Sample records for joint target detection

  1. Detection of dual-band infrared small target based on joint dynamic sparse representation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhou, Jinwei; Li, Jicheng; Shi, Zhiguang; Lu, Xiaowei; Ren, Dongwei

    2015-10-01

    Infrared small target detection is a crucial and yet still is a difficult issue in aeronautic and astronautic applications. Sparse representation is an important mathematic tool and has been used extensively in image processing in recent years. Joint sparse representation is applied in dual-band infrared dim target detection in this paper. Firstly, according to the characters of dim targets in dual-band infrared images, 2-dimension Gaussian intensity model was used to construct target dictionary, then the dictionary was classified into different sub-classes according to different positions of Gaussian function's center point in image block; The fact that dual-band small targets detection can use the same dictionary and the sparsity doesn't lie in atom-level but in sub-class level was utilized, hence the detection of targets in dual-band infrared images was converted to be a joint dynamic sparse representation problem. And the dynamic active sets were used to describe the sparse constraint of coefficients. Two modified sparsity concentration index (SCI) criteria was proposed to evaluate whether targets exist in the images. In experiments, it shows that the proposed algorithm can achieve better detecting performance and dual-band detection is much more robust to noise compared with single-band detection. Moreover, the proposed method can be expanded to multi-spectrum small target detection.

  2. Joint sparsity based heterogeneous data-level fusion for target detection and estimation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Niu, Ruixin; Zulch, Peter; Distasio, Marcello; Blasch, Erik; Shen, Dan; Chen, Genshe

    2017-05-01

    Typical surveillance systems employ decision- or feature-level fusion approaches to integrate heterogeneous sensor data, which are sub-optimal and incur information loss. In this paper, we investigate data-level heterogeneous sensor fusion. Since the sensors monitor the common targets of interest, whose states can be determined by only a few parameters, it is reasonable to assume that the measurement domain has a low intrinsic dimensionality. For heterogeneous sensor data, we develop a joint-sparse data-level fusion (JSDLF) approach based on the emerging joint sparse signal recovery techniques by discretizing the target state space. This approach is applied to fuse signals from multiple distributed radio frequency (RF) signal sensors and a video camera for joint target detection and state estimation. The JSDLF approach is data-driven and requires minimum prior information, since there is no need to know the time-varying RF signal amplitudes, or the image intensity of the targets. It can handle non-linearity in the sensor data due to state space discretization and the use of frequency/pixel selection matrices. Furthermore, for a multi-target case with J targets, the JSDLF approach only requires discretization in a single-target state space, instead of discretization in a J-target state space, as in the case of the generalized likelihood ratio test (GLRT) or the maximum likelihood estimator (MLE). Numerical examples are provided to demonstrate that the proposed JSDLF approach achieves excellent performance with near real-time accurate target position and velocity estimates.

  3. Joint detection and tracking of size-varying infrared targets based on block-wise sparse decomposition

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Miao; Lin, Zaiping; Long, Yunli; An, Wei; Zhou, Yiyu

    2016-05-01

    The high variability of target size makes small target detection in Infrared Search and Track (IRST) a challenging task. A joint detection and tracking method based on block-wise sparse decomposition is proposed to address this problem. For detection, the infrared image is divided into overlapped blocks, and each block is weighted on the local image complexity and target existence probabilities. Target-background decomposition is solved by block-wise inexact augmented Lagrange multipliers. For tracking, label multi-Bernoulli (LMB) tracker tracks multiple targets taking the result of single-frame detection as input, and provides corresponding target existence probabilities for detection. Unlike fixed-size methods, the proposed method can accommodate size-varying targets, due to no special assumption for the size and shape of small targets. Because of exact decomposition, classical target measurements are extended and additional direction information is provided to improve tracking performance. The experimental results show that the proposed method can effectively suppress background clutters, detect and track size-varying targets in infrared images.

  4. Coherent and Noncoherent Joint Processing of Sonar for Detection of Small Targets in Shallow Water.

    PubMed

    Pan, Xiang; Jiang, Jingning; Li, Si; Ding, Zhenping; Pan, Chen; Gong, Xianyi

    2018-04-10

    A coherent-noncoherent joint processing framework is proposed for active sonar to combine diversity gain and beamforming gain for detection of a small target in shallow water environments. Sonar utilizes widely-spaced arrays to sense environments and illuminate a target of interest from multiple angles. Meanwhile, it exploits spatial diversity for time-reversal focusing to suppress reverberation, mainly strong bottom reverberation. For enhancement of robustness of time-reversal focusing, an adaptive iterative strategy is utilized in the processing framework. A probing signal is firstly transmitted and echoes of a likely target are utilized as steering vectors for the second transmission. With spatial diversity, target bearing and range are estimated using a broadband signal model. Numerical simulations show that the novel sonar outperforms the traditional phased-array sonar due to benefits of spatial diversity. The effectiveness of the proposed framework has been validated by localization of a small target in at-lake experiments.

  5. Coherent and Noncoherent Joint Processing of Sonar for Detection of Small Targets in Shallow Water

    PubMed Central

    Jiang, Jingning; Li, Si; Ding, Zhenping; Pan, Chen; Gong, Xianyi

    2018-01-01

    A coherent-noncoherent joint processing framework is proposed for active sonar to combine diversity gain and beamforming gain for detection of a small target in shallow water environments. Sonar utilizes widely-spaced arrays to sense environments and illuminate a target of interest from multiple angles. Meanwhile, it exploits spatial diversity for time-reversal focusing to suppress reverberation, mainly strong bottom reverberation. For enhancement of robustness of time-reversal focusing, an adaptive iterative strategy is utilized in the processing framework. A probing signal is firstly transmitted and echoes of a likely target are utilized as steering vectors for the second transmission. With spatial diversity, target bearing and range are estimated using a broadband signal model. Numerical simulations show that the novel sonar outperforms the traditional phased-array sonar due to benefits of spatial diversity. The effectiveness of the proposed framework has been validated by localization of a small target in at-lake experiments. PMID:29642637

  6. Joint Target Detection and Tracking Filter for Chilbolton Advanced Meteorological Radar Data Processing

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pak, A.; Correa, J.; Adams, M.; Clark, D.; Delande, E.; Houssineau, J.; Franco, J.; Frueh, C.

    2016-09-01

    Recently, the growing number of inactive Resident Space Objects (RSOs), or space debris, has provoked increased interest in the field of Space Situational Awareness (SSA) and various investigations of new methods for orbital object tracking. In comparison with conventional tracking scenarios, state estimation of an orbiting object entails additional challenges, such as orbit determination and orbital state and covariance propagation in the presence of highly nonlinear system dynamics. The sensors which are available for detecting and tracking space debris are prone to multiple clutter measurements. Added to this problem, is the fact that it is unknown whether or not a space debris type target is present within such sensor measurements. Under these circumstances, traditional single-target filtering solutions such as Kalman Filters fail to produce useful trajectory estimates. The recent Random Finite Set (RFS) based Finite Set Statistical (FISST) framework has yielded filters which are more appropriate for such situations. The RFS based Joint Target Detection and Tracking (JoTT) filter, also known as the Bernoulli filter, is a single target, multiple measurements filter capable of dealing with cluttered and time-varying backgrounds as well as modeling target appearance and disappearance in the scene. Therefore, this paper presents the application of the Gaussian mixture-based JoTT filter for processing measurements from Chilbolton Advanced Meteorological Radar (CAMRa) which contain both defunct and operational satellites. The CAMRa is a fully-steerable radar located in southern England, which was recently modified to be used as a tracking asset in the European Space Agency SSA program. The experiments conducted show promising results regarding the capability of such filters in processing cluttered radar data. The work carried out in this paper was funded by the USAF Grant No. FA9550-15-1-0069, Chilean Conicyt - Fondecyt grant number 1150930, EU Erasmus Mundus MSc

  7. Joint passive radar tracking and target classification using radar cross section

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Herman, Shawn M.

    2004-01-01

    We present a recursive Bayesian solution for the problem of joint tracking and classification of airborne targets. In our system, we allow for complications due to multiple targets, false alarms, and missed detections. More importantly, though, we utilize the full benefit of a joint approach by implementing our tracker using an aerodynamically valid flight model that requires aircraft-specific coefficients such as wing area and vehicle mass, which are provided by our classifier. A key feature that bridges the gap between tracking and classification is radar cross section (RCS). By modeling the true deterministic relationship that exists between RCS and target aspect, we are able to gain both valuable class information and an estimate of target orientation. However, the lack of a closed-form relationship between RCS and target aspect prevents us from using the Kalman filter or its variants. Instead, we rely upon a sequential Monte Carlo-based approach known as particle filtering. In addition to allowing us to include RCS as a measurement, the particle filter also simplifies the implementation of our nonlinear non-Gaussian flight model.

  8. Joint passive radar tracking and target classification using radar cross section

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Herman, Shawn M.

    2003-12-01

    We present a recursive Bayesian solution for the problem of joint tracking and classification of airborne targets. In our system, we allow for complications due to multiple targets, false alarms, and missed detections. More importantly, though, we utilize the full benefit of a joint approach by implementing our tracker using an aerodynamically valid flight model that requires aircraft-specific coefficients such as wing area and vehicle mass, which are provided by our classifier. A key feature that bridges the gap between tracking and classification is radar cross section (RCS). By modeling the true deterministic relationship that exists between RCS and target aspect, we are able to gain both valuable class information and an estimate of target orientation. However, the lack of a closed-form relationship between RCS and target aspect prevents us from using the Kalman filter or its variants. Instead, we rely upon a sequential Monte Carlo-based approach known as particle filtering. In addition to allowing us to include RCS as a measurement, the particle filter also simplifies the implementation of our nonlinear non-Gaussian flight model.

  9. A Parallel Finite Set Statistical Simulator for Multi-Target Detection and Tracking

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hussein, I.; MacMillan, R.

    2014-09-01

    Finite Set Statistics (FISST) is a powerful Bayesian inference tool for the joint detection, classification and tracking of multi-target environments. FISST is capable of handling phenomena such as clutter, misdetections, and target birth and decay. Implicit within the approach are solutions to the data association and target label-tracking problems. Finally, FISST provides generalized information measures that can be used for sensor allocation across different types of tasks such as: searching for new targets, and classification and tracking of known targets. These FISST capabilities have been demonstrated on several small-scale illustrative examples. However, for implementation in a large-scale system as in the Space Situational Awareness problem, these capabilities require a lot of computational power. In this paper, we implement FISST in a parallel environment for the joint detection and tracking of multi-target systems. In this implementation, false alarms and misdetections will be modeled. Target birth and decay will not be modeled in the present paper. We will demonstrate the success of the method for as many targets as we possibly can in a desktop parallel environment. Performance measures will include: number of targets in the simulation, certainty of detected target tracks, computational time as a function of clutter returns and number of targets, among other factors.

  10. Dim target trajectory-associated detection in bright earth limb background

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chen, Penghui; Xu, Xiaojian; He, Xiaoyu; Jiang, Yuesong

    2015-09-01

    The intensive emission of earth limb in the field of view of sensors contributes much to the observation images. Due to the low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), it is a challenge to detect small targets in earth limb background, especially for the detection of point-like targets from a single frame. To improve the target detection, track before detection (TBD) based on the frame sequence is performed. In this paper, a new technique is proposed to determine the target associated trajectories, which jointly carries out background removing, maximum value projection (MVP) and Hough transform. The background of the bright earth limb in the observation images is removed according to the profile characteristics. For a moving target, the corresponding pixels in the MVP image are shifting approximately regularly in time sequence. And the target trajectory is determined by Hough transform according to the pixel characteristics of the target and the clutter and noise. Comparing with traditional frame-by-frame methods, determining associated trajectories from MVP reduces the computation load. Numerical simulations are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the approach proposed.

  11. Effects of threshold on single-target detection by using modified amplitude-modulated joint transform correlator

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kaewkasi, Pitchaya; Widjaja, Joewono; Uozumi, Jun

    2007-03-01

    Effects of threshold value on detection performance of the modified amplitude-modulated joint transform correlator are quantitatively studied using computer simulation. Fingerprint and human face images are used as test scenes in the presence of noise and a contrast difference. Simulation results demonstrate that this correlator improves detection performance for both types of image used, but moreso for human face images. Optimal detection of low-contrast human face images obscured by strong noise can be obtained by selecting an appropriate threshold value.

  12. The relationship between target joints and direct resource use in severe haemophilia.

    PubMed

    O'Hara, Jamie; Walsh, Shaun; Camp, Charlotte; Mazza, Giuseppe; Carroll, Liz; Hoxer, Christina; Wilkinson, Lars

    2018-01-16

    Target joints are a common complication of severe haemophilia. While factor replacement therapy constitutes the majority of costs in haemophilia, the relationship between target joints and non drug-related direct costs (NDDCs) has not been studied. Data on haemophilia patients without inhibitors was drawn from the 'Cost of Haemophilia across Europe - a Socioeconomic Survey' (CHESS) study, a cost assessment in severe haemophilia A and B across five European countries (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom) in which 139 haemophilia specialists provided demographic and clinical information for 1285 adult patients. NDDCs were calculated using publicly available cost data, including 12-month ambulatory and secondary care activity: haematologist and other specialist consultant consultations, medical tests and examinations, bleed-related hospital admissions, and payments to professional care providers. A generalized linear model was developed to investigate the relationship between NDDCs and target joints (areas of chronic synovitis), adjusted for patient covariates. Five hundred and thirteen patients (42% of the sample) had no diagnosed target joints; a total of 1376 target joints (range 1-10) were recorded in the remaining 714 patients. Mean adjusted NDDCs for persons with no target joints were EUR 3134 (standard error (SE) EUR 158); for persons with one or more target joints, mean adjusted NDDCs were EUR 3913 (SE EUR 157; average mean effect EUR 779; p < 0.001). Our analysis suggests that the presence of one or more target joints has a significant impact on NDDCs for patients with severe haemophilia, ceteris paribus. Prevention and management of target joints should be an important consideration of managing haemophilia patients.

  13. Saposin C Coupled Lipid Nanovesicles Specifically Target Arthritic Mouse Joints for Optical Imaging of Disease Severity

    PubMed Central

    Qi, Xiaoyang; Flick, Matthew J.; Frederick, Malinda; Chu, Zhengtao; Mason, Rachel; DeLay, Monica; Thornton, Sherry

    2012-01-01

    Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic inflammatory disease affecting approximately 1% of the population and is characterized by cartilage and bone destruction ultimately leading to loss of joint function. Early detection and intervention of disease provides the best hope for successful treatment and preservation of joint mobility and function. Reliable and non-invasive techniques that accurately measure arthritic disease onset and progression are lacking. We recently developed a novel agent, SapC-DOPS, which is composed of the membrane-associated lysosomal protein saposin C (SapC) incorporated into 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phospho-L-serine (DOPS) lipid nanovesicles. SapC-DOPS has a high fusogenic affinity for phosphatidylserine-enriched microdomains on surfaces of target cell membranes. Incorporation of a far-red fluorophore, CellVue Maroon (CVM), into the nanovesicles allows for in vivo non-invasive visualization of the agent in targeted tissue. Given that phosphatidylserine is present only on the inner leaflet of healthy plasma membranes but is “flipped” to the outer leaflet upon cell damage, we hypothesized that SapC-DOPS would target tissue damage associated with inflammatory arthritis due to local surface-exposure of phosphatidylserine. Optical imaging with SapC-DOPS-CVM in two distinct models of arthritis, serum-transfer arthritis (e.g., K/BxN) and collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) revealed robust SapC-DOPS-CVM specific localization to arthritic paws and joints in live animals. Importantly, intensity of localized fluorescent signal correlated with macroscopic arthritic disease severity and increased with disease progression. Flow cytometry of cells extracted from arthritic joints demonstrated that SapC-DOPS-CVM localized to an average of 7–8% of total joint cells and primarily to CD11b+Gr-1+ cells. Results from the current studies strongly support the application of SapC-DOPS-CVM for advanced clinical and research applications including: detecting early

  14. Target detection in GPR data using joint low-rank and sparsity constraints

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bouzerdoum, Abdesselam; Tivive, Fok Hing Chi; Abeynayake, Canicious

    2016-05-01

    In ground penetrating radars, background clutter, which comprises the signals backscattered from the rough, uneven ground surface and the background noise, impairs the visualization of buried objects and subsurface inspections. In this paper, a clutter mitigation method is proposed for target detection. The removal of background clutter is formulated as a constrained optimization problem to obtain a low-rank matrix and a sparse matrix. The low-rank matrix captures the ground surface reflections and the background noise, whereas the sparse matrix contains the target reflections. An optimization method based on split-Bregman algorithm is developed to estimate these two matrices from the input GPR data. Evaluated on real radar data, the proposed method achieves promising results in removing the background clutter and enhancing the target signature.

  15. Joint Dictionary Learning for Multispectral Change Detection.

    PubMed

    Lu, Xiaoqiang; Yuan, Yuan; Zheng, Xiangtao

    2017-04-01

    Change detection is one of the most important applications of remote sensing technology. It is a challenging task due to the obvious variations in the radiometric value of spectral signature and the limited capability of utilizing spectral information. In this paper, an improved sparse coding method for change detection is proposed. The intuition of the proposed method is that unchanged pixels in different images can be well reconstructed by the joint dictionary, which corresponds to knowledge of unchanged pixels, while changed pixels cannot. First, a query image pair is projected onto the joint dictionary to constitute the knowledge of unchanged pixels. Then reconstruction error is obtained to discriminate between the changed and unchanged pixels in the different images. To select the proper thresholds for determining changed regions, an automatic threshold selection strategy is presented by minimizing the reconstruction errors of the changed pixels. Adequate experiments on multispectral data have been tested, and the experimental results compared with the state-of-the-art methods prove the superiority of the proposed method. Contributions of the proposed method can be summarized as follows: 1) joint dictionary learning is proposed to explore the intrinsic information of different images for change detection. In this case, change detection can be transformed as a sparse representation problem. To the authors' knowledge, few publications utilize joint learning dictionary in change detection; 2) an automatic threshold selection strategy is presented, which minimizes the reconstruction errors of the changed pixels without the prior assumption of the spectral signature. As a result, the threshold value provided by the proposed method can adapt to different data due to the characteristic of joint dictionary learning; and 3) the proposed method makes no prior assumption of the modeling and the handling of the spectral signature, which can be adapted to different data.

  16. Unsupervised Spatial Event Detection in Targeted Domains with Applications to Civil Unrest Modeling

    PubMed Central

    Zhao, Liang; Chen, Feng; Dai, Jing; Hua, Ting; Lu, Chang-Tien; Ramakrishnan, Naren

    2014-01-01

    Twitter has become a popular data source as a surrogate for monitoring and detecting events. Targeted domains such as crime, election, and social unrest require the creation of algorithms capable of detecting events pertinent to these domains. Due to the unstructured language, short-length messages, dynamics, and heterogeneity typical of Twitter data streams, it is technically difficult and labor-intensive to develop and maintain supervised learning systems. We present a novel unsupervised approach for detecting spatial events in targeted domains and illustrate this approach using one specific domain, viz. civil unrest modeling. Given a targeted domain, we propose a dynamic query expansion algorithm to iteratively expand domain-related terms, and generate a tweet homogeneous graph. An anomaly identification method is utilized to detect spatial events over this graph by jointly maximizing local modularity and spatial scan statistics. Extensive experiments conducted in 10 Latin American countries demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach. PMID:25350136

  17. Grasp cueing and joint attention.

    PubMed

    Tschentscher, Nadja; Fischer, Martin H

    2008-10-01

    We studied how two different hand posture cues affect joint attention in normal observers. Visual targets appeared over lateralized objects, with different delays after centrally presented hand postures. Attention was cued by either hand direction or the congruency between hand aperture and object size. Participants pressed a button when they detected a target. Direction cues alone facilitated target detection following short delays but aperture cues alone were ineffective. In contrast, when hand postures combined direction and aperture cues, aperture congruency effects without directional congruency effects emerged and persisted, but only for power grips. These results suggest that parallel parameter specification makes joint attention mechanisms exquisitely sensitive to the timing and content of contextual cues.

  18. Landmine detection using two-tapped joint orthogonal matching pursuits

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Goldberg, Sean; Glenn, Taylor; Wilson, Joseph N.; Gader, Paul D.

    2012-06-01

    Joint Orthogonal Matching Pursuits (JOMP) is used here in the context of landmine detection using data obtained from an electromagnetic induction (EMI) sensor. The response from an object containing metal can be decomposed into a discrete spectrum of relaxation frequencies (DSRF) from which we construct a dictionary. A greedy iterative algorithm is proposed for computing successive residuals of a signal by subtracting away the highest matching dictionary element at each step. The nal condence of a particular signal is a combination of the reciprocal of this residual and the mean of the complex component. A two-tap approach comparing signals on opposite sides of the geometric location of the sensor is examined and found to produce better classication. It is found that using only a single pursuit does a comparable job, reducing complexity and allowing for real-time implementation in automated target recognition systems. JOMP is particularly highlighted in comparison with a previous EMI detection algorithm known as String Match.

  19. Comparison of two ultrasound-guided injection techniques targeting the sacroiliac joint region in equine cadavers.

    PubMed

    Stack, John David; Bergamino, Chiara; Sanders, Ruth; Fogarty, Ursula; Puggioni, Antonella; Kearney, Clodagh; David, Florent

    2016-09-20

    To compare the accuracy and distribution of injectate for cranial (CR) and caudomedial (CM) ultrasound-guided injections of equine sacroiliac joints. Both sacroiliac joints from 10 lumbosacropelvic specimens were injected using cranial parasagittal (CR; curved 18 gauge, 25 cm spinal needles) and caudomedial (CM; straight 18 gauge, 15 cm spinal needles) ultrasound-guided approaches. Injectate consisted of 4 ml iodinated contrast and 2 ml methylene blue. Computed tomographical (CT) scans were performed before and after injections. Time for needle guidance and repositioning attempts were recorded. The CT sequences were analysed for accuracy and distribution of contrast. Intra-articular contrast was detected in sacroiliac joints following 15/40 injections. The CR and CM approaches deposited injectate ≤2 cm from sacroiliac joint margins following 17/20 and 20/20 injections, respectively. Median distance of closest contrast to the sacroiliac joint was 0.4 cm (interquartile range [IQR]: 1.5 cm) for CR approaches and 0.6 cm (IQR: 0.95 cm) for CM approaches. Cranial injections resulted in injectate contacting lumbosacral intertransverse joints 15/20 times. Caudomedial injections were perivascular 16/20 times. Safety and efficacy could not be established. Cranial and CM ultrasound-guided injections targeting sacroiliac joints were very accurate for periarticular injection, but accuracy was poor for intra-articular injection. Injectate was frequently found in contact with interosseous sacroiliac ligaments, as well as neurovascular and synovial structures in close vicinity of sacroiliac joints.

  20. Novel joint cupping clinical maneuver for ultrasonographic detection of knee joint effusions.

    PubMed

    Uryasev, Oleg; Joseph, Oliver C; McNamara, John P; Dallas, Apostolos P

    2013-11-01

    Knee effusions occur due to traumatic and atraumatic causes. Clinical diagnosis currently relies on several provocative techniques to demonstrate knee joint effusions. Portable bedside ultrasonography (US) is becoming an adjunct to diagnosis of effusions. We hypothesized that a US approach with a clinical joint cupping maneuver increases sensitivity in identifying effusions as compared to US alone. Using unembalmed cadaver knees, we injected fluid to create effusions up to 10 mL. Each effusion volume was measured in a lateral transverse location with respect to the patella. For each effusion we applied a joint cupping maneuver from an inferior approach, and re-measured the effusion. With increased volume of saline infusion, the mean depth of effusion on ultrasound imaging increased as well. Using a 2-mm cutoff, we visualized an effusion without the joint cupping maneuver at 2.5 mL and with the joint cupping technique at 1 mL. Mean effusion diameter increased on average 0.26 cm for the joint cupping maneuver as compared to without the maneuver. The effusion depth was statistically different at 2.5 and 7.5 mL (P < .05). Utilizing a joint cupping technique in combination with US is a valuable tool in assessing knee effusions, especially those of subclinical levels. Effusion measurements are complicated by uneven distribution of effusion fluid. A clinical joint cupping maneuver concentrates the fluid in one recess of the joint, increasing the likelihood of fluid detection using US. © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. Labeled RFS-Based Track-Before-Detect for Multiple Maneuvering Targets in the Infrared Focal Plane Array.

    PubMed

    Li, Miao; Li, Jun; Zhou, Yiyu

    2015-12-08

    The problem of jointly detecting and tracking multiple targets from the raw observations of an infrared focal plane array is a challenging task, especially for the case with uncertain target dynamics. In this paper a multi-model labeled multi-Bernoulli (MM-LMB) track-before-detect method is proposed within the labeled random finite sets (RFS) framework. The proposed track-before-detect method consists of two parts-MM-LMB filter and MM-LMB smoother. For the MM-LMB filter, original LMB filter is applied to track-before-detect based on target and measurement models, and is integrated with the interacting multiple models (IMM) approach to accommodate the uncertainty of target dynamics. For the MM-LMB smoother, taking advantage of the track labels and posterior model transition probability, the single-model single-target smoother is extended to a multi-model multi-target smoother. A Sequential Monte Carlo approach is also presented to implement the proposed method. Simulation results show the proposed method can effectively achieve tracking continuity for multiple maneuvering targets. In addition, compared with the forward filtering alone, our method is more robust due to its combination of forward filtering and backward smoothing.

  2. Labeled RFS-Based Track-Before-Detect for Multiple Maneuvering Targets in the Infrared Focal Plane Array

    PubMed Central

    Li, Miao; Li, Jun; Zhou, Yiyu

    2015-01-01

    The problem of jointly detecting and tracking multiple targets from the raw observations of an infrared focal plane array is a challenging task, especially for the case with uncertain target dynamics. In this paper a multi-model labeled multi-Bernoulli (MM-LMB) track-before-detect method is proposed within the labeled random finite sets (RFS) framework. The proposed track-before-detect method consists of two parts—MM-LMB filter and MM-LMB smoother. For the MM-LMB filter, original LMB filter is applied to track-before-detect based on target and measurement models, and is integrated with the interacting multiple models (IMM) approach to accommodate the uncertainty of target dynamics. For the MM-LMB smoother, taking advantage of the track labels and posterior model transition probability, the single-model single-target smoother is extended to a multi-model multi-target smoother. A Sequential Monte Carlo approach is also presented to implement the proposed method. Simulation results show the proposed method can effectively achieve tracking continuity for multiple maneuvering targets. In addition, compared with the forward filtering alone, our method is more robust due to its combination of forward filtering and backward smoothing. PMID:26670234

  3. Image Registration-Based Bolt Loosening Detection of Steel Joints

    PubMed Central

    2018-01-01

    Self-loosening of bolts caused by repetitive loads and vibrations is one of the common defects that can weaken the structural integrity of bolted steel joints in civil structures. Many existing approaches for detecting loosening bolts are based on physical sensors and, hence, require extensive sensor deployment, which limit their abilities to cost-effectively detect loosened bolts in a large number of steel joints. Recently, computer vision-based structural health monitoring (SHM) technologies have demonstrated great potential for damage detection due to the benefits of being low cost, easy to deploy, and contactless. In this study, we propose a vision-based non-contact bolt loosening detection method that uses a consumer-grade digital camera. Two images of the monitored steel joint are first collected during different inspection periods and then aligned through two image registration processes. If the bolt experiences rotation between inspections, it will introduce differential features in the registration errors, serving as a good indicator for bolt loosening detection. The performance and robustness of this approach have been validated through a series of experimental investigations using three laboratory setups including a gusset plate on a cross frame, a column flange, and a girder web. The bolt loosening detection results are presented for easy interpretation such that informed decisions can be made about the detected loosened bolts. PMID:29597264

  4. Image Registration-Based Bolt Loosening Detection of Steel Joints.

    PubMed

    Kong, Xiangxiong; Li, Jian

    2018-03-28

    Self-loosening of bolts caused by repetitive loads and vibrations is one of the common defects that can weaken the structural integrity of bolted steel joints in civil structures. Many existing approaches for detecting loosening bolts are based on physical sensors and, hence, require extensive sensor deployment, which limit their abilities to cost-effectively detect loosened bolts in a large number of steel joints. Recently, computer vision-based structural health monitoring (SHM) technologies have demonstrated great potential for damage detection due to the benefits of being low cost, easy to deploy, and contactless. In this study, we propose a vision-based non-contact bolt loosening detection method that uses a consumer-grade digital camera. Two images of the monitored steel joint are first collected during different inspection periods and then aligned through two image registration processes. If the bolt experiences rotation between inspections, it will introduce differential features in the registration errors, serving as a good indicator for bolt loosening detection. The performance and robustness of this approach have been validated through a series of experimental investigations using three laboratory setups including a gusset plate on a cross frame, a column flange, and a girder web. The bolt loosening detection results are presented for easy interpretation such that informed decisions can be made about the detected loosened bolts.

  5. The impact of severe haemophilia and the presence of target joints on health-related quality-of-life.

    PubMed

    O'Hara, Jamie; Walsh, Shaun; Camp, Charlotte; Mazza, Giuseppe; Carroll, Liz; Hoxer, Christina; Wilkinson, Lars

    2018-05-02

    Joint damage remains a major complication associated with haemophilia and is widely accepted as one of the most debilitating symptoms for persons with severe haemophilia. The aim of this study is to describe how complications of haemophilia such as target joints influence health-related quality of life (HRQOL). Data on hemophilia patients without inhibitors were drawn from the 'Cost of Haemophilia across Europe - a Socioeconomic Survey' (CHESS) study, a cost-of-illness assessment in severe haemophilia A and B across five European countries (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the UK). Physicians provided clinical and sociodemographic information for 1285 adult patients, 551 of whom completed corresponding questionnaires, including EQ-5D. A generalised linear model was developed to investigate the relationship between EQ-5D index score and target joint status (defined in the CHESS study as areas of chronic synovitis), adjusted for patient covariates including socio-demographic characteristics and comorbidities. Five hundred and fifteen patients (42% of the sample) provided an EQ-5D response; a total of 692 target joints were recorded across the sample. Mean EQ-5D index score for patients with no target joints was 0.875 (standard deviation [SD] 0.179); for patients with one or more target joints, mean index score was 0.731 (SD 0.285). Compared to having no target joints, having one or more target joints was associated with lower index scores (average marginal effect (AME) -0.120; SD 0.0262; p < 0.000). This study found that the presence of chronic synovitis has a significant negative impact on HRQOL for adults with severe haemophilia. Prevention, early diagnosis and treatment of target joints should be an important consideration for clinicians and patients when managing haemophilia.

  6. Joint quantum measurement using unbalanced array detection.

    PubMed

    Beck, M; Dorrer, C; Walmsley, I A

    2001-12-17

    We have measured the joint Q-function of a highly multimode field using unbalanced heterodyne detection with a charge-coupled device array detector. We use spectral interferometry between a weak signal field and a strong, 100 fs duration local oscillator pulse to reconstruct the joint quadrature amplitude statistics of about 25 temporal modes. By adjusting the time delay between the signal and local oscillator pulses we are able to shift all the classical noise to modes distinct from the signal. This obviates the need to use a balanced detector.

  7. A combined joint diagonalization-MUSIC algorithm for subsurface targets localization

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, Yinlin; Sigman, John B.; Barrowes, Benjamin E.; O'Neill, Kevin; Shubitidze, Fridon

    2014-06-01

    This paper presents a combined joint diagonalization (JD) and multiple signal classification (MUSIC) algorithm for estimating subsurface objects locations from electromagnetic induction (EMI) sensor data, without solving ill-posed inverse-scattering problems. JD is a numerical technique that finds the common eigenvectors that diagonalize a set of multistatic response (MSR) matrices measured by a time-domain EMI sensor. Eigenvalues from targets of interest (TOI) can be then distinguished automatically from noise-related eigenvalues. Filtering is also carried out in JD to improve the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the data. The MUSIC algorithm utilizes the orthogonality between the signal and noise subspaces in the MSR matrix, which can be separated with information provided by JD. An array of theoreticallycalculated Green's functions are then projected onto the noise subspace, and the location of the target is estimated by the minimum of the projection owing to the orthogonality. This combined method is applied to data from the Time-Domain Electromagnetic Multisensor Towed Array Detection System (TEMTADS). Examples of TEMTADS test stand data and field data collected at Spencer Range, Tennessee are analyzed and presented. Results indicate that due to its noniterative mechanism, the method can be executed fast enough to provide real-time estimation of objects' locations in the field.

  8. Joint Facial Action Unit Detection and Feature Fusion: A Multi-conditional Learning Approach.

    PubMed

    Eleftheriadis, Stefanos; Rudovic, Ognjen; Pantic, Maja

    2016-10-05

    Automated analysis of facial expressions can benefit many domains, from marketing to clinical diagnosis of neurodevelopmental disorders. Facial expressions are typically encoded as a combination of facial muscle activations, i.e., action units. Depending on context, these action units co-occur in specific patterns, and rarely in isolation. Yet, most existing methods for automatic action unit detection fail to exploit dependencies among them, and the corresponding facial features. To address this, we propose a novel multi-conditional latent variable model for simultaneous fusion of facial features and joint action unit detection. Specifically, the proposed model performs feature fusion in a generative fashion via a low-dimensional shared subspace, while simultaneously performing action unit detection using a discriminative classification approach. We show that by combining the merits of both approaches, the proposed methodology outperforms existing purely discriminative/generative methods for the target task. To reduce the number of parameters, and avoid overfitting, a novel Bayesian learning approach based on Monte Carlo sampling is proposed, to integrate out the shared subspace. We validate the proposed method on posed and spontaneous data from three publicly available datasets (CK+, DISFA and Shoulder-pain), and show that both feature fusion and joint learning of action units leads to improved performance compared to the state-of-the-art methods for the task.

  9. Multisensor fusion for 3D target tracking using track-before-detect particle filter

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Moshtagh, Nima; Romberg, Paul M.; Chan, Moses W.

    2015-05-01

    This work presents a novel fusion mechanism for estimating the three-dimensional trajectory of a moving target using images collected by multiple imaging sensors. The proposed projective particle filter avoids the explicit target detection prior to fusion. In projective particle filter, particles that represent the posterior density (of target state in a high-dimensional space) are projected onto the lower-dimensional observation space. Measurements are generated directly in the observation space (image plane) and a marginal (sensor) likelihood is computed. The particles states and their weights are updated using the joint likelihood computed from all the sensors. The 3D state estimate of target (system track) is then generated from the states of the particles. This approach is similar to track-before-detect particle filters that are known to perform well in tracking dim and stealthy targets in image collections. Our approach extends the track-before-detect approach to 3D tracking using the projective particle filter. The performance of this measurement-level fusion method is compared with that of a track-level fusion algorithm using the projective particle filter. In the track-level fusion algorithm, the 2D sensor tracks are generated separately and transmitted to a fusion center, where they are treated as measurements to the state estimator. The 2D sensor tracks are then fused to reconstruct the system track. A realistic synthetic scenario with a boosting target was generated, and used to study the performance of the fusion mechanisms.

  10. Damage detection of an in-service condensation pipeline joint

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Briand, Julie; Rezaei, Davood; Taheri, Farid

    2010-04-01

    The early detection of damage in structural or mechanical systems is of vital importance. With early detection, the damage may be repaired before the integrity of the system is jeopardized, resulting in monetary losses, loss of life or limb, and environmental impacts. Among the various types of structural health monitoring techniques, vibration-based methods are of significant interest since the damage location does not need to be known beforehand, making it a more versatile approach. The non-destructive damage detection method used for the experiments herein is a novel vibration-based method which uses an index called the EMD Energy Damage Index, developed with the aim of providing improved qualitative results compared to those methods currently available. As part of an effort to establish the integrity and limitation of this novel damage detection method, field testing was completed on a mechanical pipe joint on a condensation line, located in the physical plant of Dalhousie University. Piezoceramic sensors, placed at various locations around the joint were used to monitor the free vibration of the pipe imposed through the use of an impulse hammer. Multiple damage progression scenarios were completed, each having a healthy state and multiple damage cases. Subsequently, the recorded signals from the healthy and damaged joint were processed through the EMD Energy Damage Index developed in-house in an effort to detect the inflicted damage. The proposed methodology successfully detected the inflicted damages. In this paper, the effects of impact location, sensor location, frequency bandwidth, intrinsic mode functions, and boundary conditions are discussed.

  11. Optimal Joint Detection and Estimation That Maximizes ROC-Type Curves.

    PubMed

    Wunderlich, Adam; Goossens, Bart; Abbey, Craig K

    2016-09-01

    Combined detection-estimation tasks are frequently encountered in medical imaging. Optimal methods for joint detection and estimation are of interest because they provide upper bounds on observer performance, and can potentially be utilized for imaging system optimization, evaluation of observer efficiency, and development of image formation algorithms. We present a unified Bayesian framework for decision rules that maximize receiver operating characteristic (ROC)-type summary curves, including ROC, localization ROC (LROC), estimation ROC (EROC), free-response ROC (FROC), alternative free-response ROC (AFROC), and exponentially-transformed FROC (EFROC) curves, succinctly summarizing previous results. The approach relies on an interpretation of ROC-type summary curves as plots of an expected utility versus an expected disutility (or penalty) for signal-present decisions. We propose a general utility structure that is flexible enough to encompass many ROC variants and yet sufficiently constrained to allow derivation of a linear expected utility equation that is similar to that for simple binary detection. We illustrate our theory with an example comparing decision strategies for joint detection-estimation of a known signal with unknown amplitude. In addition, building on insights from our utility framework, we propose new ROC-type summary curves and associated optimal decision rules for joint detection-estimation tasks with an unknown, potentially-multiple, number of signals in each observation.

  12. Target Information Processing: A Joint Decision and Estimation Approach

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2012-03-29

    ground targets ( track - before - detect ) using computer cluster and graphics processing unit. Estimation and filtering theory is one of the most important...targets ( track - before - detect ) using computer cluster and graphics processing unit. Estimation and filtering theory is one of the most important

  13. Optimal joint detection and estimation that maximizes ROC-type curves

    PubMed Central

    Wunderlich, Adam; Goossens, Bart; Abbey, Craig K.

    2017-01-01

    Combined detection-estimation tasks are frequently encountered in medical imaging. Optimal methods for joint detection and estimation are of interest because they provide upper bounds on observer performance, and can potentially be utilized for imaging system optimization, evaluation of observer efficiency, and development of image formation algorithms. We present a unified Bayesian framework for decision rules that maximize receiver operating characteristic (ROC)-type summary curves, including ROC, localization ROC (LROC), estimation ROC (EROC), free-response ROC (FROC), alternative free-response ROC (AFROC), and exponentially-transformed FROC (EFROC) curves, succinctly summarizing previous results. The approach relies on an interpretation of ROC-type summary curves as plots of an expected utility versus an expected disutility (or penalty) for signal-present decisions. We propose a general utility structure that is flexible enough to encompass many ROC variants and yet sufficiently constrained to allow derivation of a linear expected utility equation that is similar to that for simple binary detection. We illustrate our theory with an example comparing decision strategies for joint detection-estimation of a known signal with unknown amplitude. In addition, building on insights from our utility framework, we propose new ROC-type summary curves and associated optimal decision rules for joint detection-estimation tasks with an unknown, potentially-multiple, number of signals in each observation. PMID:27093544

  14. Joint Transform Correlation for face tracking: elderly fall detection application

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Katz, Philippe; Aron, Michael; Alfalou, Ayman

    2013-03-01

    In this paper, an iterative tracking algorithm based on a non-linear JTC (Joint Transform Correlator) architecture and enhanced by a digital image processing method is proposed and validated. This algorithm is based on the computation of a correlation plane where the reference image is updated at each frame. For that purpose, we use the JTC technique in real time to track a patient (target image) in a room fitted with a video camera. The correlation plane is used to localize the target image in the current video frame (frame i). Then, the reference image to be exploited in the next frame (frame i+1) is updated according to the previous one (frame i). In an effort to validate our algorithm, our work is divided into two parts: (i) a large study based on different sequences with several situations and different JTC parameters is achieved in order to quantify their effects on the tracking performances (decimation, non-linearity coefficient, size of the correlation plane, size of the region of interest...). (ii) the tracking algorithm is integrated into an application of elderly fall detection. The first reference image is a face detected by means of Haar descriptors, and then localized into the new video image thanks to our tracking method. In order to avoid a bad update of the reference frame, a method based on a comparison of image intensity histograms is proposed and integrated in our algorithm. This step ensures a robust tracking of the reference frame. This article focuses on face tracking step optimisation and evalutation. A supplementary step of fall detection, based on vertical acceleration and position, will be added and studied in further work.

  15. Detecting targets hidden in random forests

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kouritzin, Michael A.; Luo, Dandan; Newton, Fraser; Wu, Biao

    2009-05-01

    Military tanks, cargo or troop carriers, missile carriers or rocket launchers often hide themselves from detection in the forests. This plagues the detection problem of locating these hidden targets. An electro-optic camera mounted on a surveillance aircraft or unmanned aerial vehicle is used to capture the images of the forests with possible hidden targets, e.g., rocket launchers. We consider random forests of longitudinal and latitudinal correlations. Specifically, foliage coverage is encoded with a binary representation (i.e., foliage or no foliage), and is correlated in adjacent regions. We address the detection problem of camouflaged targets hidden in random forests by building memory into the observations. In particular, we propose an efficient algorithm to generate random forests, ground, and camouflage of hidden targets with two dimensional correlations. The observations are a sequence of snapshots consisting of foliage-obscured ground or target. Theoretically, detection is possible because there are subtle differences in the correlations of the ground and camouflage of the rocket launcher. However, these differences are well beyond human perception. To detect the presence of hidden targets automatically, we develop a Markov representation for these sequences and modify the classical filtering equations to allow the Markov chain observation. Particle filters are used to estimate the position of the targets in combination with a novel random weighting technique. Furthermore, we give positive proof-of-concept simulations.

  16. Space moving target detection using time domain feature

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, Min; Chen, Jin-yong; Gao, Feng; Zhao, Jin-yu

    2018-01-01

    The traditional space target detection methods mainly use the spatial characteristics of the star map to detect the targets, which can not make full use of the time domain information. This paper presents a new space moving target detection method based on time domain features. We firstly construct the time spectral data of star map, then analyze the time domain features of the main objects (target, stars and the background) in star maps, finally detect the moving targets using single pulse feature of the time domain signal. The real star map target detection experimental results show that the proposed method can effectively detect the trajectory of moving targets in the star map sequence, and the detection probability achieves 99% when the false alarm rate is about 8×10-5, which outperforms those of compared algorithms.

  17. Detection and imaging of moving objects with SAR by a joint space-time-frequency processing

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Barbarossa, Sergio; Farina, Alfonso

    This paper proposes a joint spacetime-frequency processing scheme for the detection and imaging of moving targets by Synthetic Aperture Radars (SAR). The method is based on the availability of an array antenna. The signals received by the array elements are combined, in a spacetime processor, to cancel the clutter. Then, they are analyzed in the time-frequency domain, by computing their Wigner-Ville Distribution (WVD), in order to estimate the instantaneous frequency, to be used for the successive phase compensation, necessary to produce a high resolution image.

  18. Joint Attributes and Event Analysis for Multimedia Event Detection.

    PubMed

    Ma, Zhigang; Chang, Xiaojun; Xu, Zhongwen; Sebe, Nicu; Hauptmann, Alexander G

    2017-06-15

    Semantic attributes have been increasingly used the past few years for multimedia event detection (MED) with promising results. The motivation is that multimedia events generally consist of lower level components such as objects, scenes, and actions. By characterizing multimedia event videos with semantic attributes, one could exploit more informative cues for improved detection results. Much existing work obtains semantic attributes from images, which may be suboptimal for video analysis since these image-inferred attributes do not carry dynamic information that is essential for videos. To address this issue, we propose to learn semantic attributes from external videos using their semantic labels. We name them video attributes in this paper. In contrast with multimedia event videos, these external videos depict lower level contents such as objects, scenes, and actions. To harness video attributes, we propose an algorithm established on a correlation vector that correlates them to a target event. Consequently, we could incorporate video attributes latently as extra information into the event detector learnt from multimedia event videos in a joint framework. To validate our method, we perform experiments on the real-world large-scale TRECVID MED 2013 and 2014 data sets and compare our method with several state-of-the-art algorithms. The experiments show that our method is advantageous for MED.

  19. Covariance descriptor fusion for target detection

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cukur, Huseyin; Binol, Hamidullah; Bal, Abdullah; Yavuz, Fatih

    2016-05-01

    Target detection is one of the most important topics for military or civilian applications. In order to address such detection tasks, hyperspectral imaging sensors provide useful images data containing both spatial and spectral information. Target detection has various challenging scenarios for hyperspectral images. To overcome these challenges, covariance descriptor presents many advantages. Detection capability of the conventional covariance descriptor technique can be improved by fusion methods. In this paper, hyperspectral bands are clustered according to inter-bands correlation. Target detection is then realized by fusion of covariance descriptor results based on the band clusters. The proposed combination technique is denoted Covariance Descriptor Fusion (CDF). The efficiency of the CDF is evaluated by applying to hyperspectral imagery to detect man-made objects. The obtained results show that the CDF presents better performance than the conventional covariance descriptor.

  20. Target discrimination strategies in optics detection

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sjöqvist, Lars; Allard, Lars; Henriksson, Markus; Jonsson, Per; Pettersson, Magnus

    2013-10-01

    Detection and localisation of optical assemblies used for weapon guidance or sniper rifle scopes has attracted interest for security and military applications. Typically a laser system is used to interrogate a scene of interest and the retro-reflected radiation is detected. Different system approaches for area coverage can be realised ranging from flood illumination to step-and-stare or continuous scanning schemes. Independently of the chosen approach target discrimination is a crucial issue, particularly if a complex scene such as in an urban environment and autonomous operation is considered. In this work target discrimination strategies in optics detection are discussed. Typical parameters affecting the reflected laser radiation from the target are the wavelength, polarisation properties, temporal effects and the range resolution. Knowledge about the target characteristics is important to predict the target discrimination capability. Two different systems were used to investigate polarisation properties and range resolution information from targets including e.g. road signs, optical reflexes, rifle sights and optical references. The experimental results and implications on target discrimination will be discussed. If autonomous operation is required target discrimination becomes critical in order to reduce the number of false alarms.

  1. A method for detecting small targets based on cumulative weighted value of target properties

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jin, Xing; Sun, Gang; Wang, Wei-hua; Liu, Fang; Chen, Zeng-ping

    2015-03-01

    Laser detection based on the "cat's eye effect" has become the hot research project for its initiative compared to the passivity of sound detection and infrared detection. And the target detection is one of the core technologies in this system. The paper puts forward a method for detecting small targets based on cumulative weighted value of target properties using given data. Firstly, we make a frame difference to the images, then make image processing based on Morphology Principles. Secondly, we segment images, and screen the targets; then find some interesting locations. Finally, comparing to a quantity of frames, we locate the target. We did an exam to 394 true frames, the experimental result shows that the mathod can detect small targets efficiently.

  2. Improving detection of low SNR targets using moment-based detection

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Young, Shannon R.; Steward, Bryan J.; Hawks, Michael; Gross, Kevin C.

    2016-05-01

    Increases in the number of cameras deployed, frame rate, and detector array sizes have led to a dramatic increase in the volume of motion imagery data that is collected. Without a corresponding increase in analytical manpower, much of the data is not analyzed to full potential. This creates a need for fast, automated, and robust methods for detecting signals of interest. Current approaches fall into two categories: detect-before-track (DBT), which are fast but often poor at detecting dim targets, and track-before-detect (TBD) methods which can offer better performance but are typically much slower. This research seeks to contribute to the near real time detection of low SNR, unresolved moving targets through an extension of earlier work on higher order moments anomaly detection, a method that exploits both spatial and temporal information but is still computationally efficient and massively parallelizable. It was found that intelligent selection of parameters can improve probability of detection by as much as 25% compared to earlier work with higherorder moments. The present method can reduce detection thresholds by 40% compared to the Reed-Xiaoli anomaly detector for low SNR targets (for a given probability of detection and false alarm).

  3. Detection technique of targets for missile defense system

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Guo, Hua-ling; Deng, Jia-hao; Cai, Ke-rong

    2009-11-01

    Ballistic missile defense system (BMDS) is a weapon system for intercepting enemy ballistic missiles. It includes ballistic-missile warning system, target discrimination system, anti-ballistic-missile guidance systems, and command-control communication system. Infrared imaging detection and laser imaging detection are widely used in BMDS for surveillance, target detection, target tracking, and target discrimination. Based on a comprehensive review of the application of target-detection techniques in the missile defense system, including infrared focal plane arrays (IRFPA), ground-based radar detection technology, 3-dimensional imaging laser radar with a photon counting avalanche photodiode (APD) arrays and microchip laser, this paper focuses on the infrared and laser imaging detection techniques in missile defense system, as well as the trends for their future development.

  4. Assessment of NDE Methods to Detect Lack of Fusion in HDPE Butt Fusion Joints

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

    Crawford, Susan L.; Doctor, Steven R.; Cinson, Anthony D.

