Multi-stream LSTM-HMM decoding and histogram equalization for noise robust keyword spotting.

PubMed

Wöllmer, Martin; Marchi, Erik; Squartini, Stefano; Schuller, Björn

2011-09-01

Highly spontaneous, conversational, and potentially emotional and noisy speech is known to be a challenge for today's automatic speech recognition (ASR) systems, which highlights the need for advanced algorithms that improve speech features and models. Histogram Equalization is an efficient method to reduce the mismatch between clean and noisy conditions by normalizing all moments of the probability distribution of the feature vector components. In this article, we propose to combine histogram equalization and multi-condition training for robust keyword detection in noisy speech. To better cope with conversational speaking styles, we show how contextual information can be effectively exploited in a multi-stream ASR framework that dynamically models context-sensitive phoneme estimates generated by a long short-term memory neural network. The proposed techniques are evaluated on the SEMAINE database-a corpus containing emotionally colored conversations with a cognitive system for "Sensitive Artificial Listening".

Moderated histogram equalization, an automatic means of enhancing the contrast in digital light micrographs reversibly.

PubMed

Entwistle, A

2004-06-01

A means for improving the contrast in the images produced from digital light micrographs is described that requires no intervention by the experimenter: zero-order, scaling, tonally independent, moderated histogram equalization. It is based upon histogram equalization, which often results in digital light micrographs that contain regions that appear to be saturated, negatively biased or very grainy. Here a non-decreasing monotonic function is introduced into the process, which moderates the changes in contrast that are generated. This method is highly effective for all three of the main types of contrast found in digital light micrography: bright objects viewed against a dark background, e.g. fluorescence and dark-ground or dark-field image data sets; bright and dark objects sets against a grey background, e.g. image data sets collected with phase or Nomarski differential interference contrast optics; and darker objects set against a light background, e.g. views of absorbing specimens. Moreover, it is demonstrated that there is a single fixed moderating function, whose actions are independent of the number of elements of image data, which works well with all types of digital light micrographs, including multimodal or multidimensional image data sets. The use of this fixed function is very robust as the appearance of the final image is not altered discernibly when it is applied repeatedly to an image data set. Consequently, moderated histogram equalization can be applied to digital light micrographs as a push-button solution, thereby eliminating biases that those undertaking the processing might have introduced during manual processing. Finally, moderated histogram equalization yields a mapping function and so, through the use of look-up tables, indexes or palettes, the information present in the original data file can be preserved while an image with the improved contrast is displayed on the monitor screen.

Flood Detection/Monitoring Using Adjustable Histogram Equalization Technique

PubMed Central

Riaz, Muhammad Mohsin; Ghafoor, Abdul

2014-01-01

Flood monitoring technique using adjustable histogram equalization is proposed. The technique overcomes the limitations (overenhancement, artifacts, and unnatural look) of existing technique by adjusting the contrast of images. The proposed technique takes pre- and postimages and applies different processing steps for generating flood map without user interaction. The resultant flood maps can be used for flood monitoring and detection. Simulation results show that the proposed technique provides better output quality compared to the state of the art existing technique. PMID:24558332

Improving the convergence rate in affine registration of PET and SPECT brain images using histogram equalization.

PubMed

Salas-Gonzalez, D; Górriz, J M; Ramírez, J; Padilla, P; Illán, I A

2013-01-01

A procedure to improve the convergence rate for affine registration methods of medical brain images when the images differ greatly from the template is presented. The methodology is based on a histogram matching of the source images with respect to the reference brain template before proceeding with the affine registration. The preprocessed source brain images are spatially normalized to a template using a general affine model with 12 parameters. A sum of squared differences between the source images and the template is considered as objective function, and a Gauss-Newton optimization algorithm is used to find the minimum of the cost function. Using histogram equalization as a preprocessing step improves the convergence rate in the affine registration algorithm of brain images as we show in this work using SPECT and PET brain images.

Multispectral histogram normalization contrast enhancement

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Soha, J. M.; Schwartz, A. A.

1979-01-01

A multispectral histogram normalization or decorrelation enhancement which achieves effective color composites by removing interband correlation is described. The enhancement procedure employs either linear or nonlinear transformations to equalize principal component variances. An additional rotation to any set of orthogonal coordinates is thus possible, while full histogram utilization is maintained by avoiding the reintroduction of correlation. For the three-dimensional case, the enhancement procedure may be implemented with a lookup table. An application of the enhancement to Landsat multispectral scanning imagery is presented.

Investigating the Role of Global Histogram Equalization Technique for 99mTechnetium-Methylene diphosphonate Bone Scan Image Enhancement.

PubMed

Pandey, Anil Kumar; Sharma, Param Dev; Dheer, Pankaj; Parida, Girish Kumar; Goyal, Harish; Patel, Chetan; Bal, Chandrashekhar; Kumar, Rakesh

2017-01-01

99m Technetium-methylene diphosphonate ( 99m Tc-MDP) bone scan images have limited number of counts per pixel, and hence, they have inferior image quality compared to X-rays. Theoretically, global histogram equalization (GHE) technique can improve the contrast of a given image though practical benefits of doing so have only limited acceptance. In this study, we have investigated the effect of GHE technique for 99m Tc-MDP-bone scan images. A set of 89 low contrast 99m Tc-MDP whole-body bone scan images were included in this study. These images were acquired with parallel hole collimation on Symbia E gamma camera. The images were then processed with histogram equalization technique. The image quality of input and processed images were reviewed by two nuclear medicine physicians on a 5-point scale where score of 1 is for very poor and 5 is for the best image quality. A statistical test was applied to find the significance of difference between the mean scores assigned to input and processed images. This technique improves the contrast of the images; however, oversaturation was noticed in the processed images. Student's t -test was applied, and a statistically significant difference in the input and processed image quality was found at P < 0.001 (with α = 0.05). However, further improvement in image quality is needed as per requirements of nuclear medicine physicians. GHE techniques can be used on low contrast bone scan images. In some of the cases, a histogram equalization technique in combination with some other postprocessing technique is useful.

Investigating the Role of Global Histogram Equalization Technique for 99mTechnetium-Methylene diphosphonate Bone Scan Image Enhancement

PubMed Central

Pandey, Anil Kumar; Sharma, Param Dev; Dheer, Pankaj; Parida, Girish Kumar; Goyal, Harish; Patel, Chetan; Bal, Chandrashekhar; Kumar, Rakesh

2017-01-01

Purpose of the Study: 99mTechnetium-methylene diphosphonate (99mTc-MDP) bone scan images have limited number of counts per pixel, and hence, they have inferior image quality compared to X-rays. Theoretically, global histogram equalization (GHE) technique can improve the contrast of a given image though practical benefits of doing so have only limited acceptance. In this study, we have investigated the effect of GHE technique for 99mTc-MDP-bone scan images. Materials and Methods: A set of 89 low contrast 99mTc-MDP whole-body bone scan images were included in this study. These images were acquired with parallel hole collimation on Symbia E gamma camera. The images were then processed with histogram equalization technique. The image quality of input and processed images were reviewed by two nuclear medicine physicians on a 5-point scale where score of 1 is for very poor and 5 is for the best image quality. A statistical test was applied to find the significance of difference between the mean scores assigned to input and processed images. Results: This technique improves the contrast of the images; however, oversaturation was noticed in the processed images. Student's t-test was applied, and a statistically significant difference in the input and processed image quality was found at P < 0.001 (with α = 0.05). However, further improvement in image quality is needed as per requirements of nuclear medicine physicians. Conclusion: GHE techniques can be used on low contrast bone scan images. In some of the cases, a histogram equalization technique in combination with some other postprocessing technique is useful. PMID:29142344

The series Bi2Sr2Ca(n-1) Cu(n)O(2n+4) (1 less than or equal to n less than or equal to 5): Phase stability and superconducting properties

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Deguire, Mark R.; Bansal, Narottam P.; Farrell, David E.; Finan, Valerie; Kim, Cheol J.; Hills, Bethanie J.; Allen, Christopher J.

1989-01-01

Phase relations at 850 and 870 C, melting transitions in air, oxygen, and helium were studied for Bi(2.1)Sr(1.9) CuO6 and for the Bi2Sr2Ca(n-1) Cu(n)O(2n+4) for n = 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and infinity (CaCuO2). Up to 870 C, the n = 2 composition resides in the compatibility tetrahedron bounded by Bi(2+x)(Sr,Ca)(3-y) Cu2O8, (Sr,Ca)14 Cu24O41, Ca2CuO3, and a Bi-Sr-Ca-O phase. The n is greater than or equal to 3 compositions reside in the compatibility tetrahedron Bi(2+x)(Sr,Ca)(3-y) Cu2O8 - (Sr,Ca)14 Cu24O41 - Ca2CuO3 - CuO up to 850 C. However, Bi(2+x)Sr(4-y) Cu3O10 forms for n is greater than or equal to 3 after extended heating at 870 C. Bi(2+x)Sr(2-y) CuO6 and Bi(2+x)(Sr,Ca)(3-y) Cu2O8 melt in air at 914 C and 895 C respectively. During melting, all of the compositions studied lose 1 to 2 percent by weight of oxygen from the reduction of copper. Bi(2+x)Sr(2-y) CuO6, Bi(2+n)(Sr,Ca)(3-y) Cu2O8, and Bi(2+x)(Sr,Ca)(4-y) Cu3O10 exhibit crystallographic alignment in a magnetic field, with the c-axes orienting parallel to the field.

Multi-scale Morphological Image Enhancement of Chest Radiographs by a Hybrid Scheme.

PubMed

Alavijeh, Fatemeh Shahsavari; Mahdavi-Nasab, Homayoun

2015-01-01

Chest radiography is a common diagnostic imaging test, which contains an enormous amount of information about a patient. However, its interpretation is highly challenging. The accuracy of the diagnostic process is greatly influenced by image processing algorithms; hence enhancement of the images is indispensable in order to improve visibility of the details. This paper aims at improving radiograph parameters such as contrast, sharpness, noise level, and brightness to enhance chest radiographs, making use of a triangulation method. Here, contrast limited adaptive histogram equalization technique and noise suppression are simultaneously performed in wavelet domain in a new scheme, followed by morphological top-hat and bottom-hat filtering. A unique implementation of morphological filters allows for adjustment of the image brightness and significant enhancement of the contrast. The proposed method is tested on chest radiographs from Japanese Society of Radiological Technology database. The results are compared with conventional enhancement techniques such as histogram equalization, contrast limited adaptive histogram equalization, Retinex, and some recently proposed methods to show its strengths. The experimental results reveal that the proposed method can remarkably improve the image contrast while keeping the sensitive chest tissue information so that radiologists might have a more precise interpretation.

Multi-scale Morphological Image Enhancement of Chest Radiographs by a Hybrid Scheme

PubMed Central

Alavijeh, Fatemeh Shahsavari; Mahdavi-Nasab, Homayoun

2015-01-01

Chest radiography is a common diagnostic imaging test, which contains an enormous amount of information about a patient. However, its interpretation is highly challenging. The accuracy of the diagnostic process is greatly influenced by image processing algorithms; hence enhancement of the images is indispensable in order to improve visibility of the details. This paper aims at improving radiograph parameters such as contrast, sharpness, noise level, and brightness to enhance chest radiographs, making use of a triangulation method. Here, contrast limited adaptive histogram equalization technique and noise suppression are simultaneously performed in wavelet domain in a new scheme, followed by morphological top-hat and bottom-hat filtering. A unique implementation of morphological filters allows for adjustment of the image brightness and significant enhancement of the contrast. The proposed method is tested on chest radiographs from Japanese Society of Radiological Technology database. The results are compared with conventional enhancement techniques such as histogram equalization, contrast limited adaptive histogram equalization, Retinex, and some recently proposed methods to show its strengths. The experimental results reveal that the proposed method can remarkably improve the image contrast while keeping the sensitive chest tissue information so that radiologists might have a more precise interpretation. PMID:25709942

An improved contrast enhancement algorithm for infrared images based on adaptive double plateaus histogram equalization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Shuo; Jin, Weiqi; Li, Li; Li, Yiyang

2018-05-01

Infrared thermal images can reflect the thermal-radiation distribution of a particular scene. However, the contrast of the infrared images is usually low. Hence, it is generally necessary to enhance the contrast of infrared images in advance to facilitate subsequent recognition and analysis. Based on the adaptive double plateaus histogram equalization, this paper presents an improved contrast enhancement algorithm for infrared thermal images. In the proposed algorithm, the normalized coefficient of variation of the histogram, which characterizes the level of contrast enhancement, is introduced as feedback information to adjust the upper and lower plateau thresholds. The experiments on actual infrared images show that compared to the three typical contrast-enhancement algorithms, the proposed algorithm has better scene adaptability and yields better contrast-enhancement results for infrared images with more dark areas or a higher dynamic range. Hence, it has high application value in contrast enhancement, dynamic range compression, and digital detail enhancement for infrared thermal images.

An evaluation of the effectiveness of adaptive histogram equalization for contrast enhancement.

PubMed

Zimmerman, J B; Pizer, S M; Staab, E V; Perry, J R; McCartney, W; Brenton, B C

1988-01-01

Adaptive histogram equalization (AHE) and intensity windowing have been compared using psychophysical observer studies. Experienced radiologists were shown clinical CT (computerized tomographic) images of the chest. Into some of the images, appropriate artificial lesions were introduced; the physicians were then shown the images processed with both AHE and intensity windowing. They were asked to assess the probability that a given image contained the artificial lesion, and their accuracy was measured. The results of these experiments show that for this particular diagnostic task, there was no significant difference in the ability of the two methods to depict luminance contrast; thus, further evaluation of AHE using controlled clinical trials is indicated.

Feature and contrast enhancement of mammographic image based on multiscale analysis and morphology.

PubMed

Wu, Shibin; Yu, Shaode; Yang, Yuhan; Xie, Yaoqin

2013-01-01

A new algorithm for feature and contrast enhancement of mammographic images is proposed in this paper. The approach bases on multiscale transform and mathematical morphology. First of all, the Laplacian Gaussian pyramid operator is applied to transform the mammography into different scale subband images. In addition, the detail or high frequency subimages are equalized by contrast limited adaptive histogram equalization (CLAHE) and low-pass subimages are processed by mathematical morphology. Finally, the enhanced image of feature and contrast is reconstructed from the Laplacian Gaussian pyramid coefficients modified at one or more levels by contrast limited adaptive histogram equalization and mathematical morphology, respectively. The enhanced image is processed by global nonlinear operator. The experimental results show that the presented algorithm is effective for feature and contrast enhancement of mammogram. The performance evaluation of the proposed algorithm is measured by contrast evaluation criterion for image, signal-noise-ratio (SNR), and contrast improvement index (CII).

Feature and Contrast Enhancement of Mammographic Image Based on Multiscale Analysis and Morphology

PubMed Central

Wu, Shibin; Xie, Yaoqin

2013-01-01

A new algorithm for feature and contrast enhancement of mammographic images is proposed in this paper. The approach bases on multiscale transform and mathematical morphology. First of all, the Laplacian Gaussian pyramid operator is applied to transform the mammography into different scale subband images. In addition, the detail or high frequency subimages are equalized by contrast limited adaptive histogram equalization (CLAHE) and low-pass subimages are processed by mathematical morphology. Finally, the enhanced image of feature and contrast is reconstructed from the Laplacian Gaussian pyramid coefficients modified at one or more levels by contrast limited adaptive histogram equalization and mathematical morphology, respectively. The enhanced image is processed by global nonlinear operator. The experimental results show that the presented algorithm is effective for feature and contrast enhancement of mammogram. The performance evaluation of the proposed algorithm is measured by contrast evaluation criterion for image, signal-noise-ratio (SNR), and contrast improvement index (CII). PMID:24416072

Uniform enhancement of optical micro-angiography images using Rayleigh contrast-limited adaptive histogram equalization.

PubMed

Yousefi, Siavash; Qin, Jia; Zhi, Zhongwei; Wang, Ruikang K

2013-02-01

Optical microangiography is an imaging technology that is capable of providing detailed functional blood flow maps within microcirculatory tissue beds in vivo. Some practical issues however exist when displaying and quantifying the microcirculation that perfuses the scanned tissue volume. These issues include: (I) Probing light is subject to specular reflection when it shines onto sample. The unevenness of the tissue surface makes the light energy entering the tissue not uniform over the entire scanned tissue volume. (II) The biological tissue is heterogeneous in nature, meaning the scattering and absorption properties of tissue would attenuate the probe beam. These physical limitations can result in local contrast degradation and non-uniform micro-angiogram images. In this paper, we propose a post-processing method that uses Rayleigh contrast-limited adaptive histogram equalization to increase the contrast and improve the overall appearance and uniformity of optical micro-angiograms without saturating the vessel intensity and changing the physical meaning of the micro-angiograms. The qualitative and quantitative performance of the proposed method is compared with those of common histogram equalization and contrast enhancement methods. We demonstrate that the proposed method outperforms other existing approaches. The proposed method is not limited to optical microangiography and can be used in other image modalities such as photo-acoustic tomography and scanning laser confocal microscopy.

Gray-level transformations for interactive image enhancement. M.S. Thesis. Final Technical Report

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fittes, B. A.

1975-01-01

A gray-level transformation method suitable for interactive image enhancement was presented. It is shown that the well-known histogram equalization approach is a special case of this method. A technique for improving the uniformity of a histogram is also developed. Experimental results which illustrate the capabilities of both algorithms are described. Two proposals for implementing gray-level transformations in a real-time interactive image enhancement system are also presented.

[A fast iterative algorithm for adaptive histogram equalization].

PubMed

Cao, X; Liu, X; Deng, Z; Jiang, D; Zheng, C

1997-01-01

In this paper, we propose an iterative algorthm called FAHE., which is based on the relativity between the current local histogram and the one before the sliding window moving. Comparing with the basic AHE, the computing time of FAHE is decreased from 5 hours to 4 minutes on a 486dx/33 compatible computer, when using a 65 x 65 sliding window for a 512 x 512 with 8 bits gray-level range.

Preprocessing with image denoising and histogram equalization for endoscopy image analysis using texture analysis.

PubMed

Hiroyasu, Tomoyuki; Hayashinuma, Katsutoshi; Ichikawa, Hiroshi; Yagi, Nobuaki

2015-08-01

A preprocessing method for endoscopy image analysis using texture analysis is proposed. In a previous study, we proposed a feature value that combines a co-occurrence matrix and a run-length matrix to analyze the extent of early gastric cancer from images taken with narrow-band imaging endoscopy. However, the obtained feature value does not identify lesion zones correctly due to the influence of noise and halation. Therefore, we propose a new preprocessing method with a non-local means filter for de-noising and contrast limited adaptive histogram equalization. We have confirmed that the pattern of gastric mucosa in images can be improved by the proposed method. Furthermore, the lesion zone is shown more correctly by the obtained color map.

Perceptual Contrast Enhancement with Dynamic Range Adjustment

PubMed Central

Zhang, Hong; Li, Yuecheng; Chen, Hao; Yuan, Ding; Sun, Mingui

2013-01-01

Recent years, although great efforts have been made to improve its performance, few Histogram equalization (HE) methods take human visual perception (HVP) into account explicitly. The human visual system (HVS) is more sensitive to edges than brightness. This paper proposes to take use of this nature intuitively and develops a perceptual contrast enhancement approach with dynamic range adjustment through histogram modification. The use of perceptual contrast connects the image enhancement problem with the HVS. To pre-condition the input image before the HE procedure is implemented, a perceptual contrast map (PCM) is constructed based on the modified Difference of Gaussian (DOG) algorithm. As a result, the contrast of the image is sharpened and high frequency noise is suppressed. A modified Clipped Histogram Equalization (CHE) is also developed which improves visual quality by automatically detecting the dynamic range of the image with improved perceptual contrast. Experimental results show that the new HE algorithm outperforms several state-of-the-art algorithms in improving perceptual contrast and enhancing details. In addition, the new algorithm is simple to implement, making it suitable for real-time applications. PMID:24339452

Visual Contrast Enhancement Algorithm Based on Histogram Equalization

PubMed Central

Ting, Chih-Chung; Wu, Bing-Fei; Chung, Meng-Liang; Chiu, Chung-Cheng; Wu, Ya-Ching

2015-01-01

Image enhancement techniques primarily improve the contrast of an image to lend it a better appearance. One of the popular enhancement methods is histogram equalization (HE) because of its simplicity and effectiveness. However, it is rarely applied to consumer electronics products because it can cause excessive contrast enhancement and feature loss problems. These problems make the images processed by HE look unnatural and introduce unwanted artifacts in them. In this study, a visual contrast enhancement algorithm (VCEA) based on HE is proposed. VCEA considers the requirements of the human visual perception in order to address the drawbacks of HE. It effectively solves the excessive contrast enhancement problem by adjusting the spaces between two adjacent gray values of the HE histogram. In addition, VCEA reduces the effects of the feature loss problem by using the obtained spaces. Furthermore, VCEA enhances the detailed textures of an image to generate an enhanced image with better visual quality. Experimental results show that images obtained by applying VCEA have higher contrast and are more suited to human visual perception than those processed by HE and other HE-based methods. PMID:26184219

An adaptive enhancement algorithm for infrared video based on modified k-means clustering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Linze; Wang, Jingqi; Wu, Wen

2016-09-01

In this paper, we have proposed a video enhancement algorithm to improve the output video of the infrared camera. Sometimes the video obtained by infrared camera is very dark since there is no clear target. In this case, infrared video should be divided into frame images by frame extraction, in order to carry out the image enhancement. For the first frame image, which can be divided into k sub images by using K-means clustering according to the gray interval it occupies before k sub images' histogram equalization according to the amount of information per sub image, we used a method to solve a problem that final cluster centers close to each other in some cases; and for the other frame images, their initial cluster centers can be determined by the final clustering centers of the previous ones, and the histogram equalization of each sub image will be carried out after image segmentation based on K-means clustering. The histogram equalization can make the gray value of the image to the whole gray level, and the gray level of each sub image is determined by the ratio of pixels to a frame image. Experimental results show that this algorithm can improve the contrast of infrared video where night target is not obvious which lead to a dim scene, and reduce the negative effect given by the overexposed pixels adaptively in a certain range.

Uniform enhancement of optical micro-angiography images using Rayleigh contrast-limited adaptive histogram equalization

PubMed Central

Yousefi, Siavash; Qin, Jia; Zhi, Zhongwei

2013-01-01

Optical microangiography is an imaging technology that is capable of providing detailed functional blood flow maps within microcirculatory tissue beds in vivo. Some practical issues however exist when displaying and quantifying the microcirculation that perfuses the scanned tissue volume. These issues include: (I) Probing light is subject to specular reflection when it shines onto sample. The unevenness of the tissue surface makes the light energy entering the tissue not uniform over the entire scanned tissue volume. (II) The biological tissue is heterogeneous in nature, meaning the scattering and absorption properties of tissue would attenuate the probe beam. These physical limitations can result in local contrast degradation and non-uniform micro-angiogram images. In this paper, we propose a post-processing method that uses Rayleigh contrast-limited adaptive histogram equalization to increase the contrast and improve the overall appearance and uniformity of optical micro-angiograms without saturating the vessel intensity and changing the physical meaning of the micro-angiograms. The qualitative and quantitative performance of the proposed method is compared with those of common histogram equalization and contrast enhancement methods. We demonstrate that the proposed method outperforms other existing approaches. The proposed method is not limited to optical microangiography and can be used in other image modalities such as photo-acoustic tomography and scanning laser confocal microscopy. PMID:23482880

Generalized image contrast enhancement technique based on Heinemann contrast discrimination model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Hong; Nodine, Calvin F.

1994-03-01

This paper presents a generalized image contrast enhancement technique which equalizes perceived brightness based on the Heinemann contrast discrimination model. This is a modified algorithm which presents an improvement over the previous study by Mokrane in its mathematically proven existence of a unique solution and in its easily tunable parameterization. The model uses a log-log representation of contrast luminosity between targets and the surround in a fixed luminosity background setting. The algorithm consists of two nonlinear gray-scale mapping functions which have seven parameters, two of which are adjustable Heinemann constants. Another parameter is the background gray level. The remaining four parameters are nonlinear functions of gray scale distribution of the image, and can be uniquely determined once the previous three are given. Tests have been carried out to examine the effectiveness of the algorithm for increasing the overall contrast of images. It can be demonstrated that the generalized algorithm provides better contrast enhancement than histogram equalization. In fact, the histogram equalization technique is a special case of the proposed mapping.

Hue-preserving and saturation-improved color histogram equalization algorithm.

PubMed

Song, Ki Sun; Kang, Hee; Kang, Moon Gi

2016-06-01

In this paper, an algorithm is proposed to improve contrast and saturation without color degradation. The local histogram equalization (HE) method offers better performance than the global HE method, whereas the local HE method sometimes produces undesirable results due to the block-based processing. The proposed contrast-enhancement (CE) algorithm reflects the characteristics of the global HE method in the local HE method to avoid the artifacts, while global and local contrasts are enhanced. There are two ways to apply the proposed CE algorithm to color images. One is luminance processing methods, and the other one is each channel processing methods. However, these ways incur excessive or reduced saturation and color degradation problems. The proposed algorithm solves these problems by using channel adaptive equalization and similarity of ratios between the channels. Experimental results show that the proposed algorithm enhances contrast and saturation while preserving the hue and producing better performance than existing methods in terms of objective evaluation metrics.

Application of the Minkowski-functionals for automated pattern classification of breast parenchyma depicted by digital mammography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boehm, Holger F.; Fischer, Tanja; Riosk, Dororthea; Britsch, Stefanie; Reiser, Maximilian

2008-03-01

With an estimated life-time-risk of about 10%, breast cancer is the most common cancer among women in western societies. Extensive mammography-screening programs have been implemented for diagnosis of the disease at an early stage. Several algorithms for computer-aided detection (CAD) have been proposed to help radiologists manage the increasing number of mammographic image-data and identify new cases of cancer. However, a major issue with most CAD-solutions is the fact that performance strongly depends on the structure and density of the breast tissue. Prior information about the global tissue quality in a patient would be helpful for selecting the most effective CAD-approach in order to increase the sensitivity of lesion-detection. In our study, we propose an automated method for textural evaluation of digital mammograms using the Minkowski Functionals in 2D. 80 mammograms are consensus-classified by two experienced readers as fibrosis, involution/atrophy, or normal. For each case, the topology of graylevel distribution is evaluated within a retromamillary image-section of 512 x 512 pixels. In addition, we obtain parameters from the graylevel-histogram (20th percentile, median and mean graylevel intensity). As a result, correct classification of the mammograms based on the densitometic parameters is achieved in between 38 and 48%, whereas topological analysis increases the rate to 83%. The findings demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm. Compared to features obtained from graylevel histograms and comparable studies, we draw the conclusion that the presented method performs equally good or better. Our future work will be focused on the characterization of the mammographic tissue according to the Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System (BI-RADS). Moreover, other databases will be tested for an in-depth evaluation of the efficiency of our proposal.

Lower-upper-threshold correlation for underwater range-gated imaging self-adaptive enhancement.

PubMed

Sun, Liang; Wang, Xinwei; Liu, Xiaoquan; Ren, Pengdao; Lei, Pingshun; He, Jun; Fan, Songtao; Zhou, Yan; Liu, Yuliang

2016-10-10

In underwater range-gated imaging (URGI), enhancement of low-brightness and low-contrast images is critical for human observation. Traditional histogram equalizations over-enhance images, with the result of details being lost. To compress over-enhancement, a lower-upper-threshold correlation method is proposed for underwater range-gated imaging self-adaptive enhancement based on double-plateau histogram equalization. The lower threshold determines image details and compresses over-enhancement. It is correlated with the upper threshold. First, the upper threshold is updated by searching for the local maximum in real time, and then the lower threshold is calculated by the upper threshold and the number of nonzero units selected from a filtered histogram. With this method, the backgrounds of underwater images are constrained with enhanced details. Finally, the proof experiments are performed. Peak signal-to-noise-ratio, variance, contrast, and human visual properties are used to evaluate the objective quality of the global and regions of interest images. The evaluation results demonstrate that the proposed method adaptively selects the proper upper and lower thresholds under different conditions. The proposed method contributes to URGI with effective image enhancement for human eyes.

Detection of simulated microcalcifications in fixed mammary tissue: An ROC study of the effect of local versus global histogram equalization.

PubMed

Sund, T; Olsen, J B

2006-09-01

To investigate whether sliding window adaptive histogram equalization (SWAHE) of digital mammograms improves the detection of simulated calcifications, as compared to images normalized by global histogram equalization (GHE). Direct digital mammograms were obtained from mammary tissue phantoms superimposed with different frames. Each frame was divided into forty squares by a wire mesh, and contained granular calcifications randomly positioned in about 50% of the squares. Three radiologists read the mammograms on a display monitor. They classified their confidence in the presence of microcalcifications in each square on a scale of 1 to 5. Images processed with GHE were first read and used as a reference. In a later session, the same images processed with SWAHE were read. The results were compared using ROC methodology. When the total areas AZ were compared, the results were completely equivocal. When comparing the high-specificity partial ROC area AZ,0.2 below false-positive fraction (FPF) 0.20, two of the three observers performed best with the images processed with SWAHE. The difference was not statistically significant. When the reader's confidence threshold in malignancy is set at a high level, increasing the contrast of mammograms with SWAHE may enhance the visibility of microcalcifications without adversely affecting the false-positive rate. When the reader's confidence threshold is set at a low level, the effect of SWAHE is an increase of false positives. Further investigation is needed to confirm the validity of the conclusions.

Histogram analysis for smartphone-based rapid hematocrit determination

PubMed Central

Jalal, Uddin M.; Kim, Sang C.; Shim, Joon S.

2017-01-01

A novel and rapid analysis technique using histogram has been proposed for the colorimetric quantification of blood hematocrits. A smartphone-based “Histogram” app for the detection of hematocrits has been developed integrating the smartphone embedded camera with a microfluidic chip via a custom-made optical platform. The developed histogram analysis shows its effectiveness in the automatic detection of sample channel including auto-calibration and can analyze the single-channel as well as multi-channel images. Furthermore, the analyzing method is advantageous to the quantification of blood-hematocrit both in the equal and varying optical conditions. The rapid determination of blood hematocrits carries enormous information regarding physiological disorders, and the use of such reproducible, cost-effective, and standard techniques may effectively help with the diagnosis and prevention of a number of human diseases. PMID:28717569

Marginal instability threshold condition of the aperiodic ordinary mode in equal-mass plasmas

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

Vafin, S.; Schlickeiser, R.; Yoon, P. H.

The purely growing ordinary (O) mode instability for counter-streaming bi-Maxwellian plasma particle distribution functions has recently received renewed attention due to its importance for the solar wind plasma. Here, the analytical marginal instability condition is derived for magnetized plasmas consisting of equal-mass charged particles, distributed in counter-streams with equal temperatures. The equal-mass composition assumption enormously facilitates the theoretical analysis due to the equality of the values of the electron and positron (positive and negative ion) plasma and gyrofrequencies. The existence of a new instability domain of the O-mode at small plasma beta values is confirmed, when the parallel counter-stream freemore » energy exceeds the perpendicular bi-Maxwellian free energy.« less

A psychophysical comparison of two methods for adaptive histogram equalization.

PubMed

Zimmerman, J B; Cousins, S B; Hartzell, K M; Frisse, M E; Kahn, M G

1989-05-01

Adaptive histogram equalization (AHE) is a method for adaptive contrast enhancement of digital images. It is an automatic, reproducible method for the simultaneous viewing of contrast within a digital image with a large dynamic range. Recent experiments have shown that in specific cases, there is no significant difference in the ability of AHE and linear intensity windowing to display gray-scale contrast. More recently, a variant of AHE which limits the allowed contrast enhancement of the image has been proposed. This contrast-limited adaptive histogram equalization (CLAHE) produces images in which the noise content of an image is not excessively enhanced, but in which sufficient contrast is provided for the visualization of structures within the image. Images processed with CLAHE have a more natural appearance and facilitate the comparison of different areas of an image. However, the reduced contrast enhancement of CLAHE may hinder the ability of an observer to detect the presence of some significant gray-scale contrast. In this report, a psychophysical observer experiment was performed to determine if there is a significant difference in the ability of AHE and CLAHE to depict gray-scale contrast. Observers were presented with computed tomography (CT) images of the chest processed with AHE and CLAHE. Subtle artificial lesions were introduced into some images. The observers were asked to rate their confidence regarding the presence of the lesions; this rating-scale data was analyzed using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve techniques. These ROC curves were compared for significant differences in the observers' performances. In this report, no difference was found in the abilities of AHE and CLAHE to depict contrast information.

Information-Adaptive Image Encoding and Restoration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Park, Stephen K.; Rahman, Zia-ur

1998-01-01

The multiscale retinex with color restoration (MSRCR) has shown itself to be a very versatile automatic image enhancement algorithm that simultaneously provides dynamic range compression, color constancy, and color rendition. A number of algorithms exist that provide one or more of these features, but not all. In this paper we compare the performance of the MSRCR with techniques that are widely used for image enhancement. Specifically, we compare the MSRCR with color adjustment methods such as gamma correction and gain/offset application, histogram modification techniques such as histogram equalization and manual histogram adjustment, and other more powerful techniques such as homomorphic filtering and 'burning and dodging'. The comparison is carried out by testing the suite of image enhancement methods on a set of diverse images. We find that though some of these techniques work well for some of these images, only the MSRCR performs universally well oil the test set.

A Comparison of the Multiscale Retinex With Other Image Enhancement Techniques

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rahman, Zia-Ur; Woodell, Glenn A.; Jobson, Daniel J.

1997-01-01

The multiscale retinex with color restoration (MSRCR) has shown itself to be a very versatile automatic image enhancement algorithm that simultaneously provides dynamic range compression, color constancy, and color rendition. A number of algorithms exist that provide one or more of these features, but not all. In this paper we compare the performance of the MSRCR with techniques that are widely used for image enhancement. Specifically, we compare the MSRCR with color adjustment methods such as gamma correction and gain/offset application, histogram modification techniques such as histogram equalization and manual histogram adjustment, and other more powerful techniques such as homomorphic filtering and 'burning and dodging'. The comparison is carried out by testing the suite of image enhancement methods on a set of diverse images. We find that though some of these techniques work well for some of these images, only the MSRCR performs universally well on the test set.

Zr, Hf, Mo and W-containing oxide phases as pinning additives in Bi-2212 superconductor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Makarova, M. V.; Kazin, P. E.; Tretyakov, Yu. D.; Jansen, M.; Reissner, M.; Steiner, W.

2005-02-01

Phase formation was investigated in Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-M-O (M = Mo, W) systems at 850-900 °C. It was found that Sr 2CaMO 6 phases were chemically compatible with Bi-2212. The composites Bi-2212-Sr 2CaMO 6 and Bi-2212-SrAO 3 (A = Zr, Hf) were obtained from a sol-gel precursor using crystallisation from the melt. The materials consisted of Bi-2212 matrix and submicron or micron grains of the corresponding dispersed phase. Tc was equal or exceeded that for undoped Bi-2212, reaching Tc = 97 K in the Mo-containing composite. The composites exhibited enhanced pinning in comparison with similar prepared pure Bi-2212, especially at T = 60 K. The best pinning parameters were observed for the Bi-2212-Sr 2CaWO 6 composite.

Reducing charging effects in scanning electron microscope images by Rayleigh contrast stretching method (RCS).

PubMed

Wan Ismail, W Z; Sim, K S; Tso, C P; Ting, H Y

2011-01-01

To reduce undesirable charging effects in scanning electron microscope images, Rayleigh contrast stretching is developed and employed. First, re-scaling is performed on the input image histograms with Rayleigh algorithm. Then, contrast stretching or contrast adjustment is implemented to improve the images while reducing the contrast charging artifacts. This technique has been compared to some existing histogram equalization (HE) extension techniques: recursive sub-image HE, contrast stretching dynamic HE, multipeak HE and recursive mean separate HE. Other post processing methods, such as wavelet approach, spatial filtering, and exponential contrast stretching, are compared as well. Overall, the proposed method produces better image compensation in reducing charging artifacts. Copyright © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

A method for normalizing pathology images to improve feature extraction for quantitative pathology.

PubMed

Tam, Allison; Barker, Jocelyn; Rubin, Daniel

2016-01-01

With the advent of digital slide scanning technologies and the potential proliferation of large repositories of digital pathology images, many research studies can leverage these data for biomedical discovery and to develop clinical applications. However, quantitative analysis of digital pathology images is impeded by batch effects generated by varied staining protocols and staining conditions of pathological slides. To overcome this problem, this paper proposes a novel, fully automated stain normalization method to reduce batch effects and thus aid research in digital pathology applications. Their method, intensity centering and histogram equalization (ICHE), normalizes a diverse set of pathology images by first scaling the centroids of the intensity histograms to a common point and then applying a modified version of contrast-limited adaptive histogram equalization. Normalization was performed on two datasets of digitized hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) slides of different tissue slices from the same lung tumor, and one immunohistochemistry dataset of digitized slides created by restaining one of the H&E datasets. The ICHE method was evaluated based on image intensity values, quantitative features, and the effect on downstream applications, such as a computer aided diagnosis. For comparison, three methods from the literature were reimplemented and evaluated using the same criteria. The authors found that ICHE not only improved performance compared with un-normalized images, but in most cases showed improvement compared with previous methods for correcting batch effects in the literature. ICHE may be a useful preprocessing step a digital pathology image processing pipeline.

Contact-free palm-vein recognition based on local invariant features.

PubMed

Kang, Wenxiong; Liu, Yang; Wu, Qiuxia; Yue, Xishun

2014-01-01

Contact-free palm-vein recognition is one of the most challenging and promising areas in hand biometrics. In view of the existing problems in contact-free palm-vein imaging, including projection transformation, uneven illumination and difficulty in extracting exact ROIs, this paper presents a novel recognition approach for contact-free palm-vein recognition that performs feature extraction and matching on all vein textures distributed over the palm surface, including finger veins and palm veins, to minimize the loss of feature information. First, a hierarchical enhancement algorithm, which combines a DOG filter and histogram equalization, is adopted to alleviate uneven illumination and to highlight vein textures. Second, RootSIFT, a more stable local invariant feature extraction method in comparison to SIFT, is adopted to overcome the projection transformation in contact-free mode. Subsequently, a novel hierarchical mismatching removal algorithm based on neighborhood searching and LBP histograms is adopted to improve the accuracy of feature matching. Finally, we rigorously evaluated the proposed approach using two different databases and obtained 0.996% and 3.112% Equal Error Rates (EERs), respectively, which demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.

Bas-relief generation using adaptive histogram equalization.

PubMed

Sun, Xianfang; Rosin, Paul L; Martin, Ralph R; Langbein, Frank C

2009-01-01

An algorithm is presented to automatically generate bas-reliefs based on adaptive histogram equalization (AHE), starting from an input height field. A mesh model may alternatively be provided, in which case a height field is first created via orthogonal or perspective projection. The height field is regularly gridded and treated as an image, enabling a modified AHE method to be used to generate a bas-relief with a user-chosen height range. We modify the original image-contrast-enhancement AHE method to use gradient weights also to enhance the shape features of the bas-relief. To effectively compress the height field, we limit the height-dependent scaling factors used to compute relative height variations in the output from height variations in the input; this prevents any height differences from having too great effect. Results of AHE over different neighborhood sizes are averaged to preserve information at different scales in the resulting bas-relief. Compared to previous approaches, the proposed algorithm is simple and yet largely preserves original shape features. Experiments show that our results are, in general, comparable to and in some cases better than the best previously published methods.

A Framework for Reproducible Latent Fingerprint Enhancements.

PubMed

Carasso, Alfred S

2014-01-01

Photoshop processing of latent fingerprints is the preferred methodology among law enforcement forensic experts, but that appproach is not fully reproducible and may lead to questionable enhancements. Alternative, independent, fully reproducible enhancements, using IDL Histogram Equalization and IDL Adaptive Histogram Equalization, can produce better-defined ridge structures, along with considerable background information. Applying a systematic slow motion smoothing procedure to such IDL enhancements, based on the rapid FFT solution of a Lévy stable fractional diffusion equation, can attenuate background detail while preserving ridge information. The resulting smoothed latent print enhancements are comparable to, but distinct from, forensic Photoshop images suitable for input into automated fingerprint identification systems, (AFIS). In addition, this progressive smoothing procedure can be reexamined by displaying the suite of progressively smoother IDL images. That suite can be stored, providing an audit trail that allows monitoring for possible loss of useful information, in transit to the user-selected optimal image. Such independent and fully reproducible enhancements provide a valuable frame of reference that may be helpful in informing, complementing, and possibly validating the forensic Photoshop methodology.

Contact-Free Palm-Vein Recognition Based on Local Invariant Features

PubMed Central

Kang, Wenxiong; Liu, Yang; Wu, Qiuxia; Yue, Xishun

2014-01-01

Contact-free palm-vein recognition is one of the most challenging and promising areas in hand biometrics. In view of the existing problems in contact-free palm-vein imaging, including projection transformation, uneven illumination and difficulty in extracting exact ROIs, this paper presents a novel recognition approach for contact-free palm-vein recognition that performs feature extraction and matching on all vein textures distributed over the palm surface, including finger veins and palm veins, to minimize the loss of feature information. First, a hierarchical enhancement algorithm, which combines a DOG filter and histogram equalization, is adopted to alleviate uneven illumination and to highlight vein textures. Second, RootSIFT, a more stable local invariant feature extraction method in comparison to SIFT, is adopted to overcome the projection transformation in contact-free mode. Subsequently, a novel hierarchical mismatching removal algorithm based on neighborhood searching and LBP histograms is adopted to improve the accuracy of feature matching. Finally, we rigorously evaluated the proposed approach using two different databases and obtained 0.996% and 3.112% Equal Error Rates (EERs), respectively, which demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach. PMID:24866176

A Framework for Reproducible Latent Fingerprint Enhancements

PubMed Central

Carasso, Alfred S.

2014-01-01

Photoshop processing1 of latent fingerprints is the preferred methodology among law enforcement forensic experts, but that appproach is not fully reproducible and may lead to questionable enhancements. Alternative, independent, fully reproducible enhancements, using IDL Histogram Equalization and IDL Adaptive Histogram Equalization, can produce better-defined ridge structures, along with considerable background information. Applying a systematic slow motion smoothing procedure to such IDL enhancements, based on the rapid FFT solution of a Lévy stable fractional diffusion equation, can attenuate background detail while preserving ridge information. The resulting smoothed latent print enhancements are comparable to, but distinct from, forensic Photoshop images suitable for input into automated fingerprint identification systems, (AFIS). In addition, this progressive smoothing procedure can be reexamined by displaying the suite of progressively smoother IDL images. That suite can be stored, providing an audit trail that allows monitoring for possible loss of useful information, in transit to the user-selected optimal image. Such independent and fully reproducible enhancements provide a valuable frame of reference that may be helpful in informing, complementing, and possibly validating the forensic Photoshop methodology. PMID:26601028

Comparative study of the compensated semi-metals LaBi and LuBi: a first-principles approach.

PubMed

Dey, Urmimala

2018-05-23

We have investigated the electronic structures of LaBi and LuBi, employing the full-potential all electron method as implemented in Wien2k. Using this, we have studied in detail both the bulk and the surface states of these materials. From our band structure calculations we find that LuBi, like LaBi, is a compensated semi-metal with almost equal and sizable electron and hole pockets. In analogy with experimental evidence in LaBi, we thus predict that LuBi will also be a candidate for extremely large magneto-resistance (XMR), which should be of immense technological interest. Our calculations reveal that LaBi, despite being gapless in the bulk spectrum, displays the characteristic features of a [Formula: see text] topological semi-metal, resulting in gapless Dirac cones on the surface, whereas LuBi only shows avoided band inversion in the bulk and is thus a conventional compensated semi-metal with extremely large magneto-resistance.

Comparative study of the compensated semi-metals LaBi and LuBi: a first-principles approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dey, Urmimala

2018-05-01

We have investigated the electronic structures of LaBi and LuBi, employing the full-potential all electron method as implemented in Wien2k. Using this, we have studied in detail both the bulk and the surface states of these materials. From our band structure calculations we find that LuBi, like LaBi, is a compensated semi-metal with almost equal and sizable electron and hole pockets. In analogy with experimental evidence in LaBi, we thus predict that LuBi will also be a candidate for extremely large magneto-resistance (XMR), which should be of immense technological interest. Our calculations reveal that LaBi, despite being gapless in the bulk spectrum, displays the characteristic features of a topological semi-metal, resulting in gapless Dirac cones on the surface, whereas LuBi only shows avoided band inversion in the bulk and is thus a conventional compensated semi-metal with extremely large magneto-resistance.

Differentiation of artery wall lesions using porphyrins and fiberoptic sensor in rabbits

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vari, Sandor G.; van der Veen, Maurits J.; Papazoglou, Theodore G.; Fishbein, Michael C.; Stavridi, Marigo; Papaioannou, Thanassis; Grundfest, Warren S.

1994-02-01

We investigated the ability of fluorescence spectroscopy, and photosensitizers to differentiate normal, hyperplastic and atherosclerotic arterial wall lesions in vivo. Hyperplastic lesions were induced in the abdominal aorta (AB) of 24 rabbits by balloon injury (BI). Atherosclerotic arterial wall lesions were induced by BI and diet. Fluorescence signals from thoracic n equals 16 and AB n equals 15 sites were analyzed by computer. A ratio was used as an index of drug presence. Use of PPS or BPD and LIFS may be a feasible, in vivo method for the differentiation between normal, hyperplastic and atherosclerotic arterial wall lesions.

[Comparison of the effects of BI-6, a new asymmetric bipyridine oxime, with HI-6 oxime and obidoxime in combination with atropine on soman and fosdrine toxicity in mice].

PubMed

Kassa, J

1999-01-01

The therapeutic efficacy of the new asymmetric bispyridinium oxime BI-6 against acute toxicity of the highly toxic organophosphate soman and the organophosphorus insecticide fosdrin by means of affecting the LD50 values of these noxiores substances was compared with the effect of the hitherto most perspective oxime HI-6 and the classic obidoxime always in combination with the identical dose of atropine. At the equimolar level the effect of oxime BI-6 against fosdrin completely equals the effects of both oximes HI-6 and obidoxime. The effect of oxime BI-6 against soman is even more marked than the effect of HI-6 but this difference is not statistically significant. On the other hand, at the equi-effective level, the effect of oxime BI-6 against soman is statistically significantly lower than the effect of HI-6, and against fosdrin it is even lower than the effect of both remaining oximes. The effects of the new oxime BI-6 equal, or slightly exceed the therapeutic effect of HI-6 but at the equimolar level only. At the equi-effective level which respects the toxicity of the oxime and is therefore more important for practical use, it is a therapeutically weaker reactivator of acetylcholinesterase than HI-6.

Blind identification of image manipulation type using mixed statistical moments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jeong, Bo Gyu; Moon, Yong Ho; Eom, Il Kyu

2015-01-01

We present a blind identification of image manipulation types such as blurring, scaling, sharpening, and histogram equalization. Motivated by the fact that image manipulations can change the frequency characteristics of an image, we introduce three types of feature vectors composed of statistical moments. The proposed statistical moments are generated from separated wavelet histograms, the characteristic functions of the wavelet variance, and the characteristic functions of the spatial image. Our method can solve the n-class classification problem. Through experimental simulations, we demonstrate that our proposed method can achieve high performance in manipulation type detection. The average rate of the correctly identified manipulation types is as high as 99.22%, using 10,800 test images and six manipulation types including the authentic image.

A method for normalizing pathology images to improve feature extraction for quantitative pathology

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

Tam, Allison; Barker, Jocelyn; Rubin, Daniel

Purpose: With the advent of digital slide scanning technologies and the potential proliferation of large repositories of digital pathology images, many research studies can leverage these data for biomedical discovery and to develop clinical applications. However, quantitative analysis of digital pathology images is impeded by batch effects generated by varied staining protocols and staining conditions of pathological slides. Methods: To overcome this problem, this paper proposes a novel, fully automated stain normalization method to reduce batch effects and thus aid research in digital pathology applications. Their method, intensity centering and histogram equalization (ICHE), normalizes a diverse set of pathology imagesmore » by first scaling the centroids of the intensity histograms to a common point and then applying a modified version of contrast-limited adaptive histogram equalization. Normalization was performed on two datasets of digitized hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) slides of different tissue slices from the same lung tumor, and one immunohistochemistry dataset of digitized slides created by restaining one of the H&E datasets. Results: The ICHE method was evaluated based on image intensity values, quantitative features, and the effect on downstream applications, such as a computer aided diagnosis. For comparison, three methods from the literature were reimplemented and evaluated using the same criteria. The authors found that ICHE not only improved performance compared with un-normalized images, but in most cases showed improvement compared with previous methods for correcting batch effects in the literature. Conclusions: ICHE may be a useful preprocessing step a digital pathology image processing pipeline.« less

Comparison of the One- and Bi-Direction Chained Equipercentile Equating

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Oh, Hyeonjoo; Moses, Tim

2012-01-01

This study investigated differences between two approaches to chained equipercentile (CE) equating (one- and bi-direction CE equating) in nearly equal groups and relatively unequal groups. In one-direction CE equating, the new form is linked to the anchor in one sample of examinees and the anchor is linked to the reference form in the other…

Author Correction: Geometric constraints during epithelial jamming

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Atia, Lior; Bi, Dapeng; Sharma, Yasha; Mitchel, Jennifer A.; Gweon, Bomi; Koehler, Stephan A.; DeCamp, Stephen J.; Lan, Bo; Kim, Jae Hun; Hirsch, Rebecca; Pegoraro, Adrian F.; Lee, Kyu Ha; Starr, Jacqueline R.; Weitz, David A.; Martin, Adam C.; Park, Jin-Ah; Butler, James P.; Fredberg, Jeffrey J.

2018-06-01

In the first correction to this Article, the authors added James P. Butler and Jeffrey J. Fredburg as equally contributing authors. However, this was in error; the statement should have remained indicating that Lior Atia, Dapeng Bi and Yasha Sharma contributed equally. This has now been corrected.

Labeling Defects in CT Images of Hardwood Logs with Species-Dependent and Species-Independent Classifiers

Treesearch

Pei Li; Jing He; A. Lynn Abbott; Daniel L. Schmoldt

1996-01-01

This paper analyses computed tomography (CT) images of hardwood logs, with the goal of locating internal defects. The ability to detect and identify defects automatically is a critical component of efficiency improvements for future sawmills and veneer mills. This paper describes an approach in which 1) histogram equalization is used during preprocessing to normalize...

Is there a preference for linearity when viewing natural images?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kane, David; Bertamío, Marcelo

2015-01-01

The system gamma of the imaging pipeline, defined as the product of the encoding and decoding gammas, is typically greater than one and is stronger for images viewed with a dark background (e.g. cinema) than those viewed in lighter conditions (e.g. office displays).1-3 However, for high dynamic range (HDR) images reproduced on a low dynamic range (LDR) monitor, subjects often prefer a system gamma of less than one,4 presumably reflecting the greater need for histogram equalization in HDR images. In this study we ask subjects to rate the perceived quality of images presented on a LDR monitor using various levels of system gamma. We reveal that the optimal system gamma is below one for images with a HDR and approaches or exceeds one for images with a LDR. Additionally, the highest quality scores occur for images where a system gamma of one is optimal, suggesting a preference for linearity (where possible). We find that subjective image quality scores can be predicted by computing the degree of histogram equalization of the lightness distribution. Accordingly, an optimal, image dependent system gamma can be computed that maximizes perceived image quality.

Detection and tracking of gas plumes in LWIR hyperspectral video sequence data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gerhart, Torin; Sunu, Justin; Lieu, Lauren; Merkurjev, Ekaterina; Chang, Jen-Mei; Gilles, Jérôme; Bertozzi, Andrea L.

2013-05-01

Automated detection of chemical plumes presents a segmentation challenge. The segmentation problem for gas plumes is difficult due to the diffusive nature of the cloud. The advantage of considering hyperspectral images in the gas plume detection problem over the conventional RGB imagery is the presence of non-visual data, allowing for a richer representation of information. In this paper we present an effective method of visualizing hyperspectral video sequences containing chemical plumes and investigate the effectiveness of segmentation techniques on these post-processed videos. Our approach uses a combination of dimension reduction and histogram equalization to prepare the hyperspectral videos for segmentation. First, Principal Components Analysis (PCA) is used to reduce the dimension of the entire video sequence. This is done by projecting each pixel onto the first few Principal Components resulting in a type of spectral filter. Next, a Midway method for histogram equalization is used. These methods redistribute the intensity values in order to reduce icker between frames. This properly prepares these high-dimensional video sequences for more traditional segmentation techniques. We compare the ability of various clustering techniques to properly segment the chemical plume. These include K-means, spectral clustering, and the Ginzburg-Landau functional.

Bi-orthogonal Symbol Mapping and Detection in Optical CDMA Communication System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Maw-Yang

2017-12-01

In this paper, the bi-orthogonal symbol mapping and detection scheme is investigated in time-spreading wavelength-hopping optical CDMA communication system. The carrier-hopping prime code is exploited as signature sequence, whose put-of-phase autocorrelation is zero. Based on the orthogonality of carrier-hopping prime code, the equal weight orthogonal signaling scheme can be constructed, and the proposed scheme using bi-orthogonal symbol mapping and detection can be developed. The transmitted binary data bits are mapped into corresponding bi-orthogonal symbols, where the orthogonal matrix code and its complement are utilized. In the receiver, the received bi-orthogonal data symbol is fed into the maximum likelihood decoder for detection. Under such symbol mapping and detection, the proposed scheme can greatly enlarge the Euclidean distance; hence, the system performance can be drastically improved.

A novel method for the evaluation of uncertainty in dose-volume histogram computation.

PubMed

Henríquez, Francisco Cutanda; Castrillón, Silvia Vargas

2008-03-15

Dose-volume histograms (DVHs) are a useful tool in state-of-the-art radiotherapy treatment planning, and it is essential to recognize their limitations. Even after a specific dose-calculation model is optimized, dose distributions computed by using treatment-planning systems are affected by several sources of uncertainty, such as algorithm limitations, measurement uncertainty in the data used to model the beam, and residual differences between measured and computed dose. This report presents a novel method to take them into account. To take into account the effect of associated uncertainties, a probabilistic approach using a new kind of histogram, a dose-expected volume histogram, is introduced. The expected value of the volume in the region of interest receiving an absorbed dose equal to or greater than a certain value is found by using the probability distribution of the dose at each point. A rectangular probability distribution is assumed for this point dose, and a formulation that accounts for uncertainties associated with point dose is presented for practical computations. This method is applied to a set of DVHs for different regions of interest, including 6 brain patients, 8 lung patients, 8 pelvis patients, and 6 prostate patients planned for intensity-modulated radiation therapy. Results show a greater effect on planning target volume coverage than in organs at risk. In cases of steep DVH gradients, such as planning target volumes, this new method shows the largest differences with the corresponding DVH; thus, the effect of the uncertainty is larger.

Analysis of Multi-Scale Radiometric Data Collected during the Cold Land Processes Experiment-1 (CLPX-1)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tedesco, M.; Kim, E. J.; Gasiewski, A.; Stankov, B.

2005-01-01

Brightness temperature maps at 18.7 and 37 GHz collected at the Fraser and North Park Meso-Scale Areas during the Cold Land Processes Experiment by the NOAA Polarimetric Scanning Radiometer (PSWA) airborne sensor are analyzed. The Fraser site is mostly covered by forest with a typical snowpack depth of 1 m while North Park has no forest cover and is characterized by patches of shallow snow. We examine histograms of the brightness temperatures at 500 m resolution for both the Fraser and North Park areas. The histograms can be modelled by a log-normal distribution in the case of the Fraser MSA and by a bi-modal distribution in the case of the North Park MSA. The histograms of the brightness temperatures at coarser resolutions are also plotted to study the effects of sensor resolution on the shape of the distribution, on the values of the average brightness temperatures and standard deviations. Finally, the values of brightness temperatures obtained by re-sampling (aggregating) the data at 25 km resolution are compared with the values of the brightness temperatures collected by the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer (AMSR-E) and Special Sensor Microwave/Imager (SSMII) satellite radiometers. The results show that in both areas for sensor footprint larger than 5000 m, the brightness temperatures show a flat distribution and the memory of the initial distribution is lost. The values of the brightness temperatures measured by the satellite radiometers are in good agreement with the values obtained averaging the airborne data, even if some discrepancies occur.

Bi-Cultural Aotearoa/New Zealand: Provision of Psychological Services to the Maori Population of Rural New Zealand: Combining Best Practice with Cultural Considerations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Little, Steven G.; Akin-Little, Angeleque; Johansen, Anita

2013-01-01

New Zealand is considered a bi-cultural country with both the majority European and the minority/indigenous Maori cultures are supposedly given equal weight within the psyche and policies of the country. In reality, however, individuals of Maori descent tend to be over-represented in negative socio-economic and educational dimensions. A higher…

47 CFR 15.255 - Operation within the band 57-64 GHz.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... dBm minus 2 dB for every dB that the antenna gain is less than 51 dBi. The peak power of any emission shall not exceed 85 dBm minus 2 dB for every dB that the antenna gain is less than 51 dBi. The... type and of equal or less directional gain do not apply to intentional radiator systems operating under...

Bi2O2Se nanosheet: An excellent high-temperature n-type thermoelectric material

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, Jiabing; Sun, Qiang

2018-01-01

Motivated by the recent synthesis of an ultrathin film of layered Bi2O2Se [Wu et al., Nat. Nanotechnol. 12, 530 (2017); Wu et al., Nano Lett. 17, 3021 (2017)], we have systematically studied the thermoelectric properties of a Bi2O2Se nanosheet using first principles density functional theory combined with semiclassical Boltzmann transport theory. The calculated results indicate that the Bi2O2Se nanosheet exhibits a figure of merit (ZT) of 3.35 for optimal n-type doping at 800 K, which is much larger than the ZT value of 2.6 at 923 K in SnSe known as the most efficient thermoelectric material [Zhao et al., Nature 508, 373 (2014)]. Equally important, the high ZT in the n-type doped Bi2O2Se nanosheet highlights the efficiency of the reduced dimension on improving thermoelectric performance as compared with strain engineering by which the ZT of n-type doped bulk Bi2O2Se cannot be effectively enhanced.

Efficient visibility-driven medical image visualisation via adaptive binned visibility histogram.

PubMed

Jung, Younhyun; Kim, Jinman; Kumar, Ashnil; Feng, David Dagan; Fulham, Michael

2016-07-01

'Visibility' is a fundamental optical property that represents the observable, by users, proportion of the voxels in a volume during interactive volume rendering. The manipulation of this 'visibility' improves the volume rendering processes; for instance by ensuring the visibility of regions of interest (ROIs) or by guiding the identification of an optimal rendering view-point. The construction of visibility histograms (VHs), which represent the distribution of all the visibility of all voxels in the rendered volume, enables users to explore the volume with real-time feedback about occlusion patterns among spatially related structures during volume rendering manipulations. Volume rendered medical images have been a primary beneficiary of VH given the need to ensure that specific ROIs are visible relative to the surrounding structures, e.g. the visualisation of tumours that may otherwise be occluded by neighbouring structures. VH construction and its subsequent manipulations, however, are computationally expensive due to the histogram binning of the visibilities. This limits the real-time application of VH to medical images that have large intensity ranges and volume dimensions and require a large number of histogram bins. In this study, we introduce an efficient adaptive binned visibility histogram (AB-VH) in which a smaller number of histogram bins are used to represent the visibility distribution of the full VH. We adaptively bin medical images by using a cluster analysis algorithm that groups the voxels according to their intensity similarities into a smaller subset of bins while preserving the distribution of the intensity range of the original images. We increase efficiency by exploiting the parallel computation and multiple render targets (MRT) extension of the modern graphical processing units (GPUs) and this enables efficient computation of the histogram. We show the application of our method to single-modality computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance (MR) imaging and multi-modality positron emission tomography-CT (PET-CT). In our experiments, the AB-VH markedly improved the computational efficiency for the VH construction and thus improved the subsequent VH-driven volume manipulations. This efficiency was achieved without major degradation in the VH visually and numerical differences between the AB-VH and its full-bin counterpart. We applied several variants of the K-means clustering algorithm with varying Ks (the number of clusters) and found that higher values of K resulted in better performance at a lower computational gain. The AB-VH also had an improved performance when compared to the conventional method of down-sampling of the histogram bins (equal binning) for volume rendering visualisation. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Analysis of the hand vein pattern for people recognition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Castro-Ortega, R.; Toxqui-Quitl, C.; Cristóbal, G.; Marcos, J. Victor; Padilla-Vivanco, A.; Hurtado Pérez, R.

2015-09-01

The shape of the hand vascular pattern contains useful and unique features that can be used for identifying and authenticating people, with applications in access control, medicine and financial services. In this work, an optical system for the image acquisition of the hand vascular pattern is implemented. It consists of a CCD camera with sensitivity in the IR and a light source with emission in the 880 nm. The IR radiation interacts with the desoxyhemoglobin, hemoglobin and water present in the blood of the veins, making possible to see the vein pattern underneath skin. The segmentation of the Region Of Interest (ROI) is achieved using geometrical moments locating the centroid of an image. For enhancement of the vein pattern we use the technique of Histogram Equalization and Contrast Limited Adaptive Histogram Equalization (CLAHE). In order to remove unnecessary information such as body hair and skinfolds, a low pass filter is implemented. A method based on geometric moments is used to obtain the invariant descriptors of the input images. The classification task is achieved using Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) and K-Nearest Neighbors (K-nn) algorithms. Experimental results using our database show a percentage of correct classification, higher of 86.36% with ANN for 912 images of 38 people with 12 versions each one.

Radiologists' preferences for digital mammographic display. The International Digital Mammography Development Group.

PubMed

Pisano, E D; Cole, E B; Major, S; Zong, S; Hemminger, B M; Muller, K E; Johnston, R E; Walsh, R; Conant, E; Fajardo, L L; Feig, S A; Nishikawa, R M; Yaffe, M J; Williams, M B; Aylward, S R

2000-09-01

To determine the preferences of radiologists among eight different image processing algorithms applied to digital mammograms obtained for screening and diagnostic imaging tasks. Twenty-eight images representing histologically proved masses or calcifications were obtained by using three clinically available digital mammographic units. Images were processed and printed on film by using manual intensity windowing, histogram-based intensity windowing, mixture model intensity windowing, peripheral equalization, multiscale image contrast amplification (MUSICA), contrast-limited adaptive histogram equalization, Trex processing, and unsharp masking. Twelve radiologists compared the processed digital images with screen-film mammograms obtained in the same patient for breast cancer screening and breast lesion diagnosis. For the screening task, screen-film mammograms were preferred to all digital presentations, but the acceptability of images processed with Trex and MUSICA algorithms were not significantly different. All printed digital images were preferred to screen-film radiographs in the diagnosis of masses; mammograms processed with unsharp masking were significantly preferred. For the diagnosis of calcifications, no processed digital mammogram was preferred to screen-film mammograms. When digital mammograms were preferred to screen-film mammograms, radiologists selected different digital processing algorithms for each of three mammographic reading tasks and for different lesion types. Soft-copy display will eventually allow radiologists to select among these options more easily.

Composite superconducting wires obtained by high-rate tinning in molten Bi-Pb-Sr-Ca-Cu-O system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Grozav, A. D.; Konopko, L. A.; Leporda, N. I.

1990-01-01

The preparation of high-T(sub c) superconducting long composite wires by short-time tinning of the metal wires in a molten Bi-Pb-Sr-Ca-Cu-O compound is discussed. The application of this method to the high-T(sub c) materials is tested, possibly for the first time. The initial materials used for this experiment were ceramic samples with nominal composition Bi(1.5)Pb(0.5)Sr2Ca2Cu3O(x) and T(sub c) = 80 K prepared by the ordinary solid-state reaction, and industrial copper wires from 100 to 400 microns in diameter and from 0.5 to 1 m long. The continuously moving wires were let through a small molten zone (approximately 100 cubic mm). The Bi-based high-T(sub c) ceramics in a molten state is a viscous liquid and it has a strongly pronounced ability to spread on metal wire surfaces. The maximum draw rate of the Cu-wire, at which a dense covering is still possible, corresponds to the time of direct contact of wire surfaces and liquid ceramics for less than 0.1 s. A high-rate draw of the wire permits a decrease in the reaction of the oxide melt and Cu-wire. This method of manufacture led to the fabrication of wire with a copper core in a dense covering with uniform thickness of about h approximately equal to 5 to 50 microns. Composite wires with h approximately equal to 10 microns (h/d approximately equal to 0.1) sustained bending on a 15 mm radius frame without cracking during flexing.

Does linguistic input play the same role in language learning for children with and without early brain injury?

PubMed

Rowe, Meredith L; Levine, Susan C; Fisher, Joan A; Goldin-Meadow, Susan

2009-01-01

Children with unilateral pre- or perinatal brain injury (BI) show remarkable plasticity for language learning. Previous work highlights the important role that lesion characteristics play in explaining individual variation in plasticity in the language development of children with BI. The current study examines whether the linguistic input that children with BI receive from their caregivers also contributes to this early plasticity, and whether linguistic input plays a similar role in children with BI as it does in typically developing (TD) children. Growth in vocabulary and syntactic production is modeled for 80 children (53 TD, 27 BI) between 14 and 46 months. Findings indicate that caregiver input is an equally potent predictor of vocabulary growth in children with BI and in TD children. In contrast, input is a more potent predictor of syntactic growth for children with BI than for TD children. Controlling for input, lesion characteristics (lesion size, type, seizure history) also affect the language trajectories of children with BI. Thus, findings illustrate how both variability in the environment (linguistic input) and variability in the organism (lesion characteristics) work together to contribute to plasticity in language learning.

Robust Face Detection from Still Images

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-01-01

significant change in false acceptance rates. Keywords— face detection; illumination; skin color variation; Haar-like features; OpenCV I. INTRODUCTION... OpenCV and an algorithm which used histogram equalization. The test is performed against 17 subjects under 576 viewing conditions from the extended Yale...original OpenCV algorithm proved the least accurate, having a hit rate of only 75.6%. It also had the lowest FAR but only by a slight margin at 25.2

A multiresolution processing method for contrast enhancement in portal imaging.

PubMed

Gonzalez-Lopez, Antonio

2018-06-18

Portal images have a unique feature among the imaging modalities used in radiotherapy: they provide direct visualization of the irradiated volumes. However, contrast and spatial resolution are strongly limited due to the high energy of the radiation sources. Because of this, imaging modalities using x-ray energy beams have gained importance in the verification of patient positioning, replacing portal imaging. The purpose of this work was to develop a method for the enhancement of local contrast in portal images. The method operates in the subbands of a wavelet decomposition of the image, re-scaling them in such a way that coefficients in the high and medium resolution subbands are amplified, an approach totally different of those operating on the image histogram, widely used nowadays. Portal images of an anthropomorphic phantom were acquired in an electronic portal imaging device (EPID). Then, different re-scaling strategies were investigated, studying the effects of the scaling parameters on the enhanced images. Also, the effect of using different types of transforms was studied. Finally, the implemented methods were combined with histogram equalization methods like the contrast limited adaptive histogram equalization (CLAHE), and these combinations were compared. Uniform amplification of the detail subbands shows the best results in contrast enhancement. On the other hand, linear re-escalation of the high resolution subbands increases the visibility of fine detail of the images, at the expense of an increase in noise levels. Also, since processing is applied only to detail subbands, not to the approximation, the mean gray level of the image is minimally modified and no further display adjustments are required. It is shown that re-escalation of the detail subbands of portal images can be used as an efficient method for the enhancement of both, the local contrast and the resolution of these images. © 2018 Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine.

The simultaneous enhancement of photorefraction and optical damage resistance in MgO and Bi2O3 co-doped LiNbO3 crystals

PubMed Central

Zheng, Dahuai; Kong, Yongfa; Liu, Shiguo; Chen, Muling; Chen, Shaolin; Zhang, Ling; Rupp, Romano; Xu, Jingjun

2016-01-01

For a long time that optical damage was renamed as photorefraction, here we find that the optical damage resistance and photorefraction can be simultaneously enhanced in MgO and Bi2O3 co-doped LiNbO3 (LN:Bi,Mg). The photorefractive response time of LN:Bi,Mg was shortened to 170 ms while the photorefractive sensitivity reached up to 21 cm2/J. Meanwhile, LN:Bi,Mg crystals could withstand a light intensity higher than 106  W/cm2 without apparent optical damage. Our experimental results indicate that photorefraction doesn’t equal to optical damage. The underground mechanism was analyzed and attributed to that diffusion dominates the transport process of charge carriers, that is to say photorefraction causes only slight optical damage under diffusion mechanism, which is very important for the practical applications of photorefractive crystals, such as in holographic storage, integrated optics and 3D display. PMID:26837261

SNR characteristics of 850-nm OEIC receiver with a silicon avalanche photodetector.

PubMed

Youn, Jin-Sung; Lee, Myung-Jae; Park, Kang-Yeob; Rücker, Holger; Choi, Woo-Young

2014-01-13

We investigate signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) characteristics of an 850-nm optoelectronic integrated circuit (OEIC) receiver fabricated with standard 0.25-µm SiGe bipolar complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (BiCMOS) technology. The OEIC receiver is composed of a Si avalanche photodetector (APD) and BiCMOS analog circuits including a transimpedance amplifier with DC-balanced buffer, a tunable equalizer, a limiting amplifier, and an output buffer with 50-Ω loads. We measure APD SNR characteristics dependence on the reverse bias voltage as well as BiCMOS circuit noise characteristics. From these, we determine the SNR characteristics of the entire OEIC receiver, and finally, the results are verified with bit-error rate measurement.

Sliding window adaptive histogram equalization of intraoral radiographs: effect on image quality.

PubMed

Sund, T; Møystad, A

2006-05-01

To investigate whether contrast enhancement by non-interactive, sliding window adaptive histogram equalization (SWAHE) can enhance the image quality of intraoral radiographs in the dental clinic. Three dentists read 22 periapical and 12 bitewing storage phosphor (SP) radiographs. For the periapical readings they graded the quality of the examination with regard to visually locating the root apex. For the bitewing readings they registered all occurrences of approximal caries on a confidence scale. Each reading was first done on an unprocessed radiograph ("single-view"), and then re-done with the image processed with SWAHE displayed beside the unprocessed version ("twin-view"). The processing parameters for SWAHE were the same for all the images. For the periapical examinations, twin-view was judged to raise the image quality for 52% of those cases where the single-view quality was below the maximum. For the bitewing radiographs, there was a change of caries classification (both positive and negative) with twin-view in 19% of the cases, but with only a 3% net increase in the total number of caries registrations. For both examinations interobserver variance was unaffected. Non-interactive SWAHE applied to dental SP radiographs produces a supplemental contrast enhanced image which in twin-view reading improves the image quality of periapical examinations. SWAHE also affects caries diagnosis of bitewing images, and further study using a gold standard is warranted.

A bivariate rational interpolation with a bi-quadratic denominator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Duan, Qi; Zhang, Huanling; Liu, Aikui; Li, Huaigu

2006-10-01

In this paper a new rational interpolation with a bi-quadratic denominator is developed to create a space surface using only values of the function being interpolated. The interpolation function has a simple and explicit rational mathematical representation. When the knots are equally spaced, the interpolating function can be expressed in matrix form, and this form has a symmetric property. The concept of integral weights coefficients of the interpolation is given, which describes the "weight" of the interpolation points in the local interpolating region.

Enhancement of Er optical efficiency through bismuth sensitization in yttrium oxide

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

Scarangella, Adriana; Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Università di Catania, Via S. Sofia 64, 95123 Catania; Reitano, Riccardo

2015-07-27

The process of energy transfer (ET) between optically active ions has been widely studied to improve the optical efficiency of a system for different applications, from lighting and photovoltaics to silicon microphotonics. In this work, we report the influence of Bi on the Er optical emission in erbium-yttrium oxide thin films synthesized by magnetron co-sputtering. We demonstrate that this host permits to well dissolve Er and Bi ions, avoiding their clustering, and thus to stabilize the optically active Er{sup 3+} and Bi{sup 3+} valence states. In addition, we establish the ET occurrence from Bi{sup 3+} to Er{sup 3+} by themore » observed Bi{sup 3+} PL emission decrease and the simultaneous Er{sup 3+} photoluminescence (PL) emission increase. This was further confirmed by the coincidence of the Er{sup 3+} and Bi{sup 3+} excitation bands, analyzed by PL excitation spectroscopy. By increasing the Bi content of two orders of magnitude inside the host, though the occurrence of Bi-Bi interactions becomes deleterious for Bi{sup 3+} optical efficiency, the ET process between Bi{sup 3+} and Er{sup 3+} is still prevalent. We estimate ET efficiency of 70% for the optimized Bi:Er ratio equal to 1:3. Moreover, we have demonstrated to enhance the Er{sup 3+} effective excitation cross section by more than three orders of magnitude with respect to the direct one, estimating a value of 5.3 × 10{sup −18} cm{sup 2}, similar to the expected Bi{sup 3+} excitation cross section. This value is one of the highest obtained for Er in Si compatible hosts. These results make this material very promising as an efficient emitter for Si-compatible photonics devices.« less

Theoretical prediction of morphotropic compositions in Na1/2Bi1/2TiO3-based solid solutions from transition pressures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gröting, Melanie; Albe, Karsten

2014-02-01

In this article we present a method based on ab initio calculations to predict compositions at morphotropic phase boundaries in lead-free perovskite solid solutions. This method utilizes the concept of flat free energy surfaces and involves the monitoring of pressure-induced phase transitions as a function of composition. As model systems, solid solutions of Na1/2Bi1/2TiO3 with the alkali substituted Li1/2Bi1/2TiO3 and K1/2Bi1/2TiO3 and the alkaline earth substituted CaTiO3 and BaTiO3 are chosen. The morphotropic compositions are identified by determining the composition at which the phase transition pressure equals zero. In addition, we discuss the different effects of hydrostatic pressure (compression and tension) and chemical substitution on the antiphase tilts about the [111] axis (a-a-a-) present in pure Na1/2Bi1/2TiO3 and how they develop in the two solid solutions Na1/2Bi1/2TiO3-CaTiO3 and Na1/2Bi1/2TiO3-BaTiO3. Finally, we discuss the advantages and shortcomings of this simple computational approach.

Magneto-Optics of Massive Dirac Fermions in Bulk Bi2Se3

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Orlita, M.; Piot, B. A.; Martinez, G.; Kumar, N. K. Sampath; Faugeras, C.; Potemski, M.; Michel, C.; Hankiewicz, E. M.; Brauner, T.; Drašar, Č.; Schreyeck, S.; Grauer, S.; Brunner, K.; Gould, C.; Brüne, C.; Molenkamp, L. W.

2015-05-01

We report on magneto-optical studies of Bi2Se3, a representative member of the 3D topological insulator family. Its electronic states in bulk are shown to be well described by a simple Dirac-type Hamiltonian for massive particles with only two parameters: the fundamental band gap and the band velocity. In a magnetic field, this model implies a unique property—spin splitting equal to twice the cyclotron energy: Es=2 Ec. This explains the extensive magnetotransport studies concluding a fortuitous degeneracy of the spin and orbital split Landau levels in this material. The Es=2 Ec match differentiates the massive Dirac electrons in bulk Bi2Se3 from those in quantum electrodynamics, for which Es=Ec always holds.

Calculation of the fractional interstitial component of boron diffusion and segregation coefficient of boron in Si0.8Ge0.2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fang, Tilden T.; Fang, Wingra T. C.; Griffin, Peter B.; Plummer, James D.

