the efficacy of remotely navigating a magnetic guidewire within the CS based on this reconstruction. Methods and results In patients undergoing cardiac resynchronization therapy implantation, a 3D reconstruction of the CS was performed using the CardiOp-B™ system. Accuracy of the reconstruction was evaluated by comparing with the CS angiogram. This reconstruction was imported into the Stereotaxis system. On the basis of the reconstruction, magnetic vectors were automatically selected to navigate within the CS and manually adjusted if required. Feasibility of deploying the guidewire and LV lead into the selected side branch (SB), fluoroscopy time (FT) required for cannulation of the target SB, and total FT were also evaluated. Sixteen patients were included. In one case, the software could not reconstruct the CS. The quality of the reconstruction was graded as good in 13 and poor in 2. In 10 cases, manual adjustments to the traced edges of the CS were required to perform the 3D reconstruction, and in 5, no adjustments were required. In 13 patients, the target SB was engaged on the basis of the automatically selected vectors. In two cases, manual modification of the vector was required. Mean total FT was 23 ± 14 min and the FT required to cannulate the target SB was 1.7 ± 1.3 min. Conclusion A 3D reconstruction of the CS can be accurately performed using two angiographic views. This reconstruction allows precise magnetic navigation of a guidewire within the CS. PMID:18587136

Image quality and radiation reduction of 320-row area detector CT coronary angiography with optimal tube voltage selection and an automatic exposure control system: comparison with body mass index-adapted protocol.

PubMed

Lim, Jiyeon; Park, Eun-Ah; Lee, Whal; Shim, Hackjoon; Chung, Jin Wook

2015-06-01

To assess the image quality and radiation exposure of 320-row area detector computed tomography (320-ADCT) coronary angiography with optimal tube voltage selection with the guidance of an automatic exposure control system in comparison with a body mass index (BMI)-adapted protocol. Twenty-two patients (study group) underwent 320-ADCT coronary angiography using an automatic exposure control system with the target standard deviation value of 33 as the image quality index and the lowest possible tube voltage. For comparison, a sex- and BMI-matched group (control group, n = 22) using a BMI-adapted protocol was established. Images of both groups were reconstructed by an iterative reconstruction algorithm. For objective evaluation of the image quality, image noise, vessel density, signal to noise ratio (SNR), and contrast to noise ratio (CNR) were measured. Two blinded readers then subjectively graded the image quality using a four-point scale (1: nondiagnostic to 4: excellent). Radiation exposure was also measured. Although the study group tended to show higher image noise (14.1 ± 3.6 vs. 9.3 ± 2.2 HU, P = 0.111) and higher vessel density (665.5 ± 161 vs. 498 ± 143 HU, P = 0.430) than the control group, the differences were not significant. There was no significant difference between the two groups for SNR (52.5 ± 19.2 vs. 60.6 ± 21.8, P = 0.729), CNR (57.0 ± 19.8 vs. 67.8 ± 23.3, P = 0.531), or subjective image quality scores (3.47 ± 0.55 vs. 3.59 ± 0.56, P = 0.960). However, radiation exposure was significantly reduced by 42 % in the study group (1.9 ± 0.8 vs. 3.6 ± 0.4 mSv, P = 0.003). Optimal tube voltage selection with the guidance of an automatic exposure control system in 320-ADCT coronary angiography allows substantial radiation reduction without significant impairment of image quality, compared to the results obtained using a BMI-based protocol.

Automatic rock detection for in situ spectroscopy applications on Mars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mahapatra, Pooja; Foing, Bernard H.

A novel algorithm for rock detection has been developed for effectively utilising Mars rovers, and enabling autonomous selection of target rocks that require close-contact spectroscopic measurements. The algorithm demarcates small rocks in terrain images as seen by cameras on a Mars rover during traverse. This information may be used by the rover for selection of geologically relevant sample rocks, and (in conjunction with a rangefinder) to pick up target samples using a robotic arm for automatic in situ determination of rock composition and mineralogy using, for example, a Raman spectrometer. Determining rock samples within the region that are of specific interest without physically approaching them significantly reduces time, power and risk. Input images in colour are converted to greyscale for intensity analysis. Bilateral filtering is used for texture removal while preserving rock boundaries. Unsharp masking is used for contrast enhance-ment. Sharp contrasts in intensities are detected using Canny edge detection, with thresholds that are calculated from the image obtained after contrast-limited adaptive histogram equalisation of the unsharp masked image. Scale-space representations are then generated by convolving this image with a Gaussian kernel. A scale-invariant blob detector (Laplacian of the Gaussian, LoG) detects blobs independently of their sizes, and therefore requires a multi-scale approach with automatic scale se-lection. The scale-space blob detector consists of convolution of the Canny edge-detected image with a scale-normalised LoG at several scales, and finding the maxima of squared LoG response in scale-space. After the extraction of local intensity extrema, the intensity profiles along rays going out of the local extremum are investigated. An ellipse is fitted to the region determined by significant changes in the intensity profiles. The fitted ellipses are overlaid on the original Mars terrain image for a visual estimation of the rock detection accuracy, and the number of ellipses are counted. Since geometry and illumination have the least effect on small rocks, the proposed algorithm is effective in detecting small rocks (or bigger rocks at larger distances from the camera) that consist of a small fraction of image pixels. Acknowledgements: The first author would like to express her gratitude to the European Space Agency (ESA/ESTEC) and the International Lunar Exploration Working Group (ILEWG) for their support of this work.

Phantom Study Investigating the Accuracy of Manual and Automatic Image Fusion with the GE Logiq E9: Implications for use in Percutaneous Liver Interventions.

PubMed

Burgmans, Mark Christiaan; den Harder, J Michiel; Meershoek, Philippa; van den Berg, Nynke S; Chan, Shaun Xavier Ju Min; van Leeuwen, Fijs W B; van Erkel, Arian R

2017-06-01

To determine the accuracy of automatic and manual co-registration methods for image fusion of three-dimensional computed tomography (CT) with real-time ultrasonography (US) for image-guided liver interventions. CT images of a skills phantom with liver lesions were acquired and co-registered to US using GE Logiq E9 navigation software. Manual co-registration was compared to automatic and semiautomatic co-registration using an active tracker. Also, manual point registration was compared to plane registration with and without an additional translation point. Finally, comparison was made between manual and automatic selection of reference points. In each experiment, accuracy of the co-registration method was determined by measurement of the residual displacement in phantom lesions by two independent observers. Mean displacements for a superficial and deep liver lesion were comparable after manual and semiautomatic co-registration: 2.4 and 2.0 mm versus 2.0 and 2.5 mm, respectively. Both methods were significantly better than automatic co-registration: 5.9 and 5.2 mm residual displacement (p < 0.001; p < 0.01). The accuracy of manual point registration was higher than that of plane registration, the latter being heavily dependent on accurate matching of axial CT and US images by the operator. Automatic reference point selection resulted in significantly lower registration accuracy compared to manual point selection despite lower root-mean-square deviation (RMSD) values. The accuracy of manual and semiautomatic co-registration is better than that of automatic co-registration. For manual co-registration using a plane, choosing the correct plane orientation is an essential first step in the registration process. Automatic reference point selection based on RMSD values is error-prone.

Automatic tool alignment in a backscatter X-ray scanning system

DOEpatents

Garretson, Justin; Hobart, Clinton G.; Gladwell, Thomas S.; Monda, Mark J.

2015-11-17

Technologies pertaining to backscatter x-ray scanning systems are described herein. The backscatter x-ray scanning system includes an x-ray source, which directs collimated x-rays along a plurality of output vectors towards a target. A detector detects diffusely reflected x-rays subsequent to respective collimated x-rays impacting the target, and outputs signals indicative of parameters of the detected x-rays. An image processing system generates an x-ray image based upon parameters of the detected x-rays, wherein each pixel in the image corresponds to a respective output vector. A user selects a particular portion of the image, and a medical device is positioned such that its directional axis is coincident with the output vector corresponding to at least one pixel in the portion of the image.

Automatic tool alignment in a backscatter x-ray scanning system

DOEpatents

Garretson, Justin; Hobart, Clinton G.; Gladwell, Thomas S.; Monda, Mark J.

2015-06-16

Technologies pertaining to backscatter x-ray scanning systems are described herein. The backscatter x-ray scanning system includes an x-ray source, which directs collimated x-rays along a plurality of output vectors towards a target. A detector detects diffusely reflected x-rays subsequent to respective collimated x-rays impacting the target, and outputs signals indicative of parameters of the detected x-rays. An image processing system generates an x-ray image based upon parameters of the detected x-rays, wherein each pixel in the image corresponds to a respective output vector. A user selects a particular portion of the image, and a tool is positioned such that its directional axis is coincident with the output vector corresponding to at least one pixel in the portion of the image.

A man-made object detection for underwater TV

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cheng, Binbin; Wang, Wenwu; Chen, Yao

2018-03-01

It is a great challenging task to complete an automatic search of objects underwater. Usually the forward looking sonar is used to find the target, and then the initial identification of the target is completed by the side-scan sonar, and finally the confirmation of the target is accomplished by underwater TV. This paper presents an efficient method for automatic extraction of man-made sensitive targets in underwater TV. Firstly, the image of underwater TV is simplified with taking full advantage of the prior knowledge of the target and the background; then template matching technology is used for target detection; finally the target is confirmed by extracting parallel lines on the target contour. The algorithm is formulated for real-time execution on limited-memory commercial-of-the-shelf platforms and is capable of detection objects in underwater TV.

MeSH Now: automatic MeSH indexing at PubMed scale via learning to rank.

PubMed

Mao, Yuqing; Lu, Zhiyong

2017-04-17

MeSH indexing is the task of assigning relevant MeSH terms based on a manual reading of scholarly publications by human indexers. The task is highly important for improving literature retrieval and many other scientific investigations in biomedical research. Unfortunately, given its manual nature, the process of MeSH indexing is both time-consuming (new articles are not immediately indexed until 2 or 3 months later) and costly (approximately ten dollars per article). In response, automatic indexing by computers has been previously proposed and attempted but remains challenging. In order to advance the state of the art in automatic MeSH indexing, a community-wide shared task called BioASQ was recently organized. We propose MeSH Now, an integrated approach that first uses multiple strategies to generate a combined list of candidate MeSH terms for a target article. Through a novel learning-to-rank framework, MeSH Now then ranks the list of candidate terms based on their relevance to the target article. Finally, MeSH Now selects the highest-ranked MeSH terms via a post-processing module. We assessed MeSH Now on two separate benchmarking datasets using traditional precision, recall and F 1 -score metrics. In both evaluations, MeSH Now consistently achieved over 0.60 in F-score, ranging from 0.610 to 0.612. Furthermore, additional experiments show that MeSH Now can be optimized by parallel computing in order to process MEDLINE documents on a large scale. We conclude that MeSH Now is a robust approach with state-of-the-art performance for automatic MeSH indexing and that MeSH Now is capable of processing PubMed scale documents within a reasonable time frame. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/CBBresearch/Lu/Demo/MeSHNow/ .

Detection performance in clutter with variable resolution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schmieder, D. E.; Weathersby, M. R.

1983-07-01

Experiments were conducted to determine the influence of background clutter on target detection criteria. The experiment consisted of placing observers in front of displayed images on a TV monitor. Observer ability to detect military targets embedded in simulated natural and manmade background clutter was measured when there was unlimited viewing time. Results were described in terms of detection probability versus target resolution for various signal to clutter ratios (SCR). The experiments were preceded by a search for a meaningful clutter definition. The selected definition was a statistical measure computed by averaging the standard deviation of contiguous scene cells over the whole scene. The cell size was comparable to the target size. Observer test results confirmed the expectation that the resolution required for a given detection probability was a continuum function of the clutter level. At the lower SCRs the resolution required for a high probability of detection was near 6 line pairs per target (LP/TGT), while at the higher SCRs it was found that a resoluton of less than 0.25 LP/TGT would yield a high probability of detection. These results are expected to aid in target acquisition performance modeling and to lead to improved specifications for imaging automatic target screeners.

Automatic target detection using binary template matching

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jun, Dong-San; Sun, Sun-Gu; Park, HyunWook

2005-03-01

This paper presents a new automatic target detection (ATD) algorithm to detect targets such as battle tanks and armored personal carriers in ground-to-ground scenarios. Whereas most ATD algorithms were developed for forward-looking infrared (FLIR) images, we have developed an ATD algorithm for charge-coupled device (CCD) images, which have superior quality to FLIR images in daylight. The proposed algorithm uses fast binary template matching with an adaptive binarization, which is robust to various light conditions in CCD images and saves computation time. Experimental results show that the proposed method has good detection performance.

Shape and texture fused recognition of flying targets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kovács, Levente; Utasi, Ákos; Kovács, Andrea; Szirányi, Tamás

2011-06-01

This paper presents visual detection and recognition of flying targets (e.g. planes, missiles) based on automatically extracted shape and object texture information, for application areas like alerting, recognition and tracking. Targets are extracted based on robust background modeling and a novel contour extraction approach, and object recognition is done by comparisons to shape and texture based query results on a previously gathered real life object dataset. Application areas involve passive defense scenarios, including automatic object detection and tracking with cheap commodity hardware components (CPU, camera and GPS).

Model-based vision using geometric hashing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Akerman, Alexander, III; Patton, Ronald

1991-04-01

The Geometric Hashing technique developed by the NYU Courant Institute has been applied to various automatic target recognition applications. In particular, I-MATH has extended the hashing algorithm to perform automatic target recognition ofsynthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery. For this application, the hashing is performed upon the geometric locations of dominant scatterers. In addition to being a robust model-based matching algorithm -- invariant under translation, scale, and 3D rotations of the target -- hashing is of particular utility because it can still perform effective matching when the target is partially obscured. Moreover, hashing is very amenable to a SIMD parallel processing architecture, and thus potentially realtime implementable.

Adaptive fusion of infrared and visible images in dynamic scene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Guang; Yin, Yafeng; Man, Hong; Desai, Sachi

2011-11-01

Multiple modalities sensor fusion has been widely employed in various surveillance and military applications. A variety of image fusion techniques including PCA, wavelet, curvelet and HSV has been proposed in recent years to improve human visual perception for object detection. One of the main challenges for visible and infrared image fusion is to automatically determine an optimal fusion strategy for different input scenes along with an acceptable computational cost. This paper, we propose a fast and adaptive feature selection based image fusion method to obtain high a contrast image from visible and infrared sensors for targets detection. At first, fuzzy c-means clustering is applied on the infrared image to highlight possible hotspot regions, which will be considered as potential targets' locations. After that, the region surrounding the target area is segmented as the background regions. Then image fusion is locally applied on the selected target and background regions by computing different linear combination of color components from registered visible and infrared images. After obtaining different fused images, histogram distributions are computed on these local fusion images as the fusion feature set. The variance ratio which is based on Linear Discriminative Analysis (LDA) measure is employed to sort the feature set and the most discriminative one is selected for the whole image fusion. As the feature selection is performed over time, the process will dynamically determine the most suitable feature for the image fusion in different scenes. Experiment is conducted on the OSU Color-Thermal database, and TNO Human Factor dataset. The fusion results indicate that our proposed method achieved a competitive performance compared with other fusion algorithms at a relatively low computational cost.

Automatic Condensation of Electronic Publications by Sentence Selection.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brandow, Ronald; And Others

1995-01-01

Describes a system that performs automatic summaries of news from a large commercial news service encompassing 41 different publications. This system was compared to a system that used only the lead sentences of the texts. Lead-based summaries significantly outperformed the sentence-selection summaries. (AEF)

Cueing spatial attention through timing and probability.

PubMed

Girardi, Giovanna; Antonucci, Gabriella; Nico, Daniele

2013-01-01

Even when focused on an effortful task we retain the ability to detect salient environmental information, and even irrelevant visual stimuli can be automatically detected. However, to which extent unattended information affects attentional control is not fully understood. Here we provide evidences of how the brain spontaneously organizes its cognitive resources by shifting attention between a selective-attending and a stimulus-driven modality within a single task. Using a spatial cueing paradigm we investigated the effect of cue-target asynchronies as a function of their probabilities of occurrence (i.e., relative frequency). Results show that this accessory information modulates attentional shifts. A valid spatial cue improved participants' performance as compared to an invalid one only in trials in which target onset was highly predictable because of its more robust occurrence. Conversely, cuing proved ineffective when spatial cue and target were associated according to a less frequent asynchrony. These patterns of response depended on asynchronies' probability and not on their duration. Our findings clearly demonstrate that through a fine decision-making, performed trial-by-trial, the brain utilizes implicit information to decide whether or not voluntarily shifting spatial attention. As if according to a cost-planning strategy, the cognitive effort of shifting attention depending on the cue is performed only when the expected advantages are higher. In a trade-off competition for cognitive resources, voluntary/automatic attending may thus be a more complex process than expected. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Attention capture by abrupt onsets: re-visiting the priority tag model.

PubMed

Sunny, Meera M; von Mühlenen, Adrian

2013-01-01

Abrupt onsets have been shown to strongly attract attention in a stimulus-driven, bottom-up manner. However, the precise mechanism that drives capture by onsets is still debated. According to the new object account, abrupt onsets capture attention because they signal the appearance of a new object. Yantis and Johnson (1990) used a visual search task and showed that up to four onsets can be automatically prioritized. However, in their study the number of onsets co-varied with the total number of items in the display, allowing for a possible confound between these two variables. In the present study, display size was fixed at eight items while the number of onsets was systematically varied between zero and eight. Experiment 1 showed a systematic increase in reactions times with increasing number of onsets. This increase was stronger when the target was an onset than when it was a no-onset item, a result that is best explained by a model according to which only one onset is automatically prioritized. Even when the onsets were marked in red (Experiment 2), nearly half of the participants continued to prioritize only one onset item. Only when onset and no-onset targets were blocked (Experiment 3), participants started to search selectively through the set of only the relevant target type. These results further support the finding that only one onset captures attention. Many bottom-up models of attention capture, like masking or saliency accounts, can efficiently explain this finding.

A chest-shape target automatic detection method based on Deformable Part Models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Mo; Jin, Weiqi; Li, Li

2016-10-01

Automatic weapon platform is one of the important research directions at domestic and overseas, it needs to accomplish fast searching for the object to be shot under complex background. Therefore, fast detection for given target is the foundation of further task. Considering that chest-shape target is common target of shoot practice, this paper treats chestshape target as the target and studies target automatic detection method based on Deformable Part Models. The algorithm computes Histograms of Oriented Gradient(HOG) features of the target and trains a model using Latent variable Support Vector Machine(SVM); In this model, target image is divided into several parts then we can obtain foot filter and part filters; Finally, the algorithm detects the target at the HOG features pyramid with method of sliding window. The running time of extracting HOG pyramid with lookup table can be shorten by 36%. The result indicates that this algorithm can detect the chest-shape target in natural environments indoors or outdoors. The true positive rate of detection reaches 76% with many hard samples, and the false positive rate approaches 0. Running on a PC (Intel(R)Core(TM) i5-4200H CPU) with C++ language, the detection time of images with the resolution of 640 × 480 is 2.093s. According to TI company run library about image pyramid and convolution for DM642 and other hardware, our detection algorithm is expected to be implemented on hardware platform, and it has application prospect in actual system.

Reward modulates attention independently of action value in posterior parietal cortex

PubMed Central

Peck, Christopher J.; Jangraw, David C.; Suzuki, Mototaka; Efem, Richard; Gottlieb, Jacqueline

2009-01-01

While numerous studies explored the mechanisms of reward-based decisions (the choice of action based on expected gain), few asked how reward influences attention (the selection of information relevant for a decision). Here we show that a powerful determinant of attentional priority is the association between a stimulus and an appetitive reward. A peripheral cue heralded the delivery of reward (RC+) or no reward (RC−); to experience the predicted outcome monkeys made a saccade to a target that appeared unpredictably at the same or opposite location relative to the cue. Although the RC had no operant associations (did not specify the required saccade) they automatically biased attention, such that the RC+ attracted attention and RC− repelled attention from their location. Neurons in the lateral intraparietal area (LIP) encoded these attentional biases, maintaining sustained excitation at the location of an RC+ and inhibition at the location of an RC−. Contrary to the hypothesis that LIP encodes action value, neurons did not encode the expected reward of the saccade. Moreover, the cue-evoked biases were maladaptive, interfering with the required saccade, and they biases increased rather than abating with training, strikingly at odds with an adaptive decision process. After prolonged training valence selectivity appeared at shorter latencies and automatically transferred to a novel task context, suggesting that training produced visual plasticity. The results suggest that reward predictors gain automatic attentional priority regardless of their operant associations, and this valence-specific priority is encoded in LIP independently of the expected reward of an action. PMID:19741125

Interactive contour delineation and refinement in treatment planning of image‐guided radiation therapy

PubMed Central

Zhou, Wu

2014-01-01

The accurate contour delineation of the target and/or organs at risk (OAR) is essential in treatment planning for image‐guided radiation therapy (IGRT). Although many automatic contour delineation approaches have been proposed, few of them can fulfill the necessities of applications in terms of accuracy and efficiency. Moreover, clinicians would like to analyze the characteristics of regions of interests (ROI) and adjust contours manually during IGRT. Interactive tool for contour delineation is necessary in such cases. In this work, a novel approach of curve fitting for interactive contour delineation is proposed. It allows users to quickly improve contours by a simple mouse click. Initially, a region which contains interesting object is selected in the image, then the program can automatically select important control points from the region boundary, and the method of Hermite cubic curves is used to fit the control points. Hence, the optimized curve can be revised by moving its control points interactively. Meanwhile, several curve fitting methods are presented for the comparison. Finally, in order to improve the accuracy of contour delineation, the process of the curve refinement based on the maximum gradient magnitude is proposed. All the points on the curve are revised automatically towards the positions with maximum gradient magnitude. Experimental results show that Hermite cubic curves and the curve refinement based on the maximum gradient magnitude possess superior performance on the proposed platform in terms of accuracy, robustness, and time calculation. Experimental results of real medical images demonstrate the efficiency, accuracy, and robustness of the proposed process in clinical applications. PACS number: 87.53.Tf PMID:24423846

RecceMan: an interactive recognition assistance for image-based reconnaissance: synergistic effects of human perception and computational methods for object recognition, identification, and infrastructure analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

El Bekri, Nadia; Angele, Susanne; Ruckhäberle, Martin; Peinsipp-Byma, Elisabeth; Haelke, Bruno

2015-10-01

This paper introduces an interactive recognition assistance system for imaging reconnaissance. This system supports aerial image analysts on missions during two main tasks: Object recognition and infrastructure analysis. Object recognition concentrates on the classification of one single object. Infrastructure analysis deals with the description of the components of an infrastructure and the recognition of the infrastructure type (e.g. military airfield). Based on satellite or aerial images, aerial image analysts are able to extract single object features and thereby recognize different object types. It is one of the most challenging tasks in the imaging reconnaissance. Currently, there are no high potential ATR (automatic target recognition) applications available, as consequence the human observer cannot be replaced entirely. State-of-the-art ATR applications cannot assume in equal measure human perception and interpretation. Why is this still such a critical issue? First, cluttered and noisy images make it difficult to automatically extract, classify and identify object types. Second, due to the changed warfare and the rise of asymmetric threats it is nearly impossible to create an underlying data set containing all features, objects or infrastructure types. Many other reasons like environmental parameters or aspect angles compound the application of ATR supplementary. Due to the lack of suitable ATR procedures, the human factor is still important and so far irreplaceable. In order to use the potential benefits of the human perception and computational methods in a synergistic way, both are unified in an interactive assistance system. RecceMan® (Reconnaissance Manual) offers two different modes for aerial image analysts on missions: the object recognition mode and the infrastructure analysis mode. The aim of the object recognition mode is to recognize a certain object type based on the object features that originated from the image signatures. The infrastructure analysis mode pursues the goal to analyze the function of the infrastructure. The image analyst extracts visually certain target object signatures, assigns them to corresponding object features and is finally able to recognize the object type. The system offers him the possibility to assign the image signatures to features given by sample images. The underlying data set contains a wide range of objects features and object types for different domains like ships or land vehicles. Each domain has its own feature tree developed by aerial image analyst experts. By selecting the corresponding features, the possible solution set of objects is automatically reduced and matches only the objects that contain the selected features. Moreover, we give an outlook of current research in the field of ground target analysis in which we deal with partly automated methods to extract image signatures and assign them to the corresponding features. This research includes methods for automatically determining the orientation of an object and geometric features like width and length of the object. This step enables to reduce automatically the possible object types offered to the image analyst by the interactive recognition assistance system.

Goal-directed action is automatically biased towards looming motion

PubMed Central

Moher, Jeff; Sit, Jonathan; Song, Joo-Hyun

2014-01-01

It is known that looming motion can capture attention regardless of an observer’s intentions. Real-world behavior, however, frequently involves not just attentional selection, but selection for action. Thus, it is important to understand the impact of looming motion on goal-directed action to gain a broader perspective on how stimulus properties bias human behavior. We presented participants with a visually-guided reaching task in which they pointed to a target letter presented among non-target distractors. On some trials, one of the pre-masks at the location of the upcoming search objects grew rapidly in size, creating the appearance of a “looming” target or distractor. Even though looming motion did not predict the target location, the time required to reach to the target was shorter when the target loomed compared to when a distractor loomed. Furthermore, reach movement trajectories were pulled towards the location of a looming distractor when one was present, a pull that was greater still when the looming motion was on a collision path with the participant. We also contrast reaching data with data from a similarly designed visual search task requiring keypress responses. This comparison underscores the sensitivity of visually-guided reaching data, as some experimental manipulations, such as looming motion path, affected reach trajectories but not keypress measures. Together, the results demonstrate that looming motion biases visually-guided action regardless of an observer’s current behavioral goals, affecting not only the time required to reach to targets but also the path of the observer’s hand movement itself. PMID:25159287

SU-F-T-345: Quasi-Dead Beams: Clinical Relevance and Implications for Automatic Planning

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Price, R; Veltchev, I; Lin, T

Purpose: Beam direction selection for fixed-beam IMRT planning is typically a manual process. Severe dose-volume limits on critical structures in the thorax often result in atypical selection of beam directions as compared to other body sites. This work demonstrates the potential consequences as well as clinical relevance. Methods: 21 thoracic cases treated with 5–7 beam directions, 6 cases including non-coplanar arrangements, with fractional doses of 150–411cGy were analyzed. Endpoints included per-beam modulation scaling factor (MSF), variation from equal weighting, and delivery QA passing rate. Results: During analysis of patient-specific delivery QA a sub-standard passing rate was found for a singlemore » 5-field plan (90.48% of pixels evaluated passing 3% dose, 3mm DTA). During investigation it was found that a single beam demonstrated a MSF of 34.7 and contributed only 2.7% to the mean dose of the target. In addition, the variation from equal weighting for this beam was 17.3% absolute resulting in another beam with a MSF of 4.6 contributing 41.9% to the mean dose to the target; a variation of 21.9% from equal weighting. The average MSF for the remaining 20 cases was 4.0 (SD 1.8) with an average absolute deviation of 2.8% from equal weighting (SD 3.1%). Conclusion: Optimization in commercial treatment planning systems typically results in relatively equally weighted beams. Extreme variation from this can result in excessively high MSFs (very small segments) and potential decreases in agreement between planned and delivered dose distributions. In addition, the resultant beam may contribute minimal dose to the target (quasi-dead beam); a byproduct being increased treatment time and associated localization uncertainties. Potential ramifications exist for automatic planning algorithms should they allow for user-defined beam directions. Additionally, these quasi-dead beams may be embedded in the libraries for model-based systems potentially resulting in inefficient and less accurate deliveries.« less

Use of target-date funds in 401(k) plans, 2007.

PubMed

Copeland, Craig

2009-03-01

WHAT THEY ARE: Target-date funds (also called "life-cycle" funds) are a type of mutual fund that automatically rebalances its asset allocation following a predetermined pattern over time. They typically rebalance to more conservative and income-producing assets as the participant's target date of retirement approaches. WHY THEY'RE IMPORTANT AND GROWING: Of the 401(k) plan participants in the EBRI/ICI 401(k) database who were found to be in plans that offeredtarget-date funds, 37 percent had at least some fraction of their account in target-date funds in 2007. Target-date funds held about 7 percent of total assets in 401(k) plans and the use of these funds is expected to increase in the future. The Pension Protection Act of 2006 made it easier for plan sponsors to automatically enroll new workers in a 401(k) plan, and target-date funds were one of the types of approved funds specified for a "default" investment if the participant does not elect a choice. BRI/ICI 401(K) DATABASE: This study uses the unique richness of the data in the EBRI/ICI Participant-Directed Retirement Plan Data Collection Project, which has almost 22 million participants, to examine the choices and characteristics of participants whose plans offer target-date funds. EFFECT OF AGE, SALARY, JOB TENURE, AND ACCOUNT BALANCE: Younger workers are significantly more likely to invest in target-date funds than are older workers: Almost 44 percent of participants under age 30 had assets in a target-date fund, compared with 27 percent of those 60 or older. Target-date funds appeal to those with lower incomes, little time on the job, and with few assets. On average, target-date fund investors are about 2.5 years younger than those who do not invest in target-date funds, have about 3.5 years less tenure, make about $11,000 less in salary, have $25,000 less in their account, and are in smaller plans. EFFECT OF AUTOMATIC ENROLLMENT: While the EBRI/ICI database does not contain specific information on whether a 401(k) plan had automatic enrollment, this analysis was able to proxy for those who could be identified as automatically enrolled. The data show that workers who were considered to be automatically enrolled in their employer's 401(k) plan are significantly more likely to invest all their assets in a target-date fund than those who voluntarily joined, and were also less likely to have extreme all-or-nothing asset allocations to equities. EQUITY ALLOCATIONS AND FUND FAMILIES: One of the major questions surrounding target-date funds is the equity allocations that these funds use over time (the so-called "glide path") as a participant's retirement target date approaches. The glide paths of different target-date funds have significantly different shapes and starting/ending equity allocations. As of 2007, the equity allocation ranges from about 80-90 percent for 2040 funds (for workers about 30 years away from retirement), and from 26-66 percent for 2010 funds (for workers one year away from retirement)--a 40 percentage-point difference. Moreover, the fund families change their relative rank in equity allocation within the different fund years. This analysis finds that the relative rank of the equity allocation within a target-date fund does not appear to affect the percentage of participants investing all their account into that fund. Nevertheless, investors in specific fund families are more likely to invest all their assets in a single target-date fund from that family.

Software and electronic developments for TUG - T60 robotic telescope

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Parmaksizoglu, M.; Dindar, M.; Kirbiyik, H.; Helhel, S.

2014-12-01

A robotic telescope is a telescope that can make observations without hands-on human control. Its low level behavior is automatic and computer-controlled. Robotic telescopes usually run under the control of a scheduler, which provides high-level control by selecting astronomical targets for observation. TUBITAK National Observatory (TUG) T60 Robotic Telescope is controlled by open source OCAAS software, formally named TALON. This study introduces the improvements on TALON software, new electronic and mechanic designs. The designs and software improvements were implemented in the T60 telescope control software and tested on the real system successfully.

Social priming of dyslexia and reduction of the Stroop effect: what component of the Stroop effect is actually reduced?

PubMed

Augustinova, Maria; Ferrand, Ludovic

2014-03-01

Recently, Goldfarb, Aisenberg, and Henik (2011) showed that in a manual format of the Stroop task, dyslexia priming eliminates the normal magnitude of the interference-based Stroop-like findings otherwise exhibited by individuals participating in such research. Goldfarb et al. (2011) consequently concluded that the effect of word reading in a Stroop task (i.e., one automatic behavior) can be effectively controlled through an automatic instruction "do not read" (i.e., another automatic behavior). The present study further investigated these ideas by examining when and how dyslexia priming controls different processes involved in a Stroop task. To this end, the original finding was first replicated (Experiment 1) and subsequently extended to the vocal (instead of manual) response modality to examine whether previously reported eliminations of the Stroop effect persist with this response format (i.e., format producing larger Stroop effects). Since past work (e.g., Augustinova & Ferrand, 2012a; Brown, Joneleit et al., 2002; Ferrand & Augustinova, 2013) had suggested that various interventions were likely to reduce (rather than eliminate) the interference-based Stroop-like findings with vocal responses, a further aim of these experiments was to identify the component of these findings that dyslexia priming actually reduces. To this end, the effects of this intervention were examined in a more fine-grained variant of the Stroop task that distinguished between interference resulting from task-irrelevant processes involved in computing the lexical and semantic representations of the word (i.e., a written distractor to ignore) and task-relevant processes involved in the selection of a response (i.e., a color target to name) that are both involved in this task. In line with our past work (e.g., Augustinova & Ferrand, 2012a; Ferrand & Augustinova, 2013), the results of two experiments (Experiments 2 and 3) showed that in the vocal format, dyslexia priming reduces but does not eliminate the normal magnitude of the interference-based Stroop-like findings and that this reduction is solely due to the control of processes involved in the selection of a response (i.e., a color target to name) - processes that are known to be controllable in this format (Ferrand & Augustinova, 2013). Given that in this format, dyslexia priming had no effect on task-irrelevant processes involved in computing the lexical and semantic representations of a written distractor to be ignored - processes that are known to be automatic - further implications for the control of automatic processes via dyslexia priming are considered and an interpretation in terms of a unitary control mechanism for both the manual and vocal formats is proposed. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Localization accuracy from automatic and semi-automatic rigid registration of locally-advanced lung cancer targets during image-guided radiation therapy

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Robertson, Scott P.; Weiss, Elisabeth; Hugo, Geoffrey D.

2012-01-15

Purpose: To evaluate localization accuracy resulting from rigid registration of locally-advanced lung cancer targets using fully automatic and semi-automatic protocols for image-guided radiation therapy. Methods: Seventeen lung cancer patients, fourteen also presenting with involved lymph nodes, received computed tomography (CT) scans once per week throughout treatment under active breathing control. A physician contoured both lung and lymph node targets for all weekly scans. Various automatic and semi-automatic rigid registration techniques were then performed for both individual and simultaneous alignments of the primary gross tumor volume (GTV{sub P}) and involved lymph nodes (GTV{sub LN}) to simulate the localization process in image-guidedmore » radiation therapy. Techniques included ''standard'' (direct registration of weekly images to a planning CT), ''seeded'' (manual prealignment of targets to guide standard registration), ''transitive-based'' (alignment of pretreatment and planning CTs through one or more intermediate images), and ''rereferenced'' (designation of a new reference image for registration). Localization error (LE) was assessed as the residual centroid and border distances between targets from planning and weekly CTs after registration. Results: Initial bony alignment resulted in centroid LE of 7.3 {+-} 5.4 mm and 5.4 {+-} 3.4 mm for the GTV{sub P} and GTV{sub LN}, respectively. Compared to bony alignment, transitive-based and seeded registrations significantly reduced GTV{sub P} centroid LE to 4.7 {+-} 3.7 mm (p = 0.011) and 4.3 {+-} 2.5 mm (p < 1 x 10{sup -3}), respectively, but the smallest GTV{sub P} LE of 2.4 {+-} 2.1 mm was provided by rereferenced registration (p < 1 x 10{sup -6}). Standard registration significantly reduced GTV{sub LN} centroid LE to 3.2 {+-} 2.5 mm (p < 1 x 10{sup -3}) compared to bony alignment, with little additional gain offered by the other registration techniques. For simultaneous target alignment, centroid LE as low as 3.9 {+-} 2.7 mm and 3.8 {+-} 2.3 mm were achieved for the GTV{sub P} and GTV{sub LN}, respectively, using rereferenced registration. Conclusions: Target shape, volume, and configuration changes during radiation therapy limited the accuracy of standard rigid registration for image-guided localization in locally-advanced lung cancer. Significant error reductions were possible using other rigid registration techniques, with LE approaching the lower limit imposed by interfraction target variability throughout treatment.« less

Automatic measurement of target crossing speed

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wardell, Mark; Lougheed, James H.

1992-11-01

The motion of ground vehicle targets after a ballistic round is launched can be a major source of inaccuracy for small (handheld) anti-armour weapon systems. A method of automatically measuring the crossing component to compensate the fire control solution has been devised and tested against various targets in a range of environments. A photodetector array aligned with the sight's horizontal reticle obtains scene features, which are digitized and processed to separate target from sight motion. Relative motion of the target against the background is briefly monitored to deduce angular crossing rate and a compensating lead angle is introduced into the aim point. Research to gather quantitative data and optimize algorithm performance is described, and some results from field testing are presented.

Experimental and simulation study results of an Adaptive Video Guidance System /AVGS/

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schappell, R. T.; Knickerbocker, R. L.

1975-01-01

Studies relating to stellar-body exploration programs have pointed out the need for an adaptive guidance scheme capable of providing automatic real-time guidance and site selection capability. For the case of a planetary lander, without such guidance, targeting is limited to what are believed to be generally benign areas in order to ensure a reasonable landing-success probability. Typically, the Mars Viking Lander will be jeopardized by obstacles exceeding 22 centimers in diameter. The benefits of on-board navigation and real-time selection of a landing site and obstacle avoidance have been demonstrated by the Apollo lunar landings, in which man performed the surface sensing and steering functions. Therefore, an Adaptive Video Guidance System (AVGS) has been developed, bread-boarded, and flown on a six-degree-of-freedom simulator.

Using Multi-Objective Genetic Programming to Synthesize Stochastic Processes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ross, Brian; Imada, Janine

Genetic programming is used to automatically construct stochastic processes written in the stochastic π-calculus. Grammar-guided genetic programming constrains search to useful process algebra structures. The time-series behaviour of a target process is denoted with a suitable selection of statistical feature tests. Feature tests can permit complex process behaviours to be effectively evaluated. However, they must be selected with care, in order to accurately characterize the desired process behaviour. Multi-objective evaluation is shown to be appropriate for this application, since it permits heterogeneous statistical feature tests to reside as independent objectives. Multiple undominated solutions can be saved and evaluated after a run, for determination of those that are most appropriate. Since there can be a vast number of candidate solutions, however, strategies for filtering and analyzing this set are required.

Comparison of the manual, semiautomatic, and automatic selection and leveling of hot spots in whole slide images for Ki-67 quantification in meningiomas.

PubMed

Swiderska, Zaneta; Korzynska, Anna; Markiewicz, Tomasz; Lorent, Malgorzata; Zak, Jakub; Wesolowska, Anna; Roszkowiak, Lukasz; Slodkowska, Janina; Grala, Bartlomiej

2015-01-01

Background. This paper presents the study concerning hot-spot selection in the assessment of whole slide images of tissue sections collected from meningioma patients. The samples were immunohistochemically stained to determine the Ki-67/MIB-1 proliferation index used for prognosis and treatment planning. Objective. The observer performance was examined by comparing results of the proposed method of automatic hot-spot selection in whole slide images, results of traditional scoring under a microscope, and results of a pathologist's manual hot-spot selection. Methods. The results of scoring the Ki-67 index using optical scoring under a microscope, software for Ki-67 index quantification based on hot spots selected by two pathologists (resp., once and three times), and the same software but on hot spots selected by proposed automatic methods were compared using Kendall's tau-b statistics. Results. Results show intra- and interobserver agreement. The agreement between Ki-67 scoring with manual and automatic hot-spot selection is high, while agreement between Ki-67 index scoring results in whole slide images and traditional microscopic examination is lower. Conclusions. The agreement observed for the three scoring methods shows that automation of area selection is an effective tool in supporting physicians and in increasing the reliability of Ki-67 scoring in meningioma.

Comparison of the Manual, Semiautomatic, and Automatic Selection and Leveling of Hot Spots in Whole Slide Images for Ki-67 Quantification in Meningiomas

PubMed Central

Swiderska, Zaneta; Korzynska, Anna; Markiewicz, Tomasz; Lorent, Malgorzata; Zak, Jakub; Wesolowska, Anna; Roszkowiak, Lukasz; Slodkowska, Janina; Grala, Bartlomiej

2015-01-01

Background. This paper presents the study concerning hot-spot selection in the assessment of whole slide images of tissue sections collected from meningioma patients. The samples were immunohistochemically stained to determine the Ki-67/MIB-1 proliferation index used for prognosis and treatment planning. Objective. The observer performance was examined by comparing results of the proposed method of automatic hot-spot selection in whole slide images, results of traditional scoring under a microscope, and results of a pathologist's manual hot-spot selection. Methods. The results of scoring the Ki-67 index using optical scoring under a microscope, software for Ki-67 index quantification based on hot spots selected by two pathologists (resp., once and three times), and the same software but on hot spots selected by proposed automatic methods were compared using Kendall's tau-b statistics. Results. Results show intra- and interobserver agreement. The agreement between Ki-67 scoring with manual and automatic hot-spot selection is high, while agreement between Ki-67 index scoring results in whole slide images and traditional microscopic examination is lower. Conclusions. The agreement observed for the three scoring methods shows that automation of area selection is an effective tool in supporting physicians and in increasing the reliability of Ki-67 scoring in meningioma. PMID:26240787

Size-based cell sorting with a resistive pulse sensor and an electromagnetic pump in a microfluidic chip.

PubMed

Song, Yongxin; Li, Mengqi; Pan, Xinxiang; Wang, Qi; Li, Dongqing

2015-02-01

An electrokinetic microfluidic chip is developed to detect and sort target cells by size from human blood samples. Target-cell detection is achieved by a differential resistive pulse sensor (RPS) based on the size difference between the target cell and other cells. Once a target cell is detected, the detected RPS signal will automatically actuate an electromagnetic pump built in a microchannel to push the target cell into a collecting channel. This method was applied to automatically detect and sort A549 cells and T-lymphocytes from a peripheral fingertip blood sample. The viability of A549 cells sorted in the collecting well was verified by Hoechst33342 and propidium iodide staining. The results show that as many as 100 target cells per minute can be sorted out from the sample solution and thus is particularly suitable for sorting very rare target cells, such as circulating tumor cells. The actuation of the electromagnetic valve has no influence on RPS cell detection and the consequent cell-sorting process. The viability of the collected A549 cell is not impacted by the applied electric field when the cell passes the RPS detection area. The device described in this article is simple, automatic, and label-free and has wide applications in size-based rare target cell sorting for medical diagnostics. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

A fast automatic target detection method for detecting ships in infrared scenes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Özertem, Kemal Arda

2016-05-01

Automatic target detection in infrared scenes is a vital task for many application areas like defense, security and border surveillance. For anti-ship missiles, having a fast and robust ship detection algorithm is crucial for overall system performance. In this paper, a straight-forward yet effective ship detection method for infrared scenes is introduced. First, morphological grayscale reconstruction is applied to the input image, followed by an automatic thresholding onto the suppressed image. For the segmentation step, connected component analysis is employed to obtain target candidate regions. At this point, it can be realized that the detection is defenseless to outliers like small objects with relatively high intensity values or the clouds. To deal with this drawback, a post-processing stage is introduced. For the post-processing stage, two different methods are used. First, noisy detection results are rejected with respect to target size. Second, the waterline is detected by using Hough transform and the detection results that are located above the waterline with a small margin are rejected. After post-processing stage, there are still undesired holes remaining, which cause to detect one object as multi objects or not to detect an object as a whole. To improve the detection performance, another automatic thresholding is implemented only to target candidate regions. Finally, two detection results are fused and post-processing stage is repeated to obtain final detection result. The performance of overall methodology is tested with real world infrared test data.

Controlled cooling of an electronic system for reduced energy consumption

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

David, Milnes P.; Iyengar, Madhusudan K.; Schmidt, Roger R.

Energy efficient control of a cooling system cooling an electronic system is provided. The control includes automatically determining at least one adjusted control setting for at least one adjustable cooling component of a cooling system cooling the electronic system. The automatically determining is based, at least in part, on power being consumed by the cooling system and temperature of a heat sink to which heat extracted by the cooling system is rejected. The automatically determining operates to reduce power consumption of the cooling system and/or the electronic system while ensuring that at least one targeted temperature associated with the coolingmore » system or the electronic system is within a desired range. The automatically determining may be based, at least in part, on one or more experimentally obtained models relating the targeted temperature and power consumption of the one or more adjustable cooling components of the cooling system.« less

Controlled cooling of an electronic system based on projected conditions

DOEpatents

David, Milnes P.; Iyengar, Madhusudan K.; Schmidt, Roger R.

2016-05-17

Energy efficient control of a cooling system cooling an electronic system is provided based, in part, on projected conditions. The control includes automatically determining an adjusted control setting(s) for an adjustable cooling component(s) of the cooling system. The automatically determining is based, at least in part, on projected power consumed by the electronic system at a future time and projected temperature at the future time of a heat sink to which heat extracted is rejected. The automatically determining operates to reduce power consumption of the cooling system and/or the electronic system while ensuring that at least one targeted temperature associated with the cooling system or the electronic system is within a desired range. The automatically determining may be based, at least in part, on an experimentally obtained model(s) relating the targeted temperature and power consumption of the adjustable cooling component(s) of the cooling system.

Controlled cooling of an electronic system based on projected conditions

DOEpatents

David, Milnes P.; Iyengar, Madhusudan K.; Schmidt, Roger R.

2015-08-18

Energy efficient control of a cooling system cooling an electronic system is provided based, in part, on projected conditions. The control includes automatically determining an adjusted control setting(s) for an adjustable cooling component(s) of the cooling system. The automatically determining is based, at least in part, on projected power consumed by the electronic system at a future time and projected temperature at the future time of a heat sink to which heat extracted is rejected. The automatically determining operates to reduce power consumption of the cooling system and/or the electronic system while ensuring that at least one targeted temperature associated with the cooling system or the electronic system is within a desired range. The automatically determining may be based, at least in part, on an experimentally obtained model(s) relating the targeted temperature and power consumption of the adjustable cooling component(s) of the cooling system.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

David, Milnes P.; Iyengar, Madhusudan K.; Schmidt, Roger R.

Energy efficient control of a cooling system cooling an electronic system is provided. The control includes automatically determining at least one adjusted control setting for at least one adjustable cooling component of a cooling system cooling the electronic system. The automatically determining is based, at least in part, on power being consumed by the cooling system and temperature of a heat sink to which heat extracted by the cooling system is rejected. The automatically determining operates to reduce power consumption of the cooling system and/or the electronic system while ensuring that at least one targeted temperature associated with the coolingmore » system or the electronic system is within a desired range. The automatically determining may be based, at least in part, on one or more experimentally obtained models relating the targeted temperature and power consumption of the one or more adjustable cooling components of the cooling system.« less

The study of infrared target recognition at sea background based on visual attention computational model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Deng-wei; Zhang, Tian-xu; Shi, Wen-jun; Wei, Long-sheng; Wang, Xiao-ping; Ao, Guo-qing

2009-07-01

Infrared images at sea background are notorious for the low signal-to-noise ratio, therefore, the target recognition of infrared image through traditional methods is very difficult. In this paper, we present a novel target recognition method based on the integration of visual attention computational model and conventional approach (selective filtering and segmentation). The two distinct techniques for image processing are combined in a manner to utilize the strengths of both. The visual attention algorithm searches the salient regions automatically, and represented them by a set of winner points, at the same time, demonstrated the salient regions in terms of circles centered at these winner points. This provides a priori knowledge for the filtering and segmentation process. Based on the winner point, we construct a rectangular region to facilitate the filtering and segmentation, then the labeling operation will be added selectively by requirement. Making use of the labeled information, from the final segmentation result we obtain the positional information of the interested region, label the centroid on the corresponding original image, and finish the localization for the target. The cost time does not depend on the size of the image but the salient regions, therefore the consumed time is greatly reduced. The method is used in the recognition of several kinds of real infrared images, and the experimental results reveal the effectiveness of the algorithm presented in this paper.

Pilot study on real-time motion detection in UAS video data by human observer and image exploitation algorithm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hild, Jutta; Krüger, Wolfgang; Brüstle, Stefan; Trantelle, Patrick; Unmüßig, Gabriel; Voit, Michael; Heinze, Norbert; Peinsipp-Byma, Elisabeth; Beyerer, Jürgen

2017-05-01

Real-time motion video analysis is a challenging and exhausting task for the human observer, particularly in safety and security critical domains. Hence, customized video analysis systems providing functions for the analysis of subtasks like motion detection or target tracking are welcome. While such automated algorithms relieve the human operators from performing basic subtasks, they impose additional interaction duties on them. Prior work shows that, e.g., for interaction with target tracking algorithms, a gaze-enhanced user interface is beneficial. In this contribution, we present an investigation on interaction with an independent motion detection (IDM) algorithm. Besides identifying an appropriate interaction technique for the user interface - again, we compare gaze-based and traditional mouse-based interaction - we focus on the benefit an IDM algorithm might provide for an UAS video analyst. In a pilot study, we exposed ten subjects to the task of moving target detection in UAS video data twice, once performing with automatic support, once performing without it. We compare the two conditions considering performance in terms of effectiveness (correct target selections). Additionally, we report perceived workload (measured using the NASA-TLX questionnaire) and user satisfaction (measured using the ISO 9241-411 questionnaire). The results show that a combination of gaze input and automated IDM algorithm provides valuable support for the human observer, increasing the number of correct target selections up to 62% and reducing workload at the same time.

Technological advances in the surgical treatment of movement disorders.

PubMed

Gross, Robert E; McDougal, Margaret E

2013-08-01

Technological innovations have driven the advancement of the surgical treatment of movement disorders, from the invention of the stereotactic frame to the adaptation of deep brain stimulation (DBS). Along these lines, this review will describe recent advances in inserting neuromodulation modalities, including DBS, to the target, and in the delivery of therapy at the target. Recent radiological advances are altering the way that DBS leads are targeted and inserted, by refining the ability to visualize the subcortical targets using high-field strength magnetic resonance imaging and other innovations, such as diffusion tensor imaging, and the development of novel targeting devices enabling purely anatomical implantations without the need for neurophysiological monitoring. New portable computed tomography scanners also are facilitating lead implantation without monitoring, as well as improving radiological verification of DBS lead location. Advances in neurophysiological mapping include efforts to develop automatic target verification algorithms, and probabilistic maps to guide target selection. The delivery of therapy at the target is being improved by the development of the next generation of internal pulse generators (IPGs). These include constant current devices that mitigate the variability introduced by impedance changes of the stimulated tissue and, in the near future, devices that deliver novel stimulation patterns with improved efficiency. Closed-loop adaptive IPGs are being tested, which may tailor stimulation to ongoing changes in the nervous system, reflected in biomarkers continuously recorded by the devices. Finer-grained DBS leads, in conjunction with new IPGs and advanced programming tools, may offer improved outcomes via current steering algorithms. Finally, even thermocoagulation-essentially replaced by DBS-is being advanced by new minimally-invasive approaches that may improve this therapy for selected patients in whom it may be preferred. Functional neurosurgery has a history of being driven by technological innovation, a tradition that continues into its future.