    2011-07-31

    Studies at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) in Richland, Washington, were conducted to evaluate nondestructive examinations (NDE) coupled with mechanical testing of butt fusion joints in high-density polyethylene (HDPE) pipe for assessing lack of fusion. The work provided information to the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) on the effectiveness of volumetric inspection techniques of HDPE butt fusion joints in Section III, Division 1, Class 3, buried piping systems in nuclear power plants. This paper describes results from assessments using ultrasonic and microwave nondestructive techniques and mechanical testing with the high-speed tensile impact test and the side-bend test formore » determining joint integrity. A series of butt joints were fabricated in 3408, 12-inch (30.5-cm) IPS DR-11 HDPE material by varying the fusion parameters to create good joints and joints containing a range of lack-of-fusion conditions. Six of these butt joints were volumetrically examined with time-of-flight diffraction (TOFD), phased-array (PA) ultrasound, and the Evisive microwave system. The outer diameter (OD) weld beads were removed for microwave evaluation and the pipes ultrasonically re-evaluated. In two of the six pipes, both the outer and inner diameter (ID) weld beads were removed and the pipe joints re-evaluated. Some of the pipes were sectioned and the joints destructively evaluated with the high-speed tensile test and the side-bend test. The fusion parameters, nondestructive and destructive evaluation results have been correlated to validate the effectiveness of what each NDE technology detects and what each does not detect. There was no single NDE method that detected all of the lack-of-fusion flaws but a combination of NDE methods did detect most of the flaws.« less

  5. Infrared dim target detection based on visual attention

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, Xin; Lv, Guofang; Xu, Lizhong

    2012-11-01

    Accurate and fast detection of infrared (IR) dim target has very important meaning for infrared precise guidance, early warning, video surveillance, etc. Based on human visual attention mechanisms, an automatic detection algorithm for infrared dim target is presented. After analyzing the characteristics of infrared dim target images, the method firstly designs Difference of Gaussians (DoG) filters to compute the saliency map. Then the salient regions where the potential targets exist in are extracted by searching through the saliency map with a control mechanism of winner-take-all (WTA) competition and inhibition-of-return (IOR). At last, these regions are identified by the characteristics of the dim IR targets, so the true targets are detected, and the spurious objects are rejected. The experiments are performed for some real-life IR images, and the results prove that the proposed method has satisfying detection effectiveness and robustness. Meanwhile, it has high detection efficiency and can be used for real-time detection.

  6. Lifting wavelet method of target detection

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Han, Jun; Zhang, Chi; Jiang, Xu; Wang, Fang; Zhang, Jin

    2009-11-01

    Image target recognition plays a very important role in the areas of scientific exploration, aeronautics and space-to-ground observation, photography and topographic mapping. Complex environment of the image noise, fuzzy, all kinds of interference has always been to affect the stability of recognition algorithm. In this paper, the existence of target detection in real-time, accuracy problems, as well as anti-interference ability, using lifting wavelet image target detection methods. First of all, the use of histogram equalization, the goal difference method to obtain the region, on the basis of adaptive threshold and mathematical morphology operations to deal with the elimination of the background error. Secondly, the use of multi-channel wavelet filter wavelet transform of the original image de-noising and enhancement, to overcome the general algorithm of the noise caused by the sensitive issue of reducing the rate of miscarriage of justice will be the multi-resolution characteristics of wavelet and promotion of the framework can be designed directly in the benefits of space-time region used in target detection, feature extraction of targets. The experimental results show that the design of lifting wavelet has solved the movement of the target due to the complexity of the context of the difficulties caused by testing, which can effectively suppress noise, and improve the efficiency and speed of detection.

  7. Multiple targets detection method in detection of UWB through-wall radar

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yang, Xiuwei; Yang, Chuanfa; Zhao, Xingwen; Tian, Xianzhong

    2017-11-01

    In this paper, the problems and difficulties encountered in the detection of multiple moving targets by UWB radar are analyzed. The experimental environment and the penetrating radar system are established. An adaptive threshold method based on local area is proposed to effectively filter out clutter interference The objective of the moving target is analyzed, and the false target is further filtered out by extracting the target feature. Based on the correlation between the targets, the target matching algorithm is proposed to improve the detection accuracy. Finally, the effectiveness of the above method is verified by practical experiment.

  8. Joint Stability in Total Knee Arthroplasty: What Is the Target for a Stable Knee?

    PubMed

    Wright, Timothy M

    2017-02-01

    Instability remains a common cause of failure in total knee arthroplasty. Although approaches for surgical treatment of instability exist, the target for initial stability remains elusive, increasing the likelihood that failures will persist because adequate stability is not restored when performing the primary arthroplasty. Although the mechanisms that stabilize the knee joint-contact between the articular surfaces, ligamentous constraints, and muscle forces-are well-defined, their relative importance and the interplay among them throughout functions of daily living are poorly understood. The problem is exacerbated by the complex multiplanar motions that occur across the joint and the large variations in these motions across the population, suggesting that stability targets may need to be patient-specific.

  9. A comparison of directed search target detection versus in-scene target detection in Worldview-2 datasets

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Grossman, S.

    2015-05-01

    Since the events of September 11, 2001, the intelligence focus has moved from large order-of-battle targets to small targets of opportunity. Additionally, the business community has discovered the use of remotely sensed data to anticipate demand and derive data on their competition. This requires the finer spectral and spatial fidelity now available to recognize those targets. This work hypothesizes that directed searches using calibrated data perform at least as well as inscene manually intensive target detection searches. It uses calibrated Worldview-2 multispectral images with NEF generated signatures and standard detection algorithms to compare bespoke directed search capabilities against ENVI™ in-scene search capabilities. Multiple execution runs are performed at increasing thresholds to generate detection rates. These rates are plotted and statistically analyzed. While individual head-to-head comparison results vary, 88% of the directed searches performed at least as well as in-scene searches with 50% clearly outperforming in-scene methods. The results strongly support the premise that directed searches perform at least as well as comparable in-scene searches.

  10. The value of HEAD-US system in detecting subclinical abnormalities in joints of patients with hemophilia.

    PubMed

    De la Corte-Rodriguez, Hortensia; Rodriguez-Merchan, E Carlos; Alvarez-Roman, M Teresa; Martin-Salces, Mónica; Martinoli, Carlo; Jimenez-Yuste, Víctor

    2018-03-01

    Prevention of hemarthrosis is the key factor in the adequate management of people with hemophilia (PWH). If hemarthrosis occurs, early diagnosis of joint damage is essential to make personalized treatments. This study is aimed at gaining an understanding of the ability of point-of-care ultrasound (US) using the `Hemophilia Early Arthropathy Detection with Ultrasound´ (HEAD-US) protocol to detect abnormalities in joints without history of hemarthrosis and clinically asymptomatic joints of PWH. The sample included 976 joints from 167 PWH (mean age 24.86 years). Data were collected from routine practice over a 3-year period and analyzed based on history of hemarthrosis and results of clinical (HJHS 2.1) and HEAD-US examinations. In our series, 14% of patients exhibited HEAD-US signs of incipient arthropathy in joints with no history of bleeding and with a HJHS 2.1 score of 0. The most severely involved joint was the right ankle. Synovitis, articular cartilage and subchondral bone damage scores in joints with subclinical findings were slower than in joints with previous hemarthroses or HJHS 2.1 > 1 Conclusions: Our study demonstrates that HEAD-US is better than hemarthrosis records and the HJHS 2.1 scale in detecting the early signs of joint damage in PWH.

  11. Biased normalized cuts for target detection in hyperspectral imagery

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, Xuewen; Dorado-Munoz, Leidy P.; Messinger, David W.; Cahill, Nathan D.

    2016-05-01

    The Biased Normalized Cuts (BNC) algorithm is a useful technique for detecting targets or objects in RGB imagery. In this paper, we propose modifying BNC for the purpose of target detection in hyperspectral imagery. As opposed to other target detection algorithms that typically encode target information prior to dimensionality reduction, our proposed algorithm encodes target information after dimensionality reduction, enabling a user to detect different targets in interactive mode. To assess the proposed BNC algorithm, we utilize hyperspectral imagery (HSI) from the SHARE 2012 data campaign, and we explore the relationship between the number and the position of expert-provided target labels and the precision/recall of the remaining targets in the scene.

  12. Spectral Target Detection using Schroedinger Eigenmaps

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dorado-Munoz, Leidy P.

    Applications of optical remote sensing processes include environmental monitoring, military monitoring, meteorology, mapping, surveillance, etc. Many of these tasks include the detection of specific objects or materials, usually few or small, which are surrounded by other materials that clutter the scene and hide the relevant information. This target detection process has been boosted lately by the use of hyperspectral imagery (HSI) since its high spectral dimension provides more detailed spectral information that is desirable in data exploitation. Typical spectral target detectors rely on statistical or geometric models to characterize the spectral variability of the data. However, in many cases these parametric models do not fit well HSI data that impacts the detection performance. On the other hand, non-linear transformation methods, mainly based on manifold learning algorithms, have shown a potential use in HSI transformation, dimensionality reduction and classification. In target detection, non-linear transformation algorithms are used as preprocessing techniques that transform the data to a more suitable lower dimensional space, where the statistical or geometric detectors are applied. One of these non-linear manifold methods is the Schroedinger Eigenmaps (SE) algorithm that has been introduced as a technique for semi-supervised classification. The core tool of the SE algorithm is the Schroedinger operator that includes a potential term that encodes prior information about the materials present in a scene, and enables the embedding to be steered in some convenient directions in order to cluster similar pixels together. A completely novel target detection methodology based on SE algorithm is proposed for the first time in this thesis. The proposed methodology does not just include the transformation of the data to a lower dimensional space but also includes the definition of a detector that capitalizes on the theory behind SE. The fact that target pixels and

  13. Joint Chemical Agent Detector (JCAD): the future of chemical agent detection

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Laljer, Charles E.; Owen, Jeffery L.

    2002-06-01

    The Joint Chemical Agent Detector (JCAD) will provide state of the art chemical warfare agent detection capability to ground vehicle operators. Intelligence sources estimate that over twenty counties have active chemical weapons programs. The spread of chemical weapons to third world nations, coupled with the potential for US involvement in these areas in an operational or support capacity, increases the probability that the Joint Services may encounter chemical agents and toxic industrial materials anywhere in the world. Currently, fielded chemical agent detectors are bulky, labor intensive, and subject to false readings. No legacy detector is sensitive enough to provide detection and warning of the low dose hazards associated with miosis contamination. The JCAD will provide a small, lightweight chemical agent detector for vehicle interiors, aircraft, individual personnel, shipboard, and fixed site locations. The system provides a common detection components across multi-service platforms. This common detector system will allow the Joint Services to use the same operational and support concept for more efficient utilization of resources. The JCAD will detect, identify, quantify, and warn of the presence of chemical agents prior to onset of miosis. Upon detection of chemical agents, the detector will provide local and remote audible and visual alarms to the operators. Advance warning will provide the vehicle crew with the time necessary to protect themselves from the lethal effects of chemical agents. The JCAD will also be capable of being upgraded to protect against future chemical agent threats. The JCAD will provide the vehicle operators with the warning necessary to survive and fight in a chemical warfare agent threat environment.

  14. Texture metric that predicts target detection performance

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Culpepper, Joanne B.

    2015-12-01

    Two texture metrics based on gray level co-occurrence error (GLCE) are used to predict probability of detection and mean search time. The two texture metrics are local clutter metrics and are based on the statistics of GLCE probability distributions. The degree of correlation between various clutter metrics and the target detection performance of the nine military vehicles in complex natural scenes found in the Search_2 dataset are presented. Comparison is also made between four other common clutter metrics found in the literature: root sum of squares, Doyle, statistical variance, and target structure similarity. The experimental results show that the GLCE energy metric is a better predictor of target detection performance when searching for targets in natural scenes than the other clutter metrics studied.

  15. Audio-based bolt-loosening detection technique of bolt joint

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, Yang; Zhao, Xuefeng; Su, Wensheng; Xue, Zhigang

    2018-03-01

    Bolt joint, as the commonest coupling structure, is widely used in electro-mechanical system. However, it is the weakest part of the whole system. The increase of preload tension force can raise the reliability and strength of the bolt joint. Therefore, the pretension force is one of the most important factors to ensure the stability of bolt joint. According to the way of generating pretension force, the pretension force can be monitored by bolt torque, degrees and elongation. The existing bolt-loosening monitoring methods all require expensive equipment, which greatly restricts the practicality of the bolt-loosening monitoring. In this paper, a new method of bolt-loosening detection technique based on audio is proposed. The sound that bolt is hit by a hammer is recorded on the Smartphone, and the collected audio signal is classified and identified by support vector machine algorithm. First, a verification test was designed and the results show that this new method can identify the damage of bolt looseness accurately. Second, a variety of bolt-loosening was identified. The results indicate that this method has a high accuracy in multiclass classification of the bolt looseness. This bolt-loosening detection technique based on audio not only can reduce the requirements of technical and professional experience, but also make bolt-loosening monitoring simpler and easier.

  16. Marine Targets Detection in Pol-SAR Data

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chen, Peng; Yang, Jingsong

    2016-08-01

    In this poster, we present a new method of marine target detection in Pol-SAR data. One band SAR image, like HH, VV or VH, can be used to find marine target using a Contant False Alarm Ratio (CFAR) algorithm. But some false detection may happen, as the sidelobe of antenna, Azimuth ambiguity, strong speckle noise and so on in the single band SAR image. Pol-SAR image can get more information of targets. After decomposition and false color composite, the sidelobe of antenna and Azimuth ambiguity could be deleted. So, the method presented include three steps, decomposion, false color composite and supervised classification. The result of Radarsat-2 SAR image test indicates a good accuracy. The detection results are compared with Automatic Indentify Sistem (AIS) data, the accuracy of right detection is above 95% and false detection ratio is below 5%.

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

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Özertem, Kemal Arda

    2016-05-01

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

  18. Small target pre-detection with an attention mechanism

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, Yuehuan; Zhang, Tianxu; Wang, Guoyou

    2002-04-01

    We introduce the concept of predetection based on an attention mechanism to improve the efficiency of small-target detection by limiting the image region of detection. According to the characteristics of small-target detection, local contrast is taken as the only feature in predetection and a nonlinear sampling model is adopted to make the predetection adaptive to detect small targets with different area sizes. To simplify the predetection itself and decrease the false alarm probability, neighboring nodes in the sampling grid are used to generate a saliency map, and a short-term memory is adopted to accelerate the `pop-out' of targets. We discuss the fact that the proposed approach is simple enough in computational complexity. In addition, even in a cluttered background, attention can be led to targets in a satisfying few iterations, which ensures that the detection efficiency will not be decreased due to false alarms. Experimental results are presented to demonstrate the applicability of the approach.

  19. Detection of early osteoarthritis in the centrodistal joints of Icelandic horses: Evaluation of radiography and low-field magnetic resonance imaging.

    PubMed

    Ley, C J; Björnsdóttir, S; Ekman, S; Boyde, A; Hansson, K

    2016-01-01

    Validated noninvasive detection methods for early osteoarthritis (OA) are required for OA prevention and early intervention treatment strategies. To evaluate radiography and low-field magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for the detection of early stage OA osteochondral lesions in equine centrodistal joints using microscopy as the reference standard. Prospective imaging of live horses and imaging and microscopy of cadaver tarsal joints. Centrodistal (distal intertarsal) joints of 38 Icelandic research horses aged 27-29 months were radiographed. Horses were subjected to euthanasia approximately 2 months later and cadaver joints examined with low-field MRI. Osteochondral joint specimens were classified as negative or positive for OA using light microscopy histology or scanning electron microscopy. Radiographs and MRIs were evaluated for osteochondral lesions and results compared with microscopy. Forty-two joints were classified OA positive with microscopy. Associations were detected between microscopic OA and the radiography lesion categories; mineralisation front defect (P<0.0001), joint margin lesion (P<0.0001), central osteophyte (P = 0.03) and the low-field MRI lesion categories; mineralisation front defect (P = 0.01), joint margin lesion (P = 0.02) and articular cartilage lesion (P = 0.0003). The most frequent lesion category detected in microscopic OA positive joints was the mineralisation front defect in radiographs (28/42 OA positive joints, specificity 97%, sensitivity 67%). No significant differences were detected between the sensitivity and specificity of radiography and low-field MRI pooled lesion categories, but radiography was often superior when individual lesion categories were compared. Early stage centrodistal joint OA changes may be detected with radiography and low-field MRI. Detection of mineralisation front defects in radiographs may be a useful screening method for detection of early OA in centrodistal joints of young Icelandic horses. © 2015 EVJ

  20. Detection and identification of human targets in radar data

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gürbüz, Sevgi Z.; Melvin, William L.; Williams, Douglas B.

    2007-04-01

    Radar offers unique advantages over other sensors, such as visual or seismic sensors, for human target detection. Many situations, especially military applications, prevent the placement of video cameras or implantment seismic sensors in the area being observed, because of security or other threats. However, radar can operate far away from potential targets, and functions during daytime as well as nighttime, in virtually all weather conditions. In this paper, we examine the problem of human target detection and identification using single-channel, airborne, synthetic aperture radar (SAR). Human targets are differentiated from other detected slow-moving targets by analyzing the spectrogram of each potential target. Human spectrograms are unique, and can be used not just to identify targets as human, but also to determine features about the human target being observed, such as size, gender, action, and speed. A 12-point human model, together with kinematic equations of motion for each body part, is used to calculate the expected target return and spectrogram. A MATLAB simulation environment is developed including ground clutter, human and non-human targets for the testing of spectrogram-based detection and identification algorithms. Simulations show that spectrograms have some ability to detect and identify human targets in low noise. An example gender discrimination system correctly detected 83.97% of males and 91.11% of females. The problems and limitations of spectrogram-based methods in high clutter environments are discussed. The SNR loss inherent to spectrogram-based methods is quantified. An alternate detection and identification method that will be used as a basis for future work is proposed.

  1. Entanglement-enhanced Neyman-Pearson target detection using quantum illumination

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhuang, Quntao; Zhang, Zheshen; Shapiro, Jeffrey H.

    2017-08-01

    Quantum illumination (QI) provides entanglement-based target detection---in an entanglement-breaking environment---whose performance is significantly better than that of optimum classical-illumination target detection. QI's performance advantage was established in a Bayesian setting with the target presumed equally likely to be absent or present and error probability employed as the performance metric. Radar theory, however, eschews that Bayesian approach, preferring the Neyman-Pearson performance criterion to avoid the difficulties of accurately assigning prior probabilities to target absence and presence and appropriate costs to false-alarm and miss errors. We have recently reported an architecture---based on sum-frequency generation (SFG) and feedforward (FF) processing---for minimum error-probability QI target detection with arbitrary prior probabilities for target absence and presence. In this paper, we use our results for FF-SFG reception to determine the receiver operating characteristic---detection probability versus false-alarm probability---for optimum QI target detection under the Neyman-Pearson criterion.

  2. Multispectral infrared target detection: phenomenology and modeling

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cederquist, Jack N.; Rogne, Timothy J.; Schwartz, Craig R.

    1993-10-01

    Many targets of interest provide only very small signature differences from the clutter background. The ability to detect these small difference targets should be improved by using data which is diverse in space, time, wavelength or some other observable. Target materials often differ from background materials in the variation of their reflectance or emittance with wavelength. A multispectral sensor is therefore considered as a means to improve detection of small signal targets. If this sensor operates in the thermal infrared, it will not need solar illumination and will be useful at night as well as during the day. An understanding of the phenomenology of the spectral properties of materials and an ability to model and simulate target and clutter signatures is needed to understand potential target detection performance from multispectral infrared sensor data. Spectral variations in material emittance are due to vibrational energy transitions in molecular bonds. The spectral emittances of many materials of interest have been measured. Examples are vegetation, soil, construction and road materials, and paints. A multispectral infrared signature model has been developed which includes target and background temperature and emissivity, sky, sun, cloud and background irradiance, multiple reflection effects, path radiance, and atmospheric attenuation. This model can be used to predict multispectral infrared signatures for small signal targets.

  3. COBRA ATD minefield detection results for the Joint Countermine ACTD Demonstrations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Stetson, Suzanne P.; Witherspoon, Ned H.; Holloway, John H., Jr.; Suiter, Harold R.; Crosby, Frank J.; Hilton, Russell J.; McCarley, Karen A.

    2000-08-01

    The Coastal Battlefield Reconnaissance and Analysis)COBRA) system described here was a Marine Corps Advanced Technology Demonstration (ATD) development consisting of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) airborne multispectral video sensor system and ground station which processes the multispectral video data to automatically detect minefields along the flight path. After successful completion of the ATD, the residual COBRA ATD system participated in the Joint Countermine (JCM) Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration (ACTD) Demo I held at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina in conjunction with JTFX97 and Demo II held in Stephenville, Newfoundland in conjunction with MARCOT98. These exercises demonstrated the COBRA ATD system in an operational environment, detecting minefields that included several different mine types in widely varying backgrounds. The COBRA system performed superbly during these demonstrations, detecting mines under water, in the surf zone, on the beach, and inland, and has transitioned to an acquisition program. This paper describes the COBRA operation and performance results for these demonstrations, which represent the first demonstrated capability for remote tactical minefield detection from a UAV. The successful COBRA technologies and techniques demonstrated for tactical UAV minefield detection in the Joint Countermine Advanced Concept Technology Demonstrations have formed the technical foundation for future developments in Marine Corps, Navy, and Army tactical remote airborne mine detection systems.

  4. Manifold structure preservative for hyperspectral target detection

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Imani, Maryam

    2018-05-01

    A nonparametric method termed as manifold structure preservative (MSP) is proposed in this paper for hyperspectral target detection. MSP transforms the feature space of data to maximize the separation between target and background signals. Moreover, it minimizes the reconstruction error of targets and preserves the topological structure of data in the projected feature space. MSP does not need to consider any distribution for target and background data. So, it can achieve accurate results in real scenarios due to avoiding unreliable assumptions. The proposed MSP detector is compared to several popular detectors and the experiments on a synthetic data and two real hyperspectral images indicate the superior ability of it in target detection.

  5. Joint Attention Enhances Visual Working Memory

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gregory, Samantha E. A.; Jackson, Margaret C.

    2017-01-01

    Joint attention--the mutual focus of 2 individuals on an item--speeds detection and discrimination of target information. However, what happens to that information beyond the initial perceptual episode? To fully comprehend and engage with our immediate environment also requires working memory (WM), which integrates information from second to…

  6. Does working memory load facilitate target detection?

    PubMed

    Fruchtman-Steinbok, Tom; Kessler, Yoav

    2016-02-01

    Previous studies demonstrated that increasing working memory (WM) load delays performance of a concurrent task, by distracting attention and thus interfering with encoding and maintenance processes. The present study used a version of the change detection task with a target detection requirement during the retention interval. In contrast to the above prediction, target detection was faster following a larger set-size, specifically when presented shortly after the memory array (up to 400 ms). The effect of set-size on target detection was also evident when no memory retention was required. The set-size effect was also found using different modalities. Moreover, it was only observed when the memory array was presented simultaneously, but not sequentially. These results were explained by increased phasic alertness exerted by the larger visual display. The present study offers new evidence of ongoing attentional processes in the commonly-used change detection paradigm. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  7. Detection of Moving Targets Using Soliton Resonance Effect

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Kulikov, Igor K.; Zak, Michail

    2013-01-01

    The objective of this research was to develop a fundamentally new method for detecting hidden moving targets within noisy and cluttered data-streams using a novel "soliton resonance" effect in nonlinear dynamical systems. The technique uses an inhomogeneous Korteweg de Vries (KdV) equation containing moving-target information. Solution of the KdV equation will describe a soliton propagating with the same kinematic characteristics as the target. The approach uses the time-dependent data stream obtained with a sensor in form of the "forcing function," which is incorporated in an inhomogeneous KdV equation. When a hidden moving target (which in many ways resembles a soliton) encounters the natural "probe" soliton solution of the KdV equation, a strong resonance phenomenon results that makes the location and motion of the target apparent. Soliton resonance method will amplify the moving target signal, suppressing the noise. The method will be a very effective tool for locating and identifying diverse, highly dynamic targets with ill-defined characteristics in a noisy environment. The soliton resonance method for the detection of moving targets was developed in one and two dimensions. Computer simulations proved that the method could be used for detection of singe point-like targets moving with constant velocities and accelerations in 1D and along straight lines or curved trajectories in 2D. The method also allows estimation of the kinematic characteristics of moving targets, and reconstruction of target trajectories in 2D. The method could be very effective for target detection in the presence of clutter and for the case of target obscurations.

  8. Dim target detection method based on salient graph fusion

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hu, Ruo-lan; Shen, Yi-yan; Jiang, Jun

    2018-02-01

    Dim target detection is one key problem in digital image processing field. With development of multi-spectrum imaging sensor, it becomes a trend to improve the performance of dim target detection by fusing the information from different spectral images. In this paper, one dim target detection method based on salient graph fusion was proposed. In the method, Gabor filter with multi-direction and contrast filter with multi-scale were combined to construct salient graph from digital image. And then, the maximum salience fusion strategy was designed to fuse the salient graph from different spectral images. Top-hat filter was used to detect dim target from the fusion salient graph. Experimental results show that proposal method improved the probability of target detection and reduced the probability of false alarm on clutter background images.

  9. Use of joint two-view information for computerized lesion detection on mammograms: improvement of microcalcification detection accuracy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sahiner, Berkman; Gurcan, Metin N.; Chan, Heang-Ping; Hadjiiski, Lubomir M.; Petrick, Nicholas; Helvie, Mark A.

    2002-05-01

    We are developing new techniques to improve the accuracy of computerized microcalcification detection by using the joint two-view information on craniocaudal (CC) and mediolateral-oblique (MLO) views. After cluster candidates were detected using a single-view detection technique, candidates on CC and MLO views were paired using their radial distances from the nipple. Object pairs were classified with a joint two-view classifier that used the similarity of objects in a pair. Each cluster candidate was also classified as a true microcalcification cluster or a false-positive (FP) using its single-view features. The outputs of these two classifiers were fused. A data set of 38 pairs of mammograms from our database was used to train the new detection technique. The independent test set consisted of 77 pairs of mammograms from the University of South Florida public database. At a per-film sensitivity of 70%, the FP rates were 0.17 and 0.27 with the fusion and single-view detection methods, respectively. Our results indicate that correspondence of cluster candidates on two different views provides valuable additional information for distinguishing false from true microcalcification clusters.

  10. Application of Composite Indices for Improving Joint Detection Capabilities of Instrumented Roof Bolt Drills in Underground Mining and Construction

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Liu, Wenpeng; Rostami, Jamal; Elsworth, Derek; Ray, Asok

    2018-03-01

    Roof bolts are the dominant method of ground support in mining and tunneling applications, and the concept of using drilling parameters from the bolter for ground characterization has been studied for a few decades. This refers to the use of drilling data to identify geological features in the ground including joints and voids, as well as rock classification. Rock mass properties, including distribution of joints/voids and strengths of rock layers, are critical factors for proper design of ground support to avoid instability. The goal of this research was to improve the capability and sensitivity of joint detection programs based on the updated pattern recognition algorithms in sensing joints with smaller than 3.175 mm (0.125 in.) aperture while reducing the number of false alarms, and discriminating rock layers with different strengths. A set of concrete blocks with different strengths were used to simulate various rock layers, where the gap between the blocks would represent the joints in laboratory tests. Data obtained from drilling through these blocks were analyzed to improve the reliability and precision of joint detection systems. While drilling parameters can be used to detect the gaps, due to low accuracy of the results, new composite indices have been introduced and used in the analysis to improve the detection rates. This paper briefly discusses ongoing research on joint detection by using drilling parameters collected from a roof bolter in a controlled environment. The performances of the new algorithms for joint detection are also examined by comparing their ability to identify existing joints and reducing false alarms.

  11. Spatial Probability Dynamically Modulates Visual Target Detection in Chickens

    PubMed Central

    Sridharan, Devarajan; Ramamurthy, Deepa L.; Knudsen, Eric I.

    2013-01-01

    The natural world contains a rich and ever-changing landscape of sensory information. To survive, an organism must be able to flexibly and rapidly locate the most relevant sources of information at any time. Humans and non-human primates exploit regularities in the spatial distribution of relevant stimuli (targets) to improve detection at locations of high target probability. Is the ability to flexibly modify behavior based on visual experience unique to primates? Chickens (Gallus domesticus) were trained on a multiple alternative Go/NoGo task to detect a small, briefly-flashed dot (target) in each of the quadrants of the visual field. When targets were presented with equal probability (25%) in each quadrant, chickens exhibited a distinct advantage for detecting targets at lower, relative to upper, hemifield locations. Increasing the probability of presentation in the upper hemifield locations (to 80%) dramatically improved detection performance at these locations to be on par with lower hemifield performance. Finally, detection performance in the upper hemifield changed on a rapid timescale, improving with successive target detections, and declining with successive detections at the diagonally opposite location in the lower hemifield. These data indicate the action of a process that in chickens, as in primates, flexibly and dynamically modulates detection performance based on the spatial probabilities of sensory stimuli as well as on recent performance history. PMID:23734188

  12. Heterogeneous CPU-GPU moving targets detection for UAV video

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Maowen; Tang, Linbo; Han, Yuqi; Yu, Chunlei; Zhang, Chao; Fu, Huiquan

    2017-07-01

    Moving targets detection is gaining popularity in civilian and military applications. On some monitoring platform of motion detection, some low-resolution stationary cameras are replaced by moving HD camera based on UAVs. The pixels of moving targets in the HD Video taken by UAV are always in a minority, and the background of the frame is usually moving because of the motion of UAVs. The high computational cost of the algorithm prevents running it at higher resolutions the pixels of frame. Hence, to solve the problem of moving targets detection based UAVs video, we propose a heterogeneous CPU-GPU moving target detection algorithm for UAV video. More specifically, we use background registration to eliminate the impact of the moving background and frame difference to detect small moving targets. In order to achieve the effect of real-time processing, we design the solution of heterogeneous CPU-GPU framework for our method. The experimental results show that our method can detect the main moving targets from the HD video taken by UAV, and the average process time is 52.16ms per frame which is fast enough to solve the problem.

  13. Camouflage target detection via hyperspectral imaging plus information divergence measurement

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

    2016-01-01

    Target detection is one of most important applications in remote sensing. Nowadays accurate camouflage target distinction is often resorted to spectral imaging technique due to its high-resolution spectral/spatial information acquisition ability as well as plenty of data processing methods. In this paper, hyper-spectral imaging technique together with spectral information divergence measure method is used to solve camouflage target detection problem. A self-developed visual-band hyper-spectral imaging device is adopted to collect data cubes of certain experimental scene before spectral information divergences are worked out so as to discriminate target camouflage and anomaly. Full-band information divergences are measured to evaluate target detection effect visually and quantitatively. Information divergence measurement is proved to be a low-cost and effective tool for target detection task and can be further developed to other target detection applications beyond spectral imaging technique.

  14. Hyperspectral target detection using manifold learning and multiple target spectra

    DOE PAGES

    Ziemann, Amanda K.; Theiler, James; Messinger, David W.

    2016-03-31

    Imagery collected from satellites and airborne platforms provides an important tool for remotely analyzing the content of a scene. In particular, the ability to remotely detect a specific material within a scene is of critical importance in nonproliferation and other applications. The sensor systems that process hyperspectral images collect the high-dimensional spectral information necessary to perform these detection analyses. For a d-dimensional hyperspectral image, however, where d is the number of spectral bands, it is common for the data to inherently occupy an m-dimensional space with m << d. In the remote sensing community, this has led to recent interestmore » in the use of manifold learning, which seeks to characterize the embedded lower-dimensional, nonlinear manifold that the data discretely approximate. The research presented in this paper focuses on a graph theory and manifold learning approach to target detection, using an adaptive version of locally linear embedding that is biased to separate target pixels from background pixels. Finally, this approach incorporates multiple target signatures for a particular material, accounting for the spectral variability that is often present within a solid material of interest.« less

  15. Effects of Resolution, Range, and Image Contrast on Target Acquisition Performance.

    PubMed

    Hollands, Justin G; Terhaar, Phil; Pavlovic, Nada J

    2018-05-01

    We sought to determine the joint influence of resolution, target range, and image contrast on the detection and identification of targets in simulated naturalistic scenes. Resolution requirements for target acquisition have been developed based on threshold values obtained using imaging systems, when target range was fixed, and image characteristics were determined by the system. Subsequent work has examined the influence of factors like target range and image contrast on target acquisition. We varied the resolution and contrast of static images in two experiments. Participants (soldiers) decided whether a human target was located in the scene (detection task) or whether a target was friendly or hostile (identification task). Target range was also varied (50-400 m). In Experiment 1, 30 participants saw color images with a single target exemplar. In Experiment 2, another 30 participants saw monochrome images containing different target exemplars. The effects of target range and image contrast were qualitatively different above and below 6 pixels per meter of target for both tasks in both experiments. Target detection and identification performance were a joint function of image resolution, range, and contrast for both color and monochrome images. The beneficial effects of increasing resolution for target acquisition performance are greater for closer (larger) targets.

  16. Subpixel target detection and enhancement in hyperspectral images

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tiwari, K. C.; Arora, M.; Singh, D.

    2011-06-01

    Hyperspectral data due to its higher information content afforded by higher spectral resolution is increasingly being used for various remote sensing applications including information extraction at subpixel level. There is however usually a lack of matching fine spatial resolution data particularly for target detection applications. Thus, there always exists a tradeoff between the spectral and spatial resolutions due to considerations of type of application, its cost and other associated analytical and computational complexities. Typically whenever an object, either manmade, natural or any ground cover class (called target, endmembers, components or class) gets spectrally resolved but not spatially, mixed pixels in the image result. Thus, numerous manmade and/or natural disparate substances may occur inside such mixed pixels giving rise to mixed pixel classification or subpixel target detection problems. Various spectral unmixing models such as Linear Mixture Modeling (LMM) are in vogue to recover components of a mixed pixel. Spectral unmixing outputs both the endmember spectrum and their corresponding abundance fractions inside the pixel. It, however, does not provide spatial distribution of these abundance fractions within a pixel. This limits the applicability of hyperspectral data for subpixel target detection. In this paper, a new inverse Euclidean distance based super-resolution mapping method has been presented that achieves subpixel target detection in hyperspectral images by adjusting spatial distribution of abundance fraction within a pixel. Results obtained at different resolutions indicate that super-resolution mapping may effectively aid subpixel target detection.

  17. Texture orientation-based algorithm for detecting infrared maritime targets.

    PubMed

    Wang, Bin; Dong, Lili; Zhao, Ming; Wu, Houde; Xu, Wenhai

    2015-05-20

    Infrared maritime target detection is a key technology for maritime target searching systems. However, in infrared maritime images (IMIs) taken under complicated sea conditions, background clutters, such as ocean waves, clouds or sea fog, usually have high intensity that can easily overwhelm the brightness of real targets, which is difficult for traditional target detection algorithms to deal with. To mitigate this problem, this paper proposes a novel target detection algorithm based on texture orientation. This algorithm first extracts suspected targets by analyzing the intersubband correlation between horizontal and vertical wavelet subbands of the original IMI on the first scale. Then the self-adaptive wavelet threshold denoising and local singularity analysis of the original IMI is combined to remove false alarms further. Experiments show that compared with traditional algorithms, this algorithm can suppress background clutter much better and realize better single-frame detection for infrared maritime targets. Besides, in order to guarantee accurate target extraction further, the pipeline-filtering algorithm is adopted to eliminate residual false alarms. The high practical value and applicability of this proposed strategy is backed strongly by experimental data acquired under different environmental conditions.

  18. Automatic target detection using binary template matching

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

    2005-03-01

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

  19. Initial study of Schroedinger eigenmaps for spectral target detection

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dorado-Munoz, Leidy P.; Messinger, David W.

    2016-08-01

    Spectral target detection refers to the process of searching for a specific material with a known spectrum over a large area containing materials with different spectral signatures. Traditional target detection methods in hyperspectral imagery (HSI) require assuming the data fit some statistical or geometric models and based on the model, to estimate parameters for defining a hypothesis test, where one class (i.e., target class) is chosen over the other classes (i.e., background class). Nonlinear manifold learning methods such as Laplacian eigenmaps (LE) have extensively shown their potential use in HSI processing, specifically in classification or segmentation. Recently, Schroedinger eigenmaps (SE), which is built upon LE, has been introduced as a semisupervised classification method. In SE, the former Laplacian operator is replaced by the Schroedinger operator. The Schroedinger operator includes by definition, a potential term V that steers the transformation in certain directions improving the separability between classes. In this regard, we propose a methodology for target detection that is not based on the traditional schemes and that does not need the estimation of statistical or geometric parameters. This method is based on SE, where the potential term V is taken into consideration to include the prior knowledge about the target class and use it to steer the transformation in directions where the target location in the new space is known and the separability between target and background is augmented. An initial study of how SE can be used in a target detection scheme for HSI is shown here. In-scene pixel and spectral signature detection approaches are presented. The HSI data used comprise various target panels for testing simultaneous detection of multiple objects with different complexities.

  20. A new method of small target detection based on neural network

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hu, Jing; Hu, Yongli; Lu, Xinxin

    2018-02-01

    The detection and tracking of moving dim target in infrared image have been an research hotspot for many years. The target in each frame of images only occupies several pixels without any shape and structure information. Moreover, infrared small target is often submerged in complicated background with low signal-to-clutter ratio, making the detection very difficult. Different backgrounds exhibit different statistical properties, making it becomes extremely complex to detect the target. If the threshold segmentation is not reasonable, there may be more noise points in the final detection, which is unfavorable for the detection of the trajectory of the target. Single-frame target detection may not be able to obtain the desired target and cause high false alarm rate. We believe the combination of suspicious target detection spatially in each frame and temporal association for target tracking will increase reliability of tracking dim target. The detection of dim target is mainly divided into two parts, In the first part, we adopt bilateral filtering method in background suppression, after the threshold segmentation, the suspicious target in each frame are extracted, then we use LSTM(long short term memory) neural network to predict coordinates of target of the next frame. It is a brand-new method base on the movement characteristic of the target in sequence images which could respond to the changes in the relationship between past and future values of the values. Simulation results demonstrate proposed algorithm can effectively predict the trajectory of the moving small target and work efficiently and robustly with low false alarm.

  1. The simulation study on optical target laser active detection performance

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Ying-chun; Hou, Zhao-fei; Fan, Youchen

    2014-12-01

    According to the working principle of laser active detection system, the paper establishes the optical target laser active detection simulation system, carry out the simulation study on the detection process and detection performance of the system. For instance, the performance model such as the laser emitting, the laser propagation in the atmosphere, the reflection of optical target, the receiver detection system, the signal processing and recognition. We focus on the analysis and modeling the relationship between the laser emitting angle and defocus amount and "cat eye" effect echo laser in the reflection of optical target. Further, in the paper some performance index such as operating range, SNR and the probability of the system have been simulated. The parameters including laser emitting parameters, the reflection of the optical target and the laser propagation in the atmosphere which make a great influence on the performance of the optical target laser active detection system. Finally, using the object-oriented software design methods, the laser active detection system with the opening type, complete function and operating platform, realizes the process simulation that the detection system detect and recognize the optical target, complete the performance simulation of each subsystem, and generate the data report and the graph. It can make the laser active detection system performance models more intuitive because of the visible simulation process. The simulation data obtained from the system provide a reference to adjust the structure of the system parameters. And it provides theoretical and technical support for the top level design of the optical target laser active detection system and performance index optimization.

  2. Infrared small target detection based on Danger Theory

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lan, Jinhui; Yang, Xiao

    2009-11-01

    To solve the problem that traditional method can't detect the small objects whose local SNR is less than 2 in IR images, a Danger Theory-based model to detect infrared small target is presented in this paper. First, on the analog with immunology, the definition is given, in this paper, to such terms as dangerous signal, antigens, APC, antibodies. Besides, matching rule between antigen and antibody is improved. Prior to training the detection model and detecting the targets, the IR images are processed utilizing adaptive smooth filter to decrease the stochastic noise. Then at the training process, deleting rule, generating rule, crossover rule and the mutation rule are established after a large number of experiments in order to realize immediate convergence and obtain good antibodies. The Danger Theory-based model is built after the training process, and this model can detect the target whose local SNR is only 1.5.

  3. Infrared small target detection technology based on OpenCV

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Liu, Lei; Huang, Zhijian

    2013-05-01

    Accurate and fast detection of infrared (IR) dim target has very important meaning for infrared precise guidance, early warning, video surveillance, etc. In this paper, some basic principles and the implementing flow charts of a series of algorithms for target detection are described. These algorithms are traditional two-frame difference method, improved three-frame difference method, background estimate and frame difference fusion method, and building background with neighborhood mean method. On the foundation of above works, an infrared target detection software platform which is developed by OpenCV and MFC is introduced. Three kinds of tracking algorithms are integrated in this software. In order to explain the software clearly, the framework and the function are described in this paper. At last, the experiments are performed for some real-life IR images. The whole algorithm implementing processes and results are analyzed, and those algorithms for detection targets are evaluated from the two aspects of subjective and objective. The results prove that the proposed method has satisfying detection effectiveness and robustness. Meanwhile, it has high detection efficiency and can be used for real-time detection.

  4. Infrared small target detection technology based on OpenCV

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Liu, Lei; Huang, Zhijian

    2013-09-01

    Accurate and fast detection of infrared (IR) dim target has very important meaning for infrared precise guidance, early warning, video surveillance, etc. In this paper, some basic principles and the implementing flow charts of a series of algorithms for target detection are described. These algorithms are traditional two-frame difference method, improved three-frame difference method, background estimate and frame difference fusion method, and building background with neighborhood mean method. On the foundation of above works, an infrared target detection software platform which is developed by OpenCV and MFC is introduced. Three kinds of tracking algorithms are integrated in this software. In order to explain the software clearly, the framework and the function are described in this paper. At last, the experiments are performed for some real-life IR images. The whole algorithm implementing processes and results are analyzed, and those algorithms for detection targets are evaluated from the two aspects of subjective and objective. The results prove that the proposed method has satisfying detection effectiveness and robustness. Meanwhile, it has high detection efficiency and can be used for real-time detection.

  5. Infrared small target detection with kernel Fukunaga Koontz transform

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Liu, Rui-ming; Liu, Er-qi; Yang, Jie; Zhang, Tian-hao; Wang, Fang-lin

    2007-09-01

    The Fukunaga-Koontz transform (FKT) has been proposed for many years. It can be used to solve two-pattern classification problems successfully. However, there are few researchers who have definitely extended FKT to kernel FKT (KFKT). In this paper, we first complete this task. Then a method based on KFKT is developed to detect infrared small targets. KFKT is a supervised learning algorithm. How to construct training sets is very important. For automatically detecting targets, the synthetic target images and real background images are used to train KFKT. Because KFKT can represent the higher order statistical properties of images, we expect better detection performance of KFKT than that of FKT. The well-devised experiments verify that KFKT outperforms FKT in detecting infrared small targets.

  6. Targeted Analyte Detection by Standard Addition Improves Detection Limits in MALDI Mass Spectrometry

    PubMed Central

    Eshghi, Shadi Toghi; Li, Xingde; Zhang, Hui

    2014-01-01

    Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization has proven an effective tool for fast and accurate determination of many molecules. However, the detector sensitivity and chemical noise compromise the detection of many invaluable low-abundance molecules from biological and clinical samples. To challenge this limitation, we developed a targeted analyte detection (TAD) technique. In TAD, the target analyte is selectively elevated by spiking a known amount of that analyte into the sample, thereby raising its concentration above the noise level, where we take advantage of the improved sensitivity to detect the presence of the endogenous analyte in the sample. We assessed TAD on three peptides in simple and complex background solutions with various exogenous analyte concentrations in two MALDI matrices. TAD successfully improved the limit of detection (LOD) of target analytes when the target peptides were added to the sample in a concentration close to optimum concentration. The optimum exogenous concentration was estimated through a quantitative method to be approximately equal to the original LOD for each target. Also, we showed that TAD could achieve LOD improvements on an average of 3-fold in a simple and 2-fold in a complex sample. TAD provides a straightforward assay to improve the LOD of generic target analytes without the need for costly hardware modifications. PMID:22877355

  7. Joint chemical agent detector (JCAD): the future of chemical agent detection

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Laljer, Charles E.

    2003-08-01

    The Joint Chemical Agent Detector (JCAD) has continued development through 2002. The JCAD has completed Contractor Validation Testing (CVT) that included chemical warfare agent testing, environmental testing, electromagnetic interferent testing, and platform integration validation. The JCAD provides state of the art chemical warfare agent detection capability to military and homeland security operators. Intelligence sources estimate that over twenty countries have active chemical weapons programs. The spread of weapons of mass destruction (and the industrial capability for manufacture of these weapons) to third world nations and terrorist organizations has greatly increased the chemical agent threat to U.S. interests. Coupled with the potential for U.S. involvement in localized conflicts in an operational or support capacity, increases the probability that the military Joint Services may encounter chemical agents anywhere in the world. The JCAD is a small (45 in3), lightweight (2 lb.) chemical agent detector for vehicle interiors, aircraft, individual personnel, shipboard, and fixed site locations. The system provides a common detection component across multi-service platforms. This common detector system will allow the Joint Services to use the same operational and support concept for more efficient utilization of resources. The JCAD detects, identifies, quantifies, and warns of the presence of chemical agents prior to onset of miosis. Upon detection of chemical agents, the detector provides local and remote audible and visual alarms to the operators. Advance warning will provide the vehicle crew and other personnel in the local area with the time necessary to protect themselves from the lethal effects of chemical agents. The JCAD is capable of being upgraded to protect against future chemical agent threats. The JCAD provides the operator with the warning necessary to survive and fight in a chemical warfare agent threat environment.

  8. Modeling peripheral vision for moving target search and detection.

    PubMed

    Yang, Ji Hyun; Huston, Jesse; Day, Michael; Balogh, Imre

    2012-06-01

    Most target search and detection models focus on foveal vision. In reality, peripheral vision plays a significant role, especially in detecting moving objects. There were 23 subjects who participated in experiments simulating target detection tasks in urban and rural environments while their gaze parameters were tracked. Button responses associated with foveal object and peripheral object (PO) detection and recognition were recorded. In an urban scenario, pedestrians appearing in the periphery holding guns were threats and pedestrians with empty hands were non-threats. In a rural scenario, non-U.S. unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) were considered threats and U.S. UAVs non-threats. On average, subjects missed detecting 2.48 POs among 50 POs in the urban scenario and 5.39 POs in the rural scenario. Both saccade reaction time and button reaction time can be predicted by peripheral angle and entrance speed of POs. Fast moving objects were detected faster than slower objects and POs appearing at wider angles took longer to detect than those closer to the gaze center. A second-order mixed-effect model was applied to provide each subject's prediction model for peripheral target detection performance as a function of eccentricity angle and speed. About half the subjects used active search patterns while the other half used passive search patterns. An interactive 3-D visualization tool was developed to provide a representation of macro-scale head and gaze movement in the search and target detection task. An experimentally validated stochastic model of peripheral vision in realistic target detection scenarios was developed.

  9. Detecting severity of delamination in a lap joint using S-parameters

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Islam, M. M.; Huang, H.

    2018-03-01

    The scattering parameters (S-parameters) represent the frequency response of a two-port linear time-invariant network. Treating a lap joint structure instrumented with two piezoelectric wafer active transducers (PWaTs) as such a network, this paper investigates the application of the S-parameters for detecting the severity of delamination in the lap joint. The pulse-echo signal calculated from the reflection coefficients, namely the S 11 and S 22-parameters, can be divided into three signals, i.e. the excitation, resonant, and echo signals, based on their respective time spans. Analyzing the effects of the delamination on the resonant signal enables us to identify the resonance at which the resonant characteristics of the PWaTs are least sensitive to the delamination. Only at this resonance, we found that the reflection coefficients and the amplitude of the first arrival echo signal changed monotonously with the increase of the delamination length. This discovery is further validated by the time-domain pitch-catch signal calculated from the transmission coefficient (i.e. the S 21-parameter). In addition, comparing the pulse-echo signals obtained from both PWaTs enables us to determine the side of the lap joint that the delamination is located at. This work establishes the S-parameters as an effective tool to evaluate the effects of damage on the PWaT resonant characteristics, based on which the PWaT resonance can be selected judiciously for damage severity detection. Correlating the reflection and transmission coefficients also provide addition validations that increase the detection confidence.

  10. Performing target specific band reduction using artificial neural networks and assessment of its efficacy using various target detection algorithms

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yadav, Deepti; Arora, M. K.; Tiwari, K. C.; Ghosh, J. K.

    2016-04-01

    Hyperspectral imaging is a powerful tool in the field of remote sensing and has been used for many applications like mineral detection, detection of landmines, target detection etc. Major issues in target detection using HSI are spectral variability, noise, small size of the target, huge data dimensions, high computation cost, complex backgrounds etc. Many of the popular detection algorithms do not work for difficult targets like small, camouflaged etc. and may result in high false alarms. Thus, target/background discrimination is a key issue and therefore analyzing target's behaviour in realistic environments is crucial for the accurate interpretation of hyperspectral imagery. Use of standard libraries for studying target's spectral behaviour has limitation that targets are measured in different environmental conditions than application. This study uses the spectral data of the same target which is used during collection of the HSI image. This paper analyze spectrums of targets in a way that each target can be spectrally distinguished from a mixture of spectral data. Artificial neural network (ANN) has been used to identify the spectral range for reducing data and further its efficacy for improving target detection is verified. The results of ANN proposes discriminating band range for targets; these ranges were further used to perform target detection using four popular spectral matching target detection algorithm. Further, the results of algorithms were analyzed using ROC curves to evaluate the effectiveness of the ranges suggested by ANN over full spectrum for detection of desired targets. In addition, comparative assessment of algorithms is also performed using ROC.

