Using quality function deployment to capture the voice of the customer and translate it into the voice of the provider.

PubMed

Chaplin, E; Bailey, M; Crosby, R; Gorman, D; Holland, X; Hippe, C; Hoff, T; Nawrocki, D; Pichette, S; Thota, N

1999-06-01

Health care has a number of historical barriers to capturing the voice of the customer and to incorporating customer wants into health care services, whether the customer is a patient, an insurer, or a community. Quality function deployment (QFD) is a set of tools and practices that can help overcome these barriers to form a process for the planning and design or redesign of products and services. The goal of the project was to increase referral volume and to improve a rehabilitation hospital's capacity to provide comprehensive medical and/or legal evaluations for people with complex and catastrophic injuries or illnesses. HIGH-LEVEL VIEW OF QFD AS A PROCESS: The steps in QFD are as follows: capture of the voice of the customer, quality deployment, functions deployment, failure mode deployment, new process deployment, and task deployment. The output of each step becomes the input to a matrix tool or table of the next step of the process. In 3 1/2 months a nine-person project team at Continental Rehabilitation Hospital (San Diego) used QFD tools to capture the voice of the customer, use these data as the basis for a questionnaire on important qualities of service from the customer's perspective, obtain competitive data on how the organization was perceived to be meeting the demanded qualities, identify measurable dimensions and targets of these qualities, and incorporate the functions and tasks into the delivery of service which are necessary to meet the demanded qualities. The future of providing health care services will belong to organizations that can adapt to a rapidly changing environment and to demands for new products and services that are produced and delivered in new ways.

Multi-exposure high dynamic range image synthesis with camera shake correction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Xudong; Chen, Yongfu; Jiang, Hongzhi; Zhao, Huijie

2017-10-01

Machine vision plays an important part in industrial online inspection. Owing to the nonuniform illuminance conditions and variable working distances, the captured image tends to be over-exposed or under-exposed. As a result, when processing the image such as crack inspection, the algorithm complexity and computing time increase. Multiexposure high dynamic range (HDR) image synthesis is used to improve the quality of the captured image, whose dynamic range is limited. Inevitably, camera shake will result in ghost effect, which blurs the synthesis image to some extent. However, existed exposure fusion algorithms assume that the input images are either perfectly aligned or captured in the same scene. These assumptions limit the application. At present, widely used registration based on Scale Invariant Feature Transform (SIFT) is usually time consuming. In order to rapidly obtain a high quality HDR image without ghost effect, we come up with an efficient Low Dynamic Range (LDR) images capturing approach and propose a registration method based on ORiented Brief (ORB) and histogram equalization which can eliminate the illumination differences between the LDR images. The fusion is performed after alignment. The experiment results demonstrate that the proposed method is robust to illumination changes and local geometric distortion. Comparing with other exposure fusion methods, our method is more efficient and can produce HDR images without ghost effect by registering and fusing four multi-exposure images.

Role of high-elevation groundwater flows in the hydrogeology of the Cimino volcano (central Italy) and possibilities to capture drinking water in a geogenically contaminated environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Piscopo, V.; Armiento, G.; Baiocchi, A.; Mazzuoli, M.; Nardi, E.; Piacentini, S. M.; Proposito, M.; Spaziani, F.

2018-01-01

Origin, yield and quality of the groundwater flows at high elevation in the Cimino volcano (central Italy) were examined. In this area, groundwater is geogenically contaminated by arsenic and fluoride, yet supplies drinking water for approximately 170,000 inhabitants. The origin of the high-elevation groundwater flows is strictly related to vertical and horizontal variability of the rock types (lava flows, lava domes and ignimbrite) in an area of limited size. In some cases, groundwater circuits are related to perched aquifers above noncontinuous aquitards; in other cases, they are due to flows in the highly fractured dome carapace, limited at the bottom by a low-permeability dome core. The high-elevation groundwater outflow represents about 30% of the total recharge of Cimino's hydrogeological system, which has been estimated at 9.8 L/s/km2. Bicarbonate alkaline-earth, cold, neutral waters with low salinity, and notably with low arsenic and fluoride content, distinguish the high-elevation groundwaters from those of the basal aquifer. Given the quantity and quality of these resources, approaches in the capture and management of groundwater in this hydrogeological environment should be reconsidered. Appropriate tapping methods such as horizontal drains, could more efficiently capture the high-elevation groundwater resources, as opposed to the waters currently pumped from the basal aquifer which often require dearsenification treatments.

Role of high-elevation groundwater flows in the hydrogeology of the Cimino volcano (central Italy) and possibilities to capture drinking water in a geogenically contaminated environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Piscopo, V.; Armiento, G.; Baiocchi, A.; Mazzuoli, M.; Nardi, E.; Piacentini, S. M.; Proposito, M.; Spaziani, F.

2018-06-01

Origin, yield and quality of the groundwater flows at high elevation in the Cimino volcano (central Italy) were examined. In this area, groundwater is geogenically contaminated by arsenic and fluoride, yet supplies drinking water for approximately 170,000 inhabitants. The origin of the high-elevation groundwater flows is strictly related to vertical and horizontal variability of the rock types (lava flows, lava domes and ignimbrite) in an area of limited size. In some cases, groundwater circuits are related to perched aquifers above noncontinuous aquitards; in other cases, they are due to flows in the highly fractured dome carapace, limited at the bottom by a low-permeability dome core. The high-elevation groundwater outflow represents about 30% of the total recharge of Cimino's hydrogeological system, which has been estimated at 9.8 L/s/km2. Bicarbonate alkaline-earth, cold, neutral waters with low salinity, and notably with low arsenic and fluoride content, distinguish the high-elevation groundwaters from those of the basal aquifer. Given the quantity and quality of these resources, approaches in the capture and management of groundwater in this hydrogeological environment should be reconsidered. Appropriate tapping methods such as horizontal drains, could more efficiently capture the high-elevation groundwater resources, as opposed to the waters currently pumped from the basal aquifer which often require dearsenification treatments.

The Nutritional Content of Prey Affects the Foraging of a Generalist Arthropod Predator

PubMed Central

Schmidt, Jason M.; Sebastian, Peter; Wilder, Shawn M.; Rypstra, Ann L.

2012-01-01

While foraging theory predicts that predatory responses should be determined by the energy content and size of prey, it is becoming increasingly clear that carnivores regulate their intake of specific nutrients. We tested the hypothesis that prey nutrient composition and predator nutritional history affects foraging intensity, consumption, and prey selection by the wolf spider, Pardosa milvina. By altering the rearing environment for fruit flies, Drosophila melanogaster, we produced high quality flies containing more nitrogen and protein and less lipid than low quality fruit flies. In one experiment, we quantified the proportion of flies taken and consumption across a range of densities of either high or low quality flies and, in a second experiment, we determined the prey capture and consumption of spiders that had been maintained on contrasting diets prior to testing. In both cases, the proportion of prey captured declined with increasing prey density, which characterizes the Type II functional response that is typical of wolf spiders. Spiders with similar nutritional histories killed similar numbers of each prey type but consumed more of the low quality prey. Spiders provided high quality prey in the weeks prior to testing killed more prey than those on the low quality diet but there was no effect of prior diet on consumption. In the third experiment, spiders were maintained on contrasting diets for three weeks and then allowed to select from a mixture of high and low quality prey. Interestingly, feeding history affected prey preferences: spiders that had been on a low quality diet showed no preference but those on the high quality diet selected high quality flies from the mixture. Our results suggest that, even when prey size and species identity are controlled, the nutritional experience of the predator as well as the specific content of the prey shapes predator-prey interactions. PMID:23145130

In-situ quality monitoring during laser brazing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ungers, Michael; Fecker, Daniel; Frank, Sascha; Donst, Dmitri; Märgner, Volker; Abels, Peter; Kaierle, Stefan

Laser brazing of zinc coated steel is a widely established manufacturing process in the automotive sector, where high quality requirements must be fulfilled. The strength, impermeablitiy and surface appearance of the joint are particularly important for judging its quality. The development of an on-line quality control system is highly desired by the industry. This paper presents recent works on the development of such a system, which consists of two cameras operating in different spectral ranges. For the evaluation of the system, seam imperfections are created artificially during experiments. Finally image processing algorithms for monitoring process parameters based the captured images are presented.

Simple, inexpensive technique for high-quality smartphone fundus photography in human and animal eyes.

PubMed

Haddock, Luis J; Kim, David Y; Mukai, Shizuo

2013-01-01

Purpose. We describe in detail a relatively simple technique of fundus photography in human and rabbit eyes using a smartphone, an inexpensive app for the smartphone, and instruments that are readily available in an ophthalmic practice. Methods. Fundus images were captured with a smartphone and a 20D lens with or without a Koeppe lens. By using the coaxial light source of the phone, this system works as an indirect ophthalmoscope that creates a digital image of the fundus. The application whose software allows for independent control of focus, exposure, and light intensity during video filming was used. With this app, we recorded high-definition videos of the fundus and subsequently extracted high-quality, still images from the video clip. Results. The described technique of smartphone fundus photography was able to capture excellent high-quality fundus images in both children under anesthesia and in awake adults. Excellent images were acquired with the 20D lens alone in the clinic, and the addition of the Koeppe lens in the operating room resulted in the best quality images. Successful photodocumentation of rabbit fundus was achieved in control and experimental eyes. Conclusion. The currently described system was able to take consistently high-quality fundus photographs in patients and in animals using readily available instruments that are portable with simple power sources. It is relatively simple to master, is relatively inexpensive, and can take advantage of the expanding mobile-telephone networks for telemedicine.

Convolutional Sparse Coding for RGB+NIR Imaging.

PubMed

Hu, Xuemei; Heide, Felix; Dai, Qionghai; Wetzstein, Gordon

2018-04-01

Emerging sensor designs increasingly rely on novel color filter arrays (CFAs) to sample the incident spectrum in unconventional ways. In particular, capturing a near-infrared (NIR) channel along with conventional RGB color is an exciting new imaging modality. RGB+NIR sensing has broad applications in computational photography, such as low-light denoising, it has applications in computer vision, such as facial recognition and tracking, and it paves the way toward low-cost single-sensor RGB and depth imaging using structured illumination. However, cost-effective commercial CFAs suffer from severe spectral cross talk. This cross talk represents a major challenge in high-quality RGB+NIR imaging, rendering existing spatially multiplexed sensor designs impractical. In this work, we introduce a new approach to RGB+NIR image reconstruction using learned convolutional sparse priors. We demonstrate high-quality color and NIR imaging for challenging scenes, even including high-frequency structured NIR illumination. The effectiveness of the proposed method is validated on a large data set of experimental captures, and simulated benchmark results which demonstrate that this work achieves unprecedented reconstruction quality.

Recovery of high-quality RNA from laser capture microdissected human and rodent pancreas.

PubMed

Butler, Alexandra E; Matveyenko, Aleksey V; Kirakossian, David; Park, Johanna; Gurlo, Tatyana; Butler, Peter C

Laser capture microdissection (LCM) is a powerful method to isolate specific populations of cells for subsequent analysis such as gene expression profiling, for example, microarrays or ribonucleic (RNA)-Seq. This technique has been applied to frozen as well as formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) specimens with variable outcomes regarding quality and quantity of extracted RNA. The goal of the study was to develop the methods to isolate high-quality RNA from islets of Langerhans and pancreatic duct glands (PDG) isolated by LCM. We report an optimized protocol for frozen sections to minimize RNA degradation and maximize recovery of expected transcripts from the samples using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) by adding RNase inhibitors at multiple steps during the experiment. This technique reproducibly delivered intact RNA (RIN values 6-7). Using quantitative RT-PCR, the expected profiles of insulin, glucagon, mucin6 (Muc6), and cytokeratin-19 (CK-19) mRNA in PDGs and pancreatic islets were detected. The described experimental protocol for frozen pancreas tissue might also be useful for other tissues with moderate to high levels of intrinsic ribonuclease (RNase) activity.

Assessment of bird populations in a high quality savanna/woodland: a banding approach

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wilmore, Sandra L.; Glowacki, Gary A.; Grundel, Ralph

2005-01-01

During the course of this six year study, the fall migration capture rate declined significantly, suggesting that reduced productivity may have occurred in bird populations. There was a positive response during the spring migration to earlier spring wildfires, indicated by high capture rates in 2000 and 2002 that corresponded with fires affecting most of the bird banding net locations. For several common species found at the Miller Woods site, the ratio of juveniles to adults was compared to ratios at other banding stations in the north central U.S. Breeding site fidelity was documented for 20 species, all common breeders. Variation in capture rates among net locations demonstrated the role of the shrub layer within the savanna habitat mosaic during migration stopover.

Component-Level Tuning of Kinematic Features from Composite Therapist Impressions of Movement Quality

PubMed Central

Venkataraman, Vinay; Turaga, Pavan; Baran, Michael; Lehrer, Nicole; Du, Tingfang; Cheng, Long; Rikakis, Thanassis; Wolf, Steven L.

2016-01-01

In this paper, we propose a general framework for tuning component-level kinematic features using therapists’ overall impressions of movement quality, in the context of a Home-based Adaptive Mixed Reality Rehabilitation (HAMRR) system. We propose a linear combination of non-linear kinematic features to model wrist movement, and propose an approach to learn feature thresholds and weights using high-level labels of overall movement quality provided by a therapist. The kinematic features are chosen such that they correlate with the quality of wrist movements to clinical assessment scores. Further, the proposed features are designed to be reliably extracted from an inexpensive and portable motion capture system using a single reflective marker on the wrist. Using a dataset collected from ten stroke survivors, we demonstrate that the framework can be reliably used for movement quality assessment in HAMRR systems. The system is currently being deployed for large-scale evaluations, and will represent an increasingly important application area of motion capture and activity analysis. PMID:25438331

The Work-Related Quality of Life Scale for Higher Education Employees

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Edwards, Julian A.; Van Laar, Darren; Easton, Simon; Kinman, Gail

2009-01-01

Previous research suggests that higher education employees experience comparatively high levels of job stress. A range of instruments, both generic and job-specific, has been used to measure stressors and strains in this occupational context. The Work-related Quality of Life (WRQoL) scale is a measure designed to capture perceptions of the working…

Video Capture of Plastic Surgery Procedures Using the GoPro HERO 3+.

PubMed

Graves, Steven Nicholas; Shenaq, Deana Saleh; Langerman, Alexander J; Song, David H

2015-02-01

Significant improvements can be made in recoding surgical procedures, particularly in capturing high-quality video recordings from the surgeons' point of view. This study examined the utility of the GoPro HERO 3+ Black Edition camera for high-definition, point-of-view recordings of plastic and reconstructive surgery. The GoPro HERO 3+ Black Edition camera was head-mounted on the surgeon and oriented to the surgeon's perspective using the GoPro App. The camera was used to record 4 cases: 2 fat graft procedures and 2 breast reconstructions. During cases 1-3, an assistant remotely controlled the GoPro via the GoPro App. For case 4 the GoPro was linked to a WiFi remote, and controlled by the surgeon. Camera settings for case 1 were as follows: 1080p video resolution; 48 fps; Protune mode on; wide field of view; 16:9 aspect ratio. The lighting contrast due to the overhead lights resulted in limited washout of the video image. Camera settings were adjusted for cases 2-4 to a narrow field of view, which enabled the camera's automatic white balance to better compensate for bright lights focused on the surgical field. Cases 2-4 captured video sufficient for teaching or presentation purposes. The GoPro HERO 3+ Black Edition camera enables high-quality, cost-effective video recording of plastic and reconstructive surgery procedures. When set to a narrow field of view and automatic white balance, the camera is able to sufficiently compensate for the contrasting light environment of the operating room and capture high-resolution, detailed video.

Real-time computer treatment of THz passive device images with the high image quality

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Trofimov, Vyacheslav A.; Trofimov, Vladislav V.

2012-06-01

We demonstrate real-time computer code improving significantly the quality of images captured by the passive THz imaging system. The code is not only designed for a THz passive device: it can be applied to any kind of such devices and active THz imaging systems as well. We applied our code for computer processing of images captured by four passive THz imaging devices manufactured by different companies. It should be stressed that computer processing of images produced by different companies requires using the different spatial filters usually. The performance of current version of the computer code is greater than one image per second for a THz image having more than 5000 pixels and 24 bit number representation. Processing of THz single image produces about 20 images simultaneously corresponding to various spatial filters. The computer code allows increasing the number of pixels for processed images without noticeable reduction of image quality. The performance of the computer code can be increased many times using parallel algorithms for processing the image. We develop original spatial filters which allow one to see objects with sizes less than 2 cm. The imagery is produced by passive THz imaging devices which captured the images of objects hidden under opaque clothes. For images with high noise we develop an approach which results in suppression of the noise after using the computer processing and we obtain the good quality image. With the aim of illustrating the efficiency of the developed approach we demonstrate the detection of the liquid explosive, ordinary explosive, knife, pistol, metal plate, CD, ceramics, chocolate and other objects hidden under opaque clothes. The results demonstrate the high efficiency of our approach for the detection of hidden objects and they are a very promising solution for the security problem.

Extending the Pedagogy of Mobility

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hedberg, John G.

2014-01-01

Direct student experience of the real organism, object, place or environment is recognised by teachers as having powerful potential for high-quality learning. Mobile technologies offer a way for students to capture their authentic learning experiences, but rendering this rich experience into explicit and highly situated learning contexts for…

Automated Adaptive Brightness in Wireless Capsule Endoscopy Using Image Segmentation and Sigmoid Function.

PubMed

Shrestha, Ravi; Mohammed, Shahed K; Hasan, Md Mehedi; Zhang, Xuechao; Wahid, Khan A

2016-08-01

Wireless capsule endoscopy (WCE) plays an important role in the diagnosis of gastrointestinal (GI) diseases by capturing images of human small intestine. Accurate diagnosis of endoscopic images depends heavily on the quality of captured images. Along with image and frame rate, brightness of the image is an important parameter that influences the image quality which leads to the design of an efficient illumination system. Such design involves the choice and placement of proper light source and its ability to illuminate GI surface with proper brightness. Light emitting diodes (LEDs) are normally used as sources where modulated pulses are used to control LED's brightness. In practice, instances like under- and over-illumination are very common in WCE, where the former provides dark images and the later provides bright images with high power consumption. In this paper, we propose a low-power and efficient illumination system that is based on an automated brightness algorithm. The scheme is adaptive in nature, i.e., the brightness level is controlled automatically in real-time while the images are being captured. The captured images are segmented into four equal regions and the brightness level of each region is calculated. Then an adaptive sigmoid function is used to find the optimized brightness level and accordingly a new value of duty cycle of the modulated pulse is generated to capture future images. The algorithm is fully implemented in a capsule prototype and tested with endoscopic images. Commercial capsules like Pillcam and Mirocam were also used in the experiment. The results show that the proposed algorithm works well in controlling the brightness level accordingly to the environmental condition, and as a result, good quality images are captured with an average of 40% brightness level that saves power consumption of the capsule.

Robust detection of chromosomal interactions from small numbers of cells using low-input Capture-C

PubMed Central

Oudelaar, A. Marieke; Davies, James O.J.; Downes, Damien J.; Higgs, Douglas R.

2017-01-01

Abstract Chromosome conformation capture (3C) techniques are crucial to understanding tissue-specific regulation of gene expression, but current methods generally require large numbers of cells. This hampers the investigation of chromatin architecture in rare cell populations. We present a new low-input Capture-C approach that can generate high-quality 3C interaction profiles from 10 000–20 000 cells, depending on the resolution used for analysis. We also present a PCR-free, sequencing-free 3C technique based on NanoString technology called C-String. By comparing C-String and Capture-C interaction profiles we show that the latter are not skewed by PCR amplification. Furthermore, we demonstrate that chromatin interactions detected by Capture-C do not depend on the degree of cross-linking by performing experiments with varying formaldehyde concentrations. PMID:29186505

Rio Bauta Abajo, Orocovis, Puerto Rico Monitoring: Citizen Science in Action

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rivera, L. D.; Rodriguez, C.

2015-12-01

"Conoce tu rio" (Learn about your river) is a Citizen Science-"Para La Naturaleza" Project with the purpose of providing citizens effective monitoring methods for water quality and macro invertebrates. Through the monthly monitoring of Rio Grande de Manatí watershed in Puerto Rico, volunteers gained the knowledge and skills necessary to conduct the same methodology in other rivers of Puerto Rico. This is the case of the Rio Bauta Abajo-Orocovis group, initiated by a volunteer of "Conoce tu Rio". The new group has the objective of monitoring the water quality, shrimps and other macro invertebrate diversity and abundance in a stream reach of Rio Bauta Abajo, Orocovis, Puerto Rico. The group is also part of the EPA Equipment Loan Program for Pathogen and Water Quality Monitoring. Shrimps and macro invertebrates are captured using nets. In this ongoing project, preliminary results show that 5 of the 17 shrimp species of Puerto Rico and the freshwater crab have been captured in the monitoring point of Rio Bauta Abajo. The most abundant species captured was Atya scabra representing 70% of the abundance. The second most abundant species was Xiphocaris elongata representing 20% of the abundance. We also found a large number of gravid females of two shrimp species. Sixty percent of captured Atya scabra were gravid while 100% of the captured Xiphocaris elongata were gravid. Water quality is within the standard except for phosphorous and nitrogen. The most abundant species inhabit different habitats in the river. Atya scabra is found in the riffles and Xiphocaris elongata is found in the stream borders and or pools. The high number of gravid females suggests that the dry season is the reproductive season for this two species. The high concentration of phosphorous and nitrogen suggest that in the area there area either crops of animals facilities whose runoff is getting to the river. This monitoring group expects to continue motivating citizens to monitor the water quality in other rivers of Puerto Rico, to raise awareness about the conservation of the rivers and to disseminate the results of their study to the general public and the government agencies. Puerto Rico is suffering a drought and this is a critical moment to raise awareness about the conservation of the water resources and its flora and fauna.

Can the national surgical quality improvement program provide surgeon-specific outcomes?

PubMed

Kuhnen, Angela H; Marcello, Peter W; Roberts, Patricia L; Read, Thomas E; Schoetz, David J; Rusin, Lawrence C; Hall, Jason F; Ricciardi, Rocco

2015-02-01

Efforts to improve the quality of surgical care and reduce morbidity and mortality have resulted in outcomes reporting at the service and institutional level. Surgeon-specific outcomes are not readily available. The aim of this study is to compare surgeon-specific outcomes from the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program and 100% capture institutional quality data. We conducted a cohort study evaluating institutional and surgeon-specific outcomes following colorectal surgery procedures at 1 institution over 5 years. All patients who underwent an operation by a colorectal surgeon at Lahey Hospital & Medical Center from January 1, 2008 through December 31, 2012 were identified. Thirty-day mortality, reoperation, urinary tract infection, deep vein thrombosis, pneumonia, superficial surgical site infection, and organ space infection were the primary outcomes measured. We compared annual and 5-year institutional and surgeon-specific adverse event rates between the data sets. In addition, we categorized individual surgeons as low-outlier, average, or high-outlier in relation to aggregate averages and determined the concordance between the data sets in identifying outliers. Concordance was designated if the 2 databases classified outlier status similarly for the same adverse event category. In the 100% capture institutional data, 6459 operative encounters were identified in comparison with 1786 National Surgical Quality Improvement Program encounters (28% sampled). Annual aggregate adverse event rates were similar between the institutional data and the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program. For annual surgeon-specific comparisons, concordance in identifying outliers between the 2 data sets was 51.4%, and gross discordance between outlier status was in 8.2%. Five-year surgeon-specific comparisons demonstrated 59% concordance in identifying outlier status with 8.2% gross discordance for the group. The inclusion of data from only 1 academic referral center is a limitation of this study. Each surgeon was identified as a "high outlier" in at least 1 adverse event category. Comparisons at the annual and 5-year points demonstrated poor concordance between our 100% capture institutional data and the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program data.

Genotyping by Sequencing Using Specific Allelic Capture to Build a High-Density Genetic Map of Durum Wheat

PubMed Central

Holtz, Yan; Ardisson, Morgane; Ranwez, Vincent; Besnard, Alban; Leroy, Philippe; Poux, Gérard; Roumet, Pierre; Viader, Véronique; Santoni, Sylvain; David, Jacques

2016-01-01

Targeted sequence capture is a promising technology which helps reduce costs for sequencing and genotyping numerous genomic regions in large sets of individuals. Bait sequences are designed to capture specific alleles previously discovered in parents or reference populations. We studied a set of 135 RILs originating from a cross between an emmer cultivar (Dic2) and a recent durum elite cultivar (Silur). Six thousand sequence baits were designed to target Dic2 vs. Silur polymorphisms discovered in a previous RNAseq study. These baits were exposed to genomic DNA of the RIL population. Eighty percent of the targeted SNPs were recovered, 65% of which were of high quality and coverage. The final high density genetic map consisted of more than 3,000 markers, whose genetic and physical mapping were consistent with those obtained with large arrays. PMID:27171472

Using continuous in-situ measurements to adaptively trigger urban storm water samples

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wong, B. P.; Kerkez, B.

2015-12-01

Until cost-effective in-situ sensors are available for biological parameters, nutrients and metals, automated samplers will continue to be the primary source of reliable water quality measurements. Given limited samples bottles, however, autosamplers often obscure insights on nutrient sources and biogeochemical processes which would otherwise be captured using a continuous sampling approach. To that end, we evaluate the efficacy a novel method to measure first-flush nutrient dynamics in flashy, urban watersheds. Our approach reduces the number of samples required to capture water quality dynamics by leveraging an internet-connected sensor node, which is equipped with a suite of continuous in-situ sensors and an automated sampler. To capture both the initial baseflow as well as storm concentrations, a cloud-hosted adaptive algorithm analyzes the high-resolution sensor data along with local weather forecasts to optimize a sampling schedule. The method was tested in a highly developed urban catchment in Ann Arbor, Michigan and collected samples of nitrate, phosphorus, and suspended solids throughout several storm events. Results indicate that the watershed does not exhibit first flush dynamics, a behavior that would have been obscured when using a non-adaptive sampling approach.

Using IT to improve quality at NewYork-Presybterian Hospital: a requirements-driven strategic planning process.

PubMed

Kuperman, Gilad J; Boyer, Aurelia; Cole, Curt; Forman, Bruce; Stetson, Peter D; Cooper, Mary

2006-01-01

At NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, we are committed to the delivery of high quality care. We have implemented a strategic planning process to determine the information technology initiatives that will best help us improve quality. The process began with the creation of a Clinical Quality and IT Committee. The Committee identified 2 high priority goals that would enable demonstrably high quality care: 1) excellence at data warehousing, and 2) optimal use of automated clinical documentation to capture encounter-related quality and safety data. For each high priority goal, a working group was created to develop specific recommendations. The Data Warehousing subgroup has recommended the implementation of an architecture management process and an improved ability for users to get access to aggregate data. The Structured Documentation subgroup is establishing recommendations for a documentation template creation process. The strategic planning process at times is slow, but assures that the organization is focusing on the information technology activities most likely to lead to improved quality.

Using IT to Improve Quality at NewYork-Presybterian Hospital: A Requirements-Driven Strategic Planning Process

PubMed Central

Kuperman, Gilad J.; Boyer, Aurelia; Cole, Curt; Forman, Bruce; Stetson, Peter D.; Cooper, Mary

2006-01-01

At NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, we are committed to the delivery of high quality care. We have implemented a strategic planning process to determine the information technology initiatives that will best help us improve quality. The process began with the creation of a Clinical Quality and IT Committee. The Committee identified 2 high priority goals that would enable demonstrably high quality care: 1) excellence at data warehousing, and 2) optimal use of automated clinical documentation to capture encounter-related quality and safety data. For each high priority goal, a working group was created to develop specific recommendations. The Data Warehousing subgroup has recommended the implementation of an architecture management process and an improved ability for users to get access to aggregate data. The Structured Documentation subgroup is establishing recommendations for a documentation template creation process. The strategic planning process at times is slow, but assures that the organization is focusing on the information technology activities most likely to lead to improved quality. PMID:17238381

Video Capture of Plastic Surgery Procedures Using the GoPro HERO 3+

PubMed Central

Graves, Steven Nicholas; Shenaq, Deana Saleh; Langerman, Alexander J.

2015-01-01

Background: Significant improvements can be made in recoding surgical procedures, particularly in capturing high-quality video recordings from the surgeons’ point of view. This study examined the utility of the GoPro HERO 3+ Black Edition camera for high-definition, point-of-view recordings of plastic and reconstructive surgery. Methods: The GoPro HERO 3+ Black Edition camera was head-mounted on the surgeon and oriented to the surgeon’s perspective using the GoPro App. The camera was used to record 4 cases: 2 fat graft procedures and 2 breast reconstructions. During cases 1-3, an assistant remotely controlled the GoPro via the GoPro App. For case 4 the GoPro was linked to a WiFi remote, and controlled by the surgeon. Results: Camera settings for case 1 were as follows: 1080p video resolution; 48 fps; Protune mode on; wide field of view; 16:9 aspect ratio. The lighting contrast due to the overhead lights resulted in limited washout of the video image. Camera settings were adjusted for cases 2-4 to a narrow field of view, which enabled the camera’s automatic white balance to better compensate for bright lights focused on the surgical field. Cases 2-4 captured video sufficient for teaching or presentation purposes. Conclusions: The GoPro HERO 3+ Black Edition camera enables high-quality, cost-effective video recording of plastic and reconstructive surgery procedures. When set to a narrow field of view and automatic white balance, the camera is able to sufficiently compensate for the contrasting light environment of the operating room and capture high-resolution, detailed video. PMID:25750851

Mahanaxar: quality of service guarantees in high-bandwidth, real-time streaming data storage

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

Bigelow, David; Bent, John; Chen, Hsing-Bung

2010-04-05

Large radio telescopes, cyber-security systems monitoring real-time network traffic, and others have specialized data storage needs: guaranteed capture of an ultra-high-bandwidth data stream, retention of the data long enough to determine what is 'interesting,' retention of interesting data indefinitely, and concurrent read/write access to determine what data is interesting, without interrupting the ongoing capture of incoming data. Mahanaxar addresses this problem. Mahanaxar guarantees streaming real-time data capture at (nearly) the full rate of the raw device, allows concurrent read and write access to the device on a best-effort basis without interrupting the data capture, and retains data as long asmore » possible given the available storage. It has built in mechanisms for reliability and indexing, can scale to meet arbitrary bandwidth requirements, and handles both small and large data elements equally well. Results from our prototype implementation shows that Mahanaxar provides both better guarantees and better performance than traditional file systems.« less

Neutron capture therapies

DOEpatents

Yanch, Jacquelyn C.; Shefer, Ruth E.; Klinkowstein, Robert E.

1999-01-01

In one embodiment there is provided an application of the .sup.10 B(n,.alpha.).sup.7 Li nuclear reaction or other neutron capture reactions for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. This application, called Boron Neutron Capture Synovectomy (BNCS), requires substantially altered demands on neutron beam design than for instance treatment of deep seated tumors. Considerations for neutron beam design for the treatment of arthritic joints via BNCS are provided for, and comparisons with the design requirements for Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT) of tumors are made. In addition, exemplary moderator/reflector assemblies are provided which produce intense, high-quality neutron beams based on (p,n) accelerator-based reactions. In another embodiment there is provided the use of deuteron-based charged particle reactions to be used as sources for epithermal or thermal neutron beams for neutron capture therapies. Many d,n reactions (e.g. using deuterium, tritium or beryllium targets) are very prolific at relatively low deuteron energies.

Water surface modeling from a single viewpoint video.

PubMed

Li, Chuan; Pickup, David; Saunders, Thomas; Cosker, Darren; Marshall, David; Hall, Peter; Willis, Philip

2013-07-01

We introduce a video-based approach for producing water surface models. Recent advances in this field output high-quality results but require dedicated capturing devices and only work in limited conditions. In contrast, our method achieves a good tradeoff between the visual quality and the production cost: It automatically produces a visually plausible animation using a single viewpoint video as the input. Our approach is based on two discoveries: first, shape from shading (SFS) is adequate to capture the appearance and dynamic behavior of the example water; second, shallow water model can be used to estimate a velocity field that produces complex surface dynamics. We will provide qualitative evaluation of our method and demonstrate its good performance across a wide range of scenes.

Most systematic reviews of high methodological quality on psoriasis interventions are classified as high risk of bias using ROBIS tool.

PubMed

Gómez-García, Francisco; Ruano, Juan; Gay-Mimbrera, Jesus; Aguilar-Luque, Macarena; Sanz-Cabanillas, Juan Luis; Alcalde-Mellado, Patricia; Maestre-López, Beatriz; Carmona-Fernández, Pedro Jesús; González-Padilla, Marcelino; García-Nieto, Antonio Vélez; Isla-Tejera, Beatriz

2017-12-01

No gold standard exists to assess methodological quality of systematic reviews (SRs). Although Assessing the Methodological Quality of Systematic Reviews (AMSTAR) is widely accepted for analyzing quality, the ROBIS instrument has recently been developed. This study aimed to compare the capacity of both instruments to capture the quality of SRs concerning psoriasis interventions. Systematic literature searches were undertaken on relevant databases. For each review, methodological quality and bias risk were evaluated using the AMSTAR and ROBIS tools. Descriptive and principal component analyses were conducted to describe similarities and discrepancies between both assessment tools. We classified 139 intervention SRs as displaying high/moderate/low methodological quality and as high/low risk of bias. A high risk of bias was detected for most SRs classified as displaying high or moderate methodological quality by AMSTAR. When comparing ROBIS result profiles, responses to domain 4 signaling questions showed the greatest differences between bias risk assessments, whereas domain 2 items showed the least. When considering SRs published about psoriasis, methodological quality remains suboptimal, and the risk of bias is elevated, even for SRs exhibiting high methodological quality. Furthermore, the AMSTAR and ROBIS tools may be considered as complementary when conducting quality assessment of SRs. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

City Life: Rankings (Livability) versus Perceptions (Satisfaction)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Okulicz-Kozaryn, Adam

2013-01-01

I investigate the relationship between the popular Mercer city ranking (livability) and survey data (satisfactions). Livability aims to capture "objective" quality of life such as infrastructure. Survey items capture "subjective" quality of life such as satisfaction with city. The relationship between objective measures of quality of life and…

Improving Performance on Preventive Health Quality Measures Using Clinical Decision Support to Capture Care Done Elsewhere and Patient Exceptions.

PubMed

Bowen, Michael E; Bhat, Deepa; Fish, Jason; Moran, Brett; Howell-Stampley, Temple; Kirk, Lynne; Persell, Stephen D; Halm, Ethan A

Preventive services required for performance measurement often are completed in outside health systems and not captured in electronic medical records (EMRs). A before-after study was conducted to examine the ability of clinical decision support (CDS) to improve performance on preventive quality measures, capture clinician-reported services completed elsewhere, and patient/medical exceptions and to describe their impact on quality measurement. CDS improved performance on colorectal cancer screening, osteoporosis screening, and pneumococcal vaccination measures ( P < .05) but not breast or cervical cancer screening. CDS captured clinician-reported services completed elsewhere (2% to 10%) and patient/medical exceptions (<3%). Compared to measures using only within-system data, including services completed elsewhere in the numerator improved performance: pneumococcal vaccine (73% vs 82%); breast (69% vs 75%), colorectal (58% vs 70%), and cervical cancer (53% vs 62%); and osteoporosis (72% vs 75%) screening ( P < .05). Visit-based CDS can capture clinician-reported preventive services, and accounting for services completed elsewhere improves performance on quality measures.

SkySat-1: very high-resolution imagery from a small satellite

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Murthy, Kiran; Shearn, Michael; Smiley, Byron D.; Chau, Alexandra H.; Levine, Josh; Robinson, M. Dirk

2014-10-01

This paper presents details of the SkySat-1 mission, which is the first microsatellite-class commercial earth- observation system to generate sub-meter resolution panchromatic imagery, in addition to sub-meter resolution 4-band pan-sharpened imagery. SkySat-1 was built and launched for an order of magnitude lower cost than similarly performing missions. The low-cost design enables the deployment of a large imaging constellation that can provide imagery with both high temporal resolution and high spatial resolution. One key enabler of the SkySat-1 mission was simplifying the spacecraft design and instead relying on ground- based image processing to achieve high-performance at the system level. The imaging instrument consists of a custom-designed high-quality optical telescope and commercially-available high frame rate CMOS image sen- sors. While each individually captured raw image frame shows moderate quality, ground-based image processing algorithms improve the raw data by combining data from multiple frames to boost image signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and decrease the ground sample distance (GSD) in a process Skybox calls "digital TDI". Careful qual-ity assessment and tuning of the spacecraft, payload, and algorithms was necessary to generate high-quality panchromatic, multispectral, and pan-sharpened imagery. Furthermore, the framing sensor configuration en- abled the first commercial High-Definition full-frame rate panchromatic video to be captured from space, with approximately 1 meter ground sample distance. Details of the SkySat-1 imaging instrument and ground-based image processing system are presented, as well as an overview of the work involved with calibrating and validating the system. Examples of raw and processed imagery are shown, and the raw imagery is compared to pre-launch simulated imagery used to tune the image processing algorithms.

Temperature-tuned Maxwell-Boltzmann neutron spectra for kT ranging from 30 up to 50 keV for nuclear astrophysics studies.

PubMed

Martín-Hernández, G; Mastinu, P F; Praena, J; Dzysiuk, N; Capote Noy, R; Pignatari, M

2012-08-01

The need of neutron capture cross section measurements for astrophysics motivates present work, where calculations to generate stellar neutron spectra at different temperatures are performed. The accelerator-based (7)Li(p,n)(7)Be reaction is used. Shaping the proton beam energy and the sample covering a specific solid angle, neutron activation for measuring stellar-averaged capture cross section can be done. High-quality Maxwell-Boltzmann neutron spectra are predicted. Assuming a general behavior of the neutron capture cross section a weighted fit of the spectrum to Maxwell-Boltzmann distributions is successfully introduced. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A potential non-invasive approach to evaluating blastocyst quality using biodynamic imaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Zhe; Ehmke, Natalie; Machaty, Zoltan; Nolte, David

2018-02-01

Biodynamic imaging (BDI) is capable of capturing the intracellular dynamics of blastocysts within a relatively short time. Spectroscopic signatures of embryos in the 0.01 Hz - 1 Hz range display responses to external factors before morphology changes take place. Viability evaluation is consistent with results from other non-invasive methods. Biodynamic imaging is a potential tool for selecting high quality embryos in clinical IVF practices.

Intelligent image capture of cartridge cases for firearms examiners

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jones, Brett C.; Guerci, Joseph R.

1997-02-01

The FBI's DRUGFIRETM system is a nationwide computerized networked image database of ballistic forensic evidence. This evidence includes images of cartridge cases and bullets obtained from both crime scenes and controlled test firings of seized weapons. Currently, the system is installed in over 80 forensic labs across the country and has enjoyed a high degree of success. In this paper, we discuss some of the issues and methods associated with providing a front-end semi-automated image capture system that simultaneously satisfies the often conflicting criteria of the many human examiners visual perception versus the criteria associated with optimizing autonomous digital image correlation. Specifically, we detail the proposed processing chain of an intelligent image capture system (IICS), involving a real- time capture 'assistant,' which assesses the quality of the image under test utilizing a custom designed neural network.

Electrochemiluminescence immunosorbent assay of ricin in ground beef: Biotinylated capture antibodies and matrix effects

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Ricin is a highly toxic protein present in the seeds of castor (Ricinus communis), grown principally as a source of high quality industrial lubricant and as an ornamental. Because of the past use of ricin for intentional poisoning, there is a need for analytical methodology to detect ricin in food m...

Examining Practices of Staff Recruitment and Retention in Four High-Functioning Afterschool Programs: Extended Study from the National Afterschool Partnership Report. CRESST Report 769

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Huang, Denise; Cho, Jamie; Nam, Hannah H.; La Torre, Deborah; Oh, Christine; Harven, Aletha; Huber, Lindsay Perez; Rudo, Zena; Caverly, Sarah

2010-01-01

This study describes how staff qualifications, decisions on staffing procedures, and professional development opportunities support the recruitment and retention of quality staff members. Four high-functioning programs were identified. Qualitative procedures and instruments were designed to capture staff and parents' academic perspectives about…

Effective Fingerprint Quality Estimation for Diverse Capture Sensors

PubMed Central

Xie, Shan Juan; Yoon, Sook; Shin, Jinwook; Park, Dong Sun

2010-01-01

Recognizing the quality of fingerprints in advance can be beneficial for improving the performance of fingerprint recognition systems. The representative features to assess the quality of fingerprint images from different types of capture sensors are known to vary. In this paper, an effective quality estimation system that can be adapted for different types of capture sensors is designed by modifying and combining a set of features including orientation certainty, local orientation quality and consistency. The proposed system extracts basic features, and generates next level features which are applicable for various types of capture sensors. The system then uses the Support Vector Machine (SVM) classifier to determine whether or not an image should be accepted as input to the recognition system. The experimental results show that the proposed method can perform better than previous methods in terms of accuracy. In the meanwhile, the proposed method has an ability to eliminate residue images from the optical and capacitive sensors, and the coarse images from thermal sensors. PMID:22163632

Can hospitals compete on quality? Hospital competition.

PubMed

Sadat, Somayeh; Abouee-Mehrizi, Hossein; Carter, Michael W

2015-09-01

In this paper, we consider two hospitals with different perceived quality of care competing to capture a fraction of the total market demand. Patients select the hospital that provides the highest utility, which is a function of price and the patient's perceived quality of life during their life expectancy. We consider a market with a single class of patients and show that depending on the market demand and perceived quality of care of the hospitals, patients may enjoy a positive utility. Moreover, hospitals share the market demand based on their perceived quality of care and capacity. We also show that in a monopoly market (a market with a single hospital) the optimal demand captured by the hospital is independent of the perceived quality of care. We investigate the effects of different parameters including the market demand, hospitals' capacities, and perceived quality of care on the fraction of the demand that each hospital captures using some numerical examples.

Capturing the lost phosphorus.

PubMed

Rittmann, Bruce E; Mayer, Brooke; Westerhoff, Paul; Edwards, Mark

2011-08-01

Minable phosphorus (P) reserves are being depleted and will need to be replaced by recovering P that currently is lost from the agricultural system, causing water-quality problems. The largest two flows of lost P are in agricultural runoff and erosion (∼46% of mined P globally) and animal wastes (∼40%). These flows are quite distinct. Runoff has a very high volumetric flow rate, but a low P concentration; animal wastes have low flow rates, but a high P concentration together with a high concentration of organic material. Recovering the lost P in animal wastes is technically and economically more tractable, and it is the focus for this review of promising P-capture technologies. P capture requires that organic P be transformed into inorganic P (phosphate). For high-strength animal wastes, P release can be accomplished in tandem with anaerobic treatment that converts the energy value in the organic matter to CH(4), H(2), or electricity. Once present as phosphate, the P can be captured in a reusable form by four approaches. Most well developed is precipitation as magnesium or calcium solids. Less developed, but promising are adsorption to iron-based adsorbents, ion exchange to phosphate-selective solids, and uptake by photosynthetic microorganisms or P-selective proteins. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A Unified Framework for Street-View Panorama Stitching

PubMed Central

Li, Li; Yao, Jian; Xie, Renping; Xia, Menghan; Zhang, Wei

2016-01-01

In this paper, we propose a unified framework to generate a pleasant and high-quality street-view panorama by stitching multiple panoramic images captured from the cameras mounted on the mobile platform. Our proposed framework is comprised of four major steps: image warping, color correction, optimal seam line detection and image blending. Since the input images are captured without a precisely common projection center from the scenes with the depth differences with respect to the cameras to different extents, such images cannot be precisely aligned in geometry. Therefore, an efficient image warping method based on the dense optical flow field is proposed to greatly suppress the influence of large geometric misalignment at first. Then, to lessen the influence of photometric inconsistencies caused by the illumination variations and different exposure settings, we propose an efficient color correction algorithm via matching extreme points of histograms to greatly decrease color differences between warped images. After that, the optimal seam lines between adjacent input images are detected via the graph cut energy minimization framework. At last, the Laplacian pyramid blending algorithm is applied to further eliminate the stitching artifacts along the optimal seam lines. Experimental results on a large set of challenging street-view panoramic images captured form the real world illustrate that the proposed system is capable of creating high-quality panoramas. PMID:28025481

Capturing Reality at Centre Block

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boulanger, C.; Ouimet, C.; Yeomans, N.

2017-08-01

The Centre Block of Canada's Parliament buildings, National Historic Site of Canada is set to undergo a major rehabilitation project that will take approximately 10 years to complete. In preparation for this work, Heritage Conservation Services (HCS) of Public Services and Procurement Canada has been completing heritage documentation of the entire site which includes laser scanning of all interior rooms and accessible confined spaces such as attics and other similar areas. Other documentation completed includes detailed photogrammetric documentation of rooms and areas of high heritage value. Some of these high heritage value spaces present certain challenges such as accessibility due to the height and the size of the spaces. Another challenge is the poor lighting conditions, requiring the use of flash or strobe lighting to either compliment or completely eliminate the available ambient lighting. All the spaces captured at this higher level of detail were also captured with laser scanning. This allowed the team to validate the information and conduct a quality review of the photogrammetric data. As a result of this exercise, the team realized that in most, if not all cases, the photogrammetric data was more detailed and at a higher quality then the terrestrial laser scanning data. The purpose and motivation of this paper is to present these findings, as well provide the advantages and disadvantages of the two methods and data sets.

Truth in Reporting: How Data Capture Methods Obfuscate Actual Surgical Site Infection Rates within a Health Care Network System.

PubMed

Bordeianou, Liliana; Cauley, Christy E; Antonelli, Donna; Bird, Sarah; Rattner, David; Hutter, Matthew; Mahmood, Sadiqa; Schnipper, Deborah; Rubin, Marc; Bleday, Ronald; Kenney, Pardon; Berger, David

2017-01-01

Two systems measure surgical site infection rates following colorectal surgeries: the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Healthcare Safety Network. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services pay-for-performance initiatives use National Healthcare Safety Network data for hospital comparisons. This study aimed to compare database concordance. This is a multi-institution cohort study of systemwide Colorectal Surgery Collaborative. The National Surgical Quality Improvement Program requires rigorous, standardized data capture techniques; National Healthcare Safety Network allows 5 data capture techniques. Standardized surgical site infection rates were compared between databases. The Cohen κ-coefficient was calculated. This study was conducted at Boston-area hospitals. National Healthcare Safety Network or National Surgical Quality Improvement Program patients undergoing colorectal surgery were included. Standardized surgical site infection rates were the primary outcomes of interest. Thirty-day surgical site infection rates of 3547 (National Surgical Quality Improvement Program) vs 5179 (National Healthcare Safety Network) colorectal procedures (2012-2014). Discrepancies appeared: National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database of hospital 1 (N = 1480 patients) routinely found surgical site infection rates of approximately 10%, routinely deemed rate "exemplary" or "as expected" (100%). National Healthcare Safety Network data from the same hospital and time period (N = 1881) revealed a similar overall surgical site infection rate (10%), but standardized rates were deemed "worse than national average" 80% of the time. Overall, hospitals using less rigorous capture methods had improved surgical site infection rates for National Healthcare Safety Network compared with standardized National Surgical Quality Improvement Program reports. The correlation coefficient between standardized infection rates was 0.03 (p = 0.88). During 25 site-time period observations, National Surgical Quality Improvement Program and National Healthcare Safety Network data matched for 52% of observations (13/25). κ = 0.10 (95% CI, -0.1366 to 0.3402; p = 0.403), indicating poor agreement. This study investigated hospitals located in the Northeastern United States only. Variation in Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services-mandated National Healthcare Safety Network infection surveillance methodology leads to unreliable results, which is apparent when these results are compared with standardized data. High-quality data would improve care quality and compare outcomes among institutions.

A novel smartphone ophthalmic imaging adapter: User feasibility studies in Hyderabad, India

PubMed Central

Ludwig, Cassie A; Murthy, Somasheila I; Pappuru, Rajeev R; Jais, Alexandre; Myung, David J; Chang, Robert T

2016-01-01

Aim of Study: To evaluate the ability of ancillary health staff to use a novel smartphone imaging adapter system (EyeGo, now known as Paxos Scope) to capture images of sufficient quality to exclude emergent eye findings. Secondary aims were to assess user and patient experiences during image acquisition, interuser reproducibility, and subjective image quality. Materials and Methods: The system captures images using a macro lens and an indirect ophthalmoscopy lens coupled with an iPhone 5S. We conducted a prospective cohort study of 229 consecutive patients presenting to L. V. Prasad Eye Institute, Hyderabad, India. Primary outcome measure was mean photographic quality (FOTO-ED study 1–5 scale, 5 best). 210 patients and eight users completed surveys assessing comfort and ease of use. For 46 patients, two users imaged the same patient's eyes sequentially. For 182 patients, photos taken with the EyeGo system were compared to images taken by existing clinic cameras: a BX 900 slit-lamp with a Canon EOS 40D Digital Camera and an FF 450 plus Fundus Camera with VISUPAC™ Digital Imaging System. Images were graded post hoc by a reviewer blinded to diagnosis. Results: Nine users acquired 719 useable images and 253 videos of 229 patients. Mean image quality was ≥ 4.0/5.0 (able to exclude subtle findings) for all users. 8/8 users and 189/210 patients surveyed were comfortable with the EyeGo device on a 5-point Likert scale. For 21 patients imaged with the anterior adapter by two users, a weighted κ of 0.597 (95% confidence interval: 0.389–0.806) indicated moderate reproducibility. High level of agreement between EyeGo and existing clinic cameras (92.6% anterior, 84.4% posterior) was found. Conclusion: The novel, ophthalmic imaging system is easily learned by ancillary eye care providers, well tolerated by patients, and captures high-quality images of eye findings. PMID:27146928

Information recovery through image sequence fusion under wavelet transformation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

He, Qiang

2010-04-01

Remote sensing is widely applied to provide information of areas with limited ground access with applications such as to assess the destruction from natural disasters and to plan relief and recovery operations. However, the data collection of aerial digital images is constrained by bad weather, atmospheric conditions, and unstable camera or camcorder. Therefore, how to recover the information from the low-quality remote sensing images and how to enhance the image quality becomes very important for many visual understanding tasks, such like feature detection, object segmentation, and object recognition. The quality of remote sensing imagery can be improved through meaningful combination of the employed images captured from different sensors or from different conditions through information fusion. Here we particularly address information fusion to remote sensing images under multi-resolution analysis in the employed image sequences. The image fusion is to recover complete information by integrating multiple images captured from the same scene. Through image fusion, a new image with high-resolution or more perceptive for human and machine is created from a time series of low-quality images based on image registration between different video frames.

Blended particle filters for large-dimensional chaotic dynamical systems

PubMed Central

Majda, Andrew J.; Qi, Di; Sapsis, Themistoklis P.

2014-01-01

A major challenge in contemporary data science is the development of statistically accurate particle filters to capture non-Gaussian features in large-dimensional chaotic dynamical systems. Blended particle filters that capture non-Gaussian features in an adaptively evolving low-dimensional subspace through particles interacting with evolving Gaussian statistics on the remaining portion of phase space are introduced here. These blended particle filters are constructed in this paper through a mathematical formalism involving conditional Gaussian mixtures combined with statistically nonlinear forecast models compatible with this structure developed recently with high skill for uncertainty quantification. Stringent test cases for filtering involving the 40-dimensional Lorenz 96 model with a 5-dimensional adaptive subspace for nonlinear blended filtering in various turbulent regimes with at least nine positive Lyapunov exponents are used here. These cases demonstrate the high skill of the blended particle filter algorithms in capturing both highly non-Gaussian dynamical features as well as crucial nonlinear statistics for accurate filtering in extreme filtering regimes with sparse infrequent high-quality observations. The formalism developed here is also useful for multiscale filtering of turbulent systems and a simple application is sketched below. PMID:24825886

MPCM: a hardware coder for super slow motion video sequences

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alcocer, Estefanía; López-Granado, Otoniel; Gutierrez, Roberto; Malumbres, Manuel P.

2013-12-01

In the last decade, the improvements in VLSI levels and image sensor technologies have led to a frenetic rush to provide image sensors with higher resolutions and faster frame rates. As a result, video devices were designed to capture real-time video at high-resolution formats with frame rates reaching 1,000 fps and beyond. These ultrahigh-speed video cameras are widely used in scientific and industrial applications, such as car crash tests, combustion research, materials research and testing, fluid dynamics, and flow visualization that demand real-time video capturing at extremely high frame rates with high-definition formats. Therefore, data storage capability, communication bandwidth, processing time, and power consumption are critical parameters that should be carefully considered in their design. In this paper, we propose a fast FPGA implementation of a simple codec called modulo-pulse code modulation (MPCM) which is able to reduce the bandwidth requirements up to 1.7 times at the same image quality when compared with PCM coding. This allows current high-speed cameras to capture in a continuous manner through a 40-Gbit Ethernet point-to-point access.

Effects of capture and handling on survival of female northern pintails

USGS Publications Warehouse

Cox, R.R.; Afton, A.D.

1998-01-01

Identification of capture and handling procedures that influence survival of waterfowl has important research and management implications. We captured 347 female Northern Pintails (Anas acuta) using rocket nets, fitted them with harness (backpack-type) radio transmitters, and monitored their survival during the first 10 d following release. Females were 16 times more likely to die during the first 4 d of exposure than during days 5-10. Survival of females captured with small numbers of waterfowl (n < 172) was not related to holding time (time from capture until release), but survival of females captured with large numbers of waterfowl (n = 594) declined as holding time increased. Survival did not vary with age (immature or adult) or body condition (body mass adjusted for body size) of females. Survival was positively related to flight quality (scored as poor, moderate, or good) of females upon release; poor and moderate fliers were twice as likely to die as those scored in the next higher level of flight quality. Flight quality of females captured with small numbers of waterfowl was unrelated to holding time, but that of females captured with large numbers of waterfowl declined as holding time increased. In all cases where cause of mortalities could be determined (n = 12), we attributed proximate cause of death to predation. We recommend that holding time of ducks be minimized, particularly for those captured with large numbers of waterfowl in rocket nets.

Extracting DNA from 'jaws': high yield and quality from archived tiger shark (Galeocerdo cuvier) skeletal material.

PubMed

Nielsen, E E; Morgan, J A T; Maher, S L; Edson, J; Gauthier, M; Pepperell, J; Holmes, B J; Bennett, M B; Ovenden, J R

2017-05-01

Archived specimens are highly valuable sources of DNA for retrospective genetic/genomic analysis. However, often limited effort has been made to evaluate and optimize extraction methods, which may be crucial for downstream applications. Here, we assessed and optimized the usefulness of abundant archived skeletal material from sharks as a source of DNA for temporal genomic studies. Six different methods for DNA extraction, encompassing two different commercial kits and three different protocols, were applied to material, so-called bio-swarf, from contemporary and archived jaws and vertebrae of tiger sharks (Galeocerdo cuvier). Protocols were compared for DNA yield and quality using a qPCR approach. For jaw swarf, all methods provided relatively high DNA yield and quality, while large differences in yield between protocols were observed for vertebrae. Similar results were obtained from samples of white shark (Carcharodon carcharias). Application of the optimized methods to 38 museum and private angler trophy specimens dating back to 1912 yielded sufficient DNA for downstream genomic analysis for 68% of the samples. No clear relationships between age of samples, DNA quality and quantity were observed, likely reflecting different preparation and storage methods for the trophies. Trial sequencing of DNA capture genomic libraries using 20 000 baits revealed that a significant proportion of captured sequences were derived from tiger sharks. This study demonstrates that archived shark jaws and vertebrae are potential high-yield sources of DNA for genomic-scale analysis. It also highlights that even for similar tissue types, a careful evaluation of extraction protocols can vastly improve DNA yield. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Collection and Analysis of Crowd Data with Aerial, Rooftop, and Ground Views

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-11-10

collected these datasets using different aircrafts. Erista 8 HL OctaCopter is a heavy-lift aerial platform capable of using high-resolution cinema ...is another high-resolution camera that is cinema grade and high quality, with the capability of capturing videos with 4K resolution at 30 frames per...292.58 Imaging Systems and Accessories Blackmagic Production Camera 4 Crowd Counting using 4K Cameras High resolution cinema grade digital video

An image compression algorithm for a high-resolution digital still camera

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nerheim, Rosalee

1989-01-01

The Electronic Still Camera (ESC) project will provide for the capture and transmission of high-quality images without the use of film. The image quality will be superior to video and will approach the quality of 35mm film. The camera, which will have the same general shape and handling as a 35mm camera, will be able to send images to earth in near real-time. Images will be stored in computer memory (RAM) in removable cartridges readable by a computer. To save storage space, the image will be compressed and reconstructed at the time of viewing. Both lossless and loss-y image compression algorithms are studied, described, and compared.

Data collection automation and total quality management: case studies in the health-service industry.

PubMed

Smith, Alan D; Offodile, O Felix

2008-01-01

The limitations, immeasurable, and seemly unquantifiable aspects of the healthcare service industry, make it imperative that quality assurance programs include total quality management (TQM) and automatic identification and data capture (AIDC)-related technologies. Most of standards used in TQM and AIDC require data, to measure improvement and achieve standardization. Major difference between managing a service firm and managing a product-manufacturing firm is the difficulty of achieving consistently high quality. Examination of two different healthcare service providers in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area offers different views as to the implementation and practice of total quality management techniques and AIDC integration. Since the healthcare service industry must take into account its high customization needs, there are positive steps to make the hospital structure itself more patient friendly and quality related; hence improving its heath-marketing strategies to the general public.

Low-cost conversion of the Polaroid MD-4 land camera to a digital gel documentation system.

PubMed

Porch, Timothy G; Erpelding, John E

2006-04-30

A simple, inexpensive design is presented for the rapid conversion of the popular MD-4 Polaroid land camera to a high quality digital gel documentation system. Images of ethidium bromide stained DNA gels captured using the digital system were compared to images captured on Polaroid instant film. Resolution and sensitivity were enhanced using the digital system. In addition to the low cost and superior image quality of the digital system, there is also the added convenience of real-time image viewing through the swivel LCD of the digital camera, wide flexibility of gel sizes, accurate automatic focusing, variable image resolution, and consistent ease of use and quality. Images can be directly imported to a computer by using the USB port on the digital camera, further enhancing the potential of the digital system for documentation, analysis, and archiving. The system is appropriate for use as a start-up gel documentation system and for routine gel analysis.

Capturing, using, and managing quality assurance knowledge for shuttle post-MECO flight design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Peters, H. L.; Fussell, L. R.; Goodwin, M. A.; Schultz, Roger D.

1991-01-01

Ascent initialization values used by the Shuttle's onboard computer for nominal and abort mission scenarios are verified by a six degrees of freedom computer simulation. The procedure that the Ascent Post Main Engine Cutoff (Post-MECO) group uses to perform quality assurance (QA) of the simulation is time consuming. Also, the QA data, checklists and associated rationale, though known by the group members, is not sufficiently documented, hindering transfer of knowledge and problem resolution. A new QA procedure which retains the current high level of integrity while reducing the time required to perform QA is needed to support the increasing Shuttle flight rate. Documenting the knowledge is also needed to increase its availability for training and problem resolution. To meet these needs, a knowledge capture process, embedded into the group activities, was initiated to verify the existing QA checks, define new ones, and document all rationale. The resulting checks were automated in a conventional software program to achieve the desired standardization, integrity, and time reduction. A prototype electronic knowledge base was developed with Macintosh's HyperCard to serve as a knowledge capture tool and data storage.

Feasibility of using continuous chromatography in downstream processing: Comparison of costs and product quality for a hybrid process vs. a conventional batch process.

PubMed

Ötes, Ozan; Flato, Hendrik; Winderl, Johannes; Hubbuch, Jürgen; Capito, Florian

2017-10-10

The protein A capture step is the main cost-driver in downstream processing, with high attrition costs especially when using protein A resin not until end of resin lifetime. Here we describe a feasibility study, transferring a batch downstream process to a hybrid process, aimed at replacing batch protein A capture chromatography with a continuous capture step, while leaving the polishing steps unchanged to minimize required process adaptations compared to a batch process. 35g of antibody were purified using the hybrid approach, resulting in comparable product quality and step yield compared to the batch process. Productivity for the protein A step could be increased up to 420%, reducing buffer amounts by 30-40% and showing robustness for at least 48h continuous run time. Additionally, to enable its potential application in a clinical trial manufacturing environment cost of goods were compared for the protein A step between hybrid process and batch process, showing a 300% cost reduction, depending on processed volumes and batch cycles. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A State Policymaker's STEM Playbook. Promising Practices

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zinth, Jennifer; Goetz, Tami

2016-01-01

Science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) has captured the attention of state policymakers who are concerned about equitable access to high-quality educational experiences and preparing and inspiring students to pursue STEM careers. Yet in many states, STEM policymaking efforts have not achieved their intended return on investment…

Application of Wavelet Filters in an Evaluation of Photochemical Model Performance

EPA Science Inventory

Air quality model evaluation can be enhanced with time-scale specific comparisons of outputs and observations. For example, high-frequency (hours to one day) time scale information in observed ozone is not well captured by deterministic models and its incorporation into model pe...

Connected health: cancer symptom and quality-of-life assessment using a tablet computer: a pilot study.

PubMed

Aktas, Aynur; Hullihen, Barbara; Shrotriya, Shiva; Thomas, Shirley; Walsh, Declan; Estfan, Bassam

2015-03-01

Incorporation of tablet computers (TCs) into patient assessment may facilitate safe and secure data collection. We evaluated the usefulness and acceptability of a TC as an electronic self-report symptom assessment instrument. Research Electronic Data Capture Web-based application supported data capture. Information was collected and disseminated in real time and a structured format. Completed questionnaires were printed and given to the physician before the patient visit. Most participants completed the survey without assistance. Completion rate was 100%. The median global quality of life was high for all. More than half reported pain. Based on Edmonton Symptom Assessment System, the top 3 most common symptoms were tiredness, anxiety, and decreased well-being. Patient and physician acceptability for these quick and useful TC-based surveys was excellent. © The Author(s) 2013.

Capturing Functional Independence Measure (FIM®) Ratings.

PubMed

Torres, Audrey

The aim of the study was to identify interventions to capture admission functional independence measure (FIM®) ratings on the day of admission to an inpatient rehabilitation facility. A quantitative evidence-based practice quality improvement study utilizing descriptive statistics. Admission FIM® ratings from patients discharged in June 2012 (retrospective review) were compared to admission FIM® ratings from patients discharged in June 2014 (prospective review). The logic model was utilized to determine the project inputs, outputs, and outcomes. Interventions to capture admission FIM® ratings on the day of admission are essential to accurately predict the patient's burden of care, length of stay, and reimbursement. Waiting until Day 2 or Day 3 after admission to capture the admission FIM® assessment resulted in inflated admission FIM® ratings and suboptimal quality outcomes. Interventions to capture admission FIM® ratings on the day of admission were successful at improving the quality of care, length of stay efficiency, and accurately recording admission FIM® ratings to determine the patient's burden of care.

A Graph Oriented Approach for Network Forensic Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wang, Wei

2010-01-01

Network forensic analysis is a process that analyzes intrusion evidence captured from networked environment to identify suspicious entities and stepwise actions in an attack scenario. Unfortunately, the overwhelming amount and low quality of output from security sensors make it difficult for analysts to obtain a succinct high-level view of complex…

HST High Gain Antennae photographed by Electronic Still Camera

NASA Image and Video Library

1993-12-04

S61-E-021 (7 Dec 1993) --- This close-up view of one of two High Gain Antennae (HGA) on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) was photographed with an Electronic Still Camera (ESC), and down linked to ground controllers soon afterward. Endeavour's crew captured the HST on December 4, 1993 in order to service the telescope over a period of five days. Four of the crew members have been working in alternating pairs outside Endeavour's shirt sleeve environment to service the giant telescope. Electronic still photography is a relatively new technology which provides the means for a handheld camera to electronically capture and digitize an image with resolution approaching film quality. The electronic still camera has flown as an experiment on several other shuttle missions.

Efficient, quality-assured data capture in operational research through innovative use of open-access technology

PubMed Central

Naik, B.; Guddemane, D. K.; Bhat, P.; Wilson, N.; Sreenivas, A. N.; Lauritsen, J. M.; Rieder, H. L.

2013-01-01

Ensuring quality of data during electronic data capture has been one of the most neglected components of operational research. Multicentre studies are also challenged with issues about logistics of travel, training, supervision, monitoring and troubleshooting support. Allocating resources to these issues can pose a significant bottleneck for operational research in resource-limited settings. In this article, we describe an innovative and efficient way of coordinating data capture in multicentre operational research using a combination of three open access technologies—EpiData for data capture, Dropbox for sharing files and TeamViewer for providing remote support. PMID:26392997

47 CFR 43.21 - Transactions with affiliates.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... file, by April 1 of each year, a report designed to capture trends in service quality under price cap... report designed to capture trends in service quality under price cap regulation. The report shall contain...) REPORTS OF COMMUNICATION COMMON CARRIERS AND CERTAIN AFFILIATES § 43.21 Transactions with affiliates. (a...

47 CFR 43.21 - Transactions with affiliates.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... file, by April 1 of each year, a report designed to capture trends in service quality under price cap... report designed to capture trends in service quality under price cap regulation. The report shall contain...) REPORTS OF COMMUNICATION COMMON CARRIERS AND CERTAIN AFFILIATES § 43.21 Transactions with affiliates. (a...

Simulated response of water quality in public supply wells to land use change

USGS Publications Warehouse

McMahon, P.B.; Burow, K.R.; Kauffman, L.J.; Eberts, S.M.; Böhlke, J.K.; Gurdak, J.J.

2008-01-01

Understanding how changes in land use affect water quality of public supply wells (PSW) is important because of the strong influence of land use on water quality, the rapid pace at which changes in land use are occurring in some parts of the world, and the large contribution of groundwater to the global water supply. In this study, groundwater flow models incorporating particle tracking and reaction were used to analyze the response of water quality in PSW to land use change in four communities: Modesto, California (Central Valley aquifer); York, Nebraska (High Plains aquifer); Woodbury, Connecticut (Glacial aquifer); and Tampa, Florida (Floridan aquifer). The water quality response to measured and hypothetical land use change was dependent on age distributions of water captured by the wells and on the temporal and spatial variability of land use in the area contributing recharge to the wells. Age distributions of water captured by the PSW spanned about 20 years at Woodbury and >1,000 years at Modesto and York, and the amount of water <50 years old captured by the PSW ranged from 30% at York to 100% at Woodbury. Short‐circuit pathways in some PSW contributing areas, such as long irrigation well screens that crossed multiple geologic layers (York) and karst conduits (Tampa), affected age distributions by allowing relatively rapid movement of young water to those well screens. The spatial component of land use change was important because the complex distribution of particle travel times within the contributing areas strongly influenced contaminant arrival times and degradation reaction progress. Results from this study show that timescales for change in the quality of water from PSW could be on the order of years to centuries for land use changes that occur over days to decades, which could have implications for source water protection strategies that rely on land use change to achieve water quality objectives.Citing Literature

Simulated response of water quality in public supply wells to land use change

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McMahon, P. B.; Burow, K. R.; Kauffman, L. J.; Eberts, S. M.; BöHlke, J. K.; Gurdak, J. J.

2008-07-01

Understanding how changes in land use affect water quality of public supply wells (PSW) is important because of the strong influence of land use on water quality, the rapid pace at which changes in land use are occurring in some parts of the world, and the large contribution of groundwater to the global water supply. In this study, groundwater flow models incorporating particle tracking and reaction were used to analyze the response of water quality in PSW to land use change in four communities: Modesto, California (Central Valley aquifer); York, Nebraska (High Plains aquifer); Woodbury, Connecticut (Glacial aquifer); and Tampa, Florida (Floridan aquifer). The water quality response to measured and hypothetical land use change was dependent on age distributions of water captured by the wells and on the temporal and spatial variability of land use in the area contributing recharge to the wells. Age distributions of water captured by the PSW spanned about 20 years at Woodbury and >1,000 years at Modesto and York, and the amount of water <50 years old captured by the PSW ranged from 30% at York to 100% at Woodbury. Short-circuit pathways in some PSW contributing areas, such as long irrigation well screens that crossed multiple geologic layers (York) and karst conduits (Tampa), affected age distributions by allowing relatively rapid movement of young water to those well screens. The spatial component of land use change was important because the complex distribution of particle travel times within the contributing areas strongly influenced contaminant arrival times and degradation reaction progress. Results from this study show that timescales for change in the quality of water from PSW could be on the order of years to centuries for land use changes that occur over days to decades, which could have implications for source water protection strategies that rely on land use change to achieve water quality objectives.

High-throughput annotation of full-length long noncoding RNAs with capture long-read sequencing.

PubMed

Lagarde, Julien; Uszczynska-Ratajczak, Barbara; Carbonell, Silvia; Pérez-Lluch, Sílvia; Abad, Amaya; Davis, Carrie; Gingeras, Thomas R; Frankish, Adam; Harrow, Jennifer; Guigo, Roderic; Johnson, Rory

2017-12-01

Accurate annotation of genes and their transcripts is a foundation of genomics, but currently no annotation technique combines throughput and accuracy. As a result, reference gene collections remain incomplete-many gene models are fragmentary, and thousands more remain uncataloged, particularly for long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs). To accelerate lncRNA annotation, the GENCODE consortium has developed RNA Capture Long Seq (CLS), which combines targeted RNA capture with third-generation long-read sequencing. Here we present an experimental reannotation of the GENCODE intergenic lncRNA populations in matched human and mouse tissues that resulted in novel transcript models for 3,574 and 561 gene loci, respectively. CLS approximately doubled the annotated complexity of targeted loci, outperforming existing short-read techniques. Full-length transcript models produced by CLS enabled us to definitively characterize the genomic features of lncRNAs, including promoter and gene structure, and protein-coding potential. Thus, CLS removes a long-standing bottleneck in transcriptome annotation and generates manual-quality full-length transcript models at high-throughput scales.