SPRAT: Spectrograph for the Rapid Acquisition of Transients

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Piascik, A. S.; Steele, Iain A.; Bates, Stuart D.; Mottram, Christopher J.; Smith, R. J.; Barnsley, R. M.; Bolton, B.

2014-07-01

We describe the development of a low cost, low resolution (R ~ 350), high throughput, long slit spectrograph covering visible (4000-8000) wavelengths. The spectrograph has been developed for fully robotic operation with the Liverpool Telescope (La Palma). The primary aim is to provide rapid spectral classification of faint (V ˜ 20) transient objects detected by projects such as Gaia, iPTF (intermediate Palomar Transient Factory), LOFAR, and a variety of high energy satellites. The design employs a volume phase holographic (VPH) transmission grating as the dispersive element combined with a prism pair (grism) in a linear optical path. One of two peak spectral sensitivities are selectable by rotating the grism. The VPH and prism combination and entrance slit are deployable, and when removed from the beam allow the collimator/camera pair to re-image the target field onto the detector. This mode of operation provides automatic acquisition of the target onto the slit prior to spectrographic observation through World Coordinate System fitting. The selection and characterisation of optical components to maximise photon throughput is described together with performance predictions.

Decision-level fusion of SAR and IR sensor information for automatic target detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cho, Young-Rae; Yim, Sung-Hyuk; Cho, Hyun-Woong; Won, Jin-Ju; Song, Woo-Jin; Kim, So-Hyeon

2017-05-01

We propose a decision-level architecture that combines synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and an infrared (IR) sensor for automatic target detection. We present a new size-based feature, called target-silhouette to reduce the number of false alarms produced by the conventional target-detection algorithm. Boolean Map Visual Theory is used to combine a pair of SAR and IR images to generate the target-enhanced map. Then basic belief assignment is used to transform this map into a belief map. The detection results of sensors are combined to build the target-silhouette map. We integrate the fusion mass and the target-silhouette map on the decision level to exclude false alarms. The proposed algorithm is evaluated using a SAR and IR synthetic database generated by SE-WORKBENCH simulator, and compared with conventional algorithms. The proposed fusion scheme achieves higher detection rate and lower false alarm rate than the conventional algorithms.

Fully automatic time-window selection using machine learning for global adjoint tomography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Y.; Hill, J.; Lei, W.; Lefebvre, M. P.; Bozdag, E.; Komatitsch, D.; Tromp, J.

2017-12-01

Selecting time windows from seismograms such that the synthetic measurements (from simulations) and measured observations are sufficiently close is indispensable in a global adjoint tomography framework. The increasing amount of seismic data collected everyday around the world demands "intelligent" algorithms for seismic window selection. While the traditional FLEXWIN algorithm can be "automatic" to some extent, it still requires both human input and human knowledge or experience, and thus is not deemed to be fully automatic. The goal of intelligent window selection is to automatically select windows based on a learnt engine that is built upon a huge number of existing windows generated through the adjoint tomography project. We have formulated the automatic window selection problem as a classification problem. All possible misfit calculation windows are classified as either usable or unusable. Given a large number of windows with a known selection mode (select or not select), we train a neural network to predict the selection mode of an arbitrary input window. Currently, the five features we extract from the windows are its cross-correlation value, cross-correlation time lag, amplitude ratio between observed and synthetic data, window length, and minimum STA/LTA value. More features can be included in the future. We use these features to characterize each window for training a multilayer perceptron neural network (MPNN). Training the MPNN is equivalent to solve a non-linear optimization problem. We use backward propagation to derive the gradient of the loss function with respect to the weighting matrices and bias vectors and use the mini-batch stochastic gradient method to iteratively optimize the MPNN. Numerical tests show that with a careful selection of the training data and a sufficient amount of training data, we are able to train a robust neural network that is capable of detecting the waveforms in an arbitrary earthquake data with negligible detection error compared to existing selection methods (e.g. FLEXWIN). We will introduce in detail the mathematical formulation of the window-selection-oriented MPNN and show very encouraging results when applying the new algorithm to real earthquake data.

A new airborne laser rangefinder dynamic target simulator for non-stationary environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ma, Pengge; Pang, Dongdong; Yi, Yang

2017-11-01

For the non-stationary environment simulation in laser range finder product testing, a new dynamic target simulation system is studied. First of all, the three-pulsed laser ranging principle, laser target signal composition and mathematical representation are introduced. Then, the actual nonstationary working environment of laser range finder is analyzed, and points out that the real sunshine background light clutter and target shielding effect in laser echo become the main influencing factors. After that, the dynamic laser target signal simulation method is given. Eventlly, the implementation of automatic test system based on arbitrary waveform generator is described. Practical application shows that the new echo signal automatic test system can simulate the real laser ranging environment of laser range finder, and is suitable for performance test of products.

Multiple-Diode-Laser Gas-Detection Spectrometer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Webster, Christopher R.; Beer, Reinhard; Sander, Stanley P.

1988-01-01

Small concentrations of selected gases measured automatically. Proposed multiple-laser-diode spectrometer part of system for measuring automatically concentrations of selected gases at part-per-billion level. Array of laser/photodetector pairs measure infrared absorption spectrum of atmosphere along probing laser beams. Adaptable to terrestrial uses as monitoring pollution or control of industrial processes.

49 CFR 236.311 - Signal control circuits, selection through track relays or devices functioning as track relays...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... automatic interlocking. (a) The control circuits for aspects with indications more favorable than “proceed... 49 Transportation 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Signal control circuits, selection through track... automatic interlocking. 236.311 Section 236.311 Transportation Other Regulations Relating to Transportation...

Automatic Text Analysis Based on Transition Phenomena of Word Occurrences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pao, Miranda Lee

1978-01-01

Describes a method of selecting index terms directly from a word frequency list, an idea originally suggested by Goffman. Results of the analysis of word frequencies of two articles seem to indicate that the automated selection of index terms from a frequency list holds some promise for automatic indexing. (Author/MBR)

MetMSLine: an automated and fully integrated pipeline for rapid processing of high-resolution LC-MS metabolomic datasets.

PubMed

Edmands, William M B; Barupal, Dinesh K; Scalbert, Augustin

2015-03-01

MetMSLine represents a complete collection of functions in the R programming language as an accessible GUI for biomarker discovery in large-scale liquid-chromatography high-resolution mass spectral datasets from acquisition through to final metabolite identification forming a backend to output from any peak-picking software such as XCMS. MetMSLine automatically creates subdirectories, data tables and relevant figures at the following steps: (i) signal smoothing, normalization, filtration and noise transformation (PreProc.QC.LSC.R); (ii) PCA and automatic outlier removal (Auto.PCA.R); (iii) automatic regression, biomarker selection, hierarchical clustering and cluster ion/artefact identification (Auto.MV.Regress.R); (iv) Biomarker-MS/MS fragmentation spectra matching and fragment/neutral loss annotation (Auto.MS.MS.match.R) and (v) semi-targeted metabolite identification based on a list of theoretical masses obtained from public databases (DBAnnotate.R). All source code and suggested parameters are available in an un-encapsulated layout on http://wmbedmands.github.io/MetMSLine/. Readme files and a synthetic dataset of both X-variables (simulated LC-MS data), Y-variables (simulated continuous variables) and metabolite theoretical masses are also available on our GitHub repository. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press.

MetMSLine: an automated and fully integrated pipeline for rapid processing of high-resolution LC–MS metabolomic datasets

PubMed Central

Edmands, William M. B.; Barupal, Dinesh K.; Scalbert, Augustin

2015-01-01

Summary: MetMSLine represents a complete collection of functions in the R programming language as an accessible GUI for biomarker discovery in large-scale liquid-chromatography high-resolution mass spectral datasets from acquisition through to final metabolite identification forming a backend to output from any peak-picking software such as XCMS. MetMSLine automatically creates subdirectories, data tables and relevant figures at the following steps: (i) signal smoothing, normalization, filtration and noise transformation (PreProc.QC.LSC.R); (ii) PCA and automatic outlier removal (Auto.PCA.R); (iii) automatic regression, biomarker selection, hierarchical clustering and cluster ion/artefact identification (Auto.MV.Regress.R); (iv) Biomarker—MS/MS fragmentation spectra matching and fragment/neutral loss annotation (Auto.MS.MS.match.R) and (v) semi-targeted metabolite identification based on a list of theoretical masses obtained from public databases (DBAnnotate.R). Availability and implementation: All source code and suggested parameters are available in an un-encapsulated layout on http://wmbedmands.github.io/MetMSLine/. Readme files and a synthetic dataset of both X-variables (simulated LC–MS data), Y-variables (simulated continuous variables) and metabolite theoretical masses are also available on our GitHub repository. Contact: ScalbertA@iarc.fr PMID:25348215

Phantom Study Investigating the Accuracy of Manual and Automatic Image Fusion with the GE Logiq E9: Implications for use in Percutaneous Liver Interventions

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Burgmans, Mark Christiaan, E-mail: m.c.burgmans@lumc.nl; Harder, J. Michiel den, E-mail: chiel.den.harder@gmail.com; Meershoek, Philippa, E-mail: P.Meershoek@lumc.nl

PurposeTo determine the accuracy of automatic and manual co-registration methods for image fusion of three-dimensional computed tomography (CT) with real-time ultrasonography (US) for image-guided liver interventions.Materials and MethodsCT images of a skills phantom with liver lesions were acquired and co-registered to US using GE Logiq E9 navigation software. Manual co-registration was compared to automatic and semiautomatic co-registration using an active tracker. Also, manual point registration was compared to plane registration with and without an additional translation point. Finally, comparison was made between manual and automatic selection of reference points. In each experiment, accuracy of the co-registration method was determined bymore » measurement of the residual displacement in phantom lesions by two independent observers.ResultsMean displacements for a superficial and deep liver lesion were comparable after manual and semiautomatic co-registration: 2.4 and 2.0 mm versus 2.0 and 2.5 mm, respectively. Both methods were significantly better than automatic co-registration: 5.9 and 5.2 mm residual displacement (p < 0.001; p < 0.01). The accuracy of manual point registration was higher than that of plane registration, the latter being heavily dependent on accurate matching of axial CT and US images by the operator. Automatic reference point selection resulted in significantly lower registration accuracy compared to manual point selection despite lower root-mean-square deviation (RMSD) values.ConclusionThe accuracy of manual and semiautomatic co-registration is better than that of automatic co-registration. For manual co-registration using a plane, choosing the correct plane orientation is an essential first step in the registration process. Automatic reference point selection based on RMSD values is error-prone.« less

Automatic Docking System Sensor Design, Test, and Mission Performance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jackson, John L.; Howard, Richard T.; Cole, Helen J.

1998-01-01

The Video Guidance Sensor is a key element of an automatic rendezvous and docking program administered by NASA that was flown on STS-87 in November of 1997. The system used laser illumination of a passive target in the field of view of an on-board camera and processed the video image to determine the relative position and attitude between the target and the sensor. Comparisons of mission results with theoretical models and laboratory measurements will be discussed.

Tier-scalable reconnaissance: the future in autonomous C4ISR systems has arrived: progress towards an outdoor testbed

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fink, Wolfgang; Brooks, Alexander J.-W.; Tarbell, Mark A.; Dohm, James M.

2017-05-01

Autonomous reconnaissance missions are called for in extreme environments, as well as in potentially hazardous (e.g., the theatre, disaster-stricken areas, etc.) or inaccessible operational areas (e.g., planetary surfaces, space). Such future missions will require increasing degrees of operational autonomy, especially when following up on transient events. Operational autonomy encompasses: (1) Automatic characterization of operational areas from different vantages (i.e., spaceborne, airborne, surface, subsurface); (2) automatic sensor deployment and data gathering; (3) automatic feature extraction including anomaly detection and region-of-interest identification; (4) automatic target prediction and prioritization; (5) and subsequent automatic (re-)deployment and navigation of robotic agents. This paper reports on progress towards several aspects of autonomous C4ISR systems, including: Caltech-patented and NASA award-winning multi-tiered mission paradigm, robotic platform development (air, ground, water-based), robotic behavior motifs as the building blocks for autonomous tele-commanding, and autonomous decision making based on a Caltech-patented framework comprising sensor-data-fusion (feature-vectors), anomaly detection (clustering and principal component analysis), and target prioritization (hypothetical probing).

Figural properties are prioritized for search under conditions of uncertainty: Setting boundary conditions on claims that figures automatically attract attention.

PubMed

Peterson, Mary A; Mojica, Andrew J; Salvagio, Elizabeth; Kimchi, Ruth

2017-01-01

Nelson and Palmer (2007) concluded that figures/figural properties automatically attract attention, after they found that participants were faster to detect/discriminate targets appearing where a portion of a familiar object was suggested in an otherwise ambiguous display. We investigated whether these effects are truly automatic and whether they generalize to another figural property-convexity. We found that Nelson and Palmer's results do generalize to convexity, but only when participants are uncertain regarding when and where the target will appear. Dependence on uncertainty regarding target location/timing was also observed for familiarity. Thus, although we could replicate and extend Nelson and Palmer's results, our experiments showed that figures do not automatically draw attention. In addition, our research went beyond Nelson and Palmer's, in that we were able to separate figural properties from perceived figures. Because figural properties are regularities that predict where objects lie in the visual field, our results join other evidence that regularities in the environment can attract attention. More generally, our results are consistent with Bayesian theories in which priors are given more weight under conditions of uncertainty.

Automatic graphene transfer system for improved material quality and efficiency

PubMed Central

Boscá, Alberto; Pedrós, Jorge; Martínez, Javier; Palacios, Tomás; Calle, Fernando

2016-01-01

In most applications based on chemical vapor deposition (CVD) graphene, the transfer from the growth to the target substrate is a critical step for the final device performance. Manual procedures are time consuming and depend on handling skills, whereas existing automatic roll-to-roll methods work well for flexible substrates but tend to induce mechanical damage in rigid ones. A new system that automatically transfers CVD graphene to an arbitrary target substrate has been developed. The process is based on the all-fluidic manipulation of the graphene to avoid mechanical damage, strain and contamination, and on the combination of capillary action and electrostatic repulsion between the graphene and its container to ensure a centered sample on top of the target substrate. The improved carrier mobility and yield of the automatically transferred graphene, as compared to that manually transferred, is demonstrated by the optical and electrical characterization of field-effect transistors fabricated on both materials. In particular, 70% higher mobility values, with a 30% decrease in the unintentional doping and a 10% strain reduction are achieved. The system has been developed for lab-scale transfer and proved to be scalable for industrial applications. PMID:26860260

The modulation of perceptual selection by working memory is dependent on the focus of spatial attention.

PubMed

Pan, Yi; Soto, David

2010-07-09

Recent research suggests that visual selection can be automatically biased to those stimuli matching the contents of working memory (WM). However, a complete functional account of the interplay between WM and attention remains to be established. In particular, the boundary conditions of the WM effect on selection are unclear. Here, the authors investigate the influence of the focus of spatial attention (i.e., diffused vs. focused) by assessing the effect of spatial precues on attentional capture by WM. Experiments 1 and 2 showed that relative to a neutral condition without memory-matching stimuli, the presence of a memory distractor can trigger attentional capture despite being entirely irrelevant for the attention task but this happened only when the item was actively maintained in WM and not when it was merely repeated. Experiments 3a, 3b and 3c showed that attentional capture by WM can be modulated by endogenous spatial pre-cueing of the incoming target of selection. The authors conclude that WM-driven capture of visual selection is dependent on the focus of spatial attention. Copyright 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A Flexible Workflow for Automated Bioluminescent Kinase Selectivity Profiling.

PubMed

Worzella, Tracy; Butzler, Matt; Hennek, Jacquelyn; Hanson, Seth; Simdon, Laura; Goueli, Said; Cowan, Cris; Zegzouti, Hicham

2017-04-01

Kinase profiling during drug discovery is a necessary process to confirm inhibitor selectivity and assess off-target activities. However, cost and logistical limitations prevent profiling activities from being performed in-house. We describe the development of an automated and flexible kinase profiling workflow that combines ready-to-use kinase enzymes and substrates in convenient eight-tube strips, a bench-top liquid handling device, ADP-Glo Kinase Assay (Promega, Madison, WI) technology to quantify enzyme activity, and a multimode detection instrument. Automated methods were developed for kinase reactions and quantification reactions to be assembled on a Gilson (Middleton, WI) PIPETMAX, following standardized plate layouts for single- and multidose compound profiling. Pipetting protocols were customized at runtime based on user-provided information, including compound number, increment for compound titrations, and number of kinase families to use. After the automated liquid handling procedures, a GloMax Discover (Promega) microplate reader preloaded with SMART protocols was used for luminescence detection and automatic data analysis. The functionality of the automated workflow was evaluated with several compound-kinase combinations in single-dose or dose-response profiling formats. Known target-specific inhibitions were confirmed. Novel small molecule-kinase interactions, including off-target inhibitions, were identified and confirmed in secondary studies. By adopting this streamlined profiling process, researchers can quickly and efficiently profile compounds of interest on site.

THE HUNT FOR EXOMOONS WITH KEPLER (HEK). II. ANALYSIS OF SEVEN VIABLE SATELLITE-HOSTING PLANET CANDIDATES

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kipping, D. M.; Hartman, J.; Bakos, G. A.

2013-06-20

From the list of 2321 transiting planet candidates announced by the Kepler Mission, we select seven targets with favorable properties for the capacity to dynamically maintain an exomoon and present a detectable signal. These seven candidates were identified through our automatic target selection (TSA) algorithm and target selection prioritization (TSP) filtering, whereby we excluded systems exhibiting significant time-correlated noise and focused on those with a single transiting planet candidate of radius less than 6 R{sub Circled-Plus }. We find no compelling evidence for an exomoon around any of the seven Kepler Objects of Interest (KOIs) but constrain the satellite-to-planet massmore » ratios for each. For four of the seven KOIs, we estimate a 95% upper quantile of M{sub S} /M{sub P} < 0.04, which given the radii of the candidates, likely probes down to sub-Earth masses. We also derive precise transit times and durations for each candidate and find no evidence for dynamical variations in any of the KOIs. With just a few systems analyzed thus far in the ongoing ''Hunt for Exomoons with Kepler'' (HEK) project, projections on eta-moon would be premature, but a high frequency of large moons around Super-Earths/Mini-Neptunes would be premature, but a high frequency of large moons around Super-Earths/Mini-Neptunes would appear to be incommensurable with our results so far.« less

Binaural segregation in multisource reverberant environments.

PubMed

Roman, Nicoleta; Srinivasan, Soundararajan; Wang, DeLiang

2006-12-01

In a natural environment, speech signals are degraded by both reverberation and concurrent noise sources. While human listening is robust under these conditions using only two ears, current two-microphone algorithms perform poorly. The psychological process of figure-ground segregation suggests that the target signal is perceived as a foreground while the remaining stimuli are perceived as a background. Accordingly, the goal is to estimate an ideal time-frequency (T-F) binary mask, which selects the target if it is stronger than the interference in a local T-F unit. In this paper, a binaural segregation system that extracts the reverberant target signal from multisource reverberant mixtures by utilizing only the location information of target source is proposed. The proposed system combines target cancellation through adaptive filtering and a binary decision rule to estimate the ideal T-F binary mask. The main observation in this work is that the target attenuation in a T-F unit resulting from adaptive filtering is correlated with the relative strength of target to mixture. A comprehensive evaluation shows that the proposed system results in large SNR gains. In addition, comparisons using SNR as well as automatic speech recognition measures show that this system outperforms standard two-microphone beamforming approaches and a recent binaural processor.

Accurate multi-robot targeting for keyhole neurosurgery based on external sensor monitoring.

PubMed

Comparetti, Mirko Daniele; Vaccarella, Alberto; Dyagilev, Ilya; Shoham, Moshe; Ferrigno, Giancarlo; De Momi, Elena

2012-05-01

Robotics has recently been introduced in surgery to improve intervention accuracy, to reduce invasiveness and to allow new surgical procedures. In this framework, the ROBOCAST system is an optically surveyed multi-robot chain aimed at enhancing the accuracy of surgical probe insertion during keyhole neurosurgery procedures. The system encompasses three robots, connected as a multiple kinematic chain (serial and parallel), totalling 13 degrees of freedom, and it is used to automatically align the probe onto a desired planned trajectory. The probe is then inserted in the brain, towards the planned target, by means of a haptic interface. This paper presents a new iterative targeting approach to be used in surgical robotic navigation, where the multi-robot chain is used to align the surgical probe to the planned pose, and an external sensor is used to decrease the alignment errors. The iterative targeting was tested in an operating room environment using a skull phantom, and the targets were selected on magnetic resonance images. The proposed targeting procedure allows about 0.3 mm to be obtained as the residual median Euclidean distance between the planned and the desired targets, thus satisfying the surgical accuracy requirements (1 mm), due to the resolution of the diffused medical images. The performances proved to be independent of the robot optical sensor calibration accuracy.

Object integration requires attention: Visual search for Kanizsa figures in parietal extinction.

PubMed

Gögler, Nadine; Finke, Kathrin; Keller, Ingo; Müller, Hermann J; Conci, Markus

2016-11-01

The contribution of selective attention to object integration is a topic of debate: integration of parts into coherent wholes, such as in Kanizsa figures, is thought to arise either from pre-attentive, automatic coding processes or from higher-order processes involving selective attention. Previous studies have attempted to examine the role of selective attention in object integration either by employing visual search paradigms or by studying patients with unilateral deficits in selective attention. Here, we combined these two approaches to investigate object integration in visual search in a group of five patients with left-sided parietal extinction. Our search paradigm was designed to assess the effect of left- and right-grouped nontargets on detecting a Kanizsa target square. The results revealed comparable reaction time (RT) performance in patients and controls when they were presented with displays consisting of a single to-be-grouped item that had to be classified as target vs. nontarget. However, when display size increased to two items, patients showed an extinction-specific pattern of enhanced RT costs for nontargets that induced a partial shape grouping on the right, i.e., in the attended hemifield (relative to the ungrouped baseline). Together, these findings demonstrate a competitive advantage for right-grouped objects, which in turn indicates that in parietal extinction, attentional competition between objects particularly limits integration processes in the contralesional, i.e., left hemifield. These findings imply a crucial contribution of selective attentional resources to visual object integration. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Threshold automatic selection hybrid phase unwrapping algorithm for digital holographic microscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Meiling; Min, Junwei; Yao, Baoli; Yu, Xianghua; Lei, Ming; Yan, Shaohui; Yang, Yanlong; Dan, Dan

2015-01-01

Conventional quality-guided (QG) phase unwrapping algorithm is hard to be applied to digital holographic microscopy because of the long execution time. In this paper, we present a threshold automatic selection hybrid phase unwrapping algorithm that combines the existing QG algorithm and the flood-filled (FF) algorithm to solve this problem. The original wrapped phase map is divided into high- and low-quality sub-maps by selecting a threshold automatically, and then the FF and QG unwrapping algorithms are used in each level to unwrap the phase, respectively. The feasibility of the proposed method is proved by experimental results, and the execution speed is shown to be much faster than that of the original QG unwrapping algorithm.

Top-down dimensional weight set determines the capture of visual attention: evidence from the PCN component.

PubMed

Töllner, Thomas; Müller, Hermann J; Zehetleitner, Michael

2012-07-01

Visual search for feature singletons is slowed when a task-irrelevant, but more salient distracter singleton is concurrently presented. While there is a consensus that this distracter interference effect can be influenced by internal system settings, it remains controversial at what stage of processing this influence starts to affect visual coding. Advocates of the "stimulus-driven" view maintain that the initial sweep of visual processing is entirely driven by physical stimulus attributes and that top-down settings can bias visual processing only after selection of the most salient item. By contrast, opponents argue that top-down expectancies can alter the initial selection priority, so that focal attention is "not automatically" shifted to the location exhibiting the highest feature contrast. To precisely trace the allocation of focal attention, we analyzed the Posterior-Contralateral-Negativity (PCN) in a task in which the likelihood (expectancy) with which a distracter occurred was systematically varied. Our results show that both high (vs. low) distracter expectancy and experiencing a distracter on the previous trial speed up the timing of the target-elicited PCN. Importantly, there was no distracter-elicited PCN, indicating that participants did not shift attention to the distracter before selecting the target. This pattern unambiguously demonstrates that preattentive vision is top-down modifiable.

Deep feature extraction and combination for synthetic aperture radar target classification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Amrani, Moussa; Jiang, Feng

2017-10-01

Feature extraction has always been a difficult problem in the classification performance of synthetic aperture radar automatic target recognition (SAR-ATR). It is very important to select discriminative features to train a classifier, which is a prerequisite. Inspired by the great success of convolutional neural network (CNN), we address the problem of SAR target classification by proposing a feature extraction method, which takes advantage of exploiting the extracted deep features from CNNs on SAR images to introduce more powerful discriminative features and robust representation ability for them. First, the pretrained VGG-S net is fine-tuned on moving and stationary target acquisition and recognition (MSTAR) public release database. Second, after a simple preprocessing is performed, the fine-tuned network is used as a fixed feature extractor to extract deep features from the processed SAR images. Third, the extracted deep features are fused by using a traditional concatenation and a discriminant correlation analysis algorithm. Finally, for target classification, K-nearest neighbors algorithm based on LogDet divergence-based metric learning triplet constraints is adopted as a baseline classifier. Experiments on MSTAR are conducted, and the classification accuracy results demonstrate that the proposed method outperforms the state-of-the-art methods.

Automatic allograft bone selection through band registration and its application to distal femur.

PubMed

Zhang, Yu; Qiu, Lei; Li, Fengzan; Zhang, Qing; Zhang, Li; Niu, Xiaohui

2017-09-01

Clinical reports suggest that large bone defects could be effectively restored by allograft bone transplantation, where allograft bone selection acts an important role. Besides, there is a huge demand for developing the automatic allograft bone selection methods, as the automatic methods could greatly improve the management efficiency of the large bone banks. Although several automatic methods have been presented to select the most suitable allograft bone from the massive allograft bone bank, these methods still suffer from inaccuracy. In this paper, we propose an effective allograft bone selection method without using the contralateral bones. Firstly, the allograft bone is globally aligned to the recipient bone by surface registration. Then, the global alignment is further refined through band registration. The band, defined as the recipient points within the lifted and lowered cutting planes, could involve more local structure of the defected segment. Therefore, our method could achieve robust alignment and high registration accuracy of the allograft and recipient. Moreover, the existing contour method and surface method could be unified into one framework under our method by adjusting the lift and lower distances of the cutting planes. Finally, our method has been validated on the database of distal femurs. The experimental results indicate that our method outperforms the surface method and contour method.

SU-E-T-587: Optimal Volumetric Modulated Arc Radiotherapy Treatment Planning Technique for Multiple Brain Metastases with Increasing Number of Arcs

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Keeling, V; Hossain, S; Hildebrand, K

Purpose: To show improvements in dose conformity and normal brain tissue sparing using an optimal planning technique (OPT) against clinically acceptable planning technique (CAP) in the treatment of multiple brain metastases. Methods: A standardized international benchmark case with12 intracranial tumors was planned using two different VMAT optimization methods. Plans were split into four groups with 3, 6, 9, and 12 targets each planned with 3, 5, and 7 arcs using Eclipse TPS. The beam geometries were 1 full coplanar and half non-coplanar arcs. A prescription dose of 20Gy was used for all targets. The following optimization criteria was used (OPTmore » vs. CAP): (No upper limit vs.108% upper limit for target volume), (priority 140–150 vs. 75–85 for normal-brain-tissue), and (selection of automatic sparing Normal-Tissue-Objective (NTO) vs. Manual NTO). Both had priority 50 to critical structures such as brainstem and optic-chiasm, and both had an NTO priority 150. Normal-brain-tissue doses along with Paddick Conformity Index (PCI) were evaluated. Results: In all cases PCI was higher for OPT plans. The average PCI (OPT,CAP) for all targets was (0.81,0.64), (0.81,0.63), (0.79,0.57), and (0.72,0.55) for 3, 6, 9, and 12 target plans respectively. The percent decrease in normal brain tissue volume (OPT/CAP*100) achieved by OPT plans was (reported as follows: V4, V8, V12, V16, V20) (184, 343, 350, 294, 371%), (192, 417, 380, 299, 360%), and (235, 390, 299, 281, 502%) for the 3, 5, 7 arc 12 target plans, respectively. The maximum brainstem dose decreased for the OPT plan by 4.93, 4.89, and 5.30 Gy for 3, 5, 7 arc 12 target plans, respectively. Conclusion: Substantial increases in PCI, critical structure sparing, and decreases in normal brain tissue dose were achieved by eliminating upper limits from optimization, using automatic sparing of normal tissue function with high priority, and a high priority to normal brain tissue.« less

Multiatlas whole heart segmentation of CT data using conditional entropy for atlas ranking and selection.

PubMed

Zhuang, Xiahai; Bai, Wenjia; Song, Jingjing; Zhan, Songhua; Qian, Xiaohua; Shi, Wenzhe; Lian, Yanyun; Rueckert, Daniel

2015-07-01

Cardiac computed tomography (CT) is widely used in clinical diagnosis of cardiovascular diseases. Whole heart segmentation (WHS) plays a vital role in developing new clinical applications of cardiac CT. However, the shape and appearance of the heart can vary greatly across different scans, making the automatic segmentation particularly challenging. The objective of this work is to develop and evaluate a multiatlas segmentation (MAS) scheme using a new atlas ranking and selection algorithm for automatic WHS of CT data. Research on different MAS strategies and their influence on WHS performance are limited. This work provides a detailed comparison study evaluating the impacts of label fusion, atlas ranking, and sizes of the atlas database on the segmentation performance. Atlases in a database were registered to the target image using a hierarchical registration scheme specifically designed for cardiac images. A subset of the atlases were selected for label fusion, according to the authors' proposed atlas ranking criterion which evaluated the performance of each atlas by computing the conditional entropy of the target image given the propagated atlas labeling. Joint label fusion was used to combine multiple label estimates to obtain the final segmentation. The authors used 30 clinical cardiac CT angiography (CTA) images to evaluate the proposed MAS scheme and to investigate different segmentation strategies. The mean WHS Dice score of the proposed MAS method was 0.918 ± 0.021, and the mean runtime for one case was 13.2 min on a workstation. This MAS scheme using joint label fusion generated significantly better Dice scores than the other label fusion strategies, including majority voting (0.901 ± 0.276, p < 0.01), locally weighted voting (0.905 ± 0.0247, p < 0.01), and probabilistic patch-based fusion (0.909 ± 0.0249, p < 0.01). In the atlas ranking study, the proposed criterion based on conditional entropy yielded a performance curve with higher WHS Dice scores compared to the conventional schemes (p < 0.03). In the atlas database study, the authors showed that the MAS using larger atlas databases generated better performance curves than the MAS using smaller ones, indicating larger atlas databases could produce more accurate segmentation. The authors have developed a new MAS framework for automatic WHS of CTA and investigated alternative implementations of MAS. With the proposed atlas ranking algorithm and joint label fusion, the MAS scheme is able to generate accurate segmentation within practically acceptable computation time. This method can be useful for the development of new clinical applications of cardiac CT.

Intelligent surgical laser system configuration and software implementation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hsueh, Chi-Fu T.; Bille, Josef F.

1992-06-01

An intelligent surgical laser system, which can help the ophthalmologist to achieve higher precision and control during their procedures, has been developed by ISL as model CLS 4001. In addition to the laser and laser delivery system, the system is also equipped with a vision system (IPU), robotics motion control (MCU), and a tracking closed loop system (ETS) that tracks the eye in three dimensions (X, Y and Z). The initial patient setup is computer controlled with guidance from the vision system. The tracking system is automatically engaged when the target is in position. A multi-level tracking system is developed by integrating our vision and tracking systems which have been able to maintain our laser beam precisely on target. The capabilities of the automatic eye setup and the tracking in three dimensions provides for improved accuracy and measurement repeatability. The system is operated through the Surgical Control Unit (SCU). The SCU communicates with the IPU and the MCU through both ethernet and RS232. Various scanning pattern (i.e., line, curve, circle, spiral, etc.) can be selected with given parameters. When a warning is activated, a voice message is played that will normally require a panel touch acknowledgement. The reliability of the system is ensured in three levels: (1) hardware, (2) software real time monitoring, and (3) user. The system is currently under clinical validation.

Automatic variable selection method and a comparison for quantitative analysis in laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Duan, Fajie; Fu, Xiao; Jiang, Jiajia; Huang, Tingting; Ma, Ling; Zhang, Cong

2018-05-01

In this work, an automatic variable selection method for quantitative analysis of soil samples using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) is proposed, which is based on full spectrum correction (FSC) and modified iterative predictor weighting-partial least squares (mIPW-PLS). The method features automatic selection without artificial processes. To illustrate the feasibility and effectiveness of the method, a comparison with genetic algorithm (GA) and successive projections algorithm (SPA) for different elements (copper, barium and chromium) detection in soil was implemented. The experimental results showed that all the three methods could accomplish variable selection effectively, among which FSC-mIPW-PLS required significantly shorter computation time (12 s approximately for 40,000 initial variables) than the others. Moreover, improved quantification models were got with variable selection approaches. The root mean square errors of prediction (RMSEP) of models utilizing the new method were 27.47 (copper), 37.15 (barium) and 39.70 (chromium) mg/kg, which showed comparable prediction effect with GA and SPA.

Neural networks: Alternatives to conventional techniques for automatic docking

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vinz, Bradley L.

1994-01-01

Automatic docking of orbiting spacecraft is a crucial operation involving the identification of vehicle orientation as well as complex approach dynamics. The chaser spacecraft must be able to recognize the target spacecraft within a scene and achieve accurate closing maneuvers. In a video-based system, a target scene must be captured and transformed into a pattern of pixels. Successful recognition lies in the interpretation of this pattern. Due to their powerful pattern recognition capabilities, artificial neural networks offer a potential role in interpretation and automatic docking processes. Neural networks can reduce the computational time required by existing image processing and control software. In addition, neural networks are capable of recognizing and adapting to changes in their dynamic environment, enabling enhanced performance, redundancy, and fault tolerance. Most neural networks are robust to failure, capable of continued operation with a slight degradation in performance after minor failures. This paper discusses the particular automatic docking tasks neural networks can perform as viable alternatives to conventional techniques.

[Medical computer-aided detection method based on deep learning].

PubMed

Tao, Pan; Fu, Zhongliang; Zhu, Kai; Wang, Lili

2018-03-01

This paper performs a comprehensive study on the computer-aided detection for the medical diagnosis with deep learning. Based on the region convolution neural network and the prior knowledge of target, this algorithm uses the region proposal network, the region of interest pooling strategy, introduces the multi-task loss function: classification loss, bounding box localization loss and object rotation loss, and optimizes it by end-to-end. For medical image it locates the target automatically, and provides the localization result for the next stage task of segmentation. For the detection of left ventricular in echocardiography, proposed additional landmarks such as mitral annulus, endocardial pad and apical position, were used to estimate the left ventricular posture effectively. In order to verify the robustness and effectiveness of the algorithm, the experimental data of ultrasonic and nuclear magnetic resonance images are selected. Experimental results show that the algorithm is fast, accurate and effective.

Adolescents' selective visual attention for high-status peers: the role of perceiver status and gender.

PubMed

Lansu, Tessa A M; Cillessen, Antonius H N; Karremans, Johan C

2014-01-01

Previous research has shown that adolescents' attention for a peer is determined by the peer's status. This study examined how it is also determined by the status of the perceiving adolescent, and the gender of both parties involved (perceiver and perceived). Participants were 122 early adolescents (M age = 11.0 years) who completed sociometric measures and eye-tracking recordings of visual fixations at pictures of high-status (popular) and low-status (unpopular) classmates. Automatic attention (first-gaze preference) and controlled attention (total gaze time) were measured. Target popularity was associated with both measures of attention. These associations were further moderated by perceiver popularity and perceiver and target gender. Popular adolescents attracted attention especially from other popular adolescents. Popular boys attracted attention especially from girls. © 2013 The Authors. Child Development © 2013 Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.

A new approach for SSVEP detection using PARAFAC and canonical correlation analysis.

PubMed

Tello, Richard; Pouryazdian, Saeed; Ferreira, Andre; Beheshti, Soosan; Krishnan, Sridhar; Bastos, Teodiano

2015-01-01

This paper presents a new way for automatic detection of SSVEPs through correlation analysis between tensor models. 3-way EEG tensor of channel × frequency × time is decomposed into constituting factor matrices using PARAFAC model. PARAFAC analysis of EEG tensor enables us to decompose multichannel EEG into constituting temporal, spectral and spatial signatures. SSVEPs characterized with localized spectral and spatial signatures are then detected exploiting a correlation analysis between extracted signatures of the EEG tensor and the corresponding simulated signatures of all target SSVEP signals. The SSVEP that has the highest correlation is selected as the intended target. Two flickers blinking at 8 and 13 Hz were used as visual stimuli and the detection was performed based on data packets of 1 second without overlapping. Five subjects participated in the experiments and the highest classification rate of 83.34% was achieved, leading to the Information Transfer Rate (ITR) of 21.01 bits/min.

Systems and methods for harvesting and storing materials produced in a nuclear reactor

DOEpatents

Heinold, Mark R.; Dayal, Yogeshwar; Brittingham, Martin W.

2016-04-05

Systems produce desired isotopes through irradiation in nuclear reactor instrumentation tubes and deposit the same in a robust facility for immediate shipping, handling, and/or consumption. Irradiation targets are inserted and removed through inaccessible areas without plant shutdown and placed in the harvesting facility, such as a plurality of sealable and shipping-safe casks and/or canisters. Systems may connect various structures in a sealed manner to avoid release of dangerous or unwanted matter throughout the nuclear plant, and/or systems may also automatically decontaminate materials to be released. Useable casks or canisters can include plural barriers for containment that are temporarily and selectively removable with specially-configured paths inserted therein. Penetrations in the facilities may limit waste or pneumatic gas escape and allow the same to be removed from the systems without over-pressurization or leakage. Methods include processing irradiation targets through such systems and securely delivering them in such harvesting facilities.

Automatic selection of arterial input function using tri-exponential models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yao, Jianhua; Chen, Jeremy; Castro, Marcelo; Thomasson, David

2009-02-01

Dynamic Contrast Enhanced MRI (DCE-MRI) is one method for drug and tumor assessment. Selecting a consistent arterial input function (AIF) is necessary to calculate tissue and tumor pharmacokinetic parameters in DCE-MRI. This paper presents an automatic and robust method to select the AIF. The first stage is artery detection and segmentation, where knowledge about artery structure and dynamic signal intensity temporal properties of DCE-MRI is employed. The second stage is AIF model fitting and selection. A tri-exponential model is fitted for every candidate AIF using the Levenberg-Marquardt method, and the best fitted AIF is selected. Our method has been applied in DCE-MRIs of four different body parts: breast, brain, liver and prostate. The success rates in artery segmentation for 19 cases are 89.6%+/-15.9%. The pharmacokinetic parameters computed from the automatically selected AIFs are highly correlated with those from manually determined AIFs (R2=0.946, P(T<=t)=0.09). Our imaging-based tri-exponential AIF model demonstrated significant improvement over a previously proposed bi-exponential model.

A Comparative Study of Alternative Controls and Displays for by the Severely Physically Handicapped

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Williams, D.; Simpson, C.; Barker, M.

1984-01-01

A modification of a row/column scanning system was investigated in order to increase the speed and accuracy with which communication aids can be accessed with one or two switches. A selection algorithm was developed and programmed in BASIC to automatically select individuals with the characteristic difficulty in controlling time dependent control and display systems. Four systems were compared: (1) row/column directed scan (2 switches); (2) row/column auto scan (1 switch); (3) row auto scan (1 switch); and (4) column auto scan (1 switch). For this sample population, there were no significant differences among systems for scan time to select the correct target. The row/column auto scan system resulted in significantly more errors than any of the other three systems. Thus, the most widely prescribed system for severely physically disabled individuals turns out for this group to have a higher error rate and no faster communication rate than three other systems that have been considered inappropriate for this group.

Automatic CT simulation optimization for radiation therapy: A general strategy.

PubMed

Li, Hua; Yu, Lifeng; Anastasio, Mark A; Chen, Hsin-Chen; Tan, Jun; Gay, Hiram; Michalski, Jeff M; Low, Daniel A; Mutic, Sasa

2014-03-01

In radiation therapy, x-ray computed tomography (CT) simulation protocol specifications should be driven by the treatment planning requirements in lieu of duplicating diagnostic CT screening protocols. The purpose of this study was to develop a general strategy that allows for automatically, prospectively, and objectively determining the optimal patient-specific CT simulation protocols based on radiation-therapy goals, namely, maintenance of contouring quality and integrity while minimizing patient CT simulation dose. The authors proposed a general prediction strategy that provides automatic optimal CT simulation protocol selection as a function of patient size and treatment planning task. The optimal protocol is the one that delivers the minimum dose required to provide a CT simulation scan that yields accurate contours. Accurate treatment plans depend on accurate contours in order to conform the dose to actual tumor and normal organ positions. An image quality index, defined to characterize how simulation scan quality affects contour delineation, was developed and used to benchmark the contouring accuracy and treatment plan quality within the predication strategy. A clinical workflow was developed to select the optimal CT simulation protocols incorporating patient size, target delineation, and radiation dose efficiency. An experimental study using an anthropomorphic pelvis phantom with added-bolus layers was used to demonstrate how the proposed prediction strategy could be implemented and how the optimal CT simulation protocols could be selected for prostate cancer patients based on patient size and treatment planning task. Clinical IMRT prostate treatment plans for seven CT scans with varied image quality indices were separately optimized and compared to verify the trace of target and organ dosimetry coverage. Based on the phantom study, the optimal image quality index for accurate manual prostate contouring was 4.4. The optimal tube potentials for patient sizes of 38, 43, 48, 53, and 58 cm were 120, 140, 140, 140, and 140 kVp, respectively, and the corresponding minimum CTDIvol for achieving the optimal image quality index 4.4 were 9.8, 32.2, 100.9, 241.4, and 274.1 mGy, respectively. For patients with lateral sizes of 43-58 cm, 120-kVp scan protocols yielded up to 165% greater radiation dose relative to 140-kVp protocols, and 140-kVp protocols always yielded a greater image quality index compared to the same dose-level 120-kVp protocols. The trace of target and organ dosimetry coverage and the γ passing rates of seven IMRT dose distribution pairs indicated the feasibility of the proposed image quality index for the predication strategy. A general strategy to predict the optimal CT simulation protocols in a flexible and quantitative way was developed that takes into account patient size, treatment planning task, and radiation dose. The experimental study indicated that the optimal CT simulation protocol and the corresponding radiation dose varied significantly for different patient sizes, contouring accuracy, and radiation treatment planning tasks.

Automatic Localization of Vertebral Levels in X-Ray Fluoroscopy Using 3D-2D Registration: A Tool to Reduce Wrong-Site Surgery

PubMed Central

Otake, Y.; Schafer, S.; Stayman, J. W.; Zbijewski, W.; Kleinszig, G.; Graumann, R.; Khanna, A. J.; Siewerdsen, J. H.

2012-01-01

Surgical targeting of the incorrect vertebral level (“wrong-level” surgery) is among the more common wrong-site surgical errors, attributed primarily to a lack of uniquely identifiable radiographic landmarks in the mid-thoracic spine. Conventional localization method involves manual counting of vertebral bodies under fluoroscopy, is prone to human error, and carries additional time and dose. We propose an image registration and visualization system (referred to as LevelCheck), for decision support in spine surgery by automatically labeling vertebral levels in fluoroscopy using a GPU-accelerated, intensity-based 3D-2D (viz., CT-to-fluoroscopy) registration. A gradient information (GI) similarity metric and CMA-ES optimizer were chosen due to their robustness and inherent suitability for parallelization. Simulation studies involved 10 patient CT datasets from which 50,000 simulated fluoroscopic images were generated from C-arm poses selected to approximate C-arm operator and positioning variability. Physical experiments used an anthropomorphic chest phantom imaged under real fluoroscopy. The registration accuracy was evaluated as the mean projection distance (mPD) between the estimated and true center of vertebral levels. Trials were defined as successful if the estimated position was within the projection of the vertebral body (viz., mPD < 5mm). Simulation studies showed a success rate of 99.998% (1 failure in 50,000 trials) and computation time of 4.7 sec on a midrange GPU. Analysis of failure modes identified cases of false local optima in the search space arising from longitudinal periodicity in vertebral structures. Physical experiments demonstrated robustness of the algorithm against quantum noise and x-ray scatter. The ability to automatically localize target anatomy in fluoroscopy in near-real-time could be valuable in reducing the occurrence of wrong-site surgery while helping to reduce radiation exposure. The method is applicable beyond the specific case of vertebral labeling, since any structure defined in pre-operative (or intra-operative) CT or cone-beam CT can be automatically registered to the fluoroscopic scene. PMID:22864366

Posthypnotic suggestion alters conscious color perception in an automatic manner.

PubMed

Kallio, Sakari; Koivisto, Mika

2013-01-01

The authors studied whether a posthypnotic suggestion to see a brief, masked target as gray can change the color experience of a hypnotic virtuoso. The visibility of the target was manipulated by varying the delay between the target and the mask that followed it. The virtuoso's subjective reports indicated that her conscious color experience was altered already at short delays between the target and the subsequent mask. The virtuoso's objectively measured pattern of responding under posthypnotic suggestion could not be mimicked either by control participants nor the virtuoso herself. Due to posthypnotic amnesia, the virtuoso was unaware of suggestions given during hypnosis. Importantly, the virtuoso could not alter her color perception without a hypnotic suggestion. These results suggest that hypnosis can affect even a highly automatic process such as color perception.

Plan demographics, participants' saving behavior, and target-date fund investments.

PubMed

Park, Youngkyun

2009-05-01

This analysis explores (1) whether plan demographic characteristics would affect individual participant contribution rates and target-date fund investments and (2) equity glide paths for participants in relation to plan demographics by considering target replacement income and its success rate. PLAN DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS IN PARTICIPANT CONTRIBUTION RATES: This study finds empirical evidence that 401(k) plan participants' contribution rates differ by plan demographics based on participants' income and/or tenure. In particular, participants in 401(k) plans dominated by those with low income and short tenure tend to contribute less than those in plans dominated by participants with high income and long tenure. Future research will explore how participant contribution behavior may also be influenced by incentives provided by employers through matching formulae. PLAN DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS IN TARGET-DATE FUND INVESTMENTS: The study also finds empirical evidence that participants' investments in target-date funds with different equity allocations differ by plan demographics based on participants' income and/or tenure. In particular, target-date fund users with 90 percent or more of their account balances in target-date funds who are in 401(k) plans dominated by low-income and short-tenure participants tend to hold target-date funds with lower equity allocations, compared with their counterparts in plans dominated by high-income and long-tenure participants. Future research will focus on the extent to which these characteristics might influence the selection of target-date funds by plan sponsors. EQUITY GLIDE PATHS: Several stylized equity glide paths as well as alternative asset allocations are compared for participants at various starting ages to demonstrate the interaction between plan demographics and equity glide paths/asset allocations in terms of success rates in meeting various replacement income targets. The equity glide path/asset allocation providing the highest success rate at a particular replacement rate target will vary with the assumed starting date of the participant (see Figure 17). Given the highly stylized nature of the simulations in this Issue Brief it is important to note that the results are not intended to provide a single equity glide path solution in relation to plan demographics. Instead, they serve as a framework to be considered when plan sponsors make a selection concerning which target-date funds to include in their plan. IMPORTANCE OF PARTICIPANT CONTRIBUTION RATES: This analysis finds that although target-date funds with different equity glide paths affect the retirement income replacement success rate, participant contribution rates corresponding to different plan demographic characteristics have a stronger impact. AUTO FEATURES OF THE PPA: This Issue Brief provides a stylized study using observed contribution rates as of the 2007 plan year. However, with the passage of the Pension Protection Act of 2006 and its likely impact on plan design in the future (increased utilization of automatic enrollment and automatic contribution escalations), it is likely that contribution rates among the participants may become more homogenous. In such a scenario, it may be more likely that a single equity glide path would meet a wide range of demographic profiles.

Optimal use of EEG recordings to target active brain areas with transcranial electrical stimulation.

PubMed

Dmochowski, Jacek P; Koessler, Laurent; Norcia, Anthony M; Bikson, Marom; Parra, Lucas C

2017-08-15

To demonstrate causal relationships between brain and behavior, investigators would like to guide brain stimulation using measurements of neural activity. Particularly promising in this context are electroencephalography (EEG) and transcranial electrical stimulation (TES), as they are linked by a reciprocity principle which, despite being known for decades, has not led to a formalism for relating EEG recordings to optimal stimulation parameters. Here we derive a closed-form expression for the TES configuration that optimally stimulates (i.e., targets) the sources of recorded EEG, without making assumptions about source location or distribution. We also derive a duality between TES targeting and EEG source localization, and demonstrate that in cases where source localization fails, so does the proposed targeting. Numerical simulations with multiple head models confirm these theoretical predictions and quantify the achieved stimulation in terms of focality and intensity. We show that constraining the stimulation currents automatically selects optimal montages that involve only a few (4-7) electrodes, with only incremental loss in performance when targeting focal activations. The proposed technique allows brain scientists and clinicians to rationally target the sources of observed EEG and thus overcomes a major obstacle to the realization of individualized or closed-loop brain stimulation. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Optimal use of EEG recordings to target active brain areas with transcranial electrical stimulation

PubMed Central

Dmochowski, Jacek P.; Koessler, Laurent; Norcia, Anthony M.; Bikson, Marom; Parra, Lucas C.