  11. Synthetic aperture radar target detection, feature extraction, and image formation techniques

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Li, Jian

    1994-01-01

    This report presents new algorithms for target detection, feature extraction, and image formation with the synthetic aperture radar (SAR) technology. For target detection, we consider target detection with SAR and coherent subtraction. We also study how the image false alarm rates are related to the target template false alarm rates when target templates are used for target detection. For feature extraction from SAR images, we present a computationally efficient eigenstructure-based 2D-MODE algorithm for two-dimensional frequency estimation. For SAR image formation, we present a robust parametric data model for estimating high resolution range signatures of radar targets and for forming high resolution SAR images.

  12. Infrared target recognition based on improved joint local ternary pattern

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sun, Junding; Wu, Xiaosheng

    2016-05-01

    This paper presents a simple, efficient, yet robust approach, named joint orthogonal combination of local ternary pattern, for automatic forward-looking infrared target recognition. It gives more advantages to describe the macroscopic textures and microscopic textures by fusing variety of scales than the traditional LBP-based methods. In addition, it can effectively reduce the feature dimensionality. Further, the rotation invariant and uniform scheme, the robust LTP, and soft concave-convex partition are introduced to enhance its discriminative power. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method can achieve competitive results compared with the state-of-the-art methods.

  13. Comparison of human and algorithmic target detection in passive infrared imagery

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Weber, Bruce A.; Hutchinson, Meredith

    2003-09-01

    We have designed an experiment that compares the performance of human observers and a scale-insensitive target detection algorithm that uses pixel level information for the detection of ground targets in passive infrared imagery. The test database contains targets near clutter whose detectability ranged from easy to very difficult. Results indicate that human observers detect more "easy-to-detect" targets, and with far fewer false alarms, than the algorithm. For "difficult-to-detect" targets, human and algorithm detection rates are considerably degraded, and algorithm false alarms excessive. Analysis of detections as a function of observer confidence shows that algorithm confidence attribution does not correspond to human attribution, and does not adequately correlate with correct detections. The best target detection score for any human observer was 84%, as compared to 55% for the algorithm for the same false alarm rate. At 81%, the maximum detection score for the algorithm, the same human observer had 6 false alarms per frame as compared to 29 for the algorithm. Detector ROC curves and observer-confidence analysis benchmarks the algorithm and provides insights into algorithm deficiencies and possible paths to improvement.

  14. Does practicing a wide range of joint angle configurations lead to higher flexibility in a manual obstacle-avoidance target-pointing task?

    PubMed Central

    Bootsma, Reinoud J.; Schoemaker, Marina M.; Otten, Egbert; Mouton, Leonora J.; Bongers, Raoul M.

    2017-01-01

    Flexibility in motor actions can be defined as variability in the use of degrees of freedom (e.g., joint angles in the arm) over repetitions while keeping performance (e.g., fingertip position) stabilized. We examined whether flexibility can be increased through enlarging the joint angle range during practice in a manual obstacle-avoidance target-pointing task. To establish differences in flexibility we partitioned the variability in joint angles over repetitions in variability within (GEV) and variability outside the solution space (NGEV). More GEV than NGEV reflects flexibility; when the ratio of the GEV and NGEV is higher, flexibility is higher. The pretest and posttest consisted of 30 repetitions of manual pointing to a target while moving over a 10 cm high obstacle. To enlarge the joint angle range during practice participants performed 600 target-pointing movements while moving over obstacles of different heights (5–9 cm, 11–15 cm). The results indicated that practicing movements over obstacles of different heights led participants to use enlarged range of joint angles compared to the range of joint angles used in movements over the 10 cm obstacle in the pretest. However, for each individual obstacle neither joint angle variance nor flexibility were higher during practice. We also did not find more flexibility after practice. In the posttest, joint angle variance was in fact smaller than before practice, primarily in GEV. The potential influences of learning effects and the task used that could underlie the results obtained are discussed. We conclude that with this specific type of practice in this specific task, enlarging the range of joint angles does not lead to more flexibility. PMID:28700695

  15. Kepler Planet Detection Metrics: Per-Target Detection Contours for Data Release 25

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Burke, Christopher J.; Catanzarite, Joseph

    2017-01-01

    A necessary input to planet occurrence calculations is an accurate model for the pipeline completeness (Burke et al., 2015). This document describes the use of the Kepler planet occurrence rate products in order to calculate a per-target detection contour for the measured Data Release 25 (DR25) pipeline performance. A per-target detection contour measures for a given combination of orbital period, Porb, and planet radius, Rp, what fraction of transit signals are recoverable by the Kepler pipeline (Twicken et al., 2016; Jenkins et al., 2017). The steps for calculating a detection contour follow the procedure outlined in Burke et al. (2015), but have been updated to provide improved accuracy enabled by the substantially larger database of transit injection and recovery tests that were performed on the final version (i.e., SOC 9.3) of the Kepler pipeline (Christiansen, 2017; Burke Catanzarite, 2017a). In the following sections, we describe the main inputs to the per-target detection contour and provide a worked example of the python software released with this document (Kepler Planet Occurrence Rate Tools KeplerPORTs)1 that illustrates the generation of a detection contour in practice. As background material for this document and its nomenclature, we recommend the reader be familiar with the previous method of calculating a detection contour (Section 2 of Burke et al.,2015), input parameters relevant for describing the data quantity and quality of Kepler targets (Burke Catanzarite, 2017b), and the extensive new transit injection and recovery tests of the Kepler pipeline (Christiansen et al., 2016; Burke Catanzarite, 2017a; Christiansen, 2017).

  16. Robust Small Target Co-Detection from Airborne Infrared Image Sequences.

    PubMed

    Gao, Jingli; Wen, Chenglin; Liu, Meiqin

    2017-09-29

    In this paper, a novel infrared target co-detection model combining the self-correlation features of backgrounds and the commonality features of targets in the spatio-temporal domain is proposed to detect small targets in a sequence of infrared images with complex backgrounds. Firstly, a dense target extraction model based on nonlinear weights is proposed, which can better suppress background of images and enhance small targets than weights of singular values. Secondly, a sparse target extraction model based on entry-wise weighted robust principal component analysis is proposed. The entry-wise weight adaptively incorporates structural prior in terms of local weighted entropy, thus, it can extract real targets accurately and suppress background clutters efficiently. Finally, the commonality of targets in the spatio-temporal domain are used to construct target refinement model for false alarms suppression and target confirmation. Since real targets could appear in both of the dense and sparse reconstruction maps of a single frame, and form trajectories after tracklet association of consecutive frames, the location correlation of the dense and sparse reconstruction maps for a single frame and tracklet association of the location correlation maps for successive frames have strong ability to discriminate between small targets and background clutters. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed small target co-detection method can not only suppress background clutters effectively, but also detect targets accurately even if with target-like interference.

  17. An Experiment Quantifying The Effect Of Clutter On Target Detection

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Weathersby, Marshall R.; Schmieder, David E.

    1985-01-01

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

  18. Small target detection using objectness and saliency

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, Naiwen; Xiao, Yang; Fang, Zhiwen; Yang, Jian; Wang, Li; Li, Tao

    2017-10-01

    We are motived by the need for generic object detection algorithm which achieves high recall for small targets in complex scenes with acceptable computational efficiency. We propose a novel object detection algorithm, which has high localization quality with acceptable computational cost. Firstly, we obtain the objectness map as in BING[1] and use NMS to get the top N points. Then, k-means algorithm is used to cluster them into K classes according to their location. We set the center points of the K classes as seed points. For each seed point, an object potential region is extracted. Finally, a fast salient object detection algorithm[2] is applied to the object potential regions to highlight objectlike pixels, and a series of efficient post-processing operations are proposed to locate the targets. Our method runs at 5 FPS on 1000*1000 images, and significantly outperforms previous methods on small targets in cluttered background.

  19. Camouflage, detection and identification of moving targets

    PubMed Central

    Hall, Joanna R.; Cuthill, Innes C.; Baddeley, Roland; Shohet, Adam J.; Scott-Samuel, Nicholas E.

    2013-01-01

    Nearly all research on camouflage has investigated its effectiveness for concealing stationary objects. However, animals have to move, and patterns that only work when the subject is static will heavily constrain behaviour. We investigated the effects of different camouflages on the three stages of predation—detection, identification and capture—in a computer-based task with humans. An initial experiment tested seven camouflage strategies on static stimuli. In line with previous literature, background-matching and disruptive patterns were found to be most successful. Experiment 2 showed that if stimuli move, an isolated moving object on a stationary background cannot avoid detection or capture regardless of the type of camouflage. Experiment 3 used an identification task and showed that while camouflage is unable to slow detection or capture, camouflaged targets are harder to identify than uncamouflaged targets when similar background objects are present. The specific details of the camouflage patterns have little impact on this effect. If one has to move, camouflage cannot impede detection; but if one is surrounded by similar targets (e.g. other animals in a herd, or moving background distractors), then camouflage can slow identification. Despite previous assumptions, motion does not entirely ‘break’ camouflage. PMID:23486439

  20. Camouflage, detection and identification of moving targets.

    PubMed

    Hall, Joanna R; Cuthill, Innes C; Baddeley, Roland; Shohet, Adam J; Scott-Samuel, Nicholas E

    2013-05-07

    Nearly all research on camouflage has investigated its effectiveness for concealing stationary objects. However, animals have to move, and patterns that only work when the subject is static will heavily constrain behaviour. We investigated the effects of different camouflages on the three stages of predation-detection, identification and capture-in a computer-based task with humans. An initial experiment tested seven camouflage strategies on static stimuli. In line with previous literature, background-matching and disruptive patterns were found to be most successful. Experiment 2 showed that if stimuli move, an isolated moving object on a stationary background cannot avoid detection or capture regardless of the type of camouflage. Experiment 3 used an identification task and showed that while camouflage is unable to slow detection or capture, camouflaged targets are harder to identify than uncamouflaged targets when similar background objects are present. The specific details of the camouflage patterns have little impact on this effect. If one has to move, camouflage cannot impede detection; but if one is surrounded by similar targets (e.g. other animals in a herd, or moving background distractors), then camouflage can slow identification. Despite previous assumptions, motion does not entirely 'break' camouflage.

  1. Target attribute-based false alarm rejection in small infrared target detection

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kim, Sungho

    2012-11-01

    Infrared search and track is an important research area in military applications. Although there are a lot of works on small infrared target detection methods, we cannot apply them in real field due to high false alarm rate caused by clutters. This paper presents a novel target attribute extraction and machine learning-based target discrimination method. Eight kinds of target features are extracted and analyzed statistically. Learning-based classifiers such as SVM and Adaboost are developed and compared with conventional classifiers for real infrared images. In addition, the generalization capability is also inspected for various infrared clutters.

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

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Weber, Bruce A.; Penn, Joseph A.

    2004-09-01

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

  3. Efficient strategy for detecting gene × gene joint action and its application in schizophrenia.

    PubMed

    Won, Sungho; Kwon, Min-Seok; Mattheisen, Manuel; Park, Suyeon; Park, Changsoon; Kihara, Daisuke; Cichon, Sven; Ophoff, Roel; Nöthen, Markus M; Rietschel, Marcella; Baur, Max; Uitterlinden, Andre G; Hofmann, A; Lange, Christoph

    2014-01-01

    We propose a new approach to detect gene × gene joint action in genome-wide association studies (GWASs) for case-control designs. This approach offers an exhaustive search for all two-way joint action (including, as a special case, single gene action) that is computationally feasible at the genome-wide level and has reasonable statistical power under most genetic models. We found that the presence of any gene × gene joint action may imply differences in three types of genetic components: the minor allele frequencies and the amounts of Hardy-Weinberg disequilibrium may differ between cases and controls, and between the two genetic loci the degree of linkage disequilibrium may differ between cases and controls. Using Fisher's method, it is possible to combine the different sources of genetic information in an overall test for detecting gene × gene joint action. The proposed statistical analysis is efficient and its simplicity makes it applicable to GWASs. In the current study, we applied the proposed approach to a GWAS on schizophrenia and found several potential gene × gene interactions. Our application illustrates the practical advantage of the proposed method. © 2013 WILEY PERIODICALS, INC.

  4. Quick bacteriophage-mediated bioluminescence assay for detecting Staphylococcus spp. in sonicate fluid of orthopaedic artificial joints.

    PubMed

    Šuster, Katja; Podgornik, Aleš; Cör, Andrej

    2017-07-01

    Staphylococcus spp. accounts for up to two thirds of all microorganisms causing prosthetic joint infections, with Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis being the major cause. The present study describes a diagnostic model to detect staphylococci using a specific bacteriophage and bioluminescence detection, exploring the possibility of its use on sonicate fluid of orthopaedic artificial joints. Intracellular adenosine-5'-triphosphate release by bacteriophage mediated lysis of staphylococci was assessed to determine optimal parameters for detection. With the optimized method, a limit of detection of around 103 CFU/mL was obtained after incubation with bacteriophage for 2 h. Importantly, sonicate fluid did not prevent the ability of bacteriophage to infect bacteria and all simulated infected sonicate fluid as well as 6 clinical samples with microbiologically proven staphylococcal infection were detected as positive. The total assay took approximately 4 h. Collectively, the results indicate that the developed method promises a rapid, inexpensive and specific diagnostic detection of staphylococci in sonicate fluid of infected prosthetic joints. In addition, the unlimited pool of different existing bacteriophages, with different specificity for all kind of bacteria gives the opportunity for further investigations, improvements of the current model and implementation in other medical fields for the purpose of the establishment of a rapid diagnosis.

  5. Assessment of target detection limits in hyperspectral data

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gross, W.; Boehler, J.; Schilling, H.; Middelmann, W.; Weyermann, J.; Wellig, P.; Oechslin, R.; Kneubuehler, M.

    2015-10-01

    Hyperspectral remote sensing data can be used for civil and military applications to detect and classify target objects that cannot be reliably separated using broadband sensors. The comparably low spatial resolution is compensated by the fact that small targets, even below image resolution, can still be classified. The goal of this paper is to determine the target size to spatial resolution ratio for successful classification of different target and background materials. Airborne hyperspectral data is used to simulate data with known mixture ratios and to estimate the detection threshold for given false alarm rates. The data was collected in July 2014 over Greding, Germany, using airborne aisaEAGLE and aisaHAWK hyperspectral sensors. On the ground, various target materials were placed on natural background. The targets were four quadratic molton patches with an edge length of 7 meters in the colors black, white, grey and green. Also, two different types of polyethylene (camouflage nets) with an edge length of approximately 5.5 meters were deployed. Synthetic data is generated from the original data using spectral mixtures. Target signatures are linearly combined with different background materials in specific ratios. The simulated mixtures are appended to the original data and the target areas are removed for evaluation. Commonly used classification algorithms, e.g. Matched Filtering, Adaptive Cosine Estimator are used to determine the detection limit. Fixed false alarm rates are employed to find and analyze certain regions where false alarms usually occur first. A combination of 18 targets and 12 backgrounds is analyzed for three VNIR and two SWIR data sets of the same area.

  6. Target detection cycle criteria when using the targeting task performance metric

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hixson, Jonathan G.; Jacobs, Eddie L.; Vollmerhausen, Richard H.

    2004-12-01

    The US Army RDECOM CERDEC Night Vision and Electronic Sensors Directorate of the US Army (NVESD) has developed a new target acquisition metric to better predict the performance of modern electro-optical imagers. The TTP metric replaces the Johnson criteria. One problem with transitioning to the new model is that the difficulty of searching in a terrain has traditionally been quantified by an "N50." The N50 is the number of Johnson criteria cycles needed for the observer to detect the target half the time, assuming that the observer is not time limited. In order to make use of this empirical data base, a conversion must be found relating Johnson cycles for detection to TTP cycles for detection. This paper describes how that relationship is established. We have found that the relationship between Johnson and TTP is 1:2.7 for the recognition and identification tasks.

  7. Real-time multisensor data fusion for target detection, classification, tracking, counting, and range estimates

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tsui, Eddy K.; Thomas, Russell L.

    2004-09-01

    As part of the Commanding General of Army Material Command's Research, Development & Engineering Command (RDECOM), the U.S. Army Research Development and Engineering Center (ARDEC), Picatinny funded a joint development effort with McQ Associates, Inc. to develop an Advanced Minefield Sensor (AMS) as a technology evaluation prototype for the Anti-Personnel Landmine Alternatives (APLA) Track III program. This effort laid the fundamental groundwork of smart sensors for detection and classification of targets, identification of combatant or noncombatant, target location and tracking at and between sensors, fusion of information across targets and sensors, and automatic situation awareness to the 1st responder. The efforts have culminated in developing a performance oriented architecture meeting the requirements of size, weight, and power (SWAP). The integrated digital signal processor (DSP) paradigm is capable of computing signals from sensor modalities to extract needed information within either a 360° or fixed field of view with acceptable false alarm rate. This paper discusses the challenges in the developments of such a sensor, focusing on achieving reasonable operating ranges, achieving low power, small size and low cost, and applications for extensions of this technology.

  8. Ureaplasma parvum prosthetic joint infection detected by PCR.

    PubMed

    Farrell, John J; Larson, Joshua A; Akeson, Jeffrey W; Lowery, Kristin S; Rounds, Megan A; Sampath, Rangarajan; Bonomo, Robert A; Patel, Robin

    2014-06-01

    We describe the first reported case of Ureaplasma parvum prosthetic joint infection (PJI) detected by PCR. Ureaplasma species do not possess a cell wall and are usually associated with colonization and infection of mucosal surfaces (not prosthetic material). U. parvum is a relatively new species name for certain serovars of Ureaplasma urealyticum, and PCR is useful for species determination. Our patient presented with late infection of his right total knee arthroplasty. Intraoperative fluid and tissue cultures and pre- and postoperative synovial fluid cultures were all negative. To discern the pathogen, we employed PCR coupled with electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (PCR/ESI-MS). Our patient's failure to respond to empirical antimicrobial treatment and our previous experience with PCR/ESI-MS in culture-negative cases of infection prompted us to use this approach over other diagnostic modalities. PCR/ESI-MS detected U. parvum in all samples. U. parvum-specific PCR testing was performed on all synovial fluid samples to confirm the U. parvum detection. Copyright © 2014, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

  9. Wavelength band selection method for multispectral target detection.

    PubMed

    Karlholm, Jörgen; Renhorn, Ingmar

    2002-11-10

    A framework is proposed for the selection of wavelength bands for multispectral sensors by use of hyperspectral reference data. Using the results from the detection theory we derive a cost function that is minimized by a set of spectral bands optimal in terms of detection performance for discrimination between a class of small rare targets and clutter with known spectral distribution. The method may be used, e.g., in the design of multispectral infrared search and track and electro-optical missile warning sensors, where a low false-alarm rate and a high-detection probability for detection of small targets against a clutter background are of critical importance, but the required high frame rate prevents the use of hyperspectral sensors.

  10. An Automated Directed Spectral Search Methodology for Small Target Detection

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Grossman, Stanley I.

    Much of the current efforts in remote sensing tackle macro-level problems such as determining the extent of wheat in a field, the general health of vegetation or the extent of mineral deposits in an area. However, for many of the remaining remote sensing challenges being studied currently, such as border protection, drug smuggling, treaty verification, and the war on terror, most targets are very small in nature - a vehicle or even a person. While in typical macro-level problems the objective vegetation is in the scene, for small target detection problems it is not usually known if the desired small target even exists in the scene, never mind finding it in abundance. The ability to find specific small targets, such as vehicles, typifies this problem. Complicating the analyst's life, the growing number of available sensors is generating mountains of imagery outstripping the analysts' ability to visually peruse them. This work presents the important factors influencing spectral exploitation using multispectral data and suggests a different approach to small target detection. The methodology of directed search is presented, including the use of scene-modeled spectral libraries, various search algorithms, and traditional statistical and ROC curve analysis. The work suggests a new metric to calibrate analysis labeled the analytic sweet spot as well as an estimation method for identifying the sweet spot threshold for an image. It also suggests a new visualization aid for highlighting the target in its entirety called nearest neighbor inflation (NNI). It brings these all together to propose that these additions to the target detection arena allow for the construction of a fully automated target detection scheme. This dissertation next details experiments to support the hypothesis that the optimum detection threshold is the analytic sweet spot and that the estimation method adequately predicts it. Experimental results and analysis are presented for the proposed directed

  11. Improved target detection algorithm using Fukunaga-Koontz transform and distance classifier correlation filter

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bal, A.; Alam, M. S.; Aslan, M. S.

    2006-05-01

    Often sensor ego-motion or fast target movement causes the target to temporarily go out of the field-of-view leading to reappearing target detection problem in target tracking applications. Since the target goes out of the current frame and reenters at a later frame, the reentering location and variations in rotation, scale, and other 3D orientations of the target are not known thus complicating the detection algorithm has been developed using Fukunaga-Koontz Transform (FKT) and distance classifier correlation filter (DCCF). The detection algorithm uses target and background information, extracted from training samples, to detect possible candidate target images. The detected candidate target images are then introduced into the second algorithm, DCCF, called clutter rejection module, to determine the target coordinates are detected and tracking algorithm is initiated. The performance of the proposed FKT-DCCF based target detection algorithm has been tested using real-world forward looking infrared (FLIR) video sequences.

  12. Computerized evaluation of holographic interferograms for fatigue crack detection in riveted lap joints

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhou, Xiang

    Using an innovative portable holographic inspection and testing system (PHITS) developed at the Australian Defence Force Academy, fatigue cracks in riveted lap joints can be detected by visually inspecting the abnormal fringe changes recorded on holographic interferograms. In this thesis, for automatic crack detection, some modern digital image processing techniques are investigated and applied to holographic interferogram evaluation. Fringe analysis algorithms are developed for identification of the crack-induced fringe changes. Theoretical analysis of PHITS and riveted lap joints and two typical experiments demonstrate that the fatigue cracks in lightly-clamped joints induce two characteristic fringe changes: local fringe discontinuities at the cracking sites; and the global crescent fringe distribution near to the edge of the rivet hole. Both of the fringe features are used for crack detection in this thesis. As a basis of the fringe feature extraction, an algorithm for local fringe orientation calculation is proposed. For high orientation accuracy and computational efficiency, Gaussian gradient filtering and neighboring direction averaging are used to minimize the effects of image background variations and random noise. The neighboring direction averaging is also used to approximate the fringe directions in centerlines of bright and dark fringes. Experimental results indicate that for high orientation accuracy the scales of the Gaussian filter and neighboring direction averaging should be chosen according to the local fringe spacings. The orientation histogram technique is applied to detect the local fringe discontinuity due to the fatigue cracks. The Fourier descriptor technique is used to characterize the global fringe distribution change from a circular to a crescent distribution with the fatigue crack growth. Experiments and computer simulations are conducted to analyze the detectability and reliability of crack detection using the two techniques. Results

  13. Supervised target detection in hyperspectral images using one-class Fukunaga-Koontz Transform

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Binol, Hamidullah; Bal, Abdullah

    2016-05-01

    A novel hyperspectral target detection technique based on Fukunaga-Koontz transform (FKT) is presented. FKT offers significant properties for feature selection and ordering. However, it can only be used to solve multi-pattern classification problems. Target detection may be considered as a two-class classification problem, i.e., target versus background clutter. Nevertheless, background clutter typically contains different types of materials. That's why; target detection techniques are different than classification methods by way of modeling clutter. To avoid the modeling of the background clutter, we have improved one-class FKT (OC-FKT) for target detection. The statistical properties of target training samples are used to define tunnel-like boundary of the target class. Non-target samples are then created synthetically as to be outside of the boundary. Thus, only limited target samples become adequate for training of FKT. The hyperspectral image experiments confirm that the proposed OC-FKT technique provides an effective means for target detection.

  14. Single molecule targeted sequencing for cancer gene mutation detection.

    PubMed

    Gao, Yan; Deng, Liwei; Yan, Qin; Gao, Yongqian; Wu, Zengding; Cai, Jinsen; Ji, Daorui; Li, Gailing; Wu, Ping; Jin, Huan; Zhao, Luyang; Liu, Song; Ge, Liangjin; Deem, Michael W; He, Jiankui

    2016-05-19

    With the rapid decline in cost of sequencing, it is now affordable to examine multiple genes in a single disease-targeted clinical test using next generation sequencing. Current targeted sequencing methods require a separate step of targeted capture enrichment during sample preparation before sequencing. Although there are fast sample preparation methods available in market, the library preparation process is still relatively complicated for physicians to use routinely. Here, we introduced an amplification-free Single Molecule Targeted Sequencing (SMTS) technology, which combined targeted capture and sequencing in one step. We demonstrated that this technology can detect low-frequency mutations using artificially synthesized DNA sample. SMTS has several potential advantages, including simple sample preparation thus no biases and errors are introduced by PCR reaction. SMTS has the potential to be an easy and quick sequencing technology for clinical diagnosis such as cancer gene mutation detection, infectious disease detection, inherited condition screening and noninvasive prenatal diagnosis.

  15. Infrared small target detection based on directional zero-crossing measure

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, Xiangyue; Ding, Qinghai; Luo, Haibo; Hui, Bin; Chang, Zheng; Zhang, Junchao

    2017-12-01

    Infrared small target detection under complex background and low signal-to-clutter ratio (SCR) condition is of great significance to the development on precision guidance and infrared surveillance. In order to detect targets precisely and extract targets from intricate clutters effectively, a detection method based on zero-crossing saliency (ZCS) map is proposed. The original map is first decomposed into different first-order directional derivative (FODD) maps by using FODD filters. Then the ZCS map is obtained by fusing all directional zero-crossing points. At last, an adaptive threshold is adopted to segment targets from the ZCS map. Experimental results on a series of images show that our method is effective and robust for detection under complex backgrounds. Moreover, compared with other five state-of-the-art methods, our method achieves better performance in terms of detection rate, SCR gain and background suppression factor.

  16. Automated multiple target detection and tracking in UAV videos

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mao, Hongwei; Yang, Chenhui; Abousleman, Glen P.; Si, Jennie

    2010-04-01

    In this paper, a novel system is presented to detect and track multiple targets in Unmanned Air Vehicles (UAV) video sequences. Since the output of the system is based on target motion, we first segment foreground moving areas from the background in each video frame using background subtraction. To stabilize the video, a multi-point-descriptor-based image registration method is performed where a projective model is employed to describe the global transformation between frames. For each detected foreground blob, an object model is used to describe its appearance and motion information. Rather than immediately classifying the detected objects as targets, we track them for a certain period of time and only those with qualified motion patterns are labeled as targets. In the subsequent tracking process, a Kalman filter is assigned to each tracked target to dynamically estimate its position in each frame. Blobs detected at a later time are used as observations to update the state of the tracked targets to which they are associated. The proposed overlap-rate-based data association method considers the splitting and merging of the observations, and therefore is able to maintain tracks more consistently. Experimental results demonstrate that the system performs well on real-world UAV video sequences. Moreover, careful consideration given to each component in the system has made the proposed system feasible for real-time applications.

  17. Sensate Scaffolds Can Reliably Detect Joint Loading

    PubMed Central

    Bliss, C. L.; Szivek, J. A.; Tellis, B. C.; Margolis, D. S.; Schnepp, A. B.; Ruth, J. T.

    2008-01-01

    Treatment of cartilage defects is essential to the prevention of osteoarthritis. Scaffold-based cartilage tissue engineering shows promise as a viable technique to treat focal defects. Added functionality can be achieved by incorporating strain gauges into scaffolds, thereby providing a real-time diagnostic measurement of joint loading. Strain-gauged scaffolds were placed into the medial femoral condyles of 14 adult canine knees and benchtop tested. Loads between 75 and 130 N were applied to the stifle joints at 30°, 50°, and 70° of flexion. Strain-gauged scaffolds were able to reliably assess joint loading at all applied flexion angles and loads. Pressure sensitive films were used to determine joint surface pressures during loading and to assess the effect of scaffold placement on joint pressures. A comparison of peak pressures in control knees and joints with implanted scaffolds, as well as a comparison of pressures before and after scaffold placement, showed that strain-gauged scaffold implantation did not significantly alter joint pressures. Future studies could possibly use strain-gauged scaffolds to clinically establish normal joint loads and to determine loads that are damaging to both healthy and tissue-engineered cartilage. Strain-gauged scaffolds may significantly aid the development of a functional engineered cartilage tissue substitute as well as provide insight into the native environment of cartilage. PMID:16941586

  18. Development of a microcapillary column for detecting targeted messenger RNA molecules.

    PubMed

    Ohnishi, Michihiro

    2006-03-24

    A capillary column in a rapid-flow system has been developed for detecting targeted messenger RNA (mRNA) molecules. The column has a structure made of two beds-one bed of porous microbeads and one bed of microbeads with a polythymidine base sequence. The targeted eukaryotic mRNA molecules are detected by two-step hybridization (sandwich hybridization) composed of polyadenosine selection of mRNA molecules and formation of a probe-target (targeted mRNA) hybrid. The sandwich hybridization, which is accomplished within 1 h, was tested using synthetic polydeoxynucleotides. Ten picomoles of the targeted polydeoxynucleotide were detected.

  19. Target molecules detection by waveguiding in a photonic silicon membrane

    DOEpatents

    Letant, Sonia E [Livermore, CA; Van Buuren, Anthony [Livermore, CA; Terminello, Louis [Danville, CA; Hart, Bradley R [Brentwood, CA

    2006-12-26

    Disclosed herein is a porous silicon filter capable of binding and detecting biological and chemical target molecules in liquid or gas samples. A photonic waveguiding silicon filter with chemical and/or biological anchors covalently attached to the pore walls bind target molecules. The system uses transmission curve engineering principles to allow measurements to be made in situ and in real time to detect the presence of various target molecules and calculate the concentration of bound target.

  20. Target molecules detection by waveguiding in a photonic silicon membrane

    DOEpatents

    Letant, Sonia; Van Buuren, Anthony; Terminello, Louis

    2004-08-31

    Disclosed herein is a photonic silicon filter capable of binding and detecting biological and chemical target molecules in liquid or gas samples. A photonic waveguiding silicon filter with chemical and/or biological anchors covalently attached to the pore walls selectively bind target molecules. The system uses transmission curve engineering principles to allow measurements to be made in situ and in real time to detect the presence of various target molecules and determine the concentration of bound target.

  1. Detection of fastener loosening in simple lap joint based on ultrasonic wavefield imaging

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gooda Sahib, M. I.; Leong, S. J.; Chia, C. C.; Mustapha, F.

    2017-12-01

    Joints in aero-mechanical structures are critical elements that ensure the structural integrity but they are prone to damages. Inspection of such joints that have no prior baseline data is really challenging but it can be possibly done using the Ultrasonic Propagation Imager (UPI). The feasibility of applying UPI for detection of loosened fastener is investigated in this study. A simple lap joint specimen made by connecting two pieces of 2.5mm thick SAE304 stainless steel plates using five M6 screws and nuts has been used in this study. All fasteners are tightened to 10Nm but one of them is completely loosened to simulate the damage. The wavefield data is processed into ultrasonic wavefield propagation video and a series of spectral amplitude images. The spectral images showed noticeable amplitude difference at the loosened fastener, hence confirmed the feasibility of using UPI for structural joints inspection. A simple contrast maximization method is also introduced to improve the result.

  2. Target detection in insects: optical, neural and behavioral optimizations.

    PubMed

    Gonzalez-Bellido, Paloma T; Fabian, Samuel T; Nordström, Karin

    2016-12-01

    Motion vision provides important cues for many tasks. Flying insects, for example, may pursue small, fast moving targets for mating or feeding purposes, even when these are detected against self-generated optic flow. Since insects are small, with size-constrained eyes and brains, they have evolved to optimize their optical, neural and behavioral target visualization solutions. Indeed, even if evolutionarily distant insects display different pursuit strategies, target neuron physiology is strikingly similar. Furthermore, the coarse spatial resolution of the insect compound eye might actually be beneficial when it comes to detection of moving targets. In conclusion, tiny insects show higher than expected performance in target visualization tasks. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  3. Effects of age and eccentricity on visual target detection.

    PubMed

    Gruber, Nicole; Müri, René M; Mosimann, Urs P; Bieri, Rahel; Aeschimann, Andrea; Zito, Giuseppe A; Urwyler, Prabitha; Nyffeler, Thomas; Nef, Tobias

    2013-01-01

    The aim of this study was to examine the effects of aging and target eccentricity on a visual search task comprising 30 images of everyday life projected into a hemisphere, realizing a ±90° visual field. The task performed binocularly allowed participants to freely move their eyes to scan images for an appearing target or distractor stimulus (presented at 10°; 30°, and 50° eccentricity). The distractor stimulus required no response, while the target stimulus required acknowledgment by pressing the response button. One hundred and seventeen healthy subjects (mean age = 49.63 years, SD = 17.40 years, age range 20-78 years) were studied. The results show that target detection performance decreases with age as well as with increasing eccentricity, especially for older subjects. Reaction time also increases with age and eccentricity, but in contrast to target detection, there is no interaction between age and eccentricity. Eye movement analysis showed that younger subjects exhibited a passive search strategy while older subjects exhibited an active search strategy probably as a compensation for their reduced peripheral detection performance.

  4. A saliency-based approach to detection of infrared target

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chen, Yanfei; Sang, Nong; Dan, Zhiping

    2013-10-01

    Automatic target detection in infrared images is a hot research field of national defense technology. We propose a new saliency-based infrared target detection model in this paper, which is based on the fact that human focus of attention is directed towards the relevant target to interpret the most promising information. For a given image, the convolution of the image log amplitude spectrum with a low-pass Gaussian kernel of an appropriate scale is equivalent to an image saliency detector in the frequency domain. At the same time, orientation and shape features extracted are combined into a saliency map in the spatial domain. Our proposed model decides salient targets based on a final saliency map, which is generated by integration of the saliency maps in the frequency and spatial domain. At last, the size of each salient target is obtained by maximizing entropy of the final saliency map. Experimental results show that the proposed model can highlight both small and large salient regions in infrared image, as well as inhibit repeated distractors in cluttered image. In addition, its detecting efficiency has improved significantly.

  5. An infrared small target detection method based on multiscale local homogeneity measure

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nie, Jinyan; Qu, Shaocheng; Wei, Yantao; Zhang, Liming; Deng, Lizhen

    2018-05-01

    Infrared (IR) small target detection plays an important role in the field of image detection area owing to its intrinsic characteristics. This paper presents a multiscale local homogeneity measure (MLHM) for infrared small target detection, which can enhance the performance of IR small target detection system. Firstly, intra-patch homogeneity of the target itself and the inter-patch heterogeneity between target and the local background regions are integrated to enhance the significant of small target. Secondly, a multiscale measure based on local regions is proposed to obtain the most appropriate response. Finally, an adaptive threshold method is applied to small target segmentation. Experimental results on three different scenarios indicate that the MLHM has good performance under the interference of strong noise.

  6. Incorporating signal-dependent noise for hyperspectral target detection

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Morman, Christopher J.; Meola, Joseph

    2015-05-01

    The majority of hyperspectral target detection algorithms are developed from statistical data models employing stationary background statistics or white Gaussian noise models. Stationary background models are inaccurate as a result of two separate physical processes. First, varying background classes often exist in the imagery that possess different clutter statistics. Many algorithms can account for this variability through the use of subspaces or clustering techniques. The second physical process, which is often ignored, is a signal-dependent sensor noise term. For photon counting sensors that are often used in hyperspectral imaging systems, sensor noise increases as the measured signal level increases as a result of Poisson random processes. This work investigates the impact of this sensor noise on target detection performance. A linear noise model is developed describing sensor noise variance as a linear function of signal level. The linear noise model is then incorporated for detection of targets using data collected at Wright Patterson Air Force Base.

  7. Early Response of Mouse Joint Tissues to Noninvasive Knee Injury Suggests Treatment Targets

    PubMed Central

    Wu, P.; Holguin, N.; Silva, M. J.; Fu, M.; Liao, W.; Sandell, L. J.

    2015-01-01

    Objective Joint trauma can lead to a spectrum of acute lesions, including cartilage degradation, ligament or meniscus tears, and synovitis, all potentially associated with osteoarthritis. The goal of this study was to generate and validate a murine model of knee joint trauma following non-invasive controlled injurious compression in vivo and to investigate early molecular events. Methods The right knees of 8-week old mice were placed in a hyperflexed position and subjected to compressive joint loading at one of three peak forces (3, 6, 9 N) for 60 cycles in a single loading period and harvested at 5, 9 and 14 days post loading (n=3–5 mice for each time point and for each loading). The left knees were not loaded and served as the contralateral controls. Histological, immunohistochemical and ELISA analyses were performed to evaluate acute pathologic features in chondrocyte viability, cartilage matrix metabolism, synovial reaction, and serum COMP levels. Results Acute joint pathology was associated with increased injurious loads. All loading regimens induced chondrocyte apoptosis, cartilage matrix degradation, disruption of cartilage collagen fibril arrangement, and increased levels of serum COMP. We also observed that 6N loading induced mild synovitis by day 5 whereas at 9 N, with tearing of the anterior cruciate ligament, severe posttraumatic synovitis and ectopic cartilage formation were observed. Conclusion We have established and analyzed some early events in a murine model of knee joint trauma with different degrees of over-loading in vivo. These results suggest that immediate therapies particularly targeted to apoptosis and synovial cell proliferation could affect the acute posttraumatic reaction to potentially limit chronic consequences and osteoarthritis. PMID:24470303

  8. A computational imaging target specific detectivity metric

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Preece, Bradley L.; Nehmetallah, George

    2017-05-01

    Due to the large quantity of low-cost, high-speed computational processing available today, computational imaging (CI) systems are expected to have a major role for next generation multifunctional cameras. The purpose of this work is to quantify the performance of theses CI systems in a standardized manner. Due to the diversity of CI system designs that are available today or proposed in the near future, significant challenges in modeling and calculating a standardized detection signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) to measure the performance of these systems. In this paper, we developed a path forward for a standardized detectivity metric for CI systems. The detectivity metric is designed to evaluate the performance of a CI system searching for a specific known target or signal of interest, and is defined as the optimal linear matched filter SNR, similar to the Hotelling SNR, calculated in computational space with special considerations for standardization. Therefore, the detectivity metric is designed to be flexible, in order to handle various types of CI systems and specific targets, while keeping the complexity and assumptions of the systems to a minimum.

  9. Target detection method by airborne and spaceborne images fusion based on past images

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chen, Shanjing; Kang, Qing; Wang, Zhenggang; Shen, ZhiQiang; Pu, Huan; Han, Hao; Gu, Zhongzheng

    2017-11-01

    To solve the problem that remote sensing target detection method has low utilization rate of past remote sensing data on target area, and can not recognize camouflage target accurately, a target detection method by airborne and spaceborne images fusion based on past images is proposed in this paper. The target area's past of space remote sensing image is taken as background. The airborne and spaceborne remote sensing data is fused and target feature is extracted by the means of airborne and spaceborne images registration, target change feature extraction, background noise suppression and artificial target feature extraction based on real-time aerial optical remote sensing image. Finally, the support vector machine is used to detect and recognize the target on feature fusion data. The experimental results have established that the proposed method combines the target area change feature of airborne and spaceborne remote sensing images with target detection algorithm, and obtains fine detection and recognition effect on camouflage and non-camouflage targets.

  10. A new method for detecting small and dim targets in starry background

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yao, Rui; Zhang, Yanning; Jiang, Lei

    2011-08-01

    Small visible optical space targets detection is one of the key issues in the research of long-range early warning and space debris surveillance. The SNR(Signal to Noise Ratio) of the target is very low because of the self influence of image device. Random noise and background movement also increase the difficulty of target detection. In order to detect small visible optical space targets effectively and rapidly, we bring up a novel detecting method based on statistic theory. Firstly, we get a reasonable statistical model of visible optical space image. Secondly, we extract SIFT(Scale-Invariant Feature Transform) feature of the image frames, and calculate the transform relationship, then use the transform relationship to compensate whole visual field's movement. Thirdly, the influence of star was wiped off by using interframe difference method. We find segmentation threshold to differentiate candidate targets and noise by using OTSU method. Finally, we calculate statistical quantity to judge whether there is the target for every pixel position in the image. Theory analysis shows the relationship of false alarm probability and detection probability at different SNR. The experiment result shows that this method could detect target efficiently, even the target passing through stars.

  11. Clever eye algorithm for target detection of remote sensing imagery

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Geng, Xiurui; Ji, Luyan; Sun, Kang

    2016-04-01

    Target detection algorithms for hyperspectral remote sensing imagery, such as the two most commonly used remote sensing detection algorithms, the constrained energy minimization (CEM) and matched filter (MF), can usually be attributed to the inner product between a weight filter (or detector) and a pixel vector. CEM and MF have the same expression except that MF requires data centralization first. However, this difference leads to a difference in the target detection results. That is to say, the selection of the data origin could directly affect the performance of the detector. Therefore, does there exist another data origin other than the zero and mean-vector points for a better target detection performance? This is a very meaningful issue in the field of target detection, but it has not been paid enough attention yet. In this study, we propose a novel objective function by introducing the data origin as another variable, and the solution of the function is corresponding to the data origin with the minimal output energy. The process of finding the optimal solution can be vividly regarded as a clever eye automatically searching the best observing position and direction in the feature space, which corresponds to the largest separation between the target and background. Therefore, this new algorithm is referred to as the clever eye algorithm (CE). Based on the Sherman-Morrison formula and the gradient ascent method, CE could derive the optimal target detection result in terms of energy. Experiments with both synthetic and real hyperspectral data have verified the effectiveness of our method.

  12. Detection of target phonemes in spontaneous and read speech.

    PubMed

    Mehta, G; Cutler, A

    1988-01-01

    Although spontaneous speech occurs more frequently in most listeners' experience than read speech, laboratory studies of human speech recognition typically use carefully controlled materials read from a script. The phonological and prosodic characteristics of spontaneous and read speech differ considerably, however, which suggests that laboratory results may not generalise to the recognition of spontaneous speech. In the present study listeners were presented with both spontaneous and read speech materials, and their response time to detect word-initial target phonemes was measured. Responses were, overall, equally fast in each speech mode. However, analysis of effects previously reported in phoneme detection studies revealed significant differences between speech modes. In read speech but not in spontaneous speech, later targets were detected more rapidly than targets preceded by short words. In contrast, in spontaneous speech but not in read speech, targets were detected more rapidly in accented than in unaccented words and in strong than in weak syllables. An explanation for this pattern is offered in terms of characteristic prosodic differences between spontaneous and read speech. The results support claims from previous work that listeners pay great attention to prosodic information in the process of recognising speech.

  13. Automatic small target detection in synthetic infrared images

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yardımcı, Ozan; Ulusoy, Ä.°lkay

    2017-05-01

    Automatic detection of targets from far distances is a very challenging problem. Background clutter and small target size are the main difficulties which should be solved while reaching a high detection performance as well as a low computational load. The pre-processing, detection and post-processing approaches are very effective on the final results. In this study, first of all, various methods in the literature were evaluated separately for each of these stages using the simulated test scenarios. Then, a full system of detection was constructed among available solutions which resulted in the best performance in terms of detection. However, although a precision rate as 100% was reached, the recall values stayed low around 25-45%. Finally, a post-processing method was proposed which increased the recall value while keeping the precision at 100%. The proposed post-processing method, which is based on local operations, increased the recall value to 65-95% in all test scenarios.

  14. Penalty dynamic programming algorithm for dim targets detection in sensor systems.

    PubMed

    Huang, Dayu; Xue, Anke; Guo, Yunfei

    2012-01-01

    In order to detect and track multiple maneuvering dim targets in sensor systems, an improved dynamic programming track-before-detect algorithm (DP-TBD) called penalty DP-TBD (PDP-TBD) is proposed. The performances of tracking techniques are used as a feedback to the detection part. The feedback is constructed by a penalty term in the merit function, and the penalty term is a function of the possible target state estimation, which can be obtained by the tracking methods. With this feedback, the algorithm combines traditional tracking techniques with DP-TBD and it can be applied to simultaneously detect and track maneuvering dim targets. Meanwhile, a reasonable constraint that a sensor measurement can originate from one target or clutter is proposed to minimize track separation. Thus, the algorithm can be used in the multi-target situation with unknown target numbers. The efficiency and advantages of PDP-TBD compared with two existing methods are demonstrated by several simulations.

  15. Penalty Dynamic Programming Algorithm for Dim Targets Detection in Sensor Systems

    PubMed Central

    Huang, Dayu; Xue, Anke; Guo, Yunfei

    2012-01-01

    In order to detect and track multiple maneuvering dim targets in sensor systems, an improved dynamic programming track-before-detect algorithm (DP-TBD) called penalty DP-TBD (PDP-TBD) is proposed. The performances of tracking techniques are used as a feedback to the detection part. The feedback is constructed by a penalty term in the merit function, and the penalty term is a function of the possible target state estimation, which can be obtained by the tracking methods. With this feedback, the algorithm combines traditional tracking techniques with DP-TBD and it can be applied to simultaneously detect and track maneuvering dim targets. Meanwhile, a reasonable constraint that a sensor measurement can originate from one target or clutter is proposed to minimize track separation. Thus, the algorithm can be used in the multi-target situation with unknown target numbers. The efficiency and advantages of PDP-TBD compared with two existing methods are demonstrated by several simulations. PMID:22666074

  16. Joint detection and localization of multiple anatomical landmarks through learning

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dikmen, Mert; Zhan, Yiqiang; Zhou, Xiang Sean

    2008-03-01

    Reliable landmark detection in medical images provides the essential groundwork for successful automation of various open problems such as localization, segmentation, and registration of anatomical structures. In this paper, we present a learning-based system to jointly detect (is it there?) and localize (where?) multiple anatomical landmarks in medical images. The contributions of this work exist in two aspects. First, this method takes the advantage from the learning scenario that is able to automatically extract the most distinctive features for multi-landmark detection. Therefore, it is easily adaptable to detect arbitrary landmarks in various kinds of imaging modalities, e.g., CT, MRI and PET. Second, the use of multi-class/cascaded classifier architecture in different phases of the detection stage combined with robust features that are highly efficient in terms of computation time enables a seemingly real time performance, with very high localization accuracy. This method is validated on CT scans of different body sections, e.g., whole body scans, chest scans and abdominal scans. Aside from improved robustness (due to the exploitation of spatial correlations), it gains a run time efficiency in landmark detection. It also shows good scalability performance under increasing number of landmarks.

  17. Improved target detection by IR dual-band image fusion

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Adomeit, U.; Ebert, R.

    2009-09-01

    Dual-band thermal imagers acquire information simultaneously in both the 8-12 μm (long-wave infrared, LWIR) and the 3-5 μm (mid-wave infrared, MWIR) spectral range. Compared to single-band thermal imagers they are expected to have several advantages in military applications. These advantages include the opportunity to use the best band for given atmospheric conditions (e. g. cold climate: LWIR, hot and humid climate: MWIR), the potential to better detect camouflaged targets and an improved discrimination between targets and decoys. Most of these advantages have not yet been verified and/or quantified. It is expected that image fusion allows better exploitation of the information content available with dual-band imagers especially with respect to detection of targets. We have developed a method for dual-band image fusion based on the apparent temperature differences in the two bands. This method showed promising results in laboratory tests. In order to evaluate its performance under operational conditions we conducted a field trial in an area with high thermal clutter. In such areas, targets are hardly to detect in single-band images because they vanish in the clutter structure. The image data collected in this field trial was used for a perception experiment. This perception experiment showed an enhanced target detection range and reduced false alarm rate for the fused images compared to the single-band images.