Active Traffic Capture for Network Forensics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Slaviero, Marco; Granova, Anna; Olivier, Martin

Network traffic capture is an integral part of network forensics, but current traffic capture techniques are typically passive in nature. Under heavy loads, it is possible for a sniffer to miss packets, which affects the quality of forensic evidence.

The UniProtKB guide to the human proteome

PubMed Central

Breuza, Lionel; Poux, Sylvain; Estreicher, Anne; Famiglietti, Maria Livia; Magrane, Michele; Tognolli, Michael; Bridge, Alan; Baratin, Delphine; Redaschi, Nicole

2016-01-01

Advances in high-throughput and advanced technologies allow researchers to routinely perform whole genome and proteome analysis. For this purpose, they need high-quality resources providing comprehensive gene and protein sets for their organisms of interest. Using the example of the human proteome, we will describe the content of a complete proteome in the UniProt Knowledgebase (UniProtKB). We will show how manual expert curation of UniProtKB/Swiss-Prot is complemented by expert-driven automatic annotation to build a comprehensive, high-quality and traceable resource. We will also illustrate how the complexity of the human proteome is captured and structured in UniProtKB. Database URL: www.uniprot.org PMID:26896845

Context dependent anti-aliasing image reconstruction

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Beaudet, Paul R.; Hunt, A.; Arlia, N.

1989-01-01

Image Reconstruction has been mostly confined to context free linear processes; the traditional continuum interpretation of digital array data uses a linear interpolator with or without an enhancement filter. Here, anti-aliasing context dependent interpretation techniques are investigated for image reconstruction. Pattern classification is applied to each neighborhood to assign it a context class; a different interpolation/filter is applied to neighborhoods of differing context. It is shown how the context dependent interpolation is computed through ensemble average statistics using high resolution training imagery from which the lower resolution image array data is obtained (simulation). A quadratic least squares (LS) context-free image quality model is described from which the context dependent interpolation coefficients are derived. It is shown how ensembles of high-resolution images can be used to capture the a priori special character of different context classes. As a consequence, a priori information such as the translational invariance of edges along the edge direction, edge discontinuity, and the character of corners is captured and can be used to interpret image array data with greater spatial resolution than would be expected by the Nyquist limit. A Gibb-like artifact associated with this super-resolution is discussed. More realistic context dependent image quality models are needed and a suggestion is made for using a quality model which now is finding application in data compression.

The Grassmannian Atlas: A General Framework for Exploring Linear Projections of High-Dimensional Data

DOE PAGES

Liu, S.; Bremer, P. -T; Jayaraman, J. J.; ...

2016-06-04

Linear projections are one of the most common approaches to visualize high-dimensional data. Since the space of possible projections is large, existing systems usually select a small set of interesting projections by ranking a large set of candidate projections based on a chosen quality measure. However, while highly ranked projections can be informative, some lower ranked ones could offer important complementary information. Therefore, selection based on ranking may miss projections that are important to provide a global picture of the data. Here, the proposed work fills this gap by presenting the Grassmannian Atlas, a framework that captures the global structuresmore » of quality measures in the space of all projections, which enables a systematic exploration of many complementary projections and provides new insights into the properties of existing quality measures.« less

High-speed imaging using 3CCD camera and multi-color LED flashes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hijazi, Ala; Friedl, Alexander; Cierpka, Christian; Kähler, Christian; Madhavan, Vis

2017-11-01

This paper demonstrates the possibility of capturing full-resolution, high-speed image sequences using a regular 3CCD color camera in conjunction with high-power light emitting diodes of three different colors. This is achieved using a novel approach, referred to as spectral-shuttering, where a high-speed image sequence is captured using short duration light pulses of different colors that are sent consecutively in very close succession. The work presented in this paper demonstrates the feasibility of configuring a high-speed camera system using low cost and readily available off-the-shelf components. This camera can be used for recording six-frame sequences at frame rates up to 20 kHz or three-frame sequences at even higher frame rates. Both color crosstalk and spatial matching between the different channels of the camera are found to be within acceptable limits. A small amount of magnification difference between the different channels is found and a simple calibration procedure for correcting the images is introduced. The images captured using the approach described here are of good quality to be used for obtaining full-field quantitative information using techniques such as digital image correlation and particle image velocimetry. A sequence of six high-speed images of a bubble splash recorded at 400 Hz is presented as a demonstration.

Hospitals' Internal Accountability

PubMed Central

Kraetschmer, Nancy; Jass, Janak; Woodman, Cheryl; Koo, Irene; Kromm, Seija K.; Deber, Raisa B.

2014-01-01

This study aimed to enhance understanding of the dimensions of accountability captured and not captured in acute care hospitals in Ontario, Canada. Based on an Ontario-wide survey and follow-up interviews with three acute care hospitals in the Greater Toronto Area, we found that the two dominant dimensions of hospital accountability being reported are financial and quality performance. These two dimensions drove both internal and external reporting. Hospitals' internal reports typically included performance measures that were required or mandated in external reports. Although respondents saw reporting as a valuable mechanism for hospitals and the health system to monitor and track progress against desired outcomes, multiple challenges with current reporting requirements were communicated, including the following: 58% of survey respondents indicated that performance-reporting resources were insufficient; manual data capture and performance reporting were prevalent, with the majority of hospitals lacking sophisticated tools or technology to effectively capture, analyze and report performance data; hospitals tended to focus on those processes and outcomes with high measurability; and 53% of respondents indicated that valuable cross-system accountability, performance measures or both were not captured by current reporting requirements. PMID:25305387

Design of video processing and testing system based on DSP and FPGA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Hong; Lv, Jun; Chen, Xi'ai; Gong, Xuexia; Yang, Chen'na

2007-12-01

Based on high speed Digital Signal Processor (DSP) and Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), a video capture, processing and display system is presented, which is of miniaturization and low power. In this system, a triple buffering scheme was used for the capture and display, so that the application can always get a new buffer without waiting; The Digital Signal Processor has an image process ability and it can be used to test the boundary of workpiece's image. A video graduation technology is used to aim at the position which is about to be tested, also, it can enhance the system's flexibility. The character superposition technology realized by DSP is used to display the test result on the screen in character format. This system can process image information in real time, ensure test precision, and help to enhance product quality and quality management.

Peptide-Mediated Platelet Capture at Gold Micropore Arrays.

PubMed

Adamson, Kellie; Spain, Elaine; Prendergast, Una; Moran, Niamh; Forster, Robert J; Keyes, Tia E

2016-11-30

Ordered spherical cap gold cavity arrays with 5.4, 1.6, and 0.98 μm diameter apertures were explored as capture surfaces for human blood platelets to investigate the impact of surface geometry and chemical modification on platelet capture efficiency and their potential as platforms for surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy of single platelets. The substrates were chemically modified with single-constituent self-assembled monolayers (SAM) or mixed SAMs comprised of thiol-functionalized arginine-glycine-aspartic acid (RGD, a platelet integrin target) with or without 1-octanethiol (adhesion inhibitor). As expected, platelet adhesion was promoted and inhibited at RGD and alkanethiol modified surfaces, respectively. Platelet adhesion was reversible, and binding efficiency at the peptide modified substrates correlated inversely with pore diameter. Captured platelets underwent morphological change on capture, the extent of which depended on the topology of the underlying substrate. Regioselective capture of the platelets enabled study for the first time of the surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy of single blood platelets, yielding high quality Raman spectroscopy of individual platelets at 1.6 μm diameter pore arrays. Given the medical importance of blood platelets across a range of diseases from cancer to psychiatric illness, such approaches to platelet capture may provide a useful route to Raman spectroscopy for platelet related diagnostics.

Using Chemistry Simulations: Attention Capture, Selective Amnesia and Inattentional Blindness

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rodrigues, Susan

2011-01-01

Twenty-one convenience sample student volunteers aged between 14-15 years worked in pairs (and one group of three) with two randomly allocated high quality conceptual (molecular level) and operational (mimicking wet labs) simulations. The volunteers were told they had five minutes to play, repeat, review, restart or stop the simulation, which in…

Effective secondary fracture prevention: implementation of a global benchmarking of clinical quality using the IOF Capture the Fracture® Best Practice Framework tool.

PubMed

Javaid, M K; Kyer, C; Mitchell, P J; Chana, J; Moss, C; Edwards, M H; McLellan, A R; Stenmark, J; Pierroz, D D; Schneider, M C; Kanis, J A; Akesson, K; Cooper, C

2015-11-01

Fracture Liaison Services are the best model to prevent secondary fractures. The International Osteoporosis Foundation developed a Best Practice Framework to provide a quality benchmark. After a year of implementation, we confirmed that a single framework with set criteria is able to benchmark services across healthcare systems worldwide. Despite evidence for the clinical effectiveness of secondary fracture prevention, translation in the real-world setting remains disappointing. Where implemented, a wide variety of service models are used to deliver effective secondary fracture prevention. To support use of effective models of care across the globe, the International Osteoporosis Foundation's Capture the Fracture® programme developed a Best Practice Framework (BPF) tool of criteria and standards to provide a quality benchmark. We now report findings after the first 12 months of implementation. A questionnaire for the BPF was created and made available to institutions on the Capture the Fracture website. Responses from institutions were used to assign gold, silver, bronze or black (insufficient) level of achievements mapped across five domains. Through an interactive process with the institution, a final score was determined and published on the Capture the Fracture website Fracture Liaison Service (FLS) map. Sixty hospitals across six continents submitted their questionnaires. The hospitals served populations from 20,000 to 15 million and were a mix of private and publicly funded. Each FLS managed 146 to 6200 fragility fracture patients per year with a total of 55,160 patients across all sites. Overall, 27 hospitals scored gold, 23 silver and 10 bronze. The pathway for the hip fracture patients had the highest proportion of gold grading while vertebral fracture the lowest. In the first 12 months, we have successfully tested the BPF tool in a range of health settings across the globe. Initial findings confirm a significant heterogeneity in service provision and highlight the importance of a global approach to ensure high quality secondary fracture prevention services.

Laser capture microdissection of embryonic cells and preparation of RNA for microarray assays.

PubMed

Redmond, Latasha C; Pang, Christopher J; Dumur, Catherine; Haar, Jack L; Lloyd, Joyce A

2014-01-01

In order to compare the global gene expression profiles of different embryonic cell types, it is first necessary to isolate the specific cells of interest. The purpose of this chapter is to provide a step-by-step protocol to perform laser capture microdissection (LCM) on embryo samples and obtain sufficient amounts of high-quality RNA for microarray hybridizations. Using the LCM/microarray strategy on mouse embryo samples has some challenges, because the cells of interest are available in limited quantities. The first step in the protocol is to obtain embryonic tissue, and immediately cryoprotect and freeze it in a cryomold containing Optimal Cutting Temperature freezing media (Sakura Finetek), using a dry ice-isopentane bath. The tissue is then cryosectioned, and the microscope slides are processed to fix, stain, and dehydrate the cells. LCM is employed to isolate specific cell types from the slides, identified under the microscope by virtue of their morphology. Detailed protocols are provided for using the currently available ArcturusXT LCM instrument and CapSure(®) LCM Caps, to which the selected cells adhere upon laser capture. To maintain RNA integrity, upon removing a slide from the final processing step, or attaching the first cells on the LCM cap, LCM is completed within 20 min. The cells are then immediately recovered from the LCM cap using a denaturing solution that stabilizes RNA integrity. RNA is prepared using standard methods, modified for working with small samples. To ensure the validity of the microarray data, the quality of the RNA is assessed using the Agilent bioanalyzer. Only RNA that is of sufficient integrity and quantity is used to perform microarray assays. This chapter provides guidance regarding troubleshooting and optimization to obtain high-quality RNA from cells of limited availability, obtained from embryo samples by LCM.

Laser Capture Microdissection of Embryonic Cells and Preparation of RNA for Microarray Assays

PubMed Central

Redmond, Latasha C.; Pang, Christopher J.; Dumur, Catherine; Haar, Jack L.; Lloyd, Joyce A.

2014-01-01

In order to compare the global gene expression profiles of different embryonic cell types, it is first necessary to isolate the specific cells of interest. The purpose of this chapter is to provide a step-by-step protocol to perform laser capture microdissection (LCM) on embryo samples and obtain sufficient amounts of high-quality RNA for microarray hybridizations. Using the LCM/microarray strategy on mouse embryo samples has some challenges, because the cells of interest are available in limited quantities. The first step in the protocol is to obtain embryonic tissue, and immediately cryoprotect and freeze it in a cryomold containing Optimal Cutting Temperature freezing media (Sakura Finetek), using a dry ice–isopentane bath. The tissue is then cryosectioned, and the microscope slides are processed to fix, stain, and dehydrate the cells. LCM is employed to isolate specific cell types from the slides, identified under the microscope by virtue of their morphology. Detailed protocols are provided for using the currently available ArcturusXT LCM instrument and CapSure® LCM Caps, to which the selected cells adhere upon laser capture. To maintain RNA integrity, upon removing a slide from the final processing step, or attaching the first cells on the LCM cap, LCM is completed within 20 min. The cells are then immediately recovered from the LCM cap using a denaturing solution that stabilizes RNA integrity. RNA is prepared using standard methods, modified for working with small samples. To ensure the validity of the microarray data, the quality of the RNA is assessed using the Agilent bioanalyzer. Only RNA that is of sufficient integrity and quantity is used to perform microarray assays. This chapter provides guidance regarding troubleshooting and optimization to obtain high-quality RNA from cells of limited availability, obtained from embryo samples by LCM. PMID:24318813

Revisiting the Procedures for the Vector Data Quality Assurance in Practice

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Erdoğan, M.; Torun, A.; Boyacı, D.

2012-07-01

Immense use of topographical data in spatial data visualization, business GIS (Geographic Information Systems) solutions and applications, mobile and location-based services forced the topo-data providers to create standard, up-to-date and complete data sets in a sustainable frame. Data quality has been studied and researched for more than two decades. There have been un-countable numbers of references on its semantics, its conceptual logical and representations and many applications on spatial databases and GIS. However, there is a gap between research and practice in the sense of spatial data quality which increases the costs and decreases the efficiency of data production. Spatial data quality is well-known by academia and industry but usually in different context. The research on spatial data quality stated several issues having practical use such as descriptive information, metadata, fulfillment of spatial relationships among data, integrity measures, geometric constraints etc. The industry and data producers realize them in three stages; pre-, co- and post data capturing. The pre-data capturing stage covers semantic modelling, data definition, cataloguing, modelling, data dictionary and schema creation processes. The co-data capturing stage covers general rules of spatial relationships, data and model specific rules such as topologic and model building relationships, geometric threshold, data extraction guidelines, object-object, object-belonging class, object-non-belonging class, class-class relationships to be taken into account during data capturing. And post-data capturing stage covers specified QC (quality check) benchmarks and checking compliance to general and specific rules. The vector data quality criteria are different from the views of producers and users. But these criteria are generally driven by the needs, expectations and feedbacks of the users. This paper presents a practical method which closes the gap between theory and practice. Development of spatial data quality concepts into developments and application requires existence of conceptual, logical and most importantly physical existence of data model, rules and knowledge of realization in a form of geo-spatial data. The applicable metrics and thresholds are determined on this concrete base. This study discusses application of geo-spatial data quality issues and QA (quality assurance) and QC procedures in the topographic data production. Firstly we introduce MGCP (Multinational Geospatial Co-production Program) data profile of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) DFDD (DGIWG Feature Data Dictionary), the requirements of data owner, the view of data producers for both data capturing and QC and finally QA to fulfil user needs. Then, our practical and new approach which divides the quality into three phases is introduced. Finally, implementation of our approach to accomplish metrics, measures and thresholds of quality definitions is discussed. In this paper, especially geometry and semantics quality and quality control procedures that can be performed by the producers are discussed. Some applicable best-practices that we experienced on techniques of quality control, defining regulations that define the objectives and data production procedures are given in the final remarks. These quality control procedures should include the visual checks over the source data, captured vector data and printouts, some automatic checks that can be performed by software and some semi-automatic checks by the interaction with quality control personnel. Finally, these quality control procedures should ensure the geometric, semantic, attribution and metadata quality of vector data.

Single-electron random-number generator (RNG) for highly secure ubiquitous computing applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Uchida, Ken; Tanamoto, Tetsufumi; Fujita, Shinobu

2007-11-01

Since the security of all modern cryptographic techniques relies on unpredictable and irreproducible digital keys generated by random-number generators (RNGs), the realization of high-quality RNG is essential for secure communications. In this report, a new RNG, which utilizes single-electron phenomena, is proposed. A room-temperature operating silicon single-electron transistor (SET) having nearby an electron pocket is used as a high-quality, ultra-small RNG. In the proposed RNG, stochastic single-electron capture/emission processes to/from the electron pocket are detected with high sensitivity by the SET, and result in giant random telegraphic signals (GRTS) on the SET current. It is experimentally demonstrated that the single-electron RNG generates extremely high-quality random digital sequences at room temperature, in spite of its simple configuration. Because of its small-size and low-power properties, the single-electron RNG is promising as a key nanoelectronic device for future ubiquitous computing systems with highly secure mobile communication capabilities.

Enhancing the routine health information system in rural southern Tanzania: successes, challenges and lessons learned.

PubMed

Maokola, W; Willey, B A; Shirima, K; Chemba, M; Armstrong Schellenberg, J R M; Mshinda, H; Alonso, P; Tanner, M; Schellenberg, D

2011-06-01

To describe and evaluate the use of handheld computers for the management of Health Management Information System data. Electronic data capture took place in 11 sentinel health centres in rural southern Tanzania. Information from children attending the outpatient department (OPD) and the Expanded Program on Immunization vaccination clinic was captured by trained local school-leavers, supported by monthly supervision visits. Clinical data included malaria blood slides and haemoglobin colour scale results. Quality of captured data was assessed using double data entry. Malaria blood slide results from health centre laboratories were compared to those from the study's quality control laboratory. The system took 5 months to implement, and few staffings or logistical problems were encountered. Over the following 12 months (April 2006-March 2007), 7056 attendances were recorded in 9880 infants aged 2-11 months, 50% with clinical malaria. Monthly supervision visits highlighted incomplete recording of information between OPD and laboratory records, where on average 40% of laboratory visits were missing the record of their corresponding OPD visit. Quality of microscopy from health facility laboratories was lower overall than that from the quality assurance laboratory. Electronic capture of HMIS data was rapidly and successfully implemented in this resource-poor setting. Electronic capture alone did not resolve issues of data completeness, accuracy and reliability, which are essential for management, monitoring and evaluation; suggestions to monitor and improve data quality are made. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

An economic cost analysis of emergency department key performance indicators in Ireland.

PubMed

Gannon, Brenda; Jones, Cheryl; McCabe, Aileen; O'Sullivan, Ronan; Wakai, Abel

2017-06-01

High quality data is fundamental to using key performance indicators (KPIs) for performance monitoring. However, the resources required to collect high quality data are often significant and should usually be targeted at high priority areas. As part of a study of 11 emergency department (ED) KPIs in Ireland, the primary objective of this study was to estimate the relative cost of collecting the additional minimum data set (MDS) elements for those 11 KPIs. An economic cost analysis focused on 12 EDs in the Republic of Ireland. The resource use data were obtained using two separate focus group interviews. The number of available MDS elements was obtained from a sample of 100 patient records per KPI per participating ED. Unit costs for all resource use were taken at the midpoint of the relevant staff salary scales. An ED would need to spend an estimated additional &OV0556;3561 per month on average to capture all the MDS elements relevant to the 11 KPIs investigated. The additional cost ranges from 14.8 to 39.2%; this range is 13.9-32.3% for small EDs, whereas the range for medium EDs is 11.7-40%. Regional EDs have a higher additional estimated cost to capture all the relevant MDS elements (&OV0556;3907), compared with urban EDs (&OV0556;3353). The additional cost of data collection, contingent on that already collected, required to capture all the relevant MDS elements for the KPIs examined, ranges from 14.8 to 39.2% per KPI, with variation identified between regional and urban hospitals.

The Aeroflex: A Bicycle for Mobile Air Quality Measurements

PubMed Central

Elen, Bart; Peters, Jan; Van Poppel, Martine; Bleux, Nico; Theunis, Jan; Reggente, Matteo; Standaert, Arnout

2013-01-01

Fixed air quality stations have limitations when used to assess people's real life exposure to air pollutants. Their spatial coverage is too limited to capture the spatial variability in, e.g., an urban or industrial environment. Complementary mobile air quality measurements can be used as an additional tool to fill this void. In this publication we present the Aeroflex, a bicycle for mobile air quality monitoring. The Aeroflex is equipped with compact air quality measurement devices to monitor ultrafine particle number counts, particulate mass and black carbon concentrations at a high resolution (up to 1 second). Each measurement is automatically linked to its geographical location and time of acquisition using GPS and Internet time. Furthermore, the Aeroflex is equipped with automated data transmission, data pre-processing and data visualization. The Aeroflex is designed with adaptability, reliability and user friendliness in mind. Over the past years, the Aeroflex has been successfully used for high resolution air quality mapping, exposure assessment and hot spot identification. PMID:23262484

The Aeroflex: a bicycle for mobile air quality measurements.

PubMed

Elen, Bart; Peters, Jan; Poppel, Martine Van; Bleux, Nico; Theunis, Jan; Reggente, Matteo; Standaert, Arnout

2012-12-24

Fixed air quality stations have limitations when used to assess people's real life exposure to air pollutants. Their spatial coverage is too limited to capture the spatial variability in, e.g., an urban or industrial environment. Complementary mobile air quality measurements can be used as an additional tool to fill this void. In this publication we present the Aeroflex, a bicycle for mobile air quality monitoring. The Aeroflex is equipped with compact air quality measurement devices to monitor ultrafine particle number counts, particulate mass and black carbon concentrations at a high resolution (up to 1 second). Each measurement is automatically linked to its geographical location and time of acquisition using GPS and Internet time. Furthermore, the Aeroflex is equipped with automated data transmission, data pre-processing and data visualization. The Aeroflex is designed with adaptability, reliability and user friendliness in mind. Over the past years, the Aeroflex has been successfully used for high resolution air quality mapping, exposure assessment and hot spot identification. 

Quality and Safety in Health Care, Part IV: Quality and Cancer Care.

PubMed

Harolds, Jay A

2015-11-01

The 1999 Institute of Medicine report Ensuring Quality Cancer Care discussed the difference between the actual cancer care received in the United States and the care that the patients should get, as well as some points to consider in delivering optimum care. In 2012, a follow-up review article in the journal Cancer entitled "Ensuring quality cancer care" indicated that there had been some interval progress, but more are needed to be done. The 2013 Institute of Medicine report Delivering High-Quality Cancer Care: Charting a New Course for a System in Crisis indicated that there are continuing major problems with cancer care and that they advocated a national system of quality reporting and a major information technology system to capture and help assess the data.

Tuberculosis cure rates and the ETR.Net: investigating the quality of reporting treatment outcomes from primary healthcare facilities in Mpumalanga province, South Africa.

PubMed

Dreyer, A W; Mbambo, D; Machaba, M; Oliphant, C E M; Claassens, M M

2017-03-10

Tuberculosis control programs rely on accurate collection of routine surveillance data to inform program decisions including resource allocation and specific interventions. The electronic TB register (ETR.Net) is dependent on accurate data transcription from both paperbased clinical records and registers at the facilities to report treatment outcome data. The study describes the quality of reporting of TB treatment outcomes from facilities in the Ehlanzeni District, Mpumalanga Province. A descriptive crossectional study of primary healthcare facilities in the district for the period 1 January - 31 December 2010 was performed. New smear positive TB cure rate data was obtained from the ETR.Net followed by verification of paperbased clinical records, both TB folders and the TB register, of 20% of all new smear positive cases across the district for correct reporting to the ETR.Net. Facilities were grouped according to high (>70%) and low cure rates (≤ 70%) as well as high (> 20%) and low (≤ 20%) error proportions in reporting. Kappa statistic was used to determine agreement between paperbased record, TB register and ETR.Net. Of the100 facilities (951 patient clinical records), 51(51%) had high cure rates and high error proportions, 14(14%) had a high cure rate and low error proportion whereas 30(30%) had low cure rates and high error proportions and five (5%) had a low cure rate with low error proportion. Fair agreement was observed (Kappa = 0.33) overall and between registers. Of the 473 patient clinical records which indicated cured, 383(81%) was correctly captured onto the ETR.Net, whereas 51(10.8%) was incorrectly captured and 39(8.2%) was not captured at all. Over reporting of treatment success of 12% occurred on the ETR.Net. The high error proportion in reporting onto the ETR.Net could result in a false sense of improvement in the TB control programme in the Ehlanzeni district.

Quality and noise measurements in mobile phone video capture

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Petrescu, Doina; Pincenti, John

2011-02-01

The quality of videos captured with mobile phones has become increasingly important particularly since resolutions and formats have reached a level that rivals the capabilities available in the digital camcorder market, and since many mobile phones now allow direct playback on large HDTVs. The video quality is determined by the combined quality of the individual parts of the imaging system including the image sensor, the digital color processing, and the video compression, each of which has been studied independently. In this work, we study the combined effect of these elements on the overall video quality. We do this by evaluating the capture under various lighting, color processing, and video compression conditions. First, we measure full reference quality metrics between encoder input and the reconstructed sequence, where the encoder input changes with light and color processing modifications. Second, we introduce a system model which includes all elements that affect video quality, including a low light additive noise model, ISP color processing, as well as the video encoder. Our experiments show that in low light conditions and for certain choices of color processing the system level visual quality may not improve when the encoder becomes more capable or the compression ratio is reduced.

Measurement of Chronic Pain and Opioid Use Evaluation in Community-Based Persons with Serious Illnesses

PubMed Central

Naidu, Ramana K.

2018-01-01

Abstract Background: Chronic pain associated with serious illnesses is having a major impact on population health in the United States. Accountability for high quality care for community-dwelling patients with serious illnesses requires selection of metrics that capture the burden of chronic pain whose treatment may be enhanced or complicated by opioid use. Objective: Our aim was to evaluate options for assessing pain in seriously ill community dwelling adults, to discuss the use/abuse of opioids in individuals with chronic pain, and to suggest pain and opioid use metrics that can be considered for screening and evaluation of patient responses and quality care. Design: Structured literature review. Measurements: Evaluation of pain and opioid use assessment metrics and measures for their potential usefulness in the community. Results: Several pain and opioid assessment instruments are available for consideration. Yet, no one pain instrument has been identified as “the best” to assess pain in seriously ill community-dwelling patients. Screening tools exist that are specific to the assessment of risk in opioid management. Opioid screening can assess risk based on substance use history, general risk taking, and reward-seeking behavior. Conclusions: Accountability for high quality care for community-dwelling patients requires selection of metrics that will capture the burden of chronic pain and beneficial use or misuse of opioids. Future research is warranted to identify, modify, or develop instruments that contain important metrics, demonstrate a balance between sensitivity and specificity, and address patient preferences and quality outcomes. PMID:29091525

The element of naturalness when evaluating image quality of digital photo documentation after sexual assault.

PubMed

Ernst, E J; Speck, P M; Fitzpatrick, J J

2012-01-01

Digital photography is a valuable adjunct to document physical injuries after sexual assault. In order for a digital photograph to have high image quality, there must exist a high level of naturalness. Digital photo documentation has varying degrees of naturalness; however, for a photograph to be natural, specific technical elements for the viewer must be satisfied. No tool was available to rate the naturalness of digital photo documentation of female genital injuries after sexual assault. The Photo Documentation Image Quality Scoring System (PDIQSS) tool was developed to rate technical elements for naturalness. Using this tool, experts evaluated randomly selected digital photographs of female genital injuries captured following sexual assault. Naturalness of female genital injuries following sexual assault was demonstrated when measured in all dimensions.

Monitoring the quality of welding based on welding current and ste analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mazlan, Afidatusshimah; Daniyal, Hamdan; Izzani Mohamed, Amir; Ishak, Mahadzir; Hadi, Amran Abdul

2017-10-01

Qualities of welding play an important part in industry especially in manufacturing field. Post-welding non-destructive test is one of the importance process to ensure the quality of welding but it is time consuming and costly. To reduce the chance of defects, online monitoring had been utilized by continuously sense some of welding parameters and predict welding quality. One of the parameters is welding current, which is rich of information but lack of study focus on extract them at signal analysis level. This paper presents the analysis of welding current using Short Time Energy (STE) signal processing to quantify the pattern of the current. GMAW set with carbon steel specimens are used in this experimental study with high-bandwidth and high sampling rate oscilloscope capturing the welding current. The results indicate welding current as signatures have high correlation with the welding process. Continue with STE analysis, the value below 5000 is declare as good welding, meanwhile the STE value more than 6000 is contained defect.

High-quality and small-capacity e-learning video featuring lecturer-superimposing PC screen images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nomura, Yoshihiko; Murakami, Michinobu; Sakamoto, Ryota; Sugiura, Tokuhiro; Matsui, Hirokazu; Kato, Norihiko

2006-10-01

Information processing and communication technology are progressing quickly, and are prevailing throughout various technological fields. Therefore, the development of such technology should respond to the needs for improvement of quality in the e-learning education system. The authors propose a new video-image compression processing system that ingeniously employs the features of the lecturing scene. While dynamic lecturing scene is shot by a digital video camera, screen images are electronically stored by a PC screen image capturing software in relatively long period at a practical class. Then, a lecturer and a lecture stick are extracted from the digital video images by pattern recognition techniques, and the extracted images are superimposed on the appropriate PC screen images by off-line processing. Thus, we have succeeded to create a high-quality and small-capacity (HQ/SC) video-on-demand educational content featuring the advantages: the high quality of image sharpness, the small electronic file capacity, and the realistic lecturer motion.

A video-based system for hand-driven stop-motion animation.

PubMed

Han, Xiaoguang; Fu, Hongbo; Zheng, Hanlin; Liu, Ligang; Wang, Jue

2013-01-01

Stop-motion is a well-established animation technique but is often laborious and requires craft skills. A new video-based system can animate the vast majority of everyday objects in stop-motion style, more flexibly and intuitively. Animators can perform and capture motions continuously instead of breaking them into increments and shooting one still picture per increment. More important, the system permits direct hand manipulation without resorting to rigs, achieving more natural object control for beginners. The system's key component is two-phase keyframe-based capturing and processing, assisted by computer vision techniques. With this system, even amateurs can generate high-quality stop-motion animations.

Study on a High Compression Processing for Video-on-Demand e-learning System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nomura, Yoshihiko; Matsuda, Ryutaro; Sakamoto, Ryota; Sugiura, Tokuhiro; Matsui, Hirokazu; Kato, Norihiko

The authors proposed a high-quality and small-capacity lecture-video-file creating system for distance e-learning system. Examining the feature of the lecturing scene, the authors ingeniously employ two kinds of image-capturing equipment having complementary characteristics : one is a digital video camera with a low resolution and a high frame rate, and the other is a digital still camera with a high resolution and a very low frame rate. By managing the two kinds of image-capturing equipment, and by integrating them with image processing, we can produce course materials with the greatly reduced file capacity : the course materials satisfy the requirements both for the temporal resolution to see the lecturer's point-indicating actions and for the high spatial resolution to read the small written letters. As a result of a comparative experiment, the e-lecture using the proposed system was confirmed to be more effective than an ordinary lecture from the viewpoint of educational effect.

"Can You Make "Historiography" Sound More Friendly?": Towards the Construction of a Reliable and Validated History Teaching Observation Instrument

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

van Hover, Stephanie; Hicks, David; Cotton, Stephen

2012-01-01

While the field of history education elucidates a clear and ambitious vision of high-quality history instruction, a current challenge for history educators (including teacher educators, curriculum specialists, and school-based history and social science supervisors) becomes how to illuminate and capture this when observing classrooms to research…

U.S. Hardwood Imports Grow as World Supplies Expand

Treesearch

William C. Siegel; Clark Row

1965-01-01

Rapidly increasing imports have captured a significant share of America's hardwood markets. Total imports of hardwood raw materials and building products are now four times as large as exports. Before World War II the U. S. was a net exporter of hardwoods, and imports were limited to high-quality mahogany and specialty logs and lumber. Availability of large...

Method for the production of cementitious compositions and aggregate derivatives from said compositions, and cementitious compositions and aggregates produced thereby

DOEpatents

Minnick, L. John

1983-01-01

The present invention relates to a method for preparing synthetic shaped cementitious compositions having high quality even without the addition of high energy binders, such as portland cement, through the use of the spent residue from a fluidized combustion bed of the type wherein limestone particles are suspended in a fluidized medium and sulfur oxides are captured, and pulverized coal fly ash.

Nonstarch polysaccharides in wheat flour wire-cut cookie making.

PubMed

Guttieri, Mary J; Souza, Edward J; Sneller, Clay

2008-11-26

Nonstarch polysaccharides in wheat flour have significant capacity to affect the processing quality of wheat flour dough and the finished quality of wheat flour products. Most research has focused on the effects of arabinoxylans (AX) in bread making. This study found that water-extractable AX and arabinogalactan peptides can predict variation in pastry wheat quality as captured by the wire-cut cookie model system. The sum of water-extractable AX plus arabinogalactan was highly predictive of cookie spread factor. The combination of cookie spread factor and the ratio of water-extractable arabinose to xylose predicted peak force of the three-point bend test of cookie texture.

FPGA Based Adaptive Rate and Manifold Pattern Projection for Structured Light 3D Camera System †

PubMed Central

Lee, Sukhan

2018-01-01

The quality of the captured point cloud and the scanning speed of a structured light 3D camera system depend upon their capability of handling the object surface of a large reflectance variation in the trade-off of the required number of patterns to be projected. In this paper, we propose and implement a flexible embedded framework that is capable of triggering the camera single or multiple times for capturing single or multiple projections within a single camera exposure setting. This allows the 3D camera system to synchronize the camera and projector even for miss-matched frame rates such that the system is capable of projecting different types of patterns for different scan speed applications. This makes the system capturing a high quality of 3D point cloud even for the surface of a large reflectance variation while achieving a high scan speed. The proposed framework is implemented on the Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), where the camera trigger is adaptively generated in such a way that the position and the number of triggers are automatically determined according to camera exposure settings. In other words, the projection frequency is adaptive to different scanning applications without altering the architecture. In addition, the proposed framework is unique as it does not require any external memory for storage because pattern pixels are generated in real-time, which minimizes the complexity and size of the application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) design and implementation. PMID:29642506

A Personalized Health Information Retrieval System

PubMed Central

Wang, Yunli; Liu, Zhenkai

2005-01-01

Consumers face barriers when seeking health information on the Internet. A Personalized Health Information Retrieval System (PHIRS) is proposed to recommend health information for consumers. The system consists of four modules: (1) User modeling module captures user’s preference and health interests; (2) Automatic quality filtering module identifies high quality health information; (3) Automatic text difficulty rating module classifies health information into professional or patient educational materials; and (4) User profile matching module tailors health information for individuals. The initial results show that PHIRS could assist consumers with simple search strategies. PMID:16779435

Low-cost, high-density sensor network for urban emission monitoring: BEACO2N

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, J.; Shusterman, A.; Lieschke, K.; Newman, C.; Cohen, R. C.

2017-12-01

In urban environments, air quality is spatially and temporally heterogeneous as diverse emission sources create a high degree of variability even at the neighborhood scale. Conventional air quality monitoring relies on continuous measurements with limited spatial resolution or passive sampling with high-density and low temporal resolution. Either approach averages the air quality information over space or time and hinders our attempts to understand emissions, chemistry, and human exposure in the near-field of emission sources. To better capture the true spatio-temporal heterogeneity of urban conditions, we have deployed a low-cost, high-density air quality monitoring network in San Francisco Bay Area distributed at 2km horizontal spacing. The BErkeley Atmospheric CO2 Observation Network (BEACO2N) consists of approximately 50 sensor nodes, measuring CO2, CO, NO, NO2, O­3, and aerosol. Here we describe field-based calibration approaches that are consistent with the low-cost strategy of the monitoring network. Observations that allow inference of emission factors and identification of specific local emission sources will also be presented.

Micro Fourier Transform Profilometry (μFTP): 3D shape measurement at 10,000 frames per second

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zuo, Chao; Tao, Tianyang; Feng, Shijie; Huang, Lei; Asundi, Anand; Chen, Qian

2018-03-01

Fringe projection profilometry is a well-established technique for optical 3D shape measurement. However, in many applications, it is desirable to make 3D measurements at very high speed, especially with fast moving or shape changing objects. In this work, we demonstrate a new 3D dynamic imaging technique, Micro Fourier Transform Profilometry (μFTP), which can realize an acquisition rate up to 10,000 3D frame per second (fps). The high measurement speed is achieved by the number of patterns reduction as well as high-speed fringe projection hardware. In order to capture 3D information in such a short period of time, we focus on the improvement of the phase recovery, phase unwrapping, and error compensation algorithms, allowing to reconstruct an accurate, unambiguous, and distortion-free 3D point cloud with every two projected patterns. We also develop a high-frame-rate fringe projection hardware by pairing a high-speed camera and a DLP projector, enabling binary pattern switching and precisely synchronized image capture at a frame rate up to 20,000 fps. Based on this system, we demonstrate high-quality textured 3D imaging of 4 transient scenes: vibrating cantilevers, rotating fan blades, flying bullet, and bursting balloon, which were previously difficult or even unable to be captured with conventional approaches.

Micro Fourier Transform Profilometry (μFTP): 3D shape measurement at 10,000 frames per second

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

Zuo, Chao; Tao, Tianyang; Feng, Shijie

We report that fringe projection profilometry is a well-established technique for optical 3D shape measurement. However, in many applications, it is desirable to make 3D measurements at very high speed, especially with fast moving or shape changing objects. In this work, we demonstrate a new 3D dynamic imaging technique, Micro Fourier Transform Profilometry (μFTP), which can realize an acquisition rate up to 10,000 3D frame per second (fps). The high measurement speed is achieved by the number of patterns reduction as well as high-speed fringe projection hardware. In order to capture 3D information in such a short period of time,more » we focus on the improvement of the phase recovery, phase unwrapping, and error compensation algorithms, allowing to reconstruct an accurate, unambiguous, and distortion-free 3D point cloud with every two projected patterns. We also develop a high-frame-rate fringe projection hardware by pairing a high-speed camera and a DLP projector, enabling binary pattern switching and precisely synchronized image capture at a frame rate up to 20,000 fps. Lastly, based on this system, we demonstrate high-quality textured 3D imaging of 4 transient scenes: vibrating cantilevers, rotating fan blades, flying bullet, and bursting balloon, which were previously difficult or even unable to be captured with conventional approaches.« less

Micro Fourier Transform Profilometry (μFTP): 3D shape measurement at 10,000 frames per second

DOE PAGES

Zuo, Chao; Tao, Tianyang; Feng, Shijie; ...

2017-11-06

We report that fringe projection profilometry is a well-established technique for optical 3D shape measurement. However, in many applications, it is desirable to make 3D measurements at very high speed, especially with fast moving or shape changing objects. In this work, we demonstrate a new 3D dynamic imaging technique, Micro Fourier Transform Profilometry (μFTP), which can realize an acquisition rate up to 10,000 3D frame per second (fps). The high measurement speed is achieved by the number of patterns reduction as well as high-speed fringe projection hardware. In order to capture 3D information in such a short period of time,more » we focus on the improvement of the phase recovery, phase unwrapping, and error compensation algorithms, allowing to reconstruct an accurate, unambiguous, and distortion-free 3D point cloud with every two projected patterns. We also develop a high-frame-rate fringe projection hardware by pairing a high-speed camera and a DLP projector, enabling binary pattern switching and precisely synchronized image capture at a frame rate up to 20,000 fps. Lastly, based on this system, we demonstrate high-quality textured 3D imaging of 4 transient scenes: vibrating cantilevers, rotating fan blades, flying bullet, and bursting balloon, which were previously difficult or even unable to be captured with conventional approaches.« less

A new method for digital video documentation in surgical procedures and minimally invasive surgery.

PubMed

Wurnig, P N; Hollaus, P H; Wurnig, C H; Wolf, R K; Ohtsuka, T; Pridun, N S

2003-02-01

Documentation of surgical procedures is limited to the accuracy of description, which depends on the vocabulary and the descriptive prowess of the surgeon. Even analog video recording could not solve the problem of documentation satisfactorily due to the abundance of recorded material. By capturing the video digitally, most problems are solved in the circumstances described in this article. We developed a cheap and useful digital video capturing system that consists of conventional computer components. Video images and clips can be captured intraoperatively and are immediately available. The system is a commercial personal computer specially configured for digital video capturing and is connected by wire to the video tower. Filming was done with a conventional endoscopic video camera. A total of 65 open and endoscopic procedures were documented in an orthopedic and a thoracic surgery unit. The median number of clips per surgical procedure was 6 (range, 1-17), and the median storage volume was 49 MB (range, 3-360 MB) in compressed form. The median duration of a video clip was 4 min 25 s (range, 45 s to 21 min). Median time for editing a video clip was 12 min for an advanced user (including cutting, title for the movie, and compression). The quality of the clips renders them suitable for presentations. This digital video documentation system allows easy capturing of intraoperative video sequences in high quality. All possibilities of documentation can be performed. With the use of an endoscopic video camera, no compromises with respect to sterility and surgical elbowroom are necessary. The cost is much lower than commercially available systems, and setting changes can be performed easily without trained specialists.

The Generic Data Capture Facility

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Connell, Edward B.; Barnes, William P.; Stallings, William H.

1987-01-01

The Generic Data Capture Facility, which can provide data capture support for a variety of different types of spacecraft while enabling operations costs to be carefully controlled, is discussed. The data capture functions, data protection, isolation of users from data acquisition problems, data reconstruction, and quality and accounting are addressed. The TDM and packet data formats utilized by the system are described, and the development of generic facilities is considered.

Pre-Capture Privacy for Small Vision Sensors.

PubMed

Pittaluga, Francesco; Koppal, Sanjeev Jagannatha

2017-11-01

The next wave of micro and nano devices will create a world with trillions of small networked cameras. This will lead to increased concerns about privacy and security. Most privacy preserving algorithms for computer vision are applied after image/video data has been captured. We propose to use privacy preserving optics that filter or block sensitive information directly from the incident light-field before sensor measurements are made, adding a new layer of privacy. In addition to balancing the privacy and utility of the captured data, we address trade-offs unique to miniature vision sensors, such as achieving high-quality field-of-view and resolution within the constraints of mass and volume. Our privacy preserving optics enable applications such as depth sensing, full-body motion tracking, people counting, blob detection and privacy preserving face recognition. While we demonstrate applications on macro-scale devices (smartphones, webcams, etc.) our theory has impact for smaller devices.

Predicting Software Suitability Using a Bayesian Belief Network

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Beaver, Justin M.; Schiavone, Guy A.; Berrios, Joseph S.

2005-01-01

The ability to reliably predict the end quality of software under development presents a significant advantage for a development team. It provides an opportunity to address high risk components earlier in the development life cycle, when their impact is minimized. This research proposes a model that captures the evolution of the quality of a software product, and provides reliable forecasts of the end quality of the software being developed in terms of product suitability. Development team skill, software process maturity, and software problem complexity are hypothesized as driving factors of software product quality. The cause-effect relationships between these factors and the elements of software suitability are modeled using Bayesian Belief Networks, a machine learning method. This research presents a Bayesian Network for software quality, and the techniques used to quantify the factors that influence and represent software quality. The developed model is found to be effective in predicting the end product quality of small-scale software development efforts.

The Victorian Lung Cancer Registry pilot: improving the quality of lung cancer care through the use of a disease quality registry.

PubMed

Stirling, Rob G; Evans, S M; McLaughlin, P; Senthuren, M; Millar, J; Gooi, J; Irving, L; Mitchell, P; Haydon, A; Ruben, J; Conron, M; Leong, T; Watkins, N; McNeil, J J

2014-10-01

Lung cancer remains a major disease burden in Victoria (Australia) and requires a complex and multidisciplinary approach to ensure optimal care and outcomes. To date, no uniform mechanism is available to capture standardized population-based outcomes and thereby provide benchmarking. The establishment of such a data platform is, therefore, a primary requisite to enable description of process and outcome in lung cancer care and to drive improvement in the quality of care provided to individuals with lung cancer. A disease quality registry pilot has been established to capture prospective data on all adult patients with clinical or tissue diagnoses of small cell and non-small cell lung cancer. Steering and management committees provide clinical governance and supervise quality indicator selection. Quality indicators were selected following extensive literature review and evaluation of established clinical practice guidelines. A minimum dataset has been established and training and data capture by data collectors is facilitated using a web-based portal. Case ascertainment is established by regular institutional reporting of ICD-10 discharge coding. Recruitment is optimized by provision of opt-out consent. The collection of a standardized minimum data set optimizes capacity for harmonized population-based data capture. Data collection has commenced in a variety of settings reflecting metropolitan and rural, and public, and private health care institutions. The data set provides scope for the construction of a risk-adjusted model for outcomes. A data access policy and a mechanism for escalation policy for outcome outliers has been established. The Victorian Lung Cancer Registry provides a unique capacity to provide and confirm quality assessment in lung cancer and to drive improvement in quality of care across multidisciplinary stakeholders.

Optimized holographic femtosecond laser patterning method towards rapid integration of high-quality functional devices in microchannels.

PubMed

Zhang, Chenchu; Hu, Yanlei; Du, Wenqiang; Wu, Peichao; Rao, Shenglong; Cai, Ze; Lao, Zhaoxin; Xu, Bing; Ni, Jincheng; Li, Jiawen; Zhao, Gang; Wu, Dong; Chu, Jiaru; Sugioka, Koji

2016-09-13

Rapid integration of high-quality functional devices in microchannels is in highly demand for miniature lab-on-a-chip applications. This paper demonstrates the embellishment of existing microfluidic devices with integrated micropatterns via femtosecond laser MRAF-based holographic patterning (MHP) microfabrication, which proves two-photon polymerization (TPP) based on spatial light modulator (SLM) to be a rapid and powerful technology for chip functionalization. Optimized mixed region amplitude freedom (MRAF) algorithm has been used to generate high-quality shaped focus field. Base on the optimized parameters, a single-exposure approach is developed to fabricate 200 × 200 μm microstructure arrays in less than 240 ms. Moreover, microtraps, QR code and letters are integrated into a microdevice by the advanced method for particles capture and device identification. These results indicate that such a holographic laser embellishment of microfluidic devices is simple, flexible and easy to access, which has great potential in lab-on-a-chip applications of biological culture, chemical analyses and optofluidic devices.

Optimized holographic femtosecond laser patterning method towards rapid integration of high-quality functional devices in microchannels

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Chenchu; Hu, Yanlei; Du, Wenqiang; Wu, Peichao; Rao, Shenglong; Cai, Ze; Lao, Zhaoxin; Xu, Bing; Ni, Jincheng; Li, Jiawen; Zhao, Gang; Wu, Dong; Chu, Jiaru; Sugioka, Koji

2016-09-01

Rapid integration of high-quality functional devices in microchannels is in highly demand for miniature lab-on-a-chip applications. This paper demonstrates the embellishment of existing microfluidic devices with integrated micropatterns via femtosecond laser MRAF-based holographic patterning (MHP) microfabrication, which proves two-photon polymerization (TPP) based on spatial light modulator (SLM) to be a rapid and powerful technology for chip functionalization. Optimized mixed region amplitude freedom (MRAF) algorithm has been used to generate high-quality shaped focus field. Base on the optimized parameters, a single-exposure approach is developed to fabricate 200 × 200 μm microstructure arrays in less than 240 ms. Moreover, microtraps, QR code and letters are integrated into a microdevice by the advanced method for particles capture and device identification. These results indicate that such a holographic laser embellishment of microfluidic devices is simple, flexible and easy to access, which has great potential in lab-on-a-chip applications of biological culture, chemical analyses and optofluidic devices.

A 3D image sensor with adaptable charge subtraction scheme for background light suppression

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shin, Jungsoon; Kang, Byongmin; Lee, Keechang; Kim, James D. K.

2013-02-01

We present a 3D ToF (Time-of-Flight) image sensor with adaptive charge subtraction scheme for background light suppression. The proposed sensor can alternately capture high resolution color image and high quality depth map in each frame. In depth-mode, the sensor requires enough integration time for accurate depth acquisition, but saturation will occur in high background light illumination. We propose to divide the integration time into N sub-integration times adaptively. In each sub-integration time, our sensor captures an image without saturation and subtracts the charge to prevent the pixel from the saturation. In addition, the subtraction results are cumulated N times obtaining a final result image without background illumination at full integration time. Experimental results with our own ToF sensor show high background suppression performance. We also propose in-pixel storage and column-level subtraction circuit for chiplevel implementation of the proposed method. We believe the proposed scheme will enable 3D sensors to be used in out-door environment.

HST High Gain Antennae photographed by Electronic Still Camera

NASA Image and Video Library

1993-12-04

S61-E-009 (4 Dec 1993) --- This view of one of two High Gain Antennae (HGA) on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) was photographed with an Electronic Still Camera (ESC). The scene was down linked to ground controllers soon after the Space Shuttle Endeavour caught up to the orbiting telescope 320 miles above Earth. Shown here before grapple, the HST was captured on December 4, 1993 in order to service the telescope. Over a period of five days, four of the seven STS-61 crew members will work in alternating pairs outside Endeavour's shirt sleeve environment. Electronic still photography is a relatively new technology which provides the means for a handheld camera to electronically capture and digitize an image with resolution approaching film quality. The electronic still camera has flown as an experiment on several other shuttle missions.

An investigation of water nutrient levels associated with forest vegetation in highly altered landscapes

Treesearch

M.E.G. Golay; J.R. Thompson; C.M. Mabry; R.K. Kolka

2013-01-01

Stream pollution by nutrient loading is a chronic problem in the Midwest, United States, and greater impacts on water quality are expected as agricultural production and urban areas expand. Remnant riparian forests are critical for maintaining ecosystem functions in this landscape context, allowing water infiltration and capture of nutrients before they are lost from...

Information Integration for Concurrent Engineering (IICE) IDEF3 Process Description Capture Method Report

DTIC Science & Technology

1995-09-01

vital processes of a business. process, IDEF, method, methodology, modeling, knowledge acquisition, requirements definition, information systems... knowledge resources. Like manpower, materials, and machines, information and knowledge assets are recognized as vital resources that can be leveraged to...integrated enterprise. These technologies are designed to leverage information and knowledge resources as the key enablers for high quality systems

Information Integration for Concurrent Engineering (IICE) Compendium of Methods Report

DTIC Science & Technology

1995-06-01

technological, economic, and strategic benefits can be attained through the effective capture, control, and management of information and knowledge ...resources. Like manpower, materials, and machines, information and knowledge assets are recognized as vital resources that can be leveraged to achieve...integrated enterprise. These technologies are designed to leverage information and knowledge resources as the key enablers for high quality systems that

What Does It Mean to Be Ranked a "High" or "Low" Value-Added Teacher? Observing Differences in Instructional Quality across Districts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Blazar, David; Litke, Erica; Barmore, Johanna

2016-01-01

Education agencies are evaluating teachers using student achievement data. However, very little is known about the comparability of test-based or "value-added" metrics across districts and the extent to which they capture variability in classroom practices. Drawing on data from four urban districts, we found that teachers were…

40 CFR Appendix A to Subpart Kk of... - Data Quality Objective and Lower Confidence Limit Approaches for Alternative Capture Efficiency...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... approach follows: 4.3A source conducts an initial series of at least three runs. The owner or operator may... Confidence Limit Approaches for Alternative Capture Efficiency Protocols and Test Methods A Appendix A to... to Subpart KK of Part 63—Data Quality Objective and Lower Confidence Limit Approaches for Alternative...

40 CFR Appendix A to Subpart Kk of... - Data Quality Objective and Lower Confidence Limit Approaches for Alternative Capture Efficiency...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... approach follows: 4.3A source conducts an initial series of at least three runs. The owner or operator may... Confidence Limit Approaches for Alternative Capture Efficiency Protocols and Test Methods A Appendix A to... to Subpart KK of Part 63—Data Quality Objective and Lower Confidence Limit Approaches for Alternative...

40 CFR Appendix A to Subpart Kk of... - Data Quality Objective and Lower Confidence Limit Approaches for Alternative Capture Efficiency...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... of the LCL approach follows: 4.3A source conducts an initial series of at least three runs. The owner... Confidence Limit Approaches for Alternative Capture Efficiency Protocols and Test Methods A Appendix A to... to Subpart KK of Part 63—Data Quality Objective and Lower Confidence Limit Approaches for Alternative...

40 CFR Appendix A to Subpart Kk of... - Data Quality Objective and Lower Confidence Limit Approaches for Alternative Capture Efficiency...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... approach follows: 4.3A source conducts an initial series of at least three runs. The owner or operator may... Confidence Limit Approaches for Alternative Capture Efficiency Protocols and Test Methods A Appendix A to... to Subpart KK of Part 63—Data Quality Objective and Lower Confidence Limit Approaches for Alternative...

A self-assembly aptasensor based on thick-shell quantum dots for sensing of ochratoxin A

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chu, Xianfeng; Dou, Xiaowen; Liang, Ruizheng; Li, Menghua; Kong, Weijun; Yang, Xihui; Luo, Jiaoyang; Yang, Meihua; Zhao, Ming

2016-02-01

A novel self-assembling aptasensor was fabricated by precisely attaching three phosphorothioate-modified capture aptamers onto a single thick-shell quantum dot in a controllable manner for monitoring of ochratoxin A (OTA), a poisonous contaminant widespread in foodstuffs. Herein, CdSe/CdS QDs coated in ten layer CdS shells were synthesized using a continual precursor injection method. Analysis of the prepared CdSe/CdS QDs showed a zinc-blende structure, high photoluminescence quantum yields (>80%), and a photoemission peak with a narrow full-width at half-maximum (about 29 nm), all qualities that render them as a superior choice for optical applications. By adjusting the number of phosphorothioate bases in the anchor domain, the tunable-valency aptasensor was able to self-assemble. In the sensing strategy, the thick-shell quantum dot was provided as an acceptor while OTA itself was used as a donor. In the presence of OTA, the capture aptamers drive the aptasensor function into a measurable signal through a fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) system. The newly developed aptasensor had a detection limit as low as 0.5 ng mL-1, with a linear concentration in the range of 1 to 30 ng mL-1, and therefore meets the requirements for rapid, effective, and anti-interference sensors for real-world applications. Moreover, the high quality thick-shell QDs provide an ideal alternative for highly sensitive imaging and intensive illumination in the fields of biotechnology and bioengineering.A novel self-assembling aptasensor was fabricated by precisely attaching three phosphorothioate-modified capture aptamers onto a single thick-shell quantum dot in a controllable manner for monitoring of ochratoxin A (OTA), a poisonous contaminant widespread in foodstuffs. Herein, CdSe/CdS QDs coated in ten layer CdS shells were synthesized using a continual precursor injection method. Analysis of the prepared CdSe/CdS QDs showed a zinc-blende structure, high photoluminescence quantum yields (>80%), and a photoemission peak with a narrow full-width at half-maximum (about 29 nm), all qualities that render them as a superior choice for optical applications. By adjusting the number of phosphorothioate bases in the anchor domain, the tunable-valency aptasensor was able to self-assemble. In the sensing strategy, the thick-shell quantum dot was provided as an acceptor while OTA itself was used as a donor. In the presence of OTA, the capture aptamers drive the aptasensor function into a measurable signal through a fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) system. The newly developed aptasensor had a detection limit as low as 0.5 ng mL-1, with a linear concentration in the range of 1 to 30 ng mL-1, and therefore meets the requirements for rapid, effective, and anti-interference sensors for real-world applications. Moreover, the high quality thick-shell QDs provide an ideal alternative for highly sensitive imaging and intensive illumination in the fields of biotechnology and bioengineering. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Table S1. See DOI: 10.1039/c5nr08284f

Multispectral digital holographic microscopy with applications in water quality assessment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kazemzadeh, Farnoud; Jin, Chao; Yu, Mei; Amelard, Robert; Haider, Shahid; Saini, Simarjeet; Emelko, Monica; Clausi, David A.; Wong, Alexander

2015-09-01

Safe drinking water is essential for human health, yet over a billion people worldwide do not have access to safe drinking water. Due to the presence and accumulation of biological contaminants in natural waters (e.g., pathogens and neuro-, hepato-, and cytotoxins associated with algal blooms) remain a critical challenge in the provision of safe drinking water globally. It is not financially feasible and practical to monitor and quantify water quality frequently enough to identify the potential health risk due to contamination, especially in developing countries. We propose a low-cost, small-profile multispectral (MS) system based on Digital Holographic Microscopy (DHM) and investigate methods for rapidly capturing holographic data of natural water samples. We have developed a test-bed for an MSDHM instrument to produce and capture holographic data of the sample at different wavelengths in the visible and the near Infra-red spectral region, allowing for resolution improvement in the reconstructed images. Additionally, we have developed high-speed statistical signal processing and analysis techniques to facilitate rapid reconstruction and assessment of the MS holographic data being captured by the MSDHM instrument. The proposed system is used to examine cyanobacteria as well as Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts which remain important and difficult to treat microbiological contaminants that must be addressed for the provision of safe drinking water globally.

Improved depth estimation with the light field camera

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Huachun; Sang, Xinzhu; Chen, Duo; Guo, Nan; Wang, Peng; Yu, Xunbo; Yan, Binbin; Wang, Kuiru; Yu, Chongxiu

2017-10-01

Light-field cameras are used in consumer and industrial applications. An array of micro-lenses captures enough information that one can refocus images after acquisition, as well as shift one's viewpoint within the sub-apertures of the main lens, effectively obtaining multiple views. Thus, depth estimation from both defocus and correspondence are now available in a single capture. And Lytro.Inc also provides a depth estimation from a single-shot capture with light field camera, like Lytro Illum. This Lytro depth estimation containing many correct depth information can be used for higher quality estimation. In this paper, we present a novel simple and principled algorithm that computes dense depth estimation by combining defocus, correspondence and Lytro depth estimations. We analyze 2D epipolar image (EPI) to get defocus and correspondence depth maps. Defocus depth is obtained by computing the spatial gradient after angular integration and correspondence depth by computing the angular variance from EPIs. Lytro depth can be extracted from Lyrto Illum with software. We then show how to combine the three cues into a high quality depth map. Our method for depth estimation is suitable for computer vision applications such as matting, full control of depth-of-field, and surface reconstruction, as well as light filed display

Integrating Waste Heat from CO 2 Removal and Coal-Fired Flue Gas to Increase Plant Efficiency

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

Irvin, Nick; Kowalczyk, Joseph

In project DE-FE0007525, Southern Company Services demonstrated heat integration methods for the capture and sequestration of carbon dioxide produced from pulverized coal combustion. A waste heat recovery technology (termed High Efficiency System) from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America was integrated into an existing 25-MW amine-based CO 2 capture process (Kansai Mitsubishi Carbon Dioxide Recovery Process®1) at Southern Company’s Plant Barry to evaluate improvements in the energy performance of the pulverized coal plant and CO 2 capture process. The heat integration system consists of two primary pieces of equipment: (1) the CO 2 Cooler which uses product CO 2 gas from themore » capture process to heat boiler condensate, and (2) the Flue Gas Cooler which uses air heater outlet flue gas to further heat boiler condensate. Both pieces of equipment were included in the pilot system. The pilot CO 2 Cooler used waste heat from the 25-MW CO 2 capture plant (but not always from product CO 2 gas, as intended). The pilot Flue Gas Cooler used heat from a slipstream of flue gas taken from downstream of Plant Barry’s air heater. The pilot also included a 0.25-MW electrostatic precipitator. The 25-MW High Efficiency System operated for approximately six weeks over a four month time period in conjunction with the 25-MW CO 2 capture facility at Plant Barry. Results from the program were used to evaluate the technical and economic feasibility of full-scale implementation of this technology. The test program quantified energy efficiency improvements to a host power plant that could be realized due to the High Efficiency System. Through the execution of this project, the team verified the integrated operation of the High Efficiency System and Kansai Mitsubishi Carbon Dioxide Recovery Process®. The ancillary benefits of the High Efficiency System were also quantified, including reduced water consumption, a decrease in toxic air emissions, and better overall air quality control systems performance.« less

Interactive Effects of Storms, Drought, and Weekly Land Cover Changes on Water Quality Patterns in an Agricultural-dominated Subtropical Catchment in New Zealand

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Julian, J.; Owsley, B.; de Beurs, K.; Hughes, A.

2013-12-01

Rivers are the funnels of landscapes, with the quality of water at the catchment outlet reflecting interactions among geomorphic processes, vegetation characteristics, weather patterns, and anthropogenic land uses. The impacts of changing climate and land cover on water quality are not straightforward; but instead, are set by the interaction of numerous landscape components at multiple spatiotemporal scales. In agricultural-dominated subtropical landscapes such as the Hoteo River Catchment in northern North Island of New Zealand, the land surface can be very dynamic, responding quickly to storms, drought, forest clearings, and grazing practices. In order to capture these short-term fluctuations, we created an 8-day land disturbance index for the catchment using MODIS Nadir BRDF-adjusted reflectance (NBAR) data (500 meter resolution) from 2000 to 2013. We also fused this time-series with Landsat TM/ETM surface reflectance data (30 meter resolution) to more precisely capture the location and extent of these land disturbances. This high-resolution land disturbance time-series was then compared to daily rainfall, daily river discharge, and monthly water samples to assess the effects of changing weather and land cover on a suite of water quality variables including water clarity, turbidity, ammonium (NH4), nitrate (NO3), total nitrogen (TN), dissolved reactive phosphate (DRP), total phosphorus (TP), and fecal coliforms. Forest clearings in the early part of our study period created the most intense land disturbances, which led to elevated turbidity and DRP during subsequent storms. Pasture areas during drought were also characterized by high disturbance indices, particularly in 2013 - the worst drought on record for northern New Zealand. Seasonal effects on land disturbance and water quality were also detected, especially for water clarity and turbidity. From 2011 to 2013, river discharge and turbidity from three sub-catchments were measured at 5-minute intervals to capture rainfall event-based water quality patterns. Together, the event-based and monthly turbidity data suggest that intense land disturbances in the Hoteo Catchment have the ability to switch the catchment from supply-limited (river loadings are dictated by what is available from the landscape) to transport-limited (loadings from the landscape are abundant, and thus dictated by water runoff). The findings from this research can be used to assess (1) the vulnerability of agricultural land uses to climate changes, particularly the impact of severe droughts from intensifying ENSO phenomena; and (2) the interactive effects of changing climate and land use on water quality across multiple spatiotemporal scales.

Interface investigation of solution processed high- κ ZrO2/Si MOS structure by DLTS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kumar, Arvind; Mondal, Sandip; Rao, Ksr Koteswara

The interfacial region is dominating due to the continuous downscaling and integration of high- k oxides in CMOS applications. The accurate characterization of high- k oxides/semiconductor interface has the significant importance towards its usage in memory and thin film devices. The interface traps at the high - k /semiconductor interface can be quantified by deep level transient spectroscopy (DLTS) with better accuracy in contrast to capacitance-voltage (CV) and conductance technique. We report the fabrication of high- k ZrO2 films on p-Si substrate by a simple and inexpensive sol-gel spin-coating technique. Further, the ZrO2/Si interface is characterized through DLTS. The flat-band voltage (VFB) and the density of slow interface states (oxide trapped charges) extracted from CV characteristics are 0.37 V and 2x10- 11 C/cm2, respectively. The activation energy, interface state density and capture cross-section quantified by DLTS are EV + 0.42 eV, 3.4x1011 eV- 1 cm- 2 and 5.8x10- 18 cm2, respectively. The high quality ZrO2 films own high dielectric constant 15 with low leakage current density might be an appropriate insulating layer in future electronic application. The low value of interface state density and capture cross-section are the indication of high quality interface and the defect present at the interface may not affect the device performance to a great extent. The DLTS study provides a broad understanding about the traps present at the interface of spin-coated ZrO2/Si.

Aesthetics by Numbers: Links between Perceived Texture Qualities and Computed Visual Texture Properties.

PubMed

Jacobs, Richard H A H; Haak, Koen V; Thumfart, Stefan; Renken, Remco; Henson, Brian; Cornelissen, Frans W

2016-01-01

Our world is filled with texture. For the human visual system, this is an important source of information for assessing environmental and material properties. Indeed-and presumably for this reason-the human visual system has regions dedicated to processing textures. Despite their abundance and apparent relevance, only recently the relationships between texture features and high-level judgments have captured the interest of mainstream science, despite long-standing indications for such relationships. In this study, we explore such relationships, as these might be used to predict perceived texture qualities. This is relevant, not only from a psychological/neuroscience perspective, but also for more applied fields such as design, architecture, and the visual arts. In two separate experiments, observers judged various qualities of visual textures such as beauty, roughness, naturalness, elegance, and complexity. Based on factor analysis, we find that in both experiments, ~75% of the variability in the judgments could be explained by a two-dimensional space, with axes that are closely aligned to the beauty and roughness judgments. That a two-dimensional judgment space suffices to capture most of the variability in the perceived texture qualities suggests that observers use a relatively limited set of internal scales on which to base various judgments, including aesthetic ones. Finally, for both of these judgments, we determined the relationship with a large number of texture features computed for each of the texture stimuli. We find that the presence of lower spatial frequencies, oblique orientations, higher intensity variation, higher saturation, and redness correlates with higher beauty ratings. Features that captured image intensity and uniformity correlated with roughness ratings. Therefore, a number of computational texture features are predictive of these judgments. This suggests that perceived texture qualities-including the aesthetic appreciation-are sufficiently universal to be predicted-with reasonable accuracy-based on the computed feature content of the textures.

Cameras and settings for optimal image capture from UAVs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smith, Mike; O'Connor, James; James, Mike R.

2017-04-01

Aerial image capture has become very common within the geosciences due to the increasing affordability of low payload (<20 kg) Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) for consumer markets. Their application to surveying has led to many studies being undertaken using UAV imagery captured from consumer grade cameras as primary data sources. However, image quality and the principles of image capture are seldom given rigorous discussion which can lead to experiments being difficult to accurately reproduce. In this contribution we revisit the underpinning concepts behind image capture, from which the requirements for acquiring sharp, well exposed and suitable imagery are derived. This then leads to discussion of how to optimise the platform, camera, lens and imaging settings relevant to image quality planning, presenting some worked examples as a guide. Finally, we challenge the community to make their image data open for review in order to ensure confidence in the outputs/error estimates, allow reproducibility of the results and have these comparable with future studies. We recommend providing open access imagery where possible, a range of example images, and detailed metadata to rigorously describe the image capture process.

A Computerized Data-Capture System for Animal Biosafety Level 4 Laboratories

PubMed Central

Bente, Dennis A; Friesen, Jeremy; White, Kyle; Koll, Jordan; Kobinger, Gary P

2011-01-01

The restrictive nature of an Animal Biosafety Level 4 (ABSL4) laboratory complicates even simple clinical evaluation including data capture. Typically, clinical data are recorded on paper during procedures, faxed out of the ABSL4, and subsequently manually entered into a computer. This system has many disadvantages including transcriptional errors. Here, we describe the development of a highly customizable, tablet-PC-based computerized data-capture system, allowing reliable collection of observational and clinical data from experimental animals in a restrictive biocontainment setting. A multidisciplinary team with skills in containment laboratory animal science, database design, and software engineering collaborated on the development of this system. The goals were to design an easy-to-use and flexible user interface on a touch-screen tablet PC with user-supportable processes for recovery, full auditing capabilities, and cost effectiveness. The system simplifies data capture, reduces the necessary time in an ABSL4 environment, offers timely reporting and review of data, facilitates statistical analysis, reduces potential of erroneous data entry, improves quality assurance of animal care, and advances the use and refinement of humane endpoints. PMID:22330712

An integrative review of health-related quality of life in patients with critical limb ischaemia.

PubMed

Monaro, Susan; West, Sandra; Gullick, Janice

2017-10-01

To examine the domains and the domain-specific characteristics within a peripheral arterial disease health-related quality of life framework for their usefulness in defining critical limb ischaemia health-related quality of life. Critical Limb Ischaemia presents a highly individualised set of personal and health circumstances. Treatment options include conservative management, revascularisation or amputation. However, the links between treatment decisions and quality of life require further investigation. The framework for this integrative review was the peripheral arterial disease-specific health-related quality of life domains identified by Treat-Jacobson et al. The literature expanded and refined Treat-Jacobson's framework by modifying the characteristics to better describe health-related quality of life in critical limb ischaemia. Given that critical limb ischaemia is a highly individualised situation with powerful health-related quality of life implications, further research focusing on patient and family-centred decision-making relating to therapeutic options and advanced care planning is required. A critical limb ischaemia-specific, health-related quality of life tool is required to capture both the unique characteristics of this disorder, and the outcomes for active or conservative care among this complex group of patients. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

A Distributed Compressive Sensing Scheme for Event Capture in Wireless Visual Sensor Networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hou, Meng; Xu, Sen; Wu, Weiling; Lin, Fei

2018-01-01

Image signals which acquired by wireless visual sensor network can be used for specific event capture. This event capture is realized by image processing at the sink node. A distributed compressive sensing scheme is used for the transmission of these image signals from the camera nodes to the sink node. A measurement and joint reconstruction algorithm for these image signals are proposed in this paper. Make advantage of spatial correlation between images within a sensing area, the cluster head node which as the image decoder can accurately co-reconstruct these image signals. The subjective visual quality and the reconstruction error rate are used for the evaluation of reconstructed image quality. Simulation results show that the joint reconstruction algorithm achieves higher image quality at the same image compressive rate than the independent reconstruction algorithm.