2018-01-01

To demonstrate causal relationships between brain and behavior, investigators would like to guide brain stimulation using measurements of neural activity. Particularly promising in this context are electroencephalography (EEG) and transcranial electrical stimulation (TES), as they are linked by a reciprocity principle which, despite being known for decades, has not led to a formalism for relating EEG recordings to optimal stimulation parameters. Here we derive a closed-form expression for the TES configuration that optimally stimulates (i.e., targets) the sources of recorded EEG, without making assumptions about source location or distribution. We also derive a duality between TES targeting and EEG source localization, and demonstrate that in cases where source localization fails, so does the proposed targeting. Numerical simulations with multiple head models confirm these theoretical predictions and quantify the achieved stimulation in terms of focality and intensity. We show that constraining the stimulation currents automatically selects optimal montages that involve only a few (4–7) electrodes, with only incremental loss in performance when targeting focal activations. The proposed technique allows brain scientists and clinicians to rationally target the sources of observed EEG and thus overcomes a major obstacle to the realization of individualized or closed-loop brain stimulation. PMID:28578130

An Automatic Multi-Target Independent Analysis Framework for Non-Planar Infrared-Visible Registration.

PubMed

Sun, Xinglong; Xu, Tingfa; Zhang, Jizhou; Zhao, Zishu; Li, Yuankun

2017-07-26

In this paper, we propose a novel automatic multi-target registration framework for non-planar infrared-visible videos. Previous approaches usually analyzed multiple targets together and then estimated a global homography for the whole scene, however, these cannot achieve precise multi-target registration when the scenes are non-planar. Our framework is devoted to solving the problem using feature matching and multi-target tracking. The key idea is to analyze and register each target independently. We present a fast and robust feature matching strategy, where only the features on the corresponding foreground pairs are matched. Besides, new reservoirs based on the Gaussian criterion are created for all targets, and a multi-target tracking method is adopted to determine the relationships between the reservoirs and foreground blobs. With the matches in the corresponding reservoir, the homography of each target is computed according to its moving state. We tested our framework on both public near-planar and non-planar datasets. The results demonstrate that the proposed framework outperforms the state-of-the-art global registration method and the manual global registration matrix in all tested datasets.

Installation and Testing Instructions for the Sandia Automatic Report Generator (ARG).

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Clay, Robert L.

Robert L. CLAY Sandia National Laboratories P.O. Box 969 Livermore, CA 94551, U.S.A. rlclay@sandia.gov In this report, we provide detailed and reproducible installation instructions of the Automatic Report Generator (ARG), for both Linux and macOS target platforms.

Automatic Online Motor Control Is Intact in Parkinson's Disease With and Without Perceptual Awareness.

PubMed

Merritt, Kate E; Seergobin, Ken N; Mendonça, Daniel A; Jenkins, Mary E; Goodale, Melvyn A; MacDonald, Penny A

2017-01-01

In the double-step paradigm, healthy human participants automatically correct reaching movements when targets are displaced. Motor deficits are prominent in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients. In the lone investigation of online motor correction in PD using the double-step task, a recent study found that PD patients performed unconscious adjustments appropriately but seemed impaired for consciously-perceived modifications. Conscious perception of target movement was achieved by linking displacement to movement onset. PD-related bradykinesia disproportionately prolonged preparatory phases for movements to original target locations for patients, potentially accounting for deficits. Eliminating this confound in a double-step task, we evaluated the effect of conscious awareness of trajectory change on online motor corrections in PD. On and off dopaminergic therapy, PD patients ( n = 14) and healthy controls ( n = 14) reached to peripheral visual targets that remained stationary or unexpectedly moved during an initial saccade. Saccade latencies in PD are comparable to controls'. Hence, target displacements occurred at equal times across groups. Target jump size affected conscious awareness, confirmed in an independent target displacement judgment task. Small jumps were subliminal, but large target displacements were consciously perceived. Contrary to the previous result, PD patients performed online motor corrections normally and automatically, irrespective of conscious perception. Patients evidenced equivalent movement durations for jump and stay trials, and trajectories for patients and controls were identical, irrespective of conscious perception. Dopaminergic therapy had no effect on performance. In summary, online motor control is intact in PD, unaffected by conscious perceptual awareness. The basal ganglia are not implicated in online corrective responses.

Automatic Online Motor Control Is Intact in Parkinson’s Disease With and Without Perceptual Awareness

PubMed Central

Seergobin, Ken N.; Mendonça, Daniel A.

2017-01-01

Abstract In the double-step paradigm, healthy human participants automatically correct reaching movements when targets are displaced. Motor deficits are prominent in Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients. In the lone investigation of online motor correction in PD using the double-step task, a recent study found that PD patients performed unconscious adjustments appropriately but seemed impaired for consciously-perceived modifications. Conscious perception of target movement was achieved by linking displacement to movement onset. PD-related bradykinesia disproportionately prolonged preparatory phases for movements to original target locations for patients, potentially accounting for deficits. Eliminating this confound in a double-step task, we evaluated the effect of conscious awareness of trajectory change on online motor corrections in PD. On and off dopaminergic therapy, PD patients (n = 14) and healthy controls (n = 14) reached to peripheral visual targets that remained stationary or unexpectedly moved during an initial saccade. Saccade latencies in PD are comparable to controls’. Hence, target displacements occurred at equal times across groups. Target jump size affected conscious awareness, confirmed in an independent target displacement judgment task. Small jumps were subliminal, but large target displacements were consciously perceived. Contrary to the previous result, PD patients performed online motor corrections normally and automatically, irrespective of conscious perception. Patients evidenced equivalent movement durations for jump and stay trials, and trajectories for patients and controls were identical, irrespective of conscious perception. Dopaminergic therapy had no effect on performance. In summary, online motor control is intact in PD, unaffected by conscious perceptual awareness. The basal ganglia are not implicated in online corrective responses. PMID:29085900

Automatic integration of social information in emotion recognition.

PubMed

Mumenthaler, Christian; Sander, David

2015-04-01

This study investigated the automaticity of the influence of social inference on emotion recognition. Participants were asked to recognize dynamic facial expressions of emotion (fear or anger in Experiment 1 and blends of fear and surprise or of anger and disgust in Experiment 2) in a target face presented at the center of a screen while a subliminal contextual face appearing in the periphery expressed an emotion (fear or anger) or not (neutral) and either looked at the target face or not. Results of Experiment 1 revealed that recognition of the target emotion of fear was improved when a subliminal angry contextual face gazed toward-rather than away from-the fearful face. We replicated this effect in Experiment 2, in which facial expression blends of fear and surprise were more often and more rapidly categorized as expressing fear when the subliminal contextual face expressed anger and gazed toward-rather than away from-the target face. With the contextual face appearing for 30 ms in total, including only 10 ms of emotion expression, and being immediately masked, our data provide the first evidence that social influence on emotion recognition can occur automatically. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Key features for ATA / ATR database design in missile systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Özertem, Kemal Arda

2017-05-01

Automatic target acquisition (ATA) and automatic target recognition (ATR) are two vital tasks for missile systems, and having a robust detection and recognition algorithm is crucial for overall system performance. In order to have a robust target detection and recognition algorithm, an extensive image database is required. Automatic target recognition algorithms use the database of images in training and testing steps of algorithm. This directly affects the recognition performance, since the training accuracy is driven by the quality of the image database. In addition, the performance of an automatic target detection algorithm can be measured effectively by using an image database. There are two main ways for designing an ATA / ATR database. The first and easy way is by using a scene generator. A scene generator can model the objects by considering its material information, the atmospheric conditions, detector type and the territory. Designing image database by using a scene generator is inexpensive and it allows creating many different scenarios quickly and easily. However the major drawback of using a scene generator is its low fidelity, since the images are created virtually. The second and difficult way is designing it using real-world images. Designing image database with real-world images is a lot more costly and time consuming; however it offers high fidelity, which is critical for missile algorithms. In this paper, critical concepts in ATA / ATR database design with real-world images are discussed. Each concept is discussed in the perspective of ATA and ATR separately. For the implementation stage, some possible solutions and trade-offs for creating the database are proposed, and all proposed approaches are compared to each other with regards to their pros and cons.

Content-based analysis of Ki-67 stained meningioma specimens for automatic hot-spot selection.

PubMed

Swiderska-Chadaj, Zaneta; Markiewicz, Tomasz; Grala, Bartlomiej; Lorent, Malgorzata

2016-10-07

Hot-spot based examination of immunohistochemically stained histological specimens is one of the most important procedures in pathomorphological practice. The development of image acquisition equipment and computational units allows for the automation of this process. Moreover, a lot of possible technical problems occur in everyday histological material, which increases the complexity of the problem. Thus, a full context-based analysis of histological specimens is also needed in the quantification of immunohistochemically stained specimens. One of the most important reactions is the Ki-67 proliferation marker in meningiomas, the most frequent intracranial tumour. The aim of our study is to propose a context-based analysis of Ki-67 stained specimens of meningiomas for automatic selection of hot-spots. The proposed solution is based on textural analysis, mathematical morphology, feature ranking and classification, as well as on the proposed hot-spot gradual extinction algorithm to allow for the proper detection of a set of hot-spot fields. The designed whole slide image processing scheme eliminates such artifacts as hemorrhages, folds or stained vessels from the region of interest. To validate automatic results, a set of 104 meningioma specimens were selected and twenty hot-spots inside them were identified independently by two experts. The Spearman rho correlation coefficient was used to compare the results which were also analyzed with the help of a Bland-Altman plot. The results show that most of the cases (84) were automatically examined properly with two fields of view with a technical problem at the very most. Next, 13 had three such fields, and only seven specimens did not meet the requirement for the automatic examination. Generally, the Automatic System identifies hot-spot areas, especially their maximum points, better. Analysis of the results confirms the very high concordance between an automatic Ki-67 examination and the expert's results, with a Spearman rho higher than 0.95. The proposed hot-spot selection algorithm with an extended context-based analysis of whole slide images and hot-spot gradual extinction algorithm provides an efficient tool for simulation of a manual examination. The presented results have confirmed that the automatic examination of Ki-67 in meningiomas could be introduced in the near future.

Fingerprints selection for topological localization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Popov, Vladimir

2017-07-01

Problems of visual navigation are extensively studied in contemporary robotics. In particular, we can mention different problems of visual landmarks selection, the problem of selection of a minimal set of visual landmarks, selection of partially distinguishable guards, the problem of placement of visual landmarks. In this paper, we consider one-dimensional color panoramas. Such panoramas can be used for creating fingerprints. Fingerprints give us unique identifiers for visually distinct locations by recovering statistically significant features. Fingerprints can be used as visual landmarks for the solution of various problems of mobile robot navigation. In this paper, we consider a method for automatic generation of fingerprints. In particular, we consider the bounded Post correspondence problem and applications of the problem to consensus fingerprints and topological localization. We propose an efficient approach to solve the bounded Post correspondence problem. In particular, we use an explicit reduction from the decision version of the problem to the satisfiability problem. We present the results of computational experiments for different satisfiability algorithms. In robotic experiments, we consider the average accuracy of reaching of the target point for different lengths of routes and types of fingerprints.

Truncated feature representation for automatic target detection using transformed data-based decomposition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Riasati, Vahid R.

2016-05-01

In this work, the data covariance matrix is diagonalized to provide an orthogonal bases set using the eigen vectors of the data. The eigen-vector decomposition of the data is transformed and filtered in the transform domain to truncate the data for robust features related to a specified set of targets. These truncated eigen features are then combined and reconstructed to utilize in a composite filter and consequently utilized for the automatic target detection of the same class of targets. The results associated with the testing of the current technique are evaluated using the peak-correlation and peak-correlation energy metrics and are presented in this work. The inverse transformed eigen-bases of the current technique may be thought of as an injected sparsity to minimize data in representing the skeletal data structure information associated with the set of targets under consideration.

TargetSpy: a supervised machine learning approach for microRNA target prediction.

PubMed

Sturm, Martin; Hackenberg, Michael; Langenberger, David; Frishman, Dmitrij

2010-05-28

Virtually all currently available microRNA target site prediction algorithms require the presence of a (conserved) seed match to the 5' end of the microRNA. Recently however, it has been shown that this requirement might be too stringent, leading to a substantial number of missed target sites. We developed TargetSpy, a novel computational approach for predicting target sites regardless of the presence of a seed match. It is based on machine learning and automatic feature selection using a wide spectrum of compositional, structural, and base pairing features covering current biological knowledge. Our model does not rely on evolutionary conservation, which allows the detection of species-specific interactions and makes TargetSpy suitable for analyzing unconserved genomic sequences.In order to allow for an unbiased comparison of TargetSpy to other methods, we classified all algorithms into three groups: I) no seed match requirement, II) seed match requirement, and III) conserved seed match requirement. TargetSpy predictions for classes II and III are generated by appropriate postfiltering. On a human dataset revealing fold-change in protein production for five selected microRNAs our method shows superior performance in all classes. In Drosophila melanogaster not only our class II and III predictions are on par with other algorithms, but notably the class I (no-seed) predictions are just marginally less accurate. We estimate that TargetSpy predicts between 26 and 112 functional target sites without a seed match per microRNA that are missed by all other currently available algorithms. Only a few algorithms can predict target sites without demanding a seed match and TargetSpy demonstrates a substantial improvement in prediction accuracy in that class. Furthermore, when conservation and the presence of a seed match are required, the performance is comparable with state-of-the-art algorithms. TargetSpy was trained on mouse and performs well in human and drosophila, suggesting that it may be applicable to a broad range of species. Moreover, we have demonstrated that the application of machine learning techniques in combination with upcoming deep sequencing data results in a powerful microRNA target site prediction tool http://www.targetspy.org.

TargetSpy: a supervised machine learning approach for microRNA target prediction

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Background Virtually all currently available microRNA target site prediction algorithms require the presence of a (conserved) seed match to the 5' end of the microRNA. Recently however, it has been shown that this requirement might be too stringent, leading to a substantial number of missed target sites. Results We developed TargetSpy, a novel computational approach for predicting target sites regardless of the presence of a seed match. It is based on machine learning and automatic feature selection using a wide spectrum of compositional, structural, and base pairing features covering current biological knowledge. Our model does not rely on evolutionary conservation, which allows the detection of species-specific interactions and makes TargetSpy suitable for analyzing unconserved genomic sequences. In order to allow for an unbiased comparison of TargetSpy to other methods, we classified all algorithms into three groups: I) no seed match requirement, II) seed match requirement, and III) conserved seed match requirement. TargetSpy predictions for classes II and III are generated by appropriate postfiltering. On a human dataset revealing fold-change in protein production for five selected microRNAs our method shows superior performance in all classes. In Drosophila melanogaster not only our class II and III predictions are on par with other algorithms, but notably the class I (no-seed) predictions are just marginally less accurate. We estimate that TargetSpy predicts between 26 and 112 functional target sites without a seed match per microRNA that are missed by all other currently available algorithms. Conclusion Only a few algorithms can predict target sites without demanding a seed match and TargetSpy demonstrates a substantial improvement in prediction accuracy in that class. Furthermore, when conservation and the presence of a seed match are required, the performance is comparable with state-of-the-art algorithms. TargetSpy was trained on mouse and performs well in human and drosophila, suggesting that it may be applicable to a broad range of species. Moreover, we have demonstrated that the application of machine learning techniques in combination with upcoming deep sequencing data results in a powerful microRNA target site prediction tool http://www.targetspy.org. PMID:20509939

[Study on the appropriate parameters of automatic full crown tooth preparation for dental tooth preparation robot].

PubMed

Yuan, F S; Wang, Y; Zhang, Y P; Sun, Y C; Wang, D X; Lyu, P J

2017-05-09

Objective: To further study the most suitable parameters for automatic full crown preparation using oral clinical micro robot. Its purpose is to improve the quality of automated tooth preparing for the system and to lay the foundation for clinical application. Methods: Twenty selected artificial resin teeth were used as sample teeth. The micro robot automatic tooth preparation system was used in dental clinic to control the picosecond laser beam to complete two dimensional cutting on the resin tooth sample according to the motion planning path. Using the laser scanning measuring microscope, each layer of cutting depth values was obtained and the average value was calculated. The monolayer cutting depth was determined. The three-dimensional (3D) data of the target resin teeth was obtained using internal scanner, and the CAD data of full-crown tooth preparation was designed by CAD self-develged software. According to the depth of the single layer, 11 complete resin teeth in phantom head were automatically prepared by the robot controlling the laser focused spot in accordance with the layer-cutting way. And the accuracy of resin tooth preparation was evaluated with the software. Using the same method, monolayer cutting depth parameter for cutting dental hard tissue was obtained. Then 15 extracted mandibular and maxillary first molars went through automatic full crown tooth preparation. And the 3D data of tooth preparations were obtained with intra oral scanner. The software was used to evaluate the accuracy of tooth preparation. Results: The results indicated that the single cutting depth of cutting resin teeth and in vitro teeth by picosecond laser were (60.0±2.6) and (45.0±3.6) μm, respectively. Using the tooth preparation robot, 11 artificial resin teeth and 15 complete natural teeth were automatically prepared, and the average time were (13.0±0.7), (17.0±1.8) min respectively. Through software evaluation, the average preparation depth of the occlusal surface of 11 resin teeth was approximately (2.089±0.026) mm, the error was about (0.089±0.026) mm; the average convergence angle was about 6.56°±0.30°, the error was about 0.56°±0.30°. Compared with the target preparation shape, the average shape error of the 11 resin tooth preparations was about 0.02-0.11 mm. And the average preparation depth of the occlusal surface of 15 natural teeth was approximately (2.097±0.022) mm, the error was about (0.097±0.022) mm; the average convergence angle was about 6.98°±0.35°, the error was about 0.98°±0.35°. Compared with the target preparation shape, the average shape error of the 15 natural tooth preparations was about 0.05-0.17 mm. Conclusions: The experimental results indicate that the automatic tooth preparation for resin teeth and the teeth were completed according to the specific parameters of the single cutting depth by the micro robot controlling picosecond laser respectively, its preparation accuracy met the clinical needs. And the suitability of the parameter was confirmed.

Automatic Focusing for a 675 GHz Imaging Radar with Target Standoff Distances from 14 to 34 Meters

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tang, Adrian; Cooper, Ken B.; Dengler, Robert J.; Llombart, Nuria; Siegel, Peter H.

2013-01-01

This paper dicusses the issue of limited focal depth for high-resolution imaging radar operating over a wide range of standoff distances. We describe a technique for automatically focusing a THz imaging radar system using translational optics combined with range estimation based on a reduced chirp bandwidth setting. The demonstarted focusing algorithm estimates the correct focal depth for desired targets in the field of view at unknown standoffs and in the presence of clutter to provide good imagery at 14 to 30 meters of standoff.

Automatic laser beam alignment using blob detection for an environment monitoring spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khidir, Jarjees; Chen, Youhua; Anderson, Gary

2013-05-01

This paper describes a fully automated system to align an infra-red laser beam with a small retro-reflector over a wide range of distances. The component development and test were especially used for an open-path spectrometer gas detection system. Using blob detection under OpenCV library, an automatic alignment algorithm was designed to achieve fast and accurate target detection in a complex background environment. Test results are presented to show that the proposed algorithm has been successfully applied to various target distances and environment conditions.

Automatic pattern localization across layout database and photolithography mask

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Morey, Philippe; Brault, Frederic; Beisser, Eric; Ache, Oliver; Röth, Klaus-Dieter

2016-03-01

Advanced process photolithography masks require more and more controls for registration versus design and critical dimension uniformity (CDU). The distribution of the measurement points should be distributed all over the whole mask and may be denser in areas critical to wafer overlay requirements. This means that some, if not many, of theses controls should be made inside the customer die and may use non-dedicated patterns. It is then mandatory to access the original layout database to select patterns for the metrology process. Finding hundreds of relevant patterns in a database containing billions of polygons may be possible, but in addition, it is mandatory to create the complete metrology job fast and reliable. Combining, on one hand, a software expertise in mask databases processing and, on the other hand, advanced skills in control and registration equipment, we have developed a Mask Dataprep Station able to select an appropriate number of measurement targets and their positions in a huge database and automatically create measurement jobs on the corresponding area on the mask for the registration metrology system. In addition, the required design clips are generated from the database in order to perform the rendering procedure on the metrology system. This new methodology has been validated on real production line for the most advanced process. This paper presents the main challenges that we have faced, as well as some results on the global performances.

Automatic visibility retrieval from thermal camera images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dizerens, Céline; Ott, Beat; Wellig, Peter; Wunderle, Stefan

2017-10-01

This study presents an automatic visibility retrieval of a FLIR A320 Stationary Thermal Imager installed on a measurement tower on the mountain Lagern located in the Swiss Jura Mountains. Our visibility retrieval makes use of edges that are automatically detected from thermal camera images. Predefined target regions, such as mountain silhouettes or buildings with high thermal differences to the surroundings, are used to derive the maximum visibility distance that is detectable in the image. To allow a stable, automatic processing, our procedure additionally removes noise in the image and includes automatic image alignment to correct small shifts of the camera. We present a detailed analysis of visibility derived from more than 24000 thermal images of the years 2015 and 2016 by comparing them to (1) visibility derived from a panoramic camera image (VISrange), (2) measurements of a forward-scatter visibility meter (Vaisala FD12 working in the NIR spectra), and (3) modeled visibility values using the Thermal Range Model TRM4. Atmospheric conditions, mainly water vapor from European Center for Medium Weather Forecast (ECMWF), were considered to calculate the extinction coefficients using MODTRAN. The automatic visibility retrieval based on FLIR A320 images is often in good agreement with the retrieval from the systems working in different spectral ranges. However, some significant differences were detected as well, depending on weather conditions, thermal differences of the monitored landscape, and defined target size.

Scale invariant SURF detector and automatic clustering segmentation for infrared small targets detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Haiying; Bai, Jiaojiao; Li, Zhengjie; Liu, Yan; Liu, Kunhong

2017-06-01

The detection and discrimination of infrared small dim targets is a challenge in automatic target recognition (ATR), because there is no salient information of size, shape and texture. Many researchers focus on mining more discriminative information of targets in temporal-spatial. However, such information may not be available with the change of imaging environments, and the targets size and intensity keep changing in different imaging distance. So in this paper, we propose a novel research scheme using density-based clustering and backtracking strategy. In this scheme, the speeded up robust feature (SURF) detector is applied to capture candidate targets in single frame at first. And then, these points are mapped into one frame, so that target traces form a local aggregation pattern. In order to isolate the targets from noises, a newly proposed density-based clustering algorithm, fast search and find of density peak (FSFDP for short), is employed to cluster targets by the spatial intensive distribution. Two important factors of the algorithm, percent and γ , are exploited fully to determine the clustering scale automatically, so as to extract the trace with highest clutter suppression ratio. And at the final step, a backtracking algorithm is designed to detect and discriminate target trace as well as to eliminate clutter. The consistence and continuity of the short-time target trajectory in temporal-spatial is incorporated into the bounding function to speed up the pruning. Compared with several state-of-arts methods, our algorithm is more effective for the dim targets with lower signal-to clutter ratio (SCR). Furthermore, it avoids constructing the candidate target trajectory searching space, so its time complexity is limited to a polynomial level. The extensive experimental results show that it has superior performance in probability of detection (Pd) and false alarm suppressing rate aiming at variety of complex backgrounds.

Automatic blood vessel based-liver segmentation using the portal phase abdominal CT

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maklad, Ahmed S.; Matsuhiro, Mikio; Suzuki, Hidenobu; Kawata, Yoshiki; Niki, Noboru; Shimada, Mitsuo; Iinuma, Gen

2018-02-01

Liver segmentation is the basis for computer-based planning of hepatic surgical interventions. In diagnosis and analysis of hepatic diseases and surgery planning, automatic segmentation of liver has high importance. Blood vessel (BV) has showed high performance at liver segmentation. In our previous work, we developed a semi-automatic method that segments the liver through the portal phase abdominal CT images in two stages. First stage was interactive segmentation of abdominal blood vessels (ABVs) and subsequent classification into hepatic (HBVs) and non-hepatic (non-HBVs). This stage had 5 interactions that include selective threshold for bone segmentation, selecting two seed points for kidneys segmentation, selection of inferior vena cava (IVC) entrance for starting ABVs segmentation, identification of the portal vein (PV) entrance to the liver and the IVC-exit for classifying HBVs from other ABVs (non-HBVs). Second stage is automatic segmentation of the liver based on segmented ABVs as described in [4]. For full automation of our method we developed a method [5] that segments ABVs automatically tackling the first three interactions. In this paper, we propose full automation of classifying ABVs into HBVs and non- HBVs and consequently full automation of liver segmentation that we proposed in [4]. Results illustrate that the method is effective at segmentation of the liver through the portal abdominal CT images.

Automatic Gain Control in Mass Spectrometry using a Jet Disrupter Electrode in an Electrodynamic Ion Funnel

PubMed Central

Page, Jason S.; Bogdanov, Bogdan; Vilkov, Andrey N.; Prior, David C.; Buschbach, Michael A.; Tang, Keqi; Smith, Richard D.

2007-01-01

We report on the use of a jet disrupter electrode in an electrodynamic ion funnel as an electronic valve to regulate the intensity of the ion beam transmitted through the interface of a mass spectrometer in order to perform automatic gain control (AGC). The ion flux is determined by either directly detecting the ion current on the conductance limiting orifice of the ion funnel or using a short mass spectrometry acquisition. Based upon the ion flux intensity, the voltage of the jet disrupter is adjusted to alter the transmission efficiency of the ion funnel to provide a desired ion population to the mass analyzer. Ion beam regulation by an ion funnel is shown to provide control to within a few percent of a targeted ion intensity or abundance. The utility of ion funnel AGC was evaluated using a protein tryptic digest analyzed with liquid chromatography Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (LC-FTICR) mass spectrometry. The ion population in the ICR cell was accurately controlled to selected levels, which improved data quality and provided better mass measurement accuracy. PMID:15694774

Automatic flatness detection system for micro part

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luo, Yi; Wang, Xiaodong; Shan, Zhendong; Li, Kehong

2016-01-01

An automatic flatness detection system for micro rings is developed. It is made up of machine vision module, ring supporting module and control system. An industry CCD camera with the resolution of 1628×1236 pixel, a telecentric with magnification of two, and light sources are used to collect the vision information. A rotary stage with a polished silicon wafer is used to support the ring. The silicon wafer provides a mirror image and doubles the gap caused by unevenness of the ring. The control system comprise an industry computer and software written in LabVIEW Get Kernel and Convolute Function are selected to reduce noise and distortion, Laplacian Operator is used to sharp the image, and IMAQ Threshold function is used to separate the target object from the background. Based on this software, system repeating precision is 2.19 μm, less than one pixel. The designed detection system can easily identify the ring warpage larger than 5 μm, and if the warpage is less than 25 μm, it can be used in ring assembly and satisfied the final positionary and perpendicularity error requirement of the component.

Astrometric Results of NEOs from the Characterization and Astrometric Follow-up Program at Adler Planetarium

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nault, Kristie A.; Brucker, Melissa J.; Hammergren, Mark; Gyuk, Geza; Solontoi, Mike R.

2015-11-01

We present astrometric results of near-Earth objects (NEOs) targeted in fourth quarter 2014 and in 2015. This is part of Adler Planetarium’s NEO characterization and astrometric follow-up program, which uses the Astrophysical Research Consortium (ARC) 3.5-m telescope at Apache Point Observatory (APO). The program utilizes a 17% share of telescope time, amounting to a total of 500 hours per year. This time is divided up into two hour observing runs approximately every other night for astrometry and frequent half-night runs approximately several times a month for spectroscopy (see poster by M. Hammergren et. al.) and light curve studies (see poster by M. J. Brucker et. al.).Observations were made using Seaver Prototype Imaging Camera (SPIcam), a visible-wavelength, direct imaging CCD camera with 2048 x 2048 pixels and a field of view of 4.78’ x 4.78’. Observations were made using 2 x 2 binning.Special emphasis has been made to focus on the smallest NEOs, particularly around 140m in diameter. Targets were selected based on absolute magnitude (prioritizing for those with H > 25 mag to select small objects) and a 3σ uncertainty less than 400” to ensure that the target is in the FOV. Targets were drawn from the Minor Planet Center (MPC) NEA Observing Planning Aid, the JPL What’s Observable tool, and the Spaceguard priority list and faint NEO list.As of August 2015, we have detected 670 NEOs for astrometric follow-up, on point with our goal of providing astrometry on a thousand NEOs per year. Astrometric calculations were done using the interactive software tool Astrometrica, which is used for data reduction focusing on the minor bodies of the solar system. The program includes automatic reference star identification from new-generation star catalogs, access to the complete MPC database of orbital elements, and automatic moving object detection and identification.This work is based on observations done using the 3.5-m telescope at Apache Point Observatory, owned and operated by the Astrophysical Research Consortium. We acknowledge the support from the NASA NEOO award NNX14AL17G and thank the University of Chicago Astronomy and Astrophysics Department for observing time in 2014.

An automatic taxonomy of galaxy morphology using unsupervised machine learning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hocking, Alex; Geach, James E.; Sun, Yi; Davey, Neil

2018-01-01

We present an unsupervised machine learning technique that automatically segments and labels galaxies in astronomical imaging surveys using only pixel data. Distinct from previous unsupervised machine learning approaches used in astronomy we use no pre-selection or pre-filtering of target galaxy type to identify galaxies that are similar. We demonstrate the technique on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Frontier Fields. By training the algorithm using galaxies from one field (Abell 2744) and applying the result to another (MACS 0416.1-2403), we show how the algorithm can cleanly separate early and late type galaxies without any form of pre-directed training for what an 'early' or 'late' type galaxy is. We then apply the technique to the HST Cosmic Assembly Near-infrared Deep Extragalactic Legacy Survey (CANDELS) fields, creating a catalogue of approximately 60 000 classifications. We show how the automatic classification groups galaxies of similar morphological (and photometric) type and make the classifications public via a catalogue, a visual catalogue and galaxy similarity search. We compare the CANDELS machine-based classifications to human-classifications from the Galaxy Zoo: CANDELS project. Although there is not a direct mapping between Galaxy Zoo and our hierarchical labelling, we demonstrate a good level of concordance between human and machine classifications. Finally, we show how the technique can be used to identify rarer objects and present lensed galaxy candidates from the CANDELS imaging.

An autonomous organic reaction search engine for chemical reactivity.

PubMed

Dragone, Vincenza; Sans, Victor; Henson, Alon B; Granda, Jaroslaw M; Cronin, Leroy

2017-06-09

The exploration of chemical space for new reactivity, reactions and molecules is limited by the need for separate work-up-separation steps searching for molecules rather than reactivity. Herein we present a system that can autonomously evaluate chemical reactivity within a network of 64 possible reaction combinations and aims for new reactivity, rather than a predefined set of targets. The robotic system combines chemical handling, in-line spectroscopy and real-time feedback and analysis with an algorithm that is able to distinguish and select the most reactive pathways, generating a reaction selection index (RSI) without need for separate work-up or purification steps. This allows the automatic navigation of a chemical network, leading to previously unreported molecules while needing only to do a fraction of the total possible reactions without any prior knowledge of the chemistry. We show the RSI correlates with reactivity and is able to search chemical space using the most reactive pathways.

An autonomous organic reaction search engine for chemical reactivity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dragone, Vincenza; Sans, Victor; Henson, Alon B.; Granda, Jaroslaw M.; Cronin, Leroy

2017-06-01

The exploration of chemical space for new reactivity, reactions and molecules is limited by the need for separate work-up-separation steps searching for molecules rather than reactivity. Herein we present a system that can autonomously evaluate chemical reactivity within a network of 64 possible reaction combinations and aims for new reactivity, rather than a predefined set of targets. The robotic system combines chemical handling, in-line spectroscopy and real-time feedback and analysis with an algorithm that is able to distinguish and select the most reactive pathways, generating a reaction selection index (RSI) without need for separate work-up or purification steps. This allows the automatic navigation of a chemical network, leading to previously unreported molecules while needing only to do a fraction of the total possible reactions without any prior knowledge of the chemistry. We show the RSI correlates with reactivity and is able to search chemical space using the most reactive pathways.

An autonomous organic reaction search engine for chemical reactivity

PubMed Central

Dragone, Vincenza; Sans, Victor; Henson, Alon B.; Granda, Jaroslaw M.; Cronin, Leroy

2017-01-01

The exploration of chemical space for new reactivity, reactions and molecules is limited by the need for separate work-up-separation steps searching for molecules rather than reactivity. Herein we present a system that can autonomously evaluate chemical reactivity within a network of 64 possible reaction combinations and aims for new reactivity, rather than a predefined set of targets. The robotic system combines chemical handling, in-line spectroscopy and real-time feedback and analysis with an algorithm that is able to distinguish and select the most reactive pathways, generating a reaction selection index (RSI) without need for separate work-up or purification steps. This allows the automatic navigation of a chemical network, leading to previously unreported molecules while needing only to do a fraction of the total possible reactions without any prior knowledge of the chemistry. We show the RSI correlates with reactivity and is able to search chemical space using the most reactive pathways. PMID:28598440

Label fusion based brain MR image segmentation via a latent selective model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Gang; Guo, Xiantang; Zhu, Kai; Liao, Hengxu

2018-04-01

Multi-atlas segmentation is an effective approach and increasingly popular for automatically labeling objects of interest in medical images. Recently, segmentation methods based on generative models and patch-based techniques have become the two principal branches of label fusion. However, these generative models and patch-based techniques are only loosely related, and the requirement for higher accuracy, faster segmentation, and robustness is always a great challenge. In this paper, we propose novel algorithm that combines the two branches using global weighted fusion strategy based on a patch latent selective model to perform segmentation of specific anatomical structures for human brain magnetic resonance (MR) images. In establishing this probabilistic model of label fusion between the target patch and patch dictionary, we explored the Kronecker delta function in the label prior, which is more suitable than other models, and designed a latent selective model as a membership prior to determine from which training patch the intensity and label of the target patch are generated at each spatial location. Because the image background is an equally important factor for segmentation, it is analyzed in label fusion procedure and we regard it as an isolated label to keep the same privilege between the background and the regions of interest. During label fusion with the global weighted fusion scheme, we use Bayesian inference and expectation maximization algorithm to estimate the labels of the target scan to produce the segmentation map. Experimental results indicate that the proposed algorithm is more accurate and robust than the other segmentation methods.

Atlas-based segmentation of brainstem regions in neuromelanin-sensitive magnetic resonance images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Puigvert, Marc; Castellanos, Gabriel; Uranga, Javier; Abad, Ricardo; Fernández-Seara, María. A.; Pastor, Pau; Pastor, María. A.; Muñoz-Barrutia, Arrate; Ortiz de Solórzano, Carlos

2015-03-01

We present a method for the automatic delineation of two neuromelanin rich brainstem structures -substantia nigra pars compacta (SN) and locus coeruleus (LC)- in neuromelanin sensitive magnetic resonance images of the brain. The segmentation method uses a dynamic multi-image reference atlas and a pre-registration atlas selection strategy. To create the atlas, a pool of 35 images of healthy subjects was pair-wise pre-registered and clustered in groups using an affinity propagation approach. Each group of the atlas is represented by a single exemplar image. Each new target image to be segmented is registered to the exemplars of each cluster. Then all the images of the highest performing clusters are enrolled into the final atlas, and the results of the registration with the target image are propagated using a majority voting approach. All registration processes used combined one two-stage affine and one elastic B-spline algorithm, to account for global positioning, region selection and local anatomic differences. In this paper, we present the algorithm, with emphasis in the atlas selection method and the registration scheme. We evaluate the performance of the atlas selection strategy using 35 healthy subjects and 5 Parkinson's disease patients. Then, we quantified the volume and contrast ratio of neuromelanin signal of these structures in 47 normal subjects and 40 Parkinson's disease patients to confirm that this method can detect neuromelanin-containing neurons loss in Parkinson's disease patients and could eventually be used for the early detection of SN and LC damage.

Knowledge Base Editor (SharpKBE)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tikidjian, Raffi; James, Mark; Mackey, Ryan

2007-01-01

The SharpKBE software provides a graphical user interface environment for domain experts to build and manage knowledge base systems. Knowledge bases can be exported/translated to various target languages automatically, including customizable target languages.

Automatic respiration tracking for radiotherapy using optical 3D camera

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Tuotuo; Geng, Jason; Li, Shidong

2013-03-01

Rapid optical three-dimensional (O3D) imaging systems provide accurate digitized 3D surface data in real-time, with no patient contact nor radiation. The accurate 3D surface images offer crucial information in image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT) treatments for accurate patient repositioning and respiration management. However, applications of O3D imaging techniques to image-guided radiotherapy have been clinically challenged by body deformation, pathological and anatomical variations among individual patients, extremely high dimensionality of the 3D surface data, and irregular respiration motion. In existing clinical radiation therapy (RT) procedures target displacements are caused by (1) inter-fractional anatomy changes due to weight, swell, food/water intake; (2) intra-fractional variations from anatomy changes within any treatment session due to voluntary/involuntary physiologic processes (e.g. respiration, muscle relaxation); (3) patient setup misalignment in daily reposition due to user errors; and (4) changes of marker or positioning device, etc. Presently, viable solution is lacking for in-vivo tracking of target motion and anatomy changes during the beam-on time without exposing patient with additional ionized radiation or high magnet field. Current O3D-guided radiotherapy systems relay on selected points or areas in the 3D surface to track surface motion. The configuration of the marks or areas may change with time that makes it inconsistent in quantifying and interpreting the respiration patterns. To meet the challenge of performing real-time respiration tracking using O3D imaging technology in IGRT, we propose a new approach to automatic respiration motion analysis based on linear dimensionality reduction technique based on PCA (principle component analysis). Optical 3D image sequence is decomposed with principle component analysis into a limited number of independent (orthogonal) motion patterns (a low dimension eigen-space span by eigen-vectors). New images can be accurately represented as weighted summation of those eigen-vectors, which can be easily discriminated with a trained classifier. We developed algorithms, software and integrated with an O3D imaging system to perform the respiration tracking automatically. The resulting respiration tracking system requires no human intervene during it tracking operation. Experimental results show that our approach to respiration tracking is more accurate and robust than the methods using manual selected markers, even in the presence of incomplete imaging data.

Analysis and Comparison of Some Automatic Vehicle Monitoring Systems

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1973-07-01

In 1970 UMTA solicited proposals and selected four companies to develop systems to demonstrate the feasibility of different automatic vehicle monitoring techniques. The demonstrations culminated in experiments in Philadelphia to assess the performanc...

Automatic Evolution of Molecular Nanotechnology Designs

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Globus, Al; Lawton, John; Wipke, Todd; Saini, Subhash (Technical Monitor)

1998-01-01

This paper describes strategies for automatically generating designs for analog circuits at the molecular level. Software maps out the edges and vertices of potential nanotechnology systems on graphs, then selects appropriate ones through evolutionary or genetic paradigms.

[Study on the automatic parameters identification of water pipe network model].

PubMed

Jia, Hai-Feng; Zhao, Qi-Feng

2010-01-01

Based on the problems analysis on development and application of water pipe network model, the model parameters automatic identification is regarded as a kernel bottleneck of model's application in water supply enterprise. The methodology of water pipe network model parameters automatic identification based on GIS and SCADA database is proposed. Then the kernel algorithm of model parameters automatic identification is studied, RSA (Regionalized Sensitivity Analysis) is used for automatic recognition of sensitive parameters, and MCS (Monte-Carlo Sampling) is used for automatic identification of parameters, the detail technical route based on RSA and MCS is presented. The module of water pipe network model parameters automatic identification is developed. At last, selected a typical water pipe network as a case, the case study on water pipe network model parameters automatic identification is conducted and the satisfied results are achieved.

Thai Automatic Speech Recognition

DTIC Science & Technology

2005-01-01

used in an external DARPA evaluation involving medical scenarios between an American Doctor and a naïve monolingual Thai patient. 2. Thai Language... dictionary generation more challenging, and (3) the lack of word segmentation, which calls for automatic segmentation approaches to make n-gram language...requires a dictionary and provides various segmentation algorithms to automatically select suitable segmentations. Here we used a maximal matching

Automated search method for AFM and profilers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ray, Michael; Martin, Yves C.

2001-08-01

A new automation software creates a search model as an initial setup and searches for a user-defined target in atomic force microscopes or stylus profilometers used in semiconductor manufacturing. The need for such automation has become critical in manufacturing lines. The new method starts with a survey map of a small area of a chip obtained from a chip-design database or an image of the area. The user interface requires a user to point to and define a precise location to be measured, and to select a macro function for an application such as line width or contact hole. The search algorithm automatically constructs a range of possible scan sequences within the survey, and provides increased speed and functionality compared to the methods used in instruments to date. Each sequence consists in a starting point relative to the target, a scan direction, and a scan length. The search algorithm stops when the location of a target is found and criteria for certainty in positioning is met. With today's capability in high speed processing and signal control, the tool can simultaneously scan and search for a target in a robotic and continuous manner. Examples are given that illustrate the key concepts.

An improved K-means clustering algorithm in agricultural image segmentation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cheng, Huifeng; Peng, Hui; Liu, Shanmei

Image segmentation is the first important step to image analysis and image processing. In this paper, according to color crops image characteristics, we firstly transform the color space of image from RGB to HIS, and then select proper initial clustering center and cluster number in application of mean-variance approach and rough set theory followed by clustering calculation in such a way as to automatically segment color component rapidly and extract target objects from background accurately, which provides a reliable basis for identification, analysis, follow-up calculation and process of crops images. Experimental results demonstrate that improved k-means clustering algorithm is able to reduce the computation amounts and enhance precision and accuracy of clustering.

A humming retrieval system based on music fingerprint

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Han, Xingkai; Cao, Baiyu

2011-10-01

In this paper, we proposed an improved music information retrieval method utilizing the music fingerprint. The goal of this method is to represent the music with compressed musical information. Based on the selected MIDI files, which are generated automatically as our music target database, we evaluate the accuracy, effectiveness, and efficiency of this method. In this research we not only extract the feature sequence, which can represent the file effectively, from the query and melody database, but also make it possible for retrieving the results in an innovative way. We investigate on the influence of noise to the performance of our system. As experimental result shows, the retrieval accuracy arriving at up to91% without noise is pretty well

Automatic Certification of Kalman Filters for Reliable Code Generation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Denney, Ewen; Fischer, Bernd; Schumann, Johann; Richardson, Julian

2005-01-01

AUTOFILTER is a tool for automatically deriving Kalman filter code from high-level declarative specifications of state estimation problems. It can generate code with a range of algorithmic characteristics and for several target platforms. The tool has been designed with reliability of the generated code in mind and is able to automatically certify that the code it generates is free from various error classes. Since documentation is an important part of software assurance, AUTOFILTER can also automatically generate various human-readable documents, containing both design and safety related information. We discuss how these features address software assurance standards such as DO-178B.

Grayscale Optical Correlator Workbench

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hanan, Jay; Zhou, Hanying; Chao, Tien-Hsin

2006-01-01

Grayscale Optical Correlator Workbench (GOCWB) is a computer program for use in automatic target recognition (ATR). GOCWB performs ATR with an accurate simulation of a hardware grayscale optical correlator (GOC). This simulation is performed to test filters that are created in GOCWB. Thus, GOCWB can be used as a stand-alone ATR software tool or in combination with GOC hardware for building (target training), testing, and optimization of filters. The software is divided into three main parts, denoted filter, testing, and training. The training part is used for assembling training images as input to a filter. The filter part is used for combining training images into a filter and optimizing that filter. The testing part is used for testing new filters and for general simulation of GOC output. The current version of GOCWB relies on the mathematical software tools from MATLAB binaries for performing matrix operations and fast Fourier transforms. Optimization of filters is based on an algorithm, known as OT-MACH, in which variables specified by the user are parameterized and the best filter is selected on the basis of an average result for correct identification of targets in multiple test images.

Technological Advances In The Surgical Treatment Of Movement Disorders

PubMed Central

Gross, Robert E.; McDougal, Margaret E.

2013-01-01

Technological innovations have driven the advancement of the surgical treatment of movement disorders, from the invention of the stereotactic frame to the adaptation of deep brain stimulation (DBS). Along these lines, this review will describe recent advances in getting neuromodulation modalities, including DBS, to the target; and in the delivery of therapy at the target. Recent radiological advances are altering the way that DBS leads are targeted and inserted, by refining the ability to visualize the subcortical targets using high-field strength MRI and other innovations such as diffusion tensor imaging, and the development of novel targeting devices enabling purely anatomical implantations without the need for neurophysiological monitoring. New portable CT scanners also are facilitating lead implantation without monitoring as well as improving radiological verification of DBS lead location. Advances in neurophysiological mapping include efforts to develop automatic target verification algorithms, and probabilistic maps to guide target selection. The delivery of therapy at the target is being improved by the development of the next generation of internal pulse generators (IPGs). These include constant current devices that mitigate the variability introduced by impedance changes of the stimulated tissue, and in the near future, devices that deliver novel stimulation patterns with improved efficiency. Closed-loop adaptive IPGs are being tested, which may tailor stimulation to ongoing changes in the nervous system reflected in Œbiomarkers1 continuously recorded by the devices. Finer grained DBS leads, in conjunction with new IPGs and advanced programming tools, may offer improved outcomes via Œcurrent steering1 algorithms. Finally, even thermocoagulation - essentially replaced by DBS - is being advanced by new Œminimally-invasive1 approaches that may improve this therapy for selected patients in whom it may be preferred. Functional neurosurgery has a history of being driven by technological innovation, a tradition that continues into its future. PMID:23812894

Accuracy of flat panel detector CT with integrated navigational software with and without MR fusion for single-pass needle placement.

PubMed

Mabray, Marc C; Datta, Sanjit; Lillaney, Prasheel V; Moore, Teri; Gehrisch, Sonja; Talbott, Jason F; Levitt, Michael R; Ghodke, Basavaraj V; Larson, Paul S; Cooke, Daniel L

2016-07-01

Fluoroscopic systems in modern interventional suites have the ability to perform flat panel detector CT (FDCT) with navigational guidance. Fusion with MR allows navigational guidance towards FDCT occult targets. We aim to evaluate the accuracy of this system using single-pass needle placement in a deep brain stimulation (DBS) phantom. MR was performed on a head phantom with DBS lead targets. The head phantom was placed into fixation and FDCT was performed. FDCT and MR datasets were automatically fused using the integrated guidance system (iGuide, Siemens). A DBS target was selected on the MR dataset. A 10 cm, 19 G needle was advanced by hand in a single pass using laser crosshair guidance. Radial error was visually assessed against measurement markers on the target and by a second FDCT. Ten needles were placed using CT-MR fusion and 10 needles were placed without MR fusion, with targeting based solely on FDCT and fusion steps repeated for every pass. Mean radial error was 2.75±1.39 mm as defined by visual assessment to the centre of the DBS target and 2.80±1.43 mm as defined by FDCT to the centre of the selected target point. There were no statistically significant differences in error between MR fusion and non-MR guided series. Single pass needle placement in a DBS phantom using FDCT guidance is associated with a radial error of approximately 2.5-3.0 mm at a depth of approximately 80 mm. This system could accurately target sub-centimetre intracranial lesions defined on MR. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/

Individualized Selection of Beam Angles and Treatment Isocenter in Tangential Breast Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Penninkhof, Joan, E-mail: j.penninkhof@erasmusmc.nl; Spadola, Sara; Department of Physics and Astronomy, Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna, Bologna

Purpose and Objective: Propose a novel method for individualized selection of beam angles and treatment isocenter in tangential breast intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT). Methods and Materials: For each patient, beam and isocenter selection starts with the fully automatic generation of a large database of IMRT plans (up to 847 in this study); each of these plans belongs to a unique combination of isocenter position, lateral beam angle, and medial beam angle. The imposed hard planning constraint on patient maximum dose may result in plans with unacceptable target dose delivery. Such plans are excluded from further analyses. Owing to differencesmore » in beam setup, database plans differ in mean doses to organs at risk (OARs). These mean doses are used to construct 2-dimensional graphs, showing relationships between: (1) contralateral breast dose and ipsilateral lung dose; and (2) contralateral breast dose and heart dose (analyzed only for left-sided). The graphs can be used for selection of the isocenter and beam angles with the optimal, patient-specific tradeoffs between the mean OAR doses. For 30 previously treated patients (15 left-sided and 15 right-sided tumors), graphs were generated considering only the clinically applied isocenter with 121 tangential beam angle pairs. For 20 of the 30 patients, 6 alternative isocenters were also investigated. Results: Computation time for automatic generation of 121 IMRT plans took on average 30 minutes. The generated graphs demonstrated large variations in tradeoffs between conflicting OAR objectives, depending on beam angles and patient anatomy. For patients with isocenter optimization, 847 IMRT plans were considered. Adding isocenter position optimization next to beam angle optimization had a small impact on the final plan quality. Conclusion: A method is proposed for individualized selection of beam angles in tangential breast IMRT. This may be especially important for patients with cardiac risk factors or an enhanced risk for the development of contralateral breast cancer.« less

Automatic Item Generation via Frame Semantics: Natural Language Generation of Math Word Problems.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Deane, Paul; Sheehan, Kathleen

This paper is an exploration of the conceptual issues that have arisen in the course of building a natural language generation (NLG) system for automatic test item generation. While natural language processing techniques are applicable to general verbal items, mathematics word problems are particularly tractable targets for natural language…

Attentional Signatures of Perception: Multiple Object Tracking Reveals the Automaticity of Contour Interpolation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Keane, Brian P.; Mettler, Everett; Tsoi, Vicky; Kellman, Philip J.

2011-01-01

Multiple object tracking (MOT) is an attentional task wherein observers attempt to track multiple targets among moving distractors. Contour interpolation is a perceptual process that fills-in nonvisible edges on the basis of how surrounding edges (inducers) are spatiotemporally related. In five experiments, we explored the automaticity of…

Associative priming in a masked perceptual identification task: evidence for automatic processes.