1996-02-01

Investigation of boron diffusion in strained silicon germanium buried layers reveals a fractional interstitial component of boron diffusion (fBI) in Se0.8Ge0.2 approximately equal to the fBI value in silicon. In conjunction with computer-simulated boron profiles, the results yield an absolute lower-bound of fBI in Si0.8Ge0.2 of ˜0.8. In addition, the experimental methodology provides a unique vehicle for measuring the segregation coefficient; oxidation-enhanced diffusion is used instead of an extended, inert anneal to rapidly diffuse the dopant to equilibrium levels across the interface, allowing the segregation coefficient to be measured more quickly.

Monitoring of Juvenile Yearling Chinook Salmon and Steelhead Survival and Passage at John Day Dam, Spring 2010

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

Weiland, Mark A.; Ploskey, Gene R.; Hughes, James S.

The purpose of this study was to compare dam passage survival, at two spill treatment levels, of yearling Chinook salmon and steelhead smolts at John Day Dam during spring 2010. The two treatments were 30% and 40% spill out of total project discharge. Under the 2008 Federal Columbia River Power System (FCRPS) Biological Opinion (BiOp), dam passage survival should be greater than or equal to 0.96 and estimated with a standard error (SE) less than or equal 0.015. The study also estimated forebay residence time, tailrace egress time, and spill passage efficiency (SPE), as required in the Columbia Basin Fishmore » Accords. However, by agreement among the stakeholders, this study was not an official BiOp compliance test because the long-term passage measures at John Day Dam have yet to be finalized and another year of spill-treatment testing was desired.« less

Fast and efficient search for MPEG-4 video using adjacent pixel intensity difference quantization histogram feature

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Feifei; Kotani, Koji; Chen, Qiu; Ohmi, Tadahiro

2010-02-01

In this paper, a fast search algorithm for MPEG-4 video clips from video database is proposed. An adjacent pixel intensity difference quantization (APIDQ) histogram is utilized as the feature vector of VOP (video object plane), which had been reliably applied to human face recognition previously. Instead of fully decompressed video sequence, partially decoded data, namely DC sequence of the video object are extracted from the video sequence. Combined with active search, a temporal pruning algorithm, fast and robust video search can be realized. The proposed search algorithm has been evaluated by total 15 hours of video contained of TV programs such as drama, talk, news, etc. to search for given 200 MPEG-4 video clips which each length is 15 seconds. Experimental results show the proposed algorithm can detect the similar video clip in merely 80ms, and Equal Error Rate (ERR) of 2 % in drama and news categories are achieved, which are more accurately and robust than conventional fast video search algorithm.

Evolutionary Dynamics on Protein Bi-stability Landscapes can Potentially Resolve Adaptive Conflicts

PubMed Central

Sikosek, Tobias; Bornberg-Bauer, Erich; Chan, Hue Sun

2012-01-01

Experimental studies have shown that some proteins exist in two alternative native-state conformations. It has been proposed that such bi-stable proteins can potentially function as evolutionary bridges at the interface between two neutral networks of protein sequences that fold uniquely into the two different native conformations. Under adaptive conflict scenarios, bi-stable proteins may be of particular advantage if they simultaneously provide two beneficial biological functions. However, computational models that simulate protein structure evolution do not yet recognize the importance of bi-stability. Here we use a biophysical model to analyze sequence space to identify bi-stable or multi-stable proteins with two or more equally stable native-state structures. The inclusion of such proteins enhances phenotype connectivity between neutral networks in sequence space. Consideration of the sequence space neighborhood of bridge proteins revealed that bi-stability decreases gradually with each mutation that takes the sequence further away from an exactly bi-stable protein. With relaxed selection pressures, we found that bi-stable proteins in our model are highly successful under simulated adaptive conflict. Inspired by these model predictions, we developed a method to identify real proteins in the PDB with bridge-like properties, and have verified a clear bi-stability gradient for a series of mutants studied by Alexander et al. (Proc Nat Acad Sci USA 2009, 106:21149–21154) that connect two sequences that fold uniquely into two different native structures via a bridge-like intermediate mutant sequence. Based on these findings, new testable predictions for future studies on protein bi-stability and evolution are discussed. PMID:23028272

Symmetry of the oxygen hole states in Bi 2Sr 2CaCu 2O 8 investigated by XAS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kuiper, P.; Grioni, M.; Sawatzky, G. A.; Mitzi, D. B.; Kapitulnik, A.; Santaniello, A.; de Padova, P.; Thiry, P.

1989-02-01

We have observed strong polarization dependence in the X-ray absorption near the oxygen K edge in a single crystal of Bi 2Sr 2CaCu 2O 8 ( Tc=85 K). The results show that O-derived holes near the Fermi-level have p x, y (perpendicular to the c-axis) symmetry. Some consequences for models of superconductivity are discussed. The concentration of holes is estimated to be about equal to that in YBa 2Cu 3O 7.

Contrast limited adaptive histogram equalization image processing to improve the detection of simulated spiculations in dense mammograms.

PubMed

Pisano, E D; Zong, S; Hemminger, B M; DeLuca, M; Johnston, R E; Muller, K; Braeuning, M P; Pizer, S M

1998-11-01

The purpose of this project was to determine whether Contrast Limited Adaptive Histogram Equalization (CLAHE) improves detection of simulated spiculations in dense mammograms. Lines simulating the appearance of spiculations, a common marker of malignancy when visualized with masses, were embedded in dense mammograms digitized at 50 micron pixels, 12 bits deep. Film images with no CLAHE applied were compared to film images with nine different combinations of clip levels and region sizes applied. A simulated spiculation was embedded in a background of dense breast tissue, with the orientation of the spiculation varied. The key variables involved in each trial included the orientation of the spiculation, contrast level of the spiculation and the CLAHE settings applied to the image. Combining the 10 CLAHE conditions, 4 contrast levels and 4 orientations gave 160 combinations. The trials were constructed by pairing 160 combinations of key variables with 40 backgrounds. Twenty student observers were asked to detect the orientation of the spiculation in the image. There was a statistically significant improvement in detection performance for spiculations with CLAHE over unenhanced images when the region size was set at 32 with a clip level of 2, and when the region size was set at 32 with a clip level of 4. The selected CLAHE settings should be tested in the clinic with digital mammograms to determine whether detection of spiculations associated with masses detected at mammography can be improved.

A comparative study on preprocessing techniques in diabetic retinopathy retinal images: illumination correction and contrast enhancement.

PubMed

Rasta, Seyed Hossein; Partovi, Mahsa Eisazadeh; Seyedarabi, Hadi; Javadzadeh, Alireza

2015-01-01

To investigate the effect of preprocessing techniques including contrast enhancement and illumination correction on retinal image quality, a comparative study was carried out. We studied and implemented a few illumination correction and contrast enhancement techniques on color retinal images to find out the best technique for optimum image enhancement. To compare and choose the best illumination correction technique we analyzed the corrected red and green components of color retinal images statistically and visually. The two contrast enhancement techniques were analyzed using a vessel segmentation algorithm by calculating the sensitivity and specificity. The statistical evaluation of the illumination correction techniques were carried out by calculating the coefficients of variation. The dividing method using the median filter to estimate background illumination showed the lowest Coefficients of variations in the red component. The quotient and homomorphic filtering methods after the dividing method presented good results based on their low Coefficients of variations. The contrast limited adaptive histogram equalization increased the sensitivity of the vessel segmentation algorithm up to 5% in the same amount of accuracy. The contrast limited adaptive histogram equalization technique has a higher sensitivity than the polynomial transformation operator as a contrast enhancement technique for vessel segmentation. Three techniques including the dividing method using the median filter to estimate background, quotient based and homomorphic filtering were found as the effective illumination correction techniques based on a statistical evaluation. Applying the local contrast enhancement technique, such as CLAHE, for fundus images presented good potentials in enhancing the vasculature segmentation.

Composite superconducting wires obtained by high-rate tinning in molten Bi-Pb-Sr-Ca-Cu-O system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Grosav, A. D.; Konopko, L. A.; Leporda, N. I.

1991-01-01

Long lengths of metal superconductor composites were prepared by passing a copper wire through the bismuth based molten oxide system at a constant speed. The key to successful composite preparation is the high pulling speed involved, which permits minimization of the severe interaction between the unbuffered metal surface and the oxide melt. Depending on the temperature of the melt and the pulling speed, a coating with different thickness and microstructure appeared. The nonannealed thick coatings contained a Bi2(Sr,Ca)2Cu1O6 phase as a major component. After relatively short time annealing at 800 C, both resistivity and initial magnetization versus temperature measurements show superconducting transitions beginning in the 110 to 115 K region. The effects of annealing and composition on obtained results are discussed. This method of manufacture led to the fabrication of wire with a copper core in a dense covering with uniform thickness of about h approximately equal to 5 to 50 microns. Composite wires with h approximately equal to 10 microns (h/d approximately equal to 0.1) sustained bending on a 15 mm radius frame without cracking during flexing.

Adaptive sigmoid function bihistogram equalization for image contrast enhancement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arriaga-Garcia, Edgar F.; Sanchez-Yanez, Raul E.; Ruiz-Pinales, Jose; Garcia-Hernandez, Ma. de Guadalupe

2015-09-01

Contrast enhancement plays a key role in a wide range of applications including consumer electronic applications, such as video surveillance, digital cameras, and televisions. The main goal of contrast enhancement is to increase the quality of images. However, most state-of-the-art methods induce different types of distortion such as intensity shift, wash-out, noise, intensity burn-out, and intensity saturation. In addition, in consumer electronics, simple and fast methods are required in order to be implemented in real time. A bihistogram equalization method based on adaptive sigmoid functions is proposed. It consists of splitting the image histogram into two parts that are equalized independently by using adaptive sigmoid functions. In order to preserve the mean brightness of the input image, the parameter of the sigmoid functions is chosen to minimize the absolute mean brightness metric. Experiments on the Berkeley database have shown that the proposed method improves the quality of images and preserves their mean brightness. An application to improve the colorfulness of images is also presented.

Business intelligence for the radiologist: making your data work for you.

PubMed

Cook, Tessa S; Nagy, Paul

2014-12-01

Although it remains absent from most programs today, business intelligence (BI) has become an integral part of modern radiology practice management. BI facilitates the transition away from lack of understanding about a system and the data it produces toward incrementally more sophisticated comprehension of what has happened, could happen, and should happen. The individual components that make up BI are common across industries and include data extraction and transformation, process analysis and improvement, outcomes measures, performance assessment, graphical dashboarding, alerting, workflow analysis, and scenario modeling. As in other fields, these components can be directly applied in radiology to improve workflow, throughput, safety, efficacy, outcomes, and patient satisfaction. When approaching the subject of BI in radiology, it is important to know what data are available in your various electronic medical records, as well as where and how they are stored. In addition, it is critical to verify that the data actually represent what you think they do. Finally, it is critical for success to identify the features and limitations of the BI tools you choose to use and to plan your practice modifications on the basis of collected data. It is equally important to remember that BI plays a critical role in continuous process improvement; whichever BI tools you choose should be flexible to grow and evolve with your practice. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Predicting the Size of Sunspot Cycle 24 on the Basis of Single- and Bi-Variate Geomagnetic Precursor Methods

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wilson, Robert M.; Hathaway, David H.

2009-01-01

Examined are single- and bi-variate geomagnetic precursors for predicting the maximum amplitude (RM) of a sunspot cycle several years in advance. The best single-variate fit is one based on the average of the ap index 36 mo prior to cycle minimum occurrence (E(Rm)), having a coefficient of correlation (r) equal to 0.97 and a standard error of estimate (se) equal to 9.3. Presuming cycle 24 not to be a statistical outlier and its minimum in March 2008, the fit suggests cycle 24 s RM to be about 69 +/- 20 (the 90% prediction interval). The weighted mean prediction of 11 statistically important single-variate fits is 116 +/- 34. The best bi-variate fit is one based on the maximum and minimum values of the 12-mma of the ap index; i.e., APM# and APm*, where # means the value post-E(RM) for the preceding cycle and * means the value in the vicinity of cycle minimum, having r = 0.98 and se = 8.2. It predicts cycle 24 s RM to be about 92 +/- 27. The weighted mean prediction of 22 statistically important bi-variate fits is 112 32. Thus, cycle 24's RM is expected to lie somewhere within the range of about 82 to 144. Also examined are the late-cycle 23 behaviors of geomagnetic indices and solar wind velocity in comparison to the mean behaviors of cycles 2023 and the geomagnetic indices of cycle 14 (RM = 64.2), the weakest sunspot cycle of the modern era.

Performance and cavitation characteristics of bi-directional hydrofoils

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nedyalkov, Ivaylo; Wosnik, Martin

2013-11-01

Tidal turbines extract energy from flows which reverse direction. One way to address this bi-directionality in horizontal axis turbines that avoid the use of complex and maintenance-intensive yaw or blade pitch mechanisms, is to design bi-directional blades which perform (equally) well in either flow direction. A large number of proposed hydrofoil designs were investigated using numerical simulations. Selected candidate foils were also tested (at various speeds and angles of attack) in the High-Speed Cavitation Tunnel (HICaT) at the University of New Hampshire. Lift and drag were measured using a force balance, and cavitation inception and desinence were recorded. Experimental and numerical results were compared, and the foils were compared to each other and to reference foils. Bi-directional hydrofoils may provide a feasible solution to the problem of reversing flow direction, when their performance and cavitation characteristics are comparable to those for unidirectional foils, and the penalty in decreased energy production is outweighed by the cost reduction due to lower complexity and respectively lower installation and maintenance costs.

An Approach to Improve the Quality of Infrared Images of Vein-Patterns

PubMed Central

Lin, Chih-Lung

2011-01-01

This study develops an approach to improve the quality of infrared (IR) images of vein-patterns, which usually have noise, low contrast, low brightness and small objects of interest, thus requiring preprocessing to improve their quality. The main characteristics of the proposed approach are that no prior knowledge about the IR image is necessary and no parameters must be preset. Two main goals are sought: impulse noise reduction and adaptive contrast enhancement technologies. In our study, a fast median-based filter (FMBF) is developed as a noise reduction method. It is based on an IR imaging mechanism to detect the noisy pixels and on a modified median-based filter to remove the noisy pixels in IR images. FMBF has the advantage of a low computation load. In addition, FMBF can retain reasonably good edges and texture information when the size of the filter window increases. The most important advantage is that the peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) caused by FMBF is higher than the PSNR caused by the median filter. A hybrid cumulative histogram equalization (HCHE) is proposed for adaptive contrast enhancement. HCHE can automatically generate a hybrid cumulative histogram (HCH) based on two different pieces of information about the image histogram. HCHE can improve the enhancement effect on hot objects rather than background. The experimental results are addressed and demonstrate that the proposed approach is feasible for use as an effective and adaptive process for enhancing the quality of IR vein-pattern images. PMID:22247674

An approach to improve the quality of infrared images of vein-patterns.

PubMed

Lin, Chih-Lung

2011-01-01

This study develops an approach to improve the quality of infrared (IR) images of vein-patterns, which usually have noise, low contrast, low brightness and small objects of interest, thus requiring preprocessing to improve their quality. The main characteristics of the proposed approach are that no prior knowledge about the IR image is necessary and no parameters must be preset. Two main goals are sought: impulse noise reduction and adaptive contrast enhancement technologies. In our study, a fast median-based filter (FMBF) is developed as a noise reduction method. It is based on an IR imaging mechanism to detect the noisy pixels and on a modified median-based filter to remove the noisy pixels in IR images. FMBF has the advantage of a low computation load. In addition, FMBF can retain reasonably good edges and texture information when the size of the filter window increases. The most important advantage is that the peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) caused by FMBF is higher than the PSNR caused by the median filter. A hybrid cumulative histogram equalization (HCHE) is proposed for adaptive contrast enhancement. HCHE can automatically generate a hybrid cumulative histogram (HCH) based on two different pieces of information about the image histogram. HCHE can improve the enhancement effect on hot objects rather than background. The experimental results are addressed and demonstrate that the proposed approach is feasible for use as an effective and adaptive process for enhancing the quality of IR vein-pattern images.

Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System (BI-RADS) breast composition descriptors: Automated measurement development for full field digital mammography

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

Fowler, E. E.; Sellers, T. A.; Lu, B.

Purpose: The Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System (BI-RADS) breast composition descriptors are used for standardized mammographic reporting and are assessed visually. This reporting is clinically relevant because breast composition can impact mammographic sensitivity and is a breast cancer risk factor. New techniques are presented and evaluated for generating automated BI-RADS breast composition descriptors using both raw and calibrated full field digital mammography (FFDM) image data.Methods: A matched case-control dataset with FFDM images was used to develop three automated measures for the BI-RADS breast composition descriptors. Histograms of each calibrated mammogram in the percent glandular (pg) representation were processed tomore » create the new BR{sub pg} measure. Two previously validated measures of breast density derived from calibrated and raw mammograms were converted to the new BR{sub vc} and BR{sub vr} measures, respectively. These three measures were compared with the radiologist-reported BI-RADS compositions assessments from the patient records. The authors used two optimization strategies with differential evolution to create these measures: method-1 used breast cancer status; and method-2 matched the reported BI-RADS descriptors. Weighted kappa (κ) analysis was used to assess the agreement between the new measures and the reported measures. Each measure's association with breast cancer was evaluated with odds ratios (ORs) adjusted for body mass index, breast area, and menopausal status. ORs were estimated as per unit increase with 95% confidence intervals.Results: The three BI-RADS measures generated by method-1 had κ between 0.25–0.34. These measures were significantly associated with breast cancer status in the adjusted models: (a) OR = 1.87 (1.34, 2.59) for BR{sub pg}; (b) OR = 1.93 (1.36, 2.74) for BR{sub vc}; and (c) OR = 1.37 (1.05, 1.80) for BR{sub vr}. The measures generated by method-2 had κ between 0.42–0.45. Two of these measures were significantly associated with breast cancer status in the adjusted models: (a) OR = 1.95 (1.24, 3.09) for BR{sub pg}; (b) OR = 1.42 (0.87, 2.32) for BR{sub vc}; and (c) OR = 2.13 (1.22, 3.72) for BR{sub vr}. The radiologist-reported measures from the patient records showed a similar association, OR = 1.49 (0.99, 2.24), although only borderline statistically significant.Conclusions: A general framework was developed and validated for converting calibrated mammograms and continuous measures of breast density to fully automated approximations for the BI-RADS breast composition descriptors. The techniques are general and suitable for a broad range of clinical and research applications.« less

Local and average structure of Mn- and La-substituted BiFeO{sub 3}

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

Jiang, Bo; Selbach, Sverre M., E-mail: selbach@ntnu.no

2017-06-15

The local and average structure of solid solutions of the multiferroic perovskite BiFeO{sub 3} is investigated by synchrotron X-ray diffraction (XRD) and electron density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The average experimental structure is determined by Rietveld refinement and the local structure by total scattering data analyzed in real space with the pair distribution function (PDF) method. With equal concentrations of La on the Bi site or Mn on the Fe site, La causes larger structural distortions than Mn. Structural models based on DFT relaxed geometry give an improved fit to experimental PDFs compared to models constrained by the space groupmore » symmetry. Berry phase calculations predict a higher ferroelectric polarization than the experimental literature values, reflecting that structural disorder is not captured in either average structure space group models or DFT calculations with artificial long range order imposed by periodic boundary conditions. Only by including point defects in a supercell, here Bi vacancies, can DFT calculations reproduce the literature results on the structure and ferroelectric polarization of Mn-substituted BiFeO{sub 3}. The combination of local and average structure sensitive experimental methods with DFT calculations is useful for illuminating the structure-property-composition relationships in complex functional oxides with local structural distortions. - Graphical abstract: The experimental and simulated partial pair distribution functions (PDF) for BiFeO{sub 3}, BiFe{sub 0.875}Mn{sub 0.125}O{sub 3}, BiFe{sub 0.75}Mn{sub 0.25}O{sub 3} and Bi{sub 0.9}La{sub 0.1}FeO{sub 3}.« less

Design of interpolation functions for subpixel-accuracy stereo-vision systems.

PubMed

Haller, Istvan; Nedevschi, Sergiu

2012-02-01

Traditionally, subpixel interpolation in stereo-vision systems was designed for the block-matching algorithm. During the evaluation of different interpolation strategies, a strong correlation was observed between the type of the stereo algorithm and the subpixel accuracy of the different solutions. Subpixel interpolation should be adapted to each stereo algorithm to achieve maximum accuracy. In consequence, it is more important to propose methodologies for interpolation function generation than specific function shapes. We propose two such methodologies based on data generated by the stereo algorithms. The first proposal uses a histogram to model the environment and applies histogram equalization to an existing solution adapting it to the data. The second proposal employs synthetic images of a known environment and applies function fitting to the resulted data. The resulting function matches the algorithm and the data as best as possible. An extensive evaluation set is used to validate the findings. Both real and synthetic test cases were employed in different scenarios. The test results are consistent and show significant improvements compared with traditional solutions. © 2011 IEEE

Content based Image Retrieval based on Different Global and Local Color Histogram Methods: A Survey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Suhasini, Pallikonda Sarah; Sri Rama Krishna, K.; Murali Krishna, I. V.

2017-02-01

Different global and local color histogram methods for content based image retrieval (CBIR) are investigated in this paper. Color histogram is a widely used descriptor for CBIR. Conventional method of extracting color histogram is global, which misses the spatial content, is less invariant to deformation and viewpoint changes, and results in a very large three dimensional histogram corresponding to the color space used. To address the above deficiencies, different global and local histogram methods are proposed in recent research. Different ways of extracting local histograms to have spatial correspondence, invariant colour histogram to add deformation and viewpoint invariance and fuzzy linking method to reduce the size of the histogram are found in recent papers. The color space and the distance metric used are vital in obtaining color histogram. In this paper the performance of CBIR based on different global and local color histograms in three different color spaces, namely, RGB, HSV, L*a*b* and also with three distance measures Euclidean, Quadratic and Histogram intersection are surveyed, to choose appropriate method for future research.

A Comparative Study on Preprocessing Techniques in Diabetic Retinopathy Retinal Images: Illumination Correction and Contrast Enhancement

PubMed Central

Rasta, Seyed Hossein; Partovi, Mahsa Eisazadeh; Seyedarabi, Hadi; Javadzadeh, Alireza

2015-01-01

To investigate the effect of preprocessing techniques including contrast enhancement and illumination correction on retinal image quality, a comparative study was carried out. We studied and implemented a few illumination correction and contrast enhancement techniques on color retinal images to find out the best technique for optimum image enhancement. To compare and choose the best illumination correction technique we analyzed the corrected red and green components of color retinal images statistically and visually. The two contrast enhancement techniques were analyzed using a vessel segmentation algorithm by calculating the sensitivity and specificity. The statistical evaluation of the illumination correction techniques were carried out by calculating the coefficients of variation. The dividing method using the median filter to estimate background illumination showed the lowest Coefficients of variations in the red component. The quotient and homomorphic filtering methods after the dividing method presented good results based on their low Coefficients of variations. The contrast limited adaptive histogram equalization increased the sensitivity of the vessel segmentation algorithm up to 5% in the same amount of accuracy. The contrast limited adaptive histogram equalization technique has a higher sensitivity than the polynomial transformation operator as a contrast enhancement technique for vessel segmentation. Three techniques including the dividing method using the median filter to estimate background, quotient based and homomorphic filtering were found as the effective illumination correction techniques based on a statistical evaluation. Applying the local contrast enhancement technique, such as CLAHE, for fundus images presented good potentials in enhancing the vasculature segmentation. PMID:25709940

Histogram-based adaptive gray level scaling for texture feature classification of colorectal polyps

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pomeroy, Marc; Lu, Hongbing; Pickhardt, Perry J.; Liang, Zhengrong

2018-02-01

Texture features have played an ever increasing role in computer aided detection (CADe) and diagnosis (CADx) methods since their inception. Texture features are often used as a method of false positive reduction for CADe packages, especially for detecting colorectal polyps and distinguishing them from falsely tagged residual stool and healthy colon wall folds. While texture features have shown great success there, the performance of texture features for CADx have lagged behind primarily because of the more similar features among different polyps types. In this paper, we present an adaptive gray level scaling and compare it to the conventional equal-spacing of gray level bins. We use a dataset taken from computed tomography colonography patients, with 392 polyp regions of interest (ROIs) identified and have a confirmed diagnosis through pathology. Using the histogram information from the entire ROI dataset, we generate the gray level bins such that each bin contains roughly the same number of voxels Each image ROI is the scaled down to two different numbers of gray levels, using both an equal spacing of Hounsfield units for each bin, and our adaptive method. We compute a set of texture features from the scaled images including 30 gray level co-occurrence matrix (GLCM) features and 11 gray level run length matrix (GLRLM) features. Using a random forest classifier to distinguish between hyperplastic polyps and all others (adenomas and adenocarcinomas), we find that the adaptive gray level scaling can improve performance based on the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve by up to 4.6%.

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.

Mechanical properties of high-temperature superconducting wires. Ph.D. Thesis - Illinois Inst. of Tech.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Goretta, K. C.; Cluff, J. A.; Joo, J.; Lanagan, M. T.; Singh, J. P.; Vasanthamohan, N.; Xin, Y.; Wong, K. W.

1995-01-01

Bending strength, fracture toughness, and elastic modulus data were acquired for YBa2Cu3O(x), Bi2Sr2CaCu2O(x) (Bi,Pb)2Sr2Ca2Cu3O(x), and Tl2Ba2Ca2Cu3O(x) bars. These data and thermal expansion coefficients strongly suggest that the maximum possible tensile strain without fracture of bulk tapes or wires is approximately equals 0.2%. In Ag-clad conductors, residual stresses will be of limited benefit, but fractures produced by larger strains can be accommodated by shunting current through the Ag.

Computerized image analysis: estimation of breast density on mammograms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Chuan; Chan, Heang-Ping; Petrick, Nicholas; Sahiner, Berkman; Helvie, Mark A.; Roubidoux, Marilyn A.; Hadjiiski, Lubomir M.; Goodsitt, Mitchell M.

2000-06-01

An automated image analysis tool is being developed for estimation of mammographic breast density, which may be useful for risk estimation or for monitoring breast density change in a prevention or intervention program. A mammogram is digitized using a laser scanner and the resolution is reduced to a pixel size of 0.8 mm X 0.8 mm. Breast density analysis is performed in three stages. First, the breast region is segmented from the surrounding background by an automated breast boundary-tracking algorithm. Second, an adaptive dynamic range compression technique is applied to the breast image to reduce the range of the gray level distribution in the low frequency background and to enhance the differences in the characteristic features of the gray level histogram for breasts of different densities. Third, rule-based classification is used to classify the breast images into several classes according to the characteristic features of their gray level histogram. For each image, a gray level threshold is automatically determined to segment the dense tissue from the breast region. The area of segmented dense tissue as a percentage of the breast area is then estimated. In this preliminary study, we analyzed the interobserver variation of breast density estimation by two experienced radiologists using BI-RADS lexicon. The radiologists' visually estimated percent breast densities were compared with the computer's calculation. The results demonstrate the feasibility of estimating mammographic breast density using computer vision techniques and its potential to improve the accuracy and reproducibility in comparison with the subjective visual assessment by radiologists.

Finger vein recognition based on finger crease location

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lu, Zhiying; Ding, Shumeng; Yin, Jing

2016-07-01

Finger vein recognition technology has significant advantages over other methods in terms of accuracy, uniqueness, and stability, and it has wide promising applications in the field of biometric recognition. We propose using finger creases to locate and extract an object region. Then we use linear fitting to overcome the problem of finger rotation in the plane. The method of modular adaptive histogram equalization (MAHE) is presented to enhance image contrast and reduce computational cost. To extract the finger vein features, we use a fusion method, which can obtain clear and distinguishable vein patterns under different conditions. We used the Hausdorff average distance algorithm to examine the recognition performance of the system. The experimental results demonstrate that MAHE can better balance the recognition accuracy and the expenditure of time compared with three other methods. Our resulting equal error rate throughout the total procedure was 3.268% in a database of 153 finger vein images.

Multiplex real-time RT-PCR assay for bovine viral diarrhea virus type 1, type 2 and HoBi-like pestivirus.

PubMed

Mari, Viviana; Losurdo, Michele; Lucente, Maria Stella; Lorusso, Eleonora; Elia, Gabriella; Martella, Vito; Patruno, Giovanni; Buonavoglia, Domenico; Decaro, Nicola

2016-03-01

HoBi-like pestiviruses are emerging pestiviruses that infect cattle causing clinical forms overlapping to those induced by bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) 1 and 2. As a consequence of their widespread distribution reported in recent years, molecular tools for rapid discrimination among pestiviruses infecting cattle are needed. The aim of the present study was to develop a multiplex real-time RT-PCR assay, based on the TaqMan technology, for the rapid and unambiguous characterisation of all bovine pestiviruses, including the emerging HoBi-like strains. The assay was found to be sensitive, specific and repeatable, ensuring detection of as few as 10(0)-10(1) viral RNA copies. No cross-reactions between different pestiviral species were observed even in samples artificially contaminated with more than one pestivirus. Analysis of field samples tested positive for BVDV-1, BVDV-2 or HoBi-like virus by a nested PCR protocol revealed that the developed TaqMan assay had equal or higher sensitivity and was able to discriminate correctly the viral species in all tested samples, whereas a real-time RT-PCR assay previously developed for HoBi-like pestivirus detection showed cross-reactivity with few high-titre BVDV-2 samples. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Local and average structure of Mn- and La-substituted BiFeO3

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiang, Bo; Selbach, Sverre M.

2017-06-01

The local and average structure of solid solutions of the multiferroic perovskite BiFeO3 is investigated by synchrotron X-ray diffraction (XRD) and electron density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The average experimental structure is determined by Rietveld refinement and the local structure by total scattering data analyzed in real space with the pair distribution function (PDF) method. With equal concentrations of La on the Bi site or Mn on the Fe site, La causes larger structural distortions than Mn. Structural models based on DFT relaxed geometry give an improved fit to experimental PDFs compared to models constrained by the space group symmetry. Berry phase calculations predict a higher ferroelectric polarization than the experimental literature values, reflecting that structural disorder is not captured in either average structure space group models or DFT calculations with artificial long range order imposed by periodic boundary conditions. Only by including point defects in a supercell, here Bi vacancies, can DFT calculations reproduce the literature results on the structure and ferroelectric polarization of Mn-substituted BiFeO3. The combination of local and average structure sensitive experimental methods with DFT calculations is useful for illuminating the structure-property-composition relationships in complex functional oxides with local structural distortions.

Local and average structure of Mn- and La-substituted BiFeO 3

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

Jiang, Bo; Selbach, Sverre M.

2017-06-01

The local and average structure of solid solutions of the multiferroic perovskite BiFeO 3 is investigated by synchrotron X-ray diffraction (XRD) and electron density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The average experimental structure is determined by Rietveld refinement and the local structure by total scattering data analyzed in real space with the pair distribution function (PDF) method. With equal concentrations of La on the Bi site or Mn on the Fe site, La causes larger structural distortions than Mn. Structural models based on DFT relaxed geometry give an improved fit to experimental PDFs compared to models constrained by the space groupmore » symmetry. Berry phase calculations predict a higher ferroelectric polarization than the experimental literature values, reflecting that structural disorder is not captured in either average structure space group models or DFT calculations with artificial long range order imposed by periodic boundary conditions. Only by including point defects in a supercell, here Bi vacancies, can DFT calculations reproduce the literature results on the structure and ferroelectric polarization of Mn-substituted BiFeO 3. The combination of local and average structure sensitive experimental methods with DFT calculations is useful for illuminating the structure-property-composition relationships in complex functional oxides with local structural distortions.« less

Color Swapping to Enhance Breast Cancer Digital Images Qualities Using Stain Normalization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Muhimmah, Izzati; Puspasari Wijaya, Dhina; Indrayanti

2017-03-01

Histopathology is the disease diagnosis by means of the visual examination of tissues under the microscope. The virtually transparent tissue sections were prepared using a number of colored histochemical stains bound selectively to the cellular components. A variation of colors comes to be a problem in histopathology based upon the microscope lighting for the range of factors. This research aimed to investigate an image enhancement by applying a nonlinear mapping approach to stain normalization and histogram equalization for contrast enhancement. Validation was carried out in 59 datasets with 96.6% accordance and expert justification.

Visible-light-induced Ag/BiVO4 semiconductor with enhanced photocatalytic and antibacterial performance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Regmi, Chhabilal; Dhakal, Dipesh; Wohn Lee, Soo

2018-02-01

An Ag-loaded BiVO4 visible-light-driven photocatalyst was synthesized by the microwave hydrothermal method followed by photodeposition. The photocatalytic performance of the synthesized samples was evaluated on a mixed dye (methylene blue and rhodamine B), as well as bisphenol A in aqueous solution. Similarly, the disinfection activities of synthesized samples towards the Gram-negative Escherichia coli (E. coli) in a model cell were investigated under irradiation with visible light (λ ≥ 420 nm). The synthesized samples have monoclinic scheelite structure. Photocatalytic results showed that all Ag-loaded BiVO4 samples exhibited greater degradation and a higher mineralization rate than the pure BiVO4, probably due to the presence of surface plasmon absorption that arises due to the loading of Ag on the BiVO4 surface. The optimum Ag loading of 5 wt% has the highest photocatalytic performance and greatest stability with pseudo-first-order rate constants of 0.031 min-1 and 0.023 min-1 for the degradation of methylene blue and rhodamine B respectively in a mixture with an equal volume and concentration of each dye. The photocatalytic degradation of bisphenol A reaches 76.2% with 5 wt% Ag-doped BiVO4 within 180 min irradiation time. Similarly, the Ag-loaded BiVO4 could completely inactivate E. coli cells within 30 min under visible light irradiation. The disruption of the cell membrane as well as degradation of protein and DNA exhibited constituted evidence for antibacterial activity towards E. coli. Moreover, the bactericidal mechanisms involved in the photocatalytic disinfection process were systematically investigated.

Semi-automatic breast ultrasound image segmentation based on mean shift and graph cuts.

PubMed

Zhou, Zhuhuang; Wu, Weiwei; Wu, Shuicai; Tsui, Po-Hsiang; Lin, Chung-Chih; Zhang, Ling; Wang, Tianfu

2014-10-01

Computerized tumor segmentation on breast ultrasound (BUS) images remains a challenging task. In this paper, we proposed a new method for semi-automatic tumor segmentation on BUS images using Gaussian filtering, histogram equalization, mean shift, and graph cuts. The only interaction required was to select two diagonal points to determine a region of interest (ROI) on an input image. The ROI image was shrunken by a factor of 2 using bicubic interpolation to reduce computation time. The shrunken image was smoothed by a Gaussian filter and then contrast-enhanced by histogram equalization. Next, the enhanced image was filtered by pyramid mean shift to improve homogeneity. The object and background seeds for graph cuts were automatically generated on the filtered image. Using these seeds, the filtered image was then segmented by graph cuts into a binary image containing the object and background. Finally, the binary image was expanded by a factor of 2 using bicubic interpolation, and the expanded image was processed by morphological opening and closing to refine the tumor contour. The method was implemented with OpenCV 2.4.3 and Visual Studio 2010 and tested for 38 BUS images with benign tumors and 31 BUS images with malignant tumors from different ultrasound scanners. Experimental results showed that our method had a true positive rate (TP) of 91.7%, a false positive (FP) rate of 11.9%, and a similarity (SI) rate of 85.6%. The mean run time on Intel Core 2.66 GHz CPU and 4 GB RAM was 0.49 ± 0.36 s. The experimental results indicate that the proposed method may be useful in BUS image segmentation. © The Author(s) 2014.

Osteoarthritis classification using self organizing map based on gabor kernel and contrast-limited adaptive histogram equalization.

PubMed

Anifah, Lilik; Purnama, I Ketut Eddy; Hariadi, Mochamad; Purnomo, Mauridhi Hery

2013-01-01

Localization is the first step in osteoarthritis (OA) classification. Manual classification, however, is time-consuming, tedious, and expensive. The proposed system is designed as decision support system for medical doctors to classify the severity of knee OA. A method has been proposed here to localize a joint space area for OA and then classify it in 4 steps to classify OA into KL-Grade 0, KL-Grade 1, KL-Grade 2, KL-Grade 3 and KL-Grade 4, which are preprocessing, segmentation, feature extraction, and classification. In this proposed system, right and left knee detection was performed by employing the Contrast-Limited Adaptive Histogram Equalization (CLAHE) and the template matching. The Gabor kernel, row sum graph and moment methods were used to localize the junction space area of knee. CLAHE is used for preprocessing step, i.e.to normalize the varied intensities. The segmentation process was conducted using the Gabor kernel, template matching, row sum graph and gray level center of mass method. Here GLCM (contrast, correlation, energy, and homogeinity) features were employed as training data. Overall, 50 data were evaluated for training and 258 data for testing. Experimental results showed the best performance by using gabor kernel with parameters α=8, θ=0, Ψ=[0 π/2], γ=0,8, N=4 and with number of iterations being 5000, momentum value 0.5 and α0=0.6 for the classification process. The run gave classification accuracy rate of 93.8% for KL-Grade 0, 70% for KL-Grade 1, 4% for KL-Grade 2, 10% for KL-Grade 3 and 88.9% for KL-Grade 4.

Osteoarthritis Classification Using Self Organizing Map Based on Gabor Kernel and Contrast-Limited Adaptive Histogram Equalization

PubMed Central

Anifah, Lilik; Purnama, I Ketut Eddy; Hariadi, Mochamad; Purnomo, Mauridhi Hery

2013-01-01

Localization is the first step in osteoarthritis (OA) classification. Manual classification, however, is time-consuming, tedious, and expensive. The proposed system is designed as decision support system for medical doctors to classify the severity of knee OA. A method has been proposed here to localize a joint space area for OA and then classify it in 4 steps to classify OA into KL-Grade 0, KL-Grade 1, KL-Grade 2, KL-Grade 3 and KL-Grade 4, which are preprocessing, segmentation, feature extraction, and classification. In this proposed system, right and left knee detection was performed by employing the Contrast-Limited Adaptive Histogram Equalization (CLAHE) and the template matching. The Gabor kernel, row sum graph and moment methods were used to localize the junction space area of knee. CLAHE is used for preprocessing step, i.e.to normalize the varied intensities. The segmentation process was conducted using the Gabor kernel, template matching, row sum graph and gray level center of mass method. Here GLCM (contrast, correlation, energy, and homogeinity) features were employed as training data. Overall, 50 data were evaluated for training and 258 data for testing. Experimental results showed the best performance by using gabor kernel with parameters α=8, θ=0, Ψ=[0 π/2], γ=0,8, N=4 and with number of iterations being 5000, momentum value 0.5 and α0=0.6 for the classification process. The run gave classification accuracy rate of 93.8% for KL-Grade 0, 70% for KL-Grade 1, 4% for KL-Grade 2, 10% for KL-Grade 3 and 88.9% for KL-Grade 4. PMID:23525188

Thermochemical and kinetic aspects of the sulfurization of Cu-Sb and Cu-Bi thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Colombara, Diego; Peter, Laurence M.; Rogers, Keith D.; Hutchings, Kyle

2012-02-01

CuSbS2 and Cu3BiS3 are being investigated as part of a search for new absorber materials for photovoltaic devices. Thin films of these chalcogenides were produced by conversion of stacked and co-electroplated metal precursor layers in the presence of elemental sulfur vapour. Ex-situ XRD and SEM/EDS analyses of the processed samples were employed to study the reaction sequence with the aim of achieving compact layer morphologies. A new “Time-Temperature-Reaction” (TTR) diagram and modified Pilling-Bedworth coefficients have been introduced for the description and interpretation of the reaction kinetics. For equal processing times, the minimum temperature required for CuSbS2 to appear is substantially lower than for Cu3BiS3, suggesting that interdiffusion across the interfaces between the binary sulfides is a key step in the formation of the ternary compounds. The effects of the heating rate and sulfur partial pressure on the phase evolution as well as the potential losses of Sb and Bi during the processes have been investigated experimentally and the results related to the equilibrium pressure diagrams obtained via thermochemical computation.

MRI histogram analysis enables objective and continuous classification of intervertebral disc degeneration.

PubMed

Waldenberg, Christian; Hebelka, Hanna; Brisby, Helena; Lagerstrand, Kerstin Magdalena

2018-05-01

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is the best diagnostic imaging method for low back pain. However, the technique is currently not utilized in its full capacity, often failing to depict painful intervertebral discs (IVDs), potentially due to the rough degeneration classification system used clinically today. MR image histograms, which reflect the IVD heterogeneity, may offer sensitive imaging biomarkers for IVD degeneration classification. This study investigates the feasibility of using histogram analysis as means of objective and continuous grading of IVD degeneration. Forty-nine IVDs in ten low back pain patients (six males, 25-69 years) were examined with MRI (T2-weighted images and T2-maps). Each IVD was semi-automatically segmented on three mid-sagittal slices. Histogram features of the IVD were extracted from the defined regions of interest and correlated to Pfirrmann grade. Both T2-weighted images and T2-maps displayed similar histogram features. Histograms of well-hydrated IVDs displayed two separate peaks, representing annulus fibrosus and nucleus pulposus. Degenerated IVDs displayed decreased peak separation, where the separation was shown to correlate strongly with Pfirrmann grade (P < 0.05). In addition, some degenerated IVDs within the same Pfirrmann grade displayed diametrically different histogram appearances. Histogram features correlated well with IVD degeneration, suggesting that IVD histogram analysis is a suitable tool for objective and continuous IVD degeneration classification. As histogram analysis revealed IVD heterogeneity, it may be a clinical tool for characterization of regional IVD degeneration effects. To elucidate the usefulness of histogram analysis in patient management, IVD histogram features between asymptomatic and symptomatic individuals needs to be compared.

Tensor algebra-based geometric methodology to codify central chirality on organic molecules.

PubMed

García-Jacas, C R; Marrero-Ponce, Y; Hernández-Ortega, T; Martinez-Mayorga, K; Cabrera-Leyva, L; Ledesma-Romero, J C; Aguilera-Fernández, I; Rodríguez-León, A R

2017-06-01

A novel mathematical procedure to codify chiral features of organic molecules in the QuBiLS-MIDAS framework is introduced. This procedure constitutes a generalization to that commonly used to date, where the values 1 and -1 (correction factor) are employed to weight the molecular vectors when each atom is labelled as R (rectus) or S (sinister) according to the Cahn-Ingold-Prelog rules. Therefore, values in the range [Formula: see text] with steps equal to 0.25 may be accounted for. The atoms labelled R or S can have negative and positive values assigned (e.g. -3 for an R atom and 1 for an S atom, or vice versa), opposed values (e.g. -3 for an R atom and 3 for an S atom, or vice versa), positive values (e.g. 3 for an R atom and 1 for an S atom) or negative values (e.g. -3 for an R atom and -1 for an S atom). These proposed Chiral QuBiLS-MIDAS 3D-MDs are real numbers, non-symmetric and reduced to 'classical' (non-chiral) QuBiLS-MIDAS 3D-MDs when symmetry is not codified (correction factor equal to zero). In this report, only the factors with opposed values were considered with the purpose of demonstrating the feasibility of this proposal. From QSAR modelling carried out on four chemical datasets (Cramer's steroids, fenoterol stereoisomer derivatives, N-alkylated 3-(3-hydroxyphenyl)-piperidines, and perindoprilat stereoisomers), it was demonstrated that the use of several correction factors contributes to the building of models with greater robustness and predictive ability than those reported in the literature, as well as with respect to the models exclusively developed with QuBiLS-MIDAS 3D-MDs based on the factor 1 | -1. In conclusion, it can be stated that this novel strategy constitutes a suitable alternative to computed chirality-based descriptors, contributing to the development of good models to predict properties depending on symmetry.

Deforestation due to Urbanization: a Case Study for Trabzon, Turkey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Telkenaroglu, C.; Dikmen, M.

2017-11-01

This paper inspects the deforestation of Trabzon in Turkey, due to urbanization, between 2006 and 2016. For this purpose, Landsat 7 ETM+ (Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus) images are obtained from United States Geographical Survey (USGS) archive (USGS, 2017a) and their VNIR bands related to this study are utilized. For both years, and for each band, histograms are equalized. Finally, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) values are calculated as images. Resulting vegetation indexes are assessed in comparison to the binary ground truth images. A visual inspection is also done with respect to Google's Timelapse images for each year to validate and support the results.

METEOSAT studies of clouds and radiation budget

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Saunders, R. W.

1982-01-01

Radiation budget studies of the atmosphere/surface system from Meteosat, cloud parameter determination from space, and sea surface temperature measurements from TIROS N data are all described. This work was carried out on the interactive planetary image processing system (IPIPS), which allows interactive manipulationion of the image data in addition to the conventional computational tasks. The current hardware configuration of IPIPS is shown. The I(2)S is the principal interactive display allowing interaction via a trackball, four buttons under program control, or a touch tablet. Simple image processing operations such as contrast enhancing, pseudocoloring, histogram equalization, and multispectral combinations, can all be executed at the push of a button.

Bin Ratio-Based Histogram Distances and Their Application to Image Classification.

PubMed

Hu, Weiming; Xie, Nianhua; Hu, Ruiguang; Ling, Haibin; Chen, Qiang; Yan, Shuicheng; Maybank, Stephen

2014-12-01

Large variations in image background may cause partial matching and normalization problems for histogram-based representations, i.e., the histograms of the same category may have bins which are significantly different, and normalization may produce large changes in the differences between corresponding bins. In this paper, we deal with this problem by using the ratios between bin values of histograms, rather than bin values' differences which are used in the traditional histogram distances. We propose a bin ratio-based histogram distance (BRD), which is an intra-cross-bin distance, in contrast with previous bin-to-bin distances and cross-bin distances. The BRD is robust to partial matching and histogram normalization, and captures correlations between bins with only a linear computational complexity. We combine the BRD with the ℓ1 histogram distance and the χ(2) histogram distance to generate the ℓ1 BRD and the χ(2) BRD, respectively. These combinations exploit and benefit from the robustness of the BRD under partial matching and the robustness of the ℓ1 and χ(2) distances to small noise. We propose a method for assessing the robustness of histogram distances to partial matching. The BRDs and logistic regression-based histogram fusion are applied to image classification. The experimental results on synthetic data sets show the robustness of the BRDs to partial matching, and the experiments on seven benchmark data sets demonstrate promising results of the BRDs for image classification.

Method and apparatus for communicating computer data from one point to another over a communications medium

DOEpatents

Arneson, Michael R [Chippewa Falls, WI; Bowman, Terrance L [Sumner, WA; Cornett, Frank N [Chippewa Falls, WI; DeRyckere, John F [Eau Claire, WI; Hillert, Brian T [Chippewa Falls, WI; Jenkins, Philip N [Eau Claire, WI; Ma, Nan [Chippewa Falls, WI; Placek, Joseph M [Chippewa Falls, WI; Ruesch, Rodney [Eau Claire, WI; Thorson, Gregory M [Altoona, WI

2007-07-24

The present invention is directed toward a communications channel comprising a link level protocol, a driver, a receiver, and a canceller/equalizer. The link level protocol provides logic for DC-free signal encoding and recovery as well as supporting many features including CRC error detection and message resend to accommodate infrequent bit errors across the medium. The canceller/equalizer provides equalization for destabilized data signals and also provides simultaneous bi-directional data transfer. The receiver provides bit deskewing by removing synchronization error, or skewing, between data signals. The driver provides impedance controlling by monitoring the characteristics of the communications medium, like voltage or temperature, and providing a matching output impedance in the signal driver so that fewer distortions occur while the data travels across the communications medium.

Coassimilation of Organic Substrates via the Autotrophic 3-Hydroxypropionate Bi-Cycle in Chloroflexus aurantiacus▿†

PubMed Central

Zarzycki, Jan; Fuchs, Georg

2011-01-01

Chloroflexus aurantiacus is a facultative autotrophic green nonsulfur bacterium that grows phototrophically in thermal springs and forms microbial mats with cyanobacteria. Cyanobacteria produce glycolate during the day (photorespiration) and excrete fermentation products at night. C. aurantiacus uses the 3-hydroxypropionate bi-cycle for autotrophic carbon fixation. This pathway was thought to be also suited for the coassimilation of various organic substrates such as glycolate, acetate, propionate, 3-hydroxypropionate, lactate, butyrate, or succinate. To test this possibility, we added these compounds at a 5 mM concentration to autotrophically pregrown cells. Although the provided amounts of H2 and CO2 allowed continuing photoautotrophic growth, cells immediately consumed most substrates at rates equaling the rate of autotrophic carbon fixation. Using [14C]acetate, half of the labeled organic carbon was incorporated into cell mass. Our data suggest that C. aurantiacus uses the 3-hydroxypropionate bi-cycle, together with the glyoxylate cycle, to channel organic substrates into the central carbon metabolism. Enzyme activities of the 3-hydroxypropionate bi-cycle were marginally affected when cells were grown heterotrophically with such organic substrates. The 3-hydroxypropionate bi-cycle in Chloroflexi is unique and was likely fostered in an environment in which traces of organic compounds can be coassimilated. Other bacteria living under oligotrophic conditions acquired genes of a rudimentary 3-hydroxypropionate bi-cycle, possibly for the same purpose. Examples are Chloroherpeton thalassium, Erythrobacter sp. strain NAP-1, Nitrococcus mobilis, and marine gammaproteobacteria of the OM60/NOR5 clade such as Congregibacter litoralis. PMID:21764971

Clarithromycin (Biaxin)-lenalidomide-low-dose dexamethasone (BiRd) versus lenalidomide-low-dose dexamethasone (Rd) for newly diagnosed myeloma.

PubMed

Gay, Francesca; Rajkumar, S Vincent; Coleman, Morton; Kumar, Shaji; Mark, Tomer; Dispenzieri, Angela; Pearse, Roger; Gertz, Morie A; Leonard, John; Lacy, Martha Q; Chen-Kiang, Selina; Roy, Vivek; Jayabalan, David S; Lust, John A; Witzig, Thomas E; Fonseca, Rafael; Kyle, Robert A; Greipp, Philip R; Stewart, A Keith; Niesvizky, Ruben

2010-09-01

The objective of this case-matched study was to compare the efficacy and toxicity of the addition of clarithromycin (Biaxin) to lenalidomide/low-dose dexamethasone (BiRd) vs. lenalidomide/low-dose dexamethasone (Rd) for newly diagnosed myeloma. Data from 72 patients treated at the New York Presbyterian Hospital-Cornell Medical Center were retrospectively compared with an equal number of matched pair mates selected among patients seen at the Mayo Clinic who received Rd. Case matching was blinded and was performed according to age, gender, and transplant status. On intention-to-treat analysis, complete response (45.8% vs. 13.9%, P < 0.001) and very-good-partial-response or better (73.6% vs. 33.3%, P < 0.001) were significantly higher with BiRd. Time-to-progression (median 48.3 vs. 27.5 months, P = 0.071), and progression-free survival (median 48.3 vs. 27.5 months, P = 0.044) were higher with BiRd. There was a trend toward better OS with BiRd (3-year OS: 89.7% vs. 73.0%, P = 0.170). Main grade 3-4 toxicities of BiRd were hematological, in particular thrombocytopenia (23.6% vs. 8.3%, P = 0.012). Infections (16.7% vs. 9.7%, P = 0.218) and dermatological toxicity (12.5% vs. 4.2%, P = 0.129) were higher with Rd. Results of this case-matched analysis suggest that there is significant additive value when clarithromycin is added to Rd. Randomized phase III trials are needed to confirm these results. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

The value of a kurtosis metric in estimating the hazard to hearing of complex industrial noise exposures.

PubMed

Qiu, Wei; Hamernik, Roger P; Davis, Robert I

2013-05-01

A series of Gaussian and non-Gaussian equal energy noise exposures were designed with the objective of establishing the extent to which the kurtosis statistic could be used to grade the severity of noise trauma produced by the exposures. Here, 225 chinchillas distributed in 29 groups, with 6 to 8 animals per group, were exposed at 97 dB SPL. The equal energy exposures were presented either continuously for 5 d or on an interrupted schedule for 19 d. The non-Gaussian noises all differed in the level of the kurtosis statistic or in the temporal structure of the noise, where the latter was defined by different peak, interval, and duration histograms of the impact noise transients embedded in the noise signal. Noise-induced trauma was estimated from auditory evoked potential hearing thresholds and surface preparation histology that quantified sensory cell loss. Results indicated that the equal energy hypothesis is a valid unifying principle for estimating the consequences of an exposure if and only if the equivalent energy exposures had the same kurtosis. Furthermore, for the same level of kurtosis the detailed temporal structure of an exposure does not have a strong effect on trauma.

Theory and Application of DNA Histogram Analysis.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bagwell, Charles Bruce

The underlying principles and assumptions associated with DNA histograms are discussed along with the characteristics of fluorescent probes. Information theory was described and used to calculate the information content of a DNA histogram. Two major types of DNA histogram analyses are proposed: parametric and nonparametric analysis. Three levels…

Flux pinning characteristics and irreversibility line in high temperature superconductors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Matsushita, T.; Ihara, N.; Kiuchi, M.

1995-01-01

The flux pinning properties in high temperature superconductors are strongly influenced by thermally activated flux motion. The scaling relation of the pinning force density and the irreversibility line in various high temperature superconductors are numerically analyzed in terms of the flux creep model. The effect of two factors, i.e., the flux pinning strength and the dimensionality of the material, on these properties are investigated. It is speculated that the irreversibility line in Bi-2212 superconductors is one order of magnitude smaller than that in Y-123, even if the flux pinning strength in Bi-2212 is improved up to the level of Y-123. It is concluded that these two factors are equally important in determination of the flux pinning characteristics at high temperatures.

TU-G-204-02: Automatic Sclerotic Bone Metastases Detection in the Pelvic Region From Dual Energy CT

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

Fehr, D; Schmidtlein, C; Hwang, S

Purpose: To automatically detect sclerotic bone metastases in the pelvic region using dual energy computed tomography (DECT). Methods: We developed a two stage algorithm to automatically detect sclerotic bone metastases in the pelvis from DECT for patients with multiple bone metastatic lesions and with hip implants. The first stage consists of extracting the bone and marrow regions by using a support vector machine (SVM) classifier. We employed a novel representation of the DECT images using multi-material decomposition, which represents each voxel as a mixture of different physical materials (e.g. bone+water+fat). Following the extraction of bone and marrow, in the secondmore » stage, a bi -histogram equalization method was employed to enhance the contrast to reveal the bone metastases. Next, meanshift segmentation was performed to separate the voxels by their intensity levels. Finally, shape-based filtering was performed to extract the possible locations of the metastatic lesions using multiple shape criteria. We used the following shape parameters: area, eccentricity, major and minor axis, perimeter and skeleton. Results: A radiologist with several years of experience with DECT manually labeled 64 regions consisting of metastatic lesions from 10 different patients. However, the patients had many more metastasic lesions throughout the pelvis. Our method correctly identified 46 of the marked 64 regions (72%). In addition, our method also identified several other lesions, which can then be validated by the radiologist. The missed lesions were typically very large elongated regions consisting of several islands of very small (<4mm) lesions. Conclusion: We developed an algorithm to automatically detect sclerotic lesions in the pelvic region from DECT. Preliminary assessment shows that our algorithm generated lesions agreeing with the radiologist generated candidate regions. Furthermore, our method reveals additional lesions that can be inspected by the radiologist, thereby, reducing radiologist effort in identifying all the lesions with poor contrast from the DECT images.« less

Histogram deconvolution - An aid to automated classifiers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lorre, J. J.

1983-01-01

It is shown that N-dimensional histograms are convolved by the addition of noise in the picture domain. Three methods are described which provide the ability to deconvolve such noise-affected histograms. The purpose of the deconvolution is to provide automated classifiers with a higher quality N-dimensional histogram from which to obtain classification statistics.

Parameterization of the Age-Dependent Whole Brain Apparent Diffusion Coefficient Histogram

PubMed Central

Batra, Marion; Nägele, Thomas

2015-01-01

Purpose. The distribution of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values in the brain can be used to characterize age effects and pathological changes of the brain tissue. The aim of this study was the parameterization of the whole brain ADC histogram by an advanced model with influence of age considered. Methods. Whole brain ADC histograms were calculated for all data and for seven age groups between 10 and 80 years. Modeling of the histograms was performed for two parts of the histogram separately: the brain tissue part was modeled by two Gaussian curves, while the remaining part was fitted by the sum of a Gaussian curve, a biexponential decay, and a straight line. Results. A consistent fitting of the histograms of all age groups was possible with the proposed model. Conclusions. This study confirms the strong dependence of the whole brain ADC histograms on the age of the examined subjects. The proposed model can be used to characterize changes of the whole brain ADC histogram in certain diseases under consideration of age effects. PMID:26609526

Valency and spin states of substituent cations in Bi2.15Sr1.85CaCu2O8+δ

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Benseman, T. M.; Cooper, J. R.; Zentile, C. L.; Lemberger, L.; Balakrishnan, G.

2011-10-01

We studied the valency and spin behavior of M = Mn, Fe, Co, Li, and Al in the high-temperature superconducting compound Bi2.15Sr1.85Ca(Cu1-zMz)2O8+δ (Bi-2212) for small values of z. Mn, Fe, and Co retain their magnetic moments, and our thermopower and magnetic susceptibility data imply ionization states Mn3+, Fe2+, and Co2+, while Li and Al are accommodated in the charge reservoir layers. Single-crystal studies show that the susceptibility of Co2+ ions in Bi-2212 is strongly anisotropic, with a weak anisotropy detected for Mn3+ and none for Fe2+. Fits to a pseudogap formula for a pure Bi-2212 crystal suggest that the spin susceptibility of the host compound is more anisotropic than previously realized. Data in the superconducting state allow us to compare the pair-breaking properties of the different impurities. Several aspects of the data, including the stronger suppression of the superconducting transition temperature Tc by Co compared with Fe for underdoped and optimally doped samples, show that the d-level structure of the magnetic ions and multiorbital effects are important. We also find that the temperatures of the magnetization crossing points are equal to the low-field Tc values to within 1% or 2%. This agrees with a 2D thermodynamic fluctuation argument given by Junod

Towards Bi-Inclusive Policies: Suggestions Based on Research on Dutch Same-Sex Attracted Young People.

PubMed

van Lisdonk, Jantine; Keuzenkamp, Saskia

2017-01-01

Dutch national LGBT policies are not bi-inclusive and this study provides suggestions for improvement, based on empirical research. Attention for bisexuality in policy appears simply to pay lip service and to endorse the construction of sexual orientation as a hetero/homo binary. The outcomes of our survey ( n  = 1449) and in-depth interviews ( n  = 38) of Dutch same-sex attracted young people suggest that special attention for bisexual people is warranted. Compared to exclusively same-sex attracted participants, the equally both-sex attracted participants scored worse on openness about their sexual attraction, visibility discomfort, perceived acceptance, and suicide attempts. Unique issues for bisexual-identified young people were identified as follows: marginalization of bisexuality; difficulty expressing bisexuality, particularly in relationships; and a lack of bisexual or bi-inclusive communities. These issues were all related to the hetero/homo binary and mononormativity. Suggested implications for more bi-inclusive policies focus on awareness of marginalization and invisibility of bisexuality, biphobia, community and capacity building, and comprehensive sexuality and gender education. Furthermore, rather than policies focusing on sameness, a comprehensive diversity perspective on sexuality and gender offers more space for bisexuality. This may be particularly relevant for young people who are exploring their sexuality and developing a sense of their sexual self.

Formulation of bi-layer matrix tablets of tramadol hydrochloride: Comparison of rate retarding ability of the incorporated hydrophilic polymers.

PubMed

Arif, Hasanul; Al-Masum, Abdullah; Sharmin, Florida; Reza, Selim; Sm Islam, Sm Ashraful

2015-05-01

Bi-layer tablets of tramadol hydrochloride were prepared by direct compression technique. Each tablet contains an instant release layer with a sustained release layer. The instant release layer was found to release the initial dose immediately within minutes. The instant release layer was combined with sustained release matrix made of varying quantity of Methocel K4M, Methocel K15MCR and Carbomer 974P. Bi-layer tablets were evaluated for various physical tests including weight variation, thickness and diameter, hardness and percent friability. Drug release from bi-layer tablet was studied in acidic medium and buffer medium for two and six hours respectively. Sustained release of tramadol hydrochloride was observed with a controlled fashion that was characteristic to the type and extent of polymer used. % Drug release from eight-hour dissolution study was fitted with several kinetic models. Mean dissolution time (MDT) and fractional dissolution values (T25%, T50% and T80%) were also calculated as well, to compare the retarding ability of the polymers. Methocel K15MCR was found to be the most effective in rate retardation of freely water-soluble tramadol hydrochloride compared to Methocel K4M and Capbomer 974P, when incorporated at equal ratio in the formulation.

Introducing parallelism to histogramming functions for GEM systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krawczyk, Rafał D.; Czarski, Tomasz; Kolasinski, Piotr; Pozniak, Krzysztof T.; Linczuk, Maciej; Byszuk, Adrian; Chernyshova, Maryna; Juszczyk, Bartlomiej; Kasprowicz, Grzegorz; Wojenski, Andrzej; Zabolotny, Wojciech

2015-09-01

This article is an assessment of potential parallelization of histogramming algorithms in GEM detector system. Histogramming and preprocessing algorithms in MATLAB were analyzed with regard to adding parallelism. Preliminary implementation of parallel strip histogramming resulted in speedup. Analysis of algorithms parallelizability is presented. Overview of potential hardware and software support to implement parallel algorithm is discussed.

Comparison of Histograms for Use in Cloud Observation and Modeling

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Green, Lisa; Xu, Kuan-Man

2005-01-01

Cloud observation and cloud modeling data can be presented in histograms for each characteristic to be measured. Combining information from single-cloud histograms yields a summary histogram. Summary histograms can be compared to each other to reach conclusions about the behavior of an ensemble of clouds in different places at different times or about the accuracy of a particular cloud model. As in any scientific comparison, it is necessary to decide whether any apparent differences are statistically significant. The usual methods of deciding statistical significance when comparing histograms do not apply in this case because they assume independent data. Thus, a new method is necessary. The proposed method uses the Euclidean distance metric and bootstrapping to calculate the significance level.

Kidney disease in beagles injected with polonium-210

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

Bruenger, F.W.; Lloyd, R.D.; Taylor, G.N.

An unusually high incidence of kidney disease (tubular degeneration and necrosis with fibrous replacement) was observed among 24 beagles injected at about 5 years of age with 116 or 329 kBq 226Ra kg-1 but not among an additional 10 beagles given about 39 kBq 226Ra kg-1. This 226Ra solution also contained 210Pb, 210Bi, and 210Po. To determine whether the kidney disease was related to the radiation from 226Ra and its short-lived progeny or to the alpha radiation from 210Po, 2 beagles about 7 years of age were injected with 451 kBq 226Ra kg-1 of 210Po citrate. Measurements of polonium retentionmore » in the kidneys of 4 additional beagles given 210Bi citrate enabled us to model the retention of these emitters in the dog kidney and to estimate the kidney dose from the alpha radiation of 210Po following injection of either 226Ra + 210Bi + 210Po or 210Po only. Autoradiography revealed that almost equal concentrations of 210Po were in the tubular epithelium and/or its basement membrane and in the glomeruli, but very little of the 210Bi deposited in kidney tissue was present in the glomeruli. Radiation damage to the kidneys similar to that observed previously in beagles given 226Ra solutions that also contained 210Bi and 210Po was seen among the beagles given 210Po but not in the dogs given purified 226Ra. The analysis of these data indicated that the relatively high incidence of kidney disease among the mature beagles injected with 226Ra and its accompanying 210Bi and 210Po resulted from alpha irradiation of the kidneys by the substantial amount of 210Po that was in the injection solution.« less

The electronic structure and thermoelectric properties of BiTl{sub 9}Te{sub 6} and SbTl{sub 9}Te{sub 6}: First-principles calculations

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

Guo, Li Bin; Ye, Lingyun; Wang, Yuan Xu, E-mail: wangyx@henu.edu.cn

2015-12-21

The electronic structure and thermoelectric properties of MTl{sub 9}Te{sub 6} (M = Bi, Sb) were studied using density functional theory and the semiclassical Boltzmann theory. It is found that the band gaps of BiTl{sub 9}Te{sub 6} and SbTl{sub 9}Te{sub 6} are equal to 0.59 eV and 0.72 eV, respectively. The relative large band gap and strong coupling between Sb s and Te p are helpful to the thermoelectric properties of SbTl{sub 9}Te{sub 6}. Near the bottom of the conduction bands, the number of band valleys of SbTl{sub 9}Te{sub 6} is four and is larger than that of BiTl{sub 9}Te{sub 6} (two band valleys),more » which will increase its Seebeck coefficient. Although BiTl{sub 9}Te{sub 6} has a larger electrical conductivity relative to relaxation time (σ/τ) along the z-direction than that of SbTl{sub 9}Te{sub 6}, the results show that the transport properties of SbTl{sub 9}Te{sub 6} are better than those of BiTl{sub 9}Te{sub 6} possibly due to its large Seebeck coefficient. The maximum value of power factor relative to relaxation time (S{sup 2}σ/τ) for SbTl{sub 9}Te{sub 6} reaches 4.30 × 10{sup 11 }W/K{sup 2} m s at 900 K, that is, originated from its relatively large Seebeck coefficient, suggesting its promising thermoelectric performance at high temperature.« less

Effectiveness of alcohol brief intervention delivered by community pharmacists: study protocol of a two-arm randomised controlled trial

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background There is strong evidence to support the effectiveness of Brief Intervention (BI) in reducing alcohol consumption in primary healthcare. Methods and design This study is a two-arm randomised controlled trial to determine the effectiveness of BI delivered by community pharmacists in their pharmacies. Eligible and consenting participants (aged 18 years or older) will be randomised in equal numbers to either a BI delivered by 17 community pharmacists or a non-intervention control condition. The intervention will be a brief motivational discussion to support a reduction in alcohol consumption and will take approximately 10 minutes to deliver. Participants randomised to the control arm will be given an alcohol information leaflet with no opportunity for discussion. Study pharmacists will be volunteers who respond to an invitation to participate, sent to all community pharmacists in the London borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. Participating pharmacists will receive 7 hours training on trial procedures and the delivery of BI. Pharmacy support staff will also receive training (4 hours) on how to approach and inform pharmacy customers about the study, with formal trial recruitment undertaken by the pharmacist in a consultation room. At three month follow up, alcohol consumption and related problems will be assessed with the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) administered by telephone. Discussion The UK Department of Health’s stated aim is to involve community pharmacists in the delivery of BI to reduce alcohol harms. This will be the first RCT study to assess the effectiveness of BI delivered by community pharmacists. Given this policy context, it is pragmatic in design. Trial registration Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN95216873 PMID:23419053

Fast and efficient molecule detection in localization-based super-resolution microscopy by parallel adaptive histogram equalization.

PubMed

Li, Yiming; Ishitsuka, Yuji; Hedde, Per Niklas; Nienhaus, G Ulrich

2013-06-25

In localization-based super-resolution microscopy, individual fluorescent markers are stochastically photoactivated and subsequently localized within a series of camera frames, yielding a final image with a resolution far beyond the diffraction limit. Yet, before localization can be performed, the subregions within the frames where the individual molecules are present have to be identified-oftentimes in the presence of high background. In this work, we address the importance of reliable molecule identification for the quality of the final reconstructed super-resolution image. We present a fast and robust algorithm (a-livePALM) that vastly improves the molecule detection efficiency while minimizing false assignments that can lead to image artifacts.

Automated Age-related Macular Degeneration screening system using fundus images.

PubMed

Kunumpol, P; Umpaipant, W; Kanchanaranya, N; Charoenpong, T; Vongkittirux, S; Kupakanjana, T; Tantibundhit, C

2017-07-01

This work proposed an automated screening system for Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD), and distinguishing between wet or dry types of AMD using fundus images to assist ophthalmologists in eye disease screening and management. The algorithm employs contrast-limited adaptive histogram equalization (CLAHE) in image enhancement. Subsequently, discrete wavelet transform (DWT) and locality sensitivity discrimination analysis (LSDA) were used to extract features for a neural network model to classify the results. The results showed that the proposed algorithm was able to distinguish between normal eyes, dry AMD, or wet AMD with 98.63% sensitivity, 99.15% specificity, and 98.94% accuracy, suggesting promising potential as a medical support system for faster eye disease screening at lower costs.

Free energy profiles from single-molecule pulling experiments.

PubMed

Hummer, Gerhard; Szabo, Attila

2010-12-14

Nonequilibrium pulling experiments provide detailed information about the thermodynamic and kinetic properties of molecules. We show that unperturbed free energy profiles as a function of molecular extension can be obtained rigorously from such experiments without using work-weighted position histograms. An inverse Weierstrass transform is used to relate the system free energy obtained from the Jarzynski equality directly to the underlying molecular free energy surface. An accurate approximation for the free energy surface is obtained by using the method of steepest descent to evaluate the inverse transform. The formalism is applied to simulated data obtained from a kinetic model of RNA folding, in which the dynamics consists of jumping between linker-dominated folded and unfolded free energy surfaces.

Quantifying fluorescence enhancement for slowly diffusing single molecules in plasmonic near fields

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Caldarola, Martín; Pradhan, Biswajit; Orrit, Michel

2018-03-01

Gold nanorods are extensively used for single-molecule fluorescence enhancement as they are easy to synthesize, bio-compatible, and provide high light confinement at their nanometer-sized tips. The current way to estimate fluorescence enhancement relies on binned time traces or on fluorescence correlation spectroscopy. We report on novel ways to extract the enhancement factor in a single-molecule enhancement experiment, avoiding the arbitrary selection of one or a few high-intensity burst(s). These new estimates for the enhancement factor make use of the whole distribution of intensity bursts or of the interphoton delay distribution, which avoids the arbitrary binning of the fluorescence intensity time traces. We present experimental results on the bi-dimensional case, experimentally achieved using a lipid bilayer to support the diffusion of fluorophores. We support our findings with histograms of fluorescence bursts and with an analytical derivation of the interphoton delay distribution of (nearly) immobilized emitters from the fluorescence intensity profile.

Analysis of driving force and exciting voltage for a bi-material infrared resonator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Xia; Zhang, Dacheng

2018-01-01

For a designed sensor with bi-material resonator which is used to detect infrared (IR) radiation by means of tracking the change in resonance frequency of the resonator with temperature attributed to the IR radiation from targets, in accordance with electromagnetic theory, the relationship between the electrical driving force exerted on the resonator and the exciting voltage applied across two electrodes of the capacitor in the sensor is presented. According to vibration theory, the dependence of the driving force on the exciting voltage is analyzed. The result of analysis is used to guide the vibration mode and frequency-amplitude response simulations of the resonator. The simulation value is approximately equal to the measured value, which demonstrates that the analysis result is effective and practicable.

Esterification of fatty acids using nylon-immobilized lipase in n-hexane: kinetic parameters and chain-length effects.

PubMed

Zaidi, A; Gainer, J L; Carta, G; Mrani, A; Kadiri, T; Belarbi, Y; Mir, A

2002-02-28

The esterification of long-chain fatty acids in n-hexane catalyzed by nylon-immobilized lipase from Candida rugosa has been investigated. Butyl oleate (22 carbon atoms), oleyl butyrate (22 carbon atoms) and oleyl oleate (36 carbon atoms) were produced at maximum reaction rates of approximately equal to 60 mmol h(-1) g(-1) immobilized enzyme when the substrates were present in equimolar proportions at an initial concentration of 0.6 mol l(-1). The observed kinetic behavior of all the esterification reactions is found to follow a ping-pong bi-bi mechanism with competitive inhibition by both substrates. The effect of the chain-length of the fatty acids and the alcohols could be correlated to some mechanistic models, in accordance with the calculated kinetic parameters.

A general psychopathology factor in early adolescence.

PubMed

Patalay, Praveetha; Fonagy, Peter; Deighton, Jessica; Belsky, Jay; Vostanis, Panos; Wolpert, Miranda

2015-07-01

Recently, a general psychopathology dimension reflecting common aspects among disorders has been identified in adults. This has not yet been considered in children and adolescents, where the focus has been on externalising and internalising dimensions. To examine the existence, correlates and predictive value of a general psychopathology dimension in young people. Alternative factor models were estimated using self-reports of symptoms in a large community-based sample aged 11-13.5 years (N = 23 477), and resulting dimensions were assessed in terms of associations with external correlates and future functioning. Both a traditional two-factor model and a bi-factor model with a general psychopathology bi-factor fitted the data well. The general psychopathology bi-factor best predicted future psychopathology and academic attainment. Associations with correlates and factor loadings are discussed. A general psychopathology factor, which is equal across genders, can be identified in young people. Its associations with correlates and future functioning indicate that investigating this factor can increase our understanding of the aetiology, risk and correlates of psychopathology. © The Royal College of Psychiatrists 2015.

Predicting the Valence of a Scene from Observers’ Eye Movements

PubMed Central

R.-Tavakoli, Hamed; Atyabi, Adham; Rantanen, Antti; Laukka, Seppo J.; Nefti-Meziani, Samia; Heikkilä, Janne

2015-01-01

Multimedia analysis benefits from understanding the emotional content of a scene in a variety of tasks such as video genre classification and content-based image retrieval. Recently, there has been an increasing interest in applying human bio-signals, particularly eye movements, to recognize the emotional gist of a scene such as its valence. In order to determine the emotional category of images using eye movements, the existing methods often learn a classifier using several features that are extracted from eye movements. Although it has been shown that eye movement is potentially useful for recognition of scene valence, the contribution of each feature is not well-studied. To address the issue, we study the contribution of features extracted from eye movements in the classification of images into pleasant, neutral, and unpleasant categories. We assess ten features and their fusion. The features are histogram of saccade orientation, histogram of saccade slope, histogram of saccade length, histogram of saccade duration, histogram of saccade velocity, histogram of fixation duration, fixation histogram, top-ten salient coordinates, and saliency map. We utilize machine learning approach to analyze the performance of features by learning a support vector machine and exploiting various feature fusion schemes. The experiments reveal that ‘saliency map’, ‘fixation histogram’, ‘histogram of fixation duration’, and ‘histogram of saccade slope’ are the most contributing features. The selected features signify the influence of fixation information and angular behavior of eye movements in the recognition of the valence of images. PMID:26407322

Histogram analysis of T2*-based pharmacokinetic imaging in cerebral glioma grading.

PubMed

Liu, Hua-Shan; Chiang, Shih-Wei; Chung, Hsiao-Wen; Tsai, Ping-Huei; Hsu, Fei-Ting; Cho, Nai-Yu; Wang, Chao-Ying; Chou, Ming-Chung; Chen, Cheng-Yu

2018-03-01

To investigate the feasibility of histogram analysis of the T2*-based permeability parameter volume transfer constant (K trans ) for glioma grading and to explore the diagnostic performance of the histogram analysis of K trans and blood plasma volume (v p ). We recruited 31 and 11 patients with high- and low-grade gliomas, respectively. The histogram parameters of K trans and v p , derived from the first-pass pharmacokinetic modeling based on the T2* dynamic susceptibility-weighted contrast-enhanced perfusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (T2* DSC-PW-MRI) from the entire tumor volume, were evaluated for differentiating glioma grades. Histogram parameters of K trans and v p showed significant differences between high- and low-grade gliomas and exhibited significant correlations with tumor grades. The mean K trans derived from the T2* DSC-PW-MRI had the highest sensitivity and specificity for differentiating high-grade gliomas from low-grade gliomas compared with other histogram parameters of K trans and v p . Histogram analysis of T2*-based pharmacokinetic imaging is useful for cerebral glioma grading. The histogram parameters of the entire tumor K trans measurement can provide increased accuracy with additional information regarding microvascular permeability changes for identifying high-grade brain tumors. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Infrared image segmentation method based on spatial coherence histogram and maximum entropy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Songtao; Shen, Tongsheng; Dai, Yao

2014-11-01

In order to segment the target well and suppress background noises effectively, an infrared image segmentation method based on spatial coherence histogram and maximum entropy is proposed. First, spatial coherence histogram is presented by weighting the importance of the different position of these pixels with the same gray-level, which is obtained by computing their local density. Then, after enhancing the image by spatial coherence histogram, 1D maximum entropy method is used to segment the image. The novel method can not only get better segmentation results, but also have a faster computation time than traditional 2D histogram-based segmentation methods.