Development of high sensitivity and high speed large size blank inspection system LBIS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ohara, Shinobu; Yoshida, Akinori; Hirai, Mitsuo; Kato, Takenori; Moriizumi, Koichi; Kusunose, Haruhiko

2017-07-01

The production of high-resolution flat panel displays (FPDs) for mobile phones today requires the use of high-quality large-size photomasks (LSPMs). Organic light emitting diode (OLED) displays use several transistors on each pixel for precise current control and, as such, the mask patterns for OLED displays are denser and finer than the patterns for the previous generation displays throughout the entire mask surface. It is therefore strongly demanded that mask patterns be produced with high fidelity and free of defect. To enable the production of a high quality LSPM in a short lead time, the manufacturers need a high-sensitivity high-speed mask blank inspection system that meets the requirement of advanced LSPMs. Lasertec has developed a large-size blank inspection system called LBIS, which achieves high sensitivity based on a laser-scattering technique. LBIS employs a high power laser as its inspection light source. LBIS's delivery optics, including a scanner and F-Theta scan lens, focus the light from the source linearly on the surface of the blank. Its specially-designed optics collect the light scattered by particles and defects generated during the manufacturing process, such as scratches, on the surface and guide it to photo multiplier tubes (PMTs) with high efficiency. Multiple PMTs are used on LBIS for the stable detection of scattered light, which may be distributed at various angles due to irregular shapes of defects. LBIS captures 0.3mμ PSL at a detection rate of over 99.5% with uniform sensitivity. Its inspection time is 20 minutes for a G8 blank and 35 minutes for G10. The differential interference contrast (DIC) microscope on the inspection head of LBIS captures high-contrast review images after inspection. The images are classified automatically.

Immunoassay for wheat processing quality: utilization of a sandwich assay incorporating an immobilized single-chain fragment.

PubMed

Hill, A S; Giersch, T M; Loh, C S; Skerritt, J H

1999-10-01

A single-chain fragment (scFv) was engineered from a monoclonal antibody to high molecular weight glutenin subunits (HMW-GS), wheat flour polypeptides that play a major role in determining the mixing- and extension strength-related properties of dough and its subsequent baking performance. The scFv was expressed in a thioredoxin mutant Escherichia coli strain that allows disulfide bond formation in the cytoplasm and incorporated into a diagnostic test for wheat quality. Although the scFv lacks the more highly conserved antibody constant regions usually involved with immobilization, it was able to be directly immobilized to a polystyrene microwell solid phase without chemical or covalent modification of the protein or solid phase and utilized as a capture antibody in a double-antibody (two-site) immunoassay. In the sandwich assay, increasing HMW-GS concentrations produced increasing assay color, and highly significant correlations were obtained between optical densities obtained in the ELISA using the scFv and the content of large glutenin polymers in flours as well as measures of dough strength as measured by resistance to dough extension in rheological testing. The assay using the scFv was able to be carried out at lower flour sample extract dilutions than that required for a similar assay utilizing a monoclonal capture antibody. This research shows that engineered antibody fragments can be utilized to provide superior assay performance in two-site ELISAs over monoclonal antibodies and is the first application of an engineered antibody to the analysis of food processing quality.

Fast and precise dense grid size measurement method based on coaxial dual optical imaging system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guo, Jiping; Peng, Xiang; Yu, Jiping; Hao, Jian; Diao, Yan; Song, Tao; Li, Ameng; Lu, Xiaowei

2015-10-01

Test sieves with dense grid structure are widely used in many fields, accurate gird size calibration is rather critical for success of grading analysis and test sieving. But traditional calibration methods suffer from the disadvantages of low measurement efficiency and shortage of sampling number of grids which could lead to quality judgment risk. Here, a fast and precise test sieve inspection method is presented. Firstly, a coaxial imaging system with low and high optical magnification probe is designed to capture the grid images of the test sieve. Then, a scaling ratio between low and high magnification probes can be obtained by the corresponding grids in captured images. With this, all grid dimensions in low magnification image can be obtained by measuring few corresponding grids in high magnification image with high accuracy. Finally, by scanning the stage of the tri-axis platform of the measuring apparatus, whole surface of the test sieve can be quickly inspected. Experiment results show that the proposed method can measure the test sieves with higher efficiency compare to traditional methods, which can measure 0.15 million grids (gird size 0.1mm) within only 60 seconds, and it can measure grid size range from 20μm to 5mm precisely. In a word, the presented method can calibrate the grid size of test sieve automatically with high efficiency and accuracy. By which, surface evaluation based on statistical method can be effectively implemented, and the quality judgment will be more reasonable.

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

Bodnarczuk, M.

How does one assure that both quality and creativity are obtained in basic research environments QA theoreticians have attempted to develop workable definitions of quality, but in more reflective moments, these definitions often fail to capture the deeper essence of the idea of quality.'' This paper asserts that creativity (as a product of the human mind) is a concrete interface between perfunctory definitions of quality (conformance to specifications) and more philosophical speculations about the nature of quality- related ultimates'' like elegance or beauty. In addition, we describe the distinction between creative ideas and creative acts and highlight one of themore » major inhibitors of creativity, fear. Finally we show that highly creative people often have an irreverent attitude toward boundaries and established authority, and discuss how one can allow for this when designing a QA program in a basic research environment.« less

Development of Indicators to Assess Quality of Care for Prostate Cancer.

PubMed

Nag, Nupur; Millar, Jeremy; Davis, Ian D; Costello, Shaun; Duthie, James B; Mark, Stephen; Delprado, Warick; Smith, David; Pryor, David; Galvin, David; Sullivan, Frank; Murphy, Áine C; Roder, David; Elsaleh, Hany; Currow, David; White, Craig; Skala, Marketa; Moretti, Kim L; Walker, Tony; De Ieso, Paolo; Brooks, Andrew; Heathcote, Peter; Frydenberg, Mark; Thavaseelan, Jeffery; Evans, Sue M

2016-02-20

The development, monitoring, and reporting of indicator measures that describe standard of care provide the gold standard for assessing quality of care and patient outcomes. Although indicator measures have been reported, little evidence of their use in measuring and benchmarking performance is available. A standard set, defining numerator, denominator, and risk adjustments, will enable global benchmarking of quality of care. To develop a set of indicators to enable assessment and reporting of quality of care for men with localised prostate cancer (PCa). Candidate indicators were identified from the literature. An international panel was invited to participate in a modified Delphi process. Teleconferences were held before and after each voting round to provide instruction and to review results. Panellists were asked to rate each proposed indicator on a Likert scale of 1-9 in a two-round iterative process. Calculations required to report on the endorsed indicators were evaluated and modified to reflect the data capture of the Prostate Cancer Outcomes Registry-Australia and New Zealand (PCOR-ANZ). A total of 97 candidate indicators were identified, of which 12 were endorsed. The set includes indicators covering pre-, intra-, and post-treatment of PCa care, within the limits of the data captured by PCOR-ANZ. The 12 endorsed quality measures enable international benchmarking on the quality of care of men with localised PCa. Reporting on these indicators enhances safety and efficacy of treatment, reduces variation in care, and can improve patient outcomes. PCa has the highest incidence of all cancers in men. Early diagnosis and relatively high survival rates mean issues of quality of care and best possible health outcomes for patients are important. This paper identifies 12 important measurable quality indicators in PCa care. Copyright © 2016 European Association of Urology. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Incorporation of rapid thermodynamic data in fragment-based drug discovery.

PubMed

Kobe, Akihiro; Caaveiro, Jose M M; Tashiro, Shinya; Kajihara, Daisuke; Kikkawa, Masato; Mitani, Tomoya; Tsumoto, Kouhei

2013-03-14

Fragment-based drug discovery (FBDD) has enjoyed increasing popularity in recent years. We introduce SITE (single-injection thermal extinction), a novel thermodynamic methodology that selects high-quality hits early in FBDD. SITE is a fast calorimetric competitive assay suitable for automation that captures the essence of isothermal titration calorimetry but using significantly fewer resources. We describe the principles of SITE and identify a novel family of fragment inhibitors of the enzyme ketosteroid isomerase displaying high values of enthalpic efficiency.

Student-Built Underwater Video and Data Capturing Device

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Whitt, F.

2016-12-01

Students from Stockbridge High School Robotics Team invention is a low cost underwater video and data capturing device. This system is capable of shooting time-lapse photography and/or video for up to 3 days of video at a time. It can be used in remote locations without having to change batteries or adding additional external hard drives for data storage. The video capturing device has a unique base and mounting system which houses a pi drive and a programmable raspberry pi with a camera module. This system is powered by two 12 volt batteries, which makes it easier for users to recharge after use. Our data capturing device has the same unique base and mounting system as the underwater camera. The data capturing device consists of an Arduino and SD card shield that is capable of collecting continuous temperature and pH readings underwater. This data will then be logged onto the SD card for easy access and recording. The low cost underwater video and data capturing device can reach depths up to 100 meters while recording 36 hours of video on 1 terabyte of storage. It also features night vision infrared light capabilities. The cost to build our invention is $500. The goal of this was to provide a device that can easily be accessed by marine biologists, teachers, researchers and citizen scientists to capture photographic and water quality data in marine environments over extended periods of time.

Argumentation Quality of Socio-scientific Issue between High School Students and Postgraduate Students about Cancer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anisa, A.; Widodo, A.; Riandi, R.

2017-09-01

Argumentation is one factor that can help improve critical thinking skills. Arguing means to defend statements with the various data, denials, evidence, and reinforcement that support the statement. The research aimed to capture the quality of argument skills by students in grade 12 high school students and in postgraduate student on social-scientific issues of cancer. Both group subjects are not in the same school or institution, chosen purposively with the subject of 39 high school students of grade 12 in one district of West Java and 13 students of Biology education postgraduate in one of University in West Java - Indonesia. The results of the quality structure of arguments in both subject groups show the same pattern, which is claim - warrant - and ground, with the quality of counterclaim aspects on the postgraduate students look better than grade 12 students. This provides an illustration that the ability in argumentation between students and teachers in the socio-scientific issue of cancer should be evaluate so that the learning process would be more refined in schools.

Collaborative real-time scheduling of multiple PTZ cameras for multiple object tracking in video surveillance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Yu-Che; Huang, Chung-Lin

2013-03-01

This paper proposes a multi-PTZ-camera control mechanism to acquire close-up imagery of human objects in a surveillance system. The control algorithm is based on the output of multi-camera, multi-target tracking. Three main concerns of the algorithm are (1) the imagery of human object's face for biometric purposes, (2) the optimal video quality of the human objects, and (3) minimum hand-off time. Here, we define an objective function based on the expected capture conditions such as the camera-subject distance, pan tile angles of capture, face visibility and others. Such objective function serves to effectively balance the number of captures per subject and quality of captures. In the experiments, we demonstrate the performance of the system which operates in real-time under real world conditions on three PTZ cameras.

Genomes of Salmonella with diverse patterns of antibiotic resistance (AR) revealed the dynamics of AR gene organization and detected resistance gene families found in Salmonella

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

We produced and assembled high quality draft genomes (~100X coverage) for 305 Salmonella from a diverse a group of over 100 serovars and diverse sources. Of these isolates, 119 were selected to capture a wide variety of different AR patterns. In our subsequent analyses we included 285 additional pub...

Application of Satellite and Ozonesonde Data to the Study of Nighttime Tropospheric Ozone Impacts and Relationship to Air Quality

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Osterman, G. B.; Eldering, A.; Neu, J. L.; Tang, Y.; McQueen, J.; Pinder, R. W.

2011-12-01

To help protect human health and ecosystems, regional-scale atmospheric chemistry models are used to forecast high ozone events and to design emission control strategies to decrease the frequency and severity of ozone events. Despite the impact that nighttime aloft ozone can have on surface ozone, regional-scale atmospheric chemistry models often do not simulate the nighttime ozone concentrations well and nor do they sufficiently capture the ozone transport patterns. Fully characterizing the importance of the nighttime ozone has been hampered by limited measurements of the vertical distribution of ozone and ozone-precursors. The main focus of this work is to begin to utilize remote sensing data sets to characterize the impact of nighttime aloft ozone to air quality events. We will describe our plans to use NASA satellite data sets, transport models and air quality models to study ozone transport, focusing primarily on nighttime ozone and provide initial results. We will use satellite and ozonesonde data to help understand how well the air quality models are simulating ozone in the lower free troposphere and attempt to characterize the impact of nighttime ozone to air quality events. Our specific objectives are: 1) Characterize nighttime aloft ozone using remote sensing data and sondes. 2) Evaluate the ability of the Community Multi-scale Air Quality (CMAQ) model and the National Air Quality Forecast Capability (NAQFC) model to capture the nighttime aloft ozone and its relationship to air quality events. 3) Analyze a set of air quality events and determine the relationship of air quality events to the nighttime aloft ozone. We will achieve our objectives by utilizing the ozone profile data from the NASA Earth Observing System (EOS) Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer (TES) and other sensors, ozonesonde data collected during the Aura mission (IONS), EPA AirNow ground station ozone data, the CMAQ continental-scale air quality model, and the National Air Quality Forecast model.

The application of exergy to human-designed systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hamilton, P.

2012-12-01

Exergy is the portion of the total energy of a system that is available for conversion to useful work. Exergy takes into account both the quantity and quality of energy. Heat is the inevitable product of using any form of high-quality energy such as electricity. Modern commercial buildings and industrial facilities use large amounts of electricity and so produce huge amounts of heat. This heat energy typically is treated as a waste product and discharged to the environment and then high-quality energy sources are consumed to satisfy low-quality energy heating and cooling needs. Tens of thousands of buildings and even whole communities could meet much of their heating and cooling needs through the capture and reuse of heat energy. Yet the application of exergy principles often faces resistance because it challenges conventions about how we design, construct and operate human-engineered systems. This session will review several exergy case studies and conclude with an audience discussion of how exergy principles may be both applied and highlighted in formal and informal education settings.

Systematic review of economic analyses in patient safety: a protocol designed to measure development in the scope and quality of evidence

PubMed Central

Carter, Alexander W; Mandavia, Rishi; Mayer, Erik; Marti, Joachim; Mossialos, Elias; Darzi, Ara

2017-01-01

Introduction Recent avoidable failures in patient care highlight the ongoing need for evidence to support improvements in patient safety. According to the most recent reviews, there is a dearth of economic evidence related to patient safety. These reviews characterise an evidence gap in terms of the scope and quality of evidence available to support resource allocation decisions. This protocol is designed to update and improve on the reviews previously conducted to determine the extent of methodological progress in economic analyses in patient safety. Methods and analysis A broad search strategy with two core themes for original research (excluding opinion pieces and systematic reviews) in ‘patient safety’ and ‘economic analyses’ has been developed. Medline, Econlit and National Health Service Economic Evaluation Database bibliographic databases will be searched from January 2007 using a combination of medical subject headings terms and research-derived search terms (see table 1). The method is informed by previous reviews on this topic, published in 2012. Screening, risk of bias assessment (using the Cochrane collaboration tool) and economic evaluation quality assessment (using the Drummond checklist) will be conducted by two independent reviewers, with arbitration by a third reviewer as needed. Studies with a low risk of bias will be assessed using the Drummond checklist. High-quality economic evaluations are those that score >20/35. A qualitative synthesis of evidence will be performed using a data collection tool to capture the study design(s) employed, population(s), setting(s), disease area(s), intervention(s) and outcome(s) studied. Methodological quality scores will be compared with previous reviews where possible. Effect size(s) and estimate uncertainty will be captured and used in a quantitative synthesis of high-quality evidence, where possible. Ethics and dissemination Formal ethical approval is not required as primary data will not be collected. The results will be disseminated through a peer-reviewed publication, presentations and social media. Trial registration number CRD42017057853. PMID:28821527

Study on the ultrasonic inspection method using the full matrix capture for the in service railway wheel

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

Peng, Jianping; Wang, Li; Zhang, Yu

The quality of wheel is especially important for the safety of high speed railway. In this paper, a new ultrasonic array inspection method, the Full Matrix Capture (FMC) has been studied and applied to the high speed railway wheel inspection, especially in the wheel web from the tread. Firstly, the principle of FMC and TFM algorithm is discussed, and then the new optimization is applied to the standard FMC; Secondly the fundamentals of optimization is described in detail and the performance is analyzed. Finally, the experiment has been built with a standard phased array block and railway wheel, and thenmore » the testing results are discussed and analyzed. It is demonstrated that this change for the ultrasonic data acquisition and image reconstruction has higher efficiency and lower cost comparing to the FMC's procedure.« less

[Discussion on developing a data management plan and its key factors in clinical study based on electronic data capture system].

PubMed

Li, Qing-na; Huang, Xiu-ling; Gao, Rui; Lu, Fang

2012-08-01

Data management has significant impact on the quality control of clinical studies. Every clinical study should have a data management plan to provide overall work instructions and ensure that all of these tasks are completed according to the Good Clinical Data Management Practice (GCDMP). Meanwhile, the data management plan (DMP) is an auditable document requested by regulatory inspectors and must be written in a manner that is realistic and of high quality. The significance of DMP, the minimum standards and the best practices provided by GCDMP, the main contents of DMP based on electronic data capture (EDC) and some key factors of DMP influencing the quality of clinical study were elaborated in this paper. Specifically, DMP generally consists of 15 parts, namely, the approval page, the protocol summary, role and training, timelines, database design, creation, maintenance and security, data entry, data validation, quality control and quality assurance, the management of external data, serious adverse event data reconciliation, coding, database lock, data management reports, the communication plan and the abbreviated terms. Among them, the following three parts are regarded as the key factors: designing a standardized database of the clinical study, entering data in time and cleansing data efficiently. In the last part of this article, the authors also analyzed the problems in clinical research of traditional Chinese medicine using the EDC system and put forward some suggestions for improvement.

Understanding Quality Issues in Your Surgical Department: Comparing the ACS NSQIP With Traditional Morbidity and Mortality Conferences in a Canadian Academic Hospital.

PubMed

Auspitz, Mark; Cleghorn, Michelle C; Tse, Alvina; Sockalingam, Sanjeev; Quereshy, Fayez A; Okrainec, Allan; Jackson, Timothy D

2015-01-01

Review of surgical complications in traditional morbidity and mortality (M&M) rounds remains an important mechanism to identify and discuss quality-of-care issues. This process relies on case selection by providers; therefore, complications identified for review may differ from those captured in comprehensive quality programs such as the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP). Additionally, although the ACS NSQIP captures robust data on complications in surgical wards, without strategies to disseminate this information to staff and improve practice, minimal change may result. The objective of this study was to compare complications identified by the ACS NSQIP with those captured in M&M conferences at a large Canadian academic hospital. Retrospective medical record reviews of all patients admitted to the general surgery unit from March 2012 to March 2013 were reviewed. Number and types of complications were recorded for cases that were both submitted and reviewed in M&M rounds and those cases that were submitted but not reviewed. These complications were compared with those extracted from our local ACS NSQIP database. A total of 1348 general surgical procedures were performed. The ACS NSQIP captured complications in 143 patients compared with 58 patients identified for review in M&M rounds. Both the methods identified similar proportions of major and minor complications (ACS NSQIP 52% major, 48% minor; M&M 58% major, 42% minor). More postoperative deaths were entered into the ACS NSQIP (12) than in M&M conferences (8 reviewed and 2 submitted). The ACS NSQIP identified higher proportions of surgical site infections and readmissions. However, M&M conferences captured additional complications in patients who did not undergo surgery and identified potential quality issues in patients who did not ultimately experience an adverse outcome. M&M rounds and the ACS NSQIP provide important and potentially complementary data on surgical quality. Incorporating the ACS NSQIP outcomes data into traditional M&M conferences may help to optimize quality improvement efforts. Copyright © 2015 Association of Program Directors in Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

ESIP Information Quality Cluster (IQC)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ramapriyan, H. K.; Peng, Ge; Moroni, David F.

2016-01-01

The Information Quality Cluster (IQC) within the Federation of Earth Science Information Partners (ESIP) was initially formed in 2011 and has evolved significantly over time. The current objectives of the IQC are to: 1. Actively evaluate community data quality best practices and standards; 2. Improve capture, description, discovery, and usability of information about data quality in Earth science data products; 3. Ensure producers of data products are aware of standards and best practices for conveying data quality, and data providers distributors intermediaries establish, improve and evolve mechanisms to assist users in discovering and understanding data quality information; and 4. Consistently provide guidance to data managers and stewards on how best to implement data quality standards and best practices to ensure and improve maturity of their data products. The activities of the IQC include: 1. Identification of additional needs for consistently capturing, describing, and conveying quality information through use case studies with broad and diverse applications; 2. Establishing and providing community-wide guidance on roles and responsibilities of key players and stakeholders including users and management; 3. Prototyping of conveying quality information to users in a more consistent, transparent, and digestible manner; 4. Establishing a baseline of standards and best practices for data quality; 5. Evaluating recommendations from NASA's DQWG in a broader context and proposing possible implementations; and 6. Engaging data providers, data managers, and data user communities as resources to improve our standards and best practices. Following the principles of openness of the ESIP Federation, IQC invites all individuals interested in improving capture, description, discovery, and usability of information about data quality in Earth science data products to participate in its activities.

Quantifying Data Quality for Clinical Trials Using Electronic Data Capture

PubMed Central

Nahm, Meredith L.; Pieper, Carl F.; Cunningham, Maureen M.

2008-01-01

Background Historically, only partial assessments of data quality have been performed in clinical trials, for which the most common method of measuring database error rates has been to compare the case report form (CRF) to database entries and count discrepancies. Importantly, errors arising from medical record abstraction and transcription are rarely evaluated as part of such quality assessments. Electronic Data Capture (EDC) technology has had a further impact, as paper CRFs typically leveraged for quality measurement are not used in EDC processes. Methods and Principal Findings The National Institute on Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network has developed, implemented, and evaluated methodology for holistically assessing data quality on EDC trials. We characterize the average source-to-database error rate (14.3 errors per 10,000 fields) for the first year of use of the new evaluation method. This error rate was significantly lower than the average of published error rates for source-to-database audits, and was similar to CRF-to-database error rates reported in the published literature. We attribute this largely to an absence of medical record abstraction on the trials we examined, and to an outpatient setting characterized by less acute patient conditions. Conclusions Historically, medical record abstraction is the most significant source of error by an order of magnitude, and should be measured and managed during the course of clinical trials. Source-to-database error rates are highly dependent on the amount of structured data collection in the clinical setting and on the complexity of the medical record, dependencies that should be considered when developing data quality benchmarks. PMID:18725958

Effectiveness of SWAT in characterizing the watershed hydrology in the snowy-mountainous Lower Bear Malad River (LBMR) watershed in Box Elder County, Utah

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Salha, A. A.; Stevens, D. K.

2015-12-01

Distributed watershed models are essential for quantifying sediment and nutrient loads that originate from point and nonpoint sources. Such models are primary means towards generating pollutant estimates in ungaged watersheds and respond well at watershed scales by capturing the variability in soils, climatic conditions, land uses/covers and management conditions over extended periods of time. This effort evaluates the performance of the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model as a watershed level tool to investigate, manage, and characterize the transport and fate of nutrients in Lower Bear Malad River (LBMR) watershed (Subbasin HUC 16010204) in Utah. Water quality concerns have been documented and are primarily attributed to high phosphorus and total suspended sediment concentrations caused by agricultural and farming practices along with identified point sources (WWTPs). Input data such as Digital Elevation Model (DEM), land use/Land cover (LULC), soils, and climate data for 10 years (2000-2010) is utilized to quantify the LBMR streamflow. Such modeling is useful in developing the required water quality regulations such as Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDL). Measured concentrations of nutrients were closely captured by simulated monthly nutrient concentrations based on the R2 and Nash- Sutcliffe fitness criteria. The model is expected to be able to identify contaminant non-point sources, identify areas of high pollution risk, locate optimal monitoring sites, and evaluate best management practices to cost-effectively reduce pollution and improve water quality as required by the LBMR watershed's TMDL.

Neutron Capture Cross Sections of the s-Process Branching Points 147Pm, 171Tm, and 204Tl

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guerrero, Carlos; Domingo-Pardo, Cesar; Lerendegui-Marco, Jorge; Casanovas, Adria; Cortes-Giraldo, Miguel A.; Dressler, Rugard; Halfon, Shlomi; Heinitz, Stephan; Kivel, Niko; Köster, Ulli; Paul, Michael; Quesada-Molina, Jose Manuel; Schumann, Dorothea; Tarifeño-Saldivia, Ariel; Tessler, Moshe; Weissman, Leo

The neutron capture cross section of several key unstable isotopes acting as branching points in the s-process are crucial for stellar nucleosynthesis studies, but they are very challenging to measure due to the difficult production of sufficient sample material, the high activity of the resulting samples, and the actual (n, γ) measurement, for which high neutron fluxes and effective background rejection capabilities are required. As part of a new program to measure some of these important branching points, radioactive targets of 147Pm, 171Tm, and 204Tl have been produced by irradiation of stable isotopes (146Nd, 170Er, and 203Tl) at the Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL) high flux reactor. After breeding in the reactor and a certain cooling period, the resulting mixed 204Tl/203Tl sample was used directly while 147Pm and 171Tm were radiochemically separated in non-carrier-added quality at the Paul Scherrer Institut (PSI), then prepared as targets. A set of theses samples has been used for time-of-flight measurements at the CERN n_TOF facility using the 19 and 185 m beam lines, during 2014 and 2015. The capture cascades were detected with a set of four C6D6 scintillators, allowing to observe the associated neutron capture resonances. The results presented in this work are the first ever determination of the resonance capture cross sections of 147Pm, 171Tm, and 204Tl. Activation experiments on the same 147Pm and 171Tm targets with a high-intensity quasi-Maxwellian flux of neutrons have been performed using the SARAF accelerator and the Liquid-Lithium Target (LiLiT) in order to extract the corresponding Maxwellian Average Cross Section (MACS). The experimental setups are here described together with the first, preliminary results of the n_TOF measurement.

A High-Resolution Minimicroscope System for Wireless Real-Time Monitoring.

PubMed

Wang, Zongjie; Boddeda, Akash; Parker, Benjamin; Samanipour, Roya; Ghosh, Sanjoy; Menard, Frederic; Kim, Keekyoung

2018-07-01

Compact, cost-effective, and high-performance microscope that enables the real-time imaging of cells and lab-on-a-chip devices is highly demanded for cell biology and biomedical engineering. This paper aims to present the design and application of an inexpensive wireless minimicroscope with resolution up to 2592 × 1944 pixels and speed up to 90 f/s. The minimicroscope system was built on a commercial embedded system (Raspberry Pi). We modified a camera module and adopted an inverse dual lens system to obtain the clear field of view and appropriate magnification for tens of micrometer objects. The system was capable of capturing time-lapse images and transferring image data wirelessly. The entire system can be operated wirelessly and cordlessly in a conventional cell culturing incubator. The developed minimicroscope was used to monitor the attachment and proliferation of NIH-3T3 and HEK 293 cells inside an incubator for 50 h. In addition, the minimicroscope was used to monitor a droplet generation process in a microfluidic device. The high-quality images captured by the minimicroscope enabled us an automated analysis of experimental parameters. The successful applications prove the great potential of the developed minimicroscope for monitoring various biological samples and microfluidic devices. This paper presents the design of a high-resolution minimicroscope system that enables the wireless real-time imaging of cells inside the incubator. This system has been verified to be a useful tool to obtain high-quality images and videos for the automated quantitative analysis of biological samples and lab-on-a-chip devices in the long term.

Comparison of Protein Immunoprecipitation-Multiple Reaction Monitoring with ELISA for Assay of Biomarker Candidates in Plasma

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Quantitative analysis of protein biomarkers in plasma is typically done by ELISA, but this method is limited by the availability of high-quality antibodies. An alternative approach is protein immunoprecipitation combined with multiple reaction monitoring mass spectrometry (IP-MRM). We compared IP-MRM to ELISA for the analysis of six colon cancer biomarker candidates (metalloproteinase inhibitor 1 (TIMP1), cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP), thrombospondin-2 (THBS2), endoglin (ENG), mesothelin (MSLN) and matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP9)) in plasma from colon cancer patients and noncancer controls. Proteins were analyzed by multiplex immunoprecipitation from plasma with the ELISA capture antibodies, further purified by SDS-PAGE, digested and analyzed by stable isotope dilution MRM. IP-MRM provided linear responses (r = 0.978–0.995) between 10 and 640 ng/mL for the target proteins spiked into a “mock plasma” matrix consisting of 60 mg/mL bovine serum albumin. Measurement variation (coefficient of variation at the limit of detection) for IP-MRM assays ranged from 2.3 to 19%, which was similar to variation for ELISAs of the same samples. IP-MRM and ELISA measurements for all target proteins except ENG were highly correlated (r = 0.67–0.97). IP-MRM with high-quality capture antibodies thus provides an effective alternative method to ELISA for protein quantitation in biological fluids. PMID:24224610

Retinal Image Quality Assessment for Spaceflight-Induced Vision Impairment Study

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vu, Amanda Cadao; Raghunandan, Sneha; Vyas, Ruchi; Radhakrishnan, Krishnan; Taibbi, Giovanni; Vizzeri, Gianmarco; Grant, Maria; Chalam, Kakarla; Parsons-Wingerter, Patricia

2015-01-01

Long-term exposure to space microgravity poses significant risks for visual impairment. Evidence suggests such vision changes are linked to cephalad fluid shifts, prompting a need to directly quantify microgravity-induced retinal vascular changes. The quality of retinal images used for such vascular remodeling analysis, however, is dependent on imaging methodology. For our exploratory study, we hypothesized that retinal images captured using fluorescein imaging methodologies would be of higher quality in comparison to images captured without fluorescein. A semi-automated image quality assessment was developed using Vessel Generation Analysis (VESGEN) software and MATLAB® image analysis toolboxes. An analysis of ten images found that the fluorescein imaging modality provided a 36% increase in overall image quality (two-tailed p=0.089) in comparison to nonfluorescein imaging techniques.

A Self-Assessment Stereo Capture Model Applicable to the Internet of Things

PubMed Central

Lin, Yancong; Yang, Jiachen; Lv, Zhihan; Wei, Wei; Song, Houbing

2015-01-01

The realization of the Internet of Things greatly depends on the information communication among physical terminal devices and informationalized platforms, such as smart sensors, embedded systems and intelligent networks. Playing an important role in information acquisition, sensors for stereo capture have gained extensive attention in various fields. In this paper, we concentrate on promoting such sensors in an intelligent system with self-assessment capability to deal with the distortion and impairment in long-distance shooting applications. The core design is the establishment of the objective evaluation criteria that can reliably predict shooting quality with different camera configurations. Two types of stereo capture systems—toed-in camera configuration and parallel camera configuration—are taken into consideration respectively. The experimental results show that the proposed evaluation criteria can effectively predict the visual perception of stereo capture quality for long-distance shooting. PMID:26308004

Locating and decoding barcodes in fuzzy images captured by smart phones

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Deng, Wupeng; Hu, Jiwei; Liu, Quan; Lou, Ping

2017-07-01

With the development of barcodes for commercial use, people's requirements for detecting barcodes by smart phone become increasingly pressing. The low quality of barcode image captured by mobile phone always affects the decoding and recognition rates. This paper focuses on locating and decoding EAN-13 barcodes in fuzzy images. We present a more accurate locating algorithm based on segment length and high fault-tolerant rate algorithm for decoding barcodes. Unlike existing approaches, location algorithm is based on the edge segment length of EAN -13 barcodes, while our decoding algorithm allows the appearance of fuzzy region in barcode image. Experimental results are performed on damaged, contaminated and scratched digital images, and provide a quite promising result for EAN -13 barcode location and decoding.

Predictive searching algorithm for Fourier ptychography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Shunkai; Wang, Yifan; Wu, Weichen; Liang, Yanmei

2017-12-01

By capturing a set of low-resolution images under different illumination angles and stitching them together in the Fourier domain, Fourier ptychography (FP) is capable of providing high-resolution image with large field of view. Despite its validity, long acquisition time limits its real-time application. We proposed an incomplete sampling scheme in this paper, termed the predictive searching algorithm to shorten the acquisition and recovery time. Informative sub-regions of the sample’s spectrum are searched and the corresponding images of the most informative directions are captured for spectrum expansion. Its effectiveness is validated by both simulated and experimental results, whose data requirement is reduced by ˜64% to ˜90% without sacrificing image reconstruction quality compared with the conventional FP method.

High-Speed Camera and High-Vision Camera Observations of TLEs from Jet Aircraft in Winter Japan and in Summer US

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sato, M.; Takahashi, Y.; Kudo, T.; Yanagi, Y.; Kobayashi, N.; Yamada, T.; Project, N.; Stenbaek-Nielsen, H. C.; McHarg, M. G.; Haaland, R. K.; Kammae, T.; Cummer, S. A.; Yair, Y.; Lyons, W. A.; Ahrns, J.; Yukman, P.; Warner, T. A.; Sonnenfeld, R. G.; Li, J.; Lu, G.

2011-12-01

The time evolution and spatial distributions of transient luminous events (TLEs) are the key parameters to identify the relationship between TLEs and parent lightning discharges, roles of electromagnetic pulses (EMPs) emitted by horizontal and vertical lightning currents in the formation of TLEs, and the occurrence condition and mechanisms of TLEs. Since the time scales of TLEs is typically less than a few milliseconds, new imaging technique that enable us to capture images with a high time resolution of < 1ms is awaited. By courtesy of "Cosmic Shore" Project conducted by Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK), we have carried out optical observations using a high-speed Image-Intensified (II) CMOS camera and a high-vision three-CCD camera from a jet aircraft on November 28 and December 3, 2010 in winter Japan. Using the high-speed II-CMOS camera, it is possible to capture images with 8,300 frames per second (fps), which corresponds to the time resolution of 120 us. Using the high-vision three-CCD camera, it is possible to capture high quality, true color images of TLEs with a 1920x1080 pixel size and with a frame rate of 30 fps. During the two observation flights, we have succeeded to detect 28 sprite events, and 3 elves events totally. In response to this success, we have conducted a combined aircraft and ground-based campaign of TLE observations at the High Plains in summer US. We have installed same NHK high-speed and high-vision cameras in a jet aircraft. In the period from June 27 and July 10, 2011, we have operated aircraft observations in 8 nights, and we have succeeded to capture TLE images for over a hundred events by the high-vision camera and succeeded to acquire over 40 high-speed images simultaneously. At the presentation, we will introduce the outlines of the two aircraft campaigns, and will introduce the characteristics of the time evolution and spatial distributions of TLEs observed in winter Japan, and will show the initial results of high-speed image data analysis of TLEs in summer US.

Effect of quality chronic disease management for alcohol and drug dependence on addiction outcomes.

PubMed

Kim, Theresa W; Saitz, Richard; Cheng, Debbie M; Winter, Michael R; Witas, Julie; Samet, Jeffrey H

2012-12-01

We examined the effect of the quality of primary care-based chronic disease management (CDM) for alcohol and/or other drug (AOD) dependence on addiction outcomes. We assessed quality using (1) a visit frequency based measure and (2) a self-reported assessment measuring alignment with the chronic care model. The visit frequency based measure had no significant association with addiction outcomes. The self-reported measure of care-when care was at a CDM clinic-was associated with lower drug addiction severity. The self-reported assessment of care from any healthcare source (CDM clinic or elsewhere) was associated with lower alcohol addiction severity and abstinence. These findings suggest that high quality CDM for AOD dependence may improve addiction outcomes. Quality measures based upon alignment with the chronic care model may better capture features of effective CDM care than a visit frequency measure. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Multi-look fusion identification: a paradigm shift from quality to quantity in data samples

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wong, S.

2009-05-01

A multi-look identification method known as score-level fusion is found to be capable of achieving very high identification accuracy, even when low quality target signatures are used. Analysis using measured ground vehicle radar signatures has shown that a 97% correct identification rate can be achieved using this multi-look fusion method; in contrast, only a 37% accuracy rate is obtained when single target signature input is used. The results suggest that quantity can be used to replace quality of the target data in improving identification accuracy. With the advent of sensor technology, a large amount of target signatures of marginal quality can be captured routinely. This quantity over quality approach allows maximum exploitation of the available data to improve the target identification performance and this could have the potential of being developed into a disruptive technology.

Large beam deflection using cascaded prism array

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Wei-Chih; Tsui, Chi-Leung

2012-04-01

Endoscopes have been utilize in the medical field to observe the internals of the human body to assist the diagnosis of diseases, such as breathing disorders, internal bleeding, stomach ulcers, and urinary tract infections. Endoscopy is also utilized in the procedure of biopsy for the diagnosis of cancer. Conventional endoscopes suffer from the compromise between overall size and image quality due to the required size of the sensor for acceptable image quality. To overcome the size constraint while maintaining the capture image quality, we propose an electro-optic beam steering device based on thermal-plastic polymer, which has a small foot-print (~5mmx5mm), and can be easily fabricated using conventional hot-embossing and micro-fabrication techniques. The proposed device can be implemented as an imaging device inside endoscopes to allow reduction in the overall system size. In our previous work, a single prism design has been used to amplify the deflection generated by the index change of the thermal-plastic polymer when a voltage is applied; it yields a result of 5.6° deflection. To further amplify the deflection, a new design utilizing a cascading three-prism array has been implemented and a deflection angle to 29.2° is observed. The new design amplifies the beam deflection, while keeping the advantage of simple fabrication made possible by thermal-plastic polymer. Also, a photo-resist based collimator lens array has been added to reduce and provide collimation of the beam for high quality imaging purposes. The collimator is able to collimate the exiting beam at 4 μm diameter for up to 25mm, which potentially allows high resolution image capturing.

Production of high quality brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and tropomyosin receptor kinase B (TrkB) RNA from isolated populations of rat spinal cord motor neurons obtained by Laser Capture Microdissection (LCM).

PubMed

Mehta, Prachi; Premkumar, Brian; Morris, Renée

2016-08-03

The mammalian central nervous system (CNS) is composed of multiple cellular elements, making it challenging to segregate one particular cell type to study their gene expression profile. For instance, as motor neurons represent only 5-10% of the total cell population of the spinal cord, meaningful transcriptional analysis on these neurons is almost impossible to achieve from homogenized spinal cord tissue. A major challenge faced by scientists is to obtain good quality RNA from small amounts of starting material. In this paper, we used Laser Capture Microdissection (LCM) techniques to identify and isolate spinal cord motor neurons. The present analysis revealed that perfusion with paraformaldehyde (PFA) does not alter RNA quality. RNA integrity numbers (RINs) of tissue samples from rubrospinal tract (RST)-transected, intact spinal cord or from whole spinal cord homogenate were all above 8, which indicates intact, high-quality RNA. Levels of mRNA for brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) or for its tropomyosin receptor kinase B (TrkB) were not affected by rubrospinal tract (RST) transection, a surgical procedure that deprive motor neurons from one of their main supraspinal input. The isolation of pure populations of neurons with LCM techniques allows for robust transcriptional characterization that cannot be achieved with spinal cord homogenates. Such preparations of pure population of motor neurons will provide valuable tools to advance our understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying spinal cord injury and neuromuscular diseases. In the near future, LCM techniques might be instrumental to the success of gene therapy for these debilitating conditions. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Capturing sexual assault data: An information system designed by forensic clinicians and healthcare researchers.

PubMed

Mukhtar, S Aqif; Smith, Debbie A; Phillips, Maureen A; Kelly, Maire C; Zilkens, Renate R; Semmens, James B

2018-01-01

The Sexual Assault Resource Center (SARC) in Perth, Western Australia provides free 24-hour medical, forensic, and counseling services to persons aged over 13 years following sexual assault. The aim of this research was to design a data management system that maintains accurate quality information on all sexual assault cases referred to SARC, facilitating audit and peer-reviewed research. The work to develop SARC Medical Services Clinical Information System (SARC-MSCIS) took place during 2007-2009 as a collaboration between SARC and Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia. Patient demographics, assault details, including injury documentation, and counseling sessions were identified as core data sections. A user authentication system was set up for data security. Data quality checks were incorporated to ensure high-quality data. An SARC-MSCIS was developed containing three core data sections having 427 data elements to capture patient's data. Development of the SARC-MSCIS has resulted in comprehensive capacity to support sexual assault research. Four additional projects are underway to explore both the public health and criminal justice considerations in responding to sexual violence. The data showed that 1,933 sexual assault episodes had occurred among 1881 patients between January 1, 2009 and December 31, 2015. Sexual assault patients knew the assailant as a friend, carer, acquaintance, relative, partner, or ex-partner in 70% of cases, with 16% assailants being a stranger to the patient. This project has resulted in the development of a high-quality data management system to maintain information for medical and forensic services offered by SARC. This system has also proven to be a reliable resource enabling research in the area of sexual violence.

Health-related quality of life after mild, moderate and severe traumatic brain injury: patterns and predictors of suboptimal functioning during the first year after injury.

PubMed

Scholten, A C; Haagsma, J A; Andriessen, T M J C; Vos, P E; Steyerberg, E W; van Beeck, E F; Polinder, S

2015-04-01

The Glasgow Outcome Scale Extended (GOSE) is the established functional outcome scale to assess disability following traumatic brain injury (TBI), however does not capture the patient's subjective perspective. Health-related quality of life (HRQL) does capture the individual's perception of disability after TBI, and has therefore been recognized as an important outcome in TBI. In contrast to GOSE, HRQL enables comparison of health outcome across various disease states and with healthy individuals. We aimed to assess functional outcome, HRQL, recovery, and predictors of 6 and 12-month outcome in a comprehensive sample of patients with mild, moderate or severe TBI, and to examine the relationship between functional impairment (GOSE) and HRQL. A prospective cohort study was conducted among a sample of 2066 adult TBI patients who attended the emergency department (ED). GOSE was determined through questionnaires or structured interviews. Questionnaires 6 and 12 months after ED treatment included socio-demographic information and HRQL measured with Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36; reflecting physical, mental and social functioning) and Perceived Quality of Life Scale (PQoL; measuring degree of satisfaction with functioning). 996 TBI survivors with mild, moderate or severe TBI completed the 6-month questionnaire. Functional outcome and HRQL after moderate or severe TBI was significantly lower than after mild TBI. Patients with moderate TBI showed greatest improvement. After one year, the mild TBI group reached outcomes comparable to population norms. TBI of all severities highly affected SF-36 domains physical and social functioning, and physical and emotional role functioning. GOSE scores were highly related to all SF-36 domains and PQoL scores. Female gender, older age, co-morbidity and high ISS were strongest independent predictors of decreased HRQL at 6 and 12 months after TBI. HRQL and recovery patterns differ for mild, moderate and severe TBI. This study indicates that GOSE, although clinically relevant, fails to capture the subjective perspective of TBI patients, which endorses the use of HRQL as valuable addition to established instruments in assessing disability following TBI. Influence of TBI severity on recovery, together with female gender, older age, co-morbidity and high ISS should be considered in long-term follow-up and intervention programs. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Graphical displays for effective reporting of evidence quality tables in research syntheses.

PubMed

Mignini, Luciano; Champaneria, Rita; Mishanina, Ekaterina; Khan, Khalid S

2016-03-09

When generating guidelines, quality of the evidence is tabulated to capture its several domains, often using the GRADE (Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation) approach. We developed a graphic display to capture deficiencies, outliers and similarities across comparisons contained in GRADE tables. Based on a systematic literature review capturing the effects of 32 different therapeutic comparisons on dysmenorrhoea, we synthesised evidence quality in tables and graphs. We evaluated time taken to accurately assess evident quality and preference for tables vs. graphs. The plots provided visually striking displays of strengths and weaknesses of the evidence across the spectrum of comparisons on a single page. Equivalent tabulated information spread over 4 pages. Participants preferred and interpreted graphs quicker and more accurately than tables. The graphic approach we developed makes interpreting evidence easier. Large tables are dry and cumbersome to read and assimilate. When guideline statements are accompanied by these plots, they have the scope for improving the credibility of the recommendations made, as the strength of the evidence used can be clearly seen. Further empirical research will establish the place for graphic displays.

Optimized holographic femtosecond laser patterning method towards rapid integration of high-quality functional devices in microchannels

PubMed Central

Zhang, Chenchu; Hu, Yanlei; Du, Wenqiang; Wu, Peichao; Rao, Shenglong; Cai, Ze; Lao, Zhaoxin; Xu, Bing; Ni, Jincheng; Li, Jiawen; Zhao, Gang; Wu, Dong; Chu, Jiaru; Sugioka, Koji

2016-01-01

Rapid integration of high-quality functional devices in microchannels is in highly demand for miniature lab-on-a-chip applications. This paper demonstrates the embellishment of existing microfluidic devices with integrated micropatterns via femtosecond laser MRAF-based holographic patterning (MHP) microfabrication, which proves two-photon polymerization (TPP) based on spatial light modulator (SLM) to be a rapid and powerful technology for chip functionalization. Optimized mixed region amplitude freedom (MRAF) algorithm has been used to generate high-quality shaped focus field. Base on the optimized parameters, a single-exposure approach is developed to fabricate 200 × 200 μm microstructure arrays in less than 240 ms. Moreover, microtraps, QR code and letters are integrated into a microdevice by the advanced method for particles capture and device identification. These results indicate that such a holographic laser embellishment of microfluidic devices is simple, flexible and easy to access, which has great potential in lab-on-a-chip applications of biological culture, chemical analyses and optofluidic devices. PMID:27619690

Dependence of Adaptive Cross-correlation Algorithm Performance on the Extended Scene Image Quality

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sidick, Erkin

2008-01-01

Recently, we reported an adaptive cross-correlation (ACC) algorithm to estimate with high accuracy the shift as large as several pixels between two extended-scene sub-images captured by a Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor. It determines the positions of all extended-scene image cells relative to a reference cell in the same frame using an FFT-based iterative image-shifting algorithm. It works with both point-source spot images as well as extended scene images. We have demonstrated previously based on some measured images that the ACC algorithm can determine image shifts with as high an accuracy as 0.01 pixel for shifts as large 3 pixels, and yield similar results for both point source spot images and extended scene images. The shift estimate accuracy of the ACC algorithm depends on illumination level, background, and scene content in addition to the amount of the shift between two image cells. In this paper we investigate how the performance of the ACC algorithm depends on the quality and the frequency content of extended scene images captured by a Shack-Hatmann camera. We also compare the performance of the ACC algorithm with those of several other approaches, and introduce a failsafe criterion for the ACC algorithm-based extended scene Shack-Hatmann sensors.

EFFECT OF QUALITY CHRONIC DISEASE MANAGEMENT FOR ALCOHOL AND DRUG DEPENDENCE ON ADDICTION OUTCOMES

PubMed Central

Kim, Theresa W.; Saitz, Richard; Cheng, Debbie M.; Winter, Michael R; Witas, Julie; Samet, Jeffrey H.

2012-01-01

We examinedthe effect ofthe quality of primary care-basedchronic disease management (CDM)for alcohol and/or other drug (AOD) dependenceonaddiction outcomes.We assessed qualityusing 1)avisit frequencybased measure and 2) a self-reported assessment measuring alignment with the chronic care model. The visit frequency based measure had no significant association with addiction outcomes. Theself-reported measure of care - when care was at a CDM clinic - was associated with lower drug addiction severity.The self-reported assessment of care from any healthcare source (CDM clinic or elsewhere)was associated with lower alcoholaddiction severity and abstinence.These findings suggest that high quality CDM for AOD dependence may improve addiction outcomes.Quality measuresbased upon alignment with the chronic care model may better capture features of effective CDM care than a visitfrequency measure. PMID:22840687

Influence of camera parameters on the quality of mobile 3D capture

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Georgiev, Mihail; Boev, Atanas; Gotchev, Atanas; Hannuksela, Miska

2010-01-01

We investigate the effect of camera de-calibration on the quality of depth estimation. Dense depth map is a format particularly suitable for mobile 3D capture (scalable and screen independent). However, in real-world scenario cameras might move (vibrations, temp. bend) form their designated positions. For experiments, we create a test framework, described in the paper. We investigate how mechanical changes will affect different (4) stereo-matching algorithms. We also assess how different geometric corrections (none, motion compensation-like, full rectification) will affect the estimation quality (how much offset can be still compensated with "crop" over a larger CCD). Finally, we show how estimated camera pose change (E) relates with stereo-matching, which can be used for "rectification quality" measure.

A Metric and Workflow for Quality Control in the Analysis of Heterogeneity in Phenotypic Profiles and Screens

PubMed Central

Gough, Albert; Shun, Tongying; Taylor, D. Lansing; Schurdak, Mark

2016-01-01

Heterogeneity is well recognized as a common property of cellular systems that impacts biomedical research and the development of therapeutics and diagnostics. Several studies have shown that analysis of heterogeneity: gives insight into mechanisms of action of perturbagens; can be used to predict optimal combination therapies; and to quantify heterogeneity in tumors where heterogeneity is believed to be associated with adaptation and resistance. Cytometry methods including high content screening (HCS), high throughput microscopy, flow cytometry, mass spec imaging and digital pathology capture cell level data for populations of cells. However it is often assumed that the population response is normally distributed and therefore that the average adequately describes the results. A deeper understanding of the results of the measurements and more effective comparison of perturbagen effects requires analysis that takes into account the distribution of the measurements, i.e. the heterogeneity. However, the reproducibility of heterogeneous data collected on different days, and in different plates/slides has not previously been evaluated. Here we show that conventional assay quality metrics alone are not adequate for quality control of the heterogeneity in the data. To address this need, we demonstrate the use of the Kolmogorov-Smirnov statistic as a metric for monitoring the reproducibility of heterogeneity in an SAR screen, describe a workflow for quality control in heterogeneity analysis. One major challenge in high throughput biology is the evaluation and interpretation of heterogeneity in thousands of samples, such as compounds in a cell-based screen. In this study we also demonstrate that three heterogeneity indices previously reported, capture the shapes of the distributions and provide a means to filter and browse big data sets of cellular distributions in order to compare and identify distributions of interest. These metrics and methods are presented as a workflow for analysis of heterogeneity in large scale biology projects. PMID:26476369

An approach to integrate the human vision psychology and perception knowledge into image enhancement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Hui; Huang, Xifeng; Ping, Jiang

2009-07-01

Image enhancement is very important image preprocessing technology especially when the image is captured in the poor imaging condition or dealing with the high bits image. The benefactor of image enhancement either may be a human observer or a computer vision process performing some kind of higher-level image analysis, such as target detection or scene understanding. One of the main objects of the image enhancement is getting a high dynamic range image and a high contrast degree image for human perception or interpretation. So, it is very necessary to integrate either empirical or statistical human vision psychology and perception knowledge into image enhancement. The human vision psychology and perception claims that humans' perception and response to the intensity fluctuation δu of visual signals are weighted by the background stimulus u, instead of being plainly uniform. There are three main laws: Weber's law, Weber- Fechner's law and Stevens's Law that describe this phenomenon in the psychology and psychophysics. This paper will integrate these three laws of the human vision psychology and perception into a very popular image enhancement algorithm named Adaptive Plateau Equalization (APE). The experiments were done on the high bits star image captured in night scene and the infrared-red image both the static image and the video stream. For the jitter problem in the video stream, this algorithm reduces this problem using the difference between the current frame's plateau value and the previous frame's plateau value to correct the current frame's plateau value. Considering the random noise impacts, the pixel value mapping process is not only depending on the current pixel but the pixels in the window surround the current pixel. The window size is usually 3×3. The process results of this improved algorithms is evaluated by the entropy analysis and visual perception analysis. The experiments' result showed the improved APE algorithms improved the quality of the image, the target and the surrounding assistant targets could be identified easily, and the noise was not amplified much. For the low quality image, these improved algorithms augment the information entropy and improve the image and the video stream aesthetic quality, while for the high quality image they will not debase the quality of the image.

Process performance and product quality in an integrated continuous antibody production process.

PubMed

Karst, Daniel J; Steinebach, Fabian; Soos, Miroslav; Morbidelli, Massimo

2017-02-01

Continuous manufacturing is currently being seriously considered in the biopharmaceutical industry as the possible new paradigm for producing therapeutic proteins, due to production cost and product quality related benefits. In this study, a monoclonal antibody producing CHO cell line was cultured in perfusion mode and connected to a continuous affinity capture step. The reliable and stable integration of the two systems was enabled by suitable control loops, regulating the continuous volumetric flow and adapting the operating conditions of the capture process. For the latter, an at-line HPLC measurement of the harvest concentration subsequent to the bioreactor was combined with a mechanistic model of the capture chromatographic unit. Thereby, optimal buffer consumption and productivity throughout the process was realized while always maintaining a yield above the target value of 99%. Stable operation was achieved at three consecutive viable cell density set points (20, 60, and 40 × 10 6 cells/mL), together with consistent product quality in terms of aggregates, fragments, charge isoforms, and N-linked glycosylation. In addition, different values for these product quality attributes such as N-linked glycosylation, charge variants, and aggregate content were measured at the different steady states. As expected, the amount of released DNA and HCP was significantly reduced by the capture step for all considered upstream operating conditions. This study is exemplary for the potential of enhancing product quality control and modulation by integrated continuous manufacturing. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2017;114: 298-307. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Rapid Material Appearance Acquisition Using Consumer Hardware

PubMed Central

Filip, Jiří; Vávra, Radomír; Krupička, Mikuláš

2014-01-01

A photo-realistic representation of material appearance can be achieved by means of bidirectional texture function (BTF) capturing a material’s appearance for varying illumination, viewing directions, and spatial pixel coordinates. BTF captures many non-local effects in material structure such as inter-reflections, occlusions, shadowing, or scattering. The acquisition of BTF data is usually time and resource-intensive due to the high dimensionality of BTF data. This results in expensive, complex measurement setups and/or excessively long measurement times. We propose an approximate BTF acquisition setup based on a simple, affordable mechanical gantry containing a consumer camera and two LED lights. It captures a very limited subset of material surface images by shooting several video sequences. A psychophysical study comparing captured and reconstructed data with the reference BTFs of seven tested materials revealed that results of our method show a promising visual quality. Speed of the setup has been demonstrated on measurement of human skin and measurement and modeling of a glue dessication time-varying process. As it allows for fast, inexpensive, acquisition of approximate BTFs, this method can be beneficial to visualization applications demanding less accuracy, where BTF utilization has previously been limited. PMID:25340451

Modeling the Complexities of Water, Hygiene, and Health in Limpopo Province, South Africa

PubMed Central

Mellor, Jonathan E.; Smith, James A.; Learmonth, Gerard P.; Netshandama, Vhonani O.; Dillingham, Rebecca A.

2013-01-01

Researchers have long studied the causes and prevention strategies of poor household water quality and early childhood diarrhea using intervention-control trials. Although the results of such trails can lead to useful information, they do not capture the complexity of this natural/engineered/social system. We report on the development of an agent-based model (ABM) to study such a system in Limpopo, South Africa. The study is based on four years of field data collection to accurately capture essential elements of the communities and their water contamination chain. An extensive analysis of those elements explored behaviors including water collection and treatment frequency as well as biofilm buildup in water storage containers, source water quality, and water container types. Results indicate that interventions must be optimally implemented in order to see significant reductions in early childhood diarrhea (ECD). Household boiling frequency, source water quality, water container type and the biofilm layer contribution were deemed to have significant impacts on ECD. Furthermore, concurrently implemented highly effective interventions were shown to reduce diarrhea rates to very low levels even when other, less important practices were sub-optimal. This technique can be used by a variety of stakeholders when designing interventions to reduce ECD incidences in similar settings. PMID:23186073

Modeling the complexities of water, hygiene, and health in Limpopo Province, South Africa.

PubMed

Mellor, Jonathan E; Smith, James A; Learmonth, Gerard P; Netshandama, Vhonani O; Dillingham, Rebecca A

2012-12-18

Researchers have long studied the causes and prevention strategies of poor household water quality and early childhood diarrhea using intervention-control trials. Although the results of such trails can lead to useful information, they do not capture the complexity of this natural/engineered/social system. We report on the development of an agent-based model (ABM) to study such a system in Limpopo, South Africa. The study is based on four years of field data collection to accurately capture essential elements of the communities and their water contamination chain. An extensive analysis of those elements explored behaviors including water collection and treatment frequency as well as biofilm buildup in water storage containers, source water quality, and water container types. Results indicate that interventions must be optimally implemented in order to see significant reductions in early childhood diarrhea (ECD). Household boiling frequency, source water quality, water container type, and the biofilm layer contribution were deemed to have significant impacts on ECD. Furthermore, concurrently implemented highly effective interventions were shown to reduce diarrhea rates to very low levels even when other, less important practices were suboptimal. This technique can be used by a variety of stakeholders when designing interventions to reduce ECD incidences in similar settings.

High-Density, High-Resolution, Low-Cost Air Quality Sensor Networks for Urban Air Monitoring

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mead, M. I.; Popoola, O. A.; Stewart, G.; Bright, V.; Kaye, P.; Saffell, J.

2012-12-01

Monitoring air quality in highly granular environments such as urban areas which are spatially heterogeneous with variable emission sources, measurements need to be made at appropriate spatial and temporal scales. Current routine air quality monitoring networks generally are either composed of sparse expensive installations (incorporating e.g. chemiluminescence instruments) or higher density low time resolution systems (e.g. NO2 diffusion tubes). Either approach may not accurately capture important effects such as pollutant "hot spots" or adequately capture spatial (or temporal) variability. As a result, analysis based on data from traditional low spatial resolution networks, such as personal exposure, may be inaccurate. In this paper we present details of a sophisticated, low-cost, multi species (gas phase, speciated PM, meteorology) air quality measurement network methodology incorporating GPS and GPRS which has been developed for high resolution air quality measurements in urban areas. Sensor networks developed in the Centre for Atmospheric Science (University of Cambridge) incorporated electrochemical gas sensors configured for use in urban air quality studies operating at parts-per-billion (ppb) levels. It has been demonstrated that these sensors can be used to measure key air quality gases such as CO, NO and NO2 at the low ppb mixing ratios present in the urban environment (estimated detection limits <4ppb for CO and NO and <1ppb for NO2. Mead et al (submitted Aug., 2012)). Based on this work, a state of the art multi species instrument package for deployment in scalable sensor networks has been developed which has general applicability. This is currently being employed as part of a major 3 year UK program at London Heathrow airport (the Sensor Networks for Air Quality (SNAQ) Heathrow project). The main project outcome is the creation of a calibrated, high spatial and temporal resolution data set for O3, NO, NO2, SO2, CO, CO2, VOCstotal, size-speciated PM, temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and direction. The network incorporates existing GPRS infrastructures for real time sending of data with low overheads in terms of cost, effort and installation. In this paper we present data from the SNAQ Heathrow project as well as previous deployments showing measurement capability at the ppb level for NO, NO2 and CO. We show that variability can be observed and measured quantitatively using these sensor networks over widely differing time scales from individual emission events, diurnal variability associated with traffic and meteorological conditions, through to longer term synoptic weather conditions and seasonal behaviour. This work demonstrates a widely applicable generic capability to urban areas, airports as well as other complex emissions environments making this sensor system methodology valuable for scientific, policy and regulatory issues. We conclude that the low-cost high-density network philosophy has the potential to provide a more complete assessment of the high-granularity air quality structure generally observed in the environment. Further, when appropriately deployed, has the potential to offer a new paradigm in air quality quantification and monitoring.

Aesthetics by Numbers: Links between Perceived Texture Qualities and Computed Visual Texture Properties

PubMed Central

Jacobs, Richard H. A. H.; Haak, Koen V.; Thumfart, Stefan; Renken, Remco; Henson, Brian; Cornelissen, Frans W.

2016-01-01

Our world is filled with texture. For the human visual system, this is an important source of information for assessing environmental and material properties. Indeed—and presumably for this reason—the human visual system has regions dedicated to processing textures. Despite their abundance and apparent relevance, only recently the relationships between texture features and high-level judgments have captured the interest of mainstream science, despite long-standing indications for such relationships. In this study, we explore such relationships, as these might be used to predict perceived texture qualities. This is relevant, not only from a psychological/neuroscience perspective, but also for more applied fields such as design, architecture, and the visual arts. In two separate experiments, observers judged various qualities of visual textures such as beauty, roughness, naturalness, elegance, and complexity. Based on factor analysis, we find that in both experiments, ~75% of the variability in the judgments could be explained by a two-dimensional space, with axes that are closely aligned to the beauty and roughness judgments. That a two-dimensional judgment space suffices to capture most of the variability in the perceived texture qualities suggests that observers use a relatively limited set of internal scales on which to base various judgments, including aesthetic ones. Finally, for both of these judgments, we determined the relationship with a large number of texture features computed for each of the texture stimuli. We find that the presence of lower spatial frequencies, oblique orientations, higher intensity variation, higher saturation, and redness correlates with higher beauty ratings. Features that captured image intensity and uniformity correlated with roughness ratings. Therefore, a number of computational texture features are predictive of these judgments. This suggests that perceived texture qualities—including the aesthetic appreciation—are sufficiently universal to be predicted—with reasonable accuracy—based on the computed feature content of the textures. PMID:27493628

Semi-automatic 2D-to-3D conversion of human-centered videos enhanced by age and gender estimation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fard, Mani B.; Bayazit, Ulug

2014-01-01

In this work, we propose a feasible 3D video generation method to enable high quality visual perception using a monocular uncalibrated camera. Anthropometric distances between face standard landmarks are approximated based on the person's age and gender. These measurements are used in a 2-stage approach to facilitate the construction of binocular stereo images. Specifically, one view of the background is registered in initial stage of video shooting. It is followed by an automatically guided displacement of the camera toward its secondary position. At the secondary position the real-time capturing is started and the foreground (viewed person) region is extracted for each frame. After an accurate parallax estimation the extracted foreground is placed in front of the background image that was captured at the initial position. So the constructed full view of the initial position combined with the view of the secondary (current) position, form the complete binocular pairs during real-time video shooting. The subjective evaluation results present a competent depth perception quality through the proposed system.

Implementing a Standardised Annual Programme Review Process in a Third-Level Institution

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wickham, Sheelagh; Brady, Malcolm; Ingle, Sarah; McMullan, Caroline; Nic Giolla Mhichíl, Mairéad; Walshe, Ray

2017-01-01

Purpose: Ideally, quality should be, and is, an integral element of education, yet capturing and articulating quality is not simple. Programme quality reviews in third-level education can demonstrate quality and identify areas for improvement, offering many potential benefits. However, details on the process of quality programme review are limited…

Capturing, Harmonizing and Delivering Data and Quality Provenance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Leptoukh, Gregory; Lynnes, Christopher

2011-01-01

Satellite remote sensing data have proven to be vital for various scientific and applications needs. However, the usability of these data depends not only on the data values but also on the ability of data users to assess and understand the quality of these data for various applications and for comparison or inter-usage of data from different sensors and models. In this paper, we describe some aspects of capturing, harmonizing and delivering this information to users in the framework of distributed web-based data tools.

Nanoheteroepitaxy of gallium arsenide on strain-compliant silicon-germanium nanowires

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

Chin, Hock-Chun; Gong, Xiao; Yeo, Yee-Chia

Heterogeneous integration of high-quality GaAs on Si-based substrates using a selective migration-enhanced epitaxy (MEE) of GaAs on strain-compliant SiGe nanowires was demonstrated for the first time. The physics of compliance in nanoscale heterostructures was captured and studied using finite-element simulation. It is shown that nanostructures can provide additional substrate compliance for strain relief and therefore contribute to the formation of defect-free GaAs on SiGe. Extensive characterization using scanning electron microscopy and cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy was performed to illustrate the successful growth of GaAs on SiGe nanowire. Raman and Auger electron spectroscopy measurements further confirmed the quality of the GaAsmore » grown and the high growth selectivity of the MEE process.« less

An intravenous medication safety system: preventing high-risk medication errors at the point of care.

PubMed

Hatcher, Irene; Sullivan, Mark; Hutchinson, James; Thurman, Susan; Gaffney, F Andrew

2004-10-01

Improving medication safety at the point of care--particularly for high-risk drugs--is a major concern of nursing administrators. The medication errors most likely to cause harm are administration errors related to infusion of high-risk medications. An intravenous medication safety system is designed to prevent high-risk infusion medication errors and to capture continuous quality improvement data for best practice improvement. Initial testing with 50 systems in 2 units at Vanderbilt University Medical Center revealed that, even in the presence of a fully mature computerized prescriber order-entry system, the new safety system averted 99 potential infusion errors in 8 months.

Requirements UML Tool (RUT) Expanded for Extreme Programming (CI02)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

McCoy, James R.

2003-01-01

A procedure for capturing and managing system requirements that incorporates XP user stories. Because costs associated with identifying problems in requirements increase dramatically over the lifecycle of a project, a method for identifying sources of software risks in user stories is urgently needed. This initiative aims to determine a set of guide-lines for user stories that will result in high-quality requirement. To further this initiative, a tool is needed to analyze user stories that can assess the quality of individual user stories, detect sources cf software risk's, produce software metrics, and identify areas in user stories that can be improved.

X-ray online detection for laser welding T-joint of Al-Li alloy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhan, Xiaohong; Bu, Xing; Qin, Tao; Yu, Haisong; Chen, Jie; Wei, Yanhong

2017-05-01

In order to detect weld defects in laser welding T-joint of Al-Li alloy, a real-time X-ray image system is set up for quality inspection. Experiments on real-time radiography procedure of the weldment are conducted by using this system. Twin fillet welding seam radiographic arrangement is designed according to the structural characteristics of the weldment. The critical parameters including magnification times, focal length, tube current and tube voltage are studied to acquire high quality weld images. Through the theoretical and data analysis, optimum parameters are settled and expected digital images are captured, which is conductive to automatic defect detection.

Quality measurement for rhinosinusitis: a review from the Quality Improvement Committee of the American Rhinologic Society.

PubMed

Rudmik, Luke; Mattos, Jose; Schneider, John; Manes, Peter R; Stokken, Janalee K; Lee, Jivianne; Higgins, Thomas S; Schlosser, Rodney J; Reh, Douglas D; Setzen, Michael; Soler, Zachary M

2017-09-01

Measuring quality outcomes is an important prerequisite to improve quality of care. Rhinosinusitis represents a high value target to improve quality of care because it has a high prevalence of disease, large economic burden, and large practice variation. In this study we review the current state of quality measurement for management of both acute (ARS) and chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS). The major national quality metric repositories and clearinghouses were queried. Additional searches included the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery database, PubMed, and Google to attempt to capture any additional quality metrics. Seven quality metrics for ARS and 4 quality metrics for CRS were identified. ARS metrics focused on appropriateness of diagnosis (n = 1), antibiotic prescribing (n = 4), and radiologic imaging (n = 2). CRS quality metrics focused on appropriateness of diagnosis (n = 1), radiologic imaging (n = 1), and measurement of patient quality of life (n = 2). The Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS) currently tracks 3 ARS quality metrics and 1 CRS quality metric. There are no outcome-based rhinosinusitis quality metrics and no metrics that assess domains of safety, patient-centeredness, and timeliness of care. The current status of quality measurement for rhinosinusitis has focused primarily on the quality domain of efficiency and process measures for ARS. More work is needed to develop, validate, and track outcome-based quality metrics along with CRS-specific metrics. Although there has been excellent work done to improve quality measurement for rhinosinusitis, there remain major gaps and challenges that need to be considered during the development of future metrics. © 2017 ARS-AAOA, LLC.

Automated Quality Assessment of Colour Fundus Images for Diabetic Retinopathy Screening in Telemedicine.

PubMed

Saha, Sajib Kumar; Fernando, Basura; Cuadros, Jorge; Xiao, Di; Kanagasingam, Yogesan

2018-04-27

Fundus images obtained in a telemedicine program are acquired at different sites that are captured by people who have varying levels of experience. These result in a relatively high percentage of images which are later marked as unreadable by graders. Unreadable images require a recapture which is time and cost intensive. An automated method that determines the image quality during acquisition is an effective alternative. To determine the image quality during acquisition, we describe here an automated method for the assessment of image quality in the context of diabetic retinopathy. The method explicitly applies machine learning techniques to access the image and to determine 'accept' and 'reject' categories. 'Reject' category image requires a recapture. A deep convolution neural network is trained to grade the images automatically. A large representative set of 7000 colour fundus images was used for the experiment which was obtained from the EyePACS that were made available by the California Healthcare Foundation. Three retinal image analysis experts were employed to categorise these images into 'accept' and 'reject' classes based on the precise definition of image quality in the context of DR. The network was trained using 3428 images. The method shows an accuracy of 100% to successfully categorise 'accept' and 'reject' images, which is about 2% higher than the traditional machine learning method. On a clinical trial, the proposed method shows 97% agreement with human grader. The method can be easily incorporated with the fundus image capturing system in the acquisition centre and can guide the photographer whether a recapture is necessary or not.

High speed color imaging through scattering media with a large field of view

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhuang, Huichang; He, Hexiang; Xie, Xiangsheng; Zhou, Jianying

2016-09-01

Optical imaging through complex media has many important applications. Although research progresses have been made to recover optical image through various turbid media, the widespread application of the technology is hampered by the recovery speed, requirement on specific illumination, poor image quality and limited field of view. Here we demonstrate that above-mentioned drawbacks can be essentially overcome. The realization of high speed color imaging through turbid media is successfully carried out by taking into account the media memory effect, the point spread function, the exit pupil of the optical system, and the optimized signal to noise ratio. By retrieving selected speckles with enlarged field of view, high quality image is recovered with a responding speed only determined by the frame rates of the image capturing devices. The immediate application of the technique is expected to register static and dynamic imaging under human skin to recover information with a wearable device.