  18. High-Speed Incoming Infrared Target Detection by Fusion of Spatial and Temporal Detectors

    PubMed Central

    Kim, Sungho

    2015-01-01

    This paper presents a method for detecting high-speed incoming targets by the fusion of spatial and temporal detectors to achieve a high detection rate for an active protection system (APS). The incoming targets have different image velocities according to the target-camera geometry. Therefore, single-target detector-based approaches, such as a 1D temporal filter, 2D spatial filter and 3D matched filter, cannot provide a high detection rate with moderate false alarms. The target speed variation was analyzed according to the incoming angle and target velocity. The speed of the distant target at the firing time is almost stationary and increases slowly. The speed varying targets are detected stably by fusing the spatial and temporal filters. The stationary target detector is activated by an almost zero temporal contrast filter (TCF) and identifies targets using a spatial filter called the modified mean subtraction filter (M-MSF). A small motion (sub-pixel velocity) target detector is activated by a small TCF value and finds targets using the same spatial filter. A large motion (pixel-velocity) target detector works when the TCF value is high. The final target detection is terminated by fusing the three detectors based on the threat priority. The experimental results of the various target sequences show that the proposed fusion-based target detector produces the highest detection rate with an acceptable false alarm rate. PMID:25815448

  19. Selection of optimal multispectral imaging system parameters for small joint arthritis detection

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dolenec, Rok; Laistler, Elmar; Stergar, Jost; Milanic, Matija

    2018-02-01

    Early detection and treatment of arthritis is essential for a successful outcome of the treatment, but it has proven to be very challenging with existing diagnostic methods. Novel methods based on the optical imaging of the affected joints are becoming an attractive alternative. A non-contact multispectral imaging (MSI) system for imaging of small joints of human hands and feet is being developed. In this work, a numerical simulation of the MSI system is presented. The purpose of the simulation is to determine the optimal design parameters. Inflamed and unaffected human joint models were constructed with a realistic geometry and tissue distributions, based on a MRI scan of a human finger with a spatial resolution of 0.2 mm. The light transport simulation is based on a weighted-photon 3D Monte Carlo method utilizing CUDA GPU acceleration. An uniform illumination of the finger within the 400-1100 nm spectral range was simulated and the photons exiting the joint were recorded using different acceptance angles. From the obtained reflectance and transmittance images the spectral and spatial features most indicative of inflammation were identified. Optimal acceptance angle and spectral bands were determined. This study demonstrates that proper selection of MSI system parameters critically affects ability of a MSI system to discriminate the unaffected and inflamed joints. The presented system design optimization approach could be applied to other pathologies.

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

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, Mo; Jin, Weiqi; Li, Li

    2016-10-01

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

  1. JCDSA: a joint covariate detection tool for survival analysis on tumor expression profiles.

    PubMed

    Wu, Yiming; Liu, Yanan; Wang, Yueming; Shi, Yan; Zhao, Xudong

    2018-05-29

    Survival analysis on tumor expression profiles has always been a key issue for subsequent biological experimental validation. It is crucial how to select features which closely correspond to survival time. Furthermore, it is important how to select features which best discriminate between low-risk and high-risk group of patients. Common features derived from the two aspects may provide variable candidates for prognosis of cancer. Based on the provided two-step feature selection strategy, we develop a joint covariate detection tool for survival analysis on tumor expression profiles. Significant features, which are not only consistent with survival time but also associated with the categories of patients with different survival risks, are chosen. Using the miRNA expression data (Level 3) of 548 patients with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) as an example, miRNA candidates for prognosis of cancer are selected. The reliability of selected miRNAs using this tool is demonstrated by 100 simulations. Furthermore, It is discovered that significant covariates are not directly composed of individually significant variables. Joint covariate detection provides a viewpoint for selecting variables which are not individually but jointly significant. Besides, it helps to select features which are not only consistent with survival time but also associated with prognosis risk. The software is available at http://bio-nefu.com/resource/jcdsa .

  2. Target Detection Using an AOTF Hyperspectral Imager

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Cheng, L-J.; Mahoney, J.; Reyes, F.; Suiter, H.

    1994-01-01

    This paper reports results of a recent field experiment using a prototype system to evaluate the acousto-optic tunable filter polarimetric hyperspectral imaging technology for target detection applications.

  3. Application of multivariate Gaussian detection theory to known non-Gaussian probability density functions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Schwartz, Craig R.; Thelen, Brian J.; Kenton, Arthur C.

    1995-06-01

    A statistical parametric multispectral sensor performance model was developed by ERIM to support mine field detection studies, multispectral sensor design/performance trade-off studies, and target detection algorithm development. The model assumes target detection algorithms and their performance models which are based on data assumed to obey multivariate Gaussian probability distribution functions (PDFs). The applicability of these algorithms and performance models can be generalized to data having non-Gaussian PDFs through the use of transforms which convert non-Gaussian data to Gaussian (or near-Gaussian) data. An example of one such transform is the Box-Cox power law transform. In practice, such a transform can be applied to non-Gaussian data prior to the introduction of a detection algorithm that is formally based on the assumption of multivariate Gaussian data. This paper presents an extension of these techniques to the case where the joint multivariate probability density function of the non-Gaussian input data is known, and where the joint estimate of the multivariate Gaussian statistics, under the Box-Cox transform, is desired. The jointly estimated multivariate Gaussian statistics can then be used to predict the performance of a target detection algorithm which has an associated Gaussian performance model.

  4. Quantum Illumination-Based Target Detection and Discrimination

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2014-06-30

    amplifier (EDFA) was combined with the signal to simulate a high-noise environment, with a noise photon number per mode NB in the range 40–300. The...Research Triangle Park, NC 27709-2211 quantum communication, target detection, entanglement , parametric downconversion, optical parametric amplifiers...laser system of the same average transmitted photon number, when the target return has random-amplitude behavior. Receiver operating characteristic

  5. Iterative nonlinear joint transform correlation for the detection of objects in cluttered scenes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Haist, Tobias; Tiziani, Hans J.

    1999-03-01

    An iterative correlation technique with digital image processing in the feedback loop for the detection of small objects in cluttered scenes is proposed. A scanning aperture is combined with the method in order to improve the immunity against noise and clutter. Multiple reference objects or different views of one object are processed in parallel. We demonstrate the method by detecting a noisy and distorted face in a crowd with a nonlinear joint transform correlator.

  6. Portable apparatus for separating sample and detecting target analytes

    DOEpatents

    Renzi, Ronald F.; Wally, Karl; Crocker, Robert W.; Stamps, James F.; Griffiths; Stewart K. ,; Fruetel, Julia A.; Horn, Brent A.; Shokair, Isaac R.; Yee, Daniel D.; VanderNoot, Victoria A.; Wiedenman, Boyd J.; West, Jason A. A.; Ferko, Scott M.

    2008-11-18

    Portable devices and methods for determining the presence of a target analyte using a portable device are provided. The portable device is preferably hand-held. A sample is injected to the portable device. A microfluidic separation is performed within the portable device and at least one separated component detected by a detection module within the portable device, in embodiments of the invention. A target analyte is identified, based on the separated component, and the presence of the target analyte is indicated on an output interface of the portable device, in accordance with embodiments of the invention.

  7. Invariant target detection by a correlation radiometer

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Murza, L. P.

    1986-12-01

    The paper is concerned with the problem of the optimal detection of a heat-emitting target by a two-channel radiometer with an unstable amplification circuit. An expression is obtained for an asymptotically sufficient detection statistic which is invariant to changes in the amplification coefficients of the channels. The algorithm proposed here can be implemented numerically using a relatively simple program.

  8. Sensor Compromise Detection in Multiple-Target Tracking Systems

    PubMed Central

    Doucette, Emily A.; Curtis, Jess W.

    2018-01-01

    Tracking multiple targets using a single estimator is a problem that is commonly approached within a trusted framework. There are many weaknesses that an adversary can exploit if it gains control over the sensors. Because the number of targets that the estimator has to track is not known with anticipation, an adversary could cause a loss of information or a degradation in the tracking precision. Other concerns include the introduction of false targets, which would result in a waste of computational and material resources, depending on the application. In this work, we study the problem of detecting compromised or faulty sensors in a multiple-target tracker, starting with the single-sensor case and then considering the multiple-sensor scenario. We propose an algorithm to detect a variety of attacks in the multiple-sensor case, via the application of finite set statistics (FISST), one-class classifiers and hypothesis testing using nonparametric techniques. PMID:29466314

  9. Glint-induced false alarm reduction in signature adaptive target detection

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Crosby, Frank J.

    2002-07-01

    The signal adaptive target detection algorithm developed by Crosby and Riley uses target geometry to discern anomalies in local backgrounds. Detection is not restricted based on specific target signatures. The robustness of the algorithm is limited by an increased false alarm potential. The base algorithm is extended to eliminate one common source of false alarms in a littoral environment. This common source is glint reflected on the surface of water. The spectral and spatial transience of glint prevent straightforward characterization and complicate exclusion. However, the statistical basis of the detection algorithm and its inherent computations allow for glint discernment and the removal of its influence.

  10. A long-term target detection approach in infrared image sequence

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

    2016-10-01

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

  11. Detection and classification of underwater targets by echolocating dolphins

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Au, Whitlow

    2003-10-01

    Many experiments have been performed with echolocating dolphins to determine their target detection and discrimination capabilities. Target detection experiments have been performed in a naturally noisy environment, with masking noise and with both phantom echoes and masking noise, and in reverberation. The echo energy to rms noise spectral density for the Atlantic bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) at the 75% correct response threshold is approximately 7.5 dB whereas for the beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas) the threshold is approximately 1 dB. The dolphin's detection threshold in reverberation is approximately 2.5 dB vs 2 dB for the beluga. The difference in performance between species can probably be ascribed to differences in how both species perceived the task. The bottlenose dolphin may be performing a combination detection/discrimination task whereas the beluga may be performing a simple detection task. Echolocating dolphins also have the capability to make fine discriminate of target properties such as wall thickness difference of water-filled cylinders and material differences in metallic plates. The high resolution property of the animal's echolocation signals and the high dynamic range of its auditory system are important factors in their outstanding discrimination capabilities.

  12. Target detection portal

    DOEpatents

    Linker, Kevin L.; Brusseau, Charles A.

    2002-01-01

    A portal apparatus for screening persons or objects for the presence of trace amounts of target substances such as explosives, narcotics, radioactive materials, and certain chemical materials. The portal apparatus can have a one-sided exhaust for an exhaust stream, an interior wall configuration with a concave-shape across a horizontal cross-section for each of two facing sides to result in improved airflow and reduced washout relative to a configuration with substantially flat parallel sides; air curtains to reduce washout; ionizing sprays to collect particles bound by static forces, as well as gas jet nozzles to dislodge particles bound by adhesion to the screened person or object. The portal apparatus can be included in a detection system with a preconcentrator and a detector.

  13. Applying the log-normal distribution to target detection

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Holst, Gerald C.

    1992-09-01

    Holst and Pickard experimentally determined that MRT responses tend to follow a log-normal distribution. The log normal distribution appeared reasonable because nearly all visual psychological data is plotted on a logarithmic scale. It has the additional advantage that it is bounded to positive values; an important consideration since probability of detection is often plotted in linear coordinates. Review of published data suggests that the log-normal distribution may have universal applicability. Specifically, the log-normal distribution obtained from MRT tests appears to fit the target transfer function and the probability of detection of rectangular targets.

  14. Contrast, size, and orientation-invariant target detection in infrared imagery

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhou, Yi-Tong; Crawshaw, Richard D.

    1991-08-01

    Automatic target detection in IR imagery is a very difficult task due to variations in target brightness, shape, size, and orientation. In this paper, the authors present a contrast, size, and orientation invariant algorithm based on Gabor functions for detecting targets from a single IR image frame. The algorithms consists of three steps. First, it locates potential targets by using low-resolution Gabor functions which resist noise and background clutter effects, then, it removes false targets and eliminates redundant target points based on a similarity measure. These two steps mimic human vision processing but are different from Zeevi's Foveating Vision System. Finally, it uses both low- and high-resolution Gabor functions to verify target existence. This algorithm has been successfully tested on several IR images that contain multiple examples of military vehicles with different size and brightness in various background scenes and orientations.

  15. Directional detection of dark matter with two-dimensional targets

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hochberg, Yonit; Kahn, Yonatan; Lisanti, Mariangela; Tully, Christopher G.; Zurek, Kathryn M.

    2017-09-01

    We propose two-dimensional materials as targets for direct detection of dark matter. Using graphene as an example, we focus on the case where dark matter scattering deposits sufficient energy on a valence-band electron to eject it from the target. We show that the sensitivity of graphene to dark matter of MeV to GeV mass can be comparable, for similar exposure and background levels, to that of semiconductor targets such as silicon and germanium. Moreover, a two-dimensional target is an excellent directional detector, as the ejected electron retains information about the angular dependence of the incident dark matter particle. This proposal can be implemented by the PTOLEMY experiment, presenting for the first time an opportunity for directional detection of sub-GeV dark matter.

  16. Directional detection of dark matter with two-dimensional targets

    DOE PAGES

    Hochberg, Yonit; Kahn, Yonatan; Lisanti, Mariangela; ...

    2017-09-01

    We propose two-dimensional materials as targets for direct detection of dark matter. Using graphene as an example, we focus on the case where dark matter scattering deposits sufficient energy on a valence-band electron to eject it from the target. Here, we show that the sensitivity of graphene to dark matter of MeV to GeV mass can be comparable, for similar exposure and background levels, to that of semiconductor targets such as silicon and germanium. Moreover, a two-dimensional target is an excellent directional detector, as the ejected electron retains information about the angular dependence of the incident dark matter particle. Ourmore » proposal can be implemented by the PTOLEMY experiment, presenting for the first time an opportunity for directional detection of sub-GeV dark matter.« less

  17. Directional detection of dark matter with two-dimensional targets

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

    Hochberg, Yonit; Kahn, Yonatan; Lisanti, Mariangela

    We propose two-dimensional materials as targets for direct detection of dark matter. Using graphene as an example, we focus on the case where dark matter scattering deposits sufficient energy on a valence-band electron to eject it from the target. Here, we show that the sensitivity of graphene to dark matter of MeV to GeV mass can be comparable, for similar exposure and background levels, to that of semiconductor targets such as silicon and germanium. Moreover, a two-dimensional target is an excellent directional detector, as the ejected electron retains information about the angular dependence of the incident dark matter particle. Ourmore » proposal can be implemented by the PTOLEMY experiment, presenting for the first time an opportunity for directional detection of sub-GeV dark matter.« less

  18. Joint pain and Doppler-detectable bubbles in altitude (Hypobaric) decompression

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Powell, Michael R.

    1993-01-01

    The observation that altitude decompression sickness (DCS) is associated with pain in the lower extremities is not new, although it is not a consistent finding. DCS in divers is generally in the upper body, an effect often attributed to non-loading of the body while immersed. In caisson workers, DCS is reported more in the lower extremities. Surprisingly, many researchers do not mention the location of DCS joint pain, apparently considering it to be random. This is not the case for the tissue ratios encountered in studying decompression associated with simulated EVA. In NASA/JSC tests, altitude DCS generally presented first in either the ankle, knee, or hip (83 percent = 73/88). There was a definite statistical relation between the maximum Spencer precordial Doppler Grade and the incidence of DCS in the extremity, although this is not meant to imply a casual relation between circulating gas bubbles and joint pain. The risk of DCS with Grade 4 was considerably higher than that of Grades 0 to 3. The DCS risk was independent of the 'tissue ratio.' There was a predominance of lower extremity DCS even when exercise was performed with the upper body. The reason for these locations we hypothesize to be attributed to the formation of tissue gas micronuclei from kinetic and tensile forces (stress-assisted nucleation) and are the result of the individuals ambulating in a 1g environment. Additionally, since these showers of Doppler bubbles can persist for hours, it is difficult to imagine that they are emanating solely from tendons and ligaments, the supposed site of joint pain. This follows from Henry's law linking the volume of joint tissue (the solvent) and the solubility coefficient of inert gas; there is volumetrically insufficient connective tissue to produce the prolonged release of gas bubbles. If gas bubbles are spawned and released from connective tissue, their volume is increased by those from muscle tissue. Therefore, the nexus between Doppler-detectable gas

  19. Neural Dynamics Underlying Target Detection in the Human Brain

    PubMed Central

    Bansal, Arjun K.; Madhavan, Radhika; Agam, Yigal; Golby, Alexandra; Madsen, Joseph R.

    2014-01-01

    Sensory signals must be interpreted in the context of goals and tasks. To detect a target in an image, the brain compares input signals and goals to elicit the correct behavior. We examined how target detection modulates visual recognition signals by recording intracranial field potential responses from 776 electrodes in 10 epileptic human subjects. We observed reliable differences in the physiological responses to stimuli when a cued target was present versus absent. Goal-related modulation was particularly strong in the inferior temporal and fusiform gyri, two areas important for object recognition. Target modulation started after 250 ms post stimulus, considerably after the onset of visual recognition signals. While broadband signals exhibited increased or decreased power, gamma frequency power showed predominantly increases during target presence. These observations support models where task goals interact with sensory inputs via top-down signals that influence the highest echelons of visual processing after the onset of selective responses. PMID:24553944

  20. Sparsity based target detection for compressive spectral imagery

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Boada, David Alberto; Arguello Fuentes, Henry

    2016-09-01

    Hyperspectral imagery provides significant information about the spectral characteristics of objects and materials present in a scene. It enables object and feature detection, classification, or identification based on the acquired spectral characteristics. However, it relies on sophisticated acquisition and data processing systems able to acquire, process, store, and transmit hundreds or thousands of image bands from a given area of interest which demands enormous computational resources in terms of storage, computationm, and I/O throughputs. Specialized optical architectures have been developed for the compressed acquisition of spectral images using a reduced set of coded measurements contrary to traditional architectures that need a complete set of measurements of the data cube for image acquisition, dealing with the storage and acquisition limitations. Despite this improvement, if any processing is desired, the image has to be reconstructed by an inverse algorithm in order to be processed, which is also an expensive task. In this paper, a sparsity-based algorithm for target detection in compressed spectral images is presented. Specifically, the target detection model adapts a sparsity-based target detector to work in a compressive domain, modifying the sparse representation basis in the compressive sensing problem by means of over-complete training dictionaries and a wavelet basis representation. Simulations show that the presented method can achieve even better detection results than the state of the art methods.

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

    PubMed Central

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

    2016-01-01

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

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

    PubMed

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

    2016-07-19

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

  3. Scan statistics with local vote for target detection in distributed system

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Luo, Junhai; Wu, Qi

    2017-12-01

    Target detection has occupied a pivotal position in distributed system. Scan statistics, as one of the most efficient detection methods, has been applied to a variety of anomaly detection problems and significantly improves the probability of detection. However, scan statistics cannot achieve the expected performance when the noise intensity is strong, or the signal emitted by the target is weak. The local vote algorithm can also achieve higher target detection rate. After the local vote, the counting rule is always adopted for decision fusion. The counting rule does not use the information about the contiguity of sensors but takes all sensors' data into consideration, which makes the result undesirable. In this paper, we propose a scan statistics with local vote (SSLV) method. This method combines scan statistics with local vote decision. Before scan statistics, each sensor executes local vote decision according to the data of its neighbors and its own. By combining the advantages of both, our method can obtain higher detection rate in low signal-to-noise ratio environment than the scan statistics. After the local vote decision, the distribution of sensors which have detected the target becomes more intensive. To make full use of local vote decision, we introduce a variable-step-parameter for the SSLV. It significantly shortens the scan period especially when the target is absent. Analysis and simulations are presented to demonstrate the performance of our method.

  4. Corynebacterium Prosthetic Joint Infection

    PubMed Central

    Cazanave, Charles; Greenwood-Quaintance, Kerryl E.; Hanssen, Arlen D.

    2012-01-01

    Identification of Corynebacterium species may be challenging. Corynebacterium species are occasional causes of prosthetic joint infection (PJI), but few data are available on the subject. Based on the literature, C. amycolatum, C. aurimucosum, C. jeikeium, and C. striatum are the most common Corynebacterium species that cause PJI. We designed a rapid PCR assay to detect the most common human Corynebacterium species, with a specific focus on PJI. A polyphosphate kinase gene identified using whole-genome sequence was targeted. The assay differentiates the antibiotic-resistant species C. jeikeium and C. urealyticum from other species in a single assay. The assay was applied to a collection of human Corynebacterium isolates from multiple clinical sources, and clinically relevant species were detected. The assay was then tested on Corynebacterium isolates specifically associated with PJI; all were detected. We also describe the first case of C. simulans PJI. PMID:22337986

  5. A long-term target detection approach in infrared image sequence

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

    2015-12-01

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

  6. Color object detection using spatial-color joint probability functions.

    PubMed

    Luo, Jiebo; Crandall, David

    2006-06-01

    Object detection in unconstrained images is an important image understanding problem with many potential applications. There has been little success in creating a single algorithm that can detect arbitrary objects in unconstrained images; instead, algorithms typically must be customized for each specific object. Consequently, it typically requires a large number of exemplars (for rigid objects) or a large amount of human intuition (for nonrigid objects) to develop a robust algorithm. We present a robust algorithm designed to detect a class of compound color objects given a single model image. A compound color object is defined as having a set of multiple, particular colors arranged spatially in a particular way, including flags, logos, cartoon characters, people in uniforms, etc. Our approach is based on a particular type of spatial-color joint probability function called the color edge co-occurrence histogram. In addition, our algorithm employs perceptual color naming to handle color variation, and prescreening to limit the search scope (i.e., size and location) for the object. Experimental results demonstrated that the proposed algorithm is insensitive to object rotation, scaling, partial occlusion, and folding, outperforming a closely related algorithm based on color co-occurrence histograms by a decisive margin.

  7. Multisensor fusion for the detection of mines and minelike targets

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hanshaw, Terilee

    1995-06-01

    The US Army's Communications and Electronics Command through the auspices of its Night Vision and Electronics Sensors Directorate (CECOM-NVESD) is actively applying multisensor techniques to the detection of mine targets. This multisensor research results from the 'detection activity' with its broad range of operational conditions and targets. Multisensor operation justifies significant attention by yielding high target detection and low false alarm statistics. Furthermore, recent advances in sensor and computing technologies make its practical application realistic and affordable. The mine detection field-of-endeavor has since its WWI baptismal investigated the known spectra for applicable mine observation phenomena. Countless sensors, algorithms, processors, networks, and other techniques have been investigated to determine candidacy for mine detection. CECOM-NVESD efforts have addressed a wide range of sensors spanning the spectrum from gravity field perturbations, magentic field disturbances, seismic sounding, electromagnetic fields, earth penetrating radar imagery, and infrared/visible/ultraviolet surface imaging technologies. Supplementary analysis has considered sensor candidate applicability by testing under field conditions (versus laboratory), in determination of fieldability. As these field conditions directly effect the probability of detection and false alarms, sensor employment and design must be considered. Consequently, as a given sensor's performance is influenced directly by the operational conditions, tradeoffs are necessary. At present, mass produced and fielded mine detection techniques are limited to those incorporating a single sensor/processor methodology such as, pulse induction and megnetometry, as found in hand held detectors. The most sensitive fielded systems can detect minute metal components in small mine targets but result in very high false alarm rates reducing velocity in operation environments. Furthermore, the actual speed of

  8. Beyond the margins: real-time detection of cancer using targeted fluorophores

    PubMed Central

    Zhang, Ray R.; Schroeder, Alexandra B.; Grudzinski, Joseph J.; Rosenthal, Eben L.; Warram, Jason M.; Pinchuk, Anatoly N.; Eliceiri, Kevin W.; Kuo, John S.; Weichert, Jamey P.

    2017-01-01

    Over the past two decades, synergistic innovations in imaging technology have resulted in a revolution in which a range of biomedical applications are now benefiting from fluorescence imaging. Specifically, advances in fluorophore chemistry and imaging hardware, and the identification of targetable biomarkers have now positioned intraoperative fluorescence as a highly specific real-time detection modality for surgeons in oncology. In particular, the deeper tissue penetration and limited autofluorescence of near-infrared (NIR) fluorescence imaging improves the translational potential of this modality over visible-light fluorescence imaging. Rapid developments in fluorophores with improved characteristics, detection instrumentation, and targeting strategies led to the clinical testing in the early 2010s of the first targeted NIR fluorophores for intraoperative cancer detection. The foundations for the advances that underline this technology continue to be nurtured by the multidisciplinary collaboration of chemists, biologists, engineers, and clinicians. In this Review, we highlight the latest developments in NIR fluorophores, cancer-targeting strategies, and detection instrumentation for intraoperative cancer detection, and consider the unique challenges associated with their effective application in clinical settings. PMID:28094261

  9. Electrical detection of liquid lithium leaks from pipe joints.

    PubMed

    Schwartz, J A; Jaworski, M A; Mehl, J; Kaita, R; Mozulay, R

    2014-11-01

    A test stand for flowing liquid lithium is under construction at Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory. As liquid lithium reacts with atmospheric gases and water, an electrical interlock system for detecting leaks and safely shutting down the apparatus has been constructed. A defense in depth strategy is taken to minimize the risk and impact of potential leaks. Each demountable joint is diagnosed with a cylindrical copper shell electrically isolated from the loop. By monitoring the electrical resistance between the pipe and the copper shell, a leak of (conductive) liquid lithium can be detected. Any resistance of less than 2 kΩ trips a relay, shutting off power to the heaters and pump. The system has been successfully tested with liquid gallium as a surrogate liquid metal. The circuit features an extensible number of channels to allow for future expansion of the loop. To ease diagnosis of faults, the status of each channel is shown with an analog front panel LED, and monitored and logged digitally by LabVIEW.

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

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shuxin, Li; Zhilong, Zhang; Biao, Li

    2018-01-01

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

  11. Adaptive waveform optimization design for target detection in cognitive radar

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, Xiaowen; Wang, Kaizhi; Liu, Xingzhao

    2017-01-01

    The problem of adaptive waveform design for target detection in cognitive radar (CR) is investigated. This problem is analyzed in signal-dependent interference, as well as additive channel noise for extended target with unknown target impulse response (TIR). In order to estimate the TIR accurately, the Kalman filter is used in target tracking. In each Kalman filtering iteration, a flexible online waveform spectrum optimization design taking both detection and range resolution into account is modeled in Fourier domain. Unlike existing CR waveform, the proposed waveform can be simultaneously updated according to the environment information fed back by receiver and radar performance demands. Moreover, the influence of waveform spectral phase to radar performance is analyzed. Simulation results demonstrate that CR with the proposed waveform performs better than a traditional radar system with a fixed waveform and offers more flexibility and suitability. In addition, waveform spectral phase will not influence tracking, detection, and range resolution performance but will greatly influence waveform forming speed and peak-to-average power ratio.

  12. UGS video target detection and discrimination

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Roberts, G. Marlon; Fitzgerald, James; McCormack, Michael; Steadman, Robert; Vitale, Joseph D.

    2007-04-01

    This project focuses on developing electro-optic algorithms which rank images by their likelihood of containing vehicles and people. These algorithms have been applied to images obtained from Textron's Terrain Commander 2 (TC2) Unattended Ground Sensor system. The TC2 is a multi-sensor surveillance system used in military applications. It combines infrared, acoustic, seismic, magnetic, and electro-optic sensors to detect nearby targets. When targets are detected by the seismic and acoustic sensors, the system is triggered and images are taken in the visible and infrared spectrum. The original Terrain Commander system occasionally captured and transmitted an excessive number of images, sometimes triggered by undesirable targets such as swaying trees. This wasted communications bandwidth, increased power consumption, and resulted in a large amount of end-user time being spent evaluating unimportant images. The algorithms discussed here help alleviate these problems. These algorithms are currently optimized for infra-red images, which give the best visibility in a wide range of environments, but could be adapted to visible imagery as well. It is important that the algorithms be robust, with minimal dependency on user input. They should be effective when tracking varying numbers of targets of different sizes and orientations, despite the low resolutions of the images used. Most importantly, the algorithms must be appropriate for implementation on a low-power processor in real time. This would enable us to maintain frame rates of 2 Hz for effective surveillance operations. Throughout our project we have implemented several algorithms, and used an appropriate methodology to quantitatively compare their performance. They are discussed in this paper.

  13. Multi-target Detection, Tracking, and Data Association on Road Networks Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Barkley, Brett E.

    A cooperative detection and tracking algorithm for multiple targets constrained to a road network is presented for fixed-wing Unmanned Air Vehicles (UAVs) with a finite field of view. Road networks of interest are formed into graphs with nodes that indicate the target likelihood ratio (before detection) and position probability (after detection). A Bayesian likelihood ratio tracker recursively assimilates target observations until the cumulative observations at a particular location pass a detection criterion. At this point, a target is considered detected and a position probability is generated for the target on the graph. Data association is subsequently used to route future measurements to update the likelihood ratio tracker (for undetected target) or to update a position probability (a previously detected target). Three strategies for motion planning of UAVs are proposed to balance searching for new targets with tracking known targets for a variety of scenarios. Performance was tested in Monte Carlo simulations for a variety of mission parameters, including tracking on road networks with varying complexity and using UAVs at various altitudes.

  14. Joint marketing as a framework for targeting men who have sex with men in China: a pilot intervention study.

    PubMed

    Tan, Jingguang; Cai, Rui; Lu, Zuxun; Cheng, Jinquan; de Vlas, Sake J; Richardus, Jan Hendrik

    2013-04-01

    To apply the joint marketing principle as a new intervention approach for targeting men who have sex with men (MSM) who are often difficult to reach in societies with discrimination towards homosexuality and HIV/AIDS. A pilot intervention according to the principles of joint marketing was carried out by the CDC in Shenzhen, China, in MSM social venues. A self-designed questionnaire of HIV knowledge, condom use, and access to HIV-related services was used before and after the pilot intervention to evaluate its effectiveness. The CDC supported gatekeepers of MSM social venues in running their business and thereby increasing their respectability and income. In return, the gatekeepers cooperated with the CDC in reaching the MSM at the venues with health promotion messages and materials. Thus a win-win situation was created, bringing together two noncompetitive parties in reaching out to a shared customer, the MSM. The pilot intervention succeeded in demonstrating acceptability and feasibility of the joint marketing approach targeting MSM. HIV knowledge, the rate of condom use, and access to HIV-related services of participants in the pilot intervention increased significantly. The joint marketing intervention is an innovative way to create synergies between the gatekeepers of MSM social venues and public health officials for reaching and potentially changing HIV high-risk behaviors among MSM.

  15. Method of detecting luminescent target ions with modified magnetic microspheres

    DOEpatents

    Shkrob, Ilya A; Kaminski, Michael D

    2014-05-13

    This invention provides methods of using modified magnetic microspheres to extract target ions from a sample in order to detect their presence in a microfluidic environment. In one or more embodiments, the microspheres are modified with molecules on the surface that allow the target ions in the sample to form complexes with specific ligand molecules on the microsphere surface. In one or more embodiments, the microspheres are modified with molecules that sequester the target ions from the sample, but specific ligand molecules in solution subsequently re-extract the target ions from the microspheres into the solution, where the complexes form independent of the microsphere surface. Once the complexes form, they are exposed to an excitation wavelength light source suitable for exciting the target ion to emit a luminescent signal pattern. Detection of the luminescent signal pattern allows for determination of the presence of the target ions in the sample.

  16. Remote sensing image ship target detection method based on visual attention model

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sun, Yuejiao; Lei, Wuhu; Ren, Xiaodong

    2017-11-01

    The traditional methods of detecting ship targets in remote sensing images mostly use sliding window to search the whole image comprehensively. However, the target usually occupies only a small fraction of the image. This method has high computational complexity for large format visible image data. The bottom-up selective attention mechanism can selectively allocate computing resources according to visual stimuli, thus improving the computational efficiency and reducing the difficulty of analysis. Considering of that, a method of ship target detection in remote sensing images based on visual attention model was proposed in this paper. The experimental results show that the proposed method can reduce the computational complexity while improving the detection accuracy, and improve the detection efficiency of ship targets in remote sensing images.

  17. The influence of the earth radiation on space target detection system

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Su, Xiaofeng; Chen, FanSheng; Cuikun, .; Liuyan, .

    2017-05-01

    In the view of space remote sensing such as satellite detection space debris detection etc. visible band is usually used in order to have the all-weather detection capability, long wavelength infrared (LWIR) detection is also an important supplement. However, in the tow wave band, the earth can be a very strong interference source, especially in the dim target detecting. When the target is close to the earth, especially the LEO target, the background radiation of the earth will also enter into the baffle, and became the stray light through reflection, the stray light can reduce the signal to clutter ratio (SCR) of the target and make it difficult to be detected. In the visible band, the solar albedo by the earth is the main clutter source while in the LWIR band the radiation of the earth is the main clutter source. So, in this paper, we establish the energy transformation from the earth background radiation to the detection system to assess the effects of the stray light. Firstly, we discretize the surface of the earth to different unit, and using MODTRAN to calculate the radiation of the discrete point in different light and climate conditions, then, we integral all the radiation which can reach the baffle in the same observation angles to get the energy distribution, finally, according the target energy and the non-uniformity of the detector, we can calculate the design requirement of the system stray light suppression, which provides the design basis for the optical system.

  18. Real Time Intelligent Target Detection and Analysis with Machine Vision

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Howard, Ayanna; Padgett, Curtis; Brown, Kenneth

    2000-01-01

    We present an algorithm for detecting a specified set of targets for an Automatic Target Recognition (ATR) application. ATR involves processing images for detecting, classifying, and tracking targets embedded in a background scene. We address the problem of discriminating between targets and nontarget objects in a scene by evaluating 40x40 image blocks belonging to an image. Each image block is first projected onto a set of templates specifically designed to separate images of targets embedded in a typical background scene from those background images without targets. These filters are found using directed principal component analysis which maximally separates the two groups. The projected images are then clustered into one of n classes based on a minimum distance to a set of n cluster prototypes. These cluster prototypes have previously been identified using a modified clustering algorithm based on prior sensed data. Each projected image pattern is then fed into the associated cluster's trained neural network for classification. A detailed description of our algorithm will be given in this paper. We outline our methodology for designing the templates, describe our modified clustering algorithm, and provide details on the neural network classifiers. Evaluation of the overall algorithm demonstrates that our detection rates approach 96% with a false positive rate of less than 0.03%.

  19. Targeted analyte detection by standard addition improves detection limits in matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Toghi Eshghi, Shadi; Li, Xingde; Zhang, Hui

    2012-09-18

    Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) has proven an effective tool for fast and accurate determination of many molecules. However, the detector sensitivity and chemical noise compromise the detection of many invaluable low-abundance molecules from biological and clinical samples. To challenge this limitation, we developed a targeted analyte detection (TAD) technique. In TAD, the target analyte is selectively elevated by spiking a known amount of that analyte into the sample, thereby raising its concentration above the noise level, where we take advantage of the improved sensitivity to detect the presence of the endogenous analyte in the sample. We assessed TAD on three peptides in simple and complex background solutions with various exogenous analyte concentrations in two MALDI matrices. TAD successfully improved the limit of detection (LOD) of target analytes when the target peptides were added to the sample in a concentration close to optimum concentration. The optimum exogenous concentration was estimated through a quantitative method to be approximately equal to the original LOD for each target. Also, we showed that TAD could achieve LOD improvements on an average of 3-fold in a simple and 2-fold in a complex sample. TAD provides a straightforward assay to improve the LOD of generic target analytes without the need for costly hardware modifications.

  20. Attention to baseline: does orienting visuospatial attention really facilitate target detection?

    PubMed

    Albares, Marion; Criaud, Marion; Wardak, Claire; Nguyen, Song Chi Trung; Ben Hamed, Suliann; Boulinguez, Philippe

    2011-08-01

    Standard protocols testing the orientation of visuospatial attention usually present spatial cues before targets and compare valid-cue trials with invalid-cue trials. The valid/invalid contrast results in a relative behavioral or physiological difference that is generally interpreted as a benefit of attention orientation. However, growing evidence suggests that inhibitory control of response is closely involved in this kind of protocol that requires the subjects to withhold automatic responses to cues, probably biasing behavioral and physiological baselines. Here, we used two experiments to disentangle the inhibitory control of automatic responses from orienting of visuospatial attention in a saccadic reaction time task in humans, a variant of the classical cue-target detection task and a sustained visuospatial attentional task. Surprisingly, when referring to a simple target detection task in which there is no need to refrain from reacting to avoid inappropriate responses, we found no consistent evidence of facilitation of target detection at the attended location. Instead, we observed a cost at the unattended location. Departing from the classical view, our results suggest that reaction time measures of visuospatial attention probably relie on the attenuation of elementary processes involved in visual target detection and saccade initiation away from the attended location rather than on facilitation at the attended location. This highlights the need to use proper control conditions in experimental designs to disambiguate relative from absolute cueing benefits on target detection reaction times, both in psychophysical and neurophysiological studies.

  1. Visual performance on detection tasks with double-targets of the same and different difficulty.

    PubMed

    Chan, Alan H S; Courtney, Alan J; Ma, C W

    2002-10-20

    This paper reports a study of measurement of horizontal visual sensitivity limits for 16 subjects in single-target and double-targets detection tasks. Two phases of tests were conducted in the double-targets task; targets of the same difficulty were tested in phase one while targets of different difficulty were tested in phase two. The range of sensitivity for the double-targets test was found to be smaller than that for single-target in both the same and different target difficulty cases. The presence of another target was found to affect performance to a marked degree. Interference effect of the difficult target on detection of the easy one was greater than that of the easy one on the detection of the difficult one. Performance decrement was noted when correct percentage detection was plotted against eccentricity of target in both the single-target and double-targets tests. Nevertheless, the non-significant correlation found between the performance for the two tasks demonstrated that it was impossible to predict quantitatively ability for detection of double targets from the data for single targets. This indicated probable problems in generalizing data for single target visual lobes to those for multiple targets. Also lobe area values obtained from measurements using a single-target task cannot be applied in a mathematical model for situations with multiple occurrences of targets.

  2. Acoustic target detection and classification using neural networks

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Robertson, James A.; Conlon, Mark

    1993-01-01

    A neural network approach to the classification of acoustic emissions of ground vehicles and helicopters is demonstrated. Data collected during the Joint Acoustic Propagation Experiment conducted in July of l991 at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico was used to train a classifier to distinguish between the spectrums of a UH-1, M60, M1 and M114. An output node was also included that would recognize background (i.e. no target) data. Analysis revealed specific hidden nodes responding to the features input into the classifier. Initial results using the neural network were encouraging with high correct identification rates accompanied by high levels of confidence.

  3. Quantitative subpixel spectral detection of targets in multispectral images. [terrestrial and planetary surfaces

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Sabol, Donald E., Jr.; Adams, John B.; Smith, Milton O.

    1992-01-01

    The conditions that affect the spectral detection of target materials at the subpixel scale are examined. Two levels of spectral mixture analysis for determining threshold detection limits of target materials in a spectral mixture are presented, the cases where the target is detected as: (1) a component of a spectral mixture (continuum threshold analysis) and (2) residuals (residual threshold analysis). The results of these two analyses are compared under various measurement conditions. The examples illustrate the general approach that can be used for evaluating the spectral detectability of terrestrial and planetary targets at the subpixel scale.

  4. A particle filter for multi-target tracking in track before detect context

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Amrouche, Naima; Khenchaf, Ali; Berkani, Daoud

    2016-10-01

    The track-before-detect (TBD) approach can be used to track a single target in a highly noisy radar scene. This is because it makes use of unthresholded observations and incorporates a binary target existence variable into its target state estimation process when implemented as a particle filter (PF). This paper proposes the recursive PF-TBD approach to detect multiple targets in low-signal-to noise ratios (SNR). The algorithm's successful performance is demonstrated using a simulated two target example.

  5. Space moving target detection and tracking method in complex background

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lv, Ping-Yue; Sun, Sheng-Li; Lin, Chang-Qing; Liu, Gao-Rui

    2018-06-01

    The background of the space-borne detectors in real space-based environment is extremely complex and the signal-to-clutter ratio is very low (SCR ≈ 1), which increases the difficulty for detecting space moving targets. In order to solve this problem, an algorithm combining background suppression processing based on two-dimensional least mean square filter (TDLMS) and target enhancement based on neighborhood gray-scale difference (GSD) is proposed in this paper. The latter can filter out most of the residual background clutter processed by the former such as cloud edge. Through this procedure, both global and local SCR have obtained substantial improvement, indicating that the target has been greatly enhanced. After removing the detector's inherent clutter region through connected domain processing, the image only contains the target point and the isolated noise, in which the isolated noise could be filtered out effectively through multi-frame association. The proposed algorithm in this paper has been compared with some state-of-the-art algorithms for moving target detection and tracking tasks. The experimental results show that the performance of this algorithm is the best in terms of SCR gain, background suppression factor (BSF) and detection results.

  6. Differential Sources for 2 Neural Signatures of Target Detection: An Electrocorticography Study.

    PubMed

    Kam, J W Y; Szczepanski, S M; Canolty, R T; Flinker, A; Auguste, K I; Crone, N E; Kirsch, H E; Kuperman, R A; Lin, J J; Parvizi, J; Knight, R T

    2018-01-01

    Electrophysiology and neuroimaging provide conflicting evidence for the neural contributions to target detection. Scalp electroencephalography (EEG) studies localize the P3b event-related potential component mainly to parietal cortex, whereas neuroimaging studies report activations in both frontal and parietal cortices. We addressed this discrepancy by examining the sources that generate the target-detection process using electrocorticography (ECoG). We recorded ECoG activity from cortex in 14 patients undergoing epilepsy monitoring, as they performed an auditory or visual target-detection task. We examined target-related responses in 2 domains: high frequency band (HFB) activity and the P3b. Across tasks, we observed a greater proportion of electrodes that showed target-specific HFB power relative to P3b over frontal cortex, but their proportions over parietal cortex were comparable. Notably, there was minimal overlap in the electrodes that showed target-specific HFB and P3b activity. These results revealed that the target-detection process is characterized by at least 2 different neural markers with distinct cortical distributions. Our findings suggest that separate neural mechanisms are driving the differential patterns of activity observed in scalp EEG and neuroimaging studies, with the P3b reflecting EEG findings and HFB activity reflecting neuroimaging findings, highlighting the notion that target detection is not a unitary phenomenon. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  7. Research on Aircraft Target Detection Algorithm Based on Improved Radial Gradient Transformation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhao, Z. M.; Gao, X. M.; Jiang, D. N.; Zhang, Y. Q.

    2018-04-01

    Aiming at the problem that the target may have different orientation in the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) image, the target detection algorithm based on the rotation invariant feature is studied, and this paper proposes a method of RIFF (Rotation-Invariant Fast Features) based on look up table and polar coordinate acceleration to be used for aircraft target detection. The experiment shows that the detection performance of this method is basically equal to the RIFF, and the operation efficiency is greatly improved.

  8. Detection of Marine Radar Targets

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Briggs, John N.

    A radar must detect targets before it can display them. Yet manufacturers' data sheets rarely tell us what the products will detect at what range. Many of the bigger radars are Type Approved so we consult the relevant IMO performance standard A 477 (XII). Paraphrasing Section 3.1 of the draft forthcoming revision (NAV 41/6): under normal propagation conditions with the scanner at height of 15 m, in the absence of clutter, the radar is required to give clear indication of an object such as a navigational buoy having a radar cross section area (RCS) of 10 m2 at 2 n.m. and, as examples, coastlines whose ground rises to 60/6 m at ranges of 20/7 n.m., a ship of 5000 tons at any aspect at 7 n.m. and a small vessel 10 m long at 3 n.m.This helps, but suppose we must pick up a 5 m2 buoy at g km? What happens in clutter? Should we prefer S- or X-band? To answer such questions we use equations which define the performance of surveillance radars, but the textbooks and specialist papers containing them often generalize with aeronautical and defence topics, making life difficult for the nonspecialist.This paper attempts a concise and self-contained engineering account of all main factors affecting detection of passive and active targets on civil marine and vessel traffic service (VTS) radars. We develop a set of equations for X- and S-band (3 and 10 cm, centred on 9400 and 3000 MHz respectively), suited for spreadsheet calculation.Sufficient theory is sketched in to indicate where results should be valid. Some simplifications of conventional treatments have been identified.

  9. Detection and tracking of a moving target using SAR images with the particle filter-based track-before-detect algorithm.

    PubMed

    Gao, Han; Li, Jingwen

    2014-06-19

    A novel approach to detecting and tracking a moving target using synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images is proposed in this paper. Achieved with the particle filter (PF) based track-before-detect (TBD) algorithm, the approach is capable of detecting and tracking the low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) moving target with SAR systems, which the traditional track-after-detect (TAD) approach is inadequate for. By incorporating the signal model of the SAR moving target into the algorithm, the ambiguity in target azimuth position and radial velocity is resolved while tracking, which leads directly to the true estimation. With the sub-area substituted for the whole area to calculate the likelihood ratio and a pertinent choice of the number of particles, the computational efficiency is improved with little loss in the detection and tracking performance. The feasibility of the approach is validated and the performance is evaluated with Monte Carlo trials. It is demonstrated that the proposed approach is capable to detect and track a moving target with SNR as low as 7 dB, and outperforms the traditional TAD approach when the SNR is below 14 dB.

  10. Detection and Tracking of a Moving Target Using SAR Images with the Particle Filter-Based Track-Before-Detect Algorithm

    PubMed Central

    Gao, Han; Li, Jingwen

    2014-01-01

    A novel approach to detecting and tracking a moving target using synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images is proposed in this paper. Achieved with the particle filter (PF) based track-before-detect (TBD) algorithm, the approach is capable of detecting and tracking the low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) moving target with SAR systems, which the traditional track-after-detect (TAD) approach is inadequate for. By incorporating the signal model of the SAR moving target into the algorithm, the ambiguity in target azimuth position and radial velocity is resolved while tracking, which leads directly to the true estimation. With the sub-area substituted for the whole area to calculate the likelihood ratio and a pertinent choice of the number of particles, the computational efficiency is improved with little loss in the detection and tracking performance. The feasibility of the approach is validated and the performance is evaluated with Monte Carlo trials. It is demonstrated that the proposed approach is capable to detect and track a moving target with SNR as low as 7 dB, and outperforms the traditional TAD approach when the SNR is below 14 dB. PMID:24949640

  11. Sea-Based Infrared Scene Interpretation by Background Type Classification and Coastal Region Detection for Small Target Detection

    PubMed Central

    Kim, Sungho

    2015-01-01

    Sea-based infrared search and track (IRST) is important for homeland security by detecting missiles and asymmetric boats. This paper proposes a novel scheme to interpret various infrared scenes by classifying the infrared background types and detecting the coastal regions in omni-directional images. The background type or region-selective small infrared target detector should be deployed to maximize the detection rate and to minimize the number of false alarms. A spatial filter-based small target detector is suitable for identifying stationary incoming targets in remote sea areas with sky only. Many false detections can occur if there is an image sector containing a coastal region, due to ground clutter and the difficulty in finding true targets using the same spatial filter-based detector. A temporal filter-based detector was used to handle these problems. Therefore, the scene type and coastal region information is critical to the success of IRST in real-world applications. In this paper, the infrared scene type was determined using the relationships between the sensor line-of-sight (LOS) and a horizontal line in an image. The proposed coastal region detector can be activated if the background type of the probing sector is determined to be a coastal region. Coastal regions can be detected by fusing the region map and curve map. The experimental results on real infrared images highlight the feasibility of the proposed sea-based scene interpretation. In addition, the effects of the proposed scheme were analyzed further by applying region-adaptive small target detection. PMID:26404308

  12. Arthritis imaging using a near-infrared fluorescence folate-targeted probe

    PubMed Central

    Chen, Wei-Tsung; Mahmood, Umar; Weissleder, Ralph; Tung, Ching-Hsuan

    2005-01-01

    A recently developed near-infrared fluorescence-labeled folate probe (NIR2-folate) was tested for in vivo imaging of arthritis using a lipopolysaccharide intra-articular injection model and a KRN transgenic mice serum induction mouse model. In the lipopolysaccharide injection model, the fluorescence signal intensity of NIR2-folate (n = 12) and of free NIR2 (n = 5) was compared between lipopolysaccharide-treated and control joints. The fluorescence signal intensity of the NIR2-folate probe at the inflammatory joints was found to be significantly higher than the control normal joints (up to 2.3-fold, P < 0.001). The NIR2-free dye injection group showed a persistent lower enhancement ratio than the NIR2-folate probe injection group. Excessive folic acid was also given to demonstrate a competitive effect with the NIR2-folate. In the KRN serum transfer model (n = 4), NIR2-folate was applied at different time points after serum transfer, and the inflamed joints could be detected as early as 30 hours after arthritogenic antibody transfer (1.8-fold increase in signal intensity). Fluorescence microscopy, histology, and immunohistochemistry validated the optical imaging results. We conclude that in vivo arthritis detection was feasible using a folate-targeted near-infrared fluorescence probe. This receptor-targeted imaging method may facilitate improved arthritis diagnosis and early assessment of the disease progress by providing an in vivo characterization of active macrophage status in inflammatory joint diseases. PMID:15743478

  13. Tensor Fukunaga-Koontz transform for small target detection in infrared images

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Liu, Ruiming; Wang, Jingzhuo; Yang, Huizhen; Gong, Chenglong; Zhou, Yuanshen; Liu, Lipeng; Zhang, Zhen; Shen, Shuli

    2016-09-01

    Infrared small targets detection plays a crucial role in warning and tracking systems. Some novel methods based on pattern recognition technology catch much attention from researchers. However, those classic methods must reshape images into vectors with the high dimensionality. Moreover, vectorizing breaks the natural structure and correlations in the image data. Image representation based on tensor treats images as matrices and can hold the natural structure and correlation information. So tensor algorithms have better classification performance than vector algorithms. Fukunaga-Koontz transform is one of classification algorithms and it is a vector version method with the disadvantage of all vector algorithms. In this paper, we first extended the Fukunaga-Koontz transform into its tensor version, tensor Fukunaga-Koontz transform. Then we designed a method based on tensor Fukunaga-Koontz transform for detecting targets and used it to detect small targets in infrared images. The experimental results, comparison through signal-to-clutter, signal-to-clutter gain and background suppression factor, have validated the advantage of the target detection based on the tensor Fukunaga-Koontz transform over that based on the Fukunaga-Koontz transform.