Automatic image equalization and contrast enhancement using Gaussian mixture modeling.

PubMed

Celik, Turgay; Tjahjadi, Tardi

2012-01-01

In this paper, we propose an adaptive image equalization algorithm that automatically enhances the contrast in an input image. The algorithm uses the Gaussian mixture model to model the image gray-level distribution, and the intersection points of the Gaussian components in the model are used to partition the dynamic range of the image into input gray-level intervals. The contrast equalized image is generated by transforming the pixels' gray levels in each input interval to the appropriate output gray-level interval according to the dominant Gaussian component and the cumulative distribution function of the input interval. To take account of the hypothesis that homogeneous regions in the image represent homogeneous silences (or set of Gaussian components) in the image histogram, the Gaussian components with small variances are weighted with smaller values than the Gaussian components with larger variances, and the gray-level distribution is also used to weight the components in the mapping of the input interval to the output interval. Experimental results show that the proposed algorithm produces better or comparable enhanced images than several state-of-the-art algorithms. Unlike the other algorithms, the proposed algorithm is free of parameter setting for a given dynamic range of the enhanced image and can be applied to a wide range of image types.

The Amazing Histogram.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vandermeulen, H.; DeWreede, R. E.

1983-01-01

Presents a histogram drawing program which sorts real numbers in up to 30 categories. Entered data are sorted and saved in a text file which is then used to generate the histogram. Complete Applesoft program listings are included. (JN)

Bin recycling strategy for improving the histogram precision on GPU

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cárdenas-Montes, Miguel; Rodríguez-Vázquez, Juan José; Vega-Rodríguez, Miguel A.

2016-07-01

Histogram is an easily comprehensible way to present data and analyses. In the current scientific context with access to large volumes of data, the processing time for building histogram has dramatically increased. For this reason, parallel construction is necessary to alleviate the impact of the processing time in the analysis activities. In this scenario, GPU computing is becoming widely used for reducing until affordable levels the processing time of histogram construction. Associated to the increment of the processing time, the implementations are stressed on the bin-count accuracy. Accuracy aspects due to the particularities of the implementations are not usually taken into consideration when building histogram with very large data sets. In this work, a bin recycling strategy to create an accuracy-aware implementation for building histogram on GPU is presented. In order to evaluate the approach, this strategy was applied to the computation of the three-point angular correlation function, which is a relevant function in Cosmology for the study of the Large Scale Structure of Universe. As a consequence of the study a high-accuracy implementation for histogram construction on GPU is proposed.

Comparative trial of the WHO ASSIST-linked brief intervention and simple advice for substance abuse in primary care.

PubMed

Assanangkornchai, Sawitri; Nima, Patimoh; McNeil, Edward B; Edwards, J Guy

2015-12-01

To help decrease the burden of substance-related problems, the World Health Organization developed the Alcohol, Smoking, Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST) - a sensitive screening questionnaire to help identify misuse of alcohol and other substances - linked to Brief Intervention (BI). This paper compares the effectiveness of the ASSIST followed either by its linked BI or by simple advice (SA). The trial was conducted in southern Thailand. The ASSIST was used to screen patients attending primary care units and categorise them into 'low-risk', 'moderate-risk' and 'high-risk' groups. Patients at 'moderate-risk' were randomised to receive ASSIST-linked BI (n=120) or SA (n=116). The outcome measures were changes in the ASSIST-Specific Substance Involvement Scores (ASSIST-SSIS), ASSIST-Total Substance Involvement Scores (ASSIST-TSIS) and proportions of patients whose scores at three and six months had decreased from the 'moderate-risk' to 'low-risk' category. 147 patients (72 BI; 75 SA) completed the six-month trial. There were significant reductions in both ASSIST-SSIS and ASSIST-TSIS, with no significant difference between groups. The percentages of patients converted to the 'low-risk' category were 36.7% and 38.8% at month 3, and 53.3% and 53.4% at month 6, for the BI and SA groups, respectively. In conclusion, in primary care administering the ASSIST and telling patients their score, followed either by formal brief intervention or simple advice, are equally effective in decreasing substance use for up to six months. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

SU-E-J-16: Automatic Image Contrast Enhancement Based On Automatic Parameter Optimization for Radiation Therapy Setup Verification

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

Qiu, J; Washington University in St Louis, St Louis, MO; Li, H. Harlod

Purpose: In RT patient setup 2D images, tissues often cannot be seen well due to the lack of image contrast. Contrast enhancement features provided by image reviewing software, e.g. Mosaiq and ARIA, require manual selection of the image processing filters and parameters thus inefficient and cannot be automated. In this work, we developed a novel method to automatically enhance the 2D RT image contrast to allow automatic verification of patient daily setups as a prerequisite step of automatic patient safety assurance. Methods: The new method is based on contrast limited adaptive histogram equalization (CLAHE) and high-pass filtering algorithms. The mostmore » important innovation is to automatically select the optimal parameters by optimizing the image contrast. The image processing procedure includes the following steps: 1) background and noise removal, 2) hi-pass filtering by subtracting the Gaussian smoothed Result, and 3) histogram equalization using CLAHE algorithm. Three parameters were determined through an iterative optimization which was based on the interior-point constrained optimization algorithm: the Gaussian smoothing weighting factor, the CLAHE algorithm block size and clip limiting parameters. The goal of the optimization is to maximize the entropy of the processed Result. Results: A total 42 RT images were processed. The results were visually evaluated by RT physicians and physicists. About 48% of the images processed by the new method were ranked as excellent. In comparison, only 29% and 18% of the images processed by the basic CLAHE algorithm and by the basic window level adjustment process, were ranked as excellent. Conclusion: This new image contrast enhancement method is robust and automatic, and is able to significantly outperform the basic CLAHE algorithm and the manual window-level adjustment process that are currently used in clinical 2D image review software tools.« less

AHIMSA - Ad hoc histogram information measure sensing algorithm for feature selection in the context of histogram inspired clustering techniques

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dasarathy, B. V.

1976-01-01

An algorithm is proposed for dimensionality reduction in the context of clustering techniques based on histogram analysis. The approach is based on an evaluation of the hills and valleys in the unidimensional histograms along the different features and provides an economical means of assessing the significance of the features in a nonparametric unsupervised data environment. The method has relevance to remote sensing applications.

Clinical Utility of Blood Cell Histogram Interpretation

PubMed Central

Bhagya, S.; Majeed, Abdul

2017-01-01

An automated haematology analyser provides blood cell histograms by plotting the sizes of different blood cells on X-axis and their relative number on Y-axis. Histogram interpretation needs careful analysis of Red Blood Cell (RBC), White Blood Cell (WBC) and platelet distribution curves. Histogram analysis is often a neglected part of the automated haemogram which if interpreted well, has significant potential to provide diagnostically relevant information even before higher level investigations are ordered. PMID:29207767

Clinical Utility of Blood Cell Histogram Interpretation.

PubMed

Thomas, E T Arun; Bhagya, S; Majeed, Abdul

2017-09-01

An automated haematology analyser provides blood cell histograms by plotting the sizes of different blood cells on X-axis and their relative number on Y-axis. Histogram interpretation needs careful analysis of Red Blood Cell (RBC), White Blood Cell (WBC) and platelet distribution curves. Histogram analysis is often a neglected part of the automated haemogram which if interpreted well, has significant potential to provide diagnostically relevant information even before higher level investigations are ordered.

Potential of MR histogram analyses for prediction of response to chemotherapy in patients with colorectal hepatic metastases.

PubMed

Liang, He-Yue; Huang, Ya-Qin; Yang, Zhao-Xia; Ying-Ding; Zeng, Meng-Su; Rao, Sheng-Xiang

2016-07-01

To determine if magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) histogram analyses can help predict response to chemotherapy in patients with colorectal hepatic metastases by using response evaluation criteria in solid tumours (RECIST1.1) as the reference standard. Standard MRI including diffusion-weighted imaging (b=0, 500 s/mm(2)) was performed before chemotherapy in 53 patients with colorectal hepatic metastases. Histograms were performed for apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) maps, arterial, and portal venous phase images; thereafter, mean, percentiles (1st, 10th, 50th, 90th, 99th), skewness, kurtosis, and variance were generated. Quantitative histogram parameters were compared between responders (partial and complete response, n=15) and non-responders (progressive and stable disease, n=38). Receiver operator characteristics (ROC) analyses were further analyzed for the significant parameters. The mean, 1st percentile, 10th percentile, 50th percentile, 90th percentile, 99th percentile of the ADC maps were significantly lower in responding group than that in non-responding group (p=0.000-0.002) with area under the ROC curve (AUCs) of 0.76-0.82. The histogram parameters of arterial and portal venous phase showed no significant difference (p>0.05) between the two groups. Histogram-derived parameters for ADC maps seem to be a promising tool for predicting response to chemotherapy in patients with colorectal hepatic metastases. • ADC histogram analyses can potentially predict chemotherapy response in colorectal liver metastases. • Lower histogram-derived parameters (mean, percentiles) for ADC tend to have good response. • MR enhancement histogram analyses are not reliable to predict response.

Using histograms to introduce randomization in the generation of ensembles of decision trees

DOEpatents

Kamath, Chandrika; Cantu-Paz, Erick; Littau, David

2005-02-22

A system for decision tree ensembles that includes a module to read the data, a module to create a histogram, a module to evaluate a potential split according to some criterion using the histogram, a module to select a split point randomly in an interval around the best split, a module to split the data, and a module to combine multiple decision trees in ensembles. The decision tree method includes the steps of reading the data; creating a histogram; evaluating a potential split according to some criterion using the histogram, selecting a split point randomly in an interval around the best split, splitting the data, and combining multiple decision trees in ensembles.

Histogram based analysis of lung perfusion of children after congenital diaphragmatic hernia repair.

PubMed

Kassner, Nora; Weis, Meike; Zahn, Katrin; Schaible, Thomas; Schoenberg, Stefan O; Schad, Lothar R; Zöllner, Frank G

2018-05-01

To investigate a histogram based approach to characterize the distribution of perfusion in the whole left and right lung by descriptive statistics and to show how histograms could be used to visually explore perfusion defects in two year old children after Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia (CDH) repair. 28 children (age of 24.2±1.7months; all left sided hernia; 9 after extracorporeal membrane oxygenation therapy) underwent quantitative DCE-MRI of the lung. Segmentations of left and right lung were manually drawn to mask the calculated pulmonary blood flow maps and then to derive histograms for each lung side. Individual and group wise analysis of histograms of left and right lung was performed. Ipsilateral and contralateral lung show significant difference in shape and descriptive statistics derived from the histogram (Wilcoxon signed-rank test, p<0.05) on group wise and individual level. Subgroup analysis (patients with vs without ECMO therapy) showed no significant differences using histogram derived parameters. Histogram analysis can be a valuable tool to characterize and visualize whole lung perfusion of children after CDH repair. It allows for several possibilities to analyze the data, either describing the perfusion differences between the right and left lung but also to explore and visualize localized perfusion patterns in the 3D lung volume. Subgroup analysis will be possible given sufficient sample sizes. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Using the Bootstrap Method for a Statistical Significance Test of Differences between Summary Histograms

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Xu, Kuan-Man

2006-01-01

A new method is proposed to compare statistical differences between summary histograms, which are the histograms summed over a large ensemble of individual histograms. It consists of choosing a distance statistic for measuring the difference between summary histograms and using a bootstrap procedure to calculate the statistical significance level. Bootstrapping is an approach to statistical inference that makes few assumptions about the underlying probability distribution that describes the data. Three distance statistics are compared in this study. They are the Euclidean distance, the Jeffries-Matusita distance and the Kuiper distance. The data used in testing the bootstrap method are satellite measurements of cloud systems called cloud objects. Each cloud object is defined as a contiguous region/patch composed of individual footprints or fields of view. A histogram of measured values over footprints is generated for each parameter of each cloud object and then summary histograms are accumulated over all individual histograms in a given cloud-object size category. The results of statistical hypothesis tests using all three distances as test statistics are generally similar, indicating the validity of the proposed method. The Euclidean distance is determined to be most suitable after comparing the statistical tests of several parameters with distinct probability distributions among three cloud-object size categories. Impacts on the statistical significance levels resulting from differences in the total lengths of satellite footprint data between two size categories are also discussed.

Generalized image contrast enhancement technique based on the Heinemann contrast discrimination model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Hong; Nodine, Calvin F.

1996-07-01

This paper presents a generalized image contrast enhancement technique, which equalizes the perceived brightness distribution based on the Heinemann contrast discrimination model. It is based on the mathematically proven existence of a unique solution to a nonlinear equation, and is formulated with easily tunable parameters. The model uses a two-step log-log representation of luminance contrast between targets and surround in a luminous background setting. The algorithm consists of two nonlinear gray scale mapping functions that have seven parameters, two of which are adjustable Heinemann constants. Another parameter is the background gray level. The remaining four parameters are nonlinear functions of the gray-level distribution of the given image, and can be uniquely determined once the previous three are set. Tests have been carried out to demonstrate the effectiveness of the algorithm for increasing the overall contrast of radiology images. The traditional histogram equalization can be reinterpreted as an image enhancement technique based on the knowledge of human contrast perception. In fact, it is a special case of the proposed algorithm.

Cost-effective forensic image enhancement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dalrymple, Brian E.

1998-12-01

In 1977, a paper was presented at the SPIE conference in Reston, Virginia, detailing the computer enhancement of the Zapruder film. The forensic value of this examination in a major homicide investigation was apparent to the viewer. Equally clear was the potential for extracting evidence which is beyond the reach of conventional detection techniques. The cost of this technology in 1976, however, was prohibitive, and well beyond the means of most police agencies. Twenty-two years later, a highly efficient means of image enhancement is easily within the grasp of most police agencies, not only for homicides but for any case application. A PC workstation combined with an enhancement software package allows a forensic investigator to fully exploit digital technology. The goal of this approach is the optimization of the signal to noise ratio in images. Obstructive backgrounds may be diminished or eliminated while weak signals are optimized by the use of algorithms including Fast Fourier Transform, Histogram Equalization and Image Subtraction. An added benefit is the speed with which these processes are completed and the results known. The efficacy of forensic image enhancement is illustrated through case applications.

Low-level image properties in facial expressions.

PubMed

Menzel, Claudia; Redies, Christoph; Hayn-Leichsenring, Gregor U

2018-06-04

We studied low-level image properties of face photographs and analyzed whether they change with different emotional expressions displayed by an individual. Differences in image properties were measured in three databases that depicted a total of 167 individuals. Face images were used either in their original form, cut to a standard format or superimposed with a mask. Image properties analyzed were: brightness, redness, yellowness, contrast, spectral slope, overall power and relative power in low, medium and high spatial frequencies. Results showed that image properties differed significantly between expressions within each individual image set. Further, specific facial expressions corresponded to patterns of image properties that were consistent across all three databases. In order to experimentally validate our findings, we equalized the luminance histograms and spectral slopes of three images from a given individual who showed two expressions. Participants were significantly slower in matching the expression in an equalized compared to an original image triad. Thus, existing differences in these image properties (i.e., spectral slope, brightness or contrast) facilitate emotion detection in particular sets of face images. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.

FPGA based charge fast histogramming for GEM detector

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Poźniak, Krzysztof T.; Byszuk, A.; Chernyshova, M.; Cieszewski, R.; Czarski, T.; Dominik, W.; Jakubowska, K.; Kasprowicz, G.; Rzadkiewicz, J.; Scholz, M.; Zabolotny, W.

2013-10-01

This article presents a fast charge histogramming method for the position sensitive X-ray GEM detector. The energy resolved measurements are carried out simultaneously for 256 channels of the GEM detector. The whole process of histogramming is performed in 21 FPGA chips (Spartan-6 series from Xilinx) . The results of the histogramming process are stored in an external DDR3 memory. The structure of an electronic measuring equipment and a firmware functionality implemented in the FPGAs is described. Examples of test measurements are presented.

Local dynamic range compensation for scanning electron microscope imaging system.

PubMed

Sim, K S; Huang, Y H

2015-01-01

This is the extended project by introducing the modified dynamic range histogram modification (MDRHM) and is presented in this paper. This technique is used to enhance the scanning electron microscope (SEM) imaging system. By comparing with the conventional histogram modification compensators, this technique utilizes histogram profiling by extending the dynamic range of each tile of an image to the limit of 0-255 range while retains its histogram shape. The proposed technique yields better image compensation compared to conventional methods. © Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

FEM: Feature-enhanced map

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

Afonine, Pavel V.; Moriarty, Nigel W.; Mustyakimov, Marat

A method is presented that modifies a 2 m F obs- D F modelσ A-weighted map such that the resulting map can strengthen a weak signal, if present, and can reduce model bias and noise. The method consists of first randomizing the starting map and filling in missing reflections using multiple methods. This is followed by restricting the map to regions with convincing density and the application of sharpening. The final map is then created by combining a series of histogram-equalized intermediate maps. In the test cases shown, the maps produced in this way are found to have increased interpretabilitymore » and decreased model bias compared with the starting 2 m F obs- D F modelσ A-weighted map.« less

A cost-effective line-based light-balancing technique using adaptive processing.

PubMed

Hsia, Shih-Chang; Chen, Ming-Huei; Chen, Yu-Min

2006-09-01

The camera imaging system has been widely used; however, the displaying image appears to have an unequal light distribution. This paper presents novel light-balancing techniques to compensate uneven illumination based on adaptive signal processing. For text image processing, first, we estimate the background level and then process each pixel with nonuniform gain. This algorithm can balance the light distribution while keeping a high contrast in the image. For graph image processing, the adaptive section control using piecewise nonlinear gain is proposed to equalize the histogram. Simulations show that the performance of light balance is better than the other methods. Moreover, we employ line-based processing to efficiently reduce the memory requirement and the computational cost to make it applicable in real-time systems.

Recovery of Background Structures in Nanoscale Helium Ion Microscope Imaging.

PubMed

Carasso, Alfred S; Vladár, András E

2014-01-01

This paper discusses a two step enhancement technique applicable to noisy Helium Ion Microscope images in which background structures are not easily discernible due to a weak signal. The method is based on a preliminary adaptive histogram equalization, followed by 'slow motion' low-exponent Lévy fractional diffusion smoothing. This combined approach is unexpectedly effective, resulting in a companion enhanced image in which background structures are rendered much more visible, and noise is significantly reduced, all with minimal loss of image sharpness. The method also provides useful enhancements of scanning charged-particle microscopy images obtained by composing multiple drift-corrected 'fast scan' frames. The paper includes software routines, written in Interactive Data Language (IDL),(1) that can perform the above image processing tasks.

FEM: feature-enhanced map

PubMed Central

Afonine, Pavel V.; Moriarty, Nigel W.; Mustyakimov, Marat; Sobolev, Oleg V.; Terwilliger, Thomas C.; Turk, Dusan; Urzhumtsev, Alexandre; Adams, Paul D.

2015-01-01

A method is presented that modifies a 2m F obs − D F model σA-weighted map such that the resulting map can strengthen a weak signal, if present, and can reduce model bias and noise. The method consists of first randomizing the starting map and filling in missing reflections using multiple methods. This is followed by restricting the map to regions with convincing density and the application of sharpening. The final map is then created by combining a series of histogram-equalized intermediate maps. In the test cases shown, the maps produced in this way are found to have increased interpretability and decreased model bias compared with the starting 2m F obs − D F model σA-weighted map. PMID:25760612

FEM: Feature-enhanced map

DOE PAGES

Afonine, Pavel V.; Moriarty, Nigel W.; Mustyakimov, Marat; ...

2015-02-26

A method is presented that modifies a 2 m F obs- D F modelσ A-weighted map such that the resulting map can strengthen a weak signal, if present, and can reduce model bias and noise. The method consists of first randomizing the starting map and filling in missing reflections using multiple methods. This is followed by restricting the map to regions with convincing density and the application of sharpening. The final map is then created by combining a series of histogram-equalized intermediate maps. In the test cases shown, the maps produced in this way are found to have increased interpretabilitymore » and decreased model bias compared with the starting 2 m F obs- D F modelσ A-weighted map.« less

A natural-color mapping for single-band night-time image based on FPGA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Yilun; Qian, Yunsheng

2018-01-01

A natural-color mapping for single-band night-time image method based on FPGA can transmit the color of the reference image to single-band night-time image, which is consistent with human visual habits and can help observers identify the target. This paper introduces the processing of the natural-color mapping algorithm based on FPGA. Firstly, the image can be transformed based on histogram equalization, and the intensity features and standard deviation features of reference image are stored in SRAM. Then, the real-time digital images' intensity features and standard deviation features are calculated by FPGA. At last, FPGA completes the color mapping through matching pixels between images using the features in luminance channel.

Whole-lesion apparent diffusion coefficient histogram analysis: significance in T and N staging of gastric cancers.

PubMed

Liu, Song; Zhang, Yujuan; Chen, Ling; Guan, Wenxian; Guan, Yue; Ge, Yun; He, Jian; Zhou, Zhengyang

2017-10-02

Whole-lesion apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) histogram analysis has been introduced and proved effective in assessment of multiple tumors. However, the application of whole-volume ADC histogram analysis in gastrointestinal tumors has just started and never been reported in T and N staging of gastric cancers. Eighty patients with pathologically confirmed gastric carcinomas underwent diffusion weighted (DW) magnetic resonance imaging before surgery prospectively. Whole-lesion ADC histogram analysis was performed by two radiologists independently. The differences of ADC histogram parameters among different T and N stages were compared with independent-samples Kruskal-Wallis test. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was performed to evaluate the performance of ADC histogram parameters in differentiating particular T or N stages of gastric cancers. There were significant differences of all the ADC histogram parameters for gastric cancers at different T (except ADC min and ADC max ) and N (except ADC max ) stages. Most ADC histogram parameters differed significantly between T1 vs T3, T1 vs T4, T2 vs T4, N0 vs N1, N0 vs N3, and some parameters (ADC 5% , ADC 10% , ADC min ) differed significantly between N0 vs N2, N2 vs N3 (all P < 0.05). Most parameters except ADC max performed well in differentiating different T and N stages of gastric cancers. Especially for identifying patients with and without lymph node metastasis, the ADC 10% yielded the largest area under the ROC curve of 0.794 (95% confidence interval, 0.677-0.911). All the parameters except ADC max showed excellent inter-observer agreement with intra-class correlation coefficients higher than 0.800. Whole-volume ADC histogram parameters held great potential in differentiating different T and N stages of gastric cancers preoperatively.

Histogram Profiling of Postcontrast T1-Weighted MRI Gives Valuable Insights into Tumor Biology and Enables Prediction of Growth Kinetics and Prognosis in Meningiomas.

PubMed

Gihr, Georg Alexander; Horvath-Rizea, Diana; Kohlhof-Meinecke, Patricia; Ganslandt, Oliver; Henkes, Hans; Richter, Cindy; Hoffmann, Karl-Titus; Surov, Alexey; Schob, Stefan

2018-06-14

Meningiomas are the most frequently diagnosed intracranial masses, oftentimes requiring surgery. Especially procedure-related morbidity can be substantial, particularly in elderly patients. Hence, reliable imaging modalities enabling pretherapeutic prediction of tumor grade, growth kinetic, realistic prognosis, and-as a consequence-necessity of surgery are of great value. In this context, a promising diagnostic approach is advanced analysis of magnetic resonance imaging data. Therefore, our study investigated whether histogram profiling of routinely acquired postcontrast T1-weighted images is capable of separating low-grade from high-grade lesions and whether histogram parameters reflect Ki-67 expression in meningiomas. Pretreatment T1-weighted postcontrast volumes of 44 meningioma patients were used for signal intensity histogram profiling. WHO grade, tumor volume, and Ki-67 expression were evaluated. Comparative and correlative statistics investigating the association between histogram profile parameters and neuropathology were performed. None of the investigated histogram parameters revealed significant differences between low-grade and high-grade meningiomas. However, significant correlations were identified between Ki-67 and the histogram parameters skewness and entropy as well as between entropy and tumor volume. Contrary to previously reported findings, pretherapeutic postcontrast T1-weighted images can be used to predict growth kinetics in meningiomas if whole tumor histogram analysis is employed. However, no differences between distinct WHO grades were identifiable in out cohort. As a consequence, histogram analysis of postcontrast T1-weighted images is a promising approach to obtain quantitative in vivo biomarkers reflecting the proliferative potential in meningiomas. Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Dose-volume histogram prediction using density estimation.

PubMed

Skarpman Munter, Johanna; Sjölund, Jens

2015-09-07

Knowledge of what dose-volume histograms can be expected for a previously unseen patient could increase consistency and quality in radiotherapy treatment planning. We propose a machine learning method that uses previous treatment plans to predict such dose-volume histograms. The key to the approach is the framing of dose-volume histograms in a probabilistic setting.The training consists of estimating, from the patients in the training set, the joint probability distribution of some predictive features and the dose. The joint distribution immediately provides an estimate of the conditional probability of the dose given the values of the predictive features. The prediction consists of estimating, from the new patient, the distribution of the predictive features and marginalizing the conditional probability from the training over this. Integrating the resulting probability distribution for the dose yields an estimate of the dose-volume histogram.To illustrate how the proposed method relates to previously proposed methods, we use the signed distance to the target boundary as a single predictive feature. As a proof-of-concept, we predicted dose-volume histograms for the brainstems of 22 acoustic schwannoma patients treated with stereotactic radiosurgery, and for the lungs of 9 lung cancer patients treated with stereotactic body radiation therapy. Comparing with two previous attempts at dose-volume histogram prediction we find that, given the same input data, the predictions are similar.In summary, we propose a method for dose-volume histogram prediction that exploits the intrinsic probabilistic properties of dose-volume histograms. We argue that the proposed method makes up for some deficiencies in previously proposed methods, thereby potentially increasing ease of use, flexibility and ability to perform well with small amounts of training data.

Structure Size Enhanced Histogram

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wesarg, Stefan; Kirschner, Matthias

Direct volume visualization requires the definition of transfer functions (TFs) for the assignment of opacity and color. Multi-dimensional TFs are based on at least two image properties, and are specified by means of 2D histograms. In this work we propose a new type of a 2D histogram which combines gray value with information about the size of the structures. This structure size enhanced (SSE) histogram is an intuitive approach for representing anatomical features. Clinicians — the users we are focusing on — are much more familiar with selecting features by their size than by their gradient magnitude value. As a proof of concept, we employ the SSE histogram for the definition of two-dimensional TFs for the visualization of 3D MRI and CT image data.

Face recognition algorithm using extended vector quantization histogram features.

PubMed

Yan, Yan; Lee, Feifei; Wu, Xueqian; Chen, Qiu

2018-01-01

In this paper, we propose a face recognition algorithm based on a combination of vector quantization (VQ) and Markov stationary features (MSF). The VQ algorithm has been shown to be an effective method for generating features; it extracts a codevector histogram as a facial feature representation for face recognition. Still, the VQ histogram features are unable to convey spatial structural information, which to some extent limits their usefulness in discrimination. To alleviate this limitation of VQ histograms, we utilize Markov stationary features (MSF) to extend the VQ histogram-based features so as to add spatial structural information. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed algorithm by achieving recognition results superior to those of several state-of-the-art methods on publicly available face databases.

Ultrasonic histogram assessment of early response to concurrent chemo-radiotherapy in patients with locally advanced cervical cancer: a feasibility study.

PubMed

Xu, Yan; Ru, Tong; Zhu, Lijing; Liu, Baorui; Wang, Huanhuan; Zhu, Li; He, Jian; Liu, Song; Zhou, Zhengyang; Yang, Xiaofeng

To monitor early response for locally advanced cervical cancers undergoing concurrent chemo-radiotherapy (CCRT) by ultrasonic histogram. B-mode ultrasound examinations were performed at 4 time points in thirty-four patients during CCRT. Six ultrasonic histogram parameters were used to assess the echogenicity, homogeneity and heterogeneity of tumors. I peak increased rapidly since the first week after therapy initiation, whereas W low , W high and A high changed significantly at the second week. The average ultrasonic histogram progressively moved toward the right and converted into more symmetrical shape. Ultrasonic histogram could be served as a potential marker to monitor early response during CCRT. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Face verification system for Android mobile devices using histogram based features

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sato, Sho; Kobayashi, Kazuhiro; Chen, Qiu

2016-07-01

This paper proposes a face verification system that runs on Android mobile devices. In this system, facial image is captured by a built-in camera on the Android device firstly, and then face detection is implemented using Haar-like features and AdaBoost learning algorithm. The proposed system verify the detected face using histogram based features, which are generated by binary Vector Quantization (VQ) histogram using DCT coefficients in low frequency domains, as well as Improved Local Binary Pattern (Improved LBP) histogram in spatial domain. Verification results with different type of histogram based features are first obtained separately and then combined by weighted averaging. We evaluate our proposed algorithm by using publicly available ORL database and facial images captured by an Android tablet.

Automated Segmentation of Light-Sheet Fluorescent Imaging to Characterize Experimental Doxorubicin-Induced Cardiac Injury and Repair.

PubMed

Packard, René R Sevag; Baek, Kyung In; Beebe, Tyler; Jen, Nelson; Ding, Yichen; Shi, Feng; Fei, Peng; Kang, Bong Jin; Chen, Po-Heng; Gau, Jonathan; Chen, Michael; Tang, Jonathan Y; Shih, Yu-Huan; Ding, Yonghe; Li, Debiao; Xu, Xiaolei; Hsiai, Tzung K

2017-08-17

This study sought to develop an automated segmentation approach based on histogram analysis of raw axial images acquired by light-sheet fluorescent imaging (LSFI) to establish rapid reconstruction of the 3-D zebrafish cardiac architecture in response to doxorubicin-induced injury and repair. Input images underwent a 4-step automated image segmentation process consisting of stationary noise removal, histogram equalization, adaptive thresholding, and image fusion followed by 3-D reconstruction. We applied this method to 3-month old zebrafish injected intraperitoneally with doxorubicin followed by LSFI at 3, 30, and 60 days post-injection. We observed an initial decrease in myocardial and endocardial cavity volumes at day 3, followed by ventricular remodeling at day 30, and recovery at day 60 (P < 0.05, n = 7-19). Doxorubicin-injected fish developed ventricular diastolic dysfunction and worsening global cardiac function evidenced by elevated E/A ratios and myocardial performance indexes quantified by pulsed-wave Doppler ultrasound at day 30, followed by normalization at day 60 (P < 0.05, n = 9-20). Treatment with the γ-secretase inhibitor, DAPT, to inhibit cleavage and release of Notch Intracellular Domain (NICD) blocked cardiac architectural regeneration and restoration of ventricular function at day 60 (P < 0.05, n = 6-14). Our approach provides a high-throughput model with translational implications for drug discovery and genetic modifiers of chemotherapy-induced cardiomyopathy.

Histogram Curve Matching Approaches for Object-based Image Classification of Land Cover and Land Use

PubMed Central

Toure, Sory I.; Stow, Douglas A.; Weeks, John R.; Kumar, Sunil

2013-01-01

The classification of image-objects is usually done using parametric statistical measures of central tendency and/or dispersion (e.g., mean or standard deviation). The objectives of this study were to analyze digital number histograms of image objects and evaluate classifications measures exploiting characteristic signatures of such histograms. Two histograms matching classifiers were evaluated and compared to the standard nearest neighbor to mean classifier. An ADS40 airborne multispectral image of San Diego, California was used for assessing the utility of curve matching classifiers in a geographic object-based image analysis (GEOBIA) approach. The classifications were performed with data sets having 0.5 m, 2.5 m, and 5 m spatial resolutions. Results show that histograms are reliable features for characterizing classes. Also, both histogram matching classifiers consistently performed better than the one based on the standard nearest neighbor to mean rule. The highest classification accuracies were produced with images having 2.5 m spatial resolution. PMID:24403648

Histogram and gray level co-occurrence matrix on gray-scale ultrasound images for diagnosing lymphocytic thyroiditis.

PubMed

Shin, Young Gyung; Yoo, Jaeheung; Kwon, Hyeong Ju; Hong, Jung Hwa; Lee, Hye Sun; Yoon, Jung Hyun; Kim, Eun-Kyung; Moon, Hee Jung; Han, Kyunghwa; Kwak, Jin Young

2016-08-01

The objective of the study was to evaluate whether texture analysis using histogram and gray level co-occurrence matrix (GLCM) parameters can help clinicians diagnose lymphocytic thyroiditis (LT) and differentiate LT according to pathologic grade. The background thyroid pathology of 441 patients was classified into no evidence of LT, chronic LT (CLT), and Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT). Histogram and GLCM parameters were extracted from the regions of interest on ultrasound. The diagnostic performances of the parameters for diagnosing and differentiating LT were calculated. Of the histogram and GLCM parameters, the mean on histogram had the highest Az (0.63) and VUS (0.303). As the degrees of LT increased, the mean decreased and the standard deviation and entropy increased. The mean on histogram from gray-scale ultrasound showed the best diagnostic performance as a single parameter in differentiating LT according to pathologic grade as well as in diagnosing LT. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Whole-Lesion Histogram Analysis of Apparent Diffusion Coefficient for the Assessment of Cervical Cancer.

PubMed

Guan, Yue; Shi, Hua; Chen, Ying; Liu, Song; Li, Weifeng; Jiang, Zhuoran; Wang, Huanhuan; He, Jian; Zhou, Zhengyang; Ge, Yun

2016-01-01

The aim of this study was to explore the application of whole-lesion histogram analysis of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values of cervical cancer. A total of 54 women (mean age, 53 years) with cervical cancers underwent 3-T diffusion-weighted imaging with b values of 0 and 800 s/mm prospectively. Whole-lesion histogram analysis of ADC values was performed. Paired sample t test was used to compare differences in ADC histogram parameters between cervical cancers and normal cervical tissues. Receiver operating characteristic curves were constructed to identify the optimal threshold of each parameter. All histogram parameters in this study including ADCmean, ADCmin, ADC10%-ADC90%, mode, skewness, and kurtosis of cervical cancers were significantly lower than those of normal cervical tissues (all P < 0.0001). ADC90% had the largest area under receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.996. Whole-lesion histogram analysis of ADC maps is useful in the assessment of cervical cancer.

Time-cumulated visible and infrared radiance histograms used as descriptors of surface and cloud variations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Seze, Genevieve; Rossow, William B.

1991-01-01

The spatial and temporal stability of the distributions of satellite-measured visible and infrared radiances, caused by variations in clouds and surfaces, are investigated using bidimensional and monodimensional histograms and time-composite images. Similar analysis of the histograms of the original and time-composite images provides separation of the contributions of the space and time variations to the total variations. The variability of both the surfaces and clouds is found to be larger at scales much larger than the minimum resolved by satellite imagery. This study shows that the shapes of these histograms are distinctive characteristics of the different climate regimes and that particular attributes of these histograms can be related to several general, though not universal, properties of clouds and surface variations at regional and synoptic scales. There are also significant exceptions to these relationships in particular climate regimes. The characteristics of these radiance histograms provide a stable well defined descriptor of the cloud and surface properties.

Apparent diffusion coefficient histogram shape analysis for monitoring early response in patients with advanced cervical cancers undergoing concurrent chemo-radiotherapy.

PubMed

Meng, Jie; Zhu, Lijing; Zhu, Li; Wang, Huanhuan; Liu, Song; Yan, Jing; Liu, Baorui; Guan, Yue; Ge, Yun; He, Jian; Zhou, Zhengyang; Yang, Xiaofeng

2016-10-22

To explore the role of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) histogram shape related parameters in early assessment of treatment response during the concurrent chemo-radiotherapy (CCRT) course of advanced cervical cancers. This prospective study was approved by the local ethics committee and informed consent was obtained from all patients. Thirty-two patients with advanced cervical squamous cell carcinomas underwent diffusion weighted magnetic resonance imaging (b values, 0 and 800 s/mm 2 ) before CCRT, at the end of 2nd and 4th week during CCRT and immediately after CCRT completion. Whole lesion ADC histogram analysis generated several histogram shape related parameters including skewness, kurtosis, s-sD av , width, standard deviation, as well as first-order entropy and second-order entropies. The averaged ADC histograms of 32 patients were generated to visually observe dynamic changes of the histogram shape following CCRT. All parameters except width and standard deviation showed significant changes during CCRT (all P < 0.05), and their variation trends fell into four different patterns. Skewness and kurtosis both showed high early decline rate (43.10 %, 48.29 %) at the end of 2nd week of CCRT. All entropies kept decreasing significantly since 2 weeks after CCRT initiated. The shape of averaged ADC histogram also changed obviously following CCRT. ADC histogram shape analysis held the potential in monitoring early tumor response in patients with advanced cervical cancers undergoing CCRT.

[Clinical application of MRI histogram in evaluation of muscle fatty infiltration].

PubMed

Zheng, Y M; Du, J; Li, W Z; Wang, Z X; Zhang, W; Xiao, J X; Yuan, Y

2016-10-18

To describe a method based on analysis of the histogram of intensity values produced from the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for quantifying the degree of fatty infiltration. The study included 25 patients with dystrophinopathy. All the subjects underwent muscle MRI test at thigh level. The histogram M values of 250 muscles adjusted for subcutaneous fat, representing the degree of fatty infiltration, were compared with the expert visual reading using the modified Mercuri scale. There was a significant positive correlation between the histogram M values and the scores of visual reading (r=0.854, P<0.001). The distinct pattern of muscle involvement detected in the patients with dystrophinopathy in our study of histogram M values was similar to that of visual reading and results in literature. The histogram M values had stronger correlations with the clinical data than the scores of visual reading as follows: the correlations with age (r=0.730, P<0.001) and (r=0.753, P<0.001); with strength of knee extensor (r=-0.468, P=0.024) and (r=-0.460, P=0.027) respectively. Meanwhile, the histogram M values analysis had better repeatability than visual reading with the interclass correlation coefficient was 0.998 (95% CI: 0.997-0.998, P<0.001) and 0.958 (95% CI: 0.946-0.967, P<0.001) respectively. Histogram M values analysis of MRI with the advantages of repeatability and objectivity can be used to evaluate the degree of muscle fatty infiltration.

Dissimilarity representations in lung parenchyma classification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sørensen, Lauge; de Bruijne, Marleen

2009-02-01

A good problem representation is important for a pattern recognition system to be successful. The traditional approach to statistical pattern recognition is feature representation. More specifically, objects are represented by a number of features in a feature vector space, and classifiers are built in this representation. This is also the general trend in lung parenchyma classification in computed tomography (CT) images, where the features often are measures on feature histograms. Instead, we propose to build normal density based classifiers in dissimilarity representations for lung parenchyma classification. This allows for the classifiers to work on dissimilarities between objects, which might be a more natural way of representing lung parenchyma. In this context, dissimilarity is defined between CT regions of interest (ROI)s. ROIs are represented by their CT attenuation histogram and ROI dissimilarity is defined as a histogram dissimilarity measure between the attenuation histograms. In this setting, the full histograms are utilized according to the chosen histogram dissimilarity measure. We apply this idea to classification of different emphysema patterns as well as normal, healthy tissue. Two dissimilarity representation approaches as well as different histogram dissimilarity measures are considered. The approaches are evaluated on a set of 168 CT ROIs using normal density based classifiers all showing good performance. Compared to using histogram dissimilarity directly as distance in a emph{k} nearest neighbor classifier, which achieves a classification accuracy of 92.9%, the best dissimilarity representation based classifier is significantly better with a classification accuracy of 97.0% (text{emph{p" border="0" class="imgtopleft"> = 0.046).

The Histogram-Area Connection

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gratzer, William; Carpenter, James E.

2008-01-01

This article demonstrates an alternative approach to the construction of histograms--one based on the notion of using area to represent relative density in intervals of unequal length. The resulting histograms illustrate the connection between the area of the rectangles associated with particular outcomes and the relative frequency (probability)…

Investigating Student Understanding of Histograms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kaplan, Jennifer J.; Gabrosek, John G.; Curtiss, Phyllis; Malone, Chris

2014-01-01

Histograms are adept at revealing the distribution of data values, especially the shape of the distribution and any outlier values. They are included in introductory statistics texts, research methods texts, and in the popular press, yet students often have difficulty interpreting the information conveyed by a histogram. This research identifies…

Ongoing innovations in biomechanics and materials for the new millennium.

PubMed

Kusy, R P

2000-10-01

Material innovations are reviewed within the context of ongoing biomechanical developments that relate the critical contact angle of second-order angulation (theta c) to the overall resistance to sliding (RS). As a science in its embryonic stage of development, RS is partitioned into classical friction (FR), elastic binding (BI), and physical notching (NO). Both FR and BI are defined in terms of normal forces (N) and kinetic coefficients (mu k). The angulation at which NO occurs (theta z) is introduced as a second boundary condition to theta c. Given this scientific backdrop, material modifications are sought that reduce RS. Approaches include minimizing mu k or N within the context of FR and theta < theta c, as, for example, by surface modifications of arch wires and brackets or by engineering novel ligation materials. Stabilizing theta at theta approximately equal theta c should provide more efficient and effective sliding mechanics by developing innovative materials (eg, composites) in which stiffness (EI) varies without changing wire or bracket dimensions. Between the boundaries of theta c and theta z (ie, theta c < theta < theta z), BI may be reduced by decreasing EI or increasing interbracket distance (IBD), independent of whether a conventional or composite material is used.

Modified Eddington-inspired-Born-Infeld gravity with a trace term

DOE PAGES

Chen, Che -Yu; Bouhmadi-Lopez, Mariam; Chen, Pisin

2016-01-22

In this study, a modified Eddington-inspired-Born-Infeld (EiBI) theory with a pure trace term g μνR being added to the determinantal action is analysed from a cosmological point of view. It corresponds to the most general action constructed from a rank two tensor that contains up to first order terms in curvature. This term can equally be seen as a conformal factor multiplying the metric g μν . This very interesting type of amendment has not been considered within the Palatini formalism despite the large amount of works on the Born-Infeld-inspired theory of gravity. This model can provide smooth bouncing solutionsmore » which were not allowed in the EiBI model for the same EiBI coupling. Most interestingly, for a radiation filled universe there are some regions of the parameter space that can naturally lead to a de Sitter inflationary stage without the need of any exotic matter field. Finally, in this model we discover a new type of cosmic “quasi-sudden” singularity, where the cosmic time derivative of the Hubble rate becomes very large but finite at a finite cosmic time.« less

Return to Work in Employees on Sick Leave due to Neck or Shoulder Pain: A Randomized Clinical Trial Comparing Multidisciplinary and Brief Intervention with One-Year Register-Based Follow-Up.

PubMed

Moll, Line Thorndal; Jensen, Ole Kudsk; Schiøttz-Christensen, Berit; Stapelfeldt, Christina Malmose; Christiansen, David Høyrup; Nielsen, Claus Vinther; Labriola, Merete

2018-06-01

Purpose The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of a multidisciplinary intervention (MDI) compared to a brief intervention (BI) with respect to return to work (RTW), pain and disability in workers on sick leave because of neck or shoulder pain. Methods 168 study participants with sickness absence for 4-16 weeks due to neck or shoulder pain were enrolled in a hospital-based clinical study and randomized to either MDI or BI. The primary outcome was RTW obtained by a national registry on public transfer payments. Secondary outcomes were self-reported pain and disability levels. One-year follow-up RTW rates were estimated by Cox proportional hazard regression adjusted for gender, age, sick leave prior to inclusion, part-time sick leave and clinical diagnosis. Secondary outcomes were analysed using logistic and linear regression analysis for pain and disability, respectively. Results In the MDI group, 50 participants (59%) experienced four or more continuous weeks of RTW while 48 (58%) returned to work in the BI group during the 1 year of follow-up. Results showed a statistically non significant tendency towards a lower rate of RTW in the MDI group than in the BI group (adjusted HR = 0.84, 95% CI 0.54, 1.31). There were no statistically significant differences in secondary outcomes between the MDI and BI groups. Conclusion The brief and the multidisciplinary interventions performed equally with respect to both primary and secondary outcomes. The added focus on RTW in the multidisciplinary group did not improve RTW rates in this group.

Near-infrared luminescence of Bi2ZnOB2O6:Nd3+/PMMA composite

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jaroszewski, K.; Głuchowski, P.; Chrunik, M.; Jastrząb, R.; Majchrowski, A.; Kasprowicz, D.

2018-01-01

Near-infrared luminescence of a novel polymer composite system: PMMA doped with Bi2ZnOB2O6:Nd3+ microparticles, is reported for the first time. Luminescence properties of Bi2ZnOB2O6:Nd3+/PMMA were analyzed on the basis on excitation and emission spectra as well as fluorescence decay profiles. Excitation spectra monitored at 1062 nm (4F3/2 → 4I11/2) indicate numerous bands related to the optical transition of Nd3+ ions: from the 4I9/2 ground state to the 4D3/2, 2P1/2, 2K15/2, 4G7/2 + 4G9/2, 2K13/2, 4G5/2 + 2G7/2, 2H11/2, 4F9/2, 4F7/2 + 4S3/2, 4F5/2 + 2H9/2, 4F3/2 excited states. Many of them may be utilized to excite near-infrared emission of Nd3+ ions. In particular, distinctive Nd3+ emissions of the 4F3/2 → 4I9/2 and 4F3/2 → 4I11/2 transitions were detected, under excitation at 514 nm. The fluorescence decay profiles monitored at 1062 nm, excited at 514 nm, show relatively long emission lifetime of the 4F3/2 → 4I11/2 transition equal to 85 μs. Raman spectroscopy was used to determine vibrational properties and homogeneity of Bi2ZnOB2O6:Nd3+/PMMA composites. The obtained results suggest that Bi2ZnOB2O6:Nd3+/PMMA composite may be applied as an effective source of near-infrared emission in a new integrated optoelectronic devices.

Effect of Excess Lead and Bismuth Content on the Electrical Properties of High-Temperature Bismuth Scandium Lead Titanate Ceramics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sehirlioglu, Alp; Sayir, Ali

2008-01-01

Aeronautic and aerospace applications require piezoelectric materials that can operate at high temperatures. The air-breathing aeronautic engines can use piezoelectric actuators for active combustion control for fuel modulation to mitigate thermo-acoustic instabilities and/or gas flow control to improve efficiency. The principal challenge for the insertion of piezoelectric materials is their limitation for upper use temperature and this limitation is due low Curie temperature and increasing conductivity. We investigated processing, microstructure and property relationship of (1-x)BiScO3-(x)PbTiO3 (BS-PT) composition as a promising high temperature piezoelectric. The effect of excess Pb and Bi and their partitioning in grain boundaries were studied using impedance spectroscopy, ferroelectric, and piezoelectric measurement techniques. Excess Pb addition increased the grain boundary conduction and the grain boundary area (average grain size was 24.8 m, and 1.3 m for compositions with 0at.% and 5at.% excess Pb, respectively) resulting in ceramics with higher AC conductivity (tan d= 0.9 and 1.7 for 0at.% and 5at.% excess Pb at 350 C and at 10kHz) that were not resistive enough to pole. Excess Bi addition increased the resistivity (rho= 4.1x10(exp 10) Omega cm and 19.6 x10(exp 10) Omega.cm for compositions with 0at.% and 5at.% excess Bi, respectively), improved poling, and increased the piezoelectric coefficient from 137 to 197 pC/N for 5at.% excess Bi addition. In addition, loss tangent decreased more than one order of magnitude at elevated temperatures (greater than 300 C). For all compositions the activation energy of the conducting species was similar (approximately equal to 0.35-0.40 eV) and indicated electronic conduction.

Efficient reduction of CO2 to CO with high current density using in situ or ex situ prepared Bi-based materials.

PubMed

Medina-Ramos, Jonnathan; DiMeglio, John L; Rosenthal, Joel

2014-06-11

The development of inexpensive electrocatalysts that can promote the reduction of CO2 to CO with high selectivity, efficiency, and large current densities is an important step on the path to renewable production of liquid carbon-based fuels. While precious metals such as gold and silver have historically been the most active cathode materials for CO2 reduction, the price of these materials precludes their use on the scale required for fuel production. Bismuth, by comparison, is an affordable and environmentally benign metal that shows promise for CO2 conversion applications. In this work, we show that a bismuth-carbon monoxide evolving catalyst (Bi-CMEC) can be formed under either aqueous or nonaqueous conditions using versatile electrodeposition methods. In situ formation of this thin-film catalyst on an inexpensive carbon electrode using an organic soluble Bi(3+) precursor streamlines preparation of this material and generates a robust catalyst for CO2 reduction. In the presence of appropriate imidazolium based ionic liquid promoters, the Bi-CMEC platform can selectively catalyze conversion of CO2 to CO without the need for a costly supporting electrolyte. This inexpensive system can catalyze evolution of CO with current densities as high as jCO = 25-30 mA/cm(2) and attendant energy efficiencies of ΦCO ≈ 80% for the cathodic half reaction. These metrics highlight the efficiency of Bi-CMEC, since only noble metals have been previously shown to promote this fuel forming half reaction with such high energy efficiency. Moreover, the rate of CO production by Bi-CMEC ranges from approximately 0.1-0.5 mmol·cm(-2)·h(-1) at an applied overpotential of η ≈ 250 mV for a cathode with surface area equal to 1.0 cm(2). This CO evolution activity is much higher than that afforded by other non-noble metal cathode materials and distinguishes Bi-CMEC as a superior and inexpensive platform for electrochemical conversion of CO2 to fuel.

A parallel-architecture parametric equalizer for air-coupled capacitive ultrasonic transducers.

PubMed

McSweeney, Sean G; Wright, William M D

2012-01-01

Parametric equalization is rarely applied to ultrasonic transducer systems, for which it could be used on either the transmitter or the receiver to achieve a desired response. An optimized equalizer with both bump and cut capabilities would be advantageous for ultrasonic systems in applications in which variations in the transducer performance or the properties of the propagating medium produce a less-than-desirable signal. Compensation for non-ideal transducer response could be achieved using equalization on a device-by-device basis. Additionally, calibration of ultrasonic systems in the field could be obtained by offline optimization of equalization coefficients. In this work, a parametric equalizer for ultrasonic applications has been developed using multiple bi-quadratic filter elements arranged in a novel parallel arrangement to increase the flexibility of the equalization. The equalizer was implemented on a programmable system-on-chip (PSOC) using a small number of parallel 4th-order infinite impulse response switchedcapacitor band-pass filters. Because of the interdependency of the required coefficients for the switched capacitors, particle swarm optimization (PSO) was used to determine the optimum values. The response of a through-transmission system using air-coupled capacitive ultrasonic transducers was then equalized to idealized Hamming function or brick-wall frequencydomain responses. In each case, there was excellent agreement between the equalized signals and the theoretical model, and the fidelity of the time-domain response was maintained. The bandwidth and center frequency response of the system were significantly improved. It was also shown that the equalizer could be used on either the transmitter or the receiver, and the system could compensate for the effects of transmitterreceiver misalignment. © 2012 IEEE

Variations of attractors and wavelet spectra of the immunofluorescence distributions for women in the pregnant period

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Galich, Nikolay E.

2008-07-01

Communication contains the description of the immunology data treatment. New nonlinear methods of immunofluorescence statistical analysis of peripheral blood neutrophils have been developed. We used technology of respiratory burst reaction of DNA fluorescence in the neutrophils cells nuclei due to oxidative activity. The histograms of photon count statistics the radiant neutrophils populations' in flow cytometry experiments are considered. Distributions of the fluorescence flashes frequency as functions of the fluorescence intensity are analyzed. Statistic peculiarities of histograms set for women in the pregnant period allow dividing all histograms on the three classes. The classification is based on three different types of smoothing and long-range scale averaged immunofluorescence distributions, their bifurcation and wavelet spectra. Heterogeneity peculiarities of long-range scale immunofluorescence distributions and peculiarities of wavelet spectra allow dividing all histograms on three groups. First histograms group belongs to healthy donors. Two other groups belong to donors with autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. Some of the illnesses are not diagnosed by standards biochemical methods. Medical standards and statistical data of the immunofluorescence histograms for identifications of health and illnesses are interconnected. Peculiarities of immunofluorescence for women in pregnant period are classified. Health or illness criteria are connected with statistics features of immunofluorescence histograms. Neutrophils populations' fluorescence presents the sensitive clear indicator of health status.

Complexity of possibly gapped histogram and analysis of histogram.

PubMed

Fushing, Hsieh; Roy, Tania

2018-02-01

We demonstrate that gaps and distributional patterns embedded within real-valued measurements are inseparable biological and mechanistic information contents of the system. Such patterns are discovered through data-driven possibly gapped histogram, which further leads to the geometry-based analysis of histogram (ANOHT). Constructing a possibly gapped histogram is a complex problem of statistical mechanics due to the ensemble of candidate histograms being captured by a two-layer Ising model. This construction is also a distinctive problem of Information Theory from the perspective of data compression via uniformity. By defining a Hamiltonian (or energy) as a sum of total coding lengths of boundaries and total decoding errors within bins, this issue of computing the minimum energy macroscopic states is surprisingly resolved by applying the hierarchical clustering algorithm. Thus, a possibly gapped histogram corresponds to a macro-state. And then the first phase of ANOHT is developed for simultaneous comparison of multiple treatments, while the second phase of ANOHT is developed based on classical empirical process theory for a tree-geometry that can check the authenticity of branches of the treatment tree. The well-known Iris data are used to illustrate our technical developments. Also, a large baseball pitching dataset and a heavily right-censored divorce data are analysed to showcase the existential gaps and utilities of ANOHT.

Histogram-based quantitative evaluation of endobronchial ultrasonography images of peripheral pulmonary lesion.

PubMed

Morikawa, Kei; Kurimoto, Noriaki; Inoue, Takeo; Mineshita, Masamichi; Miyazawa, Teruomi

2015-01-01

Endobronchial ultrasonography using a guide sheath (EBUS-GS) is an increasingly common bronchoscopic technique, but currently, no methods have been established to quantitatively evaluate EBUS images of peripheral pulmonary lesions. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether histogram data collected from EBUS-GS images can contribute to the diagnosis of lung cancer. Histogram-based analyses focusing on the brightness of EBUS images were retrospectively conducted: 60 patients (38 lung cancer; 22 inflammatory diseases), with clear EBUS images were included. For each patient, a 400-pixel region of interest was selected, typically located at a 3- to 5-mm radius from the probe, from recorded EBUS images during bronchoscopy. Histogram height, width, height/width ratio, standard deviation, kurtosis and skewness were investigated as diagnostic indicators. Median histogram height, width, height/width ratio and standard deviation were significantly different between lung cancer and benign lesions (all p < 0.01). With a cutoff value for standard deviation of 10.5, lung cancer could be diagnosed with an accuracy of 81.7%. Other characteristics investigated were inferior when compared to histogram standard deviation. Histogram standard deviation appears to be the most useful characteristic for diagnosing lung cancer using EBUS images. © 2015 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Complexity of possibly gapped histogram and analysis of histogram

PubMed Central

Roy, Tania

2018-01-01

We demonstrate that gaps and distributional patterns embedded within real-valued measurements are inseparable biological and mechanistic information contents of the system. Such patterns are discovered through data-driven possibly gapped histogram, which further leads to the geometry-based analysis of histogram (ANOHT). Constructing a possibly gapped histogram is a complex problem of statistical mechanics due to the ensemble of candidate histograms being captured by a two-layer Ising model. This construction is also a distinctive problem of Information Theory from the perspective of data compression via uniformity. By defining a Hamiltonian (or energy) as a sum of total coding lengths of boundaries and total decoding errors within bins, this issue of computing the minimum energy macroscopic states is surprisingly resolved by applying the hierarchical clustering algorithm. Thus, a possibly gapped histogram corresponds to a macro-state. And then the first phase of ANOHT is developed for simultaneous comparison of multiple treatments, while the second phase of ANOHT is developed based on classical empirical process theory for a tree-geometry that can check the authenticity of branches of the treatment tree. The well-known Iris data are used to illustrate our technical developments. Also, a large baseball pitching dataset and a heavily right-censored divorce data are analysed to showcase the existential gaps and utilities of ANOHT. PMID:29515829

Complexity of possibly gapped histogram and analysis of histogram

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fushing, Hsieh; Roy, Tania

2018-02-01

We demonstrate that gaps and distributional patterns embedded within real-valued measurements are inseparable biological and mechanistic information contents of the system. Such patterns are discovered through data-driven possibly gapped histogram, which further leads to the geometry-based analysis of histogram (ANOHT). Constructing a possibly gapped histogram is a complex problem of statistical mechanics due to the ensemble of candidate histograms being captured by a two-layer Ising model. This construction is also a distinctive problem of Information Theory from the perspective of data compression via uniformity. By defining a Hamiltonian (or energy) as a sum of total coding lengths of boundaries and total decoding errors within bins, this issue of computing the minimum energy macroscopic states is surprisingly resolved by applying the hierarchical clustering algorithm. Thus, a possibly gapped histogram corresponds to a macro-state. And then the first phase of ANOHT is developed for simultaneous comparison of multiple treatments, while the second phase of ANOHT is developed based on classical empirical process theory for a tree-geometry that can check the authenticity of branches of the treatment tree. The well-known Iris data are used to illustrate our technical developments. Also, a large baseball pitching dataset and a heavily right-censored divorce data are analysed to showcase the existential gaps and utilities of ANOHT.

Crystal structure, chemical composition, and extended defects of the high-Tc (Bi,Pb)2Sr2Ca(n)-1CunO4 + 2n + delta compounds.

PubMed

Eibl, O

1995-02-15

This paper summarizes results obtained by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy on the crystal structure and microstructure of the (Bi,Pb)2Sr2Ca(n)-1CunO4 + 2n + delta high-Tc superconducting oxides. The experimental basis for the work presented here are high-resolution structure images obtained at ultra-thin (3 nm) areas of carefully prepared transmission electron microscope (TEM) samples. The analysis was carried out on a 400 kV TEM equipped with a pole piece yielding 0.17 nm point-to-point resolution. From the images obtained the projected crystal potential of the cations can be extracted directly, as confirmed by detailed image simulation. Structural analysis of the oxygen sublattice remains an unsolved problem by high-resolution TEM (HRTEM), mainly because of the small scattering factors, and thus the contribution of the oxygen sublattice to the image contrast is small. The (BiPb)2Sr2Ca(n)-1CunO4 + 2n + delta phases are modulated structures that can be understood as an average structure plus a superimposed displacement field. The crystal structure consists of BiO double layers and perovskite-type cuboids (containing Sr, Ca, Cu, and O), which are sandwiched between the BiO double layers. The displacement field can be directly analyzed by HRTEM, and the largest displacement amplitudes of 70 pm were determined for the Bi atoms in the n = 1 compound. The chemical composition of the n = 2 and n = 3 compounds was determined by EDX in the TEM for the cation sublattice. A significant (Ca + Sr) deficiency (approximately 10%) with respect to Cu was found. The (Sr + Ca)/Cu mole fraction ratio was 1.31 for the Bi-2212 phase and 1.14 for the Bi(Pb)-2223 phase. The oxygen content cannot be determined by EDX in the TEM with the accuracy necessary for a correlation with electrical and superconducting properties. The defect structure present in these materials, that is, intergrown lamellae with different crystal structures and equal or different chemical compositions, stacking faults, and grain boundaries, is summarized. The importance of grain boundaries for understanding and improving superconducting properties is emphasized.

Three-dimensional volumetric gray-scale uterine cervix histogram prediction of days to delivery in full term pregnancy.

PubMed

Kim, Ji Youn; Kim, Hai-Joong; Hahn, Meong Hi; Jeon, Hye Jin; Cho, Geum Joon; Hong, Sun Chul; Oh, Min Jeong

2013-09-01

Our aim was to figure out whether volumetric gray-scale histogram difference between anterior and posterior cervix can indicate the extent of cervical consistency. We collected data of 95 patients who were appropriate for vaginal delivery with 36th to 37th weeks of gestational age from September 2010 to October 2011 in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Korea University Ansan Hospital. Patients were excluded who had one of the followings: Cesarean section, labor induction, premature rupture of membrane. Thirty-four patients were finally enrolled. The patients underwent evaluation of the cervix through Bishop score, cervical length, cervical volume, three-dimensional (3D) cervical volumetric gray-scale histogram. The interval days from the cervix evaluation to the delivery day were counted. We compared to 3D cervical volumetric gray-scale histogram, Bishop score, cervical length, cervical volume with interval days from the evaluation of the cervix to the delivery. Gray-scale histogram difference between anterior and posterior cervix was significantly correlated to days to delivery. Its correlation coefficient (R) was 0.500 (P = 0.003). The cervical length was significantly related to the days to delivery. The correlation coefficient (R) and P-value between them were 0.421 and 0.013. However, anterior lip histogram, posterior lip histogram, total cervical volume, Bishop score were not associated with days to delivery (P >0.05). By using gray-scale histogram difference between anterior and posterior cervix and cervical length correlated with the days to delivery. These methods can be utilized to better help predict a cervical consistency.

An integrated 12.5-Gb/s optoelectronic receiver with a silicon avalanche photodetector in standard SiGe BiCMOS technology.

PubMed

Youn, Jin-Sung; Lee, Myung-Jae; Park, Kang-Yeob; Rücker, Holger; Choi, Woo-Young

2012-12-17

An optoelectronic integrated circuit (OEIC) receiver is realized with standard 0.25-μm SiGe BiCMOS technology for 850-nm optical interconnect applications. The OEIC receiver consists of a Si avalanche photodetector, a transimpedance amplifier with a DC-balanced buffer, a tunable equalizer, and a limiting amplifier. The fabricated OEIC receiver successfully detects 12.5-Gb/s 2(31)-1 pseudorandom bit sequence optical data with the bit-error rate less than 10(-12) at incident optical power of -7 dBm. The OEIC core has 1000 μm x 280 μm chip area, and consumes 59 mW from 2.5-V supply. To the best of our knowledge, this OEIC receiver achieves the highest data rate with the smallest sensitivity as well as the best power efficiency among integrated OEIC receivers fabricated with standard Si technology.

Optical diode effect at spin-wave excitations in the room-temperature multiferroic BiFeO 3.

DOE PAGES

Kezsmarki, I.; Nagel, U.; Bordacs, S.; ...

2015-09-15

The ability to read and write a magnetic state current-free by an electric voltage would provide a huge technological advantage. Dynamic or optical ME effects are equally interesting, because they give rise to unidirectional light propagation as recently observed in low-temperature multiferroics. This phenomenon, if realized at room temperature, would allow the development of optical diodes which transmit unpolarized light in one, but not in the opposite, direction. Here, we report strong unidirectional transmission in the room-temperature multiferroic BiFeO 3 over the gigahertz-terahertz frequency range. The supporting theory attributes the observed unidirectional transmission to the spin-current-driven dynamic ME effect. Ourmore » findings are an important step toward the realization of optical diodes, supplemented by the ability to switch the transmission direction with a magnetic or electric field.« less

Comparative study of unilateral versus bilateral inferior oblique recession/anteriorization in unilateral inferior oblique overaction.

PubMed

Mostafa, Attiat M; Kassem, Rehab R

2018-05-01

To compare the effect of, and the rate of subsequent development of iatrogenic antielevation syndrome after, unilateral versus bilateral inferior oblique graded recession-anteriorization to treat unilateral inferior oblique overaction. Thirty-four patients with unilateral inferior oblique overaction were included in a randomized prospective study. Patients were equally divided into 2 groups. Group UNI underwent unilateral, group BI bilateral, inferior oblique graded recession-anteriorization. A successful outcome was defined as orthotropia, or within 2 ∆ of a residual hypertropia, in the absence of signs of antielevation syndrome, residual inferior oblique overaction, V-pattern, dissociated vertical deviation, or ocular torticollis. A successful outcome was achieved in 11 (64.7%) and 13 (76.5%) patients in groups UNI and BI, respectively (p = 0.452). Antielevation syndrome was diagnosed as the cause of surgical failure in 6 (35.3%) and 2 (11.8%) patients, in groups UNI and BI, respectively (p = 0.106). The cause of surgical failure in the other 2 patients in group BI was due to persistence of ocular torticollis and hypertropia in a patient with superior oblique palsy and a residual V-pattern and hypertropia in the other patient. The differences between unilateral and bilateral inferior oblique graded recession-anteriorization are insignificant. Unilateral surgery has a higher tendency for the subsequent development of antielevation syndrome. Bilateral surgery may still become complicated by antielevation syndrome, although at a lower rate. In addition, bilateral surgery had a higher rate of undercorrection. Further studies on a larger sample are encouraged.

Construction and Evaluation of Histograms in Teacher Training

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bruno, A.; Espinel, M. C.

2009-01-01

This article details the results of a written test designed to reveal how education majors construct and evaluate histograms and frequency polygons. Included is a description of the mistakes made by the students which shows how they tend to confuse histograms with bar diagrams, incorrectly assign data along the Cartesian axes and experience…

Empirical Histograms in Item Response Theory with Ordinal Data

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Woods, Carol M.

2007-01-01

The purpose of this research is to describe, test, and illustrate a new implementation of the empirical histogram (EH) method for ordinal items. The EH method involves the estimation of item response model parameters simultaneously with the approximation of the distribution of the random latent variable (theta) as a histogram. Software for the EH…

Symbol recognition via statistical integration of pixel-level constraint histograms: a new descriptor.

PubMed

Yang, Su

2005-02-01

A new descriptor for symbol recognition is proposed. 1) A histogram is constructed for every pixel to figure out the distribution of the constraints among the other pixels. 2) All the histograms are statistically integrated to form a feature vector with fixed dimension. The robustness and invariance were experimentally confirmed.

Airborne gamma-ray spectrometer and magnetometer survey, Durango D, Colorado. Final report Volume II A. Detail area

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

Not Available

1983-01-01

This volume contains geology of the Durango D detail area, radioactive mineral occurrences in Colorado, and geophysical data interpretation. Eight appendices provide: stacked profiles, geologic histograms, geochemical histograms, speed and altitude histograms, geologic statistical tables, geochemical statistical tables, magnetic and ancillary profiles, and test line data.

Airborne gamma-ray spectrometer and magnetometer survey, Durango C, Colorado. Final report Volume II A. Detail area

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

Not Available

1983-01-01

Geology of Durango C detail area, radioactive mineral occurrences in Colorado, and geophysical data interpretation are included in this report. Eight appendices provide: stacked profiles, geologic histograms, geochemical histograms, speed and altitude histograms, geologic statistical tables, magnetic and ancillary profiles, and test line data.

A Graphic Anthropometric Aid for Seating and Workplace Design.

DTIC Science & Technology

1984-04-01

required proportion of the pdf . Suppose that some attribute is distributed according to a bivariate Normal pdf of zero mean value and equal variances a...2󈧓 Note that circular contours. dran at the normaliwed radii presented above, will enclose the respective proportions of the bi artate Normal pdf ...INTRODUCTION 1 2. A TWO-DIMENSIONAL MODEL BASE 2 3. CONCEPT OF USE 4 4. VALIDATION OF THE TWO-DIMENSIONAL MODEL 8 4.1 Conventional Anthropometry 9 4.2

Action recognition via cumulative histogram of multiple features

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yan, Xunshi; Luo, Yupin

2011-01-01

Spatial-temporal interest points (STIPs) are popular in human action recognition. However, they suffer from difficulties in determining size of codebook and losing much information during forming histograms. In this paper, spatial-temporal interest regions (STIRs) are proposed, which are based on STIPs and are capable of marking the locations of the most ``shining'' human body parts. In order to represent human actions, the proposed approach takes great advantages of multiple features, including STIRs, pyramid histogram of oriented gradients and pyramid histogram of oriented optical flows. To achieve this, cumulative histogram is used to integrate dynamic information in sequences and to form feature vectors. Furthermore, the widely used nearest neighbor and AdaBoost methods are employed as classification algorithms. Experiments on public datasets KTH, Weizmann and UCF sports show that the proposed approach achieves effective and robust results.

Influence of Tm+3 concentration on the non-linear optical effects of the BiB3O6 : Tm3+ glass nanoparticle-doped polymer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Majchrowski, A.; Ebothe, J.; Ozga, K.; Kityk, I. V.; Reshak, A. H.; Lukasiewicz, T.; Brik, M. G.

2010-01-01

It is shown that BiB3O6 : Tm3+ glass nanoparticles incorporated into polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) and polycarbonate (PC) polymer matrices show good second-order susceptibilities under bicolour coherent laser treatment. It is found that only during incorporation into highly polarized PC matrices could one observe an enhancement of the second-order susceptibilities with increasing laser treated power densities. The main increase is observed for all samples at power densities equal to about 0.4 GW cm-2. After passing this value there is a saturation of the output susceptibilities and even an abrupt decrease. The most striking feature is the achievement of second-order susceptibilities equal to about 5 pm V-1 for samples containing 4% nanoparticle (NP) content in the PC matrix. A further increase in the NP concentration to 6% leads to a decrease in susceptibility to 15%. In the case of PMMA matrices these changes do not exceed the background. The same situation is present for the pure BIBO and low-doped Tm materials. The effect is maximal for a low concentration of Tm—about 0.75%. In the case of bulk glasses the intensity dependences of the second-harmonic generation unambiguously show that the achieved maximal values of second-order susceptibilities do not exceed 3 pm V-1 for 0.5% Tm concentration.

Histogram analysis of apparent diffusion coefficient for monitoring early response in patients with advanced cervical cancers undergoing concurrent chemo-radiotherapy.

PubMed

Meng, Jie; Zhu, Lijing; Zhu, Li; Ge, Yun; He, Jian; Zhou, Zhengyang; Yang, Xiaofeng

2017-11-01

Background Apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) histogram analysis has been widely used in determining tumor prognosis. Purpose To investigate the dynamic changes of ADC histogram parameters during concurrent chemo-radiotherapy (CCRT) in patients with advanced cervical cancers. Material and Methods This prospective study enrolled 32 patients with advanced cervical cancers undergoing CCRT who received diffusion-weighted (DW) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) before CCRT, at the end of the second and fourth week during CCRT and one month after CCRT completion. The ADC histogram for the entire tumor volume was generated, and a series of histogram parameters was obtained. Dynamic changes of those parameters in cervical cancers were investigated as early biomarkers for treatment response. Results All histogram parameters except AUC low showed significant changes during CCRT (all P < 0.05). There were three variable trends involving different parameters. The mode, 5th, 10th, and 25th percentiles showed similar early increase rates (33.33%, 33.99%, 34.12%, and 30.49%, respectively) at the end of the second week of CCRT. The pre-CCRT 5th and 25th percentiles of the complete response (CR) group were significantly lower than those of the partial response (PR) group. Conclusion A series of ADC histogram parameters of cervical cancers changed significantly at the early stage of CCRT, indicating their potential in monitoring early tumor response to therapy.

Whole Tumor Histogram-profiling of Diffusion-Weighted Magnetic Resonance Images Reflects Tumorbiological Features of Primary Central Nervous System Lymphoma.

PubMed

Schob, Stefan; Münch, Benno; Dieckow, Julia; Quäschling, Ulf; Hoffmann, Karl-Titus; Richter, Cindy; Garnov, Nikita; Frydrychowicz, Clara; Krause, Matthias; Meyer, Hans-Jonas; Surov, Alexey

2018-04-01

Diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) quantifies motion of hydrogen nuclei in biological tissues and hereby has been used to assess the underlying tissue microarchitecture. Histogram-profiling of DWI provides more detailed information on diffusion characteristics of a lesion than the standardly calculated values of the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC)-minimum, mean and maximum. Hence, the aim of our study was to investigate, which parameters of histogram-profiling of DWI in primary central nervous system lymphoma can be used to specifically predict features like cellular density, chromatin content and proliferative activity. Pre-treatment ADC maps of 21 PCNSL patients (8 female, 13 male, 28-89 years) from a 1.5T system were used for Matlab-based histogram profiling. Results of histopathology (H&E staining) and immunohistochemistry (Ki-67 expression) were quantified. Correlations between histogram-profiling parameters and neuropathologic examination were calculated using SPSS 23.0. The lower percentiles (p10 and p25) showed significant correlations with structural parameters of the neuropathologic examination (cellular density, chromatin content). The highest percentile, p90, correlated significantly with Ki-67 expression, resembling proliferative activity. Kurtosis of the ADC histogram correlated significantly with cellular density. Histogram-profiling of DWI in PCNSL provides a comprehensible set of parameters, which reflect distinct tumor-architectural and tumor-biological features, and hence, are promising biomarkers for treatment response and prognosis. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.

ADC histogram analysis of muscle lymphoma - Correlation with histopathology in a rare entity.

PubMed

Meyer, Hans-Jonas; Pazaitis, Nikolaos; Surov, Alexey

2018-06-21

Diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) is able to reflect histopathology architecture. A novel imaging approach, namely histogram analysis, is used to further characterize lesion on MRI. The purpose of this study is to correlate histogram parameters derived from apparent diffusion coefficient- (ADC) maps with histopathology parameters in muscle lymphoma. Eight patients (mean age 64.8 years, range 45-72 years) with histopathologically confirmed muscle lymphoma were retrospectively identified. Cell count, total nucleic and average nucleic areas were estimated using ImageJ. Additionally, Ki67-index was calculated. DWI was obtained on a 1.5T scanner by using the b values of 0 and 1000 s/mm2. Histogram analysis was performed as a whole lesion measurement by using a custom-made Matlabbased application. The correlation analysis revealed statistically significant correlation between cell count and ADCmean (p=-0.76, P=0.03) as well with ADCp75 (p=-0.79, P=0.02). Kurtosis and entropy correlated with average nucleic area (p=-0.81, P=0.02, p=0.88, P=0.007, respectively). None of the analyzed ADC parameters correlated with total nucleic area and with Ki67-index. This study identified significant correlations between cellularity and histogram parameters derived from ADC maps in muscle lymphoma. Thus, histogram analysis parameters reflect histopathology in muscle tumors. Advances in knowledge: Whole lesion ADC histogram analysis is able to reflect histopathology parameters in muscle lymphomas.

Delay, change and bifurcation of the immunofluorescence distribution attractors in health statuses diagnostics and in medical treatment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Galich, Nikolay E.; Filatov, Michael V.

2008-07-01

Communication contains the description of the immunology experiments and the experimental data treatment. New nonlinear methods of immunofluorescence statistical analysis of peripheral blood neutrophils have been developed. We used technology of respiratory burst reaction of DNA fluorescence in the neutrophils cells nuclei due to oxidative activity. The histograms of photon count statistics the radiant neutrophils populations' in flow cytometry experiments are considered. Distributions of the fluorescence flashes frequency as functions of the fluorescence intensity are analyzed. Statistic peculiarities of histograms set for healthy and unhealthy donors allow dividing all histograms on the three classes. The classification is based on three different types of smoothing and long-range scale averaged immunofluorescence distributions and their bifurcation. Heterogeneity peculiarities of long-range scale immunofluorescence distributions allow dividing all histograms on three groups. First histograms group belongs to healthy donors. Two other groups belong to donors with autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. Some of the illnesses are not diagnosed by standards biochemical methods. Medical standards and statistical data of the immunofluorescence histograms for identifications of health and illnesses are interconnected. Possibilities and alterations of immunofluorescence statistics in registration, diagnostics and monitoring of different diseases in various medical treatments have been demonstrated. Health or illness criteria are connected with statistics features of immunofluorescence histograms. Neutrophils populations' fluorescence presents the sensitive clear indicator of health status.

Binaural interaction in low-frequency neurons in inferior colliculus of the cat. II. Effects of changing rate and direction of interaural phase.