PubMed

Pecher, Diane; Zeelenberg, René; Raaijmakers, Jeroen G W

2002-10-01

Two experiments investigated the influence of automatic and strategic processes on associative priming effects in a perceptual identification task in which prime-target pairs are briefly presented and masked. In this paradigm, priming is defined as a higher percentage of correctly identified targets for related pairs than for unrelated pairs. In Experiment 1, priming was obtained for mediated word pairs. This mediated priming effect was affected neither by the presence of direct associations nor by the presentation time of the primes, indicating that automatic priming effects play a role in perceptual identification. Experiment 2 showed that the priming effect was not affected by the proportion (.90 vs. .10) of related pairs if primes were presented briefly to prevent their identification. However, a large proportion effect was found when primes were presented for 1000 ms so that they were clearly visible. These results indicate that priming in a masked perceptual identification task is the result of automatic processes and is not affected by strategies. The present paradigm provides a valuable alternative to more commonly used tasks such as lexical decision.

Does gaze cueing produce automatic response activation: a lateralized readiness potential (LRP) study.

PubMed

Vainio, L; Heimola, M; Heino, H; Iljin, I; Laamanen, P; Seesjärvi, E; Paavilainen, P

2014-05-01

Previous research has shown that gaze cues facilitate responses to an upcoming target if the target location is compatible with the direction of the cue. Similar cueing effects have also been observed with central arrow cues. Both of these cueing effects have been attributed to a reflexive orienting of attention triggered by the cue. In addition, orienting of attention has been proposed to result in a partial response activation of the corresponding hand that, in turn, can be observed in the lateralized readiness potential (LRP), an electrophysiological indicator of automatic hand-motor response preparation. For instance, a central arrow cue has been observed to produce automatic hand-motor activation as indicated by the LRPs. The present study investigated whether gaze cues could also produce similar activation patterns in LRP. Although the standard gaze cueing effect was observed in the behavioural data, the LRP data did not reveal any consistent automatic hand-motor activation. The study suggests that motor processes associated with gaze cueing effect may operate exclusively at the level of oculomotor programming. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automatic feature-based grouping during multiple object tracking.

PubMed

Erlikhman, Gennady; Keane, Brian P; Mettler, Everett; Horowitz, Todd S; Kellman, Philip J

2013-12-01

Contour interpolation automatically binds targets with distractors to impair multiple object tracking (Keane, Mettler, Tsoi, & Kellman, 2011). Is interpolation special in this regard or can other features produce the same effect? To address this question, we examined the influence of eight features on tracking: color, contrast polarity, orientation, size, shape, depth, interpolation, and a combination (shape, color, size). In each case, subjects tracked 4 of 8 objects that began as undifferentiated shapes, changed features as motion began (to enable grouping), and returned to their undifferentiated states before halting. We found that intertarget grouping improved performance for all feature types except orientation and interpolation (Experiment 1 and Experiment 2). Most importantly, target-distractor grouping impaired performance for color, size, shape, combination, and interpolation. The impairments were, at times, large (>15% decrement in accuracy) and occurred relative to a homogeneous condition in which all objects had the same features at each moment of a trial (Experiment 2), and relative to a "diversity" condition in which targets and distractors had different features at each moment (Experiment 3). We conclude that feature-based grouping occurs for a variety of features besides interpolation, even when irrelevant to task instructions and contrary to the task demands, suggesting that interpolation is not unique in promoting automatic grouping in tracking tasks. Our results also imply that various kinds of features are encoded automatically and in parallel during tracking.

Automatic Semantic Activation of Embedded Words: Is There a ''Hat'' in ''That''

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bowers, J.S.; Davis, C.J.; Hanley, D.A.

2005-01-01

Participants semantically categorized target words that contain subsets (Experiment 1; e.g., target=hatch, subset=hat) or that are parts of supersets (Experiment 2; e.g., target=bee, superset=beer). In both experiments, the targets were categorized in a congruent condition (in which the subset-superset was associated with the same response, e.g.,…

Detecting cheaters without thinking: testing the automaticity of the cheater detection module.

PubMed

Van Lier, Jens; Revlin, Russell; De Neys, Wim

2013-01-01

Evolutionary psychologists have suggested that our brain is composed of evolved mechanisms. One extensively studied mechanism is the cheater detection module. This module would make people very good at detecting cheaters in a social exchange. A vast amount of research has illustrated performance facilitation on social contract selection tasks. This facilitation is attributed to the alleged automatic and isolated operation of the module (i.e., independent of general cognitive capacity). This study, using the selection task, tested the critical automaticity assumption in three experiments. Experiments 1 and 2 established that performance on social contract versions did not depend on cognitive capacity or age. Experiment 3 showed that experimentally burdening cognitive resources with a secondary task had no impact on performance on the social contract version. However, in all experiments, performance on a non-social contract version did depend on available cognitive capacity. Overall, findings validate the automatic and effortless nature of social exchange reasoning.

The Lick-Gaertner automatic measuring system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vasilevskis, S.; Popov, W. A.

1971-01-01

The Lick-Gaertner automatic equipment has been designed mainly for the measurement of stellar proper motions with reference to galaxies, and consists of two main components: the survey machine and the automatic measuring engine. The survey machine is used for initial inspection and selection of objects for subsequent measurement. Two plates, up to 17 x 17 inches each, are surveyed simultaneously by means of projection on a screen. The approximate positions of objects selected are measured by two optical screws: helical lines cut through an aluminum coating on glass cylinders. These approximate coordinates to a precision of the order of 0.03mm are transmitted to a card punch by encoders connected with the cylinders.

Culture, attribution and automaticity: a social cognitive neuroscience view

PubMed Central

Morris, Michael W.

2010-01-01

A fundamental challenge facing social perceivers is identifying the cause underlying other people’s behavior. Evidence indicates that East Asian perceivers are more likely than Western perceivers to reference the social context when attributing a cause to a target person’s actions. One outstanding question is whether this reflects a culture’s influence on automatic or on controlled components of causal attribution. After reviewing behavioral evidence that culture can shape automatic mental processes as well as controlled reasoning, we discuss the evidence in favor of cultural differences in automatic and controlled components of causal attribution more specifically. We contend that insights emerging from social cognitive neuroscience research can inform this debate. After introducing an attribution framework popular among social neuroscientists, we consider findings relevant to the automaticity of attribution, before speculating how one could use a social neuroscience approach to clarify whether culture affects automatic, controlled or both types of attribution processes. PMID:20460302

TU-H-CAMPUS-JeP1-02: Fully Automatic Verification of Automatically Contoured Normal Tissues in the Head and Neck

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

McCarroll, R; UT Health Science Center, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Houston, TX; Beadle, B

Purpose: To investigate and validate the use of an independent deformable-based contouring algorithm for automatic verification of auto-contoured structures in the head and neck towards fully automated treatment planning. Methods: Two independent automatic contouring algorithms [(1) Eclipse’s Smart Segmentation followed by pixel-wise majority voting, (2) an in-house multi-atlas based method] were used to create contours of 6 normal structures of 10 head-and-neck patients. After rating by a radiation oncologist, the higher performing algorithm was selected as the primary contouring method, the other used for automatic verification of the primary. To determine the ability of the verification algorithm to detect incorrectmore » contours, contours from the primary method were shifted from 0.5 to 2cm. Using a logit model the structure-specific minimum detectable shift was identified. The models were then applied to a set of twenty different patients and the sensitivity and specificity of the models verified. Results: Per physician rating, the multi-atlas method (4.8/5 point scale, with 3 rated as generally acceptable for planning purposes) was selected as primary and the Eclipse-based method (3.5/5) for verification. Mean distance to agreement and true positive rate were selected as covariates in an optimized logit model. These models, when applied to a group of twenty different patients, indicated that shifts could be detected at 0.5cm (brain), 0.75cm (mandible, cord), 1cm (brainstem, cochlea), or 1.25cm (parotid), with sensitivity and specificity greater than 0.95. If sensitivity and specificity constraints are reduced to 0.9, detectable shifts of mandible and brainstem were reduced by 0.25cm. These shifts represent additional safety margins which might be considered if auto-contours are used for automatic treatment planning without physician review. Conclusion: Automatically contoured structures can be automatically verified. This fully automated process could be used to flag auto-contours for special review or used with safety margins in a fully automatic treatment planning system.« less

On-Orbit MTF Measurement and Product Quality Monitoring for Commercial Remote Sensing Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Person, Steven

2007-01-01

Initialization and opportunistic targets are chosen that represent the MTF on the spatial domain. Ideal targets have simple mathematical relationships. Determine the MTF of an on-orbit satellite using in-scene targets: Slant-Edge, Line Source, point Source, and Radial Target. Attempt to facilitate the MTF calculation by automatically locating targets of opportunity. Incorporate MTF results into a product quality monitoring architecture.

Automatic segmentation of stereoelectroencephalography (SEEG) electrodes post-implantation considering bending.

PubMed

Granados, Alejandro; Vakharia, Vejay; Rodionov, Roman; Schweiger, Martin; Vos, Sjoerd B; O'Keeffe, Aidan G; Li, Kuo; Wu, Chengyuan; Miserocchi, Anna; McEvoy, Andrew W; Clarkson, Matthew J; Duncan, John S; Sparks, Rachel; Ourselin, Sébastien

2018-06-01

The accurate and automatic localisation of SEEG electrodes is crucial for determining the location of epileptic seizure onset. We propose an algorithm for the automatic segmentation of electrode bolts and contacts that accounts for electrode bending in relation to regional brain anatomy. Co-registered post-implantation CT, pre-implantation MRI, and brain parcellation images are used to create regions of interest to automatically segment bolts and contacts. Contact search strategy is based on the direction of the bolt with distance and angle constraints, in addition to post-processing steps that assign remaining contacts and predict contact position. We measured the accuracy of contact position, bolt angle, and anatomical region at the tip of the electrode in 23 post-SEEG cases comprising two different surgical approaches when placing a guiding stylet close to and far from target point. Local and global bending are computed when modelling electrodes as elastic rods. Our approach executed on average in 36.17 s with a sensitivity of 98.81% and a positive predictive value (PPV) of 95.01%. Compared to manual segmentation, the position of contacts had a mean absolute error of 0.38 mm and the mean bolt angle difference of [Formula: see text] resulted in a mean displacement error of 0.68 mm at the tip of the electrode. Anatomical regions at the tip of the electrode were in strong concordance with those selected manually by neurosurgeons, [Formula: see text], with average distance between regions of 0.82 mm when in disagreement. Our approach performed equally in two surgical approaches regardless of the amount of electrode bending. We present a method robust to electrode bending that can accurately segment contact positions and bolt orientation. The techniques presented in this paper will allow further characterisation of bending within different brain regions.

Automatic generation of investigator bibliographies for institutional research networking systems.

PubMed

Johnson, Stephen B; Bales, Michael E; Dine, Daniel; Bakken, Suzanne; Albert, Paul J; Weng, Chunhua

2014-10-01

Publications are a key data source for investigator profiles and research networking systems. We developed ReCiter, an algorithm that automatically extracts bibliographies from PubMed using institutional information about the target investigators. ReCiter executes a broad query against PubMed, groups the results into clusters that appear to constitute distinct author identities and selects the cluster that best matches the target investigator. Using information about investigators from one of our institutions, we compared ReCiter results to queries based on author name and institution and to citations extracted manually from the Scopus database. Five judges created a gold standard using citations of a random sample of 200 investigators. About half of the 10,471 potential investigators had no matching citations in PubMed, and about 45% had fewer than 70 citations. Interrater agreement (Fleiss' kappa) for the gold standard was 0.81. Scopus achieved the best recall (sensitivity) of 0.81, while name-based queries had 0.78 and ReCiter had 0.69. ReCiter attained the best precision (positive predictive value) of 0.93 while Scopus had 0.85 and name-based queries had 0.31. ReCiter accesses the most current citation data, uses limited computational resources and minimizes manual entry by investigators. Generation of bibliographies using named-based queries will not yield high accuracy. Proprietary databases can perform well but requite manual effort. Automated generation with higher recall is possible but requires additional knowledge about investigators. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

DeepInfer: open-source deep learning deployment toolkit for image-guided therapy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mehrtash, Alireza; Pesteie, Mehran; Hetherington, Jorden; Behringer, Peter A.; Kapur, Tina; Wells, William M.; Rohling, Robert; Fedorov, Andriy; Abolmaesumi, Purang

2017-03-01

Deep learning models have outperformed some of the previous state-of-the-art approaches in medical image analysis. Instead of using hand-engineered features, deep models attempt to automatically extract hierarchical representations at multiple levels of abstraction from the data. Therefore, deep models are usually considered to be more flexible and robust solutions for image analysis problems compared to conventional computer vision models. They have demonstrated significant improvements in computer-aided diagnosis and automatic medical image analysis applied to such tasks as image segmentation, classification and registration. However, deploying deep learning models often has a steep learning curve and requires detailed knowledge of various software packages. Thus, many deep models have not been integrated into the clinical research work ows causing a gap between the state-of-the-art machine learning in medical applications and evaluation in clinical research procedures. In this paper, we propose "DeepInfer" - an open-source toolkit for developing and deploying deep learning models within the 3D Slicer medical image analysis platform. Utilizing a repository of task-specific models, DeepInfer allows clinical researchers and biomedical engineers to deploy a trained model selected from the public registry, and apply it to new data without the need for software development or configuration. As two practical use cases, we demonstrate the application of DeepInfer in prostate segmentation for targeted MRI-guided biopsy and identification of the target plane in 3D ultrasound for spinal injections.

DeepInfer: Open-Source Deep Learning Deployment Toolkit for Image-Guided Therapy.

PubMed

Mehrtash, Alireza; Pesteie, Mehran; Hetherington, Jorden; Behringer, Peter A; Kapur, Tina; Wells, William M; Rohling, Robert; Fedorov, Andriy; Abolmaesumi, Purang

2017-02-11

Deep learning models have outperformed some of the previous state-of-the-art approaches in medical image analysis. Instead of using hand-engineered features, deep models attempt to automatically extract hierarchical representations at multiple levels of abstraction from the data. Therefore, deep models are usually considered to be more flexible and robust solutions for image analysis problems compared to conventional computer vision models. They have demonstrated significant improvements in computer-aided diagnosis and automatic medical image analysis applied to such tasks as image segmentation, classification and registration. However, deploying deep learning models often has a steep learning curve and requires detailed knowledge of various software packages. Thus, many deep models have not been integrated into the clinical research workflows causing a gap between the state-of-the-art machine learning in medical applications and evaluation in clinical research procedures. In this paper, we propose "DeepInfer" - an open-source toolkit for developing and deploying deep learning models within the 3D Slicer medical image analysis platform. Utilizing a repository of task-specific models, DeepInfer allows clinical researchers and biomedical engineers to deploy a trained model selected from the public registry, and apply it to new data without the need for software development or configuration. As two practical use cases, we demonstrate the application of DeepInfer in prostate segmentation for targeted MRI-guided biopsy and identification of the target plane in 3D ultrasound for spinal injections.

Automatic generation of investigator bibliographies for institutional research networking systems

PubMed Central

Johnson, Stephen B.; Bales, Michael E.; Dine, Daniel; Bakken, Suzanne; Albert, Paul J.; Weng, Chunhua

2014-01-01

Objective Publications are a key data source for investigator profiles and research networking systems. We developed ReCiter, an algorithm that automatically extracts bibliographies from PubMed using institutional information about the target investigators. Methods ReCiter executes a broad query against PubMed, groups the results into clusters that appear to constitute distinct author identities and selects the cluster that best matches the target investigator. Using information about investigators from one of our institutions, we compared ReCiter results to queries based on author name and institution and to citations extracted manually from the Scopus database. Five judges created a gold standard using citations of a random sample of 200 investigators. Results About half of the 10,471 potential investigators had no matching citations in PubMed, and about 45% had fewer than 70 citations. Interrater agreement (Fleiss’ kappa) for the gold standard was 0.81. Scopus achieved the best recall (sensitivity) of 0.81, while name-based queries had 0.78 and ReCiter had 0.69. ReCiter attained the best precision (positive predictive value) of 0.93 while Scopus had 0.85 and name-based queries had 0.31. Discussion ReCiter accesses the most current citation data, uses limited computational resources and minimizes manual entry by investigators. Generation of bibliographies using named-based queries will not yield high accuracy. Proprietary databases can perform well but requite manual effort. Automated generation with higher recall is possible but requires additional knowledge about investigators. PMID:24694772

DeepInfer: Open-Source Deep Learning Deployment Toolkit for Image-Guided Therapy

PubMed Central

Mehrtash, Alireza; Pesteie, Mehran; Hetherington, Jorden; Behringer, Peter A.; Kapur, Tina; Wells, William M.; Rohling, Robert; Fedorov, Andriy; Abolmaesumi, Purang

2017-01-01

Deep learning models have outperformed some of the previous state-of-the-art approaches in medical image analysis. Instead of using hand-engineered features, deep models attempt to automatically extract hierarchical representations at multiple levels of abstraction from the data. Therefore, deep models are usually considered to be more flexible and robust solutions for image analysis problems compared to conventional computer vision models. They have demonstrated significant improvements in computer-aided diagnosis and automatic medical image analysis applied to such tasks as image segmentation, classification and registration. However, deploying deep learning models often has a steep learning curve and requires detailed knowledge of various software packages. Thus, many deep models have not been integrated into the clinical research workflows causing a gap between the state-of-the-art machine learning in medical applications and evaluation in clinical research procedures. In this paper, we propose “DeepInfer” – an open-source toolkit for developing and deploying deep learning models within the 3D Slicer medical image analysis platform. Utilizing a repository of task-specific models, DeepInfer allows clinical researchers and biomedical engineers to deploy a trained model selected from the public registry, and apply it to new data without the need for software development or configuration. As two practical use cases, we demonstrate the application of DeepInfer in prostate segmentation for targeted MRI-guided biopsy and identification of the target plane in 3D ultrasound for spinal injections. PMID:28615794

Eye movements in pedophiles: automatic and controlled attentional processes while viewing prepubescent stimuli.

PubMed

Fromberger, Peter; Jordan, Kirsten; Steinkrauss, Henrike; von Herder, Jakob; Stolpmann, Georg; Kröner-Herwig, Birgit; Müller, Jürgen Leo

2013-05-01

Recent theories in sexuality highlight the importance of automatic and controlled attentional processes in viewing sexually relevant stimuli. The model of Spiering and Everaerd (2007) assumes that sexually relevant features of a stimulus are preattentively selected and automatically induce focal attention to these sexually relevant aspects. Whether this assumption proves true for pedophiles is unknown. It is aim of this study to test this assumption empirically for people suffering from pedophilic interests. Twenty-two pedophiles, 8 nonpedophilic forensic controls, and 52 healthy controls simultaneously viewed the picture of a child and the picture of an adult while eye movements were measured. Entry time was assessed as a measure of automatic attentional processes and relative fixation time in order to assess controlled attentional processes. Pedophiles demonstrated significantly shorter entry time to child stimuli than to adult stimuli. The opposite was the case for nonpedophiles, as they showed longer relative fixation time for adult stimuli, and, against all expectations, pedophiles also demonstrated longer relative fixation time for adult stimuli. The results confirmed the hypothesis that pedophiles automatically selected sexually relevant stimuli (children). Contrary to all expectations, this automatic selection did not trigger the focal attention to these sexually relevant pictures. Furthermore, pedophiles were first and longest attracted by faces and pubic regions of children; nonpedophiles were first and longest attracted by faces and breasts of adults. The results demonstrated, for the first time, that the face and pubic region are the most attracting regions in children for pedophiles. © 2013 American Psychological Association

Pipe leak diagnostic using high frequency piezoelectric pressure sensor and automatic selection of intrinsic mode function

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yusop, Hanafi M.; Ghazali, M. F.; Yusof, M. F. M.; Remli, M. A. Pi; Kamarulzaman, M. H.

2017-10-01

In a recent study, the analysis of pressure transient signals could be seen as an accurate and low-cost method for leak and feature detection in water distribution systems. Transient phenomena occurs due to sudden changes in the fluid’s propagation in pipelines system caused by rapid pressure and flow fluctuation due to events such as closing and opening valves rapidly or through pump failure. In this paper, the feasibility of the Hilbert-Huang transform (HHT) method/technique in analysing the pressure transient signals in presented and discussed. HHT is a way to decompose a signal into intrinsic mode functions (IMF). However, the advantage of HHT is its difficulty in selecting the suitable IMF for the next data postprocessing method which is Hilbert Transform (HT). This paper reveals that utilizing the application of an integrated kurtosis-based algorithm for a z-filter technique (I-Kaz) to kurtosis ratio (I-Kaz-Kurtosis) allows/contributes to/leads to automatic selection of the IMF that should be used. This technique is demonstrated on a 57.90-meter medium high-density polyethylene (MDPE) pipe installed with a single artificial leak. The analysis results using the I-Kaz-kurtosis ratio revealed/confirmed that the method can be used as an automatic selection of the IMF although the noise level ratio of the signal is low. Therefore, the I-Kaz-kurtosis ratio method is recommended as a means to implement an automatic selection technique of the IMF for HHT analysis.

The development of an automatically produced cholangiography procedure using the reconstruction of portal-phase multidetector-row computed tomography images: preliminary experience.

PubMed

Hirose, Tomoaki; Igami, Tsuyoshi; Koga, Kusuto; Hayashi, Yuichiro; Ebata, Tomoki; Yokoyama, Yukihiro; Sugawara, Gen; Mizuno, Takashi; Yamaguchi, Junpei; Mori, Kensaku; Nagino, Masato

2017-03-01

Fusion angiography using reconstructed multidetector-row computed tomography (MDCT) images, and cholangiography using reconstructed images from MDCT with a cholangiographic agent include an anatomical gap due to the different periods of MDCT scanning. To conquer such gaps, we attempted to develop a cholangiography procedure that automatically reconstructs a cholangiogram from portal-phase MDCT images. The automatically produced cholangiography procedure utilized an original software program that was developed by the Graduate School of Information Science, Nagoya University. This program structured 5 candidate biliary tracts, and automatically selected one as the candidate for cholangiography. The clinical value of the automatically produced cholangiography procedure was estimated based on a comparison with manually produced cholangiography. Automatically produced cholangiograms were reconstructed for 20 patients who underwent MDCT scanning before biliary drainage for distal biliary obstruction. The procedure showed the ability to extract the 5 main biliary branches and the 21 subsegmental biliary branches in 55 and 25 % of the cases, respectively. The extent of aberrant connections and aberrant extractions outside the biliary tract was acceptable. Among all of the cholangiograms, 5 were clinically applied with no correction, 8 were applied with modest improvements, and 3 produced a correct cholangiography before automatic selection. Although our procedure requires further improvement based on the analysis of additional patient data, it may represent an alternative to direct cholangiography in the future.

Advances in image compression and automatic target recognition; Proceedings of the Meeting, Orlando, FL, Mar. 30, 31, 1989

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tescher, Andrew G. (Editor)

1989-01-01

Various papers on image compression and automatic target recognition are presented. Individual topics addressed include: target cluster detection in cluttered SAR imagery, model-based target recognition using laser radar imagery, Smart Sensor front-end processor for feature extraction of images, object attitude estimation and tracking from a single video sensor, symmetry detection in human vision, analysis of high resolution aerial images for object detection, obscured object recognition for an ATR application, neural networks for adaptive shape tracking, statistical mechanics and pattern recognition, detection of cylinders in aerial range images, moving object tracking using local windows, new transform method for image data compression, quad-tree product vector quantization of images, predictive trellis encoding of imagery, reduced generalized chain code for contour description, compact architecture for a real-time vision system, use of human visibility functions in segmentation coding, color texture analysis and synthesis using Gibbs random fields.

a Target Aware Texture Mapping for Sculpture Heritage Modeling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, C.; Zhang, F.; Huang, X.; Li, D.; Zhu, Y.

2017-08-01

In this paper, we proposed a target aware image to model registration method using silhouette as the matching clues. The target sculpture object in natural environment can be automatically detected from image with complex background with assistant of 3D geometric data. Then the silhouette can be automatically extracted and applied in image to model matching. Due to the user don't need to deliberately draw target area, the time consumption for precisely image to model matching operation can be greatly reduced. To enhance the function of this method, we also improved the silhouette matching algorithm to support conditional silhouette matching. Two experiments using a stone lion sculpture of Ming Dynasty and a potable relic in museum are given to evaluate the method we proposed. The method we proposed in this paper is extended and developed into a mature software applied in many culture heritage documentation projects.

Reflector automatic acquisition and pointing based on auto-collimation theodolite.

PubMed

Luo, Jun; Wang, Zhiqian; Wen, Zhuoman; Li, Mingzhu; Liu, Shaojin; Shen, Chengwu

2018-01-01

An auto-collimation theodolite (ACT) for reflector automatic acquisition and pointing is designed based on the principle of autocollimators and theodolites. First, the principle of auto-collimation and theodolites is reviewed, and then the coaxial ACT structure is developed. Subsequently, the acquisition and pointing strategies for reflector measurements are presented, which first quickly acquires the target over a wide range and then points the laser spot to the charge coupled device zero position. Finally, experiments are conducted to verify the acquisition and pointing performance, including the calibration of the ACT, the comparison of the acquisition mode and pointing mode, and the accuracy measurement in horizontal and vertical directions. In both directions, a measurement accuracy of ±3″ is achieved. The presented ACT is suitable for automatic pointing and monitoring the reflector over a small scanning area and can be used in a wide range of applications such as bridge structure monitoring and cooperative target aiming.

Reflector automatic acquisition and pointing based on auto-collimation theodolite

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luo, Jun; Wang, Zhiqian; Wen, Zhuoman; Li, Mingzhu; Liu, Shaojin; Shen, Chengwu

2018-01-01

An auto-collimation theodolite (ACT) for reflector automatic acquisition and pointing is designed based on the principle of autocollimators and theodolites. First, the principle of auto-collimation and theodolites is reviewed, and then the coaxial ACT structure is developed. Subsequently, the acquisition and pointing strategies for reflector measurements are presented, which first quickly acquires the target over a wide range and then points the laser spot to the charge coupled device zero position. Finally, experiments are conducted to verify the acquisition and pointing performance, including the calibration of the ACT, the comparison of the acquisition mode and pointing mode, and the accuracy measurement in horizontal and vertical directions. In both directions, a measurement accuracy of ±3″ is achieved. The presented ACT is suitable for automatic pointing and monitoring the reflector over a small scanning area and can be used in a wide range of applications such as bridge structure monitoring and cooperative target aiming.

Image-guided biopsy in the esophagus through comprehensive optical frequency domain imaging and laser marking: a study in living swine.

PubMed

Suter, Melissa J; Jillella, Priyanka A; Vakoc, Benjamin J; Halpern, Elkan F; Mino-Kenudson, Mari; Lauwers, Gregory Y; Bouma, Brett E; Nishioka, Norman S; Tearney, Guillermo J

2010-02-01

Random biopsy esophageal surveillance can be subject to sampling errors, resulting in diagnostic uncertainty. Optical frequency domain imaging (OFDI) is a high-speed, 3-dimensional endoscopic microscopy technique. When deployed through a balloon-centering catheter, OFDI can automatically image the entire distal esophagus (6.0 cm length) in approximately 2 minutes. To test a new platform for guided biopsy that allows the operator to select target regions of interest on an OFDI dataset, and then use a laser to mark the esophagus at corresponding locations. The specific goals include determining the optimal laser parameters, testing the accuracy of the laser marking process, evaluating the endoscopic visibility of the laser marks, and assessing the amount of mucosal damage produced by the laser. Experimental study conducted in 5 swine in vivo. Massachusetts General Hospital. Success rate, including endoscopic visibility of laser marks and accuracy of the laser marking process for selected target sites, and extent of the thermal damage caused by the laser marks. All of the laser-induced marks were visible by endoscopy. Target locations were correctly marked with a success rate of 97.07% (95% confidence interval, 89.8%-99.7%). Thermal damage was limited to the superficial layers of the mucosa and was observed to partially heal within 2 days. An animal study with artificially placed targets to simulate pathology. The study demonstrates that laser marking of esophageal sites identified in comprehensive OFDI datasets is feasible and can be performed with sufficient accuracy, precision, and visibility to guide biopsy in vivo.

Orthographic versus semantic matching in visual search for words within lists.

PubMed

Léger, Laure; Rouet, Jean-François; Ros, Christine; Vibert, Nicolas

2012-03-01

An eye-tracking experiment was performed to assess the influence of orthographic and semantic distractor words on visual search for words within lists. The target word (e.g., "raven") was either shown to participants before the search (literal search) or defined by its semantic category (e.g., "bird", categorical search). In both cases, the type of words included in the list affected visual search times and eye movement patterns. In the literal condition, the presence of orthographic distractors sharing initial and final letters with the target word strongly increased search times. Indeed, the orthographic distractors attracted participants' gaze and were fixated for longer times than other words in the list. The presence of semantic distractors related to the target word also increased search times, which suggests that significant automatic semantic processing of nontarget words took place. In the categorical condition, semantic distractors were expected to have a greater impact on the search task. As expected, the presence in the list of semantic associates of the target word led to target selection errors. However, semantic distractors did not significantly increase search times any more, whereas orthographic distractors still did. Hence, the visual characteristics of nontarget words can be strong predictors of the efficiency of visual search even when the exact target word is unknown. The respective impacts of orthographic and semantic distractors depended more on the characteristics of lists than on the nature of the search task.

Automatic Annotation Method on Learners' Opinions in Case Method Discussion

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Samejima, Masaki; Hisakane, Daichi; Komoda, Norihisa

2015-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to annotate an attribute of a problem, a solution or no annotation on learners' opinions automatically for supporting the learners' discussion without a facilitator. The case method aims at discussing problems and solutions in a target case. However, the learners miss discussing some of problems and solutions.…

Relatedness Proportion Effects in Semantic Categorization: Reconsidering the Automatic Spreading Activation Process

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

de Wit, Bianca; Kinoshita, Sachiko

2014-01-01

Semantic priming effects at a short prime-target stimulus onset asynchrony are commonly explained in terms of an automatic spreading activation process. According to this view, the proportion of related trials should have no impact on the size of the semantic priming effect. Using a semantic categorization task ("Is this a living…

Perceptual organization, visual attention, and objecthood.

PubMed

Kimchi, Ruth; Yeshurun, Yaffa; Spehar, Branka; Pirkner, Yossef

2016-09-01

We have previously demonstrated that the mere organization of some elements in the visual field into an object attracts attention automatically. Here, we explored three different aspects of this automatic attentional capture: (a) Does the attentional capture by an object involve a spatial component? (b) Which Gestalt organization factors suffice for an object to capture attention? (c) Does the strength of organization affect the object's ability to capture attention? Participants viewed multi-elements displays and either identified the color of one element or responded to a Vernier target. On some trials, a subset of the elements grouped by Gestalt factors into an object that was irrelevant to the task and not predictive of the target. An object effect - faster performance for targets within the object than for targets outside the object - was found even when the target appeared after the object offset, and was sensitive to target-object distance, suggesting that the capture of attention by an object is accompanied by a deployment of attention to the object location. Object effects of similar magnitude were found for objects grouped by a combination of factors (collinearity, closure, and symmetry, or closure and symmetry) or by a single factor when it was collinearity, but not symmetry, suggesting that collinearity, or closure combined with symmetry, suffices for automatic capture of attention by an object, but symmetry does not. Finally, the strength of grouping in modal completion, manipulated by varying contrast polarity between and within elements, affected the effectiveness of the attentional capture by the induced object. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

OPTICAL correlation identification technology applied in underwater laser imaging target identification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yao, Guang-tao; Zhang, Xiao-hui; Ge, Wei-long

2012-01-01

The underwater laser imaging detection is an effective method of detecting short distance target underwater as an important complement of sonar detection. With the development of underwater laser imaging technology and underwater vehicle technology, the underwater automatic target identification has gotten more and more attention, and is a research difficulty in the area of underwater optical imaging information processing. Today, underwater automatic target identification based on optical imaging is usually realized with the method of digital circuit software programming. The algorithm realization and control of this method is very flexible. However, the optical imaging information is 2D image even 3D image, the amount of imaging processing information is abundant, so the electronic hardware with pure digital algorithm will need long identification time and is hard to meet the demands of real-time identification. If adopt computer parallel processing, the identification speed can be improved, but it will increase complexity, size and power consumption. This paper attempts to apply optical correlation identification technology to realize underwater automatic target identification. The optics correlation identification technology utilizes the Fourier transform characteristic of Fourier lens which can accomplish Fourier transform of image information in the level of nanosecond, and optical space interconnection calculation has the features of parallel, high speed, large capacity and high resolution, combines the flexibility of calculation and control of digital circuit method to realize optoelectronic hybrid identification mode. We reduce theoretical formulation of correlation identification and analyze the principle of optical correlation identification, and write MATLAB simulation program. We adopt single frame image obtained in underwater range gating laser imaging to identify, and through identifying and locating the different positions of target, we can improve the speed and orientation efficiency of target identification effectively, and validate the feasibility of this method primarily.

Realization of the ergonomics design and automatic control of the fundus cameras

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zeng, Chi-liang; Xiao, Ze-xin; Deng, Shi-chao; Yu, Xin-ye

2012-12-01

The principles of ergonomics design in fundus cameras should be extending the agreeableness by automatic control. Firstly, a 3D positional numerical control system is designed for positioning the eye pupils of the patients who are doing fundus examinations. This system consists of a electronically controlled chin bracket for moving up and down, a lateral movement of binocular with the detector and the automatic refocusing of the edges of the eye pupils. Secondly, an auto-focusing device for the object plane of patient's fundus is designed, which collects the patient's fundus images automatically whether their eyes is ametropic or not. Finally, a moving visual target is developed for expanding the fields of the fundus images.

Automatic transducer switching provides accurate wide range measurement of pressure differential

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Yoder, S. K.

1967-01-01

Automatic pressure transducer switching network sequentially selects any one of a number of limited-range transducers as gas pressure rises or falls, extending the range of measurement and lessening the chances of damage due to high pressure.

Multiatlas whole heart segmentation of CT data using conditional entropy for atlas ranking and selection

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhuang, Xiahai, E-mail: zhuangxiahai@sjtu.edu.cn; Qian, Xiaohua; Bai, Wenjia

Purpose: Cardiac computed tomography (CT) is widely used in clinical diagnosis of cardiovascular diseases. Whole heart segmentation (WHS) plays a vital role in developing new clinical applications of cardiac CT. However, the shape and appearance of the heart can vary greatly across different scans, making the automatic segmentation particularly challenging. The objective of this work is to develop and evaluate a multiatlas segmentation (MAS) scheme using a new atlas ranking and selection algorithm for automatic WHS of CT data. Research on different MAS strategies and their influence on WHS performance are limited. This work provides a detailed comparison study evaluatingmore » the impacts of label fusion, atlas ranking, and sizes of the atlas database on the segmentation performance. Methods: Atlases in a database were registered to the target image using a hierarchical registration scheme specifically designed for cardiac images. A subset of the atlases were selected for label fusion, according to the authors’ proposed atlas ranking criterion which evaluated the performance of each atlas by computing the conditional entropy of the target image given the propagated atlas labeling. Joint label fusion was used to combine multiple label estimates to obtain the final segmentation. The authors used 30 clinical cardiac CT angiography (CTA) images to evaluate the proposed MAS scheme and to investigate different segmentation strategies. Results: The mean WHS Dice score of the proposed MAS method was 0.918 ± 0.021, and the mean runtime for one case was 13.2 min on a workstation. This MAS scheme using joint label fusion generated significantly better Dice scores than the other label fusion strategies, including majority voting (0.901 ± 0.276, p < 0.01), locally weighted voting (0.905 ± 0.0247, p < 0.01), and probabilistic patch-based fusion (0.909 ± 0.0249, p < 0.01). In the atlas ranking study, the proposed criterion based on conditional entropy yielded a performance curve with higher WHS Dice scores compared to the conventional schemes (p < 0.03). In the atlas database study, the authors showed that the MAS using larger atlas databases generated better performance curves than the MAS using smaller ones, indicating larger atlas databases could produce more accurate segmentation. Conclusions: The authors have developed a new MAS framework for automatic WHS of CTA and investigated alternative implementations of MAS. With the proposed atlas ranking algorithm and joint label fusion, the MAS scheme is able to generate accurate segmentation within practically acceptable computation time. This method can be useful for the development of new clinical applications of cardiac CT.« less

Performance of automatic scanning microscope for nuclear emulsion experiments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Güler, A. Murat; Altınok, Özgür

2015-12-01

The impressive improvements in scanning technology and methods let nuclear emulsion to be used as a target in recent large experiments. We report the performance of an automatic scanning microscope for nuclear emulsion experiments. After successful calibration and alignment of the system, we have reached 99% tracking efficiency for the minimum ionizing tracks that penetrating through the emulsions films. The automatic scanning system is successfully used for the scanning of emulsion films in the OPERA experiment and plan to use for the next generation of nuclear emulsion experiments.

Performance of automatic scanning microscope for nuclear emulsion experiments

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Güler, A. Murat, E-mail: mguler@newton.physics.metu.edu.tr; Altınok, Özgür; Tufts University, Medford, MA 02155

The impressive improvements in scanning technology and methods let nuclear emulsion to be used as a target in recent large experiments. We report the performance of an automatic scanning microscope for nuclear emulsion experiments. After successful calibration and alignment of the system, we have reached 99% tracking efficiency for the minimum ionizing tracks that penetrating through the emulsions films. The automatic scanning system is successfully used for the scanning of emulsion films in the OPERA experiment and plan to use for the next generation of nuclear emulsion experiments.

Electro-optic tracking R&D for defense surveillance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sutherland, Stuart; Woodruff, Chris J.

1995-09-01

Two aspects of work on automatic target detection and tracking for electro-optic (EO) surveillance are described. Firstly, a detection and tracking algorithm test-bed developed by DSTO and running on a PC under Windows NT is being used to assess candidate algorithms for unresolved and minimally resolved target detection. The structure of this test-bed is described and examples are given of its user interfaces and outputs. Secondly, a development by Australian industry under a Defence-funded contract, of a reconfigurable generic track processor (GTP) is outlined. The GTP will include reconfigurable image processing stages and target tracking algorithms. It will be used to demonstrate to the Australian Defence Force automatic detection and tracking capabilities, and to serve as a hardware base for real time algorithm refinement.

Automatic parameter selection for feature-based multi-sensor image registration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

DelMarco, Stephen; Tom, Victor; Webb, Helen; Chao, Alan

2006-05-01

Accurate image registration is critical for applications such as precision targeting, geo-location, change-detection, surveillance, and remote sensing. However, the increasing volume of image data is exceeding the current capacity of human analysts to perform manual registration. This image data glut necessitates the development of automated approaches to image registration, including algorithm parameter value selection. Proper parameter value selection is crucial to the success of registration techniques. The appropriate algorithm parameters can be highly scene and sensor dependent. Therefore, robust algorithm parameter value selection approaches are a critical component of an end-to-end image registration algorithm. In previous work, we developed a general framework for multisensor image registration which includes feature-based registration approaches. In this work we examine the problem of automated parameter selection. We apply the automated parameter selection approach of Yitzhaky and Peli to select parameters for feature-based registration of multisensor image data. The approach consists of generating multiple feature-detected images by sweeping over parameter combinations and using these images to generate estimated ground truth. The feature-detected images are compared to the estimated ground truth images to generate ROC points associated with each parameter combination. We develop a strategy for selecting the optimal parameter set by choosing the parameter combination corresponding to the optimal ROC point. We present numerical results showing the effectiveness of the approach using registration of collected SAR data to reference EO data.

Different effects of the two types of spatial pre-cueing: what precisely is "attention" in Di Lollo's and Enns' substitution masking theory?

PubMed

Luiga, I; Bachmann, T

2007-11-01

Enns and Di Lollo [Psychological Science, 8 (2), 135-139, 1997] have introduced the object substitution theory of visual masking. Object substitution masking occurs when focusing attention on the target is delayed. However, Posner (Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 32, 3-25, 1980) has already shown that attention can be directed to a target at least in two ways: intentionally (endogenously) and automatically (exogenously). We conducted two experiments to explore the effects of endogenous and exogenous cues on substitution masking. The results showed that when attention was shifted to the target location automatically (using a local peripheral pre-cue), masking was attenuated. A decrease in target identification dependent on a delay of mask offset, typical to substitution masking, was not observed. However, strong substitution masking occurred when the target location was not pre-cued or when attention was directed to the target location intentionally (using a symbolic pre-cue displayed centrally). The hypothesis of two different mechanisms of attentional control in substitution masking was confirmed.

StochKit2: software for discrete stochastic simulation of biochemical systems with events.

PubMed

Sanft, Kevin R; Wu, Sheng; Roh, Min; Fu, Jin; Lim, Rone Kwei; Petzold, Linda R

2011-09-01

StochKit2 is the first major upgrade of the popular StochKit stochastic simulation software package. StochKit2 provides highly efficient implementations of several variants of Gillespie's stochastic simulation algorithm (SSA), and tau-leaping with automatic step size selection. StochKit2 features include automatic selection of the optimal SSA method based on model properties, event handling, and automatic parallelism on multicore architectures. The underlying structure of the code has been completely updated to provide a flexible framework for extending its functionality. StochKit2 runs on Linux/Unix, Mac OS X and Windows. It is freely available under GPL version 3 and can be downloaded from http://sourceforge.net/projects/stochkit/. petzold@engineering.ucsb.edu.

Comparison of automatic procedures in the selection of peaks over threshold in flood frequency analysis: A Canadian case study in the context of climate change

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Durocher, M.; Mostofi Zadeh, S.; Burn, D. H.; Ashkar, F.

2017-12-01

Floods are one of the most costly hazards and frequency analysis of river discharges is an important part of the tools at our disposal to evaluate their inherent risks and to provide an adequate response. In comparison to the common examination of annual streamflow maximums, peaks over threshold (POT) is an interesting alternative that makes better use of the available information by including more than one flood event per year (on average). However, a major challenge is the selection of a satisfactory threshold above which peaks are assumed to respect certain conditions necessary for an adequate estimation of the risk. Additionally, studies have shown that POT is also a valuable approach to investigate the evolution of flood regimes in the context of climate change. Recently, automatic procedures for the selection of the threshold were suggested to guide that important choice, which otherwise rely on graphical tools and expert judgment. Furthermore, having an automatic procedure that is objective allows for quickly repeating the analysis on a large number of samples, which is useful in the context of large databases or for uncertainty analysis based on a resampling approach. This study investigates the impact of considering such procedures in a case study including many sites across Canada. A simulation study is conducted to evaluate the bias and predictive power of the automatic procedures in similar conditions as well as investigating the power of derived nonstationarity tests. The results obtained are also evaluated in the light of expert judgments established in a previous study. Ultimately, this study provides a thorough examination of the considerations that need to be addressed when conducting POT analysis using automatic threshold selection.

Automatic selection of localized region-based active contour models using image content analysis applied to brain tumor segmentation.

PubMed

Ilunga-Mbuyamba, Elisee; Avina-Cervantes, Juan Gabriel; Cepeda-Negrete, Jonathan; Ibarra-Manzano, Mario Alberto; Chalopin, Claire

2017-12-01

Brain tumor segmentation is a routine process in a clinical setting and provides useful information for diagnosis and treatment planning. Manual segmentation, performed by physicians or radiologists, is a time-consuming task due to the large quantity of medical data generated presently. Hence, automatic segmentation methods are needed, and several approaches have been introduced in recent years including the Localized Region-based Active Contour Model (LRACM). There are many popular LRACM, but each of them presents strong and weak points. In this paper, the automatic selection of LRACM based on image content and its application on brain tumor segmentation is presented. Thereby, a framework to select one of three LRACM, i.e., Local Gaussian Distribution Fitting (LGDF), localized Chan-Vese (C-V) and Localized Active Contour Model with Background Intensity Compensation (LACM-BIC), is proposed. Twelve visual features are extracted to properly select the method that may process a given input image. The system is based on a supervised approach. Applied specifically to Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) images, the experiments showed that the proposed system is able to correctly select the suitable LRACM to handle a specific image. Consequently, the selection framework achieves better accuracy performance than the three LRACM separately. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automatic programming of simulation models

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schroer, Bernard J.; Tseng, Fan T.; Zhang, Shou X.; Dwan, Wen S.

1988-01-01

The objective of automatic programming is to improve the overall environment for describing the program. This improved environment is realized by a reduction in the amount of detail that the programmer needs to know and is exposed to. Furthermore, this improved environment is achieved by a specification language that is more natural to the user's problem domain and to the user's way of thinking and looking at the problem. The goal of this research is to apply the concepts of automatic programming (AP) to modeling discrete event simulation system. Specific emphasis is on the design and development of simulation tools to assist the modeler define or construct a model of the system and to then automatically write the corresponding simulation code in the target simulation language, GPSS/PC. A related goal is to evaluate the feasibility of various languages for constructing automatic programming simulation tools.

Reward-associated features capture attention in the absence of awareness: Evidence from object-substitution masking.

PubMed

Harris, Joseph A; Donohue, Sarah E; Schoenfeld, Mircea A; Hopf, Jens-Max; Heinze, Hans-Jochen; Woldorff, Marty G

2016-08-15

Reward-associated visual features have been shown to capture visual attention, evidenced in faster and more accurate behavioral performance, as well as in neural responses reflecting lateralized shifts of visual attention to those features. Specifically, the contralateral N2pc event-related-potential (ERP) component that reflects attentional shifting exhibits increased amplitude in response to task-relevant targets containing a reward-associated feature. In the present study, we examined the automaticity of such reward-association effects using object-substitution masking (OSM) in conjunction with MEG measures of visual attentional shifts. In OSM, a visual-search array is presented, with the target item to be detected indicated by a surrounding mask (here, four surrounding squares). Delaying the offset of the target-surrounding four-dot mask relative to the offset of the rest of the target/distracter array disrupts the viewer's awareness of the target (masked condition), whereas simultaneous offsets do not (unmasked condition). Here we manipulated whether the color of the OSM target was or was not of a previously reward-associated color. By tracking reward-associated enhancements of behavior and the N2pc in response to masked targets containing a previously rewarded or unrewarded feature, the automaticity of attentional capture by reward could be probed. We found an enhanced N2pc response to targets containing a previously reward-associated color feature. Moreover, this enhancement of the N2pc by reward did not differ between masking conditions, nor did it differ as a function of the apparent visibility of the target within the masked condition. Overall, these results underscore the automaticity of attentional capture by reward-associated features, and demonstrate the ability of feature-based reward associations to shape attentional capture and allocation outside of perceptual awareness. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A new automatic synthetic aperture radar-based flood mapping application hosted on the European Space Agency's Grid Processing of Demand Fast Access to Imagery environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Matgen, Patrick; Giustarini, Laura; Hostache, Renaud

2012-10-01

This paper introduces an automatic flood mapping application that is hosted on the Grid Processing on Demand (GPOD) Fast Access to Imagery (Faire) environment of the European Space Agency. The main objective of the online application is to deliver operationally flooded areas using both recent and historical acquisitions of SAR data. Having as a short-term target the flooding-related exploitation of data generated by the upcoming ESA SENTINEL-1 SAR mission, the flood mapping application consists of two building blocks: i) a set of query tools for selecting the "crisis image" and the optimal corresponding "reference image" from the G-POD archive and ii) an algorithm for extracting flooded areas via change detection using the previously selected "crisis image" and "reference image". Stakeholders in flood management and service providers are able to log onto the flood mapping application to get support for the retrieval, from the rolling archive, of the most appropriate reference image. Potential users will also be able to apply the implemented flood delineation algorithm. The latter combines histogram thresholding, region growing and change detection as an approach enabling the automatic, objective and reliable flood extent extraction from SAR images. Both algorithms are computationally efficient and operate with minimum data requirements. The case study of the high magnitude flooding event that occurred in July 2007 on the Severn River, UK, and that was observed with a moderateresolution SAR sensor as well as airborne photography highlights the performance of the proposed online application. The flood mapping application on G-POD can be used sporadically, i.e. whenever a major flood event occurs and there is a demand for SAR-based flood extent maps. In the long term, a potential extension of the application could consist in systematically extracting flooded areas from all SAR images acquired on a daily, weekly or monthly basis.

System for critical infrastructure security based on multispectral observation-detection module

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Trzaskawka, Piotr; Kastek, Mariusz; Życzkowski, Marek; Dulski, Rafał; Szustakowski, Mieczysław; Ciurapiński, Wiesław; Bareła, Jarosław

2013-10-01

Recent terrorist attacks and possibilities of such actions in future have forced to develop security systems for critical infrastructures that embrace sensors technologies and technical organization of systems. The used till now perimeter protection of stationary objects, based on construction of a ring with two-zone fencing, visual cameras with illumination are efficiently displaced by the systems of the multisensor technology that consists of: visible technology - day/night cameras registering optical contrast of a scene, thermal technology - cheap bolometric cameras recording thermal contrast of a scene and active ground radars - microwave and millimetre wavelengths that record and detect reflected radiation. Merging of these three different technologies into one system requires methodology for selection of technical conditions of installation and parameters of sensors. This procedure enables us to construct a system with correlated range, resolution, field of view and object identification. Important technical problem connected with the multispectral system is its software, which helps couple the radar with the cameras. This software can be used for automatic focusing of cameras, automatic guiding cameras to an object detected by the radar, tracking of the object and localization of the object on the digital map as well as target identification and alerting. Based on "plug and play" architecture, this system provides unmatched flexibility and simplistic integration of sensors and devices in TCP/IP networks. Using a graphical user interface it is possible to control sensors and monitor streaming video and other data over the network, visualize the results of data fusion process and obtain detailed information about detected intruders over a digital map. System provide high-level applications and operator workload reduction with features such as sensor to sensor cueing from detection devices, automatic e-mail notification and alarm triggering. The paper presents a structure and some elements of critical infrastructure protection solution which is based on a modular multisensor security system. System description is focused mainly on methodology of selection of sensors parameters. The results of the tests in real conditions are also presented.