  14. In Vivo Dual Fluorescence Imaging to Detect Joint Destruction.

    PubMed

    Cho, Hongsik; Bhatti, Fazal-Ur-Rehman; Lee, Sangmin; Brand, David D; Yi, Ae-Kyung; Hasty, Karen A

    2016-10-01

    Diagnosis of cartilage damage in early stages of arthritis is vital to impede the progression of disease. In this regard, considerable progress has been made in near-infrared fluorescence (NIRF) optical imaging technique. Arthritis can develop due to various mechanisms but one of the main contributors is the production of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), enzymes that can degrade components of the extracellular matrix. Especially, MMP-1 and MMP-13 have main roles in rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis because they enhance collagen degradation in the process of arthritis. We present here a novel NIRF imaging strategy that can be used to determine the activity of MMPs and cartilage damage simultaneously by detection of exposed type II collagen in cartilage tissue. In this study, retro-orbital injection of mixed fluorescent dyes, MMPSense 750 FAST (MMP750) dye and Alexa Fluor 680 conjugated monoclonal mouse antibody immune-reactive to type II collagen, was administered in the arthritic mice. Both dyes were detected with different intensity according to degree of joint destruction in the animal. Thus, our dual fluorescence imaging method can be used to detect cartilage damage as well as MMP activity simultaneously in early stage arthritis. © 2016 International Center for Artificial Organs and Transplantation and Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  15. Statistical-Mechanics-Inspired Optimization of Sensor Field Configuration for Detection of Mobile Targets (PREPRINT)

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2010-11-01

    pected target motion. Along this line, Wettergren [5] analyzed the performance of the track - before - detect schemes for the sensor networks. Furthermore...dressed by Baumgartner and Ferrari [11] for the reorganization of the sensor field to achieve the maximum coverage. The track - before - detect -based optimal...confirming a target. In accordance with the track - before - detect paradigm [4], a moving target is detected if the kd (typically kd = 3 or 4) sensors detect

  16. Infrared moving small target detection based on saliency extraction and image sparse representation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, Xiaomin; Ren, Kan; Gao, Jin; Li, Chaowei; Gu, Guohua; Wan, Minjie

    2016-10-01

    Moving small target detection in infrared image is a crucial technique of infrared search and tracking system. This paper present a novel small target detection technique based on frequency-domain saliency extraction and image sparse representation. First, we exploit the features of Fourier spectrum image and magnitude spectrum of Fourier transform to make a rough extract of saliency regions and use a threshold segmentation system to classify the regions which look salient from the background, which gives us a binary image as result. Second, a new patch-image model and over-complete dictionary were introduced to the detection system, then the infrared small target detection was converted into a problem solving and optimization process of patch-image information reconstruction based on sparse representation. More specifically, the test image and binary image can be decomposed into some image patches follow certain rules. We select the target potential area according to the binary patch-image which contains salient region information, then exploit the over-complete infrared small target dictionary to reconstruct the test image blocks which may contain targets. The coefficients of target image patch satisfy sparse features. Finally, for image sequence, Euclidean distance was used to reduce false alarm ratio and increase the detection accuracy of moving small targets in infrared images due to the target position correlation between frames.

  17. Point target detection utilizing super-resolution strategy for infrared scanning oversampling system

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, Longguang; Lin, Zaiping; Deng, Xinpu; An, Wei

    2017-11-01

    To improve the resolution of remote sensing infrared images, infrared scanning oversampling system is employed with information amount quadrupled, which contributes to the target detection. Generally the image data from double-line detector of infrared scanning oversampling system is shuffled to a whole oversampled image to be post-processed, whereas the aliasing between neighboring pixels leads to image degradation with a great impact on target detection. This paper formulates a point target detection method utilizing super-resolution (SR) strategy concerning infrared scanning oversampling system, with an accelerated SR strategy proposed to realize fast de-aliasing of the oversampled image and an adaptive MRF-based regularization designed to achieve the preserving and aggregation of target energy. Extensive experiments demonstrate the superior detection performance, robustness and efficiency of the proposed method compared with other state-of-the-art approaches.

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

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

    2017-05-01

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

  19. Detection of multiple airborne targets from multisensor data

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Foltz, Mark A.; Srivastava, Anuj; Miller, Michael I.; Grenander, Ulf

    1995-08-01

    Previously we presented a jump-diffusion based random sampling algorithm for generating conditional mean estimates of scene representations for the tracking and recongition of maneuvering airborne targets. These representations include target positions and orientations along their trajectories and the target type associated with each trajectory. Taking a Bayesian approach, a posterior measure is defined on the parameter space by combining sensor models with a sophisticated prior based on nonlinear airplane dynamics. The jump-diffusion algorithm constructs a Markov process which visits the elements of the parameter space with frequencies proportional to the posterior probability. It consititutes both the infinitesimal, local search via a sample path continuous diffusion transform and the larger, global steps through discrete jump moves. The jump moves involve the addition and deletion of elements from the scene configuration or changes in the target type assoviated with each target trajectory. One such move results in target detection by the addition of a track seed to the inference set. This provides initial track data for the tracking/recognition algorithm to estimate linear graph structures representing tracks using the other jump moves and the diffusion process, as described in our earlier work. Target detection ideally involves a continuous research over a continuum of the observation space. In this work we conclude that for practical implemenations the search space must be discretized with lattice granularity comparable to sensor resolution, and discuss how fast Fourier transforms are utilized for efficient calcuation of sufficient statistics given our array models. Some results are also presented from our implementation on a networked system including a massively parallel machine architecture and a silicon graphics onyx workstation.

  20. Clinical value of polymerase chain reaction in the diagnosis of joint tuberculosis by detecting the DNA of Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

    PubMed

    Sun, Yong-sheng; Lou, Si-quan; Wen, Jian-min; Lv, Wei-xin; Jiao, Chang-geng; Yang, Su-min; Xu, Hai-bin

    2011-02-01

    To assess the clinical value of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in the diagnosis and differential diagnosis of joint tuberculosis (TB). PCR was used blindly to detect the DNA of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.TB) in five specimens of M.TB, 5 of BCG, and 10 of other bacteria. Then, M. TB in 98 samples from patients with joint TB and 100 samples from patients with non-tubercular joint disorders were detected by PCR, acid-fast staining and culture,. The sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of PCR were calculated. The χ2 test was used for statistical analysis of the frequency of various factors. At the same time, some problems with PCR were also systematically analyzed. (1) In the "standard samples", both M. TB and BCG showed positive while other bacteria were negative. (2) In 98 cases from patients with joint TB, 81 were positive by PCR, 6 by acid-fast staining, and 17 by culture. In 100 cases from patients with non-tuberculous joint disorders, 9 were positive by PCR, and none by either acid-fast staining or culture. Sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, positive and negative predictive value of PCR were 82.65% (81/98), 91.00% (91/100), 86.87% (172/198), 90.00% (81/90) and 84.26% (91/108), respectively. (3) The positive rates for PCR, acid-fast staining and culture in detection of M. TB were 82.65% (81/98), 6.12% (6/98), and 17.34% (17/98), respectively. There were statistically significant differences between the three methods (P < 0.001). (4) The process of PCR is automatic, and can be completed within 3 to 6 hours, whereas 4 to 8 weeks are required for the conventional culture of M. TB. PCR is a sensitive, specific, rapid, simple and minimally invasive method for detection of M. TB in samples from joint TB, and can play an important role in early and rapid diagnosis and differential diagnosis of joint TB. But it also has some limitations, such as false positivity and false negativity. © 2011 Tianjin Hospital

  1. High-resolution remotely sensed small target detection by imitating fly visual perception mechanism.

    PubMed

    Huang, Fengchen; Xu, Lizhong; Li, Min; Tang, Min

    2012-01-01

    The difficulty and limitation of small target detection methods for high-resolution remote sensing data have been a recent research hot spot. Inspired by the information capture and processing theory of fly visual system, this paper endeavors to construct a characterized model of information perception and make use of the advantages of fast and accurate small target detection under complex varied nature environment. The proposed model forms a theoretical basis of small target detection for high-resolution remote sensing data. After the comparison of prevailing simulation mechanism behind fly visual systems, we propose a fly-imitated visual system method of information processing for high-resolution remote sensing data. A small target detector and corresponding detection algorithm are designed by simulating the mechanism of information acquisition, compression, and fusion of fly visual system and the function of pool cell and the character of nonlinear self-adaption. Experiments verify the feasibility and rationality of the proposed small target detection model and fly-imitated visual perception method.

  2. RNase H-assisted RNA-primed rolling circle amplification for targeted RNA sequence detection.

    PubMed

    Takahashi, Hirokazu; Ohkawachi, Masahiko; Horio, Kyohei; Kobori, Toshiro; Aki, Tsunehiro; Matsumura, Yukihiko; Nakashimada, Yutaka; Okamura, Yoshiko

    2018-05-17

    RNA-primed rolling circle amplification (RPRCA) is a useful laboratory method for RNA detection; however, the detection of RNA is limited by the lack of information on 3'-terminal sequences. We uncovered that conventional RPRCA using pre-circularized probes could potentially detect the internal sequence of target RNA molecules in combination with RNase H. However, the specificity for mRNA detection was low, presumably due to non-specific hybridization of non-target RNA with the circular probe. To overcome this technical problem, we developed a method for detecting a sequence of interest in target RNA molecules via RNase H-assisted RPRCA using padlocked probes. When padlock probes are hybridized to the target RNA molecule, they are converted to the circular form by SplintR ligase. Subsequently, RNase H creates nick sites only in the hybridized RNA sequence, and single-stranded DNA is finally synthesized from the nick site by phi29 DNA polymerase. This method could specifically detect at least 10 fmol of the target RNA molecule without reverse transcription. Moreover, this method detected GFP mRNA present in 10 ng of total RNA isolated from Escherichia coli without background DNA amplification. Therefore, this method can potentially detect almost all types of RNA molecules without reverse transcription and reveal full-length sequence information.

  3. Computational optimisation of targeted DNA sequencing for cancer detection

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Martinez, Pierre; McGranahan, Nicholas; Birkbak, Nicolai Juul; Gerlinger, Marco; Swanton, Charles

    2013-12-01

    Despite recent progress thanks to next-generation sequencing technologies, personalised cancer medicine is still hampered by intra-tumour heterogeneity and drug resistance. As most patients with advanced metastatic disease face poor survival, there is need to improve early diagnosis. Analysing circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA) might represent a non-invasive method to detect mutations in patients, facilitating early detection. In this article, we define reduced gene panels from publicly available datasets as a first step to assess and optimise the potential of targeted ctDNA scans for early tumour detection. Dividing 4,467 samples into one discovery and two independent validation cohorts, we show that up to 76% of 10 cancer types harbour at least one mutation in a panel of only 25 genes, with high sensitivity across most tumour types. Our analyses demonstrate that targeting ``hotspot'' regions would introduce biases towards in-frame mutations and would compromise the reproducibility of tumour detection.

  4. An electromagnetic induction method for underground target detection and characterization

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

    Bartel, L.C.; Cress, D.H.

    1997-01-01

    An improved capability for subsurface structure detection is needed to support military and nonproliferation requirements for inspection and for surveillance of activities of threatening nations. As part of the DOE/NN-20 program to apply geophysical methods to detect and characterize underground facilities, Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) initiated an electromagnetic induction (EMI) project to evaluate low frequency electromagnetic (EM) techniques for subsurface structure detection. Low frequency, in this case, extended from kilohertz to hundreds of kilohertz. An EMI survey procedure had already been developed for borehole imaging of coal seams and had successfully been applied in a surface mode to detect amore » drug smuggling tunnel. The SNL project has focused on building upon the success of that procedure and applying it to surface and low altitude airborne platforms. Part of SNL`s work has focused on improving that technology through improved hardware and data processing. The improved hardware development has been performed utilizing Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) funding. In addition, SNL`s effort focused on: (1) improvements in modeling of the basic geophysics of the illuminating electromagnetic field and its coupling to the underground target (partially funded using LDRD funds) and (2) development of techniques for phase-based and multi-frequency processing and spatial processing to support subsurface target detection and characterization. The products of this project are: (1) an evaluation of an improved EM gradiometer, (2) an improved gradiometer concept for possible future development, (3) an improved modeling capability, (4) demonstration of an EM wave migration method for target recognition, and a demonstration that the technology is capable of detecting targets to depths exceeding 25 meters.« less

  5. An opto-electronic joint detection system based on DSP aiming at early cervical cancer screening

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, Weiya; Jia, Mengyu; Gao, Feng; Yang, Lihong; Qu, Pengpeng; Zou, Changping; Liu, Pengxi; Zhao, Huijuan

    2015-02-01

    The cervical cancer screening at a pre-cancer stage is beneficial to reduce the mortality of women. An opto-electronic joint detection system based on DSP aiming at early cervical cancer screening is introduced in this paper. In this system, three electrodes alternately discharge to the cervical tissue and three light emitting diodes in different wavelengths alternately irradiate the cervical tissue. Then the relative optical reflectance and electrical voltage attenuation curve are obtained by optical and electrical detection, respectively. The system is based on DSP to attain the portable and cheap instrument. By adopting the relative reflectance and the voltage attenuation constant, the classification algorithm based on Support Vector Machine (SVM) discriminates abnormal cervical tissue from normal. We use particle swarm optimization to optimize the two key parameters of SVM, i.e. nuclear factor and cost factor. The clinical data were collected on 313 patients to build a clinical database of tissue responses under optical and electrical stimulations with the histopathologic examination as the gold standard. The classification result shows that the opto-electronic joint detection has higher total coincidence rate than separate optical detection or separate electrical detection. The sensitivity, specificity, and total coincidence rate increase with the increasing of sample numbers in the training set. The average total coincidence rate of the system can reach 85.1% compared with the histopathologic examination.

  6. Analysis of Infrared Signature Variation and Robust Filter-Based Supersonic Target Detection

    PubMed Central

    Sun, Sun-Gu; Kim, Kyung-Tae

    2014-01-01

    The difficulty of small infrared target detection originates from the variations of infrared signatures. This paper presents the fundamental physics of infrared target variations and reports the results of variation analysis of infrared images acquired using a long wave infrared camera over a 24-hour period for different types of backgrounds. The detection parameters, such as signal-to-clutter ratio were compared according to the recording time, temperature and humidity. Through variation analysis, robust target detection methodologies are derived by controlling thresholds and designing a temporal contrast filter to achieve high detection rate and low false alarm rate. Experimental results validate the robustness of the proposed scheme by applying it to the synthetic and real infrared sequences. PMID:24672290

  7. Culture - joint fluid

    MedlinePlus

    ... this page: //medlineplus.gov/ency/article/003742.htm Culture - joint fluid To use the sharing features on this page, please enable JavaScript. Joint fluid culture is a laboratory test to detect infection-causing ...

  8. Moving target detection method based on improved Gaussian mixture model

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ma, J. Y.; Jie, F. R.; Hu, Y. J.

    2017-07-01

    Gaussian Mixture Model is often employed to build background model in background difference methods for moving target detection. This paper puts forward an adaptive moving target detection algorithm based on improved Gaussian Mixture Model. According to the graylevel convergence for each pixel, adaptively choose the number of Gaussian distribution to learn and update background model. Morphological reconstruction method is adopted to eliminate the shadow.. Experiment proved that the proposed method not only has good robustness and detection effect, but also has good adaptability. Even for the special cases when the grayscale changes greatly and so on, the proposed method can also make outstanding performance.

  9. Computational modeling of joint U.S.-Russian experiments relevant to magnetic compression/magnetized target fusion (MAGO/MTF)

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

    Sheehey, P.T.; Faehl, R.J.; Kirkpatrick, R.C.

    1997-12-31

    Magnetized Target Fusion (MTF) experiments, in which a preheated and magnetized target plasma is hydrodynamically compressed to fusion conditions, present some challenging computational modeling problems. Recently, joint experiments relevant to MTF (Russian acronym MAGO, for Magnitnoye Obzhatiye, or magnetic compression) have been performed by Los Alamos National Laboratory and the All-Russian Scientific Research Institute of Experimental Physics (VNIIEF). Modeling of target plasmas must accurately predict plasma densities, temperatures, fields, and lifetime; dense plasma interactions with wall materials must be characterized. Modeling of magnetically driven imploding solid liners, for compression of target plasmas, must address issues such as Rayleigh-Taylor instability growthmore » in the presence of material strength, and glide plane-liner interactions. Proposed experiments involving liner-on-plasma compressions to fusion conditions will require integrated target plasma and liner calculations. Detailed comparison of the modeling results with experiment will be presented.« less

  10. Joint pain undergoes a transition in accordance with signal changes of bones detected by MRI in hip osteoarthritis.

    PubMed

    Kamimura, Mikio; Nakamura, Yukio; Ikegami, Shota; Uchiyama, Shigeharu; Kato, Hiroyuki

    2013-01-01

    In this study, we aimed to investigate whether joint pain is derived from cartilage or bone alterations. We reviewed 23 hip joints of 21 patients with primary hip osteoarthritis (OA), which were classified into Kellgren-Laurence (KL) grading I to IV. Plain radiographs and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were obtained from all of the 23 joints. Two of the 21 patients had bilateral hip OA. Pain was assessed based on the pain scale of Denis. A Welch t test was performed for age, height, weight, body mass index, bone mineral density, and a Mann-Whitney U test was performed for KL grading. Four of 8 hip joints with pain and OA showed broad signal changes detected by MRI. Fourteen hip joints without pain, but with OA did not show broad signal changes by MRI. Collectively, MRI analyses showed that broad signal changes in OA cases without joint pain or with a slight degree of joint pain were not observed, while broad signal changes were observed in OA cases with deteriorated joint pain. Our findings suggest that hip joint pain might be associated with bone signal alterations in the hips of OA patients.

  11. Adaptive early detection ML/PDA estimator for LO targets with EO sensors

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chummun, Muhammad R.; Kirubarajan, Thiagalingam; Bar-Shalom, Yaakov

    2000-07-01

    The batch Maximum Likelihood Estimator, combined with Probabilistic Data (ML-PDA), has been shown to be effective in acquiring low observable (LO) - low SNR - non-maneuvering targets in the presence of heavy clutter. The use of signal strength or amplitude information (AI) in the ML-PDA estimator with AI in a sliding-window fashion, to detect high- speed targets in heavy clutter using electro-optical (EO) sensors. The initial time and the length of the sliding-window are adjusted adaptively according to the information content of the received measurements. A track validation scheme via hypothesis testing is developed to confirm the estimated track, that is, the presence of a target, in each window. The sliding-window ML-PDA approach, together with track validation, enables early detection by rejecting noninformative scans, target reacquisition in case of temporary target disappearance and the handling of targets with speeds evolving over time. The proposed algorithm is shown to detect the target, which is hidden in as many as 600 false alarms per scan, 10 frames earlier than the Multiple Hypothesis Tracking (MHT) algorithm.

  12. Research on infrared dim-point target detection and tracking under sea-sky-line complex background

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dong, Yu-xing; Li, Yan; Zhang, Hai-bo

    2011-08-01

    Target detection and tracking technology in infrared image is an important part of modern military defense system. Infrared dim-point targets detection and recognition under complex background is a difficulty and important strategic value and challenging research topic. The main objects that carrier-borne infrared vigilance system detected are sea-skimming aircrafts and missiles. Due to the characteristics of wide field of view of vigilance system, the target is usually under the sea clutter. Detection and recognition of the target will be taken great difficulties .There are some traditional point target detection algorithms, such as adaptive background prediction detecting method. When background has dispersion-decreasing structure, the traditional target detection algorithms would be more useful. But when the background has large gray gradient, such as sea-sky-line, sea waves etc .The bigger false-alarm rate will be taken in these local area .It could not obtain satisfactory results. Because dim-point target itself does not have obvious geometry or texture feature ,in our opinion , from the perspective of mathematics, the detection of dim-point targets in image is about singular function analysis .And from the perspective image processing analysis , the judgment of isolated singularity in the image is key problem. The foregoing points for dim-point targets detection, its essence is a separation of target and background of different singularity characteristics .The image from infrared sensor usually accompanied by different kinds of noise. These external noises could be caused by the complicated background or from the sensor itself. The noise might affect target detection and tracking. Therefore, the purpose of the image preprocessing is to reduce the effects from noise, also to raise the SNR of image, and to increase the contrast of target and background. According to the low sea-skimming infrared flying small target characteristics , the median filter is used to

  13. Passive Coherent Detection and Target Location with Multiple Non-Cooperative Transmitters

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2015-06-01

    to detect, separate, classify, locate, and track sources of emissions in multi-target environments—triggered the development of passive radar...radar capitalizes on transmitters of opportunity to detect and locate sources of transmission or targets without deliberate emissions . The...equipment as all necessary hardware is currently available on most naval ships. 3 Bistatic radar geometry. Figure 1. B. HISTORY The concept of

  14. 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.

  15. Tumor detection and elimination by a targeted gallium corrole

    PubMed Central

    Agadjanian, Hasmik; Ma, Jun; Rentsendorj, Altan; Valluripalli, Vinod; Hwang, Jae Youn; Mahammed, Atif; Farkas, Daniel L.; Gray, Harry B.; Gross, Zeev; Medina-Kauwe, Lali K.

    2009-01-01

    Sulfonated gallium(III) corroles are intensely fluorescent macrocyclic compounds that spontaneously assemble with carrier proteins to undergo cell entry. We report in vivo imaging and therapeutic efficacy of a tumor-targeted corrole noncovalently assembled with a heregulin-modified protein directed at the human epidermal growth factor receptor (HER). Systemic delivery of this protein-corrole complex results in tumor accumulation, which can be visualized in vivo owing to intensely red corrole fluorescence. Targeted delivery in vivo leads to tumor cell death while normal tissue is spared. These findings contrast with the effects of doxorubicin, which can elicit cardiac damage during therapy and required direct intratumoral injection to yield similar levels of tumor shrinkage compared with the systemically delivered corrole. The targeted complex ablated tumors at >5 times a lower dose than untargeted systemic doxorubicin, and the corrole did not damage heart tissue. Complexes remained intact in serum and the carrier protein elicited no detectable immunogenicity. The sulfonated gallium(III) corrole functions both for tumor detection and intervention with safety and targeting advantages over standard chemotherapeutic agents. PMID:19342490

  16. Detection of Fast Moving and Accelerating Targets Compensating Range and Doppler Migration

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2014-06-01

    Radon -Fourier transform has been introduced to realize long- term coherent integration of the moving targets with range migration [8, 9]. Radon ...2010) Long-time coherent integration for radar target detection base on Radon -Fourier transform, in Proceedings of the IEEE Radar Conference, pp...432–436. 9. Xu, J., Yu, J., Peng, Y. & Xia, X. (2011) Radon -Fourier transform for radar target detection, I: Generalized Doppler filter bank, IEEE

  17. Upper ankle joint space detection on low contrast intraoperative fluoroscopic C-arm projections

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Thomas, Sarina; Schnetzke, Marc; Brehler, Michael; Swartman, Benedict; Vetter, Sven; Franke, Jochen; Grützner, Paul A.; Meinzer, Hans-Peter; Nolden, Marco

    2017-03-01

    Intraoperative mobile C-arm fluoroscopy is widely used for interventional verification in trauma surgery, high flexibility combined with low cost being the main advantages of the method. However, the lack of global device-to- patient orientation is challenging, when comparing the acquired data to other intrapatient datasets. In upper ankle joint fracture reduction accompanied with an unstable syndesmosis, a comparison to the unfractured contralateral site is helpful for verification of the reduction result. To reduce dose and operation time, our approach aims at the comparison of single projections of the unfractured ankle with volumetric images of the reduced fracture. For precise assessment, a pre-alignment of both datasets is a crucial step. We propose a contour extraction pipeline to estimate the joint space location for a prealignment of fluoroscopic C-arm projections containing the upper ankle joint. A quadtree-based hierarchical variance comparison extracts potential feature points and a Hough transform is applied to identify bone shaft lines together with the tibiotalar joint space. By using this information we can define the coarse orientation of the projections independent from the ankle pose during acquisition in order to align those images to the volume of the fractured ankle. The proposed method was evaluated on thirteen cadaveric datasets consisting of 100 projections each with manually adjusted image planes by three trauma surgeons. The results show that the method can be used to detect the joint space orientation. The correlation between angle deviation and anatomical projection direction gives valuable input on the acquisition direction for future clinical experiments.

  18. Indoor detection of passive targets recast as an inverse scattering problem

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gottardi, G.; Moriyama, T.

    2017-10-01

    The wireless local area networks represent an alternative to custom sensors and dedicated surveillance systems for target indoor detection. The availability of the channel state information has opened the exploitation of the spatial and frequency diversity given by the orthogonal frequency division multiplexing. Such a fine-grained information can be used to solve the detection problem as an inverse scattering problem. The goal of the detection is to reconstruct the properties of the investigation domain, namely to estimate if the domain is empty or occupied by targets, starting from the measurement of the electromagnetic perturbation of the wireless channel. An innovative inversion strategy exploiting both the frequency and the spatial diversity of the channel state information is proposed. The target-dependent features are identified combining the Kruskal-Wallis test and the principal component analysis. The experimental validation points out the detection performance of the proposed method when applied to an existing wireless link of a WiFi architecture deployed in a real indoor scenario. False detection rates lower than 2 [%] have been obtained.

  19. A joint swarm intelligence algorithm for multi-user detection in MIMO-OFDM system

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hu, Fengye; Du, Dakun; Zhang, Peng; Wang, Zhijun

    2014-11-01

    In the multi-input multi-output orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (MIMO-OFDM) system, traditional multi-user detection (MUD) algorithms that usually used to suppress multiple access interference are difficult to balance system detection performance and the complexity of the algorithm. To solve this problem, this paper proposes a joint swarm intelligence algorithm called Ant Colony and Particle Swarm Optimisation (AC-PSO) by integrating particle swarm optimisation (PSO) and ant colony optimisation (ACO) algorithms. According to simulation results, it has been shown that, with low computational complexity, the MUD for the MIMO-OFDM system based on AC-PSO algorithm gains comparable MUD performance with maximum likelihood algorithm. Thus, the proposed AC-PSO algorithm provides a satisfactory trade-off between computational complexity and detection performance.

  20. A Joint Optimization Criterion for Blind DS-CDMA Detection

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Durán-Díaz, Iván; Cruces-Alvarez, Sergio A.

    2006-12-01

    This paper addresses the problem of the blind detection of a desired user in an asynchronous DS-CDMA communications system with multipath propagation channels. Starting from the inverse filter criterion introduced by Tugnait and Li in 2001, we propose to tackle the problem in the context of the blind signal extraction methods for ICA. In order to improve the performance of the detector, we present a criterion based on the joint optimization of several higher-order statistics of the outputs. An algorithm that optimizes the proposed criterion is described, and its improved performance and robustness with respect to the near-far problem are corroborated through simulations. Additionally, a simulation using measurements on a real software-radio platform at 5 GHz has also been performed.

  1. Hierarchical effects on target detection and conflict monitoring

    PubMed Central

    Cao, Bihua; Gao, Feng; Ren, Maofang; Li, Fuhong

    2016-01-01

    Previous neuroimaging studies have demonstrated a hierarchical functional structure of the frontal cortices of the human brain, but the temporal course and the electrophysiological signature of the hierarchical representation remains unaddressed. In the present study, twenty-one volunteers were asked to perform a nested cue-target task, while their scalp potentials were recorded. The results showed that: (1) in comparison with the lower-level hierarchical targets, the higher-level targets elicited a larger N2 component (220–350 ms) at the frontal sites, and a smaller P3 component (350–500 ms) across the frontal and parietal sites; (2) conflict-related negativity (non-target minus target) was greater for the lower-level hierarchy than the higher-level, reflecting a more intensive process of conflict monitoring at the final step of target detection. These results imply that decision making, context updating, and conflict monitoring differ among different hierarchical levels of abstraction. PMID:27561989

  2. Targets Mask U-Net for Wind Turbines Detection in Remote Sensing Images

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Han, M.; Wang, H.; Wang, G.; Liu, Y.

    2018-04-01

    To detect wind turbines precisely and quickly in very high resolution remote sensing images (VHRRSI) we propose target mask U-Net. This convolution neural network (CNN), which is carefully designed to be a wide-field detector, models the pixel class assignment to wind turbines and their context information. The shadow, which is the context information of the target in this study, has been regarded as part of a wind turbine instance. We have trained the target mask U-Net on training dataset, which is composed of down sampled image blocks and instance mask blocks. Some post-processes have been integrated to eliminate wrong spots and produce bounding boxes of wind turbine instances. The evaluation metrics prove the reliability and effectiveness of our method for the average F1-score of our detection method is up to 0.97. The comparison of detection accuracy and time consuming with the weakly supervised targets detection method based on CNN illustrates the superiority of our method.

  3. Analysis of passive acoustic ranging of helicopters from the joint acoustic propagation experiment

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Carnes, Benny L.; Morgan, John C.

    1993-01-01

    For more than twenty years, personnel of the U.S.A.E. Waterways Experiment Station (WES) have been performing research dealing with the application of sensors for detection of military targets. The WES research has included the use of seismic, acoustic, magnetic, and other sensors to detect, track, and classify military ground targets. Most of the WES research has been oriented toward the employment of such sensors in a passive mode. Techniques for passive detection are of particular interest in the Army because of the advantages over active detection. Passive detection methods are not susceptible to interception, detection, jamming, or location of the source by the threat. A decided advantage for using acoustic and seismic sensors for detection in tactical situations is the non-line-of-sight capability; i.e., detection of low flying helicopters at long distances without visual contact. This study was conducted to analyze the passive acoustic ranging (PAR) concept using a more extensive data set from the Joint Acoustic Propagation Experiment (JAPE).

  4. Time delay estimation using new spectral and adaptive filtering methods with applications to underwater target detection

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hasan, Mohammed A.

    1997-11-01

    of the method is demonstrated on the problem of detection of multiple specular components in the acoustic backscattered data. Finally, a method for the estimation of time delays using wavelet decomposition is derived. The sub-band adaptive filtering uses discrete wavelet transform for multi- resolution or sub-band decomposition. Joint time delay estimation for identifying multi-specular components and subsequent adaptive filtering processes are performed on the signal in each sub-band. This would provide multiple 'look' of the signal at different resolution scale which results in more accurate estimates for delays associated with the specular components. Simulation results on the simulated and real shallow water data are provided which show the promise of this new scheme for target detection in a heavy cluttered environment.

  5. Camouflaged target detection based on polarized spectral features

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tan, Jian; Zhang, Junping; Zou, Bin

    2016-05-01

    The polarized hyperspectral images (PHSI) include polarization, spectral, spatial and radiant features, which provide more information about objects and scenes than traditional intensity or spectrum ones. And polarization can suppress the background and highlight the object, leading to the high potential to improve camouflaged target detection. So polarized hyperspectral imaging technique has aroused extensive concern in the last few years. Nowadays, the detection methods are still not very mature, most of which are rooted in the detection of hyperspectral image. And before using these algorithms, Stokes vector is used to process the original four-dimensional polarized hyperspectral data firstly. However, when the data is large and complex, the amount of calculation and error will increase. In this paper, tensor is applied to reconstruct the original four-dimensional data into new three-dimensional data, then, the constraint energy minimization (CEM) is used to process the new data, which adds the polarization information to construct the polarized spectral filter operator and takes full advantages of spectral and polarized information. This way deals with the original data without extracting the Stokes vector, so as to reduce the computation and error greatly. The experimental results also show that the proposed method in this paper is more suitable for the target detection of the PHSI.

  6. An Underwater Target Detection System for Electro-Optical Imagery Data

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2010-06-01

    detection and segmentation of underwater mine-like objects in the EO images captured with a CCD-based image sensor. The main focus of this research is to...develop a robust detection algorithm that can be used to detect low contrast and partial underwater objects from the EO imagery with low false alarm rate...underwater target detection I. INTRODUCTION Automatic detection and recognition of underwater objects from EO imagery poses a serious challenge due to poor

  7. Incorporating imperfect detection into joint models of communites: A response to Warton et al.

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Beissinger, Steven R.; Iknayan, Kelly J.; Guillera-Arroita, Gurutzeta; Zipkin, Elise; Dorazio, Robert; Royle, Andy; Kery, Marc

    2016-01-01

    Warton et al. [1] advance community ecology by describing a statistical framework that can jointly model abundances (or distributions) across many taxa to quantify how community properties respond to environmental variables. This framework specifies the effects of both measured and unmeasured (latent) variables on the abundance (or occurrence) of each species. Latent variables are random effects that capture the effects of both missing environmental predictors and correlations in parameter values among different species. As presented in Warton et al., however, the joint modeling framework fails to account for the common problem of detection or measurement errors that always accompany field sampling of abundance or occupancy, and are well known to obscure species- and community-level inferences.

  8. Detection of calcium phosphate crystals in the joint fluid of patients with osteoarthritis – analytical approaches and challenges

    PubMed Central

    Yavorskyy, Alexander; Hernandez-Santana, Aaron; McCarthy, Geraldine

    2008-01-01

    Clinically, osteoarthritis (OA) is characterised by joint pain, stiffness after immobility, limitation of movement and, in many cases, the presence of basic calcium phosphate (BCP) crystals in the joint fluid. The detection of BCP crystals in the synovial fluid of patients with OA is fraught with challenges due to the submicroscopic size of BCP, the complex nature of the matrix in which they are found and the fact that other crystals can co-exist with them in cases of mixed pathology. Routine analysis of joint crystals still relies almost exclusively on the use of optical microscopy, which has limited applicability for BCP crystal identification due to limited resolution and the inherent subjectivity of the technique. The purpose of this Critical Review is to present an overview of some of the main analytical tools employed in the detection of BCP to date and the potential of emerging technologies such as atomic force microscopy (AFM) and Raman microspectroscopy for this purpose. PMID:18299743

  9. Salient target detection based on pseudo-Wigner-Ville distribution and Rényi entropy.

    PubMed

    Xu, Yuannan; Zhao, Yuan; Jin, Chenfei; Qu, Zengfeng; Liu, Liping; Sun, Xiudong

    2010-02-15

    We present what we believe to be a novel method based on pseudo-Wigner-Ville distribution (PWVD) and Rényi entropy for salient targets detection. In the foundation of studying the statistical property of Rényi entropy via PWVD, the residual entropy-based saliency map of an input image can be obtained. From the saliency map, target detection is completed by the simple and convenient threshold segmentation. Experimental results demonstrate the proposed method can detect targets effectively in complex ground scenes.

  10. Hyperspectral target detection using heavy-tailed distributions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Willis, Chris J.

    2009-09-01

    One promising approach to target detection in hyperspectral imagery exploits a statistical mixture model to represent scene content at a pixel level. The process then goes on to look for pixels which are rare, when judged against the model, and marks them as anomalies. It is assumed that military targets will themselves be rare and therefore likely to be detected amongst these anomalies. For the typical assumption of multivariate Gaussianity for the mixture components, the presence of the anomalous pixels within the training data will have a deleterious effect on the quality of the model. In particular, the derivation process itself is adversely affected by the attempt to accommodate the anomalies within the mixture components. This will bias the statistics of at least some of the components away from their true values and towards the anomalies. In many cases this will result in a reduction in the detection performance and an increased false alarm rate. This paper considers the use of heavy-tailed statistical distributions within the mixture model. Such distributions are better able to account for anomalies in the training data within the tails of their distributions, and the balance of the pixels within their central masses. This means that an improved model of the majority of the pixels in the scene may be produced, ultimately leading to a better anomaly detection result. The anomaly detection techniques are examined using both synthetic data and hyperspectral imagery with injected anomalous pixels. A range of results is presented for the baseline Gaussian mixture model and for models accommodating heavy-tailed distributions, for different parameterizations of the algorithms. These include scene understanding results, anomalous pixel maps at given significance levels and Receiver Operating Characteristic curves.

  11. System considerations for detection and tracking of small targets using passive sensors

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    DeBell, David A.

    1991-08-01

    Passive sensors provide only a few discriminants to assist in threat assessment of small targets. Tracking of the small targets provides additional discriminants. This paper discusses the system considerations for tracking small targets using passive sensors, in particular EO sensors. Tracking helps establish good versus bad detections. Discussed are the requirements to be placed on the sensor system's accuracy, with respect to knowledge of the sightline direction. The detection of weak targets sets a requirement for two levels of tracking in order to reduce processor throughput. A system characteristic is the need to track all detections. For low thresholds, this can mean a heavy track burden. Therefore, thresholds must be adaptive in order not to saturate the processors. Second-level tracks must develop a range estimate in order to assess threat. Sensor platform maneuvers are required if the targets are moving. The need for accurate pointing, good stability, and a good update rate will be shown quantitatively, relating to track accuracy and track association.

  12. Photoacoustic evaluation of human inflammatory arthritis in human joints

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jo, Janggun; Xu, Guan; Marquardt, April; Girish, Gandikota; Wang, Xueding

    2017-03-01

    Photoacoustic (PA) imaging combined with ultrasonography (US) holds promise to offer a novel and powerful tool for clinical management of inflammatory arthritis, including early detection and treatment monitoring. As a complement to US, PA imaging can assess additional hemodynamic changes in inflammatory synovium, including hyperemia and hypoxia, both important and early physiological biomarkers of synovitis reflecting the increased metabolic demand and the relatively inadequate oxygen delivery of the inflammatory synovial tissue. In this study on arthritis patients and normal volunteers, the targeted metacarpophalangeal (MCP) joints were imaged using our real-time US-PA dual-modality imaging system. The blood volume and the blood oxygenation in the segmented synovium were quantified, and the results from the arthritis patients were compared to those from the normal volunteers. This initial study on human subjects demonstrated that PA imaging, by working at the optical wavelengths that are sensitive to oxygenated and deoxygenated hemoglobin, is capable of identifying and characterizing inflammation in joints based on the detection of hemodynamic changes.

  13. Matched Filter Stochastic Background Characterization for Hyperspectral Target Detection

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2005-09-30

    and Pre- Clustering MVN Test.....................126 4.2.3 Pre- Clustering Detection Results.................................................130...4.2.4 Pre- Clustering Target Influence..................................................134 4.2.5 Statistical Distance Exclusion and Low Contrast...al, 2001] Figure 2.7 ROC Curve Comparison of RX, K-Means, and Bayesian Pre- Clustering Applied to Anomaly Detection [Ashton, 1998] Figure 2.8 ROC

  14. Spectral unmixing of agents on surfaces for the Joint Contaminated Surface Detector (JCSD)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Slamani, Mohamed-Adel; Chyba, Thomas H.; LaValley, Howard; Emge, Darren

    2007-09-01

    ITT Corporation, Advanced Engineering and Sciences Division, is currently developing the Joint Contaminated Surface Detector (JCSD) technology under an Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration (ACTD) managed jointly by the U.S. Army Research, Development, and Engineering Command (RDECOM) and the Joint Project Manager for Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Contamination Avoidance for incorporation on the Army's future reconnaissance vehicles. This paper describes the design of the chemical agent identification (ID) algorithm associated with JCSD. The algorithm detects target chemicals mixed with surface and interferent signatures. Simulated data sets were generated from real instrument measurements to support a matrix of parameters based on a Design Of Experiments approach (DOE). Decisions based on receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curves and area-under-the-curve (AUC) measures were used to down-select between several ID algorithms. Results from top performing algorithms were then combined via a fusion approach to converge towards optimum rates of detections and false alarms. This paper describes the process associated with the algorithm design and provides an illustrating example.

  15. How Well do the Military Services Perform Jointly in Combat? DoD’s Joint Test-and-Evaluation Program Provides Few Credible Answers.

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1984-02-22

    of the test conditions were unrealistic. For example, four better-than-average pilots flew all the test missions in mostly excellent weather, in one...that aircraft pilots need to respond to a request for close air support is likely to influence combat effectiveness. Earl- ier joint testing had made...in the JTF reports. For example, the IIR Maverick report contains the conclusion that, in general, the pilots detected targets easily, but the test

  16. Targeting pro-inflammatory cytokines following joint injury: acute intra-articular inhibition of interleukin-1 following knee injury prevents post-traumatic arthritis

    PubMed Central

    2014-01-01

    Introduction Post-traumatic arthritis (PTA) is a progressive, degenerative response to joint injury, such as articular fracture. The pro-inflammatory cytokines, interleukin 1(IL-1) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), are acutely elevated following joint injury and remain elevated for prolonged periods post-injury. To investigate the role of local and systemic inflammation in the development of post-traumatic arthritis, we targeted both the initial acute local inflammatory response and a prolonged 4 week systemic inflammatory response by inhibiting IL-1 or TNF-α following articular fracture in the mouse knee. Methods Anti-cytokine agents, IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1Ra) or soluble TNF receptor II (sTNFRII), were administered either locally via an acute intra-articular injection or systemically for a prolonged 4 week period following articular fracture of the knee in C57BL/6 mice. The severity of arthritis was then assessed at 8 weeks post-injury in joint tissues via histology and micro computed tomography, and systemic and local biomarkers were assessed in serum and synovial fluid. Results Intra-articular inhibition of IL-1 significantly reduced cartilage degeneration, synovial inflammation, and did not alter bone morphology following articular fracture. However, systemic inhibition of IL-1, and local or systemic inhibition of TNF provided no benefit or conversely led to increased arthritic changes in the joint tissues. Conclusion These results show that intra-articular IL-1, rather than TNF-α, plays a critical role in the acute inflammatory phase of joint injury and can be inhibited locally to reduce post-traumatic arthritis following a closed articular fracture. Targeted local inhibition of IL-1 following joint injury may represent a novel treatment option for PTA. PMID:24964765

  17. MutScan: fast detection and visualization of target mutations by scanning FASTQ data.

    PubMed

    Chen, Shifu; Huang, Tanxiao; Wen, Tiexiang; Li, Hong; Xu, Mingyan; Gu, Jia

    2018-01-22

    Some types of clinical genetic tests, such as cancer testing using circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), require sensitive detection of known target mutations. However, conventional next-generation sequencing (NGS) data analysis pipelines typically involve different steps of filtering, which may cause miss-detection of key mutations with low frequencies. Variant validation is also indicated for key mutations detected by bioinformatics pipelines. Typically, this process can be executed using alignment visualization tools such as IGV or GenomeBrowse. However, these tools are too heavy and therefore unsuitable for validating mutations in ultra-deep sequencing data. We developed MutScan to address problems of sensitive detection and efficient validation for target mutations. MutScan involves highly optimized string-searching algorithms, which can scan input FASTQ files to grab all reads that support target mutations. The collected supporting reads for each target mutation will be piled up and visualized using web technologies such as HTML and JavaScript. Algorithms such as rolling hash and bloom filter are applied to accelerate scanning and make MutScan applicable to detect or visualize target mutations in a very fast way. MutScan is a tool for the detection and visualization of target mutations by only scanning FASTQ raw data directly. Compared to conventional pipelines, this offers a very high performance, executing about 20 times faster, and offering maximal sensitivity since it can grab mutations with even one single supporting read. MutScan visualizes detected mutations by generating interactive pile-ups using web technologies. These can serve to validate target mutations, thus avoiding false positives. Furthermore, MutScan can visualize all mutation records in a VCF file to HTML pages for cloud-friendly VCF validation. MutScan is an open source tool available at GitHub: https://github.com/OpenGene/MutScan.

  18. Detection and recognition of targets by using signal polarization properties

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ponomaryov, Volodymyr I.; Peralta-Fabi, Ricardo; Popov, Anatoly V.; Babakov, Mikhail F.

    1999-08-01

    The quality of radar target recognition can be enhanced by exploiting its polarization signatures. A specialized X-band polarimetric radar was used for target recognition in experimental investigations. The following polarization characteristics connected to the object geometrical properties were investigated: the amplitudes of the polarization matrix elements; an anisotropy coefficient; depolarization coefficient; asymmetry coefficient; the energy of a backscattering signal; object shape factor. A large quantity of polarimetric radar data was measured and processed to form a database of different object and different weather conditions. The histograms of polarization signatures were approximated by a Nakagami distribution, then used for real- time target recognition. The Neyman-Pearson criterion was used for the target detection, and the criterion of the maximum of a posterior probability was used for recognition problem. Some results of experimental verification of pattern recognition and detection of objects with different electrophysical and geometrical characteristics urban in clutter are presented in this paper.

  19. Detection of target-probe oligonucleotide hybridization using synthetic nanopore resistive pulse sensing.

    PubMed

    Booth, Marsilea Adela; Vogel, Robert; Curran, James M; Harbison, SallyAnn; Travas-Sejdic, Jadranka

    2013-07-15

    Despite the plethora of DNA sensor platforms available, a portable, sensitive, selective and economic sensor able to rival current fluorescence-based techniques would find use in many applications. In this research, probe oligonucleotide-grafted particles are used to detect target DNA in solution through a resistive pulse nanopore detection technique. Using carbodiimide chemistry, functionalized probe DNA strands are attached to carboxylated dextran-based magnetic particles. Subsequent incubation with complementary target DNA yields a change in surface properties as the two DNA strands hybridize. Particle-by-particle analysis with resistive pulse sensing is performed to detect these changes. A variable pressure method allows identification of changes in the surface charge of particles. As proof-of-principle, we demonstrate that target hybridization is selectively detected at micromolar concentrations (nanomoles of target) using resistive pulse sensing, confirmed by fluorescence and phase analysis light scattering as complementary techniques. The advantages, feasibility and limitations of using resistive pulse sensing for sample analysis are discussed. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  20. Study on the influence factors of camouflage target polarization detection

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Huang, Yanhua; Chen, Lei; Li, Xia; Wu, Wenyuan

    2016-10-01

    The degree of linear polarization (DOLP) expressions at any polarizer direction (PD) was deduced based on the Stokes vector and Mueller matrix. The outdoors experiments were carried out to demonstrate the expressions. This paper mainly explored the DOLP-image-Contrast (DOLPC) between the target image and the background image, and the PD and RGB waveband that be considered two important influence factors were studied for camouflage target polarization detection. It was found that the DOLPC of target and background was obviously higher than intensity image. When setting the reference direction that polarizer was perpendicular to the incident face, the DOLP image of interval angle 60 degree between PD and reference direction had relatively high DOLPC, the interval angle 45 degree was the second, and the interval angle 35 degree was the third. The outdoors polarization detection experiment of controlling waveband showed that the DOLPC results was significantly different to use 650nm, 550nm and 450nm waveband, and the polarization detection performance by using 650nm band was an optimization method.

  1. A manifold learning approach to target detection in high-resolution hyperspectral imagery

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ziemann, Amanda K.

    Imagery collected from airborne platforms and satellites provide an important medium for remotely analyzing the content in a scene. In particular, the ability to detect a specific material within a scene is of high importance to both civilian and defense applications. This may include identifying "targets" such as vehicles, buildings, or boats. Sensors that process hyperspectral images provide the high-dimensional spectral information necessary to perform such analyses. However, for a d-dimensional hyperspectral image, it is typical for the data to inherently occupy an m-dimensional space, with m << d. In the remote sensing community, this has led to a recent increase in the use of manifold learning, which aims to characterize the embedded lower-dimensional, non-linear manifold upon which the hyperspectral data inherently lie. Classic hyperspectral data models include statistical, linear subspace, and linear mixture models, but these can place restrictive assumptions on the distribution of the data; this is particularly true when implementing traditional target detection approaches, and the limitations of these models are well-documented. With manifold learning based approaches, the only assumption is that the data reside on an underlying manifold that can be discretely modeled by a graph. The research presented here focuses on the use of graph theory and manifold learning in hyperspectral imagery. Early work explored various graph-building techniques with application to the background model of the Topological Anomaly Detection (TAD) algorithm, which is a graph theory based approach to anomaly detection. This led towards a focus on target detection, and in the development of a specific graph-based model of the data and subsequent dimensionality reduction using manifold learning. An adaptive graph is built on the data, and then used to implement an adaptive version of locally linear embedding (LLE). We artificially induce a target manifold and incorporate it into

  2. Cortical Spatio-Temporal Dynamics Underlying Phonological Target Detection in Humans

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chang, Edward F.; Edwards, Erik; Nagarajan, Srikantan S.; Fogelson, Noa; Dalal, Sarang S.; Canolty, Ryan T.; Kirsch, Heidi E.; Barbaro, Nicholas M.; Knight, Robert T.

    2011-01-01

    Selective processing of task-relevant stimuli is critical for goal-directed behavior. We used electrocorticography to assess the spatio-temporal dynamics of cortical activation during a simple phonological target detection task, in which subjects press a button when a prespecified target syllable sound is heard. Simultaneous surface potential…

  3. Rare targets are less susceptible to attention capture once detection has begun.

    PubMed

    Hon, Nicholas; Ng, Gavin; Chan, Gerald

    2016-04-01

    Rare or low probability targets are detected more slowly and/ or less accurately than higher probability counterparts. Various proposals have implicated perceptual and response-based processes in this deficit. Recent evidence, however, suggests that it is attentional in nature, with low probability targets requiring more attentional resources than high probability ones to detect. This difference in attentional requirements, in turn, suggests the possibility that low and high probability targets may have different susceptibilities to attention capture, which is also known to be resource-dependent. Supporting this hypothesis, we found that, once attentional resources have begun to be engaged by detection processes, low, but not high, probability targets have a reduced susceptibility to capture. Our findings speak to several issues. First, they indicate that the likelihood of attention capture occurring when a given task-relevant stimulus is being processed is dependent, to some extent, on how said stimulus is represented within mental task sets. Second, they provide added support for the idea that the behavioural deficit associated with low probability targets is attention-based. Finally, the current data point to reduced top-down biasing of target templates as a likely mechanism underlying the attentional locus of the deficit in question.