PubMed

Yin, T C; Kuwada, S

1983-10-01

We used the binaural beat stimulus to study the interaural phase sensitivity of inferior colliculus (IC) neurons in the cat. The binaural beat, produced by delivering tones of slightly different frequencies to the two ears, generates continuous and graded changes in interaural phase. Over 90% of the cells that exhibit a sensitivity to changes in the interaural delay also show a sensitivity to interaural phase disparities with the binaural beat. Cells respond with a burst of impulses with each complete cycle of the beat frequency. The period histogram obtained by binning the poststimulus time histogram on the beat frequency gives a measure of the interaural phase sensitivity of the cell. In general, there is good correspondence in the shapes of the period histograms generated from binaural beats and the interaural phase curves derived from interaural delays and in the mean interaural phase angle calculated from them. The magnitude of the beat frequency determines the rate of change of interaural phase and the sign determines the direction of phase change. While most cells respond in a phase-locked manner up to beat frequencies of 10 Hz, there are some cells tht will phase lock up to 80 Hz. Beat frequency and mean interaural phase angle are linearly related for most cells. Most cells respond equally in the two directions of phase change and with different rates of change, at least up to 10 Hz. However, some IC cells exhibit marked sensitivity to the speed of phase change, either responding more vigorously at low beat frequencies or at high beat frequencies. In addition, other cells demonstrate a clear directional sensitivity. The cells that show sensitivity to the direction and speed of phase changes would be expected to demonstrate a sensitivity to moving sound sources in the free field. Changes in the mean interaural phase of the binaural beat period histograms are used to determine the effects of changes in average and interaural intensity on the phase sensitivity of the cells. The effects of both forms of intensity variation are continuously distributed. The binaural beat offers a number of advantages for studying the interaural phase sensitivity of binaural cells. The dynamic characteristics of the interaural phase can be varied so that the speed and direction of phase change are under direct control. The data can be obtained in a much more efficient manner, as the binaural beat is about 10 times faster in terms of data collection than the interaural delay.

Time-cumulated visible and infrared histograms used as descriptor of cloud cover

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Seze, G.; Rossow, W.

1987-01-01

To study the statistical behavior of clouds for different climate regimes, the spatial and temporal stability of VIS-IR bidimensional histograms is tested. Also, the effect of data sampling and averaging on the histogram shapes is considered; in particular the sampling strategy used by the International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project is tested.

Interpreting Histograms. As Easy as It Seems?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lem, Stephanie; Onghena, Patrick; Verschaffel, Lieven; Van Dooren, Wim

2014-01-01

Histograms are widely used, but recent studies have shown that they are not as easy to interpret as it might seem. In this article, we report on three studies on the interpretation of histograms in which we investigated, namely, (1) whether the misinterpretation by university students can be considered to be the result of heuristic reasoning, (2)…

Improving Real World Performance of Vision Aided Navigation in a Flight Environment

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-09-15

Introduction . . . . . . . 63 4.2 Wide Area Search Extent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 4.3 Large-Scale Image Navigation Histogram Filter ...65 4.3.1 Location Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 4.3.2 Measurement Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 4.3.3 Histogram Filter ...Iteration of Histogram Filter . . . . . . . . . . . 70 4.4 Implementation and Flight Test Campaign . . . . . . . . 71 4.4.1 Software Implementation

Airborne gamma-ray spectrometer and magnetometer survey, Durango A, Colorado. Final report Volume II A. Detail area

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

Not Available

1983-01-01

This volume contains geology of the Durango A detail area, radioactive mineral occurences in Colorado, and geophysical data interpretation. Eight appendices provide the following: stacked profiles, geologic histograms, geochemical histograms, speed and altitude histograms, geologic statistical tables, geochemical statistical tables, magnetic and ancillary profiles, and test line data.

Airborne gamma-ray spectrometer and magnetometer survey, Durango B, Colorado. Final report Volume II A. Detail area

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

Not Available

1983-01-01

The geology of the Durango B detail area, the radioactive mineral occurrences in Colorado and the geophysical data interpretation are included in this report. Seven appendices contain: stacked profiles, geologic histograms, geochemical histograms, speed and altitude histograms, geologic statistical tables, geochemical statistical tables, and test line data.

Students' Understanding of Bar Graphs and Histograms: Results from the LOCUS Assessments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Whitaker, Douglas; Jacobbe, Tim

2017-01-01

Bar graphs and histograms are core statistical tools that are widely used in statistical practice and commonly taught in classrooms. Despite their importance and the instructional time devoted to them, many students demonstrate misunderstandings when asked to read and interpret bar graphs and histograms. Much of the research that has been…

Modeling Early Postnatal Brain Growth and Development with CT: Changes in the Brain Radiodensity Histogram from Birth to 2 Years.

PubMed

Cauley, K A; Hu, Y; Och, J; Yorks, P J; Fielden, S W

2018-04-01

The majority of brain growth and development occur in the first 2 years of life. This study investigated these changes by analysis of the brain radiodensity histogram of head CT scans from the clinical population, 0-2 years of age. One hundred twenty consecutive head CTs with normal findings meeting the inclusion criteria from children from birth to 2 years were retrospectively identified from 3 different CT scan platforms. Histogram analysis was performed on brain-extracted images, and histogram mean, mode, full width at half maximum, skewness, kurtosis, and SD were correlated with subject age. The effects of scan platform were investigated. Normative curves were fitted by polynomial regression analysis. Average total brain volume was 360 cm 3 at birth, 948 cm 3 at 1 year, and 1072 cm 3 at 2 years. Total brain tissue density showed an 11% increase in mean density at 1 year and 19% at 2 years. Brain radiodensity histogram skewness was positive at birth, declining logarithmically in the first 200 days of life. The histogram kurtosis also decreased in the first 200 days to approach a normal distribution. Direct segmentation of CT images showed that changes in brain radiodensity histogram skewness correlated with, and can be explained by, a relative increase in gray matter volume and an increase in gray and white matter tissue density that occurs during this period of brain maturation. Normative metrics of the brain radiodensity histogram derived from routine clinical head CT images can be used to develop a model of normal brain development. © 2018 by American Journal of Neuroradiology.

Histogram analysis derived from apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) is more sensitive to reflect serological parameters in myositis than conventional ADC analysis.

PubMed

Meyer, Hans Jonas; Emmer, Alexander; Kornhuber, Malte; Surov, Alexey

2018-05-01

Diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) has the potential of being able to reflect histopathology architecture. A novel imaging approach, namely histogram analysis, is used to further characterize tissues on MRI. The aim of this study was to correlate histogram parameters derived from apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) maps with serological parameters in myositis. 16 patients with autoimmune myositis were included in this retrospective study. DWI was obtained on a 1.5 T scanner by using the b-values of 0 and 1000 s mm - 2 . Histogram analysis was performed as a whole muscle measurement by using a custom-made Matlab-based application. The following ADC histogram parameters were estimated: ADCmean, ADCmax, ADCmin, ADCmedian, ADCmode, and the following percentiles ADCp10, ADCp25, ADCp75, ADCp90, as well histogram parameters kurtosis, skewness, and entropy. In all patients, the blood sample was acquired within 3 days to the MRI. The following serological parameters were estimated: alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, creatine kinase, lactate dehydrogenase, C-reactive protein (CRP) and myoglobin. All patients were screened for Jo1-autobodies. Kurtosis correlated inversely with CRP (p = -0.55 and 0.03). Furthermore, ADCp10 and ADCp90 values tended to correlate with creatine kinase (p = -0.43, 0.11, and p = -0.42, = 0.12 respectively). In addition, ADCmean, p10, p25, median, mode, and entropy were different between Jo1-positive and Jo1-negative patients. ADC histogram parameters are sensitive for detection of muscle alterations in myositis patients. Advances in knowledge: This study identified that kurtosis derived from ADC maps is associated with CRP in myositis patients. Furthermore, several ADC histogram parameters are statistically different between Jo1-positive and Jo1-negative patients.

Can histogram analysis of MR images predict aggressiveness in pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors?

PubMed

De Robertis, Riccardo; Maris, Bogdan; Cardobi, Nicolò; Tinazzi Martini, Paolo; Gobbo, Stefano; Capelli, Paola; Ortolani, Silvia; Cingarlini, Sara; Paiella, Salvatore; Landoni, Luca; Butturini, Giovanni; Regi, Paolo; Scarpa, Aldo; Tortora, Giampaolo; D'Onofrio, Mirko

2018-06-01

To evaluate MRI derived whole-tumour histogram analysis parameters in predicting pancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasm (panNEN) grade and aggressiveness. Pre-operative MR of 42 consecutive patients with panNEN >1 cm were retrospectively analysed. T1-/T2-weighted images and ADC maps were analysed. Histogram-derived parameters were compared to histopathological features using the Mann-Whitney U test. Diagnostic accuracy was assessed by ROC-AUC analysis; sensitivity and specificity were assessed for each histogram parameter. ADC entropy was significantly higher in G2-3 tumours with ROC-AUC 0.757; sensitivity and specificity were 83.3 % (95 % CI: 61.2-94.5) and 61.1 % (95 % CI: 36.1-81.7). ADC kurtosis was higher in panNENs with vascular involvement, nodal and hepatic metastases (p= .008, .021 and .008; ROC-AUC= 0.820, 0.709 and 0.820); sensitivity and specificity were: 85.7/74.3 % (95 % CI: 42-99.2 /56.4-86.9), 36.8/96.5 % (95 % CI: 17.2-61.4 /76-99.8) and 100/62.8 % (95 % CI: 56.1-100/44.9-78.1). No significant differences between groups were found for other histogram-derived parameters (p >.05). Whole-tumour histogram analysis of ADC maps may be helpful in predicting tumour grade, vascular involvement, nodal and liver metastases in panNENs. ADC entropy and ADC kurtosis are the most accurate parameters for identification of panNENs with malignant behaviour. • Whole-tumour ADC histogram analysis can predict aggressiveness in pancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasms. • ADC entropy and kurtosis are higher in aggressive tumours. • ADC histogram analysis can quantify tumour diffusion heterogeneity. • Non-invasive quantification of tumour heterogeneity can provide adjunctive information for prognostication.

Non-small cell lung cancer: Whole-lesion histogram analysis of the apparent diffusion coefficient for assessment of tumor grade, lymphovascular invasion and pleural invasion.

PubMed

Tsuchiya, Naoko; Doai, Mariko; Usuda, Katsuo; Uramoto, Hidetaka; Tonami, Hisao

2017-01-01

Investigating the diagnostic accuracy of histogram analyses of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values for determining non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) tumor grades, lymphovascular invasion, and pleural invasion. We studied 60 surgically diagnosed NSCLC patients. Diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) was performed in the axial plane using a navigator-triggered single-shot, echo-planar imaging sequence with prospective acquisition correction. The ADC maps were generated, and we placed a volume-of-interest on the tumor to construct the whole-lesion histogram. Using the histogram, we calculated the mean, 5th, 10th, 25th, 50th, 75th, 90th, and 95th percentiles of ADC, skewness, and kurtosis. Histogram parameters were correlated with tumor grade, lymphovascular invasion, and pleural invasion. We performed a receiver operating characteristics (ROC) analysis to assess the diagnostic performance of histogram parameters for distinguishing different pathologic features. The ADC mean, 10th, 25th, 50th, 75th, 90th, and 95th percentiles showed significant differences among the tumor grades. The ADC mean, 25th, 50th, 75th, 90th, and 95th percentiles were significant histogram parameters between high- and low-grade tumors. The ROC analysis between high- and low-grade tumors showed that the 95th percentile ADC achieved the highest area under curve (AUC) at 0.74. Lymphovascular invasion was associated with the ADC mean, 50th, 75th, 90th, and 95th percentiles, skewness, and kurtosis. Kurtosis achieved the highest AUC at 0.809. Pleural invasion was only associated with skewness, with the AUC of 0.648. ADC histogram analyses on the basis of the entire tumor volume are able to stratify NSCLCs' tumor grade, lymphovascular invasion and pleural invasion.

Novel medical image enhancement algorithms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Agaian, Sos; McClendon, Stephen A.

2010-01-01

In this paper, we present two novel medical image enhancement algorithms. The first, a global image enhancement algorithm, utilizes an alpha-trimmed mean filter as its backbone to sharpen images. The second algorithm uses a cascaded unsharp masking technique to separate the high frequency components of an image in order for them to be enhanced using a modified adaptive contrast enhancement algorithm. Experimental results from enhancing electron microscopy, radiological, CT scan and MRI scan images, using the MATLAB environment, are then compared to the original images as well as other enhancement methods, such as histogram equalization and two forms of adaptive contrast enhancement. An image processing scheme for electron microscopy images of Purkinje cells will also be implemented and utilized as a comparison tool to evaluate the performance of our algorithm.

Recovery of Background Structures in Nanoscale Helium Ion Microscope Imaging

PubMed Central

Carasso, Alfred S; Vladár, András E

2014-01-01

This paper discusses a two step enhancement technique applicable to noisy Helium Ion Microscope images in which background structures are not easily discernible due to a weak signal. The method is based on a preliminary adaptive histogram equalization, followed by ‘slow motion’ low-exponent Lévy fractional diffusion smoothing. This combined approach is unexpectedly effective, resulting in a companion enhanced image in which background structures are rendered much more visible, and noise is significantly reduced, all with minimal loss of image sharpness. The method also provides useful enhancements of scanning charged-particle microscopy images obtained by composing multiple drift-corrected ‘fast scan’ frames. The paper includes software routines, written in Interactive Data Language (IDL),1 that can perform the above image processing tasks. PMID:26601050

Improved automatic adjustment of density and contrast in FCR system using neural network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Takeo, Hideya; Nakajima, Nobuyoshi; Ishida, Masamitsu; Kato, Hisatoyo

1994-05-01

FCR system has an automatic adjustment of image density and contrast by analyzing the histogram of image data in the radiation field. Advanced image recognition methods proposed in this paper can improve the automatic adjustment performance, in which neural network technology is used. There are two methods. Both methods are basically used 3-layer neural network with back propagation. The image data are directly input to the input-layer in one method and the histogram data is input in the other method. The former is effective to the imaging menu such as shoulder joint in which the position of interest region occupied on the histogram changes by difference of positioning and the latter is effective to the imaging menu such as chest-pediatrics in which the histogram shape changes by difference of positioning. We experimentally confirm the validity of these methods (about the automatic adjustment performance) as compared with the conventional histogram analysis methods.

Investigation on improved infrared image detail enhancement algorithm based on adaptive histogram statistical stretching and gradient filtering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zeng, Bangze; Zhu, Youpan; Li, Zemin; Hu, Dechao; Luo, Lin; Zhao, Deli; Huang, Juan

2014-11-01

Duo to infrared image with low contrast, big noise and unclear visual effect, target is very difficult to observed and identified. This paper presents an improved infrared image detail enhancement algorithm based on adaptive histogram statistical stretching and gradient filtering (AHSS-GF). Based on the fact that the human eyes are very sensitive to the edges and lines, the author proposed to extract the details and textures by using the gradient filtering. New histogram could be acquired by calculating the sum of original histogram based on fixed window. With the minimum value for cut-off point, author carried on histogram statistical stretching. After the proper weights given to the details and background, the detail-enhanced results could be acquired finally. The results indicate image contrast could be improved and the details and textures could be enhanced effectively as well.

Research of image retrieval technology based on color feature

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fu, Yanjun; Jiang, Guangyu; Chen, Fengying

2009-10-01

Recently, with the development of the communication and the computer technology and the improvement of the storage technology and the capability of the digital image equipment, more and more image resources are given to us than ever. And thus the solution of how to locate the proper image quickly and accurately is wanted.The early method is to set up a key word for searching in the database, but now the method has become very difficult when we search much more picture that we need. In order to overcome the limitation of the traditional searching method, content based image retrieval technology was aroused. Now, it is a hot research subject.Color image retrieval is the important part of it. Color is the most important feature for color image retrieval. Three key questions on how to make use of the color characteristic are discussed in the paper: the expression of color, the abstraction of color characteristic and the measurement of likeness based on color. On the basis, the extraction technology of the color histogram characteristic is especially discussed. Considering the advantages and disadvantages of the overall histogram and the partition histogram, a new method based the partition-overall histogram is proposed. The basic thought of it is to divide the image space according to a certain strategy, and then calculate color histogram of each block as the color feature of this block. Users choose the blocks that contain important space information, confirming the right value. The system calculates the distance between the corresponding blocks that users choosed. Other blocks merge into part overall histograms again, and the distance should be calculated. Then accumulate all the distance as the real distance between two pictures. The partition-overall histogram comprehensive utilizes advantages of two methods above, by choosing blocks makes the feature contain more spatial information which can improve performance; the distances between partition-overall histogram make rotating and translation does not change. The HSV color space is used to show color characteristic of image, which is suitable to the visual characteristic of human. Taking advance of human's feeling to color, it quantifies color sector with unequal interval, and get characteristic vector. Finally, it matches the similarity of image with the algorithm of the histogram intersection and the partition-overall histogram. Users can choose a demonstration image to show inquired vision require, and also can adjust several right value through the relevance-feedback method to obtain the best result of search.An image retrieval system based on these approaches is presented. The result of the experiments shows that the image retrieval based on partition-overall histogram can keep the space distribution information while abstracting color feature efficiently, and it is superior to the normal color histograms in precision rate while researching. The query precision rate is more than 95%. In addition, the efficient block expression will lower the complicate degree of the images to be searched, and thus the searching efficiency will be increased. The image retrieval algorithms based on the partition-overall histogram proposed in the paper is efficient and effective.

Spline smoothing of histograms by linear programming

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bennett, J. O.

1972-01-01

An algorithm for an approximating function to the frequency distribution is obtained from a sample of size n. To obtain the approximating function a histogram is made from the data. Next, Euclidean space approximations to the graph of the histogram using central B-splines as basis elements are obtained by linear programming. The approximating function has area one and is nonnegative.

Histogram analysis of greyscale sonograms to differentiate between the subtypes of follicular variant of papillary thyroid cancer.

PubMed

Kwon, M-R; Shin, J H; Hahn, S Y; Oh, Y L; Kwak, J Y; Lee, E; Lim, Y

2018-06-01

To evaluate the diagnostic value of histogram analysis using ultrasound (US) to differentiate between the subtypes of follicular variant of papillary thyroid carcinoma (FVPTC). The present study included 151 patients with surgically confirmed FVPTC diagnosed between January 2014 and May 2016. Their preoperative US features were reviewed retrospectively. Histogram parameters (mean, maximum, minimum, range, root mean square, skewness, kurtosis, energy, entropy, and correlation) were obtained for each nodule. The 152 nodules in 151 patients comprised 48 non-invasive follicular thyroid neoplasm with papillary-like nuclear features (NIFTPs; 31.6%), 60 invasive encapsulated FVPTCs (EFVPTCs; 39.5%), and 44 infiltrative FVPTCs (28.9%). The US features differed significantly between the subtypes of FVPTC. Discrimination was achieved between NIFTPs and infiltrative FVPTC, and between invasive EFVPTC and infiltrative FVPTC using histogram parameters; however, the parameters were not significantly different between NIFTP and invasive EFVPTC. It is feasible to use greyscale histogram analysis to differentiate between NIFTP and infiltrative FVPTC, but not between NIFTP and invasive EFVPTC. Histograms can be used as a supplementary tool to differentiate the subtypes of FVPTC. Copyright © 2017 The Royal College of Radiologists. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

True progression versus pseudoprogression in the treatment of glioblastomas: a comparison study of normalized cerebral blood volume and apparent diffusion coefficient by histogram analysis.

PubMed

Song, Yong Sub; Choi, Seung Hong; Park, Chul-Kee; Yi, Kyung Sik; Lee, Woong Jae; Yun, Tae Jin; Kim, Tae Min; Lee, Se-Hoon; Kim, Ji-Hoon; Sohn, Chul-Ho; Park, Sung-Hye; Kim, Il Han; Jahng, Geon-Ho; Chang, Kee-Hyun

2013-01-01

The purpose of this study was to differentiate true progression from pseudoprogression of glioblastomas treated with concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) with temozolomide (TMZ) by using histogram analysis of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) and normalized cerebral blood volume (nCBV) maps. Twenty patients with histopathologically proven glioblastoma who had received CCRT with TMZ underwent perfusion-weighted imaging and diffusion-weighted imaging (b = 0, 1000 sec/mm(2)). The corresponding nCBV and ADC maps for the newly visible, entirely enhancing lesions were calculated after the completion of CCRT with TMZ. Two observers independently measured the histogram parameters of the nCBV and ADC maps. The histogram parameters between the true progression group (n = 10) and the pseudoprogression group (n = 10) were compared by use of an unpaired Student's t test and subsequent multivariable stepwise logistic regression analysis to determine the best predictors for the differential diagnosis between the two groups. Receiver operating characteristic analysis was employed to determine the best cutoff values for the histogram parameters that proved to be significant predictors for differentiating true progression from pseudoprogression. Intraclass correlation coefficient was used to determine the level of inter-observer reliability for the histogram parameters. The 5th percentile value (C5) of the cumulative ADC histograms was a significant predictor for the differential diagnosis between true progression and pseudoprogression (p = 0.044 for observer 1; p = 0.011 for observer 2). Optimal cutoff values of 892 × 10(-6) mm(2)/sec for observer 1 and 907 × 10(-6) mm(2)/sec for observer 2 could help differentiate between the two groups with a sensitivity of 90% and 80%, respectively, a specificity of 90% and 80%, respectively, and an area under the curve of 0.880 and 0.840, respectively. There was no other significant differentiating parameter on the nCBV histograms. Inter-observer reliability was excellent or good for all histogram parameters (intraclass correlation coefficient range: 0.70-0.99). The C5 of the cumulative ADC histogram can be a promising parameter for the differentiation of true progression from pseudoprogression of newly visible, entirely enhancing lesions after CCRT with TMZ for glioblastomas.

True Progression versus Pseudoprogression in the Treatment of Glioblastomas: A Comparison Study of Normalized Cerebral Blood Volume and Apparent Diffusion Coefficient by Histogram Analysis

PubMed Central

Song, Yong Sub; Park, Chul-Kee; Yi, Kyung Sik; Lee, Woong Jae; Yun, Tae Jin; Kim, Tae Min; Lee, Se-Hoon; Kim, Ji-Hoon; Sohn, Chul-Ho; Park, Sung-Hye; Kim, Il Han; Jahng, Geon-Ho; Chang, Kee-Hyun

2013-01-01

Objective The purpose of this study was to differentiate true progression from pseudoprogression of glioblastomas treated with concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) with temozolomide (TMZ) by using histogram analysis of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) and normalized cerebral blood volume (nCBV) maps. Materials and Methods Twenty patients with histopathologically proven glioblastoma who had received CCRT with TMZ underwent perfusion-weighted imaging and diffusion-weighted imaging (b = 0, 1000 sec/mm2). The corresponding nCBV and ADC maps for the newly visible, entirely enhancing lesions were calculated after the completion of CCRT with TMZ. Two observers independently measured the histogram parameters of the nCBV and ADC maps. The histogram parameters between the true progression group (n = 10) and the pseudoprogression group (n = 10) were compared by use of an unpaired Student's t test and subsequent multivariable stepwise logistic regression analysis to determine the best predictors for the differential diagnosis between the two groups. Receiver operating characteristic analysis was employed to determine the best cutoff values for the histogram parameters that proved to be significant predictors for differentiating true progression from pseudoprogression. Intraclass correlation coefficient was used to determine the level of inter-observer reliability for the histogram parameters. Results The 5th percentile value (C5) of the cumulative ADC histograms was a significant predictor for the differential diagnosis between true progression and pseudoprogression (p = 0.044 for observer 1; p = 0.011 for observer 2). Optimal cutoff values of 892 × 10-6 mm2/sec for observer 1 and 907 × 10-6 mm2/sec for observer 2 could help differentiate between the two groups with a sensitivity of 90% and 80%, respectively, a specificity of 90% and 80%, respectively, and an area under the curve of 0.880 and 0.840, respectively. There was no other significant differentiating parameter on the nCBV histograms. Inter-observer reliability was excellent or good for all histogram parameters (intraclass correlation coefficient range: 0.70-0.99). Conclusion The C5 of the cumulative ADC histogram can be a promising parameter for the differentiation of true progression from pseudoprogression of newly visible, entirely enhancing lesions after CCRT with TMZ for glioblastomas. PMID:23901325

Individual Differences in Chromatic Brightness Matching.

DTIC Science & Technology

1984-10-03

very unreliable..." More recently, Boynton (15) has written, "Consider... a 555-nm green light on one side of a bi-partite field with a 4 6 5-nm blue...field immediately adjacent to it... We ask an observer to adjust the intensity of the blue field until it looks ’equally bright’ as the green one. This...clearly being blue, blue- green , green , yellow- green , yellow, and red. Their spectral transmittance curves are shown in Fig. 2. All were broad-band filters

Histogram Analysis of Diffusion Weighted Imaging at 3T is Useful for Prediction of Lymphatic Metastatic Spread, Proliferative Activity, and Cellularity in Thyroid Cancer.

PubMed

Schob, Stefan; Meyer, Hans Jonas; Dieckow, Julia; Pervinder, Bhogal; Pazaitis, Nikolaos; Höhn, Anne Kathrin; Garnov, Nikita; Horvath-Rizea, Diana; Hoffmann, Karl-Titus; Surov, Alexey

2017-04-12

Pre-surgical diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) is increasingly important in the context of thyroid cancer for identification of the optimal treatment strategy. It has exemplarily been shown that DWI at 3T can distinguish undifferentiated from well-differentiated thyroid carcinoma, which has decisive implications for the magnitude of surgery. This study used DWI histogram analysis of whole tumor apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) maps. The primary aim was to discriminate thyroid carcinomas which had already gained the capacity to metastasize lymphatically from those not yet being able to spread via the lymphatic system. The secondary aim was to reflect prognostically important tumor-biological features like cellularity and proliferative activity with ADC histogram analysis. Fifteen patients with follicular-cell derived thyroid cancer were enrolled. Lymph node status, extent of infiltration of surrounding tissue, and Ki-67 and p53 expression were assessed in these patients. DWI was obtained in a 3T system using b values of 0, 400, and 800 s/mm². Whole tumor ADC volumes were analyzed using a histogram-based approach. Several ADC parameters showed significant correlations with immunohistopathological parameters. Most importantly, ADC histogram skewness and ADC histogram kurtosis were able to differentiate between nodal negative and nodal positive thyroid carcinoma. histogram analysis of whole ADC tumor volumes has the potential to provide valuable information on tumor biology in thyroid carcinoma. However, further studies are warranted.

Histogram Analysis of Diffusion Weighted Imaging at 3T is Useful for Prediction of Lymphatic Metastatic Spread, Proliferative Activity, and Cellularity in Thyroid Cancer

PubMed Central

Schob, Stefan; Meyer, Hans Jonas; Dieckow, Julia; Pervinder, Bhogal; Pazaitis, Nikolaos; Höhn, Anne Kathrin; Garnov, Nikita; Horvath-Rizea, Diana; Hoffmann, Karl-Titus; Surov, Alexey

2017-01-01

Pre-surgical diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) is increasingly important in the context of thyroid cancer for identification of the optimal treatment strategy. It has exemplarily been shown that DWI at 3T can distinguish undifferentiated from well-differentiated thyroid carcinoma, which has decisive implications for the magnitude of surgery. This study used DWI histogram analysis of whole tumor apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) maps. The primary aim was to discriminate thyroid carcinomas which had already gained the capacity to metastasize lymphatically from those not yet being able to spread via the lymphatic system. The secondary aim was to reflect prognostically important tumor-biological features like cellularity and proliferative activity with ADC histogram analysis. Fifteen patients with follicular-cell derived thyroid cancer were enrolled. Lymph node status, extent of infiltration of surrounding tissue, and Ki-67 and p53 expression were assessed in these patients. DWI was obtained in a 3T system using b values of 0, 400, and 800 s/mm2. Whole tumor ADC volumes were analyzed using a histogram-based approach. Several ADC parameters showed significant correlations with immunohistopathological parameters. Most importantly, ADC histogram skewness and ADC histogram kurtosis were able to differentiate between nodal negative and nodal positive thyroid carcinoma. Conclusions: histogram analysis of whole ADC tumor volumes has the potential to provide valuable information on tumor biology in thyroid carcinoma. However, further studies are warranted. PMID:28417929

Enhancing tumor apparent diffusion coefficient histogram skewness stratifies the postoperative survival in recurrent glioblastoma multiforme patients undergoing salvage surgery.

PubMed

Zolal, Amir; Juratli, Tareq A; Linn, Jennifer; Podlesek, Dino; Sitoci Ficici, Kerim Hakan; Kitzler, Hagen H; Schackert, Gabriele; Sobottka, Stephan B; Rieger, Bernhard; Krex, Dietmar

2016-05-01

Objective To determine the value of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) histogram parameters for the prediction of individual survival in patients undergoing surgery for recurrent glioblastoma (GBM) in a retrospective cohort study. Methods Thirty-one patients who underwent surgery for first recurrence of a known GBM between 2008 and 2012 were included. The following parameters were collected: age, sex, enhancing tumor size, mean ADC, median ADC, ADC skewness, ADC kurtosis and fifth percentile of the ADC histogram, initial progression free survival (PFS), extent of second resection and further adjuvant treatment. The association of these parameters with survival and PFS after second surgery was analyzed using log-rank test and Cox regression. Results Using log-rank test, ADC histogram skewness of the enhancing tumor was significantly associated with both survival (p = 0.001) and PFS after second surgery (p = 0.005). Further parameters associated with prolonged survival after second surgery were: gross total resection at second surgery (p = 0.026), tumor size (0.040) and third surgery (p = 0.003). In the multivariate Cox analysis, ADC histogram skewness was shown to be an independent prognostic factor for survival after second surgery. Conclusion ADC histogram skewness of the enhancing lesion, enhancing lesion size, third surgery, as well as gross total resection have been shown to be associated with survival following the second surgery. ADC histogram skewness was an independent prognostic factor for survival in the multivariate analysis.

Quality Improvement of Liver Ultrasound Images Using Fuzzy Techniques.

PubMed

Bayani, Azadeh; Langarizadeh, Mostafa; Radmard, Amir Reza; Nejad, Ahmadreza Farzaneh

2016-12-01

Liver ultrasound images are so common and are applied so often to diagnose diffuse liver diseases like fatty liver. However, the low quality of such images makes it difficult to analyze them and diagnose diseases. The purpose of this study, therefore, is to improve the contrast and quality of liver ultrasound images. In this study, a number of image contrast enhancement algorithms which are based on fuzzy logic were applied to liver ultrasound images - in which the view of kidney is observable - using Matlab2013b to improve the image contrast and quality which has a fuzzy definition; just like image contrast improvement algorithms using a fuzzy intensification operator, contrast improvement algorithms applying fuzzy image histogram hyperbolization, and contrast improvement algorithms by fuzzy IF-THEN rules. With the measurement of Mean Squared Error and Peak Signal to Noise Ratio obtained from different images, fuzzy methods provided better results, and their implementation - compared with histogram equalization method - led both to the improvement of contrast and visual quality of images and to the improvement of liver segmentation algorithms results in images. Comparison of the four algorithms revealed the power of fuzzy logic in improving image contrast compared with traditional image processing algorithms. Moreover, contrast improvement algorithm based on a fuzzy intensification operator was selected as the strongest algorithm considering the measured indicators. This method can also be used in future studies on other ultrasound images for quality improvement and other image processing and analysis applications.

Quality Improvement of Liver Ultrasound Images Using Fuzzy Techniques

PubMed Central

Bayani, Azadeh; Langarizadeh, Mostafa; Radmard, Amir Reza; Nejad, Ahmadreza Farzaneh

2016-01-01

Background: Liver ultrasound images are so common and are applied so often to diagnose diffuse liver diseases like fatty liver. However, the low quality of such images makes it difficult to analyze them and diagnose diseases. The purpose of this study, therefore, is to improve the contrast and quality of liver ultrasound images. Methods: In this study, a number of image contrast enhancement algorithms which are based on fuzzy logic were applied to liver ultrasound images - in which the view of kidney is observable - using Matlab2013b to improve the image contrast and quality which has a fuzzy definition; just like image contrast improvement algorithms using a fuzzy intensification operator, contrast improvement algorithms applying fuzzy image histogram hyperbolization, and contrast improvement algorithms by fuzzy IF-THEN rules. Results: With the measurement of Mean Squared Error and Peak Signal to Noise Ratio obtained from different images, fuzzy methods provided better results, and their implementation - compared with histogram equalization method - led both to the improvement of contrast and visual quality of images and to the improvement of liver segmentation algorithms results in images. Conclusion: Comparison of the four algorithms revealed the power of fuzzy logic in improving image contrast compared with traditional image processing algorithms. Moreover, contrast improvement algorithm based on a fuzzy intensification operator was selected as the strongest algorithm considering the measured indicators. This method can also be used in future studies on other ultrasound images for quality improvement and other image processing and analysis applications. PMID:28077898

A Novel Quasi-One-Dimensional Topological Insulator in Bismuth Iodide β-Bi4I4: Theoretical Prediction and Experimental Confirmation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yazyev, Oleg V.; Autès, Gabriel; Isaeva, Anna; Moreschini, Luca; Johannsen, Jens C.; Pisoni, Andrea; Filatova, Taisia G.; Kuznetsov, Alexey N.; Forró, László; van den Broek, Wouter; Kim, Yeongkwan; Denlinger, Jonathan D.; Rotenberg, Eli; Bostwick, Aaron; Grioni, Marco

2015-03-01

A new strong Z2 topological insulator is theoretically predicted and experimentally confirmed in the β-phase of quasi-one-dimensional bismuth iodide Bi4I4. According to our first-principles calculations the material is characterized by Z2 invariants (1;110) making it the first representative of this topological class. Importantly, the electronic structure of β-Bi4I4 is in proximity with both the weak topological insulator phase (0;001) and the trivial phase (0;000), suggesting that a high degree of control over the topological electronic properties of this material can be achieved. Experimentally produced samples of this material appears to be practically defect-free, which results in a low concentration of intrinsic charge carriers. By using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) on the (001) surface we confirm the theoretical predictions of a highly anisotropic band structure with a small band gap hosting topological surface states centered at the M point, at the boundary of the surface Brillouin zone. We acknowledge support from Swiss NSF, ERC project ``TopoMat'', NCCR-MARVEL, DFG and US DoE. G.A., A.I., L.M. and J.C.J. contributed equally to this work.

Bi-2212/1T-TaS2 Van der Waals junctions: Interplay of proximity induced high-T c superconductivity and CDW order.

PubMed

Li, Ang J; Zhu, Xiaochen; Stewart, G R; Hebard, Arthur F

2017-07-05

Understanding the coexistence, competition and/or cooperation between superconductivity and charge density waves (CDWs) in the transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) is an elusive goal which, when realized, promises to reveal fundamental information on this important class of materials. Here, we use four-terminal current-voltage measurements to study the Van der Waals interface between freshly exfoliated flakes of the high-T c superconductor, Bi-2212, and the CDW-dominated TMD layered material, 1T-TaS 2 . For highly transparent barriers, there is a pronounced Andreev reflection feature providing evidence for proximity-induced high-T c superconductivity in 1T-TaS 2 with a surprisingly large energy gap (~20 meV) equal to half that of intrinsic Bi-2212 (~40 meV). Our systematic study using conductance spectroscopy of junctions with different transparencies also reveals the presence of two separate boson modes, each associated with a "dip-hump" structure. We infer that the proximity-induced high-T c superconductivity in the 1T-TaS 2 is driven by coupling to the metastable metallic phase coexisting within the Mott commensurate CDW (CCDW) phase and associated with a concomitant change of the CCDW order parameter in the interfacial region.

Effect of benign familial neutropenia on the periodontium of Yemenite Jews.

PubMed

Stabholz, A; Soskolne, V; Machtei, E; Or, R; Soskolne, W A

1990-01-01

The purpose of this study was to compare the periodontal status of Yemenite Jews with and without benign familial neutropenia (BFN). Thirty-four volunteers were examined at baseline and after 3 years. Plaque index (PlI), bleeding index (BI) probing depth (PD), and attachment levels (AL) were recorded. Differential blood counts were done on at least three occasions during the study. Volunteers with at least one count of less than 2000 neutrophils were considered neutropenic. The majority of patients received oral hygiene instructions and scaling at the initial visit. During the study there was a significant drop in PlI (P less than 0.01) and BI (P less than 0.05). At baseline the BFN and non-BFN volunteers had similar PlI, but the BI was significantly greater in the BFN group. At follow-up, there was a significantly greater number of teeth with pockets greater than or equal to 6 mm in the BFN group (P less than 0.05). These results indicate that volunteers with BFN, a phenomenon that has not previously been associated with any pathology, are more susceptible to gingival inflammation and attachment loss than unaffected volunteers and that they respond more favorably to an improvement in oral hygiene.

A Burke-Schumann Analysis of Dual-Flame Structure Supported by a Burning Droplet

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nayagam, V.; Dietrich, D.; Williams, F. A.

2016-01-01

Droplet combustion experiments carried out onboard the International Space Station (ISS), using pure fuels and fuel mixtures, have shown that quasi-steady burning can be sustained by a non-traditional flame configuration, namely a "cool flame" burning in the "partial-burning" regime where both fuel and oxygen leak through the low-temperature controlled flame-sheet. Recent experiments involving large, bi-component fuel (n-decane and hexanol, 50/50 by volume) droplets at elevated pressures show that the visible, hot flame becomes extremely weak while the burning rate remains relatively high, suggesting the possibility of simultaneous presence of "cool" and "hot" flames of roughly equal importance. The radiant output from these bi-component droplets is relatively high and cannot be accounted for only by the presence of a visible hot-flame. In this analysis we explore the theoretical possibility of a dual-flame structure, where one flame lies close to the droplet surface called the "cool-flame," and other farther away from the droplet surface, termed the "hot-flame." A Burke-Schumann analysis of this dual-structure seems to indicate such flame structures are possible over a narrow range of initial conditions. Theoretical results can be compared against available experimental data for pure and bi-component fuel droplet combustion to test how realistic the model may be.

Critical current density of high-quality Bi2Sr2Ca2Cu3Ox thin films prepared by metalorganic chemical-vapor deposition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yamasaki, H.; Endo, K.; Nakagawa, Y.; Umeda, M.; Kosaka, S.; Misawa, S.; Yoshida, S.; Kajimura, K.

1992-10-01

Critical current densities Jc were measured in as-deposited, c-axis-oriented Bi2Sr2Ca2Cu3Ox thin films with Tc values as high as 97 K, which were prepared by metalorganic chemical-vapor deposition. These films showed high Jc (≳109 A/m2) at 77.3 K in high magnetic fields (≥1 T, H∥a-b plane). The best values are 3.3×109 A/m2 at 1 T and 9.1×108 A/m2 at 8 T, which are the highest Jc for Bi-oxide thin films among those reported so far. There were no signs of weak links in the Jc(H) behavior, and the surface morphology examined by scanning electron microscopy showed no apparent grain boundaries. The values of Jc decreased sharply when the applied field deviated from the a-b plane, and went to zero at the angles where the field component in the c direction is nearly equal to the irreversibility field Hc2* parallel to the c axis. The angular dependence of Jc of these films is most reasonably explained by the theory of intrinsic pinning.

Histogram-based normalization technique on human brain magnetic resonance images from different acquisitions.

PubMed

Sun, Xiaofei; Shi, Lin; Luo, Yishan; Yang, Wei; Li, Hongpeng; Liang, Peipeng; Li, Kuncheng; Mok, Vincent C T; Chu, Winnie C W; Wang, Defeng

2015-07-28

Intensity normalization is an important preprocessing step in brain magnetic resonance image (MRI) analysis. During MR image acquisition, different scanners or parameters would be used for scanning different subjects or the same subject at a different time, which may result in large intensity variations. This intensity variation will greatly undermine the performance of subsequent MRI processing and population analysis, such as image registration, segmentation, and tissue volume measurement. In this work, we proposed a new histogram normalization method to reduce the intensity variation between MRIs obtained from different acquisitions. In our experiment, we scanned each subject twice on two different scanners using different imaging parameters. With noise estimation, the image with lower noise level was determined and treated as the high-quality reference image. Then the histogram of the low-quality image was normalized to the histogram of the high-quality image. The normalization algorithm includes two main steps: (1) intensity scaling (IS), where, for the high-quality reference image, the intensities of the image are first rescaled to a range between the low intensity region (LIR) value and the high intensity region (HIR) value; and (2) histogram normalization (HN),where the histogram of low-quality image as input image is stretched to match the histogram of the reference image, so that the intensity range in the normalized image will also lie between LIR and HIR. We performed three sets of experiments to evaluate the proposed method, i.e., image registration, segmentation, and tissue volume measurement, and compared this with the existing intensity normalization method. It is then possible to validate that our histogram normalization framework can achieve better results in all the experiments. It is also demonstrated that the brain template with normalization preprocessing is of higher quality than the template with no normalization processing. We have proposed a histogram-based MRI intensity normalization method. The method can normalize scans which were acquired on different MRI units. We have validated that the method can greatly improve the image analysis performance. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that with the help of our normalization method, we can create a higher quality Chinese brain template.

A contrast enhancement method for improving the segmentation of breast lesions on ultrasonography.

PubMed

Flores, Wilfrido Gómez; Pereira, Wagner Coelho de Albuquerque

2017-01-01

This paper presents an adaptive contrast enhancement method based on sigmoidal mapping function (SACE) used for improving the computerized segmentation of breast lesions on ultrasound. First, from the original ultrasound image an intensity variation map is obtained, which is used to generate local sigmoidal mapping functions related to distinct contextual regions. Then, a bilinear interpolation scheme is used to transform every original pixel to a new gray level value. Also, four contrast enhancement techniques widely used in breast ultrasound enhancement are implemented: histogram equalization (HEQ), contrast limited adaptive histogram equalization (CLAHE), fuzzy enhancement (FEN), and sigmoid based enhancement (SEN). In addition, these contrast enhancement techniques are considered in a computerized lesion segmentation scheme based on watershed transformation. The performance comparison among techniques is assessed in terms of both the quality of contrast enhancement and the segmentation accuracy. The former is quantified by the measure, where the greater the value, the better the contrast enhancement, whereas the latter is calculated by the Jaccard index, which should tend towards unity to indicate adequate segmentation. The experiments consider a data set with 500 breast ultrasound images. The results show that SACE outperforms its counterparts, where the median values for the measure are: SACE: 139.4, SEN: 68.2, HEQ: 64.1, CLAHE: 62.8, and FEN: 7.9. Considering the segmentation performance results, the SACE method presents the largest accuracy, where the median values for the Jaccard index are: SACE: 0.81, FEN: 0.80, CLAHE: 0.79, HEQ: 77, and SEN: 0.63. The SACE method performs well due to the combination of three elements: (1) the intensity variation map reduces intensity variations that could distort the real response of the mapping function, (2) the sigmoidal mapping function enhances the gray level range where the transition between lesion and background is found, and (3) the adaptive enhancing scheme for coping with local contrasts. Hence, the SACE approach is appropriate for enhancing contrast before computerized lesion segmentation. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Classification of HCV and HIV-1 Sequences with the Branching Index

PubMed Central

Hraber, Peter; Kuiken, Carla; Waugh, Mark; Geer, Shaun; Bruno, William J.; Leitner, Thomas

2009-01-01

SUMMARY Classification of viral sequences should be fast, objective, accurate, and reproducible. Most methods that classify sequences use either pairwise distances or phylogenetic relations, but cannot discern when a sequence is unclassifiable. The branching index (BI) combines distance and phylogeny methods to compute a ratio that quantifies how closely a query sequence clusters with a subtype clade. In the hypothesis-testing framework of statistical inference, the BI is compared with a threshold to test whether sufficient evidence exists for the query sequence to be classified among known sequences. If above the threshold, the null hypothesis of no support for the subtype relation is rejected and the sequence is taken as belonging to the subtype clade with which it clusters on the tree. This study evaluates statistical properties of the branching index for subtype classification in HCV and HIV-1. Pairs of BI values with known positive and negative test results were computed from 10,000 random fragments of reference alignments. Sampled fragments were of sufficient length to contain phylogenetic signal that groups reference sequences together properly into subtype clades. For HCV, a threshold BI of 0.71 yields 95.1% agreement with reference subtypes, with equal false positive and false negative rates. For HIV-1, a threshold of 0.66 yields 93.5% agreement. Higher thresholds can be used where lower false positive rates are required. In synthetic recombinants, regions without breakpoints are recognized accurately; regions with breakpoints do not uniquely represent any known subtype. Web-based services for viral subtype classification with the branching index are available online. PMID:18753218

Automatic dynamic range adjustment for ultrasound B-mode imaging.

PubMed

Lee, Yeonhwa; Kang, Jinbum; Yoo, Yangmo

2015-02-01

In medical ultrasound imaging, dynamic range (DR) is defined as the difference between the maximum and minimum values of the displayed signal to display and it is one of the most essential parameters that determine its image quality. Typically, DR is given with a fixed value and adjusted manually by operators, which leads to low clinical productivity and high user dependency. Furthermore, in 3D ultrasound imaging, DR values are unable to be adjusted during 3D data acquisition. A histogram matching method, which equalizes the histogram of an input image based on that from a reference image, can be applied to determine the DR value. However, it could be lead to an over contrasted image. In this paper, a new Automatic Dynamic Range Adjustment (ADRA) method is presented that adaptively adjusts the DR value by manipulating input images similar to a reference image. The proposed ADRA method uses the distance ratio between the log average and each extreme value of a reference image. To evaluate the performance of the ADRA method, the similarity between the reference and input images was measured by computing a correlation coefficient (CC). In in vivo experiments, the CC values were increased by applying the ADRA method from 0.6872 to 0.9870 and from 0.9274 to 0.9939 for kidney and liver data, respectively, compared to the fixed DR case. In addition, the proposed ADRA method showed to outperform the histogram matching method with in vivo liver and kidney data. When using 3D abdominal data with 70 frames, while the CC value from the ADRA method is slightly increased (i.e., 0.6%), the proposed method showed improved image quality in the c-plane compared to its fixed counterpart, which suffered from a shadow artifact. These results indicate that the proposed method can enhance image quality in 2D and 3D ultrasound B-mode imaging by improving the similarity between the reference and input images while eliminating unnecessary manual interaction by the user. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Value of MR histogram analyses for prediction of microvascular invasion of hepatocellular carcinoma.

PubMed

Huang, Ya-Qin; Liang, He-Yue; Yang, Zhao-Xia; Ding, Ying; Zeng, Meng-Su; Rao, Sheng-Xiang

2016-06-01

The objective is to explore the value of preoperative magnetic resonance (MR) histogram analyses in predicting microvascular invasion (MVI) of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).Fifty-one patients with histologically confirmed HCC who underwent diffusion-weighted and contrast-enhanced MR imaging were included. Histogram analyses were performed and mean, variance, skewness, kurtosis, 1th, 10th, 50th, 90th, and 99th percentiles were derived. Quantitative histogram parameters were compared between HCCs with and without MVI. Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) analyses were generated to compare the diagnostic performance of tumor size, histogram analyses of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) maps, and MR enhancement.The mean, 1th, 10th, and 50th percentiles of ADC maps, and the mean, variance. 1th, 10th, 50th, 90th, and 99th percentiles of the portal venous phase (PVP) images were significantly different between the groups with and without MVI (P <0.05), with area under the ROC curves (AUCs) of 0.66 to 0.74 for ADC and 0.76 to 0.88 for PVP. The largest AUC of PVP (1th percentile) showed significantly higher accuracy compared with that of arterial phase (AP) or tumor size (P <0.001).MR histogram analyses-in particular for 1th percentile for PVP images-held promise for prediction of MVI of HCC.

Histogram analysis of apparent diffusion coefficient maps for differentiating primary CNS lymphomas from tumefactive demyelinating lesions.

PubMed

Lu, Shan Shan; Kim, Sang Joon; Kim, Namkug; Kim, Ho Sung; Choi, Choong Gon; Lim, Young Min

2015-04-01

This study intended to investigate the usefulness of histogram analysis of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) maps for discriminating primary CNS lymphomas (PCNSLs), especially atypical PCNSLs, from tumefactive demyelinating lesions (TDLs). Forty-seven patients with PCNSLs and 18 with TDLs were enrolled in our study. Hyperintense lesions seen on T2-weighted images were defined as ROIs after ADC maps were registered to the corresponding T2-weighted image. ADC histograms were calculated from the ROIs containing the entire lesion on every section and on a voxel-by-voxel basis. The ADC histogram parameters were compared among all PCNSLs and TDLs as well as between the subgroup of atypical PCNSLs and TDLs. ROC curves were constructed to evaluate the diagnostic performance of the histogram parameters and to determine the optimum thresholds. The differences between the PCNSLs and TDLs were found in the minimum ADC values (ADCmin) and in the 5th and 10th percentiles (ADC5% and ADC10%) of the cumulative ADC histograms. However, no statistical significance was found in the mean ADC value or in the ADC value concerning the mode, kurtosis, and skewness. The ADCmin, ADC5%, and ADC10% were also lower in atypical PCNSLs than in TDLs. ADCmin was the best indicator for discriminating atypical PCNSLs from TDLs, with a threshold of 556×10(-6) mm2/s (sensitivity, 81.3 %; specificity, 88.9%). Histogram analysis of ADC maps may help to discriminate PCNSLs from TDLs and may be particularly useful in differentiating atypical PCNSLs from TDLs.

Assessment of histological differentiation in gastric cancers using whole-volume histogram analysis of apparent diffusion coefficient maps.

PubMed

Zhang, Yujuan; Chen, Jun; Liu, Song; Shi, Hua; Guan, Wenxian; Ji, Changfeng; Guo, Tingting; Zheng, Huanhuan; Guan, Yue; Ge, Yun; He, Jian; Zhou, Zhengyang; Yang, Xiaofeng; Liu, Tian

2017-02-01

To investigate the efficacy of histogram analysis of the entire tumor volume in apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) maps for differentiating between histological grades in gastric cancer. Seventy-eight patients with gastric cancer were enrolled in a retrospective 3.0T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) study. ADC maps were obtained at two different b values (0 and 1000 sec/mm 2 ) for each patient. Tumors were delineated on each slice of the ADC maps, and a histogram for the entire tumor volume was subsequently generated. A series of histogram parameters (eg, skew and kurtosis) were calculated and correlated with the histological grade of the surgical specimen. The diagnostic performance of each parameter for distinguishing poorly from moderately well-differentiated gastric cancers was assessed by using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). There were significant differences in the 5 th , 10 th , 25 th , and 50 th percentiles, skew, and kurtosis between poorly and well-differentiated gastric cancers (P < 0.05). There were correlations between the degrees of differentiation and histogram parameters, including the 10 th percentile, skew, kurtosis, and max frequency; the correlation coefficients were 0.273, -0.361, -0.339, and -0.370, respectively. Among all the histogram parameters, the max frequency had the largest AUC value, which was 0.675. Histogram analysis of the ADC maps on the basis of the entire tumor volume can be useful in differentiating between histological grades for gastric cancer. 4 J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2017;45:440-449. © 2016 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.

Macronuclear chromatin structure dynamics in Colpoda inflata (Protista, Ciliophora) resting encystment.

PubMed

Tiano, L; Chessa, M G; Carrara, S; Tagliafierro, G; Delmonte Corrado, M U

1999-01-01

The chromatin structure dynamics of the Colpoda inflata macronucleus have been investigated in relation to its functional condition, concerning chromatin body extrusion regulating activity. Samples of 2- and 25-day-old resting cysts derived from a standard culture, and of 1-year-old resting cysts derived from a senescent culture, were examined by means of histogram analysis performed on acquired optical microscopy images. Three groups of histograms were detected in each sample. Histogram classification, clustering and matching were assessed in order to obtain the mean histogram of each group. Comparative analysis of the mean histogram showed a similarity in the grey level range of 25-day- and 1-year-old cysts, unlike the wider grey level range found in 2-day-old cysts. Moreover, the respective mean histograms of the three cyst samples appeared rather similar in shape. All this implies that macronuclear chromatin structural features of 1-year-old cysts are common to both cyst standard cultures. The evaluation of the acquired images and their respective histograms evidenced a dynamic state of the macronuclear chromatin, appearing differently condensed in relation to the chromatin body extrusion regulating activity of the macronucleus. The coexistence of a chromatin-decondensed macronucleus with a pycnotic extrusion body suggests that chromatin unable to decondense, thus inactive, is extruded. This finding, along with the presence of chromatin structural features common to standard and senescent cyst populations, supports the occurrence of 'rejuvenated' cell lines from 1-year-old encysted senescent cells, a phenomenon which could be a result of accomplished macronuclear renewal.

Non-small cell lung cancer: Whole-lesion histogram analysis of the apparent diffusion coefficient for assessment of tumor grade, lymphovascular invasion and pleural invasion

PubMed Central

Tsuchiya, Naoko; Doai, Mariko; Usuda, Katsuo; Uramoto, Hidetaka

2017-01-01

Purpose Investigating the diagnostic accuracy of histogram analyses of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values for determining non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) tumor grades, lymphovascular invasion, and pleural invasion. Materials and methods We studied 60 surgically diagnosed NSCLC patients. Diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) was performed in the axial plane using a navigator-triggered single-shot, echo-planar imaging sequence with prospective acquisition correction. The ADC maps were generated, and we placed a volume-of-interest on the tumor to construct the whole-lesion histogram. Using the histogram, we calculated the mean, 5th, 10th, 25th, 50th, 75th, 90th, and 95th percentiles of ADC, skewness, and kurtosis. Histogram parameters were correlated with tumor grade, lymphovascular invasion, and pleural invasion. We performed a receiver operating characteristics (ROC) analysis to assess the diagnostic performance of histogram parameters for distinguishing different pathologic features. Results The ADC mean, 10th, 25th, 50th, 75th, 90th, and 95th percentiles showed significant differences among the tumor grades. The ADC mean, 25th, 50th, 75th, 90th, and 95th percentiles were significant histogram parameters between high- and low-grade tumors. The ROC analysis between high- and low-grade tumors showed that the 95th percentile ADC achieved the highest area under curve (AUC) at 0.74. Lymphovascular invasion was associated with the ADC mean, 50th, 75th, 90th, and 95th percentiles, skewness, and kurtosis. Kurtosis achieved the highest AUC at 0.809. Pleural invasion was only associated with skewness, with the AUC of 0.648. Conclusions ADC histogram analyses on the basis of the entire tumor volume are able to stratify NSCLCs' tumor grade, lymphovascular invasion and pleural invasion. PMID:28207858

Synthesis and nonstoichiometry of the zirconium trihalides

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

Daake, R.L.; Corbett, J.D.

1978-05-01

The synthesis of ZrX/sub 3/ (X = Cl, Br, I) by reaction of the corresponding tetrahalides with ZrCl, ZrBr, or ZrI/sub 1.8/ in sealed tantalum tubing gives high-purity, single-phase products, thereby avoiding problems of the relatively low reactivity of and contamination by zirconium powder reductant used previously. Phase limits for the three trihalides established by isopiestic equilibration with the adjoining phases are 2.94 (2) less than or equal to Cl:Zr less than or equal to 3.03 (2) (440/sup 0/C), 2.87 (2) less than or equal to Br:Zr less than or equal to 3.23 (2) (435/sup 0/C), and 2.83 (5) (775/supmore » 0/C) less than or equal to I:Zr less than or equal to 3.43 (5) (475/sup 0/C). The hexagonal lattice constants for the bromide phase (Guinier techniques) decrease linearly with increasing bromide content across the entire range without the development of any additional lines. The variation of the c dimension for ZrI/sub 3/ (and HfI/sub 3/) on oxidation is in the opposite direction, and in this case extra lines from a presumed superlattice structure developed toward the upper limit. The structural implications of these results are considered. The reported structure for ..cap alpha..-ZrCl/sub 3/, an unusual BiI/sub 3/-type variant, was based on a misassigned ZrCl powder pattern and therefore appears to be in error. 25 references.« less

Image enhancement software for underwater recovery operations: User's manual

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Partridge, William J.; Therrien, Charles W.

1989-06-01

This report describes software for performing image enhancement on live or recorded video images. The software was developed for operational use during underwater recovery operations at the Naval Undersea Warfare Engineering Station. The image processing is performed on an IBM-PC/AT compatible computer equipped with hardware to digitize and display video images. The software provides the capability to provide contrast enhancement and other similar functions in real time through hardware lookup tables, to automatically perform histogram equalization, to capture one or more frames and average them or apply one of several different processing algorithms to a captured frame. The report is in the form of a user manual for the software and includes guided tutorial and reference sections. A Digital Image Processing Primer in the appendix serves to explain the principle concepts that are used in the image processing.

Local dynamic range compensation for scanning electron microscope imaging system by sub-blocking multiple peak HE with convolution.

PubMed

Sim, K S; Teh, V; Tey, Y C; Kho, T K

2016-11-01

This paper introduces new development technique to improve the Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) image quality and we name it as sub-blocking multiple peak histogram equalization (SUB-B-MPHE) with convolution operator. By using this new proposed technique, it shows that the new modified MPHE performs better than original MPHE. In addition, the sub-blocking method consists of convolution operator which can help to remove the blocking effect for SEM images after applying this new developed technique. Hence, by using the convolution operator, it effectively removes the blocking effect by properly distributing the suitable pixel value for the whole image. Overall, the SUB-B-MPHE with convolution outperforms the rest of methods. SCANNING 38:492-501, 2016. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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.

Optical Diode Effect at Spin-Wave Excitations of the Room-Temperature Multiferroic BiFeO_{3}.

PubMed

Kézsmárki, I; Nagel, U; Bordács, S; Fishman, R S; Lee, J H; Yi, Hee Taek; Cheong, S-W; Rõõm, T

2015-09-18

Multiferroics permit the magnetic control of the electric polarization and the electric control of the magnetization. These static magnetoelectric (ME) effects are of enormous interest: The ability to read and write a magnetic state current-free by an electric voltage would provide a huge technological advantage. Dynamic or optical ME effects are equally interesting, because they give rise to unidirectional light propagation as recently observed in low-temperature multiferroics. This phenomenon, if realized at room temperature, would allow the development of optical diodes which transmit unpolarized light in one, but not in the opposite, direction. Here, we report strong unidirectional transmission in the room-temperature multiferroic BiFeO_{3} over the gigahertz-terahertz frequency range. The supporting theory attributes the observed unidirectional transmission to the spin-current-driven dynamic ME effect. These findings are an important step toward the realization of optical diodes, supplemented by the ability to switch the transmission direction with a magnetic or electric field.

DWI-associated entire-tumor histogram analysis for the differentiation of low-grade prostate cancer from intermediate-high-grade prostate cancer.

PubMed

Wu, Chen-Jiang; Wang, Qing; Li, Hai; Wang, Xiao-Ning; Liu, Xi-Sheng; Shi, Hai-Bin; Zhang, Yu-Dong

2015-10-01

To investigate diagnostic efficiency of DWI using entire-tumor histogram analysis in differentiating the low-grade (LG) prostate cancer (PCa) from intermediate-high-grade (HG) PCa in comparison with conventional ROI-based measurement. DW images (b of 0-1400 s/mm(2)) from 126 pathology-confirmed PCa (diameter >0.5 cm) in 110 patients were retrospectively collected and processed by mono-exponential model. The measurement of tumor apparent diffusion coefficients (ADCs) was performed with using histogram-based and ROI-based approach, respectively. The diagnostic ability of ADCs from two methods for differentiating LG-PCa (Gleason score, GS ≤ 6) from HG-PCa (GS > 6) was determined by ROC regression, and compared by McNemar's test. There were 49 LG-tumor and 77 HG-tumor at pathologic findings. Histogram-based ADCs (mean, median, 10th and 90th) and ROI-based ADCs (mean) showed dominant relationships with ordinal GS of Pca (ρ = -0.225 to -0.406, p < 0.05). All above imaging indices reflected significant difference between LG-PCa and HG-PCa (all p values <0.01). Histogram 10th ADCs had dominantly high Az (0.738), Youden index (0.415), and positive likelihood ratio (LR+, 2.45) in stratifying tumor GS against mean, median and 90th ADCs, and ROI-based ADCs. Histogram mean, median, and 10th ADCs showed higher specificity (65.3%-74.1% vs. 44.9%, p < 0.01), but lower sensitivity (57.1%-71.3% vs. 84.4%, p < 0.05) than ROI-based ADCs in differentiating LG-PCa from HG-PCa. DWI-associated histogram analysis had higher specificity, Az, Youden index, and LR+ for differentiation of PCa Gleason grade than ROI-based approach.

Dynamic contrast-enhanced MR imaging of the rectum: Correlations between single-section and whole-tumor histogram analyses.

PubMed

Choi, M H; Oh, S N; Park, G E; Yeo, D-M; Jung, S E

2018-05-10

To evaluate the interobserver and intermethod correlations of histogram metrics of dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) parameters acquired by multiple readers using the single-section and whole-tumor volume methods. Four DCE parameters (K trans , K ep , V e , V p ) were evaluated in 45 patients (31 men and 14 women; mean age, 61±11 years [range, 29-83 years]) with locally advanced rectal cancer using pre-chemoradiotherapy (CRT) MRI. Ten histogram metrics were extracted using two methods of lesion selection performed by three radiologists: the whole-tumor volume method for the whole tumor on axial section-by-section images and the single-section method for the entire area of the tumor on one axial image. The interobserver and intermethod correlations were evaluated using the intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs). The ICCs showed excellent interobserver and intermethod correlations in most of histogram metrics of the DCE parameters. The ICCs among the three readers were > 0.7 (P<0.001) for all histogram metrics, except for the minimum and maximum. The intermethod correlations for most of the histogram metrics were excellent for each radiologist, regardless of the differences in the radiologists' experience. The interobserver and intermethod correlations for most of the histogram metrics of the DCE parameters are excellent in rectal cancer. Therefore, the single-section method may be a potential alternative to the whole-tumor volume method using pre-CRT MRI, despite the fact that the high agreement between the two methods cannot be extrapolated to post-CRT MRI. Copyright © 2018 Société française de radiologie. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Measuring the apparent diffusion coefficient in primary rectal tumors: is there a benefit in performing histogram analyses?

PubMed

van Heeswijk, Miriam M; Lambregts, Doenja M J; Maas, Monique; Lahaye, Max J; Ayas, Z; Slenter, Jos M G M; Beets, Geerard L; Bakers, Frans C H; Beets-Tan, Regina G H

2017-06-01

The apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) is a potential prognostic imaging marker in rectal cancer. Typically, mean ADC values are used, derived from precise manual whole-volume tumor delineations by experts. The aim was first to explore whether non-precise circular delineation combined with histogram analysis can be a less cumbersome alternative to acquire similar ADC measurements and second to explore whether histogram analyses provide additional prognostic information. Thirty-seven patients who underwent a primary staging MRI including diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI; b0, 25, 50, 100, 500, 1000; 1.5 T) were included. Volumes-of-interest (VOIs) were drawn on b1000-DWI: (a) precise delineation, manually tracing tumor boundaries (2 expert readers), and (b) non-precise delineation, drawing circular VOIs with a wide margin around the tumor (2 non-experts). Mean ADC and histogram metrics (mean, min, max, median, SD, skewness, kurtosis, 5th-95th percentiles) were derived from the VOIs and delineation time was recorded. Measurements were compared between the two methods and correlated with prognostic outcome parameters. Median delineation time reduced from 47-165 s (precise) to 21-43 s (non-precise). The 45th percentile of the non-precise delineation showed the best correlation with the mean ADC from the precise delineation as the reference standard (ICC 0.71-0.75). None of the mean ADC or histogram parameters showed significant prognostic value; only the total tumor volume (VOI) was significantly larger in patients with positive clinical N stage and mesorectal fascia involvement. When performing non-precise tumor delineation, histogram analysis (in specific 45th ADC percentile) may be used as an alternative to obtain similar ADC values as with precise whole tumor delineation. Histogram analyses are not beneficial to obtain additional prognostic information.

The histogram analysis of diffusion-weighted intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) imaging for differentiating the gleason grade of prostate cancer.

PubMed

Zhang, Yu-Dong; Wang, Qing; Wu, Chen-Jiang; Wang, Xiao-Ning; Zhang, Jing; Liu, Hui; Liu, Xi-Sheng; Shi, Hai-Bin

2015-04-01

To evaluate histogram analysis of intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) for discriminating the Gleason grade of prostate cancer (PCa). A total of 48 patients pathologically confirmed as having clinically significant PCa (size > 0.5 cm) underwent preoperative DW-MRI (b of 0-900 s/mm(2)). Data was post-processed by monoexponential and IVIM model for quantitation of apparent diffusion coefficients (ADCs), perfusion fraction f, diffusivity D and pseudo-diffusivity D*. Histogram analysis was performed by outlining entire-tumour regions of interest (ROIs) from histological-radiological correlation. The ability of imaging indices to differentiate low-grade (LG, Gleason score (GS) ≤6) from intermediate/high-grade (HG, GS > 6) PCa was analysed by ROC regression. Eleven patients had LG tumours (18 foci) and 37 patients had HG tumours (42 foci) on pathology examination. HG tumours had significantly lower ADCs and D in terms of mean, median, 10th and 75th percentiles, combined with higher histogram kurtosis and skewness for ADCs, D and f, than LG PCa (p < 0.05). Histogram D showed relatively higher correlations (ñ = 0.641-0.668 vs. ADCs: 0.544-0.574) with ordinal GS of PCa; and its mean, median and 10th percentile performed better than ADCs did in distinguishing LG from HG PCa. It is feasible to stratify the pathological grade of PCa by IVIM with histogram metrics. D performed better in distinguishing LG from HG tumour than conventional ADCs. • GS had relatively higher correlation with tumour D than ADCs. • Difference of histogram D among two-grade tumours was statistically significant. • D yielded better individual features in demonstrating tumour grade than ADC. • D* and f failed to determine tumour grade of PCa.

Subtype Differentiation of Small (≤ 4 cm) Solid Renal Mass Using Volumetric Histogram Analysis of DWI at 3-T MRI.

PubMed

Li, Anqin; Xing, Wei; Li, Haojie; Hu, Yao; Hu, Daoyu; Li, Zhen; Kamel, Ihab R

2018-05-29

The purpose of this article is to evaluate the utility of volumetric histogram analysis of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) derived from reduced-FOV DWI for small (≤ 4 cm) solid renal mass subtypes at 3-T MRI. This retrospective study included 38 clear cell renal cell carcinomas (RCCs), 16 papillary RCCs, 18 chromophobe RCCs, 13 minimal fat angiomyolipomas (AMLs), and seven oncocytomas evaluated with preoperative MRI. Volumetric ADC maps were generated using all slices of the reduced-FOV DW images to obtain histogram parameters, including mean, median, 10th percentile, 25th percentile, 75th percentile, 90th percentile, and SD ADC values, as well as skewness, kurtosis, and entropy. Comparisons of these parameters were made by one-way ANOVA, t test, and ROC curves analysis. ADC histogram parameters differentiated eight of 10 pairs of renal tumors. Three subtype pairs (clear cell RCC vs papillary RCC, clear cell RCC vs chromophobe RCC, and clear cell RCC vs minimal fat AML) were differentiated by mean ADC. However, five other subtype pairs (clear cell RCC vs oncocytoma, papillary RCC vs minimal fat AML, papillary RCC vs oncocytoma, chromophobe RCC vs minimal fat AML, and chromophobe RCC vs oncocytoma) were differentiated by histogram distribution parameters exclusively (all p < 0.05). Mean ADC, median ADC, 75th and 90th percentile ADC, SD ADC, and entropy of malignant tumors were significantly higher than those of benign tumors (all p < 0.05). Combination of mean ADC with histogram parameters yielded the highest AUC (0.851; sensitivity, 80.0%; specificity, 86.1%). Quantitative volumetric ADC histogram analysis may help differentiate various subtypes of small solid renal tumors, including benign and malignant lesions.

Diffusion-weighted imaging: Apparent diffusion coefficient histogram analysis for detecting pathologic complete response to chemoradiotherapy in locally advanced rectal cancer.

PubMed

Choi, Moon Hyung; Oh, Soon Nam; Rha, Sung Eun; Choi, Joon-Il; Lee, Sung Hak; Jang, Hong Seok; Kim, Jun-Gi; Grimm, Robert; Son, Yohan

2016-07-01

To investigate the usefulness of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values derived from histogram analysis of the whole rectal cancer as a quantitative parameter to evaluate pathologic complete response (pCR) on preoperative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). We enrolled a total of 86 consecutive patients who had undergone surgery for rectal cancer after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (CRT) at our institution between July 2012 and November 2014. Two radiologists who were blinded to the final pathological results reviewed post-CRT MRI to evaluate tumor stage. Quantitative image analysis was performed using T2 -weighted and diffusion-weighted images independently by two radiologists using dedicated software that performed histogram analysis to assess the distribution of ADC in the whole tumor. After surgery, 16 patients were confirmed to have achieved pCR (18.6%). All parameters from pre- and post-CRT ADC histogram showed good or excellent agreement between two readers. The minimum, 10th, 25th, 50th, and 75th percentile and mean ADC from post-CRT ADC histogram were significantly higher in the pCR group than in the non-pCR group for both readers. The 25th percentile value from ADC histogram in post-CRT MRI had the best diagnostic performance for detecting pCR, with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.796. Low percentile values derived from the ADC histogram analysis of rectal cancer on MRI after CRT showed a significant difference between pCR and non-pCR groups, demonstrating the utility of the ADC value as a quantitative and objective marker to evaluate complete pathologic response to preoperative CRT in rectal cancer. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2016;44:212-220. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Serial data acquisition for GEM-2D detector

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kolasinski, Piotr; Pozniak, Krzysztof T.; Czarski, Tomasz; Linczuk, Maciej; Byszuk, Adrian; Chernyshova, Maryna; Juszczyk, Bartlomiej; Kasprowicz, Grzegorz; Wojenski, Andrzej; Zabolotny, Wojciech; Zienkiewicz, Pawel; Mazon, Didier; Malard, Philippe; Herrmann, Albrecht; Vezinet, Didier

2014-11-01

This article debates about data fast acquisition and histogramming method for the X-ray GEM detector. The whole process of histogramming is performed by FPGA chips (Spartan-6 series from Xilinx). The results of the histogramming process are stored in an internal FPGA memory and then sent to PC. In PC data is merged and processed by MATLAB. The structure of firmware functionality implemented in the FPGAs is described. Examples of test measurements and results are presented.

Frequency distribution histograms for the rapid analysis of data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Burke, P. V.; Bullen, B. L.; Poff, K. L.

1988-01-01

The mean and standard error are good representations for the response of a population to an experimental parameter and are frequently used for this purpose. Frequency distribution histograms show, in addition, responses of individuals in the population. Both the statistics and a visual display of the distribution of the responses can be obtained easily using a microcomputer and available programs. The type of distribution shown by the histogram may suggest different mechanisms to be tested.

A Monte Carlo study of the impact of the choice of rectum volume definition on estimates of equivalent uniform doses and the volume parameter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kvinnsland, Yngve; Muren, Ludvig Paul; Dahl, Olav

2004-08-01

Calculations of normal tissue complication probability (NTCP) values for the rectum are difficult because it is a hollow, non-rigid, organ. Finding the true cumulative dose distribution for a number of treatment fractions requires a CT scan before each treatment fraction. This is labour intensive, and several surrogate distributions have therefore been suggested, such as dose wall histograms, dose surface histograms and histograms for the solid rectum, with and without margins. In this study, a Monte Carlo method is used to investigate the relationships between the cumulative dose distributions based on all treatment fractions and the above-mentioned histograms that are based on one CT scan only, in terms of equivalent uniform dose. Furthermore, the effect of a specific choice of histogram on estimates of the volume parameter of the probit NTCP model was investigated. It was found that the solid rectum and the rectum wall histograms (without margins) gave equivalent uniform doses with an expected value close to the values calculated from the cumulative dose distributions in the rectum wall. With the number of patients available in this study the standard deviations of the estimates of the volume parameter were large, and it was not possible to decide which volume gave the best estimates of the volume parameter, but there were distinct differences in the mean values of the values obtained.

Detection of Local Tumor Recurrence After Definitive Treatment of Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma: Histogram Analysis of Dynamic Contrast-Enhanced T1-Weighted Perfusion MRI.

PubMed

Choi, Sang Hyun; Lee, Jeong Hyun; Choi, Young Jun; Park, Ji Eun; Sung, Yu Sub; Kim, Namkug; Baek, Jung Hwan

2017-01-01

This study aimed to explore the added value of histogram analysis of the ratio of initial to final 90-second time-signal intensity AUC (AUCR) for differentiating local tumor recurrence from contrast-enhancing scar on follow-up dynamic contrast-enhanced T1-weighted perfusion MRI of patients treated for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). AUCR histogram parameters were assessed among tumor recurrence (n = 19) and contrast-enhancing scar (n = 27) at primary sites and compared using the t test. ROC analysis was used to determine the best differentiating parameters. The added value of AUCR histogram parameters was assessed when they were added to inconclusive conventional MRI results. Histogram analysis showed statistically significant differences in the 50th, 75th, and 90th percentiles of the AUCR values between the two groups (p < 0.05). The 90th percentile of the AUCR values (AUCR 90 ) was the best predictor of local tumor recurrence (AUC, 0.77; 95% CI, 0.64-0.91) with an estimated cutoff of 1.02. AUCR 90 increased sensitivity by 11.7% over that of conventional MRI alone when added to inconclusive results. Histogram analysis of AUCR can improve the diagnostic yield for local tumor recurrence during surveillance after treatment for HNSCC.

Value of MR histogram analyses for prediction of microvascular invasion of hepatocellular carcinoma

PubMed Central

Huang, Ya-Qin; Liang, He-Yue; Yang, Zhao-Xia; Ding, Ying; Zeng, Meng-Su; Rao, Sheng-Xiang

2016-01-01

Abstract The objective is to explore the value of preoperative magnetic resonance (MR) histogram analyses in predicting microvascular invasion (MVI) of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Fifty-one patients with histologically confirmed HCC who underwent diffusion-weighted and contrast-enhanced MR imaging were included. Histogram analyses were performed and mean, variance, skewness, kurtosis, 1th, 10th, 50th, 90th, and 99th percentiles were derived. Quantitative histogram parameters were compared between HCCs with and without MVI. Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) analyses were generated to compare the diagnostic performance of tumor size, histogram analyses of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) maps, and MR enhancement. The mean, 1th, 10th, and 50th percentiles of ADC maps, and the mean, variance. 1th, 10th, 50th, 90th, and 99th percentiles of the portal venous phase (PVP) images were significantly different between the groups with and without MVI (P <0.05), with area under the ROC curves (AUCs) of 0.66 to 0.74 for ADC and 0.76 to 0.88 for PVP. The largest AUC of PVP (1th percentile) showed significantly higher accuracy compared with that of arterial phase (AP) or tumor size (P <0.001). MR histogram analyses—in particular for 1th percentile for PVP images—held promise for prediction of MVI of HCC. PMID:27368028

Effect of respiratory and cardiac gating on the major diffusion-imaging metrics

PubMed Central

Hamaguchi, Hiroyuki; Sugimori, Hiroyuki; Nakanishi, Mitsuhiro; Nakagawa, Shin; Fujiwara, Taro; Yoshida, Hirokazu; Takamori, Sayaka; Shirato, Hiroki

2016-01-01

The effect of respiratory gating on the major diffusion-imaging metrics and that of cardiac gating on mean kurtosis (MK) are not known. For evaluation of whether the major diffusion-imaging metrics—MK, fractional anisotropy (FA), and mean diffusivity (MD) of the brain—varied between gated and non-gated acquisitions, respiratory-gated, cardiac-gated, and non-gated diffusion-imaging of the brain were performed in 10 healthy volunteers. MK, FA, and MD maps were constructed for all acquisitions, and the histograms were constructed. The normalized peak height and location of the histograms were compared among the acquisitions by use of Friedman and post hoc Wilcoxon tests. The effect of the repetition time (TR) on the diffusion-imaging metrics was also tested, and we corrected for its variation among acquisitions, if necessary. The results showed a shift in the peak location of the MK and MD histograms to the right with an increase in TR (p ≤ 0.01). The corrected peak location of the MK histograms, the normalized peak height of the FA histograms, the normalized peak height and the corrected peak location of the MD histograms varied significantly between the gated and non-gated acquisitions (p < 0.05). These results imply an influence of respiration and cardiac pulsation on the major diffusion-imaging metrics. The gating conditions must be kept identical if reproducible results are to be achieved. PMID:27073115

Infrared face recognition based on LBP histogram and KW feature selection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xie, Zhihua

2014-07-01

The conventional LBP-based feature as represented by the local binary pattern (LBP) histogram still has room for performance improvements. This paper focuses on the dimension reduction of LBP micro-patterns and proposes an improved infrared face recognition method based on LBP histogram representation. To extract the local robust features in infrared face images, LBP is chosen to get the composition of micro-patterns of sub-blocks. Based on statistical test theory, Kruskal-Wallis (KW) feature selection method is proposed to get the LBP patterns which are suitable for infrared face recognition. The experimental results show combination of LBP and KW features selection improves the performance of infrared face recognition, the proposed method outperforms the traditional methods based on LBP histogram, discrete cosine transform(DCT) or principal component analysis(PCA).