Parallel basal ganglia circuits for voluntary and automatic behaviour to reach rewards

PubMed Central

Hikosaka, Okihide

2015-01-01

The basal ganglia control body movements, value processing and decision-making. Many studies have shown that the inputs and outputs of each basal ganglia structure are topographically organized, which suggests that the basal ganglia consist of separate circuits that serve distinct functions. A notable example is the circuits that originate from the rostral (head) and caudal (tail) regions of the caudate nucleus, both of which target the superior colliculus. These two caudate regions encode the reward values of visual objects differently: flexible (short-term) values by the caudate head and stable (long-term) values by the caudate tail. These value signals in the caudate guide the orienting of gaze differently: voluntary saccades by the caudate head circuit and automatic saccades by the caudate tail circuit. Moreover, separate groups of dopamine neurons innervate the caudate head and tail and may selectively guide the flexible and stable learning/memory in the caudate regions. Studies focusing on manual handling of objects also suggest that rostrocaudally separated circuits in the basal ganglia control the action differently. These results suggest that the basal ganglia contain parallel circuits for two steps of goal-directed behaviour: finding valuable objects and manipulating the valuable objects. These parallel circuits may underlie voluntary behaviour and automatic skills, enabling animals (including humans) to adapt to both volatile and stable environments. This understanding of the functions and mechanisms of the basal ganglia parallel circuits may inform the differential diagnosis and treatment of basal ganglia disorders. PMID:25981958

Profiling Animal Toxicants by Automatically Mining Public Bioassay Data: A Big Data Approach for Computational Toxicology

PubMed Central

Zhang, Jun; Hsieh, Jui-Hua; Zhu, Hao

2014-01-01

In vitro bioassays have been developed and are currently being evaluated as potential alternatives to traditional animal toxicity models. Already, the progress of high throughput screening techniques has resulted in an enormous amount of publicly available bioassay data having been generated for a large collection of compounds. When a compound is tested using a collection of various bioassays, all the testing results can be considered as providing a unique bio-profile for this compound, which records the responses induced when the compound interacts with different cellular systems or biological targets. Profiling compounds of environmental or pharmaceutical interest using useful toxicity bioassay data is a promising method to study complex animal toxicity. In this study, we developed an automatic virtual profiling tool to evaluate potential animal toxicants. First, we automatically acquired all PubChem bioassay data for a set of 4,841 compounds with publicly available rat acute toxicity results. Next, we developed a scoring system to evaluate the relevance between these extracted bioassays and animal acute toxicity. Finally, the top ranked bioassays were selected to profile the compounds of interest. The resulting response profiles proved to be useful to prioritize untested compounds for their animal toxicity potentials and form a potential in vitro toxicity testing panel. The protocol developed in this study could be combined with structure-activity approaches and used to explore additional publicly available bioassay datasets for modeling a broader range of animal toxicities. PMID:24950175

Profiling animal toxicants by automatically mining public bioassay data: a big data approach for computational toxicology.

PubMed

Zhang, Jun; Hsieh, Jui-Hua; Zhu, Hao

2014-01-01

In vitro bioassays have been developed and are currently being evaluated as potential alternatives to traditional animal toxicity models. Already, the progress of high throughput screening techniques has resulted in an enormous amount of publicly available bioassay data having been generated for a large collection of compounds. When a compound is tested using a collection of various bioassays, all the testing results can be considered as providing a unique bio-profile for this compound, which records the responses induced when the compound interacts with different cellular systems or biological targets. Profiling compounds of environmental or pharmaceutical interest using useful toxicity bioassay data is a promising method to study complex animal toxicity. In this study, we developed an automatic virtual profiling tool to evaluate potential animal toxicants. First, we automatically acquired all PubChem bioassay data for a set of 4,841 compounds with publicly available rat acute toxicity results. Next, we developed a scoring system to evaluate the relevance between these extracted bioassays and animal acute toxicity. Finally, the top ranked bioassays were selected to profile the compounds of interest. The resulting response profiles proved to be useful to prioritize untested compounds for their animal toxicity potentials and form a potential in vitro toxicity testing panel. The protocol developed in this study could be combined with structure-activity approaches and used to explore additional publicly available bioassay datasets for modeling a broader range of animal toxicities.

Locating Sequence on FPC Maps and Selecting a Minimal Tiling Path

PubMed Central

Engler, Friedrich W.; Hatfield, James; Nelson, William; Soderlund, Carol A.

2003-01-01

This study discusses three software tools, the first two aid in integrating sequence with an FPC physical map and the third automatically selects a minimal tiling path given genomic draft sequence and BAC end sequences. The first tool, FSD (FPC Simulated Digest), takes a sequenced clone and adds it back to the map based on a fingerprint generated by an in silico digest of the clone. This allows verification of sequenced clone positions and the integration of sequenced clones that were not originally part of the FPC map. The second tool, BSS (Blast Some Sequence), takes a query sequence and positions it on the map based on sequence associated with the clones in the map. BSS has multiple uses as follows: (1) When the query is a file of marker sequences, they can be added as electronic markers. (2) When the query is draft sequence, the results of BSS can be used to close gaps in a sequenced clone or the physical map. (3) When the query is a sequenced clone and the target is BAC end sequences, one may select the next clone for sequencing using both sequence comparison results and map location. (4) When the query is whole-genome draft sequence and the target is BAC end sequences, the results can be used to select many clones for a minimal tiling path at once. The third tool, pickMTP, automates the majority of this last usage of BSS. Results are presented using the rice FPC map, BAC end sequences, and whole-genome shotgun from Syngenta. PMID:12915486

Semantic Priming from Letter-Searched Primes Occurs for Low- but Not High-Frequency Targets: Automatic Semantic Access May Not Be a Myth

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tse, Chi-Shing; Neely, James H.

2007-01-01

Letter-search (LS) within a prime often eliminates semantic priming. In 2 lexical decision experiments, the authors found that priming from LS primes occurred for low-frequency (LF) but not high-frequency (HF) targets whether the target's word frequency was manipulated between or within participants and whether the prime-target pairs were…

Automatic targeting of plasma spray gun

DOEpatents

Abbatiello, Leonard A.; Neal, Richard E.

1978-01-01

A means for monitoring the material portion in the flame of a plasma spray gun during spraying operations is provided. A collimated detector, sensitive to certain wavelengths of light emission, is used to locate the centroid of the material with each pass of the gun. The response from the detector is then relayed to the gun controller to be used to automatically realign the gun.

Assisting People with Developmental Disabilities to Improve Computer Pointing Efficiency through Multiple Mice and Automatic Pointing Assistive Programs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shih, Ching-Hsiang

2011-01-01

This study combines multi-mice technology (people with disabilities can use standard mice, instead of specialized alternative computer input devices, to achieve complete mouse operation) with an assistive pointing function (i.e. cursor-capturing, which enables the user to move the cursor to the target center automatically), to assess whether two…

[Schizophrenia and semantic priming effects].

PubMed

Lecardeur, L; Giffard, B; Eustache, F; Dollfus, S

2006-01-01

This article is a review of studies using the semantic priming paradigm to assess the functioning of semantic memory in schizophrenic patients. Semantic priming describes the phenomenon of increasing the speed with which a string of letters (the target) is recognized as a word (lexical decision task) by presenting to the subject a semantically related word (the prime) prior to the appearance of the target word. This semantic priming is linked to both automatic and controlled processes depending on experimental conditions (stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA), percentage of related words and explicit memory instructions). Automatic process observed with short SOA, low related word percentage and instructions asking only to process the target, could be linked to the "automatic spreading activation" through the semantic network. Controlled processes involve "semantic matching" (the number of related and unrelated pairs influences the subjects decision) and "expectancy" (the prime leads the subject to generate an expectancy set of potential target to the prime). These processes can be observed whatever the SOA for the former and with long SOA for the later, but both with only high related word percentage and explicit memory instructions. Studies evaluating semantic priming effects in schizophrenia show conflicting results: schizophrenic patients can present hyperpriming (semantic priming effect is larger in patients than in controls), hypopriming (semantic priming effect is lower in patients than in controls) or equal semantic priming effects compared to control subjects. These results could be associated to a global impairment of controlled processes in schizophrenia, essentially to a dysfunction of semantic matching process. On the other hand, efficiency of semantic automatic spreading activation process is controversial. These discrepancies could be linked to the different experimental conditions used (duration of SOA, proportion of related pairs and instructions), which influence on the degree of involvement of controlled processes and therefore prevent to really assess its functioning. In addition, manipulations of the relation between prime and target (semantic distance, type of semantic relation and strength of semantic relation) seem to influence reaction times. However, the relation between prime and target (mediated priming) frequently used could not be the most relevant relation to understand the way of spreading of activation in semantic network in patients with schizophrenia. Finally, patients with formal thought disorders present particularly high priming effects relative to controls. These abnormal semantic priming effects could reflect a dysfunction of automatic spreading activation process and consequently an exaggerated diffusion of activation in the semantic network. In the future, the inclusion of different groups schizophrenic subjects could allow us to determine whether semantic memory disorders are pathognomonic or specific of a particular group of patients with schizophrenia.

An automatic tooth preparation technique: A preliminary study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yuan, Fusong; Wang, Yong; Zhang, Yaopeng; Sun, Yuchun; Wang, Dangxiao; Lyu, Peijun

2016-04-01

The aim of this study is to validate the feasibility and accuracy of a new automatic tooth preparation technique in dental healthcare. An automatic tooth preparation robotic device with three-dimensional motion planning software was developed, which controlled an ultra-short pulse laser (USPL) beam (wavelength 1,064 nm, pulse width 15 ps, output power 30 W, and repeat frequency rate 100 kHz) to complete the tooth preparation process. A total of 15 freshly extracted human intact first molars were collected and fixed into a phantom head, and the target preparation shapes of these molars were designed using customised computer-aided design (CAD) software. The accuracy of tooth preparation was evaluated using the Geomagic Studio and Imageware software, and the preparing time of each tooth was recorded. Compared with the target preparation shape, the average shape error of the 15 prepared molars was 0.05-0.17 mm, the preparation depth error of the occlusal surface was approximately 0.097 mm, and the error of the convergence angle was approximately 1.0°. The average preparation time was 17 minutes. These results validated the accuracy and feasibility of the automatic tooth preparation technique.

An automatic tooth preparation technique: A preliminary study.

PubMed

Yuan, Fusong; Wang, Yong; Zhang, Yaopeng; Sun, Yuchun; Wang, Dangxiao; Lyu, Peijun

2016-04-29

The aim of this study is to validate the feasibility and accuracy of a new automatic tooth preparation technique in dental healthcare. An automatic tooth preparation robotic device with three-dimensional motion planning software was developed, which controlled an ultra-short pulse laser (USPL) beam (wavelength 1,064 nm, pulse width 15 ps, output power 30 W, and repeat frequency rate 100 kHz) to complete the tooth preparation process. A total of 15 freshly extracted human intact first molars were collected and fixed into a phantom head, and the target preparation shapes of these molars were designed using customised computer-aided design (CAD) software. The accuracy of tooth preparation was evaluated using the Geomagic Studio and Imageware software, and the preparing time of each tooth was recorded. Compared with the target preparation shape, the average shape error of the 15 prepared molars was 0.05-0.17 mm, the preparation depth error of the occlusal surface was approximately 0.097 mm, and the error of the convergence angle was approximately 1.0°. The average preparation time was 17 minutes. These results validated the accuracy and feasibility of the automatic tooth preparation technique.

Confidence level estimation in multi-target classification problems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chang, Shi; Isaacs, Jason; Fu, Bo; Shin, Jaejeong; Zhu, Pingping; Ferrari, Silvia

2018-04-01

This paper presents an approach for estimating the confidence level in automatic multi-target classification performed by an imaging sensor on an unmanned vehicle. An automatic target recognition algorithm comprised of a deep convolutional neural network in series with a support vector machine classifier detects and classifies targets based on the image matrix. The joint posterior probability mass function of target class, features, and classification estimates is learned from labeled data, and recursively updated as additional images become available. Based on the learned joint probability mass function, the approach presented in this paper predicts the expected confidence level of future target classifications, prior to obtaining new images. The proposed approach is tested with a set of simulated sonar image data. The numerical results show that the estimated confidence level provides a close approximation to the actual confidence level value determined a posteriori, i.e. after the new image is obtained by the on-board sensor. Therefore, the expected confidence level function presented in this paper can be used to adaptively plan the path of the unmanned vehicle so as to optimize the expected confidence levels and ensure that all targets are classified with satisfactory confidence after the path is executed.

Seeing Blue As Red: A Hypnotic Suggestion Can Alter Visual Awareness of Colors.

PubMed

Kallio, Sakari; Koivisto, Mika

2016-01-01

Some highly hypnotizable individuals have reported changes in objects' color with suggestions given in normal waking state. However, it is not clear whether this occurs only in their imagination. The authors show that, although subjects could imagine colors, a posthypnotic suggestion was necessary for seeing altered colors, even for a hypnotic virtuoso. She reported posthypnotic color alterations also selectively in response to specific target shapes in briefly presented object arrays. Surprisingly, another highly hypnotizable person showed a very different pattern of results. The control participants could not simulate virtuosos' results by applying cognitive strategies. The results imply that hypnosis can alter the functioning of automatic visual processes but only in some of the most hypnotizable individuals.

Detection of helicopter landing sites in unprepared terrain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peinecke, Niklas

2014-06-01

The primary usefulness of helicopters shows in missions where regular aircraft cannot be used, especially HEMS (Helicopter Emergency Medical Services). This might be due to requirements for landing in unprepared areas without dedicated runway structures, and an extended exibility to y to more than one previously unprepared target. One example of such missions are search and rescue operations. An important task of such a mission is to locate a proper landing spot near the mission target. Usually, the pilot would have to evaluate possible landing sites by himself, which can be time-intensive, fuel-costly, and generally impossible when operating in degraded visual environments. We present a method for pre-selecting a list of possible landing sites. After specifying the intended size, orientation and geometry of the site, a choice of possibilities is presented to the pilot that can be ordered by means of wind direction, terrain constraints like maximal slope and roughness, and proximity to a mission target. The possible choices are calculated automatically either from a pre-existing terrain data base, or from sensor data collected during earlier missions, e.g., by collecting data with radar or laser sensors. Additional data like water-body maps and topological information can be taken into account to avoid landing in dangerous areas under adverse view conditions. In case of an emergency turnaround the list can be re-ordered to present alternative sites to the pilot. We outline the principle algorithm for selecting possible landing sites, and we present examples of calculated lists.

Robotic autopositioning of the operating microscope.

PubMed

Oppenlander, Mark E; Chowdhry, Shakeel A; Merkl, Brandon; Hattendorf, Guido M; Nakaji, Peter; Spetzler, Robert F

2014-06-01

Use of the operating microscope has become pervasive since its introduction to the neurosurgical world. Neuronavigation fused with the operating microscope has allowed accurate correlation of the focal point of the microscope and its location on the downloaded imaging study. However, the robotic ability of the Pentero microscope has not been utilized to orient the angle of the microscope or to change its focal length to hone in on a predefined target. To report a novel technology that allows automatic positioning of the operating microscope onto a set target and utilization of a planned trajectory, either determined with the StealthStation S7 by using preoperative imaging or intraoperatively with the microscope. By utilizing the current motorized capabilities of the Zeiss OPMI Pentero microscope, a robotic autopositioning feature was developed in collaboration with Surgical Technologies, Medtronic, Inc. (StealthStation S7). The system is currently being tested at the Barrow Neurological Institute. Three options were developed for automatically positioning the microscope: AutoLock Current Point, Align Parallel to Plan, and Point to Plan Target. These options allow the microscope to pivot around the lesion, hover in a set plane parallel to the determined trajectory, or rotate and point to a set target point, respectively. Integration of automatic microscope positioning into the operative workflow has potential to increase operative efficacy and safety. This technology is best suited for precise trajectories and entry points into deep-seated lesions.

10 CFR 431.373 - Enforcement.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... may conduct a review of the test records. The Secretary may then conduct enforcement testing of that...) For automatic commercial ice makers, as well as commercial refrigerators, freezers, and refrigerator... numbers to select the units to be tested. (ii) For automatic commercial ice makers, as well as commercial...

Detecting Cheaters without Thinking: Testing the Automaticity of the Cheater Detection Module

PubMed Central

Van Lier, Jens; Revlin, Russell; De Neys, Wim

2013-01-01

Evolutionary psychologists have suggested that our brain is composed of evolved mechanisms. One extensively studied mechanism is the cheater detection module. This module would make people very good at detecting cheaters in a social exchange. A vast amount of research has illustrated performance facilitation on social contract selection tasks. This facilitation is attributed to the alleged automatic and isolated operation of the module (i.e., independent of general cognitive capacity). This study, using the selection task, tested the critical automaticity assumption in three experiments. Experiments 1 and 2 established that performance on social contract versions did not depend on cognitive capacity or age. Experiment 3 showed that experimentally burdening cognitive resources with a secondary task had no impact on performance on the social contract version. However, in all experiments, performance on a non-social contract version did depend on available cognitive capacity. Overall, findings validate the automatic and effortless nature of social exchange reasoning. PMID:23342012

Approximation, abstraction and decomposition in search and optimization

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ellman, Thomas

1992-01-01

In this paper, I discuss four different areas of my research. One portion of my research has focused on automatic synthesis of search control heuristics for constraint satisfaction problems (CSPs). I have developed techniques for automatically synthesizing two types of heuristics for CSPs: Filtering functions are used to remove portions of a search space from consideration. Another portion of my research is focused on automatic synthesis of hierarchic algorithms for solving constraint satisfaction problems (CSPs). I have developed a technique for constructing hierarchic problem solvers based on numeric interval algebra. Another portion of my research is focused on automatic decomposition of design optimization problems. We are using the design of racing yacht hulls as a testbed domain for this research. Decomposition is especially important in the design of complex physical shapes such as yacht hulls. Another portion of my research is focused on intelligent model selection in design optimization. The model selection problem results from the difficulty of using exact models to analyze the performance of candidate designs.

An automatic multi-atlas prostate segmentation in MRI using a multiscale representation and a label fusion strategy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Álvarez, Charlens; Martínez, Fabio; Romero, Eduardo

2015-01-01

The pelvic magnetic Resonance images (MRI) are used in Prostate cancer radiotherapy (RT), a process which is part of the radiation planning. Modern protocols require a manual delineation, a tedious and variable activity that may take about 20 minutes per patient, even for trained experts. That considerable time is an important work ow burden in most radiological services. Automatic or semi-automatic methods might improve the efficiency by decreasing the measure times while conserving the required accuracy. This work presents a fully automatic atlas- based segmentation strategy that selects the more similar templates for a new MRI using a robust multi-scale SURF analysis. Then a new segmentation is achieved by a linear combination of the selected templates, which are previously non-rigidly registered towards the new image. The proposed method shows reliable segmentations, obtaining an average DICE Coefficient of 79%, when comparing with the expert manual segmentation, under a leave-one-out scheme with the training database.

All eyes on relevance: strategic allocation of attention as a result of feature-based task demands in multiple object tracking.

PubMed

Brockhoff, Alisa; Huff, Markus

2016-10-01

Multiple object tracking (MOT) plays a fundamental role in processing and interpreting dynamic environments. Regarding the type of information utilized by the observer, recent studies reported evidence for the use of object features in an automatic, low- level manner. By introducing a novel paradigm that allowed us to combine tracking with a noninterfering top-down task, we tested whether a voluntary component can regulate the deployment of attention to task-relevant features in a selective manner. In four experiments we found conclusive evidence for a task-driven selection mechanism that guides attention during tracking: The observers were able to ignore or prioritize distinct objects. They marked the distinct (cued) object (target/distractor) more or less often than other objects of the same type (targets /distractors)-but only when they had received an identification task that required them to actively process object features (cues) during tracking. These effects are discussed with regard to existing theoretical approaches to attentive tracking, gaze-cue usability as well as attentional readiness, a term that originally stems from research on attention capture and visual search. Our findings indicate that existing theories of MOT need to be adjusted to allow for flexible top-down, voluntary processing during tracking.

Physics-Based Image Segmentation Using First Order Statistical Properties and Genetic Algorithm for Inductive Thermography Imaging.

PubMed

Gao, Bin; Li, Xiaoqing; Woo, Wai Lok; Tian, Gui Yun

2018-05-01

Thermographic inspection has been widely applied to non-destructive testing and evaluation with the capabilities of rapid, contactless, and large surface area detection. Image segmentation is considered essential for identifying and sizing defects. To attain a high-level performance, specific physics-based models that describe defects generation and enable the precise extraction of target region are of crucial importance. In this paper, an effective genetic first-order statistical image segmentation algorithm is proposed for quantitative crack detection. The proposed method automatically extracts valuable spatial-temporal patterns from unsupervised feature extraction algorithm and avoids a range of issues associated with human intervention in laborious manual selection of specific thermal video frames for processing. An internal genetic functionality is built into the proposed algorithm to automatically control the segmentation threshold to render enhanced accuracy in sizing the cracks. Eddy current pulsed thermography will be implemented as a platform to demonstrate surface crack detection. Experimental tests and comparisons have been conducted to verify the efficacy of the proposed method. In addition, a global quantitative assessment index F-score has been adopted to objectively evaluate the performance of different segmentation algorithms.

An Evaluation of Feature Learning Methods for High Resolution Image Classification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tokarczyk, P.; Montoya, J.; Schindler, K.

2012-07-01

Automatic image classification is one of the fundamental problems of remote sensing research. The classification problem is even more challenging in high-resolution images of urban areas, where the objects are small and heterogeneous. Two questions arise, namely which features to extract from the raw sensor data to capture the local radiometry and image structure at each pixel or segment, and which classification method to apply to the feature vectors. While classifiers are nowadays well understood, selecting the right features remains a largely empirical process. Here we concentrate on the features. Several methods are evaluated which allow one to learn suitable features from unlabelled image data by analysing the image statistics. In a comparative study, we evaluate unsupervised feature learning with different linear and non-linear learning methods, including principal component analysis (PCA) and deep belief networks (DBN). We also compare these automatically learned features with popular choices of ad-hoc features including raw intensity values, standard combinations like the NDVI, a few PCA channels, and texture filters. The comparison is done in a unified framework using the same images, the target classes, reference data and a Random Forest classifier.

CavityPlus: a web server for protein cavity detection with pharmacophore modelling, allosteric site identification and covalent ligand binding ability prediction.

PubMed

Xu, Youjun; Wang, Shiwei; Hu, Qiwan; Gao, Shuaishi; Ma, Xiaomin; Zhang, Weilin; Shen, Yihang; Chen, Fangjin; Lai, Luhua; Pei, Jianfeng

2018-05-10

CavityPlus is a web server that offers protein cavity detection and various functional analyses. Using protein three-dimensional structural information as the input, CavityPlus applies CAVITY to detect potential binding sites on the surface of a given protein structure and rank them based on ligandability and druggability scores. These potential binding sites can be further analysed using three submodules, CavPharmer, CorrSite, and CovCys. CavPharmer uses a receptor-based pharmacophore modelling program, Pocket, to automatically extract pharmacophore features within cavities. CorrSite identifies potential allosteric ligand-binding sites based on motion correlation analyses between cavities. CovCys automatically detects druggable cysteine residues, which is especially useful to identify novel binding sites for designing covalent allosteric ligands. Overall, CavityPlus provides an integrated platform for analysing comprehensive properties of protein binding cavities. Such analyses are useful for many aspects of drug design and discovery, including target selection and identification, virtual screening, de novo drug design, and allosteric and covalent-binding drug design. The CavityPlus web server is freely available at http://repharma.pku.edu.cn/cavityplus or http://www.pkumdl.cn/cavityplus.

Multiple sclerosis lesion segmentation using an automatic multimodal graph cuts.

PubMed

García-Lorenzo, Daniel; Lecoeur, Jeremy; Arnold, Douglas L; Collins, D Louis; Barillot, Christian

2009-01-01

Graph Cuts have been shown as a powerful interactive segmentation technique in several medical domains. We propose to automate the Graph Cuts in order to automatically segment Multiple Sclerosis (MS) lesions in MRI. We replace the manual interaction with a robust EM-based approach in order to discriminate between MS lesions and the Normal Appearing Brain Tissues (NABT). Evaluation is performed in synthetic and real images showing good agreement between the automatic segmentation and the target segmentation. We compare our algorithm with the state of the art techniques and with several manual segmentations. An advantage of our algorithm over previously published ones is the possibility to semi-automatically improve the segmentation due to the Graph Cuts interactive feature.

Target recognition of log-polar ladar range images using moment invariants

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xia, Wenze; Han, Shaokun; Cao, Jie; Yu, Haoyong

2017-01-01

The ladar range image has received considerable attentions in the automatic target recognition field. However, previous research does not cover target recognition using log-polar ladar range images. Therefore, we construct a target recognition system based on log-polar ladar range images in this paper. In this system combined moment invariants and backpropagation neural network are selected as shape descriptor and shape classifier, respectively. In order to fully analyze the effect of log-polar sampling pattern on recognition result, several comparative experiments based on simulated and real range images are carried out. Eventually, several important conclusions are drawn: (i) if combined moments are computed directly by log-polar range images, translation, rotation and scaling invariant properties of combined moments will be invalid (ii) when object is located in the center of field of view, recognition rate of log-polar range images is less sensitive to the changing of field of view (iii) as object position changes from center to edge of field of view, recognition performance of log-polar range images will decline dramatically (iv) log-polar range images has a better noise robustness than Cartesian range images. Finally, we give a suggestion that it is better to divide field of view into recognition area and searching area in the real application.

Integrated approach for automatic target recognition using a network of collaborative sensors.

PubMed

Mahalanobis, Abhijit; Van Nevel, Alan

2006-10-01

We introduce what is believed to be a novel concept by which several sensors with automatic target recognition (ATR) capability collaborate to recognize objects. Such an approach would be suitable for netted systems in which the sensors and platforms can coordinate to optimize end-to-end performance. We use correlation filtering techniques to facilitate the development of the concept, although other ATR algorithms may be easily substituted. Essentially, a self-configuring geometry of netted platforms is proposed that positions the sensors optimally with respect to each other, and takes into account the interactions among the sensor, the recognition algorithms, and the classes of the objects to be recognized. We show how such a paradigm optimizes overall performance, and illustrate the collaborative ATR scheme for recognizing targets in synthetic aperture radar imagery by using viewing position as a sensor parameter.

Uncovering effects of self-control and stimulus-driven action selection on the sense of agency.

PubMed

Wang, Yuru; Damen, Tom G E; Aarts, Henk

2017-10-01

The sense of agency refers to feelings of causing one's own action and resulting effect. Previous research indicates that voluntary action selection is an important factor in shaping the sense of agency. Whereas the volitional nature of the sense of agency is well documented, the present study examined whether agency is modulated when action selection shifts from self-control to a more automatic stimulus-driven process. Seventy-two participants performed an auditory Simon task including congruent and incongruent trials to generate automatic stimulus-driven vs. more self-control driven action, respectively. Responses in the Simon task produced a tone and agency was assessed with the intentional binding task - an implicit measure of agency. Results showed a Simon effect and temporal binding effect. However, temporal binding was independent of congruency. These findings suggest that temporal binding, a window to the sense of agency, emerges for both automatic stimulus-driven actions and self-controlled actions. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A comparison of the comfort and convenience of automatic safety belt systems among selected 1988-1989 model year automobiles

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1989-06-01

Author's abstract: A nonrandom sample of 120 disproportionately short, tall, and overweight drivers compared the comfort and convenience of the automatic safety belt systems used in seventeen automobiles. Nine vehicles had motorized shoulder belts wi...

Automatic, Multiple Assessment Options in Undergraduate Meteorology Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kahl, Jonathan D. W.

2017-01-01

Since 2008, automatic, multiple assessment options have been utilised in selected undergraduate meteorology courses at the University of Wisconsin--Milwaukee. Motivated by a desire to reduce stress among students, the assessment methodology includes examination-heavy and homework-heavy alternatives, differing by an adjustable 15% of the overall…

Dosimetric validation for an automatic brain metastases planning software using single-isocenter dynamic conformal arcsDosimetric validation for an automatic brain metastases planning software using single-isocenter dynamic conformal arcs.

PubMed

Liu, Haisong; Li, Jun; Pappas, Evangelos; Andrews, David; Evans, James; Werner-Wasik, Maria; Yu, Yan; Dicker, Adam; Shi, Wenyin

2016-09-08

An automatic brain-metastases planning (ABMP) software has been installed in our institution. It is dedicated for treating multiple brain metastases with radiosurgery on linear accelerators (linacs) using a single-setup isocenter with noncoplanar dynamic conformal arcs. This study is to validate the calculated absolute dose and dose distribution of ABMP. Three types of measurements were performed to validate the planning software: 1, dual micro ion chambers were used with an acrylic phantom to measure the absolute dose; 2, a 3D cylindrical phantom with dual diode array was used to evaluate 2D dose distribution and point dose for smaller targets; and 3, a 3D pseudo-in vivo patient-specific phantom filled with polymer gels was used to evaluate the accuracy of 3D dose distribution and radia-tion delivery. Micro chamber measurement of two targets (volumes of 1.2 cc and 0.9 cc, respectively) showed that the percentage differences of the absolute dose at both targets were less than 1%. Averaged GI passing rate of five different plans measured with the diode array phantom was above 98%, using criteria of 3% dose difference, 1 mm distance to agreement (DTA), and 10% low-dose threshold. 3D gel phantom measurement results demonstrated a 3D displacement of nine targets of 0.7 ± 0.4 mm (range 0.2 ~ 1.1 mm). The averaged two-dimensional (2D) GI passing rate for several region of interests (ROI) on axial slices that encompass each one of the nine targets was above 98% (5% dose difference, 2 mm DTA, and 10% low-dose threshold). Measured D95, the minimum dose that covers 95% of the target volume, of the nine targets was 0.7% less than the calculated D95. Three different types of dosimetric verification methods were used and proved the dose calculation of the new automatic brain metastases planning (ABMP) software was clinical acceptable. The 3D pseudo-in vivo patient-specific gel phantom test also served as an end-to-end test for validating not only the dose calculation, but the treatment delivery accuracy as well. © 2016 The Authors.

SU-F-T-618: Evaluation of a Mono-Isocentric Treatment Planning Software for Stereotactic Radiosurgery of Multiple Brain Metastases

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sham, E; Sattarivand, M; Mulroy, L

Purpose: To evaluate planning performance of an automated treatment planning software (BrainLAB; Elements) for stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) of multiple brain metastases. Methods: Brainlab’s Multiple Metastases Elements (MME) uses single isocentric technique to treat up to 10 cranial planning target volumes (PTVs). The planning algorithm of the MME accounts for multiple PTVs overlapping with one another on the beam eyes view (BEV) and automatically selects a subset of all overlapping PTVs on each arc for sparing normal tissues in the brain. The algorithm also optimizes collimator angles, margins between multi-leaf collimators (MLCs) and PTVs, as well as monitor units (MUs) usingmore » minimization of conformity index (CI) for all targets. Planning performance was evaluated by comparing the MME-calculated treatment plan parameters with the same parameters calculated with the Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy (VMAT) optimization on Varian’s Eclipse platform. Results: Figures 1 to 3 compare several treatment plan outcomes calculated between the MME and VMAT for 5 clinical multi-targets SRS patient plans. Prescribed target dose was volume-dependent and defined based on the RTOG recommendation. For a total number of 18 PTV’s, mean values for the CI, PITV, and GI were comparable between the MME and VMAT within one standard deviation (σ). However, MME-calculated MDPD was larger than the same VMAT-calculated parameter. While both techniques delivered similar maximum point doses to the critical cranial structures and total MU’s for the 5 patient plans, the MME required less treatment planning time by an order of magnitude compared to VMAT. Conclusion: The MME and VMAT produce similar plan qualities in terms of MUs, target dose conformation, and OAR dose sparing. While the selective use of PTVs for arc-optimization with the MME reduces significantly the total planning time in comparison to VMAT, the target dose homogeneity was also compromised due to its simplified inverse planning algorithm used.« less

How does the 'rest-self overlap' mediate the qualitative and automatic features of self-reference?

PubMed

Northoff, Georg

2016-01-01

The target article points out the qualitative and automatic features of self-reference while leaving open the underlying neural mechanisms. Based on empirical evidence about rest-self overlap and rest-stimulus interaction being special for self-related stimuli, I postulate that the resting state shows self-specific organization. The resting state's self-specific organization may be encoded by activity balances between different networks which in turn predispose the qualitative features of subsequent self-related stimulus-induced activity in, for instance, SAN as well as the automatic features of self-reference effects.

Energy Engineering Analysis Program. Lighting Survey of Selected Buildings, Pine Bluff Arsenal, Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Volume 2A: Appendices

DTIC Science & Technology

1995-06-01

Energy efficient, 30 and 40 watt ballasts are Rapid Start, thermally protected, automatic resetting. Class P, high or low power factor as required...BALLASTS Energy efficient, 30 ana 40 watt Rapic Start, thermally protected, automatic resetting. Class P. high power factor, CEM, sound rated A. unless...BALLASTS Energy efficient, 40 Watt Rapid Start, thermally protected, automatic resetting, Class P, high power factor, CBM, sound rated A, unless

Application of industrial robots in automatic disassembly line of waste LCD displays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Sujuan

2017-11-01

In the automatic disassembly line of waste LCD displays, LCD displays are disassembled into plastic shells, metal shields, circuit boards, and LCD panels. Two industrial robots are used to cut metal shields and remove circuit boards in this automatic disassembly line. The functions of these two industrial robots, and the solutions to the critical issues of model selection, the interfaces with PLCs and the workflows were described in detail in this paper.

Attention Modifies Spatial Resolution According to Task Demands.

PubMed

Barbot, Antoine; Carrasco, Marisa

2017-03-01

How does visual attention affect spatial resolution? In texture-segmentation tasks, exogenous (involuntary) attention automatically increases resolution at the attended location, which improves performance where resolution is too low (at the periphery) but impairs performance where resolution is already too high (at central locations). Conversely, endogenous (voluntary) attention improves performance at all eccentricities, which suggests a more flexible mechanism. Here, using selective adaptation to spatial frequency, we investigated the mechanism by which endogenous attention benefits performance in resolution tasks. Participants detected a texture target that could appear at several eccentricities. Adapting to high or low spatial frequencies selectively affected performance in a manner consistent with changes in resolution. Moreover, adapting to high, but not low, frequencies mitigated the attentional benefit at central locations where resolution was too high; this shows that attention can improve performance by decreasing resolution. Altogether, our results indicate that endogenous attention benefits performance by modulating the contribution of high-frequency information in order to flexibly adjust spatial resolution according to task demands.

Ring-averaged ion velocity distribution function probe for laboratory magnetized plasma experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kawamori, Eiichirou; Chen, Jinting; Lin, Chiahsuan; Lee, Zongmau

2017-10-01

Ring-averaged velocity distribution function of ions at a fixed guiding center position is a fundamental quantity in the gyrokinetic plasma physics. We have developed a diagnostic tool for the ring averaged velocity distribution function of ions for laboratory plasma experiments, which is named as the ring-averaged ion distribution function probe (RIDFP). The RIDFP is a set of ion collectors for different velocities. It is designed to be immersed in magnetized plasmas and achieves momentum selection of incoming ions by the selection of the ion Larmor radii. To nullify the influence of the sheath potential surrounding the RIDFP on the orbits of the incoming ions, the electrostatic potential of the RIDFP body is automatically adjusted to coincide with the space potential of the target plasma with the use of an emissive probe and a voltage follower. The developed RIDFP successfully measured the equilibrium ring-averaged velocity distribution function of a laboratory magnetized plasma, which was in accordance with the Maxwellian distribution having an ion temperature of 0.2 eV.

Attention Modifies Spatial Resolution According to Task Demands

PubMed Central

Barbot, Antoine; Carrasco, Marisa

2017-01-01

How does visual attention affect spatial resolution? In texture-segmentation tasks, exogenous (involuntary) attention automatically increases resolution at the attended location, which improves performance where resolution is too low (at the periphery) but impairs performance where resolution is already too high (at central locations). Conversely, endogenous (voluntary) attention improves performance at all eccentricities, which suggests a more flexible mechanism. Here, using selective adaptation to spatial frequency, we investigated the mechanism by which endogenous attention benefits performance in resolution tasks. Participants detected a texture target that could appear at several eccentricities. Adapting to high or low spatial frequencies selectively affected performance in a manner consistent with changes in resolution. Moreover, adapting to high, but not low, frequencies mitigated the attentional benefit at central locations where resolution was too high; this shows that attention can improve performance by decreasing resolution. Altogether, our results indicate that endogenous attention benefits performance by modulating the contribution of high-frequency information in order to flexibly adjust spatial resolution according to task demands. PMID:28118103

Ring-averaged ion velocity distribution function probe for laboratory magnetized plasma experiment.

PubMed

Kawamori, Eiichirou; Chen, Jinting; Lin, Chiahsuan; Lee, Zongmau

2017-10-01

Ring-averaged velocity distribution function of ions at a fixed guiding center position is a fundamental quantity in the gyrokinetic plasma physics. We have developed a diagnostic tool for the ring averaged velocity distribution function of ions for laboratory plasma experiments, which is named as the ring-averaged ion distribution function probe (RIDFP). The RIDFP is a set of ion collectors for different velocities. It is designed to be immersed in magnetized plasmas and achieves momentum selection of incoming ions by the selection of the ion Larmor radii. To nullify the influence of the sheath potential surrounding the RIDFP on the orbits of the incoming ions, the electrostatic potential of the RIDFP body is automatically adjusted to coincide with the space potential of the target plasma with the use of an emissive probe and a voltage follower. The developed RIDFP successfully measured the equilibrium ring-averaged velocity distribution function of a laboratory magnetized plasma, which was in accordance with the Maxwellian distribution having an ion temperature of 0.2 eV.

Clinical evaluation of new automatic coronary-specific best cardiac phase selection algorithm for single-beat coronary CT angiography.

PubMed

Wang, Hui; Xu, Lei; Fan, Zhanming; Liang, Junfu; Yan, Zixu; Sun, Zhonghua

2017-01-01

The aim of this study was to evaluate the workflow efficiency of a new automatic coronary-specific reconstruction technique (Smart Phase, GE Healthcare-SP) for selection of the best cardiac phase with least coronary motion when compared with expert manual selection (MS) of best phase in patients with high heart rate. A total of 46 patients with heart rates above 75 bpm who underwent single beat coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) were enrolled in this study. CCTA of all subjects were performed on a 256-detector row CT scanner (Revolution CT, GE Healthcare, Waukesha, Wisconsin, US). With the SP technique, the acquired phase range was automatically searched in 2% phase intervals during the reconstruction process to determine the optimal phase for coronary assessment, while for routine expert MS, reconstructions were performed at 5% intervals and a best phase was manually determined. The reconstruction and review times were recorded to measure the workflow efficiency for each method. Two reviewers subjectively assessed image quality for each coronary artery in the MS and SP reconstruction volumes using a 4-point grading scale. The average HR of the enrolled patients was 91.1±19.0bpm. A total of 204 vessels were assessed. The subjective image quality using SP was comparable to that of the MS, 1.45±0.85 vs 1.43±0.81 respectively (p = 0.88). The average time was 246 seconds for the manual best phase selection, and 98 seconds for the SP selection, resulting in average time saving of 148 seconds (60%) with use of the SP algorithm. The coronary specific automatic cardiac best phase selection technique (Smart Phase) improves clinical workflow in high heart rate patients and provides image quality comparable with manual cardiac best phase selection. Reconstruction of single-beat CCTA exams with SP can benefit the users with less experienced in CCTA image interpretation.

Targetting and guidance program documentation. [a user's manual

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Harrold, E. F.; Neyhard, J. F.

1974-01-01

A FORTRAN computer program was developed which automatically targets two and three burn rendezvous missions and performs feedback guidance using the GUIDE algorithm. The program was designed to accept a large class of orbit specifications and to automatically choose a two or three burn mission depending upon the time alignment of the vehicle and target. The orbits may be specified as any combination of circular and elliptical orbits and may be coplanar or inclined, but must be aligned coaxially with their perigees in the same direction. The program accomplishes the required targeting by repeatedly converging successively more complex missions. It solves the coplanar impulsive version of the mission, then the finite burn coplanar mission, and finally, the full plane change mission. The GUIDE algorithm is exercised in a feedback guidance mode by taking the targeted solution and moving the vehicle state step by step ahead in time, adding acceleration and navigational errors, and reconverging from the perturbed states at fixed guidance update intervals. A program overview is presented, along with a user's guide which details input, output, and the various subroutines.

Automatic detection of multiple UXO-like targets using magnetic anomaly inversion and self-adaptive fuzzy c-means clustering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yin, Gang; Zhang, Yingtang; Fan, Hongbo; Ren, Guoquan; Li, Zhining

2017-12-01

We have developed a method for automatically detecting UXO-like targets based on magnetic anomaly inversion and self-adaptive fuzzy c-means clustering. Magnetic anomaly inversion methods are used to estimate the initial locations of multiple UXO-like sources. Although these initial locations have some errors with respect to the real positions, they form dense clouds around the actual positions of the magnetic sources. Then we use the self-adaptive fuzzy c-means clustering algorithm to cluster these initial locations. The estimated number of cluster centroids represents the number of targets and the cluster centroids are regarded as the locations of magnetic targets. Effectiveness of the method has been demonstrated using synthetic datasets. Computational results show that the proposed method can be applied to the case of several UXO-like targets that are randomly scattered within in a confined, shallow subsurface, volume. A field test was carried out to test the validity of the proposed method and the experimental results show that the prearranged magnets can be detected unambiguously and located precisely.

Digital-Electronic/Optical Apparatus Would Recognize Targets

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Scholl, Marija S.

1994-01-01

Proposed automatic target-recognition apparatus consists mostly of digital-electronic/optical cross-correlator that processes infrared images of targets. Infrared images of unknown targets correlated quickly with images of known targets. Apparatus incorporates some features of correlator described in "Prototype Optical Correlator for Robotic Vision System" (NPO-18451), and some of correlator described in "Compact Optical Correlator" (NPO-18473). Useful in robotic system; to recognize and track infrared-emitting, moving objects as variously shaped hot workpieces on conveyor belt.

MRMPROBS: a data assessment and metabolite identification tool for large-scale multiple reaction monitoring based widely targeted metabolomics.

PubMed

Tsugawa, Hiroshi; Arita, Masanori; Kanazawa, Mitsuhiro; Ogiwara, Atsushi; Bamba, Takeshi; Fukusaki, Eiichiro

2013-05-21

We developed a new software program, MRMPROBS, for widely targeted metabolomics by using the large-scale multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode. The strategy became increasingly popular for the simultaneous analysis of up to several hundred metabolites at high sensitivity, selectivity, and quantitative capability. However, the traditional method of assessing measured metabolomics data without probabilistic criteria is not only time-consuming but is often subjective and makeshift work. Our program overcomes these problems by detecting and identifying metabolites automatically, by separating isomeric metabolites, and by removing background noise using a probabilistic score defined as the odds ratio from an optimized multivariate logistic regression model. Our software program also provides a user-friendly graphical interface to curate and organize data matrices and to apply principal component analyses and statistical tests. For a demonstration, we conducted a widely targeted metabolome analysis (152 metabolites) of propagating Saccharomyces cerevisiae measured at 15 time points by gas and liquid chromatography coupled to triple quadrupole mass spectrometry. MRMPROBS is a useful and practical tool for the assessment of large-scale MRM data available to any instrument or any experimental condition.

Autonomous intelligent cruise control system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baret, Marc; Bomer, Thierry T.; Calesse, C.; Dudych, L.; L'Hoist, P.

1995-01-01

Autonomous intelligent cruise control (AICC) systems are not only controlling vehicles' speed but acting on the throttle and eventually on the brakes they could automatically maintain the relative speed and distance between two vehicles in the same lane. And more than just for comfort it appears that these new systems should improve the safety on highways. By applying a technique issued from the space research carried out by MATRA, a sensor based on a charge coupled device (CCD) was designed to acquire the reflected light on standard-mounted car reflectors of pulsed laser diodes emission. The CCD is working in a unique mode called flash during transfer (FDT) which allows identification of target patterns in severe optical environments. It provides high accuracy for distance and angular position of targets. The absence of moving mechanical parts ensures high reliability for this sensor. The large field of view and the high measurement rate give a global situation assessment and a short reaction time. Then, tracking and filtering algorithms have been developed in order to select the target, on which the equipped vehicle determines its safety distance and speed, taking into account its maneuvering and the behaviors of other vehicles.

Structure of Lmaj006129AAA, a hypothetical protein from Leishmania major

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Arakaki, Tracy; Le Trong, Isolde; Structural Genomics of Pathogenic Protozoa

2006-03-01

The crystal structure of a conserved hypothetical protein from L. major, Pfam sequence family PF04543, structural genomics target ID Lmaj006129AAA, has been determined at a resolution of 1.6 Å. The gene product of structural genomics target Lmaj006129 from Leishmania major codes for a 164-residue protein of unknown function. When SeMet expression of the full-length gene product failed, several truncation variants were created with the aid of Ginzu, a domain-prediction method. 11 truncations were selected for expression, purification and crystallization based upon secondary-structure elements and disorder. The structure of one of these variants, Lmaj006129AAH, was solved by multiple-wavelength anomalous diffraction (MAD)more » using ELVES, an automatic protein crystal structure-determination system. This model was then successfully used as a molecular-replacement probe for the parent full-length target, Lmaj006129AAA. The final structure of Lmaj006129AAA was refined to an R value of 0.185 (R{sub free} = 0.229) at 1.60 Å resolution. Structure and sequence comparisons based on Lmaj006129AAA suggest that proteins belonging to Pfam sequence families PF04543 and PF01878 may share a common ligand-binding motif.« less

Automation in visual inspection tasks: X-ray luggage screening supported by a system of direct, indirect or adaptable cueing with low and high system reliability.

PubMed

Chavaillaz, Alain; Schwaninger, Adrian; Michel, Stefan; Sauer, Juergen

2018-05-25

The present study evaluated three automation modes for improving performance in an X-ray luggage screening task. 140 participants were asked to detect the presence of prohibited items in X-ray images of cabin luggage. Twenty participants conducted this task without automatic support (control group), whereas the others worked with either indirect cues (system indicated the target presence without specifying its location), or direct cues (system pointed out the exact target location) or adaptable automation (participants could freely choose between no cue, direct and indirect cues). Furthermore, automatic support reliability was manipulated (low vs. high). The results showed a clear advantage for direct cues regarding detection performance and response time. No benefits were observed for adaptable automation. Finally, high automation reliability led to better performance and higher operator trust. The findings overall confirmed that automatic support systems for luggage screening should be designed such that they provide direct, highly reliable cues.

Computer-automated silica aerosol generator and animal inhalation exposure system

PubMed Central

McKinney, Walter; Chen, Bean; Schwegler-Berry, Diane; Frazer, Dave G.

2015-01-01

Inhalation exposure systems are necessary tools for determining the dose response relationship of inhaled toxicants under a variety of exposure conditions. The objective of this study was to develop an automated computer controlled system to expose small laboratory animals to precise concentrations of uniformly dispersed airborne silica particles. An acoustical aerosol generator was developed which was capable of re-suspending particles from bulk powder. The aerosolized silica output from the generator was introduced into the throat of a venturi tube. The turbulent high-velocity air stream within the venturi tube increased the dispersion of the re-suspended powder. That aerosol was then used to expose small laboratory animals to constant aerosol concentrations, up to 20mg/m3, for durations lasting up to 8h. Particle distribution and morphology of the silica aerosol delivered to the exposure chamber were characterized to verify that a fully dispersed and respirable aerosol was being produced. The inhalation exposure system utilized a combination of airflow controllers, particle monitors, data acquisition devices and custom software with automatic feedback control to achieve constant and repeatable exposure environments. The automatic control algorithm was capable of maintaining median aerosol concentrations to within ±0.2 mg/m3 of a user selected target concentration during exposures lasting from 2 to 8 h. The system was able to reach 95% of the desired target value in <10min during the beginning phase of an exposure. This exposure system provided a highly automated tool for conducting inhalation toxicology studies involving silica particles. PMID:23796015

78 FR 11609 - Special Conditions: Embraer S.A., Model EMB-550 Airplane; Landing Pitchover Condition

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-02-19

... automatic braking system. The applicable airworthiness regulations do not contain adequate or appropriate... with an automatic braking system. This feature is a pilot-selectable function that allows earlier braking at landing without pilot pedal input. When the autobrake system is armed before landing, it...

Electrophysiological Evidence of Automatic Early Semantic Processing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hinojosa, Jose A.; Martin-Loeches, Manuel; Munoz, Francisco; Casado, Pilar; Pozo, Miguel A.

2004-01-01

This study investigates the automatic-controlled nature of early semantic processing by means of the Recognition Potential (RP), an event-related potential response that reflects lexical selection processes. For this purpose tasks differing in their processing requirements were used. Half of the participants performed a physical task involving a…

Unsupervised MDP Value Selection for Automating ITS Capabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stamper, John; Barnes, Tiffany

2009-01-01

We seek to simplify the creation of intelligent tutors by using student data acquired from standard computer aided instruction (CAI) in conjunction with educational data mining methods to automatically generate adaptive hints. In our previous work, we have automatically generated hints for logic tutoring by constructing a Markov Decision Process…

Image-Guided Biopsy in the Esophagus through Comprehensive Optical Frequency Domain Imaging and Laser Marking: A Study in Living Swine

PubMed Central

Suter, Melissa J.; Jillella, Priyanka A.; Vakoc, Benjamin J.; Halpern, Elkan F.; Mino-Kenudson, Mari; Lauwers, Gregory Y.; Bouma, Brett E.; Nishioka, Norman S.; Tearney, Guillermo J.