High-operating temperature MWIR photon detectors based on type II InAs/GaSb superlattice

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Razeghi, Manijeh; Nguyen, Binh-Minh; Delaunay, Pierre-Yves; Abdollahi Pour, Siamak; Huang, Edward Kwei-wei; Manukar, Paritosh; Bogdanov, Simeon; Chen, Guanxi

2010-01-01

Recent efforts have been paid to elevate the operating temperature of Type II InAs/GaSb superlattice Mid Infrared photon detectors. Optimized growth parameters and interface engineering technique enable high quality material with a quantum efficiency above 50%. Intensive study on device architecture and doping profile has resulted in almost one order of magnitude of improvement to the electrical performance and lifted up the 300K-background BLIP operation temperature to 166K. At 77K, the ~4.2 μm cut-off devices exhibit a differential resistance area product in excess of the measurement system limit (106 Ohm.cm2) and a detectivity of 3x1013cm.Hz1/2/W. High quality focal plane arrays were demonstrated with a noise equivalent temperature of 10mK at 77K. Uncooled camera is capable to capture hot objects such as soldering iron.

High Efficiency, Transparent, Reusable, and Active PM2.5 Filters by Hierarchical Ag Nanowire Percolation Network.

PubMed

Jeong, Seongmin; Cho, Hyunmin; Han, Seonggeun; Won, Phillip; Lee, Habeom; Hong, Sukjoon; Yeo, Junyeob; Kwon, Jinhyeong; Ko, Seung Hwan

2017-07-12

Air quality has become a major public health issue in Asia including China, Korea, and India. Particulate matters are the major concern in air quality. We present the first environmental application demonstration of Ag nanowire percolation network for a novel, electrical type transparent, reusable, and active PM2.5 air filter although the Ag nanowire percolation network has been studied as a very promising transparent conductor in optoelectronics. Compared with previous particulate matter air filter study using relatively weaker short-range intermolecular force in polar polymeric nanofiber, Ag nanowire percolation network filters use stronger long-range electrostatic force to capture PM2.5, and they are highly efficient (>99.99%), transparent, working on an active mode, low power consumption, antibacterial, and reusable after simple washing. The proposed new particulate matter filter can be applied for a highly efficient, reusable, active and energy efficient filter for wearable electronics application.

Point-of-View Recording Devices for Intraoperative Neurosurgical Video Capture.

PubMed

Porras, Jose L; Khalid, Syed; Root, Brandon K; Khan, Imad S; Singer, Robert J

2016-01-01

The ability to record and stream neurosurgery is an unprecedented opportunity to further research, medical education, and quality improvement. Here, we appraise the ease of implementation of existing point-of-view devices when capturing and sharing procedures from the neurosurgical operating room and detail their potential utility in this context. Our neurosurgical team tested and critically evaluated features of the Google Glass and Panasonic HX-A500 cameras, including ergonomics, media quality, and media sharing in both the operating theater and the angiography suite. Existing devices boast several features that facilitate live recording and streaming of neurosurgical procedures. Given that their primary application is not intended for the surgical environment, we identified a number of concrete, yet improvable, limitations. The present study suggests that neurosurgical video capture and live streaming represents an opportunity to contribute to research, education, and quality improvement. Despite this promise, shortcomings render existing devices impractical for serious consideration. We describe the features that future recording platforms should possess to improve upon existing technology.

Effects of Reduced Terrestrial LiDAR Point Density on High-Resolution Grain Crop Surface Models in Precision Agriculture

PubMed Central

Hämmerle, Martin; Höfle, Bernhard

2014-01-01

3D geodata play an increasingly important role in precision agriculture, e.g., for modeling in-field variations of grain crop features such as height or biomass. A common data capturing method is LiDAR, which often requires expensive equipment and produces large datasets. This study contributes to the improvement of 3D geodata capturing efficiency by assessing the effect of reduced scanning resolution on crop surface models (CSMs). The analysis is based on high-end LiDAR point clouds of grain crop fields of different varieties (rye and wheat) and nitrogen fertilization stages (100%, 50%, 10%). Lower scanning resolutions are simulated by keeping every n-th laser beam with increasing step widths n. For each iteration step, high-resolution CSMs (0.01 m2 cells) are derived and assessed regarding their coverage relative to a seamless CSM derived from the original point cloud, standard deviation of elevation and mean elevation. Reducing the resolution to, e.g., 25% still leads to a coverage of >90% and a mean CSM elevation of >96% of measured crop height. CSM types (maximum elevation or 90th-percentile elevation) react differently to reduced scanning resolutions in different crops (variety, density). The results can help to assess the trade-off between CSM quality and minimum requirements regarding equipment and capturing set-up. PMID:25521383

Meteorological air quality forecasting using the WRF-Chem model during the LMOS2017 field campaign

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stanier, C. O.; Abdioskouei, M.; Carmichael, G. R.; Christiansen, M.; Sobhani, N.

2017-12-01

The Lake Michigan Ozone Study (LMOS 2017) occurred during May and June 2017 to address the high ozone episodes in coastal communities surrounding Lake Michigan. Aircraft, ship, mobile lab, and ground-based stations were used in this campaign to build an extensive dataset regarding ozone, its precursors, and particulate matter. The University of Iowa produced high-resolution (4x4 km2 horizontal resolution and 53 vertical levels) forecast products using the WRF-Chem modeling system in support of experimental planning during LMOS 2017. The base forecast system used WRF-Chem 3.6.1 and updated National Emission Inventory (NEI-2011v2). In the updated NEI-2011v2, we reduced the NOx emissions by 28% based on EPA's estimated NOx trends from 2011 to 2017. We ran another daily forecast (perturbed forecast) with 50% reduced NOx emission to capture the sensitivity of ozone to NOx emission and account for the impact of weekend emissions on ozone values. Preliminary in-field evaluation of model performance for clouds, on-shore flows, and surface and aircraft sampled ozone and NOx concentrations found that the model successfully captured much of the observed synoptic variability of onshore flows. The model captured the variability of O3 well, but underpredicted peak ozone during high O3 episodes. In post-campaign WRF-Chem simulations, we investigated the sensitivity of the model to the hydrocarbon emission.

Widefield Imaging: Selected Strategies for Processing Light-Contaminated Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cannistra, Stephen A.

The beauty of nebulae, galaxies, and star clusters takes on new meaning when portrayed in a widefield view, where familiar objects that are commonly seen in isolation are now shown in relation to one another. Through the use of high quality, short focal length optics combined with large, commercially available CCD chips, it is possible to capture broad regions of sky that an older generation of astrophotographers could only dream of.

Development of robust fluorinated TiO2/PVDF composite hollow fiber membrane for CO2 capture in gas-liquid membrane contactor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, Yuqing; Xu, Yilin; Loh, Chun Heng; Wang, Rong

2018-04-01

Gas-liquid membrane contactor (GLMC) is a promising method to attain high efficiency for CO2 capture from flue gas, biogas and natural gas. However, membranes used in GLMC are prone to pore wetting due to insufficient hydrophobicity and low chemical resistance, resulting in significant increase in mass transfer resistance. To mitigate this issue, inorganic-organic fluorinated titania/polyvinylidene fluoride (fTiO2/PVDF) composite hollow fiber (HF) membranes was prepared via facile in-situ vapor induced hydrolyzation method, followed by hydrophobic modification. The proposed composite membranes were expected to couple the superb chemical stability of inorganic and high permeability/low cost of organic materials. The continuous fTiO2 layer deposited on top of PVDF substrate was found to possess a tighter microstructure and better hydrophobicity, which effectively prevented the membrane from wetting and lead to a high CO2 absorption flux (12.7 × 10-3 mol m-2 s-1). In a stability test with 21-day operation of GLMC using 1M monoethanolamine (MEA) as the absorbent, the fTiO2/PVDF membrane remained to be intact with a CO2 absorption flux decline of ∼16%, while the pristine PVDF membrane suffered from a flux decline of ∼80% due to membrane damage. Overall, this work provides an insight into the preparation of high-quality inorganic/organic composite HF membranes for CO2 capture in GLMC application.

On the feasibility of measuring urban air pollution by wireless distributed sensor networks.

PubMed

Moltchanov, Sharon; Levy, Ilan; Etzion, Yael; Lerner, Uri; Broday, David M; Fishbain, Barak

2015-01-01

Accurate evaluation of air pollution on human-wellbeing requires high-resolution measurements. Standard air quality monitoring stations provide accurate pollution levels but due to their sparse distribution they cannot capture the highly resolved spatial variations within cities. Similarly, dedicated field campaigns can use tens of measurement devices and obtain highly dense spatial coverage but normally deployment has been limited to short periods of no more than few weeks. Nowadays, advances in communication and sensory technologies enable the deployment of dense grids of wireless distributed air monitoring nodes, yet their sensor ability to capture the spatiotemporal pollutant variability at the sub-neighborhood scale has never been thoroughly tested. This study reports ambient measurements of gaseous air pollutants by a network of six wireless multi-sensor miniature nodes that have been deployed in three urban sites, about 150 m apart. We demonstrate the network's capability to capture spatiotemporal concentration variations at an exceptional fine resolution but highlight the need for a frequent in-situ calibration to maintain the consistency of some sensors. Accordingly, a procedure for a field calibration is proposed and shown to improve the system's performance. Overall, our results support the compatibility of wireless distributed sensor networks for measuring urban air pollution at a sub-neighborhood spatial resolution, which suits the requirement for highly spatiotemporal resolved measurements at the breathing-height when assessing exposure to urban air pollution. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

State estimation and prediction using clustered particle filters.

PubMed

Lee, Yoonsang; Majda, Andrew J

2016-12-20

Particle filtering is an essential tool to improve uncertain model predictions by incorporating noisy observational data from complex systems including non-Gaussian features. A class of particle filters, clustered particle filters, is introduced for high-dimensional nonlinear systems, which uses relatively few particles compared with the standard particle filter. The clustered particle filter captures non-Gaussian features of the true signal, which are typical in complex nonlinear dynamical systems such as geophysical systems. The method is also robust in the difficult regime of high-quality sparse and infrequent observations. The key features of the clustered particle filtering are coarse-grained localization through the clustering of the state variables and particle adjustment to stabilize the method; each observation affects only neighbor state variables through clustering and particles are adjusted to prevent particle collapse due to high-quality observations. The clustered particle filter is tested for the 40-dimensional Lorenz 96 model with several dynamical regimes including strongly non-Gaussian statistics. The clustered particle filter shows robust skill in both achieving accurate filter results and capturing non-Gaussian statistics of the true signal. It is further extended to multiscale data assimilation, which provides the large-scale estimation by combining a cheap reduced-order forecast model and mixed observations of the large- and small-scale variables. This approach enables the use of a larger number of particles due to the computational savings in the forecast model. The multiscale clustered particle filter is tested for one-dimensional dispersive wave turbulence using a forecast model with model errors.

State estimation and prediction using clustered particle filters

PubMed Central

Lee, Yoonsang; Majda, Andrew J.

2016-01-01

Particle filtering is an essential tool to improve uncertain model predictions by incorporating noisy observational data from complex systems including non-Gaussian features. A class of particle filters, clustered particle filters, is introduced for high-dimensional nonlinear systems, which uses relatively few particles compared with the standard particle filter. The clustered particle filter captures non-Gaussian features of the true signal, which are typical in complex nonlinear dynamical systems such as geophysical systems. The method is also robust in the difficult regime of high-quality sparse and infrequent observations. The key features of the clustered particle filtering are coarse-grained localization through the clustering of the state variables and particle adjustment to stabilize the method; each observation affects only neighbor state variables through clustering and particles are adjusted to prevent particle collapse due to high-quality observations. The clustered particle filter is tested for the 40-dimensional Lorenz 96 model with several dynamical regimes including strongly non-Gaussian statistics. The clustered particle filter shows robust skill in both achieving accurate filter results and capturing non-Gaussian statistics of the true signal. It is further extended to multiscale data assimilation, which provides the large-scale estimation by combining a cheap reduced-order forecast model and mixed observations of the large- and small-scale variables. This approach enables the use of a larger number of particles due to the computational savings in the forecast model. The multiscale clustered particle filter is tested for one-dimensional dispersive wave turbulence using a forecast model with model errors. PMID:27930332

Health status after cancer: does it matter which hospital you belong to?

PubMed

Fiva, Jon H; Haegeland, Torbjørn; Rønning, Marte

2010-07-13

Survival rates are widely used to compare the quality of cancer care. However, the extent to which cancer survivors regain full physical or cognitive functioning is not captured by this statistic. To address this concern we introduce post-diagnosis employment as a supplemental measure of the quality of cancer care. This study is based on individual level data from the Norwegian Cancer Registry (n = 46,720) linked with data on labor market outcomes and socioeconomic status from Statistics Norway. We study variation across Norwegian hospital catchment areas (n = 55) with respect to survival and employment five years after cancer diagnosis. To handle the selection problem, we exploit the fact that cancer patients in Norway (until 2001) have been allocated to local hospitals based on their place of residence. We document substantial differences across catchment areas with respect to patients' post-diagnosis employment rates. Conventional quality indicators based on survival rates indicate smaller differences. The two sets of indicators are only moderately correlated. This analysis shows that indicators based on survival and post-diagnosis employment may capture different parts of the health status distribution, and that using only one of them to capture quality of care may be insufficient.

A real-time monitoring system for night glare protection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ma, Jun; Ni, Xuxiang

2010-11-01

When capturing a dark scene with a high bright object, the monitoring camera will be saturated in some regions and the details will be lost in and near these saturated regions because of the glare vision. This work aims at developing a real-time night monitoring system. The system can decrease the influence of the glare vision and gain more details from the ordinary camera when exposing a high-contrast scene like a car with its headlight on during night. The system is made up of spatial light modulator (The liquid crystal on silicon: LCoS), image sensor (CCD), imaging lens and DSP. LCoS, a reflective liquid crystal, can modular the intensity of reflective light at every pixel as a digital device. Through modulation function of LCoS, CCD is exposed with sub-region. With the control of DSP, the light intensity is decreased to minimum in the glare regions, and the light intensity is negative feedback modulated based on PID theory in other regions. So that more details of the object will be imaging on CCD and the glare protection of monitoring system is achieved. In experiments, the feedback is controlled by the embedded system based on TI DM642. Experiments shows: this feedback modulation method not only reduces the glare vision to improve image quality, but also enhances the dynamic range of image. The high-quality and high dynamic range image is real-time captured at 30hz. The modulation depth of LCoS determines how strong the glare can be removed.

Methods for Ensuring High Quality of Coding of Cause of Death. The Mortality Register to Follow Southern Urals Populations Exposed to Radiation.

PubMed

Startsev, N; Dimov, P; Grosche, B; Tretyakov, F; Schüz, J; Akleyev, A

2015-01-01

To follow up populations exposed to several radiation accidents in the Southern Urals, a cause-of-death registry was established at the Urals Center capturing deaths in the Chelyabinsk, Kurgan and Sverdlovsk region since 1950. When registering deaths over such a long time period, quality measures need to be in place to maintain quality and reduce the impact of individual coders as well as quality changes in death certificates. To ensure the uniformity of coding, a method for semi-automatic coding was developed, which is described here. Briefly, the method is based on a dynamic thesaurus, database-supported coding and parallel coding by two different individuals. A comparison of the proposed method for organizing the coding process with the common procedure of coding showed good agreement, with, at the end of the coding process, 70  - 90% agreement for the three-digit ICD -9 rubrics. The semi-automatic method ensures a sufficiently high quality of coding by at the same time providing an opportunity to reduce the labor intensity inherent in the creation of large-volume cause-of-death registries.

Survival, movement, and health of hatchery-raised juvenile Lost River suckers within a mesocosm in Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hereford, Danielle M.; Burdick, Summer M.; Elliott, Diane G.; Dolan-Caret, Amari; Conway, Carla M.; Harris, Alta C.

2016-01-28

The recovery of endangered Lost River suckers (Deltistes luxatus) in Upper Klamath Lake is limited by poor juvenile survival and failure to recruit into the adult population. Poor water quality, degradation of rearing habitat, and toxic levels of microcystin are hypothesized to contribute to low juvenile survival. Studies of wild juvenile suckers are limited in that capture rates are low and compromised individuals are rarely captured in passive nets. The goal of this study was to assess the use of a mesocosm for learning about juvenile survival, movement, and health. Hatchery-raised juvenile Lost River suckers were PIT (passive integrated transponder) tagged and monitored by three vertically stratified antennas. Fish locations within the mesocosm were recorded at least every 30 minutes and were assessed in relation to vertically stratified water-quality conditions. Vertical movement patterns were analyzed to identify the timing of mortality for each fish. Most mortality occurred from July 28 to August 16, 2014. Juvenile suckers spent daylight hours near the benthos and moved throughout the entire water column during dark hours. Diel movements were not in response to dissolved-oxygen concentrations, temperature, or pH. Furthermore, low dissolved-oxygen concentrations, high temperatures, high pH, high un-ionized ammonia, or high microcystin levels did not directly cause mortality, although indirect effects may have occurred. However, water-quality conditions known to be lethal to juvenile Lost River suckers did not occur during the study period. Histological assessment revealed severe gill hyperplasia and Ichthyobodo sp. infestations in most moribund fish. For these fish, Ichthyobodo sp. was likely the cause of mortality, although it is unclear if this parasite originated in the rearing facility because fish were not screened for this parasite prior to introduction. This study has demonstrated that we can effectively use a mesocosm equipped with antennas to learn about the timing of mortality, movement, and health of PIT-tagged hatchery-raised juvenile Lost River suckers.

An accelerator-based Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT) facility based on the 7Li(p,n)7Be

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Musacchio González, Elizabeth; Martín Hernández, Guido

2017-09-01

BNCT (Boron Neutron Capture Therapy) is a therapeutic modality used to irradiate tumors cells previously loaded with the stable isotope 10B, with thermal or epithermal neutrons. This technique is capable of delivering a high dose to the tumor cells while the healthy surrounding tissue receive a much lower dose depending on the 10B biodistribution. In this study, therapeutic gain and tumor dose per target power, as parameters to evaluate the treatment quality, were calculated. The common neutron-producing reaction 7Li(p,n)7Be for accelerator-based BNCT, having a reaction threshold of 1880.4 keV, was considered as the primary source of neutrons. Energies near the reaction threshold for deep-seated brain tumors were employed. These calculations were performed with the Monte Carlo N-Particle (MCNP) code. A simple but effective beam shaping assembly (BSA) was calculated producing a high therapeutic gain compared to previously proposed facilities with the same nuclear reaction.

Digestion-ligation-only Hi-C is an efficient and cost-effective method for chromosome conformation capture.

PubMed

Lin, Da; Hong, Ping; Zhang, Siheng; Xu, Weize; Jamal, Muhammad; Yan, Keji; Lei, Yingying; Li, Liang; Ruan, Yijun; Fu, Zhen F; Li, Guoliang; Cao, Gang

2018-05-01

Chromosome conformation capture (3C) technologies can be used to investigate 3D genomic structures. However, high background noise, high costs, and a lack of straightforward noise evaluation in current methods impede the advancement of 3D genomic research. Here we developed a simple digestion-ligation-only Hi-C (DLO Hi-C) technology to explore the 3D landscape of the genome. This method requires only two rounds of digestion and ligation, without the need for biotin labeling and pulldown. Non-ligated DNA was efficiently removed in a cost-effective step by purifying specific linker-ligated DNA fragments. Notably, random ligation could be quickly evaluated in an early quality-control step before sequencing. Moreover, an in situ version of DLO Hi-C using a four-cutter restriction enzyme has been developed. We applied DLO Hi-C to delineate the genomic architecture of THP-1 and K562 cells and uncovered chromosomal translocations. This technology may facilitate investigation of genomic organization, gene regulation, and (meta)genome assembly.

Automatic creation of three-dimensional avatars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Villa-Uriol, Maria-Cruz; Sainz, Miguel; Kuester, Falko; Bagherzadeh, Nader

2003-01-01

Highly accurate avatars of humans promise a new level of realism in engineering and entertainment applications, including areas such as computer animated movies, computer game development interactive virtual environments and tele-presence. In order to provide high-quality avatars, new techniques for the automatic acquisition and creation are required. A framework for the capture and construction of arbitrary avatars from image data is presented in this paper. Avatars are automatically reconstructed from multiple static images of a human subject by utilizing image information to reshape a synthetic three-dimensional articulated reference model. A pipeline is presented that combines a set of hardware-accelerated stages into one seamless system. Primary stages in this pipeline include pose estimation, skeleton fitting, body part segmentation, geometry construction and coloring, leading to avatars that can be animated and included into interactive environments. The presented system removes traditional constraints in the initial pose of the captured subject by using silhouette-based modification techniques in combination with a reference model. Results can be obtained in near-real time with very limited user intervention.

Engineering Quality Software: 10 Recommendations for Improved Software Quality Management

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-04-27

lack of user involvement • Inadequate Software Process Management & Control By Contractors • No “Team” of Vendors and users; little SME participation...1990 Quality Perspectives • Process Quality ( CMMI ) • Product Quality (ISO/IEC 2500x) – Internal Quality Attributes – External Quality Attributes... CMMI /ISO 9000 Assessments – Capture organizational knowledge • Identify best practices, lessons learned Know where you are, and where you need to be

Nonlinear filtering for character recognition in low quality document images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Diaz-Escobar, Julia; Kober, Vitaly

2014-09-01

Optical character recognition in scanned printed documents is a well-studied task, where the captured conditions like sheet position, illumination, contrast and resolution are controlled. Nowadays, it is more practical to use mobile devices for document capture than a scanner. So as a consequence, the quality of document images is often poor owing to presence of geometric distortions, nonhomogeneous illumination, low resolution, etc. In this work we propose to use multiple adaptive nonlinear composite filters for detection and classification of characters. Computer simulation results obtained with the proposed system are presented and discussed.

Effects of species-specific leaf characteristics and reduced water availability on fine particle capture efficiency of trees.

PubMed

Räsänen, Janne V; Holopainen, Toini; Joutsensaari, Jorma; Ndam, Collins; Pasanen, Pertti; Rinnan, Åsmund; Kivimäenpää, Minna

2013-12-01

Trees can improve air quality by capturing particles in their foliage. We determined the particle capture efficiencies of coniferous Pinus sylvestris and three broadleaved species: Betula pendula, Betula pubescens and Tilia vulgaris in a wind tunnel using NaCl particles. The importance of leaf surface structure, physiology and moderate soil drought on the particle capture efficiencies of the trees were determined. The results confirm earlier findings of more efficient particle capture by conifers compared to broadleaved plants. The particle capture efficiency of P. sylvestris (0.21%) was significantly higher than those of B. pubescens, T. vulgaris and B. pendula (0.083%, 0.047%, 0.043%, respectively). The small leaf size of P. sylvestris was the major characteristic that increased particle capture. Among the broadleaved species, low leaf wettability, low stomatal density and leaf hairiness increased particle capture. Moderate soil drought tended to increase particle capture efficiency of P. sylvestris. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Image quality evaluation of eight complementary metal-oxide semiconductor intraoral digital X-ray sensors.

PubMed

Teich, Sorin; Al-Rawi, Wisam; Heima, Masahiro; Faddoul, Fady F; Goldzweig, Gil; Gutmacher, Zvi; Aizenbud, Dror

2016-10-01

To evaluate the image quality generated by eight commercially available intraoral sensors. Eighteen clinicians ranked the quality of a bitewing acquired from one subject using eight different intraoral sensors. Analytical methods used to evaluate clinical image quality included the Visual Grading Characteristics method, which helps to quantify subjective opinions to make them suitable for analysis. The Dexis sensor was ranked significantly better than Sirona and Carestream-Kodak sensors; and the image captured using the Carestream-Kodak sensor was ranked significantly worse than those captured using Dexis, Schick and Cyber Medical Imaging sensors. The Image Works sensor image was rated the lowest by all clinicians. Other comparisons resulted in non-significant results. None of the sensors was considered to generate images of significantly better quality than the other sensors tested. Further research should be directed towards determining the clinical significance of the differences in image quality reported in this study. © 2016 FDI World Dental Federation.

Systematic review of economic analyses in patient safety: a protocol designed to measure development in the scope and quality of evidence.

PubMed

Carter, Alexander W; Mandavia, Rishi; Mayer, Erik; Marti, Joachim; Mossialos, Elias; Darzi, Ara

2017-08-18

Recent avoidable failures in patient care highlight the ongoing need for evidence to support improvements in patient safety. According to the most recent reviews, there is a dearth of economic evidence related to patient safety. These reviews characterise an evidence gap in terms of the scope and quality of evidence available to support resource allocation decisions. This protocol is designed to update and improve on the reviews previously conducted to determine the extent of methodological progress in economic analyses in patient safety. A broad search strategy with two core themes for original research (excluding opinion pieces and systematic reviews) in 'patient safety' and 'economic analyses' has been developed. Medline, Econlit and National Health Service Economic Evaluation Database bibliographic databases will be searched from January 2007 using a combination of medical subject headings terms and research-derived search terms (see table 1). The method is informed by previous reviews on this topic, published in 2012. Screening, risk of bias assessment (using the Cochrane collaboration tool) and economic evaluation quality assessment (using the Drummond checklist) will be conducted by two independent reviewers, with arbitration by a third reviewer as needed. Studies with a low risk of bias will be assessed using the Drummond checklist. High-quality economic evaluations are those that score >20/35. A qualitative synthesis of evidence will be performed using a data collection tool to capture the study design(s) employed, population(s), setting(s), disease area(s), intervention(s) and outcome(s) studied. Methodological quality scores will be compared with previous reviews where possible. Effect size(s) and estimate uncertainty will be captured and used in a quantitative synthesis of high-quality evidence, where possible. Formal ethical approval is not required as primary data will not be collected. The results will be disseminated through a peer-reviewed publication, presentations and social media. CRD42017057853. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

Real-Time 3D Ultrasound for Physiological Monitoring 22258.

DTIC Science & Technology

1999-10-01

their software to acquire positioning information using a high precision mechanical arm ( MicroScribe arm from Immersion Corp., San Jose, CA) instead of...mechanical arm (Immersion MicroScribe ™) for 3D data acquisition, also adopted by EchoTech for 3D FreeScan. • Medical quality video capture by a...MHz Dell Dimen- sion XPS computer9 (under desk), MUSTPAC-2 Vir- tual Ultrasound Probe based on the Microscribe 3D articulated arm10 (on table

Quality control and improvement of cancer care: what is needed? 4th European Roundtable Meeting (ERTM) May 5th, 2017, Berlin, Germany.

PubMed

Ortmann, Olaf; Helbig, Ulrike; Torode, Julie; Schreck, Stefan; Karjalainen, Sakari; Bettio, Manola; Ringborg, Ulrik; Klinkhammer-Schalke, Monika; Bray, Freddy

2018-06-01

National Cancer Control Plans (NCCPs) often describe structural requirements for high quality cancer care. During the fourth European Roundtable Meeting (ERTM) participants shared learnings from their own national setting to formulate best practice in optimizing communication strategies between parties involved in clinical cancer registries, cancer centers and guideline groups. A decentralized model of data collection close to the patient and caregiver enhances timely completion and the quality of the data captured. Nevertheless, central coordination is necessary to define datasets, indicators, standard settings, education, training and quality control to maintain standards across the network. In particular, interaction of parties in cancer care network has to be established and maintained on a regular basis. After establishing the structural requirements of cancer care networks, communication between the different components and parties is required to analyze outcome data, provide regular reporting to all and develop strategies for continuous improvement of quality across the network.

Making GRADE accessible: a proposal for graphic display of evidence quality assessments.

PubMed

Khan, Khalid S; Borowiack, Ewa; Roos, Carolien; Kowalska, Monika; Zapalska, Anna; Mol, Ben W; Mignini, Luciano; Meads, Catherine; Walczak, Jacek

2011-06-01

When generating guidelines, quality of evidence is frequently reported in tabulated form capturing several domains, for example, study design, risk of bias and heterogeneity. Increasingly, this is done using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation approach. As assimilating large amount of tabulated data across several comparisons and outcomes spread over many pages (sometimes hundreds) is not easy, there is a need to present evidence summaries in a more effective way. A graphic display plotting the several domains used in evidence grading on equiangular spokes starting from the same point, the data length of each spoke proportional to the magnitude of the quality, succinctly captures tabulated information. These plots allow easy identification of deficiencies, outliers and similarities in evidence quality for individual and multiple comparisons and outcomes, paving the way for their routine use alongside tabulated information.

Response to "A Quality of Giftedness"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Spielhagen, Frances R.

2012-01-01

"A Quality of Giftedness" by Professor Dr. Joan Freeman aptly captures the questions, dilemmas, and frustrations of those who have chosen to advocate for individuals with exceptional intellectual ability. Although Professor Freeman focuses on the quality of giftedness in individuals, not of their teachers, reflection on her essay leads…

New measurement of the 242Pu(n,γ) cross section at n_TOF

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lerendegui-Marco, J.; Guerrero, C.; Cortés-Giraldo, M. A.; Quesada, J. M.; Mendoza, E.; Cano-Ott, D.; Eberhardt, K.; Junghans, A.

2016-03-01

The use of MOX fuel (mixed-oxide fuel made of UO2 and PuO2) in nuclear reactors allows substituting a large fraction of the enriched Uranium by Plutonium reprocessed from spent fuel. With the use of such new fuel composition rich in Pu, a better knowledge of the capture and fission cross sections of the Pu isotopes becomes very important. In particular, a new series of cross section evaluations have been recently carried out jointly by the European (JEFF) and United States (ENDF) nuclear data agencies. For the case of 242Pu, the two only neutron capture time-of-flight measurements available, from 1973 and 1976, are not consistent with each other, which calls for a new time-of flight capture cross section measurement. In order to contribute to a new evaluation, we have perfomed a neutron capture cross section measurement at the n_TOF-EAR1 facility at CERN using four C6D6 detectors, using a high purity target of 95 mg. The preliminary results assessing the quality and limitations (background, statistics and γ-flash effects) of this new experimental data are presented and discussed, taking into account that the aimed accuracy of the measurement ranges between 7% and 12% depending on the neutron energy region.

3D image processing architecture for camera phones

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Atanassov, Kalin; Ramachandra, Vikas; Goma, Sergio R.; Aleksic, Milivoje

2011-03-01

Putting high quality and easy-to-use 3D technology into the hands of regular consumers has become a recent challenge as interest in 3D technology has grown. Making 3D technology appealing to the average user requires that it be made fully automatic and foolproof. Designing a fully automatic 3D capture and display system requires: 1) identifying critical 3D technology issues like camera positioning, disparity control rationale, and screen geometry dependency, 2) designing methodology to automatically control them. Implementing 3D capture functionality on phone cameras necessitates designing algorithms to fit within the processing capabilities of the device. Various constraints like sensor position tolerances, sensor 3A tolerances, post-processing, 3D video resolution and frame rate should be carefully considered for their influence on 3D experience. Issues with migrating functions such as zoom and pan from the 2D usage model (both during capture and display) to 3D needs to be resolved to insure the highest level of user experience. It is also very important that the 3D usage scenario (including interactions between the user and the capture/display device) is carefully considered. Finally, both the processing power of the device and the practicality of the scheme needs to be taken into account while designing the calibration and processing methodology.

Sequential assessment of prey through the use of multiple sensory cues by an eavesdropping bat

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Page, Rachel A.; Schnelle, Tanja; Kalko, Elisabeth K. V.; Bunge, Thomas; Bernal, Ximena E.

2012-06-01

Predators are often confronted with a broad diversity of potential prey. They rely on cues associated with prey quality and palatability to optimize their hunting success and to avoid consuming toxic prey. Here, we investigate a predator's ability to assess prey cues during capture, handling, and consumption when confronted with conflicting information about prey quality. We used advertisement calls of a preferred prey item (the túngara frog) to attract fringe-lipped bats, Trachops cirrhosus, then offered palatable, poisonous, and chemically manipulated anurans as prey. Advertisement calls elicited an attack response, but as bats approached, they used additional sensory cues in a sequential manner to update their information about prey size and palatability. While both palatable and poisonous small anurans were readily captured, large poisonous toads were approached but not contacted suggesting the use of echolocation for assessment of prey size at close range. Once prey was captured, bats used chemical cues to make final, post-capture decisions about whether to consume the prey. Bats dropped small, poisonous toads as well as palatable frogs coated in toad toxins either immediately or shortly after capture. Our study suggests that echolocation and chemical cues obtained at close range supplement information obtained from acoustic cues at long range. Updating information about prey quality minimizes the occurrence of costly errors and may be advantageous in tracking temporal and spatial fluctuations of prey and exploiting novel food sources. These findings emphasize the sequential, complex nature of prey assessment that may allow exploratory and flexible hunting behaviors.

Inter-comparison between AIRS and IASI through Retrieved Parameters

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zhou, Daniel K.; Larar, Allen M.; Smith, William L.; Taylor, Jonathan P.; Schluessel, Peter; Strow, L. Larrabee; Mango, Steve

2008-01-01

A State-of-the-art retrieval algorithm dealing with all-weather conditions has been applied to satellite/aircraft instruments retrieving cloud/surface and atmospheric conditions. High quality retrievals have been achieved from IASI data. Surface, cloud, and atmospheric structure and variation are well captured by IASI measurements and/or retrievals. The same retrieval algorithm is also applied to AIRS for retrieval inter-comparison. Both AIRS and IASI have a similar FOV size but AIRS has a higher horizontal resolution. AIRS data can be interpolated to IASI horizontal resolution for inter-comparison at the same geophysical locations, however a temporal variation between AIRS and IASI observations need to be considered. JAIVEx has employed aircraft to obtain the atmospheric variation filling the temporal gap between two satellites. First results show that both AIRS and IASI have a very similar vertical resolving power, atmospheric conditions are well captured by both instruments, and radiances are well calibrated. AIRS data shown in retrievals (e.g., surface emissivity and moisture) have a relatively higher noise level. Since the this type of retrieval is very sensitive to its radiance quality, retrieval products inter-comparison is an effective way to identify/compare their radiance quality, in terms of a combination of spectral resolution and noise level, and to assess instrument performance. Additional validation analyses are needed to provide more-definitive conclusions.

Sliding Window-Based Region of Interest Extraction for Finger Vein Images

PubMed Central

Yang, Lu; Yang, Gongping; Yin, Yilong; Xiao, Rongyang

2013-01-01

Region of Interest (ROI) extraction is a crucial step in an automatic finger vein recognition system. The aim of ROI extraction is to decide which part of the image is suitable for finger vein feature extraction. This paper proposes a finger vein ROI extraction method which is robust to finger displacement and rotation. First, we determine the middle line of the finger, which will be used to correct the image skew. Then, a sliding window is used to detect the phalangeal joints and further to ascertain the height of ROI. Last, for the corrective image with certain height, we will obtain the ROI by using the internal tangents of finger edges as the left and right boundary. The experimental results show that the proposed method can extract ROI more accurately and effectively compared with other methods, and thus improve the performance of finger vein identification system. Besides, to acquire the high quality finger vein image during the capture process, we propose eight criteria for finger vein capture from different aspects and these criteria should be helpful to some extent for finger vein capture. PMID:23507824

Evaluating the Vertical Distribution of Ozone and its Relationship to Pollution Events in Air Quality Models using Satellite Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Osterman, G. B.; Neu, J. L.; Eldering, A.; Pinder, R. W.; Tang, Y.; McQueen, J.

2014-12-01

Most regional scale models that are used for air quality forecasts and ozone source attribution do not adequately capture the distribution of ozone in the mid- and upper troposphere, but it is unclear how this shortcoming relates to their ability to simulate surface ozone. We combine ozone profile data from the NASA Earth Observing System (EOS) Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer (TES) and a new joint product from TES and the Ozone Monitoring Instrument along with ozonesonde measurements and EPA AirNow ground station ozone data to examine air quality events during August 2006 in the Community Multi-Scale Air Quality (CMAQ) and National Air Quality Forecast Capability (NAQFC) models. We present both aggregated statistics and case-study analyses with the goal of assessing the relationship between the models' ability to reproduce surface air quality events and their ability to capture the vertical distribution of ozone. We find that the models lack the mid-tropospheric ozone variability seen in TES and the ozonesonde data, and discuss the conditions under which this variability appears to be important for surface air quality.

Innovative Use of Cr(VI) Plume Depictions and Pump-and-Treat Capture Analysis to Estimate Risks of Contaminant Discharge to Surface Water at Hanford Reactor Areas

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

Miller, Chuck W.; Hanson, James P.; Ivarson, Kristine A.

2015-01-14

The Hanford Site nuclear reactor operations required large quantities of high-quality cooling water, which was treated with chemicals including sodium dichromate dihydrate for corrosion control. Cooling water leakage, as well as intentional discharge of cooling water to ground during upset conditions, produced extensive groundwater recharge mounds consisting largely of contaminated cooling water and resulted in wide distribution of hexavalent chromium (Cr[VI]) contamination in the unconfined aquifer. The 2013 Cr(VI) groundwater plumes in the 100 Areas cover approximately 6 km2 (1500 acres), primarily in the 100-HR-3 and 100-KR-4 groundwater operable units (OUs). The Columbia River is a groundwater discharge boundary; wheremore » the plumes are adjacent to the Columbia River there remains a potential to discharge Cr(VI) to the river at concentrations above water quality criteria. The pump-and-treat systems along the River Corridor are operating with two main goals: 1) protection of the Columbia River, and 2) recovery of contaminant mass. An evaluation of the effectiveness of the pump-and-treat systems was needed to determine if the Columbia River was protected from contamination, and also to determine where additional system modifications may be needed. In response to this need, a technique for assessing the river protection was developed which takes into consideration seasonal migration of the plume and hydraulic performance of the operating well fields. Groundwater contaminant plume maps are generated across the Hanford Site on an annual basis. The assessment technique overlays the annual plume and the capture efficiency maps for the various pump and treat systems. The river protection analysis technique was prepared for use at the Hanford site and is described in detail in M.J. Tonkin, 2013. Interpolated capture frequency maps, based on mapping dynamic water level observed in observation wells and derived water levels in the vicinity of extraction and injection wells, are developed initially. Second, simulated capture frequency maps are developed, based on transport modelling results. Both interpolated and simulated capture frequency maps are based on operation of the systems over a full year. These two capture maps are then overlaid on the plume distribution maps for inspection of the relative orientation of the contaminant plumes with the capture frequency. To quantify the relative degree of protection of the river from discharges of Cr(VI) (and conversely, the degree of threat) at any particular location, a systematic method of evaluating and mapping the plume/capture relationship was developed. By comparing the spatial relationship between contaminant plumes and hydraulic capture frequency, an index of relative protectiveness is developed and the results posted on the combined plume/capture plan view map. Areas exhibiting lesser degrees of river protection are identified for remedial process optimization actions to control plumes and prevent continuing discharge of Cr(VI) to the river.« less

Neuronal Type-Specific Gene Expression Profiling and Laser-Capture Microdissection

PubMed Central

Pietersen, Charmaine Y.; Lim, Maribel P.; Macey, Laurel; Woo, Tsung-Ung W.; Sonntag, Kai C.

2014-01-01

The human brain is an exceptionally heterogeneous structure. In order to gain insight into the neurobiological basis of neural circuit disturbances in various neurologic or psychiatric diseases, it is often important to define the molecular cascades that are associated with these disturbances in a neuronal type-specific manner. This can be achieved by the use of laser microdissection, in combination with molecular techniques such as gene expression profiling. To identify neurons in human postmortem brain tissue, one can use the inherent properties of the neuron, such as pigmentation and morphology or its structural composition through immunohistochemistry (IHC). Here, we describe the isolation of homogeneous neuronal cells and high-quality RNA from human postmortem brain material using a combination of rapid IHC, Nissl staining, or simple morphology with Laser-Capture Microdissection (LCM) or Laser Microdissection (LMD). PMID:21761317

Neuronal type-specific gene expression profiling and laser-capture microdissection.

PubMed

Pietersen, Charmaine Y; Lim, Maribel P; Macey, Laurel; Woo, Tsung-Ung W; Sonntag, Kai C

2011-01-01

The human brain is an exceptionally heterogeneous structure. In order to gain insight into the neurobiological basis of neural circuit disturbances in various neurologic or psychiatric diseases, it is often important to define the molecular cascades that are associated with these disturbances in a neuronal type-specific manner. This can be achieved by the use of laser microdissection, in combination with molecular techniques such as gene expression profiling. To identify neurons in human postmortem brain tissue, one can use the inherent properties of the neuron, such as pigmentation and morphology or its structural composition through immunohistochemistry (IHC). Here, we describe the isolation of homogeneous neuronal cells and high-quality RNA from human postmortem brain material using a combination of rapid IHC, Nissl staining, or simple morphology with Laser-Capture Microdissection (LCM) or Laser Microdissection (LMD).

Measuring the Air Quality and Transportation Impacts of Infill Development

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This report summarizes three case studies. The analysis shows how standard forecasting tools can be modified to capture at least some of the transportation and air quality benefits of brownfield and infill development.

Detention basin alternative outlet design study.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2016-10-01

This study examines the outlets structures CDOT has historically employed to drain water quality treatment detention basins and flood control basins, presents two new methods of metering the water quality capture volume (WQCV), namely 1) the Elliptic...

Quality Indicators for Learning Analytics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Scheffel, Maren; Drachsler, Hendrik; Stoyanov, Slavi; Specht, Marcus

2014-01-01

This article proposes a framework of quality indicators for learning analytics that aims to standardise the evaluation of learning analytics tools and to provide a mean to capture evidence for the impact of learning analytics on educational practices in a standardised manner. The criteria of the framework and its quality indicators are based on…

Cloud-enabled microscopy and droplet microfluidic platform for specific detection of Escherichia coli in water.

PubMed

Golberg, Alexander; Linshiz, Gregory; Kravets, Ilia; Stawski, Nina; Hillson, Nathan J; Yarmush, Martin L; Marks, Robert S; Konry, Tania

2014-01-01

We report an all-in-one platform - ScanDrop - for the rapid and specific capture, detection, and identification of bacteria in drinking water. The ScanDrop platform integrates droplet microfluidics, a portable imaging system, and cloud-based control software and data storage. The cloud-based control software and data storage enables robotic image acquisition, remote image processing, and rapid data sharing. These features form a "cloud" network for water quality monitoring. We have demonstrated the capability of ScanDrop to perform water quality monitoring via the detection of an indicator coliform bacterium, Escherichia coli, in drinking water contaminated with feces. Magnetic beads conjugated with antibodies to E. coli antigen were used to selectively capture and isolate specific bacteria from water samples. The bead-captured bacteria were co-encapsulated in pico-liter droplets with fluorescently-labeled anti-E. coli antibodies, and imaged with an automated custom designed fluorescence microscope. The entire water quality diagnostic process required 8 hours from sample collection to online-accessible results compared with 2-4 days for other currently available standard detection methods.

Cloud-Enabled Microscopy and Droplet Microfluidic Platform for Specific Detection of Escherichia coli in Water

PubMed Central

Kravets, Ilia; Stawski, Nina; Hillson, Nathan J.; Yarmush, Martin L.; Marks, Robert S.; Konry, Tania

2014-01-01

We report an all-in-one platform – ScanDrop – for the rapid and specific capture, detection, and identification of bacteria in drinking water. The ScanDrop platform integrates droplet microfluidics, a portable imaging system, and cloud-based control software and data storage. The cloud-based control software and data storage enables robotic image acquisition, remote image processing, and rapid data sharing. These features form a “cloud” network for water quality monitoring. We have demonstrated the capability of ScanDrop to perform water quality monitoring via the detection of an indicator coliform bacterium, Escherichia coli, in drinking water contaminated with feces. Magnetic beads conjugated with antibodies to E. coli antigen were used to selectively capture and isolate specific bacteria from water samples. The bead-captured bacteria were co-encapsulated in pico-liter droplets with fluorescently-labeled anti-E. coli antibodies, and imaged with an automated custom designed fluorescence microscope. The entire water quality diagnostic process required 8 hours from sample collection to online-accessible results compared with 2–4 days for other currently available standard detection methods. PMID:24475107

Horizon: The Portable, Scalable, and Reusable Framework for Developing Automated Data Management and Product Generation Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, T.; Alarcon, C.; Quach, N. T.

2014-12-01

Capture, curate, and analysis are the typical activities performed at any given Earth Science data center. Modern data management systems must be adaptable to heterogeneous science data formats, scalable to meet the mission's quality of service requirements, and able to manage the life-cycle of any given science data product. Designing a scalable data management doesn't happen overnight. It takes countless hours of refining, refactoring, retesting, and re-architecting. The Horizon data management and workflow framework, developed at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, is a portable, scalable, and reusable framework for developing high-performance data management and product generation workflow systems to automate data capturing, data curation, and data analysis activities. The NASA's Physical Oceanography Distributed Active Archive Center (PO.DAAC)'s Data Management and Archive System (DMAS) is its core data infrastructure that handles capturing and distribution of hundreds of thousands of satellite observations each day around the clock. DMAS is an application of the Horizon framework. The NASA Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS) is NASA's Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS)'s solution for making high-resolution global imageries available to the science communities. The Imagery Exchange (TIE), an application of the Horizon framework, is a core subsystem for GIBS responsible for data capturing and imagery generation automation to support the EOSDIS' 12 distributed active archive centers and 17 Science Investigator-led Processing Systems (SIPS). This presentation discusses our ongoing effort in refining, refactoring, retesting, and re-architecting the Horizon framework to enable data-intensive science and its applications.

Love flows downstream: mothers' and children's neural representation similarity in perceiving distress of self and family.

PubMed

Lee, Tae-Ho; Qu, Yang; Telzer, Eva H

2017-12-01

The current study aimed to capture empathy processing in an interpersonal context. Mother-adolescent dyads (N = 22) each completed an empathy task during fMRI, in which they imagined the target person in distressing scenes as either themselves or their family (i.e. child for the mother, mother for the child). Using multi-voxel pattern approach, we compared neural pattern similarity for the self and family conditions and found that mothers showed greater perceptual similarity between self and child in the fusiform face area (FFA), representing high self-child overlap, whereas adolescents showed significantly less self-mother overlap. Adolescents' pattern similarity was dependent upon family relationship quality, such that they showed greater self-mother overlap with higher relationship quality, whereas mothers' pattern similarity was independent of relationship quality. Furthermore, adolescents' perceptual similarity in the FFA was associated with increased social brain activation (e.g. temporal parietal junction). Mediation analyses indicated that high relationship quality was associated with greater social brain activation, which was mediated by greater self-mother overlap in the FFA. Our findings suggest that adolescents show more distinct neural patterns in perceiving their own vs their mother's distress, and such distinction is sensitive to mother-child relationship quality. In contrast, mothers' perception for their own and child's distress is highly similar and unconditional. © The Author (2017). Published by Oxford University Press.

Love flows downstream: mothers’ and children’s neural representation similarity in perceiving distress of self and family

PubMed Central

Qu, Yang

2017-01-01

Abstract The current study aimed to capture empathy processing in an interpersonal context. Mother–adolescent dyads (N = 22) each completed an empathy task during fMRI, in which they imagined the target person in distressing scenes as either themselves or their family (i.e. child for the mother, mother for the child). Using multi-voxel pattern approach, we compared neural pattern similarity for the self and family conditions and found that mothers showed greater perceptual similarity between self and child in the fusiform face area (FFA), representing high self–child overlap, whereas adolescents showed significantly less self–mother overlap. Adolescents’ pattern similarity was dependent upon family relationship quality, such that they showed greater self–mother overlap with higher relationship quality, whereas mothers’ pattern similarity was independent of relationship quality. Furthermore, adolescents’ perceptual similarity in the FFA was associated with increased social brain activation (e.g. temporal parietal junction). Mediation analyses indicated that high relationship quality was associated with greater social brain activation, which was mediated by greater self–mother overlap in the FFA. Our findings suggest that adolescents show more distinct neural patterns in perceiving their own vs their mother’s distress, and such distinction is sensitive to mother–child relationship quality. In contrast, mothers’ perception for their own and child’s distress is highly similar and unconditional. PMID:29069521

High dynamic range adaptive real-time smart camera: an overview of the HDR-ARTiST project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lapray, Pierre-Jean; Heyrman, Barthélémy; Ginhac, Dominique

2015-04-01

Standard cameras capture only a fraction of the information that is visible to the human visual system. This is specifically true for natural scenes including areas of low and high illumination due to transitions between sunlit and shaded areas. When capturing such a scene, many cameras are unable to store the full Dynamic Range (DR) resulting in low quality video where details are concealed in shadows or washed out by sunlight. The imaging technique that can overcome this problem is called HDR (High Dynamic Range) imaging. This paper describes a complete smart camera built around a standard off-the-shelf LDR (Low Dynamic Range) sensor and a Virtex-6 FPGA board. This smart camera called HDR-ARtiSt (High Dynamic Range Adaptive Real-time Smart camera) is able to produce a real-time HDR live video color stream by recording and combining multiple acquisitions of the same scene while varying the exposure time. This technique appears as one of the most appropriate and cheapest solution to enhance the dynamic range of real-life environments. HDR-ARtiSt embeds real-time multiple captures, HDR processing, data display and transfer of a HDR color video for a full sensor resolution (1280 1024 pixels) at 60 frames per second. The main contributions of this work are: (1) Multiple Exposure Control (MEC) dedicated to the smart image capture with alternating three exposure times that are dynamically evaluated from frame to frame, (2) Multi-streaming Memory Management Unit (MMMU) dedicated to the memory read/write operations of the three parallel video streams, corresponding to the different exposure times, (3) HRD creating by combining the video streams using a specific hardware version of the Devebecs technique, and (4) Global Tone Mapping (GTM) of the HDR scene for display on a standard LCD monitor.

Abundance and survival rates of the Hawai'i Island associated spinner dolphin (Stenella longirostris) stock.

PubMed

Tyne, Julian A; Pollock, Kenneth H; Johnston, David W; Bejder, Lars

2014-01-01

Reliable population estimates are critical to implement effective management strategies. The Hawai'i Island spinner dolphin (Stenella longirostris) is a genetically distinct stock that displays a rigid daily behavioural pattern, foraging offshore at night and resting in sheltered bays during the day. Consequently, they are exposed to frequent human interactions and disturbance. We estimated population parameters of this spinner dolphin stock using a systematic sampling design and capture-recapture models. From September 2010 to August 2011, boat-based photo-identification surveys were undertaken monthly over 132 days (>1,150 hours of effort; >100,000 dorsal fin images) in the four main resting bays along the Kona Coast, Hawai'i Island. All images were graded according to photographic quality and distinctiveness. Over 32,000 images were included in the analyses, from which 607 distinctive individuals were catalogued and 214 were highly distinctive. Two independent estimates of the proportion of highly distinctive individuals in the population were not significantly different (p = 0.68). Individual heterogeneity and time variation in capture probabilities were strongly indicated for these data; therefore capture-recapture models allowing for these variations were used. The estimated annual apparent survival rate (product of true survival and permanent emigration) was 0.97 SE ± 0.05. Open and closed capture-recapture models for the highly distinctive individuals photographed at least once each month produced similar abundance estimates. An estimate of 221 ± 4.3 SE highly distinctive spinner dolphins, resulted in a total abundance of 631 ± 60.1 SE, (95% CI 524-761) spinner dolphins in the Hawai'i Island stock, which is lower than previous estimates. When this abundance estimate is considered alongside the rigid daily behavioural pattern, genetic distinctiveness, and the ease of human access to spinner dolphins in their preferred resting habitats, this Hawai'i Island stock is likely more vulnerable to negative impacts from human disturbance than previously believed.

Fish assemblages, connectivity, and habitat rehabilitation in a diked Great Lakes coastal wetland complex

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kowalski, Kurt P.; Wiley, Michael J.; Wilcox, Douglas A.

2014-01-01

Fish and plant assemblages in the highly modified Crane Creek coastal wetland complex of Lake Erie were sampled to characterize their spatial and seasonal patterns and to examine the implications of the hydrologic connection of diked wetland units to Lake Erie. Fyke netting captured 52 species and an abundance of fish in the Lake Erie–connected wetlands, but fewer than half of those species and much lower numbers and total masses of fish were captured in diked wetland units. Although all wetland units were immediately adjacent to Lake Erie, there were also pronounced differences in water quality and wetland vegetation between the hydrologically isolated and lake-connected wetlands. Large seasonal variations in fish assemblage composition and biomass were observed in connected wetland units but not in disconnected units. Reestablishment of hydrologic connectivity in diked wetland units would allow coastal Lake Erie fish to use these vegetated habitats seasonally, although connectivity does appear to pose some risks, such as the expansion of invasive plants and localized reductions in water quality. Periodic isolation and drawdown of the diked units could still be used to mimic intermediate levels of disturbance and manage invasive wetland vegetation.

Stable image acquisition for mobile image processing applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Henning, Kai-Fabian; Fritze, Alexander; Gillich, Eugen; Mönks, Uwe; Lohweg, Volker

2015-02-01

Today, mobile devices (smartphones, tablets, etc.) are widespread and of high importance for their users. Their performance as well as versatility increases over time. This leads to the opportunity to use such devices for more specific tasks like image processing in an industrial context. For the analysis of images requirements like image quality (blur, illumination, etc.) as well as a defined relative position of the object to be inspected are crucial. Since mobile devices are handheld and used in constantly changing environments the challenge is to fulfill these requirements. We present an approach to overcome the obstacles and stabilize the image capturing process such that image analysis becomes significantly improved on mobile devices. Therefore, image processing methods are combined with sensor fusion concepts. The approach consists of three main parts. First, pose estimation methods are used to guide a user moving the device to a defined position. Second, the sensors data and the pose information are combined for relative motion estimation. Finally, the image capturing process is automated. It is triggered depending on the alignment of the device and the object as well as the image quality that can be achieved under consideration of motion and environmental effects.

Design and laboratory calibration of the compact pushbroom hyperspectral imaging system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Jiankang; Ji, Yiqun; Chen, Yuheng; Chen, Xinhua; Shen, Weimin

2009-11-01

The designed hyperspectral imaging system is composed of three main parts, that is, optical subsystem, electronic subsystem and capturing subsystem. And a three-dimensional "image cube" can be obtained through push-broom. The fore-optics is commercial-off-the-shelf with high speed and three continuous zoom ratios. Since the dispersive imaging part is based on Offner relay configuration with an aberration-corrected convex grating, high power of light collection and variable view field are obtained. The holographic recording parameters of the convex grating are optimized, and the aberration of the Offner configuration dispersive system is balanced. The electronic system adopts module design, which can minimize size, mass, and power consumption. Frame transfer area-array CCD is chosen as the image sensor and the spectral line can be binned to achieve better SNR and sensitivity without any deterioration in spatial resolution. The capturing system based on the computer can set the capturing parameters, calibrate the spectrometer, process and display spectral imaging data. Laboratory calibrations are prerequisite for using precise spectral data. The spatial and spectral calibration minimize smile and keystone distortion caused by optical system, assembly and so on and fix positions of spatial and spectral line on the frame area-array CCD. Gases excitation lamp is used in smile calibration and the keystone calculation is carried out by different viewing field point source created by a series of narrow slit. The laboratory and field imaging results show that this pushbroom hyperspectral imaging system can acquire high quality spectral images.

A Rapid, High-Quality, Cost-Effective, Comprehensive and Expandable Targeted Next-Generation Sequencing Assay for Inherited Heart Diseases.

PubMed

Wilson, Kitchener D; Shen, Peidong; Fung, Eula; Karakikes, Ioannis; Zhang, Angela; InanlooRahatloo, Kolsoum; Odegaard, Justin; Sallam, Karim; Davis, Ronald W; Lui, George K; Ashley, Euan A; Scharfe, Curt; Wu, Joseph C

2015-09-11

Thousands of mutations across >50 genes have been implicated in inherited cardiomyopathies. However, options for sequencing this rapidly evolving gene set are limited because many sequencing services and off-the-shelf kits suffer from slow turnaround, inefficient capture of genomic DNA, and high cost. Furthermore, customization of these assays to cover emerging targets that suit individual needs is often expensive and time consuming. We sought to develop a custom high throughput, clinical-grade next-generation sequencing assay for detecting cardiac disease gene mutations with improved accuracy, flexibility, turnaround, and cost. We used double-stranded probes (complementary long padlock probes), an inexpensive and customizable capture technology, to efficiently capture and amplify the entire coding region and flanking intronic and regulatory sequences of 88 genes and 40 microRNAs associated with inherited cardiomyopathies, congenital heart disease, and cardiac development. Multiplexing 11 samples per sequencing run resulted in a mean base pair coverage of 420, of which 97% had >20× coverage and >99% were concordant with known heterozygous single nucleotide polymorphisms. The assay correctly detected germline variants in 24 individuals and revealed several polymorphic regions in miR-499. Total run time was 3 days at an approximate cost of $100 per sample. Accurate, high-throughput detection of mutations across numerous cardiac genes is achievable with complementary long padlock probe technology. Moreover, this format allows facile insertion of additional probes as more cardiomyopathy and congenital heart disease genes are discovered, giving researchers a powerful new tool for DNA mutation detection and discovery. © 2015 American Heart Association, Inc.

Seasonal variability of stream water quality response to storm events captured using high-frequency and multi-parameter data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fovet, O.; Humbert, G.; Dupas, R.; Gascuel-Odoux, C.; Gruau, G.; Jaffrezic, A.; Thelusma, G.; Faucheux, M.; Gilliet, N.; Hamon, Y.; Grimaldi, C.

2018-04-01

The response of stream chemistry to storm is of major interest for understanding the export of dissolved and particulate species from catchments. The related challenge is the identification of active hydrological flow paths during these events and of the sources of chemical elements for which these events are hot moments of exports. An original four-year data set that combines high frequency records of stream flow, turbidity, nitrate and dissolved organic carbon concentrations, and piezometric levels was used to characterize storm responses in a headwater agricultural catchment. The data set was used to test to which extend the shallow groundwater was impacting the variability of storm responses. A total of 177 events were described using a set of quantitative and functional descriptors related to precipitation, stream and groundwater pre-event status and event dynamics, and to the relative dynamics between water quality parameters and flow via hysteresis indices. This approach led to identify different types of response for each water quality parameter which occurrence can be quantified and related to the seasonal functioning of the catchment. This study demonstrates that high-frequency records of water quality are precious tools to study/unique in their ability to emphasize the variability of catchment storm responses.

Health Status After Cancer: Does It Matter Which Hospital You Belong To?

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Background Survival rates are widely used to compare the quality of cancer care. However, the extent to which cancer survivors regain full physical or cognitive functioning is not captured by this statistic. To address this concern we introduce post-diagnosis employment as a supplemental measure of the quality of cancer care. Methods This study is based on individual level data from the Norwegian Cancer Registry (n = 46,720) linked with data on labor market outcomes and socioeconomic status from Statistics Norway. We study variation across Norwegian hospital catchment areas (n = 55) with respect to survival and employment five years after cancer diagnosis. To handle the selection problem, we exploit the fact that cancer patients in Norway (until 2001) have been allocated to local hospitals based on their place of residence. Results We document substantial differences across catchment areas with respect to patients' post-diagnosis employment rates. Conventional quality indicators based on survival rates indicate smaller differences. The two sets of indicators are only moderately correlated. Conclusions This analysis shows that indicators based on survival and post-diagnosis employment may capture different parts of the health status distribution, and that using only one of them to capture quality of care may be insufficient. PMID:20626866

Understanding one's body and movements from the perspective of young adults with autism: A mixed-methods study.

PubMed

Bertilsson, Ingrid; Gyllensten, Amanda Lundvik; Opheim, Arve; Gard, Gunvor; Sjödahl Hammarlund, Catharina

2018-07-01

There are but a few studies of how persons with autism perceive their bodies and movements. Difficulties in perceiving the surrounding world along with disturbed motor coordination and executive functions may affect physical and psychological development. To explore the experiences of body and movements in young adults with autism and how two physiotherapeutic instruments may capture these experiences. Eleven young adults (16-22 years) with autism were interviewed and assessed using Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency (BOT2) and Body Awareness Scale Movement Quality and Experience (BAS MQ-E). Following a mixed- methods design, the interviews were deductively analyzed and conceptually integrated to the results of the two assessments. Experiencing conflicting feelings about their bodies/movements, led to low understanding of themselves. The assessments captured these experiences relatively well, presenting both movement quality and quantity. Positive experiences and better movement quality related to having access to more functional daily strategies. Combining motor proficiency and body awareness assessments was optimal to understand the participants' experiences. To capture body and movement functions in persons with autism in this standardized manner will lead to improved and reliable diagnoses, tailored interventions, increased body awareness and activity, and enhanced quality of life. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Assessing Student Performance and Perceptions in Lecture Capture vs. Face-to-Face Course Delivery

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Euzent, Patricia; Martin, Thomas; Moskal, Patrick; Moskal, Patsy

2011-01-01

Public universities are currently facing a challenge in determining how to deliver quality instruction in the face of severe fiscal constraints. With recent technological advances, courses streamed over the Internet (i.e., lecture capture) are now becoming common. However, little research has been published that specifically examines student…

[3D-imaging and analysis for plastic surgery by smartphone and tablet: an alternative to professional systems?].

PubMed

Koban, K C; Leitsch, S; Holzbach, T; Volkmer, E; Metz, P M; Giunta, R E

2014-04-01

A new approach of using photographs from smartphones for three-dimensional (3D) imaging was introduced besides the standard high quality 3D camera systems. In this work, we investigated different capture preferences and compared the accuracy of this 3D reconstruction method with manual tape measurement and an established commercial 3D camera system. The facial region of one plastic mannequin head was labelled with 21 landmarks. A 3D reference model was captured with the Vectra 3D Imaging System®. In addition, 3D imaging was executed with the Autodesk 123d Catch® application using 16, 12, 9, 6 and 3 pictures from Apple® iPhone 4 s® and iPad® 3rd generation. The accuracy of 3D reconstruction was measured in 2 steps. First, 42 distance measurements from manual tape measurement and the 2 digital systems were compared. Second, the surface-to-surface deviation of different aesthetic units from the Vectra® reference model to Catch® generated models was analysed. For each 3D system the capturing and processing time was measured. The measurement showed no significant (p>0.05) difference between manual tape measurement and both digital distances from the Catch® application and Vectra®. Surface-to-surface deviation to the Vectra® reference model showed sufficient results for the 3D reconstruction of Catch® with 16, 12 and 9 picture sets. Use of 6 and 3 pictures resulted in large deviations. Lateral aesthetic units showed higher deviations than central units. Catch® needed 5 times longer to capture and compute 3D models (average 10 min vs. 2 min). The Autodesk 123d Catch® computed models suggests good accuracy of the 3D reconstruction for a standard mannequin model, in comparison to manual tape measurement and the surface-to-surface analysis with a 3D reference model. However, the prolonged capture time with multiple pictures is prone to errors. Further studies are needed to investigate its application and quality in capturing volunteer models. Soon mobile applications may offer an alternative for plastic surgeons to today's cost intensive, stationary 3D camera systems. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Attentional capture under high perceptual load.

PubMed

Cosman, Joshua D; Vecera, Shaun P

2010-12-01

Attentional capture by abrupt onsets can be modulated by several factors, including the complexity, or perceptual load, of a scene. We have recently demonstrated that observers are less likely to be captured by abruptly appearing, task-irrelevant stimuli when they perform a search that is high, as opposed to low, in perceptual load (Cosman & Vecera, 2009), consistent with perceptual load theory. However, recent results indicate that onset frequency can influence stimulus-driven capture, with infrequent onsets capturing attention more often than did frequent onsets. Importantly, in our previous task, an abrupt onset was present on every trial, and consequently, attentional capture might have been affected by both onset frequency and perceptual load. In the present experiment, we examined whether onset frequency influences attentional capture under conditions of high perceptual load. When onsets were presented frequently, we replicated our earlier results; attentional capture by onsets was modulated under conditions of high perceptual load. Importantly, however, when onsets were presented infrequently, we observed robust capture effects. These results conflict with a strong form of load theory and, instead, suggest that exposure to the elements of a task (e.g., abrupt onsets) combines with high perceptual load to modulate attentional capture by task-irrelevant information.

Quality control and assurance in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation data registries in Japan and other countries.

PubMed

Kuwatsuka, Yachiyo

2016-01-01

Observational studies from national and international registries with large volumes of patients are commonly performed to identify superior strategies for hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Major international and national stem cell transplant registries collect outcome data using electronic data capture systems, and a systematic study support process has been developed. Statistical support for studies is available from some major international registries, and international and national registries also mutually collaborate to promote stem cell transplant outcome studies and transplant-related activities. Transplant registries additionally take measures to improve data quality to further improve the quality of outcome studies by utilizing data capture systems and manual data management. Data auditing can potentially even further improve data quality; however, human and budgetary resources can be limiting factors in system construction and audits of the Japanese transplant registry are not currently performed.

Assessing relationship quality in mandated community treatment: blending care with control.

PubMed

Skeem, Jennifer L; Louden, Jennifer Eno; Polaschek, Devon; Camp, Jacqueline

2007-12-01

Traditional measures of the therapeutic alliance do not capture the dual roles inherent in relationships with involuntary clients. Providers not only care for, but also have control over, involuntary clients. In 2 studies of probationers mandated to psychiatric treatment (n=90; n=322), the authors developed and validated the revised Dual-Role Relationships Inventory (DRI-R). The authors found that (a) relationship quality in mandated treatment involves caring and fairness, trust, and an authoritative (not authoritarian) style, (b) the DRI-R assesses these domains of relationship quality, is internally consistent, and relates in a theoretically coherent pattern with ratings of within-session behavior and with measures of the therapeutic alliance, relationship satisfaction, symptoms, and treatment motivation, and (c) the quality of dual-role relationships predicts future compliance with the rules, as assessed by probation violations and revocation. The DRI-R covaries with multiple domains more strongly than a leading measure of the therapeutic alliance, suggesting that it better captures the nature and effect of relationship quality in mandated treatment.

Development of a Phase I/II Clinical Trial Using Sterotactic Body Radiation Therapy (SBRT) for the Treatment of Localized Prostate Carcinoma

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-07-01

related to patient demographics and characteristics, treatment dosimetry (including a means for quality assurance evaluation), and capture of follow-up... dosimetry commonly includes a 10-30 percent higher central dose within the target. While wedges and other methods of modulation (including IMRT) may be...untoward toxicity owing to the extremely localized high dose dosimetry . 1.4 Who Would Benefit from this Treatment? As noted above, there are several

Toward a Climate OSSE for NASA Earth Sciences

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leroy, S. S.; Collins, W. D.; Feldman, D.; Field, R. D.; Ming, Y.; Pawson, S.; Sanderson, B.; Schmidt, G. A.

2016-12-01

In the Continuity Study, the National Academy of Sciences advised that future space missions be rated according to five categories: the importance of a well-defined scientific objective, the utility of the observation in addressing the scientific objective, the quality with which the observation can be made, the probability of the mission's success, and the mission's affordability. The importance, probability, and affordability are evaluated subjectively by scientific consensus, by engineering review panels, and by cost models; however, the utility and quality can be evaluated objectively by a climate observation system simulation experiment (COSSE). A discussion of the philosophical underpinnings of a COSSE for NASA Earth Sciences will be presented. A COSSE is built upon a perturbed physics ensemble of a sophisticated climate model that can simulate a mission's prospective observations and its well-defined quantitative scientific objective and that can capture the uncertainty associated with each. A strong correlation between observation and scientific objective after consideration of physical uncertainty leads to a high quality. Persistence of a high correlation after inclusion of the proposed measurement error leads to a high utility. There are five criteria that govern that nature of a particular COSSE: (1) whether the mission's scientific objective is one of hypothesis testing or climate prediction, (2) whether the mission is empirical or inferential, (3) whether the core climate model captures essential physical uncertainties, (4) the level of detail of the simulated observations, and (5) whether complementarity or redundancy of information is to be valued. Computation of the quality and utility is done using Bayesian statistics, as has been done previously for multi-decadal climate prediction conditioned on existing data. We advocate for a new program within NASA Earth Sciences to establish a COSSE capability. Creation of a COSSE program within NASA Earth Sciences will require answers from the climate research community to basic questions, such as whether a COSSE capability should be centralized or de-centralized. Most importantly, the quantified scientific objective of a proposed mission must be defined with extreme specificity for a COSSE to be applied.

Abstract on the Effective validation of both new and existing methods for the observation and forecasting of volcanic emissions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sathnur, Ashwini

2017-04-01

Validation of the Existing products of the Remote Sensing instruments Review Comment Number 1 Ground - based instruments and space - based instruments are available for remote sensing of the Volcanic eruptions. Review Comment Number 2 The sunlight spectrum appears over the volcanic geographic area. This sunlight is reflected with the image of the volcano geographic area, to the satellite. The satellite captures this emitted spectrum of the image and further calculates the occurrences of the volcanic eruption. Review Comment Number 3 This computation system derives the presence and detection of sulphur dioxide and Volcanic Ash in the emitted spectrum. The temperature of the volcanic region is also measured. If these inputs derive the possibility of occurrence of an eruption, then the data is manually captured by the system for further usage and hazard mitigation. Review Comment Number 4 The instrument is particularly important in capturing the volcanogenic signal. This capturing operation should be carried out during the appropriate time of the day. This is carried out ideally at the time of the day when the reflected image spectra is best available. Capturing the data is not advisable to be performed at the night time, as the sunlight spectra is at its minimum. This would lead to erroneous data interpretation, as there is no sunlight for reflection of the volcanic region. Thus leading to the least capture of the emitted light spectra. Review Comment Number 5 An ideal area coverage of the spectrometer is mandatory. This is basically for the purpose of capturing the right area of data, in order to precisely derive the occurrence of a volcanic eruption. The larger the spatial resolution, there would be a higher capture of the geographic region, and this would lead to a lesser precise data capture. This would lead to missing details in the data capture. Review Comment Number 6 Ideal qualities for the remote sensing instrument are mentioned below:- Minimum "false" positives. Cost - free data made available. Minimum band - width problem. Rapid communication system. Validation and Requirements of the New products of the Remote Sensing instruments The qualities of the existing products would be present in the new products also. Along with these qualities, newly devised additional qualities are also required in order to build an advanced remote sensing instrument. The new additional requirements are mentioned below:- Review Comment Number 1 Enlarging the spatial resolution so that the volcanic plumes erupting from the early volcanic eruption is captured by the remote sensing instrument. This spatial resolution data capture would involve better video and camera facilities on the remote sensing instrument. Review Comment Number 2 Capturing the traces of carbon, carbonic acid and water vapour, along with the existing product's capture of sulphur dioxide and volcanic Ash. Review Comment Number 3 Creating an additional module in the instrument to derive the functionality of forecasting a volcanic eruption. This new forecast model should be able to predict the occurrences of volcanic eruption several months in advance. This is basically to create mechanisms for providing early solutions to the problems of mitigation of volcanic hazards. Review Comment Number 4 Creating additional features in the remote sensing instrument to enable the automatic transfer of forecasted eruptions of volcanoes, to the disaster relief operations team. This transfer of information is to be performed automatically, without any request raised from the relief operations team, for the predicted forecast information. This is for the purpose of receiving the information at the right - time, thus eliminating any possibility of occurrences of errors during hazard management.