An air flow sensor for neonatal mechanical ventilation applications based on a novel fiber-optic sensing technique.

PubMed

Battista, L; Sciuto, S A; Scorza, A

2013-03-01

In this work, a simple and low-cost air flow sensor, based on a novel fiber-optic sensing technique has been developed for monitoring air flows rates supplied by a neonatal ventilator to support infants in intensive care units. The device is based on a fiber optic sensing technique allowing (a) the immunity to light intensity variations independent by measurand and (b) the reduction of typical shortcomings affecting all biomedical fields (electromagnetic interference and patient electrical safety). The sensing principle is based on the measurement of transversal displacement of an emitting fiber-optic cantilever due to action of air flow acting on it; the fiber tip displacement is measured by means of a photodiode linear array, placed in front of the entrance face of the emitting optical fiber in order to detect its light intensity profile. As the measurement system is based on a detection of the illumination pattern, and not on an intensity modulation technique, it results less sensitive to light intensity fluctuation independent by measurand than intensity-based sensors. The considered technique is here adopted in order to develop two different configurations for an air flow sensor suitable for the measurement of air flow rates typically occurring during mechanical ventilation of newborns: a mono-directional and a bi-directional transducer have been proposed. A mathematical model for the air flow sensor is here proposed and a static calibration of two different arrangements has been performed: a measurement range up to 3.00 × 10(-4) m(3)∕s (18.0 l∕min) for the mono-directional sensor and a measurement range of ±3.00 × 10(-4) m(3)∕s (±18.0 l∕min) for the bi-directional sensor are experimentally evaluated, according to the air flow rates normally encountered during tidal breathing of infants with a mass lower than 10 kg. Experimental data of static calibration result in accordance with the proposed theoretical model: for the mono-directional configuration, the coefficient of determination r(2) is equal to 0.997; for the bi-directional configuration, the coefficient of determination r(2) is equal to 0.990 for positive flows (inspiration) and 0.988 for negative flows (expiration). Measurement uncertainty δQ of air flow rate has been evaluated by means of the propagation of distributions and the percentage error in the arrangement of bi-directional sensor ranges from a minimum of about 0.5% at -18.0 l∕min to a maximum of about 9% at -12.0 l∕min.

An air flow sensor for neonatal mechanical ventilation applications based on a novel fiber-optic sensing technique

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Battista, L.; Sciuto, S. A.; Scorza, A.

2013-03-01

In this work, a simple and low-cost air flow sensor, based on a novel fiber-optic sensing technique has been developed for monitoring air flows rates supplied by a neonatal ventilator to support infants in intensive care units. The device is based on a fiber optic sensing technique allowing (a) the immunity to light intensity variations independent by measurand and (b) the reduction of typical shortcomings affecting all biomedical fields (electromagnetic interference and patient electrical safety). The sensing principle is based on the measurement of transversal displacement of an emitting fiber-optic cantilever due to action of air flow acting on it; the fiber tip displacement is measured by means of a photodiode linear array, placed in front of the entrance face of the emitting optical fiber in order to detect its light intensity profile. As the measurement system is based on a detection of the illumination pattern, and not on an intensity modulation technique, it results less sensitive to light intensity fluctuation independent by measurand than intensity-based sensors. The considered technique is here adopted in order to develop two different configurations for an air flow sensor suitable for the measurement of air flow rates typically occurring during mechanical ventilation of newborns: a mono-directional and a bi-directional transducer have been proposed. A mathematical model for the air flow sensor is here proposed and a static calibration of two different arrangements has been performed: a measurement range up to 3.00 × 10-4 m3/s (18.0 l/min) for the mono-directional sensor and a measurement range of ±3.00 × 10-4 m3/s (±18.0 l/min) for the bi-directional sensor are experimentally evaluated, according to the air flow rates normally encountered during tidal breathing of infants with a mass lower than 10 kg. Experimental data of static calibration result in accordance with the proposed theoretical model: for the mono-directional configuration, the coefficient of determination r2 is equal to 0.997; for the bi-directional configuration, the coefficient of determination r2 is equal to 0.990 for positive flows (inspiration) and 0.988 for negative flows (expiration). Measurement uncertainty δQ of air flow rate has been evaluated by means of the propagation of distributions and the percentage error in the arrangement of bi-directional sensor ranges from a minimum of about 0.5% at -18.0 l/min to a maximum of about 9% at -12.0 l/min.

Remote logo detection using angle-distance histograms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Youn, Sungwook; Ok, Jiheon; Baek, Sangwook; Woo, Seongyoun; Lee, Chulhee

2016-05-01

Among all the various computer vision applications, automatic logo recognition has drawn great interest from industry as well as various academic institutions. In this paper, we propose an angle-distance map, which we used to develop a robust logo detection algorithm. The proposed angle-distance histogram is invariant against scale and rotation. The proposed method first used shape information and color characteristics to find the candidate regions and then applied the angle-distance histogram. Experiments show that the proposed method detected logos of various sizes and orientations.

Monolithic and bi-layer CAD/CAM lithium-disilicate versus metal-ceramic fixed dental prostheses: comparison of fracture loads and failure modes after fatigue.

PubMed

Schultheis, Stefan; Strub, Joerg R; Gerds, Thomas A; Guess, Petra C

2013-06-01

The authors analyzed the effect of fatigue on the survival rate and fracture load of monolithic and bi-layer CAD/CAM lithium-disilicate posterior three-unit fixed dental prostheses (FDPs) in comparison to the metal-ceramic gold standard. The authors divided 96 human premolars and molars into three equal groups. Lithium-disilicate ceramic (IPS-e.max-CAD) was milled with the CEREC-3-system in full-anatomic FDP dimensions (monolithic: M-LiCAD) or as framework (Bi-layer: BL-LiCAD) with subsequent hand-layer veneering. Metal-ceramic FDPs (MC) served as control. Single-load-to-failure tests were performed before and after mouth-motion fatigue. No fracture failures occurred during fatigue. Median fracture loads in [N], before and after fatigue were, respectively, as follows: M-LiCAD, 1,298/1,900; BL-LiCAD, 817/699; MC, 1,966/1,818. M-LiCAD and MC FPDs revealed comparable fracture loads and were both significantly higher than BL-LiCAD. M-LiCAD and BL-LiCAD both failed from core/veneer bulk fracture within the connector area. MC failures were limited to ceramic veneer fractures exposing the metal core. Fatigue had no significant effect on any group. Posterior monolithic CAD/CAM fabricated lithium-disilicate FPDs were shown to be fracture resistant with failure load results comparable to the metal-ceramic gold standard. Clinical investigations are needed to confirm these promising laboratory results. Monolithic CAD/CAM fabricated lithium-disilicate FDPs appeared to be a reliable treatment alternative for the posterior load-bearing area, whereas FDPs in bi-layer configuration were susceptible to low load fracture failure.

Impact of the radiotherapy technique on the correlation between dose-volume histograms of the bladder wall defined on MRI imaging and dose-volume/surface histograms in prostate cancer patients

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maggio, Angelo; Carillo, Viviana; Cozzarini, Cesare; Perna, Lucia; Rancati, Tiziana; Valdagni, Riccardo; Gabriele, Pietro; Fiorino, Claudio

2013-04-01

The aim of this study was to evaluate the correlation between the ‘true’ absolute and relative dose-volume histograms (DVHs) of the bladder wall, dose-wall histogram (DWH) defined on MRI imaging and other surrogates of bladder dosimetry in prostate cancer patients, planned both with 3D-conformal and intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) techniques. For 17 prostate cancer patients, previously treated with radical intent, CT and MRI scans were acquired and matched. The contours of bladder walls were drawn by using MRI images. External bladder surfaces were then used to generate artificial bladder walls by performing automatic contractions of 5, 7 and 10 mm. For each patient a 3D conformal radiotherapy (3DCRT) and an IMRT treatment plan was generated with a prescription dose of 77.4 Gy (1.8 Gy/fr) and DVH of the whole bladder of the artificial walls (DVH-5/10) and dose-surface histograms (DSHs) were calculated and compared against the DWH in absolute and relative value, for both treatment planning techniques. A specific software (VODCA v. 4.4.0, MSS Inc.) was used for calculating the dose-volume/surface histogram. Correlation was quantified for selected dose-volume/surface parameters by the Spearman correlation coefficient. The agreement between %DWH and DVH5, DVH7 and DVH10 was found to be very good (maximum average deviations below 2%, SD < 5%): DVH5 showed the best agreement. The correlation was slightly better for absolute (R = 0.80-0.94) compared to relative (R = 0.66-0.92) histograms. The DSH was also found to be highly correlated with the DWH, although slightly higher deviations were generally found. The DVH was not a good surrogate of the DWH (R < 0.7 for most of parameters). When comparing the two treatment techniques, more pronounced differences between relative histograms were seen for IMRT with respect to 3DCRT (p < 0.0001).

Pushing the Theoretical Limit of Li-CFx Batteries: A Tale of Bi-functional Electrolyte

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

Rangasamy, Ezhiylmurugan; Li, Juchuan; Sahu, Gayatri

2014-01-01

In a typical battery, electrodes deliver capacities less or equal the theoretical maxima of the electrode materials.1 The inert electrolyte functions solely as the ionic conductor without contribution to the cell capacity because of its distinct mono-function in the concept of conventional batteries. Here we demonstrate that the most energy-dense Li-CFx battery2 delivers a capacity exceeding the theoretical maximum of CFx with a solid electrolyte of Li3PS4 (LPS) that has dual functions: as the inert electrolyte at the anode and the active component at the cathode. Such a bi-functional electrolyte reconciles both inert and active characteristics through a synergistic dischargemore » mechanism of CFx and LPS. Li3PS4 is known as an inactive solid electrolyte with a broad electrochemical window over 5 V.3 The synergy at the cathode is through LiF, the discharge product of CFx, which activates the electrochemical discharge of LPS at a close electrochemical potential of CFx. Therefore, the solid-state Li-CFx batteries output 126.6% energy beyond their theoretic limits without compromising the stability of the cell voltage. The extra energy comes from the electrochemical discharge of LPS, the inert electrolyte. This bi-functional electrolyte revolutionizes the concept of conventional batteries and opens a new avenue for the design of batteries with an unprecedentedly high energy density.« less

Artificial Photosynthesis of Alcohols by Multi-Functionalized Semiconductor Photocathodes.

PubMed

Zhang, Yuqian; Han, Bo; Xu, Yanjie; Zhao, Dongning; Jia, Yongjian; Nie, Rong; Zhu, Zhouhe; Chen, Fengjuan; Wang, Jianguo; Jing, Huanwang

2017-04-22

Novel artificial photosynthesis systems are devised as cells of dye/Pd/NR-MO x (M=Ti, Zn)∥CoPi/W:BiVO 4 that convert efficiently CO 2 to alcohols. The photocathodes are aminofunctionalized, palladium-deposited, and in situ sensitized nano-TiO 2 or ZnO/FTO (FTO: fluorine-doped tin oxide) electrodes that are characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), TEM, XRD, UV/Vis spectra, and evaluated by electrochemical techniques. The cell of dye/Pd/S-TiO 2 ∥CoPi/W:BiVO 4 uniquely generates ethanol under irradiation of 200 mW cm -2 , reaching 0.56 % quantum efficiency (QE) at -0.56 V and 0.13 % QE without external electron supply. The cell of dye/Pd/ N-ZnO∥CoPi/W:BiVO 4 produces solely methanol at a rate of 42.8 μm h -1  cm -2 at -0.56 V of a Si solar cell, which is far less than the electrochemical voltage of water splitting (1.23 V). Its QE reaches to 0.38 %, which is equal to plants. The isotopic labeling experiments confirm the carbon source and oxygen releasing. The selectivity for alcohols of multi-functionalized semiconductors is discussed. © 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Objective evaluation of linear and nonlinear tomosynthetic reconstruction algorithms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Webber, Richard L.; Hemler, Paul F.; Lavery, John E.

2000-04-01

This investigation objectively tests five different tomosynthetic reconstruction methods involving three different digital sensors, each used in a different radiologic application: chest, breast, and pelvis, respectively. The common task was to simulate a specific representative projection for each application by summation of appropriately shifted tomosynthetically generated slices produced by using the five algorithms. These algorithms were, respectively, (1) conventional back projection, (2) iteratively deconvoluted back projection, (3) a nonlinear algorithm similar to back projection, except that the minimum value from all of the component projections for each pixel is computed instead of the average value, (4) a similar algorithm wherein the maximum value was computed instead of the minimum value, and (5) the same type of algorithm except that the median value was computed. Using these five algorithms, we obtained data from each sensor-tissue combination, yielding three factorially distributed series of contiguous tomosynthetic slices. The respective slice stacks then were aligned orthogonally and averaged to yield an approximation of a single orthogonal projection radiograph of the complete (unsliced) tissue thickness. Resulting images were histogram equalized, and actual projection control images were subtracted from their tomosynthetically synthesized counterparts. Standard deviations of the resulting histograms were recorded as inverse figures of merit (FOMs). Visual rankings of image differences by five human observers of a subset (breast data only) also were performed to determine whether their subjective observations correlated with homologous FOMs. Nonparametric statistical analysis of these data demonstrated significant differences (P > 0.05) between reconstruction algorithms. The nonlinear minimization reconstruction method nearly always outperformed the other methods tested. Observer rankings were similar to those measured objectively.

Histograms and Raisin Bread

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Leyden, Michael B.

1975-01-01

Describes various elementary school activities using a loaf of raisin bread to promote inquiry skills. Activities include estimating the number of raisins in the loaf by constructing histograms of the number of raisins in a slice. (MLH)

Infrared small target enhancement: grey level mapping based on improved sigmoid transformation and saliency histogram

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wan, Minjie; Gu, Guohua; Qian, Weixian; Ren, Kan; Chen, Qian

2018-06-01

Infrared (IR) small target enhancement plays a significant role in modern infrared search and track (IRST) systems and is the basic technique of target detection and tracking. In this paper, a coarse-to-fine grey level mapping method using improved sigmoid transformation and saliency histogram is designed to enhance IR small targets under different backgrounds. For the stage of rough enhancement, the intensity histogram is modified via an improved sigmoid function so as to narrow the regular intensity range of background as much as possible. For the part of further enhancement, a linear transformation is accomplished based on a saliency histogram constructed by averaging the cumulative saliency values provided by a saliency map. Compared with other typical methods, the presented method can achieve both better visual performances and quantitative evaluations.

A domain-knowledge-inspired mathematical framework for the description and classification of H&E stained histopathology images.

PubMed

Massar, Melody L; Bhagavatula, Ramamurthy; Ozolek, John A; Castro, Carlos A; Fickus, Matthew; Kovačević, Jelena

2011-10-19

We present the current state of our work on a mathematical framework for identification and delineation of histopathology images-local histograms and occlusion models. Local histograms are histograms computed over defined spatial neighborhoods whose purpose is to characterize an image locally. This unit of description is augmented by our occlusion models that describe a methodology for image formation. In the context of this image formation model, the power of local histograms with respect to appropriate families of images will be shown through various proved statements about expected performance. We conclude by presenting a preliminary study to demonstrate the power of the framework in the context of histopathology image classification tasks that, while differing greatly in application, both originate from what is considered an appropriate class of images for this framework.

[Research on K-means clustering segmentation method for MRI brain image based on selecting multi-peaks in gray histogram].

PubMed

Chen, Zhaoxue; Yu, Haizhong; Chen, Hao

2013-12-01

To solve the problem of traditional K-means clustering in which initial clustering centers are selected randomly, we proposed a new K-means segmentation algorithm based on robustly selecting 'peaks' standing for White Matter, Gray Matter and Cerebrospinal Fluid in multi-peaks gray histogram of MRI brain image. The new algorithm takes gray value of selected histogram 'peaks' as the initial K-means clustering center and can segment the MRI brain image into three parts of tissue more effectively, accurately, steadily and successfully. Massive experiments have proved that the proposed algorithm can overcome many shortcomings caused by traditional K-means clustering method such as low efficiency, veracity, robustness and time consuming. The histogram 'peak' selecting idea of the proposed segmentootion method is of more universal availability.

Neutron camera employing row and column summations

DOEpatents

Clonts, Lloyd G.; Diawara, Yacouba; Donahue, Jr, Cornelius; Montcalm, Christopher A.; Riedel, Richard A.; Visscher, Theodore

2016-06-14

For each photomultiplier tube in an Anger camera, an R.times.S array of preamplifiers is provided to detect electrons generated within the photomultiplier tube. The outputs of the preamplifiers are digitized to measure the magnitude of the signals from each preamplifier. For each photomultiplier tube, a corresponding summation circuitry including R row summation circuits and S column summation circuits numerically add the magnitudes of the signals from preamplifiers for each row and for each column to generate histograms. For a P.times.Q array of photomultiplier tubes, P.times.Q summation circuitries generate P.times.Q row histograms including R entries and P.times.Q column histograms including S entries. The total set of histograms include P.times.Q.times.(R+S) entries, which can be analyzed by a position calculation circuit to determine the locations of events (detection of a neutron).

Evaluation of breast cancer using intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) histogram analysis: comparison with malignant status, histological subtype, and molecular prognostic factors.

PubMed

Cho, Gene Young; Moy, Linda; Kim, Sungheon G; Baete, Steven H; Moccaldi, Melanie; Babb, James S; Sodickson, Daniel K; Sigmund, Eric E

2016-08-01

To examine heterogeneous breast cancer through intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) histogram analysis. This HIPAA-compliant, IRB-approved retrospective study included 62 patients (age 48.44 ± 11.14 years, 50 malignant lesions and 12 benign) who underwent contrast-enhanced 3 T breast MRI and diffusion-weighted imaging. Apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) and IVIM biomarkers of tissue diffusivity (Dt), perfusion fraction (fp), and pseudo-diffusivity (Dp) were calculated using voxel-based analysis for the whole lesion volume. Histogram analysis was performed to quantify tumour heterogeneity. Comparisons were made using Mann-Whitney tests between benign/malignant status, histological subtype, and molecular prognostic factor status while Spearman's rank correlation was used to characterize the association between imaging biomarkers and prognostic factor expression. The average values of the ADC and IVIM biomarkers, Dt and fp, showed significant differences between benign and malignant lesions. Additional significant differences were found in the histogram parameters among tumour subtypes and molecular prognostic factor status. IVIM histogram metrics, particularly fp and Dp, showed significant correlation with hormonal factor expression. Advanced diffusion imaging biomarkers show relationships with molecular prognostic factors and breast cancer malignancy. This analysis reveals novel diagnostic metrics that may explain some of the observed variability in treatment response among breast cancer patients. • Novel IVIM biomarkers characterize heterogeneous breast cancer. • Histogram analysis enables quantification of tumour heterogeneity. • IVIM biomarkers show relationships with breast cancer malignancy and molecular prognostic factors.

Whole-tumor histogram analysis of the cerebral blood volume map: tumor volume defined by 11C-methionine positron emission tomography image improves the diagnostic accuracy of cerebral glioma grading.

PubMed

Wu, Rongli; Watanabe, Yoshiyuki; Arisawa, Atsuko; Takahashi, Hiroto; Tanaka, Hisashi; Fujimoto, Yasunori; Watabe, Tadashi; Isohashi, Kayako; Hatazawa, Jun; Tomiyama, Noriyuki

2017-10-01

This study aimed to compare the tumor volume definition using conventional magnetic resonance (MR) and 11C-methionine positron emission tomography (MET/PET) images in the differentiation of the pre-operative glioma grade by using whole-tumor histogram analysis of normalized cerebral blood volume (nCBV) maps. Thirty-four patients with histopathologically proven primary brain low-grade gliomas (n = 15) and high-grade gliomas (n = 19) underwent pre-operative or pre-biopsy MET/PET, fluid-attenuated inversion recovery, dynamic susceptibility contrast perfusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging, and contrast-enhanced T1-weighted at 3.0 T. The histogram distribution derived from the nCBV maps was obtained by co-registering the whole tumor volume delineated on conventional MR or MET/PET images, and eight histogram parameters were assessed. The mean nCBV value had the highest AUC value (0.906) based on MET/PET images. Diagnostic accuracy significantly improved when the tumor volume was measured from MET/PET images compared with conventional MR images for the parameters of mean, 50th, and 75th percentile nCBV value (p = 0.0246, 0.0223, and 0.0150, respectively). Whole-tumor histogram analysis of CBV map provides more valuable histogram parameters and increases diagnostic accuracy in the differentiation of pre-operative cerebral gliomas when the tumor volume is derived from MET/PET images.

Effect of respiratory and cardiac gating on the major diffusion-imaging metrics.

PubMed

Hamaguchi, Hiroyuki; Tha, Khin Khin; Sugimori, Hiroyuki; Nakanishi, Mitsuhiro; Nakagawa, Shin; Fujiwara, Taro; Yoshida, Hirokazu; Takamori, Sayaka; Shirato, Hiroki

2016-08-01

The effect of respiratory gating on the major diffusion-imaging metrics and that of cardiac gating on mean kurtosis (MK) are not known. For evaluation of whether the major diffusion-imaging metrics-MK, fractional anisotropy (FA), and mean diffusivity (MD) of the brain-varied between gated and non-gated acquisitions, respiratory-gated, cardiac-gated, and non-gated diffusion-imaging of the brain were performed in 10 healthy volunteers. MK, FA, and MD maps were constructed for all acquisitions, and the histograms were constructed. The normalized peak height and location of the histograms were compared among the acquisitions by use of Friedman and post hoc Wilcoxon tests. The effect of the repetition time (TR) on the diffusion-imaging metrics was also tested, and we corrected for its variation among acquisitions, if necessary. The results showed a shift in the peak location of the MK and MD histograms to the right with an increase in TR (p ≤ 0.01). The corrected peak location of the MK histograms, the normalized peak height of the FA histograms, the normalized peak height and the corrected peak location of the MD histograms varied significantly between the gated and non-gated acquisitions (p < 0.05). These results imply an influence of respiration and cardiac pulsation on the major diffusion-imaging metrics. The gating conditions must be kept identical if reproducible results are to be achieved. © The Author(s) 2016.

A randomized controlled trial comparing the outcome of burr-hole irrigation with and without drainage in the treatment of chronic subdural hematoma: a preliminary report.

PubMed

Javadi, Amirhossein; Amirjamshidi, Abbas; Aran, Shima; Hosseini, Seyyed Hamed

2011-01-01

Burr-hole is the most frequently used neurosurgical treatment for chronic subdural hematoma (CSDH). Few data can be found in the literature confirming the impact of using drainage after evacuation and irrigation of the cavity containing CSDH on the outcome of the patients. It is not clear whether installing such a drainage system would reduce the recurrence rate. The aim of this study was to compare the postoperative recurrence rates and the chance of occurrence of other possible complications between a group treated by burr-hole irrigation without drainage (BI-D) and burr hole-irrigation with drainage (BI+D). Forty patients experiencing CSDH were included in a randomized controlled trial conducted between June 2007 and July 2009. All underwent surgery and were analyzed in this preliminary report. Twenty patients were assigned to BI+D group and the other 20 to the BD-I group. Inclusion and exclusion criteria are defined, and the cases happened to be well matched. All the epidemiologic, clinical, radiologic, procedure-related, and outcome variables were saved in the data sheaths and analyzed by the use of SPSS v 14. The patients were followed by an independent observer, who visited the patients at 1- and 6-month intervals. There were 28 male and 12 female patients (2.3:1) with the age range between 18 and 96 years (mean, 67 years; SD, 18 years). Glasgow coma scale scores varied between 9 and 15 in 37 patients and less than 9 in the other 3 patients. A history of head trauma was established in 25 patients. Limb weakness, loss of consciousness, and headache were the most common presentations. Recurrence occurred in one patient (5%) in BI+D and in none of the patients in BI-D group after 1-month follow up, without significant statistical difference (P = 0.31). At the end of 6 months there was one more recurrence (5%) in BI-D group, and the recurrence rates became equal. Both patients who experience a recurrence used antiplatelet drugs, and the one in BI-D group also had diabetes. The morbidity and mortality rates were greater in BI+D group, but these finding were not statistically significant (P = 0.37 and 0.73, respectively). There were no significant differences between the two surgical approaches regarding their relation with the recurrence of CSDH, the patient's morbidity, or mortality. The relative risk was greater for BI+D when the primary and secondary outcome measures were taken into account, but it was not significant statistically. Type of surgical technique does not seem to be a main variable improving the outcome of such patients and may act as a confounding factor. Age, neurological status, and comorbidities seem to have more significant impact upon the surgical outcome. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Automated segmentation and isolation of touching cell nuclei in cytopathology smear images of pleural effusion using distance transform watershed method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Win, Khin Yadanar; Choomchuay, Somsak; Hamamoto, Kazuhiko

2017-06-01

The automated segmentation of cell nuclei is an essential stage in the quantitative image analysis of cell nuclei extracted from smear cytology images of pleural fluid. Cell nuclei can indicate cancer as the characteristics of cell nuclei are associated with cells proliferation and malignancy in term of size, shape and the stained color. Nevertheless, automatic nuclei segmentation has remained challenging due to the artifacts caused by slide preparation, nuclei heterogeneity such as the poor contrast, inconsistent stained color, the cells variation, and cells overlapping. In this paper, we proposed a watershed-based method that is capable to segment the nuclei of the variety of cells from cytology pleural fluid smear images. Firstly, the original image is preprocessed by converting into the grayscale image and enhancing by adjusting and equalizing the intensity using histogram equalization. Next, the cell nuclei are segmented using OTSU thresholding as the binary image. The undesirable artifacts are eliminated using morphological operations. Finally, the distance transform based watershed method is applied to isolate the touching and overlapping cell nuclei. The proposed method is tested with 25 Papanicolaou (Pap) stained pleural fluid images. The accuracy of our proposed method is 92%. The method is relatively simple, and the results are very promising.

MRI volumetry of prefrontal cortex

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sheline, Yvette I.; Black, Kevin J.; Lin, Daniel Y.; Pimmel, Joseph; Wang, Po; Haller, John W.; Csernansky, John G.; Gado, Mokhtar; Walkup, Ronald K.; Brunsden, Barry S.; Vannier, Michael W.

1995-05-01

Prefrontal cortex volumetry by brain magnetic resonance (MR) is required to estimate changes postulated to occur in certain psychiatric and neurologic disorders. A semiautomated method with quantitative characterization of its performance is sought to reliably distinguish small prefrontal cortex volume changes within individuals and between groups. Stereological methods were tested by a blinded comparison of measurements applied to 3D MR scans obtained using an MPRAGE protocol. Fixed grid stereologic methods were used to estimate prefrontal cortex volumes on a graphic workstation, after the images are scaled from 16 to 8 bits using a histogram method. In addition images were resliced into coronal sections perpendicular to the bicommissural plane. Prefrontal cortex volumes were defined as all sections of the frontal lobe anterior to the anterior commissure. Ventricular volumes were excluded. Stereological measurement yielded high repeatability and precision, and was time efficient for the raters. The coefficient of error was

Pattern-histogram-based temporal change detection using personal chest radiographs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ugurlu, Yucel; Obi, Takashi; Hasegawa, Akira; Yamaguchi, Masahiro; Ohyama, Nagaaki

1999-05-01

An accurate and reliable detection of temporal changes from a pair of images has considerable interest in the medical science. Traditional registration and subtraction techniques can be applied to extract temporal differences when,the object is rigid or corresponding points are obvious. However, in radiological imaging, loss of the depth information, the elasticity of object, the absence of clearly defined landmarks and three-dimensional positioning differences constraint the performance of conventional registration techniques. In this paper, we propose a new method in order to detect interval changes accurately without using an image registration technique. The method is based on construction of so-called pattern histogram and comparison procedure. The pattern histogram is a graphic representation of the frequency counts of all allowable patterns in the multi-dimensional pattern vector space. K-means algorithm is employed to partition pattern vector space successively. Any differences in the pattern histograms imply that different patterns are involved in the scenes. In our experiment, a pair of chest radiographs of pneumoconiosis is employed and the changing histogram bins are visualized on both of the images. We found that the method can be used as an alternative way of temporal change detection, particularly when the precise image registration is not available.

A Concise Guide to Feature Histograms with Applications to LIDAR-Based Spacecraft Relative Navigation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rhodes, Andrew P.; Christian, John A.; Evans, Thomas

2017-12-01

With the availability and popularity of 3D sensors, it is advantageous to re-examine the use of point cloud descriptors for the purpose of pose estimation and spacecraft relative navigation. One popular descriptor is the oriented unique repeatable clustered viewpoint feature histogram (OUR-CVFH), which is most often utilized in personal and industrial robotics to simultaneously recognize and navigate relative to an object. Recent research into using the OUR-CVFH descriptor for spacecraft navigation has produced favorable results. Since OUR-CVFH is the most recent innovation in a large family of feature histogram point cloud descriptors, discussions of parameter settings and insights into its functionality are spread among various publications and online resources. This paper organizes the history of feature histogram point cloud descriptors for a straightforward explanation of their evolution. This article compiles all the requisite information needed to implement OUR-CVFH into one location, as well as providing useful suggestions on how to tune the generation parameters. This work is beneficial for anyone interested in using this histogram descriptor for object recognition or navigation - may it be personal robotics or spacecraft navigation.

Hybrid Histogram Descriptor: A Fusion Feature Representation for Image Retrieval.

PubMed

Feng, Qinghe; Hao, Qiaohong; Chen, Yuqi; Yi, Yugen; Wei, Ying; Dai, Jiangyan

2018-06-15

Currently, visual sensors are becoming increasingly affordable and fashionable, acceleratingly the increasing number of image data. Image retrieval has attracted increasing interest due to space exploration, industrial, and biomedical applications. Nevertheless, designing effective feature representation is acknowledged as a hard yet fundamental issue. This paper presents a fusion feature representation called a hybrid histogram descriptor (HHD) for image retrieval. The proposed descriptor comprises two histograms jointly: a perceptually uniform histogram which is extracted by exploiting the color and edge orientation information in perceptually uniform regions; and a motif co-occurrence histogram which is acquired by calculating the probability of a pair of motif patterns. To evaluate the performance, we benchmarked the proposed descriptor on RSSCN7, AID, Outex-00013, Outex-00014 and ETHZ-53 datasets. Experimental results suggest that the proposed descriptor is more effective and robust than ten recent fusion-based descriptors under the content-based image retrieval framework. The computational complexity was also analyzed to give an in-depth evaluation. Furthermore, compared with the state-of-the-art convolutional neural network (CNN)-based descriptors, the proposed descriptor also achieves comparable performance, but does not require any training process.

Improved LSB matching steganography with histogram characters reserved

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Zhihong; Liu, Wenyao

2008-03-01

This letter bases on the researches of LSB (least significant bit, i.e. the last bit of a binary pixel value) matching steganographic method and the steganalytic method which aims at histograms of cover images, and proposes a modification to LSB matching. In the LSB matching, if the LSB of the next cover pixel matches the next bit of secret data, do nothing; otherwise, choose to add or subtract one from the cover pixel value at random. In our improved method, a steganographic information table is defined and records the changes which embedded secrete bits introduce in. Through the table, the next LSB which has the same pixel value will be judged to add or subtract one dynamically in order to ensure the histogram's change of cover image is minimized. Therefore, the modified method allows embedding the same payload as the LSB matching but with improved steganographic security and less vulnerability to attacks compared with LSB matching. The experimental results of the new method show that the histograms maintain their attributes, such as peak values and alternative trends, in an acceptable degree and have better performance than LSB matching in the respects of histogram distortion and resistance against existing steganalysis.

Histograms and Frequency Density.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Micromath, 2003

2003-01-01

Introduces exercises on histograms and frequency density. Guides pupils to Discovering Important Statistical Concepts Using Spreadsheets (DISCUSS), created at the University of Coventry. Includes curriculum points, teaching tips, activities, and internet address (http://www.coventry.ac.uk/discuss/). (KHR)

The spectral archive of cosmic X-ray sources observed by the Einstein Observatory Focal Plane Crystal Spectrometer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lum, Kenneth S. K.; Canizares, Claude R.; Clark, George W.; Coyne, Joan M.; Markert, Thomas H.; Saez, Pablo J.; Schattenburg, Mark L.; Winkler, P. F.

1992-01-01

The Einstein Observatory Focal Plane Crystal Spectrometer (FPCS) used the technique of Bragg spectroscopy to study cosmic X-ray sources in the 0.2-3 keV energy range. The high spectral resolving power (E/Delta-E is approximately equal to 100-1000) of this instrument allowed it to resolve closely spaced lines and study the structure of individual features in the spectra of 41 cosmic X-ray sources. An archival summary of the results is presented as a concise record the FPCS observations and a source of information for future analysis by the general astrophysics community. For each observation, the instrument configuration, background rate, X-ray flux or upper limit within the energy band observed, and spectral histograms are given. Examples of the contributions the FPCS observations have made to the understanding of the objects observed are discussed.

Video enhancement workbench: an operational real-time video image processing system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yool, Stephen R.; Van Vactor, David L.; Smedley, Kirk G.

1993-01-01

Video image sequences can be exploited in real-time, giving analysts rapid access to information for military or criminal investigations. Video-rate dynamic range adjustment subdues fluctuations in image intensity, thereby assisting discrimination of small or low- contrast objects. Contrast-regulated unsharp masking enhances differentially shadowed or otherwise low-contrast image regions. Real-time removal of localized hotspots, when combined with automatic histogram equalization, may enhance resolution of objects directly adjacent. In video imagery corrupted by zero-mean noise, real-time frame averaging can assist resolution and location of small or low-contrast objects. To maximize analyst efficiency, lengthy video sequences can be screened automatically for low-frequency, high-magnitude events. Combined zoom, roam, and automatic dynamic range adjustment permit rapid analysis of facial features captured by video cameras recording crimes in progress. When trying to resolve small objects in murky seawater, stereo video places the moving imagery in an optimal setting for human interpretation.

Lead concentration distribution and source tracing of urban/suburban aquatic sediments in two typical famous tourist cities: Haikou and Sanya, China.

PubMed

Dong, Zhicheng; Bao, Zhengyu; Wu, Guoai; Fu, Yangrong; Yang, Yi

2010-11-01

The content and spatial distribution of lead in the aquatic systems in two Chinese tropical cities in Hainan province (Haikou and Sanyan) show an unequal distribution of lead between the urban and the suburban areas. The lead content is significantly higher (72.3 mg/kg) in the urban area than the suburbs (15.0 mg/kg) in Haikou, but quite equal in Sanya (41.6 and 43.9 mg/kg). The frequency distribution histograms suggest that the lead in Haikou and in Sanya derives from different natural and/or anthropogenic sources. The isotopic compositions indicate that urban sediment lead in Haikou originates mainly from anthropogenic sources (automobile exhaust, atmospheric deposition, etc.) which contribute much more than the natural sources, while natural lead (basalt and sea sands) is still dominant in the suburban areas in Haikou. In Sanya, the primary source is natural (soils and sea sands).

Image contrast enhancement with brightness preservation using an optimal gamma correction and weighted sum approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiang, G.; Wong, C. Y.; Lin, S. C. F.; Rahman, M. A.; Ren, T. R.; Kwok, Ngaiming; Shi, Haiyan; Yu, Ying-Hao; Wu, Tonghai

2015-04-01

The enhancement of image contrast and preservation of image brightness are two important but conflicting objectives in image restoration. Previous attempts based on linear histogram equalization had achieved contrast enhancement, but exact preservation of brightness was not accomplished. A new perspective is taken here to provide balanced performance of contrast enhancement and brightness preservation simultaneously by casting the quest of such solution to an optimization problem. Specifically, the non-linear gamma correction method is adopted to enhance the contrast, while a weighted sum approach is employed for brightness preservation. In addition, the efficient golden search algorithm is exploited to determine the required optimal parameters to produce the enhanced images. Experiments are conducted on natural colour images captured under various indoor, outdoor and illumination conditions. Results have shown that the proposed method outperforms currently available methods in contrast to enhancement and brightness preservation.

An Unsupervised Approach for Extraction of Blood Vessels from Fundus Images.

PubMed

Dash, Jyotiprava; Bhoi, Nilamani

2018-04-26

Pathological disorders may happen due to small changes in retinal blood vessels which may later turn into blindness. Hence, the accurate segmentation of blood vessels is becoming a challenging task for pathological analysis. This paper offers an unsupervised recursive method for extraction of blood vessels from ophthalmoscope images. First, a vessel-enhanced image is generated with the help of gamma correction and contrast-limited adaptive histogram equalization (CLAHE). Next, the vessels are extracted iteratively by applying an adaptive thresholding technique. At last, a final vessel segmented image is produced by applying a morphological cleaning operation. Evaluations are accompanied on the publicly available digital retinal images for vessel extraction (DRIVE) and Child Heart And Health Study in England (CHASE_DB1) databases using nine different measurements. The proposed method achieves average accuracies of 0.957 and 0.952 on DRIVE and CHASE_DB1 databases respectively.

Automated Detection of Diabetic Retinopathy using Deep Learning.

PubMed

Lam, Carson; Yi, Darvin; Guo, Margaret; Lindsey, Tony

2018-01-01

Diabetic retinopathy is a leading cause of blindness among working-age adults. Early detection of this condition is critical for good prognosis. In this paper, we demonstrate the use of convolutional neural networks (CNNs) on color fundus images for the recognition task of diabetic retinopathy staging. Our network models achieved test metric performance comparable to baseline literature results, with validation sensitivity of 95%. We additionally explored multinomial classification models, and demonstrate that errors primarily occur in the misclassification of mild disease as normal due to the CNNs inability to detect subtle disease features. We discovered that preprocessing with contrast limited adaptive histogram equalization and ensuring dataset fidelity by expert verification of class labels improves recognition of subtle features. Transfer learning on pretrained GoogLeNet and AlexNet models from ImageNet improved peak test set accuracies to 74.5%, 68.8%, and 57.2% on 2-ary, 3-ary, and 4-ary classification models, respectively.

Retinex based low-light image enhancement using guided filtering and variational framework

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Shi; Tang, Gui-jin; Liu, Xiao-hua; Luo, Su-huai; Wang, Da-dong

2018-03-01

A new image enhancement algorithm based on Retinex theory is proposed to solve the problem of bad visual effect of an image in low-light conditions. First, an image is converted from the RGB color space to the HSV color space to get the V channel. Next, the illuminations are respectively estimated by the guided filtering and the variational framework on the V channel and combined into a new illumination by average gradient. The new reflectance is calculated using V channel and the new illumination. Then a new V channel obtained by multiplying the new illumination and reflectance is processed with contrast limited adaptive histogram equalization (CLAHE). Finally, the new image in HSV space is converted back to RGB space to obtain the enhanced image. Experimental results show that the proposed method has better subjective quality and objective quality than existing methods.

Nondestructive Detection of the Internalquality of Apple Using X-Ray and Machine Vision

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Fuzeng; Yang, Liangliang; Yang, Qing; Kang, Likui

The internal quality of apple is impossible to be detected by eyes in the procedure of sorting, which could reduce the apple’s quality reaching market. This paper illustrates an instrument using X-ray and machine vision. The following steps were introduced to process the X-ray image in order to determine the mould core apple. Firstly, lifting wavelet transform was used to get a low frequency image and three high frequency images. Secondly, we enhanced the low frequency image through image’s histogram equalization. Then, the edge of each apple's image was detected using canny operator. Finally, a threshold was set to clarify mould core and normal apple according to the different length of the apple core’s diameter. The experimental results show that this method could on-line detect the mould core apple with less time consuming, less than 0.03 seconds per apple, and the accuracy could reach 92%.

Fluorescent Microscopy Enhancement Using Imaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Conrad, Morgan P.; Reck tenwald, Diether J.; Woodhouse, Bryan S.

1986-06-01

To enhance our capabilities for observing fluorescent stains in biological systems, we are developing a low cost imaging system based around an IBM AT microcomputer and a commercial image capture board compatible with a standard RS-170 format video camera. The image is digitized in real time with 256 grey levels, while being displayed and also stored in memory. The software allows for interactive processing of the data, such as histogram equalization or pseudocolor enhancement of the display. The entire image, or a quadrant thereof, can be averaged over time to improve the signal to noise ratio. Images may be stored to disk for later use or comparison. The camera may be selected for better response in the UV or near IR. Combined with signal averaging, this increases the sensitivity relative to that of the human eye, while still allowing for the fluorescence distribution on either the surface or internal cytoskeletal structure to be observed.

The DataCube Server. Animate Agent Project Working Note 2, Version 1.0

DTIC Science & Technology

1993-11-01

before this can be called a histogram of all the needed levels must be made and their one band images must be made. Note if a levels backprojection...will not be used then the level does not need to be histogrammed. Any points outside the active region in a levels backprojection will be undefined...this can be called a histogram of all the needed levels must be made and their one band images must be made. Note if a levels backprojection will not

DNA flow cytometric analysis of primary operable breast cancer. Relation of ploidy and S-phase fraction to outcome of patients in NSABP B-04.

PubMed

Fisher, B; Gunduz, N; Costantino, J; Fisher, E R; Redmond, C; Mamounas, E P; Siderits, R

1991-10-01

Between 1971 and 1974, 1665 women with primary operable breast cancer were randomized into a National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP) trial (B-04) conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of several different regimens of surgical and radiation therapy. No systemic therapy was given. Cells from archival paraffin-embedded tumor tissue taken from 398 patients were analyzed for ploidy and S-phase fraction (SPF) using flow cytometry. Characteristics and outcome of patients with satisfactory DNA histograms were comparable to those from whom no satisfactory cytometric studies were available. In patients with diploid tumors (43%), the mean SPF was 3.4% +/- 2.3%; in the aneuploid population (57%), the SPF was 7.9% +/- 6.3%. Only 29.9% +/- 17.3% of cells in aneuploid tumors were aneuploid. Diploid tumors were more likely than aneuploid tumors to be of good nuclear grade (P less than 0.001) and smaller size (P equals 0.03). More tumors with high SPF were of poor nuclear grade than were tumors with low SPF (P equals 0.002). No significant difference in 10-year disease-free survival (P equals 0.3) or survival (P equals 0.1) was found between women with diploid or aneuploid tumors. Patients with low SPF tumors had a 13% better disease-free survival (P equals 0.0006) than those with a high SPF and a 14% better survival (P equals 0.007) at 10 years than patients with high SPF tumors. After adjustment for clinical tumor size, the difference in both disease-free survival and survival between patients with high and low SPF tumors was only 10% (P equals 0.04 and 0.08, respectively). Although SPF was found to be of independent prognostic significance for disease-free survival and marginal significance for survival, it did not detect patients with such a good prognosis as to preclude their receiving chemotherapy. The overall survival of patients with low SPF was only 53% at 10 years. These findings and those of others indicate that additional studies are necessary before tumor ploidy and SPF can be used to select patients who should or should not receive systemic therapy.

Diffusion Profiling via a Histogram Approach Distinguishes Low-grade from High-grade Meningiomas, Can Reflect the Respective Proliferative Potential and Progesterone Receptor Status.

PubMed

Gihr, Georg Alexander; Horvath-Rizea, Diana; Garnov, Nikita; Kohlhof-Meinecke, Patricia; Ganslandt, Oliver; Henkes, Hans; Meyer, Hans Jonas; Hoffmann, Karl-Titus; Surov, Alexey; Schob, Stefan

2018-02-01

Presurgical grading, estimation of growth kinetics, and other prognostic factors are becoming increasingly important for selecting the best therapeutic approach for meningioma patients. Diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) provides microstructural information and reflects tumor biology. A novel DWI approach, histogram profiling of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) volumes, provides more distinct information than conventional DWI. Therefore, our study investigated whether ADC histogram profiling distinguishes low-grade from high-grade lesions and reflects Ki-67 expression and progesterone receptor status. Pretreatment ADC volumes of 37 meningioma patients (28 low-grade, 9 high-grade) were used for histogram profiling. WHO grade, Ki-67 expression, and progesterone receptor status were evaluated. Comparative and correlative statistics investigating the association between histogram profiling and neuropathology were performed. The entire ADC profile (p10, p25, p75, p90, mean, median) was significantly lower in high-grade versus low-grade meningiomas. The lower percentiles, mean, and modus showed significant correlations with Ki-67 expression. Skewness and entropy of the ADC volumes were significantly associated with progesterone receptor status and Ki-67 expression. ROC analysis revealed entropy to be the most accurate parameter distinguishing low-grade from high-grade meningiomas. ADC histogram profiling provides a distinct set of parameters, which help differentiate low-grade versus high-grade meningiomas. Also, histogram metrics correlate significantly with histological surrogates of the respective proliferative potential. More specifically, entropy revealed to be the most promising imaging biomarker for presurgical grading. Both, entropy and skewness were significantly associated with progesterone receptor status and Ki-67 expression and therefore should be investigated further as predictors for prognostically relevant tumor biological features. Since absolute ADC values vary between MRI scanners of different vendors and field strengths, their use is more limited in the presurgical setting.

Histogram Analysis of CT Perfusion of Hepatocellular Carcinoma for Predicting Response to Transarterial Radioembolization: Value of Tumor Heterogeneity Assessment.

PubMed

Reiner, Caecilia S; Gordic, Sonja; Puippe, Gilbert; Morsbach, Fabian; Wurnig, Moritz; Schaefer, Niklaus; Veit-Haibach, Patrick; Pfammatter, Thomas; Alkadhi, Hatem

2016-03-01

To evaluate in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), whether assessment of tumor heterogeneity by histogram analysis of computed tomography (CT) perfusion helps predicting response to transarterial radioembolization (TARE). Sixteen patients (15 male; mean age 65 years; age range 47-80 years) with HCC underwent CT liver perfusion for treatment planning prior to TARE with Yttrium-90 microspheres. Arterial perfusion (AP) derived from CT perfusion was measured in the entire tumor volume, and heterogeneity was analyzed voxel-wise by histogram analysis. Response to TARE was evaluated on follow-up imaging (median follow-up, 129 days) based on modified Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (mRECIST). Results of histogram analysis and mean AP values of the tumor were compared between responders and non-responders. Receiver operating characteristics were calculated to determine the parameters' ability to discriminate responders from non-responders. According to mRECIST, 8 patients (50%) were responders and 8 (50%) non-responders. Comparing responders and non-responders, the 50th and 75th percentile of AP derived from histogram analysis was significantly different [AP 43.8/54.3 vs. 27.6/34.3 mL min(-1) 100 mL(-1)); p < 0.05], while the mean AP of HCCs (43.5 vs. 27.9 mL min(-1) 100 mL(-1); p > 0.05) was not. Further heterogeneity parameters from histogram analysis (skewness, coefficient of variation, and 25th percentile) did not differ between responders and non-responders (p > 0.05). If the cut-off for the 75th percentile was set to an AP of 37.5 mL min(-1) 100 mL(-1), therapy response could be predicted with a sensitivity of 88% (7/8) and specificity of 75% (6/8). Voxel-wise histogram analysis of pretreatment CT perfusion indicating tumor heterogeneity of HCC improves the pretreatment prediction of response to TARE.

ADC histogram analysis for adrenal tumor histogram analysis of apparent diffusion coefficient in differentiating adrenal adenoma from pheochromocytoma.

PubMed

Umanodan, Tomokazu; Fukukura, Yoshihiko; Kumagae, Yuichi; Shindo, Toshikazu; Nakajo, Masatoyo; Takumi, Koji; Nakajo, Masanori; Hakamada, Hiroto; Umanodan, Aya; Yoshiura, Takashi

2017-04-01

To determine the diagnostic performance of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) histogram analysis in diffusion-weighted (DW) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for differentiating adrenal adenoma from pheochromocytoma. We retrospectively evaluated 52 adrenal tumors (39 adenomas and 13 pheochromocytomas) in 47 patients (21 men, 26 women; mean age, 59.3 years; range, 16-86 years) who underwent DW 3.0T MRI. Histogram parameters of ADC (b-values of 0 and 200 [ADC 200 ], 0 and 400 [ADC 400 ], and 0 and 800 s/mm 2 [ADC 800 ])-mean, variance, coefficient of variation (CV), kurtosis, skewness, and entropy-were compared between adrenal adenomas and pheochromocytomas, using the Mann-Whitney U-test. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves for the histogram parameters were generated to differentiate adrenal adenomas from pheochromocytomas. Sensitivity and specificity were calculated by using a threshold criterion that would maximize the average of sensitivity and specificity. Variance and CV of ADC 800 were significantly higher in pheochromocytomas than in adrenal adenomas (P < 0.001 and P = 0.001, respectively). With all b-value combinations, the entropy of ADC was significantly higher in pheochromocytomas than in adrenal adenomas (all P ≤ 0.001), and showed the highest area under the ROC curve among the ADC histogram parameters for diagnosing adrenal adenomas (ADC 200 , 0.82; ADC 400 , 0.87; and ADC 800 , 0.92), with sensitivity of 84.6% and specificity of 84.6% (cutoff, ≤2.82) with ADC 200 ; sensitivity of 89.7% and specificity of 84.6% (cutoff, ≤2.77) with ADC 400 ; and sensitivity of 94.9% and specificity of 92.3% (cutoff, ≤2.67) with ADC 800 . ADC histogram analysis of DW MRI can help differentiate adrenal adenoma from pheochromocytoma. 3 J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2017;45:1195-1203. © 2016 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.

Robust Audio Watermarking by Using Low-Frequency Histogram

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xiang, Shijun

In continuation to earlier work where the problem of time-scale modification (TSM) has been studied [1] by modifying the shape of audio time domain histogram, here we consider the additional ingredient of resisting additive noise-like operations, such as Gaussian noise, lossy compression and low-pass filtering. In other words, we study the problem of the watermark against both TSM and additive noises. To this end, in this paper we extract the histogram from a Gaussian-filtered low-frequency component for audio watermarking. The watermark is inserted by shaping the histogram in a way that the use of two consecutive bins as a group is exploited for hiding a bit by reassigning their population. The watermarked signals are perceptibly similar to the original one. Comparing with the previous time-domain watermarking scheme [1], the proposed watermarking method is more robust against additive noise, MP3 compression, low-pass filtering, etc.

[Image Feature Extraction and Discriminant Analysis of Xinjiang Uygur Medicine Based on Color Histogram].

PubMed

Hamit, Murat; Yun, Weikang; Yan, Chuanbo; Kutluk, Abdugheni; Fang, Yang; Alip, Elzat

2015-06-01

Image feature extraction is an important part of image processing and it is an important field of research and application of image processing technology. Uygur medicine is one of Chinese traditional medicine and researchers pay more attention to it. But large amounts of Uygur medicine data have not been fully utilized. In this study, we extracted the image color histogram feature of herbal and zooid medicine of Xinjiang Uygur. First, we did preprocessing, including image color enhancement, size normalizition and color space transformation. Then we extracted color histogram feature and analyzed them with statistical method. And finally, we evaluated the classification ability of features by Bayes discriminant analysis. Experimental results showed that high accuracy for Uygur medicine image classification was obtained by using color histogram feature. This study would have a certain help for the content-based medical image retrieval for Xinjiang Uygur medicine.

LSAH: a fast and efficient local surface feature for point cloud registration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lu, Rongrong; Zhu, Feng; Wu, Qingxiao; Kong, Yanzi

2018-04-01

Point cloud registration is a fundamental task in high level three dimensional applications. Noise, uneven point density and varying point cloud resolutions are the three main challenges for point cloud registration. In this paper, we design a robust and compact local surface descriptor called Local Surface Angles Histogram (LSAH) and propose an effectively coarse to fine algorithm for point cloud registration. The LSAH descriptor is formed by concatenating five normalized sub-histograms into one histogram. The five sub-histograms are created by accumulating a different type of angle from a local surface patch respectively. The experimental results show that our LSAH is more robust to uneven point density and point cloud resolutions than four state-of-the-art local descriptors in terms of feature matching. Moreover, we tested our LSAH based coarse to fine algorithm for point cloud registration. The experimental results demonstrate that our algorithm is robust and efficient as well.

Advanced concentration analysis of atom probe tomography data: Local proximity histograms and pseudo-2D concentration maps.

PubMed

Felfer, Peter; Cairney, Julie

2018-06-01

Analysing the distribution of selected chemical elements with respect to interfaces is one of the most common tasks in data mining in atom probe tomography. This can be represented by 1D concentration profiles, 2D concentration maps or proximity histograms, which represent concentration, density etc. of selected species as a function of the distance from a reference surface/interface. These are some of the most useful tools for the analysis of solute distributions in atom probe data. In this paper, we present extensions to the proximity histogram in the form of 'local' proximity histograms, calculated for selected parts of a surface, and pseudo-2D concentration maps, which are 2D concentration maps calculated on non-flat surfaces. This way, local concentration changes at interfaces or and other structures can be assessed more effectively. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Histogram contrast analysis and the visual segregation of IID textures.

PubMed

Chubb, C; Econopouly, J; Landy, M S

1994-09-01

A new psychophysical methodology is introduced, histogram contrast analysis, that allows one to measure stimulus transformations, f, used by the visual system to draw distinctions between different image regions. The method involves the discrimination of images constructed by selecting texture micropatterns randomly and independently (across locations) on the basis of a given micropattern histogram. Different components of f are measured by use of different component functions to modulate the micropattern histogram until the resulting textures are discriminable. When no discrimination threshold can be obtained for a given modulating component function, a second titration technique may be used to measure the contribution of that component to f. The method includes several strong tests of its own assumptions. An example is given of the method applied to visual textures composed of small, uniform squares with randomly chosen gray levels. In particular, for a fixed mean gray level mu and a fixed gray-level variance sigma 2, histogram contrast analysis is used to establish that the class S of all textures composed of small squares with jointly independent, identically distributed gray levels with mean mu and variance sigma 2 is perceptually elementary in the following sense: there exists a single, real-valued function f S of gray level, such that two textures I and J in S are discriminable only if the average value of f S applied to the gray levels in I is significantly different from the average value of f S applied to the gray levels in J. Finally, histogram contrast analysis is used to obtain a seventh-order polynomial approximation of f S.

Insight on AV-45 binding in white and grey matter from histogram analysis: a study on early Alzheimer's disease patients and healthy subjects

PubMed Central

Nemmi, Federico; Saint-Aubert, Laure; Adel, Djilali; Salabert, Anne-Sophie; Pariente, Jérémie; Barbeau, Emmanuel; Payoux, Pierre; Péran, Patrice

2014-01-01

Purpose AV-45 amyloid biomarker is known to show uptake in white matter in patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) but also in healthy population. This binding; thought to be of a non-specific lipophilic nature has not yet been investigated. The aim of this study was to determine the differential pattern of AV-45 binding in healthy and pathological populations in white matter. Methods We recruited 24 patients presenting with AD at early stage and 17 matched, healthy subjects. We used an optimized PET-MRI registration method and an approach based on intensity histogram using several indexes. We compared the results of the intensity histogram analyses with a more canonical approach based on target-to-cerebellum Standard Uptake Value (SUVr) in white and grey matters using MANOVA and discriminant analyses. A cluster analysis on white and grey matter histograms was also performed. Results White matter histogram analysis revealed significant differences between AD and healthy subjects, which were not revealed by SUVr analysis. However, white matter histograms was not decisive to discriminate groups, and indexes based on grey matter only showed better discriminative power than SUVr. The cluster analysis divided our sample in two clusters, showing different uptakes in grey but also in white matter. Conclusion These results demonstrate that AV-45 binding in white matter conveys subtle information not detectable using SUVr approach. Although it is not better than standard SUVr to discriminate AD patients from healthy subjects, this information could reveal white matter modifications. PMID:24573658

Predicting pathologic tumor response to chemoradiotherapy with histogram distances characterizing longitudinal changes in 18F-FDG uptake patterns

PubMed Central

Tan, Shan; Zhang, Hao; Zhang, Yongxue; Chen, Wengen; D’Souza, Warren D.; Lu, Wei

2013-01-01

Purpose: A family of fluorine-18 (18F)-fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) positron-emission tomography (PET) features based on histogram distances is proposed for predicting pathologic tumor response to neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (CRT). These features describe the longitudinal change of FDG uptake distribution within a tumor. Methods: Twenty patients with esophageal cancer treated with CRT plus surgery were included in this study. All patients underwent PET/CT scans before (pre-) and after (post-) CRT. The two scans were first rigidly registered, and the original tumor sites were then manually delineated on the pre-PET/CT by an experienced nuclear medicine physician. Two histograms representing the FDG uptake distribution were extracted from the pre- and the registered post-PET images, respectively, both within the delineated tumor. Distances between the two histograms quantify longitudinal changes in FDG uptake distribution resulting from CRT, and thus are potential predictors of tumor response. A total of 19 histogram distances were examined and compared to both traditional PET response measures and Haralick texture features. Receiver operating characteristic analyses and Mann-Whitney U test were performed to assess their predictive ability. Results: Among all tested histogram distances, seven bin-to-bin and seven crossbin distances outperformed traditional PET response measures using maximum standardized uptake value (AUC = 0.70) or total lesion glycolysis (AUC = 0.80). The seven bin-to-bin distances were: L2 distance (AUC = 0.84), χ2 distance (AUC = 0.83), intersection distance (AUC = 0.82), cosine distance (AUC = 0.83), squared Euclidean distance (AUC = 0.83), L1 distance (AUC = 0.82), and Jeffrey distance (AUC = 0.82). The seven crossbin distances were: quadratic-chi distance (AUC = 0.89), earth mover distance (AUC = 0.86), fast earth mover distance (AUC = 0.86), diffusion distance (AUC = 0.88), Kolmogorov-Smirnov distance (AUC = 0.88), quadratic form distance (AUC = 0.87), and match distance (AUC = 0.84). These crossbin histogram distance features showed slightly higher prediction accuracy than texture features on post-PET images. Conclusions: The results suggest that longitudinal patterns in 18F-FDG uptake characterized using histogram distances provide useful information for predicting the pathologic response of esophageal cancer to CRT. PMID:24089897

[Characteristics of high resolution diffusion weighted imaging apparent diffusion coefficient histogram and its correlations with cancer stages in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma].

PubMed

Wang, G J; Wang, Y; Ye, Y; Chen, F; Lu, Y T; Li, S L

2017-11-07

Objective: To investigate the features of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) histogram parameters based on entire tumor volume data in high resolution diffusion weighted imaging of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) and to evaluate its correlations with cancer stages. Methods: This retrospective study included 154 cases of NPC patients[102 males and 52 females, mean age (48±11) years]who had received readout segmentation of long variable echo trains of MRI scan before radiation therapy. The area of tumor was delineated on each section of axial ADC maps to generate ADC histogram by using Image J. ADC histogram of entire tumor along with the histogram parameters-the tumor voxels, ADC(mean), ADC(25%), ADC(50%), ADC(75%), skewness and kurtosis were obtained by merging all sections with SPSS 22.0 software. Intra-observer repeatability was assessed by using intra-class correlation coefficients (ICC). The patients were subdivided into two groups according to cancer volume: small cancer group (<305 voxels, about 2 cm(3)) and large cancer group (≥2 cm(3)). The correlation between ADC histogram parameters and cancer stages was evaluated with Spearman test. Results: The ICC of measuring ADC histogram parameters of tumor voxels, ADC(mean), ADC(25%), ADC(50%), ADC(75%), skewness, kurtosis was 0.938, 0.861, 0.885, 0.838, 0.836, 0.358 and 0.456, respectively. The tumor voxels was positively correlated with T staging ( r =0.368, P <0.05). There were significant differences in tumor voxels among patients with different T stages ( K =22.306, P <0.05). There were significant differences in the ADC(mean), ADC(25%), ADC(50%) among patients with different T stages in the small cancer group( K =8.409, 8.187, 8.699, all P <0.05), and the up-mentioned three indices were positively correlated with T staging ( r =0.221, 0.209, 0.235, all P <0.05). Skewness and kurtosis differed significantly between the groups with different cancer volume( t =-2.987, Z =-3.770, both P <0.05). Conclusion: The tumor volume, tissue uniformity of NPC are important factors affecting ADC and cancer stages, parameters of ADC histogram (ADC(mean), ADC(25%), ADC(50%)) increases with T staging in NPC smaller than 2 cm(3).

Molecular column densities in selected model atmospheres. [chemical analysis of carbon stars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Johnson, H. R.; Beebe, R. F.; Sneden, C.

1974-01-01

From an examination of predicted column densities, the following conclusions were drawn: (1) The SiO ought to be visible in carbon stars which were generated from triple alpha burning, but absent from carbon stars generated from the CNO bi-cycle. (2) Variation in the observed relative strengths of TiO and ZrO is indicative of real differences in the ratio Ti/Zr. (3) The TiO/ZrO ratio shows a small variation as C/O and effective temperature is changed. (4) Column density of silicon dicarbide (SiC2) is sensitive to abundance, temperature, and gravity; hence all relationships between the strength of SiC2 and other stellar parameters will show appreciable scatter. There is however, a substantial luminosity effect present in the SiC2 column densities. (5) Unexpectedly, SiC2 is anti-correlated with C2. (6) The presence of SiC2 in a carbon star eliminates the possibility of these stars having temperatures greater than or equal to 3000 K, or being produced through the CNO bi-cycle.

Microbubble cloud characterization by nonlinear frequency mixing.

PubMed

Cavaro, M; Payan, C; Moysan, J; Baqué, F

2011-05-01

In the frame of the fourth generation forum, France decided to develop sodium fast nuclear reactors. French Safety Authority requests the associated monitoring of argon gas into sodium. This implies to estimate the void fraction, and a histogram indicating the bubble population. In this context, the present letter studies the possibility of achieving an accurate determination of the histogram with acoustic methods. A nonlinear, two-frequency mixing technique has been implemented, and a specific optical device has been developed in order to validate the experimental results. The acoustically reconstructed histograms are in excellent agreement with those obtained using optical methods.

The ISI distribution of the stochastic Hodgkin-Huxley neuron.

PubMed

Rowat, Peter F; Greenwood, Priscilla E

2014-01-01

The simulation of ion-channel noise has an important role in computational neuroscience. In recent years several approximate methods of carrying out this simulation have been published, based on stochastic differential equations, and all giving slightly different results. The obvious, and essential, question is: which method is the most accurate and which is most computationally efficient? Here we make a contribution to the answer. We compare interspike interval histograms from simulated data using four different approximate stochastic differential equation (SDE) models of the stochastic Hodgkin-Huxley neuron, as well as the exact Markov chain model simulated by the Gillespie algorithm. One of the recent SDE models is the same as the Kurtz approximation first published in 1978. All the models considered give similar ISI histograms over a wide range of deterministic and stochastic input. Three features of these histograms are an initial peak, followed by one or more bumps, and then an exponential tail. We explore how these features depend on deterministic input and on level of channel noise, and explain the results using the stochastic dynamics of the model. We conclude with a rough ranking of the four SDE models with respect to the similarity of their ISI histograms to the histogram of the exact Markov chain model.

Dynamic Contrast-enhanced MR Imaging in Renal Cell Carcinoma: Reproducibility of Histogram Analysis on Pharmacokinetic Parameters

PubMed Central

Wang, Hai-yi; Su, Zi-hua; Xu, Xiao; Sun, Zhi-peng; Duan, Fei-xue; Song, Yuan-yuan; Li, Lu; Wang, Ying-wei; Ma, Xin; Guo, Ai-tao; Ma, Lin; Ye, Hui-yi

2016-01-01

Pharmacokinetic parameters derived from dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) have been increasingly used to evaluate the permeability of tumor vessel. Histogram metrics are a recognized promising method of quantitative MR imaging that has been recently introduced in analysis of DCE-MRI pharmacokinetic parameters in oncology due to tumor heterogeneity. In this study, 21 patients with renal cell carcinoma (RCC) underwent paired DCE-MRI studies on a 3.0 T MR system. Extended Tofts model and population-based arterial input function were used to calculate kinetic parameters of RCC tumors. Mean value and histogram metrics (Mode, Skewness and Kurtosis) of each pharmacokinetic parameter were generated automatically using ImageJ software. Intra- and inter-observer reproducibility and scan–rescan reproducibility were evaluated using intra-class correlation coefficients (ICCs) and coefficient of variation (CoV). Our results demonstrated that the histogram method (Mode, Skewness and Kurtosis) was not superior to the conventional Mean value method in reproducibility evaluation on DCE-MRI pharmacokinetic parameters (K trans & Ve) in renal cell carcinoma, especially for Skewness and Kurtosis which showed lower intra-, inter-observer and scan-rescan reproducibility than Mean value. Our findings suggest that additional studies are necessary before wide incorporation of histogram metrics in quantitative analysis of DCE-MRI pharmacokinetic parameters. PMID:27380733

Synthesis and characterization of (Bi{sub 0.5}Ba{sub 0.5}) (Fe{sub 0.5}Ti{sub 0.5}) O{sub 3} ceramic

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

Parida, B.N., E-mail: bichitra_mama@rediffmail.com; Das, Piyush R., E-mail: prdas63@gmail.com; Padhee, R.

2015-01-15

Graphical abstract: Temperature variation of (a) dielectric constant (b) dielectric loss of the sample. - Highlights: • The high values of dielectric permittivity and low value of tangent loss. • It used for microwave applications. • The impedance and dielectric relaxation in the material is non exponential and non Debye-type. • Its ac conductivity obeys Jonscher universal power law. - Abstract: The polycrystalline sample of (Bi{sub 0.5}Ba{sub 0.5}) (Fe{sub 0.5}Ti{sub 0.5}) O{sub 3} (BF–BT) was prepared by a standard mixed oxide method. Analysis of room temperature XRD pattern and Raman/FTIR spectra of the compound does not exhibit any change inmore » its crystal structure of BaTiO{sub 3} on addition of BiFeO{sub 3} in equal ratio. The surface morphology of the gold-plated sintered pellet sample recorded by SEM (scanning electron microscope) exhibits a uniform distribution of grains with less porosity. Detailed studies of nature and quantity of variation of dielectric constant, tangent loss, and polarization with temperature and frequency indicate the existence of ferroelectric phase transition at high-temperature. There is a low-temperature anti-ferromagnetic phase transition below 375 °C in the material. Detailed studies of electrical properties (impedance, modulus, etc.) of the material confirmed a strong correlation between micro-structure and properties.« less

Apparent diffusion coefficient histogram analysis can evaluate radiation-induced parotid damage and predict late xerostomia degree in nasopharyngeal carcinoma

PubMed Central

Zhou, Nan; Guo, Tingting; Zheng, Huanhuan; Pan, Xia; Chu, Chen; Dou, Xin; Li, Ming; Liu, Song; Zhu, Lijing; Liu, Baorui; Chen, Weibo; He, Jian; Yan, Jing; Zhou, Zhengyang; Yang, Xiaofeng

2017-01-01

We investigated apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) histogram analysis to evaluate radiation-induced parotid damage and predict xerostomia degrees in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients receiving radiotherapy. The imaging of bilateral parotid glands in NPC patients was conducted 2 weeks before radiotherapy (time point 1), one month after radiotherapy (time point 2), and four months after radiotherapy (time point 3). From time point 1 to 2, parotid volume, skewness, and kurtosis decreased (P < 0.001, = 0.001, and < 0.001, respectively), but all other ADC histogram parameters increased (all P < 0.001, except P = 0.006 for standard deviation [SD]). From time point 2 to 3, parotid volume continued to decrease (P = 0.022), and SD, 75th and 90th percentiles continued to increase (P = 0.024, 0.010, and 0.006, respectively). Early change rates of parotid ADCmean, ADCmin, kurtosis, and 25th, 50th, 75th, 90th percentiles (from time point 1 to 2) correlated with late parotid atrophy rate (from time point 1 to 3) (all P < 0.05). Multiple linear regression analysis revealed correlations among parotid volume, time point, and ADC histogram parameters. Early mean change rates for bilateral parotid SD and ADCmax could predict late xerostomia degrees at seven months after radiotherapy (three months after time point 3) with AUC of 0.781 and 0.818 (P = 0.014, 0.005, respectively). ADC histogram parameters were reproducible (intraclass correlation coefficient, 0.830 - 0.999). ADC histogram analysis could be used to evaluate radiation-induced parotid damage noninvasively, and predict late xerostomia degrees of NPC patients treated with radiotherapy. PMID:29050274

Histogram Analysis of Diffusion Tensor Imaging Parameters in Pediatric Cerebellar Tumors.

PubMed

Wagner, Matthias W; Narayan, Anand K; Bosemani, Thangamadhan; Huisman, Thierry A G M; Poretti, Andrea

2016-05-01

Apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values have been shown to assist in differentiating cerebellar pilocytic astrocytomas and medulloblastomas. Previous studies have applied only ADC measurements and calculated the mean/median values. Here we investigated the value of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) histogram characteristics of the entire tumor for differentiation of cerebellar pilocytic astrocytomas and medulloblastomas. Presurgical DTI data were analyzed with a region of interest (ROI) approach to include the entire tumor. For each tumor, histogram-derived metrics including the 25th percentile, 75th percentile, and skewness were calculated for fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean (MD), axial (AD), and radial (RD) diffusivity. The histogram metrics were used as primary predictors of interest in a logistic regression model. Statistical significance levels were set at p < .01. The study population included 17 children with pilocytic astrocytoma and 16 with medulloblastoma (mean age, 9.21 ± 5.18 years and 7.66 ± 4.97 years, respectively). Compared to children with medulloblastoma, children with pilocytic astrocytoma showed higher MD (P = .003 and P = .008), AD (P = .004 and P = .007), and RD (P = .003 and P = .009) values for the 25th and 75th percentile. In addition, histogram skewness showed statistically significant differences for MD between low- and high-grade tumors (P = .008). The 25th percentile for MD yields the best results for the presurgical differentiation between pediatric cerebellar pilocytic astrocytomas and medulloblastomas. The analysis of other DTI metrics does not provide additional diagnostic value. Our study confirms the diagnostic value of the quantitative histogram analysis of DTI data in pediatric neuro-oncology. Copyright © 2015 by the American Society of Neuroimaging.

Correlation of histogram analysis of apparent diffusion coefficient with uterine cervical pathologic finding.

PubMed

Lin, Yuning; Li, Hui; Chen, Ziqian; Ni, Ping; Zhong, Qun; Huang, Huijuan; Sandrasegaran, Kumar

2015-05-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the application of histogram analysis of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) in characterizing pathologic features of cervical cancer and benign cervical lesions. This prospective study was approved by the institutional review board, and written informed consent was obtained. Seventy-three patients with cervical cancer (33-69 years old; 35 patients with International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics stage IB cervical cancer) and 38 patients (38-61 years old) with normal cervix or cervical benign lesions (control group) were enrolled. All patients underwent 3-T diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) with b values of 0 and 800 s/mm(2). ADC values of the entire tumor in the patient group and the whole cervix volume in the control group were assessed. Mean ADC, median ADC, 25th and 75th percentiles of ADC, skewness, and kurtosis were calculated. Histogram parameters were compared between different pathologic features, as well as between stage IB cervical cancer and control groups. Mean ADC, median ADC, and 25th percentile of ADC were significantly higher for adenocarcinoma (p = 0.021, 0.006, and 0.004, respectively), and skewness was significantly higher for squamous cell carcinoma (p = 0.011). Median ADC was statistically significantly higher for well or moderately differentiated tumors (p = 0.044), and skewness was statistically significantly higher for poorly differentiated tumors (p = 0.004). No statistically significant difference of ADC histogram was observed between lymphovascular space invasion subgroups. All histogram parameters differed significantly between stage IB cervical cancer and control groups (p < 0.05). Distribution of ADCs characterized by histogram analysis may help to distinguish early-stage cervical cancer from normal cervix or cervical benign lesions and may be useful for evaluating the different pathologic features of cervical cancer.

Differentiating between Glioblastoma and Primary CNS Lymphoma Using Combined Whole-tumor Histogram Analysis of the Normalized Cerebral Blood Volume and the Apparent Diffusion Coefficient.

PubMed

Bao, Shixing; Watanabe, Yoshiyuki; Takahashi, Hiroto; Tanaka, Hisashi; Arisawa, Atsuko; Matsuo, Chisato; Wu, Rongli; Fujimoto, Yasunori; Tomiyama, Noriyuki

2018-05-31

This study aimed to determine whether whole-tumor histogram analysis of normalized cerebral blood volume (nCBV) and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) for contrast-enhancing lesions can be used to differentiate between glioblastoma (GBM) and primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL). From 20 patients, 9 with PCNSL and 11 with GBM without any hemorrhagic lesions, underwent MRI, including diffusion-weighted imaging and dynamic susceptibility contrast perfusion-weighted imaging before surgery. Histogram analysis of nCBV and ADC from whole-tumor voxels in contrast-enhancing lesions was performed. An unpaired t-test was used to compare the mean values for each type of tumor. A multivariate logistic regression model (LRM) was performed to classify GBM and PCNSL using the best parameters of ADC and nCBV. All nCBV histogram parameters of GBMs were larger than those of PCNSLs, but only average nCBV was statistically significant after Bonferroni correction. Meanwhile, ADC histogram parameters were also larger in GBM compared to those in PCNSL, but these differences were not statistically significant. According to receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, the nCBV average and ADC 25th percentile demonstrated the largest area under the curve with values of 0.869 and 0.838, respectively. The LRM combining these two parameters differentiated between GBM and PCNSL with a higher area under the curve value (Logit (P) = -21.12 + 10.00 × ADC 25th percentile (10 -3 mm 2 /s) + 5.420 × nCBV mean, P < 0.001). Our results suggest that whole-tumor histogram analysis of nCBV and ADC combined can be a valuable objective diagnostic method for differentiating between GBM and PCNSL.

Histogram analysis of diffusion kurtosis imaging estimates for in vivo assessment of 2016 WHO glioma grades: A cross-sectional observational study.