  4. Dolphin biosonar target detection in noise: wrap up of a past experiment.

    PubMed

    Au, Whitlow W L

    2014-07-01

    The target detection capability of bottlenose dolphins in the presence of artificial masking noise was first studied by Au and Penner [J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 70, 687-693 (1981)] in which the dolphins' target detection threshold was determined as a function of the ratio of the echo energy flux density and the estimated received noise spectral density. Such a metric was commonly used in human psychoacoustics despite the fact that the echo energy flux density is not compatible with noise spectral density which is averaged intensity per Hz. Since the earlier detection in noise studies, two important parameters, the dolphin integration time applicable to broadband clicks and the dolphin's auditory filter shape, were determined. The inclusion of these two parameters allows for the estimation of the received energy flux density of the masking noise so that the dolphin target detection can now be determined as a function of the ratio of the received energy of the echo over the received noise energy. Using an integration time of 264 μs and an auditory bandwidth of 16.7 kHz, the ratio of the echo energy to noise energy at the target detection threshold is approximately 1 dB.

  5. Confidence level estimation in multi-target classification problems

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

    2018-04-01

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

  6. Determination of target detection limits in hyperspectral data using band selection and dimensionality reduction

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gross, W.; Boehler, J.; Twizer, K.; Kedem, B.; Lenz, A.; Kneubuehler, M.; Wellig, P.; Oechslin, R.; Schilling, H.; Rotman, S.; Middelmann, W.

    2016-10-01

    Hyperspectral remote sensing data can be used for civil and military applications to robustly detect and classify target objects. High spectral resolution of hyperspectral data can compensate for the comparatively low spatial resolution, which allows for detection and classification of small targets, even below image resolution. Hyperspectral data sets are prone to considerable spectral redundancy, affecting and limiting data processing and algorithm performance. As a consequence, data reduction strategies become increasingly important, especially in view of near-real-time data analysis. The goal of this paper is to analyze different strategies for hyperspectral band selection algorithms and their effect on subpixel classification for different target and background materials. Airborne hyperspectral data is used in combination with linear target simulation procedures to create a representative amount of target-to-background ratios for evaluation of detection limits. Data from two different airborne hyperspectral sensors, AISA Eagle and Hawk, are used to evaluate transferability of band selection when using different sensors. The same target objects were recorded to compare the calculated detection limits. To determine subpixel classification results, pure pixels from the target materials are extracted and used to simulate mixed pixels with selected background materials. Target signatures are linearly combined with different background materials in varying ratios. The commonly used classification algorithms Adaptive Coherence Estimator (ACE) is used to compare the detection limit for the original data with several band selection and data reduction strategies. The evaluation of the classification results is done by assuming a fixed false alarm ratio and calculating the mean target-to-background ratio of correctly detected pixels. The results allow drawing conclusions about specific band combinations for certain target and background combinations. Additionally

  7. Feature-aided multiple target tracking in the image plane

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Brown, Andrew P.; Sullivan, Kevin J.; Miller, David J.

    2006-05-01

    Vast quantities of EO and IR data are collected on airborne platforms (manned and unmanned) and terrestrial platforms (including fixed installations, e.g., at street intersections), and can be exploited to aid in the global war on terrorism. However, intelligent preprocessing is required to enable operator efficiency and to provide commanders with actionable target information. To this end, we have developed an image plane tracker which automatically detects and tracks multiple targets in image sequences using both motion and feature information. The effects of platform and camera motion are compensated via image registration, and a novel change detection algorithm is applied for accurate moving target detection. The contiguous pixel blob on each moving target is segmented for use in target feature extraction and model learning. Feature-based target location measurements are used for tracking through move-stop-move maneuvers, close target spacing, and occlusion. Effective clutter suppression is achieved using joint probabilistic data association (JPDA), and confirmed target tracks are indicated for further processing or operator review. In this paper we describe the algorithms implemented in the image plane tracker and present performance results obtained with video clips from the DARPA VIVID program data collection and from a miniature unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) flight.

  8. Joint Detect and Avoid Flight Testing

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Maliska, Heather; Estrada, Ramon; Euteneuer, Eric; Gong, Chester; Arthur, Keith

    2015-01-01

    This presentation gives insight into a joint flight testing effort that included participation from NASA, Honeywell, and General Atomics. The presentation includes roles and responsibilities, test flow, and encounter requirements and summary.

  9. Nonparametric EROC analysis for observer performance evaluation on joint detection and estimation tasks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wunderlich, Adam; Goossens, Bart

    2014-03-01

    The majority of the literature on task-based image quality assessment has focused on lesion detection tasks, using the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, or related variants, to measure performance. However, since many clinical image evaluation tasks involve both detection and estimation (e.g., estimation of kidney stone composition, estimation of tumor size), there is a growing interest in performance evaluation for joint detection and estimation tasks. To evaluate observer performance on such tasks, Clarkson introduced the estimation ROC (EROC) curve, and the area under the EROC curve as a summary figure of merit. In the present work, we propose nonparametric estimators for practical EROC analysis from experimental data, including estimators for the area under the EROC curve and its variance. The estimators are illustrated with a practical example comparing MRI images reconstructed from different k-space sampling trajectories.

  10. Detecting ship targets in spaceborne infrared image based on modeling radiation anomalies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, Haibo; Zou, Zhengxia; Shi, Zhenwei; Li, Bo

    2017-09-01

    Using infrared imaging sensors to detect ship target in the ocean environment has many advantages compared to other sensor modalities, such as better thermal sensitivity and all-weather detection capability. We propose a new ship detection method by modeling radiation anomalies for spaceborne infrared image. The proposed method can be decomposed into two stages, where in the first stage, a test infrared image is densely divided into a set of image patches and the radiation anomaly of each patch is estimated by a Gaussian Mixture Model (GMM), and thereby target candidates are obtained from anomaly image patches. In the second stage, target candidates are further checked by a more discriminative criterion to obtain the final detection result. The main innovation of the proposed method is inspired by the biological mechanism that human eyes are sensitive to the unusual and anomalous patches among complex background. The experimental result on short wavelength infrared band (1.560 - 2.300 μm) and long wavelength infrared band (10.30 - 12.50 μm) of Landsat-8 satellite shows the proposed method achieves a desired ship detection accuracy with higher recall than other classical ship detection methods.

  11. Target detection using the background model from the topological anomaly detection algorithm

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dorado Munoz, Leidy P.; Messinger, David W.; Ziemann, Amanda K.

    2013-05-01

    The Topological Anomaly Detection (TAD) algorithm has been used as an anomaly detector in hyperspectral and multispectral images. TAD is an algorithm based on graph theory that constructs a topological model of the background in a scene, and computes an anomalousness ranking for all of the pixels in the image with respect to the background in order to identify pixels with uncommon or strange spectral signatures. The pixels that are modeled as background are clustered into groups or connected components, which could be representative of spectral signatures of materials present in the background. Therefore, the idea of using the background components given by TAD in target detection is explored in this paper. In this way, these connected components are characterized in three different approaches, where the mean signature and endmembers for each component are calculated and used as background basis vectors in Orthogonal Subspace Projection (OSP) and Adaptive Subspace Detector (ASD). Likewise, the covariance matrix of those connected components is estimated and used in detectors: Constrained Energy Minimization (CEM) and Adaptive Coherence Estimator (ACE). The performance of these approaches and the different detectors is compared with a global approach, where the background characterization is derived directly from the image. Experiments and results using self-test data set provided as part of the RIT blind test target detection project are shown.

  12. Infrared small target detection based on multiscale center-surround contrast measure

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fu, Hao; Long, Yunli; Zhu, Ran; An, Wei

    2018-04-01

    Infrared(IR) small target detection plays a critical role in the Infrared Search And Track (IRST) system. Although it has been studied for years, there are some difficulties remained to the clutter environment. According to the principle of human discrimination of small targets from a natural scene that there is a signature of discontinuity between the object and its neighboring regions, we develop an efficient method for infrared small target detection called multiscale centersurround contrast measure (MCSCM). First, to determine the maximum neighboring window size, an entropy-based window selection technique is used. Then, we construct a novel multiscale center-surround contrast measure to calculate the saliency map. Compared with the original image, the MCSCM map has less background clutters and noise residual. Subsequently, a simple threshold is used to segment the target. Experimental results show our method achieves better performance.

  13. Antenna Allocation in MIMO Radar with Widely Separated Antennas for Multi-Target Detection

    PubMed Central

    Gao, Hao; Wang, Jian; Jiang, Chunxiao; Zhang, Xudong

    2014-01-01

    In this paper, we explore a new resource called multi-target diversity to optimize the performance of multiple input multiple output (MIMO) radar with widely separated antennas for detecting multiple targets. In particular, we allocate antennas of the MIMO radar to probe different targets simultaneously in a flexible manner based on the performance metric of relative entropy. Two antenna allocation schemes are proposed. In the first scheme, each antenna is allocated to illuminate a proper target over the entire illumination time, so that the detection performance of each target is guaranteed. The problem is formulated as a minimum makespan scheduling problem in the combinatorial optimization framework. Antenna allocation is implemented through a branch-and-bound algorithm and an enhanced factor 2 algorithm. In the second scheme, called antenna-time allocation, each antenna is allocated to illuminate different targets with different illumination time. Both antenna allocation and time allocation are optimized based on illumination probabilities. Over a large range of transmitted power, target fluctuations and target numbers, both of the proposed antenna allocation schemes outperform the scheme without antenna allocation. Moreover, the antenna-time allocation scheme achieves a more robust detection performance than branch-and-bound algorithm and the enhanced factor 2 algorithm when the target number changes. PMID:25350505

  14. Antenna allocation in MIMO radar with widely separated antennas for multi-target detection.

    PubMed

    Gao, Hao; Wang, Jian; Jiang, Chunxiao; Zhang, Xudong

    2014-10-27

    In this paper, we explore a new resource called multi-target diversity to optimize the performance of multiple input multiple output (MIMO) radar with widely separated antennas for detecting multiple targets. In particular, we allocate antennas of the MIMO radar to probe different targets simultaneously in a flexible manner based on the performance metric of relative entropy. Two antenna allocation schemes are proposed. In the first scheme, each antenna is allocated to illuminate a proper target over the entire illumination time, so that the detection performance of each target is guaranteed. The problem is formulated as a minimum makespan scheduling problem in the combinatorial optimization framework. Antenna allocation is implemented through a branch-and-bound algorithm and an enhanced factor 2 algorithm. In the second scheme, called antenna-time allocation, each antenna is allocated to illuminate different targets with different illumination time. Both antenna allocation and time allocation are optimized based on illumination probabilities. Over a large range of transmitted power, target fluctuations and target numbers, both of the proposed antenna allocation schemes outperform the scheme without antenna allocation. Moreover, the antenna-time allocation scheme achieves a more robust detection performance than branch-and-bound algorithm and the enhanced factor 2 algorithm when the target number changes.

  15. Target Detection over the Diurnal Cycle Using a Multispectral Infrared Sensor.

    PubMed

    Zhao, Huijie; Ji, Zheng; Li, Na; Gu, Jianrong; Li, Yansong

    2016-12-29

    When detecting a target over the diurnal cycle, a conventional infrared thermal sensor might lose the target due to the thermal crossover, which could happen at any time throughout the day when the infrared image contrast between target and background in a scene is indistinguishable due to the temperature variation. In this paper, the benefits of using a multispectral-based infrared sensor over the diurnal cycle have been shown. Firstly, a brief theoretical analysis on how the thermal crossover influences a conventional thermal sensor, within the conditions where the thermal crossover would happen and why the mid-infrared (3~5 μm) multispectral technology is effective, is presented. Furthermore, the effectiveness of this technology is also described and we describe how the prototype design and multispectral technology is employed to help solve the thermal crossover detection problem. Thirdly, several targets are set up outside and imaged in the field experiment over a 24-h period. The experimental results show that the multispectral infrared imaging system can enhance the contrast of the detected images and effectively solve the failure of the conventional infrared sensor during the diurnal cycle, which is of great significance for infrared surveillance applications.

  16. Target Detection over the Diurnal Cycle Using a Multispectral Infrared Sensor

    PubMed Central

    Zhao, Huijie; Ji, Zheng; Li, Na; Gu, Jianrong; Li, Yansong

    2016-01-01

    When detecting a target over the diurnal cycle, a conventional infrared thermal sensor might lose the target due to the thermal crossover, which could happen at any time throughout the day when the infrared image contrast between target and background in a scene is indistinguishable due to the temperature variation. In this paper, the benefits of using a multispectral-based infrared sensor over the diurnal cycle have been shown. Firstly, a brief theoretical analysis on how the thermal crossover influences a conventional thermal sensor, within the conditions where the thermal crossover would happen and why the mid-infrared (3~5 μm) multispectral technology is effective, is presented. Furthermore, the effectiveness of this technology is also described and we describe how the prototype design and multispectral technology is employed to help solve the thermal crossover detection problem. Thirdly, several targets are set up outside and imaged in the field experiment over a 24-h period. The experimental results show that the multispectral infrared imaging system can enhance the contrast of the detected images and effectively solve the failure of the conventional infrared sensor during the diurnal cycle, which is of great significance for infrared surveillance applications. PMID:28036073

  17. Detection technology of polarization target based on curvelet transform in turbid liquid

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, Su; Duan, Jin; Fu, Qiang; Zhan, Juntong; Ma, Wanzhuo

    2015-08-01

    To suppress the interference of the target detecting in the turbid medium, a kind of polarization detection technology based on Curvelet transform was applied. This method firstly adjusts the angles of polarizing film to get the intensity images of the situations at 0°,60° and 120°, then deduces the images of Stokes vectors, degree of polarization (DOP) and polarization angle (PA) according to the Mueller matrix. At last the DOP and intensity images can be decomposed by Curvelet transform to realize the fusion of the high and low coefficients respectively, after the processed coefficients are reconstructed, the target which is easier to detect can be achieved. To prove this method, many targets in turbid medium have been detected by polarization method and fused their DOP and intensity images with Curvelet transform algorithm. As an example screws in moderate and high concentration liquid are presented respectively, from which we can see the unpolarized targets are less obvious in higher concentration liquid. When the DOP and intensity images are fused by Curvelet transform, the targets are emerged clearly out of the turbid medium, and the values of the quality evaluation parameters in clarity, degree of contract and spatial frequency are prominently enhanced comparing with the unpolarized images, which can show the feasibility of this method.

  18. A novel spatial-temporal detection method of dim infrared moving small target

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chen, Zhong; Deng, Tao; Gao, Lei; Zhou, Heng; Luo, Song

    2014-09-01

    Moving small target detection under complex background in infrared image sequence is one of the major challenges of modern military in Early Warning Systems (EWS) and the use of Long-Range Strike (LRS). However, because of the low SNR and undulating background, the infrared moving small target detection is a difficult problem in a long time. To solve this problem, a novel spatial-temporal detection method based on bi-dimensional empirical mode decomposition (EMD) and time-domain difference is proposed in this paper. This method is downright self-data decomposition and do not rely on any transition kernel function, so it has a strong adaptive capacity. Firstly, we generalized the 1D EMD algorithm to the 2D case. In this process, the project has solved serial issues in 2D EMD, such as large amount of data operations, define and identify extrema in 2D case, and two-dimensional signal boundary corrosion. The EMD algorithm studied in this project can be well adapted to the automatic detection of small targets under low SNR and complex background. Secondly, considering the characteristics of moving target, we proposed an improved filtering method based on three-frame difference on basis of the original difference filtering in time-domain, which greatly improves the ability of anti-jamming algorithm. Finally, we proposed a new time-space fusion method based on a combined processing of 2D EMD and improved time-domain differential filtering. And, experimental results show that this method works well in infrared small moving target detection under low SNR and complex background.

  19. Electromagnetic Induction Spectroscopy for the Detection of Subsurface Targets

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2012-12-01

    curves of the proposed method and that of Fails et al.. For the kNN ROC curve, k = 7. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81...et al. [6] and Ramachandran et al. [7] both demonstrated success in detecting mines using the k-nearest-neighbor ( kNN ) algorithm based on the EMI...error is also included in the feature vector. The kNN labels an unknown target based on the closest targets in a training set. Collins et al. [2] and

  20. Fire flame detection based on GICA and target tracking

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rong, Jianzhong; Zhou, Dechuang; Yao, Wei; Gao, Wei; Chen, Juan; Wang, Jian

    2013-04-01

    To improve the video fire detection rate, a robust fire detection algorithm based on the color, motion and pattern characteristics of fire targets was proposed, which proved a satisfactory fire detection rate for different fire scenes. In this fire detection algorithm: (a) a rule-based generic color model was developed based on analysis on a large quantity of flame pixels; (b) from the traditional GICA (Geometrical Independent Component Analysis) model, a Cumulative Geometrical Independent Component Analysis (C-GICA) model was developed for motion detection without static background and (c) a BP neural network fire recognition model based on multi-features of the fire pattern was developed. Fire detection tests on benchmark fire video clips of different scenes have shown the robustness, accuracy and fast-response of the algorithm.

  1. Non-invasive dual fluorescence in vivo imaging for detection of macrophage infiltration and matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) activity in inflammatory arthritic joints

    PubMed Central

    Cho, Hongsik; Bhatti, Fazal-Ur-Rehman; Yoon, Tae Won; Hasty, Karen A.; Stuart, John M.; Yi, Ae-Kyung

    2016-01-01

    Detection and intervention at an early stage is a critical factor to impede arthritis progress. Here we present a non-invasive method to detect inflammatory changes in joints of arthritic mice. Inflammation was monitored by dual fluorescence optical imaging for near-infrared fluorescent (750F) matrix-metalloproteinase activatable agent and allophycocyanin-conjugated anti-mouse CD11b. Increased intensity of allophycocyanin (indication of macrophage accumulation) and 750F (indication of matrix-metalloproteinase activity) showed a biological relationship with the arthritis severity score and the histopathology score of arthritic joints. Our results demonstrate that this method can be used to detect early stages of arthritis with minimum intervention in small animal models. PMID:27231625

  2. NAIMA: target amplification strategy allowing quantitative on-chip detection of GMOs.

    PubMed

    Morisset, Dany; Dobnik, David; Hamels, Sandrine; Zel, Jana; Gruden, Kristina

    2008-10-01

    We have developed a novel multiplex quantitative DNA-based target amplification method suitable for sensitive, specific and quantitative detection on microarray. This new method named NASBA Implemented Microarray Analysis (NAIMA) was applied to GMO detection in food and feed, but its application can be extended to all fields of biology requiring simultaneous detection of low copy number DNA targets. In a first step, the use of tailed primers allows the multiplex synthesis of template DNAs in a primer extension reaction. A second step of the procedure consists of transcription-based amplification using universal primers. The cRNA product is further on directly ligated to fluorescent dyes labelled 3DNA dendrimers allowing signal amplification and hybridized without further purification on an oligonucleotide probe-based microarray for multiplex detection. Two triplex systems have been applied to test maize samples containing several transgenic lines, and NAIMA has shown to be sensitive down to two target copies and to provide quantitative data on the transgenic contents in a range of 0.1-25%. Performances of NAIMA are comparable to singleplex quantitative real-time PCR. In addition, NAIMA amplification is faster since 20 min are sufficient to achieve full amplification.

  3. NAIMA: target amplification strategy allowing quantitative on-chip detection of GMOs

    PubMed Central

    Morisset, Dany; Dobnik, David; Hamels, Sandrine; Žel, Jana; Gruden, Kristina

    2008-01-01

    We have developed a novel multiplex quantitative DNA-based target amplification method suitable for sensitive, specific and quantitative detection on microarray. This new method named NASBA Implemented Microarray Analysis (NAIMA) was applied to GMO detection in food and feed, but its application can be extended to all fields of biology requiring simultaneous detection of low copy number DNA targets. In a first step, the use of tailed primers allows the multiplex synthesis of template DNAs in a primer extension reaction. A second step of the procedure consists of transcription-based amplification using universal primers. The cRNA product is further on directly ligated to fluorescent dyes labelled 3DNA dendrimers allowing signal amplification and hybridized without further purification on an oligonucleotide probe-based microarray for multiplex detection. Two triplex systems have been applied to test maize samples containing several transgenic lines, and NAIMA has shown to be sensitive down to two target copies and to provide quantitative data on the transgenic contents in a range of 0.1–25%. Performances of NAIMA are comparable to singleplex quantitative real-time PCR. In addition, NAIMA amplification is faster since 20 min are sufficient to achieve full amplification. PMID:18710880

  4. Assessment of Schrodinger Eigenmaps for target detection

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dorado Munoz, Leidy P.; Messinger, David W.; Czaja, Wojtek

    2014-06-01

    Non-linear dimensionality reduction methods have been widely applied to hyperspectral imagery due to its structure as the information can be represented in a lower dimension without losing information, and because the non-linear methods preserve the local geometry of the data while the dimension is reduced. One of these methods is Laplacian Eigenmaps (LE), which assumes that the data lies on a low dimensional manifold embedded in a high dimensional space. LE builds a nearest neighbor graph, computes its Laplacian and performs the eigendecomposition of the Laplacian. These eigenfunctions constitute a basis for the lower dimensional space in which the geometry of the manifold is preserved. In addition to the reduction problem, LE has been widely used in tasks such as segmentation, clustering, and classification. In this regard, a new Schrodinger Eigenmaps (SE) method was developed and presented as a semi-supervised classification scheme in order to improve the classification performance and take advantage of the labeled data. SE is an algorithm built upon LE, where the former Laplacian operator is replaced by the Schrodinger operator. The Schrodinger operator includes a potential term V, that, taking advantage of the additional information such as labeled data, allows clustering of similar points. In this paper, we explore the idea of using SE in target detection. In this way, we present a framework where the potential term V is defined as a barrier potential: a diagonal matrix encoding the spatial position of the target, and the detection performance is evaluated by using different targets and different hyperspectral scenes.

  5. A novel ultrasound technique for detection of osteochondral defects in the ankle joint: a parametric and feasibility study.

    PubMed

    Sarkalkan, Nazli; Loeve, Arjo J; van Dongen, Koen W A; Tuijthof, Gabrielle J M; Zadpoor, Amir A

    2014-12-24

    (Osteo)chondral defects (OCDs) in the ankle are currently diagnosed with modalities that are not convenient to use in long-term follow-ups. Ultrasound (US) imaging, which is a cost-effective and non-invasive alternative, has limited ability to discriminate OCDs. We aim to develop a new diagnostic technique based on US wave propagation through the ankle joint. The presence of OCDs is identified when a US signal deviates from a reference signal associated with the healthy joint. The feasibility of the proposed technique is studied using experimentally-validated 2D finite-difference time-domain models of the ankle joint. The normalized maximum cross correlation of experiments and simulation was 0.97. Effects of variables relevant to the ankle joint, US transducers and OCDs were evaluated. Variations in joint space width and transducer orientation made noticeable alterations to the reference signal: normalized root mean square error ranged from 6.29% to 65.25% and from 19.59% to 8064.2%, respectively. The results suggest that the new technique could be used for detection of OCDs, if the effects of other parameters (i.e., parameters related to the ankle joint and US transducers) can be reduced.

  6. Early, asymptomatic stage of degenerative joint disease in canine hip joints.

    PubMed

    Lust, G; Summers, B A

    1981-11-01

    The early stages of degenerative joint disease were investigated in coxofemoral joints from dogs with a hereditary predisposition to hip dysplasia. Alterations observed included mild nonsuppurative synovitis, increased volume of both synovial fluid and the ligamentum teres, and focal degenerative articular cartilage lesions. On radiologic examination, subluxation of the femoral head was seen, but only in the most severely affected joints. Synovial inflammation with increased synovial fluid and ligament volumes were indicators of early degenerative joint disease in dogs. These changes seemed to coincide with, or perhaps to precede, microscopic evidence for articular cartilage degeneration and occurred before radiologic abnormalities were detected.

  7. Aerial surveillance based on hierarchical object classification for ground target detection

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Vázquez-Cervantes, Alberto; García-Huerta, Juan-Manuel; Hernández-Díaz, Teresa; Soto-Cajiga, J. A.; Jiménez-Hernández, Hugo

    2015-03-01

    Unmanned aerial vehicles have turned important in surveillance application due to the flexibility and ability to inspect and displace in different regions of interest. The instrumentation and autonomy of these vehicles have been increased; i.e. the camera sensor is now integrated. Mounted cameras allow flexibility to monitor several regions of interest, displacing and changing the camera view. A well common task performed by this kind of vehicles correspond to object localization and tracking. This work presents a hierarchical novel algorithm to detect and locate objects. The algorithm is based on a detection-by-example approach; this is, the target evidence is provided at the beginning of the vehicle's route. Afterwards, the vehicle inspects the scenario, detecting all similar objects through UTM-GPS coordinate references. Detection process consists on a sampling information process of the target object. Sampling process encode in a hierarchical tree with different sampling's densities. Coding space correspond to a huge binary space dimension. Properties such as independence and associative operators are defined in this space to construct a relation between the target object and a set of selected features. Different densities of sampling are used to discriminate from general to particular features that correspond to the target. The hierarchy is used as a way to adapt the complexity of the algorithm due to optimized battery duty cycle of the aerial device. Finally, this approach is tested in several outdoors scenarios, proving that the hierarchical algorithm works efficiently under several conditions.

  8. Performance of target detection algorithm in compressive sensing miniature ultraspectral imaging compressed sensing system

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gedalin, Daniel; Oiknine, Yaniv; August, Isaac; Blumberg, Dan G.; Rotman, Stanley R.; Stern, Adrian

    2017-04-01

    Compressive sensing theory was proposed to deal with the high quantity of measurements demanded by traditional hyperspectral systems. Recently, a compressive spectral imaging technique dubbed compressive sensing miniature ultraspectral imaging (CS-MUSI) was presented. This system uses a voltage controlled liquid crystal device to create multiplexed hyperspectral cubes. We evaluate the utility of the data captured using the CS-MUSI system for the task of target detection. Specifically, we compare the performance of the matched filter target detection algorithm in traditional hyperspectral systems and in CS-MUSI multiplexed hyperspectral cubes. We found that the target detection algorithm performs similarly in both cases, despite the fact that the CS-MUSI data is up to an order of magnitude less than that in conventional hyperspectral cubes. Moreover, the target detection is approximately an order of magnitude faster in CS-MUSI data.

  9. Lamb wave-based damage quantification and probability of detection modeling for fatigue life assessment of riveted lap joint

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    He, Jingjing; Wang, Dengjiang; Zhang, Weifang

    2015-03-01

    This study presents an experimental and modeling study for damage detection and quantification in riveted lap joints. Embedded lead zirconate titanate piezoelectric (PZT) ceramic wafer-type sensors are employed to perform in-situ non-destructive testing during fatigue cyclical loading. A multi-feature integration method is developed to quantify the crack size using signal features of correlation coefficient, amplitude change, and phase change. In addition, probability of detection (POD) model is constructed to quantify the reliability of the developed sizing method. Using the developed crack size quantification method and the resulting POD curve, probabilistic fatigue life prediction can be performed to provide comprehensive information for decision-making. The effectiveness of the overall methodology is demonstrated and validated using several aircraft lap joint specimens from different manufactures and under different loading conditions.

  10. A matched filter approach for blind joint detection of galaxy clusters in X-ray and SZ surveys

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tarrío, P.; Melin, J.-B.; Arnaud, M.

    2018-06-01

    The combination of X-ray and Sunyaev-Zeldovich (SZ) observations can potentially improve the cluster detection efficiency, when compared to using only one of these probes, since both probe the same medium, the hot ionized gas of the intra-cluster medium. We present a method based on matched multifrequency filters (MMF) for detecting galaxy clusters from SZ and X-ray surveys. This method builds on a previously proposed joint X-ray-SZ extraction method and allows the blind detection of clusters, that is finding new clusters without knowing their position, size, or redshift, by searching on SZ and X-ray maps simultaneously. The proposed method is tested using data from the ROSAT all-sky survey and from the Planck survey. The evaluation is done by comparison with existing cluster catalogues in the area of the sky covered by the deep SPT survey. Thanks to the addition of the X-ray information, the joint detection method is able to achieve simultaneously better purity, better detection efficiency, and better position accuracy than its predecessor Planck MMF, which is based on SZ maps alone. For a purity of 85%, the X-ray-SZ method detects 141 confirmed clusters in the SPT region; to detect the same number of confirmed clusters with Planck MMF, we would need to decrease its purity to 70%. We provide a catalogue of 225 sources selected by the proposed method in the SPT footprint, with masses ranging between 0.7 and 14.5 ×1014 M⊙ and redshifts between 0.01 and 1.2.

  11. Uncontrolled Manifold Reference Feedback Control of Multi-Joint Robot Arms

    PubMed Central

    Togo, Shunta; Kagawa, Takahiro; Uno, Yoji

    2016-01-01

    The brain must coordinate with redundant bodies to perform motion tasks. The aim of the present study is to propose a novel control model that predicts the characteristics of human joint coordination at a behavioral level. To evaluate the joint coordination, an uncontrolled manifold (UCM) analysis that focuses on the trial-to-trial variance of joints has been proposed. The UCM is a nonlinear manifold associated with redundant kinematics. In this study, we directly applied the notion of the UCM to our proposed control model called the “UCM reference feedback control.” To simplify the problem, the present study considered how the redundant joints were controlled to regulate a given target hand position. We considered a conventional method that pre-determined a unique target joint trajectory by inverse kinematics or any other optimization method. In contrast, our proposed control method generates a UCM as a control target at each time step. The target UCM is a subspace of joint angles whose variability does not affect the hand position. The joint combination in the target UCM is then selected so as to minimize the cost function, which consisted of the joint torque and torque change. To examine whether the proposed method could reproduce human-like joint coordination, we conducted simulation and measurement experiments. In the simulation experiments, a three-link arm with a shoulder, elbow, and wrist regulates a one-dimensional target of a hand through proposed method. In the measurement experiments, subjects performed a one-dimensional target-tracking task. The kinematics, dynamics, and joint coordination were quantitatively compared with the simulation data of the proposed method. As a result, the UCM reference feedback control could quantitatively reproduce the difference of the mean value for the end hand position between the initial postures, the peaks of the bell-shape tangential hand velocity, the sum of the squared torque, the mean value for the torque

  12. A speeded-up saliency region-based contrast detection method for small targets

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Zhengjie; Zhang, Haiying; Bai, Jiaojiao; Zhou, Zhongjun; Zheng, Huihuang

    2018-04-01

    To cope with the rapid development of the real applications for infrared small targets, the researchers have tried their best to pursue more robust detection methods. At present, the contrast measure-based method has become a promising research branch. Following the framework, in this paper, a speeded-up contrast measure scheme is proposed based on the saliency detection and density clustering. First, the saliency region is segmented by saliency detection method, and then, the Multi-scale contrast calculation is carried out on it instead of traversing the whole image. Second, the target with a certain "integrity" property in spatial is exploited to distinguish the target from the isolated noises by density clustering. Finally, the targets are detected by a self-adaptation threshold. Compared with time-consuming MPCM (Multiscale Patch Contrast Map), the time cost of the speeded-up version is within a few seconds. Additional, due to the use of "clustering segmentation", the false alarm caused by heavy noises can be restrained to a lower level. The experiments show that our method has a satisfied FASR (False alarm suppression ratio) and real-time performance compared with the state-of-art algorithms no matter in cloudy sky or sea-sky background.

  13. Assessing the performance of a motion tracking system based on optical joint transform correlation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Elbouz, M.; Alfalou, A.; Brosseau, C.; Ben Haj Yahia, N.; Alam, M. S.

    2015-08-01

    We present an optimized system specially designed for the tracking and recognition of moving subjects in a confined environment (such as an elderly remaining at home). In the first step of our study, we use a VanderLugt correlator (VLC) with an adapted pre-processing treatment of the input plane and a postprocessing of the correlation plane via a nonlinear function allowing us to make a robust decision. The second step is based on an optical joint transform correlation (JTC)-based system (NZ-NL-correlation JTC) for achieving improved detection and tracking of moving persons in a confined space. The proposed system has been found to have significantly superior discrimination and robustness capabilities allowing to detect an unknown target in an input scene and to determine the target's trajectory when this target is in motion. This system offers robust tracking performance of a moving target in several scenarios, such as rotational variation of input faces. Test results obtained using various real life video sequences show that the proposed system is particularly suitable for real-time detection and tracking of moving objects.

  14. Effects of Alzheimer's Disease on Visual Target Detection: A "Peripheral Bias".

    PubMed

    Vallejo, Vanessa; Cazzoli, Dario; Rampa, Luca; Zito, Giuseppe A; Feuerstein, Flurin; Gruber, Nicole; Müri, René M; Mosimann, Urs P; Nef, Tobias

    2016-01-01

    Visual exploration is an omnipresent activity in everyday life, and might represent an important determinant of visual attention deficits in patients with Alzheimer's Disease (AD). The present study aimed at investigating visual search performance in AD patients, in particular target detection in the far periphery, in daily living scenes. Eighteen AD patients and 20 healthy controls participated in the study. They were asked to freely explore a hemispherical screen, covering ±90°, and to respond to targets presented at 10°, 30°, and 50° eccentricity, while their eye movements were recorded. Compared to healthy controls, AD patients recognized less targets appearing in the center. No difference was found in target detection in the periphery. This pattern was confirmed by the fixation distribution analysis. These results show a neglect for the central part of the visual field for AD patients and provide new insights by mean of a search task involving a larger field of view.

  15. Target-responsive DNA hydrogel mediated "stop-flow" microfluidic paper-based analytic device for rapid, portable and visual detection of multiple targets.

    PubMed

    Wei, Xiaofeng; Tian, Tian; Jia, Shasha; Zhu, Zhi; Ma, Yanli; Sun, Jianjun; Lin, Zhenyu; Yang, Chaoyong James

    2015-04-21

    A versatile point-of-care assay platform was developed for simultaneous detection of multiple targets based on a microfluidic paper-based analytic device (μPAD) using a target-responsive hydrogel to mediate fluidic flow and signal readout. An aptamer-cross-linked hydrogel was used as a target-responsive flow regulator in the μPAD. In the absence of a target, the hydrogel is formed in the flow channel, stopping the flow in the μPAD and preventing the colored indicator from traveling to the final observation spot, thus yielding a "signal off" readout. In contrast, in the presence of a target, no hydrogel is formed because of the preferential interaction of target and aptamer. This allows free fluidic flow in the μPAD, carrying the indicator to the observation spot and producing a "signal on" readout. The device is inexpensive to fabricate, easy to use, and disposable after detection. Testing results can be obtained within 6 min by the naked eye via a simple loading operation without the need for any auxiliary equipment. Multiple targets, including cocaine, adenosine, and Pb(2+), can be detected simultaneously, even in complex biological matrices such as urine. The reported method offers simple, low cost, rapid, user-friendly, point-of-care testing, which will be useful in many applications.

  16. Small target detection using bilateral filter and temporal cross product in infrared images

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bae, Tae-Wuk

    2011-09-01

    We introduce a spatial and temporal target detection method using spatial bilateral filter (BF) and temporal cross product (TCP) of temporal pixels in infrared (IR) image sequences. At first, the TCP is presented to extract the characteristics of temporal pixels by using temporal profile in respective spatial coordinates of pixels. The TCP represents the cross product values by the gray level distance vector of a current temporal pixel and the adjacent temporal pixel, as well as the horizontal distance vector of the current temporal pixel and a temporal pixel corresponding to potential target center. The summation of TCP values of temporal pixels in spatial coordinates makes the temporal target image (TTI), which represents the temporal target information of temporal pixels in spatial coordinates. And then the proposed BF filter is used to extract the spatial target information. In order to predict background without targets, the proposed BF filter uses standard deviations obtained by an exponential mapping of the TCP value corresponding to the coordinate of a pixel processed spatially. The spatial target image (STI) is made by subtracting the predicted image from the original image. Thus, the spatial and temporal target image (STTI) is achieved by multiplying the STI and the TTI, and then targets finally are detected in STTI. In experimental result, the receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curves were computed experimentally to compare the objective performance. From the results, the proposed algorithm shows better discrimination of target and clutters and lower false alarm rates than the existing target detection methods.

  17. Infrared small target detection in heavy sky scene clutter based on sparse representation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Liu, Depeng; Li, Zhengzhou; Liu, Bing; Chen, Wenhao; Liu, Tianmei; Cao, Lei

    2017-09-01

    A novel infrared small target detection method based on sky clutter and target sparse representation is proposed in this paper to cope with the representing uncertainty of clutter and target. The sky scene background clutter is described by fractal random field, and it is perceived and eliminated via the sparse representation on fractal background over-complete dictionary (FBOD). The infrared small target signal is simulated by generalized Gaussian intensity model, and it is expressed by the generalized Gaussian target over-complete dictionary (GGTOD), which could describe small target more efficiently than traditional structured dictionaries. Infrared image is decomposed on the union of FBOD and GGTOD, and the sparse representation energy that target signal and background clutter decomposed on GGTOD differ so distinctly that it is adopted to distinguish target from clutter. Some experiments are induced and the experimental results show that the proposed approach could improve the small target detection performance especially under heavy clutter for background clutter could be efficiently perceived and suppressed by FBOD and the changing target could also be represented accurately by GGTOD.

  18. Morphological operators for enhanced polarimetric image target detection

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Romano, João. M.; Rosario, Dalton S.

    2015-09-01

    We introduce an algorithm based on morphological filters with the Stokes parameters that augments the daytime and nighttime detection of weak-signal manmade objects immersed in a predominant natural background scene. The approach features a tailored sequence of signal-enhancing filters, consisting of core morphological operators (dilation, erosion) and higher level morphological operations (e.g., spatial gradient, opening, closing) to achieve a desired overarching goal. Using representative data from the SPICE database, the results show that the approach was able to automatically and persistently detect with a high confidence level the presence of three mobile military howitzer surrogates (targets) in natural clutter.

  19. Comparison of human observer and algorithmic target detection in nonurban forward-looking infrared imagery

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Weber, Bruce A.

    2005-07-01

    We have performed an experiment that compares the performance of human observers with that of a robust algorithm for the detection of targets in difficult, nonurban forward-looking infrared imagery. Our purpose was to benchmark the comparison and document performance differences for future algorithm improvement. The scale-insensitive detection algorithm, used as a benchmark by the Night Vision Electronic Sensors Directorate for algorithm evaluation, employed a combination of contrastlike features to locate targets. Detection receiver operating characteristic curves and observer-confidence analyses were used to compare human and algorithmic responses and to gain insight into differences. The test database contained ground targets, in natural clutter, whose detectability, as judged by human observers, ranged from easy to very difficult. In general, as compared with human observers, the algorithm detected most of the same targets, but correlated confidence with correct detections poorly and produced many more false alarms at any useful level of performance. Though characterizing human performance was not the intent of this study, results suggest that previous observational experience was not a strong predictor of human performance, and that combining individual human observations by majority vote significantly reduced false-alarm rates.

  20. Detecting fixation on a target using time-frequency distributions of a retinal birefringence scanning signal

    PubMed Central

    2013-01-01

    Background The fovea, which is the most sensitive part of the retina, is known to have birefringent properties, i.e. it changes the polarization state of light upon reflection. Existing devices use this property to obtain information on the orientation of the fovea and the direction of gaze. Such devices employ specific frequency components that appear during moments of fixation on a target. To detect them, previous methods have used solely the power spectrum of the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT), which, unfortunately, is an integral method, and does not give information as to where exactly the events of interest occur. With very young patients who are not cooperative enough, this presents a problem, because central fixation may be present only during very short-lasting episodes, and can easily be missed by the FFT. Method This paper presents a method for detecting short-lasting moments of central fixation in existing devices for retinal birefringence scanning, with the goal of a reliable detection of eye alignment. Signal analysis is based on the Continuous Wavelet Transform (CWT), which reliably localizes such events in the time-frequency plane. Even though the characteristic frequencies are not always strongly expressed due to possible artifacts, simple topological analysis of the time-frequency distribution can detect fixation reliably. Results In all six subjects tested, the CWT allowed precise identification of both frequency components. Moreover, in four of these subjects, episodes of intermittent but definitely present central fixation were detectable, similar to those in Figure 4. A simple FFT is likely to treat them as borderline cases, or entirely miss them, depending on the thresholds used. Conclusion Joint time-frequency analysis is a powerful tool in the detection of eye alignment, even in a noisy environment. The method is applicable to similar situations, where short-lasting diagnostic events need to be detected in time series acquired by means of

  1. Analysis on Target Detection and Classification in LTE Based Passive Forward Scattering Radar

    PubMed Central

    Raja Abdullah, Raja Syamsul Azmir; Abdul Aziz, Noor Hafizah; Abdul Rashid, Nur Emileen; Ahmad Salah, Asem; Hashim, Fazirulhisyam

    2016-01-01

    The passive bistatic radar (PBR) system can utilize the illuminator of opportunity to enhance radar capability. By utilizing the forward scattering technique and procedure into the specific mode of PBR can provide an improvement in target detection and classification. The system is known as passive Forward Scattering Radar (FSR). The passive FSR system can exploit the peculiar advantage of the enhancement in forward scatter radar cross section (FSRCS) for target detection. Thus, the aim of this paper is to show the feasibility of passive FSR for moving target detection and classification by experimental analysis and results. The signal source is coming from the latest technology of 4G Long-Term Evolution (LTE) base station. A detailed explanation on the passive FSR receiver circuit, the detection scheme and the classification algorithm are given. In addition, the proposed passive FSR circuit employs the self-mixing technique at the receiver; hence the synchronization signal from the transmitter is not required. The experimental results confirm the passive FSR system’s capability for ground target detection and classification. Furthermore, this paper illustrates the first classification result in the passive FSR system. The great potential in the passive FSR system provides a new research area in passive radar that can be used for diverse remote monitoring applications. PMID:27690051

  2. Analysis on Target Detection and Classification in LTE Based Passive Forward Scattering Radar.

    PubMed

    Raja Abdullah, Raja Syamsul Azmir; Abdul Aziz, Noor Hafizah; Abdul Rashid, Nur Emileen; Ahmad Salah, Asem; Hashim, Fazirulhisyam

    2016-09-29

    The passive bistatic radar (PBR) system can utilize the illuminator of opportunity to enhance radar capability. By utilizing the forward scattering technique and procedure into the specific mode of PBR can provide an improvement in target detection and classification. The system is known as passive Forward Scattering Radar (FSR). The passive FSR system can exploit the peculiar advantage of the enhancement in forward scatter radar cross section (FSRCS) for target detection. Thus, the aim of this paper is to show the feasibility of passive FSR for moving target detection and classification by experimental analysis and results. The signal source is coming from the latest technology of 4G Long-Term Evolution (LTE) base station. A detailed explanation on the passive FSR receiver circuit, the detection scheme and the classification algorithm are given. In addition, the proposed passive FSR circuit employs the self-mixing technique at the receiver; hence the synchronization signal from the transmitter is not required. The experimental results confirm the passive FSR system's capability for ground target detection and classification. Furthermore, this paper illustrates the first classification result in the passive FSR system. The great potential in the passive FSR system provides a new research area in passive radar that can be used for diverse remote monitoring applications.

  3. Small target detection based on difference accumulation and Gaussian curvature under complex conditions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, He; Niu, Yanxiong; Zhang, Hao

    2017-12-01

    Small target detection is a significant subject in infrared search and track and other photoelectric imaging systems. The small target is imaged under complex conditions, which contains clouds, horizon and bright part. In this paper, a novel small target detection method is proposed based on difference accumulation, clustering and Gaussian curvature. Difference accumulation varies from regions. Therefore, after obtaining difference accumulations, clustering is applied to determine whether the pixel belongs to the heterogeneous region, and eliminate heterogeneous region. Then Gaussian curvature is used to separate target from the homogeneous region. Experiments are conducted for verification, along with comparisons to several other methods. The experimental results demonstrate that our method has an advantage of 1-2 orders of magnitude on SCRG and BSF than others. Given that the false alarm rate is 1, the detection probability can be approximately 0.9 by using proposed method.

  4. Insect Detection of Small Targets Moving in Visual Clutter

    PubMed Central

    Barnett, Paul D; O'Carroll, David C

    2006-01-01

    Detection of targets that move within visual clutter is a common task for animals searching for prey or conspecifics, a task made even more difficult when a moving pursuer needs to analyze targets against the motion of background texture (clutter). Despite the limited optical acuity of the compound eye of insects, this challenging task seems to have been solved by their tiny visual system. Here we describe neurons found in the male hoverfly,Eristalis tenax, that respond selectively to small moving targets. Although many of these target neurons are inhibited by the motion of a background pattern, others respond to target motion within the receptive field under a surprisingly large range of background motion stimuli. Some neurons respond whether or not there is a speed differential between target and background. Analysis of responses to very small targets (smaller than the size of the visual field of single photoreceptors) or those targets with reduced contrast shows that these neurons have extraordinarily high contrast sensitivity. Our data suggest that rejection of background motion may result from extreme selectivity for small targets contrasting against local patches of the background, combined with this high sensitivity, such that background patterns rarely contain features that satisfactorily drive the neuron. PMID:16448249

  5. Multi-Target Tracking Using an Improved Gaussian Mixture CPHD Filter.

    PubMed

    Si, Weijian; Wang, Liwei; Qu, Zhiyu

    2016-11-23

    The cardinalized probability hypothesis density (CPHD) filter is an alternative approximation to the full multi-target Bayesian filter for tracking multiple targets. However, although the joint propagation of the posterior intensity and cardinality distribution in its recursion allows more reliable estimates of the target number than the PHD filter, the CPHD filter suffers from the spooky effect where there exists arbitrary PHD mass shifting in the presence of missed detections. To address this issue in the Gaussian mixture (GM) implementation of the CPHD filter, this paper presents an improved GM-CPHD filter, which incorporates a weight redistribution scheme into the filtering process to modify the updated weights of the Gaussian components when missed detections occur. In addition, an efficient gating strategy that can adaptively adjust the gate sizes according to the number of missed detections of each Gaussian component is also presented to further improve the computational efficiency of the proposed filter. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed method offers favorable performance in terms of both estimation accuracy and robustness to clutter and detection uncertainty over the existing methods.

  6. Mixed-effects location and scale Tobit joint models for heterogeneous longitudinal data with skewness, detection limits, and measurement errors.

    PubMed

    Lu, Tao

    2017-01-01

    The joint modeling of mean and variance for longitudinal data is an active research area. This type of model has the advantage of accounting for heteroscedasticity commonly observed in between and within subject variations. Most of researches focus on improving the estimating efficiency but ignore many data features frequently encountered in practice. In this article, we develop a mixed-effects location scale joint model that concurrently accounts for longitudinal data with multiple features. Specifically, our joint model handles heterogeneity, skewness, limit of detection, measurement errors in covariates which are typically observed in the collection of longitudinal data from many studies. We employ a Bayesian approach for making inference on the joint model. The proposed model and method are applied to an AIDS study. Simulation studies are performed to assess the performance of the proposed method. Alternative models under different conditions are compared.

  7. Synovial fluid multiplex PCR is superior to culture for detection of low-virulent pathogens causing periprosthetic joint infection.

    PubMed

    Morgenstern, Christian; Cabric, Sabrina; Perka, Carsten; Trampuz, Andrej; Renz, Nora

    2018-02-01

    Analysis of joint aspirate is the standard preoperative investigation for diagnosis of periprosthetic joint infection (PJI). We compared the diagnostic performance of culture and multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of synovial fluid for diagnosis of PJI. Patients in whom aspiration of the prosthetic hip or knee joint was performed before revision arthroplasty were prospectively included. The performance of synovial fluid culture and multiplex PCR was compared by McNemar's chi-squared test. A total of 142 patients were included, 82 with knee and 60 with hip prosthesis. PJI was diagnosed in 77 patients (54%) and aseptic failure in 65 patients (46%). The sensitivity of synovial fluid culture and PCR was 52% and 60%, respectively, showing concordant results in 116 patients (82%). In patients with PJI, PCR missed 6 high-virulent pathogens (S. aureus, streptococci, E. faecalis, E. coli) which grew in synovial fluid culture, whereas synovial fluid culture missed 12 pathogens detected by multiplex PCR, predominantly low-virulent pathogens (Cutibacterium acnes and coagulase-negative staphylococci). In patients with aseptic failure, PCR detected 6 low-virulent organisms (predominantly C. acnes). While the overall performance of synovial fluid PCR was comparable to culture, PCR was superior for detection of low-virulent bacteria such as Cutibacterium spp. and coagulase-negative staphylococci. In addition, synovial fluid culture required several days for growth, whereas multiplex PCR provided results within 5hours in an automated manner. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  8. Target Coverage in Wireless Sensor Networks with Probabilistic Sensors

    PubMed Central

    Shan, Anxing; Xu, Xianghua; Cheng, Zongmao

    2016-01-01

    Sensing coverage is a fundamental problem in wireless sensor networks (WSNs), which has attracted considerable attention. Conventional research on this topic focuses on the 0/1 coverage model, which is only a coarse approximation to the practical sensing model. In this paper, we study the target coverage problem, where the objective is to find the least number of sensor nodes in randomly-deployed WSNs based on the probabilistic sensing model. We analyze the joint detection probability of target with multiple sensors. Based on the theoretical analysis of the detection probability, we formulate the minimum ϵ-detection coverage problem. We prove that the minimum ϵ-detection coverage problem is NP-hard and present an approximation algorithm called the Probabilistic Sensor Coverage Algorithm (PSCA) with provable approximation ratios. To evaluate our design, we analyze the performance of PSCA theoretically and also perform extensive simulations to demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed algorithm. PMID:27618902

  9. Gastric cancer target detection using near-infrared hyperspectral imaging with chemometrics

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yi, Weisong; Zhang, Jian; Jiang, Houmin; Zhang, Niya

    2014-09-01

    Gastric cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer death in the world due to its high morbidity and mortality. Hyperspectral imaging (HSI) is an emerging, non-destructive, cutting edge analytical technology that combines conventional imaging and spectroscopy in one single system. The manuscript has investigated the application of near-infrared hyperspectral imaging (900-1700 nm) (NIR-HSI) for gastric cancer detection with algorithms. Major spectral differences were observed in three regions (950-1050, 1150-1250, and 1400-1500 nm). By inspecting cancerous mean spectrum three major absorption bands were observed around 975, 1215 and 1450 nm. Furthermore, the cancer target detection results are consistent and conformed with histopathological examination results. These results suggest that NIR-HSI is a simple, feasible and sensitive optical diagnostic technology for gastric cancer target detection with chemometrics.