Prediction of storm transfers and annual loads with data-based mechanistic models using high-frequency data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ockenden, Mary C.; Tych, Wlodek; Beven, Keith J.; Collins, Adrian L.; Evans, Robert; Falloon, Peter D.; Forber, Kirsty J.; Hiscock, Kevin M.; Hollaway, Michael J.; Kahana, Ron; Macleod, Christopher J. A.; Villamizar, Martha L.; Wearing, Catherine; Withers, Paul J. A.; Zhou, Jian G.; Benskin, Clare McW. H.; Burke, Sean; Cooper, Richard J.; Freer, Jim E.; Haygarth, Philip M.

2017-12-01

Excess nutrients in surface waters, such as phosphorus (P) from agriculture, result in poor water quality, with adverse effects on ecological health and costs for remediation. However, understanding and prediction of P transfers in catchments have been limited by inadequate data and over-parameterised models with high uncertainty. We show that, with high temporal resolution data, we are able to identify simple dynamic models that capture the P load dynamics in three contrasting agricultural catchments in the UK. For a flashy catchment, a linear, second-order (two pathways) model for discharge gave high simulation efficiencies for short-term storm sequences and was useful in highlighting uncertainties in out-of-bank flows. A model with non-linear rainfall input was appropriate for predicting seasonal or annual cumulative P loads where antecedent conditions affected the catchment response. For second-order models, the time constant for the fast pathway varied between 2 and 15 h for all three catchments and for both discharge and P, confirming that high temporal resolution data are necessary to capture the dynamic responses in small catchments (10-50 km2). The models led to a better understanding of the dominant nutrient transfer modes, which will be helpful in determining phosphorus transfers following changes in precipitation patterns in the future.

Development of an X-ray imaging system to prevent scintillator degradation for white synchrotron radiation.

PubMed

Zhou, Tunhe; Wang, Hongchang; Connolley, Thomas; Scott, Steward; Baker, Nick; Sawhney, Kawal

2018-05-01

The high flux of the white X-ray beams from third-generation synchrotron light sources can significantly benefit the development of high-speed X-ray imaging, but can also bring technical challenges to existing X-ray imaging systems. One prevalent problem is that the image quality deteriorates because of dust particles accumulating on the scintillator screen during exposure to intense X-ray radiation. Here, this problem has been solved by embedding the scintillator in a flowing inert-gas environment. It is also shown that the detector maintains the quality of the captured images even after days of X-ray exposure. This modification is cost-efficient and easy to implement. Representative examples of applications using the X-ray imaging system are also provided, including fast tomography and multimodal phase-contrast imaging for biomedical and geological samples. open access.

Development of an X-ray imaging system to prevent scintillator degradation for white synchrotron radiation

PubMed Central

Zhou, Tunhe; Wang, Hongchang; Scott, Steward

2018-01-01

The high flux of the white X-ray beams from third-generation synchrotron light sources can significantly benefit the development of high-speed X-ray imaging, but can also bring technical challenges to existing X-ray imaging systems. One prevalent problem is that the image quality deteriorates because of dust particles accumulating on the scintillator screen during exposure to intense X-ray radiation. Here, this problem has been solved by embedding the scintillator in a flowing inert-gas environment. It is also shown that the detector maintains the quality of the captured images even after days of X-ray exposure. This modification is cost-efficient and easy to implement. Representative examples of applications using the X-ray imaging system are also provided, including fast tomography and multimodal phase-contrast imaging for biomedical and geological samples. PMID:29714191

High-resolution monitoring of stormwater quality in an urbanising catchment in the United Kingdom during the 2013/2014 winter storms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McGrane, S. J.; Hutchins, M. G.; Kjeldsen, T. R.; Miller, J. D.; Bussi, G.; Loewenthal, M.

2015-12-01

Urban areas are widely recognised as a key source of contaminants entering our freshwater systems, yet in spite of this, our understanding of stormwater quality dynamics remains limited. The development of in-situ, high-resolution monitoring equipment has revolutionised our capability to capture flow and water quality data at a sub-hourly resolution, enabling us to potentially enhance our understanding of hydrochemical variations from contrasting landscapes during storm events. During the winter of 2013/2014, the United Kingdom experienced a succession of intense storm events, where the south of the country experienced 200% of the average rainfall, resulting in widespread flooding across the Thames basin. We applied high-frequency (15 minute resolution) water quality monitoring across ten contrasting subcatchments (including rural, urban and mixed land-use catchments), seeking to classify the disparity in water quality conditions both within- and between events. Rural catchments increasingly behave like "urban" catchments as soils wet up and become increasingly responsive to subsequent events, however water quality response during the winter months remains limited. By contrast, increasingly urban catchments yield greater contaminant loads during events, and pre-event baseline chemistry highlights a resupply source in dense urban catchments. Wastewater treatment plants were shown to dominate baseline chemistry during low-flow events but also yield a considerable impact on stormwater outputs during peak-flow events, as hydraulic push results in the outflow of untreated solid wastes into the river system. Results are discussed in the context of water quality policy; urban growth scenarios and BMP for stormwater runoff in contrasting landscapes.

Colonised by Quality? Teacher Identities in a Research-Led Institution

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Skelton, Alan

2012-01-01

This article explores the impact of quality assurance and enhancement initiatives on teacher identities in higher education. Data from an interview-based study of a research-led institution in the United Kingdom are drawn upon to consider the implications of quality--for example, whether it has captured the inner assumptive worlds of higher…

Evaluating the capability of regional-scale air quality models to capture the vertical distribution of pollutants

EPA Science Inventory

This study is conducted in the framework of the Air Quality Modelling Evaluation International Initiative (AQMEII) and aims at the operational evaluation of an ensemble of 12 regional-scale chemical transport models used to predict air quality over the North American (NA) and Eur...

Crickets Are Not a Free Lunch: Protein Capture from Scalable Organic Side-Streams via High-Density Populations of Acheta domesticus

PubMed Central

Lundy, Mark E.; Parrella, Michael P.

2015-01-01

It has been suggested that the ecological impact of crickets as a source of dietary protein is less than conventional forms of livestock due to their comparatively efficient feed conversion and ability to consume organic side-streams. This study measured the biomass output and feed conversion ratios of house crickets (Acheta domesticus) reared on diets that varied in quality, ranging from grain-based to highly cellulosic diets. The measurements were made at a much greater population scale and density than any previously reported in the scientific literature. The biomass accumulation was strongly influenced by the quality of the diet (p<0.001), with the nitrogen (N) content, the ratio of N to acid detergent fiber (ADF) content, and the crude fat (CF) content (y=N/ADF+CF) explaining most of the variability between feed treatments (p = 0.02; R2 = 0.96). In addition, for populations of crickets that were able to survive to a harvestable size, the feed conversion ratios measured were higher (less efficient) than those reported from studies conducted at smaller scales and lower population densities. Compared to the industrial-scale production of chickens, crickets fed a poultry feed diet showed little improvement in protein conversion efficiency, a key metric in determining the ecological footprint of grain-based livestock protein. Crickets fed the solid filtrate from food waste processed at an industrial scale via enzymatic digestion were able to reach a harvestable size and achieve feed and protein efficiencies similar to that of chickens. However, crickets fed minimally-processed, municipal-scale food waste and diets composed largely of straw experienced >99% mortality without reaching a harvestable size. Therefore, the potential for A. domesticus to sustainably supplement the global protein supply, beyond what is currently produced via grain-fed chickens, will depend on capturing regionally scalable organic side-streams of relatively high-quality that are not currently being used for livestock production. PMID:25875026

Crickets are not a free lunch: protein capture from scalable organic side-streams via high-density populations of Acheta domesticus.

PubMed

Lundy, Mark E; Parrella, Michael P

2015-01-01

It has been suggested that the ecological impact of crickets as a source of dietary protein is less than conventional forms of livestock due to their comparatively efficient feed conversion and ability to consume organic side-streams. This study measured the biomass output and feed conversion ratios of house crickets (Acheta domesticus) reared on diets that varied in quality, ranging from grain-based to highly cellulosic diets. The measurements were made at a much greater population scale and density than any previously reported in the scientific literature. The biomass accumulation was strongly influenced by the quality of the diet (p<0.001), with the nitrogen (N) content, the ratio of N to acid detergent fiber (ADF) content, and the crude fat (CF) content (y=N/ADF+CF) explaining most of the variability between feed treatments (p = 0.02; R2 = 0.96). In addition, for populations of crickets that were able to survive to a harvestable size, the feed conversion ratios measured were higher (less efficient) than those reported from studies conducted at smaller scales and lower population densities. Compared to the industrial-scale production of chickens, crickets fed a poultry feed diet showed little improvement in protein conversion efficiency, a key metric in determining the ecological footprint of grain-based livestock protein. Crickets fed the solid filtrate from food waste processed at an industrial scale via enzymatic digestion were able to reach a harvestable size and achieve feed and protein efficiencies similar to that of chickens. However, crickets fed minimally-processed, municipal-scale food waste and diets composed largely of straw experienced >99% mortality without reaching a harvestable size. Therefore, the potential for A. domesticus to sustainably supplement the global protein supply, beyond what is currently produced via grain-fed chickens, will depend on capturing regionally scalable organic side-streams of relatively high-quality that are not currently being used for livestock production.

Diet and metabolic state are the main factors determining concentrations of perfluoroalkyl substances in female polar bears from Svalbard.

PubMed

Tartu, Sabrina; Bourgeon, Sophie; Aars, Jon; Andersen, Magnus; Lone, Karen; Jenssen, Bjørn Munro; Polder, Anuschka; Thiemann, Gregory W; Torget, Vidar; Welker, Jeffrey M; Routti, Heli

2017-10-01

Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) have been detected in organisms worldwide, including Polar Regions. The polar bear (Ursus maritimus), the top predator of Arctic marine ecosystems, accumulates high concentrations of PFASs, which may be harmful to their health. The aim of this study was to investigate which factors (habitat quality, season, year, diet, metabolic state [i.e. feeding/fasting], breeding status and age) predict PFAS concentrations in female polar bears captured on Svalbard (Norway). We analysed two perfluoroalkyl sulfonates (PFSAs: PFHxS and PFOS) and C 8 -C 13 perfluoroalkyl carboxylates (PFCAs) in 112 plasma samples obtained in April and September 2012-2013. Nitrogen and carbon stable isotope ratios (δ 15 N, δ 13 C) in red blood cells and plasma, and fatty acid profiles in adipose tissue were used as proxies for diet. We determined habitat quality based on movement patterns, capture position and resource selection functions, which are models that predict the probability of use of a resource unit. Plasma urea to creatinine ratios were used as proxies for metabolic state (i.e. feeding or fasting state). Results were obtained from a conditional model averaging of 42 general linear mixed models. Diet was the most important predictor of PFAS concentrations. PFAS concentrations were positively related to trophic level and marine diet input. High PFAS concentrations in females feeding on the eastern part of Svalbard, where the habitat quality was higher than on the western coast, were likely related to diet and possibly to abiotic factors. Concentrations of PFSAs and C 8 -C 10 PFCAs were higher in fasting than in feeding polar bears and PFOS was higher in females with cubs of the year than in solitary females. Our findings suggest that female polar bears that are exposed to the highest levels of PFAS are those 1) feeding on high trophic level sea ice-associated prey, 2) fasting and 3) with small cubs. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

An Energy-Efficient and High-Quality Video Transmission Architecture in Wireless Video-Based Sensor Networks.

PubMed

Aghdasi, Hadi S; Abbaspour, Maghsoud; Moghadam, Mohsen Ebrahimi; Samei, Yasaman

2008-08-04

Technological progress in the fields of Micro Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) and wireless communications and also the availability of CMOS cameras, microphones and small-scale array sensors, which may ubiquitously capture multimedia content from the field, have fostered the development of low-cost limited resources Wireless Video-based Sensor Networks (WVSN). With regards to the constraints of videobased sensor nodes and wireless sensor networks, a supporting video stream is not easy to implement with the present sensor network protocols. In this paper, a thorough architecture is presented for video transmission over WVSN called Energy-efficient and high-Quality Video transmission Architecture (EQV-Architecture). This architecture influences three layers of communication protocol stack and considers wireless video sensor nodes constraints like limited process and energy resources while video quality is preserved in the receiver side. Application, transport, and network layers are the layers in which the compression protocol, transport protocol, and routing protocol are proposed respectively, also a dropping scheme is presented in network layer. Simulation results over various environments with dissimilar conditions revealed the effectiveness of the architecture in improving the lifetime of the network as well as preserving the video quality.

Ground-to-Flight Handling Qualities Comparisons for a High Performance Airplane

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brandon, Jay M.; Glaab, Louis J.; Brown, Philip W.; Phillips, Michael R.

1995-01-01

A flight test program was conducted in conjunction with a ground-based piloted simulation study to enable a comparison of handling qualities ratings for a variety of maneuvers between flight and simulation of a modern high performance airplane. Specific objectives included an evaluation of pilot-induced oscillation (PIO) tendencies and a determination of maneuver types which result in either good or poor ground-to-flight pilot handling qualities ratings. A General Dynamics F-16XL aircraft was used for the flight evaluations, and the NASA Langley Differential Maneuvering Simulator was employed for the ground based evaluations. Two NASA research pilots evaluated both the airplane and simulator characteristics using tasks developed in the simulator. Simulator and flight tests were all conducted within approximately a one month time frame. Maneuvers included numerous fine tracking evaluations at various angles of attack, load factors and speed ranges, gross acquisitions involving longitudinal and lateral maneuvering, roll angle captures, and an ILS task with a sidestep to landing. Overall results showed generally good correlation between ground and flight for PIO tendencies and general handling qualities comments. Differences in pilot technique used in simulator evaluations and effects of airplane accelerations and motions are illustrated.

Performance characterization of structured light-based fingerprint scanner

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hassebrook, Laurence G.; Wang, Minghao; Daley, Raymond C.

2013-05-01

Our group believes that the evolution of fingerprint capture technology is in transition to include 3-D non-contact fingerprint capture. More specifically we believe that systems based on structured light illumination provide the highest level of depth measurement accuracy. However, for these new technologies to be fully accepted by the biometric community, they must be compliant with federal standards of performance. At present these standards do not exist for this new biometric technology. We propose and define a set of test procedures to be used to verify compliance with the Federal Bureau of Investigation's image quality specification for Personal Identity Verification single fingerprint capture devices. The proposed test procedures include: geometric accuracy, lateral resolution based on intensity or depth, gray level uniformity and flattened fingerprint image quality. Several 2-D contact analogies, performance tradeoffs and optimization dilemmas are evaluated and proposed solutions are presented.

Thermally activated hysteresis in high quality graphene/h-BN devices

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

Cadore, A. R., E-mail: alissoncadore@gmail.com, E-mail: lccampos@fisica.ufmg.br; Mania, E.; Lacerda, R. G.

2016-06-06

We report on gate hysteresis of resistance in high quality graphene/hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) devices. We observe a thermally activated hysteretic behavior in resistance as a function of the applied gate voltage at temperatures above 375 K. In order to investigate the origin of the hysteretic phenomenon, we compare graphene/h-BN heterostructure devices with SiO{sub 2}/Si back gate electrodes to devices with graphite back gate electrodes. The gate hysteretic behavior of the resistance is present only in devices with an h-BN/SiO{sub 2} interface and is dependent on the orientation of the applied gate electric field and sweep rate. We describe a phenomenologicalmore » model which captures all of our findings based on charges trapped at the h-BN/SiO{sub 2} interface. Such hysteretic behavior in graphene resistance must be considered in high temperature applications for graphene devices and may open new routes for applications in digital electronics and memory devices.« less

High-quality ultrastructural preservation using cryofixation for 3D electron microscopy of genetically labeled tissues

PubMed Central

Boassa, Daniela; Hu, Junru; Romoli, Benedetto; Phan, Sebastien; Dulcis, Davide

2018-01-01

Electron microscopy (EM) offers unparalleled power to study cell substructures at the nanoscale. Cryofixation by high-pressure freezing offers optimal morphological preservation, as it captures cellular structures instantaneously in their near-native state. However, the applicability of cryofixation is limited by its incompatibility with diaminobenzidine labeling using genetic EM tags and the high-contrast en bloc staining required for serial block-face scanning electron microscopy (SBEM). In addition, it is challenging to perform correlated light and electron microscopy (CLEM) with cryofixed samples. Consequently, these powerful methods cannot be applied to address questions requiring optimal morphological preservation. Here, we developed an approach that overcomes these limitations; it enables genetically labeled, cryofixed samples to be characterized with SBEM and 3D CLEM. Our approach is broadly applicable, as demonstrated in cultured cells, Drosophila olfactory organ and mouse brain. This optimization exploits the potential of cryofixation, allowing for quality ultrastructural preservation for diverse EM applications. PMID:29749931

Population exposure to hazardous air quality due to the 2015 fires in Equatorial Asia.

PubMed

Crippa, P; Castruccio, S; Archer-Nicholls, S; Lebron, G B; Kuwata, M; Thota, A; Sumin, S; Butt, E; Wiedinmyer, C; Spracklen, D V

2016-11-16

Vegetation and peatland fires cause poor air quality and thousands of premature deaths across densely populated regions in Equatorial Asia. Strong El-Niño and positive Indian Ocean Dipole conditions are associated with an increase in the frequency and intensity of wildfires in Indonesia and Borneo, enhancing population exposure to hazardous concentrations of smoke and air pollutants. Here we investigate the impact on air quality and population exposure of wildfires in Equatorial Asia during Fall 2015, which were the largest over the past two decades. We performed high-resolution simulations using the Weather Research and Forecasting model with Chemistry based on a new fire emission product. The model captures the spatio-temporal variability of extreme pollution episodes relative to space- and ground-based observations and allows for identification of pollution sources and transport over Equatorial Asia. We calculate that high particulate matter concentrations from fires during Fall 2015 were responsible for persistent exposure of 69 million people to unhealthy air quality conditions. Short-term exposure to this pollution may have caused 11,880 (6,153-17,270) excess mortalities. Results from this research provide decision-relevant information to policy makers regarding the impact of land use changes and human driven deforestation on fire frequency and population exposure to degraded air quality.

Population exposure to hazardous air quality due to the 2015 fires in Equatorial Asia

PubMed Central

Crippa, P.; Castruccio, S.; Archer-Nicholls, S.; Lebron, G. B.; Kuwata, M.; Thota, A.; Sumin, S.; Butt, E.; Wiedinmyer, C.; Spracklen, D. V.

2016-01-01

Vegetation and peatland fires cause poor air quality and thousands of premature deaths across densely populated regions in Equatorial Asia. Strong El-Niño and positive Indian Ocean Dipole conditions are associated with an increase in the frequency and intensity of wildfires in Indonesia and Borneo, enhancing population exposure to hazardous concentrations of smoke and air pollutants. Here we investigate the impact on air quality and population exposure of wildfires in Equatorial Asia during Fall 2015, which were the largest over the past two decades. We performed high-resolution simulations using the Weather Research and Forecasting model with Chemistry based on a new fire emission product. The model captures the spatio-temporal variability of extreme pollution episodes relative to space- and ground-based observations and allows for identification of pollution sources and transport over Equatorial Asia. We calculate that high particulate matter concentrations from fires during Fall 2015 were responsible for persistent exposure of 69 million people to unhealthy air quality conditions. Short-term exposure to this pollution may have caused 11,880 (6,153–17,270) excess mortalities. Results from this research provide decision-relevant information to policy makers regarding the impact of land use changes and human driven deforestation on fire frequency and population exposure to degraded air quality. PMID:27848989

Designing quality of care--contributions from parents: Parents' experiences of care processes in paediatric care and their contribution to improvements of the care process in collaboration with healthcare professionals.

PubMed

Gustavsson, Susanne; Gremyr, Ida; Kenne Sarenmalm, Elisabeth

2016-03-01

The aim of this article was to explore whether current quality dimensions for health care services are sufficient to capture how parents perceive and contribute to quality of health care. New quality improvement initiatives that actively involve patients must be examined with a critical view on established quality dimensions to ensure that these measures support patient involvement. This paper used a qualitative and descriptive design. This paper is based on interviews with parents participating in two experience-based co-design projects in a Swedish hospital that included qualitative content analysis of data from 12 parent interviews in paediatric care. Health care professionals often overemphasize their own significance for value creation in care processes and underappreciate parents' ability to influence and contribute to better quality. However, quality is not based solely on how professionals accomplish their task, but is co-created by health care professionals and parents. Consequently, assessment of quality outcomes also must include parents' ability and context. This paper questions current models of quality dimensions in health care, and suggests additional sub-dimensions, such as family quality and involvement quality. This paper underscores the importance of involving parents in health care improvements with health care professionals to capture as many dimensions of quality as possible. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

A Robust Design Capture-Recapture Analysis of Abundance, Survival and Temporary Emigration of Three Odontocete Species in the Gulf of Corinth, Greece

PubMed Central

Bonizzoni, Silvia; Bearzi, Giovanni; Eddy, Lavinia; Gimenez, Olivier

2016-01-01

While the Mediterranean Sea has been designated as a Global Biodiversity Hotspot, assessments of cetacean population abundance are lacking for large portions of the region, particularly in the southern and eastern basins. The challenges and costs of obtaining the necessary data often result in absent or poor abundance information. We applied capture-recapture models to estimate abundance, survival and temporary emigration of odontocete populations within a 2,400 km2 semi-enclosed Mediterranean bay, the Gulf of Corinth. Boat surveys were conducted in 2011–2015 to collect photo-identification data on striped dolphins Stenella coeruleoalba, short-beaked common dolphins Delphinus delphis (always found together with striped dolphins in mixed groups) and common bottlenose dolphins Tursiops truncatus, totaling 1,873 h of tracking. After grading images for quality and marking distinctiveness, 23,995 high-quality photos were included in a striped and common dolphin catalog, and 2,472 in a bottlenose dolphin catalog. The proportions of striped and common dolphins were calculated from the photographic sample and used to scale capture-recapture estimates. Best-fitting robust design capture-recapture models denoted no temporary emigration between years for striped and common dolphins, and random temporary emigration for bottlenose dolphins, suggesting different residency patterns in agreement with previous studies. Average estimated abundance over the five years was 1,331 (95% CI 1,122–1,578) striped dolphins, 22 (16–32) common dolphins, 55 (36–84) “intermediate” animals (potential striped x common dolphin hybrids) and 38 (32–46) bottlenose dolphins. Apparent survival was constant for striped, common and intermediate dolphins (0.94, 95% CI 0.92–0.96) and year-dependent for bottlenose dolphins (an average of 0.85, 95% CI 0.76–0.95). Our work underlines the importance of long-term monitoring to contribute reliable baseline information that can help assess the conservation status of wildlife populations. PMID:27926926

Analysis of background irradiation in thermal IR hyper-spectral imaging systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Weiming; Yuan, Liyin; Lin, Ying; He, Zhiping; Shu, Rong; Wang, Jianyu

2010-04-01

Our group designed a thermal IR hyper-spectral imaging system in this paper mounted in a vacuum encapsulated cavity with temperature controlling equipments. The spectral resolution is 80 nm; the spatial resolution is 1.0 mrad; the spectral channels are 32. By comparing and verifying the theoretical simulated calculation and experimental results for this system, we obtained the precise relationship between the temperature and background irradiation of optical and mechanical structures, and found the most significant components in the optic path for improving imaging quality that should be traded especially, also we had a conclusion that it should cool the imaging optics and structures to about 100K if we need utilize the full dynamic range and capture high quality of imagery.

Dual-camera design for coded aperture snapshot spectral imaging.

PubMed

Wang, Lizhi; Xiong, Zhiwei; Gao, Dahua; Shi, Guangming; Wu, Feng

2015-02-01

Coded aperture snapshot spectral imaging (CASSI) provides an efficient mechanism for recovering 3D spectral data from a single 2D measurement. However, since the reconstruction problem is severely underdetermined, the quality of recovered spectral data is usually limited. In this paper we propose a novel dual-camera design to improve the performance of CASSI while maintaining its snapshot advantage. Specifically, a beam splitter is placed in front of the objective lens of CASSI, which allows the same scene to be simultaneously captured by a grayscale camera. This uncoded grayscale measurement, in conjunction with the coded CASSI measurement, greatly eases the reconstruction problem and yields high-quality 3D spectral data. Both simulation and experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Natural Language Processing–Enabled and Conventional Data Capture Methods for Input to Electronic Health Records: A Comparative Usability Study

PubMed Central

Sheehan, Barbara; Stetson, Peter; Bhatt, Ashish R; Field, Adele I; Patel, Chirag; Maisel, James Mark

2016-01-01

Background The process of documentation in electronic health records (EHRs) is known to be time consuming, inefficient, and cumbersome. The use of dictation coupled with manual transcription has become an increasingly common practice. In recent years, natural language processing (NLP)–enabled data capture has become a viable alternative for data entry. It enables the clinician to maintain control of the process and potentially reduce the documentation burden. The question remains how this NLP-enabled workflow will impact EHR usability and whether it can meet the structured data and other EHR requirements while enhancing the user’s experience. Objective The objective of this study is evaluate the comparative effectiveness of an NLP-enabled data capture method using dictation and data extraction from transcribed documents (NLP Entry) in terms of documentation time, documentation quality, and usability versus standard EHR keyboard-and-mouse data entry. Methods This formative study investigated the results of using 4 combinations of NLP Entry and Standard Entry methods (“protocols”) of EHR data capture. We compared a novel dictation-based protocol using MediSapien NLP (NLP-NLP) for structured data capture against a standard structured data capture protocol (Standard-Standard) as well as 2 novel hybrid protocols (NLP-Standard and Standard-NLP). The 31 participants included neurologists, cardiologists, and nephrologists. Participants generated 4 consultation or admission notes using 4 documentation protocols. We recorded the time on task, documentation quality (using the Physician Documentation Quality Instrument, PDQI-9), and usability of the documentation processes. Results A total of 118 notes were documented across the 3 subject areas. The NLP-NLP protocol required a median of 5.2 minutes per cardiology note, 7.3 minutes per nephrology note, and 8.5 minutes per neurology note compared with 16.9, 20.7, and 21.2 minutes, respectively, using the Standard-Standard protocol and 13.8, 21.3, and 18.7 minutes using the Standard-NLP protocol (1 of 2 hybrid methods). Using 8 out of 9 characteristics measured by the PDQI-9 instrument, the NLP-NLP protocol received a median quality score sum of 24.5; the Standard-Standard protocol received a median sum of 29; and the Standard-NLP protocol received a median sum of 29.5. The mean total score of the usability measure was 36.7 when the participants used the NLP-NLP protocol compared with 30.3 when they used the Standard-Standard protocol. Conclusions In this study, the feasibility of an approach to EHR data capture involving the application of NLP to transcribed dictation was demonstrated. This novel dictation-based approach has the potential to reduce the time required for documentation and improve usability while maintaining documentation quality. Future research will evaluate the NLP-based EHR data capture approach in a clinical setting. It is reasonable to assert that EHRs will increasingly use NLP-enabled data entry tools such as MediSapien NLP because they hold promise for enhancing the documentation process and end-user experience. PMID:27793791

Natural Language Processing-Enabled and Conventional Data Capture Methods for Input to Electronic Health Records: A Comparative Usability Study.

PubMed

Kaufman, David R; Sheehan, Barbara; Stetson, Peter; Bhatt, Ashish R; Field, Adele I; Patel, Chirag; Maisel, James Mark

2016-10-28

The process of documentation in electronic health records (EHRs) is known to be time consuming, inefficient, and cumbersome. The use of dictation coupled with manual transcription has become an increasingly common practice. In recent years, natural language processing (NLP)-enabled data capture has become a viable alternative for data entry. It enables the clinician to maintain control of the process and potentially reduce the documentation burden. The question remains how this NLP-enabled workflow will impact EHR usability and whether it can meet the structured data and other EHR requirements while enhancing the user's experience. The objective of this study is evaluate the comparative effectiveness of an NLP-enabled data capture method using dictation and data extraction from transcribed documents (NLP Entry) in terms of documentation time, documentation quality, and usability versus standard EHR keyboard-and-mouse data entry. This formative study investigated the results of using 4 combinations of NLP Entry and Standard Entry methods ("protocols") of EHR data capture. We compared a novel dictation-based protocol using MediSapien NLP (NLP-NLP) for structured data capture against a standard structured data capture protocol (Standard-Standard) as well as 2 novel hybrid protocols (NLP-Standard and Standard-NLP). The 31 participants included neurologists, cardiologists, and nephrologists. Participants generated 4 consultation or admission notes using 4 documentation protocols. We recorded the time on task, documentation quality (using the Physician Documentation Quality Instrument, PDQI-9), and usability of the documentation processes. A total of 118 notes were documented across the 3 subject areas. The NLP-NLP protocol required a median of 5.2 minutes per cardiology note, 7.3 minutes per nephrology note, and 8.5 minutes per neurology note compared with 16.9, 20.7, and 21.2 minutes, respectively, using the Standard-Standard protocol and 13.8, 21.3, and 18.7 minutes using the Standard-NLP protocol (1 of 2 hybrid methods). Using 8 out of 9 characteristics measured by the PDQI-9 instrument, the NLP-NLP protocol received a median quality score sum of 24.5; the Standard-Standard protocol received a median sum of 29; and the Standard-NLP protocol received a median sum of 29.5. The mean total score of the usability measure was 36.7 when the participants used the NLP-NLP protocol compared with 30.3 when they used the Standard-Standard protocol. In this study, the feasibility of an approach to EHR data capture involving the application of NLP to transcribed dictation was demonstrated. This novel dictation-based approach has the potential to reduce the time required for documentation and improve usability while maintaining documentation quality. Future research will evaluate the NLP-based EHR data capture approach in a clinical setting. It is reasonable to assert that EHRs will increasingly use NLP-enabled data entry tools such as MediSapien NLP because they hold promise for enhancing the documentation process and end-user experience. ©David R. Kaufman, Barbara Sheehan, Peter Stetson, Ashish R. Bhatt, Adele I. Field, Chirag Patel, James Mark Maisel. Originally published in JMIR Medical Informatics (http://medinform.jmir.org), 28.10.2016.

Laser capture microdissection tailored to type 1 diabetes mellitus research.

PubMed

Szulawski, Robert; Nakazawa, Masato; McCall, Kelly D; James, Calvin B L; Schwartz, Frank L

2016-01-01

RNA isolation from pancreatic islets poses unique challenges. Here, we present a reproducible means of obtaining high-quality RNA from juvenile rodent islets in sufficient quantities for use in ex vivo expression studies. Tissue was extracted from female non-obese diabetic (NOD) toll-like receptor 3 (TLR3)(+/+) and (TLR3)(-/-) mice in the pre-diabetic stage. Samples were frozen in liquid nitrogen, sectioned, fixed in a highly alcoholic solution, and stained with an alcoholic cresyl violet (CV) solution. Rehydration of the fixed sections was minimized. Islets were identified visually and isolated with the Leica LMD6000 laser capture microdissection (LCM) system to yield samples highly enriched in islet RNA. Real time qPCR was performed on the islet cDNA using probes for CXC chemokine ligand 10 (CXCL10), an inflammatory marker that plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of type 1 diabetes mellitus (TIDM). This method represents an improvement over currently described LCM techniques for rodent pancreatic islets and makes feasible expression studies using small amounts of starting tissue without the need for RNA pre-amplification. This has immediate implications for ongoing TIDM studies using the NOD mouse.

Objective analysis of image quality of video image capture systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rowberg, Alan H.

1990-07-01

As Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS) technology has matured, video image capture has become a common way of capturing digital images from many modalities. While digital interfaces, such as those which use the ACR/NEMA standard, will become more common in the future, and are preferred because of the accuracy of image transfer, video image capture will be the dominant method in the short term, and may continue to be used for some time because of the low cost and high speed often associated with such devices. Currently, virtually all installed systems use methods of digitizing the video signal that is produced for display on the scanner viewing console itself. A series of digital test images have been developed for display on either a GE CT9800 or a GE Signa MRI scanner. These images have been captured with each of five commercially available image capture systems, and the resultant images digitally transferred on floppy disk to a PC1286 computer containing Optimast' image analysis software. Here the images can be displayed in a comparative manner for visual evaluation, in addition to being analyzed statistically. Each of the images have been designed to support certain tests, including noise, accuracy, linearity, gray scale range, stability, slew rate, and pixel alignment. These image capture systems vary widely in these characteristics, in addition to the presence or absence of other artifacts, such as shading and moire pattern. Other accessories such as video distribution amplifiers and noise filters can also add or modify artifacts seen in the captured images, often giving unusual results. Each image is described, together with the tests which were performed using them. One image contains alternating black and white lines, each one pixel wide, after equilibration strips ten pixels wide. While some systems have a slew rate fast enough to track this correctly, others blur it to an average shade of gray, and do not resolve the lines, or give horizontal or vertical streaking. While many of these results are significant from an engineering standpoint alone, there are clinical implications and some anatomy or pathology may not be visualized if an image capture system is used improperly.

Offline Signature Verification Using the Discrete Radon Transform and a Hidden Markov Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Coetzer, J.; Herbst, B. M.; du Preez, J. A.

2004-12-01

We developed a system that automatically authenticates offline handwritten signatures using the discrete Radon transform (DRT) and a hidden Markov model (HMM). Given the robustness of our algorithm and the fact that only global features are considered, satisfactory results are obtained. Using a database of 924 signatures from 22 writers, our system achieves an equal error rate (EER) of 18% when only high-quality forgeries (skilled forgeries) are considered and an EER of 4.5% in the case of only casual forgeries. These signatures were originally captured offline. Using another database of 4800 signatures from 51 writers, our system achieves an EER of 12.2% when only skilled forgeries are considered. These signatures were originally captured online and then digitally converted into static signature images. These results compare well with the results of other algorithms that consider only global features.

Experimental validation of docking and capture using space robotics testbeds

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Spofford, John; Schmitz, Eric; Hoff, William

1991-01-01

This presentation describes the application of robotic and computer vision systems to validate docking and capture operations for space cargo transfer vehicles. Three applications are discussed: (1) air bearing systems in two dimensions that yield high quality free-flying, flexible, and contact dynamics; (2) validation of docking mechanisms with misalignment and target dynamics; and (3) computer vision technology for target location and real-time tracking. All the testbeds are supported by a network of engineering workstations for dynamic and controls analyses. Dynamic simulation of multibody rigid and elastic systems are performed with the TREETOPS code. MATRIXx/System-Build and PRO-MATLAB/Simulab are the tools for control design and analysis using classical and modern techniques such as H-infinity and LQG/LTR. SANDY is a general design tool to optimize numerically a multivariable robust compensator with a user-defined structure. Mathematica and Macsyma are used to derive symbolically dynamic and kinematic equations.

Computer vision research with new imaging technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hou, Guangqi; Liu, Fei; Sun, Zhenan

2015-12-01

Light field imaging is capable of capturing dense multi-view 2D images in one snapshot, which record both intensity values and directions of rays simultaneously. As an emerging 3D device, the light field camera has been widely used in digital refocusing, depth estimation, stereoscopic display, etc. Traditional multi-view stereo (MVS) methods only perform well on strongly texture surfaces, but the depth map contains numerous holes and large ambiguities on textureless or low-textured regions. In this paper, we exploit the light field imaging technology on 3D face modeling in computer vision. Based on a 3D morphable model, we estimate the pose parameters from facial feature points. Then the depth map is estimated through the epipolar plane images (EPIs) method. At last, the high quality 3D face model is exactly recovered via the fusing strategy. We evaluate the effectiveness and robustness on face images captured by a light field camera with different poses.

Ambulatory surgery centers best practices for the 90s.

PubMed

Hoover, J A

1994-05-01

Outpatient surgery will be the driving force in the continued growth of ambulatory care in the 1990s. Providing efficient, high-quality ambulatory surgical services should therefore be a priority among healthcare providers. Arthur Andersen conducted a survey to discover best practices in ambulatory surgical service. General success characteristics of best performers were business-focused relationships with physicians, the use of clinical protocols, patient convenience, cost management, strong leadership, teamwork, streamlined processes and efficient design. Other important factors included scheduling to maximize OR room use; achieving surgical efficiencies through reduced case pack assembly errors and equipment availability; a focus on cost capture rather than charge capture; sound materiel management practices, such as standardization and vendor teaming; and the appropriate use of automated systems. It is important to evaluate whether the best practices are applicable to your environment and what specific changes to your current processes would be necessary to adopt them.

Effects of asymmetric medical insurance subsidy on hospitals competition under non-price regulation.

PubMed

Wang, Chan; Nie, Pu-Yan

2016-11-15

Poor medical care and high fees are two major problems in the world health care system. As a result, health care insurance system reform is a major issue in developing countries, such as China. Governments should take the effect of health care insurance system reform on the competition of hospitals into account when they practice a reform. This article aims to capture the influences of asymmetric medical insurance subsidy and the importance of medical quality to patients on hospitals competition under non-price regulation. We establish a three-stage duopoly model with quantity and quality competition. In the model, qualitative difference and asymmetric medical insurance subsidy among hospitals are considered. The government decides subsidy (or reimbursement) ratios in the first stage. Hospitals choose the quality in the second stage and then support the quantity in the third stage. We obtain our conclusions by mathematical model analyses and all the results are achieved by backward induction. The importance of medical quality to patients has stronger influence on the small hospital, while subsidy has greater effect on the large hospital. Meanwhile, the importance of medical quality to patients strengthens competition, but subsidy effect weakens it. Besides, subsidy ratios difference affects the relationship between subsidy and hospital competition. Furthermore, we capture the optimal reimbursement ratio based on social welfare maximization. More importantly, this paper finds that the higher management efficiency of the medical insurance investment funds is, the higher the best subsidy ratio is. This paper states that subsidy is a two-edged sword. On one hand, subsidy stimulates medical demand. On the other hand, subsidy raises price and inhibits hospital competition. Therefore, government must set an appropriate subsidy ratio difference between large and small hospitals to maximize the total social welfare. For a developing country with limited medical resources and great difference in hospitals such as China, adjusting the reimbursement ratios between different level hospitals and increasing medical quality are two reasonable methods for the sustainable development of its health system.

Advanced Capabilities for Wind Tunnel Testing in the 21st Century

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kegelman, Jerome T.; Danehy, Paul M.; Schwartz, Richard J.

2010-01-01

Wind tunnel testing methods and test technologies for the 21st century using advanced capabilities are presented. These capabilities are necessary to capture more accurate and high quality test results by eliminating the uncertainties in testing and to facilitate verification of computational tools for design. This paper discusses near term developments underway in ground testing capabilities, which will enhance the quality of information of both the test article and airstream flow details. Also discussed is a selection of new capability investments that have been made to accommodate such developments. Examples include advanced experimental methods for measuring the test gas itself; using efficient experiment methodologies, including quality assurance strategies within the test; and increasing test result information density by using extensive optical visualization together with computed flow field results. These points could be made for both major investments in existing tunnel capabilities or for entirely new capabilities.

Technology Cost and Schedule Estimation (TCASE) Final Report

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wallace, Jon; Schaffer, Mark

2015-01-01

During the 2014-2015 project year, the focus of the TCASE project has shifted from collection of historical data from many sources to securing a data pipeline between TCASE and NASA's widely used TechPort system. TCASE v1.0 implements a data import solution that was achievable within the project scope, while still providing the basis for a long-term ability to keep TCASE in sync with TechPort. Conclusion: TCASE data quantity is adequate and the established data pipeline will enable future growth. Data quality is now highly dependent the quality of data in TechPort. Recommendation: Technology development organizations within NASA should continue to work closely with project/program data tracking and archiving efforts (e.g. TechPort) to ensure that the right data is being captured at the appropriate quality level. TCASE would greatly benefit, for example, if project cost/budget information was included in TechPort in the future.

An optimized high quality male DNA extraction from spermatophores in open thelycum shrimp species.

PubMed

Planella, Laia; Heras, Sandra; Vera, Manuel; García-Marín, José-Luis; Roldán, María Inés

2017-09-01

The crucial step of most of the current genetic studies is the extraction of DNA of sufficient quantity and quality. Several genomic DNA isolation methods have been described to successfully obtain male DNA from shrimp species. However, all current protocols require invasive handling methods with males for DNA isolation. Using Aristeus antennatus as a model we tested a reliable non-invasive differential DNA extraction method to male DNA isolation from spermatophores attached to female thelycum. The present protocol provides high quality and quantity DNA for polymerase chain reaction amplification and male genotyping. This new approach could be useful to experimental shrimp culture to select sires with relevant genetic patterns for selective breeding programs. More importantly, it can be applied to identify the mating pairs and male structure in wild populations of species as A. antennatus, where males are often difficult to capture. Our method could be also valuable for biological studies on other spermatophore-using species, such as myriapods, arachnids and insects. © 2016 International Society of Zoological Sciences, Institute of Zoology/Chinese Academy of Sciences and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

Use of the Fluidigm C1 platform for RNA sequencing of single mouse pancreatic islet cells.

PubMed

Xin, Yurong; Kim, Jinrang; Ni, Min; Wei, Yi; Okamoto, Haruka; Lee, Joseph; Adler, Christina; Cavino, Katie; Murphy, Andrew J; Yancopoulos, George D; Lin, Hsin Chieh; Gromada, Jesper

2016-03-22

This study provides an assessment of the Fluidigm C1 platform for RNA sequencing of single mouse pancreatic islet cells. The system combines microfluidic technology and nanoliter-scale reactions. We sequenced 622 cells, allowing identification of 341 islet cells with high-quality gene expression profiles. The cells clustered into populations of α-cells (5%), β-cells (92%), δ-cells (1%), and pancreatic polypeptide cells (2%). We identified cell-type-specific transcription factors and pathways primarily involved in nutrient sensing and oxidation and cell signaling. Unexpectedly, 281 cells had to be removed from the analysis due to low viability, low sequencing quality, or contamination resulting in the detection of more than one islet hormone. Collectively, we provide a resource for identification of high-quality gene expression datasets to help expand insights into genes and pathways characterizing islet cell types. We reveal limitations in the C1 Fluidigm cell capture process resulting in contaminated cells with altered gene expression patterns. This calls for caution when interpreting single-cell transcriptomics data using the C1 Fluidigm system.

Time-resolved serial crystallography captures high-resolution intermediates of photoactive yellow protein

DOE PAGES

Tenboer, Jason; Basu, Shibom; Zatsepin, Nadia; ...

2014-12-05

We report that serial femtosecond crystallography using ultrashort pulses from X-ray Free Electron Lasers (XFELs) offers the possibility to study light-triggered dynamics of biomolecules. Using microcrystals of the blue light photoreceptor, photoactive yellow protein, as a model system, we present high resolution, time-resolved difference electron density maps of excellent quality with strong features, which allow the determination of structures of reaction intermediates to 1.6 Å resolution. These results open the way to the study of reversible and non-reversible biological reactions on time scales as short as femtoseconds under conditions which maximize the extent of reaction initiation throughout the crystal.

Metatranscriptomics of Soil Eukaryotic Communities.

PubMed

Yadav, Rajiv K; Bragalini, Claudia; Fraissinet-Tachet, Laurence; Marmeisse, Roland; Luis, Patricia

2016-01-01

Functions expressed by eukaryotic organisms in soil can be specifically studied by analyzing the pool of eukaryotic-specific polyadenylated mRNA directly extracted from environmental samples. In this chapter, we describe two alternative protocols for the extraction of high-quality RNA from soil samples. Total soil RNA or mRNA can be converted to cDNA for direct high-throughput sequencing. Polyadenylated mRNA-derived full-length cDNAs can also be cloned in expression plasmid vectors to constitute soil cDNA libraries, which can be subsequently screened for functional gene categories. Alternatively, the diversity of specific gene families can also be explored following cDNA sequence capture using exploratory oligonucleotide probes.

Fast words boundaries localization in text fields for low quality document images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ilin, Dmitry; Novikov, Dmitriy; Polevoy, Dmitry; Nikolaev, Dmitry

2018-04-01

The paper examines the problem of word boundaries precise localization in document text zones. Document processing on a mobile device consists of document localization, perspective correction, localization of individual fields, finding words in separate zones, segmentation and recognition. While capturing an image with a mobile digital camera under uncontrolled capturing conditions, digital noise, perspective distortions or glares may occur. Further document processing gets complicated because of its specifics: layout elements, complex background, static text, document security elements, variety of text fonts. However, the problem of word boundaries localization has to be solved at runtime on mobile CPU with limited computing capabilities under specified restrictions. At the moment, there are several groups of methods optimized for different conditions. Methods for the scanned printed text are quick but limited only for images of high quality. Methods for text in the wild have an excessively high computational complexity, thus, are hardly suitable for running on mobile devices as part of the mobile document recognition system. The method presented in this paper solves a more specialized problem than the task of finding text on natural images. It uses local features, a sliding window and a lightweight neural network in order to achieve an optimal algorithm speed-precision ratio. The duration of the algorithm is 12 ms per field running on an ARM processor of a mobile device. The error rate for boundaries localization on a test sample of 8000 fields is 0.3

SD-SEM: sparse-dense correspondence for 3D reconstruction of microscopic samples.

PubMed

Baghaie, Ahmadreza; Tafti, Ahmad P; Owen, Heather A; D'Souza, Roshan M; Yu, Zeyun

2017-06-01

Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) imaging has been a principal component of many studies in biomedical, mechanical, and materials sciences since its emergence. Despite the high resolution of captured images, they remain two-dimensional (2D). In this work, a novel framework using sparse-dense correspondence is introduced and investigated for 3D reconstruction of stereo SEM images. SEM micrographs from microscopic samples are captured by tilting the specimen stage by a known angle. The pair of SEM micrographs is then rectified using sparse scale invariant feature transform (SIFT) features/descriptors and a contrario RANSAC for matching outlier removal to ensure a gross horizontal displacement between corresponding points. This is followed by dense correspondence estimation using dense SIFT descriptors and employing a factor graph representation of the energy minimization functional and loopy belief propagation (LBP) as means of optimization. Given the pixel-by-pixel correspondence and the tilt angle of the specimen stage during the acquisition of micrographs, depth can be recovered. Extensive tests reveal the strength of the proposed method for high-quality reconstruction of microscopic samples. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Online Interaction Quality among Adult Learners: The Role of Sense of Belonging and Perceived Learning Benefits

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Diep, Nguyet A.; Cocquyt, Celine; Zhu, Chang; Vanwing, Tom

2017-01-01

The present study employs social cognitive theory (SCT) and social capital as the guiding frameworks to explain online interaction quality among learners in a blended learning program (N = 179). Capturing performance expectancy by perceived learning benefits and online interaction quality with nuanced cognitive measures, the study aims to validate…

Opportunities for Wind Power In Low- and Mid-Quality Resource Regions

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

Lantz, Eric; Mai, Trieu; Heimiller, Donna

2016-05-25

In this presentation for American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) WINDPOWER 2016 conference, the authors discuss wind power today in low and mid-quality resource regions, the anticipated role of wind power in the future electric sector, market potential in low and mid-quality resource regions, and anticipated innovations to capture that market potential.

Continuous counter-current chromatography for capture and polishing steps in biopharmaceutical production.

PubMed

Steinebach, Fabian; Müller-Späth, Thomas; Morbidelli, Massimo

2016-09-01

The economic advantages of continuous processing of biopharmaceuticals, which include smaller equipment and faster, efficient processes, have increased interest in this technology over the past decade. Continuous processes can also improve quality assurance and enable greater controllability, consistent with the quality initiatives of the FDA. Here, we discuss different continuous multi-column chromatography processes. Differences in the capture and polishing steps result in two different types of continuous processes that employ counter-current column movement. Continuous-capture processes are associated with increased productivity per cycle and decreased buffer consumption, whereas the typical purity-yield trade-off of classical batch chromatography can be surmounted by continuous processes for polishing applications. In the context of continuous manufacturing, different but complementary chromatographic columns or devices are typically combined to improve overall process performance and avoid unnecessary product storage. In the following, these various processes, their performances compared with batch processing and resulting product quality are discussed based on a review of the literature. Based on various examples of applications, primarily monoclonal antibody production processes, conclusions are drawn about the future of these continuous-manufacturing technologies. Copyright © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

The capture of heritable variation for genetic quality through social competition.

PubMed

Wolf, Jason B; Harris, W Edwin; Royle, Nick J

2008-09-01

In theory, females of many species choose mates based on traits that are indicators of male genetic quality. A fundamental question in evolutionary biology is why genetic variation for such indicator traits persists despite strong persistent selection imposed by female preference, which is known as the lek paradox. One potential solution to the lek paradox suggests that the traits that are targets of mate choice should evolve condition-dependent expression and that condition should have a large genetic variance. Condition is expected to exhibit high genetic variance because it is affected by a large number of physiological processes and hence, condition-dependent traits should 'capture' variation contributed by a large number of loci. We suggest that a potentially important cause of variation in condition is competition for limited resources. Here, we discuss a pair of models to analyze the evolutionary genetics of traits affected by success in social competition for resources. We show that competition can contribute to genetic variation of 'competition-dependent' traits that have fundamentally different evolutionary properties than other sources of variation. Competition dependence can make traits honest indicators of genetic quality by revealing the relative competitive ability of males, can provide a component of heritable variation that does not contribute to trait evolution, and can help maintain heritable variation under directional selection. Here we provide a general introduction to the concept of competition dependence and briefly introduce two models to demonstrate the potential evolutionary consequences of competition-dependent trait expression.

Textural Analysis and Substrate Classification in the Nearshore Region of Lake Superior Using High-Resolution Multibeam Bathymetry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dennison, Andrew G.

Classification of the seafloor substrate can be done with a variety of methods. These methods include Visual (dives, drop cameras); mechanical (cores, grab samples); acoustic (statistical analysis of echosounder returns). Acoustic methods offer a more powerful and efficient means of collecting useful information about the bottom type. Due to the nature of an acoustic survey, larger areas can be sampled, and by combining the collected data with visual and mechanical survey methods provide greater confidence in the classification of a mapped region. During a multibeam sonar survey, both bathymetric and backscatter data is collected. It is well documented that the statistical characteristic of a sonar backscatter mosaic is dependent on bottom type. While classifying the bottom-type on the basis on backscatter alone can accurately predict and map bottom-type, i.e a muddy area from a rocky area, it lacks the ability to resolve and capture fine textural details, an important factor in many habitat mapping studies. Statistical processing of high-resolution multibeam data can capture the pertinent details about the bottom-type that are rich in textural information. Further multivariate statistical processing can then isolate characteristic features, and provide the basis for an accurate classification scheme. The development of a new classification method is described here. It is based upon the analysis of textural features in conjunction with ground truth sampling. The processing and classification result of two geologically distinct areas in nearshore regions of Lake Superior; off the Lester River,MN and Amnicon River, WI are presented here, using the Minnesota Supercomputer Institute's Mesabi computing cluster for initial processing. Processed data is then calibrated using ground truth samples to conduct an accuracy assessment of the surveyed areas. From analysis of high-resolution bathymetry data collected at both survey sites is was possible to successfully calculate a series of measures that describe textural information about the lake floor. Further processing suggests that the features calculated capture a significant amount of statistical information about the lake floor terrain as well. Two sources of error, an anomalous heave and refraction error significantly deteriorated the quality of the processed data and resulting validate results. Ground truth samples used to validate the classification methods utilized for both survey sites, however, resulted in accuracy values ranging from 5 -30 percent at the Amnicon River, and between 60-70 percent for the Lester River. The final results suggest that this new processing methodology does adequately capture textural information about the lake floor and does provide an acceptable classification in the absence of significant data quality issues.

Cerebral palsy registers and high-quality data: an evaluation of completeness of the 4Child register using capture-recapture techniques.

PubMed

Surman, G; da Silva, A A M; Kurinczuk, J J

2012-01-01

As the survival of very preterm and low-birthweight infants increases, so does the importance of monitoring the birth prevalence of childhood impairments; disease registers provide a means to do so for these rare conditions. High levels of ascertainment for disease research registers have become increasingly difficult to achieve in the face of additional challenges posed by consent and confidentiality issues. 4Child - Four Counties Database of Cerebral Palsy, Vision Loss and Hearing Loss in Children has been collecting data and monitoring these three major childhood impairments since 1984. This study used capture-recapture and related techniques to identify areas which are particularly affected by low ascertainment, to estimate the magnitude of missing cases on the 4Child register and to provide birth prevalence estimates of cerebral palsy which allow for these missing cases. Estimates suggest that while overall around 27% of cerebral palsy cases were not reported to 4Child, ascertainment for severely motor-impaired children (93% complete) and those born in two of the four counties was good (Oxfordshire: 90%, Northamptonshire: 94%). After allowing for missing cases, adjusted estimates of cerebral palsy birth prevalence for 1984-1993 were 3.0 per 1000 live births versus 2.5 per 1000 live births in 1994-2003. Capture-recapture techniques can identify areas of poor ascertainment and add to information around the provision of cerebral palsy birth prevalence estimates. Despite variation in ascertainment over time, capture-recapture estimates supported a decline in cerebral palsy birth prevalence between the earlier and later study periods in the four English counties of the geographical area covered by 4Child. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Individual Differences in Recovery Time From Attentional Capture

PubMed Central

Fukuda, Keisuke; Vogel, Edward K.

2015-01-01

Working memory capacity reflects a core ability of the individual that affects performance on many cognitive tasks. Recent work has suggested that an important covariate of memory capacity is attentional control, and specifically that low-capacity individuals are more susceptible to attentional capture by distractors than high-capacity individuals are, with the latter being able to resist capture. Here, we tested an alternative account according to which all individuals are equally susceptible to attentional capture, but high-capacity individuals recover more quickly than low-capacity individuals. Using psychophysical and electrophysiological methods, we measured recovery time from attentional capture. In two experiments, we found that high- and low-capacity individuals showed equivalent attentional capture effects in the initial moments following capture, but that low-capacity individuals took much longer to recover than high-capacity individuals did. These results suggest that the poor attentional control associated with low capacity is due to slow disengagement from distractors. PMID:21310945

Cotton breeding-challenges and opportunities

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Competition with synthetic fibers is one of the greatest challenges facing today’s cotton industry. Improved fiber quality is essential to increase US cotton’s competitiveness in the global market place. Enhanced fiber quality also offers an opportunity to capture more value from cotton production. ...

Fiber-optic fringe projection with crosstalk reduction by adaptive pattern masking

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Matthias, Steffen; Kästner, Markus; Reithmeier, Eduard

2017-02-01

To enable in-process inspection of industrial manufacturing processes, measuring devices need to fulfill time and space constraints, while also being robust to environmental conditions, such as high temperatures and electromagnetic fields. A new fringe projection profilometry system is being developed, which is capable of performing the inspection of filigree tool geometries, e.g. gearing elements with tip radii of 0.2 mm, inside forming machines of the sheet-bulk metal forming process. Compact gradient-index rod lenses with a diameter of 2 mm allow for a compact design of the sensor head, which is connected to a base unit via flexible high-resolution image fibers with a diameter of 1.7 mm. The base unit houses a flexible DMD based LED projector optimized for fiber coupling and a CMOS camera sensor. The system is capable of capturing up to 150 gray-scale patterns per second as well as high dynamic range images from multiple exposures. Owing to fiber crosstalk and light leakage in the image fiber, signal quality suffers especially when capturing 3-D data of technical surfaces with highly varying reflectance or surface angles. An algorithm is presented, which adaptively masks parts of the pattern to reduce these effects via multiple exposures. The masks for valid surface areas are automatically defined according to different parameters from an initial capture, such as intensity and surface gradient. In a second step, the masks are re-projected to projector coordinates using the mathematical model of the system. This approach is capable of reducing both inter-pixel crosstalk and inter-object reflections on concave objects while maintaining measurement durations of less than 5 s.

Nonintrusive iris image acquisition system based on a pan-tilt-zoom camera and light stripe projection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yoon, Soweon; Jung, Ho Gi; Park, Kang Ryoung; Kim, Jaihie

2009-03-01

Although iris recognition is one of the most accurate biometric technologies, it has not yet been widely used in practical applications. This is mainly due to user inconvenience during the image acquisition phase. Specifically, users try to adjust their eye position within small capture volume at a close distance from the system. To overcome these problems, we propose a novel iris image acquisition system that provides users with unconstrained environments: a large operating range, enabling movement from standing posture, and capturing good-quality iris images in an acceptable time. The proposed system has the following three contributions compared with previous works: (1) the capture volume is significantly increased by using a pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) camera guided by a light stripe projection, (2) the iris location in the large capture volume is found fast due to 1-D vertical face searching from the user's horizontal position obtained by the light stripe projection, and (3) zooming and focusing on the user's irises at a distance are accurate and fast using the estimated 3-D position of a face by the light stripe projection and the PTZ camera. Experimental results show that the proposed system can capture good-quality iris images in 2.479 s on average at a distance of 1.5 to 3 m, while allowing a limited amount of movement by the user.

The methodological quality of systematic reviews of animal studies in dentistry.

PubMed

Faggion, C M; Listl, S; Giannakopoulos, N N

2012-05-01

Systematic reviews and meta-analyses of animal studies are important for improving estimates of the effects of treatment and for guiding future clinical studies on humans. The purpose of this systematic review was to assess the methodological quality of systematic reviews and meta-analyses of animal studies in dentistry through using a validated checklist. A literature search was conducted independently and in duplicate in the PubMed and LILACS databases. References in selected systematic reviews were assessed to identify other studies not captured by the electronic searches. The methodological quality of studies was assessed independently and in duplicate by using the AMSTAR checklist; the quality was scored as low, moderate, or high. The reviewers were calibrated before the assessment and agreement between them was assessed using Cohen's Kappa statistic. Of 444 studies retrieved, 54 systematic reviews were selected after full-text assessment. Agreement between the reviewers was regarded as excellent. Only two studies were scored as high quality; 17 and 35 studies were scored as medium and low quality, respectively. There is room for improvement of the methodological quality of systematic reviews of animal studies in dentistry. Checklists, such as AMSTAR, can guide researchers in planning and executing systematic reviews and meta-analyses. For determining the need for additional investigations in animals and in order to provide good data for potential application in human, such reviews should be based on animal experiments performed according to sound methodological principles. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Estimation of Full-Body Poses Using Only Five Inertial Sensors: An Eager or Lazy Learning Approach?

PubMed Central

Wouda, Frank J.; Giuberti, Matteo; Bellusci, Giovanni; Veltink, Peter H.

2016-01-01

Human movement analysis has become easier with the wide availability of motion capture systems. Inertial sensing has made it possible to capture human motion without external infrastructure, therefore allowing measurements in any environment. As high-quality motion capture data is available in large quantities, this creates possibilities to further simplify hardware setups, by use of data-driven methods to decrease the number of body-worn sensors. In this work, we contribute to this field by analyzing the capabilities of using either artificial neural networks (eager learning) or nearest neighbor search (lazy learning) for such a problem. Sparse orientation features, resulting from sensor fusion of only five inertial measurement units with magnetometers, are mapped to full-body poses. Both eager and lazy learning algorithms are shown to be capable of constructing this mapping. The full-body output poses are visually plausible with an average joint position error of approximately 7 cm, and average joint angle error of 7∘. Additionally, the effects of magnetic disturbances typical in orientation tracking on the estimation of full-body poses was also investigated, where nearest neighbor search showed better performance for such disturbances. PMID:27983676

Estimation of Full-Body Poses Using Only Five Inertial Sensors: An Eager or Lazy Learning Approach?

PubMed

Wouda, Frank J; Giuberti, Matteo; Bellusci, Giovanni; Veltink, Peter H

2016-12-15

Human movement analysis has become easier with the wide availability of motion capture systems. Inertial sensing has made it possible to capture human motion without external infrastructure, therefore allowing measurements in any environment. As high-quality motion capture data is available in large quantities, this creates possibilities to further simplify hardware setups, by use of data-driven methods to decrease the number of body-worn sensors. In this work, we contribute to this field by analyzing the capabilities of using either artificial neural networks (eager learning) or nearest neighbor search (lazy learning) for such a problem. Sparse orientation features, resulting from sensor fusion of only five inertial measurement units with magnetometers, are mapped to full-body poses. Both eager and lazy learning algorithms are shown to be capable of constructing this mapping. The full-body output poses are visually plausible with an average joint position error of approximately 7 cm, and average joint angle error of 7 ∘ . Additionally, the effects of magnetic disturbances typical in orientation tracking on the estimation of full-body poses was also investigated, where nearest neighbor search showed better performance for such disturbances.

Integrated Spacesuit Audio System Enhances Speech Quality and Reduces Noise

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Huang, Yiteng Arden; Chen, Jingdong; Chen, Shaoyan Sharyl

2009-01-01

A new approach has been proposed for increasing astronaut comfort and speech capture. Currently, the special design of a spacesuit forms an extreme acoustic environment making it difficult to capture clear speech without compromising comfort. The proposed Integrated Spacesuit Audio (ISA) system is to incorporate the microphones into the helmet and use software to extract voice signals from background noise.

Adoption of high technology medical imaging and hospital quality and efficiency: Towards a conceptual framework.

PubMed

Sandoval, Guillermo A; Brown, Adalsteinn D; Wodchis, Walter P; Anderson, Geoffrey M

2018-05-17

Measuring the value of medical imaging is challenging, in part, due to the lack of conceptual frameworks underlying potential mechanisms where value may be assessed. To address this gap, this article proposes a framework that builds on the large body of literature on quality of hospital care and the classic structure-process-outcome paradigm. The framework was also informed by the literature on adoption of technological innovations and introduces 2 distinct though related aspects of imaging technology not previously addressed specifically in the literature on quality of hospital care: adoption (a structural hospital characteristic) and use (an attribute of the process of care). The framework hypothesizes a 2-part causality where adoption is proposed to be a central, linking factor between hospital structural characteristics, market factors, and hospital outcomes (ie, quality and efficiency). The first part indicates that hospital structural characteristics and market factors influence or facilitate the adoption of high technology medical imaging within an institution. The presence of this technology, in turn, is hypothesized to improve the ability of the hospital to deliver high quality and efficient care. The second part describes this ability throughout 3 main mechanisms pointing to the importance of imaging use on patients, to the presence of staff and qualified care providers, and to some elements of organizational capacity capturing an enhanced clinical environment. The framework has the potential to assist empirical investigations of the value of adoption and use of medical imaging, and to advance understanding of the mechanisms that produce quality and efficiency in hospitals. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Non-pest prey do not disrupt aphid predation by a web-building spider.

PubMed

Welch, K D; Whitney, T D; Harwood, J D

2016-02-01

A generalist predator's ability to contribute to biological control is influenced by the decisions it makes during foraging. Predators often use flexible foraging tactics, which allows them to pursue specific types of prey at the cost of reducing the likelihood of capturing other types of prey. When a pest insect has low nutritional quality or palatability for a predator, the predator is likely to reject that prey in favour of pursuing alternative, non-pest prey. This is often thought to limit the effectiveness of generalist predators in consuming aphids, which are of low nutritional quality for many generalist predators. Here, we report behavioural assays that test the hypothesis that the generalist predator, Grammonota inornata (Araneae: Linyphiidae), preferentially forages for a non-pest prey with high nutritional quality (springtails), and rejects a pest prey with low nutritional quality (aphids). In no-choice assays, molecular gut-content analysis revealed that spiders continued to feed on the low-quality aphids at high rates, even when high-quality springtails were readily available. When provided a choice between aphids and springtails in two-way choice tests, spiders did not show the expected preference for springtails. Decision-making by spiders during foraging therefore appears to be sub-optimal, possibly because of attraction to the less frequently encountered of two preys as part of a dietary diversification strategy. These results indicate that behavioural preferences alone do not necessarily compromise the pest-suppression capacity of natural enemies: even nutritionally sub-optimal pest prey can potentially be subject to predation and suppression by natural enemies.

Do s-Process Enhanced Planetary Nebulae Have Unusual Dust Emission Spectra?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dinerstein, Harriet; Sellgren, Kris; Sterling, Nicholas

2006-05-01

We propose to obtain IRS observations of the mid-infrared dust emission of a sample of Galactic planetary nebulae (PNs) which are known to have enrichments of elements produced in the precursor star by slow neutron-capture nucleosynthesis (the "s-process"). These enhanced abundances result from captures of free neutrons by Fe-peak nuclei following by convective mixing during the AGB; this "third dredge-up" is also responsible for increasing the surface abundance of carbon. Since PNs are the descendants of AGB stars and are often C-rich, it is not surprising that we find substantial enrichments of s-process products such as Ge, Se, and Kr in some PNs. Despite their low initial abundances, 1e-9 to 1e-10 times H, modest enrichments of neutron-capture elements can have observable effects. The spectral type S, a transitional class between O-rich and C-rich AGB stars, is characterized by prominent ZrO bands; Zr is produced in the s-process. We have attempted, without success, to detect gas-phase Zr in PNs. However, Zr is highly refractory. It can condense into ZrO2 or be incorporated into high-temperature rocky condensates in O-rich environments, while in C-rich environments it may form metallic carbides (i.e. ZrC, an analog of TiC). Indeed, Zr-Mo carbide inclusions found in some meteoritic presolar grains are thought to originate in the atmospheres of C-rich AGB stars. Other refractory s-process products (e.g. Sr, Ba) may also be incorporated into grains. High-quality Spitzer spectra of the dust emission in a set of PNs with known s-process enhancements - determined by us from gas-phase measurements of undepleted elements - will be valuable for comparison with laboratory spectroscopy of grain analogs. These comparisons will help determine whether the dredge-up of n-capture products affects the dust chemistry of PNs and may offer some new insights into the dust composition.

Clinical trials for treating recurrent head and neck cancer with boron neutron capture therapy using the Tsing-Hua Open Pool Reactor.

PubMed

Wang, Ling-Wei; Liu, Yen-Wan Hsueh; Chou, Fong-In; Jiang, Shiang-Huei

2018-06-19

Head and neck (HN) cancer is an endemic disease in Taiwan, China. Locally recurrent HN cancer after full-dose irradiation poses a therapeutic challenge, and boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) may be a solution that could provide durable local control with tolerable toxicity. The Tsing-Hua Open Pool Reactor (THOR) at National Tsing-Hua University in Hsin-Chu, provides a high-quality epithermal neutron source for basic and clinical BNCT research. Our first clinical trial, entitled "A phase I/II trial of boron neutron capture therapy for recurrent head and neck cancer at THOR", was carried out between 2010 and 2013. A total of 17 patients with 23 recurrent HN tumors who had received high-dose photon irradiation were enrolled in the study. The fructose complex of L-boronophenylalanine was used as a boron carrier, and a two-fraction BNCT treatment regimen at 28-day intervals was used for each patient. Toxicity was acceptable, and although the response rate was high (12/17), re-recurrence within or near the radiation site was common. To obtain better local control, another clinical trial entitled "A phase I/II trial of boron neutron capture therapy combined with image-guided intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IG-IMRT) for locally recurrent HN cancer" was initiated in 2014. The first administration of BNCT was performed according to our previous protocol, and IG-IMRT was initiated 28 days after BNCT. As of May 2017, seven patients have been treated with this combination. The treatment-related toxicity was similar to that previously observed with two BNCT applications. Three patients had a complete response, but locoregional recurrence was the major cause of failure despite initially good responses. Future clinical trials combining BNCT with other local or systemic treatments will be carried out for recurrent HN cancer patients at THOR.

The new opt-out Dutch National Breast Implant Registry - Lessons learnt from the road to implementation.

PubMed

Rakhorst, Hinne A; Mureau, Marc A M; Cooter, Rodney D; McNeil, John; van Hooff, Miranda; van der Hulst, René; Hommes, Juliette; Hoornweg, Marije; Moojen-Zaal, Laura; Liem, Patricia; Mathijssen, Irene M J

2017-10-01

An estimated 1-3% of all women in the Netherlands carry breast implants. Since the introduction five decades ago, problems with a variety of breast implants have emerged with direct consequences for the patients' health. Plastic surgeons worldwide reacted through campaigning for auditing on long-term implant quality, surgeon performance, and institutional outcomes in implant registries. Especially, the PIP implant scandal of 2010 demonstrated the paucity of epidemiological data and uncovered a weakness in our ability to even 'track and trace' patients. In addition, a recent report of the Dutch Institute of National Health showed a lack of compliance of 100% of breast implant producers to CE requirements. These arguments stress the need for an independent implant registry. Insufficient capture rates or dependence from the implant producers made the variety of national and international patient registries unreliable. The Dutch Breast Implant Registry (DBIR) is unique because it is an opt-out registry without the need for informed consent and thus a high capture rate. Furthermore, an estimated 95% of breast implants are implanted by board-certified plastic surgeons. Funding was received from a non-governmental organisation to increase the quality of health care in the Netherlands, and maintenance is gathered by 25 euros per implant inserted. This article describes the way the Dutch have set up their system, with special attention to the well-known hurdles of starting a patient registry. Examples include: funding, medical ethical issues, opt out system, benchmarking, quality assurance as well as governance and collaboration. The Dutch consider their experience and data shareware for others to be used globally to the benefit of patient safety and quality improvement. Copyright © 2017 British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Flight test of the X-29A at high angle of attack: Flight dynamics and controls

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bauer, Jeffrey E.; Clarke, Robert; Burken, John J.