2010-01-01

Background Random biopsy esophageal surveillance can be subject to sampling errors, resulting in diagnostic uncertainty. Optical frequency domain imaging (OFDI) is a high-speed, three-dimensional endoscopic microscopy technique. When deployed through a balloon-centering catheter, OFDI can automatically image the entire distal esophagus (6.0 cm length) in approximately 2 minutes. Objective To test a new platform for guided biopsy that allows the operator to select target regions of interest on an OFDI dataset, and then use a laser to mark the esophagus at corresponding locations. The specific goals include determining the optimal laser parameters, testing the accuracy of the laser marking process, evaluating the endoscopic visibility of the laser marks, and assessing the amount of mucosal damage produced by the laser. Design Experimental study conducted in five swine in vivo. Setting Massachusetts General Hospital. Main Outcome Measurements Success rate, including endoscopic visibility of laser marks and accuracy of the laser marking process for selected target sites, and extent of the thermal damage caused by the laser marks. Results All of the laser-induced marks were visible by endoscopy. Target locations were correctly marked with a success rate of 97.07% (95% CI, 89.8%-99.7%). Thermal damage was limited to the superficial layers of the mucosa and was observed to partially heal within 2 days. Limitations An animal study with artificially placed targets to simulate pathology. Conclusions The study demonstrates that laser marking of esophageal sites identified in comprehensive OFDI datasets is feasible and can be performed with sufficient accuracy, precision, and visibility to guide biopsy in vivo. PMID:19879573

DBSCAN-based ROI extracted from SAR images and the discrimination of multi-feature ROI

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

He, Xin Yi; Zhao, Bo; Tan, Shu Run; Zhou, Xiao Yang; Jiang, Zhong Jin; Cui, Tie Jun

2009-10-01

The purpose of the paper is to extract the region of interest (ROI) from the coarse detected synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images and discriminate if the ROI contains a target or not, so as to eliminate the false alarm, and prepare for the target recognition. The automatic target clustering is one of the most difficult tasks in the SAR-image automatic target recognition system. The density-based spatial clustering of applications with noise (DBSCAN) relies on a density-based notion of clusters which is designed to discover clusters of arbitrary shape. DBSCAN was first used in the SAR image processing, which has many excellent features: only two insensitivity parameters (radius of neighborhood and minimum number of points) are needed; clusters of arbitrary shapes which fit in with the coarse detected SAR images can be discovered; and the calculation time and memory can be reduced. In the multi-feature ROI discrimination scheme, we extract several target features which contain the geometry features such as the area discriminator and Radon-transform based target profile discriminator, the distribution characteristics such as the EFF discriminator, and the EM scattering property such as the PPR discriminator. The synthesized judgment effectively eliminates the false alarms.

Infrared variation reduction by simultaneous background suppression and target contrast enhancement for deep convolutional neural network-based automatic target recognition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Sungho

2017-06-01

Automatic target recognition (ATR) is a traditionally challenging problem in military applications because of the wide range of infrared (IR) image variations and the limited number of training images. IR variations are caused by various three-dimensional target poses, noncooperative weather conditions (fog and rain), and difficult target acquisition environments. Recently, deep convolutional neural network-based approaches for RGB images (RGB-CNN) showed breakthrough performance in computer vision problems, such as object detection and classification. The direct use of RGB-CNN to the IR ATR problem fails to work because of the IR database problems (limited database size and IR image variations). An IR variation-reduced deep CNN (IVR-CNN) to cope with the problems is presented. The problem of limited IR database size is solved by a commercial thermal simulator (OKTAL-SE). The second problem of IR variations is mitigated by the proposed shifted ramp function-based intensity transformation. This can suppress the background and enhance the target contrast simultaneously. The experimental results on the synthesized IR images generated by the thermal simulator (OKTAL-SE) validated the feasibility of IVR-CNN for military ATR applications.

Cholinergic Enhancement Increases the Effects of Voluntary Attention but Does Not Affect Involuntary Attention

PubMed Central

Rokem, Ariel; Landau, Ayelet N; Garg, Dave; Prinzmetal, William; Silver, Michael A

2010-01-01

Voluntary visual spatial attention can be allocated in a goal-oriented manner to locations containing behaviorally relevant information. In contrast, involuntary attention is automatically captured by salient events. Allocation of attention is known to be modulated by release of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine (ACh) in cerebral cortex. We used an anti-predictive spatial cueing task to assess the effects of pharmacological enhancement of cholinergic transmission on behavioral measures of voluntary and involuntary attention in healthy human participants. Each trial began with the presentation of a cue in a peripheral location. In 80% of the trials, a target then appeared in a location opposite the cue. In the remaining 20% of trials, the target appeared in the cue location. For trials with short stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) between cue and target, involuntary capture of attention resulted in shorter reaction times (RTs) to targets presented at the cue location. For long SOA trials, allocation of voluntary attention resulted in the opposite pattern: RTs were shorter when the target appeared in the expected (opposite) location. Each subject participated in two sessions: one in which the cholinesterase inhibitor donepezil was administered to increase synaptic ACh levels and one in which placebo was administered. Donepezil selectively improved performance (reduced RT) for long SOA trials in which targets appeared in the expected location. Thus, cholinergic enhancement augments the benefits of voluntary attention but does not affect involuntary attention, suggesting that they rely on different neurochemical mechanisms. PMID:20811340

Grammatical markers switch roles and elicit different electrophysiological responses under shallow and deep semantic requirements.

PubMed

Soshi, Takahiro; Nakajima, Heizo; Hagiwara, Hiroko

2016-10-01

Static knowledge about the grammar of a natural language is represented in the cortico-subcortical system. However, the differences in dynamic verbal processing under different cognitive conditions are unclear. To clarify this, we conducted an electrophysiological experiment involving a semantic priming paradigm in which semantically congruent or incongruent word sequences (prime nouns-target verbs) were randomly presented. We examined the event-related brain potentials that occurred in response to congruent and incongruent target words that were preceded by primes with or without grammatical case markers. The two participant groups performed either the shallow (lexical judgment) or deep (direct semantic judgment) semantic tasks. We hypothesized that, irrespective of the case markers, the congruent targets would reduce centro-posterior N400 activities under the deep semantic condition, which induces selective attention to the semantic relatedness of content words. However, the same congruent targets with correct case markers would reduce lateralized negativity under the shallow semantic condition because grammatical case markers are related to automatic structural integration under semantically unattended conditions. We observed that congruent targets (e.g., 'open') that were preceded by primes with congruent case markers (e.g., 'shutter-object case') reduced lateralized negativity under the shallow semantic condition. In contrast, congruent targets, irrespective of case markers, consistently yielded N400 reductions under the deep semantic condition. To summarize, human neural verbal processing differed in response to the same grammatical markers in the same verbal expressions under semantically attended or unattended conditions.

Automatic polymerase chain reaction product detection system for food safety monitoring using zinc finger protein fused to luciferase.

PubMed

Yoshida, Wataru; Kezuka, Aki; Murakami, Yoshiyuki; Lee, Jinhee; Abe, Koichi; Motoki, Hiroaki; Matsuo, Takafumi; Shimura, Nobuaki; Noda, Mamoru; Igimi, Shizunobu; Ikebukuro, Kazunori

2013-11-01

An automatic polymerase chain reaction (PCR) product detection system for food safety monitoring using zinc finger (ZF) protein fused to luciferase was developed. ZF protein fused to luciferase specifically binds to target double stranded DNA sequence and has luciferase enzymatic activity. Therefore, PCR products that comprise ZF protein recognition sequence can be detected by measuring the luciferase activity of the fusion protein. We previously reported that PCR products from Legionella pneumophila and Escherichia coli (E. coli) O157 genomic DNA were detected by Zif268, a natural ZF protein, fused to luciferase. In this study, Zif268-luciferase was applied to detect the presence of Salmonella and coliforms. Moreover, an artificial zinc finger protein (B2) fused to luciferase was constructed for a Norovirus detection system. In the luciferase activity detection assay, several bound/free separation process is required. Therefore, an analyzer that automatically performed the bound/free separation process was developed to detect PCR products using the ZF-luciferase fusion protein. By means of the automatic analyzer with ZF-luciferase fusion protein, target pathogenic genomes were specifically detected in the presence of other pathogenic genomes. Moreover, we succeeded in the detection of 10 copies of E. coli BL21 without extraction of genomic DNA by the automatic analyzer and E. coli was detected with a logarithmic dependency in the range of 1.0×10 to 1.0×10(6) copies. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A Procedure for Extending Input Selection Algorithms to Low Quality Data in Modelling Problems with Application to the Automatic Grading of Uploaded Assignments

PubMed Central

Otero, José; Palacios, Ana; Suárez, Rosario; Junco, Luis

2014-01-01

When selecting relevant inputs in modeling problems with low quality data, the ranking of the most informative inputs is also uncertain. In this paper, this issue is addressed through a new procedure that allows the extending of different crisp feature selection algorithms to vague data. The partial knowledge about the ordinal of each feature is modelled by means of a possibility distribution, and a ranking is hereby applied to sort these distributions. It will be shown that this technique makes the most use of the available information in some vague datasets. The approach is demonstrated in a real-world application. In the context of massive online computer science courses, methods are sought for automatically providing the student with a qualification through code metrics. Feature selection methods are used to find the metrics involved in the most meaningful predictions. In this study, 800 source code files, collected and revised by the authors in classroom Computer Science lectures taught between 2013 and 2014, are analyzed with the proposed technique, and the most relevant metrics for the automatic grading task are discussed. PMID:25114967

Defect Detection in Textures through the Use of Entropy as a Means for Automatically Selecting the Wavelet Decomposition Level.

PubMed

Navarro, Pedro J; Fernández-Isla, Carlos; Alcover, Pedro María; Suardíaz, Juan

2016-07-27

This paper presents a robust method for defect detection in textures, entropy-based automatic selection of the wavelet decomposition level (EADL), based on a wavelet reconstruction scheme, for detecting defects in a wide variety of structural and statistical textures. Two main features are presented. One of the new features is an original use of the normalized absolute function value (NABS) calculated from the wavelet coefficients derived at various different decomposition levels in order to identify textures where the defect can be isolated by eliminating the texture pattern in the first decomposition level. The second is the use of Shannon's entropy, calculated over detail subimages, for automatic selection of the band for image reconstruction, which, unlike other techniques, such as those based on the co-occurrence matrix or on energy calculation, provides a lower decomposition level, thus avoiding excessive degradation of the image, allowing a more accurate defect segmentation. A metric analysis of the results of the proposed method with nine different thresholding algorithms determined that selecting the appropriate thresholding method is important to achieve optimum performance in defect detection. As a consequence, several different thresholding algorithms depending on the type of texture are proposed.

Automatic Fastening Large Structures: a New Approach

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lumley, D. F.

1985-01-01

The external tank (ET) intertank structure for the space shuttle, a 27.5 ft diameter 22.5 ft long externally stiffened mechanically fastened skin-stringer-frame structure, was a labor intensitive manual structure built on a modified Saturn tooling position. A new approach was developed based on half-section subassemblies. The heart of this manufacturing approach will be 33 ft high vertical automatic riveting system with a 28 ft rotary positioner coming on-line in mid 1985. The Automatic Riveting System incorporates many of the latest automatic riveting technologies. Key features include: vertical columns with two sets of independently operating CNC drill-riveting heads; capability of drill, insert and upset any one piece fastener up to 3/8 inch diameter including slugs without displacing the workpiece offset bucking ram with programmable rotation and deep retraction; vision system for automatic parts program re-synchronization and part edge margin control; and an automatic rivet selection/handling system.

Effortful versus automatic emotional processing in schizophrenia: Insights from a face-vignette task.

PubMed

Patrick, Regan E; Rastogi, Anuj; Christensen, Bruce K

2015-01-01

Adaptive emotional responding relies on dual automatic and effortful processing streams. Dual-stream models of schizophrenia (SCZ) posit a selective deficit in neural circuits that govern goal-directed, effortful processes versus reactive, automatic processes. This imbalance suggests that when patients are confronted with competing automatic and effortful emotional response cues, they will exhibit diminished effortful responding and intact, possibly elevated, automatic responding compared to controls. This prediction was evaluated using a modified version of the face-vignette task (FVT). Participants viewed emotional faces (automatic response cue) paired with vignettes (effortful response cue) that signalled a different emotion category and were instructed to discriminate the manifest emotion. Patients made less vignette and more face responses than controls. However, the relationship between group and FVT responding was moderated by IQ and reading comprehension ability. These results replicate and extend previous research and provide tentative support for abnormal conflict resolution between automatic and effortful emotional processing predicted by dual-stream models of SCZ.

Augmenting atlas-based liver segmentation for radiotherapy treatment planning by incorporating image features proximal to the atlas contours

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Dengwang; Liu, Li; Chen, Jinhu; Li, Hongsheng; Yin, Yong; Ibragimov, Bulat; Xing, Lei

2017-01-01

Atlas-based segmentation utilizes a library of previously delineated contours of similar cases to facilitate automatic segmentation. The problem, however, remains challenging because of limited information carried by the contours in the library. In this studying, we developed a narrow-shell strategy to enhance the information of each contour in the library and to improve the accuracy of the exiting atlas-based approach. This study presented a new concept of atlas based segmentation method. Instead of using the complete volume of the target organs, only information along the organ contours from the atlas images was used for guiding segmentation of the new image. In setting up an atlas-based library, we included not only the coordinates of contour points, but also the image features adjacent to the contour. In this work, 139 CT images with normal appearing livers collected for radiotherapy treatment planning were used to construct the library. The CT images within the library were first registered to each other using affine registration. The nonlinear narrow shell was generated alongside the object contours of registered images. Matching voxels were selected inside common narrow shell image features of a library case and a new case using a speed-up robust features (SURF) strategy. A deformable registration was then performed using a thin plate splines (TPS) technique. The contour associated with the library case was propagated automatically onto the new image by exploiting the deformation field vectors. The liver contour was finally obtained by employing level set based energy optimization within the narrow shell. The performance of the proposed method was evaluated by comparing quantitatively the auto-segmentation results with that delineated by physicians. A novel atlas-based segmentation technique with inclusion of neighborhood image features through the introduction of a narrow-shell surrounding the target objects was established. Application of the technique to 30 liver cases suggested that the technique was capable to reliably segment liver cases from CT, 4D-CT, and CBCT images with little human interaction. The accuracy and speed of the proposed method are quantitatively validated by comparing automatic segmentation results with the manual delineation results. The Jaccard similarity metric between the automatically generated liver contours obtained by the proposed method and the physician delineated results are on an average 90%-96% for planning images. Incorporation of image features into the library contours improves the currently available atlas-based auto-contouring techniques and provides a clinically practical solution for auto-segmentation. The proposed mountainous narrow shell atlas based method can achieve efficient automatic liver propagation for CT, 4D-CT and CBCT images with following treatment planning and should find widespread application in future treatment planning systems.

Augmenting atlas-based liver segmentation for radiotherapy treatment planning by incorporating image features proximal to the atlas contours.

PubMed

Li, Dengwang; Liu, Li; Chen, Jinhu; Li, Hongsheng; Yin, Yong; Ibragimov, Bulat; Xing, Lei

2017-01-07

Atlas-based segmentation utilizes a library of previously delineated contours of similar cases to facilitate automatic segmentation. The problem, however, remains challenging because of limited information carried by the contours in the library. In this studying, we developed a narrow-shell strategy to enhance the information of each contour in the library and to improve the accuracy of the exiting atlas-based approach. This study presented a new concept of atlas based segmentation method. Instead of using the complete volume of the target organs, only information along the organ contours from the atlas images was used for guiding segmentation of the new image. In setting up an atlas-based library, we included not only the coordinates of contour points, but also the image features adjacent to the contour. In this work, 139 CT images with normal appearing livers collected for radiotherapy treatment planning were used to construct the library. The CT images within the library were first registered to each other using affine registration. The nonlinear narrow shell was generated alongside the object contours of registered images. Matching voxels were selected inside common narrow shell image features of a library case and a new case using a speed-up robust features (SURF) strategy. A deformable registration was then performed using a thin plate splines (TPS) technique. The contour associated with the library case was propagated automatically onto the new image by exploiting the deformation field vectors. The liver contour was finally obtained by employing level set based energy optimization within the narrow shell. The performance of the proposed method was evaluated by comparing quantitatively the auto-segmentation results with that delineated by physicians. A novel atlas-based segmentation technique with inclusion of neighborhood image features through the introduction of a narrow-shell surrounding the target objects was established. Application of the technique to 30 liver cases suggested that the technique was capable to reliably segment liver cases from CT, 4D-CT, and CBCT images with little human interaction. The accuracy and speed of the proposed method are quantitatively validated by comparing automatic segmentation results with the manual delineation results. The Jaccard similarity metric between the automatically generated liver contours obtained by the proposed method and the physician delineated results are on an average 90%-96% for planning images. Incorporation of image features into the library contours improves the currently available atlas-based auto-contouring techniques and provides a clinically practical solution for auto-segmentation. The proposed mountainous narrow shell atlas based method can achieve efficient automatic liver propagation for CT, 4D-CT and CBCT images with following treatment planning and should find widespread application in future treatment planning systems.

Automatic small target detection in synthetic infrared images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yardımcı, Ozan; Ulusoy, Ä.°lkay

2017-05-01

Automatic detection of targets from far distances is a very challenging problem. Background clutter and small target size are the main difficulties which should be solved while reaching a high detection performance as well as a low computational load. The pre-processing, detection and post-processing approaches are very effective on the final results. In this study, first of all, various methods in the literature were evaluated separately for each of these stages using the simulated test scenarios. Then, a full system of detection was constructed among available solutions which resulted in the best performance in terms of detection. However, although a precision rate as 100% was reached, the recall values stayed low around 25-45%. Finally, a post-processing method was proposed which increased the recall value while keeping the precision at 100%. The proposed post-processing method, which is based on local operations, increased the recall value to 65-95% in all test scenarios.

A method for real-time implementation of HOG feature extraction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luo, Hai-bo; Yu, Xin-rong; Liu, Hong-mei; Ding, Qing-hai

2011-08-01

Histogram of oriented gradient (HOG) is an efficient feature extraction scheme, and HOG descriptors are feature descriptors which is widely used in computer vision and image processing for the purpose of biometrics, target tracking, automatic target detection(ATD) and automatic target recognition(ATR) etc. However, computation of HOG feature extraction is unsuitable for hardware implementation since it includes complicated operations. In this paper, the optimal design method and theory frame for real-time HOG feature extraction based on FPGA were proposed. The main principle is as follows: firstly, the parallel gradient computing unit circuit based on parallel pipeline structure was designed. Secondly, the calculation of arctangent and square root operation was simplified. Finally, a histogram generator based on parallel pipeline structure was designed to calculate the histogram of each sub-region. Experimental results showed that the HOG extraction can be implemented in a pixel period by these computing units.

The automaticity of vantage point shifts within a synaesthetes' spatial calendar.

PubMed

Jarick, Michelle; Jensen, Candice; Dixon, Michael J; Smilek, Daniel

2011-09-01

Time-space synaesthetes report that time units (e.g., months, days, hours) occupy idiosyncratic spatial locations. For the synaesthete (L), the months of the year are projected out in external space in the shape of a 'scoreboard 7', where January to July extend across the top from left to right and August to December make up the vertical segment from top to bottom. Interestingly, L can change the mental vantage point (MVP) from where she views her month-space depending on whether she sees or hears the month name. We used a spatial cueing task to demonstrate that L's attention could be directed to locations within her time-space and change vantage points automatically - from trial to trial. We also sought to eliminate any influence of strategy on L's performance by shortening the interval between the cue and target onset to only 150 ms, and have the targets fall in synaesthetically cued locations on only 15% of trials. If L's performance was attributable to intentionally using the cue to predict target location, these manipulations should eliminate any cueing effects. In two separate experiments, we found that L still showed an attentional bias consistent with her synaesthesia. Thus, we attribute L's rapid and resilient cueing effects to the automaticity of her spatial forms. ©2011 The British Psychological Society.

Precision Targeting With a Tracking Adaptive Optics Scanning Laser Ophthalmoscope

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-01-01

automatic high- resolution mosaic generation, and automatic blink detection and tracking re-lock were also tested. The system has the potential to become an...structures can lead to earlier detection of retinal diseases such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and diabetic retinopathy (DR). Combined...optics systems sense perturbations in the detected wave-front and apply corrections to an optical element that flatten the wave-front and allow near

A simulator evaluation of an automatic terminal approach system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hinton, D. A.

1983-01-01

The automatic terminal approach system (ATAS) is a concept for improving the pilot/machine interface with cockpit automation. The ATAS can automatically fly a published instrument approach by using stored instrument approach data to automatically tune airplane avionics, control the airplane's autopilot, and display status information to the pilot. A piloted simulation study was conducted to determine the feasibility of an ATAS, determine pilot acceptance, and examine pilot/ATAS interaction. Seven instrument-rated pilots each flew four instrument approaches with a base-line heading select autopilot mode. The ATAS runs resulted in lower flight technical error, lower pilot workload, and fewer blunders than with the baseline autopilot. The ATAS status display enabled the pilots to maintain situational awareness during the automatic approaches. The system was well accepted by the pilots.

ADMAP (automatic data manipulation program)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mann, F. I.

1971-01-01

Instructions are presented on the use of ADMAP, (automatic data manipulation program) an aerospace data manipulation computer program. The program was developed to aid in processing, reducing, plotting, and publishing electric propulsion trajectory data generated by the low thrust optimization program, HILTOP. The program has the option of generating SC4020 electric plots, and therefore requires the SC4020 routines to be available at excution time (even if not used). Several general routines are present, including a cubic spline interpolation routine, electric plotter dash line drawing routine, and single parameter and double parameter sorting routines. Many routines are tailored for the manipulation and plotting of electric propulsion data, including an automatic scale selection routine, an automatic curve labelling routine, and an automatic graph titling routine. Data are accepted from either punched cards or magnetic tape.

Distributed pheromone-based swarming control of unmanned air and ground vehicles for RSTA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sauter, John A.; Mathews, Robert S.; Yinger, Andrew; Robinson, Joshua S.; Moody, John; Riddle, Stephanie

2008-04-01

The use of unmanned vehicles in Reconnaissance, Surveillance, and Target Acquisition (RSTA) applications has received considerable attention recently. Cooperating land and air vehicles can support multiple sensor modalities providing pervasive and ubiquitous broad area sensor coverage. However coordination of multiple air and land vehicles serving different mission objectives in a dynamic and complex environment is a challenging problem. Swarm intelligence algorithms, inspired by the mechanisms used in natural systems to coordinate the activities of many entities provide a promising alternative to traditional command and control approaches. This paper describes recent advances in a fully distributed digital pheromone algorithm that has demonstrated its effectiveness in managing the complexity of swarming unmanned systems. The results of a recent demonstration at NASA's Wallops Island of multiple Aerosonde Unmanned Air Vehicles (UAVs) and Pioneer Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGVs) cooperating in a coordinated RSTA application are discussed. The vehicles were autonomously controlled by the onboard digital pheromone responding to the needs of the automatic target recognition algorithms. UAVs and UGVs controlled by the same pheromone algorithm self-organized to perform total area surveillance, automatic target detection, sensor cueing, and automatic target recognition with no central processing or control and minimal operator input. Complete autonomy adds several safety and fault tolerance requirements which were integrated into the basic pheromone framework. The adaptive algorithms demonstrated the ability to handle some unplanned hardware failures during the demonstration without any human intervention. The paper describes lessons learned and the next steps for this promising technology.

Automatic vibration mode selection and excitation; combining modal filtering with autoresonance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Davis, Solomon; Bucher, Izhak

2018-02-01

Autoresonance is a well-known nonlinear feedback method used for automatically exciting a system at its natural frequency. Though highly effective in exciting single degree of freedom systems, in its simplest form it lacks a mechanism for choosing the mode of excitation when more than one is present. In this case a single mode will be automatically excited, but this mode cannot be chosen or changed. In this paper a new method for automatically exciting a general second-order system at any desired natural frequency using Autoresonance is proposed. The article begins by deriving a concise expression for the frequency of the limit cycle induced by an Autoresonance feedback loop enclosed on the system. The expression is based on modal decomposition, and provides valuable insight into the behavior of a system controlled in this way. With this expression, a method for selecting and exciting a desired mode naturally follows by combining Autoresonance with Modal Filtering. By taking various linear combinations of the sensor signals, by orthogonality one can "filter out" all the unwanted modes effectively. The desired mode's natural frequency is then automatically reflected in the limit cycle. In experiment the technique has proven extremely robust, even if the amplitude of the desired mode is significantly smaller than the others and the modal filters are greatly inaccurate.

Real-time automatic registration in optical surgical navigation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, Qinyong; Yang, Rongqian; Cai, Ken; Si, Xuan; Chen, Xiuwen; Wu, Xiaoming

2016-05-01

An image-guided surgical navigation system requires the improvement of the patient-to-image registration time to enhance the convenience of the registration procedure. A critical step in achieving this aim is performing a fully automatic patient-to-image registration. This study reports on a design of custom fiducial markers and the performance of a real-time automatic patient-to-image registration method using these markers on the basis of an optical tracking system for rigid anatomy. The custom fiducial markers are designed to be automatically localized in both patient and image spaces. An automatic localization method is performed by registering a point cloud sampled from the three dimensional (3D) pedestal model surface of a fiducial marker to each pedestal of fiducial markers searched in image space. A head phantom is constructed to estimate the performance of the real-time automatic registration method under four fiducial configurations. The head phantom experimental results demonstrate that the real-time automatic registration method is more convenient, rapid, and accurate than the manual method. The time required for each registration is approximately 0.1 s. The automatic localization method precisely localizes the fiducial markers in image space. The averaged target registration error for the four configurations is approximately 0.7 mm. The automatic registration performance is independent of the positions relative to the tracking system and the movement of the patient during the operation.

Inexpensive automated paging system for use at remote research sites

USGS Publications Warehouse

Sargent, S.L.; Dey, W.S.; Keefer, D.A.

1998-01-01

The use of a flow-activated automatic sampler at a remote research site required personnel to periodically visit the site to collect samples and reset the automatic sampler. To reduce site visits, a cellular telephone was modified for activation by a datalogger. The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the use and benefit of the modified telephone. Both the power switch and the speed-dial button on the telephone were bypassed and wired to a relay driver. The datalogger was programmed to compare values of a monitored environmental parameter with a target value. When the target value was reached or exceeded, the datalogger pulsed a relay driver, activating power to the telephone. A separate relay activated the speed dial, dialing the number of a tone-only pager. The use of this system has saved time and reduced travel costs by reducing the number of trips to the site, without the loss of any data.The use of a flow-activated automatic sampler at a remote research site required personnel to periodically visit the site to collect samples and reset the automatic sampler. To reduce site visits, a cellular telephone was modified for activation by a datalogger. The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the use and benefit of the modified telephone. Both the power switch and the speed-dial button on the telephone were bypassed and wired to a relay driver. The datalogger was programmed to compare values of a monitored environmental parameter with a target value. When the target value was reached or exceeded, the datalogger pulsed a relay driver, activating power to the telephone. A separate relay activated the speed dial, dialing the number of a tone-only pager. The use of this system has saved time and reduced travel costs by reducing the number of trips to the site, without the loss of any data.

Do the Contents of Visual Working Memory Automatically Influence Attentional Selection during Visual Search?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Woodman, Geoffrey F.; Luck, Steven J.

2007-01-01

In many theories of cognition, researchers propose that working memory and perception operate interactively. For example, in previous studies researchers have suggested that sensory inputs matching the contents of working memory will have an automatic advantage in the competition for processing resources. The authors tested this hypothesis by…

A Neurobiological Theory of Automaticity in Perceptual Categorization

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ashby, F. Gregory; Ennis, John M.; Spiering, Brian J.

2007-01-01

A biologically detailed computational model is described of how categorization judgments become automatic in tasks that depend on procedural learning. The model assumes 2 neural pathways from sensory association cortex to the premotor area that mediates response selection. A longer and slower path projects to the premotor area via the striatum,…

Study of the Acquisition of Peripheral Equipment for Use with Automatic Data Processing Systems.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Comptroller General of the U.S., Washington, DC.

The General Accounting Office (GAO) performed this study because: preliminary indications showed that significant savings could be achieved in the procurement of selected computer components; the Federal Government is investing increasing amounts of money in Automatic Data Processing (ADP) equipment; and there is a widespread congressional…

Automatic Data Processing, 4-1. Military Curriculum Materials for Vocational and Technical Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Army Ordnance Center and School, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD.

These two texts and student workbook for a secondary/postsecondary-level correspondence course in automatic data processing comprise one of a number of military-developed curriculum packages selected for adaptation to vocational instruction and curriculum development in a civilian setting. The purpose stated for the individualized, self-paced…

Straight trajectory planning for keyhole neurosurgery in sheep with automatic brain structures segmentation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Favaro, Alberto; Lad, Akash; Formenti, Davide; Zani, Davide Danilo; De Momi, Elena

2017-03-01

In a translational neuroscience/neurosurgery perspective, sheep are considered good candidates to study because of the similarity between their brain and the human one. Automatic planning systems for safe keyhole neurosurgery maximize the probe/catheter distance from vessels and risky structures. This work consists in the development of a trajectories planner for straight catheters placement intended to be used for investigating the drug diffusivity mechanisms in sheep brain. Automatic brain segmentation of gray matter, white matter and cerebrospinal fluid is achieved using an online available sheep atlas. Ventricles, midbrain and cerebellum segmentation have been also carried out. The veterinary surgeon is asked to select a target point within the white matter to be reached by the probe and to define an entry area on the brain cortex. To mitigate the risk of hemorrhage during the insertion process, which can prevent the success of the insertion procedure, the trajectory planner performs a curvature analysis of the brain cortex and wipes out from the poll of possible entry points the sulci, as part of brain cortex where superficial blood vessels are naturally located. A limited set of trajectories is then computed and presented to the surgeon, satisfying an optimality criteria based on a cost function which considers the distance from critical brain areas and the whole trajectory length. The planner proved to be effective in defining rectilinear trajectories accounting for the safety constraints determined by the brain morphology. It also demonstrated a short computational time and good capability in segmenting gyri and sulci surfaces.

Uncertain Classification of Variable Stars: Handling Observational GAPS and Noise

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Castro, Nicolás; Protopapas, Pavlos; Pichara, Karim

2018-01-01

Automatic classification methods applied to sky surveys have revolutionized the astronomical target selection process. Most surveys generate a vast amount of time series, or “lightcurves,” that represent the brightness variability of stellar objects in time. Unfortunately, lightcurves’ observations take several years to be completed, producing truncated time series that generally remain without the application of automatic classifiers until they are finished. This happens because state-of-the-art methods rely on a variety of statistical descriptors or features that present an increasing degree of dispersion when the number of observations decreases, which reduces their precision. In this paper, we propose a novel method that increases the performance of automatic classifiers of variable stars by incorporating the deviations that scarcity of observations produces. Our method uses Gaussian process regression to form a probabilistic model of each lightcurve’s observations. Then, based on this model, bootstrapped samples of the time series features are generated. Finally, a bagging approach is used to improve the overall performance of the classification. We perform tests on the MAssive Compact Halo Object (MACHO) and Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment (OGLE) catalogs, results show that our method effectively classifies some variability classes using a small fraction of the original observations. For example, we found that RR Lyrae stars can be classified with ~80% accuracy just by observing the first 5% of the whole lightcurves’ observations in the MACHO and OGLE catalogs. We believe these results prove that, when studying lightcurves, it is important to consider the features’ error and how the measurement process impacts it.

Automatic reference selection for quantitative EEG interpretation: identification of diffuse/localised activity and the active earlobe reference, iterative detection of the distribution of EEG rhythms.

PubMed

Wang, Bei; Wang, Xingyu; Ikeda, Akio; Nagamine, Takashi; Shibasaki, Hiroshi; Nakamura, Masatoshi

2014-01-01

EEG (Electroencephalograph) interpretation is important for the diagnosis of neurological disorders. The proper adjustment of the montage can highlight the EEG rhythm of interest and avoid false interpretation. The aim of this study was to develop an automatic reference selection method to identify a suitable reference. The results may contribute to the accurate inspection of the distribution of EEG rhythms for quantitative EEG interpretation. The method includes two pre-judgements and one iterative detection module. The diffuse case is initially identified by pre-judgement 1 when intermittent rhythmic waveforms occur over large areas along the scalp. The earlobe reference or averaged reference is adopted for the diffuse case due to the effect of the earlobe reference depending on pre-judgement 2. An iterative detection algorithm is developed for the localised case when the signal is distributed in a small area of the brain. The suitable averaged reference is finally determined based on the detected focal and distributed electrodes. The presented technique was applied to the pathological EEG recordings of nine patients. One example of the diffuse case is introduced by illustrating the results of the pre-judgements. The diffusely intermittent rhythmic slow wave is identified. The effect of active earlobe reference is analysed. Two examples of the localised case are presented, indicating the results of the iterative detection module. The focal and distributed electrodes are detected automatically during the repeating algorithm. The identification of diffuse and localised activity was satisfactory compared with the visual inspection. The EEG rhythm of interest can be highlighted using a suitable selected reference. The implementation of an automatic reference selection method is helpful to detect the distribution of an EEG rhythm, which can improve the accuracy of EEG interpretation during both visual inspection and automatic interpretation. Copyright © 2013 IPEM. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Clever eye algorithm for target detection of remote sensing imagery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Geng, Xiurui; Ji, Luyan; Sun, Kang

2016-04-01

Target detection algorithms for hyperspectral remote sensing imagery, such as the two most commonly used remote sensing detection algorithms, the constrained energy minimization (CEM) and matched filter (MF), can usually be attributed to the inner product between a weight filter (or detector) and a pixel vector. CEM and MF have the same expression except that MF requires data centralization first. However, this difference leads to a difference in the target detection results. That is to say, the selection of the data origin could directly affect the performance of the detector. Therefore, does there exist another data origin other than the zero and mean-vector points for a better target detection performance? This is a very meaningful issue in the field of target detection, but it has not been paid enough attention yet. In this study, we propose a novel objective function by introducing the data origin as another variable, and the solution of the function is corresponding to the data origin with the minimal output energy. The process of finding the optimal solution can be vividly regarded as a clever eye automatically searching the best observing position and direction in the feature space, which corresponds to the largest separation between the target and background. Therefore, this new algorithm is referred to as the clever eye algorithm (CE). Based on the Sherman-Morrison formula and the gradient ascent method, CE could derive the optimal target detection result in terms of energy. Experiments with both synthetic and real hyperspectral data have verified the effectiveness of our method.

OrthoSelect: a protocol for selecting orthologous groups in phylogenomics.

PubMed

Schreiber, Fabian; Pick, Kerstin; Erpenbeck, Dirk; Wörheide, Gert; Morgenstern, Burkhard

2009-07-16

Phylogenetic studies using expressed sequence tags (EST) are becoming a standard approach to answer evolutionary questions. Such studies are usually based on large sets of newly generated, unannotated, and error-prone EST sequences from different species. A first crucial step in EST-based phylogeny reconstruction is to identify groups of orthologous sequences. From these data sets, appropriate target genes are selected, and redundant sequences are eliminated to obtain suitable sequence sets as input data for tree-reconstruction software. Generating such data sets manually can be very time consuming. Thus, software tools are needed that carry out these steps automatically. We developed a flexible and user-friendly software pipeline, running on desktop machines or computer clusters, that constructs data sets for phylogenomic analyses. It automatically searches assembled EST sequences against databases of orthologous groups (OG), assigns ESTs to these predefined OGs, translates the sequences into proteins, eliminates redundant sequences assigned to the same OG, creates multiple sequence alignments of identified orthologous sequences and offers the possibility to further process this alignment in a last step by excluding potentially homoplastic sites and selecting sufficiently conserved parts. Our software pipeline can be used as it is, but it can also be adapted by integrating additional external programs. This makes the pipeline useful for non-bioinformaticians as well as to bioinformatic experts. The software pipeline is especially designed for ESTs, but it can also handle protein sequences. OrthoSelect is a tool that produces orthologous gene alignments from assembled ESTs. Our tests show that OrthoSelect detects orthologs in EST libraries with high accuracy. In the absence of a gold standard for orthology prediction, we compared predictions by OrthoSelect to a manually created and published phylogenomic data set. Our tool was not only able to rebuild the data set with a specificity of 98%, but it detected four percent more orthologous sequences. Furthermore, the results OrthoSelect produces are in absolut agreement with the results of other programs, but our tool offers a significant speedup and additional functionality, e.g. handling of ESTs, computing sequence alignments, and refining them. To our knowledge, there is currently no fully automated and freely available tool for this purpose. Thus, OrthoSelect is a valuable tool for researchers in the field of phylogenomics who deal with large quantities of EST sequences. OrthoSelect is written in Perl and runs on Linux/Mac OS X. The tool can be downloaded at (http://gobics.de/fabian/orthoselect.php).

Comparison of automatic and visual methods used for image segmentation in Endodontics: a microCT study.

PubMed

Queiroz, Polyane Mazucatto; Rovaris, Karla; Santaella, Gustavo Machado; Haiter-Neto, Francisco; Freitas, Deborah Queiroz

2017-01-01

To calculate root canal volume and surface area in microCT images, an image segmentation by selecting threshold values is required, which can be determined by visual or automatic methods. Visual determination is influenced by the operator's visual acuity, while the automatic method is done entirely by computer algorithms. To compare between visual and automatic segmentation, and to determine the influence of the operator's visual acuity on the reproducibility of root canal volume and area measurements. Images from 31 extracted human anterior teeth were scanned with a μCT scanner. Three experienced examiners performed visual image segmentation, and threshold values were recorded. Automatic segmentation was done using the "Automatic Threshold Tool" available in the dedicated software provided by the scanner's manufacturer. Volume and area measurements were performed using the threshold values determined both visually and automatically. The paired Student's t-test showed no significant difference between visual and automatic segmentation methods regarding root canal volume measurements (p=0.93) and root canal surface (p=0.79). Although visual and automatic segmentation methods can be used to determine the threshold and calculate root canal volume and surface, the automatic method may be the most suitable for ensuring the reproducibility of threshold determination.

WE-A-17A-06: Evaluation of An Automatic Interstitial Catheter Digitization Algorithm That Reduces Treatment Planning Time and Provide Means for Adaptive Re-Planning in HDR Brachytherapy of Gynecologic Cancers

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dise, J; Liang, X; Lin, L

Purpose: To evaluate an automatic interstitial catheter digitization algorithm that reduces treatment planning time and provide means for adaptive re-planning in HDR Brachytherapy of Gynecologic Cancers. Methods: The semi-automatic catheter digitization tool utilizes a region growing algorithm in conjunction with a spline model of the catheters. The CT images were first pre-processed to enhance the contrast between the catheters and soft tissue. Several seed locations were selected in each catheter for the region growing algorithm. The spline model of the catheters assisted in the region growing by preventing inter-catheter cross-over caused by air or metal artifacts. Source dwell positions frommore » day one CT scans were applied to subsequent CTs and forward calculated using the automatically digitized catheter positions. This method was applied to 10 patients who had received HDR interstitial brachytherapy on an IRB approved image-guided radiation therapy protocol. The prescribed dose was 18.75 or 20 Gy delivered in 5 fractions, twice daily, over 3 consecutive days. Dosimetric comparisons were made between automatic and manual digitization on day two CTs. Results: The region growing algorithm, assisted by the spline model of the catheters, was able to digitize all catheters. The difference between automatic and manually digitized positions was 0.8±0.3 mm. The digitization time ranged from 34 minutes to 43 minutes with a mean digitization time of 37 minutes. The bulk of the time was spent on manual selection of initial seed positions and spline parameter adjustments. There was no significance difference in dosimetric parameters between the automatic and manually digitized plans. D90% to the CTV was 91.5±4.4% for the manual digitization versus 91.4±4.4% for the automatic digitization (p=0.56). Conclusion: A region growing algorithm was developed to semi-automatically digitize interstitial catheters in HDR brachytherapy using the Syed-Neblett template. This automatic digitization tool was shown to be accurate compared to manual digitization.« less

Automatic segmentation and supervised learning-based selection of nuclei in cancer tissue images.

PubMed

Nandy, Kaustav; Gudla, Prabhakar R; Amundsen, Ryan; Meaburn, Karen J; Misteli, Tom; Lockett, Stephen J

2012-09-01

Analysis of preferential localization of certain genes within the cell nuclei is emerging as a new technique for the diagnosis of breast cancer. Quantitation requires accurate segmentation of 100-200 cell nuclei in each tissue section to draw a statistically significant result. Thus, for large-scale analysis, manual processing is too time consuming and subjective. Fortuitously, acquired images generally contain many more nuclei than are needed for analysis. Therefore, we developed an integrated workflow that selects, following automatic segmentation, a subpopulation of accurately delineated nuclei for positioning of fluorescence in situ hybridization-labeled genes of interest. Segmentation was performed by a multistage watershed-based algorithm and screening by an artificial neural network-based pattern recognition engine. The performance of the workflow was quantified in terms of the fraction of automatically selected nuclei that were visually confirmed as well segmented and by the boundary accuracy of the well-segmented nuclei relative to a 2D dynamic programming-based reference segmentation method. Application of the method was demonstrated for discriminating normal and cancerous breast tissue sections based on the differential positioning of the HES5 gene. Automatic results agreed with manual analysis in 11 out of 14 cancers, all four normal cases, and all five noncancerous breast disease cases, thus showing the accuracy and robustness of the proposed approach. Published 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

What automated age estimation of hand and wrist MRI data tells us about skeletal maturation in male adolescents.

PubMed

Urschler, Martin; Grassegger, Sabine; Štern, Darko

2015-01-01

Age estimation of individuals is important in human biology and has various medical and forensic applications. Recent interest in MR-based methods aims to investigate alternatives for established methods involving ionising radiation. Automatic, software-based methods additionally promise improved estimation objectivity. To investigate how informative automatically selected image features are regarding their ability to discriminate age, by exploring a recently proposed software-based age estimation method for MR images of the left hand and wrist. One hundred and two MR datasets of left hand images are used to evaluate age estimation performance, consisting of bone and epiphyseal gap volume localisation, computation of one age regression model per bone mapping image features to age and fusion of individual bone age predictions to a final age estimate. Quantitative results of the software-based method show an age estimation performance with a mean absolute difference of 0.85 years (SD = 0.58 years) to chronological age, as determined by a cross-validation experiment. Qualitatively, it is demonstrated how feature selection works and which image features of skeletal maturation are automatically chosen to model the non-linear regression function. Feasibility of automatic age estimation based on MRI data is shown and selected image features are found to be informative for describing anatomical changes during physical maturation in male adolescents.

Internally- and externally-driven network transitions as a basis for automatic and strategic processes in semantic priming: theory and experimental validation

PubMed Central

Lerner, Itamar; Shriki, Oren

2014-01-01

For the last four decades, semantic priming—the facilitation in recognition of a target word when it follows the presentation of a semantically related prime word—has been a central topic in research of human cognitive processing. Studies have drawn a complex picture of findings which demonstrated the sensitivity of this priming effect to a unique combination of variables, including, but not limited to, the type of relatedness between primes and targets, the prime-target Stimulus Onset Asynchrony (SOA), the relatedness proportion (RP) in the stimuli list and the specific task subjects are required to perform. Automatic processes depending on the activation patterns of semantic representations in memory and controlled strategies adapted by individuals when attempting to maximize their recognition performance have both been implicated in contributing to the results. Lately, we have published a new model of semantic priming that addresses the majority of these findings within one conceptual framework. In our model, semantic memory is depicted as an attractor neural network in which stochastic transitions from one stored pattern to another are continually taking place due to synaptic depression mechanisms. We have shown how such transitions, in combination with a reinforcement-learning rule that adjusts their pace, resemble the classic automatic and controlled processes involved in semantic priming and account for a great number of the findings in the literature. Here, we review the core findings of our model and present new simulations that show how similar principles of parameter-adjustments could account for additional data not addressed in our previous studies, such as the relation between expectancy and inhibition in priming, target frequency and target degradation effects. Finally, we describe two human experiments that validate several key predictions of the model. PMID:24795670

Musical space synesthesia: automatic, explicit and conceptual connections between musical stimuli and space.

PubMed

Akiva-Kabiri, Lilach; Linkovski, Omer; Gertner, Limor; Henik, Avishai

2014-08-01

In musical-space synesthesia, musical pitches are perceived as having a spatially defined array. Previous studies showed that symbolic inducers (e.g., numbers, months) can modulate response according to the inducer's relative position on the synesthetic spatial form. In the current study we tested two musical-space synesthetes and a group of matched controls on three different tasks: musical-space mapping, spatial cue detection and a spatial Stroop-like task. In the free mapping task, both synesthetes exhibited a diagonal organization of musical pitch tones rising from bottom left to the top right. This organization was found to be consistent over time. In the subsequent tasks, synesthetes were asked to ignore an auditory or visually presented musical pitch (irrelevant information) and respond to a visual target (i.e., an asterisk) on the screen (relevant information). Compatibility between musical pitch and the target's spatial location was manipulated to be compatible or incompatible with the synesthetes' spatial representations. In the spatial cue detection task participants had to press the space key immediately upon detecting the target. In the Stroop-like task, they had to reach the target by using a mouse cursor. In both tasks, synesthetes' performance was modulated by the compatibility between irrelevant and relevant spatial information. Specifically, the target's spatial location conflicted with the spatial information triggered by the irrelevant musical stimulus. These results reveal that for musical-space synesthetes, musical information automatically orients attention according to their specific spatial musical-forms. The present study demonstrates the genuineness of musical-space synesthesia by revealing its two hallmarks-automaticity and consistency. In addition, our results challenge previous findings regarding an implicit vertical representation for pitch tones in non-synesthete musicians. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

An integrated microfluidic platform for negative selection and enrichment of cancer cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luo, Wen-Yi; Tsai, Sung-Chi; Hsieh, Kuangwen; Lee, Gwo-Bin

2015-08-01

Circulating tumor cells (CTCs), tumor cells that disseminate from primary tumors to the bloodstream, have recently emerged as promising indicators for cancer diagnosis and prognosis. However, the technical difficulties in isolating and detecting rare CTCs have limited the widespread applicability of this method to date. In this work, a new integrated microfluidic system integrating micromixers and micropumps capable of performing ‘negative selection and enrichment’ of CTCs was developed. By using anti-human CD45 antibodies-coated magnetic beads, leukocytes were effectively removed by applying an external magnetic force, leaving behind an enriched target cell population. The on-chip CTC recovery rate was experimentally found to be 70   ±   5% after a single round of negative selection and enrichment. Meanwhile, CD45 depletion efficiency was 83.99   ±   1.00% and could be improved to 99.84   ±   0.04% after three consecutive rounds of depletion. Notably, on-chip negative selection and enrichment was 58% faster and the repeated depletion could be processed automatically. These promising results suggested the developed microfluidic chip is potentiated for a standardized CTC isolation platform. Preliminary results of the current paper were presented at Micro TAS 2014, San Antonio, Texas, USA, October 26-30, 2014.

Identification of ghost artifact using texture analysis in pediatric spinal cord diffusion tensor images.

PubMed

Alizadeh, Mahdi; Conklin, Chris J; Middleton, Devon M; Shah, Pallav; Saksena, Sona; Krisa, Laura; Finsterbusch, Jürgen; Faro, Scott H; Mulcahey, M J; Mohamed, Feroze B

2018-04-01

Ghost artifacts are a major contributor to degradation of spinal cord diffusion tensor images. A multi-stage post-processing pipeline was designed, implemented and validated to automatically remove ghost artifacts arising from reduced field of view diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) of the pediatric spinal cord. A total of 12 pediatric subjects including 7 healthy subjects (mean age=11.34years) with no evidence of spinal cord injury or pathology and 5 patients (mean age=10.96years) with cervical spinal cord injury were studied. Ghost/true cords, labeled as region of interests (ROIs), in non-diffusion weighted b0 images were segmented automatically using mathematical morphological processing. Initially, 21 texture features were extracted from each segmented ROI including 5 first-order features based on the histogram of the image (mean, variance, skewness, kurtosis and entropy) and 16s-order feature vector elements, incorporating four statistical measures (contrast, correlation, homogeneity and energy) calculated from co-occurrence matrices in directions of 0°, 45°, 90° and 135°. Next, ten features with a high value of mutual information (MI) relative to the pre-defined target class and within the features were selected as final features which were input to a trained classifier (adaptive neuro-fuzzy interface system) to separate the true cord from the ghost cord. The implemented pipeline was successfully able to separate the ghost artifacts from true cord structures. The results obtained from the classifier showed a sensitivity of 91%, specificity of 79%, and accuracy of 84% in separating the true cord from ghost artifacts. The results show that the proposed method is promising for the automatic detection of ghost cords present in DTI images of the spinal cord. This step is crucial towards development of accurate, automatic DTI spinal cord post processing pipelines. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

When the brain changes its mind: Oscillatory dynamics of conflict processing and response switching in a flanker task during alcohol challenge.

PubMed

Beaton, Lauren E; Azma, Sheeva; Marinkovic, Ksenija

2018-01-01

Despite the subjective experience of being in full and deliberate control of our actions, our daily routines rely on a continuous and interactive engagement of sensory evaluation and response preparation streams. They unfold automatically and unconsciously and are seamlessly integrated with cognitive control which is mobilized by stimuli that evoke ambiguity or response conflict. Methods with high spatio-temporal sensitivity are needed to provide insight into the interplay between automatic and controlled processing. This study used anatomically-constrained MEG to examine the underlying neural dynamics in a flanker task that manipulated S-R incongruity at the stimulus (SI) and response levels (RI). Though irrelevant, flankers evoked automatic preparation of motor plans which had to be suppressed and reversed following the target presentation on RI trials. Event-related source power estimates in beta (15-25 Hz) frequency band in the sensorimotor cortex tracked motor preparation and response in real time and revealed switching from the incorrectly-primed to the correctly-responding hemisphere. In contrast, theta oscillations (4-7 Hz) were sensitive to the levels of incongruity as the medial and ventrolateral frontal cortices were especially activated by response conflict. These two areas are key to cognitive control and their integrated contributions to response inhibition and switching were revealed by phase-locked co-oscillations. These processes were pharmacologically manipulated with a moderate alcohol beverage or a placebo administered to healthy social drinkers. Alcohol selectively decreased accuracy to response conflict. It strongly attenuated theta oscillations during decision making and partly re-sculpted relative contributions of the frontal network without affecting the motor switching process subserved by beta band. Our results indicate that motor preparation is initiated automatically even when counterproductive but that it is monitored and regulated by the prefrontal cognitive control processes under conflict. They further confirm that the regulative top-down functions are particularly vulnerable to alcohol intoxication.