PubMed

Hempel, Johann-Martin; Schittenhelm, Jens; Brendle, Cornelia; Bender, Benjamin; Bier, Georg; Skardelly, Marco; Tabatabai, Ghazaleh; Castaneda Vega, Salvador; Ernemann, Ulrike; Klose, Uwe

2017-10-01

To assess the diagnostic performance of histogram analysis of diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI) maps for in vivo assessment of the 2016 World Health Organization Classification of Tumors of the Central Nervous System (2016 CNS WHO) integrated glioma grades. Seventy-seven patients with histopathologically-confirmed glioma who provided written informed consent were retrospectively assessed between 01/2014 and 03/2017 from a prospective trial approved by the local institutional review board. Ten histogram parameters of mean kurtosis (MK) and mean diffusivity (MD) metrics from DKI were independently assessed by two blinded physicians from a volume of interest around the entire solid tumor. One-way ANOVA was used to compare MK and MD histogram parameter values between 2016 CNS WHO-based tumor grades. Receiver operating characteristic analysis was performed on MK and MD histogram parameters for significant results. The 25th, 50th, 75th, and 90th percentiles of MK and average MK showed significant differences between IDH1/2 wild-type gliomas, IDH1/2 mutated gliomas, and oligodendrogliomas with chromosome 1p/19q loss of heterozygosity and IDH1/2 mutation (p<0.001). The 50th, 75th, and 90th percentiles showed a slightly higher diagnostic performance (area under the curve (AUC) range; 0.868-0.991) than average MK (AUC range; 0.855-0.988) in classifying glioma according to the integrated approach of 2016 CNS WHO. Histogram analysis of DKI can stratify gliomas according to the integrated approach of 2016 CNS WHO. The 50th (median), 75th , and the 90th percentiles showed the highest diagnostic performance. However, the average MK is also robust and feasible in routine clinical practice. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Apparent diffusion coefficient histogram analysis can evaluate radiation-induced parotid damage and predict late xerostomia degree in nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

PubMed

Zhou, Nan; Guo, Tingting; Zheng, Huanhuan; Pan, Xia; Chu, Chen; Dou, Xin; Li, Ming; Liu, Song; Zhu, Lijing; Liu, Baorui; Chen, Weibo; He, Jian; Yan, Jing; Zhou, Zhengyang; Yang, Xiaofeng

2017-09-19

We investigated apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) histogram analysis to evaluate radiation-induced parotid damage and predict xerostomia degrees in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients receiving radiotherapy. The imaging of bilateral parotid glands in NPC patients was conducted 2 weeks before radiotherapy (time point 1), one month after radiotherapy (time point 2), and four months after radiotherapy (time point 3). From time point 1 to 2, parotid volume, skewness, and kurtosis decreased ( P < 0.001, = 0.001, and < 0.001, respectively), but all other ADC histogram parameters increased (all P < 0.001, except P = 0.006 for standard deviation [SD]). From time point 2 to 3, parotid volume continued to decrease ( P = 0.022), and SD, 75 th and 90 th percentiles continued to increase ( P = 0.024, 0.010, and 0.006, respectively). Early change rates of parotid ADC mean , ADC min , kurtosis, and 25 th , 50 th , 75 th , 90 th percentiles (from time point 1 to 2) correlated with late parotid atrophy rate (from time point 1 to 3) (all P < 0.05). Multiple linear regression analysis revealed correlations among parotid volume, time point, and ADC histogram parameters. Early mean change rates for bilateral parotid SD and ADC max could predict late xerostomia degrees at seven months after radiotherapy (three months after time point 3) with AUC of 0.781 and 0.818 ( P = 0.014, 0.005, respectively). ADC histogram parameters were reproducible (intraclass correlation coefficient, 0.830 - 0.999). ADC histogram analysis could be used to evaluate radiation-induced parotid damage noninvasively, and predict late xerostomia degrees of NPC patients treated with radiotherapy.

Comparison between types I and II epithelial ovarian cancer using histogram analysis of monoexponential, biexponential, and stretched-exponential diffusion models.

PubMed

Wang, Feng; Wang, Yuxiang; Zhou, Yan; Liu, Congrong; Xie, Lizhi; Zhou, Zhenyu; Liang, Dong; Shen, Yang; Yao, Zhihang; Liu, Jianyu

2017-12-01

To evaluate the utility of histogram analysis of monoexponential, biexponential, and stretched-exponential models to a dualistic model of epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). Fifty-two patients with histopathologically proven EOC underwent preoperative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) (including diffusion-weighted imaging [DWI] with 11 b-values) using a 3.0T system and were divided into two groups: types I and II. Apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), true diffusion coefficient (D), pseudodiffusion coefficient (D*), perfusion fraction (f), distributed diffusion coefficient (DDC), and intravoxel water diffusion heterogeneity (α) histograms were obtained based on solid components of the entire tumor. The following metrics of each histogram were compared between two types: 1) mean; 2) median; 3) 10th percentile and 90th percentile. Conventional MRI morphological features were also recorded. Significant morphological features for predicting EOC type were maximum diameter (P = 0.007), texture of lesion (P = 0.001), and peritoneal implants (P = 0.001). For ADC, D, f, DDC, and α, all metrics were significantly lower in type II than type I (P < 0.05). Mean, median, 10th, and 90th percentile of D* were not significantly different (P = 0.336, 0.154, 0.779, and 0.203, respectively). Most histogram metrics of ADC, D, and DDC had significantly higher area under the receiver operating characteristic curve values than those of f and α (P < 0.05) CONCLUSION: It is feasible to grade EOC by morphological features and three models with histogram analysis. ADC, D, and DDC have better performance than f and α; f and α may provide additional information. 4 Technical Efficacy: Stage 1 J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2017;46:1797-1809. © 2017 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.

Principal component analysis of the CT density histogram to generate parametric response maps of COPD

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zha, N.; Capaldi, D. P. I.; Pike, D.; McCormack, D. G.; Cunningham, I. A.; Parraga, G.

2015-03-01

Pulmonary x-ray computed tomography (CT) may be used to characterize emphysema and airways disease in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). One analysis approach - parametric response mapping (PMR) utilizes registered inspiratory and expiratory CT image volumes and CT-density-histogram thresholds, but there is no consensus regarding the threshold values used, or their clinical meaning. Principal-component-analysis (PCA) of the CT density histogram can be exploited to quantify emphysema using data-driven CT-density-histogram thresholds. Thus, the objective of this proof-of-concept demonstration was to develop a PRM approach using PCA-derived thresholds in COPD patients and ex-smokers without airflow limitation. Methods: Fifteen COPD ex-smokers and 5 normal ex-smokers were evaluated. Thoracic CT images were also acquired at full inspiration and full expiration and these images were non-rigidly co-registered. PCA was performed for the CT density histograms, from which the components with the highest eigenvalues greater than one were summed. Since the values of the principal component curve correlate directly with the variability in the sample, the maximum and minimum points on the curve were used as threshold values for the PCA-adjusted PRM technique. Results: A significant correlation was determined between conventional and PCA-adjusted PRM with 3He MRI apparent diffusion coefficient (p<0.001), with CT RA950 (p<0.0001), as well as with 3He MRI ventilation defect percent, a measurement of both small airways disease (p=0.049 and p=0.06, respectively) and emphysema (p=0.02). Conclusions: PRM generated using PCA thresholds of the CT density histogram showed significant correlations with CT and 3He MRI measurements of emphysema, but not airways disease.

Comparing stochastic proton interactions simulated using TOPAS-nBio to experimental data from fluorescent nuclear track detectors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Underwood, T. S. A.; Sung, W.; McFadden, C. H.; McMahon, S. J.; Hall, D. C.; McNamara, A. L.; Paganetti, H.; Sawakuchi, G. O.; Schuemann, J.

2017-04-01

Whilst Monte Carlo (MC) simulations of proton energy deposition have been well-validated at the macroscopic level, their microscopic validation remains lacking. Equally, no gold-standard yet exists for experimental metrology of individual proton tracks. In this work we compare the distributions of stochastic proton interactions simulated using the TOPAS-nBio MC platform against confocal microscope data for Al2O3:C,Mg fluorescent nuclear track detectors (FNTDs). We irradiated 8× 4× 0.5 mm3 FNTD chips inside a water phantom, positioned at seven positions along a pristine proton Bragg peak with a range in water of 12 cm. MC simulations were implemented in two stages: (1) using TOPAS to model the beam properties within a water phantom and (2) using TOPAS-nBio with Geant4-DNA physics to score particle interactions through a water surrogate of Al2O3:C,Mg. The measured median track integrated brightness (IB) was observed to be strongly correlated to both (i) voxelized track-averaged linear energy transfer (LET) and (ii) frequency mean microdosimetric lineal energy, \\overline{{{y}F}} , both simulated in pure water. Histograms of FNTD track IB were compared against TOPAS-nBio histograms of the number of terminal electrons per proton, scored in water with mass-density scaled to mimic Al2O3:C,Mg. Trends between exposure depths observed in TOPAS-nBio simulations were experimentally replicated in the study of FNTD track IB. Our results represent an important first step towards the experimental validation of MC simulations on the sub-cellular scale and suggest that FNTDs can enable experimental study of the microdosimetric properties of individual proton tracks.

Comparing stochastic proton interactions simulated using TOPAS-nBio to experimental data from fluorescent nuclear track detectors.

PubMed

Underwood, T S A; Sung, W; McFadden, C H; McMahon, S J; Hall, D C; McNamara, A L; Paganetti, H; Sawakuchi, G O; Schuemann, J

2017-04-21

Whilst Monte Carlo (MC) simulations of proton energy deposition have been well-validated at the macroscopic level, their microscopic validation remains lacking. Equally, no gold-standard yet exists for experimental metrology of individual proton tracks. In this work we compare the distributions of stochastic proton interactions simulated using the TOPAS-nBio MC platform against confocal microscope data for Al 2 O 3 :C,Mg fluorescent nuclear track detectors (FNTDs). We irradiated [Formula: see text] mm 3 FNTD chips inside a water phantom, positioned at seven positions along a pristine proton Bragg peak with a range in water of 12 cm. MC simulations were implemented in two stages: (1) using TOPAS to model the beam properties within a water phantom and (2) using TOPAS-nBio with Geant4-DNA physics to score particle interactions through a water surrogate of Al 2 O 3 :C,Mg. The measured median track integrated brightness (IB) was observed to be strongly correlated to both (i) voxelized track-averaged linear energy transfer (LET) and (ii) frequency mean microdosimetric lineal energy, [Formula: see text], both simulated in pure water. Histograms of FNTD track IB were compared against TOPAS-nBio histograms of the number of terminal electrons per proton, scored in water with mass-density scaled to mimic Al 2 O 3 :C,Mg. Trends between exposure depths observed in TOPAS-nBio simulations were experimentally replicated in the study of FNTD track IB. Our results represent an important first step towards the experimental validation of MC simulations on the sub-cellular scale and suggest that FNTDs can enable experimental study of the microdosimetric properties of individual proton tracks.

A New Vegetation Segmentation Approach for Cropped Fields Based on Threshold Detection from Hue Histograms

PubMed Central

Hassanein, Mohamed; El-Sheimy, Naser

2018-01-01

Over the last decade, the use of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology has evolved significantly in different applications as it provides a special platform capable of combining the benefits of terrestrial and aerial remote sensing. Therefore, such technology has been established as an important source of data collection for different precision agriculture (PA) applications such as crop health monitoring and weed management. Generally, these PA applications depend on performing a vegetation segmentation process as an initial step, which aims to detect the vegetation objects in collected agriculture fields’ images. The main result of the vegetation segmentation process is a binary image, where vegetations are presented in white color and the remaining objects are presented in black. Such process could easily be performed using different vegetation indexes derived from multispectral imagery. Recently, to expand the use of UAV imagery systems for PA applications, it was important to reduce the cost of such systems through using low-cost RGB cameras Thus, developing vegetation segmentation techniques for RGB images is a challenging problem. The proposed paper introduces a new vegetation segmentation methodology for low-cost UAV RGB images, which depends on using Hue color channel. The proposed methodology follows the assumption that the colors in any agriculture field image can be distributed into vegetation and non-vegetations colors. Therefore, four main steps are developed to detect five different threshold values using the hue histogram of the RGB image, these thresholds are capable to discriminate the dominant color, either vegetation or non-vegetation, within the agriculture field image. The achieved results for implementing the proposed methodology showed its ability to generate accurate and stable vegetation segmentation performance with mean accuracy equal to 87.29% and standard deviation as 12.5%. PMID:29670055

An air flow sensor for neonatal mechanical ventilation applications based on a novel fiber-optic sensing technique

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

Battista, L.; Sciuto, S. A.; Scorza, A.

2013-03-15

In this work, a simple and low-cost air flow sensor, based on a novel fiber-optic sensing technique has been developed for monitoring air flows rates supplied by a neonatal ventilator to support infants in intensive care units. The device is based on a fiber optic sensing technique allowing (a) the immunity to light intensity variations independent by measurand and (b) the reduction of typical shortcomings affecting all biomedical fields (electromagnetic interference and patient electrical safety). The sensing principle is based on the measurement of transversal displacement of an emitting fiber-optic cantilever due to action of air flow acting on it;more » the fiber tip displacement is measured by means of a photodiode linear array, placed in front of the entrance face of the emitting optical fiber in order to detect its light intensity profile. As the measurement system is based on a detection of the illumination pattern, and not on an intensity modulation technique, it results less sensitive to light intensity fluctuation independent by measurand than intensity-based sensors. The considered technique is here adopted in order to develop two different configurations for an air flow sensor suitable for the measurement of air flow rates typically occurring during mechanical ventilation of newborns: a mono-directional and a bi-directional transducer have been proposed. A mathematical model for the air flow sensor is here proposed and a static calibration of two different arrangements has been performed: a measurement range up to 3.00 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup -4} m{sup 3}/s (18.0 l/min) for the mono-directional sensor and a measurement range of {+-}3.00 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup -4} m{sup 3}/s ({+-}18.0 l/min) for the bi-directional sensor are experimentally evaluated, according to the air flow rates normally encountered during tidal breathing of infants with a mass lower than 10 kg. Experimental data of static calibration result in accordance with the proposed theoretical model: for the mono-directional configuration, the coefficient of determination r{sup 2} is equal to 0.997; for the bi-directional configuration, the coefficient of determination r{sup 2} is equal to 0.990 for positive flows (inspiration) and 0.988 for negative flows (expiration). Measurement uncertainty {delta}Q of air flow rate has been evaluated by means of the propagation of distributions and the percentage error in the arrangement of bi-directional sensor ranges from a minimum of about 0.5% at -18.0 l/min to a maximum of about 9% at -12.0 l/min.« less

Local intensity area descriptor for facial recognition in ideal and noise conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tran, Chi-Kien; Tseng, Chin-Dar; Chao, Pei-Ju; Ting, Hui-Min; Chang, Liyun; Huang, Yu-Jie; Lee, Tsair-Fwu

2017-03-01

We propose a local texture descriptor, local intensity area descriptor (LIAD), which is applied for human facial recognition in ideal and noisy conditions. Each facial image is divided into small regions from which LIAD histograms are extracted and concatenated into a single feature vector to represent the facial image. The recognition is performed using a nearest neighbor classifier with histogram intersection and chi-square statistics as dissimilarity measures. Experiments were conducted with LIAD using the ORL database of faces (Olivetti Research Laboratory, Cambridge), the Face94 face database, the Georgia Tech face database, and the FERET database. The results demonstrated the improvement in accuracy of our proposed descriptor compared to conventional descriptors [local binary pattern (LBP), uniform LBP, local ternary pattern, histogram of oriented gradients, and local directional pattern]. Moreover, the proposed descriptor was less sensitive to noise and had low histogram dimensionality. Thus, it is expected to be a powerful texture descriptor that can be used for various computer vision problems.

A Bayesian Modeling Approach for Estimation of a Shape-Free Groundwater Age Distribution using Multiple Tracers

DOE PAGES

Massoudieh, Arash; Visser, Ate; Sharifi, Soroosh; ...

2013-10-15

The mixing of groundwaters with different ages in aquifers, groundwater age is more appropriately represented by a distribution rather than a scalar number. To infer a groundwater age distribution from environmental tracers, a mathematical form is often assumed for the shape of the distribution and the parameters of the mathematical distribution are estimated using deterministic or stochastic inverse methods. We found that the prescription of the mathematical form limits the exploration of the age distribution to the shapes that can be described by the selected distribution. In this paper, the use of freeform histograms as groundwater age distributions is evaluated.more » A Bayesian Markov Chain Monte Carlo approach is used to estimate the fraction of groundwater in each histogram bin. This method was able to capture the shape of a hypothetical gamma distribution from the concentrations of four age tracers. The number of bins that can be considered in this approach is limited based on the number of tracers available. The histogram method was also tested on tracer data sets from Holten (The Netherlands; 3H, 3He, 85Kr, 39Ar) and the La Selva Biological Station (Costa-Rica; SF 6, CFCs, 3H, 4He and 14C), and compared to a number of mathematical forms. According to standard Bayesian measures of model goodness, the best mathematical distribution performs better than the histogram distributions in terms of the ability to capture the observed tracer data relative to their complexity. Among the histogram distributions, the four bin histogram performs better in most of the cases. The Monte Carlo simulations showed strong correlations in the posterior estimates of bin contributions, indicating that these bins cannot be well constrained using the available age tracers. The fact that mathematical forms overall perform better than the freeform histogram does not undermine the benefit of the freeform approach, especially for the cases where a larger amount of observed data is available and when the real groundwater distribution is more complex than can be represented by simple mathematical forms.« less

A Bayesian Modeling Approach for Estimation of a Shape-Free Groundwater Age Distribution using Multiple Tracers

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

Massoudieh, Arash; Visser, Ate; Sharifi, Soroosh

The mixing of groundwaters with different ages in aquifers, groundwater age is more appropriately represented by a distribution rather than a scalar number. To infer a groundwater age distribution from environmental tracers, a mathematical form is often assumed for the shape of the distribution and the parameters of the mathematical distribution are estimated using deterministic or stochastic inverse methods. We found that the prescription of the mathematical form limits the exploration of the age distribution to the shapes that can be described by the selected distribution. In this paper, the use of freeform histograms as groundwater age distributions is evaluated.more » A Bayesian Markov Chain Monte Carlo approach is used to estimate the fraction of groundwater in each histogram bin. This method was able to capture the shape of a hypothetical gamma distribution from the concentrations of four age tracers. The number of bins that can be considered in this approach is limited based on the number of tracers available. The histogram method was also tested on tracer data sets from Holten (The Netherlands; 3H, 3He, 85Kr, 39Ar) and the La Selva Biological Station (Costa-Rica; SF 6, CFCs, 3H, 4He and 14C), and compared to a number of mathematical forms. According to standard Bayesian measures of model goodness, the best mathematical distribution performs better than the histogram distributions in terms of the ability to capture the observed tracer data relative to their complexity. Among the histogram distributions, the four bin histogram performs better in most of the cases. The Monte Carlo simulations showed strong correlations in the posterior estimates of bin contributions, indicating that these bins cannot be well constrained using the available age tracers. The fact that mathematical forms overall perform better than the freeform histogram does not undermine the benefit of the freeform approach, especially for the cases where a larger amount of observed data is available and when the real groundwater distribution is more complex than can be represented by simple mathematical forms.« less

Histogram Analysis of Apparent Diffusion Coefficients for Occult Tonsil Cancer in Patients with Cervical Nodal Metastasis from an Unknown Primary Site at Presentation.

PubMed

Choi, Young Jun; Lee, Jeong Hyun; Kim, Hye Ok; Kim, Dae Yoon; Yoon, Ra Gyoung; Cho, So Hyun; Koh, Myeong Ju; Kim, Namkug; Kim, Sang Yoon; Baek, Jung Hwan

2016-01-01

To explore the added value of histogram analysis of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values over magnetic resonance (MR) imaging and fluorine 18 ((18)F) fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) for the detection of occult palatine tonsil squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) in patients with cervical nodal metastasis from a cancer of an unknown primary site. The institutional review board approved this retrospective study, and the requirement for informed consent was waived. Differences in the bimodal histogram parameters of the ADC values were assessed among occult palatine tonsil SCC (n = 19), overt palatine tonsil SCC (n = 20), and normal palatine tonsils (n = 20). One-way analysis of variance was used to analyze differences among the three groups. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was used to determine the best differentiating parameters. The increased sensitivity of histogram analysis over MR imaging and (18)F-FDG PET/CT for the detection of occult palatine tonsil SCC was evaluated as added value. Histogram analysis showed statistically significant differences in the mean, standard deviation, and 50th and 90th percentile ADC values among the three groups (P < .0045). Occult palatine tonsil SCC had a significantly higher standard deviation for the overall curves, mean and standard deviation of the higher curves, and 90th percentile ADC value, compared with normal palatine tonsils (P < .0167). Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed that the standard deviation of the overall curve best delineated occult palatine tonsil SCC from normal palatine tonsils, with a sensitivity of 78.9% (15 of 19 patients) and a specificity of 60% (12 of 20 patients). The added value of ADC histogram analysis was 52.6% over MR imaging alone and 15.8% over combined conventional MR imaging and (18)F-FDG PET/CT. Adding ADC histogram analysis to conventional MR imaging can improve the detection sensitivity for occult palatine tonsil SCC in patients with a cervical nodal metastasis originating from a cancer of an unknown primary site. © RSNA, 2015.

Gliomas: Application of Cumulative Histogram Analysis of Normalized Cerebral Blood Volume on 3 T MRI to Tumor Grading

PubMed Central

Kim, Hyungjin; Choi, Seung Hong; Kim, Ji-Hoon; Ryoo, Inseon; Kim, Soo Chin; Yeom, Jeong A.; Shin, Hwaseon; Jung, Seung Chai; Lee, A. Leum; Yun, Tae Jin; Park, Chul-Kee; Sohn, Chul-Ho; Park, Sung-Hye

2013-01-01

Background Glioma grading assumes significant importance in that low- and high-grade gliomas display different prognoses and are treated with dissimilar therapeutic strategies. The objective of our study was to retrospectively assess the usefulness of a cumulative normalized cerebral blood volume (nCBV) histogram for glioma grading based on 3 T MRI. Methods From February 2010 to April 2012, 63 patients with astrocytic tumors underwent 3 T MRI with dynamic susceptibility contrast perfusion-weighted imaging. Regions of interest containing the entire tumor volume were drawn on every section of the co-registered relative CBV (rCBV) maps and T2-weighted images. The percentile values from the cumulative nCBV histograms and the other histogram parameters were correlated with tumor grades. Cochran’s Q test and the McNemar test were used to compare the diagnostic accuracies of the histogram parameters after the receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. Using the parameter offering the highest diagnostic accuracy, a validation process was performed with an independent test set of nine patients. Results The 99th percentile of the cumulative nCBV histogram (nCBV C99), mean and peak height differed significantly between low- and high-grade gliomas (P = <0.001, 0.014 and <0.001, respectively) and between grade III and IV gliomas (P = <0.001, 0.001 and <0.001, respectively). The diagnostic accuracy of nCBV C99 was significantly higher than that of the mean nCBV (P = 0.016) in distinguishing high- from low-grade gliomas and was comparable to that of the peak height (P = 1.000). Validation using the two cutoff values of nCBV C99 achieved a diagnostic accuracy of 66.7% (6/9) for the separation of all three glioma grades. Conclusion Cumulative histogram analysis of nCBV using 3 T MRI can be a useful method for preoperative glioma grading. The nCBV C99 value is helpful in distinguishing high- from low-grade gliomas and grade IV from III gliomas. PMID:23704910

Comparison of Utility of Histogram Apparent Diffusion Coefficient and R2* for Differentiation of Low-Grade From High-Grade Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma.

PubMed

Zhang, Yu-Dong; Wu, Chen-Jiang; Wang, Qing; Zhang, Jing; Wang, Xiao-Ning; Liu, Xi-Sheng; Shi, Hai-Bin

2015-08-01

The purpose of this study was to compare histogram analysis of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) and R2* for differentiating low-grade from high-grade clear cell renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Forty-six patients with pathologically confirmed clear cell RCC underwent preoperative BOLD and DWI MRI of the kidneys. ADCs based on the entire tumor volume were calculated with b value combinations of 0 and 800 s/mm(2). ROI-based R2* was calculated with eight TE combinations of 6.7-22.8 milliseconds. Histogram analysis of tumor ADCs and R2* values was performed to obtain mean; median; width; and fifth, 10th, 90th, and 95th percentiles and histogram inhomogeneity, kurtosis, and skewness for all lesions. Thirty-three low-grade and 13 high-grade clear cell RCCs were found at pathologic examination. The TNM classification and tumor volume of clear cell RCC significantly correlated with histogram ADC and R2* (ρ = -0.317 to 0.506; p < 0.05). High-grade clear cell RCC had significantly lower mean, median, and 10th percentile ADCs but higher inhomogeneity and median R2* than low-grade clear cell RCC (all p < 0.05). Compared with other histogram ADC and R2* indexes, 10th percentile ADC had the highest accuracy (91.3%) in discriminating low- from high-grade clear cell RCC. R2* in discriminating hemorrhage was achieved with a threshold of 68.95 Hz. At this threshold, high-grade clear cell RCC had a significantly higher prevalence of intratumor hemorrhage (high-grade, 76.9%; low-grade, 45.4%; p < 0.05) and larger hemorrhagic area than low-grade clear cell RCC (high-grade, 34.9% ± 31.6%; low-grade, 8.9 ± 16.8%; p < 0.05). A close relation was found between MRI indexes and pathologic findings. Histogram analysis of ADC and R2* allows differentiation of low- from high-grade clear cell RCC with high accuracy.

Histogram analysis of apparent diffusion coefficient maps for assessing thymic epithelial tumours: correlation with world health organization classification and clinical staging.

PubMed

Kong, Ling-Yan; Zhang, Wei; Zhou, Yue; Xu, Hai; Shi, Hai-Bin; Feng, Qing; Xu, Xiao-Quan; Yu, Tong-Fu

2018-04-01

To investigate the value of apparent diffusion coefficients (ADCs) histogram analysis for assessing World Health Organization (WHO) pathological classification and Masaoka clinical stages of thymic epithelial tumours. 37 patients with histologically confirmed thymic epithelial tumours were enrolled. ADC measurements were performed using hot-spot ROI (ADC HS-ROI ) and histogram-based approach. ADC histogram parameters included mean ADC (ADC mean ), median ADC (ADC median ), 10 and 90 percentile of ADC (ADC 10 and ADC 90 ), kurtosis and skewness. One-way ANOVA, independent-sample t-test, and receiver operating characteristic were used for statistical analyses. There were significant differences in ADC mean , ADC median , ADC 10 , ADC 90 and ADC HS-ROI among low-risk thymoma (type A, AB, B1; n = 14), high-risk thymoma (type B2, B3; n = 9) and thymic carcinoma (type C, n = 14) groups (all p-values <0.05), while no significant difference in skewness (p = 0.181) and kurtosis (p = 0.088). ADC 10 showed best differentiating ability (cut-off value, ≤0.689 × 10 -3 mm 2 s -1 ; AUC, 0.957; sensitivity, 95.65%; specificity, 92.86%) for discriminating low-risk thymoma from high-risk thymoma and thymic carcinoma. Advanced Masaoka stages (Stage III and IV; n = 24) tumours showed significant lower ADC parameters and higher kurtosis than early Masaoka stage (Stage I and II; n = 13) tumours (all p-values <0.05), while no significant difference on skewness (p = 0.063). ADC 10 showed best differentiating ability (cut-off value, ≤0.689 × 10 -3 mm 2 s -1 ; AUC, 0.913; sensitivity, 91.30%; specificity, 85.71%) for discriminating advanced and early Masaoka stage epithelial tumours. ADC histogram analysis may assist in assessing the WHO pathological classification and Masaoka clinical stages of thymic epithelial tumours. Advances in knowledge: 1. ADC histogram analysis could help to assess WHO pathological classification of thymic epithelial tumours. 2. ADC histogram analysis could help to evaluate Masaoka clinical stages of thymic epithelial tumours. 3. ADC 10 might be a promising imaging biomarker for assessing and characterizing thymic epithelial tumours.

Utility of whole-lesion ADC histogram metrics for assessing the malignant potential of pancreatic intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (IPMNs).

PubMed

Hoffman, David H; Ream, Justin M; Hajdu, Christina H; Rosenkrantz, Andrew B

2017-04-01

To evaluate whole-lesion ADC histogram metrics for assessing the malignant potential of pancreatic intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (IPMNs), including in comparison with conventional MRI features. Eighteen branch-duct IPMNs underwent MRI with DWI prior to resection (n = 16) or FNA (n = 2). A blinded radiologist placed 3D volumes-of-interest on the entire IPMN on the ADC map, from which whole-lesion histogram metrics were generated. The reader also assessed IPMN size, mural nodularity, and adjacent main-duct dilation. Benign (low-to-intermediate grade dysplasia; n = 10) and malignant (high-grade dysplasia or invasive adenocarcinoma; n = 8) IPMNs were compared. Whole-lesion ADC histogram metrics demonstrating significant differences between benign and malignant IPMNs were: entropy (5.1 ± 0.2 vs. 5.4 ± 0.2; p = 0.01, AUC = 86%); mean of the bottom 10th percentile (2.2 ± 0.4 vs. 1.6 ± 0.7; p = 0.03; AUC = 81%); and mean of the 10-25th percentile (2.8 ± 0.4 vs. 2.3 ± 0.6; p = 0.04; AUC = 79%). The overall mean ADC, skewness, and kurtosis were not significantly different between groups (p ≥ 0.06; AUC = 50-78%). For entropy (highest performing histogram metric), an optimal threshold of >5.3 achieved a sensitivity of 100%, a specificity of 70%, and an accuracy of 83% for predicting malignancy. No significant difference (p = 0.18-0.64) was observed between benign and malignant IPMNs for cyst size ≥3 cm, adjacent main-duct dilatation, or mural nodule. At multivariable analysis of entropy in combination with all other ADC histogram and conventional MRI features, entropy was the only significant independent predictor of malignancy (p = 0.004). Although requiring larger studies, ADC entropy obtained from 3D whole-lesion histogram analysis may serve as a biomarker for identifying the malignant potential of IPMNs, independent of conventional MRI features.

Efficient parallel and out of core algorithms for constructing large bi-directed de Bruijn graphs.

PubMed

Kundeti, Vamsi K; Rajasekaran, Sanguthevar; Dinh, Hieu; Vaughn, Matthew; Thapar, Vishal

2010-11-15

Assembling genomic sequences from a set of overlapping reads is one of the most fundamental problems in computational biology. Algorithms addressing the assembly problem fall into two broad categories - based on the data structures which they employ. The first class uses an overlap/string graph and the second type uses a de Bruijn graph. However with the recent advances in short read sequencing technology, de Bruijn graph based algorithms seem to play a vital role in practice. Efficient algorithms for building these massive de Bruijn graphs are very essential in large sequencing projects based on short reads. In an earlier work, an O(n/p) time parallel algorithm has been given for this problem. Here n is the size of the input and p is the number of processors. This algorithm enumerates all possible bi-directed edges which can overlap with a node and ends up generating Θ(nΣ) messages (Σ being the size of the alphabet). In this paper we present a Θ(n/p) time parallel algorithm with a communication complexity that is equal to that of parallel sorting and is not sensitive to Σ. The generality of our algorithm makes it very easy to extend it even to the out-of-core model and in this case it has an optimal I/O complexity of Θ(nlog(n/B)Blog(M/B)) (M being the main memory size and B being the size of the disk block). We demonstrate the scalability of our parallel algorithm on a SGI/Altix computer. A comparison of our algorithm with the previous approaches reveals that our algorithm is faster--both asymptotically and practically. We demonstrate the scalability of our sequential out-of-core algorithm by comparing it with the algorithm used by VELVET to build the bi-directed de Bruijn graph. Our experiments reveal that our algorithm can build the graph with a constant amount of memory, which clearly outperforms VELVET. We also provide efficient algorithms for the bi-directed chain compaction problem. The bi-directed de Bruijn graph is a fundamental data structure for any sequence assembly program based on Eulerian approach. Our algorithms for constructing Bi-directed de Bruijn graphs are efficient in parallel and out of core settings. These algorithms can be used in building large scale bi-directed de Bruijn graphs. Furthermore, our algorithms do not employ any all-to-all communications in a parallel setting and perform better than the prior algorithms. Finally our out-of-core algorithm is extremely memory efficient and can replace the existing graph construction algorithm in VELVET.

Clarification to "Examining Rater Errors in the Assessment of Written Composition with a Many-Faceted Rasch Model."

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Englehard, George, Jr.

1996-01-01

Data presented in figure three of the article cited may be misleading in that the automatic scaling procedure used by the computer program that generated the histogram highlighted spikes that would look different with different histogram methods. (SLD)

Using Computer Graphics in Statistics.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kerley, Lyndell M.

1990-01-01

Described is software which allows a student to use simulation to produce analytical output as well as graphical results. The results include a frequency histogram of a selected population distribution, a frequency histogram of the distribution of the sample means, and test the normality distributions of the sample means. (KR)

A case of EDTA-dependent pseudothrombocytopenia: simple recognition of an underdiagnosed and misleading phenomenon

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background EDTA-dependent pseudothrombocytopenia (EDTA-PTCP) is a common laboratory phenomenon with a prevalence ranging from 0.1-2% in hospitalized patients to 15-17% in outpatients evaluated for isolated thrombocytopenia. Despite its harmlessness, EDTA-PTCP frequently leads to time-consuming, costly and even invasive diagnostic investigations. EDTA-PTCP is often overlooked because blood smears are not evaluated visually in routine practice and histograms as well as warning flags of hematology analyzers are not interpreted correctly. Nonetheless, EDTA-PTCP may be diagnosed easily even by general practitioners without any experiences in blood film examinations. This is the first report illustrating the typical patterns of a platelet (PLT) and white blood cell (WBC) histograms of hematology analyzers. Case presentation A 37-year-old female patient of Caucasian origin was referred with suspected acute leukemia and the crew of the emergency unit arranged extensive investigations for work-up. However, examination of EDTA blood sample revealed atypical lymphocytes and an isolated thrombocytopenia together with typical patterns of WBC and PLT histograms: a serrated curve of the platelet histogram and a peculiar peak on the left side of the WBC histogram. EDTA-PTCP was confirmed by a normal platelet count when examining citrated blood. Conclusion Awareness of typical PLT and WBC patterns may alert to the presence of EDTA-PTCP in routine laboratory practice helping to avoid unnecessary investigations and over-treatment. PMID:24808761

Compliance Monitoring of Juvenile Subyearling Chinook Salmon Survival and Passage at The Dalles Dam, Summer 2010

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

Johnson, Gary E.; Carlson, Thomas J.; Skalski, John R.

2010-12-21

The purpose of this compliance study was to estimate dam passage survival of subyearling Chinook salmon smolts at The Dalles Dam during summer 2010. Under the 2008 Federal Columbia River Power System (FCRPS) Biological Opinion (BiOp), dam passage survival should be greater than or equal to 0.93 and estimated with a standard error (SE) less than or equal 0.015. The study also estimated smolt passage survival from the forebay 2 km upstream of the dam to the tailrace 2 km below the dam The forebay-to-tailrace survival estimate satisfies the “BRZ-to-BRZ” survival estimate called for in the Fish Accords. , asmore » well as the forebay residence time, tailrace egress time, and spill passage efficiency, as required in the Columbia Basin Fish Accords. The estimate of dam survival for subyearling Chinook salmon at The Dalles in 2010 was 0.9404 with an associated standard error of 0.0091.« less

Experimental Visualizations of a Generic Launch Vehicle Flow Field: Time-Resolved Shadowgraph and Infrared Imaging

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Garbeff, Theodore J., II; Panda, Jayanta; Ross, James C.

2017-01-01

Time-Resolved shadowgraph and infrared (IR) imaging were performed to investigate off-body and on-body flow features of a generic, 'hammer-head' launch vehicle geometry previously tested by Coe and Nute (1962). The measurements discussed here were one part of a large range of wind tunnel test techniques that included steady-state pressure sensitive paint (PSP), dynamic PSP, unsteady surface pressures, and unsteady force measurements. Image data was captured over a Mach number range of 0.6 less than or equal to M less than or equal to 1.2 at a Reynolds number of 3 million per foot. Both shadowgraph and IR imagery were captured in conjunction with unsteady pressures and forces and correlated with IRIG-B timing. High-speed shadowgraph imagery was used to identify wake structure and reattachment behind the payload fairing of the vehicle. Various data processing strategies were employed and ultimately these results correlated well with the location and magnitude of unsteady surface pressure measurements. Two research grade IR cameras were positioned to image boundary layer transition at the vehicle nose and flow reattachment behind the payload fairing. The poor emissivity of the model surface treatment (fast PSP) proved to be challenging for the infrared measurement. Reference image subtraction and contrast limited adaptive histogram equalization (CLAHE) were used to analyze this dataset. Ultimately turbulent boundary layer transition was observed and located forward of the trip dot line at the model sphere-cone junction. Flow reattachment location was identified behind the payload fairing in both steady and unsteady thermal data. As demonstrated in this effort, recent advances in high-speed and thermal imaging technology have modernized classical techniques providing a new viewpoint for the modern researcher

Gaze Fluctuations Are Not Additively Decomposable: Reply to Bogartz and Staub

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kelty-Stephen, Damian G.; Mirman, Daniel

2013-01-01

Our previous work interpreted single-lognormal fits to inter-gaze distance (i.e., "gaze steps") histograms as evidence of multiplicativity and hence interactions across scales in visual cognition. Bogartz and Staub (2012) proposed that gaze steps are additively decomposable into fixations and saccades, matching the histograms better and…

Integration of bio- and geoscience data with the ODM2 standards and software ecosystem for the CZOData and BiG CZ Data projects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aufdenkampe, A. K.; Mayorga, E.; Horsburgh, J. S.; Lehnert, K. A.; Zaslavsky, I.

2015-12-01

We have developed a family of solutions to the challenges of integrating diverse data from of biological and geological (BiG) disciplines for Critical Zone (CZ) science. These standards and software solutions have been developed around the new Observations Data Model version 2.0 (ODM2, http://ODM2.org), which was designed as a profile of the Open Geospatial Consortium's (OGC) Observations and Measurements (O&M) standard. The ODM2 standards and software ecosystem has at it's core an information model that balances specificity with flexibility to powerfully and equally serve the needs of multiple dataset types, from multivariate sensor-generated time series to geochemical measurements of specimen hierarchies to multi-dimensional spectral data to biodiversity observations. ODM2 has been adopted as the information model guiding the next generation of cyberinfrastructure development for the Interdisciplinary Earth Data Alliance (http://www.iedadata.org/) and the CUAHSI Water Data Center (https://www.cuahsi.org/wdc). Here we present several components of the ODM2 standards and software ecosystem that were developed specifically to help CZ scientists and their data managers to share and manage data through the national Critical Zone Observatory data integration project (CZOData, http://criticalzone.org/national/data/) and the bio integration with geo for critical zone science data project (BiG CZ Data, http://bigcz.org/). These include the ODM2 Controlled Vocabulary system (http://vocabulary.odm2.org), the YAML Observation Data Archive & exchange (YODA) File Format (https://github.com/ODM2/YODA-File) and the BiG CZ Toolbox, which will combine easy-to-install ODM2 databases (https://github.com/ODM2/ODM2) with a variety of graphical software packages for data management such as ODMTools (https://github.com/ODM2/ODMToolsPython) and the ODM2 Streaming Data Loader (https://github.com/ODM2/ODM2StreamingDataLoader).

Trinucleotide's quadruplet symmetries and natural symmetry law of DNA creation ensuing Chargaff's second parity rule.

PubMed

Rosandić, Marija; Vlahović, Ines; Glunčić, Matko; Paar, Vladimir

2016-07-01

For almost 50 years the conclusive explanation of Chargaff's second parity rule (CSPR), the equality of frequencies of nucleotides A=T and C=G or the equality of direct and reverse complement trinucleotides in the same DNA strand, has not been determined yet. Here, we relate CSPR to the interstrand mirror symmetry in 20 symbolic quadruplets of trinucleotides (direct, reverse complement, complement, and reverse) mapped to double-stranded genome. The symmetries of Q-box corresponding to quadruplets can be obtained as a consequence of Watson-Crick base pairing and CSPR together. Alternatively, assuming Natural symmetry law for DNA creation that each trinucleotide in one strand of DNA must simultaneously appear also in the opposite strand automatically leads to Q-box direct-reverse mirror symmetry which in conjunction with Watson-Crick base pairing generates CSPR. We demonstrate quadruplet's symmetries in chromosomes of wide range of organisms, from Escherichia coli to Neanderthal and human genomes, introducing novel quadruplet-frequency histograms and 3D-diagrams with combined interstrand frequencies. These "landscapes" are mutually similar in all mammals, including extinct Neanderthals, and somewhat different in most of older species. In human chromosomes 1-12, and X, Y the "landscapes" are almost identical and slightly different in the remaining smaller and telocentric chromosomes. Quadruplet frequencies could provide a new robust tool for characterization and classification of genomes and their evolutionary trajectories.

Redox subpopulations and the risk of cancer progression: a new method for characterizing redox heterogeneity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, He N.; Li, Lin Z.

2016-02-01

It has been shown that a malignant tumor is akin to a complex organ comprising of various cell populations including tumor cells that are genetically, metabolically and functionally different. Our redox imaging data have demonstrated intra-tumor redox heterogeneity in all mouse xenografts derived from human melanomas, breast, prostate, and colon cancers. Based on the signals of NADH and oxidized flavoproteins (Fp, including flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD)) and their ratio, i.e., the redox ratio, which is an indicator of mitochondrial metabolic status, we have discovered several distinct redox subpopulations in xenografts of breast tumors potentially recapitulating functional/metabolic heterogeneity within the tumor. Furthermore, xenografts of breast tumors with higher metastatic potential tend to have a redox subpopulation whose redox ratio is significantly different from that of tumors with lower metastatic potential and usually have a bi-modal distribution of the redox ratio. The redox subpopulations from human breast cancer samples can also be very complex with multiple subpopulations as determined by fitting the redox ratio histograms with multi- Gaussian functions. In this report, we present a new method for identifying the redox subpopulations within individual breast tumor xenografts and human breast tissues, which may be used to differentiate between breast cancer and normal tissue and among breast cancer with different risks of progression.

MRI intensity nonuniformity correction using simultaneously spatial and gray-level histogram information.

PubMed

Milles, Julien; Zhu, Yue Min; Gimenez, Gérard; Guttmann, Charles R G; Magnin, Isabelle E

2007-03-01

A novel approach for correcting intensity nonuniformity in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is presented. This approach is based on the simultaneous use of spatial and gray-level histogram information. Spatial information about intensity nonuniformity is obtained using cubic B-spline smoothing. Gray-level histogram information of the image corrupted by intensity nonuniformity is exploited from a frequential point of view. The proposed correction method is illustrated using both physical phantom and human brain images. The results are consistent with theoretical prediction, and demonstrate a new way of dealing with intensity nonuniformity problems. They are all the more significant as the ground truth on intensity nonuniformity is unknown in clinical images.

An effective image classification method with the fusion of invariant feature and a new color descriptor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mansourian, Leila; Taufik Abdullah, Muhamad; Nurliyana Abdullah, Lili; Azman, Azreen; Mustaffa, Mas Rina

2017-02-01

Pyramid Histogram of Words (PHOW), combined Bag of Visual Words (BoVW) with the spatial pyramid matching (SPM) in order to add location information to extracted features. However, different PHOW extracted from various color spaces, and they did not extract color information individually, that means they discard color information, which is an important characteristic of any image that is motivated by human vision. This article, concatenated PHOW Multi-Scale Dense Scale Invariant Feature Transform (MSDSIFT) histogram and a proposed Color histogram to improve the performance of existing image classification algorithms. Performance evaluation on several datasets proves that the new approach outperforms other existing, state-of-the-art methods.

Application of Markov Models for Analysis of Development of Psychological Characteristics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kuravsky, Lev S.; Malykh, Sergey B.

2004-01-01

A technique to study combined influence of environmental and genetic factors on the base of changes in phenotype distributions is presented. Histograms are exploited as base analyzed characteristics. A continuous time, discrete state Markov process with piece-wise constant interstate transition rates is associated with evolution of each histogram.…

Post-Modeling Histogram Matching of Maps Produced Using Regression Trees

Treesearch

Andrew J. Lister; Tonya W. Lister

2006-01-01

Spatial predictive models often use statistical techniques that in some way rely on averaging of values. Estimates from linear modeling are known to be susceptible to truncation of variance when the independent (predictor) variables are measured with error. A straightforward post-processing technique (histogram matching) for attempting to mitigate this effect is...

Microprocessor-Based Neural-Pulse-Wave Analyzer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kojima, G. K.; Bracchi, F.

1983-01-01

Microprocessor-based system analyzes amplitudes and rise times of neural waveforms. Displaying histograms of measured parameters helps researchers determine how many nerves contribute to signal and specify waveform characteristics of each. Results are improved noise rejection, full or partial separation of overlapping peaks, and isolation and identification of related peaks in different histograms. 2

Histogram-based automatic thresholding for bruise detection of apples by structured-illumination reflectance imaging

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Thresholding is an important step in the segmentation of image features, and the existing methods are not all effective when the image histogram exhibits a unimodal pattern, which is common in defect detection of fruit. This study was aimed at developing a general automatic thresholding methodology ...

Deep convolutional neural networks for automatic classification of gastric carcinoma using whole slide images in digital histopathology.

PubMed

Sharma, Harshita; Zerbe, Norman; Klempert, Iris; Hellwich, Olaf; Hufnagl, Peter

2017-11-01

Deep learning using convolutional neural networks is an actively emerging field in histological image analysis. This study explores deep learning methods for computer-aided classification in H&E stained histopathological whole slide images of gastric carcinoma. An introductory convolutional neural network architecture is proposed for two computerized applications, namely, cancer classification based on immunohistochemical response and necrosis detection based on the existence of tumor necrosis in the tissue. Classification performance of the developed deep learning approach is quantitatively compared with traditional image analysis methods in digital histopathology requiring prior computation of handcrafted features, such as statistical measures using gray level co-occurrence matrix, Gabor filter-bank responses, LBP histograms, gray histograms, HSV histograms and RGB histograms, followed by random forest machine learning. Additionally, the widely known AlexNet deep convolutional framework is comparatively analyzed for the corresponding classification problems. The proposed convolutional neural network architecture reports favorable results, with an overall classification accuracy of 0.6990 for cancer classification and 0.8144 for necrosis detection. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Distribution of a suite of elements including arsenic and mercury in Alabama coal

USGS Publications Warehouse

Goldhaber, Martin B.; Bigelow, R.C.; Hatch, J.R.; Pashin, J.C.

2000-01-01

Arsenic and other elements are unusually abundant in Alabama coal. This conclusion is based on chemical analyses of coal in the U.S. Geological Survey's National Coal Resources Data System (NCRDS; Bragg and others, 1994). According to NCRDS data, the average concentration of arsenic in Alabama coal (72 ppm) is three times higher than is the average for all U.S. coal (24 ppm). Of the U.S. coal analyses for arsenic that are at least 3 standard deviations above the mean, approximately 90% are from the coal fields of Alabama. Figure 1 contrasts the abundance of arsenic in coal of the Warrior field of Alabama (histogram C) with that of coal of the Powder River Basin, Wyoming (histogram A), and the Eastern Interior Province including the Illinois Basin and nearby areas (histogram B). The Warrior field is by far the largest in Alabama. On the histogram, the large 'tail' of very high values (> 200 ppm) in the Warrior coal contrasts with the other two regions that have very few analyses greater than 200 ppm.

Real-Time Tracking by Double Templates Matching Based on Timed Motion History Image with HSV Feature

PubMed Central

Li, Zhiyong; Li, Pengfei; Yu, Xiaoping; Hashem, Mervat

2014-01-01

It is a challenge to represent the target appearance model for moving object tracking under complex environment. This study presents a novel method with appearance model described by double templates based on timed motion history image with HSV color histogram feature (tMHI-HSV). The main components include offline template and online template initialization, tMHI-HSV-based candidate patches feature histograms calculation, double templates matching (DTM) for object location, and templates updating. Firstly, we initialize the target object region and calculate its HSV color histogram feature as offline template and online template. Secondly, the tMHI-HSV is used to segment the motion region and calculate these candidate object patches' color histograms to represent their appearance models. Finally, we utilize the DTM method to trace the target and update the offline template and online template real-timely. The experimental results show that the proposed method can efficiently handle the scale variation and pose change of the rigid and nonrigid objects, even in illumination change and occlusion visual environment. PMID:24592185

Adjustments for the display of quantized ion channel dwell times in histograms with logarithmic bins.

PubMed

Stark, J A; Hladky, S B

2000-02-01

Dwell-time histograms are often plotted as part of patch-clamp investigations of ion channel currents. The advantages of plotting these histograms with a logarithmic time axis were demonstrated by, J. Physiol. (Lond.). 378:141-174), Pflügers Arch. 410:530-553), and, Biophys. J. 52:1047-1054). Sigworth and Sine argued that the interpretation of such histograms is simplified if the counts are presented in a manner similar to that of a probability density function. However, when ion channel records are recorded as a discrete time series, the dwell times are quantized. As a result, the mapping of dwell times to logarithmically spaced bins is highly irregular; bins may be empty, and significant irregularities may extend beyond the duration of 100 samples. Using simple approximations based on the nature of the binning process and the transformation rules for probability density functions, we develop adjustments for the display of the counts to compensate for this effect. Tests with simulated data suggest that this procedure provides a faithful representation of the data.

Assessment of Arterial Wall Enhancement for Differentiation of Parent Artery Disease from Small Artery Disease: Comparison between Histogram Analysis and Visual Analysis on 3-Dimensional Contrast-Enhanced T1-Weighted Turbo Spin Echo MR Images at 3T.

PubMed

Jang, Jinhee; Kim, Tae-Won; Hwang, Eo-Jin; Choi, Hyun Seok; Koo, Jaseong; Shin, Yong Sam; Jung, So-Lyung; Ahn, Kook-Jin; Kim, Bum-Soo

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study was to compare the histogram analysis and visual scores in 3T MRI assessment of middle cerebral arterial wall enhancement in patients with acute stroke, for the differentiation of parent artery disease (PAD) from small artery disease (SAD). Among the 82 consecutive patients in a tertiary hospital for one year, 25 patients with acute infarcts in middle cerebral artery (MCA) territory were included in this study including 15 patients with PAD and 10 patients with SAD. Three-dimensional contrast-enhanced T1-weighted turbo spin echo MR images with black-blood preparation at 3T were analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively. The degree of MCA stenosis, and visual and histogram assessments on MCA wall enhancement were evaluated. A statistical analysis was performed to compare diagnostic accuracy between qualitative and quantitative metrics. The degree of stenosis, visual enhancement score, geometric mean (GM), and the 90th percentile (90P) value from the histogram analysis were significantly higher in PAD than in SAD ( p = 0.006 for stenosis, < 0.001 for others). The receiver operating characteristic curve area of GM and 90P were 1 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.86-1.00). A histogram analysis of a relevant arterial wall enhancement allows differentiation between PAD and SAD in patients with acute stroke within the MCA territory.

Utility of histogram analysis of apparent diffusion coefficient maps obtained using 3.0T MRI for distinguishing uterine carcinosarcoma from endometrial carcinoma.

PubMed

Takahashi, Masahiro; Kozawa, Eito; Tanisaka, Megumi; Hasegawa, Kousei; Yasuda, Masanori; Sakai, Fumikazu

2016-06-01

We explored the role of histogram analysis of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) maps for discriminating uterine carcinosarcoma and endometrial carcinoma. We retrospectively evaluated findings in 13 patients with uterine carcinosarcoma and 50 patients with endometrial carcinoma who underwent diffusion-weighted imaging (b = 0, 500, 1000 s/mm(2) ) at 3T with acquisition of corresponding ADC maps. We derived histogram data from regions of interest drawn on all slices of the ADC maps in which tumor was visualized, excluding areas of necrosis and hemorrhage in the tumor. We used the Mann-Whitney test to evaluate the capacity of histogram parameters (mean ADC value, 5th to 95th percentiles, skewness, kurtosis) to discriminate uterine carcinosarcoma and endometrial carcinoma and analyzed the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve to determine the optimum threshold value for each parameter and its corresponding sensitivity and specificity. Carcinosarcomas demonstrated significantly higher mean vales of ADC, 95th, 90th, 75th, 50th, 25th percentiles and kurtosis than endometrial carcinomas (P < 0.05). ROC curve analysis of the 75th percentile yielded the best area under the ROC curve (AUC; 0.904), sensitivity of 100%, and specificity of 78.0%, with a cutoff value of 1.034 × 10(-3) mm(2) /s. Histogram analysis of ADC maps might be helpful for discriminating uterine carcinosarcomas and endometrial carcinomas. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2016;43:1301-1307. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Characterization of testicular germ cell tumors: Whole-lesion histogram analysis of the apparent diffusion coefficient at 3T.

PubMed

Min, Xiangde; Feng, Zhaoyan; Wang, Liang; Cai, Jie; Yan, Xu; Li, Basen; Ke, Zan; Zhang, Peipei; You, Huijuan

2018-01-01

To assess the values of parameters derived from whole-lesion histograms of the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) at 3T for the characterization of testicular germ cell tumors (TGCTs). A total of 24 men with TGCTs underwent 3T diffusion-weighted imaging. Fourteen tumors were pathologically confirmed as seminomas, and ten tumors were pathologically confirmed as nonseminomas. Whole-lesion histogram analysis of the ADC values was performed. A Mann-Whitney U test was employed to compare the differences in ADC histogram parameters between seminomas and nonseminomas. Receiver operating characteristic analysis was used to identify the cutoff values for each parameter for differentiating seminomas from nonseminomas; furthermore, the area under the curve (AUC) was calculated to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy. The median of 10th, 25th, 50th, 75th, and 90th percentiles and mean, minimum and maximum ADC values were all significantly reduced for seminomas compared with nonseminomas (p<0.05 for all). In contrast, the median of kurtosis and skewness of ADC values of seminomas were both significantly increased compared with those of nonseminomas (p=0.003 and 0.001, respectively). For differentiating nonseminomas from seminomas, the 10th percentile ADC yielded the highest AUC with a sensitivity and specificity of 100% and 92.86%, respectively. Whole-lesion histogram analysis of ADCs might be used for preoperative characterization of TGCTs. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Quantification and classification of neuronal responses in kernel-smoothed peristimulus time histograms

PubMed Central

Fried, Itzhak; Koch, Christof

2014-01-01

Peristimulus time histograms are a widespread form of visualizing neuronal responses. Kernel convolution methods transform these histograms into a smooth, continuous probability density function. This provides an improved estimate of a neuron's actual response envelope. We here develop a classifier, called the h-coefficient, to determine whether time-locked fluctuations in the firing rate of a neuron should be classified as a response or as random noise. Unlike previous approaches, the h-coefficient takes advantage of the more precise response envelope estimation provided by the kernel convolution method. The h-coefficient quantizes the smoothed response envelope and calculates the probability of a response of a given shape to occur by chance. We tested the efficacy of the h-coefficient in a large data set of Monte Carlo simulated smoothed peristimulus time histograms with varying response amplitudes, response durations, trial numbers, and baseline firing rates. Across all these conditions, the h-coefficient significantly outperformed more classical classifiers, with a mean false alarm rate of 0.004 and a mean hit rate of 0.494. We also tested the h-coefficient's performance in a set of neuronal responses recorded in humans. The algorithm behind the h-coefficient provides various opportunities for further adaptation and the flexibility to target specific parameters in a given data set. Our findings confirm that the h-coefficient can provide a conservative and powerful tool for the analysis of peristimulus time histograms with great potential for future development. PMID:25475352

Using color histogram normalization for recovering chromatic illumination-changed images.

PubMed

Pei, S C; Tseng, C L; Wu, C C

2001-11-01

We propose a novel image-recovery method using the covariance matrix of the red-green-blue (R-G-B) color histogram and tensor theories. The image-recovery method is called the color histogram normalization algorithm. It is known that the color histograms of an image taken under varied illuminations are related by a general affine transformation of the R-G-B coordinates when the illumination is changed. We propose a simplified affine model for application with illumination variation. This simplified affine model considers the effects of only three basic forms of distortion: translation, scaling, and rotation. According to this principle, we can estimate the affine transformation matrix necessary to recover images whose color distributions are varied as a result of illumination changes. We compare the normalized color histogram of the standard image with that of the tested image. By performing some operations of simple linear algebra, we can estimate the matrix of the affine transformation between two images under different illuminations. To demonstrate the performance of the proposed algorithm, we divide the experiments into two parts: computer-simulated images and real images corresponding to illumination changes. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm is effective for both types of images. We also explain the noise-sensitive skew-rotation estimation that exists in the general affine model and demonstrate that the proposed simplified affine model without the use of skew rotation is better than the general affine model for such applications.

Impedance spectroscopy of V2O5-Bi2O3-BaTiO3 glass-ceramics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Al-syadi, Aref M.; Yousef, El Sayed; El-Desoky, M. M.; Al-Assiri, M. S.

2013-12-01

The glasses within composition as: (80 - x)V2O5/20Bi2O3/xBaTiO3 with x = 2.5, 5, 7.5 and 10 mol% have been prepared. The glass transition (Tg) increases with increasing BaTiO3 content. Synthesized glasses ceramic containing BaTi4O9, Ba3TiV4O15 nanoparticles of the order of 25-35 nm and 30-46 nm, respectively were estimated using XRD. The dielectric properties over wide ranges of frequencies and temperatures were investigated as a function of BaTiO3 content by impedance spectroscopy measurements. The hopping frequency, ωh, dielectric constant, ɛ', activation energies for the DC conduction, Eσ, the relaxation process, Ec, and stretched exponential parameter β of the glasses samples have been estimated. The, ωh,β, decrease from 51.63 to 0.31 × 106 (s-1), 0.84 to 0.79 with increasing BaTiO3 respectively. Otherwise, the Eσ, increase from 0.279 to 0.306 eV with increasing BaTiO3. The value of dielectric constant equal 9.5·103 for the 2.5BaTiO3/77.5V2O5/20Bi2O3 glasses-ceramic at 330 K for 1 KHz which is ten times larger than that of same glasses composition. Finally the relaxation properties of the investigated glasses are presented in the electric modulus formalism, where the relaxation time and the respective activation energy were determined.

Asymmetrical color filling-in from the nasal to the temporal side of the blind spot

PubMed Central

Li, Hui; Luo, Junxiang; Lu, Yiliang; Kan, Janis; Spillmann, Lothar; Wang, Wei

2014-01-01

The physiological blind spot, corresponding to the optic disk in the retina, is a relatively large (6 × 8°) area in the visual field that receives no retinal input. However, we rarely notice the existence of it in daily life. This is because the blind spot fills in with the brightness, color, texture, and motion of the surround. The study of filling-in enables us to better understand the creative nature of the visual system, which generates perceptual information where there is none. Is there any retinotopic rule in the color filling-in of the blind spot? To find out, we used mono-colored and bi-colored annuli hugging the boundary of the blind spot. We found that mono-colored annuli filled in the blind spot uniformly. By contrast, bi-colored annuli, where one half had a given color, while the other half had a different one, filled in the blind spot asymmetrically. Specifically, the color surrounding the nasal half typically filled in about 75% of the blind spot area, whereas the color surrounding the temporal half filled in only about 25%. This asymmetry was dependent on the relative size of the half rings, but not the two colors used, and was absent when the bi-colored annulus was rotated by 90°. Here, the two colors on the upper and lower sides of the blind spot filled in the enclosed area equally. These results suggest that the strength of filling-in decreases with distance from the fovea consistent with the decrease of the cortical magnification factor. PMID:25100977

Asymmetrical color filling-in from the nasal to the temporal side of the blind spot.

PubMed

Li, Hui; Luo, Junxiang; Lu, Yiliang; Kan, Janis; Spillmann, Lothar; Wang, Wei

2014-01-01

The physiological blind spot, corresponding to the optic disk in the retina, is a relatively large (6 × 8°) area in the visual field that receives no retinal input. However, we rarely notice the existence of it in daily life. This is because the blind spot fills in with the brightness, color, texture, and motion of the surround. The study of filling-in enables us to better understand the creative nature of the visual system, which generates perceptual information where there is none. Is there any retinotopic rule in the color filling-in of the blind spot? To find out, we used mono-colored and bi-colored annuli hugging the boundary of the blind spot. We found that mono-colored annuli filled in the blind spot uniformly. By contrast, bi-colored annuli, where one half had a given color, while the other half had a different one, filled in the blind spot asymmetrically. Specifically, the color surrounding the nasal half typically filled in about 75% of the blind spot area, whereas the color surrounding the temporal half filled in only about 25%. This asymmetry was dependent on the relative size of the half rings, but not the two colors used, and was absent when the bi-colored annulus was rotated by 90°. Here, the two colors on the upper and lower sides of the blind spot filled in the enclosed area equally. These results suggest that the strength of filling-in decreases with distance from the fovea consistent with the decrease of the cortical magnification factor.

The impact of slice-reduced computed tomography on histogram-based densitometry assessment of lung fibrosis in patients with systemic sclerosis.

PubMed

Nguyen-Kim, Thi Dan Linh; Maurer, Britta; Suliman, Yossra A; Morsbach, Fabian; Distler, Oliver; Frauenfelder, Thomas

2018-04-01

To evaluate usability of slice-reduced sequential computed tomography (CT) compared to standard high-resolution CT (HRCT) in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) for qualitative and quantitative assessment of interstitial lung disease (ILD) with respect to (I) detection of lung parenchymal abnormalities, (II) qualitative and semiquantitative visual assessment, (III) quantification of ILD by histograms and (IV) accuracy for the 20%-cut off discrimination. From standard chest HRCT of 60 SSc patients sequential 9-slice-computed tomography (reduced HRCT) was retrospectively reconstructed. ILD was assessed by visual scoring and quantitative histogram parameters. Results from standard and reduced HRCT were compared using non-parametric tests and analysed by univariate linear regression analyses. With respect to the detection of parenchymal abnormalities, only the detection of intrapulmonary bronchiectasis was significantly lower in reduced HRCT compared to standard HRCT (P=0.039). No differences were found comparing visual scores for fibrosis severity and extension from standard and reduced HRCT (P=0.051-0.073). All scores correlated significantly (P<0.001) to histogram parameters derived from both, standard and reduced HRCT. Significant higher values of kurtosis and skewness for reduced HRCT were found (both P<0.001). In contrast to standard HRCT histogram parameters from reduced HRCT showed significant discrimination at cut-off 20% fibrosis (sensitivity 88% kurtosis and skewness; specificity 81% kurtosis and 86% skewness; cut-off kurtosis ≤26, cut-off skewness ≤4; both P<0.001). Reduced HRCT is a robust method to assess lung fibrosis in SSc with minimal radiation dose with no difference in scoring assessment of lung fibrosis severity and extension in comparison to standard HRCT. In contrast to standard HRCT histogram parameters derived from the approach of reduced HRCT could discriminate at a threshold of 20% lung fibrosis with high sensitivity and specificity. Hence it might be used to detect early disease progression of lung fibrosis in context of monitoring and treatment of SSc patients.

Histogram analysis of ADC in rectal cancer: associations with different histopathological findings including expression of EGFR, Hif1-alpha, VEGF, p53, PD1, and KI 67. A preliminary study.

PubMed

Meyer, Hans Jonas; Höhn, Annekathrin; Surov, Alexey

2018-04-06

Functional imaging modalities like Diffusion-weighted imaging are increasingly used to predict tumor behavior like cellularity and vascularity in different tumors. Histogram analysis is an emergent imaging analysis, in which every voxel is used to obtain a histogram and therefore statistically information about tumors can be provided. The purpose of this study was to elucidate possible associations between ADC histogram parameters and several immunhistochemical features in rectal cancer. Overall, 11 patients with histologically proven rectal cancer were included into the study. There were 2 (18.18%) females and 9 males with a mean age of 67.1 years. KI 67-index, expression of p53, EGFR, VEGF, and Hif1-alpha were semiautomatically estimated. The tumors were divided into PD1-positive and PD1-negative lesions. ADC histogram analysis was performed as a whole lesion measurement using an in-house matlab application. Spearman's correlation analysis revealed a strong correlation between EGFR expression and ADCmax (p=0.72, P=0.02). None of the vascular parameters (VEGF, Hif1-alpha) correlated with ADC parameters. Kurtosis and skewness correlated inversely with p53 expression (p=-0.64, P=0.03 and p=-0.81, P=0.002, respectively). ADCmedian and ADCmode correlated with Ki67 (p=-0.62, P=0.04 and p=-0.65, P=0.03, respectively). PD1-positive tumors showed statistically significant lower ADCmax values in comparison to PD1-negative tumors, 1.93 ± 0.36 vs 2.32 ± 0.47×10 -3 mm 2 /s, p=0.04. Several associations were identified between histogram parameter derived from ADC maps and EGFR, KI 67 and p53 expression in rectal cancer. Furthermore, ADCmax was different between PD1 positive and PD1 negative tumors indicating an important role of ADC parameters for possible future treatment prediction.

Histogram analysis of ADC in rectal cancer: associations with different histopathological findings including expression of EGFR, Hif1-alpha, VEGF, p53, PD1, and KI 67. A preliminary study

PubMed Central

Meyer, Hans Jonas; Höhn, Annekathrin; Surov, Alexey

2018-01-01

Functional imaging modalities like Diffusion-weighted imaging are increasingly used to predict tumor behavior like cellularity and vascularity in different tumors. Histogram analysis is an emergent imaging analysis, in which every voxel is used to obtain a histogram and therefore statistically information about tumors can be provided. The purpose of this study was to elucidate possible associations between ADC histogram parameters and several immunhistochemical features in rectal cancer. Overall, 11 patients with histologically proven rectal cancer were included into the study. There were 2 (18.18%) females and 9 males with a mean age of 67.1 years. KI 67-index, expression of p53, EGFR, VEGF, and Hif1-alpha were semiautomatically estimated. The tumors were divided into PD1-positive and PD1-negative lesions. ADC histogram analysis was performed as a whole lesion measurement using an in-house matlab application. Spearman's correlation analysis revealed a strong correlation between EGFR expression and ADCmax (p=0.72, P=0.02). None of the vascular parameters (VEGF, Hif1-alpha) correlated with ADC parameters. Kurtosis and skewness correlated inversely with p53 expression (p=-0.64, P=0.03 and p=-0.81, P=0.002, respectively). ADCmedian and ADCmode correlated with Ki67 (p=-0.62, P=0.04 and p=-0.65, P=0.03, respectively). PD1-positive tumors showed statistically significant lower ADCmax values in comparison to PD1-negative tumors, 1.93 ± 0.36 vs 2.32 ± 0.47×10−3mm2/s, p=0.04. Several associations were identified between histogram parameter derived from ADC maps and EGFR, KI 67 and p53 expression in rectal cancer. Furthermore, ADCmax was different between PD1 positive and PD1 negative tumors indicating an important role of ADC parameters for possible future treatment prediction. PMID:29719621

SU-C-207A-07: Cumulative 18F-FDG Uptake Histogram Relative to Radiation Dose Volume Histogram of Lung After IMRT Or PSPT and Their Association with Radiation Pneumonitis

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

Shusharina, N; Choi, N; Bortfeld, T

2016-06-15

Purpose: To determine whether the difference in cumulative 18F-FDG uptake histogram of lung treated with either IMRT or PSPT is associated with radiation pneumonitis (RP) in patients with inoperable stage II and III NSCLC. Methods: We analyzed 24 patients from a prospective randomized trial to compare IMRT (n=12) with vs. PSPT (n=12) for inoperable NSCLC. All patients underwent PET-CT imaging between 35 and 88 days post-therapy. Post-treatment PET-CT was aligned with planning 4D CT to establish a voxel-to-voxel correspondence between post-treatment PET and planning dose images. 18F-FDG uptake as a function of radiation dose to normal lung was obtained formore » each patient. Distribution of the standard uptake value (SUV) was analyzed using a volume histogram method. The image quantitative characteristics and DVH measures were correlated with clinical symptoms of pneumonitis. Results: Patients with RP were present in both groups: 5 in the IMRT and 6 in the PSPT. The analysis of cumulative SUV histograms showed significantly higher relative volumes of the normal lung having higher SUV uptake in the PSPT patients for both symptomatic and asymptomatic cases (VSUV=2: 10% for IMRT vs 16% for proton RT and VSUV=1: 10% for IMRT vs 23% for proton RT). In addition, the SUV histograms for symptomatic cases in PSPT patients exhibited a significantly longer tail at the highest SUV. The absolute volume of the lung receiving the dose >70 Gy was larger in the PSPT patients. Conclusion: 18F-FDG uptake – radiation dose response correlates with RP in both groups of patients by means of the linear regression slope. SUV is higher for the PSPT patients for both symptomatic and asymptomatic cases. Higher uptake after PSPT patients is explained by larger volumes of the lung receiving high radiation dose.« less

LinoSPAD: a time-resolved 256×1 CMOS SPAD line sensor system featuring 64 FPGA-based TDC channels running at up to 8.5 giga-events per second

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Burri, Samuel; Homulle, Harald; Bruschini, Claudio; Charbon, Edoardo

2016-04-01

LinoSPAD is a reconfigurable camera sensor with a 256×1 CMOS SPAD (single-photon avalanche diode) pixel array connected to a low cost Xilinx Spartan 6 FPGA. The LinoSPAD sensor's line of pixels has a pitch of 24 μm and 40% fill factor. The FPGA implements an array of 64 TDCs and histogram engines capable of processing up to 8.5 giga-photons per second. The LinoSPAD sensor measures 1.68 mm×6.8 mm and each pixel has a direct digital output to connect to the FPGA. The chip is bonded on a carrier PCB to connect to the FPGA motherboard. 64 carry chain based TDCs sampled at 400 MHz can generate a timestamp every 7.5 ns with a mean time resolution below 25 ps per code. The 64 histogram engines provide time-of-arrival histograms covering up to 50 ns. An alternative mode allows the readout of 28 bit timestamps which have a range of up to 4.5 ms. Since the FPGA TDCs have considerable non-linearity we implemented a correction module capable of increasing histogram linearity at real-time. The TDC array is interfaced to a computer using a super-speed USB3 link to transfer over 150k histograms per second for the 12.5 ns reference period used in our characterization. After characterization and subsequent programming of the post-processing we measure an instrument response histogram shorter than 100 ps FWHM using a strong laser pulse with 50 ps FWHM. A timing resolution that when combined with the high fill factor makes the sensor well suited for a wide variety of applications from fluorescence lifetime microscopy over Raman spectroscopy to 3D time-of-flight.

Isobio software: biological dose distribution and biological dose volume histogram from physical dose conversion using linear-quadratic-linear model.

PubMed

Jaikuna, Tanwiwat; Khadsiri, Phatchareewan; Chawapun, Nisa; Saekho, Suwit; Tharavichitkul, Ekkasit

2017-02-01

To develop an in-house software program that is able to calculate and generate the biological dose distribution and biological dose volume histogram by physical dose conversion using the linear-quadratic-linear (LQL) model. The Isobio software was developed using MATLAB version 2014b to calculate and generate the biological dose distribution and biological dose volume histograms. The physical dose from each voxel in treatment planning was extracted through Computational Environment for Radiotherapy Research (CERR), and the accuracy was verified by the differentiation between the dose volume histogram from CERR and the treatment planning system. An equivalent dose in 2 Gy fraction (EQD 2 ) was calculated using biological effective dose (BED) based on the LQL model. The software calculation and the manual calculation were compared for EQD 2 verification with pair t -test statistical analysis using IBM SPSS Statistics version 22 (64-bit). Two and three-dimensional biological dose distribution and biological dose volume histogram were displayed correctly by the Isobio software. Different physical doses were found between CERR and treatment planning system (TPS) in Oncentra, with 3.33% in high-risk clinical target volume (HR-CTV) determined by D 90% , 0.56% in the bladder, 1.74% in the rectum when determined by D 2cc , and less than 1% in Pinnacle. The difference in the EQD 2 between the software calculation and the manual calculation was not significantly different with 0.00% at p -values 0.820, 0.095, and 0.593 for external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) and 0.240, 0.320, and 0.849 for brachytherapy (BT) in HR-CTV, bladder, and rectum, respectively. The Isobio software is a feasible tool to generate the biological dose distribution and biological dose volume histogram for treatment plan evaluation in both EBRT and BT.

Diagnostic accuracy of ultrasonic histogram features to evaluate radiation toxicity of the parotid glands: a clinical study of xerostomia following head-and-neck cancer radiotherapy.

PubMed

Yang, Xiaofeng; Tridandapani, Srini; Beitler, Jonathan J; Yu, David S; Chen, Zhengjia; Kim, Sungjin; Bruner, Deborah W; Curran, Walter J; Liu, Tian

2014-10-01

To investigate the diagnostic accuracy of ultrasound histogram features in the quantitative assessment of radiation-induced parotid gland injury and to identify potential imaging biomarkers for radiation-induced xerostomia (dry mouth)-the most common and debilitating side effect after head-and-neck radiotherapy (RT). Thirty-four patients, who have developed xerostomia after RT for head-and-neck cancer, were enrolled. Radiation-induced xerostomia was defined by the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group/European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer morbidity scale. Ultrasound scans were performed on each patient's parotids bilaterally. The 34 patients were stratified into the acute-toxicity groups (16 patients, ≤ 3 months after treatment) and the late-toxicity group (18 patients, > 3 months after treatment). A separate control group of 13 healthy volunteers underwent similar ultrasound scans of their parotid glands. Six sonographic features were derived from the echo-intensity histograms to assess acute and late toxicity of the parotid glands. The quantitative assessments were compared to a radiologist's clinical evaluations. The diagnostic accuracy of these ultrasonic histogram features was evaluated with the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. With an area under the ROC curve greater than 0.90, several histogram features demonstrated excellent diagnostic accuracy for evaluation of acute and late toxicity of parotid glands. Significant differences (P < .05) in all six sonographic features were demonstrated between the control, acute-toxicity, and late-toxicity groups. However, subjective radiologic evaluation cannot distinguish between acute and late toxicity of parotid glands. We demonstrated that ultrasound histogram features could be used to measure acute and late toxicity of the parotid glands after head-and-neck cancer RT, which may be developed into a low-cost imaging method for xerostomia monitoring and assessment. Copyright © 2014 AUR. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Subtype differentiation of renal tumors using voxel-based histogram analysis of intravoxel incoherent motion parameters.

PubMed

Gaing, Byron; Sigmund, Eric E; Huang, William C; Babb, James S; Parikh, Nainesh S; Stoffel, David; Chandarana, Hersh

2015-03-01

The aim of this study was to determine if voxel-based histogram analysis of intravoxel incoherent motion imaging (IVIM) parameters can differentiate various subtypes of renal tumors, including benign and malignant lesions. A total of 44 patients with renal tumors who underwent surgery and had histopathology available were included in this Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act-compliant, institutional review board-approved, single-institution prospective study. In addition to routine renal magnetic resonance imaging examination performed on a 1.5-T system, all patients were imaged with axial diffusion-weighted imaging using 8 b values (range, 0-800 s/mm). A biexponential model was fitted to the diffusion signal data using a segmented algorithm to extract the IVIM parameters perfusion fraction (fp), tissue diffusivity (Dt), and pseudodiffusivity (Dp) for each voxel. Mean and histogram measures of heterogeneity (standard deviation, skewness, and kurtosis) of IVIM parameters were correlated with pathology results of tumor subtype using unequal variance t tests to compare subtypes in terms of each measure. Correction for multiple comparisons was accomplished using the Tukey honestly significant difference procedure. A total of 44 renal tumors including 23 clear cell (ccRCC), 4 papillary (pRCC), 5 chromophobe, and 5 cystic renal cell carcinomas, as well as benign lesions, 4 oncocytomas (Onc) and 3 angiomyolipomas (AMLs), were included in our analysis. Mean IVIM parameters fp and Dt differentiated 8 of 15 pairs of renal tumors. Histogram analysis of IVIM parameters differentiated 9 of 15 subtype pairs. One subtype pair (ccRCC vs pRCC) was differentiated by mean analysis but not by histogram analysis. However, 2 other subtype pairs (AML vs Onc and ccRCC vs Onc) were differentiated by histogram distribution parameters exclusively. The standard deviation of Dt [σ(Dt)] differentiated ccRCC (0.362 ± 0.136 × 10 mm/s) from AML (0.199 ± 0.043 × 10 mm/s) (P = 0.002). Kurtosis of fp separated Onc (2.767 ± 1.299) from AML (-0.325 ± 0.279; P = 0.001), ccRCC (0.612 ± 1.139; P = 0.042), and pRCC (0.308 ± 0.730; P = 0.025). Intravoxel incoherent motion imaging parameters with inclusion of histogram measures of heterogeneity can help differentiate malignant from benign lesions as well as various subtypes of renal cancers.