  10. Real-Time Adaptation of Decision Thresholds in Sensor Networks for Detection of Moving Targets (PREPRINT)

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2010-01-01

    target kinematics for multiple sensor detections is referred to as the track - before - detect strategy, and is commonly adopted in multi-sensor surveillance...of moving targets. Wettergren [4] presented an application of track - before - detect strategies to undersea distributed sensor networks. In de- signing...the deployment of a distributed passive sensor network that employs this track - before - detect procedure, it is impera- tive that the placement of

  11. Identifying Minefields and Verifying Clearance: Adapting Statistical Methods for UXO Target Detection

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

    Gilbert, Richard O.; O'Brien, Robert F.; Wilson, John E.

    2003-09-01

    It may not be feasible to completely survey large tracts of land suspected of containing minefields. It is desirable to develop a characterization protocol that will confidently identify minefields within these large land tracts if they exist. Naturally, surveying areas of greatest concern and most likely locations would be necessary but will not provide the needed confidence that an unknown minefield had not eluded detection. Once minefields are detected, methods are needed to bound the area that will require detailed mine detection surveys. The US Department of Defense Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP) is sponsoring the development ofmore » statistical survey methods and tools for detecting potential UXO targets. These methods may be directly applicable to demining efforts. Statistical methods are employed to determine the optimal geophysical survey transect spacing to have confidence of detecting target areas of a critical size, shape, and anomaly density. Other methods under development determine the proportion of a land area that must be surveyed to confidently conclude that there are no UXO present. Adaptive sampling schemes are also being developed as an approach for bounding the target areas. These methods and tools will be presented and the status of relevant research in this area will be discussed.« less

  12. Effect of inherent location uncertainty on detection of stationary targets in noisy image sequences.

    PubMed

    Manjeshwar, R M; Wilson, D L

    2001-01-01

    The effect of inherent location uncertainty on the detection of stationary targets was determined in noisy image sequences. Targets were thick and thin projected cylinders mimicking arteries, catheters, and guide wires in medical imaging x-ray fluoroscopy. With the use of an adaptive forced-choice method, detection contrast sensitivity (the inverse of contrast) was measured both with and without marker cues that directed the attention of observers to the target location. With the probability correct clamped at 80%, contrast sensitivity increased an average of 77% when the marker was added to the thin-cylinder target. There was an insignificant effect on the thick cylinder. The large enhancement with the thin cylinder was obtained even though the target was located exactly in the center of a small panel, giving observers the impression that it was well localized. Psychometric functions consisting of d' plotted as a function of the square root of the signal-energy-to-noise-ratio gave a positive x intercept for the case of the thin cylinder without a marker. This x intercept, characteristic of uncertainty in other types of detection experiments, disappeared when the marker was added or when the thick cylinder was used. Inherent location uncertainty was further characterized by using four different markers with varying proximity to the target. Visual detection by human observers increased monotonically as the markers better localized the target. Human performance was modeled as a matched-filter detector with an uncertainty in the placement of the template. The removal of a location cue was modeled by introducing a location uncertainty of approximately equals 0.4 mm on the display device or only 7 microm on the retina, a size on the order of a single photoreceptor field. We conclude that detection is affected by target location uncertainty on the order of cellular dimensions, an observation with important implications for detection mechanisms in humans. In medical

  13. A new EMI system for detection and classification of challenging targets

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shubitidze, F.; Fernández, J. P.; Barrowes, B. E.; O'Neill, K.

    2013-06-01

    Advanced electromagnetic induction (EMI) sensors currently feature multi-axis illumination of targets and tri-axial vector sensing (e.g., MetalMapper), or exploit multi-static array data acquisition (e.g., TEMTADS). They produce data of high density, quality, and diversity, and have been combined with advanced EMI models to provide superb classification performance relative to the previous generation of single-axis, monostatic sensors. However, these advances yet have to improve significantly our ability to classify small, deep, and otherwise challenging targets. Particularly, recent live-site discrimination studies at Camp Butner, NC and Camp Beale, CA have revealed that it is more challenging to detect and discriminate small munitions (with calibers ranging from 20 mm to 60 mm) than larger ones. In addition, a live-site test at the Massachusetts Military Reservation, MA highlighted the difficulties for current sensors to classify large, deep, and overlapping targets with high confidence. There are two main approaches to overcome these problems: 1) adapt advanced EMI models to the existing systems and 2) improve the detection limits of current sensors by modifying their hardware. In this paper we demonstrate a combined software/hardware approach that will provide extended detection range and spatial resolution to next-generation EMI systems; we analyze and invert EMI data to extract classification features for small and deep targets; and we propose a new system that features a large transmitter coil.

  14. A novel infrared small moving target detection method based on tracking interest points under complicated background

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dong, Xiabin; Huang, Xinsheng; Zheng, Yongbin; Bai, Shengjian; Xu, Wanying

    2014-07-01

    Infrared moving target detection is an important part of infrared technology. We introduce a novel infrared small moving target detection method based on tracking interest points under complicated background. Firstly, Difference of Gaussians (DOG) filters are used to detect a group of interest points (including the moving targets). Secondly, a sort of small targets tracking method inspired by Human Visual System (HVS) is used to track these interest points for several frames, and then the correlations between interest points in the first frame and the last frame are obtained. Last, a new clustering method named as R-means is proposed to divide these interest points into two groups according to the correlations, one is target points and another is background points. In experimental results, the target-to-clutter ratio (TCR) and the receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curves are computed experimentally to compare the performances of the proposed method and other five sophisticated methods. From the results, the proposed method shows a better discrimination of targets and clutters and has a lower false alarm rate than the existing moving target detection methods.

  15. An Efficient Moving Target Detection Algorithm Based on Sparsity-Aware Spectrum Estimation

    PubMed Central

    Shen, Mingwei; Wang, Jie; Wu, Di; Zhu, Daiyin

    2014-01-01

    In this paper, an efficient direct data domain space-time adaptive processing (STAP) algorithm for moving targets detection is proposed, which is achieved based on the distinct spectrum features of clutter and target signals in the angle-Doppler domain. To reduce the computational complexity, the high-resolution angle-Doppler spectrum is obtained by finding the sparsest coefficients in the angle domain using the reduced-dimension data within each Doppler bin. Moreover, we will then present a knowledge-aided block-size detection algorithm that can discriminate between the moving targets and the clutter based on the extracted spectrum features. The feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed method are validated through both numerical simulations and raw data processing results. PMID:25222035

  16. Reliable motion detection of small targets in video with low signal-to-clutter ratios

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

    Nichols, S.A.; Naylor, R.B.

    1995-07-01

    Studies show that vigilance decreases rapidly after several minutes when human operators are required to search live video for infrequent intrusion detections. Therefore, there is a need for systems which can automatically detect targets in live video and reserve the operator`s attention for assessment only. Thus far, automated systems have not simultaneously provided adequate detection sensitivity, false alarm suppression, and ease of setup when used in external, unconstrained environments. This unsatisfactory performance can be exacerbated by poor video imagery with low contrast, high noise, dynamic clutter, image misregistration, and/or the presence of small, slow, or erratically moving targets. This papermore » describes a highly adaptive video motion detection and tracking algorithm which has been developed as part of Sandia`s Advanced Exterior Sensor (AES) program. The AES is a wide-area detection and assessment system for use in unconstrained exterior security applications. The AES detection and tracking algorithm provides good performance under stressing data and environmental conditions. Features of the algorithm include: reliable detection with negligible false alarm rate of variable velocity targets having low signal-to-clutter ratios; reliable tracking of targets that exhibit motion that is non-inertial, i.e., varies in direction and velocity; automatic adaptation to both infrared and visible imagery with variable quality; and suppression of false alarms caused by sensor flaws and/or cutouts.« less

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

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

    2017-06-01

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

  18. Feature-extracted joint transform correlation.

    PubMed

    Alam, M S

    1995-12-10

    A new technique for real-time optical character recognition that uses a joint transform correlator is proposed. This technique employs feature-extracted patterns for the reference image to detect a wide range of characters in one step. The proposed technique significantly enhances the processing speed when compared with the presently available joint transform correlator architectures and shows feasibility for multichannel joint transform correlation.

  19. A statistical approach to detection of copy number variations in PCR-enriched targeted sequencing data.

    PubMed

    Demidov, German; Simakova, Tamara; Vnuchkova, Julia; Bragin, Anton

    2016-10-22

    Multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a common enrichment technique for targeted massive parallel sequencing (MPS) protocols. MPS is widely used in biomedical research and clinical diagnostics as the fast and accurate tool for the detection of short genetic variations. However, identification of larger variations such as structure variants and copy number variations (CNV) is still being a challenge for targeted MPS. Some approaches and tools for structural variants detection were proposed, but they have limitations and often require datasets of certain type, size and expected number of amplicons affected by CNVs. In the paper, we describe novel algorithm for high-resolution germinal CNV detection in the PCR-enriched targeted sequencing data and present accompanying tool. We have developed a machine learning algorithm for the detection of large duplications and deletions in the targeted sequencing data generated with PCR-based enrichment step. We have performed verification studies and established the algorithm's sensitivity and specificity. We have compared developed tool with other available methods applicable for the described data and revealed its higher performance. We showed that our method has high specificity and sensitivity for high-resolution copy number detection in targeted sequencing data using large cohort of samples.

  20. Measuring target detection performance in paradigms with high event rates.

    PubMed

    Bendixen, Alexandra; Andersen, Søren K

    2013-05-01

    Combining behavioral and neurophysiological measurements inevitably implies mutual constraints, such as when the neurophysiological measurement requires fast-paced stimulus presentation and hence the attribution of a behavioral response to a particular preceding stimulus becomes ambiguous. We develop and test a method for validly assessing behavioral detection performance in spite of this ambiguity. We examine four approaches taken in the literature to treat such situations. We analytically derive a new variant of computing the classical parameters of signal detection theory, hit and false alarm rates, adapted to fast-paced paradigms. Each of the previous approaches shows specific shortcomings (susceptibility towards response window choice, biased estimates of behavioral detection performance). Superior performance of our new approach is demonstrated for both simulated and empirical behavioral data. Further evidence is provided by reliable correspondence between behavioral performance and the N2b component as an electrophysiological indicator of target detection. The appropriateness of our approach is substantiated by both theoretical and empirical arguments. We demonstrate an easy-to-implement solution for measuring target detection performance independent of the rate of event presentation. Thus overcoming the measurement bias of previous approaches, our method will help to clarify the behavioral relevance of different measures of cortical activation. Copyright © 2012 International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. Aircraft target detection algorithm based on high resolution spaceborne SAR imagery

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, Hui; Hao, Mengxi; Zhang, Cong; Su, Xiaojing

    2018-03-01

    In this paper, an image classification algorithm for airport area is proposed, which based on the statistical features of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images and the spatial information of pixels. The algorithm combines Gamma mixture model and MRF. The algorithm using Gamma mixture model to obtain the initial classification result. Pixel space correlation based on the classification results are optimized by the MRF technique. Additionally, morphology methods are employed to extract airport (ROI) region where the suspected aircraft target samples are clarified to reduce the false alarm and increase the detection performance. Finally, this paper presents the plane target detection, which have been verified by simulation test.

  2. Superior Recess Access of the Lumbar Facet Joint.

    PubMed

    Demir-Deviren, Sibel; Singh, Sukhminder; Hanelin, Joshua

    2017-04-01

    Descriptive approach to accessing the lumbar facet joint by superior recess. This study is aimed to describe an approach to accessing the lumbar facet joint through targeting the superior recess during lumbar facet joint injections. Lumbar facet joint injections are routinely performed for both the diagnosis and treatment of chronic low back pain. Previous studies either did not specify which part of the joint to target, or recommended targeting the inferior aspect of the joint to access the inferior recess. One study did mention the superior recess as an alternative to injecting the inferior recess, but none has focused on description of the technique. This is the first time this technique has been described. The records and fluoroscopic images were reviewed for all patients over a period of 9 months (January-September 2012) using the proposed technique. This resulted in a total of 48 patients; 15 men, 29 women, and a total of 117 facet joint intra-articular injections. Among these 48 patients, injections were repeated in total of 4 cases. The average time of injections among 4 repeat cases was 121 days. The success of the procedure was confirmed with an arthrogram demonstrating contrast flowing from the superior recess inferiorly through the joint space. Successful access of the lumbar facet joint through puncture of the superior recess was seen in 114 cases, with 3 unsuccessful attempts to enter facet joints due to osteophytes at involved levels. There were no complications observed during the procedure. We find this approach to be highly successful, safe, and well tolerated by the patient and recommend it as a technique for access of the lumbar facet joint in those patients in whom direct puncture of the inferior recess is difficult.

  3. New target and detection methods: active detectors

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mittig, W.; Savajols, H.; Demonchy, C. E.; Giot, L.; Roussel-Chomaz, P.; Wang, H.; Ter-Akopian, G.; Fomichev, A.; Golovkov, M. S.; Stepansov, S.; Wolski, R.; Alamanos, N.; Drouart, A.; Gillibert, A.; Lapoux, V.; Pollacco, E.

    2003-07-01

    The study of nuclei far from stability interacting with simple target nuclei, such as protons, deuterons, 3He and 4He implies the use of inverse kinematics. The very special kinematics, together with the low intensities of the beams calls for special techniques. In july 2002 we tested a new detector, in which the detector gas is the target. This allows in principle a 4π solid angle of the detection, and a big effective target thickness without loss of resolution. The detector developped, called Maya, used isobuthane C4H10 as gas in present tests, and other gases are possible. The multiplexed electronics of more than 1000channels allows the reconstruction of the events occuring between the incoming particle and the detector gas atoms in 3D. Here we were interested in the elastic scattering of 8He on protons for the study of the isobaric analogue states (IAS) of 9He. The beam, in this case, is stopped in the detector. The resonance energy is determined by the place of interaction and the energy of the recoiling proton. The design of the detector is shown, together with some preliminary results are discussed.

  4. Location detection and tracking of moving targets by a 2D IR-UWB radar system.

    PubMed

    Nguyen, Van-Han; Pyun, Jae-Young

    2015-03-19

    In indoor environments, the Global Positioning System (GPS) and long-range tracking radar systems are not optimal, because of signal propagation limitations in the indoor environment. In recent years, the use of ultra-wide band (UWB) technology has become a possible solution for object detection, localization and tracking in indoor environments, because of its high range resolution, compact size and low cost. This paper presents improved target detection and tracking techniques for moving objects with impulse-radio UWB (IR-UWB) radar in a short-range indoor area. This is achieved through signal-processing steps, such as clutter reduction, target detection, target localization and tracking. In this paper, we introduce a new combination consisting of our proposed signal-processing procedures. In the clutter-reduction step, a filtering method that uses a Kalman filter (KF) is proposed. Then, in the target detection step, a modification of the conventional CLEAN algorithm which is used to estimate the impulse response from observation region is applied for the advanced elimination of false alarms. Then, the output is fed into the target localization and tracking step, in which the target location and trajectory are determined and tracked by using unscented KF in two-dimensional coordinates. In each step, the proposed methods are compared to conventional methods to demonstrate the differences in performance. The experiments are carried out using actual IR-UWB radar under different scenarios. The results verify that the proposed methods can improve the probability and efficiency of target detection and tracking.

  5. Key parameters design of an aerial target detection system on a space-based platform

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhu, Hanlu; Li, Yejin; Hu, Tingliang; Rao, Peng

    2018-02-01

    To ensure flight safety of an aerial aircraft and avoid recurrence of aircraft collisions, a method of multi-information fusion is proposed to design the key parameter to realize aircraft target detection on a space-based platform. The key parameters of a detection wave band and spatial resolution using the target-background absolute contrast, target-background relative contrast, and signal-to-clutter ratio were determined. This study also presented the signal-to-interference ratio for analyzing system performance. Key parameters are obtained through the simulation of a specific aircraft. And the simulation results show that the boundary ground sampling distance is 30 and 35 m in the mid- wavelength infrared (MWIR) and long-wavelength infrared (LWIR) bands for most aircraft detection, and the most reasonable detection wavebands is 3.4 to 4.2 μm and 4.35 to 4.5 μm in the MWIR bands, and 9.2 to 9.8 μm in the LWIR bands. We also found that the direction of detection has a great impact on the detection efficiency, especially in MWIR bands.

  6. Detecting Key Inter-Joint Distances and Anthropometry Effects for Static Gesture Development using Microsoft Kinect

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2013-09-01

    DATES COVERED (From - To) 1 Sep 2013–30 Sep 2013 4 . TITLE AND SUBTITLE Detecting Key Inter-Joint Distances and Anthropometry Effects for Static Gesture...13. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES “Nintendo Wii” is a registered trademark of Nintendo Company, Ltd. “ PlayStation ” is a registered trademark of Sony...Computer Entertainment; PlayStation “Move” ® (Sony Computer Entertainment). “Kinect” is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation. Merriam-Webster

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

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2016-06-01

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

  8. Targeted Feature Detection for Data-Dependent Shotgun Proteomics.

    PubMed

    Weisser, Hendrik; Choudhary, Jyoti S

    2017-08-04

    Label-free quantification of shotgun LC-MS/MS data is the prevailing approach in quantitative proteomics but remains computationally nontrivial. The central data analysis step is the detection of peptide-specific signal patterns, called features. Peptide quantification is facilitated by associating signal intensities in features with peptide sequences derived from MS2 spectra; however, missing values due to imperfect feature detection are a common problem. A feature detection approach that directly targets identified peptides (minimizing missing values) but also offers robustness against false-positive features (by assigning meaningful confidence scores) would thus be highly desirable. We developed a new feature detection algorithm within the OpenMS software framework, leveraging ideas and algorithms from the OpenSWATH toolset for DIA/SRM data analysis. Our software, FeatureFinderIdentification ("FFId"), implements a targeted approach to feature detection based on information from identified peptides. This information is encoded in an MS1 assay library, based on which ion chromatogram extraction and detection of feature candidates are carried out. Significantly, when analyzing data from experiments comprising multiple samples, our approach distinguishes between "internal" and "external" (inferred) peptide identifications (IDs) for each sample. On the basis of internal IDs, two sets of positive (true) and negative (decoy) feature candidates are defined. A support vector machine (SVM) classifier is then trained to discriminate between the sets and is subsequently applied to the "uncertain" feature candidates from external IDs, facilitating selection and confidence scoring of the best feature candidate for each peptide. This approach also enables our algorithm to estimate the false discovery rate (FDR) of the feature selection step. We validated FFId based on a public benchmark data set, comprising a yeast cell lysate spiked with protein standards that provide a known

  9. Flexor bias of joint position in humans during spaceflight

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    McCall, G. E.; Goulet, C.; Boorman, G. I.; Roy, R. R.; Edgerton, V. R.

    2003-01-01

    The ability to estimate ankle and elbow joint position was tested before, during, and after a 17-day spaceflight. Subjects estimated targeted joint angles during isovelocity (IsoV) joint movements with agonist muscle groups either active or relaxed. These movements included elbow extension (EE) and elbow flexion (EF), and plantarflexion (PF) and dorsiflexion (DF) of the ankle. Subjects also estimated these joint positions while moving the dynamometer at their chosen (variable) velocity (VarV) during EE and PF. For IsoV tests, no differences were observed between active and passive movements for either the ankle or elbow. Compared with those of pre-flight test days, estimates of targeted elbow joint angles were approximately 5 degrees to 15 degrees more flexed in-flight, and returned toward the pre-flight values during recovery. The spaceflight effects for the ankle were inconsistent and less prevalent than those for the elbow. The VarV PF test condition for the 120 degrees target angle at the ankle exhibited approximately 5 degrees to 7 degrees more DF target angle estimates in-flight compared with those pre- or post-flight. In contrast, during IsoV PF there was a tendency for ankle estimates to be approximately 2 degrees to 3 degrees more PF after 2-3 days exposure to spaceflight. These data indicate that during spaceflight the perception of elbow extension is greater than actuality, and are consistent with the interpretation that microgravity induced a flexor bias in the estimation of the actual elbow joint position. Moreover, these effects in joint proprioception during spaceflight were observed in individual isolated single-joint movements during tasks in which vestibular function in maintaining posture were minimal.

  10. Flexor bias of joint position in humans during spaceflight.

    PubMed

    McCall, G E; Goulet, C; Boorman, G I; Roy, R R; Edgerton, V R

    2003-09-01

    The ability to estimate ankle and elbow joint position was tested before, during, and after a 17-day spaceflight. Subjects estimated targeted joint angles during isovelocity (IsoV) joint movements with agonist muscle groups either active or relaxed. These movements included elbow extension (EE) and elbow flexion (EF), and plantarflexion (PF) and dorsiflexion (DF) of the ankle. Subjects also estimated these joint positions while moving the dynamometer at their chosen (variable) velocity (VarV) during EE and PF. For IsoV tests, no differences were observed between active and passive movements for either the ankle or elbow. Compared with those of pre-flight test days, estimates of targeted elbow joint angles were approximately 5 degrees to 15 degrees more flexed in-flight, and returned toward the pre-flight values during recovery. The spaceflight effects for the ankle were inconsistent and less prevalent than those for the elbow. The VarV PF test condition for the 120 degrees target angle at the ankle exhibited approximately 5 degrees to 7 degrees more DF target angle estimates in-flight compared with those pre- or post-flight. In contrast, during IsoV PF there was a tendency for ankle estimates to be approximately 2 degrees to 3 degrees more PF after 2-3 days exposure to spaceflight. These data indicate that during spaceflight the perception of elbow extension is greater than actuality, and are consistent with the interpretation that microgravity induced a flexor bias in the estimation of the actual elbow joint position. Moreover, these effects in joint proprioception during spaceflight were observed in individual isolated single-joint movements during tasks in which vestibular function in maintaining posture were minimal.

  11. Infrared maritime target detection using the high order statistic filtering in fractional Fourier domain

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhou, Anran; Xie, Weixin; Pei, Jihong

    2018-06-01

    Accurate detection of maritime targets in infrared imagery under various sea clutter conditions is always a challenging task. The fractional Fourier transform (FRFT) is the extension of the Fourier transform in the fractional order, and has richer spatial-frequency information. By combining it with the high order statistic filtering, a new ship detection method is proposed. First, the proper range of angle parameter is determined to make it easier for the ship components and background to be separated. Second, a new high order statistic curve (HOSC) at each fractional frequency point is designed. It is proved that maximal peak interval in HOSC reflects the target information, while the points outside the interval reflect the background. And the value of HOSC relative to the ship is much bigger than that to the sea clutter. Then, search the curve's maximal target peak interval and extract the interval by bandpass filtering in fractional Fourier domain. The value outside the peak interval of HOSC decreases rapidly to 0, so the background is effectively suppressed. Finally, the detection result is obtained by the double threshold segmenting and the target region selection method. The results show the proposed method is excellent for maritime targets detection with high clutters.

  12. Random Access Memories: A New Paradigm for Target Detection in High Resolution Aerial Remote Sensing Images.

    PubMed

    Zou, Zhengxia; Shi, Zhenwei

    2018-03-01

    We propose a new paradigm for target detection in high resolution aerial remote sensing images under small target priors. Previous remote sensing target detection methods frame the detection as learning of detection model + inference of class-label and bounding-box coordinates. Instead, we formulate it from a Bayesian view that at inference stage, the detection model is adaptively updated to maximize its posterior that is determined by both training and observation. We call this paradigm "random access memories (RAM)." In this paradigm, "Memories" can be interpreted as any model distribution learned from training data and "random access" means accessing memories and randomly adjusting the model at detection phase to obtain better adaptivity to any unseen distribution of test data. By leveraging some latest detection techniques e.g., deep Convolutional Neural Networks and multi-scale anchors, experimental results on a public remote sensing target detection data set show our method outperforms several other state of the art methods. We also introduce a new data set "LEarning, VIsion and Remote sensing laboratory (LEVIR)", which is one order of magnitude larger than other data sets of this field. LEVIR consists of a large set of Google Earth images, with over 22 k images and 10 k independently labeled targets. RAM gives noticeable upgrade of accuracy (an mean average precision improvement of 1% ~ 4%) of our baseline detectors with acceptable computational overhead.

  13. Staircase-scene-based nonuniformity correction in aerial point target detection systems.

    PubMed

    Huo, Lijun; Zhou, Dabiao; Wang, Dejiang; Liu, Rang; He, Bin

    2016-09-01

    Focal-plane arrays (FPAs) are often interfered by heavy fixed-pattern noise, which severely degrades the detection rate and increases the false alarms in airborne point target detection systems. Thus, high-precision nonuniformity correction is an essential preprocessing step. In this paper, a new nonuniformity correction method is proposed based on a staircase scene. This correction method can compensate for the nonlinear response of the detector and calibrate the entire optical system with computational efficiency and implementation simplicity. Then, a proof-of-concept point target detection system is established with a long-wave Sofradir FPA. Finally, the local standard deviation of the corrected image and the signal-to-clutter ratio of the Airy disk of a Boeing B738 are measured to evaluate the performance of the proposed nonuniformity correction method. Our experimental results demonstrate that the proposed correction method achieves high-quality corrections.

  14. Three plot correlation-based small infrared target detection in dense sun-glint environment for infrared search and track

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kim, Sungho; Choi, Byungin; Kim, Jieun; Kwon, Soon; Kim, Kyung-Tae

    2012-05-01

    This paper presents a separate spatio-temporal filter based small infrared target detection method to address the sea-based infrared search and track (IRST) problem in dense sun-glint environment. It is critical to detect small infrared targets such as sea-skimming missiles or asymmetric small ships for national defense. On the sea surface, sun-glint clutters degrade the detection performance. Furthermore, if we have to detect true targets using only three images with a low frame rate camera, then the problem is more difficult. We propose a novel three plot correlation filter and statistics based clutter reduction method to achieve robust small target detection rate in dense sun-glint environment. We validate the robust detection performance of the proposed method via real infrared test sequences including synthetic targets.

  15. Target-protecting dumbbell molecular probe against exonucleases digestion for sensitive detection of ATP and streptavidin.

    PubMed

    Chen, Jinyang; Liu, Yucheng; Ji, Xinghu; He, Zhike

    2016-09-15

    In this work, a versatile dumbbell molecular (DM) probe was designed and employed in the sensitively homogeneous bioassay. In the presence of target molecule, the DM probe was protected from the digestion of exonucleases. Subsequently, the protected DM probe specifically bound to the intercalation dye and resulted in obvious fluorescence signal which was used to determine the target molecule in return. This design allows specific and versatile detection of diverse targets with easy operation and no sophisticated fluorescence labeling. Integrating the idea of target-protecting DM probe with adenosine triphosphate (ATP) involved ligation reaction, the DM probe with 5'-end phosphorylation was successfully constructed for ATP detection, and the limitation of detection was found to be 4.8 pM. Thanks to its excellent selectivity and sensitivity, this sensing strategy was used to detect ATP spiked in human serum as well as cellular ATP. Moreover, the proposed strategy was also applied in the visual detection of ATP in droplet-based microfluidic platform with satisfactory results. Similarly, combining the principle of target-protecting DM probe with streptavidin (SA)-biotin interaction, the DM probe with 3'-end biotinylation was developed for selective and sensitive SA determination, which demonstrated the robustness and versatility of this design. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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

    PubMed

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

    2007-11-01

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

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

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

    2007-11-01

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

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

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

    2008-10-01

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

  19. Hand-held optical imager (Gen-2): improved instrumentation and target detectability

    PubMed Central

    Gonzalez, Jean; DeCerce, Joseph; Erickson, Sarah J.; Martinez, Sergio L.; Nunez, Annie; Roman, Manuela; Traub, Barbara; Flores, Cecilia A.; Roberts, Seigbeh M.; Hernandez, Estrella; Aguirre, Wenceslao; Kiszonas, Richard

    2012-01-01

    Abstract. Hand-held optical imagers are developed by various researchers towards reflectance-based spectroscopic imaging of breast cancer. Recently, a Gen-1 handheld optical imager was developed with capabilities to perform two-dimensional (2-D) spectroscopic as well as three-dimensional (3-D) tomographic imaging studies. However, the imager was bulky with poor surface contact (∼30%) along curved tissues, and limited sensitivity to detect targets consistently. Herein, a Gen-2 hand-held optical imager that overcame the above limitations of the Gen-1 imager has been developed and the instrumentation described. The Gen-2 hand-held imager is less bulky, portable, and has improved surface contact (∼86%) on curved tissues. Additionally, the forked probe head design is capable of simultaneous bilateral reflectance imaging of both breast tissues, and also transillumination imaging of a single breast tissue. Experimental studies were performed on tissue phantoms to demonstrate the improved sensitivity in detecting targets using the Gen-2 imager. The improved instrumentation of the Gen-2 imager allowed detection of targets independent of their location with respect to the illumination points, unlike in Gen-1 imager. The developed imager has potential for future clinical breast imaging with enhanced sensitivity, via both reflectance and transillumination imaging. PMID:23224163

  20. Effect of radar frequency on the detection of shaped (low RCS) targets

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Moraitis, D.; Alland, S.

    The use of shaping to reduce the radar cross-section (RCS) of aircraft and missiles can result in the RCS varying significantly with radar operating frequency. This RCS sensitivity to frequency should be considered when selecting radar frequency and should be accounted for when evaluating radar performance. A detection range increase for shaped (low RCS) targets of a factor of two or greater can be realized for lower frequency radar (e.g., UHF-Band or L-Band) when compared to higher frequency radar (C-Band or X-Band). For low flying (sea skimming) targets, the RCS variation with frequency for shaped (low RCS) targets neutralizes the advantage that higher radar frequencies realize in multipath propagation resulting in approximately the same detection range across the radar bands from UHF to X-Band.

  1. Drivers' detection of roadside targets when driving vehicles with three headlight systems during high beam activation.

    PubMed

    Reagan, Ian J; Brumbelow, Matthew L

    2017-02-01

    A previous open-road experiment indicated that curve-adaptive HID headlights driven with low beams improved drivers' detection of low conspicuity targets compared with fixed halogen and fixed HID low beam systems. The current study used the same test environment and targets to assess whether drivers' detection of targets was affected by the same three headlight systems when using high beams. Twenty drivers search and responded for 60 8×12inch targets of high or low reflectance that were distributed evenly across straight and curved road sections as they drove at 30 mph on an unlit two-lane rural road. The results indicate that target detection performance was generally similar across the three systems. However, one interaction indicated that drivers saw low reflectance targets on straight road sections from further away when driving with the fixed halogen high beam condition compared with curve-adaptive HID high beam headlights and also indicated a possible benefit for the curve-adaptive HID high beams for high reflectance targets placed on the inside of curves. The results of this study conflict with the previous study of low beams, which showed a consistent benefit for the curve-adaptive HID low beams for targets placed on curves compared with fixed HID and fixed halogen low beam conditions. However, a comparison of mean detection distances from the two studies indicated uniformly longer mean target detection distances for participants driving with high beams and implicates the potential visibility benefits for systems that optimize proper high beam use. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Research on the algorithm of infrared target detection based on the frame difference and background subtraction method

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Liu, Yun; Zhao, Yuejin; Liu, Ming; Dong, Liquan; Hui, Mei; Liu, Xiaohua; Wu, Yijian

    2015-09-01

    As an important branch of infrared imaging technology, infrared target tracking and detection has a very important scientific value and a wide range of applications in both military and civilian areas. For the infrared image which is characterized by low SNR and serious disturbance of background noise, an innovative and effective target detection algorithm is proposed in this paper, according to the correlation of moving target frame-to-frame and the irrelevance of noise in sequential images based on OpenCV. Firstly, since the temporal differencing and background subtraction are very complementary, we use a combined detection method of frame difference and background subtraction which is based on adaptive background updating. Results indicate that it is simple and can extract the foreground moving target from the video sequence stably. For the background updating mechanism continuously updating each pixel, we can detect the infrared moving target more accurately. It paves the way for eventually realizing real-time infrared target detection and tracking, when transplanting the algorithms on OpenCV to the DSP platform. Afterwards, we use the optimal thresholding arithmetic to segment image. It transforms the gray images to black-white images in order to provide a better condition for the image sequences detection. Finally, according to the relevance of moving objects between different frames and mathematical morphology processing, we can eliminate noise, decrease the area, and smooth region boundaries. Experimental results proves that our algorithm precisely achieve the purpose of rapid detection of small infrared target.

  3. Target Detection of Quantum Illumination Receiver Based on Photon-subtracted Entanglement State

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chi, Jiao; Liu, HongJun; Huang, Nan; Wang, ZhaoLu

    2017-12-01

    We theoretically propose a quantum illumination receiver based on the ideal photon-subtracted two-mode squeezed state (PSTMSS) to efficiently detect the noise-hidden target. This receiver is generated by applying an optical parametric amplifier (OPA) to the cross correlation detection. With analyzing the output performance, it is found that OPA as a preposition technology of the receiver can contribute to the PSTMSS by significantly reducing the error probability than that of the general two-mode squeezed state (TMSS). Comparing with TMSS, the signal-to-noise ratio of quantum illumination based on ideal PSTMSS and OPA is improved more than 4 dB under an optimal gain of OPA. This work may provide a potential improvement in the application of accurate target detection when two kinds of resource have the identical real squeezing parameter.

  4. Hyperspectral data collection for the assessment of target detection algorithms: the Viareggio 2013 trial

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rossi, Alessandro; Acito, Nicola; Diani, Marco; Corsini, Giovanni; De Ceglie, Sergio Ugo; Riccobono, Aldo; Chiarantini, Leandro

    2014-10-01

    Airborne hyperspectral imagery is valuable for military and civilian applications, such as target identification, detection of anomalies and changes within multiple acquisitions. In target detection (TD) applications, the performance assessment of different algorithms is an important and critical issue. In this context, the small number of public available hyperspectral data motivated us to perform an extensive measurement campaign including various operating scenarios. The campaign was organized by CISAM in cooperation with University of Pisa, Selex ES and CSSN-ITE, and it was conducted in Viareggio, Italy in May, 2013. The Selex ES airborne hyperspectral sensor SIM.GA was mounted on board of an airplane to collect images over different sites in the morning and afternoon of two subsequent days. This paper describes the hyperspectral data collection of the trial. Four different sites were set up, representing a complex urban scenario, two parking lots and a rural area. Targets with dimensions comparable to the sensor ground resolution were deployed in the sites to reproduce different operating situations. An extensive ground truth documentation completes the data collection. Experiments to test anomalous change detection techniques were set up changing the position of the deployed targets. Search and rescue scenarios were simulated to evaluate the performance of anomaly detection algorithms. Moreover, the reflectance signatures of the targets were measured on the ground to perform spectral matching in varying atmospheric and illumination conditions. The paper presents some preliminary results that show the effectiveness of hyperspectral data exploitation for the object detection tasks of interest in this work.

  5. Joint channel estimation and multi-user detection for multipath fading channels in DS-CDMA systems

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wu, Sau-Hsuan; Kuo, C.-C. Jay

    2002-11-01

    The technique of joint blind channel estimation and multiple access interference (MAI) suppression for an asynchronous code-division multiple-access (CDMA) system is investigated in this research. To identify and track dispersive time-varying fading channels and to avoid the phase ambiguity that come with the second-order statistic approaches, a sliding-window scheme using the expectation maximization (EM) algorithm is proposed. The complexity of joint channel equalization and symbol detection for all users increases exponentially with system loading and the channel memory. The situation is exacerbated if strong inter-symbol interference (ISI) exists. To reduce the complexity and the number of samples required for channel estimation, a blind multiuser detector is developed. Together with multi-stage interference cancellation using soft outputs provided by this detector, our algorithm can track fading channels with no phase ambiguity even when channel gains attenuate close to zero.

  6. Small maritime target detection through false color fusion

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Toet, Alexander; Wu, Tirui

    2008-04-01

    We present an algorithm that produces a fused false color representation of a combined multiband IR and visual imaging system for maritime applications. Multispectral IR imaging techniques are increasingly deployed in maritime operations, to detect floating mines or to find small dinghies and swimmers during search and rescue operations. However, maritime backgrounds usually contain a large amount of clutter that severely hampers the detection of small targets. Our new algorithm deploys the correlation between the target signatures in two different IR frequency bands (3-5 and 8-12 μm) to construct a fused IR image with a reduced amount of clutter. The fused IR image is then combined with a visual image in a false color RGB representation for display to a human operator. The algorithm works as follows. First, both individual IR bands are filtered with a morphological opening top-hat transform to extract small details. Second, a common image is extracted from the two filtered IR bands, and assigned to the red channel of an RGB image. Regions of interest that appear in both IR bands remain in this common image, while most uncorrelated noise details are filtered out. Third, the visual band is assigned to the green channel and, after multiplication with a constant (typically 1.6) also to the blue channel. Fourth, the brightness and colors of this intermediate false color image are renormalized by adjusting its first order statistics to those of a representative reference scene. The result of these four steps is a fused color image, with naturalistic colors (bluish sky and grayish water), in which small targets are clearly visible.

  7. Two-dimensional hidden semantic information model for target saliency detection and eyetracking identification

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wan, Weibing; Yuan, Lingfeng; Zhao, Qunfei; Fang, Tao

    2018-01-01

    Saliency detection has been applied to the target acquisition case. This paper proposes a two-dimensional hidden Markov model (2D-HMM) that exploits the hidden semantic information of an image to detect its salient regions. A spatial pyramid histogram of oriented gradient descriptors is used to extract features. After encoding the image by a learned dictionary, the 2D-Viterbi algorithm is applied to infer the saliency map. This model can predict fixation of the targets and further creates robust and effective depictions of the targets' change in posture and viewpoint. To validate the model with a human visual search mechanism, two eyetrack experiments are employed to train our model directly from eye movement data. The results show that our model achieves better performance than visual attention. Moreover, it indicates the plausibility of utilizing visual track data to identify targets.

  8. Target Detection and Classification Using Seismic and PIR Sensors

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2012-06-01

    time series analysis via wavelet - based partitioning,” Signal Process...regard, this paper presents a wavelet - based method for target detection and classification. The proposed method has been validated on data sets of...The work reported in this paper makes use of a wavelet - based feature extraction method , called Symbolic Dynamic Filtering (SDF) [12]–[14]. The

  9. Reduced complexity of multi-track joint 2-D Viterbi detectors for bit-patterned media recording channel

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Myint, L. M. M.; Warisarn, C.

    2017-05-01

    Two-dimensional (2-D) interference is one of the prominent challenges in ultra-high density recording system such as bit patterned media recording (BPMR). The multi-track joint 2-D detection technique with the help of the array-head reading can tackle this problem effectively by jointly processing the multiple readback signals from the adjacent tracks. Moreover, it can robustly alleviate the impairments due to track mis-registration (TMR) and media noise. However, the computational complexity of such detectors is normally too high and hard to implement in a reality, even for a few multiple tracks. Therefore, in this paper, we mainly focus on reducing the complexity of multi-track joint 2-D Viterbi detector without paying a large penalty in terms of the performance. We propose a simplified multi-track joint 2-D Viterbi detector with a manageable complexity level for the BPMR's multi-track multi-head (MTMH) system. In the proposed method, the complexity of detector's trellis is reduced with the help of the joint-track equalization method which employs 1-D equalizers and 2-D generalized partial response (GPR) target. Moreover, we also examine the performance of a full-fledged multi-track joint 2-D detector and the conventional 2-D detection. The results show that the simplified detector can perform close to the full-fledge detector, especially when the system faces high media noise, with the significant low complexity.

  10. Switchable DNA interfaces for the highly sensitive detection of label-free DNA targets.

    PubMed

    Rant, Ulrich; Arinaga, Kenji; Scherer, Simon; Pringsheim, Erika; Fujita, Shozo; Yokoyama, Naoki; Tornow, Marc; Abstreiter, Gerhard

    2007-10-30

    We report a method to detect label-free oligonucleotide targets. The conformation of surface-tethered probe nucleic acids is modulated by alternating electric fields, which cause the molecules to extend away from or fold onto the biased surface. Binding (hybridization) of targets to the single-stranded probes results in a pronounced enhancement of the layer-height modulation amplitude, monitored optically in real time. The method features an exceptional detection limit of <3 x 10(8) bound targets per cm(2) sensor area. Single base-pair mismatches in the sequences of DNA complements may readily be identified; moreover, binding kinetics and binding affinities can be determined with high accuracy. When driving the DNA to oscillate at frequencies in the kHz regime, distinct switching kinetics are revealed for single- and double-stranded DNA. Molecular dynamics are used to identify the binding state of molecules according to their characteristic kinetic fingerprints by using a chip-compatible detection format.

  11. Switchable DNA interfaces for the highly sensitive detection of label-free DNA targets

    PubMed Central

    Rant, Ulrich; Arinaga, Kenji; Scherer, Simon; Pringsheim, Erika; Fujita, Shozo; Yokoyama, Naoki; Tornow, Marc; Abstreiter, Gerhard

    2007-01-01

    We report a method to detect label-free oligonucleotide targets. The conformation of surface-tethered probe nucleic acids is modulated by alternating electric fields, which cause the molecules to extend away from or fold onto the biased surface. Binding (hybridization) of targets to the single-stranded probes results in a pronounced enhancement of the layer-height modulation amplitude, monitored optically in real time. The method features an exceptional detection limit of <3 × 108 bound targets per cm2 sensor area. Single base-pair mismatches in the sequences of DNA complements may readily be identified; moreover, binding kinetics and binding affinities can be determined with high accuracy. When driving the DNA to oscillate at frequencies in the kHz regime, distinct switching kinetics are revealed for single- and double-stranded DNA. Molecular dynamics are used to identify the binding state of molecules according to their characteristic kinetic fingerprints by using a chip-compatible detection format. PMID:17951434

  12. Twin target self-amplification-based DNA machine for highly sensitive detection of cancer-related gene.

    PubMed

    Xu, Huo; Jiang, Yifan; Liu, Dengyou; Liu, Kai; Zhang, Yafeng; Yu, Suhong; Shen, Zhifa; Wu, Zai-Sheng

    2018-06-29

    The sensitive detection of cancer-related genes is of great significance for early diagnosis and treatment of human cancers, and previous isothermal amplification sensing systems were often based on the reuse of target DNA, the amplification of enzymatic products and the accumulation of reporting probes. However, no reporting probes are able to be transformed into target species and in turn initiate the signal of other probes. Herein we reported a simple, isothermal and highly sensitive homogeneous assay system for tumor suppressor p53 gene detection based on a new autonomous DNA machine, where the signaling probe, molecular beacon (MB), was able to execute the function similar to target DNA besides providing the common signal. In the presence of target p53 gene, the operation of DNA machine can be initiated, and cyclical nucleic acid strand-displacement polymerization (CNDP) and nicking/polymerization cyclical amplification (NPCA) occur, during which the MB was opened by target species and cleaved by restriction endonuclease. In turn, the cleaved fragments could activate the next signaling process as target DNA did. According to the functional similarity, the cleaved fragment was called twin target, and the corresponding fashion to amplify the signal was named twin target self-amplification. Utilizing this newly-proposed DNA machine, the target DNA could be detected down to 0.1 pM with a wide dynamic range (6 orders of magnitude) and single-base mismatched targets were discriminated, indicating a very high assay sensitivity and good specificity. In addition, the DNA machine was not only used to screen the p53 gene in complex biological matrix but also was capable of practically detecting genomic DNA p53 extracted from A549 cell line. This indicates that the proposed DNA machine holds the potential application in biomedical research and early clinical diagnosis. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  13. The hindlimb in walking horses: 2. Net joint moments and joint powers.

    PubMed

    Clayton, H M; Hodson, E; Lanovaz, J L; Colborne, G R

    2001-01-01

    The objective of the study was to describe net joint moments and joint powers in the equine hindlimb during walking. The subjects were 5 sound horses. Kinematic and force data were collected synchronously and combined with morphometric information to determine net joint moments at each hindlimb joint throughout stance and swing. The results showed that the net joint moment was on the caudal/plantar side of all hindlimb joints at the start of stance when the limb was being actively retracted. It moved to the cranial/dorsal side around 24% stride at the hip and stifle and in terminal stance at the more distal joints. It remained on the cranial/dorsal side of all joints during the first half of swing to provide active limb protraction, then moved to the caudal/plantar aspect to reverse the direction of limb motion prior to ground contact. The hip joint was the main source of energy generation throughout the stride. It was assisted by the tarsal joint in both stance and swing phases and by the fetlock joint during the stance phase. The coffin joint acted as an energy damper during stance, whereas the stifle joint absorbed almost equal amounts of energy in the stance and swing phases. The coffin and fetlock joints absorbed energy as the limb was protracted and retracted during the swing phase, suggesting that their movements were driven by inertial forces. Future studies will apply these findings to detect changes in the energy profiles due to specific soft tissue injuries.

  14. Fluoroscopy-Guided Sacroiliac Intraarticular Injection via the Middle Portion of the Joint.

    PubMed

    Kurosawa, Daisuke; Murakami, Eiichi; Aizawa, Toshimi

    2017-09-01

    Sacroiliac intraarticular injection is necessary to confirm sacroiliac joint (SIJ) pain and is usually performed via the caudal one-third portion of the joint. However, this is occasionally impossible for anatomical reasons, and the success rate is low in clinical settings. We describe a technique via the middle portion of the joint. Observational study. Enrolled were 69 consecutive patients (27 men and 42 women, with an average age of 53 years) in whom the middle portion of 100 joints was targeted. With the patient lying prone-oblique with the painful side down, a spinal needle was inserted into the middle portion of the joint. Subsequently, the fluoroscopy tube was angled at a caudal tilt of 25-30° to clearly detect the recess between the ilium and sacrum and the needle depth and direction. When the needle reached the posterior joint line, 2% lidocaine was injected after the contrast medium outlined the joint. The success rate of the injection method was 80% (80/100). Among 80 successful cases, four were previously unsuccessful when the conventional method was used. Intraarticular injection using the new technique was unsuccessful in 20 joints; in three of these cases, the conventional method proved successful, and no techniques were successful in the other 17 cases. The injection technique via the middle portion of the joint can overcome some of the difficulties of the conventional injection method and can improve the chances of successful intraarticular injection. © 2016 American Academy of Pain Medicine. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com

  15. Targeted Feature Detection for Data-Dependent Shotgun Proteomics

    PubMed Central

    2017-01-01

    Label-free quantification of shotgun LC–MS/MS data is the prevailing approach in quantitative proteomics but remains computationally nontrivial. The central data analysis step is the detection of peptide-specific signal patterns, called features. Peptide quantification is facilitated by associating signal intensities in features with peptide sequences derived from MS2 spectra; however, missing values due to imperfect feature detection are a common problem. A feature detection approach that directly targets identified peptides (minimizing missing values) but also offers robustness against false-positive features (by assigning meaningful confidence scores) would thus be highly desirable. We developed a new feature detection algorithm within the OpenMS software framework, leveraging ideas and algorithms from the OpenSWATH toolset for DIA/SRM data analysis. Our software, FeatureFinderIdentification (“FFId”), implements a targeted approach to feature detection based on information from identified peptides. This information is encoded in an MS1 assay library, based on which ion chromatogram extraction and detection of feature candidates are carried out. Significantly, when analyzing data from experiments comprising multiple samples, our approach distinguishes between “internal” and “external” (inferred) peptide identifications (IDs) for each sample. On the basis of internal IDs, two sets of positive (true) and negative (decoy) feature candidates are defined. A support vector machine (SVM) classifier is then trained to discriminate between the sets and is subsequently applied to the “uncertain” feature candidates from external IDs, facilitating selection and confidence scoring of the best feature candidate for each peptide. This approach also enables our algorithm to estimate the false discovery rate (FDR) of the feature selection step. We validated FFId based on a public benchmark data set, comprising a yeast cell lysate spiked with protein standards

  16. Multispectral photoacoustic decomposition with localized regularization for detecting targeted contrast agent

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tavakoli, Behnoosh; Chen, Ying; Guo, Xiaoyu; Kang, Hyun Jae; Pomper, Martin; Boctor, Emad M.