1995-01-01

The NASA Dryden Flight Research Center has flight tested two X-29A aircraft at low and high angles of attack. The high-angle-of-attack tests evaluate the feasibility of integrated X-29A technologies. More specific objectives focus on evaluating the high-angle-of-attack flying qualities, defining multiaxis controllability limits, and determining the maximum pitch-pointing capability. A pilot-selectable gain system allows examination of tradeoffs in airplane stability and maneuverability. Basic fighter maneuvers provide qualitative evaluation. Bank angle captures permit qualitative data analysis. This paper discusses the design goals and approach for high-angle-of-attack control laws and provides results from the envelope expansion and handling qualities testing at intermediate angles of attack. Comparisons of the flight test results to the predictions are made where appropriate. The pitch rate command structure of the longitudinal control system is shown to be a valid design for high-angle-of-attack control laws. Flight test results show that wing rock amplitude was overpredicted and aileron and rudder effectiveness were underpredicted. Flight tests show the X-29A airplane to be a good aircraft up to 40 deg angle of attack.

Automated Identification of River Hydromorphological Features Using UAV High Resolution Aerial Imagery.

PubMed

Casado, Monica Rivas; Gonzalez, Rocio Ballesteros; Kriechbaumer, Thomas; Veal, Amanda

2015-11-04

European legislation is driving the development of methods for river ecosystem protection in light of concerns over water quality and ecology. Key to their success is the accurate and rapid characterisation of physical features (i.e., hydromorphology) along the river. Image pattern recognition techniques have been successfully used for this purpose. The reliability of the methodology depends on both the quality of the aerial imagery and the pattern recognition technique used. Recent studies have proved the potential of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) to increase the quality of the imagery by capturing high resolution photography. Similarly, Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) have been shown to be a high precision tool for automated recognition of environmental patterns. This paper presents a UAV based framework for the identification of hydromorphological features from high resolution RGB aerial imagery using a novel classification technique based on ANNs. The framework is developed for a 1.4 km river reach along the river Dee in Wales, United Kingdom. For this purpose, a Falcon 8 octocopter was used to gather 2.5 cm resolution imagery. The results show that the accuracy of the framework is above 81%, performing particularly well at recognising vegetation. These results leverage the use of UAVs for environmental policy implementation and demonstrate the potential of ANNs and RGB imagery for high precision river monitoring and river management.

Toward youth self-report of health and quality of life in population monitoring.

PubMed

Topolski, Tari D; Edwards, Todd C; Patrick, Donald L

2004-01-01

This paper addresses population monitoring of youth health and quality of life, including the concepts used, methodological and practical criteria for indicators, and existing surveys and measures. Current population surveys of youth generally focus on poor health, such as disability or health-risk behaviors. Although these are important end points, indicators of illness or risk do not reflect the health or life perspective of the majority of youth who do not experience health problems. The measures used to monitor youth health should be appropriate and sensitive to future needs and capture the perspectives of youths. Two potential concepts for this "scorecard" are self-perceived health and quality of life, which have been shown to be useful in adults. For youth, the quality of life framework seems particularly relevant as it incorporates both positive and negative aspects of health and well-being and also captures salient aspects of health other than physical health, such as sense of self, social relationships, environment and culture, and life satisfaction.

Quantitative metrics for assessment of chemical image quality and spatial resolution

DOE PAGES

Kertesz, Vilmos; Cahill, John F.; Van Berkel, Gary J.

2016-02-28

Rationale: Currently objective/quantitative descriptions of the quality and spatial resolution of mass spectrometry derived chemical images are not standardized. Development of these standardized metrics is required to objectively describe chemical imaging capabilities of existing and/or new mass spectrometry imaging technologies. Such metrics would allow unbiased judgment of intra-laboratory advancement and/or inter-laboratory comparison for these technologies if used together with standardized surfaces. Methods: We developed two image metrics, viz., chemical image contrast (ChemIC) based on signal-to-noise related statistical measures on chemical image pixels and corrected resolving power factor (cRPF) constructed from statistical analysis of mass-to-charge chronograms across features of interest inmore » an image. These metrics, quantifying chemical image quality and spatial resolution, respectively, were used to evaluate chemical images of a model photoresist patterned surface collected using a laser ablation/liquid vortex capture mass spectrometry imaging system under different instrument operational parameters. Results: The calculated ChemIC and cRPF metrics determined in an unbiased fashion the relative ranking of chemical image quality obtained with the laser ablation/liquid vortex capture mass spectrometry imaging system. These rankings were used to show that both chemical image contrast and spatial resolution deteriorated with increasing surface scan speed, increased lane spacing and decreasing size of surface features. Conclusions: ChemIC and cRPF, respectively, were developed and successfully applied for the objective description of chemical image quality and spatial resolution of chemical images collected from model surfaces using a laser ablation/liquid vortex capture mass spectrometry imaging system.« less

Quantitative metrics for assessment of chemical image quality and spatial resolution

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

Kertesz, Vilmos; Cahill, John F.; Van Berkel, Gary J.

Rationale: Currently objective/quantitative descriptions of the quality and spatial resolution of mass spectrometry derived chemical images are not standardized. Development of these standardized metrics is required to objectively describe chemical imaging capabilities of existing and/or new mass spectrometry imaging technologies. Such metrics would allow unbiased judgment of intra-laboratory advancement and/or inter-laboratory comparison for these technologies if used together with standardized surfaces. Methods: We developed two image metrics, viz., chemical image contrast (ChemIC) based on signal-to-noise related statistical measures on chemical image pixels and corrected resolving power factor (cRPF) constructed from statistical analysis of mass-to-charge chronograms across features of interest inmore » an image. These metrics, quantifying chemical image quality and spatial resolution, respectively, were used to evaluate chemical images of a model photoresist patterned surface collected using a laser ablation/liquid vortex capture mass spectrometry imaging system under different instrument operational parameters. Results: The calculated ChemIC and cRPF metrics determined in an unbiased fashion the relative ranking of chemical image quality obtained with the laser ablation/liquid vortex capture mass spectrometry imaging system. These rankings were used to show that both chemical image contrast and spatial resolution deteriorated with increasing surface scan speed, increased lane spacing and decreasing size of surface features. Conclusions: ChemIC and cRPF, respectively, were developed and successfully applied for the objective description of chemical image quality and spatial resolution of chemical images collected from model surfaces using a laser ablation/liquid vortex capture mass spectrometry imaging system.« less

Successful Application of Microarray Technology to Microdissected Formalin-Fixed, Paraffin-Embedded Tissue

PubMed Central

Coudry, Renata A.; Meireles, Sibele I.; Stoyanova, Radka; Cooper, Harry S.; Carpino, Alan; Wang, Xianqun; Engstrom, Paul F.; Clapper, Margie L.

2007-01-01

The establishment of a reliable method for using RNA from formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue would provide an opportunity to obtain novel gene expression data from the vast amounts of archived tissue. A custom-designed 22,000 oligonucleotide array was used in the present study to compare the gene expression profile of colonic epithelial cells isolated by laser capture microdissection from FFPE-archived samples with that of the same cell population from matched frozen samples, the preferred source of RNA. Total RNA was extracted from FFPE tissues, amplified, and labeled using the Paradise Reagent System. The quality of the input RNA was assessed by the Bioanalyzer profile, reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction, and agarose gel electrophoresis. The results demonstrate that it is possible to obtain reliable microarray data from FFPE samples using RNA acquired by laser capture microdissection. The concordance between matched FFPE and frozen samples was evaluated and expressed as a Pearson’s correlation coefficient, with values ranging from 0.80 to 0.97. The presence of ribosomal RNA peaks in FFPE-derived RNA was reflected by a high correlation with paired frozen samples. A set of practical recommendations for evaluating the RNA integrity and quality in FFPE samples is reported. PMID:17251338

Cistern and planter box monitoring in Camden, NJ revisited ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

The Camden County Municipal Utilities Authority installed green infrastructure Stormwater Control Measures at multiple locations around the city of Camden, NJ. The Stormwater Control Measures include raised downspout planter boxes and cisterns. EPA is monitoring a subset of the locations to document the performance of individual Stormwater Control Measures. The selected monitoring sites include two sets of raised downspout planter boxes and five cisterns. These Stormwater Control Measures are being monitored: to investigate their hydrologic performances, to document water consumption patterns of cisterns for a better understanding of the supply and demand relationship, and to analyze cistern water quality. The continuous electronic monitoring devices included time domain reflectometers, rain gauges and pressure transducers. EPA decided to monitor these Stormwater Control Measures for three years and second year monitoring is ongoing. Monitoring data present the internal water flow patterns and media saturation frequency of the raised planter boxes and the capture ratio, water use patterns and water quality analysis of cisterns. Second year monitoring shows larger capture ratio for cisterns compared to the first year data and higher metal concentration at one site. The high metal concentration was later resolved by flushing the cistern and resampling. The presentation will summarize the comparison between first and second year data, providing results from the

Water quality monitoring using an automated portable fiber optic biosensor: RAPTOR

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anderson, George P.; Rowe-Taitt, Chris A.

2001-03-01

The RAPTOR is a portable, automated biosensor capable of performing rapid, ten-minute assays on a sample for four target analytes simultaneously. Samples are analyzed using a fluorescent sandwich immunoassay on the surface of short polystyrene optical probes with capture antibody adsorbed to the probe surface. Target analytes bound to the fiber by capture antibodies are detected with fluorescently labeled tracer antibodies, which are held in a separate reservoir. Since target recognition is a two-step process, selectivity is enhanced, and the optical probes can be reused up to forty times, or until a positive result is obtained. This greatly reduces the logistical burden for field operations. Numerous assays for toxins, such as SEB and ricin, and bacteria, such as Bacillus anthracis and Francisella tularensis, have been developed for the RAPTOR. An assay of particular interest for water quality monitoring and the screening of fruits and vegetables is detection of Giardia cysts. Giardia lamblia is a parasitic protozoan common in the developing world that causes severe intestinal infections. Thus, a simple field assay for screening water supplies would be highly useful. Such an assay has been developed using the RAPTOR. The detection limit for Giardia cysts was 5x104/ml for a 10-minute assay.

Deblurring sequential ocular images from multi-spectral imaging (MSI) via mutual information.

PubMed

Lian, Jian; Zheng, Yuanjie; Jiao, Wanzhen; Yan, Fang; Zhao, Bojun

2018-06-01

Multi-spectral imaging (MSI) produces a sequence of spectral images to capture the inner structure of different species, which was recently introduced into ocular disease diagnosis. However, the quality of MSI images can be significantly degraded by motion blur caused by the inevitable saccades and exposure time required for maintaining a sufficiently high signal-to-noise ratio. This degradation may confuse an ophthalmologist, reduce the examination quality, or defeat various image analysis algorithms. We propose an early work specially on deblurring sequential MSI images, which is distinguished from many of the current image deblurring techniques by resolving the blur kernel simultaneously for all the images in an MSI sequence. It is accomplished by incorporating several a priori constraints including the sharpness of the latent clear image, the spatial and temporal smoothness of the blur kernel and the similarity between temporally-neighboring images in MSI sequence. Specifically, we model the similarity between MSI images with mutual information considering the different wavelengths used for capturing different images in MSI sequence. The optimization of the proposed approach is based on a multi-scale framework and stepwise optimization strategy. Experimental results from 22 MSI sequences validate that our approach outperforms several state-of-the-art techniques in natural image deblurring.

Compact Hyperspectral Imaging System (cosi) for Small Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (rpas) - System Overview and First Performance Evaluation Results

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sima, A. A.; Baeck, P.; Nuyts, D.; Delalieux, S.; Livens, S.; Blommaert, J.; Delauré, B.; Boonen, M.

2016-06-01

This paper gives an overview of the new COmpact hyperSpectral Imaging (COSI) system recently developed at the Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO, Belgium) and suitable for remotely piloted aircraft systems. A hyperspectral dataset captured from a multirotor platform over a strawberry field is presented and explored in order to assess spectral bands co-registration quality. Thanks to application of line based interference filters deposited directly on the detector wafer the COSI camera is compact and lightweight (total mass of 500g), and captures 72 narrow (FWHM: 5nm to 10 nm) bands in the spectral range of 600-900 nm. Covering the region of red edge (680 nm to 730 nm) allows for deriving plant chlorophyll content, biomass and hydric status indicators, making the camera suitable for agriculture purposes. Additionally to the orthorectified hypercube digital terrain model can be derived enabling various analyses requiring object height, e.g. plant height in vegetation growth monitoring. Geometric data quality assessment proves that the COSI camera and the dedicated data processing chain are capable to deliver very high resolution data (centimetre level) where spectral information can be correctly derived. Obtained results are comparable or better than results reported in similar studies for an alternative system based on the Fabry-Pérot interferometer.

Evaluation of Day and Nighttime Lower Tropospheric Ozone from Air Quality Models using TES and Ozonesondes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Osterman, G. B.; Neu, J. L.; Eldering, A.; Pinder, R. W.; Tang, Y.; McQueen, J.

2012-12-01

At night, ozone can be transported long distances above the surface inversion layer without chemical destruction or deposition. As the boundary layer breaks up in the morning, this nocturnal ozone can be mixed down to the surface and rapidly increase ozone concentrations at a rate that can rival chemical ozone production. Most regional scale models that are used for air quality forecasts and ozone source attribution do not adequately capture nighttime ozone concentrations and transport. We combine ozone profile data from the NASA Earth Observing System (EOS) Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer (TES) and other sensors, ozonesonde data collected during the INTEX Ozonesonde Network Study (IONS), EPA AirNow ground station ozone data, the Community Multi-Scale Air Quality (CMAQ) model, and the National Air Quality Forecast Capability (NAQFC) model to examine air quality events during August 2006. We present both aggregated statistics and case-study analyses that assess the relationship between the models' ability to reproduce surface air quality events and their ability to capture the vertical distribution of ozone both during the day and at night. We perform the comparisons looking at the geospatial dependence in the differences between the measurements and models under different surface ozone conditions.

Portable low-cost devices for videotaping, editing, and displaying field-sequential stereoscopic motion pictures and video

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Starks, Michael R.

1990-09-01

A variety of low cost devices for capturing, editing and displaying field sequential 60 cycle stereoscopic video have recently been marketed by 3D TV Corp. and others. When properly used, they give very high quality images with most consumer and professional equipment. Our stereoscopic multiplexers for creating and editing field sequential video in NTSC or component(SVHS, Betacain, RGB) and Home 3D Theater system employing LCD eyeglasses have made 3D movies and television available to a large audience.

Identification of Important Parameter from Leachate Solid Waste Landfill on Water Quality, Case Study of Pesanggrahan River

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yanidar, R.; Hartono, D. M.; Moersidik, S. S.

2018-03-01

Cipayung Landfill takes waste generation from Depok City approximately ± 750 tons/day of solid waste. The south and west boundaries of the landfill is Pesanggarahan River which 200m faraway. The objectives of this study are to indicate an important parameter which greatly affects the water quality of Pesanggrahan River and purpose the dynamic model for improving our understanding of the dynamic behavior that captures the interactions and feedbacks important parameter in river in order to identify and assess the effects of the treated leachate from final solid waste disposal activity as it responds to changes over time in the river. The high concentrations of BOD and COD are not the only cause significantly affect the quality of the pesanggrahan water, it also because the river has been contaminated in the upstream area. It need the water quality model to support the effectiveness calculation of activities for preventing a selected the pollutant sources the model should be developed for simulating and predicting the trend of water quality performance in Pesanggrahan River which can potentially be used by policy makers in strategic management to sustain river water quality as raw drinking water.

Mesh quality control for multiply-refined tetrahedral grids

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Biswas, Rupak; Strawn, Roger

1994-01-01

A new algorithm for controlling the quality of multiply-refined tetrahedral meshes is presented in this paper. The basic dynamic mesh adaption procedure allows localized grid refinement and coarsening to efficiently capture aerodynamic flow features in computational fluid dynamics problems; however, repeated application of the procedure may significantly deteriorate the quality of the mesh. Results presented show the effectiveness of this mesh quality algorithm and its potential in the area of helicopter aerodynamics and acoustics.

TH-CD-201-10: Highly Efficient Synchronized High-Speed Scintillation Camera System for Measuring Proton Range, SOBP and Dose Distributions in a 2D-Plane

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

Goddu, S; Sun, B; Grantham, K

2016-06-15

Purpose: Proton therapy (PT) delivery is complex and extremely dynamic. Therefore, quality assurance testing is vital, but highly time-consuming. We have developed a High-Speed Scintillation-Camera-System (HS-SCS) for simultaneously measuring multiple beam characteristics. Methods: High-speed camera was placed in a light-tight housing and dual-layer neutron shield. HS-SCS is synchronized with a synchrocyclotron to capture individual proton-beam-pulses (PBPs) at ∼504 frames/sec. The PBPs from synchrocyclotron trigger the HS-SCS to open its shutter for programmed exposure-time. Light emissions within 30×30×5cm3 plastic-scintillator (BC-408) were captured by a CCD-camera as individual images revealing dose-deposition in a 2D-plane with a resolution of 0.7mm for range andmore » SOBP measurements and 1.67mm for profiles. The CCD response as well as signal to noise ratio (SNR) was characterized for varying exposure times, gains for different light intensities using a TV-Optoliner system. Software tools were developed to analyze ∼5000 images to extract different beam parameters. Quenching correction-factors were established by comparing scintillation Bragg-Peaks with water scanned ionization-chamber measurements. Quenching corrected Bragg-peaks were integrated to ascertain proton-beam range (PBR), width of Spared-Out-Bragg-Peak (MOD) and distal.« less

Effects of using structured templates for recalling chemistry experiments.

PubMed

Willoughby, Cerys; Logothetis, Thomas A; Frey, Jeremy G

2016-01-01

The way that we recall information is dependent upon both the knowledge in our memories and the conditions under which we recall the information. Electronic Laboratory Notebooks can provide a structured interface for the capture of experiment records through the use of forms and templates. These templates can be useful by providing cues to help researchers to remember to record particular aspects of their experiment, but they may also constrain the information that is recorded by encouraging them to record only what is asked for. It is therefore unknown whether using structured templates for capturing experiment records will have positive or negative effects on the quality and usefulness of the records for assessment and future use. In this paper we report on the results of a set of studies investigating the effects of different template designs on the recording of experiments by undergraduate students and academic researchers. The results indicate that using structured templates to write up experiments does make a significant difference to the information that is recalled and recorded. These differences have both positive and negative effects, with templates prompting the capture of specific information that is otherwise forgotten, but also apparently losing some of the personal elements of the experiment experience such as observations and explanations. Other unexpected effects were seen with templates that can change the information that is captured, but also interfere with the way an experiment is conducted. Our results showed that using structured templates can improve the completeness of the experiment context information captured but can also cause a loss of personal elements of the experiment experience when compared with allowing the researcher to structure their own record. The results suggest that interfaces for recording information about chemistry experiments, whether paper-based questionnaires or templates in Electronic Laboratory Notebooks, can be an effective way to improve the quality of experiment write-ups, but that care needs to be taken to ensure that the correct cues are provided.Graphical abstractScientists have traditionally recorded their research in paper notebooks, a format that provides great flexibility for capturing information. In contrast, Electronic Laboratory Notebooks frequently make use of forms or structured templates for capturing experiment records. Structured templates can provide cues that can improve record quality by increasing the amount of information captured and encouraging consistency. However, using the wrong cues can lead to a loss of personal elements of the experiment experience and frustrate users. This image shows two participants from one of our studies recording their experiment using a computer-based template.

Sequence Capture versus Restriction Site Associated DNA Sequencing for Shallow Systematics.

PubMed

Harvey, Michael G; Smith, Brian Tilston; Glenn, Travis C; Faircloth, Brant C; Brumfield, Robb T

2016-09-01

Sequence capture and restriction site associated DNA sequencing (RAD-Seq) are two genomic enrichment strategies for applying next-generation sequencing technologies to systematics studies. At shallow timescales, such as within species, RAD-Seq has been widely adopted among researchers, although there has been little discussion of the potential limitations and benefits of RAD-Seq and sequence capture. We discuss a series of issues that may impact the utility of sequence capture and RAD-Seq data for shallow systematics in non-model species. We review prior studies that used both methods, and investigate differences between the methods by re-analyzing existing RAD-Seq and sequence capture data sets from a Neotropical bird (Xenops minutus). We suggest that the strengths of RAD-Seq data sets for shallow systematics are the wide dispersion of markers across the genome, the relative ease and cost of laboratory work, the deep coverage and read overlap at recovered loci, and the high overall information that results. Sequence capture's benefits include flexibility and repeatability in the genomic regions targeted, success using low-quality samples, more straightforward read orthology assessment, and higher per-locus information content. The utility of a method in systematics, however, rests not only on its performance within a study, but on the comparability of data sets and inferences with those of prior work. In RAD-Seq data sets, comparability is compromised by low overlap of orthologous markers across species and the sensitivity of genetic diversity in a data set to an interaction between the level of natural heterozygosity in the samples examined and the parameters used for orthology assessment. In contrast, sequence capture of conserved genomic regions permits interrogation of the same loci across divergent species, which is preferable for maintaining comparability among data sets and studies for the purpose of drawing general conclusions about the impact of historical processes across biotas. We argue that sequence capture should be given greater attention as a method of obtaining data for studies in shallow systematics and comparative phylogeography. © The Author(s) 2016. Published by Oxford University Press, on behalf of the Society of Systematic Biologists. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Image Quality in High-resolution and High-cadence Solar Imaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Denker, C.; Dineva, E.; Balthasar, H.; Verma, M.; Kuckein, C.; Diercke, A.; González Manrique, S. J.

2018-03-01

Broad-band imaging and even imaging with a moderate bandpass (about 1 nm) provides a photon-rich environment, where frame selection (lucky imaging) becomes a helpful tool in image restoration, allowing us to perform a cost-benefit analysis on how to design observing sequences for imaging with high spatial resolution in combination with real-time correction provided by an adaptive optics (AO) system. This study presents high-cadence (160 Hz) G-band and blue continuum image sequences obtained with the High-resolution Fast Imager (HiFI) at the 1.5-meter GREGOR solar telescope, where the speckle-masking technique is used to restore images with nearly diffraction-limited resolution. The HiFI employs two synchronized large-format and high-cadence sCMOS detectors. The median filter gradient similarity (MFGS) image-quality metric is applied, among others, to AO-corrected image sequences of a pore and a small sunspot observed on 2017 June 4 and 5. A small region of interest, which was selected for fast-imaging performance, covered these contrast-rich features and their neighborhood, which were part of Active Region NOAA 12661. Modifications of the MFGS algorithm uncover the field- and structure-dependency of this image-quality metric. However, MFGS still remains a good choice for determining image quality without a priori knowledge, which is an important characteristic when classifying the huge number of high-resolution images contained in data archives. In addition, this investigation demonstrates that a fast cadence and millisecond exposure times are still insufficient to reach the coherence time of daytime seeing. Nonetheless, the analysis shows that data acquisition rates exceeding 50 Hz are required to capture a substantial fraction of the best seeing moments, significantly boosting the performance of post-facto image restoration.

Bristle-sensors—low-cost flexible passive dry EEG electrodes for neurofeedback and BCI applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grozea, Cristian; Voinescu, Catalin D.; Fazli, Siamac

2011-04-01

In this paper, we present a new, low-cost dry electrode for EEG that is made of flexible metal-coated polymer bristles. We examine various standard EEG paradigms, such as capturing occipital alpha rhythms, testing for event-related potentials in an auditory oddball paradigm and performing a sensory motor rhythm-based event-related (de-) synchronization paradigm to validate the performance of the novel electrodes in terms of signal quality. Our findings suggest that the dry electrodes that we developed result in high-quality EEG recordings and are thus suitable for a wide range of EEG studies and BCI applications. Furthermore, due to the flexibility of the novel electrodes, greater comfort is achieved in some subjects, this being essential for long-term use.

Effects of mass airflow rate through an open-circuit gas quantification system when measuring carbon emissions.

PubMed

Gunter, Stacey A; Bradford, James A; Moffet, Corey A

2017-01-01

Methane (CH) and carbon dioxide (CO) represent 11 and 81%, respectively, of all anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. Agricultural CH emissions account for approximately 43% of all anthropogenic CH emissions. Most agricultural CH emissions are attributed to enteric fermentation within ruminant livestock; hence, the heightened interest in quantifying and mitigating this source. The automated, open-circuit gas quantification system (GQS; GreenFeed, C-Lock, Inc., Rapid City, SD) evaluated here can be placed in a pasture with grazing cattle and can measure their CH and CO emissions with spot sampling. However, improper management of the GQS can have an erroneous effect on emission estimates. One factor affecting the quality of emission estimates is the airflow rates through the GQS to ensure a complete capture of the breath cloud emitted by the animal. It is hypothesized that at lower airflow rates this cloud will be incompletely captured. To evaluate the effect of airflow rate through the GQS on emission estimates, a data set was evaluated with 758 CO and CH emission estimates with a range in airflows of 10.7 to 36.6 L/s. When airflow through the GQS was between 26.0 and 36.6 L/s, CO and CH emission estimates were not affected ( = 0.14 and 0.05, respectively). When airflow rates were less than 26.0 L/s, CO and CH emission estimates were lower and decreased as airflow rate decreased ( < 0.0001). We hypothesize that when airflow through the GQS decreases below 26 L/s, breath capture was incomplete and CO and CH emissions are underestimated. Maintaining mass airflow through a GQS at rates greater than 26 L/s is important for producing high quality CO and CH emission estimates.

Sensitivity to value-driven attention is predicted by how we learn from value.

PubMed

Jahfari, Sara; Theeuwes, Jan

2017-04-01

Reward learning is known to influence the automatic capture of attention. This study examined how the rate of learning, after high- or low-value reward outcomes, can influence future transfers into value-driven attentional capture. Participants performed an instrumental learning task that was directly followed by an attentional capture task. A hierarchical Bayesian reinforcement model was used to infer individual differences in learning from high or low reward. Results showed a strong relationship between high-reward learning rates (or the weight that is put on learning after a high reward) and the magnitude of attentional capture with high-reward colors. Individual differences in learning from high or low rewards were further related to performance differences when high- or low-value distractors were present. These findings provide novel insight into the development of value-driven attentional capture by showing how information updating after desired or undesired outcomes can influence future deployments of automatic attention.

A network-based method to evaluate quality of reproducibility of differential expression in cancer genomics studies

PubMed Central

Geng, Haijiang; Li, Zhihui; Li, Jiabing; Lu, Tao; Yan, Fangrong

2015-01-01

BACKGROUND Personalized cancer treatments depend on the determination of a patient's genetic status according to known genetic profiles for which targeted treatments exist. Such genetic profiles must be scientifically validated before they is applied to general patient population. Reproducibility of findings that support such genetic profiles is a fundamental challenge in validation studies. The percentage of overlapping genes (POG) criterion and derivative methods produce unstable and misleading results. Furthermore, in a complex disease, comparisons between different tumor subtypes can produce high POG scores that do not capture the consistencies in the functions. RESULTS We focused on the quality rather than the quantity of the overlapping genes. We defined the rank value of each gene according to importance or quality by PageRank on basis of a particular topological structure. Then, we used the p-value of the rank-sum of the overlapping genes (PRSOG) to evaluate the quality of reproducibility. Though the POG scores were low in different studies of the same disease, the PRSOG was statistically significant, which suggests that sets of differentially expressed genes might be highly reproducible. CONCLUSIONS Evaluations of eight datasets from breast cancer, lung cancer and four other disorders indicate that quality-based PRSOG method performs better than a quantity-based method. Our analysis of the components of the sets of overlapping genes supports the utility of the PRSOG method. PMID:26556852

Measurement of in-phantom neutron flux and gamma dose in Tehran research reactor boron neutron capture therapy beam line.

PubMed

Bavarnegin, Elham; Sadremomtaz, Alireza; Khalafi, Hossein; Kasesaz, Yaser

2016-01-01

Determination of in-phantom quality factors of Tehran research reactor (TRR) boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) beam. The doses from thermal neutron reactions with 14N and 10B are calculated by kinetic energy released per unit mass approach, after measuring thermal neutron flux using neutron activation technique. Gamma dose is measured using TLD-700 dosimeter. Different dose components have been measured in a head phantom which has been designed and constructed for BNCT purpose in TRR. Different in-phantom beam quality factors have also been determined. This study demonstrates that the TRR BNCT beam line has potential for treatment of superficial tumors.

The aquatic real-time monitoring network; in-situ optical sensors for monitoring the nation's water quality

USGS Publications Warehouse

Pellerin, Brian A.; Bergamaschi, Brian A.; Murdoch, Peter S.; Downing, Bryan D.; Saraceno, John Franco; Aiken, George R.; Striegl, Robert G.

2011-01-01

Floods, hurricanes, and longer-term changes in climate and land use can have profound effects on water quality due to shifts in hydrologic flow paths, water residence time, precipitation patterns, connectivity between rivers and uplands, and many other factors. In order to understand and respond to changes in hydrology and water quality, resource managers and policy makers have a need for accurate and early indicators, as well as the ability to assess possible mechanisms and likely outcomes. In-situ optical sensors-those making continuous measurements of constituents by absorbance or fluorescence properties in the environment at timescales of minutes to years-have a long history in oceanography for developing highly resolved concentrations and fluxes, but are not commonly used in freshwater systems. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) has developed the Aquatic Real-Time Monitoring Network, with high-resolution optical data collection for organic carbon, nutrients, and sediment in large coastal rivers, along with continuous measurements of discharge, water temperature, and dissolved inorganic carbon. The collecting of continuous water-quality data in the Nation?s waterways has revealed temporal trends and spatial patterns in constituents that traditional sampling approaches fail to capture, and will serve a critical role in monitoring, assessment and decision-making in a rapidly changing landscape.

56Fe capture cross section experiments at the RPI LINAC Center

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McDermott, Brian; Blain, Ezekiel; Thompson, Nicholas; Weltz, Adam; Youmans, Amanda; Danon, Yaron; Barry, Devin; Block, Robert; Daskalakis, Adam; Epping, Brian; Leinweber, Gregory; Rapp, Michael

2017-09-01

A new array of C6D6 detectors installed at the RPI LINAC Center has enabled the capability to measure neutron capture cross sections above the 847 keV inelastic scattering threshold of 56Fe through the use of digital post-processing filters and pulse-integral discriminators, without sacrificing the statistical quality of data at lower incident neutron energies where such filtering is unnecessary. The C6D6 detectors were used to perform time-of-flight capture cross section measurements on a sample 99.87% enriched iron-56. The total-energy method, combined with the pulse height weighting technique, were then applied to the raw data to determine the energy-dependent capture yield. Above the inelastic threshold, the data were analyzed with a pulse-integral filter to reveal the capture signal, extending the the full data set to 2 MeV.

Comprehensive Identification of mRNA-Binding Proteins of Leishmania donovani by Interactome Capture.

PubMed

Nandan, Devki; Thomas, Sneha A; Nguyen, Anne; Moon, Kyung-Mee; Foster, Leonard J; Reiner, Neil E

2017-01-01

Leishmania are unicellular eukaryotes responsible for leishmaniasis in humans. Like other trypanosomatids, leishmania regulate protein coding gene expression almost exclusively at the post-transcriptional level with the help of RNA binding proteins (RBPs). Due to the presence of polycystronic transcription units, leishmania do not regulate RNA polymerase II-dependent transcription initiation. Recent evidence suggests that the main control points in gene expression are mRNA degradation and translation. Protein-RNA interactions are involved in every aspect of RNA biology, such as mRNA splicing, polyadenylation, localization, degradation, and translation. A detailed picture of these interactions would likely prove to be highly informative in understanding leishmania biology and virulence. We developed a strategy involving covalent UV cross-linking of RBPs to mRNA in vivo, followed by interactome capture using oligo(dT) magnetic beads to define comprehensively the mRNA interactome of growing L. donovani amastigotes. The protein mass spectrometry analysis of captured proteins identified 79 mRNA interacting proteins which withstood very stringent washing conditions. Strikingly, we found that 49 of these mRNA interacting proteins had no orthologs or homologs in the human genome. Consequently, these may represent high quality candidates for selective drug targeting leading to novel therapeutics. These results show that this unbiased, systematic strategy has the promise to be applicable to study the mRNA interactome during various biological settings such as metabolic changes, stress (low pH environment, oxidative stress and nutrient deprivation) or drug treatment.

Joint denoising, demosaicing, and chromatic aberration correction for UHD video

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jovanov, Ljubomir; Philips, Wilfried; Damstra, Klaas Jan; Ellenbroek, Frank

2017-09-01

High-resolution video capture is crucial for numerous applications such as surveillance, security, industrial inspection, medical imaging and digital entertainment. In the last two decades, we are witnessing a dramatic increase of the spatial resolution and the maximal frame rate of video capturing devices. In order to achieve further resolution increase, numerous challenges will be facing us. Due to the reduced size of the pixel, the amount of light also reduces, leading to the increased noise level. Moreover, the reduced pixel size makes the lens imprecisions more pronounced, which especially applies to chromatic aberrations. Even in the case when high quality lenses are used some chromatic aberration artefacts will remain. Next, noise level additionally increases due to the higher frame rates. To reduce the complexity and the price of the camera, one sensor captures all three colors, by relying on Color Filter Arrays. In order to obtain full resolution color image, missing color components have to be interpolated, i.e. demosaicked, which is more challenging than in the case of lower resolution, due to the increased noise and aberrations. In this paper, we propose a new method, which jointly performs chromatic aberration correction, denoising and demosaicking. By jointly performing the reduction of all artefacts, we are reducing the overall complexity of the system and the introduction of new artefacts. In order to reduce possible flicker we also perform temporal video enhancement. We evaluate the proposed method on a number of publicly available UHD sequences and on sequences recorded in our studio.

History as narrative: the nature and quality of historical understanding for students with LD.

PubMed

Espin, Christine A; Cevasco, Jazmin; van den Broek, Paul; Baker, Scott; Gersten, Russell

2007-01-01

In this study, we examine the nature and quality of students' comprehension of history. Specifically, we explore whether cognitive-psychological theories developed to capture the comprehension of narrative text can be used to capture the comprehension of history. Participants were 36 students with learning disabilities who had taken part in an earlier study designed to investigate the effects of an interactive instructional intervention in history. The results of the original study supported the effectiveness of the intervention in terms of amount recalled. The results of the present study reveal that historical understanding can be characterized as the construction of meaning through the creation of a causal network of events. The study of history within a causal network framework has implications for understanding the nature and quality of students' learning of history, and for potentially identifying sources of failure in learning.

Borophene as a Promising Material for Charge-Modulated Switchable CO2 Capture.

PubMed

Tan, Xin; Tahini, Hassan A; Smith, Sean C

2017-06-14

Ideal carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) capture materials for practical applications should bind CO 2 molecules neither too weakly to limit good loading kinetics nor too strongly to limit facile release. Although charge-modulated switchable CO 2 capture has been proposed to be a controllable, highly selective, and reversible CO 2 capture strategy, the development of a practical gas-adsorbent material remains a great challenge. In this study, by means of density functional theory (DFT) calculations, we have examined the possibility of conductive borophene nanosheets as promising sorbent materials for charge-modulated switchable CO 2 capture. Our results reveal that the binding strength of CO 2 molecules on negatively charged borophene can be significantly enhanced by injecting extra electrons into the adsorbent. At saturation CO 2 capture coverage, the negatively charged borophene achieves CO 2 capture capacities up to 6.73 × 10 14 cm -2 . In contrast to the other CO 2 capture methods, the CO 2 capture/release processes on negatively charged borophene are reversible with fast kinetics and can be easily controlled via switching on/off the charges carried by borophene nanosheets. Moreover, these negatively charged borophene nanosheets are highly selective for separating CO 2 from mixtures with CH 4 , H 2 , and/or N 2 . This theoretical exploration will provide helpful guidance for identifying experimentally feasible, controllable, highly selective, and high-capacity CO 2 capture materials with ideal thermodynamics and reversibility.

Shortwave surface radiation network for observing small-scale cloud inhomogeneity fields

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lakshmi Madhavan, Bomidi; Kalisch, John; Macke, Andreas

2016-03-01

As part of the High Definition Clouds and Precipitation for advancing Climate Prediction Observational Prototype Experiment (HOPE), a high-density network of 99 silicon photodiode pyranometers was set up around Jülich (10 km × 12 km area) from April to July 2013 to capture the small-scale variability of cloud-induced radiation fields at the surface. In this paper, we provide the details of this unique setup of the pyranometer network, data processing, quality control, and uncertainty assessment under variable conditions. Some exemplary days with clear, broken cloudy, and overcast skies were explored to assess the spatiotemporal observations from the network along with other collocated radiation and sky imager measurements available during the HOPE period.

Behavioral System Feedback Measurement Failure: Sweeping Quality under the Rug

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mihalic, Maria T.; Ludwig, Timothy D.

2009-01-01

Behavioral Systems rely on valid measurement systems to manage processes and feedback and to deliver contingencies. An examination of measurement system components designed to track customer service quality of furniture delivery drivers revealed the measurement system failed to capture information it was designed to measure. A reason for this…

The creation, management, and use of data quality information for life cycle assessment

EPA Science Inventory

Despite growing access to data, questions of “best fit” data and the appropriate use of results in supporting decision making still plague the life cycle assessment (LCA) community. This discussion paper addresses revisions to assessing data quality captured in a new US Environme...

TEMPORAL SIGNATURES OF AIR QUALITY OBSERVATIONS AND MODEL OUTPUTS: DO TIME SERIES DECOMPOSITION METHODS CAPTURE RELEVANT TIME SCALES?

EPA Science Inventory

Time series decomposition methods were applied to meteorological and air quality data and their numerical model estimates. Decomposition techniques express a time series as the sum of a small number of independent modes which hypothetically represent identifiable forcings, thereb...

A brief Patient-Reported Outcomes Quality of Life (PROQOL) instrument to improve patient care.

PubMed

Ridgeway, Jennifer L; Beebe, Timothy J; Chute, Christopher G; Eton, David T; Hart, Lacey A; Frost, Marlene H; Jensen, Daniel; Montori, Victor M; Smith, John G; Smith, Steven A; Tan, Angelina D; Yost, Kathleen J; Ziegenfuss, Jeanette Y; Sloan, Jeff A

2013-11-01

Jeff Sloan and colleagues describe the development of the Patient-Reported Outcomes Quality of Life (PROQOL) instrument, which captures and stores patient-recorded outcomes in the medical record for patients with diabetes. Please see later in the article for the Editors' Summary.

76 FR 30715 - Information Collection Being Reviewed by the Federal Communications Commission

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-05-26

... technology; and (e) ways to further reduce the information collection burden on small business concerns with...: Business or other for-profit. Number of Respondents and Responses: 48 respondents; 63 responses. Estimated... designed to capture trends in service quality under price cap regulation. It provides service quality...

MyPOD: an EMR-Based Tool that Facilitates Quality Improvement and Maintenance of Certification.

PubMed

Berman, Loren; Duffy, Brian; Randall Brenn, B; Vinocur, Charles

2017-03-01

Maintenance of Certification (MOC) was designed to assess physician competencies including operative case volume and outcomes. This information, if collected consistently and systematically, can be used to facilitate quality improvement. Information automatically extracted from the electronic medical record (EMR) can be used as a prompt to compile these data. We developed an EMR-based program called MyPOD (My Personal Outcomes Data) to track surgical outcomes at our institution. We compared occurrences reported in the first 18 months to those captured in the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program-Pediatric (ACS NSQIP-P) over the same time period. During the first 18 months of using MyPOD, 691 cases were captured in both MyPOD and NSQIP-P. There were 48 cases with occurrences in NSQIP-P (6.9% occurrence rate). MyPOD captured 33% of the occurrences and 83% of the deaths reported in NSQIP-P. Use of the MyPOD program helped to identify series of complications and facilitated systematic change to improve outcomes. MyPOD provides comparative data that is essential in performance evaluation and facilitates quality improvement in surgery. This program and similar EMR-driven tools are becoming essential components of the MOC process. Our initial review has revealed opportunities for improvement in self-reporting which we can continue to measure by comparison to NSQIP-P. In addition, it has identified systems issues that have led to hospital-wide improvements.

Continuous on-line steam quality monitoring system of the Bacman Geothermal Production Field, Philippines

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

Solis, R.P.; Chavez, F.C.; Garcia, S.E.

1997-12-31

In any operating geothermal power plant, steam quality is one of the most important parameters being monitored. In the Bacon-Manito Geothermal Production Field (BGPF), an online steam quality monitoring system have been installed in two operating power plants which provides an accurate, efficient and continuous real-time data which is more responsive to the various requirements of the field operation. The system utilizes sodium as an indicator of steam purity. Sodium concentration is read by the flame photometer located at the interface after aspirating a sample of the condensed steam through a continuous condensate sampler. The condensate has been degassed throughmore » a condensate-NCG separator. The flame photometer analog signal is then converted by a voltage-to-current converter/transmitter and relayed to the processor which is located at the control center through electrical cable to give a digital sodium concentration read-out at the control panel. The system features a high and high-high sodium level alarm, a continuous strip-chart recorder and a central computer for data capture, retrieval, and processing for further interpretation. Safety devices, such as the flame-off indicator at the control center and the automatic fuel cut-off device along the fuel line, are incorporated in the system.« less

PHOTOCHEMICAL AIR POLLUTION IN THE NORTH OF PORTUGAL: A HIGH TROPOSHERIC OZONE EPISODE

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Monteiro, A.; Carvalho, A.; Tchepel, O.; Ferreira, J.; Martins, H.; Miranda, A.; Borrego, C.; Saavedra, S.; Rodríguez, A.; Souto, J. A.

2009-12-01

Very high concentrations of ozone are continuously measured at the monitoring station at Lamas d’Olo, located at the North of Portugal,. A particular high photochemical episode occurred between 11 and 13 of July 2005, registering ozone hourly maximum values above 350 µg.m-3. This ozone-rich episode is investigated in this paper, in order to identify its origin and formation. Besides the analysis of both meteorological and air quality monitoring datasets, a numerical modelling approach, based on MM5-CAMx system, was used to simulate the dispersion and transport (horizontal and vertical) of the photochemical pollutants and its precursors. A cross spectrum analysis of the meteorological and air quality time series was performed, in the frequency domain, to establish the relationships between ozone data measured at Lamas d’Olo with air quality data from neighbourhood stations and meteorological parameters. Results point out different behaviour/contribution between the analysed sites. Moreover, different contributions of the u and v wind component on the ozone concentration fluctuations were found suggesting the presence a mountain breeze circulation and a north synoptic transport. The preliminary modelling results pointed out that the vertical transport of pollutants are responsible for the measured high concentrations, combined with particular meteorological conditions, related to the planetary boundary layer (PBL) development. The pollutants transported and existent at high vertical levels are captured/trapped when the PBL height reaches its daily maximum, and extremely high ozone ground level concentrations are consequently measured.

Previous success and current body condition determine breeding propensity in Lesser Scaup: evidence for the individual heterogeneity hypothesis

USGS Publications Warehouse

Warren, Jeffrey M.; Cutting, Kyle A.; Takekawa, John Y.; De La Cruz, Susan E. W.; Williams, Tony D.; Koons, David N.

2014-01-01

The decision to breed influences an individual's current and future reproduction, and the proportion of individuals that breed is an important determinant of population dynamics. Age, experience, individual quality, and environmental conditions have all been demonstrated to influence breeding propensity. To elucidate which of these factors exerts the greatest influence on breeding propensity in a temperate waterfowl, we studied female Lesser Scaup (Aythya affinis) breeding in southwestern Montana. Females were captured during the breeding seasons of 2007–2009, and breeding status was determined on the basis of (1) presence of an egg in the oviduct or (2) blood plasma vitellogenin (VTG) levels. Presence on the study site in the previous year, a proxy for adult female success, was determined with stable isotope signatures of a primary feather collected at capture. Overall, 57% of females had evidence of breeding at the time of capture; this increased to 86% for females captured on or after peak nest initiation. Capture date and size-adjusted body condition positively influenced breeding propensity, with a declining body-condition threshold through the breeding season. We did not detect an influence of age on breeding propensity. Drought conditions negatively affected breeding propensity, reducing the proportion of breeding females to 0.85 (SE = 0.05) from 0.94 (SE = 0.03) during normal-water years. A female that was present in the previous breeding season was 5% more likely to breed than a female that was not present then. The positive correlation between age and experience makes it difficult to differentiate the roles of age, experience, and individual quality in reproductive success in vertebrates. Our results indicate that individual quality, as expressed by previous success and current body condition, may be among the most important determinants of breeding propensity in female Lesser Scaup, providing further support for the individual heterogeneity hypothesis.

Optimum sensor placement for microphone arrays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rabinkin, Daniel V.

Microphone arrays can be used for high-quality sound pickup in reverberant and noisy environments. Sound capture using conventional single microphone methods suffers severe degradation under these conditions. The beamforming capabilities of microphone array systems allow highly directional sound capture, providing enhanced signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) when compared to single microphone performance. The overall performance of an array system is governed by its ability to locate and track sound sources and its ability to capture sound from desired spatial volumes. These abilities are strongly affected by the spatial placement of microphone sensors. A method is needed to optimize placement for a specified number of sensors in a given acoustical environment. The objective of the optimization is to obtain the greatest average system SNR for sound capture in the region of interest. A two-step sound source location method is presented. In the first step, time delay of arrival (TDOA) estimates for select microphone pairs are determined using a modified version of the Omologo-Svaizer cross-power spectrum phase expression. In the second step, the TDOA estimates are used in a least-mean-squares gradient descent search algorithm to obtain a location estimate. Statistics for TDOA estimate error as a function of microphone pair/sound source geometry and acoustic environment are gathered from a set of experiments. These statistics are used to model position estimation accuracy for a given array geometry. The effectiveness of sound source capture is also dependent on array geometry and the acoustical environment. Simple beamforming and time delay compensation (TDC) methods provide spatial selectivity but suffer performance degradation in reverberant environments. Matched filter array (MFA) processing can mitigate the effects of reverberation. The shape and gain advantage of the capture region for these techniques is described and shown to be highly influenced by the placement of array sensors. A procedure is developed to evaluate a given array configuration based on the above-mentioned metrics. Constrained placement optimizations are performed that maximize SNR for both TDC and MFA capture methods. Results are compared for various acoustic environments and various enclosure sizes. General guidelines are presented for placement strategy and bandwidth dependence, as they relate to reverberation levels, ambient noise, and enclosure geometry. An overall performance function is described based on these metrics. Performance of the microphone array system is also constrained by the design limitations of the supporting hardware. Two newly developed hardware architectures are presented that support the described algorithms. A low- cost 8-channel system with off-the-shelf componentry was designed and its performance evaluated. A massively parallel 512-channel custom-built system is in development-its capabilities and the rationale for its design are described.

Physiological stress responses in big gamefish after capture: observations on plasma chemistry and blood factors.

PubMed

Wells, R M; McIntyre, R H; Morgan, A K; Davie, P S

1986-01-01

The plasma electrolytes, Na+, K+, Ca2+, Cl- and osmolarities had high values in capture-stressed big gamefish. Blood metabolites measured after stress showed glucose and lactate elevations. The activity of the plasma enzymes alkaline phosphatase, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, creatine kinase and lactate dehydrogenase suggested tissue disruptions following severe capture stress. Haematocrit values and methaemoglobin were high in capture-stressed gamefish. The plasma chemistry of resting and capture-stressed snapper (Chrysophrys auratus) was studied for comparison. Specific differences in plasma biochemistry appeared to be the result of different strategies of fish behaviour during capture.

High-quality electron beams from beam-driven plasma accelerators by wakefield-induced ionization injection.

PubMed

Martinez de la Ossa, A; Grebenyuk, J; Mehrling, T; Schaper, L; Osterhoff, J

2013-12-13

We propose a new and simple strategy for controlled ionization-induced trapping of electrons in a beam-driven plasma accelerator. The presented method directly exploits electric wakefields to ionize electrons from a dopant gas and capture them into a well-defined volume of the accelerating and focusing wake phase, leading to high-quality witness bunches. This injection principle is explained by example of three-dimensional particle-in-cell calculations using the code OSIRIS. In these simulations a high-current-density electron-beam driver excites plasma waves in the blowout regime inside a fully ionized hydrogen plasma of density 5×10(17)cm-3. Within an embedded 100  μm long plasma column contaminated with neutral helium gas, the wakefields trigger ionization, trapping of a defined fraction of the released electrons, and subsequent acceleration. The hereby generated electron beam features a 1.5 kA peak current, 1.5  μm transverse normalized emittance, an uncorrelated energy spread of 0.3% on a GeV-energy scale, and few femtosecond bunch length.

Large-Scale Point-Cloud Visualization through Localized Textured Surface Reconstruction.

PubMed

Arikan, Murat; Preiner, Reinhold; Scheiblauer, Claus; Jeschke, Stefan; Wimmer, Michael

2014-09-01

In this paper, we introduce a novel scene representation for the visualization of large-scale point clouds accompanied by a set of high-resolution photographs. Many real-world applications deal with very densely sampled point-cloud data, which are augmented with photographs that often reveal lighting variations and inaccuracies in registration. Consequently, the high-quality representation of the captured data, i.e., both point clouds and photographs together, is a challenging and time-consuming task. We propose a two-phase approach, in which the first (preprocessing) phase generates multiple overlapping surface patches and handles the problem of seamless texture generation locally for each patch. The second phase stitches these patches at render-time to produce a high-quality visualization of the data. As a result of the proposed localization of the global texturing problem, our algorithm is more than an order of magnitude faster than equivalent mesh-based texturing techniques. Furthermore, since our preprocessing phase requires only a minor fraction of the whole data set at once, we provide maximum flexibility when dealing with growing data sets.

Image quality assessment using deep convolutional networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Yezhou; Ye, Xiang; Li, Yong

2017-12-01

This paper proposes a method of accurately assessing image quality without a reference image by using a deep convolutional neural network. Existing training based methods usually utilize a compact set of linear filters for learning features of images captured by different sensors to assess their quality. These methods may not be able to learn the semantic features that are intimately related with the features used in human subject assessment. Observing this drawback, this work proposes training a deep convolutional neural network (CNN) with labelled images for image quality assessment. The ReLU in the CNN allows non-linear transformations for extracting high-level image features, providing a more reliable assessment of image quality than linear filters. To enable the neural network to take images of any arbitrary size as input, the spatial pyramid pooling (SPP) is introduced connecting the top convolutional layer and the fully-connected layer. In addition, the SPP makes the CNN robust to object deformations to a certain extent. The proposed method taking an image as input carries out an end-to-end learning process, and outputs the quality of the image. It is tested on public datasets. Experimental results show that it outperforms existing methods by a large margin and can accurately assess the image quality on images taken by different sensors of varying sizes.

Visibility through the gaseous smoke in airborne remote sensing using a DSLR camera

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chabok, Mirahmad; Millington, Andrew; Hacker, Jorg M.; McGrath, Andrew J.

2016-08-01

Visibility and clarity of remotely sensed images acquired by consumer grade DSLR cameras, mounted on an unmanned aerial vehicle or a manned aircraft, are critical factors in obtaining accurate and detailed information from any area of interest. The presence of substantial haze, fog or gaseous smoke particles; caused, for example, by an active bushfire at the time of data capture, will dramatically reduce image visibility and quality. Although most modern hyperspectral imaging sensors are capable of capturing a large number of narrow range bands of the shortwave and thermal infrared spectral range, which have the potential to penetrate smoke and haze, the resulting images do not contain sufficient spatial detail to enable locating important objects or assist search and rescue or similar applications which require high resolution information. We introduce a new method for penetrating gaseous smoke without compromising spatial resolution using a single modified DSLR camera in conjunction with image processing techniques which effectively improves the visibility of objects in the captured images. This is achieved by modifying a DSLR camera and adding a custom optical filter to enable it to capture wavelengths from 480-1200nm (R, G and Near Infrared) instead of the standard RGB bands (400-700nm). With this modified camera mounted on an aircraft, images were acquired over an area polluted by gaseous smoke from an active bushfire. Processed data using our proposed method shows significant visibility improvements compared with other existing solutions.

Shipboard Analytical Capabilities on the Renovated JOIDES Resolution, IODP Riserless Drilling Vessel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Blum, P.; Foster, P.; Houpt, D.; Bennight, C.; Brandt, L.; Cobine, T.; Crawford, W.; Fackler, D.; Fujine, K.; Hastedt, M.; Hornbacher, D.; Mateo, Z.; Moortgat, E.; Vasilyev, M.; Vasilyeva, Y.; Zeliadt, S.; Zhao, J.

2008-12-01

The JOIDES Resolution (JR) has conducted 121 scientific drilling expeditions during the Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) and the first phase of the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) (1983-2006). The vessel and scientific systems have just completed an NSF-sponsored renovation (2005-2008). Shipboard analytical systems have been upgraded, within funding constraints imposed by market driven vessel conversion cost increases, to include: (1) enhanced shipboard analytical services including instruments and software for sampling and the capture of chemistry, physical properties, and geological data; (2) new data management capabilities built around a laboratory information management system (LIMS), digital asset management system, and web services; (3) operations data services with enhanced access to navigation and rig instrumentation data; and (4) a combination of commercial and home-made user applications for workflow- specific data extractions, generic and customized data reporting, and data visualization within a shipboard production environment. The instrumented data capture systems include a new set of core loggers for rapid and non-destructive acquisition of images and other physical properties data from drill cores. Line-scan imaging and natural gamma ray loggers capture data at unprecedented quality due to new and innovative designs. Many instruments used to characterize chemical compounds of rocks, sediments, and interstitial fluids were upgraded with the latest technology. The shipboard analytical environment features a new and innovative framework (DESCinfo) and application (DESClogik) for capturing descriptive and interpretive data from geological sub-domains such as sedimentology, petrology, paleontology, structural geology, stratigraphy, etc. This system fills a long-standing gap by providing a global database, controlled vocabularies and taxa name lists with version control, a highly configurable spreadsheet environment for data capture, and visualization of context data collected with the shipboard core loggers and other instruments.

Higher fish but lower micronutrient intakes: Temporal changes in fish consumption from capture fisheries and aquaculture in Bangladesh.

PubMed

Bogard, Jessica R; Farook, Sami; Marks, Geoffrey C; Waid, Jillian; Belton, Ben; Ali, Masum; Toufique, Kazi; Mamun, Abdulla; Thilsted, Shakuntala H

2017-01-01

Malnutrition is one of the biggest challenges of the 21st century, with one in three people in the world malnourished, combined with poor diets being the leading cause of the global burden of disease. Fish is an under-recognised and undervalued source of micronutrients, which could play a more significant role in addressing this global challenge. With rising pressures on capture fisheries, demand is increasingly being met from aquaculture. However, aquaculture systems are designed to maximise productivity, with little consideration for nutritional quality of fish produced. A global shift away from diverse capture species towards consumption of few farmed species, has implications for diet quality that are yet to be fully explored. Bangladesh provides a useful case study of this transition, as fish is the most important animal-source food in diets, and is increasingly supplied from aquaculture. We conducted a temporal analysis of fish consumption and nutrient intakes from fish in Bangladesh, using nationally representative household expenditure surveys from 1991, 2000 and 2010 (n = 25,425 households), combined with detailed species-level nutrient composition data. Fish consumption increased by 30% from 1991-2010. Consumption of non-farmed species declined by 33% over this period, compensated (in terms of quantity) by large increases in consumption of farmed species. Despite increased total fish consumption, there were significant decreases in iron and calcium intakes from fish (P<0.01); and no significant change in intakes of zinc, vitamin A and vitamin B12 from fish, reflecting lower overall nutritional quality of fish available for consumption over time. Our results challenge the conventional narrative that increases in food supply lead to improvements in diet and nutrition. As aquaculture becomes an increasingly important food source, it must embrace a nutrition-sensitive approach, moving beyond maximising productivity to also consider nutritional quality. Doing so will optimise the complementary role that aquaculture and capture fisheries play in improving nutrition and health.

The health care and life sciences community profile for dataset descriptions

PubMed Central

Alexiev, Vladimir; Ansell, Peter; Bader, Gary; Baran, Joachim; Bolleman, Jerven T.; Callahan, Alison; Cruz-Toledo, José; Gaudet, Pascale; Gombocz, Erich A.; Gonzalez-Beltran, Alejandra N.; Groth, Paul; Haendel, Melissa; Ito, Maori; Jupp, Simon; Juty, Nick; Katayama, Toshiaki; Kobayashi, Norio; Krishnaswami, Kalpana; Laibe, Camille; Le Novère, Nicolas; Lin, Simon; Malone, James; Miller, Michael; Mungall, Christopher J.; Rietveld, Laurens; Wimalaratne, Sarala M.; Yamaguchi, Atsuko

2016-01-01

Access to consistent, high-quality metadata is critical to finding, understanding, and reusing scientific data. However, while there are many relevant vocabularies for the annotation of a dataset, none sufficiently captures all the necessary metadata. This prevents uniform indexing and querying of dataset repositories. Towards providing a practical guide for producing a high quality description of biomedical datasets, the W3C Semantic Web for Health Care and the Life Sciences Interest Group (HCLSIG) identified Resource Description Framework (RDF) vocabularies that could be used to specify common metadata elements and their value sets. The resulting guideline covers elements of description, identification, attribution, versioning, provenance, and content summarization. This guideline reuses existing vocabularies, and is intended to meet key functional requirements including indexing, discovery, exchange, query, and retrieval of datasets, thereby enabling the publication of FAIR data. The resulting metadata profile is generic and could be used by other domains with an interest in providing machine readable descriptions of versioned datasets. PMID:27602295

Hdr Imaging for Feature Detection on Detailed Architectural Scenes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kontogianni, G.; Stathopoulou, E. K.; Georgopoulos, A.; Doulamis, A.

2015-02-01

3D reconstruction relies on accurate detection, extraction, description and matching of image features. This is even truer for complex architectural scenes that pose needs for 3D models of high quality, without any loss of detail in geometry or color. Illumination conditions influence the radiometric quality of images, as standard sensors cannot depict properly a wide range of intensities in the same scene. Indeed, overexposed or underexposed pixels cause irreplaceable information loss and degrade digital representation. Images taken under extreme lighting environments may be thus prohibitive for feature detection/extraction and consequently for matching and 3D reconstruction. High Dynamic Range (HDR) images could be helpful for these operators because they broaden the limits of illumination range that Standard or Low Dynamic Range (SDR/LDR) images can capture and increase in this way the amount of details contained in the image. Experimental results of this study prove this assumption as they examine state of the art feature detectors applied both on standard dynamic range and HDR images.

Fast and robust wavelet-based dynamic range compression and contrast enhancement model with color restoration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Unaldi, Numan; Asari, Vijayan K.; Rahman, Zia-ur

2009-05-01

Recently we proposed a wavelet-based dynamic range compression algorithm to improve the visual quality of digital images captured from high dynamic range scenes with non-uniform lighting conditions. The fast image enhancement algorithm that provides dynamic range compression, while preserving the local contrast and tonal rendition, is also a good candidate for real time video processing applications. Although the colors of the enhanced images produced by the proposed algorithm are consistent with the colors of the original image, the proposed algorithm fails to produce color constant results for some "pathological" scenes that have very strong spectral characteristics in a single band. The linear color restoration process is the main reason for this drawback. Hence, a different approach is required for the final color restoration process. In this paper the latest version of the proposed algorithm, which deals with this issue is presented. The results obtained by applying the algorithm to numerous natural images show strong robustness and high image quality.

2010 Biometrics Conference Held in Arlington, Virginia on January 20-21, 2010

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-01-21

testing of mobile biometric collection devices during future biometric field exercises, we hope to provide NOVARIS officials connectivity and an...environmental factors – Extreme Outdoor Mobile Conditions – Non-cooperative users – Field-collected samples of mixed quality – Real-time access to match results...Physics: Mobile 10-print Slap Capture Robust Face/Iris Capture Contactless Fingerprints 10 Human Factors Behavioral Sciences Division The Hard

Comparing de novo genome assembly: the long and short of it.

PubMed

Narzisi, Giuseppe; Mishra, Bud

2011-04-29

Recent advances in DNA sequencing technology and their focal role in Genome Wide Association Studies (GWAS) have rekindled a growing interest in the whole-genome sequence assembly (WGSA) problem, thereby, inundating the field with a plethora of new formalizations, algorithms, heuristics and implementations. And yet, scant attention has been paid to comparative assessments of these assemblers' quality and accuracy. No commonly accepted and standardized method for comparison exists yet. Even worse, widely used metrics to compare the assembled sequences emphasize only size, poorly capturing the contig quality and accuracy. This paper addresses these concerns: it highlights common anomalies in assembly accuracy through a rigorous study of several assemblers, compared under both standard metrics (N50, coverage, contig sizes, etc.) as well as a more comprehensive metric (Feature-Response Curves, FRC) that is introduced here; FRC transparently captures the trade-offs between contigs' quality against their sizes. For this purpose, most of the publicly available major sequence assemblers--both for low-coverage long (Sanger) and high-coverage short (Illumina) reads technologies--are compared. These assemblers are applied to microbial (Escherichia coli, Brucella, Wolbachia, Staphylococcus, Helicobacter) and partial human genome sequences (Chr. Y), using sequence reads of various read-lengths, coverages, accuracies, and with and without mate-pairs. It is hoped that, based on these evaluations, computational biologists will identify innovative sequence assembly paradigms, bioinformaticists will determine promising approaches for developing "next-generation" assemblers, and biotechnologists will formulate more meaningful design desiderata for sequencing technology platforms. A new software tool for computing the FRC metric has been developed and is available through the AMOS open-source consortium.

Testing optimal foraging theory in a penguin-krill system.

PubMed

Watanabe, Yuuki Y; Ito, Motohiro; Takahashi, Akinori

2014-03-22

Food is heterogeneously distributed in nature, and understanding how animals search for and exploit food patches is a fundamental challenge in ecology. The classic marginal value theorem (MVT) formulates optimal patch residence time in response to patch quality. The MVT was generally proved in controlled animal experiments; however, owing to the technical difficulties in recording foraging behaviour in the wild, it has been inadequately examined in natural predator-prey systems, especially those in the three-dimensional marine environment. Using animal-borne accelerometers and video cameras, we collected a rare dataset in which the behaviour of a marine predator (penguin) was recorded simultaneously with the capture timings of mobile, patchily distributed prey (krill). We provide qualitative support for the MVT by showing that (i) krill capture rate diminished with time in each dive, as assumed in the MVT, and (ii) dive duration (or patch residence time, controlled for dive depth) increased with short-term, dive-scale krill capture rate, but decreased with long-term, bout-scale krill capture rate, as predicted from the MVT. Our results demonstrate that a single environmental factor (i.e. patch quality) can have opposite effects on animal behaviour depending on the time scale, emphasizing the importance of multi-scale approaches in understanding complex foraging strategies.

Detection and assessment of flaws in friction stir welded metallic plates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fakih, Mohammad Ali; Mustapha, Samir; Tarraf, Jaafar; Ayoub, Georges; Hamade, Ramsey

2017-04-01

Investigated is the ability of ultrasonic guided waves to detect flaws and assess the quality of friction stir welds (FSW). AZ31B magnesium plates were friction stir welded. While process parameters of spindle speed and tool feed were fixed, shoulder penetration depth was varied resulting in welds of varying quality. Ultrasonic waves were excited at different frequencies using piezoelectric wafers and the fundamental symmetric (S0) mode was selected to detect the flaws resulting from the welding process. The front of the first transmitted wave signal was used to capture the S0 mode. A damage index (DI) measure was defined based on the amplitude attenuation after wave interaction with the welded zone. Computed Tomography (CT) scanning was employed as a nondestructive testing (NDT) technique to assess the actual weld quality. Derived DI values were plotted against CT-derived flaw volume resulting in a perfectly linear fit. The proposed approach showed high sensitivity of the S0 mode to internal flaws within the weld. As such, this methodology bears great potential as a future predictive method for the evaluation of FSW weld quality.

Anesthesiology leadership rounding: identifying opportunities for improvement.

PubMed

Gravenstein, Dietrich; Ford, Susan; Enneking, F Kayser

2012-01-01

Rounding that includes participation of individuals with authority to implement changes has been advocated as important to the transformation of an institution into a high-quality and safe organization. We describe a Department of Anesthesiology's experience with leadership rounding. The Department Chair or other senior faculty designate, a quality coordinator, up to four residents, the ward charge nurse, and patient nurses participated in rounds at bedsides. During a 23-month period, 14 significant opportunities to improve care were identified. Nurses identified 5 of these opportunities, primary team physicians 2, the rounding team 4, and patients or their family members another 3. The anesthesiology service had sole or shared responsibility for 10 improvements. A variety of organizations track specific measures across all phases of the patient experience to gauge quality of care. Chart auditing tools for detecting threats to safety are often used. These measures and tools missed opportunities for improvement that were discovered only through rounding. We conclude that the introduction of leadership rounding by an anesthesiology service can identify opportunities for improving quality that are not captured by conventional efforts.

Quality and matching performance analysis of three-dimensional unraveled fingerprints

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Yongchang; Hao, Qi; Fatehpuria, Abhishika; Hassebrook, Laurence G.; Lau, Daniel L.

2010-07-01

The use of fingerprints as a biometric is both the oldest mode of computer-aided personal identification and the most-relied-on technology in use today. However, current acquisition methods have some challenging and peculiar difficulties. For higher performance fingerprint data acquisition and verification, a novel noncontact 3-D fingerprint scanner is investigated, where both the detailed 3-D and albedo information of the finger is obtained. The obtained high-resolution 3-D prints are further converted into 3-D unraveled prints, to be compatible with traditional 2-D automatic fingerprint identification systems. As a result, many limitations imposed on conventional fingerprint capture and processing can be reduced by the unobtrusiveness of this approach and the extra depth information acquired. To compare the quality and matching performances of 3-D unraveled with traditional 2-D plain fingerprints, we collect both 3-D prints and their 2-D plain counterparts. The print quality and matching performances are evaluated and analyzed by using National Institute of Standard Technology fingerprint software. Experimental results show that the 3-D unraveled print outperforms the 2-D print in both quality and matching performances.

Participatory mapping of sex trade and enumeration of sex workers using capture-recapture methodology in Diego-Suarez, Madagascar.

PubMed

Kruse, Natalie; Behets, Frieda M-T F; Vaovola, Georgine; Burkhardt, Gillian; Barivelo, Texina; Amida, X; Dallabetta, Gina

2003-08-01

Capture-recapture methodology has been employed to estimate the size of hidden or difficult-to-reach human populations such as sex workers, homeless persons, and intravenous drug users. This study took place in the context of efforts to improve the quality of curative and preventive services for sexually transmitted infections offered to sex workers in Diego-Suarez, Madagascar in partnership with sex workers. The goal of this study was to better understand sex-trading practices, map out sex work sites, and estimate the size of a mobile sex-worker population in Diego-Suarez, Madagascar using methods that can be reproduced in other resource-poor settings. Forty sex workers were trained to function as field researchers. Key informants in designated neighborhoods were identified and interviewed. Basic maps of sex-trade sites were designed by hand. The number of sex workers in Diego-Suarez was estimated using capture-recapture methodology. An educational brochure was used to "capture" sex workers during a first phase, and "recapture" 2 weeks later. Most sex trade was street based and mobile. Capture-recapture methods estimated a total of 2684 sex workers (95% CI: 2588-2780) in Diego-Suarez, or approximately 12% of the 15- to 49-year-old female population in the city. Geographic mapping and capture-recapture proved to be low-cost and relatively easy to use techniques for counting a hard-to-reach population, such as female street-based sex workers. Sex workers can be capable fieldworkers, and their active participation in research concerning sex work should be considered whenever possible. A high proportion of women of reproductive age were found to engage in sex work, indicating that there is an urgent need to scale up sexually transmitted infection and HIV prevention activities targeting sex workers, their sexual partners, and the general population.

Male dance moves that catch a woman's eye

PubMed Central

Neave, Nick; McCarty, Kristofor; Freynik, Jeanette; Caplan, Nicholas; Hönekopp, Johannes; Fink, Bernhard

2011-01-01

Male movements serve as courtship signals in many animal species, and may honestly reflect the genotypic and/or phenotypic quality of the individual. Attractive human dance moves, particularly those of males, have been reported to show associations with measures of physical strength, prenatal androgenization and symmetry. Here we use advanced three-dimensional motion-capture technology to identify possible biomechanical differences between women's perceptions of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ male dancers. Nineteen males were recorded using the ‘Vicon’ motion-capture system while dancing to a basic rhythm; controlled stimuli in the form of avatars were then created in the form of 15 s video clips, and rated by 39 females for dance quality. Initial analyses showed that 11 movement variables were significantly positively correlated with perceived dance quality. Linear regression subsequently revealed that three movement measures were key predictors of dance quality; these were variability and amplitude of movements of the neck and trunk, and speed of movements of the right knee. In summary, we have identified specific movements within men's dance that influence women's perceptions of dancing ability. We suggest that such movements may form honest signals of male quality in terms of health, vigour or strength, though this remains to be confirmed. PMID:20826469

SPRUCE Advanced Molecular Techniques Provide a Rigorous Method for Characterizing Organic Matter Quality in Complex Systems: Supporting Data

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

Wilson, Rachel M; Tfaily, Malak M

These data are provided in support of the Commentary, Advanced molecular techniques provide a rigorous method for characterizing organic matter quality in complex systems, Wilson and Tfaily (2018). Measurement results demonstrate that optical characterization of peatland dissolved organic matter (DOM) may not fully capture classically identified chemical characteristics and may, therefore, not be the best measure of organic matter quality.