A tone mapping operator based on neural and psychophysical models of visual perception

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cyriac, Praveen; Bertalmio, Marcelo; Kane, David; Vazquez-Corral, Javier

2015-03-01

High dynamic range imaging techniques involve capturing and storing real world radiance values that span many orders of magnitude. However, common display devices can usually reproduce intensity ranges only up to two to three orders of magnitude. Therefore, in order to display a high dynamic range image on a low dynamic range screen, the dynamic range of the image needs to be compressed without losing details or introducing artefacts, and this process is called tone mapping. A good tone mapping operator must be able to produce a low dynamic range image that matches as much as possible the perception of the real world scene. We propose a two stage tone mapping approach, in which the first stage is a global method for range compression based on a gamma curve that equalizes the lightness histogram the best, and the second stage performs local contrast enhancement and color induction using neural activity models for the visual cortex.

Enhancing the pictorial content of digital holograms at 100 frames per second.

PubMed

Tsang, P W M; Poon, T-C; Cheung, K W K

2012-06-18

We report a low complexity, non-iterative method for enhancing the sharpness, brightness, and contrast of the pictorial content that is recorded in a digital hologram, without the need of re-generating the latter from the original object scene. In our proposed method, the hologram is first back-projected to a 2-D virtual diffraction plane (VDP) which is located at close proximity to the original object points. Next the field distribution on the VDP, which shares similar optical properties as the object scene, is enhanced. Subsequently, the processed VDP is expanded into a full hologram. We demonstrate two types of enhancement: a modified histogram equalization to improve the brightness and contrast, and localized high-boost-filtering (LHBF) to increase the sharpness. Experiment results have demonstrated that our proposed method is capable of enhancing a 2048x2048 hologram at a rate of around 100 frames per second. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time real-time image enhancement is considered in the context of digital holography.

Joint OSNR monitoring and modulation format identification in digital coherent receivers using deep neural networks.

PubMed

Khan, Faisal Nadeem; Zhong, Kangping; Zhou, Xian; Al-Arashi, Waled Hussein; Yu, Changyuan; Lu, Chao; Lau, Alan Pak Tao

2017-07-24

We experimentally demonstrate the use of deep neural networks (DNNs) in combination with signals' amplitude histograms (AHs) for simultaneous optical signal-to-noise ratio (OSNR) monitoring and modulation format identification (MFI) in digital coherent receivers. The proposed technique automatically extracts OSNR and modulation format dependent features of AHs, obtained after constant modulus algorithm (CMA) equalization, and exploits them for the joint estimation of these parameters. Experimental results for 112 Gbps polarization-multiplexed (PM) quadrature phase-shift keying (QPSK), 112 Gbps PM 16 quadrature amplitude modulation (16-QAM), and 240 Gbps PM 64-QAM signals demonstrate OSNR monitoring with mean estimation errors of 1.2 dB, 0.4 dB, and 1 dB, respectively. Similarly, the results for MFI show 100% identification accuracy for all three modulation formats. The proposed technique applies deep machine learning algorithms inside standard digital coherent receiver and does not require any additional hardware. Therefore, it is attractive for cost-effective multi-parameter estimation in next-generation elastic optical networks (EONs).

Multivariate statistical model for 3D image segmentation with application to medical images.

PubMed

John, Nigel M; Kabuka, Mansur R; Ibrahim, Mohamed O

2003-12-01

In this article we describe a statistical model that was developed to segment brain magnetic resonance images. The statistical segmentation algorithm was applied after a pre-processing stage involving the use of a 3D anisotropic filter along with histogram equalization techniques. The segmentation algorithm makes use of prior knowledge and a probability-based multivariate model designed to semi-automate the process of segmentation. The algorithm was applied to images obtained from the Center for Morphometric Analysis at Massachusetts General Hospital as part of the Internet Brain Segmentation Repository (IBSR). The developed algorithm showed improved accuracy over the k-means, adaptive Maximum Apriori Probability (MAP), biased MAP, and other algorithms. Experimental results showing the segmentation and the results of comparisons with other algorithms are provided. Results are based on an overlap criterion against expertly segmented images from the IBSR. The algorithm produced average results of approximately 80% overlap with the expertly segmented images (compared with 85% for manual segmentation and 55% for other algorithms).

Optimal nonlinear codes for the perception of natural colours.

PubMed

von der Twer, T; MacLeod, D I

2001-08-01

We discuss how visual nonlinearity can be optimized for the precise representation of environmental inputs. Such optimization leads to neural signals with a compressively nonlinear input-output function the gradient of which is matched to the cube root of the probability density function (PDF) of the environmental input values (and not to the PDF directly as in histogram equalization). Comparisons between theory and psychophysical and electrophysiological data are roughly consistent with the idea that parvocellular (P) cells are optimized for precision representation of colour: their contrast-response functions span a range appropriately matched to the environmental distribution of natural colours along each dimension of colour space. Thus P cell codes for colour may have been selected to minimize error in the perceptual estimation of stimulus parameters for natural colours. But magnocellular (M) cells have a much stronger than expected saturating nonlinearity; this supports the view that the function of M cells is mainly to detect boundaries rather than to specify contrast or lightness.

Complex adaptation-based LDR image rendering for 3D image reconstruction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Sung-Hak; Kwon, Hyuk-Ju; Sohng, Kyu-Ik

2014-07-01

A low-dynamic tone-compression technique is developed for realistic image rendering that can make three-dimensional (3D) images similar to realistic scenes by overcoming brightness dimming in the 3D display mode. The 3D surround provides varying conditions for image quality, illuminant adaptation, contrast, gamma, color, sharpness, and so on. In general, gain/offset adjustment, gamma compensation, and histogram equalization have performed well in contrast compression; however, as a result of signal saturation and clipping effects, image details are removed and information is lost on bright and dark areas. Thus, an enhanced image mapping technique is proposed based on space-varying image compression. The performance of contrast compression is enhanced with complex adaptation in a 3D viewing surround combining global and local adaptation. Evaluating local image rendering in view of tone and color expression, noise reduction, and edge compensation confirms that the proposed 3D image-mapping model can compensate for the loss of image quality in the 3D mode.

An application of viola jones method for face recognition for absence process efficiency

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rizki Damanik, Rudolfo; Sitanggang, Delima; Pasaribu, Hendra; Siagian, Hendrik; Gulo, Frisman

2018-04-01

Absence was a list of documents that the company used to record the attendance time of each employee. The most common problem in a fingerprint machine is the identification of a slow sensor or a sensor not recognizing a finger. The employees late to work because they get difficulties at fingerprint system, they need about 3 – 5 minutes to absence when the condition of finger is wet or not fit. To overcome this problem, this research tried to utilize facial recognition for attendance process. The method used for facial recognition was Viola Jones. Through the processing phase of the RGB face image was converted into a histogram equalization face image for the next stage of recognition. The result of this research was the absence process could be done less than 1 second with a maximum slope of ± 700 and a distance of 20-200 cm. After implement facial recognition the process of absence is more efficient, just take less 1 minute to absence.

Boundary segmentation for fluorescence microscopy using steerable filters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ho, David Joon; Salama, Paul; Dunn, Kenneth W.; Delp, Edward J.

2017-02-01

Fluorescence microscopy is used to image multiple subcellular structures in living cells which are not readily observed using conventional optical microscopy. Moreover, two-photon microscopy is widely used to image structures deeper in tissue. Recent advancement in fluorescence microscopy has enabled the generation of large data sets of images at different depths, times, and spectral channels. Thus, automatic object segmentation is necessary since manual segmentation would be inefficient and biased. However, automatic segmentation is still a challenging problem as regions of interest may not have well defined boundaries as well as non-uniform pixel intensities. This paper describes a method for segmenting tubular structures in fluorescence microscopy images of rat kidney and liver samples using adaptive histogram equalization, foreground/background segmentation, steerable filters to capture directional tendencies, and connected-component analysis. The results from several data sets demonstrate that our method can segment tubular boundaries successfully. Moreover, our method has better performance when compared to other popular image segmentation methods when using ground truth data obtained via manual segmentation.

Discrete Walsh Hadamard transform based visible watermarking technique for digital color images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Santhi, V.; Thangavelu, Arunkumar

2011-10-01

As the size of the Internet is growing enormously the illegal manipulation of digital multimedia data become very easy with the advancement in technology tools. In order to protect those multimedia data from unauthorized access the digital watermarking system is used. In this paper a new Discrete walsh Hadamard Transform based visible watermarking system is proposed. As the watermark is embedded in transform domain, the system is robust to many signal processing attacks. Moreover in this proposed method the watermark is embedded in tiling manner in all the range of frequencies to make it robust to compression and cropping attack. The robustness of the algorithm is tested against noise addition, cropping, compression, Histogram equalization and resizing attacks. The experimental results show that the algorithm is robust to common signal processing attacks and the observed peak signal to noise ratio (PSNR) of watermarked image is varying from 20 to 30 db depends on the size of the watermark.

A CCD-based reader combined with CdS quantum dot-labeled lateral flow strips for ultrasensitive quantitative detection of CagA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gui, Chen; Wang, Kan; Li, Chao; Dai, Xuan; Cui, Daxiang

2014-02-01

Immunochromatographic assays are widely used to detect many analytes. CagA is proved to be associated closely with initiation of gastric carcinoma. Here, we reported that a charge-coupled device (CCD)-based test strip reader combined with CdS quantum dot-labeled lateral flow strips for quantitative detection of CagA was developed, which used 365-nm ultraviolet LED as the excitation light source, and captured the test strip images through an acquisition module. Then, the captured image was transferred to the computer and was processed by a software system. A revised weighted threshold histogram equalization (WTHE) image processing algorithm was applied to analyze the result. CdS quantum dot-labeled lateral flow strips for detection of CagA were prepared. One hundred sera samples from clinical patients with gastric cancer and healthy people were prepared for detection, which demonstrated that the device could realize rapid, stable, and point-of-care detection, with a sensitivity of 20 pg/mL.

A semi-blind logo watermarking scheme for color images by comparison and modification of DFT coefficients

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kusyk, Janusz; Eskicioglu, Ahmet M.

2005-10-01

Digital watermarking is considered to be a major technology for the protection of multimedia data. Some of the important applications are broadcast monitoring, copyright protection, and access control. In this paper, we present a semi-blind watermarking scheme for embedding a logo in color images using the DFT domain. After computing the DFT of the luminance layer of the cover image, the magnitudes of DFT coefficients are compared, and modified. A given watermark is embedded in three frequency bands: Low, middle, and high. Our experiments show that the watermarks extracted from the lower frequencies have the best visual quality for low pass filtering, adding Gaussian noise, JPEG compression, resizing, rotation, and scaling, and the watermarks extracted from the higher frequencies have the best visual quality for cropping, intensity adjustment, histogram equalization, and gamma correction. Extractions from the fragmented and translated image are identical to extractions from the unattacked watermarked image. The collusion and rewatermarking attacks do not provide the hacker with useful tools.

Mixing and electronic entropy contributions to thermal energy storage in low melting point alloys

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shamberger, Patrick J.; Mizuno, Yasushi; Talapatra, Anjana A.

2017-07-01

Melting of crystalline solids is associated with an increase in entropy due to an increase in configurational, rotational, and other degrees of freedom of a system. However, the magnitude of chemical mixing and electronic degrees of freedom, two significant contributions to the entropy of fusion, remain poorly constrained, even in simple 2 and 3 component systems. Here, we present experimentally measured entropies of fusion in the Sn-Pb-Bi and In-Sn-Bi ternary systems, and decouple mixing and electronic contributions. We demonstrate that electronic effects remain the dominant contribution to the entropy of fusion in multi-component post-transition metal and metalloid systems, and that excess entropy of mixing terms can be equal in magnitude to ideal mixing terms, causing regular solution approximations to be inadequate in the general case. Finally, we explore binary eutectic systems using mature thermodynamic databases, identifying eutectics containing at least one semiconducting intermetallic phase as promising candidates to exceed the entropy of fusion of monatomic endmembers, while simultaneously maintaining low melting points. These results have significant implications for engineering high-thermal conductivity metallic phase change materials to store thermal energy.

Some statistical properties of an index of multiple traits.

PubMed

Nordskog, A W

1978-03-01

Hazel (1943) defined a selection index that maximizes the correlation, RIH, between the index, I=ΣbiXi and its aggregate genetic value, H=Σaigi, where the bi's are the derived coefficients of the observed traits, Xi, the ai's are their relative economic values and the gi's are their respective breeding values. This is called an optimum index. The expected value of the index is not H but rather K=Σbigi. The ratio of RHI/RKI is always less than or equal to 1.0. With selection on I, the ratio of the change in K to the change in H is the true heritability of the indez, that is, h I (2) =Δ(K)/ΔH. This is not the same as R IH (2) , which serves only as the predictor of the change in H with selection on I. If the index, I, itself is considered as a unit trait, studies can then be made of correlated response in I when selection is based only on a single trait in the index. I is then called a performance index. This approach provides for additional insight into the question of the failure of selection to make gains in total performance over many generations.

A picture for the coupling of unemployment and inflation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Safdari, H.; Hosseiny, A.; Vasheghani Farahani, S.; Jafari, G. R.

2016-02-01

The aim of this article is to illustrate the scaling features of two well heard characters in the media; unemployment and inflation. We carry out a scaling analysis on the coupling between unemployment and inflation. This work is based on the wavelet analysis as well as the detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA). Through our analysis we state that while unemployment is time scale invariant, inflation is bi-scale. We show that inflation possess a five year time scale where it experiences different behaviours before and after this scale period. This behaviour of inflation provides basis for the coupling to inherit the stated time interval. Although inflation is bi-scale, it is unemployment that shows a strong multifractality feature. Owing to the cross wavelet analysis we provide a picture that illustrates the dynamics of coupling between unemployment and inflation regarding intensity, direction, and scale. The fact of the matter is that the coupling between inflation and unemployment is not equal in one way compared to the opposite. Regarding the scaling; coupling exhibits different features in various scales. In a sense that although in one scale its correlation behaves in a positive/negative manner, at the same time it can be negative/positive for another scale.

Nonlinear Pattern Selection in Bi-Modal Interfacial Instabilities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Picardo, Jason; Narayanan, Ranga

2016-11-01

We study the evolution of two interacting unstable interfaces, with the aim of understanding the role of non-linearity in pattern selection. Specifically, we consider two superposed thin films on a heated surface, that are susceptible to thermocapillary and Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities. Due to the presence of two unstable interfaces, the dispersion curve (linear growth rate plotted as a function of the perturbation wavelength) exhibits two peaks. If these peaks have equal heights, then the two corresponding disturbance patterns will grow with the same linear growth rate. Therefore, any selection between the two must occur via nonlinear effects. The two-interface problem under consideration provides a variety of such bi-modal situations, in which the role of nonlinearity in pattern selection is unveiled. We use a combination of long wave asymptotics, numerical simulations and amplitude expansions to understand the subtle nonlinear interactions between the two peak modes. Our results offer a counter-example to Rayleigh's principle of pattern formation, that the fastest growing linear mode will dominate the final pattern. Far from being governed by any such general dogma, the final selected pattern varies considerably from case to case. The authors acknowledge funding from NSF (0968313) and the Fulbright-Nehru fellowship.

Formation of bi-lobed 67P/C-G-like shapes by sub-catastrophic collisions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jutzi, Martin; Benz, Willy

2016-10-01

Small bodies with a bi-lobe shape such as comet 67P/C-G have been argued to form as the result of low velocity (v ≈ vesc) collisional mergers of similar-sized bodies very early on in the history of the solar system [1]. However, the recent analysis of the subsequent collisional survival of the global structure and shape of comet 67P/C-G strongly suggests that such a structure will not survive until today [2]. Hence, the comet must have acquired its present characteristics as a result of a collision occurring at later time when the relative velocities between small bodies are much higher (v >> vesc).One possible scenario would be that 67P/C-G-like bi-lobe structures form as the result of collisional disruptions of larger parent bodies [3]. Whether the internal properties of such larger parent bodies, the timing of such a collision, and the subsequent survival of the shape produced is compatible with observations will remain to be seen.Here, we propose a scenario in which the final bi-lobe shapes result from low-energy, sub-catastrophic impacts. We start with bodies of about the same mass as comet 67P/C-G, which are rotating and are slightly elongated (i.e., with properties which are consistent with the outcome of the disruptions of larger bodies). We use a SPH shock physics code to model the impacts, the subsequent re-accumulation of material and the reconfiguration into a stable final shape. Our modelling results suggest that these kind of collisions result in "splitting" events which frequently lead to formation of bi-lobe 67P/C-G-like shapes.The frequency of such small-scale impact events is consistent with a young (less than 1 Gy) age of the shape of comet 67P/C-G [2]. Equally important, the probability for such a shape-forming event to take place without a subsequent shape-destroying event occurring until today is reasonably high.Although the collisions considered in this work can alter the global shape, their respective energy is small enough not to lead to any substantial global-scale heating or compaction, consistent with the observed primordial characteristics of comets.[1] Jutzi&Asphaug, 2015, Science 348. [2] Jutzi et al., submitted. [3] Schwartz et al., in prep.

On algorithmic optimization of histogramming functions for GEM systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krawczyk, Rafał D.; Czarski, Tomasz; Kolasinski, Piotr; Poźniak, Krzysztof T.; Linczuk, Maciej; Byszuk, Adrian; Chernyshova, Maryna; Juszczyk, Bartlomiej; Kasprowicz, Grzegorz; Wojenski, Andrzej; Zabolotny, Wojciech

2015-09-01

This article concerns optimization methods for data analysis for the X-ray GEM detector system. The offline analysis of collected samples was optimized for MATLAB computations. Compiled functions in C language were used with MEX library. Significant speedup was received for both ordering-preprocessing and for histogramming of samples. Utilized techniques with obtained results are presented.

Students' Misconceptions in Interpreting Center and Variability of Data Represented via Histograms and Stem-and-Leaf Plots

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cooper, Linda L.; Shore, Felice S.

2008-01-01

This paper identifies and discusses misconceptions that students have in making judgments of center and variability when data are presented graphically. An assessment addressing interpreting center and variability in histograms and stem-and-leaf plots was administered to, and follow-up interviews were conducted with, undergraduates enrolled in…

Texture and phase analysis of deformed SUS304 by using HIPPO

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

Takajo, Shigehiro; Vogel, Sven C.

2016-11-15

These slides represent the author's research activity at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), which is about texture and phase analysis of deformed SUS304 by using HIPPO. The following topics are covered: diffraction histogram at each sample position, diffraction histogram (all bank data averaged), possiblity of ε-phase, MAUD analysis with including ε-phase.

Shift-Invariant Image Reconstruction of Speckle-Degraded Images Using Bispectrum Estimation

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-05-01

process with the requisite negative exponential pelf. I call this model the Negative Exponential Model ( NENI ). The NENI flowchart is seen in Figure 6...Figure ]3d-g. Statistical Histograms and Phase for the RPj NG EXP FDF MULT METHOD FILuteC 14a. Truth Object Speckled Via the NENI HISTOGRAM OF SPECKLE

Damage Proxy Map from Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar Coherence

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Webb, Frank H. (Inventor); Yun, Sang-Ho (Inventor); Fielding, Eric Jameson (Inventor); Simons, Mark (Inventor)

2015-01-01

A method, apparatus, and article of manufacture provide the ability to generate a damage proxy map. A master coherence map and a slave coherence map, for an area prior and subsequent to (including) a damage event are obtained. The slave coherence map is registered to the master coherence map. Pixel values of the slave coherence map are modified using histogram matching to provide a first histogram of the master coherence map that exactly matches a second histogram of the slave coherence map. A coherence difference between the slave coherence map and the master coherence map is computed to produce a damage proxy map. The damage proxy map is displayed with the coherence difference displayed in a visually distinguishable manner.

Liquidus Projections of Bi-Se-Ga and Bi-Se-Te Ternary Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, Po-han; Chen, Sinn-wen; Hwang, Jenn-dong; Chu, Hsu-shen

2016-12-01

This study determines the liquidus projections of both Bi-Se-Ga and Bi-Se-Te ternary systems which are constituent ternary systems of promising Bi-Se-Te-Ga thermoelectric materials. Ternary Bi-Se-Ga and Bi-Se-Te alloys are prepared. Their primary solidification phases are experimentally determined, and thermal analysis experiments are carried out. The liquidus projections are determined based on the ternary experimental results and phase diagrams of constituent binary systems. The Bi-Se-Ga system includes seven primary solidification phases, Bi, Ga, GaSe, Ga2Se3, Se, Bi2Se3, and (Bi2)n(Bi2Se3)m. In the Bi-Se-Te system, there are five primary solidification phases, Bi, (Bi2)n(Bi2Te3)m, Bi2(Se,Te)3, (Se,Te), and (Bi2)n(Bi2Se3)m. Both the (Bi2)n(Bi2Te3)m and (Bi2)n(Bi2Se3)m phases are not a single phase, but a collection of series undetermined phases. Large miscibility gaps are observed in the Bi-Se-Ga system. The temperatures of the invariant reactions, Liquid + Bi + GaSe = Ga and Liquid + Ga2Se3 = Bi + GaSe, are at 495 K (222 °C) and 533 K (260 °C), respectively.

In-situ synthesis of nanofibers with various ratios of BiOClx/BiOBry/BiOIz for effective trichloroethylene photocatalytic degradation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Yifan; Park, Mira; Kim, Hak Yong; Ding, Bin; Park, Soo-Jin

2016-10-01

In this work, BiOClx/BiOBry/BiOIz (x + y + z = 1) composite nanofibers were prepared through electrospinning and the sol-gel methods. Photocatalytic degradation of trichloroethylene (TCE) by BiOClx/BiOBry/BiOIz/PAN nanofibers was systematically investigated via gas chromatography (GC). Optimum photocatalytic activity was achieved with BiOCl0.3/BiOBr0.3/BiOI0.4 fibers under solar light irradiation. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) peaks due to Csbnd O and Cdbnd O were observed at 286.0 and 288.3 eV, respectively, it indicated that the BiOClx/BiOBry/BiOIz mixture had been successfully doped on the polyacrylonitrile (PAN) fibers. Furthermore, X-ray diffraction (XRD) results also confirmed that we had synthesized the as-prepared composite nanofibers successfully. Photocatalytic activities of BiOCl0.3/BiOBr0.3/BiOI0.4 were up to 3 times higher than the pure BiOCl, BiOBr and BiOI samples, respectively.

Motor Oil Classification using Color Histograms and Pattern Recognition Techniques.

PubMed

Ahmadi, Shiva; Mani-Varnosfaderani, Ahmad; Habibi, Biuck

2018-04-20

Motor oil classification is important for quality control and the identification of oil adulteration. In thiswork, we propose a simple, rapid, inexpensive and nondestructive approach based on image analysis and pattern recognition techniques for the classification of nine different types of motor oils according to their corresponding color histograms. For this, we applied color histogram in different color spaces such as red green blue (RGB), grayscale, and hue saturation intensity (HSI) in order to extract features that can help with the classification procedure. These color histograms and their combinations were used as input for model development and then were statistically evaluated by using linear discriminant analysis (LDA), quadratic discriminant analysis (QDA), and support vector machine (SVM) techniques. Here, two common solutions for solving a multiclass classification problem were applied: (1) transformation to binary classification problem using a one-against-all (OAA) approach and (2) extension from binary classifiers to a single globally optimized multilabel classification model. In the OAA strategy, LDA, QDA, and SVM reached up to 97% in terms of accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity for both the training and test sets. In extension from binary case, despite good performances by the SVM classification model, QDA and LDA provided better results up to 92% for RGB-grayscale-HSI color histograms and up to 93% for the HSI color map, respectively. In order to reduce the numbers of independent variables for modeling, a principle component analysis algorithm was used. Our results suggest that the proposed method is promising for the identification and classification of different types of motor oils.

Whole-tumor apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) histogram analysis to differentiate benign peripheral neurogenic tumors from soft tissue sarcomas.

PubMed

Nakajo, Masanori; Fukukura, Yoshihiko; Hakamada, Hiroto; Yoneyama, Tomohide; Kamimura, Kiyohisa; Nagano, Satoshi; Nakajo, Masayuki; Yoshiura, Takashi

2018-02-22

Apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) histogram analyses have been used to differentiate tumor grades and predict therapeutic responses in various anatomic sites with moderate success. To determine the ability of diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) with a whole-tumor ADC histogram analysis to differentiate benign peripheral neurogenic tumors (BPNTs) from soft tissue sarcomas (STSs). Retrospective study, single institution. In all, 25 BPNTs and 31 STSs. Two-b value DWI (b-values = 0, 1000s/mm 2 ) was at 3.0T. The histogram parameters of whole-tumor for ADC were calculated by two radiologists and compared between BPNTs and STSs. Nonparametric tests were performed for comparisons between BPNTs and STSs. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. The ability of each parameter to differentiate STSs from BPNTs was evaluated using area under the curve (AUC) values derived from a receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. The mean ADC and all percentile parameters were significantly lower in STSs than in BPNTs (P < 0.001-0.009), with AUCs of 0.703-0.773. However, the coefficient of variation (P = 0.020 and AUC = 0.682) and skewness (P = 0.012 and AUC = 0.697) were significantly higher in STSs than in BPNTs. Kurtosis (P = 0.295) and entropy (P = 0.604) did not differ significantly between BPNTs and STSs. Whole-tumor ADC histogram parameters except kurtosis and entropy differed significantly between BPNTs and STSs. 3 Technical Efficacy: Stage 2 J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2018. © 2018 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.

Histogram Matching Extends Acceptable Signal Strength Range on Optical Coherence Tomography Images

PubMed Central

Chen, Chieh-Li; Ishikawa, Hiroshi; Wollstein, Gadi; Bilonick, Richard A.; Sigal, Ian A.; Kagemann, Larry; Schuman, Joel S.

2015-01-01

Purpose. We minimized the influence of image quality variability, as measured by signal strength (SS), on optical coherence tomography (OCT) thickness measurements using the histogram matching (HM) method. Methods. We scanned 12 eyes from 12 healthy subjects with the Cirrus HD-OCT device to obtain a series of OCT images with a wide range of SS (maximal range, 1–10) at the same visit. For each eye, the histogram of an image with the highest SS (best image quality) was set as the reference. We applied HM to the images with lower SS by shaping the input histogram into the reference histogram. Retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness was automatically measured before and after HM processing (defined as original and HM measurements), and compared to the device output (device measurements). Nonlinear mixed effects models were used to analyze the relationship between RNFL thickness and SS. In addition, the lowest tolerable SSs, which gave the RNFL thickness within the variability margin of manufacturer recommended SS range (6–10), were determined for device, original, and HM measurements. Results. The HM measurements showed less variability across a wide range of image quality than the original and device measurements (slope = 1.17 vs. 4.89 and 1.72 μm/SS, respectively). The lowest tolerable SS was successfully reduced to 4.5 after HM processing. Conclusions. The HM method successfully extended the acceptable SS range on OCT images. This would qualify more OCT images with low SS for clinical assessment, broadening the OCT application to a wider range of subjects. PMID:26066749

Histogram analysis of diffusion kurtosis imaging derived maps may distinguish between low and high grade gliomas before surgery.

PubMed

Qi, Xi-Xun; Shi, Da-Fa; Ren, Si-Xie; Zhang, Su-Ya; Li, Long; Li, Qing-Chang; Guan, Li-Ming

2018-04-01

To investigate the value of histogram analysis of diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI) maps in the evaluation of glioma grading. A total of 39 glioma patients who underwent preoperative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were classified into low-grade (13 cases) and high-grade (26 cases) glioma groups. Parametric DKI maps were derived, and histogram metrics between low- and high-grade gliomas were analysed. The optimum diagnostic thresholds of the parameters, area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), sensitivity, and specificity were achieved using a receiver operating characteristic (ROC). Significant differences were observed not only in 12 metrics of histogram DKI parameters (P<0.05), but also in mean diffusivity (MD) and mean kurtosis (MK) values, including age as a covariate (F=19.127, P<0.001 and F=20.894, P<0.001, respectively), between low- and high-grade gliomas. Mean MK was the best independent predictor of differentiating glioma grades (B=18.934, 22.237 adjusted for age, P<0.05). The partial correlation coefficient between fractional anisotropy (FA) and kurtosis fractional anisotropy (KFA) was 0.675 (P<0.001). The AUC of the mean MK, sensitivity, and specificity were 0.925, 88.5% and 84.6%, respectively. DKI parameters can effectively distinguish between low- and high-grade gliomas. Mean MK is the best independent predictor of differentiating glioma grades. • DKI is a new and important method. • DKI can provide additional information on microstructural architecture. • Histogram analysis of DKI may be more effective in glioma grading.

Whole-tumour diffusion kurtosis MR imaging histogram analysis of rectal adenocarcinoma: Correlation with clinical pathologic prognostic factors.

PubMed

Cui, Yanfen; Yang, Xiaotang; Du, Xiaosong; Zhuo, Zhizheng; Xin, Lei; Cheng, Xintao

2018-04-01

To investigate potential relationships between diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI)-derived parameters using whole-tumour volume histogram analysis and clinicopathological prognostic factors in patients with rectal adenocarcinoma. 79 consecutive patients who underwent MRI examination with rectal adenocarcinoma were retrospectively evaluated. Parameters D, K and conventional ADC were measured using whole-tumour volume histogram analysis. Student's t-test or Mann-Whitney U-test, receiver operating characteristic curves and Spearman's correlation were used for statistical analysis. Almost all the percentile metrics of K were correlated positively with nodal involvement, higher histological grades, the presence of lymphangiovascular invasion (LVI) and circumferential margin (CRM) (p<0.05), with the exception of between K 10th , K 90th and histological grades. In contrast, significant negative correlations were observed between 25th, 50th percentiles and mean values of ADC and D, as well as ADC 10th , with tumour T stages (p< 0.05). Meanwhile, lower 75th and 90th percentiles of ADC and D values were also correlated inversely with nodal involvement (p< 0.05). K mean showed a relatively higher area under the curve (AUC) and higher specificity than other percentiles for differentiation of lesions with nodal involvement. DKI metrics with whole-tumour volume histogram analysis, especially K parameters, were associated with important prognostic factors of rectal cancer. • K correlated positively with some important prognostic factors of rectal cancer. • K mean showed higher AUC and specificity for differentiation of nodal involvement. • DKI metrics with whole-tumour volume histogram analysis depicted tumour heterogeneity.

Apparent diffusion coefficient histogram metrics correlate with survival in diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma: a report from the Pediatric Brain Tumor Consortium

PubMed Central

Poussaint, Tina Young; Vajapeyam, Sridhar; Ricci, Kelsey I.; Panigrahy, Ashok; Kocak, Mehmet; Kun, Larry E.; Boyett, James M.; Pollack, Ian F.; Fouladi, Maryam

2016-01-01

Background Diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) is associated with poor survival regardless of therapy. We used volumetric apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) histogram metrics to determine associations with progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) at baseline and after radiation therapy (RT). Methods Baseline and post-RT quantitative ADC histograms were generated from fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) images and enhancement regions of interest. Metrics assessed included number of peaks (ie, unimodal or bimodal), mean and median ADC, standard deviation, mode, skewness, and kurtosis. Results Based on FLAIR images, the majority of tumors had unimodal peaks with significantly shorter average survival. Pre-RT FLAIR mean, mode, and median values were significantly associated with decreased risk of progression; higher pre-RT ADC values had longer PFS on average. Pre-RT FLAIR skewness and standard deviation were significantly associated with increased risk of progression; higher pre-RT FLAIR skewness and standard deviation had shorter PFS. Nonenhancing tumors at baseline showed higher ADC FLAIR mean values, lower kurtosis, and higher PFS. For enhancing tumors at baseline, bimodal enhancement histograms had much worse PFS and OS than unimodal cases and significantly lower mean peak values. Enhancement in tumors only after RT led to significantly shorter PFS and OS than in patients with baseline or no baseline enhancement. Conclusions ADC histogram metrics in DIPG demonstrate significant correlations between diffusion metrics and survival, with lower diffusion values (increased cellularity), increased skewness, and enhancement associated with shorter survival, requiring future investigations in large DIPG clinical trials. PMID:26487690

Issues around Creating a Reusable Learning Object to Support Statistics Teaching

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gilchrist, Mollie

2007-01-01

Although our health professional students have some experience of simple charts, such as pie and bar, and some intuition of histograms, they do not appear to have much knowledge or understanding about box and whisker plots and their relation to the data they are describing or compared to histograms. The boxplot is a versatile charting tool, useful…

ON THE THEORY AND PROCEDURE FOR CONSTRUCTING A MINIMAL-LENGTH, AREA-CONSERVING FREQUENCY POLYGON FROM GROUPED DATA.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

CASE, C. MARSTON

THIS PAPER IS CONCERNED WITH GRAPHIC PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF GROUPED OBSERVATIONS. IT PRESENTS A METHOD AND SUPPORTING THEORY FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF AN AREA-CONSERVING, MINIMAL LENGTH FREQUENCY POLYGON CORRESPONDING TO A GIVEN HISTOGRAM. TRADITIONALLY, THE CONCEPT OF A FREQUENCY POLYGON CORRESPONDING TO A GIVEN HISTOGRAM HAS REFERRED TO THAT…

Methods for Determining Particle Size Distributions from Nuclear Detonations.

DTIC Science & Technology

1987-03-01

Debris . . . 30 IV. Summary of Sample Preparation Method . . . . 35 V. Set Parameters for PCS ... ........... 39 VI. Analysis by Vendors...54 XV. Results From Brookhaven Analysis Using The Method of Cumulants ... ........... . 54 XVI. Results From Brookhaven Analysis of Sample...R-3 Using Histogram Method ......... .55 XVII. Results From Brookhaven Analysis of Sample R-8 Using Histogram Method ........... 56 XVIII.TEM Particle

Diffusion profiling of tumor volumes using a histogram approach can predict proliferation and further microarchitectural features in medulloblastoma.

PubMed

Schob, Stefan; Beeskow, Anne; Dieckow, Julia; Meyer, Hans-Jonas; Krause, Matthias; Frydrychowicz, Clara; Hirsch, Franz-Wolfgang; Surov, Alexey

2018-05-31

Medulloblastomas are the most common central nervous system tumors in childhood. Treatment and prognosis strongly depend on histology and transcriptomic profiling. However, the proliferative potential also has prognostical value. Our study aimed to investigate correlations between histogram profiling of diffusion-weighted images and further microarchitectural features. Seven patients (age median 14.6 years, minimum 2 years, maximum 20 years; 5 male, 2 female) were included in this retrospective study. Using a Matlab-based analysis tool, histogram analysis of whole apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) volumes was performed. ADC entropy revealed a strong inverse correlation with the expression of the proliferation marker Ki67 (r = - 0.962, p = 0.009) and with total nuclear area (r = - 0.888, p = 0.044). Furthermore, ADC percentiles, most of all ADCp90, showed significant correlations with Ki67 expression (r = 0.902, p = 0.036). Diffusion histogram profiling of medulloblastomas provides valuable in vivo information which potentially can be used for risk stratification and prognostication. First of all, entropy revealed to be the most promising imaging biomarker. However, further studies are warranted.

Novel Variants of a Histogram Shift-Based Reversible Watermarking Technique for Medical Images to Improve Hiding Capacity

PubMed Central

Tuckley, Kushal

2017-01-01

In telemedicine systems, critical medical data is shared on a public communication channel. This increases the risk of unauthorised access to patient's information. This underlines the importance of secrecy and authentication for the medical data. This paper presents two innovative variations of classical histogram shift methods to increase the hiding capacity. The first technique divides the image into nonoverlapping blocks and embeds the watermark individually using the histogram method. The second method separates the region of interest and embeds the watermark only in the region of noninterest. This approach preserves the medical information intact. This method finds its use in critical medical cases. The high PSNR (above 45 dB) obtained for both techniques indicates imperceptibility of the approaches. Experimental results illustrate superiority of the proposed approaches when compared with other methods based on histogram shifting techniques. These techniques improve embedding capacity by 5–15% depending on the image type, without affecting the quality of the watermarked image. Both techniques also enable lossless reconstruction of the watermark and the host medical image. A higher embedding capacity makes the proposed approaches attractive for medical image watermarking applications without compromising the quality of the image. PMID:29104744

Whole-lesion ADC histogram and texture analysis in predicting recurrence of cervical cancer treated with CCRT.

PubMed

Meng, Jie; Zhu, Lijing; Zhu, Li; Xie, Li; Wang, Huanhuan; Liu, Song; Yan, Jing; Liu, Baorui; Guan, Yue; He, Jian; Ge, Yun; Zhou, Zhengyang; Yang, Xiaofeng

2017-11-03

To explore the value of whole-lesion apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) histogram and texture analysis in predicting tumor recurrence of advanced cervical cancer treated with concurrent chemo-radiotherapy (CCRT). 36 women with pathologically confirmed advanced cervical squamous carcinomas were enrolled in this prospective study. 3.0 T pelvic MR examinations including diffusion weighted imaging (b = 0, 800 s/mm 2 ) were performed before CCRT (pre-CCRT) and at the end of 2nd week of CCRT (mid-CCRT). ADC histogram and texture features were derived from the whole volume of cervical cancers. With a mean follow-up of 25 months (range, 11 ∼ 43), 10/36 (27.8%) patients ended with recurrence. Pre-CCRT 75th, 90th, correlation, autocorrelation and mid-CCRT ADC mean , 10th, 25th, 50th, 75th, 90th, autocorrelation can effectively differentiate the recurrence from nonrecurrence group with area under the curve ranging from 0.742 to 0.850 (P values range, 0.001 ∼ 0.038). Pre- and mid-treatment whole-lesion ADC histogram and texture analysis hold great potential in predicting tumor recurrence of advanced cervical cancer treated with CCRT.

Pulmonary emphysema classification based on an improved texton learning model by sparse representation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Min; Zhou, Xiangrong; Goshima, Satoshi; Chen, Huayue; Muramatsu, Chisako; Hara, Takeshi; Yokoyama, Ryujiro; Kanematsu, Masayuki; Fujita, Hiroshi

2013-03-01

In this paper, we present a texture classification method based on texton learned via sparse representation (SR) with new feature histogram maps in the classification of emphysema. First, an overcomplete dictionary of textons is learned via KSVD learning on every class image patches in the training dataset. In this stage, high-pass filter is introduced to exclude patches in smooth area to speed up the dictionary learning process. Second, 3D joint-SR coefficients and intensity histograms of the test images are used for characterizing regions of interest (ROIs) instead of conventional feature histograms constructed from SR coefficients of the test images over the dictionary. Classification is then performed using a classifier with distance as a histogram dissimilarity measure. Four hundreds and seventy annotated ROIs extracted from 14 test subjects, including 6 paraseptal emphysema (PSE) subjects, 5 centrilobular emphysema (CLE) subjects and 3 panlobular emphysema (PLE) subjects, are used to evaluate the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed method. The proposed method is tested on 167 PSE, 240 CLE and 63 PLE ROIs consisting of mild, moderate and severe pulmonary emphysema. The accuracy of the proposed system is around 74%, 88% and 89% for PSE, CLE and PLE, respectively.

Efficient reversible data hiding in encrypted image with public key cryptosystem

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xiang, Shijun; Luo, Xinrong

2017-12-01

This paper proposes a new reversible data hiding scheme for encrypted images by using homomorphic and probabilistic properties of Paillier cryptosystem. The proposed method can embed additional data directly into encrypted image without any preprocessing operations on original image. By selecting two pixels as a group for encryption, data hider can retrieve the absolute differences of groups of two pixels by employing a modular multiplicative inverse method. Additional data can be embedded into encrypted image by shifting histogram of the absolute differences by using the homomorphic property in encrypted domain. On the receiver side, legal user can extract the marked histogram in encrypted domain in the same way as data hiding procedure. Then, the hidden data can be extracted from the marked histogram and the encrypted version of original image can be restored by using inverse histogram shifting operations. Besides, the marked absolute differences can be computed after decryption for extraction of additional data and restoration of original image. Compared with previous state-of-the-art works, the proposed scheme can effectively avoid preprocessing operations before encryption and can efficiently embed and extract data in encrypted domain. The experiments on the standard image files also certify the effectiveness of the proposed scheme.

Recent progresses of neural network unsupervised learning: I. Independent component analyses generalizing PCA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Szu, Harold H.

1999-03-01

The early vision principle of redundancy reduction of 108 sensor excitations is understandable from computer vision viewpoint toward sparse edge maps. It is only recently derived using a truly unsupervised learning paradigm of artificial neural networks (ANN). In fact, the biological vision, Hubel- Wiesel edge maps, is reproduced seeking the underlying independent components analyses (ICA) among 102 image samples by maximizing the ANN output entropy (partial)H(V)/(partial)[W] equals (partial)[W]/(partial)t. When a pair of newborn eyes or ears meet the bustling and hustling world without supervision, they seek ICA by comparing 2 sensory measurements (x1(t), x2(t))T equalsV X(t). Assuming a linear and instantaneous mixture model of the external world X(t) equals [A] S(t), where both the mixing matrix ([A] equalsV [a1, a2] of ICA vectors and the source percentages (s1(t), s2(t))T equalsV S(t) are unknown, we seek the independent sources approximately equals [I] where the approximated sign indicates that higher order statistics (HOS) may not be trivial. Without a teacher, the ANN weight matrix [W] equalsV [w1, w2] adjusts the outputs V(t) equals tanh([W]X(t)) approximately equals [W]X(t) until no desired outputs except the (Gaussian) 'garbage' (neither YES '1' nor NO '-1' but at linear may-be range 'origin 0') defined by Gaussian covariance G equals [I] equals [W][A] at the fixed point (partial)E/(partial)wi equals 0 resulted in an exact Toplitz matrix inversion for a stationary covariance assumption. We generalize AR by a nonlinear output vi(t+1) equals tanh(wiTX(t)) within E equals <[x(t+1) - vi(t+1)]2>, and the gradient descent (partial)E/(partial)wi equals - (partial)wi/(partial)t. Further generalization is possible because of specific image/speech having a specific histogram whose gray scale statistics departs from that of Gaussian random variable and can be measured by the fourth order cumulant, Kurtosis K(vi) equals - 3 2 (K greater than or equal to 0 super-G for speeches, K less than or equal to 0 sub-G for images). Thus, the stationary value at (partial)K/(partial)wi equals plus or minus 4 PTLwi/(partial)t can de-mix unknown mixtures of noisy images/speeches without a teacher. This stationary statistics may be parallel implemented using the 'factorized pdf code: (rho) (v1, v2) equals (rho) (v1) (rho) (v2)' occurred at a maximal entropy algorithm improved by the natural gradient of Amari. Real world applications are given in Part II, (Wavelet Appl-VI, SPIE Proc. Vol. 3723) such as remote sensing subpixel composition, speech segmentation by means of ICA de-hyphenation, and cable TV bandwidth enhancement by simultaneously mixing sport and movie entertainment events.

Interfacial Reaction and Mechanical Properties of Sn-Bi Solder joints

PubMed Central

Huang, Ying; Zhang, Zhijie

2017-01-01

Sn-Bi solder with different Bi content can realize a low-to-medium-to-high soldering process. To obtain the effect of Bi content in Sn-Bi solder on the microstructure of solder, interfacial behaviors in solder joints with Cu and the joints strength, five Sn-Bi solders including Sn-5Bi and Sn-15Bi solid solution, Sn-30Bi and Sn-45Bi hypoeutectic and Sn-58Bi eutectic were selected in this work. The microstructure, interfacial reaction under soldering and subsequent aging and the shear properties of Sn-Bi solder joints were studied. Bi content in Sn-Bi solder had an obvious effect on the microstructure and the distribution of Bi phases. Solid solution Sn-Bi solder was composed of the β-Sn phases embedded with fine Bi particles, while hypoeutectic Sn-Bi solder was composed of the primary β-Sn phases and Sn-Bi eutectic structure from networked Sn and Bi phases, and eutectic Sn-Bi solder was mainly composed of a eutectic structure from short striped Sn and Bi phases. During soldering with Cu, the increase on Bi content in Sn-Bi solder slightly increased the interfacial Cu6Sn5 intermetallic compound (IMC)thickness, gradually flattened the IMC morphology, and promoted the accumulation of more Bi atoms to interfacial Cu6Sn5 IMC. During the subsequent aging, the growth rate of the IMC layer at the interface of Sn-Bi solder/Cu rapidly increased from solid solution Sn-Bi solder to hypoeutectic Sn-Bi solder, and then slightly decreased for Sn-58Bi solder joints. The accumulation of Bi atoms at the interface promoted the rapid growth of interfacial Cu6Sn5 IMC layer in hypoeutectic or eutectic Sn-Bi solder through blocking the formation of Cu6Sn5 in solder matrix and the transition from Cu6Sn5 to Cu3Sn. Ball shear tests on Sn-Bi as-soldered joints showed that the increase of Bi content in Sn-Bi deteriorated the shear strength of solder joints. The addition of Bi into Sn solder was also inclined to produce brittle morphology with interfacial fracture, which suggests that the addition of Bi increased the shear resistance strength of Sn-Bi solder. PMID:28792440

Background estimation and player detection in badminton video clips using histogram of pixel values along temporal dimension

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peng, Yahui; Ma, Xiao; Gao, Xinyu; Zhou, Fangxu

2015-12-01

Computer vision is an important tool for sports video processing. However, its application in badminton match analysis is very limited. In this study, we proposed a straightforward but robust histogram-based background estimation and player detection methods for badminton video clips, and compared the results with the naive averaging method and the mixture of Gaussians methods, respectively. The proposed method yielded better background estimation results than the naive averaging method and more accurate player detection results than the mixture of Gaussians player detection method. The preliminary results indicated that the proposed histogram-based method could estimate the background and extract the players accurately. We conclude that the proposed method can be used for badminton player tracking and further studies are warranted for automated match analysis.

Machine assisted histogram classification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Benyó, B.; Gaspar, C.; Somogyi, P.

2010-04-01

LHCb is one of the four major experiments under completion at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). Monitoring the quality of the acquired data is important, because it allows the verification of the detector performance. Anomalies, such as missing values or unexpected distributions can be indicators of a malfunctioning detector, resulting in poor data quality. Spotting faulty or ageing components can be either done visually using instruments, such as the LHCb Histogram Presenter, or with the help of automated tools. In order to assist detector experts in handling the vast monitoring information resulting from the sheer size of the detector, we propose a graph based clustering tool combined with machine learning algorithm and demonstrate its use by processing histograms representing 2D hitmaps events. We prove the concept by detecting ion feedback events in the LHCb experiment's RICH subdetector.

Exploration geochemical technique for the determination of preconcentrated organometallic halides by ICP-AES

USGS Publications Warehouse

Motooka, J.M.

1988-01-01

An atomic absorption extraction technique which is widely used in geochemical exploration for the determination of Ag, As, Au, Bi, Cd, Cu, Mo, Pb, Sb, and Zn has been modified and adapted to a simultaneous inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission instrument. the experimental and operating parameters are described for the preconcentration of the metals into their organometallic halides and for the determination of the metals. Lower limits of determination are equal to or improved over those for flame atomic absorption (except Au) and ICP results are very similar to the accepted AA values, with precision for the ICP data in excess of that necessary for exploration purposes.

Wildfire Detection using by Multi Dimensional Histogram in Boreal Forest

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Honda, K.; Kimura, K.; Honma, T.

2008-12-01

Early detection of wildfires is an issue for reduction of damage to environment and human. There are some attempts to detect wildfires by using satellite imagery, which are mainly classified into three methods: Dozier Method(1981-), Threshold Method(1986-) and Contextual Method(1994-). However, the accuracy of these methods is not enough: some commission and omission errors are included in the detected results. In addition, it is not so easy to analyze satellite imagery with high accuracy because of insufficient ground truth data. Kudoh and Hosoi (2003) developed the detection method by using three-dimensional (3D) histogram from past fire data with the NOAA-AVHRR imagery. But their method is impractical because their method depends on their handworks to pick up past fire data from huge data. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to collect fire points as hot spots efficiently from satellite imagery and to improve the method to detect wildfires with the collected data. As our method, we collect past fire data with the Alaska Fire History data obtained by the Alaska Fire Service (AFS). We select points that are expected to be wildfires, and pick up the points inside the fire area of the AFS data. Next, we make 3D histogram with the past fire data. In this study, we use Bands 1, 21 and 32 of MODIS. We calculate the likelihood to detect wildfires with the three-dimensional histogram. As our result, we select wildfires with the 3D histogram effectively. We can detect the troidally spreading wildfire. This result shows the evidence of good wildfire detection. However, the area surrounding glacier tends to rise brightness temperature. It is a false alarm. Burnt area and bare ground are sometimes indicated as false alarms, so that it is necessary to improve this method. Additionally, we are trying various combinations of MODIS bands as the better method to detect wildfire effectively. So as to adjust our method in another area, we are applying our method to tropical forest in Kalimantan, Indonesia and around Chiang Mai, Thailand. But the ground truth data in these areas is lesser than the one in Alaska. Our method needs lots of accurate observed data to make multi-dimensional histogram in the same area. In this study, we can show the system to select wildfire data efficiently from satellite imagery. Furthermore, the development of multi-dimensional histogram from past fire data makes it possible to detect wildfires accurately.

WE-G-BRD-09: Prediction of Local Control/Failure by Using Feature Histogram Selection in Follow-Up T2-Weighted MR Image in Spinal Tumors After Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy

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

Zhou, J; Harb, J; Jawad, M

2014-06-15

Purpose: In follow-up T2-weighted MR images of spinal tumor patients treated with stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT), high intensity features embedded in dark surroundings may suggest a local failure (LF). We investigated image intensity histogram in imaging features to predict LF and local control (LC). Methods: Sixty-seven spinal tumors were treated with SBRT at our institution with scheduled follow-up MR T2-weighted (TR 3200–6600ms; TE 75-132ms) imaging. The LF group included 10 tumors with 8.7 months median follow-up, while the LC group had 11 tumors with 24.1 months median follow-up. The follow-up images were fused to the planning CT. Image intensitymore » histograms of the GTV were calculated. Voxels in greater than 90% (V90), 80% (V80), and peak (Vpeak) of the histogram were grouped into sub-ROIs to determine the best feature histogram. The intensity of each sub-ROI was evaluated using the mean T2-weighted signal ratio (intensity in sub-ROI / intensity in normal vertebrae). An ROC curve in predicting LF for each sub-ROI was calculated to determine the best feature histogram parameter for LF prediction. Results: Mean T2-weighted signal ratio in the LF group was significantly higher than that in the LC group for all sub-ROIs (1.1±0.4 vs. 0.7±0.2, 1.2±0.4 vs. 0.8±0.2, 1.4±0.5 vs. 0.8±0.2, for V90, V80, and Vpeak, p=0.02, 0.02, and 0.002, respectively). The corresponding areas-under-curve (AUC) of ROC were 0.78, 0.80, and 0.87, p=0.02, 0.03, 0.004, respectively. No correlation was found between T2-weighted signal ratio in Vpeak and follow-up time (Pearson's ρ=0.15). Conclusion: Increased T2-weighted signal can be used to identify local failure while decreased signal indicates local control after spinal SBRT. By choosing the best histogram parameter (here the Vpeak), the AUC of the ROC can be substantially improved, which implies reliable prediction of LC and LF. These results are being further studied and validated with large multi-institutional data.« less

A novel fully automatic multilevel thresholding technique based on optimized intuitionistic fuzzy sets and tsallis entropy for MR brain tumor image segmentation.

PubMed

Kaur, Taranjit; Saini, Barjinder Singh; Gupta, Savita

2018-03-01

In the present paper, a hybrid multilevel thresholding technique that combines intuitionistic fuzzy sets and tsallis entropy has been proposed for the automatic delineation of the tumor from magnetic resonance images having vague boundaries and poor contrast. This novel technique takes into account both the image histogram and the uncertainty information for the computation of multiple thresholds. The benefit of the methodology is that it provides fast and improved segmentation for the complex tumorous images with imprecise gray levels. To further boost the computational speed, the mutation based particle swarm optimization is used that selects the most optimal threshold combination. The accuracy of the proposed segmentation approach has been validated on simulated, real low-grade glioma tumor volumes taken from MICCAI brain tumor segmentation (BRATS) challenge 2012 dataset and the clinical tumor images, so as to corroborate its generality and novelty. The designed technique achieves an average Dice overlap equal to 0.82010, 0.78610 and 0.94170 for three datasets. Further, a comparative analysis has also been made between the eight existing multilevel thresholding implementations so as to show the superiority of the designed technique. In comparison, the results indicate a mean improvement in Dice by an amount equal to 4.00% (p < 0.005), 9.60% (p < 0.005) and 3.58% (p < 0.005), respectively in contrast to the fuzzy tsallis approach.

Study of quality perception in medical images based on comparison of contrast enhancement techniques in mammographic images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Matheus, B.; Verçosa, L. B.; Barufaldi, B.; Schiabel, H.

2014-03-01

With the absolute prevalence of digital images in mammography several new tools became available for radiologist; such as CAD schemes, digital zoom and contrast alteration. This work focuses in contrast variation and how the radiologist reacts to these changes when asked to evaluated image quality. Three contrast enhancing techniques were used in this study: conventional equalization, CCB Correction [1] - a digitization correction - and value subtraction. A set of 100 images was used in tests from some available online mammographic databases. The tests consisted of the presentation of all four versions of an image (original plus the three contrast enhanced images) to the specialist, requested to rank each one from the best up to worst quality for diagnosis. Analysis of results has demonstrated that CCB Correction [1] produced better images in almost all cases. Equalization, which mathematically produces a better contrast, was considered the worst for mammography image quality enhancement in the majority of cases (69.7%). The value subtraction procedure produced images considered better than the original in 84% of cases. Tests indicate that, for the radiologist's perception, it seems more important to guaranty full visualization of nuances than a high contrast image. Another result observed is that the "ideal" scanner curve does not yield the best result for a mammographic image. The important contrast range is the middle of the histogram, where nodules and masses need to be seen and clearly distinguished.

Bi-layer structure of counterstreaming energetic electron fluxes: a diagnostic tool of the acceleration mechanism in the Earth's magnetotail

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sarafopoulos, D. V.

2010-02-01

For the first time we identify a bi-layer structure of energetic electron fluxes in the Earth's magnetotail and establish (using datasets mainly obtained by the Geotail Energetic Particles and Ion Composition (EPIC/ICS) instrument) that it actually provides strong evidence for a purely spatial structure. Each bi-layer event is composed of two distinct layers with counterstreaming energetic electron fluxes, parallel and antiparallel to the local ambient magnetic field lines; in particular, the tailward directed fluxes always occur in a region adjacent to the lobes. Adopting the X-line as a standard reconnection model, we determine the occurrence of bi-layer events relatively to the neutral point, in the substorm frame; four (out of the shown seven) events are observed earthward and three tailward, a result implying that four events probably occurred with the substorm's local recovery phase. We discuss the bi-layer events in terms of the X-line model; they add more constraints for any candidate electron acceleration mechanism. It should be stressed that until this time, none proposed electron acceleration mechanism has discussed or predicted these layered structures with all their properties. Then we discuss the bi-layer events in terms of the much promising "akis model", as introduced by Sarafopoulos (2008). The akis magnetic field topology is embedded in a thinned plasma sheet and is potentially causing charge separation. We assume that as the Rc curvature radius of the magnetic field line tends to become equal to the ion gyroradius rg, then the ions become non-adiabatic. At the limit Rc=rg the demagnetization process is also under way and the frozen-in magnetic field condition is violated by strong wave turbulence; hence, the ion particles in this geometry are stochastically scattered. In addition, ion diffusion probably takes place across the magnetic field, since an intense pressure gradient is directed earthward; hence, ions are ejected tailward of akis. This way, in front of akis an "ion capsule region" is formed with net positive charge. In between them a distinct region with an electric field E⊥ orthogonal to the magnetic field is emerged; E⊥ in front of akis is directed earthward. The field-aligned and highly anisotropic energetic electron populations have probably resulted via spatially separated antiparallel and field-aligned electric fields being the very heart of the acceleration source. We assume that the ultimate cause for the field-aligned electric fields are the net positive capsule charge and the net negative charge trapped at the tip of akis; both charges will be eventually neutralized through field aligned currents, but they remain unshielded for sufficient time to produce the observed events.

One-step growth of nanosheet-assembled BiOCl/BiOBr microspheres for highly efficient visible photocatalytic performance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Jinfeng; Lv, Jiali; Dai, Kai; Liang, Changhao; Liu, Qi

2018-02-01

In this work, we have developed a simple synthetic approach of nanosheet-assembled BiOCl/BiOBr microspheres by an ethylene glycol (EG)-assisted hydrothermal method. The crystalline form, morphology, chemical composition, optical performance and surface area of BiOCl/BiOBr microspheres were identified using X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high resolution TEM (HRTEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy spectra (EDX), UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) analysis, high resolution X-ray photoelectron spectra (XPS) and N2 adsorption-desorption isotherms. BiOCl/BiOBr microspheres were nanosheet-assembled particles, which possessed visible light absorption under LED light irridation. Additionally, the methylene blue (MB) photodegradation performance of different BiOCl/BiOBr microspheres irradiated under 410 nm LED light arrays were investigated, the results exhibited that as-prepared BiOCl/BiOBr products showed higher catalytic effiency than pure BiOCl or BiOBr. By optimizing the composition ration of the BiOCl and BiOBr, up to 93% degradation rate can be obtained in the 40%BiOCl/BiOBr microspheres. Finally, the photocatalytic mechanism of BiOCl/BiOBr microspheres had been proposed.

Mouse Curve Biometrics

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

Schulz, Douglas A.

2007-10-08

A biometric system suitable for validating user identity using only mouse movements and no specialized equipment is presented. Mouse curves (mouse movements with little or no pause between them) are individually classied and used to develop classication histograms, which are representative of an individual's typical mouse use. These classication histograms can then be compared to validate identity. This classication approach is suitable for providing continuous identity validation during an entire user session.

DIF Testing with an Empirical-Histogram Approximation of the Latent Density for Each Group

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Woods, Carol M.

2011-01-01

This research introduces, illustrates, and tests a variation of IRT-LR-DIF, called EH-DIF-2, in which the latent density for each group is estimated simultaneously with the item parameters as an empirical histogram (EH). IRT-LR-DIF is used to evaluate the degree to which items have different measurement properties for one group of people versus…

An Automated Energy Detection Algorithm Based on Kurtosis-Histogram Excision

DTIC Science & Technology

2018-01-01

ARL-TR-8269 ● JAN 2018 US Army Research Laboratory An Automated Energy Detection Algorithm Based on Kurtosis-Histogram Excision...needed. Do not return it to the originator. ARL-TR-8269 ● JAN 2018 US Army Research Laboratory An Automated Energy Detection...collection of information is estimated to average 1 hour per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources

SU-F-R-50: Radiation-Induced Changes in CT Number Histogram During Chemoradiation Therapy for Pancreatic Cancer

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

Chen, X; Schott, D; Song, Y

Purpose: In an effort of early assessment of treatment response, we investigate radiation induced changes in CT number histogram of GTV during the delivery of chemoradiation therapy (CRT) for pancreatic cancer. Methods: Diagnostic-quality CT data acquired daily during routine CT-guided CRT using a CT-on-rails for 20 pancreatic head cancer patients were analyzed. All patients were treated with a radiation dose of 50.4 in 28 fractions. On each daily CT set, the contours of the pancreatic head and the spinal cord were delineated. The Hounsfiled Units (HU) histogram in these contourswere extracted and processed using MATLAB. Eight parameters of the histogrammore » including the mean HU over all the voxels, peak position, volume, standard deviation (SD), skewness, kurtosis, energy, and entropy were calculated for each fraction. The significances were inspected using paired two-tailed t-test and the correlations were analyzed using Spearman rank correlation tests. Results: In general, HU histogram in pancreatic head (but not in spinal cord) changed during the CRT delivery. Changes from the first to the last fraction in mean HU in pancreatic head ranged from −13.4 to 3.7 HU with an average of −4.4 HU, which was significant (P<0.001). Among other quantities, the volume decreased, the skewness increased (less skewed), and the kurtosis decreased (less sharp) during the CRT delivery. The changes of mean HU, volume, skewness, and kurtosis became significant after two weeks of treatment. Patient pathological response status is associated with the changes of SD (ΔSD), i.e., ΔSD= 1.85 (average of 7 patients) for good reponse, −0.08 (average of 6 patients) for moderate and poor response. Conclusion: Significant changes in HU histogram and the histogram-based metrics (e.g., meam HU, skewness, and kurtosis) in tumor were observed during the course of chemoradiation therapy for pancreas cancer. These changes may be potentially used for early assessment of treatment response.« less

Liver fibrosis: in vivo evaluation using intravoxel incoherent motion-derived histogram metrics with histopathologic findings at 3.0 T.

PubMed

Hu, Fubi; Yang, Ru; Huang, Zixing; Wang, Min; Zhang, Hanmei; Yan, Xu; Song, Bin

2017-12-01

To retrospectively determine the feasibility of intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) imaging based on histogram analysis for the staging of liver fibrosis (LF) using histopathologic findings as the reference standard. 56 consecutive patients (14 men, 42 women; age range, 15-76, years) with chronic liver diseases (CLDs) were studied using IVIM-DWI with 9 b-values (0, 25, 50, 75, 100, 150, 200, 500, 800 s/mm 2 ) at 3.0 T. Fibrosis stage was evaluated using the METAVIR scoring system. Histogram metrics including mean, standard deviation (Std), skewness, kurtosis, minimum (Min), maximum (Max), range, interquartile (Iq) range, and percentiles (10, 25, 50, 75, 90th) were extracted from apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), true diffusion coefficient (D), pseudo-diffusion coefficient (D*), and perfusion fraction (f) maps. All histogram metrics among different fibrosis groups were compared using one-way analysis of variance or nonparametric Kruskal-Wallis test. For significant parameters, receivers operating characteristic curve (ROC) analyses were further performed for the staging of LF. Based on their METAVIR stage, the 56 patients were reclassified into three groups as follows: F0-1 group (n = 25), F2-3 group (n = 21), and F4 group (n = 10). The mean, Iq range, percentiles (50, 75, and 90th) of D* maps between the groups were significant differences (all P < 0.05). Area under the ROC curve (AUC) of the mean, Iq range, 50, 75, and 90th percentile of D* maps for identifying significant LF (≥F2 stage) was 0.901, 0.859, 0.876, 0.943, and 0.886 (all P < 0.0001), respectively; for diagnosing severe fibrosis or cirrhosis (F4), AUC was 0.917, 0.922, 0.943, 0.985, and 0.939 (all P < 0.0001), respectively. The histogram metrics of ADC, D, and f maps demonstrated no significant difference among the groups (all P > 0.05). Histogram analysis of D* map derived from IVIM can be used to stage liver fibrosis in patients with CLDs and provide more quantitative information beyond the mean value.

The impact of slice-reduced computed tomography on histogram-based densitometry assessment of lung fibrosis in patients with systemic sclerosis

PubMed Central

Maurer, Britta; Suliman, Yossra A.; Morsbach, Fabian; Distler, Oliver; Frauenfelder, Thomas

2018-01-01

Background To evaluate usability of slice-reduced sequential computed tomography (CT) compared to standard high-resolution CT (HRCT) in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) for qualitative and quantitative assessment of interstitial lung disease (ILD) with respect to (I) detection of lung parenchymal abnormalities, (II) qualitative and semiquantitative visual assessment, (III) quantification of ILD by histograms and (IV) accuracy for the 20%-cut off discrimination. Methods From standard chest HRCT of 60 SSc patients sequential 9-slice-computed tomography (reduced HRCT) was retrospectively reconstructed. ILD was assessed by visual scoring and quantitative histogram parameters. Results from standard and reduced HRCT were compared using non-parametric tests and analysed by univariate linear regression analyses. Results With respect to the detection of parenchymal abnormalities, only the detection of intrapulmonary bronchiectasis was significantly lower in reduced HRCT compared to standard HRCT (P=0.039). No differences were found comparing visual scores for fibrosis severity and extension from standard and reduced HRCT (P=0.051–0.073). All scores correlated significantly (P<0.001) to histogram parameters derived from both, standard and reduced HRCT. Significant higher values of kurtosis and skewness for reduced HRCT were found (both P<0.001). In contrast to standard HRCT histogram parameters from reduced HRCT showed significant discrimination at cut-off 20% fibrosis (sensitivity 88% kurtosis and skewness; specificity 81% kurtosis and 86% skewness; cut-off kurtosis ≤26, cut-off skewness ≤4; both P<0.001). Conclusions Reduced HRCT is a robust method to assess lung fibrosis in SSc with minimal radiation dose with no difference in scoring assessment of lung fibrosis severity and extension in comparison to standard HRCT. In contrast to standard HRCT histogram parameters derived from the approach of reduced HRCT could discriminate at a threshold of 20% lung fibrosis with high sensitivity and specificity. Hence it might be used to detect early disease progression of lung fibrosis in context of monitoring and treatment of SSc patients. PMID:29850118

Visual vs Fully Automatic Histogram-Based Assessment of Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) Progression Using Sequential Multidetector Computed Tomography (MDCT)

PubMed Central

Colombi, Davide; Dinkel, Julien; Weinheimer, Oliver; Obermayer, Berenike; Buzan, Teodora; Nabers, Diana; Bauer, Claudia; Oltmanns, Ute; Palmowski, Karin; Herth, Felix; Kauczor, Hans Ulrich; Sverzellati, Nicola

2015-01-01

Objectives To describe changes over time in extent of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) at multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) assessed by semi-quantitative visual scores (VSs) and fully automatic histogram-based quantitative evaluation and to test the relationship between these two methods of quantification. Methods Forty IPF patients (median age: 70 y, interquartile: 62-75 years; M:F, 33:7) that underwent 2 MDCT at different time points with a median interval of 13 months (interquartile: 10-17 months) were retrospectively evaluated. In-house software YACTA quantified automatically lung density histogram (10th-90th percentile in 5th percentile steps). Longitudinal changes in VSs and in the percentiles of attenuation histogram were obtained in 20 untreated patients and 20 patients treated with pirfenidone. Pearson correlation analysis was used to test the relationship between VSs and selected percentiles. Results In follow-up MDCT, visual overall extent of parenchymal abnormalities (OE) increased in median by 5 %/year (interquartile: 0 %/y; +11 %/y). Substantial difference was found between treated and untreated patients in HU changes of the 40th and of the 80th percentiles of density histogram. Correlation analysis between VSs and selected percentiles showed higher correlation between the changes (Δ) in OE and Δ 40th percentile (r=0.69; p<0.001) as compared to Δ 80th percentile (r=0.58; p<0.001); closer correlation was found between Δ ground-glass extent and Δ 40th percentile (r=0.66, p<0.001) as compared to Δ 80th percentile (r=0.47, p=0.002), while the Δ reticulations correlated better with the Δ 80th percentile (r=0.56, p<0.001) in comparison to Δ 40th percentile (r=0.43, p=0.003). Conclusions There is a relevant and fully automatically measurable difference at MDCT in VSs and in histogram analysis at one year follow-up of IPF patients, whether treated or untreated: Δ 40th percentile might reflect the change in overall extent of lung abnormalities, notably of ground-glass pattern; furthermore Δ 80th percentile might reveal the course of reticular opacities. PMID:26110421

Breast lesion characterization using whole-lesion histogram analysis with stretched-exponential diffusion model.

PubMed

Liu, Chunling; Wang, Kun; Li, Xiaodan; Zhang, Jine; Ding, Jie; Spuhler, Karl; Duong, Timothy; Liang, Changhong; Huang, Chuan

2018-06-01

Diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) has been studied in breast imaging and can provide more information about diffusion, perfusion and other physiological interests than standard pulse sequences. The stretched-exponential model has previously been shown to be more reliable than conventional DWI techniques, but different diagnostic sensitivities were found from study to study. This work investigated the characteristics of whole-lesion histogram parameters derived from the stretched-exponential diffusion model for benign and malignant breast lesions, compared them with conventional apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), and further determined which histogram metrics can be best used to differentiate malignant from benign lesions. This was a prospective study. Seventy females were included in the study. Multi-b value DWI was performed on a 1.5T scanner. Histogram parameters of whole lesions for distributed diffusion coefficient (DDC), heterogeneity index (α), and ADC were calculated by two radiologists and compared among benign lesions, ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), and invasive carcinoma confirmed by pathology. Nonparametric tests were performed for comparisons among invasive carcinoma, DCIS, and benign lesions. Comparisons of receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were performed to show the ability to discriminate malignant from benign lesions. The majority of histogram parameters (mean/min/max, skewness/kurtosis, 10-90 th percentile values) from DDC, α, and ADC were significantly different among invasive carcinoma, DCIS, and benign lesions. DDC 10% (area under curve [AUC] = 0.931), ADC 10% (AUC = 0.893), and α mean (AUC = 0.787) were found to be the best metrics in differentiating benign from malignant tumors among all histogram parameters derived from ADC and α, respectively. The combination of DDC 10% and α mean , using logistic regression, yielded the highest sensitivity (90.2%) and specificity (95.5%). DDC 10% and α mean derived from the stretched-exponential model provides more information and better diagnostic performance in differentiating malignancy from benign lesions than ADC parameters derived from a monoexponential model. 2 Technical Efficacy: Stage 2 J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2018;47:1701-1710. © 2017 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.

Quantitative computed tomography applied to interstitial lung diseases.

PubMed

Obert, Martin; Kampschulte, Marian; Limburg, Rebekka; Barańczuk, Stefan; Krombach, Gabriele A

2018-03-01

To evaluate a new image marker that retrieves information from computed tomography (CT) density histograms, with respect to classification properties between different lung parenchyma groups. Furthermore, to conduct a comparison of the new image marker with conventional markers. Density histograms from 220 different subjects (normal = 71; emphysema = 73; fibrotic = 76) were used to compare the conventionally applied emphysema index (EI), 15 th percentile value (PV), mean value (MV), variance (V), skewness (S), kurtosis (K), with a new histogram's functional shape (HFS) method. Multinomial logistic regression (MLR) analyses was performed to calculate predictions of different lung parenchyma group membership using the individual methods, as well as combinations thereof, as covariates. Overall correct assigned subjects (OCA), sensitivity (sens), specificity (spec), and Nagelkerke's pseudo R 2 (NR 2 ) effect size were estimated. NR 2 was used to set up a ranking list of the different methods. MLR indicates the highest classification power (OCA of 92%; sens 0.95; spec 0.89; NR 2 0.95) when all histogram analyses methods were applied together in the MLR. Highest classification power among individually applied methods was found using the HFS concept (OCA 86%; sens 0.93; spec 0.79; NR 2 0.80). Conventional methods achieved lower classification potential on their own: EI (OCA 69%; sens 0.95; spec 0.26; NR 2 0.52); PV (OCA 69%; sens 0.90; spec 0.37; NR 2 0.57); MV (OCA 65%; sens 0.71; spec 0.58; NR 2 0.61); V (OCA 66%; sens 0.72; spec 0.53; NR 2 0.66); S (OCA 65%; sens 0.88; spec 0.26; NR 2 0.55); and K (OCA 63%; sens 0.90; spec 0.16; NR 2 0.48). The HFS method, which was so far applied to a CT bone density curve analysis, is also a remarkable information extraction tool for lung density histograms. Presumably, being a principle mathematical approach, the HFS method can extract valuable health related information also from histograms from complete different areas. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Histogram Analysis of CT Perfusion of Hepatocellular Carcinoma for Predicting Response to Transarterial Radioembolization: Value of Tumor Heterogeneity Assessment

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

Reiner, Caecilia S., E-mail: caecilia.reiner@usz.ch; Gordic, Sonja; Puippe, Gilbert

2016-03-15

PurposeTo evaluate in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), whether assessment of tumor heterogeneity by histogram analysis of computed tomography (CT) perfusion helps predicting response to transarterial radioembolization (TARE).Materials and MethodsSixteen patients (15 male; mean age 65 years; age range 47–80 years) with HCC underwent CT liver perfusion for treatment planning prior to TARE with Yttrium-90 microspheres. Arterial perfusion (AP) derived from CT perfusion was measured in the entire tumor volume, and heterogeneity was analyzed voxel-wise by histogram analysis. Response to TARE was evaluated on follow-up imaging (median follow-up, 129 days) based on modified Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (mRECIST). Results of histogrammore » analysis and mean AP values of the tumor were compared between responders and non-responders. Receiver operating characteristics were calculated to determine the parameters’ ability to discriminate responders from non-responders.ResultsAccording to mRECIST, 8 patients (50 %) were responders and 8 (50 %) non-responders. Comparing responders and non-responders, the 50th and 75th percentile of AP derived from histogram analysis was significantly different [AP 43.8/54.3 vs. 27.6/34.3 mL min{sup −1} 100 mL{sup −1}); p < 0.05], while the mean AP of HCCs (43.5 vs. 27.9 mL min{sup −1} 100 mL{sup −1}; p > 0.05) was not. Further heterogeneity parameters from histogram analysis (skewness, coefficient of variation, and 25th percentile) did not differ between responders and non-responders (p > 0.05). If the cut-off for the 75th percentile was set to an AP of 37.5 mL min{sup −1} 100 mL{sup −1}, therapy response could be predicted with a sensitivity of 88 % (7/8) and specificity of 75 % (6/8).ConclusionVoxel-wise histogram analysis of pretreatment CT perfusion indicating tumor heterogeneity of HCC improves the pretreatment prediction of response to TARE.« less

Bi-Directional Theta Modulation between the Septo-Hippocampal System and the Mammillary Area in Free-Moving Rats

PubMed Central

Ruan, Ming; Young, Calvin K.; McNaughton, Neil

2017-01-01

Hippocampal (HPC) theta oscillations have long been linked to various functions of the brain. Many cortical and subcortical areas that also exhibit theta oscillations have been linked to functional circuits with the hippocampus on the basis of coupled activities at theta frequencies. We examine, in freely moving rats, the characteristics of diencephalic theta local field potentials (LFPs) recorded in the supramammillary/mammillary (SuM/MM) areas that are bi-directionally connected to the HPC through the septal complex. Using partial directed coherence (PDC), we find support for previous suggestions that SuM modulates HPC theta at higher frequencies. We find weak separation of SuM and MM by dominant theta frequency recorded locally. Contrary to oscillatory cell activities under anesthesia where SuM is insensitive, but MM is sensitive to medial septal (MS) inactivation, theta LFPs persisted and became indistinguishable after MS-inactivation. However, MS-inactivation attenuated SuM/MM theta power, while increasing the frequency of SuM/MM theta. MS-inactivation also reduced root mean squared power in both HPC and SuM/MM equally, but reduced theta power differentially in the time domain. We provide converging evidence that SuM is preferentially involved in coding HPC theta at higher frequencies, and that the MS-HPC circuit normally imposes a frequency-limiting modulation over the SuM/MM area as suggested by cell-based recordings in anesthetized animals. In addition, we provide evidence that the postulated SuM-MS-HPC-MM circuit is under complex bi-directional control, rather than SuM and MM having roles as unidirectional relays in the network. PMID:28955209

Atrial Arrhythmia in Ageing Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats: Unraveling the Substrate in Hypertension and Ageing

PubMed Central

Lau, Dennis H.; Shipp, Nicholas J.; Kelly, Darren J.; Thanigaimani, Shivshankar; Neo, Melissa; Kuklik, Pawel; Lim, Han S.; Zhang, Yuan; Drury, Karen; Wong, Christopher X.; Chia, Nicholas H.; Brooks, Anthony G.; Dimitri, Hany; Saint, David A.; Brown, Lindsay; Sanders, Prashanthan

2013-01-01

Background Both ageing and hypertension are known risk factors for atrial fibrillation (AF) although the pathophysiological contribution or interaction of the individual factors remains poorly understood. Here we aim to delineate the arrhythmogenic atrial substrate in mature spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). Methods SHR were studied at 12 and 15 months of age (n = 8 per group) together with equal numbers of age-matched normotensive Wistar-Kyoto control rats (WKY). Electrophysiologic study was performed on superfused isolated right and left atrial preparations using a custom built high-density multiple-electrode array to determine effective refractory periods (ERP), atrial conduction and atrial arrhythmia inducibility. Tissue specimens were harvested for structural analysis. Results Compared to WKY controls, the SHR demonstrated: Higher systolic blood pressure (p<0.0001), bi-atrial enlargement (p<0.05), bi-ventricular hypertrophy (p<0.05), lower atrial ERP (p = 0.008), increased atrial conduction heterogeneity (p = 0.001) and increased atrial interstitial fibrosis (p = 0.006) & CD68-positive macrophages infiltration (p<0.0001). These changes resulted in higher atrial arrhythmia inducibility (p = 0.01) and longer induced AF episodes (p = 0.02) in 15-month old SHR. Ageing contributed to incremental bi-atrial hypertrophy (p<0.01) and atrial conduction heterogeneity (p<0.01) without affecting atrial ERP, fibrosis and arrhythmia inducibility. The limited effect of ageing on the atrial substrate may be secondary to the reduction in CD68-positive macrophages. Conclusions Significant atrial electrical and structural remodeling is evident in the ageing spontaneously hypertensive rat atria. Concomitant hypertension appears to play a greater pathophysiological role than ageing despite their compounding effect on the atrial substrate. Inflammation is pathophysiologically linked to the pro-fibrotic changes in the hypertensive atria. PMID:24013508

EFFECTS OF FUNCTIONAL ELECTRICAL STIMULATION IN REHABILITATION WITH HEMIPARESIS PATIENTS

PubMed Central

Tanović, Edina

2009-01-01

Cerebrovascular accident is a focal neurological deficiency occurring suddenly and lasting for more than 24 hours. The purpose of our work is to determine the role of the functional electrical simulation (FES) in the rehabilitation of patients with hemiparesis, which occurred as a consequence of a cerebrovascular accident. This study includes the analysis of two groups of 40 patients with hemiparesis (20 patients with deep hemiparesis and 20 patients with light hemi- paresis), a control group which was only treated with kinesiotherapy and a tested group which was treated with kinesiotherapy and functional electrical stimulation. Both groups of patients were analyzed in respect to their sex and age. Additional analysis of the walking function was completed in accordance with the BI and RAP index. The analysis of the basic demographical data demonstrated that there is no significant difference between the control and tested group. The patients of both groups are equal in respect of age and sex. After 4 weeks of rehabilitation of patients with deep and light hemiparesis there were no statistically significant differences between the groups after evaluation by the BI index. However, a statistically significant difference was noted between the groups by the RAP index among patients with deep hemiparesis. After 8 weeks of rehabilitation the group of patients who were treated with kinesiotherapy and functional electrical stimulation showed better statistically significant results of rehabilitation in respect to the control group with both the BI index and the RAP index (p<0,001). In conclusion, we can state that the patients in rehabilitation after a cerebrovascular accident require rehabilitation longer than 4 weeks. Walking rehabilitation after stroke is faster and more successful if we used functional electrical stimulation, in combination with kinesiotherapy, in patients with disabled extremities. PMID:19284395

Bi flux-dependent MBE growth of GaSbBi alloys

DOE PAGES

Rajpalke, M. K.; Linhart, W. M.; Yu, K. M.; ...