When the brain changes its mind: Oscillatory dynamics of conflict processing and response switching in a flanker task during alcohol challenge

PubMed Central

Beaton, Lauren E.; Azma, Sheeva; Marinkovic, Ksenija

2018-01-01

Despite the subjective experience of being in full and deliberate control of our actions, our daily routines rely on a continuous and interactive engagement of sensory evaluation and response preparation streams. They unfold automatically and unconsciously and are seamlessly integrated with cognitive control which is mobilized by stimuli that evoke ambiguity or response conflict. Methods with high spatio-temporal sensitivity are needed to provide insight into the interplay between automatic and controlled processing. This study used anatomically-constrained MEG to examine the underlying neural dynamics in a flanker task that manipulated S-R incongruity at the stimulus (SI) and response levels (RI). Though irrelevant, flankers evoked automatic preparation of motor plans which had to be suppressed and reversed following the target presentation on RI trials. Event-related source power estimates in beta (15–25 Hz) frequency band in the sensorimotor cortex tracked motor preparation and response in real time and revealed switching from the incorrectly-primed to the correctly-responding hemisphere. In contrast, theta oscillations (4–7 Hz) were sensitive to the levels of incongruity as the medial and ventrolateral frontal cortices were especially activated by response conflict. These two areas are key to cognitive control and their integrated contributions to response inhibition and switching were revealed by phase-locked co-oscillations. These processes were pharmacologically manipulated with a moderate alcohol beverage or a placebo administered to healthy social drinkers. Alcohol selectively decreased accuracy to response conflict. It strongly attenuated theta oscillations during decision making and partly re-sculpted relative contributions of the frontal network without affecting the motor switching process subserved by beta band. Our results indicate that motor preparation is initiated automatically even when counterproductive but that it is monitored and regulated by the prefrontal cognitive control processes under conflict. They further confirm that the regulative top-down functions are particularly vulnerable to alcohol intoxication. PMID:29329355

Counterintuitive effects of negative social feedback on attention.

PubMed

Anderson, Brian A

2017-04-01

Which stimuli we pay attention to is strongly influenced by learning. Stimuli previously associated with reward outcomes, such as money and food, and stimuli previously associated with aversive outcomes, such as monetary loss and electric shock, automatically capture attention. Social reward (happy expressions) can bias attention towards associated stimuli, but the role of negative social feedback in biasing attentional selection remains unexplored. On the one hand, negative social feedback often serves to discourage particular behaviours. If attentional selection can be curbed much like any other behavioural preference, we might expect stimuli associated with negative social feedback to be more readily ignored. On the other hand, if negative social feedback influences attention in the same way that other aversive outcomes do, such feedback might ironically bias attention towards the stimuli it is intended to discourage selection of. In the present study, participants first completed a training phase in which colour targets were associated with negative social feedback. Then, in a subsequent test phase, these same colour stimuli served as task-irrelevant distractors during a visual search task. The results strongly support the latter interpretation in that stimuli previously associated with negative social feedback impaired search performance.

Effectiveness of an automatic tracking software in underwater motion analysis.

PubMed

Magalhaes, Fabrício A; Sawacha, Zimi; Di Michele, Rocco; Cortesi, Matteo; Gatta, Giorgio; Fantozzi, Silvia

2013-01-01

Tracking of markers placed on anatomical landmarks is a common practice in sports science to perform the kinematic analysis that interests both athletes and coaches. Although different software programs have been developed to automatically track markers and/or features, none of them was specifically designed to analyze underwater motion. Hence, this study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a software developed for automatic tracking of underwater movements (DVP), based on the Kanade-Lucas-Tomasi feature tracker. Twenty-one video recordings of different aquatic exercises (n = 2940 markers' positions) were manually tracked to determine the markers' center coordinates. Then, the videos were automatically tracked using DVP and a commercially available software (COM). Since tracking techniques may produce false targets, an operator was instructed to stop the automatic procedure and to correct the position of the cursor when the distance between the calculated marker's coordinate and the reference one was higher than 4 pixels. The proportion of manual interventions required by the software was used as a measure of the degree of automation. Overall, manual interventions were 10.4% lower for DVP (7.4%) than for COM (17.8%). Moreover, when examining the different exercise modes separately, the percentage of manual interventions was 5.6% to 29.3% lower for DVP than for COM. Similar results were observed when analyzing the type of marker rather than the type of exercise, with 9.9% less manual interventions for DVP than for COM. In conclusion, based on these results, the developed automatic tracking software presented can be used as a valid and useful tool for underwater motion analysis. Key PointsThe availability of effective software for automatic tracking would represent a significant advance for the practical use of kinematic analysis in swimming and other aquatic sports.An important feature of automatic tracking software is to require limited human interventions and supervision, thus allowing short processing time.When tracking underwater movements, the degree of automation of the tracking procedure is influenced by the capability of the algorithm to overcome difficulties linked to the small target size, the low image quality and the presence of background clutters.The newly developed feature-tracking algorithm has shown a good automatic tracking effectiveness in underwater motion analysis with significantly smaller percentage of required manual interventions when compared to a commercial software.

The use of transmission line modelling to test the effectiveness of I-kaz as autonomous selection of intrinsic mode function

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yusop, Hanafi M.; Ghazali, M. F.; Yusof, M. F. M.; PiRemli, M. A.; Karollah, B.; Rusman

2017-10-01

Pressure transient signal occurred due to sudden changes in fluid propagation filled in pipelines system, which is caused by rapid pressure and flow fluctuation in a system, such as closing and opening valve rapidly. The application of Hilbert-Huang Transform (HHT) as the method to analyse the pressure transient signal utilised in this research. However, this method has the difficulty in selecting the suitable IMF for the further post-processing, which is Hilbert Transform (HT). This paper proposed the implementation of Integrated Kurtosis-based Algorithm for z-filter Technique (I-kaz) to kurtosis ratio (I-kaz-Kurtosis) for that allows automatic selection of intrinsic mode function (IMF) that’s should be used. This work demonstrated the synthetic pressure transient signal generates using transmission line modelling (TLM) in order to test the effectiveness of I-kaz as the autonomous selection of intrinsic mode function (IMF). A straight fluid network was designed using TLM fixing with higher resistance at some point act as a leak and connecting to the pipe feature (junction, pipefitting or blockage). The analysis results using I-kaz-kurtosis ratio revealed that the method can be utilised as an automatic selection of intrinsic mode function (IMF) although the noise level ratio of the signal is lower. I-kaz-kurtosis ratio is recommended and advised to be implemented as automatic selection of intrinsic mode function (IMF) through HHT analysis.

An automatic fuzzy-based multi-temporal brain digital subtraction angiography image fusion algorithm using curvelet transform and content selection strategy.

PubMed

Momeni, Saba; Pourghassem, Hossein

2014-08-01

Recently image fusion has prominent role in medical image processing and is useful to diagnose and treat many diseases. Digital subtraction angiography is one of the most applicable imaging to diagnose brain vascular diseases and radiosurgery of brain. This paper proposes an automatic fuzzy-based multi-temporal fusion algorithm for 2-D digital subtraction angiography images. In this algorithm, for blood vessel map extraction, the valuable frames of brain angiography video are automatically determined to form the digital subtraction angiography images based on a novel definition of vessel dispersion generated by injected contrast material. Our proposed fusion scheme contains different fusion methods for high and low frequency contents based on the coefficient characteristic of wrapping second generation of curvelet transform and a novel content selection strategy. Our proposed content selection strategy is defined based on sample correlation of the curvelet transform coefficients. In our proposed fuzzy-based fusion scheme, the selection of curvelet coefficients are optimized by applying weighted averaging and maximum selection rules for the high frequency coefficients. For low frequency coefficients, the maximum selection rule based on local energy criterion is applied to better visual perception. Our proposed fusion algorithm is evaluated on a perfect brain angiography image dataset consisting of one hundred 2-D internal carotid rotational angiography videos. The obtained results demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of our proposed fusion algorithm in comparison with common and basic fusion algorithms.

Automatic Processing and the Unitization of Two Features.

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-02-01

experiment, LaBerge (1973) showed that with practice two features could be automatically unitized to form a novel character. We wish to address a...different from a search for a target which requires identification of one of the features alone. Page 2 Indeed, LaBerge (1973) used a similar implicit...perception? Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 1978, 26, 498-507. LaBerge , D. Attention and the measurement of perceptual learning. Memory and

Perspective taking combats automatic expressions of racial bias.

PubMed

Todd, Andrew R; Bodenhausen, Galen V; Richeson, Jennifer A; Galinsky, Adam D

2011-06-01

Five experiments investigated the hypothesis that perspective taking--actively contemplating others' psychological experiences--attenuates automatic expressions of racial bias. Across the first 3 experiments, participants who adopted the perspective of a Black target in an initial context subsequently exhibited more positive automatic interracial evaluations, with changes in automatic evaluations mediating the effect of perspective taking on more deliberate interracial evaluations. Furthermore, unlike other bias-reduction strategies, the interracial positivity resulting from perspective taking was accompanied by increased salience of racial inequalities (Experiment 3). Perspective taking also produced stronger approach-oriented action tendencies toward Blacks (but not Whites; Experiment 4). A final experiment revealed that face-to-face interactions with perspective takers were rated more positively by Black interaction partners than were interactions with nonperspective takers--a relationship that was mediated by perspective takers' increased approach-oriented nonverbal behaviors (as rated by objective, third-party observers). These findings indicate that perspective taking can combat automatic expressions of racial biases without simultaneously decreasing sensitivity to ongoing racial disparities. 2011 APA, all rights reserved

Decision Variants for the Automatic Determination of Optimal Feature Subset in RF-RFE.

PubMed

Chen, Qi; Meng, Zhaopeng; Liu, Xinyi; Jin, Qianguo; Su, Ran

2018-06-15

Feature selection, which identifies a set of most informative features from the original feature space, has been widely used to simplify the predictor. Recursive feature elimination (RFE), as one of the most popular feature selection approaches, is effective in data dimension reduction and efficiency increase. A ranking of features, as well as candidate subsets with the corresponding accuracy, is produced through RFE. The subset with highest accuracy (HA) or a preset number of features (PreNum) are often used as the final subset. However, this may lead to a large number of features being selected, or if there is no prior knowledge about this preset number, it is often ambiguous and subjective regarding final subset selection. A proper decision variant is in high demand to automatically determine the optimal subset. In this study, we conduct pioneering work to explore the decision variant after obtaining a list of candidate subsets from RFE. We provide a detailed analysis and comparison of several decision variants to automatically select the optimal feature subset. Random forest (RF)-recursive feature elimination (RF-RFE) algorithm and a voting strategy are introduced. We validated the variants on two totally different molecular biology datasets, one for a toxicogenomic study and the other one for protein sequence analysis. The study provides an automated way to determine the optimal feature subset when using RF-RFE.

Sub-surface defects detection of by using active thermography and advanced image edge detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tse, Peter W.; Wang, Gaochao

2017-05-01

Active or pulsed thermography is a popular non-destructive testing (NDT) tool for inspecting the integrity and anomaly of industrial equipment. One of the recent research trends in using active thermography is to automate the process in detecting hidden defects. As of today, human effort has still been using to adjust the temperature intensity of the thermo camera in order to visually observe the difference in cooling rates caused by a normal target as compared to that by a sub-surface crack exists inside the target. To avoid the tedious human-visual inspection and minimize human induced error, this paper reports the design of an automatic method that is capable of detecting subsurface defects. The method used the technique of active thermography, edge detection in machine vision and smart algorithm. An infrared thermo-camera was used to capture a series of temporal pictures after slightly heating up the inspected target by flash lamps. Then the Canny edge detector was employed to automatically extract the defect related images from the captured pictures. The captured temporal pictures were preprocessed by a packet of Canny edge detector and then a smart algorithm was used to reconstruct the whole sequences of image signals. During the processes, noise and irrelevant backgrounds exist in the pictures were removed. Consequently, the contrast of the edges of defective areas had been highlighted. The designed automatic method was verified by real pipe specimens that contains sub-surface cracks. After applying such smart method, the edges of cracks can be revealed visually without the need of using manual adjustment on the setting of thermo-camera. With the help of this automatic method, the tedious process in manually adjusting the colour contract and the pixel intensity in order to reveal defects can be avoided.

Classification of video sequences into chosen generalized use classes of target size and lighting level.

PubMed

Leszczuk, Mikołaj; Dudek, Łukasz; Witkowski, Marcin

The VQiPS (Video Quality in Public Safety) Working Group, supported by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, has been developing a user guide for public safety video applications. According to VQiPS, five parameters have particular importance influencing the ability to achieve a recognition task. They are: usage time-frame, discrimination level, target size, lighting level, and level of motion. These parameters form what are referred to as Generalized Use Classes (GUCs). The aim of our research was to develop algorithms that would automatically assist classification of input sequences into one of the GUCs. Target size and lighting level parameters were approached. The experiment described reveals the experts' ambiguity and hesitation during the manual target size determination process. However, the automatic methods developed for target size classification make it possible to determine GUC parameters with 70 % compliance to the end-users' opinion. Lighting levels of the entire sequence can be classified with an efficiency reaching 93 %. To make the algorithms available for use, a test application has been developed. It is able to process video files and display classification results, the user interface being very simple and requiring only minimal user interaction.

Resolution Enhanced Magnetic Sensing System for Wide Coverage Real Time UXO Detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zalevsky, Zeev; Bregman, Yuri; Salomonski, Nizan; Zafrir, Hovav

2012-09-01

In this paper we present a new high resolution automatic detection algorithm based upon a Wavelet transform and then validate it in marine related experiments. The proposed approach allows obtaining an automatic detection in a very low signal to noise ratios. The amount of calculations is reduced, the magnetic trend is depressed and the probability of detection/ false alarm rate can easily be controlled. Moreover, the algorithm enables to distinguish between close targets. In the algorithm we use the physical dependence of the magnetic field of a magnetic dipole in order to define a Wavelet mother function that later on can detect magnetic targets modeled as dipoles and embedded in noisy surrounding, at improved resolution. The proposed algorithm was realized on synthesized targets and then validated in field experiments involving a marine surface-floating system for wide coverage real time unexploded ordinance (UXO) detection and mapping. The detection probability achieved in the marine experiment was above 90%. The horizontal radial error of most of the detected targets was only 16 m and two baseline targets that were immersed about 20 m one to another could easily be distinguished.

The Automatic Conservative: Ideology-Based Attentional Asymmetries in the Processing of Valenced Information

PubMed Central

Carraro, Luciana; Castelli, Luigi; Macchiella, Claudia

2011-01-01

Research has widely explored the differences between conservatives and liberals, and it has been also recently demonstrated that conservatives display different reactions toward valenced stimuli. However, previous studies have not yet fully illuminated the cognitive underpinnings of these differences. In the current work, we argued that political ideology is related to selective attention processes, so that negative stimuli are more likely to automatically grab the attention of conservatives as compared to liberals. In Experiment 1, we demonstrated that negative (vs. positive) information impaired the performance of conservatives, more than liberals, in an Emotional Stroop Task. This finding was confirmed in Experiment 2 and in Experiment 3 employing a Dot-Probe Task, demonstrating that threatening stimuli were more likely to attract the attention of conservatives. Overall, results support the conclusion that people embracing conservative views of the world display an automatic selective attention for negative stimuli. PMID:22096486

Development of A Two-Stage Procedure for the Automatic Recognition of Dysfluencies in the Speech of Children Who Stutter: I. Psychometric Procedures Appropriate for Selection of Training Material for Lexical Dysfluency Classifiers

PubMed Central

Howell, Peter; Sackin, Stevie; Glenn, Kazan

2007-01-01

This program of work is intended to develop automatic recognition procedures to locate and assess stuttered dysfluencies. This and the following article together, develop and test recognizers for repetitions and prolongations. The automatic recognizers classify the speech in two stages: In the first, the speech is segmented and in the second the segments are categorized. The units that are segmented are words. Here assessments by human judges on the speech of 12 children who stutter are described using a corresponding procedure. The accuracy of word boundary placement across judges, categorization of the words as fluent, repetition or prolongation, and duration of the different fluency categories are reported. These measures allow reliable instances of repetitions and prolongations to be selected for training and assessing the recognizers in the subsequent paper. PMID:9328878

Design of Automatic Extraction Algorithm of Knowledge Points for MOOCs

PubMed Central

Chen, Haijian; Han, Dongmei; Zhao, Lina

2015-01-01

In recent years, Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are very popular among college students and have a powerful impact on academic institutions. In the MOOCs environment, knowledge discovery and knowledge sharing are very important, which currently are often achieved by ontology techniques. In building ontology, automatic extraction technology is crucial. Because the general methods of text mining algorithm do not have obvious effect on online course, we designed automatic extracting course knowledge points (AECKP) algorithm for online course. It includes document classification, Chinese word segmentation, and POS tagging for each document. Vector Space Model (VSM) is used to calculate similarity and design the weight to optimize the TF-IDF algorithm output values, and the higher scores will be selected as knowledge points. Course documents of “C programming language” are selected for the experiment in this study. The results show that the proposed approach can achieve satisfactory accuracy rate and recall rate. PMID:26448738

A Multiple-range Self-balancing Thermocouple Potentiometer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Warshawsky, I; Estrin, M

1951-01-01

A multiple-range potentiometer circuit is described that provides automatic measurement of temperatures or temperature differences with any one of several thermocouple-material pairs. Techniques of automatic reference junction compensation, span adjustment, and zero suppression are described that permit rapid selection of range and wire material, without the necessity for restandardization, by setting of two external tap switches.

Chinese Journal of Lasers (Selected Articles),

DTIC Science & Technology

1986-04-22

properties We first investigated silicate based glasses, then the other inorganic glasses such as borate, phosphate, germanate. tellurate ...of the growth of high melting temperature I.~ oxides, several upward pulling single crystal furnaces with nigh precision mechanical movement and high...automatic electronic weighting systems, and programmable automatic movement correction systems. The reliability of most of these control systems

An automatic camera device for measuring waterfowl use

USGS Publications Warehouse

Cowardin, L.M.; Ashe, J.E.

1965-01-01

A Yashica Sequelle camera was modified and equipped with a timing device so that it would take pictures automatically at 15-minute intervals. Several of these cameras were used to photograph randomly selected quadrats located in different marsh habitats. The number of birds photographed in the different areas was used as an index of waterfowl use.

Dissociating Working Memory Updating and Automatic Updating: The Reference-Back Paradigm

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rac-Lubashevsky, Rachel; Kessler, Yoav

2016-01-01

Working memory (WM) updating is a controlled process through which relevant information in the environment is selected to enter the gate to WM and substitute its contents. We suggest that there is also an automatic form of updating, which influences performance in many tasks and is primarily manifested in reaction time sequential effects. The goal…

Automatic Promotion and Student Dropout: Evidence from Uganda, Using Propensity Score in Difference in Differences Model

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Okurut, Jeje Moses

2018-01-01

The impact of automatic promotion practice on students dropping out of Uganda's primary education was assessed using propensity score in difference in differences analysis technique. The analysis strategy was instrumental in addressing the selection bias problem, as well as biases arising from common trends over time, and permanent latent…

Optimizing Input/Output Using Adaptive File System Policies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Madhyastha, Tara M.; Elford, Christopher L.; Reed, Daniel A.

1996-01-01

Parallel input/output characterization studies and experiments with flexible resource management algorithms indicate that adaptivity is crucial to file system performance. In this paper we propose an automatic technique for selecting and refining file system policies based on application access patterns and execution environment. An automatic classification framework allows the file system to select appropriate caching and pre-fetching policies, while performance sensors provide feedback used to tune policy parameters for specific system environments. To illustrate the potential performance improvements possible using adaptive file system policies, we present results from experiments involving classification-based and performance-based steering.

Automatic thermal control switches. [for use in Space Shuttle borne Get Away Special container

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wing, L. D.

1982-01-01

Two automatic, flexible connection thermal control switches have been designed and tested in a thermal vacuum facility and in the Get Away Special (GAS) container flown on the third Shuttle flight. The switches are complementary in that one switch passes heat when the plate on which it is mounted exceeds some selected temperature and the other switch will pass heat only when the mounting plate temperature is below the selected value. Both switches are driven and controlled by phase-change capsule motors and require no other power source or thermal sensors.

On the feasibility of automatically selecting similar patients in highly individualized radiotherapy dose reconstruction for historic data of pediatric cancer survivors.

PubMed

Virgolin, Marco; van Dijk, Irma W E M; Wiersma, Jan; Ronckers, Cécile M; Witteveen, Cees; Bel, Arjan; Alderliesten, Tanja; Bosman, Peter A N

2018-04-01

The aim of this study is to establish the first step toward a novel and highly individualized three-dimensional (3D) dose distribution reconstruction method, based on CT scans and organ delineations of recently treated patients. Specifically, the feasibility of automatically selecting the CT scan of a recently treated childhood cancer patient who is similar to a given historically treated child who suffered from Wilms' tumor is assessed. A cohort of 37 recently treated children between 2- and 6-yr old are considered. Five potential notions of ground-truth similarity are proposed, each focusing on different anatomical aspects. These notions are automatically computed from CT scans of the abdomen and 3D organ delineations (liver, spleen, spinal cord, external body contour). The first is based on deformable image registration, the second on the Dice similarity coefficient, the third on the Hausdorff distance, the fourth on pairwise organ distances, and the last is computed by means of the overlap volume histogram. The relationship between typically available features of historically treated patients and the proposed ground-truth notions of similarity is studied by adopting state-of-the-art machine learning techniques, including random forest. Also, the feasibility of automatically selecting the most similar patient is assessed by comparing ground-truth rankings of similarity with predicted rankings. Similarities (mainly) based on the external abdomen shape and on the pairwise organ distances are highly correlated (Pearson r p ≥ 0.70) and are successfully modeled with random forests based on historically recorded features (pseudo-R 2 ≥ 0.69). In contrast, similarities based on the shape of internal organs cannot be modeled. For the similarities that random forest can reliably model, an estimation of feature relevance indicates that abdominal diameters and weight are the most important. Experiments on automatically selecting similar patients lead to coarse, yet quite robust results: the most similar patient is retrieved only 22% of the times, however, the error in worst-case scenarios is limited, with the fourth most similar patient being retrieved. Results demonstrate that automatically selecting similar patients is feasible when focusing on the shape of the external abdomen and on the position of internal organs. Moreover, whereas the common practice in phantom-based dose reconstruction is to select a representative phantom using age, height, and weight as discriminant factors for any treatment scenario, our analysis on abdominal tumor treatment for children shows that the most relevant features are weight and the anterior-posterior and left-right abdominal diameters. © 2018 American Association of Physicists in Medicine.

Attention-Based Recurrent Temporal Restricted Boltzmann Machine for Radar High Resolution Range Profile Sequence Recognition.

PubMed

Zhang, Yifan; Gao, Xunzhang; Peng, Xuan; Ye, Jiaqi; Li, Xiang

2018-05-16

The High Resolution Range Profile (HRRP) recognition has attracted great concern in the field of Radar Automatic Target Recognition (RATR). However, traditional HRRP recognition methods failed to model high dimensional sequential data efficiently and have a poor anti-noise ability. To deal with these problems, a novel stochastic neural network model named Attention-based Recurrent Temporal Restricted Boltzmann Machine (ARTRBM) is proposed in this paper. RTRBM is utilized to extract discriminative features and the attention mechanism is adopted to select major features. RTRBM is efficient to model high dimensional HRRP sequences because it can extract the information of temporal and spatial correlation between adjacent HRRPs. The attention mechanism is used in sequential data recognition tasks including machine translation and relation classification, which makes the model pay more attention to the major features of recognition. Therefore, the combination of RTRBM and the attention mechanism makes our model effective for extracting more internal related features and choose the important parts of the extracted features. Additionally, the model performs well with the noise corrupted HRRP data. Experimental results on the Moving and Stationary Target Acquisition and Recognition (MSTAR) dataset show that our proposed model outperforms other traditional methods, which indicates that ARTRBM extracts, selects, and utilizes the correlation information between adjacent HRRPs effectively and is suitable for high dimensional data or noise corrupted data.

Sounds Activate Visual Cortex and Improve Visual Discrimination

PubMed Central

Störmer, Viola S.; Martinez, Antigona; McDonald, John J.; Hillyard, Steven A.

2014-01-01

A recent study in humans (McDonald et al., 2013) found that peripheral, task-irrelevant sounds activated contralateral visual cortex automatically as revealed by an auditory-evoked contralateral occipital positivity (ACOP) recorded from the scalp. The present study investigated the functional significance of this cross-modal activation of visual cortex, in particular whether the sound-evoked ACOP is predictive of improved perceptual processing of a subsequent visual target. A trial-by-trial analysis showed that the ACOP amplitude was markedly larger preceding correct than incorrect pattern discriminations of visual targets that were colocalized with the preceding sound. Dipole modeling of the scalp topography of the ACOP localized its neural generators to the ventrolateral extrastriate visual cortex. These results provide direct evidence that the cross-modal activation of contralateral visual cortex by a spatially nonpredictive but salient sound facilitates the discriminative processing of a subsequent visual target event at the location of the sound. Recordings of event-related potentials to the targets support the hypothesis that the ACOP is a neural consequence of the automatic orienting of visual attention to the location of the sound. PMID:25031419

Through-barrier electromagnetic imaging with an atomic magnetometer.

PubMed

Deans, Cameron; Marmugi, Luca; Renzoni, Ferruccio

2017-07-24

We demonstrate the penetration of thick metallic and ferromagnetic barriers for imaging of conductive targets underneath. Our system is based on an 85 Rb radio-frequency atomic magnetometer operating in electromagnetic induction imaging modality in an unshielded environment. Detrimental effects, including unpredictable magnetic signatures from ferromagnetic screens and variations in the magnetic background, are automatically compensated by active compensation coils controlled by servo loops. We exploit the tunability and low-frequency sensitivity of the atomic magnetometer to directly image multiple conductive targets concealed by a 2.5 mm ferromagnetic steel shield and/or a 2.0 mm aluminium shield, in a single scan. The performance of the atomic magnetometer allows imaging without any prior knowledge of the barriers or the targets, and without the need of background subtraction. A dedicated edge detection algorithm allows automatic estimation of the targets' size within 3.3 mm and of their position within 2.4 mm. Our results prove the feasibility of a compact, sensitive and automated sensing platform for imaging of concealed objects in a range of applications, from security screening to search and rescue.

Combining high-speed SVM learning with CNN feature encoding for real-time target recognition in high-definition video for ISR missions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kroll, Christine; von der Werth, Monika; Leuck, Holger; Stahl, Christoph; Schertler, Klaus

2017-05-01

For Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance (ISR) missions of manned and unmanned air systems typical electrooptical payloads provide high-definition video data which has to be exploited with respect to relevant ground targets in real-time by automatic/assisted target recognition software. Airbus Defence and Space is developing required technologies for real-time sensor exploitation since years and has combined the latest advances of Deep Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) with a proprietary high-speed Support Vector Machine (SVM) learning method into a powerful object recognition system with impressive results on relevant high-definition video scenes compared to conventional target recognition approaches. This paper describes the principal requirements for real-time target recognition in high-definition video for ISR missions and the Airbus approach of combining an invariant feature extraction using pre-trained CNNs and the high-speed training and classification ability of a novel frequency-domain SVM training method. The frequency-domain approach allows for a highly optimized implementation for General Purpose Computation on a Graphics Processing Unit (GPGPU) and also an efficient training of large training samples. The selected CNN which is pre-trained only once on domain-extrinsic data reveals a highly invariant feature extraction. This allows for a significantly reduced adaptation and training of the target recognition method for new target classes and mission scenarios. A comprehensive training and test dataset was defined and prepared using relevant high-definition airborne video sequences. The assessment concept is explained and performance results are given using the established precision-recall diagrams, average precision and runtime figures on representative test data. A comparison to legacy target recognition approaches shows the impressive performance increase by the proposed CNN+SVM machine-learning approach and the capability of real-time high-definition video exploitation.

The attentional 'zoom-lens' in 8-month-old infants.

PubMed

Ronconi, Luca; Franchin, Laura; Valenza, Eloisa; Gori, Simone; Facoetti, Andrea

2016-01-01

The spatial attention mechanisms of orienting and zooming cooperate to properly select visual information from the environment and plan eye movements accordingly. Despite the fact that orienting ability has been extensively studied in infancy, the zooming mechanism--namely, the ability to distribute the attentional resources to a small or large portion of the visual field--has never been tested before. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the attentional zooming abilities of 8-month-old infants. An eye-tracker device was employed to measure the saccadic latencies (SLs) at the onset of a visual target displayed at two eccentricities. The size of the more eccentric target was adjusted in order to counteract the effect of cortical magnification. Before the target display, attentional resources were automatically focused (zoom-in) or spread out (zoom-out) by using a small or large cue, respectively. Two different cue-target intervals were also employed to measure the time course of this attentional mechanism. The results showed that infants' SLs varied as a function of the cue size. Moreover, a clear time course emerged, demonstrating that infants can rapidly adjust the attentional focus size during a pre-saccadic temporal window. These findings could serve as an early marker for neurodevelopmental disorders associated with attentional zooming dysfunction such as autism and dyslexia. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Automated detection and classification of major retinal vessels for determination of diameter ratio of arteries and veins

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Muramatsu, Chisako; Hatanaka, Yuji; Iwase, Tatsuhiko; Hara, Takeshi; Fujita, Hiroshi

2010-03-01

Abnormalities of retinal vasculatures can indicate health conditions in the body, such as the high blood pressure and diabetes. Providing automatically determined width ratio of arteries and veins (A/V ratio) on retinal fundus images may help physicians in the diagnosis of hypertensive retinopathy, which may cause blindness. The purpose of this study was to detect major retinal vessels and classify them into arteries and veins for the determination of A/V ratio. Images used in this study were obtained from DRIVE database, which consists of 20 cases each for training and testing vessel detection algorithms. Starting with the reference standard of vasculature segmentation provided in the database, major arteries and veins each in the upper and lower temporal regions were manually selected for establishing the gold standard. We applied the black top-hat transformation and double-ring filter to detect retinal blood vessels. From the extracted vessels, large vessels extending from the optic disc to temporal regions were selected as target vessels for calculation of A/V ratio. Image features were extracted from the vessel segments from quarter-disc to one disc diameter from the edge of optic discs. The target segments in the training cases were classified into arteries and veins by using the linear discriminant analysis, and the selected parameters were applied to those in the test cases. Out of 40 pairs, 30 pairs (75%) of arteries and veins in the 20 test cases were correctly classified. The result can be used for the automated calculation of A/V ratio.

Cone of Darkness: Finding Blank-sky Positions for Multi-object Wide-field Observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lorente, N. P. F.

2014-05-01

We present the Cone of Darkness, an application to automatically configure blank-sky positions for a series of stacked, wide-field observations, such as those carried out by the SAMI instrument on the Anglo-Australian Telescope (AAT). The Sydney-AAO Multi-object Integral field spectrograph (SAMI) uses a plug-plate to mount its 13×61 core imaging fibre bundles (hexabundles) in the optical plane at the telescope's prime focus. To make the most efficient use of each plug-plate, several observing fields are typically stacked to produce a single plate. When choosing blank-sky positions for the observations it is most effective to select these such that one set of 26 holes gives valid sky positions for all fields on the plate. However, when carried out manually this selection process is tedious and includes a significant risk of error. The Cone of Darkness software aims to provide uniform blank-sky position coverage over the field of observation, within the limits set by the distribution of target positions and the chosen input catalogs. This will then facilitate the production of the best representative median sky spectrum for use in sky subtraction. The application, written in C++, is configurable, making it usable for a range of instruments. Given the plate characteristics and the positions of target holes, the software segments the unallocated space on the plate and determines the position which best fits the uniform distribution requirement. This position is checked, for each field, against the selected catalog using a TAP ADQL search. The process is then repeated until the desired number of sky positions is attained.

Atypical category processing and hemispheric asymmetries in high-functioning children with autism: revealed through high-density EEG mapping.

PubMed

Fiebelkorn, Ian C; Foxe, John J; McCourt, Mark E; Dumas, Kristina N; Molholm, Sophie

2013-05-01

Behavioral evidence for an impaired ability to group objects based on similar physical or semantic properties in autism spectrum disorders (ASD) has been mixed. Here, we recorded brain activity from high-functioning children with ASD as they completed a visual-target detection task. We then assessed the extent to which object-based selective attention automatically generalized from targets to non-target exemplars from the same well-known object class (e.g., dogs). Our results provide clear electrophysiological evidence that children with ASD (N=17, aged 8-13 years) process the similarity between targets (e.g., a specific dog) and same-category non-targets (SCNT) (e.g., another dog) to a lesser extent than do their typically developing (TD) peers (N=21). A closer examination of the data revealed striking hemispheric asymmetries that were specific to the ASD group. These findings align with mounting evidence in the autism literature of anatomic underconnectivity between the cerebral hemispheres. Years of research in individuals with TD have demonstrated that the left hemisphere (LH) is specialized toward processing local (or featural) stimulus properties and the right hemisphere (RH) toward processing global (or configural) stimulus properties. We therefore propose a model where a lack of communication between the hemispheres in ASD, combined with typical hemispheric specialization, is a root cause for impaired categorization and the oft-observed bias to process local over global stimulus properties. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Automatic Recognition of the Abnormal Sky-subtraction Spectra Based on Hadoop

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

An, An; Pan, Jingchang

2017-10-01

The skylines, superimposing on the target spectrum as a main noise, If the spectrum still contains a large number of high strength skylight residuals after sky-subtraction processing, it will not be conducive to the follow-up analysis of the target spectrum. At the same time, the LAMOST can observe a quantity of spectroscopic data in every night. We need an efficient platform to proceed the recognition of the larger numbers of abnormal sky-subtraction spectra quickly. Hadoop, as a distributed parallel data computing platform, can deal with large amounts of data effectively. In this paper, we conduct the continuum normalization firstly and then a simple and effective method will be presented to automatic recognize the abnormal sky-subtraction spectra based on Hadoop platform. Obtain through the experiment, the Hadoop platform can implement the recognition with more speed and efficiency, and the simple method can recognize the abnormal sky-subtraction spectra and find the abnormal skyline positions of different residual strength effectively, can be applied to the automatic detection of abnormal sky-subtraction of large number of spectra.

Automatic gain control in the echolocation system of dolphins

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Au, Whitlow W. L.; Benoit-Bird, Kelly J.

2003-06-01

In bats and technological sonars, the gain of the receiver is progressively increased with time after the transmission of a signal to compensate for acoustic propagation loss. The current understanding of dolphin echolocation indicates that automatic gain control is not a part of their sonar system. In order to test this understanding, we have performed field measurements of free-ranging echolocating dolphins. Here we show that dolphins do possess an automatic gain control mechanism, but that it is implemented in the transmission phase rather than the receiving phase of a sonar cycle. We find that the amplitude of the dolphins' echolocation signals are highly range dependent; this amplitude increases with increasing target range, R, in a 20log(R) fashion to compensate for propagation loss. If the echolocation target is a fish school with many sound scatterers, the echoes from the school will remain nearly constant with range as the dolphin closes in on it. This characteristic has the same effect as time-varying gain in bats and technological sonar when considered from a sonar system perspective.

Task-irrelevant spider associations affect categorization performance.

PubMed

Woud, Marcella L; Ellwart, Thomas; Langner, Oliver; Rinck, Mike; Becker, Eni S

2011-09-01

In two studies, the Single Target Implicit Association Test (STIAT) was used to investigate automatic associations toward spiders. In both experiments, we measured the strength of associations between pictures of spiders and either threat-related words or pleasant words. Unlike previous studies, we administered a STIAT version in which stimulus contents was task-irrelevant: The target spider pictures were categorized according to the label picture, irrespective of what they showed. In Study 1, spider-fearful individuals versus non-fearful controls were tested, Study 2 compared spider enthusiasts to non-fearful controls. Results revealed that the novel STIAT version was sensitive to group differences in automatic associations toward spiders. In Study 1, it successfully distinguished between spider-fearful individuals and non-fearful controls. Moreover, STIAT scores predicted automatic fear responses best, whereas controlled avoidance behavior was best predicted by the FAS (German translation of the Fear of Spiders Questionnaire). The results of Study 2 demonstrated that the novel STIAT version was also able to differentiate between spider enthusiasts and non-fearful controls. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Significantly improved precision of cell migration analysis in time-lapse video microscopy through use of a fully automated tracking system

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Background Cell motility is a critical parameter in many physiological as well as pathophysiological processes. In time-lapse video microscopy, manual cell tracking remains the most common method of analyzing migratory behavior of cell populations. In addition to being labor-intensive, this method is susceptible to user-dependent errors regarding the selection of "representative" subsets of cells and manual determination of precise cell positions. Results We have quantitatively analyzed these error sources, demonstrating that manual cell tracking of pancreatic cancer cells lead to mis-calculation of migration rates of up to 410%. In order to provide for objective measurements of cell migration rates, we have employed multi-target tracking technologies commonly used in radar applications to develop fully automated cell identification and tracking system suitable for high throughput screening of video sequences of unstained living cells. Conclusion We demonstrate that our automatic multi target tracking system identifies cell objects, follows individual cells and computes migration rates with high precision, clearly outperforming manual procedures. PMID:20377897

Measurement of Reconstructed Charged Particle Multiplicities of Neutrino Interactions in MicroBooNE

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rafique, Aleena

2017-09-25

Here, we compare the observed charged particle multiplicity distributions in the MicroBooNE liquid argon time projection chamber from neutrino interactions in a restricted final state phase space to predictions of this distribution from several GENIE models. The measurement uses a data sample consisting of neutrino interactions with a final state muon candidate fully contained within the MicroBooNE detector. These data were collected in 2015-2016 with the Fermilab Booster Neutrino Beam (BNB), which has an average neutrino energy of 800 MeV, using an exposure corresponding to 5e19 protons-on-target. The analysis employs fully automatic event selection and charged particle track reconstruction andmore » uses a data-driven technique to determine the contribution to each multiplicity bin from neutrino interactions and cosmic-induced backgrounds. The restricted phase space employed makes the measurement most sensitive to the higher-energy charged particles expected from primary neutrino-argon collisions and less sensitive to lower energy protons expected to be produced in final state interactions of collision products with the target argon nucleus.« less

Selecting Cases for Intensive Analysis: A Diversity of Goals and Methods

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gerring, John; Cojocaru, Lee

2016-01-01

This study revisits the task of case selection in case study research, proposing a new typology of strategies that is explicit, disaggregated, and relatively comprehensive. A secondary goal is to explore the prospects for case selection by "algorithm," aka "ex ante," "automatic," "quantitative,"…

Validation of automatic segmentation of ribs for NTCP modeling.

PubMed

Stam, Barbara; Peulen, Heike; Rossi, Maddalena M G; Belderbos, José S A; Sonke, Jan-Jakob

2016-03-01

Determination of a dose-effect relation for rib fractures in a large patient group has been limited by the time consuming manual delineation of ribs. Automatic segmentation could facilitate such an analysis. We determine the accuracy of automatic rib segmentation in the context of normal tissue complication probability modeling (NTCP). Forty-one patients with stage I/II non-small cell lung cancer treated with SBRT to 54 Gy in 3 fractions were selected. Using the 4DCT derived mid-ventilation planning CT, all ribs were manually contoured and automatically segmented. Accuracy of segmentation was assessed using volumetric, shape and dosimetric measures. Manual and automatic dosimetric parameters Dx and EUD were tested for equivalence using the Two One-Sided T-test (TOST), and assessed for agreement using Bland-Altman analysis. NTCP models based on manual and automatic segmentation were compared. Automatic segmentation was comparable with the manual delineation in radial direction, but larger near the costal cartilage and vertebrae. Manual and automatic Dx and EUD were significantly equivalent. The Bland-Altman analysis showed good agreement. The two NTCP models were very similar. Automatic rib segmentation was significantly equivalent to manual delineation and can be used for NTCP modeling in a large patient group. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automatic patient dose registry and clinical audit on line for mammography.

PubMed

Ten, J I; Vano, E; Sánchez, R; Fernandez-Soto, J M

2015-07-01

The use of automatic registry systems for patient dose in digital mammography allows clinical audit and patient dose analysis of the whole sample of individual mammography exposures while fulfilling the requirements of the European Directives and other international recommendations. Further parameters associated with radiation exposure (tube voltage, X-ray tube output and HVL values for different kVp and target/filter combinations, breast compression, etc.) should be periodically verified and used to evaluate patient doses. This study presents an experience in routine clinical practice for mammography using automatic systems. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

SKYWARD: the next generation airborne infrared search and track

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fortunato, L.; Colombi, G.; Ondini, A.; Quaranta, C.; Giunti, C.; Sozzi, B.; Balzarotti, G.

2016-05-01

Infrared Search and Track systems are an essential element of the modern and future combat aircrafts. Passive automatic search, detection and tracking functions, are key points for silent operations or jammed tactical scenarios. SKYWARD represents the latest evolution of IRST technology in which high quality electro-optical components, advanced algorithms, efficient hardware and software solutions are harmonically integrated to provide high-end affordable performances. Additionally, the reduction of critical opto-mechanical elements optimises weight and volume and increases the overall reliability. Multiple operative modes dedicated to different situations are available; many options can be selected among multiple or single target tracking, for surveillance or engagement, and imaging, for landing or navigation aid, assuring the maximum system flexibility. The high quality 2D-IR sensor is exploited by multiple parallel processing chains, based on linear and non-linear techniques, to extract the possible targets from background, in different conditions, with false alarm rate control. A widely tested track processor manages a large amount of candidate targets simultaneously and allows discriminating real targets from noise whilst operating with low target to background contrasts. The capability of providing reliable passive range estimation is an additional qualifying element of the system. Particular care has been dedicated to the detector non-uniformities, a possible limiting factor for distant targets detection, as well as to the design of the electro-optics for a harsh airborne environment. The system can be configured for LWIR or MWIR waveband according to the customer operational requirements. An embedded data recorder saves all the necessary images and data for mission debriefing, particularly useful during inflight system integration and tuning.

Definition and classification of evaluation units for tertiary structure prediction in CASP12 facilitated through semi-automated metrics.

PubMed

Abriata, Luciano A; Kinch, Lisa N; Tamò, Giorgio E; Monastyrskyy, Bohdan; Kryshtafovych, Andriy; Dal Peraro, Matteo

2018-03-01

For assessment purposes, CASP targets are split into evaluation units. We herein present the official definition of CASP12 evaluation units (EUs) and their classification into difficulty categories. Each target can be evaluated as one EU (the whole target) or/and several EUs (separate structural domains or groups of structural domains). The specific scenario for a target split is determined by the domain organization of available templates, the difference in server performance on separate domains versus combination of the domains, and visual inspection. In the end, 71 targets were split into 96 EUs. Classification of the EUs into difficulty categories was done semi-automatically with the assistance of metrics provided by the Prediction Center. These metrics account for sequence and structural similarities of the EUs to potential structural templates from the Protein Data Bank, and for the baseline performance of automated server predictions. The metrics readily separate the 96 EUs into 38 EUs that should be straightforward for template-based modeling (TBM) and 39 that are expected to be hard for homology modeling and are thus left for free modeling (FM). The remaining 19 borderline evaluation units were dubbed FM/TBM, and were inspected case by case. The article also overviews structural and evolutionary features of selected targets relevant to our accompanying article presenting the assessment of FM and FM/TBM predictions, and overviews structural features of the hardest evaluation units from the FM category. We finally suggest improvements for the EU definition and classification procedures. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Automatic detection of sweep-meshable volumes

DOEpatents

Tautges,; Timothy J. , White; David, R [Pittsburgh, PA

2006-05-23

A method of and software for automatically determining whether a mesh can be generated by sweeping for a representation of a geometric solid comprising: classifying surface mesh schemes for surfaces of the representation locally using surface vertex types; grouping mappable and submappable surfaces of the representation into chains; computing volume edge types for the representation; recursively traversing surfaces of the representation and grouping the surfaces into source, target, and linking surface lists; and checking traversal direction when traversing onto linking surfaces.

Unit Reference Sheet (URS) Cost Methodology.

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-08-01

LAUNCHER MONORAIL GUIDED MISSILE: W/E (NIKE-HERCULES) L45740 LAUNCHER TUBULAR GUIDED MISSILE: (TOW) L45757 LAUNCHER ZERO LENGTH GUIDED MISSILE: (IMP-HAWK...L76762 LOADER TRANSPORTER GUIDED MISSILE: W/E (HAWK) M57503 MOBILE TARGET TRACKING SYSTEM: USED TO SUPPORT MQM 34 ( FIRE BEE) M57549 MOBILITY KIT GUIDED...HIGH RATE THREE BARREL W/E J96479 GUN AUTOMATIC 20 MILLIMETER: GAS OPERATED MANUAL OR ELECT FIRED J96481 GUN AUTOMATIC 20 MILLIMETER: ELECTRIC J96694 GUN

Automatic sleep scoring: a search for an optimal combination of measures.

PubMed

Krakovská, Anna; Mezeiová, Kristína

2011-09-01

The objective of this study is to find the best set of characteristics of polysomnographic signals for the automatic classification of sleep stages. A selection was made from 74 measures, including linear spectral measures, interdependency measures, and nonlinear measures of complexity that were computed for the all-night polysomnographic recordings of 20 healthy subjects. The adopted multidimensional analysis involved quadratic discriminant analysis, forward selection procedure, and selection by the best subset procedure. Two situations were considered: the use of four polysomnographic signals (EEG, EMG, EOG, and ECG) and the use of the EEG alone. For the given database, the best automatic sleep classifier achieved approximately an 81% agreement with the hypnograms of experts. The classifier was based on the next 14 features of polysomnographic signals: the ratio of powers in the beta and delta frequency range (EEG, channel C3), the fractal exponent (EMG), the variance (EOG), the absolute power in the sigma 1 band (EEG, C3), the relative power in the delta 2 band (EEG, O2), theta/gamma (EEG, C3), theta/alpha (EEG, O1), sigma/gamma (EEG, C4), the coherence in the delta 1 band (EEG, O1-O2), the entropy (EMG), the absolute theta 2 (EEG, Fp1), theta/alpha (EEG, Fp1), the sigma 2 coherence (EEG, O1-C3), and the zero-crossing rate (ECG); however, even with only four features, we could perform sleep scoring with a 74% accuracy, which is comparable to the inter-rater agreement between two independent specialists. We have shown that 4-14 carefully selected polysomnographic features were sufficient for successful sleep scoring. The efficiency of the corresponding automatic classifiers was verified and conclusively demonstrated on all-night recordings from healthy adults. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automatic color preference correction for color reproduction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tsukada, Masato; Funayama, Chisato; Tajima, Johji

2000-12-01

The reproduction of natural objects in color images has attracted a great deal of attention. Reproduction more pleasing colors of natural objects is one of the methods available to improve image quality. We developed an automatic color correction method to maintain preferred color reproduction for three significant categories: facial skin color, green grass and blue sky. In this method, a representative color in an object area to be corrected is automatically extracted from an input image, and a set of color correction parameters is selected depending on the representative color. The improvement in image quality for reproductions of natural image was more than 93 percent in subjective experiments. These results show the usefulness of our automatic color correction method for the reproduction of preferred colors.

Automatic programming of simulation models

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schroer, Bernard J.; Tseng, Fan T.; Zhang, Shou X.; Dwan, Wen S.

1990-01-01

The concepts of software engineering were used to improve the simulation modeling environment. Emphasis was placed on the application of an element of rapid prototyping, or automatic programming, to assist the modeler define the problem specification. Then, once the problem specification has been defined, an automatic code generator is used to write the simulation code. The following two domains were selected for evaluating the concepts of software engineering for discrete event simulation: manufacturing domain and a spacecraft countdown network sequence. The specific tasks were to: (1) define the software requirements for a graphical user interface to the Automatic Manufacturing Programming System (AMPS) system; (2) develop a graphical user interface for AMPS; and (3) compare the AMPS graphical interface with the AMPS interactive user interface.

Automatic Registration of GF4 Pms: a High Resolution Multi-Spectral Sensor on Board a Satellite on Geostationary Orbit

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, M.; Li, J.

2018-04-01

Geometric correction is an important preprocessing process in the application of GF4 PMS image. The method of geometric correction that is based on the manual selection of geometric control points is time-consuming and laborious. The more common method, based on a reference image, is automatic image registration. This method involves several steps and parameters. For the multi-spectral sensor GF4 PMS, it is necessary for us to identify the best combination of parameters and steps. This study mainly focuses on the following issues: necessity of Rational Polynomial Coefficients (RPC) correction before automatic registration, base band in the automatic registration and configuration of GF4 PMS spatial resolution.

Application of quantum-behaved particle swarm optimization to motor imagery EEG classification.

PubMed

Hsu, Wei-Yen

2013-12-01

In this study, we propose a recognition system for single-trial analysis of motor imagery (MI) electroencephalogram (EEG) data. Applying event-related brain potential (ERP) data acquired from the sensorimotor cortices, the system chiefly consists of automatic artifact elimination, feature extraction, feature selection and classification. In addition to the use of independent component analysis, a similarity measure is proposed to further remove the electrooculographic (EOG) artifacts automatically. Several potential features, such as wavelet-fractal features, are then extracted for subsequent classification. Next, quantum-behaved particle swarm optimization (QPSO) is used to select features from the feature combination. Finally, selected sub-features are classified by support vector machine (SVM). Compared with without artifact elimination, feature selection using a genetic algorithm (GA) and feature classification with Fisher's linear discriminant (FLD) on MI data from two data sets for eight subjects, the results indicate that the proposed method is promising in brain-computer interface (BCI) applications.

extrap: Software to assist the selection of extrapolation methods for moving-boat ADCP streamflow measurements

USGS Publications Warehouse

Mueller, David S.

2013-01-01

profiles from the entire cross section and multiple transects to determine a mean profile for the measurement. The use of an exponent derived from normalized data from the entire cross section is shown to be valid for application of the power velocity distribution law in the computation of the unmeasured discharge in a cross section. Selected statistics are combined with empirically derived criteria to automatically select the appropriate extrapolation methods. A graphical user interface (GUI) provides the user tools to visually evaluate the automatically selected extrapolation methods and manually change them, as necessary. The sensitivity of the total discharge to available extrapolation methods is presented in the GUI. Use of extrap by field hydrographers has demonstrated that extrap is a more accurate and efficient method of determining the appropriate extrapolation methods compared with tools currently (2012) provided in the ADCP manufacturers’ software.

System for definition of the central-chest vasculature

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Taeprasartsit, Pinyo; Higgins, William E.