Bandwidth Allocation to Interactive Users in DBS-Based Hybrid Internet

DTIC Science & Technology

1998-01-01

policies 12 3.1 Framework for queuing analysis: ON/OFF source traffic model . 13 3.2 Service quality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14...minimizing the queuing delay. In consequence, we were interested in ob- taining improvements in the service quality , as perceived by the users. A...the service quality as per- ceived by users. The merit of this approach, first introduced in [8], is the ability to capture the characteristics of the

A Transplant-Specific Quality Initiative-Introducing TransQIP: A Joint Effort of the ASTS and ACS.

PubMed

Parekh, J; Ko, C; Lappin, J; Greenstein, S; Hirose, R

2017-07-01

In an attempt to improve surgical quality in the field of transplantation, the American College of Surgeons (ACS) and American Society of Transplant Surgeons have initiated a national quality improvement program in transplantation. This transplant-specific quality improvement program, called TransQIP, has been built from the ground up by transplant surgeons and captures detailed information on donor and recipient factors as well as transplant-specific outcomes. It is built upon the existing ACS/National Surgical Quality Improvement Program infrastructure and is designed to capture 100% of liver and kidney transplants performed at participating sites. TransQIP has completed its alpha pilot and will embark upon its beta phase at approximately 30 centers in the spring of 2017. Going forward, we anticipate TransQIP will help satisfy Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services requirements for a quality improvement program, surgeon requirements for maintenance of certification, and qualify as a clinical practice improvement activity under the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System. Most importantly, we believe TransQIP will provide insight into surgical outcomes in transplantation that will allow the field to provide better care to our patients. © 2017 The American Society of Transplantation and the American Society of Transplant Surgeons.

Patient-generated Digital Images after Pediatric Ambulatory Surgery.

PubMed

Miller, Matthew W; Ross, Rachael K; Voight, Christina; Brouwer, Heather; Karavite, Dean J; Gerber, Jeffrey S; Grundmeier, Robert W; Coffin, Susan E

2016-07-06

To describe the use of digital images captured by parents or guardians and sent to clinicians for assessment of wounds after pediatric ambulatory surgery. Subjects with digital images of post-operative wounds were identified as part of an on-going cohort study of infections after ambulatory surgery within a large pediatric healthcare system. We performed a structured review of the electronic health record (EHR) to determine how digital images were documented in the EHR and used in clinical care. We identified 166 patients whose parent or guardian reported sending a digital image of the wound to the clinician after surgery. A corresponding digital image was located in the EHR in only 121 of these encounters. A change in clinical management was documented in 20% of these encounters, including referral for in-person evaluation of the wound and antibiotic prescription. Clinical teams have developed ad hoc workflows to use digital images to evaluate post-operative pediatric surgical patients. Because the use of digital images to support follow-up care after ambulatory surgery is likely to increase, it is important that high-quality images are captured and documented appropriately in the EHR to ensure privacy, security, and a high-level of care.

Patient-Generated Digital Images after Pediatric Ambulatory Surgery

PubMed Central

Ross, Rachael K.; Voight, Christina; Brouwer, Heather; Karavite, Dean J.; Gerber, Jeffrey S.; Grundmeier, Robert W.; Coffin, Susan E.

2016-01-01

Summary Objective To describe the use of digital images captured by parents or guardians and sent to clinicians for assessment of wounds after pediatric ambulatory surgery. Methods Subjects with digital images of post-operative wounds were identified as part of an ongoing cohort study of infections after ambulatory surgery within a large pediatric healthcare system. We performed a structured review of the electronic health record (EHR) to determine how digital images were documented in the EHR and used in clinical care. Results We identified 166 patients whose parent or guardian reported sending a digital image of the wound to the clinician after surgery. A corresponding digital image was located in the EHR in only 121 of these encounters. A change in clinical management was documented in 20% of these encounters, including referral for in-person evaluation of the wound and antibiotic prescription. Conclusion Clinical teams have developed ad hoc workflows to use digital images to evaluate post-operative pediatric surgical patients. Because the use of digital images to support follow-up care after ambulatory surgery is likely to increase, it is important that high-quality images are captured and documented appropriately in the EHR to ensure privacy, security, and a high-level of care. PMID:27452477

Post-synthetic halide conversion and selective halogen capture in hybrid perovskites† †Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available. CCDC 1048945–1048947. For ESI and crystallographic data in CIF or other electronic format see DOI: 10.1039/c5sc01135c

PubMed Central

Solis-Ibarra, D.; Smith, I. C.

2015-01-01

Reaction with halogen vapor allows us to post-synthetically exchange halides in both three- (3D) and two-dimensional (2D) organic–inorganic metal-halide perovskites. Films of 3D Pb–I perovskites cleanly convert to films of Pb–Br or Pb–Cl perovskites upon exposure to Br2 or Cl2 gas, respectively. This gas–solid reaction provides a simple method to produce the high-quality Pb–Br or Pb–Cl perovskite films required for optoelectronic applications. Reactivity with halogens can be extended to the organic layers in 2D metal-halide perovskites. Here, terminal alkene groups placed between the inorganic layers can capture Br2 gas through chemisorption to form dibromoalkanes. This reaction's selectivity for Br2 over I2 allows us to scrub Br2 to obtain high-purity I2 gas streams. We also observe unusual halogen transfer between the inorganic and organic layers within a single perovskite structure. Remarkably, the perovskite's crystallinity is retained during these massive structural rearrangements. PMID:29218171

Fault Tree Analysis.

PubMed

McElroy, Lisa M; Khorzad, Rebeca; Rowe, Theresa A; Abecassis, Zachary A; Apley, Daniel W; Barnard, Cynthia; Holl, Jane L

The purpose of this study was to use fault tree analysis to evaluate the adequacy of quality reporting programs in identifying root causes of postoperative bloodstream infection (BSI). A systematic review of the literature was used to construct a fault tree to evaluate 3 postoperative BSI reporting programs: National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP), Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), and The Joint Commission (JC). The literature review revealed 699 eligible publications, 90 of which were used to create the fault tree containing 105 faults. A total of 14 identified faults are currently mandated for reporting to NSQIP, 5 to CMS, and 3 to JC; 2 or more programs require 4 identified faults. The fault tree identifies numerous contributing faults to postoperative BSI and reveals substantial variation in the requirements and ability of national quality data reporting programs to capture these potential faults. Efforts to prevent postoperative BSI require more comprehensive data collection to identify the root causes and develop high-reliability improvement strategies.

Methods of analysis by the U.S. Geological Survey National Water Quality Laboratory; determination of chlorinated pesticides in aquatic tissue by capillary-column gas chromatography with electron-capture detection

USGS Publications Warehouse

Leiker, Thomas J.; Madsen, J.E.; Deacon, J.R.; Foreman, W.T.

1995-01-01

A method for the determination of chlorinated organic compounds in aquatic tissue by dual capillary-column gas chromatography with electron-capture detection is described. Whole-body-fish or corbicula tissue is homogenized, Soxhlet extracted, lipid removed by gel permeation chromatography, and fractionated using alumina/silica adsorption chromatography. The extracts are analyzed by dissimilar capillary-column gas chromatography with electron-capture detection. The method reporting limits are 5 micrograms per kilogram (μg/kg) for chlorinated compounds, 50 μg/kg for polychlorinated biphenyls, and 200 μg/kg for toxaphene.

Characterization of Long Working Distance Optical Coherence Tomography for Imaging of Pediatric Retinal Pathology.

PubMed

Qian, Ruobing; Carrasco-Zevallos, Oscar M; Mangalesh, Shwetha; Sarin, Neeru; Vajzovic, Lejla; Farsiu, Sina; Izatt, Joseph A; Toth, Cynthia A

2017-10-01

We determined the feasibility of fovea and optic nerve head imaging with a long working distance (LWD) swept source optical coherence tomography (OCT) prototype in adults, teenagers, and young children. A prototype swept source OCT system with a LWD (defined as distance from the last optical element of the imaging system to the eye) of 350 mm with custom fixation targets was developed to facilitate imaging of children. Imaging was performed in 49 participants from three age groups: 26 adults, 16 children 13 to 18 years old (teenagers), and seven children under 6 years old (young children) under an approved institutional review board protocol. The imaging goal was to acquire high quality scans of the fovea and optic nerve in each eye in the shortest time possible. OCT B-scans and volumes of the fovea and optic nerve head of each eligible eye were captured and graded based on four categories (lateral and axial centration, contrast, and resolution) and on ability to determine presence or absence of pathology. LWD-OCT imaging was successful in 88 of 94 eligible eyes, including seven of 10 eyes of young children. Of the successfully acquired OCT images, 83% of B-scan and volumetric images, including 86% from young children, were graded as high-quality scans. Pathology was observed in high-quality OCT images. The prototype LWD-OCT system achieved high quality retinal imaging of adults, teenagers, and some young children with and without pathology with reasonable alignment time. The LWD-OCT system can facilitate imaging in children.

Characterization of Long Working Distance Optical Coherence Tomography for Imaging of Pediatric Retinal Pathology

PubMed Central

Qian, Ruobing; Carrasco-Zevallos, Oscar M.; Mangalesh, Shwetha; Sarin, Neeru; Vajzovic, Lejla; Farsiu, Sina; Izatt, Joseph A.; Toth, Cynthia A.

2017-01-01

Purpose We determined the feasibility of fovea and optic nerve head imaging with a long working distance (LWD) swept source optical coherence tomography (OCT) prototype in adults, teenagers, and young children. Methods A prototype swept source OCT system with a LWD (defined as distance from the last optical element of the imaging system to the eye) of 350 mm with custom fixation targets was developed to facilitate imaging of children. Imaging was performed in 49 participants from three age groups: 26 adults, 16 children 13 to 18 years old (teenagers), and seven children under 6 years old (young children) under an approved institutional review board protocol. The imaging goal was to acquire high quality scans of the fovea and optic nerve in each eye in the shortest time possible. OCT B-scans and volumes of the fovea and optic nerve head of each eligible eye were captured and graded based on four categories (lateral and axial centration, contrast, and resolution) and on ability to determine presence or absence of pathology. Results LWD-OCT imaging was successful in 88 of 94 eligible eyes, including seven of 10 eyes of young children. Of the successfully acquired OCT images, 83% of B-scan and volumetric images, including 86% from young children, were graded as high-quality scans. Pathology was observed in high-quality OCT images. Conclusions The prototype LWD-OCT system achieved high quality retinal imaging of adults, teenagers, and some young children with and without pathology with reasonable alignment time. Translational Relevance The LWD-OCT system can facilitate imaging in children. PMID:29057163

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

Dyson, Anna

Intelligent Facades for High Performance Green Buildings: Previous research and development of intelligent facades systems has been limited in their contribution towards national goals for achieving on-site net zero buildings, because this R&D has failed to couple the many qualitative requirements of building envelopes such as the provision of daylighting, access to exterior views, satisfying aesthetic and cultural characteristics, with the quantitative metrics of energy harvesting, storage and redistribution. To achieve energy self-sufficiency from on-site solar resources, building envelopes can and must address this gamut of concerns simultaneously. With this project, we have undertaken a high-performance building- integrated combined-heat andmore » power concentrating photovoltaic system with high temperature thermal capture, storage and transport towards multiple applications (BICPV/T). The critical contribution we are offering with the Integrated Concentrating Solar Façade (ICSF) is conceived to improve daylighting quality for improved health of occupants and mitigate solar heat gain while maximally capturing and transferring on- site solar energy. The ICSF accomplishes this multi-functionality by intercepting only the direct-normal component of solar energy (which is responsible for elevated cooling loads) thereby transforming a previously problematic source of energy into a high- quality resource that can be applied to building demands such as heating, cooling, dehumidification, domestic hot water, and possible further augmentation of electrical generation through organic Rankine cycles. With the ICSF technology, our team is addressing the global challenge in transitioning commercial and residential building stock towards on-site clean energy self-sufficiency, by fully integrating innovative environmental control systems strategies within an intelligent and responsively dynamic building envelope. The advantage of being able to use the entire solar spectrum for active and passive benefits, along with the potential savings of avoiding transmission losses through direct current (DC) transfer to all buildings systems directly from the site of solar conversion, gives the system a compounded economic viability within the commercial and institutional building markets.« less

Systematic study of high-frequency ultrasonic transducer design for laser-scanning photoacoustic ophthalmoscopy

PubMed Central

Ma, Teng; Zhang, Xiangyang; Chiu, Chi Tat; Chen, Ruimin; Kirk Shung, K.; Zhou, Qifa; Jiao, Shuliang

2014-01-01

Abstract. Photoacoustic ophthalmoscopy (PAOM) is a high-resolution in vivo imaging modality that is capable of providing specific optical absorption information for the retina. A high-frequency ultrasonic transducer is one of the key components in PAOM, which is in contact with the eyelid through coupling gel during imaging. The ultrasonic transducer plays a crucial role in determining the image quality affected by parameters such as spatial resolution, signal-to-noise ratio, and field of view. In this paper, we present the results of a systematic study on a high-frequency ultrasonic transducer design for PAOM. The design includes piezoelectric material selection, frequency selection, and the fabrication process. Transducers of various designs were successfully applied for capturing images of biological samples in vivo. The performances of these designs are compared and evaluated. PMID:24441942

Systematic study of high-frequency ultrasonic transducer design for laser-scanning photoacoustic ophthalmoscopy.

PubMed

Ma, Teng; Zhang, Xiangyang; Chiu, Chi Tat; Chen, Ruimin; Kirk Shung, K; Zhou, Qifa; Jiao, Shuliang

2014-01-01

Photoacoustic ophthalmoscopy (PAOM) is a high-resolution in vivo imaging modality that is capable of providing specific optical absorption information for the retina. A high-frequency ultrasonic transducer is one of the key components in PAOM, which is in contact with the eyelid through coupling gel during imaging. The ultrasonic transducer plays a crucial role in determining the image quality affected by parameters such as spatial resolution, signal-to-noise ratio, and field of view. In this paper, we present the results of a systematic study on a high-frequency ultrasonic transducer design for PAOM. The design includes piezoelectric material selection, frequency selection, and the fabrication process. Transducers of various designs were successfully applied for capturing images of biological samples in vivo. The performances of these designs are compared and evaluated.

SAMOS - A Decade of High-Quality, Underway Meteorological and Oceanographic Data from Research Vessels

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smith, S. R.; Rolph, J.; Briggs, K.; Elya, J. L.; Bourassa, M. A.

2016-02-01

The authors will describe the successes and lessons learned from the Shipboard Automated Meteorological and Oceanographic System (SAMOS) initiative. Over the past decade, SAMOS has acquired, quality controlled, and distributed underway surface meteorological and oceanographic observations from nearly 40 oceanographic research vessels. Research vessels provide underway observations at high-temporal frequency (1-minute sampling interval) that include navigational (position, course, heading, and speed), meteorological (air temperature, humidity, wind, surface pressure, radiation, rainfall), and oceanographic (surface sea temperature and salinity) samples. Vessels recruited to the SAMOS initiative collect a high concentration of data within the U.S. continental shelf, around Hawaii and the islands of the tropical Pacific, and frequently operate well outside routine shipping lanes, capturing observations in extreme ocean environments (Southern, Arctic, South Atlantic, and South Pacific oceans) desired by the air-sea exchange, modeling, and satellite remote sensing communities. The presentation will highlight the data stewardship practices of the SAMOS initiative. Activities include routine automated and visual data quality evaluation, feedback to vessel technicians and operators regarding instrumentation errors, best practices for instrument siting and exposure on research vessels, and professional development activities for research vessel technicians. Best practices for data, metadata, and quality evaluation will be presented. We will discuss ongoing efforts to expand data services to enhance interoperability between marine data centers. Data access and archival protocols will also be presented, including how these data may be referenced and accessed via NCEI.

Chemical data assimilation of geostationary aerosol optical depth and PM surface observations on regional aerosol modeling over the Korean Peninsula during KORUS-AQ campaign

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jung, J.; Choi, Y.; Souri, A.; Jeon, W.

2017-12-01

Particle matter(PM) has played a significantly deleterious role in affecting human health and climate. Recently, continuous high concentrations of PM in Korea attracted public attention to this critical issue, and the Korea-United States Air Quality Study(KORUS-AQ) campaign in 2016 was conducted to investigate the causes. For this study, we adjusted the initial conditions in the chemical transport model(CTM) to improve its performance over Korean Peninsula during KORUS-AQ period, using the campaign data to evaluate our model performance. We used the Optimal Interpolation(OI) approach and used hourly surface air quality measurement data from the Air Quality Monitoring Station(AQMS) by NIER and the aerosol optical depth(AOD) measured by a GOCI sensor from the geostationary orbit onboard the Communication Ocean and Meteorological Satellite(COMS). The AOD at 550nm has a 6km spatial resolution and broad coverage over East Asia. After assimilating the surface air quality observation data, the model accuracy significantly improved compared to base model result (without assimilation). It reported very high correlation value (0.98) and considerably decreased mean bias. Especially, it well captured some high peaks which was underpredicted by the base model. To assimilate satellite data, we applied AOD scaling factors to quantify each specie's contribution to total PM concentration and find-mode fraction(FMF) to define vertical distribution. Finally, the improvement showed fairly good agreement.

Spatial and gender scenario of literate life expectancy at birth in India.

PubMed

Chattopadhyay, Aparajita; Sinha, Kumar Chiman

2010-10-01

Measuring human quality of life is academically challenging. The human development index (HDI) substantially captures the overall country level status on human welfare. However, this index has some drawbacks. Therefore, Lutz composed a simple index in 1995 combining life expectancy and literacy, called literate life expectancy (LLE). LLE can be calculated for subpopulations depending on availability of data. This article captures the LLE in major states in India and the gender differences in LLE at rural and urban levels. The authors have tried to highlight the social development scenario in India and its major states by using this pure social indicator that intentionally does not use any economic measurement. The state scenario comprehensively depicts gender differentials in social development, and it calls for implementing development measures more seriously in states like Haryana, Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh to reduce the gender gap. Being highly correlated with the HDI, the LLE index proves to be a very clear and simple comprehensive measure of social development for different subpopulations.

An Anisotropic A posteriori Error Estimator for CFD

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feijóo, Raúl A.; Padra, Claudio; Quintana, Fernando

In this article, a robust anisotropic adaptive algorithm is presented, to solve compressible-flow equations using a stabilized CFD solver and automatic mesh generators. The association includes a mesh generator, a flow solver, and an a posteriori error-estimator code. The estimator was selected among several choices available (Almeida et al. (2000). Comput. Methods Appl. Mech. Engng, 182, 379-400; Borges et al. (1998). "Computational mechanics: new trends and applications". Proceedings of the 4th World Congress on Computational Mechanics, Bs.As., Argentina) giving a powerful computational tool. The main aim is to capture solution discontinuities, in this case, shocks, using the least amount of computational resources, i.e. elements, compatible with a solution of good quality. This leads to high aspect-ratio elements (stretching). To achieve this, a directional error estimator was specifically selected. The numerical results show good behavior of the error estimator, resulting in strongly-adapted meshes in few steps, typically three or four iterations, enough to capture shocks using a moderate and well-distributed amount of elements.

Video capture of clinical care to enhance patient safety

PubMed Central

Weinger, M; Gonzales, D; Slagle, J; Syeed, M

2004-01-01



 Experience from other domains suggests that videotaping and analyzing actual clinical care can provide valuable insights for enhancing patient safety through improvements in the process of care. Methods are described for the videotaping and analysis of clinical care using a high quality portable multi-angle digital video system that enables simultaneous capture of vital signs and time code synchronization of all data streams. An observer can conduct clinician performance assessment (such as workload measurements or behavioral task analysis) either in real time (during videotaping) or while viewing previously recorded videotapes. Supplemental data are synchronized with the video record and stored electronically in a hierarchical database. The video records are transferred to DVD, resulting in a small, cheap, and accessible archive. A number of technical and logistical issues are discussed, including consent of patients and clinicians, maintaining subject privacy and confidentiality, and data security. Using anesthesiology as a test environment, over 270 clinical cases (872 hours) have been successfully videotaped and processed using the system. PMID:15069222

The Multidimensional Impact of Teachers on Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pope, Nolan G.

2017-01-01

For decades, policymakers and researchers have used value-added models that rely solely on student test scores to measure teacher quality. However, since teaching ability is multidimensional, test-score value-added measures of teacher quality may not fully capture the impact of teachers on students. In this paper, we use test-score and…

Use of soft data for multi-criteria calibration and validation of APEX: Impact on model simulations

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

It is widely known that the use of soft data and multiple model performance criteria in model calibration and validation is critical to ensuring the model capture major hydrologic and water quality processes. The Agricultural Policy/Environmental eXtender (APEX) is a hydrologic and water quality mod...

Financial Record Checking in Surveys: Do Prompts Improve Data Quality?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Murphy, Joe; Rosen, Jeffrey; Richards, Ashley; Riley, Sarah; Peytchev, Andy; Lindblad, Mark

2016-01-01

Self-reports of financial information in surveys, such as wealth, income, and assets, are particularly prone to inaccuracy. We sought to improve the quality of financial information captured in a survey conducted by phone and in person by encouraging respondents to check records when reporting on income and assets. We investigated whether…

Nursing Workload and the Changing Health Care Environment: A Review of the Literature

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Neill, Denise

2011-01-01

Changes in the health care environment have impacted nursing workload, quality of care, and patient safety. Traditional nursing workload measures do not guarantee efficiency, nor do they adequately capture the complexity of nursing workload. Review of the literature indicates nurses perceive the quality of their work has diminished. Research has…

77 FR 14712 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Massachusetts; Determination of...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-03-13

... Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection performed a missing data analysis for each site with low... Massachusetts missing data analysis used a combination of meteorology and air quality data for ozone monitors... with missing ozone data, the ozone levels, if captured, would have been below the 1997 8-hour ozone...

Qualities for Early Childhood Care and Education in an Age of Increasing Superdiversity and Decreasing Biodiversity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ritchie, Jenny

2016-01-01

In this article it is argued that notions of "quality" in early childhood education have been captured by neo-liberal discourses. These discourses perpetuate the western, individualistic, normativising and exploitative attitudes and practices that are contributing to the climate crisis currently imperilling our planet. Educators may…

Design of a framework for the deployment of collaborative independent rare disease-centric registries: Gaucher disease registry model.

PubMed

Bellgard, Matthew I; Napier, Kathryn R; Bittles, Alan H; Szer, Jeffrey; Fletcher, Sue; Zeps, Nikolajs; Hunter, Adam A; Goldblatt, Jack

2018-02-01

Orphan drug clinical trials often are adversely affected by a lack of high quality treatment efficacy data that can be reliably compared across large patient cohorts derived from multiple governmental and country jurisdictions. It is critical that these patient data be captured with limited corporate involvement. For some time, there have been calls to develop collaborative, non-proprietary, patient-centric registries for post-market surveillance of aspects related to orphan drug efficacy. There is an urgent need for the development and sustainable deployment of these 'independent' registries that can capture comprehensive clinical, genetic and therapeutic information on patients with rare diseases. We therefore extended an open-source registry platform, the Rare Disease Registry Framework (RDRF) to establish an Independent Rare Disease Registry (IRDR). We engaged with an established rare disease community for Gaucher disease to determine system requirements, methods of data capture, consent, and reporting. A non-proprietary IRDR model is presented that can serve as autonomous data repository, but more importantly ensures that the relevant data can be made available to appropriate stakeholders in a secure, timely and efficient manner to improve clinical decision-making and the lives of those with a rare disease. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Boron neutron capture therapy of malignant brain tumors at the Brookhaven Medical Research Reactor

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

Joel, D.D.; Coderre, J.A.; Chanana, A.D.

1996-12-31

Boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) is a bimodal form of radiation therapy for cancer. The first component of this treatment is the preferential localization of the stable isotope {sup 10}B in tumor cells by targeting with boronated compounds. The tumor and surrounding tissue is then irradiated with a neutron beam resulting in thermal neutron/{sup 10}B reactions ({sup 10}B(n,{alpha}){sup 7}Li) resulting in the production of localized high LET radiation from alpha and {sup 7}Li particles. These products of the neutron capture reaction are very damaging to cells, but of short range so that the majority of the ionizing energy released ismore » microscopically confined to the vicinity of the boron-containing compound. In principal it should be possible with BNCT to selectively destroy small nests or even single cancer cells located within normal tissue. It follows that the major improvements in this form of radiation therapy are going to come largely from the development of boron compounds with greater tumor selectivity, although there will certainly be advances made in neutron beam quality as well as the possible development of alternative sources of neutron beams, particularly accelerator-based epithermal neutron beams.« less

β Decay as a Probe of Explosive Nucleosynthesis in Classical Novae

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wrede, C.; Bennett, M. B.; Liddick, S. N.; Bardayan, D. W.; Bowe, A.; Brown, B. A.; Chen, A. A.; Chipps, K. A.; Cooper, N.; Fry, C.; Glassman, B.; Irvine, D.; José, J.; Langer, C.; Larson, N.; McNeice, E. I.; Meisel, Z.; Montes, F.; Naqvi, F.; Pain, S. D.; O'Malley, P.; Ortez, R.; Ong, W.; Pereira, J.; Pérez-Loureiro, D.; Prokop, C.; Quaglia, J.; Quinn, S.; Santia, M.; Schatz, H.; Schwartz, S. B.; Simon, A.; Shanab, S.; Spyrou, A.; Suchyta, S.; Thiagalingam, E.; Thompson, P.; Walters, M.

Classical novae are common thermonuclear explosions in the Milky Way galaxy, occurring on the surfaces of white-dwarf stars that are accreting hydrogen-rich material from companion stars. Nucleosynthesis in classical novae depends on radiative proton-capture reaction rates on radioactive nuclides. Many of these reactions cannot be measured directly at current accelerator facilities due to the lack of intense, high-quality, radioactive-ion beams at the relevant energies. Since most of these reactions proceed via resonant capture, their rates can be determined indirectly by measuring the properties of the resonances. At the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory, we have used the β-delayed γ decays of 26P and 31Cl to populate resonances in 26Si and 31S and study the radiative proton captures on 25Al and 30P, respectively. These were two out of the three most important nuclear-physics uncertainties associated with the observable products of nova nucleosynthesis. The 26P experiment has enabled a more accurate estimate of the nova contribution to the long-lived Galactic 26Al detected with γ-ray telescopes. The 31Cl experiment, currently under analysis, will calibrate potential nova thermometers and mixing meters based on elemental abundance ratios, and facilitate the identification of pre-solar nova grain candidates found in primitive meteorites based on isotopic ratios.

High-throughput screening of metal-porphyrin-like graphenes for selective capture of carbon dioxide

PubMed Central

Bae, Hyeonhu; Park, Minwoo; Jang, Byungryul; Kang, Yura; Park, Jinwoo; Lee, Hosik; Chung, Haegeun; Chung, ChiHye; Hong, Suklyun; Kwon, Yongkyung; Yakobson, Boris I.; Lee, Hoonkyung

2016-01-01

Nanostructured materials, such as zeolites and metal-organic frameworks, have been considered to capture CO2. However, their application has been limited largely because they exhibit poor selectivity for flue gases and low capture capacity under low pressures. We perform a high-throughput screening for selective CO2 capture from flue gases by using first principles thermodynamics. We find that elements with empty d orbitals selectively attract CO2 from gaseous mixtures under low CO2 pressures (~10−3 bar) at 300 K and release it at ~450 K. CO2 binding to elements involves hybridization of the metal d orbitals with the CO2 π orbitals and CO2-transition metal complexes were observed in experiments. This result allows us to perform high-throughput screening to discover novel promising CO2 capture materials with empty d orbitals (e.g., Sc– or V–porphyrin-like graphene) and predict their capture performance under various conditions. Moreover, these findings provide physical insights into selective CO2 capture and open a new path to explore CO2 capture materials. PMID:26902156

High-throughput screening of metal-porphyrin-like graphenes for selective capture of carbon dioxide.

PubMed

Bae, Hyeonhu; Park, Minwoo; Jang, Byungryul; Kang, Yura; Park, Jinwoo; Lee, Hosik; Chung, Haegeun; Chung, ChiHye; Hong, Suklyun; Kwon, Yongkyung; Yakobson, Boris I; Lee, Hoonkyung

2016-02-23

Nanostructured materials, such as zeolites and metal-organic frameworks, have been considered to capture CO2. However, their application has been limited largely because they exhibit poor selectivity for flue gases and low capture capacity under low pressures. We perform a high-throughput screening for selective CO2 capture from flue gases by using first principles thermodynamics. We find that elements with empty d orbitals selectively attract CO2 from gaseous mixtures under low CO2 pressures (~10(-3) bar) at 300 K and release it at ~450 K. CO2 binding to elements involves hybridization of the metal d orbitals with the CO2 π orbitals and CO2-transition metal complexes were observed in experiments. This result allows us to perform high-throughput screening to discover novel promising CO2 capture materials with empty d orbitals (e.g., Sc- or V-porphyrin-like graphene) and predict their capture performance under various conditions. Moreover, these findings provide physical insights into selective CO2 capture and open a new path to explore CO2 capture materials.

High-throughput screening of metal-porphyrin-like graphenes for selective capture of carbon dioxide

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bae, Hyeonhu; Park, Minwoo; Jang, Byungryul; Kang, Yura; Park, Jinwoo; Lee, Hosik; Chung, Haegeun; Chung, Chihye; Hong, Suklyun; Kwon, Yongkyung; Yakobson, Boris I.; Lee, Hoonkyung

2016-02-01

Nanostructured materials, such as zeolites and metal-organic frameworks, have been considered to capture CO2. However, their application has been limited largely because they exhibit poor selectivity for flue gases and low capture capacity under low pressures. We perform a high-throughput screening for selective CO2 capture from flue gases by using first principles thermodynamics. We find that elements with empty d orbitals selectively attract CO2 from gaseous mixtures under low CO2 pressures (~10-3 bar) at 300 K and release it at ~450 K. CO2 binding to elements involves hybridization of the metal d orbitals with the CO2 π orbitals and CO2-transition metal complexes were observed in experiments. This result allows us to perform high-throughput screening to discover novel promising CO2 capture materials with empty d orbitals (e.g., Sc- or V-porphyrin-like graphene) and predict their capture performance under various conditions. Moreover, these findings provide physical insights into selective CO2 capture and open a new path to explore CO2 capture materials.

A comparative analysis of exome capture.

PubMed

Parla, Jennifer S; Iossifov, Ivan; Grabill, Ian; Spector, Mona S; Kramer, Melissa; McCombie, W Richard

2011-09-29

Human exome resequencing using commercial target capture kits has been and is being used for sequencing large numbers of individuals to search for variants associated with various human diseases. We rigorously evaluated the capabilities of two solution exome capture kits. These analyses help clarify the strengths and limitations of those data as well as systematically identify variables that should be considered in the use of those data. Each exome kit performed well at capturing the targets they were designed to capture, which mainly corresponds to the consensus coding sequences (CCDS) annotations of the human genome. In addition, based on their respective targets, each capture kit coupled with high coverage Illumina sequencing produced highly accurate nucleotide calls. However, other databases, such as the Reference Sequence collection (RefSeq), define the exome more broadly, and so not surprisingly, the exome kits did not capture these additional regions. Commercial exome capture kits provide a very efficient way to sequence select areas of the genome at very high accuracy. Here we provide the data to help guide critical analyses of sequencing data derived from these products.

Application of Domain Knowledge to Software Quality Assurance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wild, Christian W.

1997-01-01

This work focused on capturing, using, and evolving a qualitative decision support structure across the life cycle of a project. The particular application of this study was towards business process reengineering and the representation of the business process in a set of Business Rules (BR). In this work, we defined a decision model which captured the qualitative decision deliberation process. It represented arguments both for and against proposed alternatives to a problem. It was felt that the subjective nature of many critical business policy decisions required a qualitative modeling approach similar to that of Lee and Mylopoulos. While previous work was limited almost exclusively to the decision capture phase, which occurs early in the project life cycle, we investigated the use of such a model during the later stages as well. One of our significant developments was the use of the decision model during the operational phase of a project. By operational phase, we mean the phase in which the system or set of policies which were earlier decided are deployed and put into practice. By making the decision model available to operational decision makers, they would have access to the arguments pro and con for a variety of actions and can thus make a more informed decision which balances the often conflicting criteria by which the value of action is measured. We also developed the concept of a 'monitored decision' in which metrics of performance were identified during the decision making process and used to evaluate the quality of that decision. It is important to monitor those decision which seem at highest risk of not meeting their stated objectives. Operational decisions are also potentially high risk decisions. Finally, we investigated the use of performance metrics for monitored decisions and audit logs of operational decisions in order to feed an evolutionary phase of the the life cycle. During evolution, decisions are revisisted, assumptions verified or refuted, and possible reassessments resulting in new policy are made. In this regard we implemented a machine learning algorithm which automatically defined business rules based on expert assessment of the quality of operational decisions as recorded during deployment.

Reassessing the Efficiency Penalty from Carbon Capture in Coal-Fired Power Plants.

PubMed

Supekar, Sarang D; Skerlos, Steven J

2015-10-20

This paper examines thermal efficiency penalties and greenhouse gas as well as other pollutant emissions associated with pulverized coal (PC) power plants equipped with postcombustion CO2 capture for carbon sequestration. We find that, depending on the source of heat used to meet the steam requirements in the capture unit, retrofitting a PC power plant that maintains its gross power output (compared to a PC power plant without a capture unit) can cause a drop in plant thermal efficiency of 11.3-22.9%-points. This estimate for efficiency penalty is significantly higher than literature values and corresponds to an increase of about 5.3-7.7 US¢/kWh in the levelized cost of electricity (COE) over the 8.4 US¢/kWh COE value for PC plants without CO2 capture. The results follow from the inclusion of mass and energy feedbacks in PC power plants with CO2 capture into previous analyses, as well as including potential quality considerations for safe and reliable transportation and sequestration of CO2. We conclude that PC power plants with CO2 capture are likely to remain less competitive than natural gas combined cycle (without CO2 capture) and on-shore wind power plants, both from a levelized and marginal COE point of view.

Optimizing Radiometric Fidelity to Enhance Aerial Image Change Detection Utilizing Digital Single Lens Reflex (DSLR) Cameras

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kerr, Andrew D.

Determining optimal imaging settings and best practices related to the capture of aerial imagery using consumer-grade digital single lens reflex (DSLR) cameras, should enable remote sensing scientists to generate consistent, high quality, and low cost image data sets. Radiometric optimization, image fidelity, image capture consistency and repeatability were evaluated in the context of detailed image-based change detection. The impetus for this research is in part, a dearth of relevant, contemporary literature, on the utilization of consumer grade DSLR cameras for remote sensing, and the best practices associated with their use. The main radiometric control settings on a DSLR camera, EV (Exposure Value), WB (White Balance), light metering, ISO, and aperture (f-stop), are variables that were altered and controlled over the course of several image capture missions. These variables were compared for their effects on dynamic range, intra-frame brightness variation, visual acuity, temporal consistency, and the detectability of simulated cracks placed in the images. This testing was conducted from a terrestrial, rather than an airborne collection platform, due to the large number of images per collection, and the desire to minimize inter-image misregistration. The results point to a range of slightly underexposed image exposure values as preferable for change detection and noise minimization fidelity. The makeup of the scene, the sensor, and aerial platform, influence the selection of the aperture and shutter speed which along with other variables, allow for estimation of the apparent image motion (AIM) motion blur in the resulting images. The importance of the image edges in the image application, will in part dictate the lowest usable f-stop, and allow the user to select a more optimal shutter speed and ISO. The single most important camera capture variable is exposure bias (EV), with a full dynamic range, wide distribution of DN values, and high visual contrast and acuity occurring around -0.7 to -0.3EV exposure bias. The ideal values for sensor gain, was found to be ISO 100, with ISO 200 a less desirable. This study offers researchers a better understanding of the effects of camera capture settings on RSI pairs and their influence on image-based change detection.

High purity microfluidic sorting and analysis of circulating tumor cells: towards routine mutation detection.

PubMed

Autebert, Julien; Coudert, Benoit; Champ, Jérôme; Saias, Laure; Guneri, Ezgi Tulukcuoglu; Lebofsky, Ronald; Bidard, François-Clément; Pierga, Jean-Yves; Farace, Françoise; Descroix, Stéphanie; Malaquin, Laurent; Viovy, Jean-Louis

2015-05-07

A new generation of the Ephesia cell capture technology optimized for CTC capture and genetic analysis is presented, characterized in depth and compared with the CellSearch system as a reference. This technology uses magnetic particles bearing tumour-cell specific EpCAM antibodies, self-assembled in a regular array in a microfluidic flow cell. 48,000 high aspect-ratio columns are generated using a magnetic field in a high throughput (>3 ml h(-1)) device and act as sieves to specifically capture the cells of interest through antibody-antigen interactions. Using this device optimized for CTC capture and analysis, we demonstrated the capture of epithelial cells with capture efficiency above 90% for concentrations as low as a few cells per ml. We showed the high specificity of capture with only 0.26% of non-epithelial cells captured for concentrations above 10 million cells per ml. We investigated the capture behavior of cells in the device, and correlated the cell attachment rate with the EpCAM expression on the cell membranes for six different cell lines. We developed and characterized a two-step blood processing method to allow for rapid processing of 10 ml blood tubes in less than 4 hours, and showed a capture rate of 70% for as low as 25 cells spiked in 10 ml blood tubes, with less than 100 contaminating hematopoietic cells. Using this device and procedure, we validated our system on patient samples using an automated cell immunostaining procedure and a semi-automated cell counting method. Our device captured CTCs in 75% of metastatic prostate cancer patients and 80% of metastatic breast cancer patients, and showed similar or better results than the CellSearch device in 10 out of 13 samples. Finally, we demonstrated the possibility of detecting cancer-related PIK3CA gene mutation in 20 cells captured in the chip with a good correlation between the cell count and the quantitation value Cq of the post-capture qPCR.

Avulsion research using flume experiments and highly accurate and temporal-rich SfM datasets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Javernick, L.; Bertoldi, W.; Vitti, A.

2017-12-01

SfM's ability to produce high-quality, large-scale digital elevation models (DEMs) of complicated and rapidly evolving systems has made it a valuable technique for low-budget researchers and practitioners. While SfM has provided valuable datasets that capture single-flood event DEMs, there is an increasing scientific need to capture higher temporal resolution datasets that can quantify the evolutionary processes instead of pre- and post-flood snapshots. However, flood events' dangerous field conditions and image matching challenges (e.g. wind, rain) prevent quality SfM-image acquisition. Conversely, flume experiments offer opportunities to document flood events, but achieving consistent and accurate DEMs to detect subtle changes in dry and inundated areas remains a challenge for SfM (e.g. parabolic error signatures).This research aimed at investigating the impact of naturally occurring and manipulated avulsions on braided river morphology and on the encroachment of floodplain vegetation, using laboratory experiments. This required DEMs with millimeter accuracy and precision and at a temporal resolution to capture the processes. SfM was chosen as it offered the most practical method. Through redundant local network design and a meticulous ground control point (GCP) survey with a Leica Total Station in red laser configuration (reported 2 mm accuracy), the SfM residual errors compared to separate ground truthing data produced mean errors of 1.5 mm (accuracy) and standard deviations of 1.4 mm (precision) without parabolic error signatures. Lighting conditions in the flume were limited to uniform, oblique, and filtered LED strips, which removed glint and thus improved bed elevation mean errors to 4 mm, but errors were further reduced by means of an open source software for refraction correction. The obtained datasets have provided the ability to quantify how small flood events with avulsion can have similar morphologic and vegetation impacts as large flood events without avulsion. Further, this research highlights the potential application of SfM in the laboratory and ability to document physical and biological processes at greater spatial and temporal resolution. Marie Sklodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship: River-HMV, 656917

Experimental Study of the Influence of Speed and Load on Thermal Behavior of High-Speed Helical Gear Trains

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Handschuh, R.; Kilmain, C.

2005-01-01

An experimental effort has been conducted on an aerospace-quality helical gear train to investigate the thermal behavior of the gear system as speed, load, and lubricant flow rate were varied. Temperature test data from a helical gear train at varying speeds and loads (to 5000 hp and 15000 rpm) was collected using thermocouple rakes and axial arrays. The instrumentation was able to capture the radial and axial expelled lubricant-air environment (fling-off lubricant) that is expelled during the gear meshing process. Effects of operational characteristics are presented.

High-intensity resistance training in multiple sclerosis - An exploratory study of effects on immune markers in blood and cerebrospinal fluid, and on mood, fatigue, health-related quality of life, muscle strength, walking and cognition.

PubMed

Kierkegaard, Marie; Lundberg, Ingrid E; Olsson, Tomas; Johansson, Sverker; Ygberg, Sofia; Opava, Christina; Holmqvist, Lotta Widén; Piehl, Fredrik

2016-03-15

High-intensity resistance training is unexplored in people with multiple sclerosis. To evaluate effects of high-intensity resistance training on immune markers and on measures of mood, fatigue, health-related quality of life, muscle strength, walking and cognition. Further, to describe participants' opinion and perceived changes of the training. Twenty patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis performed high-intensity resistance training at an intensity of 80% of one-repetition maximum, twice a week for 12 weeks. Blood and optional cerebrospinal fluid samples, and data on secondary outcome measures were collected before and after intervention. A study-specific questionnaire was used for capturing participants' opinion. Seventeen participants completed the study. Plasma cytokine levels of tumor necrosis factor were significantly decreased post-intervention (p=0.001). Exploratory cytokine analyses in cerebrospinal fluid (n=8) did not reveal major changes. Significant and clinically important improvements were found in fatigue (p=0.001) and health-related quality of life (p=0.004). Measures of mood (p=0.002), muscle strength (p ≤ 0.001), walking speed (p=0.013) and cognition (p=0.04) were also improved. A majority of participants evaluated the training as very good and perceived changes to the better. High-intensity resistance training in persons with relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis with low disability had positive effects on peripheral pro-inflammatory cytokine levels, led to clinically relevant improvements in measures of fatigue and health-related quality of life, and was well tolerated. These results provide a basis for a larger randomized trial. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Determination of inadvertent atrial capture during para-Hisian pacing.

PubMed

Obeyesekere, Manoj; Leong-Sit, Peter; Skanes, Allan; Krahn, Andrew; Yee, Raymond; Gula, Lorne J; Bennett, Matthew; Klein, George J

2011-08-01

Inadvertent capture of the atrium will lead to spurious results during para-Hisian pacing. We sought to establish whether the stimulation-to-atrial electrogram interval at the proximal coronary sinus (stim-PCS) or high right atrium (stim-HRA) could signal inadvertent atrial capture. Para-Hisian pacing with and without intentional atrial capture was performed in 31 patients. Stim-HRA and stim-PCS intervals were measured with atrial capture, His plus para-Hisian ventricular (H+V) capture, and para-Hisian ventricular (V) capture alone. The mean stim-HRA interval was significantly shorter with atrial capture (66 ± 18 ms) than with H+V (121 ± 27 ms, P < 0.001) or V capture alone (174 ± 38 ms, P < 0.001). The mean stim-PCS interval was significantly shorter with atrial capture (51 ± 16 ms) than with H+V (92 ± 22 ms, P<0.001) or V capture alone (146 ± 33 ms, P < 0.001). A stim-PCS < 60 ms (stim-HRA < 70 ms) was observed only with atrial capture. A stim-PCS >90 ms (stim-HRA >100 ms) was observed only in the absence of atrial capture. A stim-HRA of < 85 ms was highly specific and stim-PCS of < 85 ms highly sensitive at identifying atrial capture. Stim-HRA intervals of 75 to 97 ms and stim-PCS intervals of 65 to 88 ms were observed with either atrial, His, or para-Hisian ventricular capture without atrial capture. In this overlap zone, all patients demonstrated a stim-PCS or stim-HRA interval prolongation of at least 20 ms when the catheter was advanced to avoid deliberate atrial pacing. The QRS morphology was of limited value in distinguishing atrial capture due to concurrent ventricular or H+V capture, as observed in 20 of 31 (65%) patients. Stim-PCS and stim-HRA intervals can be used to monitor for inadvertent atrial capture during para-Hisian pacing. A stim-PCS < 60 ms (or stim-HRA < 70 ms) and stim-PCS > 90 ms (or stim-HRA > 100 ms) were observed only with and without atrial capture, respectively, but there was significant overlap between these values. Deliberate atrial capture and loss of capture reliably identifies atrial capture regardless of intervals.

Chronic impact of traumatic brain injury on outcome and quality of life: a narrative review.

PubMed

Stocchetti, Nino; Zanier, Elisa R

2016-06-21

Traditionally seen as a sudden, brutal event with short-term impairment, traumatic brain injury (TBI) may cause persistent, sometimes life-long, consequences. While mortality after TBI has been reduced, a high proportion of severe TBI survivors require prolonged rehabilitation and may suffer long-term physical, cognitive, and psychological disorders. Additionally, chronic consequences have been identified not only after severe TBI but also in a proportion of cases previously classified as moderate or mild. This burden affects the daily life of survivors and their families; it also has relevant social and economic costs.Outcome evaluation is difficult for several reasons: co-existing extra-cranial injuries (spinal cord damage, for instance) may affect independence and quality of life outside the pure TBI effects; scales may not capture subtle, but important, changes; co-operation from patients may be impossible in the most severe cases. Several instruments have been developed for capturing specific aspects, from generic health status to specific cognitive functions. Even simple instruments, however, have demonstrated variable inter-rater agreement.The possible links between structural traumatic brain damage and functional impairment have been explored both experimentally and in the clinical setting with advanced neuro-imaging techniques. We briefly report on some fundamental findings, which may also offer potential targets for future therapies.Better understanding of damage mechanisms and new approaches to neuroprotection-restoration may offer better outcomes for the millions of survivors of TBI.

The African Lupus Genetics Network (ALUGEN) registry: standardized, prospective follow-up studies in African patients with systemic lupus erythematosus.

PubMed

Hodkinson, B; Mapiye, D; Jayne, D; Kalla, A; Tiffin, N; Okpechi, I

2016-03-01

The prevalence and severity of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) differs between ethnic groups and geographical regions. Although initially reported as rare, there is growing evidence that SLE is prevalent and runs a severe course in Africa. There is a paucity of prospective studies on African SLE patients. The African Lupus Genetics Network (ALUGEN) is a multicentred framework seeking to prospectively assess outcomes in SLE patients in Africa. Outcomes measured will be death, hospital admission, disease activity flares, and SLE-related damage. We will explore predictors for these outcomes including clinical, serological, socio-demographic, therapeutic and genetic factors. Further, we will investigate comorbidities and health-related quality of life amongst these patients. Data of patients recently (≤ 5 yrs) diagnosed with SLE will be collected at baseline and annual follow-up visits, and captured electronically. The ALUGEN project will facilitate standardized data capture for SLE cases in Africa, allowing participating centres to develop their own SLE registries, and enabling collaboration to enrich our understanding of inter-ethnic and regional variations in disease expression. Comprehensive, high-quality multi-ethnic data on African SLE patients will expand knowledge of the disease and inform clinical practice, in addition to augmenting research capacity and networking links and providing a platform for future biomarker and interventional studies. © The Author(s) 2015.

Linear and nonlinear subspace analysis of hand movements during grasping.

PubMed

Cui, Phil Hengjun; Visell, Yon

2014-01-01

This study investigated nonlinear patterns of coordination, or synergies, underlying whole-hand grasping kinematics. Prior research has shed considerable light on roles played by such coordinated degrees-of-freedom (DOF), illuminating how motor control is facilitated by structural and functional specializations in the brain, peripheral nervous system, and musculoskeletal system. However, existing analyses suppose that the patterns of coordination can be captured by means of linear analyses, as linear combinations of nominally independent DOF. In contrast, hand kinematics is itself highly nonlinear in nature. To address this discrepancy, we sought to to determine whether nonlinear synergies might serve to more accurately and efficiently explain human grasping kinematics than is possible with linear analyses. We analyzed motion capture data acquired from the hands of individuals as they grasped an array of common objects, using four of the most widely used linear and nonlinear dimensionality reduction algorithms. We compared the results using a recently developed algorithm-agnostic quality measure, which enabled us to assess the quality of the dimensional reductions that resulted by assessing the extent to which local neighborhood information in the data was preserved. Although qualitative inspection of this data suggested that nonlinear correlations between kinematic variables were present, we found that linear modeling, in the form of Principle Components Analysis, could perform better than any of the nonlinear techniques we applied.

Shaping quality: the use of performance polygons for multidimensional presentation and interpretation of qualitative performance data.

PubMed

Cook, T M; Coupe, M; Ku, T

2012-06-01

Measuring outcomes and quality in anaesthesia is challenging. In the UK, there is increased focus on these as a result of changes in Department of Health strategy and the imminent introduction of mandatory revalidation for all doctors. A definition of quality may differ according to the observer's standpoint and numerous performance measures may contribute to overall quality. Patients, surgeons, anaesthetic assistants, recovery nurses, managers, and anaesthetic peers are each likely to have their own perspective on 'anaesthetic quality' and would perhaps suggest different metrics to measure it. Speed, efficiency, cost, interpersonal skills, complication rates, patient recorded outcome measures, and satisfaction are all valid as quality measures, but none alone captures anaesthetic quality. Performance data are frequently presented as single-dimension measurements (e.g. pain, postoperative nausea and vomiting, patient satisfaction), but this does not address the fact that two or more domains may be closely related (e.g. use of regional anaesthesia and quality of analgesia) or in opposition (e.g. use of regional anaesthesia and speed). We introduce the concept of a 'performance polygon' as a tool to represent multidimensional performance assessment. This method of data presentation encourages balanced appraisal of anaesthetic quality. Performance polygons may be used to compare individual performance with peers, published outcome norms, trends in performance over time, to explore aspects of team performance and potentially capture data that are required for medical revalidation. Performance polygons enable easy comparison with any relevant data set and are a visual tool that potentially has wider applications in healthcare quality improvement.

Knowledge Capture and Management for Space Flight Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Goodman, John L.

2005-01-01

The incorporation of knowledge capture and knowledge management strategies early in the development phase of an exploration program is necessary for safe and successful missions of human and robotic exploration vehicles over the life of a program. Following the transition from the development to the flight phase, loss of underlying theory and rationale governing design and requirements occur through a number of mechanisms. This degrades the quality of engineering work resulting in increased life cycle costs and risk to mission success and safety of flight. Due to budget constraints, concerned personnel in legacy programs often have to improvise methods for knowledge capture and management using existing, but often sub-optimal, information technology and archival resources. Application of advanced information technology to perform knowledge capture and management would be most effective if program wide requirements are defined at the beginning of a program.

Productivity Research and Development Planning Workshop.

DTIC Science & Technology

1986-03-01

mission. These ideas must come from everyone in all echelons of the Comand. The MAC quality of worklife efforts consist of quality circles, labor-manage...that would not have been captured by the measure as initially formulated by the PIG. The balance of the plan and recommenda- tions made by the PMWG...people are doing things. We have the suggestion program, the quality of worklife program, and the Tech Mod program. All of these programs are productivity

Parallel Processing of Large Scale Microphone Arrays for Sound Capture

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jan, Ea-Ee.

1995-01-01

Performance of microphone sound pick up is degraded by deleterious properties of the acoustic environment, such as multipath distortion (reverberation) and ambient noise. The degradation becomes more prominent in a teleconferencing environment in which the microphone is positioned far away from the speaker. Besides, the ideal teleconference should feel as easy and natural as face-to-face communication with another person. This suggests hands-free sound capture with no tether or encumbrance by hand-held or body-worn sound equipment. Microphone arrays for this application represent an appropriate approach. This research develops new microphone array and signal processing techniques for high quality hands-free sound capture in noisy, reverberant enclosures. The new techniques combine matched-filtering of individual sensors and parallel processing to provide acute spatial volume selectivity which is capable of mitigating the deleterious effects of noise interference and multipath distortion. The new method outperforms traditional delay-and-sum beamformers which provide only directional spatial selectivity. The research additionally explores truncated matched-filtering and random distribution of transducers to reduce complexity and improve sound capture quality. All designs are first established by computer simulation of array performance in reverberant enclosures. The simulation is achieved by a room model which can efficiently calculate the acoustic multipath in a rectangular enclosure up to a prescribed order of images. It also calculates the incident angle of the arriving signal. Experimental arrays were constructed and their performance was measured in real rooms. Real room data were collected in a hard-walled laboratory and a controllable variable acoustics enclosure of similar size, approximately 6 x 6 x 3 m. An extensive speech database was also collected in these two enclosures for future research on microphone arrays. The simulation results are shown to be consistent with the real room data. Localization of sound sources has been explored using cross-power spectrum time delay estimation and has been evaluated using real room data under slightly, moderately and highly reverberant conditions. To improve the accuracy and reliability of the source localization, an outlier detector that removes incorrect time delay estimation has been invented. To provide speaker selectivity for microphone array systems, a hands-free speaker identification system has been studied. A recently invented feature using selected spectrum information outperforms traditional recognition methods. Measured results demonstrate the capabilities of speaker selectivity from a matched-filtered array. In addition, simulation utilities, including matched -filtering processing of the array and hands-free speaker identification, have been implemented on the massively -parallel nCube super-computer. This parallel computation highlights the requirements for real-time processing of array signals.

Repercussion of geometric and dynamic constraints on the 3D rendering quality in structurally adaptive multi-view shooting systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ali-Bey, Mohamed; Moughamir, Saïd; Manamanni, Noureddine

2011-12-01

in this paper a simulator of a multi-view shooting system with parallel optical axes and structurally variable configuration is proposed. The considered system is dedicated to the production of 3D contents for auto-stereoscopic visualization. The global shooting/viewing geometrical process, which is the kernel of this shooting system, is detailed and the different viewing, transformation and capture parameters are then defined. An appropriate perspective projection model is afterward derived to work out a simulator. At first, this latter is used to validate the global geometrical process in the case of a static configuration. Next, the simulator is used to show the limitations of a static configuration of this shooting system type by considering the case of dynamic scenes and then a dynamic scheme is achieved to allow a correct capture of this kind of scenes. After that, the effect of the different geometrical capture parameters on the 3D rendering quality and the necessity or not of their adaptation is studied. Finally, some dynamic effects and their repercussions on the 3D rendering quality of dynamic scenes are analyzed using error images and some image quantization tools. Simulation and experimental results are presented throughout this paper to illustrate the different studied points. Some conclusions and perspectives end the paper. [Figure not available: see fulltext.

Quality of care: measuring a neglected driver of improved health

PubMed Central

Kruk, Margaret E

2017-01-01

Abstract The quality of care provided by health systems contributes towards efforts to reach sustainable development goal 3 on health and well-being. There is growing evidence that the impact of health interventions is undermined by poor quality of care in lower-income countries. Quality of care will also be crucial to the success of universal health coverage initiatives; citizens unhappy with the quality and scope of covered services are unlikely to support public financing of health care. Moreover, an ethical impetus exists to ensure that all people, including the poorest, obtain a minimum quality standard of care that is effective for improving health. However, the measurement of quality today in low- and middle-income countries is inadequate to the task. Health information systems provide incomplete and often unreliable data, and facility surveys collect too many indicators of uncertain utility, focus on a limited number of services and are quickly out of date. Existing measures poorly capture the process of care and the patient experience. Patient outcomes that are sensitive to health-care practices, a mainstay of quality assessment in high-income countries, are rarely collected. We propose six policy recommendations to improve quality-of-care measurement and amplify its policy impact: (i) redouble efforts to improve and institutionalize civil registration and vital statistics systems; (ii) reform facility surveys and strengthen routine information systems; (iii) innovate new quality measures for low-resource contexts; (iv) get the patient perspective on quality; (v) invest in national quality data; and (vi) translate quality evidence for policy impact. PMID:28603313

Converting laserdisc video to digital video: a demonstration project using brain animations.

PubMed

Jao, C S; Hier, D B; Brint, S U

1995-01-01

Interactive laserdiscs are of limited value in large group learning situations due to the expense of establishing multiple workstations. The authors implemented an alternative to laserdisc video by using indexed digital video combined with an expert system. High-quality video was captured from a laserdisc player and combined with waveform audio into an audio-video-interleave (AVI) file format in the Microsoft Video-for-Windows environment (Microsoft Corp., Seattle, WA). With the use of an expert system, a knowledge-based computer program provided random access to these indexed AVI files. The program can be played on any multimedia computer without the need for laserdiscs. This system offers a high level of interactive video without the overhead and cost of a laserdisc player.

The Contribution of Malodour in Quality of Life of Patients With Hidradenitis Suppurativa.

PubMed

Alavi, Afsaneh; Farzanfar, Delaram; Lee, Rosa Kyuwon; Almutairi, Dalal

Malodourous discharge in patients with hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) has a strong psychosocial impact and is often reported as a source of embarrassment, low self-esteem, social stigma, and barriers to interpersonal relationships. Malodour is a maker of bacterial colonization, and its role in HS is understudied. The aim of this study is to assess the relationship between severity of malodourous discharge and quality-of-life impairment in patients with HS. This is a cross-sectional study of 51 patients recruited from the Women's College Hospital and the York Dermatology Centre. Quality of life was assessed using both the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) and the Skindex-29 instruments. Severity of odour significantly predicts the total Skindex score after controlling for disease severity as measured by the Hurley stage and Sartorius score ( R 2 = 0.39, F = 8.11, P < .0001). However, odour severity is not a predictor of DLQI ( R 2 = 0.17, F = 2.63, P = .064). There was no difference in mean DLQI scores for the low- vs high-odour groups, but patients with high odour had a greater quality of life impairment as measured by the Skindex tool ( t = -4.19, df = 43, P < .0001, mean difference = -18.87). Malodour is a common symptom that significantly impairs quality of life in patients with HS. The fact that this effect is captured in Skindex and not the DLQI may be attributed to the nonspecificity of the DLQI in terms of unique disease characteristics. It is important to address odour in the management of patients with HS.

Telecytology: Is it possible with smartphone images?

PubMed

Sahin, Davut; Hacisalihoglu, Uguray Payam; Kirimlioglu, Saime Hale

2018-01-01

This study aimed to discuss smartphone usage in telecytology and determine intraobserver concordance between microscopic cytopathological diagnoses and diagnoses derived via static smartphone images. The study was conducted with 172 cytologic material. A pathologist captured static images of the cytology slides from the ocular lens of a microscope using a smartphone. The images were transferred via WhatsApp® to a cytopathologist working in another center who made all the microscopic cytopathological diagnoses 5-27 months ago. The cytopathologist diagnosed images on a smartphone without knowledge of their previous microscopic diagnoses. The Kappa agreement between microscopic cytopathological diagnoses and smartphone image diagnoses was determined. The average image capturing, transfer, and remote cytopathological diagnostic time for one case was 6.20 minutes. The percentage of cases whose microscopic and smartphone image diagnoses were concordant was 84.30%, and the percentage of those whose diagnoses were discordant was 15.69%. The highest Kappa agreement was observed in endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration (1.000), and the lowest agreement was observed in urine cytology (0.665). Patient management changed with smart phone image diagnoses at 11.04%. This study showed that easy, fast, and high-quality image capturing and transfer is possible from cytology slides using smartphones. The intraobserver Kappa agreement between the microscopic cytopathological diagnoses and remote smartphone image diagnoses was high. It was found that remote diagnosis due to difficulties in telecytology might change patient management. The developments in the smartphone camera technology and transfer software make them efficient telepathology and telecytology tools. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The role of amenities and quality of life in rural economic growth

Treesearch

Steven C. Deller; Tsung-Hsiu (Sue) Tsai; David W. Marcouiller; Donald B.K. English

2001-01-01

A structural model of regional economic growth is estimated using data for 2243 rural US. counties. Five indices designed to capture specific amenity and quality of life characteristics are constructed using 54 separate indicators. Results suggest that amenity characteristics can be organized into consistent and meaningful empirical measures that move beyond ad hoc...

The Impact of Work Quality and Quantity on the Development of Career Decision Status

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Earl, Joanne K.; Bright, Jim E. H.

2004-01-01

A study is reported that investigates the relationship between career decision status, quantity and quality of work experience obtained by university students. Career decision status is the term used to capture an individual's level of decidedness and comfort with their career decisions and the reasons underlying this state (Jones & Lohmann,…

Measuring the Effect of Tourism Services on Travelers' Quality of Life: Further Validation.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Neal, Janet D.; Sirgy, M. Joseph; Uysal, Muzaffer

2004-01-01

lication and extension study provided additional validational support of the original tourism services satisfaction measure in relation to QOL-related measures.Neal, Sirgy and Uysal (1999) developed a model and a measure to capture the effect of tourism services on travelers' quality of life (QOL). They hypothesized that travelers' overall life…

Effects of Professional Development Training on Joint Attention Engagement in Low-Quality Childcare Centers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cain, David W.; Rudd, Loretta C.; Saxon, Terrill F.

2007-01-01

This study carries forward the exploration of joint attention engagement in children from 18 to 24 months of age enrolled in "low-quality" childcare centers. Childcare providers and children were videotaped to capture social interactions in the classroom including duration and bids for joint attention. One-half of 48 childcare providers…

Increased capture of pediatric surgical complications utilizing a novel case-log web application to enhance quality improvement.

PubMed

Fisher, Jason C; Kuenzler, Keith A; Tomita, Sandra S; Sinha, Prashant; Shah, Paresh; Ginsburg, Howard B

2017-01-01

Documenting surgical complications is limited by multiple barriers and is not fostered in the electronic health record. Tracking complications is essential for quality improvement (QI) and required for board certification. Current registry platforms do not facilitate meaningful complication reporting. We developed a novel web application that improves accuracy and reduces barriers to documenting complications. We deployed a custom web application that allows pediatric surgeons to maintain case logs. The program includes a module for entering complication data in real time. Reminders to enter outcome data occur at key postoperative intervals to optimize recall of events. Between October 1, 2014, and March 31, 2015, frequencies of surgical complications captured by the existing hospital reporting system were compared with data aggregated by our application. 780 cases were captured by the web application, compared with 276 cases registered by the hospital system. We observed an increase in the capture of major complications when compared to the hospital dataset (14 events vs. 4 events). This web application improved real-time reporting of surgical complications, exceeding the accuracy of administrative datasets. Custom informatics solutions may help reduce barriers to self-reporting of adverse events and improve the data that presently inform pediatric surgical QI. Diagnostic study/Retrospective study. Level III - case control study. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Calibrating a numerical model's morphology using high-resolution spatial and temporal datasets from multithread channel flume experiments.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Javernick, L.; Bertoldi, W.; Redolfi, M.

2017-12-01

Accessing or acquiring high quality, low-cost topographic data has never been easier due to recent developments of the photogrammetric techniques of Structure-from-Motion (SfM). Researchers can acquire the necessary SfM imagery with various platforms, with the ability to capture millimetre resolution and accuracy, or large-scale areas with the help of unmanned platforms. Such datasets in combination with numerical modelling have opened up new opportunities to study river environments physical and ecological relationships. While numerical models overall predictive accuracy is most influenced by topography, proper model calibration requires hydraulic data and morphological data; however, rich hydraulic and morphological datasets remain scarce. This lack in field and laboratory data has limited model advancement through the inability to properly calibrate, assess sensitivity, and validate the models performance. However, new time-lapse imagery techniques have shown success in identifying instantaneous sediment transport in flume experiments and their ability to improve hydraulic model calibration. With new capabilities to capture high resolution spatial and temporal datasets of flume experiments, there is a need to further assess model performance. To address this demand, this research used braided river flume experiments and captured time-lapse observed sediment transport and repeat SfM elevation surveys to provide unprecedented spatial and temporal datasets. Through newly created metrics that quantified observed and modeled activation, deactivation, and bank erosion rates, the numerical model Delft3d was calibrated. This increased temporal data of both high-resolution time series and long-term temporal coverage provided significantly improved calibration routines that refined calibration parameterization. Model results show that there is a trade-off between achieving quantitative statistical and qualitative morphological representations. Specifically, statistical agreement simulations suffered to represent braiding planforms (evolving toward meandering), and parameterization that ensured braided produced exaggerated activation and bank erosion rates. Marie Sklodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship: River-HMV, 656917

Spacelab Data Processing Facility

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1983-01-01

The capabilities of the Spacelab Data Processing Facility (SPDPF) are highlighted. The capturing, quality monitoring, processing, accounting, and forwarding of vital Spacelab data to various user facilities around the world are described.

Light field reconstruction robust to signal dependent noise

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ren, Kun; Bian, Liheng; Suo, Jinli; Dai, Qionghai

2014-11-01

Capturing four dimensional light field data sequentially using a coded aperture camera is an effective approach but suffers from low signal noise ratio. Although multiplexing can help raise the acquisition quality, noise is still a big issue especially for fast acquisition. To address this problem, this paper proposes a noise robust light field reconstruction method. Firstly, scene dependent noise model is studied and incorporated into the light field reconstruction framework. Then, we derive an optimization algorithm for the final reconstruction. We build a prototype by hacking an off-the-shelf camera for data capturing and prove the concept. The effectiveness of this method is validated with experiments on the real captured data.

Improving the image discontinuous problem by using color temperature mapping method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jeng, Wei-De; Mang, Ou-Yang; Lai, Chien-Cheng; Wu, Hsien-Ming

2011-09-01

This article mainly focuses on image processing of radial imaging capsule endoscope (RICE). First, it used the radial imaging capsule endoscope (RICE) to take the images, the experimental used a piggy to get the intestines and captured the images, but the images captured by RICE were blurred due to the RICE has aberration problems in the image center and lower light uniformity affect the image quality. To solve the problems, image processing can use to improve it. Therefore, the images captured by different time can use Person correlation coefficient algorithm to connect all the images, and using the color temperature mapping way to improve the discontinuous problem in the connection region.

A knowledge-based patient assessment system: conceptual and technical design.

PubMed Central

Reilly, C. A.; Zielstorff, R. D.; Fox, R. L.; O'Connell, E. M.; Carroll, D. L.; Conley, K. A.; Fitzgerald, P.; Eng, T. K.; Martin, A.; Zidik, C. M.; Segal, M.

2000-01-01

This paper describes the design of an inpatient patient assessment application that captures nursing assessment data using a wireless laptop computer. The primary aim of this system is to capture structured information for facilitating decision support and quality monitoring. The system also aims to improve efficiency of recording patient assessments, reduce costs, and improve discharge planning and early identification of patient learning needs. Object-oriented methods were used to elicit functional requirements and to model the proposed system. A tools-based development approach is being used to facilitate rapid development and easy modification of assessment items and rules for decision support. Criteria for evaluation include perceived utility by clinician users, validity of decision support rules, time spent recording assessments, and perceived utility of aggregate reports for quality monitoring. PMID:11079970

A knowledge-based patient assessment system: conceptual and technical design.

PubMed

Reilly, C A; Zielstorff, R D; Fox, R L; O'Connell, E M; Carroll, D L; Conley, K A; Fitzgerald, P; Eng, T K; Martin, A; Zidik, C M; Segal, M

2000-01-01

This paper describes the design of an inpatient patient assessment application that captures nursing assessment data using a wireless laptop computer. The primary aim of this system is to capture structured information for facilitating decision support and quality monitoring. The system also aims to improve efficiency of recording patient assessments, reduce costs, and improve discharge planning and early identification of patient learning needs. Object-oriented methods were used to elicit functional requirements and to model the proposed system. A tools-based development approach is being used to facilitate rapid development and easy modification of assessment items and rules for decision support. Criteria for evaluation include perceived utility by clinician users, validity of decision support rules, time spent recording assessments, and perceived utility of aggregate reports for quality monitoring.

Orientation to determine quality attributes of flavoring excipients containing volatile molecules.

PubMed

Kiene, Florian E; Pein, Miriam; Thommes, Markus

2015-06-10

Pharmaceutical excipients containing volatile odor-active molecules can be used in pharmaceutical development to increase patients' compliance. However, capturing the molecular composition of these odor-active substances is challenging. Therefore, guidance for the analytical investigation of these excipients should be developed. Using a model flavor, lead molecules were chosen and a gas chromatographic method was validated according to pharmaceutical guidelines. Changes during storage as well as batch homogeneity and conformity were investigated. The knowledge gained could be used to understand molecular differences between batches caused by aging. A suitable attempt to capture the volatile molecular composition of flavoring substance was presented and the found results could be used for the determination and interpretation of quality attributes. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Delivering high quality hip fracture rehabilitation: the perspective of occupational and physical therapy practitioners.

PubMed

Leland, Natalie E; Lepore, Michael; Wong, Carin; Chang, Sun Hwa; Freeman, Lynn; Crum, Karen; Gillies, Heather; Nash, Paul

2018-03-01

The majority of post-acute hip fracture rehabilitation in the US is delivered in skilled nursing facilities (SNFs). Currently, there are limited guidelines that equip occupational and physical therapy practitioners with a summary of what constitutes evidence-based high quality rehabilitation. Thus, this study aimed to identify rehabilitation practitioners' perspectives on the practices that constitute high quality hip fracture rehabilitation. Focus groups were conducted with 99 occupational and physical therapy practitioners working in SNFs in southern California. Purposive sampling of facilities was conducted to capture variation in key characteristics known to impact care delivery for this patient population (e.g., financial resources, staffing, and patient case-mix). Questions aimed to elicit practitioners' perspectives on high quality hip fracture rehabilitation practices. Each session was audio-recorded and transcribed. Data were systematically analyzed using a modified grounded theory approach. Seven themes emerged: objectives of care; first 72 h; positioning, pain, and precautions; use of standardized assessments; episode of care practices; facilitating insight into progress; and interdisciplinary collaboration. Clinical guidelines are critical tools to facilitate clinical decision-making and achieve desired patient outcomes. The findings of this study highlight the practitioners' perspective on what constitutes high quality hip fracture rehabilitation. This work provides critical information to advance the development of stakeholder-driven rehabilitation clinical guidelines. Future research is needed to verify the findings from other stakeholders (e.g., patients), ensure the alignment of our findings with current evidence, and develop measures for evaluating their delivery and relationship to desired outcomes. Implications for Rehabilitation This study highlights occupational and physiotherapy therapy practitioners' perspectives on the cumulative best practices that reflect high quality care, which should be delivered during hip fracture rehabilitation. While this study was limited to two professions within the broader interdisciplinary team, consistently occupational and physiotherapy therapy practitioners situated their role and practices within the team, emphasizing that high quality care was driven by collaboration among all members of the team as well as the patient and caregivers. Future research needs to evaluate the (a) frequency at which these practices are delivered and the relationship to patient-centered outcomes, and (b) perspectives of rehabilitation practitioners working in other PAC settings, patients, caregivers, as well as the other members of the interdisciplinary PAC team.