2015-03-05

The incorporation of Bi in GaSb 1-xBi x alloys grown by molecular beam epitaxy is investigated as a function of Bi flux at fixed growth temperature (275 °C) and growth rate (1 μm h⁻¹). The Bi content is found to vary proportionally with Bi flux with Bi contents, as measured by Rutherford backscattering, in the range 0 < x ≤ 4.5%. The GaSbBi samples grown at the lowest Bi fluxes have smooth surfaces free of metallic droplets. The higher Bi flux samples have surface Bi droplets. The room temperature band gap of the GaSbBi epitaxial layers determined from optical absorptionmore » decreases linearly with increasing Bi content with a reduction of ~32 meV/%Bi.« less

A comparison of methods using optical coherence tomography to detect demineralized regions in teeth

PubMed Central

Sowa, Michael G.; Popescu, Dan P.; Friesen, Jeri R.; Hewko, Mark D.; Choo-Smith, Lin-P’ing

2013-01-01

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a three- dimensional optical imaging technique that can be used to identify areas of early caries formation in dental enamel. The OCT signal at 850 nm back-reflected from sound enamel is attenuated stronger than the signal back-reflected from demineralized regions. To quantify this observation, the OCT signal as a function of depth into the enamel (also known as the A-scan intensity), the histogram of the A-scan intensities and three summary parameters derived from the A-scan are defined and their diagnostic potential compared. A total of 754 OCT A-scans were analyzed. The three summary parameters derived from the A-scans, the OCT attenuation coefficient as well as the mean and standard deviation of the lognormal fit to the histogram of the A-scan ensemble show statistically significant differences (p < 0.01) when comparing parameters from sound enamel and caries. Furthermore, these parameters only show a modest correlation. Based on the area under the curve (AUC) of the receiver operating characteristics (ROC) plot, the OCT attenuation coefficient shows higher discriminatory capacity (AUC=0.98) compared to the parameters derived from the lognormal fit to the histogram of the A-scan. However, direct analysis of the A-scans or the histogram of A-scan intensities using linear support vector machine classification shows diagnostic discrimination (AUC = 0.96) comparable to that achieved using the attenuation coefficient. These findings suggest that either direct analysis of the A-scan, its intensity histogram or the attenuation coefficient derived from the descending slope of the OCT A-scan have high capacity to discriminate between regions of caries and sound enamel. PMID:22052833

Response evaluation of giant-cell tumor of bone treated by denosumab: Histogram and texture analysis of CT images.

PubMed

Yi, Jisook; Lee, Young Han; Kim, Sang Kyum; Kim, Seung Hyun; Song, Ho-Taek; Shin, Kyoo-Ho; Suh, Jin-Suck

2018-05-01

This study aimed to compare computed tomography (CT) features, including tumor size and textural and histogram measurements, of giant-cell tumors of bone (GCTBs) before and after denosumab treatment and determine their applicability in monitoring GCTB response to denosumab treatment. This retrospective study included eight patients (male, 3; female, 5; mean age, 33.4 years) diagnosed with GCTB, who had received treatment by denosumab and had undergone pre- and post-treatment non-contrast CT between January 2010 and December 2016. This study was approved by the institutional review board. Pre- and post-treatment size, histogram, and textural parameters of GCTBs were compared by the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Pathological findings of five patients who underwent surgery after denosumab treatment were evaluated for assessment of treatment response. Relative to the baseline values, the tumor size had decreased, while the mean attenuation, standard deviation, entropy (all, P = 0.017), and skewness (P = 0.036) of the GCTBs had significantly increased post-treatment. Although the difference was statistically insignificant, the tumors also exhibited increased kurtosis, contrast, and inverse difference moment (P = 0.123, 0.327, and 0.575, respectively) post-treatment. Histologic findings revealed new bone formation and complete depletion or decrease in the number of osteoclast-like giant cells. The histogram and textural parameters of GCTBs changed significantly after denosumab treatment. Knowledge of the tendency towards increased mean attenuation and heterogeneity but increased local homogeneity in post-treatment CT histogram and textural features of GCTBs might aid in treatment planning and tumor response evaluation during denosumab treatment. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Comparative study of pulsed-continuous arterial spin labeling and dynamic susceptibility contrast imaging by histogram analysis in evaluation of glial tumors.

PubMed

Arisawa, Atsuko; Watanabe, Yoshiyuki; Tanaka, Hisashi; Takahashi, Hiroto; Matsuo, Chisato; Fujiwara, Takuya; Fujiwara, Masahiro; Fujimoto, Yasunori; Tomiyama, Noriyuki

2018-06-01

Arterial spin labeling (ASL) is a non-invasive perfusion technique that may be an alternative to dynamic susceptibility contrast magnetic resonance imaging (DSC-MRI) for assessment of brain tumors. To our knowledge, there have been no reports on histogram analysis of ASL. The purpose of this study was to determine whether ASL is comparable with DSC-MRI in terms of differentiating high-grade and low-grade gliomas by evaluating the histogram analysis of cerebral blood flow (CBF) in the entire tumor. Thirty-four patients with pathologically proven glioma underwent ASL and DSC-MRI. High-signal areas on contrast-enhanced T 1 -weighted images or high-intensity areas on fluid-attenuated inversion recovery images were designated as the volumes of interest (VOIs). ASL-CBF, DSC-CBF, and DSC-cerebral blood volume maps were constructed and co-registered to the VOI. Perfusion histogram analyses of the whole VOI and statistical analyses were performed to compare the ASL and DSC images. There was no significant difference in the mean values for any of the histogram metrics in both of the low-grade gliomas (n = 15) and the high-grade gliomas (n = 19). Strong correlations were seen in the 75th percentile, mean, median, and standard deviation values between the ASL and DSC images. The area under the curve values tended to be greater for the DSC images than for the ASL images. DSC-MRI is superior to ASL for distinguishing high-grade from low-grade glioma. ASL could be an alternative evaluation method when DSC-MRI cannot be used, e.g., in patients with renal failure, those in whom repeated examination is required, and in children.

Differentiation between malignant and benign thyroid nodules and stratification of papillary thyroid cancer with aggressive histological features: Whole-lesion diffusion-weighted imaging histogram analysis.

PubMed

Hao, Yonghong; Pan, Chu; Chen, WeiWei; Li, Tao; Zhu, WenZhen; Qi, JianPin

2016-12-01

To explore the usefulness of whole-lesion histogram analysis of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) derived from reduced field-of-view (r-FOV) diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) in differentiating malignant and benign thyroid nodules and stratifying papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) with aggressive histological features. This Institutional Review Board-approved, retrospective study included 93 patients with 101 pathologically proven thyroid nodules. All patients underwent preoperative r-FOV DWI at 3T. The whole-lesion ADC assessments were performed for each patient. Histogram-derived ADC parameters between different subgroups (pathologic type, extrathyroidal extension, lymph node metastasis) were compared. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was used to determine optimal histogram parameters in differentiating benign and malignant nodules and predicting aggressiveness of PTC. Mean ADC, median ADC, 5 th percentile ADC, 25 th percentile ADC, 75 th percentile ADC, 95 th percentile ADC (all P < 0.001), and kurtosis (P = 0.001) were significantly lower in malignant thyroid nodules, and mean ADC achieved the highest AUC (0.919) with a cutoff value of 1842.78 × 10 -6 mm 2 /s in differentiating malignant and benign nodules. Compared to the PTCs without extrathyroidal extension, PTCs with extrathyroidal extension showed significantly lower median ADC, 5 th percentile ADC, and 25 th percentile ADC. The 5 th percentile ADC achieved the highest AUC (0.757) with cutoff value of 911.5 × 10 -6 mm 2 /s for differentiating between PTCs with and without extrathyroidal extension. Whole-lesion ADC histogram analysis might help to differentiate malignant nodules from benign ones and show the PTCs with extrathyroidal extension. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2016;44:1546-1555. © 2016 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.

Whole-tumor MRI histogram analyses of hepatocellular carcinoma: Correlations with Ki-67 labeling index.

PubMed

Hu, Xin-Xing; Yang, Zhao-Xia; Liang, He-Yue; Ding, Ying; Grimm, Robert; Fu, Cai-Xia; Liu, Hui; Yan, Xu; Ji, Yuan; Zeng, Meng-Su; Rao, Sheng-Xiang

2017-08-01

To evaluate whether whole-tumor histogram-derived parameters for an apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) map and contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) could aid in assessing Ki-67 labeling index (LI) of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In all, 57 patients with HCC who underwent pretreatment MRI with a 3T MR scanner were included retrospectively. Histogram parameters including mean, median, standard deviation, skewness, kurtosis, and percentiles (5 th , 25 th , 75 th , 95 th ) were derived from the ADC map and MR enhancement. Correlations between histogram parameters and Ki-67 LI were evaluated and differences between low Ki-67 (≤10%) and high Ki-67 (>10%) groups were assessed. Mean, median, 5 th , 25 th , 75 th percentiles of ADC, and mean, median, 25 th , 75 th , 95 th percentiles of enhancement of arterial phase (AP) demonstrated significant inverse correlations with Ki-67 LI (rho up to -0.48 for ADC, -0.43 for AP) and showed significant differences between low and high Ki-67 groups (P < 0.001-0.04). Areas under the receiver operator characteristics (ROC) curve for identification of high Ki-67 were 0.78, 0.77, 0.79, 0.82, and 0.76 for mean, median, 5 th , 25 th , 75 th percentiles of ADC, respectively, and 0.74, 0.81, 0.76, 0.82, 0.69 for mean, median, 25 th , 75 th , 95 th percentiles of AP, respectively. Histogram-derived parameters of ADC and AP were potentially helpful for predicting Ki-67 LI of HCC. 3 Technical Efficacy: Stage 3 J. MAGN. RESON. IMAGING 2017;46:383-392. © 2016 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.

Locally advanced rectal cancer: post-chemoradiotherapy ADC histogram analysis for predicting a complete response.

PubMed

Cho, Seung Hyun; Kim, Gab Chul; Jang, Yun-Jin; Ryeom, Hunkyu; Kim, Hye Jung; Shin, Kyung-Min; Park, Jun Seok; Choi, Gyu-Seog; Kim, See Hyung

2015-09-01

The value of diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) for reliable differentiation between pathologic complete response (pCR) and residual tumor is still unclear. Recently, a few studies reported that histogram analysis can be helpful to monitor the therapeutic response in various cancer research. To investigate whether post-chemoradiotherapy (CRT) apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) histogram analysis can be helpful to predict a pCR in locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC). Fifty patients who underwent preoperative CRT followed by surgery were enrolled in this retrospective study, non-pCR (n = 41) and pCR (n = 9), respectively. ADC histogram analysis encompassing the whole tumor was performed on two post-CRT ADC600 and ADC1000 (b factors 0, 600 vs. 0, 1000 s/mm(2)) maps. Mean, minimum, maximum, SD, mode, 10th, 25th, 50th, 75th, 90th percentile ADCs, skewness, and kurtosis were derived. Diagnostic performance for predicting pCR was evaluated and compared. On both maps, 10th and 25th ADCs showed better diagnostic performance than that using mean ADC. Tenth percentile ADCs revealed the best diagnostic performance on both ADC600 (AZ 0.841, sensitivity 100%, specificity 70.7%) and ADC1000 (AZ 0.821, sensitivity 77.8%, specificity 87.8%) maps. In comparison between 10th percentile and mean ADC, the specificity was significantly improved on both ADC600 (70.7% vs. 53.7%; P = 0.031) and ADC1000 (87.8% vs. 73.2%; P = 0.039) maps. Post-CRT ADC histogram analysis is helpful for predicting pCR in LARC, especially, in improving the specificity, compared with mean ADC. © The Foundation Acta Radiologica 2014.

A Whole-Tumor Histogram Analysis of Apparent Diffusion Coefficient Maps for Differentiating Thymic Carcinoma from Lymphoma.

PubMed

Zhang, Wei; Zhou, Yue; Xu, Xiao-Quan; Kong, Ling-Yan; Xu, Hai; Yu, Tong-Fu; Shi, Hai-Bin; Feng, Qing

2018-01-01

To assess the performance of a whole-tumor histogram analysis of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) maps in differentiating thymic carcinoma from lymphoma, and compare it with that of a commonly used hot-spot region-of-interest (ROI)-based ADC measurement. Diffusion weighted imaging data of 15 patients with thymic carcinoma and 13 patients with lymphoma were retrospectively collected and processed with a mono-exponential model. ADC measurements were performed by using a histogram-based and hot-spot-ROI-based approach. In the histogram-based approach, the following parameters were generated: mean ADC (ADC mean ), median ADC (ADC median ), 10th and 90th percentile of ADC (ADC 10 and ADC 90 ), kurtosis, and skewness. The difference in ADCs between thymic carcinoma and lymphoma was compared using a t test. Receiver operating characteristic analyses were conducted to determine and compare the differentiating performance of ADCs. Lymphoma demonstrated significantly lower ADC mean , ADC median , ADC 10 , ADC 90 , and hot-spot-ROI-based mean ADC than those found in thymic carcinoma (all p values < 0.05). There were no differences found in the kurtosis ( p = 0.412) and skewness ( p = 0.273). The ADC 10 demonstrated optimal differentiating performance (cut-off value, 0.403 × 10 -3 mm 2 /s; area under the receiver operating characteristic curve [AUC], 0.977; sensitivity, 92.3%; specificity, 93.3%), followed by the ADC mean , ADC median , ADC 90 , and hot-spot-ROI-based mean ADC. The AUC of ADC 10 was significantly higher than that of the hot spot ROI based ADC (0.977 vs. 0.797, p = 0.036). Compared with the commonly used hot spot ROI based ADC measurement, a histogram analysis of ADC maps can improve the differentiating performance between thymic carcinoma and lymphoma.

Radiological indeterminate vestibular schwannoma and meningioma in cerebellopontine angle area: differentiating using whole-tumor histogram analysis of apparent diffusion coefficient.

PubMed

Xu, Xiao-Quan; Li, Yan; Hong, Xun-Ning; Wu, Fei-Yun; Shi, Hai-Bin

2017-02-01

To assess the role of whole-tumor histogram analysis of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) maps in differentiating radiological indeterminate vestibular schwannoma (VS) from meningioma in cerebellopontine angle (CPA). Diffusion-weighted (DW) images (b = 0 and 1000 s/mm 2 ) of pathologically confirmed and radiological indeterminate CPA meningioma (CPAM) (n = 27) and VS (n = 12) were retrospectively collected and processed with mono-exponential model. Whole-tumor regions of interest were drawn on all slices of the ADC maps to obtain histogram parameters, including the mean ADC (ADC mean ), median ADC (ADC median ), 10th/25th/75th/90th percentile ADC (ADC 10 , ADC 25 , ADC 75 and ADC 90 ), skewness and kurtosis. The differences of ADC histogram parameters between CPAM and VS were compared using unpaired t-test. Multiple receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves analysis was used to determine and compare the diagnostic value of each significant parameter. Significant differences were found on the ADC mean , ADC median , ADC 10 , ADC 25 , ADC 75 and ADC 90 between CPAM and VS (all p values < 0.001), while no significant difference was found on kurtosis (p = 0.562) and skewness (p = 0.047). ROC curves analysis revealed, a cut-off value of 1.126 × 10 -3 mm 2 /s for the ADC 90 value generated highest area under curves (AUC) for differentiating CPAM from VS (AUC, 0.975; sensitivity, 100%; specificity, 88.9%). Histogram analysis of ADC maps based on whole tumor can be a useful tool for differentiating radiological indeterminate CPAM from VS. The ADC 90 value was the most promising parameter for differentiating these two entities.

Atherogenic lipid phenotype in a general group of subjects.

PubMed

Van, Joanne; Pan, Jianqiu; Charles, M Arthur; Krauss, Ronald; Wong, Nathan; Wu, Xiaoshan

2007-11-01

The atherogenic lipid phenotype is a major cardiovascular risk factor, but normal values do not exist derived from 1 analysis in a general study group. To determine normal values of all of the atherogenic lipid phenotype parameters using subjects from a general study group. One hundred two general subjects were used to determine their atherogenic lipid phenotype using polyacrylamide gradient gels. Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) size revealed 24% of subjects express LDL phenotype B, defined as average LDL peak particle size 258 A or less; however, among the Chinese subjects, the expression of the B phenotype was higher at 44% (P = .02). For the total group, mean LDL size was 265 +/- 11 A (1 SD); however, histograms were bimodal in both men and women. After excluding subjects expressing LDL phenotype B, because they are at increased cardiovascular risk and thus are not completely healthy, LDL histograms were unimodal and the mean LDL size was 270 +/- 7 A. A small, dense LDL concentration histogram (total group) revealed skewing; thus, phenotype B subjects were excluded, for the rationale described previously, and the mean value was 13 +/- 9 mg/dL (0.33 +/- 0.23 mmol/L). High-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol histograms were bimodal in both sexes. After removing subjects as described previously or if HDL cholesterol levels were less than 45 mg/dL, histograms were unimodal and revealed a mean HDL cholesterol value of 61 +/- 12 mg/dL (1.56 +/- 0.31 mmol/L). HDL 2, HDL 2a, and HDL 2b were similarly evaluated. Approximate normal values for the atherogenic lipid phenotype, similar to those derived from cardiovascular endpoint trials, can be determined if those high proportions of subjects with dyslipidemic cardiovascular risk are excluded.

Feasibility of histogram analysis of susceptibility-weighted MRI for staging of liver fibrosis

PubMed Central

Yang, Zhao-Xia; Liang, He-Yue; Hu, Xin-Xing; Huang, Ya-Qin; Ding, Ying; Yang, Shan; Zeng, Meng-Su; Rao, Sheng-Xiang

2016-01-01

PURPOSE We aimed to evaluate whether histogram analysis of susceptibility-weighted imaging (SWI) could quantify liver fibrosis grade in patients with chronic liver disease (CLD). METHODS Fifty-three patients with CLD who underwent multi-echo SWI (TEs of 2.5, 5, and 10 ms) were included. Histogram analysis of SWI images were performed and mean, variance, skewness, kurtosis, and the 1st, 10th, 50th, 90th, and 99th percentiles were derived. Quantitative histogram parameters were compared. For significant parameters, further receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses were performed to evaluate the potential diagnostic performance for differentiating liver fibrosis stages. RESULTS The number of patients in each pathologic fibrosis grade was 7, 3, 5, 5, and 33 for F0, F1, F2, F3, and F4, respectively. The results of variance (TE: 10 ms), 90th percentile (TE: 10 ms), and 99th percentile (TE: 10 and 5 ms) in F0–F3 group were significantly lower than in F4 group, with areas under the ROC curves (AUCs) of 0.84 for variance and 0.70–0.73 for the 90th and 99th percentiles, respectively. The results of variance (TE: 10 and 5 ms), 99th percentile (TE: 10 ms), and skewness (TE: 2.5 and 5 ms) in F0–F2 group were smaller than those of F3/F4 group, with AUCs of 0.88 and 0.69 for variance (TE: 10 and 5 ms, respectively), 0.68 for 99th percentile (TE: 10 ms), and 0.73 and 0.68 for skewness (TE: 2.5 and 5 ms, respectively). CONCLUSION Magnetic resonance histogram analysis of SWI, particularly the variance, is promising for predicting advanced liver fibrosis and cirrhosis. PMID:27113421

Image barcodes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Damera-Venkata, Niranjan; Yen, Jonathan

2003-01-01

A Visually significant two-dimensional barcode (VSB) developed by Shaked et. al. is a method used to design an information carrying two-dimensional barcode, which has the appearance of a given graphical entity such as a company logo. The encoding and decoding of information using the VSB, uses a base image with very few graylevels (typically only two). This typically requires the image histogram to be bi-modal. For continuous-tone images such as digital photographs of individuals, the representation of tone or "shades of gray" is not only important to obtain a pleasing rendition of the face, but in most cases, the VSB renders these images unrecognizable due to its inability to represent true gray-tone variations. This paper extends the concept of a VSB to an image bar code (IBC). We enable the encoding and subsequent decoding of information embedded in the hardcopy version of continuous-tone base-images such as those acquired with a digital camera. The encoding-decoding process is modeled by robust data transmission through a noisy print-scan channel that is explicitly modeled. The IBC supports a high information capacity that differentiates it from common hardcopy watermarks. The reason for the improved image quality over the VSB is a joint encoding/halftoning strategy based on a modified version of block error diffusion. Encoder stability, image quality vs. information capacity tradeoffs and decoding issues with and without explicit knowledge of the base-image are discussed.

Breast density characterization using texton distributions.

PubMed

Petroudi, Styliani; Brady, Michael

2011-01-01

Breast density has been shown to be one of the most significant risks for developing breast cancer, with women with dense breasts at four to six times higher risk. The Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System (BI-RADS) has a four class classification scheme that describes the different breast densities. However, there is great inter and intra observer variability among clinicians in reporting a mammogram's density class. This work presents a novel texture classification method and its application for the development of a completely automated breast density classification system. The new method represents the mammogram using textons, which can be thought of as the building blocks of texture under the operational definition of Leung and Malik as clustered filter responses. The new proposed method characterizes the mammographic appearance of the different density patterns by evaluating the texton spatial dependence matrix (TDSM) in the breast region's corresponding texton map. The TSDM is a texture model that captures both statistical and structural texture characteristics. The normalized TSDM matrices are evaluated for mammograms from the different density classes and corresponding texture models are established. Classification is achieved using a chi-square distance measure. The fully automated TSDM breast density classification method is quantitatively evaluated on mammograms from all density classes from the Oxford Mammogram Database. The incorporation of texton spatial dependencies allows for classification accuracy reaching over 82%. The breast density classification accuracy is better using texton TSDM compared to simple texton histograms.

Infection of hamsters with historical and epidemic BI types of Clostridium difficile.

PubMed

Razaq, Nadia; Sambol, Susan; Nagaro, Kristin; Zukowski, Walter; Cheknis, Adam; Johnson, Stuart; Gerding, Dale N

2007-12-15

North American and European hospitals have reported outbreaks of Clostridium difficile-associated disease with unexpectedly high mortality caused by a newly recognized group of C. difficile strains, group BI. Our objective was to compare, in hamsters, the virulence of a historical nonepidemic BI type, BI1, with that of 2 recent epidemic BI types, BI6 and BI17, and with that of 2 standard toxigenic strains, K14 and 630. For each strain, 10 hamsters were given 1 dose of clindamycin, followed 5 days later with 100 C. difficile spores administered by gastric inoculation. Outcomes were recorded. The hamster model demonstrated variations in mean times from inoculation to death (for BI6, 40 h; for BI1, 48 h; for K14, 49 h; for BI17, 69 h; for 630, 102 h; for BI6, BI1, and K14 vs. 630, P< .01; for BI17 vs. 630, P< .05) and from colonization to death (for BI1, 7 h; for BI17, 13 h; for BI6, 16 h; for K14, 17 h; for 630, 52 h; for BI1, BI17, BI6, and K14 vs. 630, P< .01). Group BI strains were not more rapidly fatal than the standard toxinotype 0 strain K14 but were more rapidly fatal than the standard toxinotype 0 strain 630. BI6, the most common BI type in our collection, was particularly virulent in hamsters, consistently causing death within 48 h of inoculation.

In situ grown hierarchical 50%BiOCl/BiOI hollow flowerlike microspheres on reduced graphene oxide nanosheets for enhanced visible-light photocatalytic degradation of rhodamine B

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Su, Xiangde; Yang, Jinjin; Yu, Xiang; Zhu, Yi; Zhang, Yuanming

2018-03-01

50%BiOCl/BiOI/reduced graphene oxide (50%BiOCl/BiOI/rGO) composite photocatalyst was synthesized successfully by a facile one-step solvothermal route in this work. Reduction of graphene oxide (GO) took place in the process of solvothermal reaction and a new Bi-C bond between rGO and 50%BiOCl/BiOI was formed. The introduction of rGO affected the morphology of 50%BiOCl/BiOI, resulting in the transformation of 50%BiOCl/BiOI from solid microspheres to hollow microspheres. Both the introduction of rGO and formation of 50%BiOCl/BiOI hollow microspheres can facilitate the light absorption. The strong interaction between 50%BiOCl/BiOI and rGO and the electrical conductivity of rGO greatly improved the effective separation of photogenerated carriers. Hence, GOB-5 demonstrated the highest photocatalytic activity which was over twice of the pristine 50%BiOCl/BiOI in the presence of visible light. Mechanism study revealed that 50%BiOCl/BiOI generated electrons and holes in the presence of visible light, and holes together with rad O2- generated from reduction of O2 by electrons degraded the pollutant directly. Overall, this work provides an excellent reference to the synthesis of chemically bonded BiOX/BiOY (X, Y = Cl, Br, I)/rGO nanocomposite and helps to promote their applications in environmental protection and photoelectric conversion.

Grain refinement and texture development of cast bismuth-antimony alloy via severe plastic deformation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Im, Jae-Taek

The purpose of this work was to study learn about grain refinement mechanisms and texture development in cast n-type Bi90Sb10 alloy caused by severe plastic deformation. The practical objective is to produce a fine grained and textured microstructure in Bi90Sb10 alloy with enhanced thermoelectric performance and mechanical strength. In the study, twelve millimeter diameter cast bars of Bi90Sb 10 alloy were encapsulated in square cross section aluminum 6061 alloy containers. The composite bars were equal channel angular (ECAE) extruded through a 90 degree angle die at high homologous temperature. Various extrusion conditions were studied including punch speed (0.1, 0.3 and 0.6 in/min), extrusion temperature (220, 235 and 250°C), number of extrusion passes (1, 2 and 4), route (A, BC and C), and exit channel area reduction ratio (half and quarter area of inlet channel). The affect of an intermediate long term heat treatment (for 100 hours at 250°C under 10-3 torr vacuum) was explored. Processed materials were characterized by optical microscopy, x-ray diffraction, energy dispersive spectroscopy, wavelength dispersive spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Texture was analyzed using the {006} reflection plane to identify the orientation of the basal poles in processed materials. The cast grains were irregularly shaped, had a grain size of hundreds-of-microns to millimeters, and showed inhomogeneous chemical composition. Severe plastic deformation refines the cast grains through dynamic recrystallization and causes the development of a bimodal microstructure consisting of fine grains (5-30 micron) and coarse grains (50-300 micron). ECAE processing of homogenizied Bi-Sb alloy causes grain refinement and produces a more uniform microstructure. Texture results show that ECAE route C processing gives a similar or slightly stronger texture than ECAE route A processing. In both cases, the basal-plane poles become aligned with the shear direction. Reduction area exit channel extrusion is more effective for both grain refinement and texture enhancement than simple ECAE processing.

The performances of different overlay mark types at 65nm node on 300-mm wafers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tseng, H. T.; Lin, Ling-Chieh; Huang, I. H.; Lin, Benjamin S.; Huang, Chin-Chou K.; Huang, Chien-Jen

2005-05-01

The integrated circuit (IC) manufacturing factories have measured overlay with conventional "box-in-box" (BiB) or "frame-in-frame" (FiF) structures for many years. Since UMC played as a roll of world class IC foundry service provider, tighter and tighter alignment accuracy specs need to be achieved from generation to generation to meet any kind of customers' requirement, especially according to International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS) 2003 METROLOGY section1. The process noises resulting from dishing, overlay mark damaging by chemical mechanism polishing (CMP), and the variation of film thickness during deposition are factors which can be very problematic in mark alignment. For example, the conventional "box-in-box" overlay marks could be damaged easily by CMP, because the less local pattern density and wide feature width of the box induce either dishing or asymmetric damages for the measurement targets, which will make the overlay measurement varied and difficult. After Advanced Imaging Metrology (AIM) overlay targets was introduced by KLA-Tencor, studies in the past shown AIM was more robust in overlay metrology than conventional FiF or BiB targets. In this study, the applications of AIM overlay marks under different process conditions will be discussed and compared with the conventional overlay targets. To evaluate the overlay mark performance against process variation on 65nm technology node in 300-mm wafer, three critical layers were chosen in this study. These three layers were Poly, Contact, and Cu-Metal. The overlay targets used for performance comparison were BiB and Non-Segmented AIM (NS AIM) marks. We compared the overlay mark performance on two main areas. The first one was total measurement uncertainty (TMU)3 related items that include Tool Induced Shift (TIS) variability, precision, and matching. The other area is the target robustness against process variations. Based on the present study AIM mark demonstrated an equal or better performance in the TMU related items under our process conditions. However, when non-optimized tungsten CMP was introduced in the tungsten contact process, due to the dense grating line structure design, we found that AIM mark was much more robust than BiB overlay target.

HoDOr: histogram of differential orientations for rigid landmark tracking in medical images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tiwari, Abhishek; Patwardhan, Kedar Anil

2018-03-01

Feature extraction plays a pivotal role in pattern recognition and matching. An ideal feature should be invariant to image transformations such as translation, rotation, scaling, etc. In this work, we present a novel rotation-invariant feature, which is based on Histogram of Oriented Gradients (HOG). We compare performance of the proposed approach with the HOG feature on 2D phantom data, as well as 3D medical imaging data. We have used traditional histogram comparison measures such as Bhattacharyya distance and Normalized Correlation Coefficient (NCC) to assess efficacy of the proposed approach under effects of image rotation. In our experiments, the proposed feature performs 40%, 20%, and 28% better than the HOG feature on phantom (2D), Computed Tomography (CT-3D), and Ultrasound (US-3D) data for image matching, and landmark tracking tasks respectively.

Sodium storage mechanisms of bismuth in sodium ion batteries: An operando X-ray diffraction study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, Hui; Ma, Wensheng; Yang, Wanfeng; Wang, Jiawei; Niu, Jiazheng; Luo, Fakui; Peng, Zhangquan; Zhang, Zhonghua

2018-03-01

Understanding the sodium (Na) chemistry is crucial for development of high-performance sodium ion batteries (SIBs). Nanostructured bismuth (Bi) has shown great potentials as an anode in SIBs, however, the Na storage mechanisms of Bi are still unclear. Herein, the operando X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique was utilized to probe the Na storage mechanisms of three Bi anodes (sputtered Bi film, nanoporous Bi and commercial Bi). Despite different morphologies and sizes, all the Bi anodes follow the same two-step reversible alloying/dealloying mechanisms (Bi ↔ NaBi ↔ Na3Bi) during the discharge/charge processes, associated with two voltage plateaus. As for the intercalation/deintercalation mechanism proposed for nanostructured Bi anodes in SIBs, we rationalize the reason why only the Bi phase is detected in the discharged/charged samples under ex-situ XRD conditions through addressing the stability issue of the Na-Bi system (NaBi and Na3Bi).

Novel Bi/BiOBr/AgBr composite microspheres: Ion exchange synthesis and photocatalytic performance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lyu, Jianchang; Li, Zhenlu; Ge, Ming

2018-06-01

Novel Bi/BiOBr/AgBr composite microspheres were prepared by a rational in situ ion exchange reaction between Bi/BiOBr microspheres and AgNO3. The characteristic of the as-obtained ternary microspheres was tested by X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDS), scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV-vis DRS) and photoluminescence (PL). Under visible light irradiation, Bi/BiOBr/AgBr microspheres exhibited an excellent photocatalytic efficiency for rhodamine B (RhB) degradation, which was about 1.4 and 4.9 times as high as that of Bi/BiOBr and BiOBr/AgBr, demonstrating that the highest separation efficiency of charge carriers in the heterostructured Bi/BiOBr/AgBr. The photocatalytic activity of Bi/BiOBr/AgBr microspheres just exhibited a slight decrease after three consecutive cycles. The photocatalytic mechanism investigation confirmed that the superoxide radicals (O2•-) were the dominant reactive oxygen species for RhB degradation in Bi/BiOBr/AgBr suspension.

THE MILKY WAY HAS NO DISTINCT THICK DISK

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

Bovy, Jo; Rix, Hans-Walter; Hogg, David W., E-mail: bovy@ias.edu

2012-06-01

Different stellar sub-populations of the Milky Way's stellar disk are known to have different vertical scale heights, their thickness increasing with age. Using SEGUE spectroscopic survey data, we have recently shown that mono-abundance sub-populations, defined in the [{alpha}/Fe]-[Fe/H] space, are well described by single-exponential spatial-density profiles in both the radial and the vertical direction; therefore, any star of a given abundance is clearly associated with a sub-population of scale height h{sub z} . Here, we work out how to determine the stellar surface-mass density contributions at the solar radius R{sub 0} of each such sub-population, accounting for the survey selectionmore » function, and for the fraction of the stellar population mass that is reflected in the spectroscopic target stars given populations of different abundances and their presumed age distributions. Taken together, this enables us to derive {Sigma}{sub R{sub 0}}(h{sub z}), the surface-mass contributions of stellar populations with scale height h{sub z} . Surprisingly, we find no hint of a thin-thick disk bi-modality in this mass-weighted scale-height distribution, but a smoothly decreasing function, approximately {Sigma}{sub R{sub 0}}(h{sub z}){proportional_to} exp(-h{sub z}), from h{sub z} Almost-Equal-To 200 pc to h{sub z} Almost-Equal-To 1 kpc. As h{sub z} is ultimately the structurally defining property of a thin or thick disk, this shows clearly that the Milky Way has a continuous and monotonic distribution of disk thicknesses: there is no 'thick disk' sensibly characterized as a distinct component. We discuss how our result is consistent with evidence for seeming bi-modality in purely geometric disk decompositions or chemical abundances analyses. We constrain the total visible stellar surface-mass density at the solar radius to be {Sigma}{sub R{sub 0}}* = 30 {+-} 1 M{sub Sun} pc{sup -2}.« less

Patient perceptions of glucocorticoid side effects: a cross-sectional survey of users in an online health community.

PubMed

Costello, Ruth; Patel, Rikesh; Humphreys, Jennifer; McBeth, John; Dixon, William G

2017-04-03

To identify the side effects most important to glucocorticoid (GC) users through a survey of a UK online health community (Healthunlocked.com). Online cross-sectional survey. Participants were recruited through Healthunlocked.com, an online social network for health. Adults who were currently taking GCs, or had taken GCs in the past month. Responders scored the importance of listed side effects from 1 to 10, with 10 being of high importance to them. For each side effect, histograms were plotted, and the median rating and IQR were determined. Side effects were ranked by median ranking (largest to smallest) and then IQR (smallest to largest). The scores were categorised as low (scores 1-3), medium (scores 4-7) and high (scores 8-10) importance. 604 responders completed the survey. Histograms of side effect scores showed a skew towards high importance for weight gain, a U-shaped distribution for cardiovascular disease (CVD), diabetes, eye disease and infections, and a skew towards low importance for acne. When ranked, the side effect of most importance to responders was weight gain (median score=9, IQR 6-10) followed by insomnia and moon face with equal median score (8) and IQR (5-10). Three serious side effects, CVD, diabetes and infections, were ranked of lower importance overall but had wide ranging scores (median score=8, IQR 1-10). The three most highly rated side effects were not clinically serious but remained important to patients, perhaps reflecting their impact on quality of life and high prevalence. This should be taken into consideration when discussing treatment options and planning future GC safety studies. 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/.

[The value of spectral frequency analysis by Doppler examination (author's transl)].

PubMed

Boccalon, H; Reggi, M; Lozes, A; Canal, C; Jausseran, J M; Courbier, R; Puel, P; Enjalbert, A

1981-01-01

Arterial stenoses of moderate extent may involve modifications of the blood flow. Arterial shading is not always examined at the best incident angle to assess the extent of the stenosis. Spectral frequency analysis by Doppler examination is a good means of evaluating the effect of moderate arterial lesions. The present study was carried out with a Doppler effect having an acoustic spectrum, which is shown in a histogram having 16 frequency bands. The values were recorded on the two femoral arteries. A study was also made of 49 normal subjects so as to establish a normal envelope histogram, taking into account the following parameters: maximum peak (800 Hz), low cut-off frequency (420 Hz), high cut-off frequency (2,600 Hz); the first peak was found to be present in 81 % of the subjects (at 375 Hz) and the second peak in 75 % of the subjects (2,020 Hz). Thirteen patients with iliac lesions of different extent were included in the study; details of these lesions were established in all cases by aortography. None of the recorded frequency histograms were located within the normal envelope. Two cases of moderate iliac stenoses were noted ( Less Than 50 % of the diameter) which interfered with the histogram, even though the femoral velocity signal was normal.

Differentially Private Histogram Publication For Dynamic Datasets: An Adaptive Sampling Approach

PubMed Central

Li, Haoran; Jiang, Xiaoqian; Xiong, Li; Liu, Jinfei

2016-01-01

Differential privacy has recently become a de facto standard for private statistical data release. Many algorithms have been proposed to generate differentially private histograms or synthetic data. However, most of them focus on “one-time” release of a static dataset and do not adequately address the increasing need of releasing series of dynamic datasets in real time. A straightforward application of existing histogram methods on each snapshot of such dynamic datasets will incur high accumulated error due to the composibility of differential privacy and correlations or overlapping users between the snapshots. In this paper, we address the problem of releasing series of dynamic datasets in real time with differential privacy, using a novel adaptive distance-based sampling approach. Our first method, DSFT, uses a fixed distance threshold and releases a differentially private histogram only when the current snapshot is sufficiently different from the previous one, i.e., with a distance greater than a predefined threshold. Our second method, DSAT, further improves DSFT and uses a dynamic threshold adaptively adjusted by a feedback control mechanism to capture the data dynamics. Extensive experiments on real and synthetic datasets demonstrate that our approach achieves better utility than baseline methods and existing state-of-the-art methods. PMID:26973795

Multi-site Study of Diffusion Metric Variability: Characterizing the Effects of Site, Vendor, Field Strength, and Echo Time using the Histogram Distance.

PubMed

Helmer, K G; Chou, M-C; Preciado, R I; Gimi, B; Rollins, N K; Song, A; Turner, J; Mori, S

2016-02-27

MRI-based multi-site trials now routinely include some form of diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) in their protocol. These studies can include data originating from scanners built by different vendors, each with their own set of unique protocol restrictions, including restrictions on the number of available gradient directions, whether an externally-generated list of gradient directions can be used, and restrictions on the echo time (TE). One challenge of multi-site studies is to create a common imaging protocol that will result in a reliable and accurate set of diffusion metrics. The present study describes the effect of site, scanner vendor, field strength, and TE on two common metrics: the first moment of the diffusion tensor field (mean diffusivity, MD), and the fractional anisotropy (FA). We have shown in earlier work that ROI metrics and the mean of MD and FA histograms are not sufficiently sensitive for use in site characterization. Here we use the distance between whole brain histograms of FA and MD to investigate within- and between-site effects. We concluded that the variability of DTI metrics due to site, vendor, field strength, and echo time could influence the results in multi-center trials and that histogram distance is sensitive metrics for each of these variables.

Predicting the nodal status in gastric cancers: The role of apparent diffusion coefficient histogram characteristic analysis.

PubMed

Liu, Song; Zhang, Yujuan; Xia, Jie; Chen, Ling; Guan, Wenxian; Guan, Yue; Ge, Yun; He, Jian; Zhou, Zhengyang

2017-10-01

To explore the application of histogram analysis in preoperative T and N staging of gastric cancers, with a focus on characteristic parameters of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) maps. Eighty-seven patients with gastric cancers underwent diffusion weighted magnetic resonance imaging (b=0, 1000s/mm 2 ), which generated ADC maps. Whole-volume histogram analysis was performed on ADC maps and 7 characteristic parameters were obtained. All those patients underwent surgery and postoperative pathologic T and N stages were determined. Four parameters, including skew, kurtosis, s-sD av and sample number, showed significant differences among gastric cancers at different T and N stages. Most parameters correlated with T and N stages significantly and worked in differentiating gastric cancers at different T or N stages. Especially skew yielded a sensitivity of 0.758, a specificity of 0.810, and an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.802 for differentiating gastric cancers with and without lymph node metastasis (P<0.001). All the parameters, except AUC low , showed good or excellent inter-observer agreement with intra-class correlation coefficients ranging from 0.710 to 0.991. Characteristic parameters derived from whole-volume ADC histogram analysis could help assessing preoperative T and N stages of gastric cancers. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Histogram analysis parameters of apparent diffusion coefficient reflect tumor cellularity and proliferation activity in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

PubMed Central

Winter, Karsten; Richter, Cindy; Hoehn, Anna-Kathrin

2018-01-01

Our purpose was to analyze associations between apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) histogram analysis parameters and histopathologicalfeatures in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). The study involved 32 patients with primary HNSCC. For every tumor, the following histogram analysis parameters were calculated: ADCmean, ADCmax, ADCmin, ADCmedian, ADCmode, P10, P25, P75, P90, kurtosis, skewness, and entropy. Furthermore, proliferation index KI 67, cell count, total and average nucleic areas were estimated. Spearman's correlation coefficient (p) was used to analyze associations between investigated parameters. In overall sample, all ADC values showed moderate inverse correlations with KI 67. All ADC values except ADCmax correlated inversely with tumor cellularity. Slightly correlations were identified between total/average nucleic area and ADCmean, ADCmin, ADCmedian, and P25. In G1/2 tumors, only ADCmode correlated well with Ki67. No statistically significant correlations between ADC parameters and cellularity were found. In G3 tumors, Ki 67 correlated with all ADC parameters except ADCmode. Cell count correlated well with all ADC parameters except ADCmax. Total nucleic area correlated inversely with ADCmean, ADCmin, ADCmedian, P25, and P90. ADC histogram parameters reflect proliferation potential and cellularity in HNSCC. The associations between histopathology and imaging depend on tumor grading. PMID:29805759

Universal and adapted vocabularies for generic visual categorization.

PubMed

Perronnin, Florent

2008-07-01

Generic Visual Categorization (GVC) is the pattern classification problem which consists in assigning labels to an image based on its semantic content. This is a challenging task as one has to deal with inherent object/scene variations as well as changes in viewpoint, lighting and occlusion. Several state-of-the-art GVC systems use a vocabulary of visual terms to characterize images with a histogram of visual word counts. We propose a novel practical approach to GVC based on a universal vocabulary, which describes the content of all the considered classes of images, and class vocabularies obtained through the adaptation of the universal vocabulary using class-specific data. The main novelty is that an image is characterized by a set of histograms - one per class - where each histogram describes whether the image content is best modeled by the universal vocabulary or the corresponding class vocabulary. This framework is applied to two types of local image features: low-level descriptors such as the popular SIFT and high-level histograms of word co-occurrences in a spatial neighborhood. It is shown experimentally on two challenging datasets (an in-house database of 19 categories and the PASCAL VOC 2006 dataset) that the proposed approach exhibits state-of-the-art performance at a modest computational cost.

Statistical Properties of Line Centroid Velocity Increments in the rho Ophiuchi Cloud

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lis, D. C.; Keene, Jocelyn; Li, Y.; Phillips, T. G.; Pety, J.

1998-01-01

We present a comparison of histograms of CO (2-1) line centroid velocity increments in the rho Ophiuchi molecular cloud with those computed for spectra synthesized from a three-dimensional, compressible, but non-starforming and non-gravitating hydrodynamic simulation. Histograms of centroid velocity increments in the rho Ophiuchi cloud show clearly non-Gaussian wings, similar to those found in histograms of velocity increments and derivatives in experimental studies of laboratory and atmospheric flows, as well as numerical simulations of turbulence. The magnitude of these wings increases monotonically with decreasing separation, down to the angular resolution of the data. This behavior is consistent with that found in the phase of the simulation which has most of the properties of incompressible turbulence. The time evolution of the magnitude of the non-Gaussian wings in the histograms of centroid velocity increments in the simulation is consistent with the evolution of the vorticity in the flow. However, we cannot exclude the possibility that the wings are associated with the shock interaction regions. Moreover, in an active starforming region like the rho Ophiuchi cloud, the effects of shocks may be more important than in the simulation. However, being able to identify shock interaction regions in the interstellar medium is also important, since numerical simulations show that vorticity is generated in shock interactions.

Analysis of dose heterogeneity using a subvolume-DVH

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Said, M.; Nilsson, P.; Ceberg, C.

2017-11-01

The dose-volume histogram (DVH) is universally used in radiation therapy for its highly efficient way of summarizing three-dimensional dose distributions. An apparent limitation that is inherent to standard histograms is the loss of spatial information, e.g. it is no longer possible to tell where low- and high-dose regions are, and whether they are connected or disjoint. Two methods for overcoming the spatial fragmentation of low- and high-dose regions are presented, both based on the gray-level size zone matrix, which is a two-dimensional histogram describing the frequencies of connected regions of similar intensities. The first approach is a quantitative metric which can be likened to a homogeneity index. The large cold spot metric (LCS) is here defined to emphasize large contiguous regions receiving too low a dose; emphasis is put on both size, and deviation from the prescribed dose. In contrast, the subvolume-DVH (sDVH) is an extension to the standard DVH and allows for a qualitative evaluation of the degree of dose heterogeneity. The information retained from the two-dimensional histogram is overlaid on top of the DVH and the two are presented simultaneously. Both methods gauge the underlying heterogeneity in ways that the DVH alone cannot, and both have their own merits—the sDVH being more intuitive and the LCS being quantitative.

Digital image classification with the help of artificial neural network by simple histogram.

PubMed

Dey, Pranab; Banerjee, Nirmalya; Kaur, Rajwant

2016-01-01

Visual image classification is a great challenge to the cytopathologist in routine day-to-day work. Artificial neural network (ANN) may be helpful in this matter. In this study, we have tried to classify digital images of malignant and benign cells in effusion cytology smear with the help of simple histogram data and ANN. A total of 404 digital images consisting of 168 benign cells and 236 malignant cells were selected for this study. The simple histogram data was extracted from these digital images and an ANN was constructed with the help of Neurointelligence software [Alyuda Neurointelligence 2.2 (577), Cupertino, California, USA]. The network architecture was 6-3-1. The images were classified as training set (281), validation set (63), and test set (60). The on-line backpropagation training algorithm was used for this study. A total of 10,000 iterations were done to train the ANN system with the speed of 609.81/s. After the adequate training of this ANN model, the system was able to identify all 34 malignant cell images and 24 out of 26 benign cells. The ANN model can be used for the identification of the individual malignant cells with the help of simple histogram data. This study will be helpful in the future to identify malignant cells in unknown situations.

Short-term stability of T1 and T2 relaxation measures in multiple sclerosis normal appearing white matter.

PubMed

Liang, Alice L W; Vavasour, Irene M; Mädler, Burkhard; Traboulsee, Anthony L; Lang, Donna J; Li, David K B; MacKay, Alex L; Laule, Cornelia

2012-06-01

The presence of diffuse and widespread abnormalities within the 'normal appearing' white matter (NAWM) of multiple sclerosis (MS) brain has been established. T(1) histogram analysis has revealed increased T(1) (related to water content) in segmented NAWM, while quantitative assessment of T(2) relaxation measures has demonstrated decreased myelin water fraction (MWF, related to myelin content) and increased geometric mean T(2) (GMT(2)) of the intra/extracellular water pool. Previous studies with follow-up periods of 1-5 years have demonstrated longitudinal changes in T(1) histogram metrics over time; however, longitudinal changes in MWF and GMT(2) of segmented NAWM have not been examined. We examined the short-term evolution of MWF, GMT(2) and T(1) in MS NAWM based on monthly scanning over 6 months in 18 relapsing remitting (RR) MS subjects. Histogram metrics demonstrated short-term stability of T(1), MWF and remitting (RR) MS subjects. We observed no change in MWF, GMT(2) or T(1) histogram metrics in NAWM in RRMS over the course of 6 months. Longer follow-up periods may be required to establish demonstrable changes in NAWM based on of MWF, GMT(2) and T(1) metrics.

Slope histogram distribution-based parametrisation of Martian geomorphic features

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Balint, Zita; Székely, Balázs; Kovács, Gábor

2014-05-01

The application of geomorphometric methods on the large Martian digital topographic datasets paves the way to analyse the Martian areomorphic processes in more detail. One of the numerous methods is the analysis is to analyse local slope distributions. To this implementation a visualization program code was developed that allows to calculate the local slope histograms and to compare them based on Kolmogorov distance criterion. As input data we used the digital elevation models (DTMs) derived from HRSC high-resolution stereo camera image from various Martian regions. The Kolmogorov-criterion based discrimination produces classes of slope histograms that displayed using coloration obtaining an image map. In this image map the distribution can be visualized by their different colours representing the various classes. Our goal is to create a local slope histogram based classification for large Martian areas in order to obtain information about general morphological characteristics of the region. This is a contribution of the TMIS.ascrea project, financed by the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG). The present research is partly realized in the frames of TÁMOP 4.2.4.A/2-11-1-2012-0001 high priority "National Excellence Program - Elaborating and Operating an Inland Student and Researcher Personal Support System convergence program" project's scholarship support, using Hungarian state and European Union funds and cofinances from the European Social Fund.

Three-Dimensional BiOI/BiOX (X = Cl or Br) Nanohybrids for Enhanced Visible-Light Photocatalytic Activity

PubMed Central

Liu, Yazi; Xu, Jian; Wang, Liqiong; Zhang, Huayang; Xu, Ping; Duan, Xiaoguang; Sun, Hongqi; Wang, Shaobin

2017-01-01

Three-dimensional flower-like BiOI/BiOX (X = Br or Cl) hybrids were synthesized via a facile one-pot solvothermal approach. With systematic characterizations by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET)specific surface area, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and the UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectra (DRS), the BiOI/BiOCl composites showed a fluffy and porous 3-D architecture with a large specific surface area (SSA) and high capability for light absorption. Among all the BiOX (X = Cl, Br, I) and BiOI/BiOX (X = Cl or Br) composites, BiOI/BiOCl stands out as the most efficient photocatalyst under both visible and UV light irradiations for methyl orange (MO) oxidation. The reaction rate of MO degradation on BiOI/BiOCl was 2.1 times higher than that on pure BiOI under visible light. Moreover, BiOI/BiOCl exhibited enhanced water oxidation efficiency for O2 evolution which was 1.5 times higher than BiOI. The enhancement of photocatalytic activity could be attributed to the formation of a heterojunction between BiOI and BiOCl, with a nanoporous structure, a larger SSA, and a stronger light absorbance capacity especially in the visible-light region. The in situ electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) revealed that BiOI/BiOCl composites could effectively evolve superoxide radicals and hydroxyl radicals for photodegradation, and the superoxide radicals are the dominant reactive species. The superb photocatalytic activity of BiOI/BiOCl could be utilized for the degradation of various industrial dyes under natural sunlight irradiation which is of high significance for the remediation of industrial wastewater in the future. PMID:28336897

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

Prokofieva, L. V., E-mail: lprokofieva496@gmail.com; Pshenay-Severin, D. A.; Konstantinov, P. P.

The reliability of determination of model parameters for the Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3-x}Se{sub x} alloys is improved by extending the concentration and temperature ranges in experimental studies and, correspondingly, in calculations of kinetic coefficients based on the two-band model of the electronic spectrum. The obtained results served as a motivation for a study of the thermoelectric figure of merit for the above-mentioned alloys with x = 0.3, 0.45, and 0.6 and with the electron concentration varied in the range (1-50) x 10{sup 18} cm{sup -3} at temperatures 300-550 K. Comparison of the results showed that the highest efficiency is exhibited bymore » the Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 2.7}Se{sub 0.3} alloy with the absolute value of the thermoelectric power of about 165 {mu}VK{sup -1} at 300 K, and the dimensionless efficiency is equal to 1.2 at 410 K. An appreciable decrease in thermal conductivity in alloys with x = 0.6 at 410 K is related to a larger band gap and could beneficially affect the figure of merit. However, the magnitude of this effect is found to be too small to compensate a decrease in electrical conductivity due to a large fraction of heavy electrons in the concentration and to a high content of selenium.« less

Effective biological dose from occupational exposure during nanoparticle synthesis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Demou, Evangelia; Tran, Lang; Housiadas, Christos

2009-02-01

Nanomaterial and nanotechnology safety require the characterization of occupational exposure levels for completing a risk assessment. However, equally important is the estimation of the effective internal dose via lung deposition, transport and clearance mechanisms. An integrated source-to-biological dose assessment study is presented using real monitoring data collected during nanoparticle synthesis. Experimental monitoring data of airborne exposure levels during nanoparticle synthesis of CaSO4 and BiPO4 nanoparticles in a research laboratory is coupled with a human lung transport and deposition model, which solves in an Eulerian framework the general dynamic equation for polydisperse aerosols using particle specific physical-chemical properties. Subsequently, the lung deposition model is coupled with a mathematical particle clearance model providing the effective biological dose as well as the time course of the biological dose build-up after exposure. The results for the example of BiPO4 demonstrate that even short exposures throughout the day can lead to particle doses of 1.10·E+08#/(kg-bw·8h-shift), with the majority accumulating in the pulmonary region. Clearance of particles is slow and is not completed within a working shift following a 1 hour exposure. It mostly occurs via macrophage activity in the alveolar region, with small amounts transported to the interstitium and less to the lymph nodes.

Structural stability of bismuth-based superconductors under heterovalent substitution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bonoldi, L.; Calestani, G. L.; Francesconi, M. G.; Salsi, G.; Sparpaglione, M.; Zini, L.

1995-02-01

The stability of the three CuO 2 layers phase of BiPbSrCaCuO superconducting system (BSCCO) with the addition of several rare-earth (RE) oxides is considered. It is shown that if a trivalent (Y, Nd, Gd, Dy, Ho, Er) or tetravalent (Ce) cation is nominally substituted “ab initio” on the Ca site, the higher- Tc phase of this system (the 2223 phase) does not form, at least for dopant molar concentration larger than or equal to 0.032 in the nominal formula of the 2223 phase. If RE oxides are added to a preformed 2223, a solid-state reaction at a temperature of about 840°C takes place giving rise to a substituted (Bi 2- yPb y)Sr 2Ca 1- xRE xCu 2O 8 compound plus other oxides. The synthesis of RE doped 2223 phase was attempted in different ways without success. We argue that this is due to thermodynamic rather than kinetic factors. A possible explanation of 2223 instability under doping in the calcium site with a higher-valence ion is proposed. It highlights the difference with the Bi 2Sr 2CaCu 2O 8 structural stability under the same doping conditions.

Elimination of initial stress-induced curvature in a micromachined bi-material composite-layered cantilever

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Ruiwen; Jiao, Binbin; Kong, Yanmei; Li, Zhigang; Shang, Haiping; Lu, Dike; Gao, Chaoqun; Chen, Dapeng

2013-09-01

Micro-devices with a bi-material-cantilever (BMC) commonly suffer initial curvature due to the mismatch of residual stress. Traditional corrective methods to reduce the residual stress mismatch generally involve the development of different material deposition recipes. In this paper, a new method for reducing residual stress mismatch in a BMC is proposed based on various previously developed deposition recipes. An initial material film is deposited using two or more developed deposition recipes. This first film is designed to introduce a stepped stress gradient, which is then balanced by overlapping a second material film on the first and using appropriate deposition recipes to form a nearly stress-balanced structure. A theoretical model is proposed based on both the moment balance principle and total equal strain at the interface of two adjacent layers. Experimental results and analytical models suggest that the proposed method is effective in producing multi-layer micro cantilevers that display balanced residual stresses. The method provides a generic solution to the problem of mismatched initial stresses which universally exists in micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) devices based on a BMC. Moreover, the method can be incorporated into a MEMS design automation package for efficient design of various multiple material layer devices from MEMS material library and developed deposition recipes.

Multicaloric effect in bi-layer multiferroic composites

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

Vopson, M. M., E-mail: melvin.vopson@port.ac.uk; Zhou, D.; Caruntu, G.

2015-11-02

The multicaloric effect was theoretically proposed in 2012 and, despite numerous follow up studies, the effect still awaits experimental confirmation. The main limitation is the fact that the multicaloric effect is only observed at a temperature equal to the transition temperature of the magnetic and electric phases coexisting within a multiferroic (MF) (i.e., T ≈ T{sub c}{sup m} ≈ T{sub c}{sup e}). Such condition is hard to fulfill in single phase MFs and a solution is to develop suitable composite MF materials. Here, we examine the multicaloric effect in a bi-layer laminated composite MF in order to determine the optimal design parameters for bestmore » caloric response. We show that magnetically induced multicaloric effect requires magnetic component of heat capacity smaller than that of the electric phase, while the layer thickness of the magnetic phase must be at least 5 times the thickness of the electric phase. The electrically induced multicaloric effect requires the magnetic layer to be 10% of the electric phase thickness, while its heat capacity must be larger than that of the electric phase. These selection rules are generally applicable to bulk as well as thin film MF composites for optimal multicaloric effect.« less

Facile Fabrication of BiOI/BiOCl Immobilized Films with Improved Visible Light Photocatalytic Performance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhong, Yingxian; Liu, Yuehua; Wu, Shuang; Zhu, Yi; Chen, Hongbin; Yu, Xiang; Zhang, Yuanming

2018-03-01

Photocatalysis has been considered to be one of the most promising ways to photodegrade organic pollutants. Herein, a series of BiOI/BiOCl films coating on FTO were fabricated through a simple method at room temperature. The photocatalytic efficiency of 30%BiOI/BiOCl could reach more than 99% aiming to degrading RhB and MB after 90 and 120 min, respectively. Compared with BiOCl, 30%BiOI/BiOCl showed 12 times higher efficiency when degrading RhB. In comparison with BiOI, 30%BiOI/BiOCl showed 5 and 6 times higher efficiency when degrading RhB and MB, respectively. These obvious enhancements were attributed to expanded visible light absorption and high separation performance of photoinduced charge. Moreover, the photocatalytic activity of 30%BiOI/BiOCl had no obvious decrease after 5 recycles, suggesting that it was a promising photocatalyst for the removal of MB and RhB pollutants. Finally, the possible growth process for the BiOI/BiOCl thin films and photocatalysis mechanism were investigated in details. This work would provide insight to the reasonable construction of BiOX heterojunction and the photocatalytic mechanism in degrading organic pollutants.

ADC Histogram Analysis of Cervical Cancer Aids Detecting Lymphatic Metastases-a Preliminary Study.

PubMed

Schob, Stefan; Meyer, Hans Jonas; Pazaitis, Nikolaos; Schramm, Dominik; Bremicker, Kristina; Exner, Marc; Höhn, Anne Kathrin; Garnov, Nikita; Surov, Alexey

2017-12-01

Apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) histogram analysis has been used to some extent in cervical cancer (CC) to distinguish between low-grade and high-grade tumors. Although this differentiation is undoubtedly helpful, it would be even more crucial in the presurgical setting to determine whether a tumor already gained the potential to metastasize via the lymphatic system. So far, no studies investigated the potential of 3T ADC histogram analysis in CC to differentiate between nodal-positive and nodal-negative entities. Therefore, the principal aim of our study was to investigate the potential of 3T ADC histogram analysis to differentiate between CC with and without lymph node metastasis. The second aim was to elucidate possible differences in ADC histogram parameters between CC with limited vs. advanced tumor stages and well-differentiated vs. undifferentiated lesions. Finally, correlations of p53 expression and Ki-67 index with ADC parameters were analyzed. Eighteen female patients (mean age 55.4 years, range 32-79 years) with histopathologically confirmed cervical squamous cell carcinoma of the uterine cervix were prospectively enrolled. Tumor stages, tumor grading, status of metastatic dissemination, Ki67-index, and p53 expression were assessed in these patients. Diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) was obtained in a 3T scanner using the following b values: b0 and b1000 s/mm 2 . Group comparisons using Mann-Whitney U test revealed the following findings: nodal-positive CC had statistically significant lower ADC parameters (ADCmin, ADCmean, median ADC, Mode, p10, p25, p75, and p90) in comparison to nodal-negative CC (all p < 0.05). ADCentropy was significantly elevated (p = 0.046) in tumors with advanced T stages (T3/4) compared to tumors with limited T stage (T2). ADCmin values were different in a statistically significant manner comparing G1/G2 and G3 tumors (40.45 ± 18.63 vs. 65.0 ± 23.63 × 10-5 mm2 s -1 , p = 0.035). Furthermore, Spearman Rho calculation identified an inverse correlation between ADCentropy and p53 expression (r = -0.472, p = 0.048). The main finding of our study is the discriminability of nodal-positive from nodal-negative CC using ADC histogram analysis in 3T DWI. This information is crucial for the gynecological surgeon to identify the optimal treatment strategy for patients suffering from CC. Furthermore, ADCentropy was identified as a potential imaging biomarker for tumor heterogeneity and might be able to indicate further molecular changes like loss of p53 expression, which is associated with EMT and consequentially indicates a poor prognosis in CC. Finally, our study confirmed the findings of previous works, which indicated that histogram analysis of ADC maps can distinguish between low-grade and high-grade CC. In conclusion, it can be stated that ADC histogram analysis provides additional, prognostically important information on tumor biology in CC.

Bismuth chalcohalides and oxyhalides as optoelectronic materials

DOE PAGES

Du, Mao -Hua; Shi, Hongliang; Ming, Wenmei

2016-03-29

Several Tl and Pb based halides and chalcohalides have recently been discovered as promising optoelectronic materials [i.e., photovoltaic (PV) and gamma-ray detection materials]. Efficient carrier transport in these materials is attributed partly to the special chemistry of ns 2 ions (e.g., Tl +, Pb 2+, and Bi 3+). However, the toxicity of Tl and Pb is challenging to the development and the wide use of Tl and Pb based materials. In this paper, we investigate materials that contain Bi 3+, which is also an ns 2 ion. By combining Bi halides with Bi chalcogenides or oxides, the resulting ternary compoundsmore » exhibit a wide range of band gaps, offering opportunities in various optoelectronic applications. Density functional calculations of electronic structure, dielectric properties, optical properties, and defect properties are performed on selected Bi 3+ based chalcohalides and oxyhalides, i.e., BiSeBr, BiSI, BiSeI, and BiOBr. We propose different applications for these Bi compounds based on calculated properties, i.e., n-BiSeBr, p-BiSI, and p-BiSeI as PV materials, BiSeBr and BiSI as room-temperature radiation detection materials, and BiOBr as a p-type transparent conducting material. BiSeBr, BiSI, and BiSeBr have chain structures while BiOBr has a layered structure. However, in BiSI, BiSeI, and BiOBr, significant valence-band dispersion is found in the directions perpendicular to the atomic chain or layer because the valence-band edge states are dominated by the halogen states that have strong interchain or interlayer coupling. We find significantly enhanced Born effective charges and anomalously large static dielectric constants of the Bi compounds, which should reduce carrier scattering and trapping and promote efficient carrier transport in these materials. The strong screening and the small anion coordination numbers in Bi chalcohalides should lead to weak potentials for electron localization at anion vacancies. As a result, defect calculations indeed show that the anion vacancies (Se and Br vacancies) in BiSeBr are shallow, which is beneficial to efficient electron transport.« less

Quaternary heterostructured Ag–Bi{sub 2}O{sub 2}CO{sub 3}/Bi{sub 3.64}Mo{sub 0.36}O{sub 6.55}/Bi{sub 2}MoO{sub 6} composite: Synthesis and enhanced visible-light-driven photocatalytic activity

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

Lin, Xue, E-mail: jlsdlinxue@126.com; Guo, Xiaoyu; Shi, Weilong

2015-09-15

In this work, a novel quaternary heterostructured Ag–Bi{sub 2}O{sub 2}CO{sub 3}/Bi{sub 3.64}Mo{sub 0.36}O{sub 6.55}/Bi{sub 2}MoO{sub 6} composite was fabricated through a low-temperature solution-phase route. The XRD, SEM, EDX and XPS results indicated the as-prepared sample is a four-phase composite of Bi{sub 2}O{sub 2}CO{sub 3}, Bi{sub 3.64}Mo{sub 0.36}O{sub 6.55}, Bi{sub 2}MoO{sub 6}, and Ag. The photocatalytic activities of the as-synthesized samples were evaluated towards the degradation of phenol red aqueous solution. The results showed that the as-synthesized Ag–Bi{sub 2}O{sub 2}CO{sub 3}/Bi{sub 3.64}Mo{sub 0.36}O{sub 6.55}/Bi{sub 2}MoO{sub 6} photocatalysts displayed much higher photocatalytic activities in comparison with pure Bi{sub 3.64}Mo{sub 0.36}O{sub 6.55}, puremore » Bi{sub 2}MoO{sub 6}, and Bi{sub 3.64}Mo{sub 0.36}O{sub 6.55}/Bi{sub 2}MoO{sub 6} composite. Among them, the 2.5% Ag–Bi{sub 2}O{sub 2}CO{sub 3}/Bi{sub 3.64}Mo{sub 0.36}O{sub 6.55}/Bi{sub 2}MoO{sub 6} sample performed the best. The enhanced photocatalytic activity of the composite photocatalyst was attributed predominantly to the efficient separation of photoinduced electrons and holes. In addition, Ag nanoparticles were photodeposited on the surface of the composite to increase visible-light absorption via the surface plasmon resonance, which is also beneficial to the enhancement of photocatalytic performance. The possible photocatalytic mechanism of the quaternary heterostructure was also discussed in detail. - Graphical abstract: Quaternary heterostructured Ag–Bi{sub 2}O{sub 2}CO{sub 3}/Bi{sub 3.64}Mo{sub 0.36}O{sub 6.55}/Bi{sub 2}MoO{sub 6} were fabricated. The as-synthesized Ag–Bi{sub 2}O{sub 2}CO{sub 3}/Bi{sub 3.64}Mo{sub 0.36}O{sub 6.55}/Bi{sub 2}MoO{sub 6} photocatalysts displayed much higher photocatalytic activities in comparison with pure Bi{sub 3.64}Mo{sub 0.36}O{sub 6.55}, pure Bi{sub 2}MoO{sub 6}, and Bi{sub 3.64}Mo{sub 0.36}O{sub 6.55}/Bi{sub 2}MoO{sub 6} composite. - Highlights: • Quaternary heterostructured Ag–Bi{sub 2}O{sub 2}CO{sub 3}/Bi{sub 3.64}Mo{sub 0.36}O{sub 6.55}/Bi{sub 2}MoO{sub 6} composites were fabricated. • Ag–Bi{sub 2}O{sub 2}CO{sub 3}/Bi{sub 3.64}Mo{sub 0.36}O{sub 6.55}/Bi{sub 2}MoO{sub 6} samples were characterized by various characterization technologies. • Ag–Bi{sub 2}O{sub 2}CO{sub 3}/Bi{sub 3.64}Mo{sub 0.36}O{sub 6.55}/Bi{sub 2}MoO{sub 6} composites presented excellent photocatalytic performances.« less

Range optimization for mono- and bi-energetic proton modulated arc therapy with pencil beam scanning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sanchez-Parcerisa, Daniel; Kirk, Maura; Fager, Marcus; Burgdorf, Brendan; Stowe, Malorie; Solberg, Tim; Carabe, Alejandro

2016-11-01

The development of rotational proton therapy plans based on a pencil-beam-scanning (PBS) system has been limited, among several other factors, by the energy-switching time between layers, a system-dependent parameter that ranges between a fraction of a second and several seconds. We are investigating mono- and bi-energetic rotational proton modulated arc therapy (PMAT) solutions that would not be affected by long energy switching times. In this context, a systematic selection of the optimal proton energy for each arc is vital. We present a treatment planning comparison of four different range selection methods, analyzing the dosimetric outcomes of the resulting treatment plans created with the ranges obtained. Given the patient geometry and arc definition (gantry and couch trajectories, snout elevation) our in-house treatment planning system (TPS) FoCa was used to find the maximum, medial and minimum water-equivalent thicknesses (WETs) of the target viewed from all possible field orientations. Optimal ranges were subsequently determined using four methods: (1) by dividing the max/min WET interval into equal steps, (2) by taking the average target midpoints from each field, (3) by taking the average WET of all voxels from all field orientations, and (4) by minimizing the fraction of the target which cannot be reached from any of the available angles. After the range (for mono-energetic plans) or ranges (for bi-energetic plans) were selected, the commercial clinical TPS in use in our institution (Varian Eclipse™) was used to produce the PMAT plans using multifield optimization. Linear energy transfer (LET) distributions of all plans were also calculated using FoCa and compared among the different methods. Mono- and bi-energetic PMAT plans, composed of a single 180° arc, were created for two patient geometries: a C-shaped target located in the mediastinal area of a thoracic tissue-equivalent phantom and a small brain tumor located directly above the brainstem. All plans were optimized using the same procedure to (1) achieve target coverage, (2) reduce dose to OAR and (3) limit dose hot spots in the target. Final outcomes were compared in terms of the resulting dose and LET distributions. Data shows little significant differences among the four studied methods, with superior results obtained with mono-energetic plans. A streamlined systematic method has been implemented in an in-house TPS to find the optimal range to maximize target coverage with rotational mono- or bi-energetic PBS rotational plans by minimizing the fraction of the target that cannot be reached by any direction.

Exploiting strain to enhance the Bi incorporation in GaAs-based III/V semiconductors using MOVPE

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nattermann, L.; Ludewig, P.; Sterzer, E.; Volz, K.

2017-07-01

Bi containing III/V semiconductors are frequently mentioned for their importance as part of the next generation of optoelectronic devices. Bi containing ternary and quaternary materials like Ga(AsBi), Ga(NAsBi) or Ga(PAsBi) are promising candidates to meet the requirements for new laser structures for telecommunications and solar cell applications. However, in previous studies it was determined that the incorporation of sufficient amounts of Bi still poses a challenge, especially when using MOVPE (metalorganic vapour phase epitaxy) as the growth technique. In order to figure out which mechanisms are responsible for the limitation of Bi incorporation, this work deals with the question of whether there is a relationship between strain, induced by the large Bi atoms, and the saturation level of Bi incorporation in Ga(AsBi). Ga(NAsBi) structures were grown by MOVPE at a low temperature, 400 °C, and compared to Ga(PAsBi) as well as Ga(AsBi) growth. By using the two group V atoms P and N, which have a smaller covalent radius than Bi, the effect of local strain compensation was investigated systematically. The comparison of Bi incorporation in the two quaternary materials systems proved the importance of local strain for the limitation of Bi incorporation, in addition to other effects, like Bi surface coverage and hydrocarbon groups at the growth surface. This, of course, also opens up ways to strain-state-engineer the Bi incorporation in semiconductor alloys.

Ocean Wave Slope Statistics from Automated Analysis of Sun Glitter Photographs

DTIC Science & Technology

1985-06-01

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Sample Training Based Wildfire Segmentation by 2D Histogram θ-Division with Minimum Error

PubMed Central

Dong, Erqian; Sun, Mingui; Jia, Wenyan; Zhang, Dengyi; Yuan, Zhiyong

2013-01-01

A novel wildfire segmentation algorithm is proposed with the help of sample training based 2D histogram θ-division and minimum error. Based on minimum error principle and 2D color histogram, the θ-division methods were presented recently, but application of prior knowledge on them has not been explored. For the specific problem of wildfire segmentation, we collect sample images with manually labeled fire pixels. Then we define the probability function of error division to evaluate θ-division segmentations, and the optimal angle θ is determined by sample training. Performances in different color channels are compared, and the suitable channel is selected. To further improve the accuracy, the combination approach is presented with both θ-division and other segmentation methods such as GMM. Our approach is tested on real images, and the experiments prove its efficiency for wildfire segmentation. PMID:23878526

Histograms showing variations in oil yield, water yield, and specific gravity of oil from Fischer assay analyses of oil-shale drill cores and cuttings from the Piceance Basin, northwestern Colorado

USGS Publications Warehouse

Dietrich, John D.; Brownfield, Michael E.; Johnson, Ronald C.; Mercier, Tracey J.

2014-01-01

Recent studies indicate that the Piceance Basin in northwestern Colorado contains over 1.5 trillion barrels of oil in place, making the basin the largest known oil-shale deposit in the world. Previously published histograms display oil-yield variations with depth and widely correlate rich and lean oil-shale beds and zones throughout the basin. Histograms in this report display oil-yield data plotted alongside either water-yield or oil specific-gravity data. Fischer assay analyses of core and cutting samples collected from exploration drill holes penetrating the Eocene Green River Formation in the Piceance Basin can aid in determining the origins of those deposits, as well as estimating the amount of organic matter, halite, nahcolite, and water-bearing minerals. This report focuses only on the oil yield plotted against water yield and oil specific gravity.

High frequency measurements of shot noise suppression in atomic-scale metal contacts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wheeler, Patrick J.; Evans, Kenneth; Russom, Jeffrey; King, Nicholas; Natelson, Douglas

2009-03-01

Shot noise provides a means of assessing the number and transmission coefficients of transmitting channels in atomic- and molecular-scale junctions. Previous experiments at low temperatures in metal and semiconductor point contacts have demonstrated the expected suppression of shot noise when junction conductance is near an integer multiple of the conductance quantum, G0≡2e^2/h. Using high frequency techniques, we demonstrate the high speed acquisition of such data at room temperature in mechanical break junctions. In clean Au contacts conductance histograms with clear peaks at G0, 2G0, and 3G0 are acquired within hours, and histograms of simultaneous measurements of the shot noise show clear suppression at those conductance values. We describe the dependence of the noise on bias voltage and analyze the noise vs. conductance histograms in terms of a model that averages over transmission coefficients.