2009-02-01

Accurate definition of the central-chest vasculature from three-dimensional (3D) multi-detector CT (MDCT) images is important for pulmonary applications. For instance, the aorta and pulmonary artery help in automatic definition of the Mountain lymph-node stations for lung-cancer staging. This work presents a system for defining major vascular structures in the central chest. The system provides automatic methods for extracting the aorta and pulmonary artery and semi-automatic methods for extracting the other major central chest arteries/veins, such as the superior vena cava and azygos vein. Automatic aorta and pulmonary artery extraction are performed by model fitting and selection. The system also extracts certain vascular structure information to validate outputs. A semi-automatic method extracts vasculature by finding the medial axes between provided important sites. Results of the system are applied to lymph-node station definition and guidance of bronchoscopic biopsy.

Selection of optimal oligonucleotide probes for microarrays usingmultiple criteria, global alignment and parameter estimation.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Li, Xingyuan; He, Zhili; Zhou, Jizhong

2005-10-30

The oligonucleotide specificity for microarray hybridizationcan be predicted by its sequence identity to non-targets, continuousstretch to non-targets, and/or binding free energy to non-targets. Mostcurrently available programs only use one or two of these criteria, whichmay choose 'false' specific oligonucleotides or miss 'true' optimalprobes in a considerable proportion. We have developed a software tool,called CommOligo using new algorithms and all three criteria forselection of optimal oligonucleotide probes. A series of filters,including sequence identity, free energy, continuous stretch, GC content,self-annealing, distance to the 3'-untranslated region (3'-UTR) andmelting temperature (Tm), are used to check each possibleoligonucleotide. A sequence identity is calculated based onmore » gapped globalalignments. A traversal algorithm is used to generate alignments for freeenergy calculation. The optimal Tm interval is determined based on probecandidates that have passed all other filters. Final probes are pickedusing a combination of user-configurable piece-wise linear functions andan iterative process. The thresholds for identity, stretch and freeenergy filters are automatically determined from experimental data by anaccessory software tool, CommOligo_PE (CommOligo Parameter Estimator).The program was used to design probes for both whole-genome and highlyhomologous sequence data. CommOligo and CommOligo_PE are freely availableto academic users upon request.« less

Effect of distracting faces on visual selective attention in the monkey.

PubMed

Landman, Rogier; Sharma, Jitendra; Sur, Mriganka; Desimone, Robert

2014-12-16

In primates, visual stimuli with social and emotional content tend to attract attention. Attention might be captured through rapid, automatic, subcortical processing or guided by slower, more voluntary cortical processing. Here we examined whether irrelevant faces with varied emotional expressions interfere with a covert attention task in macaque monkeys. In the task, the monkeys monitored a target grating in the periphery for a subtle color change while ignoring distracters that included faces appearing elsewhere on the screen. The onset time of distracter faces before the target change, as well as their spatial proximity to the target, was varied from trial to trial. The presence of faces, especially faces with emotional expressions interfered with the task, indicating a competition for attentional resources between the task and the face stimuli. However, this interference was significant only when faces were presented for greater than 200 ms. Emotional faces also affected saccade velocity and reduced pupillary reflex. Our results indicate that the attraction of attention by emotional faces in the monkey takes a considerable amount of processing time, possibly involving cortical-subcortical interactions. Intranasal application of the hormone oxytocin ameliorated the interfering effects of faces. Together these results provide evidence for slow modulation of attention by emotional distracters, which likely involves oxytocinergic brain circuits.

The Effect of Automatization of the Phonological Component on the Reading Comprehension of ESP Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Khatib, Mohammad; Fat'hi, Jalil

2011-01-01

Prompted by the recent shift of attention from just focusing on the top-down processing in L2 reading towards considering the basic component, bottom-up processing, the role of phonological component has also enjoyed popularity among a selected circle of SLA investigators (Koda, 2005). This study investigated the effect of the automatization of…

Exploring the Developmental Changes in Automatic Two-Digit Number Processing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chan, Winnie Wai Lan; Au, Terry K.; Tang, Joey

2011-01-01

Even when two-digit numbers are irrelevant to the task at hand, adults process them. Do children process numbers automatically, and if so, what kind of information is activated? In a novel dot-number Stroop task, children (Grades 1-5) and adults were shown two different two-digit numbers made up of dots. Participants were asked to select the…

Ratbot automatic navigation by electrical reward stimulation based on distance measurement in unknown environments.

PubMed

Gao, Liqiang; Sun, Chao; Zhang, Chen; Zheng, Nenggan; Chen, Weidong; Zheng, Xiaoxiang

2013-01-01

Traditional automatic navigation methods for bio-robots are constrained to configured environments and thus can't be applied to tasks in unknown environments. With no consideration of bio-robot's own innate living ability and treating bio-robots in the same way as mechanical robots, those methods neglect the intelligence behavior of animals. This paper proposes a novel ratbot automatic navigation method in unknown environments using only reward stimulation and distance measurement. By utilizing rat's habit of thigmotaxis and its reward-seeking behavior, this method is able to incorporate rat's intrinsic intelligence of obstacle avoidance and path searching into navigation. Experiment results show that this method works robustly and can successfully navigate the ratbot to a target in the unknown environment. This work might put a solid base for application of ratbots and also has significant implication of automatic navigation for other bio-robots as well.

Automatic transfer function design for medical visualization using visibility distributions and projective color mapping.

PubMed

Cai, Lile; Tay, Wei-Liang; Nguyen, Binh P; Chui, Chee-Kong; Ong, Sim-Heng

2013-01-01

Transfer functions play a key role in volume rendering of medical data, but transfer function manipulation is unintuitive and can be time-consuming; achieving an optimal visualization of patient anatomy or pathology is difficult. To overcome this problem, we present a system for automatic transfer function design based on visibility distribution and projective color mapping. Instead of assigning opacity directly based on voxel intensity and gradient magnitude, the opacity transfer function is automatically derived by matching the observed visibility distribution to a target visibility distribution. An automatic color assignment scheme based on projective mapping is proposed to assign colors that allow for the visual discrimination of different structures, while also reflecting the degree of similarity between them. When our method was tested on several medical volumetric datasets, the key structures within the volume were clearly visualized with minimal user intervention. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Development of a cerebral circulation model for the automatic control of brain physiology.

PubMed

Utsuki, T

2015-01-01

In various clinical guidelines of brain injury, intracranial pressure (ICP), cerebral blood flow (CBF) and brain temperature (BT) are essential targets for precise management for brain resuscitation. In addition, the integrated automatic control of BT, ICP, and CBF is required for improving therapeutic effects and reducing medical costs and staff burden. Thus, a new model of cerebral circulation was developed in this study for integrative automatic control. With this model, the CBF and cerebral perfusion pressure of a normal adult male were regionally calculated according to cerebrovascular structure, blood viscosity, blood distribution, CBF autoregulation, and ICP. The analysis results were consistent with physiological knowledge already obtained with conventional studies. Therefore, the developed model is potentially available for the integrative control of the physiological state of the brain as a reference model of an automatic control system, or as a controlled object in various control simulations.

Design and realization of an AEC&AGC system for the CCD aerial camera

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Hai ying; Feng, Bing; Wang, Peng; Li, Yan; Wei, Hao yun

2015-08-01

An AEC and AGC(Automatic Exposure Control and Automatic Gain Control) system was designed for a CCD aerial camera with fixed aperture and electronic shutter. The normal AEC and AGE algorithm is not suitable to the aerial camera since the camera always takes high-resolution photographs in high-speed moving. The AEC and AGE system adjusts electronic shutter and camera gain automatically according to the target brightness and the moving speed of the aircraft. An automatic Gamma correction is used before the image is output so that the image is better for watching and analyzing by human eyes. The AEC and AGC system could avoid underexposure, overexposure, or image blurring caused by fast moving or environment vibration. A series of tests proved that the system meet the requirements of the camera system with its fast adjusting speed, high adaptability, high reliability in severe complex environment.

Automatic and controlled attentional orienting in the elderly: A dual-process view of the positivity effect.

PubMed

Gronchi, G; Righi, S; Pierguidi, L; Giovannelli, F; Murasecco, I; Viggiano, M P

2018-04-01

The positivity effect in the elderly consists of an attentional preference for positive information as well as avoidance of negative information. Extant theories predict either that the positivity effect depends on controlled attentional processes (socio-emotional selectivity theory), or on an automatic gating selection mechanism (dynamic integration theory). This study examined the role of automatic and controlled attention in the positivity effect. Two dot-probe tasks (with the duration of the stimuli lasting 100 ms and 500 ms, respectively) were employed to compare the attentional bias of 35 elderly people to that of 35 young adults. The stimuli used were expressive faces displaying neutral, disgusted, fearful, and happy expressions. In comparison to young people, the elderly allocated more attention to happy faces at 100 ms and they tended to avoid fearful faces at 500 ms. The findings are not predicted by either theory taken alone, but support the hypothesis that the positivity effect in the elderly is driven by two different processes: an automatic attention bias toward positive stimuli, and a controlled mechanism that diverts attention away from negative stimuli. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Low implicit self-esteem and dysfunctional automatic associations in social anxiety disorder.

PubMed

Glashouwer, Klaske A; Vroling, Maartje S; de Jong, Peter J; Lange, Wolf-Gero; de Keijser, Jos

2013-06-01

Negative automatic associations towards the self and social cues are assumed to play an important role in social anxiety disorder. We tested whether social anxiety disorder patients (n = 45) showed stronger dysfunctional automatic associations than non-clinical controls (n = 45) and panic disorder patients (n = 24) and whether there existed gender differences in this respect. We used a single-target Implicit Association Test and an Implicit Association Test to measure dysfunctional automatic associations with social cues and implicit self-esteem, respectively. Results showed that automatic associations with social cues were more dysfunctional in socially anxious patients than in both control groups, suggesting this might be a specific characteristic of social anxiety disorder. Socially anxious patients showed relatively low implicit self-esteem compared to non-clinical controls, whereas panic disorder patients scored in between both groups. Unexpectedly, we found that lower implicit self-esteem was related to higher severity of social anxiety symptoms in men, whereas no such relationship was found in women. These findings support the view that automatic negative associations with social cues and lowered implicit self-esteem may both help to enhance our understanding of the cognitive processes that underlie social anxiety disorder. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automatic selection of optimal Savitzky-Golay filter parameters for Coronary Wave Intensity Analysis.

PubMed

Rivolo, Simone; Nagel, Eike; Smith, Nicolas P; Lee, Jack

2014-01-01

Coronary Wave Intensity Analysis (cWIA) is a technique capable of separating the effects of proximal arterial haemodynamics from cardiac mechanics. The cWIA ability to establish a mechanistic link between coronary haemodynamics measurements and the underlying pathophysiology has been widely demonstrated. Moreover, the prognostic value of a cWIA-derived metric has been recently proved. However, the clinical application of cWIA has been hindered due to the strong dependence on the practitioners, mainly ascribable to the cWIA-derived indices sensitivity to the pre-processing parameters. Specifically, as recently demonstrated, the cWIA-derived metrics are strongly sensitive to the Savitzky-Golay (S-G) filter, typically used to smooth the acquired traces. This is mainly due to the inability of the S-G filter to deal with the different timescale features present in the measured waveforms. Therefore, we propose to apply an adaptive S-G algorithm that automatically selects pointwise the optimal filter parameters. The newly proposed algorithm accuracy is assessed against a cWIA gold standard, provided by a newly developed in-silico cWIA modelling framework, when physiological noise is added to the simulated traces. The adaptive S-G algorithm, when used to automatically select the polynomial degree of the S-G filter, provides satisfactory results with ≤ 10% error for all the metrics through all the levels of noise tested. Therefore, the newly proposed method makes cWIA fully automatic and independent from the practitioners, opening the possibility to multi-centre trials.

Targeting of deep-brain structures in nonhuman primates using MR and CT Images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Antong; Hines, Catherine; Dogdas, Belma; Bone, Ashleigh; Lodge, Kenneth; O'Malley, Stacey; Connolly, Brett; Winkelmann, Christopher T.; Bagchi, Ansuman; Lubbers, Laura S.; Uslaner, Jason M.; Johnson, Colena; Renger, John; Zariwala, Hatim A.

2015-03-01

In vivo gene delivery in central nervous systems of nonhuman primates (NHP) is an important approach for gene therapy and animal model development of human disease. To achieve a more accurate delivery of genetic probes, precise stereotactic targeting of brain structures is required. However, even with assistance from multi-modality 3D imaging techniques (e.g. MR and CT), the precision of targeting is often challenging due to difficulties in identification of deep brain structures, e.g. the striatum which consists of multiple substructures, and the nucleus basalis of meynert (NBM), which often lack clear boundaries to supporting anatomical landmarks. Here we demonstrate a 3D-image-based intracranial stereotactic approach applied toward reproducible intracranial targeting of bilateral NBM and striatum of rhesus. For the targeting we discuss the feasibility of an atlas-based automatic approach. Delineated originally on a high resolution 3D histology-MR atlas set, the NBM and the striatum could be located on the MR image of a rhesus subject through affine and nonrigid registrations. The atlas-based targeting of NBM was compared with the targeting conducted manually by an experienced neuroscientist. Based on the targeting, the trajectories and entry points for delivering the genetic probes to the targets could be established on the CT images of the subject after rigid registration. The accuracy of the targeting was assessed quantitatively by comparison between NBM locations obtained automatically and manually, and finally demonstrated qualitatively via post mortem analysis of slices that had been labelled via Evan Blue infusion and immunohistochemistry.

Automatic ICD-10 multi-class classification of cause of death from plaintext autopsy reports through expert-driven feature selection.

PubMed

Mujtaba, Ghulam; Shuib, Liyana; Raj, Ram Gopal; Rajandram, Retnagowri; Shaikh, Khairunisa; Al-Garadi, Mohammed Ali

2017-01-01

Widespread implementation of electronic databases has improved the accessibility of plaintext clinical information for supplementary use. Numerous machine learning techniques, such as supervised machine learning approaches or ontology-based approaches, have been employed to obtain useful information from plaintext clinical data. This study proposes an automatic multi-class classification system to predict accident-related causes of death from plaintext autopsy reports through expert-driven feature selection with supervised automatic text classification decision models. Accident-related autopsy reports were obtained from one of the largest hospital in Kuala Lumpur. These reports belong to nine different accident-related causes of death. Master feature vector was prepared by extracting features from the collected autopsy reports by using unigram with lexical categorization. This master feature vector was used to detect cause of death [according to internal classification of disease version 10 (ICD-10) classification system] through five automated feature selection schemes, proposed expert-driven approach, five subset sizes of features, and five machine learning classifiers. Model performance was evaluated using precisionM, recallM, F-measureM, accuracy, and area under ROC curve. Four baselines were used to compare the results with the proposed system. Random forest and J48 decision models parameterized using expert-driven feature selection yielded the highest evaluation measure approaching (85% to 90%) for most metrics by using a feature subset size of 30. The proposed system also showed approximately 14% to 16% improvement in the overall accuracy compared with the existing techniques and four baselines. The proposed system is feasible and practical to use for automatic classification of ICD-10-related cause of death from autopsy reports. The proposed system assists pathologists to accurately and rapidly determine underlying cause of death based on autopsy findings. Furthermore, the proposed expert-driven feature selection approach and the findings are generally applicable to other kinds of plaintext clinical reports.

Automatic ICD-10 multi-class classification of cause of death from plaintext autopsy reports through expert-driven feature selection

PubMed Central

Mujtaba, Ghulam; Shuib, Liyana; Raj, Ram Gopal; Rajandram, Retnagowri; Shaikh, Khairunisa; Al-Garadi, Mohammed Ali

2017-01-01

Objectives Widespread implementation of electronic databases has improved the accessibility of plaintext clinical information for supplementary use. Numerous machine learning techniques, such as supervised machine learning approaches or ontology-based approaches, have been employed to obtain useful information from plaintext clinical data. This study proposes an automatic multi-class classification system to predict accident-related causes of death from plaintext autopsy reports through expert-driven feature selection with supervised automatic text classification decision models. Methods Accident-related autopsy reports were obtained from one of the largest hospital in Kuala Lumpur. These reports belong to nine different accident-related causes of death. Master feature vector was prepared by extracting features from the collected autopsy reports by using unigram with lexical categorization. This master feature vector was used to detect cause of death [according to internal classification of disease version 10 (ICD-10) classification system] through five automated feature selection schemes, proposed expert-driven approach, five subset sizes of features, and five machine learning classifiers. Model performance was evaluated using precisionM, recallM, F-measureM, accuracy, and area under ROC curve. Four baselines were used to compare the results with the proposed system. Results Random forest and J48 decision models parameterized using expert-driven feature selection yielded the highest evaluation measure approaching (85% to 90%) for most metrics by using a feature subset size of 30. The proposed system also showed approximately 14% to 16% improvement in the overall accuracy compared with the existing techniques and four baselines. Conclusion The proposed system is feasible and practical to use for automatic classification of ICD-10-related cause of death from autopsy reports. The proposed system assists pathologists to accurately and rapidly determine underlying cause of death based on autopsy findings. Furthermore, the proposed expert-driven feature selection approach and the findings are generally applicable to other kinds of plaintext clinical reports. PMID:28166263

Control Method for Video Guidance Sensor System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Howard, Richard T. (Inventor); Book, Michael L. (Inventor); Bryan, Thomas C. (Inventor)

2005-01-01

A method is provided for controlling operations in a video guidance sensor system wherein images of laser output signals transmitted by the system and returned from a target are captured and processed by the system to produce data used in tracking of the target. Six modes of operation are provided as follows: (i) a reset mode; (ii) a diagnostic mode; (iii) a standby mode; (iv) an acquisition mode; (v) a tracking mode; and (vi) a spot mode wherein captured images of returned laser signals are processed to produce data for all spots found in the image. The method provides for automatic transition to the standby mode from the reset mode after integrity checks are performed and from the diagnostic mode to the reset mode after diagnostic operations are commands is permitted only when the system is in the carried out. Further, acceptance of reset and diagnostic standby mode. The method also provides for automatic transition from the acquisition mode to the tracking mode when an acceptable target is found.

Control method for video guidance sensor system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Howard, Richard T. (Inventor); Book, Michael L. (Inventor); Bryan, Thomas C. (Inventor)

2005-01-01

A method is provided for controlling operations in a video guidance sensor system wherein images of laser output signals transmitted by the system and returned from a target are captured and processed by the system to produce data used in tracking of the target. Six modes of operation are provided as follows: (i) a reset mode; (ii) a diagnostic mode; (iii) a standby mode; (iv) an acquisition mode; (v) a tracking mode; and (vi) a spot mode wherein captured images of returned laser signals are processed to produce data for all spots found in the image. The method provides for automatic transition to the standby mode from the reset mode after integrity checks are performed and from the diagnostic mode to the reset mode after diagnostic operations are carried out. Further, acceptance of reset and diagnostic commands is permitted only when the system is in the standby mode. The method also provides for automatic transition from the acquisition mode to the tracking mode when an acceptable target is found.

Mutual information-based facial expression recognition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hazar, Mliki; Hammami, Mohamed; Hanêne, Ben-Abdallah

2013-12-01

This paper introduces a novel low-computation discriminative regions representation for expression analysis task. The proposed approach relies on interesting studies in psychology which show that most of the descriptive and responsible regions for facial expression are located around some face parts. The contributions of this work lie in the proposition of new approach which supports automatic facial expression recognition based on automatic regions selection. The regions selection step aims to select the descriptive regions responsible or facial expression and was performed using Mutual Information (MI) technique. For facial feature extraction, we have applied Local Binary Patterns Pattern (LBP) on Gradient image to encode salient micro-patterns of facial expressions. Experimental studies have shown that using discriminative regions provide better results than using the whole face regions whilst reducing features vector dimension.

Intelligent Weather Agent

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Spirkovska, Liljana (Inventor)

2006-01-01

Method and system for automatically displaying, visually and/or audibly and/or by an audible alarm signal, relevant weather data for an identified aircraft pilot, when each of a selected subset of measured or estimated aviation situation parameters, corresponding to a given aviation situation, has a value lying in a selected range. Each range for a particular pilot may be a default range, may be entered by the pilot and/or may be automatically determined from experience and may be subsequently edited by the pilot to change a range and to add or delete parameters describing a situation for which a display should be provided. The pilot can also verbally activate an audible display or visual display of selected information by verbal entry of a first command or a second command, respectively, that specifies the information required.

ATR Performance Estimation Seed Program

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-09-28

to produce simulated MCM sonar data and demonstrate the impact of system, environmental, and target scattering effects on ATR detection...settings and achieving better understanding the relative impact of the factors influencing ATR performance. sonar, mine countermeasures, MCM , automatic...simulated MCM sonar data and demonstrate the impact of system, environmental, and target scattering effects on ATR detection/classification performance. The

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Pasquier, David; Lacornerie, Thomas; Vermandel, Maximilien

Purpose: Target-volume and organ-at-risk delineation is a time-consuming task in radiotherapy planning. The development of automated segmentation tools remains problematic, because of pelvic organ shape variability. We evaluate a three-dimensional (3D), deformable-model approach and a seeded region-growing algorithm for automatic delineation of the prostate and organs-at-risk on magnetic resonance images. Methods and Materials: Manual and automatic delineation were compared in 24 patients using a sagittal T2-weighted (T2-w) turbo spin echo (TSE) sequence and an axial T1-weighted (T1-w) 3D fast-field echo (FFE) or TSE sequence. For automatic prostate delineation, an organ model-based method was used. Prostates without seminal vesicles were delineatedmore » as the clinical target volume (CTV). For automatic bladder and rectum delineation, a seeded region-growing method was used. Manual contouring was considered the reference method. The following parameters were measured: volume ratio (Vr) (automatic/manual), volume overlap (Vo) (ratio of the volume of intersection to the volume of union; optimal value = 1), and correctly delineated volume (Vc) (percent ratio of the volume of intersection to the manually defined volume; optimal value 100). Results: For the CTV, the Vr, Vo, and Vc were 1.13 ({+-}0.1 SD), 0.78 ({+-}0.05 SD), and 94.75 ({+-}3.3 SD), respectively. For the rectum, the Vr, Vo, and Vc were 0.97 ({+-}0.1 SD), 0.78 ({+-}0.06 SD), and 86.52 ({+-}5 SD), respectively. For the bladder, the Vr, Vo, and Vc were 0.95 ({+-}0.03 SD), 0.88 ({+-}0.03 SD), and 91.29 ({+-}3.1 SD), respectively. Conclusions: Our results show that the organ-model method is robust, and results in reproducible prostate segmentation with minor interactive corrections. For automatic bladder and rectum delineation, magnetic resonance imaging soft-tissue contrast enables the use of region-growing methods.« less

43 CFR 418.12 - Project efficiency.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... delivery level including droughts or allocations, automatically adjusts to changes during the year and... (except in a real drought), it allows for future planning and averaging over time. (3) Efficiency targets...

43 CFR 418.12 - Project efficiency.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... delivery level including droughts or allocations, automatically adjusts to changes during the year and... (except in a real drought), it allows for future planning and averaging over time. (3) Efficiency targets...

43 CFR 418.12 - Project efficiency.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... delivery level including droughts or allocations, automatically adjusts to changes during the year and... (except in a real drought), it allows for future planning and averaging over time. (3) Efficiency targets...

The use of database management systems and artificial intelligence in automating the planning of optical navigation pictures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Davis, Robert P.; Underwood, Ian M.

1987-01-01

The use of database management systems (DBMS) and AI to minimize human involvement in the planning of optical navigation pictures for interplanetary space probes is discussed, with application to the Galileo mission. Parameters characterizing the desirability of candidate pictures, and the program generating them, are described. How these parameters automatically build picture records in a database, and the definition of the database structure, are then discussed. The various rules, priorities, and constraints used in selecting pictures are also described. An example is provided of an expert system, written in Prolog, for automatically performing the selection process.

Automatically operable self-leveling load table

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Burch, J. L. (Inventor)

1974-01-01

A self-leveling load table is described which is automatically maintained level by selectively opening and closing solenoid valves for inserting and removing air from chambers under the table. The table is floated in a fluid by nine air chambers beneath the top of the table. These chambers are open at the bottom and four oppositely located chambers are used for leveling the table by having the air increased or decreased by means of a flexible hose. Air bearing pendulums are used for selectively energizing solenoid valves which either apply pressurized air to the chamber or evacuate air from the chamber by means of a vacuum source.

Automatic measurement of images on astrometric plates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ortiz Gil, A.; Lopez Garcia, A.; Martinez Gonzalez, J. M.; Yershov, V.

1994-04-01

We present some results on the process of automatic detection and measurement of objects in overlapped fields of astrometric plates. The main steps of our algorithm are the following: determination of the Scale and Tilt between charge coupled devices (CCD) and microscope coordinate systems and estimation of signal-to-noise ratio in each field;--image identification and improvement of its position and size;--image final centering;--image selection and storage. Several parameters allow the use of variable criteria for image identification, characterization and selection. Problems related with faint images and crowded fields will be approached by special techniques (morphological filters, histogram properties and fitting models).

MASGOMAS PROJECT, New automatic-tool for cluster search on IR photometric surveys

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rübke, K.; Herrero, A.; Borissova, J.; Ramirez-Alegria, S.; García, M.; Marin-Franch, A.

2015-05-01

The Milky Way is expected to contain a large number of young massive (few x 1000 solar masses) stellar clusters, borne in dense cores of gas and dust. Yet, their known number remains small. We have started a programme to search for such clusters, MASGOMAS (MAssive Stars in Galactic Obscured MAssive clusterS). Initially, we selected promising candidates by means of visual inspection of infrared images. In a second phase of the project we have presented a semi-automatic method to search for obscured massive clusters that resulted in the identification of new massive clusters, like MASGOMAS-1 (with more than 10,000 solar masses) and MASGOMAS-4 (a double-cored association of about 3,000 solar masses). We have now developped a new automatic tool for MASGOMAS that allows the identification of a large number of massive cluster candidates from the 2MASS and VVV catalogues. Cluster candidates fulfilling criteria appropriated for massive OB stars are thus selected in an efficient and objective way. We present the results from this tool and the observations of the first selected cluster, and discuss the implications for the Milky Way structure.

An Automatic Prediction of Epileptic Seizures Using Cloud Computing and Wireless Sensor Networks.

PubMed

Sareen, Sanjay; Sood, Sandeep K; Gupta, Sunil Kumar

2016-11-01

Epilepsy is one of the most common neurological disorders which is characterized by the spontaneous and unforeseeable occurrence of seizures. An automatic prediction of seizure can protect the patients from accidents and save their life. In this article, we proposed a mobile-based framework that automatically predict seizures using the information contained in electroencephalography (EEG) signals. The wireless sensor technology is used to capture the EEG signals of patients. The cloud-based services are used to collect and analyze the EEG data from the patient's mobile phone. The features from the EEG signal are extracted using the fast Walsh-Hadamard transform (FWHT). The Higher Order Spectral Analysis (HOSA) is applied to FWHT coefficients in order to select the features set relevant to normal, preictal and ictal states of seizure. We subsequently exploit the selected features as input to a k-means classifier to detect epileptic seizure states in a reasonable time. The performance of the proposed model is tested on Amazon EC2 cloud and compared in terms of execution time and accuracy. The findings show that with selected HOS based features, we were able to achieve a classification accuracy of 94.6 %.

Mode Transitions in Glass Cockpit Aircraft: Results of a Field Study

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Degani, Asaf; Kirlik, Alex; Shafto, Michael (Technical Monitor)

1995-01-01

One consequence of increased levels of automation in complex control systems is the presence of modes. A mode is a particular configuration of a control system that defines how human command inputs are interpreted. In complex systems, modes also often determine a specific allocation of control authority between the human and automated systems. Even in simple static devices (e.g., electronic watches, word processors), the presence of modes has been found to cause problems in either-the acquisition or production of skilled performance. Many of these problems arise due to the fact that the selection of a mode causes device behavior to be mediated by hidden internal state information. For these simple systems, many of these interaction problems can be solved by the design of appropriate feedback to communicate internal state information to the human operator. In complex dynamic systems, however, the design issues associated with modes seem to trancend the problem of merely communicating internal state information via displayed feedback. In complex supervisory control systems (e.g., aircraft, spacecraft, military command and control), a key function of modes is the selection of a particular configuration of control authority between the human operator and automated control systems. One mode may result in full manual control, another may result in a mix of manual and automatic control, while a third may result in full automatic control over the entire system. The human operator selects an appropriate mode as a function of current goals, operating conditions, and operating procedures. Thus, the operator is put in a position of essentially trying to control two coupled dynamic systems: the target system itself, and also a highly complex suite of automation controlling the target system. From a historical perspective, it should probably not come as a surprise that very little information is available to guide the design of mode-oriented control systems. The topic of function allocation (i.e., the proper division of control authority among human and computer) has a long history in human-machine systems research. Although this research has produced some relevant guidelines, a design approach capable of defining appropriate allocations of control function between the human and automation is not yet available. As a result, the function allocation decision itself has been allocated to the operator, to be performed in real-time, in the operation of mode-oriented control systems. A variety of documented aircraft accidents and incidents suggest that the real-time selection and monitoring of control modes is a weak link in the effective operation of complex supervisory control systems. Research in human-machine systems and human-computer interaction has barely scraped the surface of the problem of understanding how operators manage this task.The purpose of this paper is to present the results of a field study which examined how operators manage mode selection in a complex supervisory control system. Data on mode engagements using the Boeing B757/767 auto-flight system were collected during approach and descent into four major airports in the East Coast of the United States. Protocols documenting mode selection, automatic mode changes, pilot actions, quantitative records of flight-path variables, and verbal reports during and after mode engagements were collected by an observer from the jumpseat. Observations were conducted on two typical trips between three airports. Each trip was be replicated 11 times, which yielded a total of 22 trips and 66 legs on which data were collected. All data collected concerned the same flight numbers, and therefore, the same time of day, same type of aircraft, and identical operational environments (e.g., ATC facilities, weather patterns, traffic flow etc.)

Theoretical Analysis of the Longitudinal Behavior of an Automatically Controlled Supersonic Interceptor During the Attack Phase

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gates, Ordway B., Jr.; Woodling, C. H.

1959-01-01

Theoretical analysis of the longitudinal behavior of an automatically controlled supersonic interceptor during the attack phase against a nonmaneuvering target is presented. Control of the interceptor's flight path is obtained by use of a pitch rate command system. Topics lift, and pitching moment, effects of initial tracking errors, discussion of normal acceleration limited, limitations of control surface rate and deflection, and effects of neglecting forward velocity changes of interceptor during attack phase.

Assessing the feasibility, acceptability, and potential effectiveness of a behavioral-automaticity focused lifestyle intervention for African Americans with metabolic syndrome: The Pick two to Stick to protocol.

PubMed

Fritz, Heather; Brody, Aaron; Levy, Philip

2017-09-01

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) significantly increases the risk of developing diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Being physically active and eating a healthy diet can reduce MetS risk factors. Too frequently, however, studies report that the effects of interventions targeting those factors are not maintained once interventions are withdrawn. A potential solution to the problem is targeting behavioral automaticity (habit-development) to aid in initiation and maintenance of health-behavior changes. The Pick two to Stick To (P2S2), is an 8-week, theory-based hybrid (face-to-face/telecoaching) habit focused lifestyle intervention designed to increase healthful physical activity and dietary behavioral automaticity. The purpose of this article is to describe the rationale and protocol for evaluating the P2S2 program's feasibility, acceptability and potential effectiveness. Using a prospective, non-comparative design, the P2S2 program will be implemented by trained occupational therapy 'coaches' to 40 African Americans aged 40 and above with MetS recruited from the emergency department. Semi-structured interviews with participants, bi-weekly research meetings with study staff, and observations of intervention delivery will provide data for a process evaluation. Estimates of effectiveness include weight, blood pressure, waist circumference, BMI, and behavioral automaticity measures that will be collected at baseline and week 20. The P2S2 program could facilitate the development of healthful dietary and physical activity habits in an underserved population. Whether interventions aimed at changing habits can feasibly influence this automaticity, particularly for high-risk, low resource communities where other barriers exist, is not known. This pilot study, therefore, will fill an important gap, providing insight to inform subsequent trials.

Automatic extraction and processing of small RNAs on a multi-well/multi-channel (M&M) chip.

PubMed

Zhong, Runtao; Flack, Kenneth; Zhong, Wenwan

2012-12-07

The study of the regulatory roles in small RNAs can be accelerated by techniques that permit simple, low-cost, and rapid extraction of small RNAs from a small number of cells. In order to ensure highly specific and sensitive detection, the extracted RNAs should be free of the background nucleic acids and present stably in a small volume. To meet these criteria, we designed a multi-well/multi-channel (M&M) chip to carry out automatic and selective isolation of small RNAs via solid-phase extraction (SPE), followed by reverse-transcription (RT) to convert them to the more stable cDNAs in a final volume of 2 μL. Droplets containing buffers for RNA binding, washing, and elution were trapped in microwells, which were connected by one channel, and suspended in mineral oil. The silica magnetic particles (SMPs) for SPE were moved along the channel from well to well, i.e. in between droplets, by a fixed magnet and a translation stage, allowing the nucleic acid fragments to bind to the SMPs, be washed, and then be eluted for RT reaction within 15 minutes. RNAs shorter than 63 nt were selectively enriched from cell lysates, with recovery comparable to that of a commercial kit. Physical separation of the droplets on our M&M chip allowed the usage of multiple channels for parallel processing of multiple samples. It also permitted smooth integration with on-chip RT-PCR, which simultaneously detected the target microRNA, mir-191, expressed in fewer than 10 cancer cells. Our results have demonstrated that the M&M chip device is a valuable and cost-saving platform for studying small RNA expression patterns in a limited number of cells with reasonable sample throughput.

Local pulmonary structure classification for computer-aided nodule detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bahlmann, Claus; Li, Xianlin; Okada, Kazunori

2006-03-01

We propose a new method of classifying the local structure types, such as nodules, vessels, and junctions, in thoracic CT scans. This classification is important in the context of computer aided detection (CAD) of lung nodules. The proposed method can be used as a post-process component of any lung CAD system. In such a scenario, the classification results provide an effective means of removing false positives caused by vessels and junctions thus improving overall performance. As main advantage, the proposed solution transforms the complex problem of classifying various 3D topological structures into much simpler 2D data clustering problem, to which more generic and flexible solutions are available in literature, and which is better suited for visualization. Given a nodule candidate, first, our solution robustly fits an anisotropic Gaussian to the data. The resulting Gaussian center and spread parameters are used to affine-normalize the data domain so as to warp the fitted anisotropic ellipsoid into a fixed-size isotropic sphere. We propose an automatic method to extract a 3D spherical manifold, containing the appropriate bounding surface of the target structure. Scale selection is performed by a data driven entropy minimization approach. The manifold is analyzed for high intensity clusters, corresponding to protruding structures. Techniques involve EMclustering with automatic mode number estimation, directional statistics, and hierarchical clustering with a modified Bhattacharyya distance. The estimated number of high intensity clusters explicitly determines the type of pulmonary structures: nodule (0), attached nodule (1), vessel (2), junction (>3). We show accurate classification results for selected examples in thoracic CT scans. This local procedure is more flexible and efficient than current state of the art and will help to improve the accuracy of general lung CAD systems.

The effects of early and late night partial sleep deprivation on automatic and selective attention: An ERP study.

PubMed

Zerouali, Younes; Jemel, Boutheina; Godbout, Roger

2010-01-13

The link between decrease in levels of attention and total sleep deprivation is well known but the respective contributions of slow wave sleep (SWS) and rapid eye movement sleep (REM) is still largely unknown. The aim of this study was to characterize the effects of sleep deprivation during the SWS phase (i.e., early night sleep) and the REM phase (i.e., late night sleep) on tasks that tap automatic and selective attention; these two forms of attention were indexed respectively by "mismatch negativity" (MMN) and "negative difference" (Nd) event-related potential (ERP) difference waves. Ten young adult participants were subjected to a three-night sleep protocol. They were each received one night of full sleep (F), one night of sleep deprivation during the first half of the night (H1), and one night of sleep deprivation during the second half of the night (H2). MMN and Nd were recorded the following morning of each night during two auditory oddball tasks that tapped automatic and selective attention. The effect of sleep deprivation condition was assessed using ERP amplitude measures and standardized low-resolution electromagnetic tomography method (sLORETA). ERP results revealed significant MMN amplitude reduction over frontal and temporal recording areas following the H2 night compared to F and H1, indicating reductions in levels of automatic attention. In addition, Nd amplitude over the parietal recording area was significantly increased following the H2 night compared to F and H1. sLORETA findings show significant changes from F to H2 night in frontal cortex activity, decreasing during the automatic attention task but increasing during the selective attention task. No significant change in brain activity is observed after H1 night. The restoration of attention processes is mainly achieved during REM sleep, which confirms results from previous studies in rat models. The anterior cortex seems to be more sensitive to sleep loss, while the parietal cortex acts as a compensatory resource to restore cognitive performance in a task context.

SU-E-T-497: Semi-Automated in Vivo Radiochromic Film Dosimetry Using a Novel Image Processing Algorithm

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Reyhan, M; Yue, N

Purpose: To validate an automated image processing algorithm designed to detect the center of radiochromic film used for in vivo film dosimetry against the current gold standard of manual selection. Methods: An image processing algorithm was developed to automatically select the region of interest (ROI) in *.tiff images that contain multiple pieces of radiochromic film (0.5x1.3cm{sup 2}). After a user has linked a calibration file to the processing algorithm and selected a *.tiff file for processing, an ROI is automatically detected for all films by a combination of thresholding and erosion, which removes edges and any additional markings for orientation.more » Calibration is applied to the mean pixel values from the ROIs and a *.tiff image is output displaying the original image with an overlay of the ROIs and the measured doses. Validation of the algorithm was determined by comparing in vivo dose determined using the current gold standard (manually drawn ROIs) versus automated ROIs for n=420 scanned films. Bland-Altman analysis, paired t-test, and linear regression were performed to demonstrate agreement between the processes. Results: The measured doses ranged from 0.2-886.6cGy. Bland-Altman analysis of the two techniques (automatic minus manual) revealed a bias of -0.28cGy and a 95% confidence interval of (5.5cGy,-6.1cGy). These values demonstrate excellent agreement between the two techniques. Paired t-test results showed no statistical differences between the two techniques, p=0.98. Linear regression with a forced zero intercept demonstrated that Automatic=0.997*Manual, with a Pearson correlation coefficient of 0.999. The minimal differences between the two techniques may be explained by the fact that the hand drawn ROIs were not identical to the automatically selected ones. The average processing time was 6.7seconds in Matlab on an IntelCore2Duo processor. Conclusion: An automated image processing algorithm has been developed and validated, which will help minimize user interaction and processing time of radiochromic film used for in vivo dosimetry.« less

Development of automatic body condition scoring using a low-cost 3-dimensional Kinect camera.

PubMed

Spoliansky, Roii; Edan, Yael; Parmet, Yisrael; Halachmi, Ilan

2016-09-01

Body condition scoring (BCS) is a farm-management tool for estimating dairy cows' energy reserves. Today, BCS is performed manually by experts. This paper presents a 3-dimensional algorithm that provides a topographical understanding of the cow's body to estimate BCS. An automatic BCS system consisting of a Kinect camera (Microsoft Corp., Redmond, WA) triggered by a passive infrared motion detector was designed and implemented. Image processing and regression algorithms were developed and included the following steps: (1) image restoration, the removal of noise; (2) object recognition and separation, identification and separation of the cows; (3) movie and image selection, selection of movies and frames that include the relevant data; (4) image rotation, alignment of the cow parallel to the x-axis; and (5) image cropping and normalization, removal of irrelevant data, setting the image size to 150×200 pixels, and normalizing image values. All steps were performed automatically, including image selection and classification. Fourteen individual features per cow, derived from the cows' topography, were automatically extracted from the movies and from the farm's herd-management records. These features appear to be measurable in a commercial farm. Manual BCS was performed by a trained expert and compared with the output of the training set. A regression model was developed, correlating the features with the manual BCS references. Data were acquired for 4 d, resulting in a database of 422 movies of 101 cows. Movies containing cows' back ends were automatically selected (389 movies). The data were divided into a training set of 81 cows and a test set of 20 cows; both sets included the identical full range of BCS classes. Accuracy tests gave a mean absolute error of 0.26, median absolute error of 0.19, and coefficient of determination of 0.75, with 100% correct classification within 1 step and 91% correct classification within a half step for BCS classes. Results indicated good repeatability, with all standard deviations under 0.33. The algorithm is independent of the background and requires 10 cows for training with approximately 30 movies of 4 s each. Copyright © 2016 American Dairy Science Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Automaticity and localisation of concurrents predicts colour area activity in grapheme-colour synaesthesia.

PubMed

Gould van Praag, Cassandra D; Garfinkel, Sarah; Ward, Jamie; Bor, Daniel; Seth, Anil K

2016-07-29

In grapheme-colour synaesthesia (GCS), the presentation of letters or numbers induces an additional 'concurrent' experience of colour. Early functional MRI (fMRI) investigations of GCS reported activation in colour-selective area V4 during the concurrent experience. However, others have failed to replicate this key finding. We reasoned that individual differences in synaesthetic phenomenology might explain this inconsistency in the literature. To test this hypothesis, we examined fMRI BOLD responses in a group of grapheme-colour synaesthetes (n=20) and matched controls (n=20) while characterising the individual phenomenology of the synaesthetes along dimensions of 'automaticity' and 'localisation'. We used an independent functional localiser to identify colour-selective areas in both groups. Activations in these areas were then assessed during achromatic synaesthesia-inducing, and non-inducing conditions; we also explored whole brain activations, where we sought to replicate the existing literature regarding synaesthesia effects. Controls showed no significant activations in the contrast of inducing > non-inducing synaesthetic stimuli, in colour-selective ROIs or at the whole brain level. In the synaesthete group, we correlated activation within colour-selective ROIs with individual differences in phenomenology using the Coloured Letters and Numbers (CLaN) questionnaire which measures, amongst other attributes, the subjective automaticity/attention in synaesthetic concurrents, and their spatial localisation. Supporting our hypothesis, we found significant correlations between individual measures of synaesthetic phenomenology and BOLD responses in colour-selective areas, when contrasting inducing against non-inducing stimuli. Specifically, left-hemisphere colour area responses were stronger for synaesthetes scoring high on phenomenological localisation and automaticity/attention, while right-hemisphere colour area responses showed a relationship with localisation only. In exploratory whole brain analyses, the BOLD response within several other areas was also correlated with these phenomenological factors, including the intra-parietal sulcus, insula, precentral and supplementary motor areas. Our findings reveal a network of regions underlying synaesthetic phenomenology and they help reconcile the diversity of previous results regarding colour-selective BOLD responses during synaesthesia, by establishing a bridge between neural responses and individual synaesthetic phenomenology. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

[Radiotherapy volume delineation based on (18F)-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography for locally advanced or inoperable oesophageal cancer].

PubMed

Encaoua, J; Abgral, R; Leleu, C; El Kabbaj, O; Caradec, P; Bourhis, D; Pradier, O; Schick, U

2017-06-01

To study the impact on radiotherapy planning of an automatically segmented target volume delineation based on ( 18 F)-fluorodeoxy-D-glucose (FDG)-hybrid positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET-CT) compared to a manually delineation based on computed tomography (CT) in oesophageal carcinoma patients. Fifty-eight patients diagnosed with oesophageal cancer between September 2009 and November 2014 were included. The majority had squamous cell carcinoma (84.5 %), and advanced stage (37.9 % were stade IIIA) and 44.8 % had middle oesophageal lesion. Gross tumour volumes were retrospectively defined based either manually on CT or automatically on coregistered PET/CT images using three different threshold methods: standard-uptake value (SUV) of 2.5, 40 % of maximum intensity and signal-to-background ratio. Target volumes were compared in length, volume and using the index of conformality. Radiotherapy plans to the dose of 50Gy and 66Gy using intensity-modulated radiotherapy were generated and compared for both data sets. Planification target volume coverage and doses delivered to organs at risk (heart, lung and spinal cord) were compared. The gross tumour volume based manually on CT was significantly longer than that automatically based on signal-to-background ratio (6.4cm versus 5.3cm; P<0.008). Doses to the lungs (V20, D mean ), heart (V40), and spinal cord (D max ) were significantly lower on plans using the PTV SBR . The PTV SBR coverage was statistically better than the PTV CT coverage on both plans. (50Gy: P<0.0004 and 66Gy: P<0.0006). The automatic PET segmentation algorithm based on the signal-to-background ratio method for the delineation of oesophageal tumours is interesting, and results in better target volume coverage and decreased dose to organs at risk. This may allow dose escalation up to 66Gy to the gross tumour volume. Copyright © 2017 Société française de radiothérapie oncologique (SFRO). Published by Elsevier SAS. All rights reserved.

Predictors of Change Following Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment of Children with Anxiety Problems: A Preliminary Investigation on Negative Automatic Thoughts and Anxiety Control

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Muris, Peter; Mayer, Birgit; den Adel, Madelon; Roos, Tamara; van Wamelen, Julie

2009-01-01

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate negative automatic thoughts and anxiety control as predictors of change produced by cognitive-behavioral treatment of youths with anxiety disorders. Forty-five high-anxious children aged between 9 and 12 years who were selected from the primary school population, received a standardized CBT…

AFETR Instrumentation Handbook

DTIC Science & Technology

1971-09-01

of time. From this, vehicle velocity and acceleration can be computed. LOCATION Three Askanias are mobile and may be located at selected universal...Being mobile , these cinetheodolites may be placed for optimum launch coverage. Preprogrammed focusing is provided for automatic focus from 2000 and 8000...console trailer. IR (lead sulfide sensor ) Automatic Tracking System with 1 to 20 miles range. Elevation range: -10 deg to +90 deg Azimuth range: 350

Automatic processing influences free recall: converging evidence from the process dissociation procedure and remember-know judgments.

PubMed

McCabe, David P; Roediger, Henry L; Karpicke, Jeffrey D

2011-04-01

Dual-process theories of retrieval suggest that controlled and automatic processing contribute to memory performance. Free recall tests are often considered pure measures of recollection, assessing only the controlled process. We report two experiments demonstrating that automatic processes also influence free recall. Experiment 1 used inclusion and exclusion tasks to estimate recollection and automaticity in free recall, adopting a new variant of the process dissociation procedure. Dividing attention during study selectively reduced the recollection estimate but did not affect the automatic component. In Experiment 2, we replicated the results of Experiment 1, and subjects additionally reported remember-know-guess judgments during recall in the inclusion condition. In the latter task, dividing attention during study reduced remember judgments for studied items, but know responses were unaffected. Results from both methods indicated that free recall is partly driven by automatic processes. Thus, we conclude that retrieval in free recall tests is not driven solely by conscious recollection (or remembering) but also by automatic influences of the same sort believed to drive priming on implicit memory tests. Sometimes items come to mind without volition in free recall.

Examining the robustness of automated aural classification of active sonar echoes.

PubMed

Murphy, Stefan M; Hines, Paul C

2014-02-01

Active sonar systems are used to detect underwater man-made objects of interest (targets) that are too quiet to be reliably detected with passive sonar. Performance of active sonar can be degraded by false alarms caused by echoes returned from geological seabed structures (clutter) in shallow regions. To reduce false alarms, a method of distinguishing target echoes from clutter echoes is required. Research has demonstrated that perceptual-based signal features similar to those employed in the human auditory system can be used to automatically discriminate between target and clutter echoes, thereby reducing the number of false alarms and improving sonar performance. An active sonar experiment on the Malta Plateau in the Mediterranean Sea was conducted during the Clutter07 sea trial and repeated during the Clutter09 sea trial. The dataset consists of more than 95,000 pulse-compressed echoes returned from two targets and many geological clutter objects. These echoes were processed using an automatic classifier that quantifies the timbre of each echo using a number of perceptual signal features. Using echoes from 2007, the aural classifier was trained to establish a boundary between targets and clutter in the feature space. Temporal robustness was then investigated by testing the classifier on echoes from the 2009 experiment.

Automatic comparison of striation marks and automatic classification of shoe prints

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Geradts, Zeno J.; Keijzer, Jan; Keereweer, Isaac

1995-09-01

A database for toolmarks (named TRAX) and a database for footwear outsole designs (named REBEZO) have been developed on a PC. The databases are filled with video-images and administrative data about the toolmarks and the footwear designs. An algorithm for the automatic comparison of the digitized striation patterns has been developed for TRAX. The algorithm appears to work well for deep and complete striation marks and will be implemented in TRAX. For REBEZO some efforts have been made to the automatic classification of outsole patterns. The algorithm first segments the shoeprofile. Fourier-features are selected for the separate elements and are classified with a neural network. In future developments information on invariant moments of the shape and rotation angle will be included in the neural network.

Does expert knowledge improve automatic probabilistic classification of gait joint motion patterns in children with cerebral palsy?

PubMed Central

Papageorgiou, Eirini; Nieuwenhuys, Angela; Desloovere, Kaat

2017-01-01

Background This study aimed to improve the automatic probabilistic classification of joint motion gait patterns in children with cerebral palsy by using the expert knowledge available via a recently developed Delphi-consensus study. To this end, this study applied both Naïve Bayes and Logistic Regression classification with varying degrees of usage of the expert knowledge (expert-defined and discretized features). A database of 356 patients and 1719 gait trials was used to validate the classification performance of eleven joint motions. Hypotheses Two main hypotheses stated that: (1) Joint motion patterns in children with CP, obtained through a Delphi-consensus study, can be automatically classified following a probabilistic approach, with an accuracy similar to clinical expert classification, and (2) The inclusion of clinical expert knowledge in the selection of relevant gait features and the discretization of continuous features increases the performance of automatic probabilistic joint motion classification. Findings This study provided objective evidence supporting the first hypothesis. Automatic probabilistic gait classification using the expert knowledge available from the Delphi-consensus study resulted in accuracy (91%) similar to that obtained with two expert raters (90%), and higher accuracy than that obtained with non-expert raters (78%). Regarding the second hypothesis, this study demonstrated that the use of more advanced machine learning techniques such as automatic feature selection and discretization instead of expert-defined and discretized features can result in slightly higher joint motion classification performance. However, the increase in performance is limited and does not outweigh the additional computational cost and the higher risk of loss of clinical interpretability, which threatens the clinical acceptance and applicability. PMID:28570616