Evaluation of High Resolution Rapid Refresh-Smoke (HRRR-Smoke) model products for a case study using surface PM2.5 observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Deanes, L. N.; Ahmadov, R.; McKeen, S. A.; Manross, K.; Grell, G. A.; James, E.

2016-12-01

Wildfires are increasing in number and size in the western United States as climate change contributes to warmer and drier conditions in this region. These fires lead to poor air quality and diminished visibility. The High Resolution Rapid Refresh-Smoke modeling system (HRRR-Smoke) is designed to simulate fire emissions and smoke transport with high resolution. The model is based on the Weather Research and Forecasting model, coupled with chemistry (WRF-Chem) and uses fire detection data from the Visible Infrared and Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) satellite instrument to simulate wildfire emissions and their plume rise. HRRR-Smoke is used in both real-time applications and case studies. In this study, we evaluate the HRRR-Smoke for August 2015, during one of the worst wildfire seasons on record in the United States, by focusing on wildfires that occurred in the northwestern US. We compare HRRR-Smoke simulations with hourly fine particulate matter (PM2.5) observations from the Air Quality System (https://www.epa.gov/aqs) from multiple air quality monitoring sites in Washington state. PM2.5 data includes measurements from urban, suburban and remote sites in the state. We discuss the model performance in capturing large PM2.5 enhancements detected at surface sites due to wildfires. We present various statistical parameters to demonstrate HRRR-Smoke's performance in simulating surface PM2.5 levels.

An improved real time superresolution FPGA system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

2009-05-01

In numerous computer vision applications, enhancing the quality and resolution of captured video can be critical. Acquired video is often grainy and low quality due to motion, transmission bottlenecks, etc. Postprocessing can enhance it. Superresolution greatly decreases camera jitter to deliver a smooth, stabilized, high quality video. In this paper, we extend previous work on a real-time superresolution application implemented in ASIC/FPGA hardware. A gradient based technique is used to register the frames at the sub-pixel level. Once we get the high resolution grid, we use an improved regularization technique in which the image is iteratively modified by applying back-projection to get a sharp and undistorted image. The algorithm was first tested in software and migrated to hardware, to achieve 320x240 -> 1280x960, about 30 fps, a stunning superresolution by 16X in total pixels. Various input parameters, such as size of input image, enlarging factor and the number of nearest neighbors, can be tuned conveniently by the user. We use a maximum word size of 32 bits to implement the algorithm in Matlab Simulink as well as in FPGA hardware, which gives us a fine balance between the number of bits and performance. The proposed system is robust and highly efficient. We have shown the performance improvement of the hardware superresolution over the software version (C code).

Social Perception of Public Water Supply Network and Groundwater Quality in an Urban Setting Facing Saltwater Intrusion and Water Shortages

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alameddine, Ibrahim; Jawhari, Gheeda; El-Fadel, Mutasem

2017-04-01

Perceptions developed by consumers regarding the quality of water reaching their household can affect the ultimate use of the water. This study identified key factors influencing consumers' perception of water quality in a highly urbanized coastal city, experiencing chronic water shortages, overexploitation of groundwater, and accelerated saltwater intrusion. Household surveys were administered to residents to capture views and perceptions of consumed water. Concomitantly, groundwater and tap water samples were collected and analyzed at each residence for comparison with perceptions. People's rating of groundwater quality was found to correlate to the measured water quality both in the dry and wet seasons. In contrast, perceptions regarding the water quality of the public water supply network did not show any correlation with the measured tap water quality indicators. Logistic regression models developed to predict perception based on salient variables indicated that age, apartment ownership, and levels of total dissolved solids play a significant role in shaping perceptions regarding groundwater quality. Perceptions concerning the water quality of the public water supply network appeared to be independent of the measured total dissolved solids levels at the tap but correlated to those measured in the wells. The study highlights misconceptions that can arise as a result of uncontrolled cross-connections of groundwater to the public supply network water and the development of misaligned perceptions based on prior consumption patterns, water shortages, and a rapidly salinizing groundwater aquifer.

Urban Landscape Characterization Using Remote Sensing Data For Input into Air Quality Modeling

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Quattrochi, Dale A.; Estes, Maurice G., Jr.; Crosson, William; Khan, Maudood

2005-01-01

The urban landscape is inherently complex and this complexity is not adequately captured in air quality models that are used to assess whether urban areas are in attainment of EPA air quality standards, particularly for ground level ozone. This inadequacy of air quality models to sufficiently respond to the heterogeneous nature of the urban landscape can impact how well these models predict ozone pollutant levels over metropolitan areas and ultimately, whether cities exceed EPA ozone air quality standards. We are exploring the utility of high-resolution remote sensing data and urban growth projections as improved inputs to meteorological and air quality models focusing on the Atlanta, Georgia metropolitan area as a case study. The National Land Cover Dataset at 30m resolution is being used as the land use/land cover input and aggregated to the 4km scale for the MM5 mesoscale meteorological model and the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) modeling schemes. Use of these data have been found to better characterize low density/suburban development as compared with USGS 1 km land use/land cover data that have traditionally been used in modeling. Air quality prediction for future scenarios to 2030 is being facilitated by land use projections using a spatial growth model. Land use projections were developed using the 2030 Regional Transportation Plan developed by the Atlanta Regional Commission. This allows the State Environmental Protection agency to evaluate how these transportation plans will affect future air quality.

Social Perception of Public Water Supply Network and Groundwater Quality in an Urban Setting Facing Saltwater Intrusion and Water Shortages.

PubMed

Alameddine, Ibrahim; Jawhari, Gheeda; El-Fadel, Mutasem

2017-04-01

Perceptions developed by consumers regarding the quality of water reaching their household can affect the ultimate use of the water. This study identified key factors influencing consumers' perception of water quality in a highly urbanized coastal city, experiencing chronic water shortages, overexploitation of groundwater, and accelerated saltwater intrusion. Household surveys were administered to residents to capture views and perceptions of consumed water. Concomitantly, groundwater and tap water samples were collected and analyzed at each residence for comparison with perceptions. People's rating of groundwater quality was found to correlate to the measured water quality both in the dry and wet seasons. In contrast, perceptions regarding the water quality of the public water supply network did not show any correlation with the measured tap water quality indicators. Logistic regression models developed to predict perception based on salient variables indicated that age, apartment ownership, and levels of total dissolved solids play a significant role in shaping perceptions regarding groundwater quality. Perceptions concerning the water quality of the public water supply network appeared to be independent of the measured total dissolved solids levels at the tap but correlated to those measured in the wells. The study highlights misconceptions that can arise as a result of uncontrolled cross-connections of groundwater to the public supply network water and the development of misaligned perceptions based on prior consumption patterns, water shortages, and a rapidly salinizing groundwater aquifer.

Adult tree swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) survival on the polychlorinated biphenyl-contaminated Housatonic River, Massachusetts, USA

USGS Publications Warehouse

Custer, Christine M.; Custer, T.W.; Hines, J.E.; Nichols, J.D.; Dummer, P.M.

2007-01-01

Tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) were captured and banded at six sites that differed in polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) contamination levels in the Housatonic River watershed, western Massachusetts, USA, from 2000 through 2004 to test the prediction that apparent survival rates of females in more contaminated areas were lower than those from less contaminated areas. We also tested whether plumage coloration affected over-winter survival and whether concentrations of PCBs in eggs differed between birds that did and that did not return the following year. Apparent survival rates were calculated using mark?recapture methods and compared using Akaike's Information Criterion. Model-adjusted survival rates ranged from 0.365 to 0.467 for PCB-contaminated females and between 0.404 and 0.476 for reference females. Models with either survival or capture probability modeled as functions of treatment (degree of PCB contamination), year, and age received some support. The model-averaged parameter estimate reflecting a treatment effect for high-PCB birds was negative ( = -0.046, SE() = 0.0939). Fifty-four percent of the total model weights involved models in which survival was a function of PCB treatment. Eggs were collected for contaminant analyses from a random sample of females that did and that did not return the following year. Concentrations of total PCBs were the same or higher in the eggs of females that returned compared to the eggs of those that did not return at both the highly and the moderately contaminated PCB sites. This may have resulted from higher-quality females with higher lipid reserves being more likely than lower-quality females to return the following year. Percentage lipid was positively correlated with total PCBs in eggs. Survival rates were similar among swallows with brown versus blue plumage.

Identifying Markers of Dignity-Conserving Care in Long-Term Care: A Modified Delphi Study

PubMed Central

Thompson, Genevieve N.; McArthur, Jennifer; Doupe, Malcolm

2016-01-01

Ensuring that people living in nursing homes (NHs) are afforded with dignity in their daily lives is an essential and humane concern. Promoting dignity-conserving care is fundamentally important. By nature, however, this care is all-encompassing and holistic, and from current knowledge it is challenging to create explicit strategies for measuring dignity-conserving care. In practice the majority of current NH indicators of quality care are derived from information that is routinely collected on NH residents using the RAI-Minimum Data Set (MDS). In this regard, issues that are more tangible to resident dignity such as being treated with respect, compassion, and having opportunities to engage with others are not adequately captured in current NH quality of care indicators. An initial set of markers was created by conducting an integrative literature review of existing markers and indicators of dignity in the NH setting. A modified Delphi process was used to prioritize essential dignity-conserving care markers for use by NH providers, based on factors such as the importance to fostering a culture of dignity, the impact it may have on the residents, and how achievable it is in practice. Through this consensus building technique, we were able to develop a comprehensive set of markers that capture the range and diversity of important dignity-conserving care strategies for use in NHs. The final 10 markers were judged as having high face validity by experts in the field and have explicit implications for enhancing the provision of daily dignified care to NH residents. These markers make an important addition to the traditional quality indicators used in the NH setting and as such, bridge an important gap in addressing the psychosocial and the less easily quantified needs of NH residents. PMID:27304853

Continuous quality improvement at work: the first team--Part I.

PubMed

Bolt, B J; Lehany-Trese, A M; Williams, T P

1994-01-01

This first part of a two-part article describes the process of making the theory of continuous quality improvement a reality. The successes, the failures, and the struggles of the first team effort are outlined. The evolution of the team approach is captured from the perspectives of the quality directors, the facilitator, and the team leader. The team project discussed in this article focused on inpatient admissions and the assignment of patients to observation status.

Quality of Life for Diverse Older Adults in Assisted Living: The Centrality of Control.

PubMed

Koehn, Sharon D; Mahmood, Atiya N; Stott-Eveneshen, Sarah

This pilot project asked: How do ethnically diverse older adult residents of assisted living (AL) facilities in British Columbia (BC) experience quality of life? And, what role, if any, do organizational and physical environmental features play in influencing how quality of life is experienced? The study was conducted at three AL sites in BC: two ethnoculturally targeted and one nontargeted. Environmental audits at each site captured descriptive data on policies, fees, rules, staffing, meals, and activities, and the built environment of the AL building and neighborhood. Using a framework that understands the quality of life of older adults to be contingent on their capability to pursue 5 conceptual attributes-attachment, role, enjoyment, security, and control-we conducted 3 focus groups with residents (1 per site) and 6 interviews with staff (2 per site). Attributes were linked to the environmental features captured in the audits. All dimensions of the environment, especially organizational, influence tenants' capability to attain the attributes of quality of life, most importantly control. Although many tenants accept the trade-off between increased safety and diminished control that accompanies a move into AL, more could be done to minimize that loss. Social workers can advocate for the necessary multi-sectoral changes.

Predictors of person-centered maternity care: the role of socioeconomic status, empowerment, and facility type.

PubMed

Afulani, Patience A; Sayi, Takudzwa S; Montagu, Dominic

2018-05-11

Low use of maternal health services, as well as poor quality care, contribute to the high maternal mortality in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). In particular, poor person-centered maternity care (PCMC), which captures user experience, contributes both directly to pregnancy outcomes and indirectly through decreased demand for services. While many studies have examined disparities in use of maternal health services, few have examined disparities in quality of care, and none to our knowledge has empirically examined disparities in PCMC in SSA. The aim of this study is to examine factors associated with PCMC, particularly the role of household wealth, personal empowerment, and type of facility. Data are from a survey conducted in western Kenya in 2016, with women aged 15 to 49 years who delivered in the 9 weeks preceding the survey (N = 877). PCMC is operationalized as a summative score based on responses to 30 items in the PCMC scale capturing dignity and respect, communication and autonomy, and supportive care. We find that net of other factors; wealthier, employed, literate, and married women report higher PCMC than poorer, unemployed, illiterate, and unmarried women respectively. Also, women who have experienced domestic violence report lower PCMC than those who have never experienced domestic violence. In addition, women who delivered in health centers and private facilities reported higher PCMC than those who delivered in public hospitals. The effect of employment and facility type is conditional on wealth, and is strongest for the poorest women. Poor women who are unemployed and poor women who deliver in higher-level facilities receive the lowest quality PCMC. The findings imply the most disadvantaged women receive the lowest quality PCMC, especially when they seek care in higher-level facilities. Interventions to reduce disparities in PCMC are essential to improve maternal outcomes among disadvantaged groups.

Low-pressure hydrocracking of coal-derived Fischer-Tropsch waxes to diesel

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

Dieter Leckel

2007-06-15

Coal-derived low-temperature Fischer-Tropsch (LTFT) wax was hydrocracked at pressures of 3.5-7.0 MPa using silica-alumina-supported sulfided NiW/NiMo and an unsulfided noble metal catalyst, modified with MoO{sub 3}. A low-pressure operation at 3.5 MPa produced a highly isomerized diesel, having low cloud points (from -12 to -28{sup o}C) combined with high cetane numbers (69-73). These properties together with the extremely low sulfur ({lt}5 ppm) and aromatic ({lt}0.5%) contents place coal/liquid (CTL) derived distillates as highly valuable blending components to achieve Eurograde diesel specifications. The upgrading of coal-based LTFT waxes through hydrocracking to high-quality diesel fuel blend components in combination with commercial-feasible coal-integratedmore » gasification combined cycle (coal-IGCC) CO{sub 2} capture and storage schemes should make CTL technology more attractive. 28 refs., 7 figs., 8 tabs.« less

High-frequency phosphorus and nitrate measurements for improved statutory water quality monitoring and management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bieroza, Magdalena

2017-04-01

High-frequency nutrient (phosphorus and nitrogen) monitoring using wet-chemistry analysers and optical sensors has revolutionised the collection of biogeochemical data from streams, rivers and lakes. Matching the nutrient measurement time with timescales of hydrological responses has revealed biogeochemical patterns and nutrient hydrological responses not observed previously. Capturing a wider range of nutrient concentrations compared to traditional coarse resolution sampling enables more accurate estimation of mean concentrations and loads and thus improved water body classification. However, to date the scientific insights from the high-frequency nutrient monitoring studies have not been translated into policy and operational responses. The pertinent question is where and how often to measure nutrients to satisfy statutory monitoring requirements for the Water Framework Directive and the Nitrates Directive. Therefore this paper discusses how the reduced data uncertainty and improved process understanding obtained with the high-frequency measurements can improve statutory nutrient monitoring, using case studies from England and Sweden.

High Dynamic Range Imaging Using Multiple Exposures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hou, Xinglin; Luo, Haibo; Zhou, Peipei; Zhou, Wei

2017-06-01

It is challenging to capture a high-dynamic range (HDR) scene using a low-dynamic range (LDR) camera. This paper presents an approach for improving the dynamic range of cameras by using multiple exposure images of same scene taken under different exposure times. First, the camera response function (CRF) is recovered by solving a high-order polynomial in which only the ratios of the exposures are used. Then, the HDR radiance image is reconstructed by weighted summation of the each radiance maps. After that, a novel local tone mapping (TM) operator is proposed for the display of the HDR radiance image. By solving the high-order polynomial, the CRF can be recovered quickly and easily. Taken the local image feature and characteristic of histogram statics into consideration, the proposed TM operator could preserve the local details efficiently. Experimental result demonstrates the effectiveness of our method. By comparison, the method outperforms other methods in terms of imaging quality.

Pixel-wise deblurring imaging system based on active vision for structural health monitoring at a speed of 100 km/h

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hayakawa, Tomohiko; Moko, Yushi; Morishita, Kenta; Ishikawa, Masatoshi

2018-04-01

In this paper, we propose a pixel-wise deblurring imaging (PDI) system based on active vision for compensation of the blur caused by high-speed one-dimensional motion between a camera and a target. The optical axis is controlled by back-and-forth motion of a galvanometer mirror to compensate the motion. High-spatial-resolution image captured by our system in high-speed motion is useful for efficient and precise visual inspection, such as visually judging abnormal parts of a tunnel surface to prevent accidents; hence, we applied the PDI system for structural health monitoring. By mounting the system onto a vehicle in a tunnel, we confirmed significant improvement in image quality for submillimeter black-and-white stripes and real tunnel-surface cracks at a speed of 100 km/h.

Ultra-low power high-dynamic range color pixel embedding RGB to r-g chromaticity transformation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lecca, Michela; Gasparini, Leonardo; Gottardi, Massimo

2014-05-01

This work describes a novel color pixel topology that converts the three chromatic components from the standard RGB space into the normalized r-g chromaticity space. This conversion is implemented with high-dynamic range and with no dc power consumption, and the auto-exposure capability of the sensor ensures to capture a high quality chromatic signal, even in presence of very bright illuminants or in the darkness. The pixel is intended to become the basic building block of a CMOS color vision sensor, targeted to ultra-low power applications for mobile devices, such as human machine interfaces, gesture recognition, face detection. The experiments show that significant improvements of the proposed pixel with respect to standard cameras in terms of energy saving and accuracy on data acquisition. An application to skin color-based description is presented.

Markerless motion capture systems as training device in neurological rehabilitation: a systematic review of their use, application, target population and efficacy.

PubMed

Knippenberg, Els; Verbrugghe, Jonas; Lamers, Ilse; Palmaers, Steven; Timmermans, Annick; Spooren, Annemie

2017-06-24

Client-centred task-oriented training is important in neurological rehabilitation but is time consuming and costly in clinical practice. The use of technology, especially motion capture systems (MCS) which are low cost and easy to apply in clinical practice, may be used to support this kind of training, but knowledge and evidence of their use for training is scarce. The present review aims to investigate 1) which motion capture systems are used as training devices in neurological rehabilitation, 2) how they are applied, 3) in which target population, 4) what the content of the training and 5) efficacy of training with MCS is. A computerised systematic literature review was conducted in four databases (PubMed, Cinahl, Cochrane Database and IEEE). The following MeSH terms and key words were used: Motion, Movement, Detection, Capture, Kinect, Rehabilitation, Nervous System Diseases, Multiple Sclerosis, Stroke, Spinal Cord, Parkinson Disease, Cerebral Palsy and Traumatic Brain Injury. The Van Tulder's Quality assessment was used to score the methodological quality of the selected studies. The descriptive analysis is reported by MCS, target population, training parameters and training efficacy. Eighteen studies were selected (mean Van Tulder score = 8.06 ± 3.67). Based on methodological quality, six studies were selected for analysis of training efficacy. Most commonly used MCS was Microsoft Kinect, training was mostly conducted in upper limb stroke rehabilitation. Training programs varied in intensity, frequency and content. None of the studies reported an individualised training program based on client-centred approach. Motion capture systems are training devices with potential in neurological rehabilitation to increase the motivation during training and may assist improvement on one or more International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) levels. Although client-centred task-oriented training is important in neurological rehabilitation, the client-centred approach was not included. Future technological developments should take up the challenge to combine MCS with the principles of a client-centred task-oriented approach and prove efficacy using randomised controlled trials with long-term follow-up. Prospero registration number 42016035582 .

Comparison of Muon Capture in Light and in Heavy Nuclei

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Measday, David F.; Stocki, Trevor J.

2007-10-01

We have recently completed an experimental study at TRIUMF of muon capture in the following elements, N, Al, Si, Ca, Fe, Ni, I, Au, and Bi. We detected the nuclear gamma rays emitted by the product nuclei after muon capture. The energy of the gamma ray identifies the source nuclide, and thus the reaction which has occurred. Our data are of better quality, and more comprehensive than any other data set in the literature. The (μ-,νn) reaction is always dominant. In light nuclei, reactions such as (μ-,νp) and (μ-,νpn) can occur, but not for heavy nuclei. However the reverse is true for reactions such as (μ-,ν3n) and (μ-,ν4n), which are very rare in light nuclei, but easily detected in heavy elements. We shall discuss how such information can be useful in calculations of neutrino-nucleus interactions, and of electron-capture in supernovae.

Reconstructing Interlaced High-Dynamic-Range Video Using Joint Learning.

PubMed

Inchang Choi; Seung-Hwan Baek; Kim, Min H

2017-11-01

For extending the dynamic range of video, it is a common practice to capture multiple frames sequentially with different exposures and combine them to extend the dynamic range of each video frame. However, this approach results in typical ghosting artifacts due to fast and complex motion in nature. As an alternative, video imaging with interlaced exposures has been introduced to extend the dynamic range. However, the interlaced approach has been hindered by jaggy artifacts and sensor noise, leading to concerns over image quality. In this paper, we propose a data-driven approach for jointly solving two specific problems of deinterlacing and denoising that arise in interlaced video imaging with different exposures. First, we solve the deinterlacing problem using joint dictionary learning via sparse coding. Since partial information of detail in differently exposed rows is often available via interlacing, we make use of the information to reconstruct details of the extended dynamic range from the interlaced video input. Second, we jointly solve the denoising problem by tailoring sparse coding to better handle additive noise in low-/high-exposure rows, and also adopt multiscale homography flow to temporal sequences for denoising. We anticipate that the proposed method will allow for concurrent capture of higher dynamic range video frames without suffering from ghosting artifacts. We demonstrate the advantages of our interlaced video imaging compared with the state-of-the-art high-dynamic-range video methods.

Forebody and Inlet Design for the HIFiRE 2 Flight Test

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ferlemann, Paul G.

2008-01-01

A forebody and inlet have been designed for the HIFiRE 2 scramjet flight test. The test will explore the operating, performance, and stability characteristics of a simple hydrocarbon-fueled scramjet combustor as it transitions from dual-mode to scramjet-mode operation and during supersonic combustion at Mach 8+ flight conditions. Requirements for the compression system were derived from inlet starting and combustor inflow requirements as well as physical size constraints. The design process is described. A planar, fixed geometry, mixed compression concept was used to produce laterally uniform flow at the inlet entrance and a conservative amount of internal contraction with respect to inlet starting. A grid sensitivity study was performed so that important flow physics caused by three-dimensional shock boundary layer interactions could be captured with confidence. Results from low Mach number operability studies, nominal trajectory cases, and high dynamic pressure heat load cases are discussed. The forebody and inlet solutions provide information for on-going combustor calculations, mass capture across the trajectory for fuel system design, and surface heating rates for thermal/structural analysis. The design has a one freestream Mach number margin for inlet starting, exceeds the high Mach number combustor entrance pressure requirement, produces high quality flow at the inlet exit for all Mach numbers and vehicle attitudes in the design space, and fits inside the booster shroud.

The Chemical Abundances of Stars in the Halo (CASH) Project. II. New Extremely Metal-poor Stars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krugler, Julie A.; Frebel, A.; Roederer, I. U.; Sneden, C.; Shetrone, M.; Beers, T.; Christlieb, N.

2011-01-01

We present new abundance results from the Chemical Abundances of Stars in the Halo (CASH) project. The 500 CASH spectra were observed using the Hobby-Eberly Telescope in "snapshot" mode and are analyzed using an automated stellar parameter and abundance pipeline called CASHCODE. For the 20 most metal-poor stars of the CASH sample we have obtained high resolution spectra using the Magellan Telescope in order to test the uncertainties and systematic errors associated with the snapshot quality (i.e., R 15,000 and S/N 65) HET spectra and to calibrate the newly developed CASHCODE by making a detailed comparison between the stellar parameters and abundances determined from the high resolution and snapshot spectra. We find that the CASHCODE stellar parameters (effective temperature, surface gravity, metallicity, and microturbulence) agree well with the results of the manual analysis of the high resolution spectra. We present the abundances of three newly discovered stars with [Fe/H] < -3.5. For the entire pilot sample, we find typical halo abundance ratios with alpha-enhancement and Fe-peak depletion and a range of n-capture elements. The full CASH sample will be used to derive statistically robust abundance trends and frequencies (e.g. carbon and n-capture), as well as placing constraints on nucleosynthetic processes that occurred in the early universe.

Capture of endothelial cells under flow using immobilized vascular endothelial growth factor

PubMed Central

Smith, Randall J.; Koobatian, Maxwell T.; Shahini, Aref; Swartz, Daniel D.; Andreadis, Stelios T.

2015-01-01

We demonstrate the ability of immobilized vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) to capture endothelial cells (EC) with high specificity under fluid flow. To this end, we engineered a surface consisting of heparin bound to poly-L-lysine to permit immobilization of VEGF through the C-terminal heparin-binding domain. The immobilized growth factor retained its biological activity as shown by proliferation of EC and prolonged activation of KDR signaling. Using a microfluidic device we assessed the ability to capture EC under a range of shear stresses from low (0.5 dyne/cm2) to physiological (15 dyne/cm2). Capture was significant for all shear stresses tested. Immobilized VEGF was highly selective for EC as evidenced by significant capture of human umbilical vein and ovine pulmonary artery EC but no capture of human dermal fibroblasts, human hair follicle derived mesenchymal stem cells, or mouse fibroblasts. Further, VEGF could capture EC from mixtures with non-EC under low and high shear conditions as well as from complex fluids like whole human blood under high shear. Our findings may have far reaching implications, as they suggest that VEGF could be used to promote endothelialization of vascular grafts or neovascularization of implanted tissues by rare but continuously circulating EC. PMID:25771020

Quality of life among dermatology patients: a systematic review of investigations using qualitative methods.

PubMed

Singh, Sanminder; Ehsani-Chimeh, Nazanin; Kornmehl, Heather; Armstrong, April W

2017-07-13

Quality of life may be assessed using quantitative or qualitative methods. Quantitative methods are commonly used in research settings; however, they may fail to capture the full range of patient experiences and impact on quality of life. Qualitative methods may be used to address this limitation. In this systematic review, we aim to synthesize data from articles utilizing qualitative methods to assess quality of life in dermatology patients. We performed a systematic review search using the MEDLINE, EMBASE, and SCOPUS databases. The search was conducted using the following search criteria: ("Dermatology" [MeSH]) AND ("Quality of Life" [MeSH]), AND ("Qualitative Research" [MeSH]), searching literature spanning from January 1, 1946- October 5, 2016. The systematic review of 15 articles included 533 dermatology patients. Patients expressed frustration over the unpredictability of disease symptoms and having to compensate for the subsequent limitations by altering their daily routines. Patients also reported profound helplessness due to chronic skin disease and social isolation in an effort to hide their disease. Patients noted the patient-provider relationship as a source of support and information exchange, with the goal to form easy to use treatment plans that met both physician and patient expectations. Qualitative assessment of patient quality of life can provide new insights into the patient experience and the impact of their skin disease. Qualitative methodology may capture meaningful information that may be overlooked by quantitative methods, and it should be included in quality of life research.

Multiplexed evaluation of capture agent binding kinetics using arrays of silicon photonic microring resonators.

PubMed

Byeon, Ji-Yeon; Bailey, Ryan C

2011-09-07

High affinity capture agents recognizing biomolecular targets are essential in the performance of many proteomic detection methods. Herein, we report the application of a label-free silicon photonic biomolecular analysis platform for simultaneously determining kinetic association and dissociation constants for two representative protein capture agents: a thrombin-binding DNA aptamer and an anti-thrombin monoclonal antibody. The scalability and inherent multiplexing capability of the technology make it an attractive platform for simultaneously evaluating the binding characteristics of multiple capture agents recognizing the same target antigen, and thus a tool complementary to emerging high-throughput capture agent generation strategies.

Contrasting patterns of survival and dispersal in multiple habitats reveal an ecological trap in a food-caching bird.

PubMed

Norris, D Ryan; Flockhart, D T Tyler; Strickland, Dan

2013-11-01

A comprehensive understanding of how natural and anthropogenic variation in habitat influences populations requires long-term information on how such variation affects survival and dispersal throughout the annual cycle. Gray jays Perisoreus canadensis are widespread boreal resident passerines that use cached food to survive over the winter and to begin breeding during the late winter. Using multistate capture-recapture analysis, we examined apparent survival and dispersal in relation to habitat quality in a gray jay population over 34 years (1977-2010). Prior evidence suggests that natural variation in habitat quality is driven by the proportion of conifers on territories because of their superior ability to preserve cached food. Although neither adults (>1 year) nor juveniles (<1 year) had higher survival rates on high-conifer territories, both age classes were less likely to leave high-conifer territories and, when they did move, were more likely to disperse to high-conifer territories. In contrast, survival rates were lower on territories that were adjacent to a major highway compared to territories that did not border the highway but there was no evidence for directional dispersal towards or away from highway territories. Our results support the notion that natural variation in habitat quality is driven by the proportion of coniferous trees on territories and provide the first evidence that high-mortality highway habitats can act as an equal-preference ecological trap for birds. Reproductive success, as shown in a previous study, but not survival, is sensitive to natural variation in habitat quality, suggesting that gray jays, despite living in harsh winter conditions, likely favor the allocation of limited resources towards self-maintenance over reproduction.

Inadequate dietary intake is not the cause of stunting amongst young children living in an informal settlement in Gauteng and rural Limpopo Province in South Africa: the NutriGro study.

PubMed

Theron, M; Amissah, A; Kleynhans, I C; Albertse, E; MacIntyre, U E

2007-04-01

To measure dietary intakes of young children aged 12-24 months and to determine the impact of poor diets on stunting. A quantitative food-frequency questionnaire was adapted, tested and standardised. Trained enumerators conducted in-depth interviews with the mothers/caregivers of the children. Forty stunted children in urban informal settlements and 30 stunted children in rural areas were selected and pair-matched with controls. The data were captured on the Food Finder Program of the Medical Research Council. In both urban and rural areas, the diet of stunted and non-stunted groups did differ significantly and all diets were of poor nutritional quality. Diets in both areas resembled the recommended prudent diet, i.e. low in fat and high in carbohydrates. Poor quality diets were not the primary cause of stunting.

Method for the visualization of landform by mapping using low altitude UAV application

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sharan Kumar, N.; Ashraf Mohamad Ismail, Mohd; Sukor, Nur Sabahiah Abdul; Cheang, William

2018-05-01

Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) and Digital Photogrammetry are evolving drastically in mapping technology. The significance and necessity for digital landform mapping are developing with years. In this study, a mapping workflow is applied to obtain two different input data sets which are the orthophoto and DSM. A fine flying technology is used to capture Low Altitude Aerial Photography (LAAP). Low altitude UAV (Drone) with the fixed advanced camera was utilized for imagery while computerized photogrammetry handling using Photo Scan was applied for cartographic information accumulation. The data processing through photogrammetry and orthomosaic processes is the main applications. High imagery quality is essential for the effectiveness and nature of normal mapping output such as 3D model, Digital Elevation Model (DEM), Digital Surface Model (DSM) and Ortho Images. The exactitude of Ground Control Points (GCP), flight altitude and the resolution of the camera are essential for good quality DEM and Orthophoto.

Using Selective Drainage Methods to Extract Continuous Surface Flow from 1-Meter Lidar-Derived Digital Elevation Data

USGS Publications Warehouse

Poppenga, Sandra K.; Worstell, Bruce B.; Stoker, Jason M.; Greenlee, Susan K.

2010-01-01

Digital elevation data commonly are used to extract surface flow features. One source for high-resolution elevation data is light detection and ranging (lidar). Lidar can capture a vast amount of topographic detail because of its fine-scale ability to digitally capture the surface of the earth. Because elevation is a key factor in extracting surface flow features, high-resolution lidar-derived digital elevation models (DEMs) provide the detail needed to consistently integrate hydrography with elevation, land cover, structures, and other geospatial features. The U.S. Geological Survey has developed selective drainage methods to extract continuous surface flow from high-resolution lidar-derived digital elevation data. The lidar-derived continuous surface flow network contains valuable information for water resource management involving flood hazard mapping, flood inundation, and coastal erosion. DEMs used in hydrologic applications typically are processed to remove depressions by filling them. High-resolution DEMs derived from lidar can capture much more detail of the land surface than courser elevation data. Therefore, high-resolution DEMs contain more depressions because of obstructions such as roads, railroads, and other elevated structures. The filling of these depressions can significantly affect the DEM-derived surface flow routing and terrain characteristics in an adverse way. In this report, selective draining methods that modify the elevation surface to drain a depression through an obstruction are presented. If such obstructions are not removed from the elevation data, the filling of depressions to create continuous surface flow can cause the flow to spill over an obstruction in the wrong location. Using this modified elevation surface improves the quality of derived surface flow and retains more of the true surface characteristics by correcting large filled depressions. A reliable flow surface is necessary for deriving a consistently connected drainage network, which is important in understanding surface water movement and developing applications for surface water runoff, flood inundation, and erosion. Improved methods are needed to extract continuous surface flow features from high-resolution elevation data based on lidar.

Estimation of Image Sensor Fill Factor Using a Single Arbitrary Image

PubMed Central

Wen, Wei; Khatibi, Siamak

2017-01-01

Achieving a high fill factor is a bottleneck problem for capturing high-quality images. There are hardware and software solutions to overcome this problem. In the solutions, the fill factor is known. However, this is an industrial secrecy by most image sensor manufacturers due to its direct effect on the assessment of the sensor quality. In this paper, we propose a method to estimate the fill factor of a camera sensor from an arbitrary single image. The virtual response function of the imaging process and sensor irradiance are estimated from the generation of virtual images. Then the global intensity values of the virtual images are obtained, which are the result of fusing the virtual images into a single, high dynamic range radiance map. A non-linear function is inferred from the original and global intensity values of the virtual images. The fill factor is estimated by the conditional minimum of the inferred function. The method is verified using images of two datasets. The results show that our method estimates the fill factor correctly with significant stability and accuracy from one single arbitrary image according to the low standard deviation of the estimated fill factors from each of images and for each camera. PMID:28335459

Continuous Purification of Colloidal Quantum Dots in Large-Scale Using Porous Electrodes in Flow Channel.

PubMed

Lim, Hosub; Woo, Ju Young; Lee, Doh C; Lee, Jinkee; Jeong, Sohee; Kim, Duckjong

2017-02-27

Colloidal quantum dots (QDs) afford huge potential in numerous applications owing to their excellent optical and electronic properties. After the synthesis of QDs, separating QDs from unreacted impurities in large scale is one of the biggest issues to achieve scalable and high performance optoelectronic applications. Thus far, however, continuous purification method, which is essential for mass production, has rarely been reported. In this study, we developed a new continuous purification process that is suitable to the mass production of high-quality QDs. As-synthesized QDs are driven by electrophoresis in a flow channel and captured by porous electrodes and finally separated from the unreacted impurities. Nuclear magnetic resonance and ultraviolet/visible/near-infrared absorption spectroscopic data clearly showed that the impurities were efficiently removed from QDs with the purification yield, defined as the ratio of the mass of purified QDs to that of QDs in the crude solution, up to 87%. Also, we could successfully predict the purification yield depending on purification conditions with a simple theoretical model. The proposed large-scale purification process could be an important cornerstone for the mass production and industrial use of high-quality QDs.

Continuous Purification of Colloidal Quantum Dots in Large-Scale Using Porous Electrodes in Flow Channel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lim, Hosub; Woo, Ju Young; Lee, Doh Chang; Lee, Jinkee; Jeong, Sohee; Kim, Duckjong

2017-11-01

Colloidal Quantum dots (QDs) afford huge potential in numerous applications owing to their excellent optical and electronic properties. After the synthesis of QDs, separating QDs from unreacted impurities in large scale is one of the biggest issues to achieve scalable and high performance optoelectronic applications. Thus far, however, continuous purification method, which is essential for mass production, has rarely been reported. In this study, we developed a new continuous purification process that is suitable to the mass production of high-quality QDs. As-synthesized QDs are driven by electrophoresis in a flow channel and captured by porous electrodes and finally separated from the unreacted impurities. Nuclear magnetic resonance and ultraviolet/visible/near-infrared absorption spectroscopic data clearly showed that the impurities were efficiently removed from QDs with the purification yield, defined as the ratio of the mass of purified QDs to that of QDs in the crude solution, up to 87%. Also, we could successfully predict the purification yield depending on purification conditions with a simple theoretical model. The proposed large-scale purification process could be an important cornerstone for the mass production and industrial use of high-quality QDs.

Support and Assessment for Fall Emergency Referrals (SAFER 1): Cluster Randomised Trial of Computerised Clinical Decision Support for Paramedics

PubMed Central

Snooks, Helen Anne; Carter, Ben; Dale, Jeremy; Foster, Theresa; Humphreys, Ioan; Logan, Philippa Anne; Lyons, Ronan Anthony; Mason, Suzanne Margaret; Phillips, Ceri James; Sanchez, Antonio; Wani, Mushtaq; Watkins, Alan; Wells, Bridget Elizabeth; Whitfield, Richard; Russell, Ian Trevor

2014-01-01

Objective To evaluate effectiveness, safety and cost-effectiveness of Computerised Clinical Decision Support (CCDS) for paramedics attending older people who fall. Design Cluster trial randomised by paramedic; modelling. Setting 13 ambulance stations in two UK emergency ambulance services. Participants 42 of 409 eligible paramedics, who attended 779 older patients for a reported fall. Interventions Intervention paramedics received CCDS on Tablet computers to guide patient care. Control paramedics provided care as usual. One service had already installed electronic data capture. Main Outcome Measures Effectiveness: patients referred to falls service, patient reported quality of life and satisfaction, processes of care. Safety Further emergency contacts or death within one month. Cost-Effectiveness Costs and quality of life. We used findings from published Community Falls Prevention Trial to model cost-effectiveness. Results 17 intervention paramedics used CCDS for 54 (12.4%) of 436 participants. They referred 42 (9.6%) to falls services, compared with 17 (5.0%) of 343 participants seen by 19 control paramedics [Odds ratio (OR) 2.04, 95% CI 1.12 to 3.72]. No adverse events were related to the intervention. Non-significant differences between groups included: subsequent emergency contacts (34.6% versus 29.1%; OR 1.27, 95% CI 0.93 to 1.72); quality of life (mean SF12 differences: MCS −0.74, 95% CI −2.83 to +1.28; PCS −0.13, 95% CI −1.65 to +1.39) and non-conveyance (42.0% versus 36.7%; OR 1.13, 95% CI 0.84 to 1.52). However ambulance job cycle time was 8.9 minutes longer for intervention patients (95% CI 2.3 to 15.3). Average net cost of implementing CCDS was £208 per patient with existing electronic data capture, and £308 without. Modelling estimated cost per quality-adjusted life-year at £15,000 with existing electronic data capture; and £22,200 without. Conclusions Intervention paramedics referred twice as many participants to falls services with no difference in safety. CCDS is potentially cost-effective, especially with existing electronic data capture. Trial Registration ISRCTN Register ISRCTN10538608 PMID:25216281

Application of polarization in high speed, high contrast inspection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Novak, Matthew J.

2017-08-01

Industrial optical inspection often requires high speed and high throughput of materials. Engineers use a variety of techniques to handle these inspection needs. Some examples include line scan cameras, high speed multi-spectral and laser-based systems. High-volume manufacturing presents different challenges for inspection engineers. For example, manufacturers produce some components in quantities of millions per month, per week or even per day. Quality control of so many parts requires creativity to achieve the measurement needs. At times, traditional vision systems lack the contrast to provide the data required. In this paper, we show how dynamic polarization imaging captures high contrast images. These images are useful for engineers to perform inspection tasks in some cases where optical contrast is low. We will cover basic theory of polarization. We show how to exploit polarization as a contrast enhancement technique. We also show results of modeling for a polarization inspection application. Specifically, we explore polarization techniques for inspection of adhesives on glass.

A self-synchronized high speed computational ghost imaging system: A leap towards dynamic capturing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Suo, Jinli; Bian, Liheng; Xiao, Yudong; Wang, Yongjin; Zhang, Lei; Dai, Qionghai

2015-11-01

High quality computational ghost imaging needs to acquire a large number of correlated measurements between the to-be-imaged scene and different reference patterns, thus ultra-high speed data acquisition is of crucial importance in real applications. To raise the acquisition efficiency, this paper reports a high speed computational ghost imaging system using a 20 kHz spatial light modulator together with a 2 MHz photodiode. Technically, the synchronization between such high frequency illumination and bucket detector needs nanosecond trigger precision, so the development of synchronization module is quite challenging. To handle this problem, we propose a simple and effective computational self-synchronization scheme by building a general mathematical model and introducing a high precision synchronization technique. The resulted efficiency is around 14 times faster than state-of-the-arts, and takes an important step towards ghost imaging of dynamic scenes. Besides, the proposed scheme is a general approach with high flexibility for readily incorporating other illuminators and detectors.

A Broadband High Dynamic Range Digital Receiving System for Electromagnetic Signals

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-08-26

dB. [0014] In Steinbrecher (United States Patent No. 7,250,920), an air interface metasurface is described that efficiently captures incident...broadband electromagnetic energy and provides a method for segmenting the total metasurface capture area into a plurality of smaller capture areas...such that the sum of the capture areas is equal to the total capture area of the metasurface . The segmentation of the electromagnetic capture area is

Different Approaches to Assessing the Quality of Explanations Following a Multiple-Document Inquiry Activity in Science

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wiley, Jennifer; Hastings, Peter; Blaum, Dylan; Jaeger, Allison J.; Hughes, Simon; Wallace, Patricia; Griffin, Thomas D.; Britt, M. Anne

2017-01-01

This article describes several approaches to assessing student understanding using written explanations that students generate as part of a multiple-document inquiry activity on a scientific topic (global warming). The current work attempts to capture the causal structure of student explanations as a way to detect the quality of the students'…

Computational cameras for moving iris recognition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McCloskey, Scott; Venkatesha, Sharath

2015-05-01

Iris-based biometric identification is increasingly used for facility access and other security applications. Like all methods that exploit visual information, however, iris systems are limited by the quality of captured images. Optical defocus due to a small depth of field (DOF) is one such challenge, as is the acquisition of sharply-focused iris images from subjects in motion. This manuscript describes the application of computational motion-deblurring cameras to the problem of moving iris capture, from the underlying theory to system considerations and performance data.

Analysis of Low-Light and Night-Time Stereo-Pair Images for Photogrammetric Reconstruction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Santise, M.; Thoeni, K.; Roncella, R.; Diotri, F.; Giacomini, A.

2018-05-01

Rockfalls and rockslides represent a significant risk to human lives and infrastructures because of the high levels of energy involved in the phenomena. Generally, these events occur in accordance to specific environmental conditions, such as temperature variations between day and night, that can contribute to the triggering of structural instabilities in the rock-wall and the detachment of blocks and debris. The monitoring and the geostructural characterization of the wall are required for reducing the potential hazard and to improve the management of the risk at the bottom of the slopes affected by such phenomena. In this context, close range photogrammetry is largely used for the monitoring of high-mountain terrains and rock walls in mine sites allowing for periodic survey of rockfalls and wall movements. This work focuses on the analysis of low-light and night-time images of a fixed-base stereo pair photogrammetry system. The aim is to study the reliability of the images acquired over the night to produce digital surface models (DSMs) for change detection. The images are captured by a high-sensitivity DLSR camera using various settings accounting for different values of ISO, aperture and time of exposure. For each acquisition, the DSM is compared to a photogrammetric reference model produced by images captured in optimal illumination conditions. Results show that, with high level of ISO and maintaining the same grade of aperture, extending the exposure time improves the quality of the point clouds in terms of completeness and accuracy of the photogrammetric models.

Atmospheric CO2 capture by algae: Negative carbon dioxide emission path.

PubMed

Moreira, Diana; Pires, José C M

2016-09-01

Carbon dioxide is one of the most important greenhouse gas, which concentration increase in the atmosphere is associated to climate change and global warming. Besides CO2 capture in large emission point sources, the capture of this pollutant from atmosphere may be required due to significant contribution of diffuse sources. The technologies that remove CO2 from atmosphere (creating a negative balance of CO2) are called negative emission technologies. Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage may play an important role for CO2 mitigation. It represents the combination of bioenergy production and carbon capture and storage, keeping carbon dioxide in geological reservoirs. Algae have a high potential as the source of biomass, as they present high photosynthetic efficiencies and high biomass yields. Their biomass has a wide range of applications, which can improve the economic viability of the process. Thus, this paper aims to assess the atmospheric CO2 capture by algal cultures. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Line-edge quality optimization of electron beam resist for high-throughput character projection exposure utilizing atomic force microscope analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ikeno, Rimon; Mita, Yoshio; Asada, Kunihiro

2017-04-01

High-throughput electron-beam lithography (EBL) by character projection (CP) and variable-shaped beam (VSB) methods is a promising technique for low-to-medium volume device fabrication with regularly arranged layouts, such as standard-cell logics and memory arrays. However, non-VLSI applications like MEMS and MOEMS may not fully utilize the benefits of CP method due to their wide variety of layout figures including curved and oblique edges. In addition, the stepwise shapes that appear on such irregular edges by VSB exposure often result in intolerable edge roughness, which may degrade performances of the fabricated devices. In our former study, we proposed a general EBL methodology for such applications utilizing a combination of CP and VSB methods, and demonstrated its capabilities in electron beam (EB) shot reduction and edge-quality improvement by using a leading-edge EB exposure tool, ADVANTEST F7000S-VD02, and high-resolution Hydrogen Silsesquioxane resist. Both scanning electron microscope and atomic force microscope observations were used to analyze quality of the resist edge profiles to determine the influence of the control parameters used in the exposure-data preparation process. In this study, we carried out detailed analysis of the captured edge profiles utilizing Fourier analysis, and successfully distinguish the systematic undulation by the exposed CP character profiles from random roughness components. Such capability of precise edge-roughness analysis is useful to our EBL methodology to maintain both the line-edge quality and the exposure throughput by optimizing the control parameters in the layout data conversion.

Factors That Influence the Quality of RNA From the Pancreas of Organ Donors.

PubMed

Philips, Tiffany; Kusmartseva, Irina; Gerling, Ivan C; Campbell-Thompson, Martha; Wasserfall, Clive; Pugliese, Alberto; Longmate, Jeffrey A; Schatz, Desmond A; Atkinson, Mark A; Kaddis, John S

2017-02-01

Attaining high-quality RNA from the tissues or organs of deceased donors used for research can be challenging due to physiological and logistical considerations. In this investigation, METHODS: RNA Integrity Number (RIN) was determined in pancreatic samples from 236 organ donors and used to define high (≥6.5) and low (≤4.5) quality RNAs. Logistic regression was used to evaluate the potential effects of novel or established organ and donor factors on RIN. Univariate analysis revealed donor cause of death (odds ratio [OR], 0.35; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.15-0.77; P = 0.01), prolonged tissue storage before RNA extraction (OR, 0.65; 95% CI, 0.52-0.79; P < 0.01), pancreas region sampled (multiple comparisons, P < 0.01), and sample type (OR, 0.32; 95% CI, 0.15-0.67; P < 0.01) negatively influenced outcome. Conversely, duration of final hospitalization (OR, 3.95; 95% CI, 1.59-10.37; P < 0.01) and sample collection protocol (OR, 8.48; 95% CI, 3.96-19.30; P < 0.01) positively impacted outcome. Islet RNA obtained via laser capture microdissection improved RIN when compared with total pancreatic RNA from the same donor (ΔRIN = 1.3; 95% CI, 0.6-2.0; P < 0.01). A multivariable model demonstrates that autopsy-free and biopsy-free human pancreata received, processed, and preserved at a single center, using optimized procedures, from organ donors dying of anoxia with normal lipase levels increase the odds of obtaining high-quality RNA.

Factors That Influence the Quality of RNA From the Pancreas of Organ Donors

PubMed Central

Philips, Tiffany; Kusmartseva, Irina; Gerling, Ivan C.; Campbell-Thompson, Martha; Wasserfall, Clive; Pugliese, Alberto; Longmate, Jeffrey A.; Schatz, Desmond A.; Atkinson, Mark A.; Kaddis, John S.

2016-01-01

Objectives Attaining high quality RNA from the tissues or organs of deceased donors used for research can be challenging due to physiological and logistical considerations. In this investigation, Methods RNA Integrity Number (RIN) was determined in pancreatic samples from 236 organ donors and utilized to define high (≥6.5) and low (≤4.5) quality RNA. Logistic regression was used to evaluate the potential effects of novel or established organ and donor factors on RIN. Results Univariate analysis revealed donor cause of death (Odds Ratio [OR]=0.35, 95% Confidence Interval [CI]=0.15–0.77, p=0.01), prolonged tissue storage prior to RNA extraction (OR=0.65, 95%CI 0.52–0.79, p<0.01), pancreas region sampled (multiple comparisons, p<0.01), and sample type (OR=0.32, 95%CI 0.15–0.67, p<0.01) negatively influenced outcome. Conversely, duration of final hospitalization (OR=3.95, 95%CI 1.59–10.37, p<0.01) and sample collection protocol (OR=8.48, 95%CI 3.96–19.30, p<0.01) positively impacted outcome. Islet RNA obtained via laser capture microdissection improved RIN when compared to total pancreatic RNA from the same donor (∆RIN=1.3, 95%CI 0.6–2.0, p<0.01). Conclusions A multivariable model demonstrates that autopsy- and biopsy-free human pancreata received, processed, and preserved at a single center, using optimized procedures, from organ donors dying of anoxia with normal lipase levels increase the odds of obtaining high-quality RNA. PMID:27984510

Acquisition performance of LAPAN-A3/IPB multispectral imager in real-time mode of operation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hakim, P. R.; Permala, R.; Jayani, A. P. S.

2018-05-01

LAPAN-A3/IPB satellite was launched in June 2016 and its multispectral imager has been producing Indonesian coverage images. In order to improve its support for remote sensing application, the imager should produce images with high quality and quantity. To improve the quantity of LAPAN-A3/IPB multispectral image captured, image acquisition could be executed in real-time mode from LAPAN ground station in Bogor when the satellite passes west Indonesia region. This research analyses the performance of LAPAN-A3/IPB multispectral imager acquisition in real-time mode, in terms of image quality and quantity, under assumption of several on-board and ground segment limitations. Results show that with real-time operation mode, LAPAN-A3/IPB multispectral imager could produce twice as much as image coverage compare to recorded mode. However, the images produced in real-time mode will have slightly degraded quality due to image compression process involved. Based on several analyses that have been done in this research, it is recommended to use real-time acquisition mode whenever it possible, unless for some circumstances that strictly not allow any quality degradation of the images produced.

Comparison between faculty and students perspectives on the qualities of a good medical teacher: A cross-sectional study.

PubMed

Al-Mohaimeed, Abdulrahman A

2018-01-01

This study aimed to explore faculty and students perceptions on the qualities of good medical teachers, and to determine whether the opinions of faculty and students differed. Two quantitative surveys were performed at Qassim University College of Medicine using a pretested self-administered questionnaire distributed to the faculty and students of the college. It captured their opinions about qualities and attributes of good teachers. Each item was measured on a 5-point Likert scale. Data were entered and analyzed using SPSS. A total of 90 faculty and 356 students responded with a response rate of 64%. Overall scores on the performance and personality scales were similar between faculty and students. Faculty and students agreed that "organizes good lectures/use of audiovisual aids" and "expert on the subject/knowledgeable" are important attributes and that telling jokes and the sense of humor or sharing personal experiences are not as important. Students felt it is important for an educator to be respectful, good planner and examiner, whereas faculty members felt that communication skills are of high importance. Faculty development programs should be designed to help faculty develop and improve on the identified qualities.

Perceived Quality of Care of Community Health Worker and Facility-Based Health Worker Management of Pneumonia in Children Under 5 Years in Western Kenya: A Cross-Sectional Multidimensional Study

PubMed Central

Shaw, Brian I.; Asadhi, Elijah; Owuor, Kevin; Okoth, Peter; Abdi, Mohammed; Cohen, Craig R.; Onono, Maricianah

2016-01-01

Integrated community case management (iCCM) programs that train lay community health workers (CHWs) in the diagnosis and treatment of diarrhea, malaria, and pneumonia have been increasingly adopted throughout sub-Saharan Africa to provide services in areas where accessibility to formal public sector health services is low. One important aspect of successful iCCM programs is the acceptability and utilization of services provided by CHWs. To understand community perceptions of the quality of care in an iCCM intervention in western Kenya, we used the Primary Care Assessment Survey to compare caregiver attitudes about the diagnosis and treatment of childhood pneumonia as provided by CHWs and facility-based health workers (FBHWs). Overall, caregivers rated CHWs more highly than FBHWs across a set of 10 domains that capture multiple dimensions of the care process. Caregivers perceived CHWs to provide higher quality care in terms of accessibility and patient relationship and equal quality care on clinical aspects. These results argue for the continued implementation and scale-up of iCCM programs as an acceptable intervention for increasing access to treatment of childhood pneumonia. PMID:26976883

Monitoring well utility in a heterogeneous DNAPL source zone area: Insights from proximal multilevel sampler wells and sampling capture-zone modelling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McMillan, Lindsay A.; Rivett, Michael O.; Wealthall, Gary P.; Zeeb, Peter; Dumble, Peter

2018-03-01

Groundwater-quality assessment at contaminated sites often involves the use of short-screen (1.5 to 3 m) monitoring wells. However, even over these intervals considerable variation may occur in contaminant concentrations in groundwater adjacent to the well screen. This is especially true in heterogeneous dense non-aqueous phase liquid (DNAPL) source zones, where cm-scale contamination variability may call into question the effectiveness of monitoring wells to deliver representative data. The utility of monitoring wells in such settings is evaluated by reference to high-resolution multilevel sampler (MLS) wells located proximally to short-screen wells, together with sampling capture-zone modelling to explore controls upon well sample provenance and sensitivity to monitoring protocols. Field data are analysed from the highly instrumented SABRE research site that contained an old trichloroethene source zone within a shallow alluvial aquifer at a UK industrial facility. With increased purging, monitoring-well samples tend to a flow-weighted average concentration but may exhibit sensitivity to the implemented protocol and degree of purging. Formation heterogeneity adjacent to the well-screen particularly, alongside pump-intake position and water level, influence this sensitivity. Purging of low volumes is vulnerable to poor reproducibility arising from concentration variability predicted over the initial 1 to 2 screen volumes purged. Marked heterogeneity may also result in limited long-term sample concentration stabilization. Development of bespoke monitoring protocols, that consider screen volumes purged, alongside water-quality indicator parameter stabilization, is recommended to validate and reduce uncertainty when interpreting monitoring-well data within source zone areas. Generalised recommendations on monitoring well based protocols are also developed. A key monitoring well utility is their proportionately greater sample draw from permeable horizons constituting a significant contaminant flux pathway and hence representative fraction of source mass flux. Acquisition of complementary, high-resolution, site monitoring data, however, vitally underpins optimal interpretation of monitoring-well datasets and appropriate advancement of a site conceptual model and remedial implementation.

Performance comparison of two commercial human whole-exome capture systems on formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded lung adenocarcinoma samples.

PubMed

Bonfiglio, Silvia; Vanni, Irene; Rossella, Valeria; Truini, Anna; Lazarevic, Dejan; Dal Bello, Maria Giovanna; Alama, Angela; Mora, Marco; Rijavec, Erika; Genova, Carlo; Cittaro, Davide; Grossi, Francesco; Coco, Simona

2016-08-30

Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) has become a valuable tool for molecular landscape characterization of cancer genomes, leading to a better understanding of tumor onset and progression, and opening new avenues in translational oncology. Formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue is the method of choice for storage of clinical samples, however low quality of FFPE genomic DNA (gDNA) can limit its use for downstream applications. To investigate the FFPE specimen suitability for NGS analysis and to establish the performance of two solution-based exome capture technologies, we compared the whole-exome sequencing (WES) data of gDNA extracted from 5 fresh frozen (FF) and 5 matched FFPE lung adenocarcinoma tissues using: SeqCap EZ Human Exome v.3.0 (Roche NimbleGen) and SureSelect XT Human All Exon v.5 (Agilent Technologies). Sequencing metrics on Illumina HiSeq were optimal for both exome systems and comparable among FFPE and FF samples, with a slight increase of PCR duplicates in FFPE, mainly in Roche NimbleGen libraries. Comparison of single nucleotide variants (SNVs) between FFPE-FF pairs reached overlapping values >90 % in both systems. Both WES showed high concordance with target re-sequencing data by Ion PGM™ in 22 lung-cancer genes, regardless the source of samples. Exon coverage of 623 cancer-related genes revealed high coverage efficiency of both kits, proposing WES as a valid alternative to target re-sequencing. High-quality and reliable data can be successfully obtained from WES of FFPE samples starting from a relatively low amount of input gDNA, suggesting the inclusion of NGS-based tests into clinical contest. In conclusion, our analysis suggests that the WES approach could be extended to a translational research context as well as to the clinic (e.g. to study rare malignancies), where the simultaneous analysis of the whole coding region of the genome may help in the detection of cancer-linked variants.

TimesVector: a vectorized clustering approach to the analysis of time series transcriptome data from multiple phenotypes.

PubMed

Jung, Inuk; Jo, Kyuri; Kang, Hyejin; Ahn, Hongryul; Yu, Youngjae; Kim, Sun

2017-12-01

Identifying biologically meaningful gene expression patterns from time series gene expression data is important to understand the underlying biological mechanisms. To identify significantly perturbed gene sets between different phenotypes, analysis of time series transcriptome data requires consideration of time and sample dimensions. Thus, the analysis of such time series data seeks to search gene sets that exhibit similar or different expression patterns between two or more sample conditions, constituting the three-dimensional data, i.e. gene-time-condition. Computational complexity for analyzing such data is very high, compared to the already difficult NP-hard two dimensional biclustering algorithms. Because of this challenge, traditional time series clustering algorithms are designed to capture co-expressed genes with similar expression pattern in two sample conditions. We present a triclustering algorithm, TimesVector, specifically designed for clustering three-dimensional time series data to capture distinctively similar or different gene expression patterns between two or more sample conditions. TimesVector identifies clusters with distinctive expression patterns in three steps: (i) dimension reduction and clustering of time-condition concatenated vectors, (ii) post-processing clusters for detecting similar and distinct expression patterns and (iii) rescuing genes from unclassified clusters. Using four sets of time series gene expression data, generated by both microarray and high throughput sequencing platforms, we demonstrated that TimesVector successfully detected biologically meaningful clusters of high quality. TimesVector improved the clustering quality compared to existing triclustering tools and only TimesVector detected clusters with differential expression patterns across conditions successfully. The TimesVector software is available at http://biohealth.snu.ac.kr/software/TimesVector/. sunkim.bioinfo@snu.ac.kr. Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com

Innovative postmarket device evaluation using a quality registry to monitor thoracic endovascular aortic repair in the treatment of aortic dissection.

PubMed

Beck, Adam W; Lombardi, Joseph V; Abel, Dorothy B; Morales, J Pablo; Marinac-Dabic, Danica; Wang, Grace; Azizzadeh, Ali; Kern, John; Fillinger, Mark; White, Rodney; Cronenwett, Jack L; Cambria, Richard P

2017-05-01

United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-mandated postapproval studies have long been a mainstay of the continued evaluation of high-risk medical devices after initial marketing approval; however, these studies often present challenges related to patient/physician recruitment and retention. Retrospective single-center studies also do not fully represent the spectrum of real-world performance nor are they likely to have a sufficiently large enough sample size to detect important signals. In recent years, The FDA Center for Devices and Radiological Health has been promoting the development and use of patient registries to advance infrastructure and methodologies for medical device investigation. The FDA 2012 document, "Strengthening the National System for Medical Device Post-market Surveillance," highlighted registries as a core foundational infrastructure when linked to other complementary data sources, including embedded unique device identification. The Vascular Quality Initiative (VQI) thoracic endovascular aortic repair for type B aortic dissection project is an innovative method of using quality improvement registries to meet the needs of device evaluation after market approval. Here we report the organization and background of this project and highlight the innovation facilitated by collaboration of physicians, the FDA, and device manufacturers. This effort used an existing national network of VQI participants to capture patients undergoing thoracic endovascular aortic repair for acute type B aortic dissection within a registry that aligns with standard practice and existing quality efforts. The VQI captures detailed patient, device, and procedural data for consecutive eligible cases under the auspices of a Patient Safety Organization (PSO). Patients were divided into a 5-year follow-up group (200 acute; 200 chronic dissections) and a 1-year follow-up group (100 acute; 100 chronic). The 5-year cohort required additional imaging details, and the 1-year group required standard VQI registry data entry. The sample size of patients in each of the 5-year acute and chronic dissection arms was achieved ≤24 months of project initiation, and data capture for the 1-year follow-up group is also nearly complete. Data completeness and follow-up has been excellent, and the two FDA-approved devices for dissection are equally represented. Although the completeness of long-term follow-up is yet to be determined, the rapidity of data collection supports the use of this construct for device assessment after market approval. The alignment of this effort with routine clinical practice and ongoing quality improvement initiatives is critical and has required minimal additional effort by practitioners, thus facilitating patient inclusion. Importantly, the success and development of this unique project has helped inform FDA strategy for future device evaluation after market approval. Copyright © 2017 Society for Vascular Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

High-Density Dielectrophoretic Microwell Array for Detection, Capture, and Single-Cell Analysis of Rare Tumor Cells in Peripheral Blood.

PubMed

Morimoto, Atsushi; Mogami, Toshifumi; Watanabe, Masaru; Iijima, Kazuki; Akiyama, Yasuyuki; Katayama, Koji; Futami, Toru; Yamamoto, Nobuyuki; Sawada, Takeshi; Koizumi, Fumiaki; Koh, Yasuhiro

2015-01-01

Development of a reliable platform and workflow to detect and capture a small number of mutation-bearing circulating tumor cells (CTCs) from a blood sample is necessary for the development of noninvasive cancer diagnosis. In this preclinical study, we aimed to develop a capture system for molecular characterization of single CTCs based on high-density dielectrophoretic microwell array technology. Spike-in experiments using lung cancer cell lines were conducted. The microwell array was used to capture spiked cancer cells, and captured single cells were subjected to whole genome amplification followed by sequencing. A high detection rate (70.2%-90.0%) and excellent linear performance (R2 = 0.8189-0.9999) were noted between the observed and expected numbers of tumor cells. The detection rate was markedly higher than that obtained using the CellSearch system in a blinded manner, suggesting the superior sensitivity of our system in detecting EpCAM- tumor cells. Isolation of single captured tumor cells, followed by detection of EGFR mutations, was achieved using Sanger sequencing. Using a microwell array, we established an efficient and convenient platform for the capture and characterization of single CTCs. The results of a proof-of-principle preclinical study indicated that this platform has potential for the molecular characterization of captured CTCs from patients.

Application of Wavelet Filters in an Evaluation of ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Air quality model evaluation can be enhanced with time-scale specific comparisons of outputs and observations. For example, high-frequency (hours to one day) time scale information in observed ozone is not well captured by deterministic models and its incorporation into model performance metrics lead one to devote resources to stochastic variations in model outputs. In this analysis, observations are compared with model outputs at seasonal, weekly, diurnal and intra-day time scales. Filters provide frequency specific information that can be used to compare the strength (amplitude) and timing (phase) of observations and model estimates. The National Exposure Research Laboratory′s (NERL′s) Atmospheric Modeling and Analysis Division (AMAD) conducts research in support of EPA′s mission to protect human health and the environment. AMAD′s research program is engaged in developing and evaluating predictive atmospheric models on all spatial and temporal scales for forecasting the Nation′s air quality and for assessing changes in air quality and air pollutant exposures, as affected by changes in ecosystem management and regulatory decisions. AMAD is responsible for providing a sound scientific and technical basis for regulatory policies based on air quality models to improve ambient air quality. The models developed by AMAD are being used by EPA, NOAA, and the air pollution community in understanding and forecasting not only the magnitude of the air pollu

Oil Palm expansion over Southeast Asia: land use change and air quality

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Silva, S. J.; Heald, C. L.; Geddes, J.; Marlier, M. E.; Austin, K.; Kasibhatla, P. S.

2015-12-01

Over recent decades oil palm plantations have rapidly expanded across Southeast Asia (SEA). Much of this expansion has come at the expense of natural forests and grasslands. Aircraft measurements from a 2008 campaign, OP3, found that oil palm plantations emit as much as 7 times more isoprene than nearby natural forests. Furthermore, SEA is a rapidly developing region, with increasing urban population, and growing air quality concerns. Thus, SEA represents an ideal case study to examine the impacts of land use change on air quality in the region, and whether those changes can be detected from satellite observations of atmospheric composition. We investigate the impacts of historical and future oil palm expansion in SEA using satellite data, high-resolution land maps, and the chemical transport model GEOS-Chem. We examine the impact of palm plantations on surface-atmosphere processes (dry deposition, biogenic emissions). We show the sensitivity of air quality to current and future oil palm expansion scenarios, and discuss the limitations of current satellite measurements in capturing these changes. Our results indicate that while the impact of oil palm expansion on air quality can be significant, the retrieval error and sensitivity of the satellite measurements limit our ability to observe these impacts from space.

Applications of Business Analytics in Healthcare.

PubMed

Ward, Michael J; Marsolo, Keith A; Froehle, Craig M

2014-09-01

The American healthcare system is at a crossroads, and analytics, as an organizational skill, figures to play a pivotal role in its future. As more healthcare systems capture information electronically and as they begin to collect more novel forms of data, such as human DNA, how will we leverage these resources and use them to improve human health at a manageable cost? In this article, we argue that analytics will play a fundamental role in the transformation of the American healthcare system. However, there are numerous challenges to the application and use of analytics, namely the lack of data standards, barriers to the collection of high-quality data, and a shortage of qualified personnel to conduct such analyses. There are also multiple managerial issues, such as how to get end users of electronic data to employ it consistently for improving healthcare delivery, and how to manage the public reporting and sharing of data. In this article, we explore applications of analytics in healthcare, barriers and facilitators to its widespread adoption, and how analytics can help us achieve the goals of the modern healthcare system: high-quality, responsive, affordable, and efficient care.

Optimized algorithm for the spatial nonuniformity correction of an imaging system based on a charge-coupled device color camera.

PubMed

de Lasarte, Marta; Pujol, Jaume; Arjona, Montserrat; Vilaseca, Meritxell

2007-01-10

We present an optimized linear algorithm for the spatial nonuniformity correction of a CCD color camera's imaging system and the experimental methodology developed for its implementation. We assess the influence of the algorithm's variables on the quality of the correction, that is, the dark image, the base correction image, and the reference level, and the range of application of the correction using a uniform radiance field provided by an integrator cube. The best spatial nonuniformity correction is achieved by having a nonzero dark image, by using an image with a mean digital level placed in the linear response range of the camera as the base correction image and taking the mean digital level of the image as the reference digital level. The response of the CCD color camera's imaging system to the uniform radiance field shows a high level of spatial uniformity after the optimized algorithm has been applied, which also allows us to achieve a high-quality spatial nonuniformity correction of captured images under different exposure conditions.

Innovating affordable neonatal care equipment for use at scale.

PubMed

Sashi Kumar, V; Paul, V K; Sathasivam, K

2016-12-01

The care of small and sick neonates requires biomedical technologies, such as devices that can keep babies warm (radiant warmers and incubators), resuscitate (self-inflating bags), track growth (weighing scales), treat jaundice (phototherapy units) and provide oxygen or respiratory support (hoods, continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) devices and ventilators). Until the 1990s, most of these products were procured through import at a high cost and with little maintenance support. Emerging demand and an informal collaboration of neonatologists, engineers and entrepreneurs has led to the production of good quality equipment of several high-volume categories at affordable cost in India. Radiant warmers, resuscitation bags, phototherapy units, weighing scales and other devices manufactured by Indian small-scale companies have enabled an expansion of neonatal care in the country, particularly in district hospitals, medical college hospitals and subdistrict facilities in the public sector as a part of the National Rural Health Mission. Indian products have acquired international quality standards and are even exported to developed nations. This paper captures this story of innovation and entrepreneurship in neonatal care.

Applications of Business Analytics in Healthcare

PubMed Central

Ward, Michael J.; Marsolo, Keith A.

2014-01-01

The American healthcare system is at a crossroads, and analytics, as an organizational skill, figures to play a pivotal role in its future. As more healthcare systems capture information electronically and as they begin to collect more novel forms of data, such as human DNA, how will we leverage these resources and use them to improve human health at a manageable cost? In this article, we argue that analytics will play a fundamental role in the transformation of the American healthcare system. However, there are numerous challenges to the application and use of analytics, namely the lack of data standards, barriers to the collection of high-quality data, and a shortage of qualified personnel to conduct such analyses. There are also multiple managerial issues, such as how to get end users of electronic data to employ it consistently for improving healthcare delivery, and how to manage the public reporting and sharing of data. In this article, we explore applications of analytics in healthcare, barriers and facilitators to its widespread adoption, and how analytics can help us achieve the goals of the modern healthcare system: high-quality, responsive, affordable, and efficient care. PMID:25429161