    2015-03-01

    Targeted contrast agents can improve the sensitivity of imaging systems for cancer detection and monitoring the treatment. In order to accurately detect contrast agent concentration from photoacoustic images, we developed a decomposition algorithm to separate photoacoustic absorption spectrum into components from individual absorbers. In this study, we evaluated novel prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) targeted agents for imaging prostate cancer. Three agents were synthesized through conjugating PSMA-targeting urea with optical dyes ICG, IRDye800CW and ATTO740 respectively. In our preliminary PA study, dyes were injected in a thin wall plastic tube embedded in water tank. The tube was illuminated with pulsed laser light using a tunable Q-switch ND-YAG laser. PA signal along with the B-mode ultrasound images were detected with a diagnostic ultrasound probe in orthogonal mode. PA spectrums of each dye at 0.5 to 20 μM concentrations were estimated using the maximum PA signal extracted from images which are obtained at illumination wavelengths of 700nm-850nm. Subsequently, we developed nonnegative linear least square optimization method along with localized regularization to solve the spectral unmixing. The algorithm was tested by imaging mixture of those dyes. The concentration of each dye was estimated with about 20% error on average from almost all mixtures albeit the small separation between dyes spectrums.

  17. Lamb wave line sensing for crack detection in a welded stiffener.

    PubMed

    An, Yun-Kyu; Kim, Jae Hong; Yim, Hong Jae

    2014-07-18

    This paper proposes a novel Lamb wave line sensing technique for crack detection in a welded stiffener. The proposed technique overcomes one of the biggest technical challenges of Lamb wave crack detection for real structure applications: crack-induced Lamb waves are often mixed with multiple reflections from complex waveguides. In particular, crack detection in a welded joint, one of the structural hot spots due to stress concentration, is accompanied by reflections from the welded joint as well as a crack. Extracting and highlighting crack-induced Lamb wave modes from Lamb wave responses measured at multi-spatial points along a single line can be accomplished through a frequency-wavenumber domain analysis. The advantages of the proposed technique enable us not only to enhance the crack detectability in the welded joint but also to minimize false alarms caused by environmental and operational variations by avoiding the direct comparison with the baseline data previously accumulated from the pristine condition of a target structure. The proposed technique is experimentally and numerically validated in vertically stiffened metallic structures, revealing that it successfully identifies and localizes subsurface cracks, regardless of the coexistence with the vertical stiffener.

  18. Radiosynoviorthesis of acromioclavicular joint using 169Er-citrate: prospective evaluation of efficacy.

    PubMed

    Vereb, Marika; Liepe, Knut; Fischer, Manfred; Kaliska, Lucia; Noskovicova, Lucia; Balogova, Sona

    2018-01-01

    There is a clinical need for therapeutic alternative in patients with persisting painful arthritis of AC-joint and failure of previous treatments. However, no radiopharmaceutical is currently explicitly approved for radiosynoviorthesis of acromioclavicular joint. The aim of our study was to prospectively assess the efficacy and safety of radiosynoviorthesis of acromioclavicular joint using erbium-169 citrate. Radiosynoviorthesis of acromioclavicular joint was performed in 51 consecutive patients (18 males, 33 females) mean age 64.3 (range 43.8-82.6, median 63.6) years with clinically confirmed arthritis of 85 acromioclavicular joints. The efficacy of RSO was reported by patients according to 10-step visual analogue scale of pain (VAS) (0 = no pain, 10 = most severe pain) at 6 months after radiosynoviorthesis and by ranking the global therapeutic effect of RSO in 4 categories (1 = the best effect, 4 = no change). To assess the variation of blood perfusion in treated joints, the efficacy of RSO was also evaluated by variation of target (acromioclavicular joint)/non-target (soft tissue) uptake ratio (T/NTR) of metylendiphosphonate (99mTc) measured as number of counts over region of interest on blood pool phase of two-phase bone scintigraphy performed before and 6 months after RSO. Radiosynoviorthesis was followed by significant decrease in VAS, mean - 3.1 (-47%). Excellent, good, moderate and bad response was observed in 57 (67%), 25 (29%), 1 (1%) and in 2 (2%) of acromioclavicular joints respectively. A significant correlation between decrease of T/NTR and variation of VAS in % (ρ = 0.532, p < 0.0001) and between T/NTR and subjective evaluation of therapeutic effect in scale 1-4 (ρ = 0.388, p = 0.0002) was observed. However, it was not possible to identify the cut-off value of relative decrease in T/NTR showing sufficient sensitivity and specificity to detect the therapeutic response. Results of this prospective study permit to conclude a good efficacy and safety

  19. Aspects of detection and tracking of ground targets from an airborne EO/IR sensor

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Balaji, Bhashyam; Sithiravel, Rajiv; Daya, Zahir; Kirubarajan, Thiagalingam

    2015-05-01

    An airborne EO/IR (electro-optical/infrared) camera system comprises of a suite of sensors, such as a narrow and wide field of view (FOV) EO and mid-wave IR sensors. EO/IR camera systems are regularly employed on military and search and rescue aircrafts. The EO/IR system can be used to detect and identify objects rapidly in daylight and at night, often with superior performance in challenging conditions such as fog. There exist several algorithms for detecting potential targets in the bearing elevation grid. The nonlinear filtering problem is one of estimation of the kinematic parameters from bearing and elevation measurements from a moving platform. In this paper, we developed a complete model for the state of a target as detected by an airborne EO/IR system and simulated a typical scenario with single target with 1 or 2 airborne sensors. We have demonstrated the ability to track the target with `high precision' and noted the improvement from using two sensors on a single platform or on separate platforms. The performance of the Extended Kalman filter (EKF) is investigated on simulated data. Image/video data collected from an IR sensor on an airborne platform are processed using an image tracking by detection algorithm.

  20. Lesion detectability in 2D-mammography and digital breast tomosynthesis using different targets and observers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Elangovan, Premkumar; Mackenzie, Alistair; Dance, David R.; Young, Kenneth C.; Wells, Kevin

    2018-05-01

    This work investigates the detection performance of specialist and non-specialist observers for different targets in 2D-mammography and digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) using the OPTIMAM virtual clinical trials (VCT) Toolbox and a 4-alternative forced choice (4AFC) assessment paradigm. Using 2D-mammography and DBT images of virtual breast phantoms, we compare the detection limits of simple uniform spherical targets and irregular solid masses. Target diameters of 4 mm and 6 mm have been chosen to represent target sizes close to the minimum detectable size found in breast screening, across a range of controlled contrast levels. The images were viewed by a set of specialist observers (five medical physicists and six experienced clinical readers) and five non-specialists. Combined results from both observer groups indicate that DBT has a significantly lower detectable threshold contrast than 2D-mammography for small masses (4 mm: 2.1% [DBT] versus 6.9% [2D]; 6 mm: 0.7% [DBT] versus 3.9% [2D]) and spheres (4 mm: 2.9% [DBT] versus 5.3% [2D]; 6 mm: 0.3% [DBT] versus 2.2% [2D]) (p  <  0.0001). Both observer groups found spheres significantly easier to detect than irregular solid masses for both sizes and modalities (p  <  0.0001) (except 4 mm DBT). The detection performances of specialist and non-specialist observers were generally found to be comparable, where each group marginally outperformed the other in particular detection tasks. Within the specialist group, the clinical readers performed better than the medical physicists with irregular masses (p  <  0.0001). The results indicate that using spherical targets in such studies may produce over-optimistic detection thresholds compared to more complex masses, and that the superiority of DBT for detecting masses over 2D-mammography has been quantified. The results also suggest specialist observers may be supplemented by non-specialist observers (with training) in some types of 4AFC studies.

  1. Infrared images target detection based on background modeling in the discrete cosine domain

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ye, Han; Pei, Jihong

    2018-02-01

    Background modeling is the critical technology to detect the moving target for video surveillance. Most background modeling techniques are aimed at land monitoring and operated in the spatial domain. A background establishment becomes difficult when the scene is a complex fluctuating sea surface. In this paper, the background stability and separability between target are analyzed deeply in the discrete cosine transform (DCT) domain, on this basis, we propose a background modeling method. The proposed method models each frequency point as a single Gaussian model to represent background, and the target is extracted by suppressing the background coefficients. Experimental results show that our approach can establish an accurate background model for seawater, and the detection results outperform other background modeling methods in the spatial domain.

  2. Detecting Moving Targets by Use of Soliton Resonances

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Zak, Michael; Kulikov, Igor

    2003-01-01

    A proposed method of detecting moving targets in scenes that include cluttered or noisy backgrounds is based on a soliton-resonance mathematical model. The model is derived from asymptotic solutions of the cubic Schroedinger equation for a one-dimensional system excited by a position-and-time-dependent externally applied potential. The cubic Schroedinger equation has general significance for time-dependent dispersive waves. It has been used to approximate several phenomena in classical as well as quantum physics, including modulated beams in nonlinear optics, and superfluids (in particular, Bose-Einstein condensates). In the proposed method, one would take advantage of resonant interactions between (1) a soliton excited by the position-and-time-dependent potential associated with a moving target and (2) eigen-solitons, which represent dispersive waves and are solutions of the cubic Schroedinger equation for a time-independent potential.

  3. Universal, colorimetric microRNA detection strategy based on target-catalyzed toehold-mediated strand displacement reaction

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Park, Yeonkyung; Lee, Chang Yeol; Kang, Shinyoung; Kim, Hansol; Park, Ki Soo; Park, Hyun Gyu

    2018-02-01

    In this work, we developed a novel, label-free, and enzyme-free strategy for the colorimetric detection of microRNA (miRNA), which relies on a target-catalyzed toehold-mediated strand displacement (TMSD) reaction. The system employs a detection probe that specifically binds to the target miRNA and sequentially releases a catalyst strand (CS) intended to trigger the subsequent TMSD reaction. Thus, the presence of target miRNA releases the CS that mediates the formation of an active G-quadruplex DNAzyme which is initially caged and inactivated by a blocker strand. In addition, a fuel strand that is supplemented for the recycling of the CS promotes another TMSD reaction, consequently generating a large number of active G-quadruplex DNAzymes. As a result, a distinct colorimetric signal is produced by the ABTS oxidation promoted by the peroxidase mimicking activity of the released G-quadruplex DNAzymes. Based on this novel strategy, we successfully detected miR-141, a promising biomarker for human prostate cancer, with high selectivity. The diagnostic capability of this system was also demonstrated by reliably determining target miR-141 in human serum, showing its great potential towards real clinical applications. Importantly, the proposed approach is composed of separate target recognition and signal transduction modules. Thus, it could be extended to analyze different target miRNAs by simply redesigning the detection probe while keeping the same signal transduction module as a universal signal amplification unit, which was successfully demonstrated by analyzing another target miRNA, let-7d.

  4. Universal, colorimetric microRNA detection strategy based on target-catalyzed toehold-mediated strand displacement reaction.

    PubMed

    Park, Yeonkyung; Lee, Chang Yeol; Kang, Shinyoung; Kim, Hansol; Park, Ki Soo; Park, Hyun Gyu

    2018-02-23

    In this work, we developed a novel, label-free, and enzyme-free strategy for the colorimetric detection of microRNA (miRNA), which relies on a target-catalyzed toehold-mediated strand displacement (TMSD) reaction. The system employs a detection probe that specifically binds to the target miRNA and sequentially releases a catalyst strand (CS) intended to trigger the subsequent TMSD reaction. Thus, the presence of target miRNA releases the CS that mediates the formation of an active G-quadruplex DNAzyme which is initially caged and inactivated by a blocker strand. In addition, a fuel strand that is supplemented for the recycling of the CS promotes another TMSD reaction, consequently generating a large number of active G-quadruplex DNAzymes. As a result, a distinct colorimetric signal is produced by the ABTS oxidation promoted by the peroxidase mimicking activity of the released G-quadruplex DNAzymes. Based on this novel strategy, we successfully detected miR-141, a promising biomarker for human prostate cancer, with high selectivity. The diagnostic capability of this system was also demonstrated by reliably determining target miR-141 in human serum, showing its great potential towards real clinical applications. Importantly, the proposed approach is composed of separate target recognition and signal transduction modules. Thus, it could be extended to analyze different target miRNAs by simply redesigning the detection probe while keeping the same signal transduction module as a universal signal amplification unit, which was successfully demonstrated by analyzing another target miRNA, let-7d.

  5. Engineered Peptides for Applications in Cancer-Targeted Drug Delivery and Tumor Detection.

    PubMed

    Soudy, R; Byeon, N; Raghuwanshi, Y; Ahmed, S; Lavasanifar, A; Kaur, K

    2017-01-01

    Cancer-targeting peptides as ligands for targeted delivery of anticancer drugs or drug carriers have the potential to significantly enhance the selectivity and the therapeutic benefit of current chemotherapeutic agents. Identification of tumor-specific biomarkers like integrins, aminopeptidase N, and epidermal growth factor receptor as well as the popularity of phage display techniques along with synthetic combinatorial methods used for peptide design and structure optimization have fueled the advancement and application of peptide ligands for targeted drug delivery and tumor detection in cancer treatment, detection and guided therapy. Although considerable preclinical data have shown remarkable success in the use of tumor targeting peptides, peptides generally suffer from poor pharmacokinetics, enzymatic instability, and weak receptor affinity, and they need further structural modification before successful translation to clinics is possible. The current review gives an overview of the different engineering strategies that have been developed for peptide structure optimization to confer selectivity and stability. We also provide an update on the methods used for peptide ligand identification, and peptide- receptor interactions. Additionally, some applications for the use of peptides in targeted delivery of chemotherapeutics and diagnostics over the past 5 years are summarized. Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.

  6. Targeted and non-targeted detection of lemon juice adulteration by LC-MS and chemometrics.

    PubMed

    Wang, Zhengfang; Jablonski, Joseph E

    2016-01-01

    Economically motivated adulteration (EMA) of lemon juice was detected by LC-MS and principal component analysis (PCA). Twenty-two batches of freshly squeezed lemon juice were adulterated by adding an aqueous solution containing 5% citric acid and 6% sucrose to pure lemon juice to obtain 30%, 60% and 100% lemon juice samples. Their total titratable acidities, °Brix and pH values were measured, and then all the lemon juice samples were subject to LC-MS analysis. Concentrations of hesperidin and eriocitrin, major phenolic components of lemon juice, were quantified. The PCA score plots for LC-MS datasets were used to preview the classification of pure and adulterated lemon juice samples. Results showed a large inherent variability in the chemical properties among 22 batches of 100% lemon juice samples. Measurement or quantitation of one or several chemical properties (targeted detection) was not effective in detecting lemon juice adulteration. However, by using the LC-MS datasets, including both chromatographic and mass spectrometric information, 100% lemon juice samples were successfully differentiated from adulterated samples containing 30% lemon juice in the PCA score plot. LC-MS coupled with chemometric analysis can be a complement to existing methods for detecting juice adulteration.

  7. Simultaneous detection of landmarks and key-frame in cardiac perfusion MRI using a joint spatial-temporal context model

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lu, Xiaoguang; Xue, Hui; Jolly, Marie-Pierre; Guetter, Christoph; Kellman, Peter; Hsu, Li-Yueh; Arai, Andrew; Zuehlsdorff, Sven; Littmann, Arne; Georgescu, Bogdan; Guehring, Jens

    2011-03-01

    Cardiac perfusion magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has proven clinical significance in diagnosis of heart diseases. However, analysis of perfusion data is time-consuming, where automatic detection of anatomic landmarks and key-frames from perfusion MR sequences is helpful for anchoring structures and functional analysis of the heart, leading toward fully automated perfusion analysis. Learning-based object detection methods have demonstrated their capabilities to handle large variations of the object by exploring a local region, i.e., context. Conventional 2D approaches take into account spatial context only. Temporal signals in perfusion data present a strong cue for anchoring. We propose a joint context model to encode both spatial and temporal evidence. In addition, our spatial context is constructed not only based on the landmark of interest, but also the landmarks that are correlated in the neighboring anatomies. A discriminative model is learned through a probabilistic boosting tree. A marginal space learning strategy is applied to efficiently learn and search in a high dimensional parameter space. A fully automatic system is developed to simultaneously detect anatomic landmarks and key frames in both RV and LV from perfusion sequences. The proposed approach was evaluated on a database of 373 cardiac perfusion MRI sequences from 77 patients. Experimental results of a 4-fold cross validation show superior landmark detection accuracies of the proposed joint spatial-temporal approach to the 2D approach that is based on spatial context only. The key-frame identification results are promising.

  8. Target detection, shape discrimination, and signal characteristics of an echolocating false killer whale (Pseudorca crassidens).

    PubMed

    Brill, R L; Pawloski, J L; Helweg, D A; Au, W W; Moore, P W

    1992-09-01

    This study demonstrated the ability of a false killer whale (Pseudorca crassidens) to discriminate between two targets and investigated the parameters of the whale's emitted signals for changes related to test conditions. Target detection performance comparable to the bottlenose dolphin's (Tursiops truncatus) has previously been reported for echolocating false killer whales. No other echolocation capabilities have been reported. A false killer whale, naive to conditioned echolocation tasks, was initially trained to detect a cylinder in a "go/no-go" procedure over ranges of 3 to 8 m. The transition from a detection task to a discrimination task was readily achieved by introducing a spherical comparison target. Finally, the cylinder was successfully compared to spheres of two different sizes and target strengths. Multivariate analyses were used to evaluate the parameters of emitted signals. Duncan's multiple range tests showed significant decreases (df = 185, p less than 0.05) in both source level and bandwidth in the transition from detection to discrimination. Analysis of variance revealed a significant decrease in the number of clicks over test conditions [F(5.26) = 5.23, p less than 0.0001]. These data suggest that the whale relied on cues relevant to target shape as well as target strength, that changes in source level and bandwidth were task-related, that the decrease in clicks was associated with learning experience, and that Pseudorca's ability to discriminate shapes using echolocation may be comparable to that of Tursiops truncatus.

  9. Effects of Alzheimer’s Disease on Visual Target Detection: A “Peripheral Bias”

    PubMed Central

    Vallejo, Vanessa; Cazzoli, Dario; Rampa, Luca; Zito, Giuseppe A.; Feuerstein, Flurin; Gruber, Nicole; Müri, René M.; Mosimann, Urs P.; Nef, Tobias

    2016-01-01

    Visual exploration is an omnipresent activity in everyday life, and might represent an important determinant of visual attention deficits in patients with Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). The present study aimed at investigating visual search performance in AD patients, in particular target detection in the far periphery, in daily living scenes. Eighteen AD patients and 20 healthy controls participated in the study. They were asked to freely explore a hemispherical screen, covering ±90°, and to respond to targets presented at 10°, 30°, and 50° eccentricity, while their eye movements were recorded. Compared to healthy controls, AD patients recognized less targets appearing in the center. No difference was found in target detection in the periphery. This pattern was confirmed by the fixation distribution analysis. These results show a neglect for the central part of the visual field for AD patients and provide new insights by mean of a search task involving a larger field of view. PMID:27582704

  10. Detection of Non-Nucleic Acid Targets with an Unmodified Aptamer and a Fluorogenic Competitor

    PubMed Central

    Li, Na

    2010-01-01

    Aptamers are oligonucleotides that can bind to various non-nucleic acid targets, ranging from proteins to small molecules, with a specificity and affinity comparable to that of antibodies. Most aptamer-based detection strategies require modification on the aptamer, which could lead to a significant loss in its affinity and specificity to the target. Here we reported a generic strategy to design aptamer-based optical probes. An unmodified aptamer specific to the target and a fluorogenic competitor complementary to the aptamer are utilized for target recognition and signal generation, respectively. The competitor is a hairpin oligonucleotide with a fluorophore attached on one end and a quencher attached on the other. When no target is present, the competitor binds to the aptamer. However, when the target is introduced, the competitor will be displaced from the aptamer by the target, thus resulting in a target-specific decrease in fluorescence signal. Successful application of this strategy to different types of targets (small molecules and proteins) as well as different types of aptamers (DNA and RNA) has been demonstrated. Furthermore, a thermodynamics-based prediction model was established to further rationalize the optimization process. Due to its rapidness and simplicity, this aptamer-based detection strategy holds great promise in high throughput applications. PMID:20563298

  11. Mitochondrial DNA Targets Increase Sensitivity of Malaria Detection Using Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification ▿

    PubMed Central

    Polley, Spencer D.; Mori, Yasuyoshi; Watson, Julie; Perkins, Mark D.; González, Iveth J.; Notomi, Tsugunori; Chiodini, Peter L.; Sutherland, Colin J.

    2010-01-01

    Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) of DNA offers the ability to detect very small quantities of pathogen DNA following minimal tissue sample processing and is thus an attractive methodology for point-of-care diagnostics. Previous attempts to diagnose malaria by the use of blood samples and LAMP have targeted the parasite small-subunit rRNA gene, with a resultant sensitivity for Plasmodium falciparum of around 100 parasites per μl. Here we describe the use of mitochondrial targets for LAMP-based detection of any Plasmodium genus parasite and of P. falciparum specifically. These new targets allow routine amplification from samples containing as few as five parasites per μl of blood. Amplification is complete within 30 to 40 min and is assessed by real-time turbidimetry, thereby offering rapid diagnosis with greater sensitivity than is achieved by the most skilled microscopist or antigen detection using lateral flow immunoassays. PMID:20554824

  12. Technetium-99m-labeled annexin V imaging for detecting prosthetic joint infection in a rabbit model.

    PubMed

    Tang, Cheng; Wang, Feng; Hou, Yanjie; Lu, Shanshan; Tian, Wei; Xu, Yan; Jin, Chengzhe; Wang, Liming

    2015-05-01

    Accurate and timely diagnosis of prosthetic joint infection is essential to initiate early treatment and achieve a favorable outcome. In this study, we used a rabbit model to assess the feasibility of technetium-99m-labeled annexin V for detecting prosthetic joint infection. Right knee arthroplasty was performed on 24 New Zealand rabbits. After surgery, methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus was intra-articularly injected to create a model of prosthetic joint infection (the infected group, n = 12). Rabbits in the control group were injected with sterile saline (n = 12). Seven and 21 days after surgery, technetium-99m-labeled annexin V imaging was performed in 6 rabbits of each group. Images were acquired 1 and 4 hours after injection of technetium-99m-labeled annexin V (150 MBq). The operated-to-normal-knee activity ratios were calculated for quantitative analysis. Seven days after surgery, increased technetium-99m-labeled annexin V uptake was observed in all cases. However, at 21 days a notable decrease was found in the control group, but not in the infected group. The operated-to-normal-knee activity ratios of the infected group were 1.84 ± 0.29 in the early phase and 2.19 ± 0.34 in the delay phase, both of which were significantly higher than those of the control group (P = 0.03 and P = 0.02). The receiver operator characteristic curve analysis showed that the operated-to-normal-knee activity ratios of the delay phase at 21 days was the best indicator, with an accuracy of 80%. In conclusion, technetium-99m-labeled annexin V imaging could effectively distinguish an infected prosthetic joint from an uninfected prosthetic joint in a rabbit model.

  13. Highly sensitive and specific colorimetric detection of cancer cells via dual-aptamer target binding strategy.

    PubMed

    Wang, Kun; Fan, Daoqing; Liu, Yaqing; Wang, Erkang

    2015-11-15

    Simple, rapid, sensitive and specific detection of cancer cells is of great importance for early and accurate cancer diagnostics and therapy. By coupling nanotechnology and dual-aptamer target binding strategies, we developed a colorimetric assay for visually detecting cancer cells with high sensitivity and specificity. The nanotechnology including high catalytic activity of PtAuNP and magnetic separation & concentration plays a vital role on the signal amplification and improvement of detection sensitivity. The color change caused by small amount of target cancer cells (10 cells/mL) can be clearly distinguished by naked eyes. The dual-aptamer target binding strategy guarantees the detection specificity that large amount of non-cancer cells and different cancer cells (10(4) cells/mL) cannot cause obvious color change. A detection limit as low as 10 cells/mL with detection linear range from 10 to 10(5) cells/mL was reached according to the experimental detections in phosphate buffer solution as well as serum sample. The developed enzyme-free and cost effective colorimetric assay is simple and no need of instrument while still provides excellent sensitivity, specificity and repeatability, having potential application on point-of-care cancer diagnosis. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  14. Moving target detection for frequency agility radar by sparse reconstruction

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Quan, Yinghui; Li, YaChao; Wu, Yaojun; Ran, Lei; Xing, Mengdao; Liu, Mengqi

    2016-09-01

    Frequency agility radar, with randomly varied carrier frequency from pulse to pulse, exhibits superior performance compared to the conventional fixed carrier frequency pulse-Doppler radar against the electromagnetic interference. A novel moving target detection (MTD) method is proposed for the estimation of the target's velocity of frequency agility radar based on pulses within a coherent processing interval by using sparse reconstruction. Hardware implementation of orthogonal matching pursuit algorithm is executed on Xilinx Virtex-7 Field Programmable Gata Array (FPGA) to perform sparse optimization. Finally, a series of experiments are performed to evaluate the performance of proposed MTD method for frequency agility radar systems.

  15. Moving target detection for frequency agility radar by sparse reconstruction.

    PubMed

    Quan, Yinghui; Li, YaChao; Wu, Yaojun; Ran, Lei; Xing, Mengdao; Liu, Mengqi

    2016-09-01

    Frequency agility radar, with randomly varied carrier frequency from pulse to pulse, exhibits superior performance compared to the conventional fixed carrier frequency pulse-Doppler radar against the electromagnetic interference. A novel moving target detection (MTD) method is proposed for the estimation of the target's velocity of frequency agility radar based on pulses within a coherent processing interval by using sparse reconstruction. Hardware implementation of orthogonal matching pursuit algorithm is executed on Xilinx Virtex-7 Field Programmable Gata Array (FPGA) to perform sparse optimization. Finally, a series of experiments are performed to evaluate the performance of proposed MTD method for frequency agility radar systems.

  16. Detection of occult infection following total joint arthroplasty using sequential technetium-99m HDP bone scintigraphy and indium-111 WBC imaging

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

    Johnson, J.A.; Christie, M.J.; Sandler, M.P.

    1988-08-01

    Preoperative exclusion or confirmation of periprosthetic infection is essential for correct surgical management of patients with suspected infected joint prostheses. The sensitivity and specificity of (/sup 111/In)WBC imaging in the diagnosis of infected total joint prostheses was examined in 28 patients and compared with sequential (/sup 99m/Tc)HDP/(/sup 111/In)WBC scintigraphy and aspiration arthrography. The sensitivity of preoperative aspiration cultures was 12%, with a specificity of 81% and an accuracy of 58%. The sensitivity of (/sup 111/In)WBC imaging alone was 100%, with a specificity of 50% and an accuracy of 65%. When correlated with the bone scintigraphy and read as sequential (/supmore » 99m/Tc)HDP/(/sup 111/In)WBC imaging, the sensitivity was 88%, specificity 95%, and accuracy 93%. This study demonstrates that (/sup 111/In)WBC imaging is an extremely sensitive imaging modality for the detection of occult infection of joint prostheses. It also demonstrates the necessity of correlating (/sup 111/In)WBC images with (/sup 99m/Tc)HDP skeletal scintigraphy in the detection of occult periprosthetic infection.« less

  17. Improved training for target detection using Fukunaga-Koontz transform and distance classifier correlation filter

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Elbakary, M. I.; Alam, M. S.; Aslan, M. S.

    2008-03-01

    In a FLIR image sequence, a target may disappear permanently or may reappear after some frames and crucial information such as direction, position and size related to the target are lost. If the target reappears at a later frame, it may not be tracked again because the 3D orientation, size and location of the target might be changed. To obtain information about the target before disappearing and to detect the target after reappearing, distance classifier correlation filter (DCCF) is trained manualy by selecting a number of chips randomly. This paper introduces a novel idea to eliminates the manual intervention in training phase of DCCF. Instead of selecting the training chips manually and selecting the number of the training chips randomly, we adopted the K-means algorithm to cluster the training frames and based on the number of clusters we select the training chips such that a training chip for each cluster. To detect and track the target after reappearing in the field-ofview ,TBF and DCCF are employed. The contduced experiemnts using real FLIR sequences show results similar to the traditional agorithm but eleminating the manual intervention is the advantage of the proposed algorithm.

  18. In situ targeted MRI detection of Helicobacter pylori with stable magnetic graphitic nanocapsules

    PubMed Central

    Li, Yunjie; Hu, Xiaoxiao; Ding, Ding; Zou, Yuxiu; Xu, Yiting; Wang, Xuewei; Zhang, Yin; Chen, Long; Chen, Zhuo; Tan, Weihong

    2017-01-01

    Helicobacter pylori infection is implicated in the aetiology of many diseases. Despite numerous studies, a painless, fast and direct method for the in situ detection of H. pylori remains a challenge, mainly due to the strong acidic/enzymatic environment of the gastric mucosa. Herein, we report the use of stable magnetic graphitic nanocapsules (MGNs), for in situ targeted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) detection of H. pylori. Several layers of graphene as the shell effectively protect the magnetic core from corrosion while retaining the superior contrast effect for MRI in the gastric environment. Boronic-polyethylene glycol molecules were synthesized and modified on the MGN surface for targeted MRI detection. In a mouse model of H. pylori-induced infection, H. pylori was specifically detected through both T2-weighted MR imaging and Raman gastric mucosa imaging using functionalized MGNs. These results indicated that enhancement of MRI using MGNs may be a promising diagnostic and bioimaging platform for very harsh conditions. PMID:28643777

  19. In situ targeted MRI detection of Helicobacter pylori with stable magnetic graphitic nanocapsules

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Yunjie; Hu, Xiaoxiao; Ding, Ding; Zou, Yuxiu; Xu, Yiting; Wang, Xuewei; Zhang, Yin; Chen, Long; Chen, Zhuo; Tan, Weihong

    2017-06-01

    Helicobacter pylori infection is implicated in the aetiology of many diseases. Despite numerous studies, a painless, fast and direct method for the in situ detection of H. pylori remains a challenge, mainly due to the strong acidic/enzymatic environment of the gastric mucosa. Herein, we report the use of stable magnetic graphitic nanocapsules (MGNs), for in situ targeted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) detection of H. pylori. Several layers of graphene as the shell effectively protect the magnetic core from corrosion while retaining the superior contrast effect for MRI in the gastric environment. Boronic-polyethylene glycol molecules were synthesized and modified on the MGN surface for targeted MRI detection. In a mouse model of H. pylori-induced infection, H. pylori was specifically detected through both T2-weighted MR imaging and Raman gastric mucosa imaging using functionalized MGNs. These results indicated that enhancement of MRI using MGNs may be a promising diagnostic and bioimaging platform for very harsh conditions.

  20. Highly sensitive detection of target molecules using a new fluorescence-based bead assay

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Scheffler, Silvia; Strauß, Denis; Sauer, Markus

    2007-07-01

    Development of immunoassays with improved sensitivity, specificity and reliability are of major interest in modern bioanalytical research. We describe the development of a new immunomagnetic fluorescence detection (IM-FD) assay based on specific antigen/antibody interactions and on accumulation of the fluorescence signal on superparamagnetic PE beads in combination with the use of extrinsic fluorescent labels. IM-FD can be easily modified by varying the order of coatings and assay conditions. Depending on the target molecule, antibodies (ABs), entire proteins, or small protein epitopes can be used as capture molecules. The presence of target molecules is detected by fluorescence microscopy using fluorescently labeled secondary or detection antibodies. Here, we demonstrate the potential of the new assay detecting the two tumor markers IGF-I and p53 antibodies in the clinically relevant concentration range. Our data show that the fluorescence-based bead assay exhibits a large dynamic range and a high sensitivity down to the subpicomolar level.

  1. Prophylaxis usage, bleeding rates, and joint outcomes of hemophilia, 1999 to 2010: a surveillance project

    PubMed Central

    Soucie, J. Michael; Gill, Joan Cox

    2017-01-01

    This analysis of the US Hemophilia Treatment Center Network and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention surveillance registry assessed trends in prophylaxis use and its impact on key indicators of arthropathy across the life-span among participants with severe hemophilia A. Data on demographics, clinical characteristics, and outcomes were collected prospectively between 1999 and 2010 at annual clinical visits to 134 hemophilia treatment centers. Trends in treatment and outcomes were evaluated using cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses. Data analyzed included 26 614 visits for 6196 males; mean age at first registry visit was 17.7 years; and median was 14 (range, 2 to 69). During this time, prophylaxis use increased from 31% to 59% overall, and by 2010, 75% of children and youths <20 years were on prophylaxis. On cross-sectional analysis, bleeding rates decreased dramatically for the entire population (P < .001) in parallel with increased prophylaxis usage, possibly because frequent bleeders adopted prophylaxis. Joint bleeding decreased proportionately with prophylaxis (22%) and nonprophylaxis (23%), and target joints decreased more with prophylaxis (80% vs 61%). Joint, total, and target joint bleeding on prophylaxis were 33%, 41%, and 27%, respectively, compared with nonprophylaxis. On longitudinal analysis of individuals over time, prophylaxis predicted decreased bleeding at any age (P < .001), but only prophylaxis initiation prior to age 4 years and nonobesity predicted preservation of joint motion (P < .001 for each). Using a national registry, care providers in a specialized health care network for a rare disorder were able to detect and track trends in outcomes over time. PMID:28183693

  2. Target-triggering multiple-cycle signal amplification strategy for ultrasensitive detection of DNA based on QCM and SPR.

    PubMed

    Song, Weiling; Yin, Wenshuo; Sun, Wenbo; Guo, Xiaoyan; He, Peng; Yang, Xiaoyan; Zhang, Xiaoru

    2018-04-24

    Detection of ultralow concentrations of nucleic acid sequences is a central challenge in the early diagnosis of genetic diseases. Herein, we developed a target-triggering cascade multiple cycle amplification for ultrasensitive DNA detection using quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) and surface plasmon resonance (SPR). It was based on the exonuclease Ⅲ (Exo Ⅲ)-assisted signal amplification and the hybridization chain reaction (HCR). The streptavidin-coated Au-NPs (Au-NPs-SA) were assembled on the HCR products as recognition element. Upon sensing of target DNA, the duplex DNA probe triggered the Exo Ⅲ cleavage process, accompanied by generating a new secondary target DNA and releasing target DNA. The released target DNA and the secondary target DNA were recycled. Simultaneously, numerous single strands were liberated and acted as the trigger of HCR to generate further signal amplification, resulting in the immobilization of abundant Au-NPs-SA on the gold substrate. The QCM sensor results were found to be comparable to that achieved using a SPR sensor platform. This method exhibited a high sensitivity toward target DNA with a detection limit of 0.70 fM. The high sensitivity and specificity make this method a great potential for detecting DNA with trace amounts in bioanalysis and clinical biomedicine. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  3. Multiplex detection of quality indicator molecule targets in urine using programmable hairpin probes based on a simple double-T type microchip electrophoresis platform and isothermal polymerase-catalyzed target recycling.

    PubMed

    Zhou, Lingying; Gan, Ning; Wu, Yongxiang; Hu, Futao; Lin, Jianyuan; Cao, Yuting; Wu, Dazhen

    2018-05-29

    Recently, it has been crucial to be able to detect and quantify small molecular targets simultaneously in biological samples. Herein, a simple and conventional double-T type microchip electrophoresis (MCE) based platform for the multiplex detection of quality indicator molecule targets in urine, using ampicillin (AMPI), adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and estradiol (E2) as models, was developed. Several programmable hairpin probes (PHPs) were designed for detecting different targets and triggering isothermal polymerase-catalyzed target recycling (IPCTR) for signal amplification. Based on the target-responsive aptamer structure of PHP (Domain I), target recognition can induce PHP conformational transition and produce extension duplex DNA (dsDNA), assisted by primers & Bst polymerase. Afterwards, the target can be displaced to react with another PHP and initiate the next cycle. After several rounds of reaction, the dsDNA can be produced in large amounts by IPCTR. Three targets can be simultaneously converted to dsDNA fragments with different lengths, which can be separated and detected using MCE. Thus, a simple double-T type MCE based platform was successfully built for the homogeneous detection of multiplex targets in one channel. Under optimal conditions, the assay exhibited high throughput (48 samples per hour at most, not including reaction time) and sensitivity to three targets in urine with a detection limit of 1 nM (ATP), 0.05 nM (AMPI) and 0.1 nM (E2) respectively. The multiplex assay was successfully employed for the above three targets in several urine samples and combined the advantages of the high specificity of programmable hairpin probes, the excellent signal amplification of IPCTR, and the high through-put of MCE which can be employed for screening in biochemical analysis.

  4. Detection and quantification of bacterial biofilms combining high-frequency acoustic microscopy and targeted lipid microparticles

    PubMed Central

    2014-01-01

    Background Immuno-compromised patients such as those undergoing cancer chemotherapy are susceptible to bacterial infections leading to biofilm matrix formation. This surrounding biofilm matrix acts as a diffusion barrier that binds up antibiotics and antibodies, promoting resistance to treatment. Developing non-invasive imaging methods that detect biofilm matrix in the clinic are needed. The use of ultrasound in conjunction with targeted ultrasound contrast agents (UCAs) may provide detection of early stage biofilm matrix formation and facilitate optimal treatment. Results Ligand-targeted UCAs were investigated as a novel method for pre-clinical non-invasive molecular imaging of early and late stage biofilms. These agents were used to target, image and detect Staphylococcus aureus biofilm matrix in vitro. Binding efficacy was assessed on biofilm matrices with respect to their increasing biomass ranging from 3.126 × 103 ± 427 UCAs per mm2 of biofilm surface area within 12 h to 21.985 × 103 ± 855 per mm2 of biofilm matrix surface area at 96 h. High-frequency acoustic microscopy was used to ultrasonically detect targeted UCAs bound to a biofilm matrix and to assess biofilm matrix mechanoelastic physical properties. Acoustic impedance data demonstrated that biofilm matrices exhibit impedance values (1.9 MRayl) close to human tissue (1.35 - 1.85 MRayl for soft tissues). Moreover, the acoustic signature of mature biofilm matrices were evaluated in terms of integrated backscatter (0.0278 - 0.0848 mm-1 × sr-1) and acoustic attenuation (3.9 Np/mm for bound UCAs; 6.58 Np/mm for biofilm alone). Conclusions Early diagnosis of biofilm matrix formation is a challenge in treating cancer patients with infection-associated biofilms. We report for the first time a combined optical and acoustic evaluation of infectious biofilm matrices. We demonstrate that acoustic impedance of biofilms is similar to the impedance of human tissues, making in vivo imaging and detection of biofilm

  5. Detection and quantification of bacterial biofilms combining high-frequency acoustic microscopy and targeted lipid microparticles.

    PubMed

    Anastasiadis, Pavlos; Mojica, Kristina D A; Allen, John S; Matter, Michelle L

    2014-07-06

    Immuno-compromised patients such as those undergoing cancer chemotherapy are susceptible to bacterial infections leading to biofilm matrix formation. This surrounding biofilm matrix acts as a diffusion barrier that binds up antibiotics and antibodies, promoting resistance to treatment. Developing non-invasive imaging methods that detect biofilm matrix in the clinic are needed. The use of ultrasound in conjunction with targeted ultrasound contrast agents (UCAs) may provide detection of early stage biofilm matrix formation and facilitate optimal treatment. Ligand-targeted UCAs were investigated as a novel method for pre-clinical non-invasive molecular imaging of early and late stage biofilms. These agents were used to target, image and detect Staphylococcus aureus biofilm matrix in vitro. Binding efficacy was assessed on biofilm matrices with respect to their increasing biomass ranging from 3.126 × 103 ± 427 UCAs per mm(2) of biofilm surface area within 12 h to 21.985 × 103 ± 855 per mm(2) of biofilm matrix surface area at 96 h. High-frequency acoustic microscopy was used to ultrasonically detect targeted UCAs bound to a biofilm matrix and to assess biofilm matrix mechanoelastic physical properties. Acoustic impedance data demonstrated that biofilm matrices exhibit impedance values (1.9 MRayl) close to human tissue (1.35 - 1.85 MRayl for soft tissues). Moreover, the acoustic signature of mature biofilm matrices were evaluated in terms of integrated backscatter (0.0278 - 0.0848 mm(-1) × sr(-1)) and acoustic attenuation (3.9 Np/mm for bound UCAs; 6.58 Np/mm for biofilm alone). Early diagnosis of biofilm matrix formation is a challenge in treating cancer patients with infection-associated biofilms. We report for the first time a combined optical and acoustic evaluation of infectious biofilm matrices. We demonstrate that acoustic impedance of biofilms is similar to the impedance of human tissues, making in vivo imaging and detection of biofilm matrices difficult

  6. A Search Model for Imperfectly Detected Targets

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Ahumada, Albert

    2012-01-01

    Under the assumptions that 1) the search region can be divided up into N non-overlapping sub-regions that are searched sequentially, 2) the probability of detection is unity if a sub-region is selected, and 3) no information is available to guide the search, there are two extreme case models. The search can be done perfectly, leading to a uniform distribution over the number of searches required, or the search can be done with no memory, leading to a geometric distribution for the number of searches required with a success probability of 1/N. If the probability of detection P is less than unity, but the search is done otherwise perfectly, the searcher will have to search the N regions repeatedly until detection occurs. The number of searches is thus the sum two random variables. One is N times the number of full searches (a geometric distribution with success probability P) and the other is the uniform distribution over the integers 1 to N. The first three moments of this distribution were computed, giving the mean, standard deviation, and the kurtosis of the distribution as a function of the two parameters. The model was fit to the data presented last year (Ahumada, Billington, & Kaiwi, 2 required to find a single pixel target on a simulated horizon. The model gave a good fit to the three moments for all three observers.

  7. Joint Patch and Multi-label Learning for Facial Action Unit Detection

    PubMed Central

    Zhao, Kaili; Chu, Wen-Sheng; De la Torre, Fernando; Cohn, Jeffrey F.; Zhang, Honggang

    2016-01-01

    The face is one of the most powerful channel of nonverbal communication. The most commonly used taxonomy to describe facial behaviour is the Facial Action Coding System (FACS). FACS segments the visible effects of facial muscle activation into 30+ action units (AUs). AUs, which may occur alone and in thousands of combinations, can describe nearly all-possible facial expressions. Most existing methods for automatic AU detection treat the problem using one-vs-all classifiers and fail to exploit dependencies among AU and facial features. We introduce joint-patch and multi-label learning (JPML) to address these issues. JPML leverages group sparsity by selecting a sparse subset of facial patches while learning a multi-label classifier. In four of five comparisons on three diverse datasets, CK+, GFT, and BP4D, JPML produced the highest average F1 scores in comparison with state-of-the art. PMID:27382243

  8. Golay Complementary Waveforms in Reed–Müller Sequences for Radar Detection of Nonzero Doppler Targets

    PubMed Central

    Wang, Xuezhi; Huang, Xiaotao; Suvorova, Sofia; Moran, Bill

    2018-01-01

    Golay complementary waveforms can, in theory, yield radar returns of high range resolution with essentially zero sidelobes. In practice, when deployed conventionally, while high signal-to-noise ratios can be achieved for static target detection, significant range sidelobes are generated by target returns of nonzero Doppler causing unreliable detection. We consider signal processing techniques using Golay complementary waveforms to improve radar detection performance in scenarios involving multiple nonzero Doppler targets. A signal processing procedure based on an existing, so called, Binomial Design algorithm that alters the transmission order of Golay complementary waveforms and weights the returns is proposed in an attempt to achieve an enhanced illumination performance. The procedure applies one of three proposed waveform transmission ordering algorithms, followed by a pointwise nonlinear processor combining the outputs of the Binomial Design algorithm and one of the ordering algorithms. The computational complexity of the Binomial Design algorithm and the three ordering algorithms are compared, and a statistical analysis of the performance of the pointwise nonlinear processing is given. Estimation of the areas in the Delay–Doppler map occupied by significant range sidelobes for given targets are also discussed. Numerical simulations for the comparison of the performances of the Binomial Design algorithm and the three ordering algorithms are presented for both fixed and randomized target locations. The simulation results demonstrate that the proposed signal processing procedure has a better detection performance in terms of lower sidelobes and higher Doppler resolution in the presence of multiple nonzero Doppler targets compared to existing methods. PMID:29324708

  9. Optoacoustic detection of viral antigens using targeted gold nanorods

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Maswadi, Saher; Woodward, Lee; Glickman, Randolph D.; Barsalou, Norman

    2009-02-01

    We are detecting antigens (Ag), isolated from infectious organisms, utilizing laser optoacoustic spectroscopy and antibody-coupled gold nanorod (NR) contrast agents specifically targeted to the antigen of interest. We have detected, in clinical ocular samples, both Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 and 2 (HSV-1 and HSV-2) . A monoclonal antibody (Ab) specific to both HSV-1 and HSV-2 was conjugated to gold nanorods to produce a targeted contrast agent with a strong optoacoustic signal. Elutions obtained from patient corneal swabs were adsorbed in standard plastic micro-wells. An immunoaffinity reaction was then performed with the functionalized gold nanorods, and the results were probed with an OPO laser, emitting wavelengths at the peak absorptions of the nanorods. Positive optoacoustic responses were obtained from samples containing authentic (microbiologically confirmed) HSV-1 and HSV-2. To obtain an estimate of the sensitivity of the technique, serial dilutions from 1 mg/ml to 1 pg/ml of a C. trachomatis surface Ag were prepared, and were probed with a monoclonal Ab, specific to the C. trachomatis surface Ag, conjugated to gold nanorods. An optoacoustic response was obtained, proportional to the concentration of antigen, and with a limit of detection of about 5 pg/ml. The optoacoustic signals generated from micro-wells containing albumin or saline were similar to those from blank wells. The potential benefit of this method is identify viral agents more rapidly than with existing techniques. In addition, the sensitivity of the assay is comparable or superior to existing colorimetric- or fluorometric-linked immunoaffinity assays.

  10. A Fast EM Algorithm for Fitting Joint Models of a Binary Response and Multiple Longitudinal Covariates Subject to Detection Limits

    PubMed Central

    Bernhardt, Paul W.; Zhang, Daowen; Wang, Huixia Judy

    2014-01-01

    Joint modeling techniques have become a popular strategy for studying the association between a response and one or more longitudinal covariates. Motivated by the GenIMS study, where it is of interest to model the event of survival using censored longitudinal biomarkers, a joint model is proposed for describing the relationship between a binary outcome and multiple longitudinal covariates subject to detection limits. A fast, approximate EM algorithm is developed that reduces the dimension of integration in the E-step of the algorithm to one, regardless of the number of random effects in the joint model. Numerical studies demonstrate that the proposed approximate EM algorithm leads to satisfactory parameter and variance estimates in situations with and without censoring on the longitudinal covariates. The approximate EM algorithm is applied to analyze the GenIMS data set. PMID:25598564

  11. Quantum illumination for enhanced detection of Rayleigh-fading targets

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhuang, Quntao; Zhang, Zheshen; Shapiro, Jeffrey H.

    2017-08-01

    Quantum illumination (QI) is an entanglement-enhanced sensing system whose performance advantage over a comparable classical system survives its usage in an entanglement-breaking scenario plagued by loss and noise. In particular, QI's error-probability exponent for discriminating between equally likely hypotheses of target absence or presence is 6 dB higher than that of the optimum classical system using the same transmitted power. This performance advantage, however, presumes that the target return, when present, has known amplitude and phase, a situation that seldom occurs in light detection and ranging (lidar) applications. At lidar wavelengths, most target surfaces are sufficiently rough that their returns are speckled, i.e., they have Rayleigh-distributed amplitudes and uniformly distributed phases. QI's optical parametric amplifier receiver—which affords a 3 dB better-than-classical error-probability exponent for a return with known amplitude and phase—fails to offer any performance gain for Rayleigh-fading targets. We show that the sum-frequency generation receiver [Zhuang et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 118, 040801 (2017), 10.1103/PhysRevLett.118.040801]—whose error-probability exponent for a nonfading target achieves QI's full 6 dB advantage over optimum classical operation—outperforms the classical system for Rayleigh-fading targets. In this case, QI's advantage is subexponential: its error probability is lower than the classical system's by a factor of 1 /ln(M κ ¯NS/NB) , when M κ ¯NS/NB≫1 , with M ≫1 being the QI transmitter's time-bandwidth product, NS≪1 its brightness, κ ¯ the target return's average intensity, and NB the background light's brightness.

  12. Added value of second biopsy target in screen-detected widespread suspicious breast calcifications.

    PubMed

    Falkner, Nathalie M; Hince, Dana; Porter, Gareth; Dessauvagie, Ben; Jeganathan, Sanjay; Bulsara, Max; Lo, Glen

    2018-06-01

    There is controversy on the optimal work-up of screen-detected widespread breast calcifications: whether to biopsy a single target or multiple targets. This study evaluates agreement between multiple biopsy targets within the same screen-detected widespread (≥25 mm) breast calcification to determine if the second biopsy adds value. Retrospective observational study of women screened in a statewide general population risk breast cancer mammographic screening program from 2009 to 2016. Screening episodes recalled for widespread calcifications where further views indicated biopsy, and two or more separate target areas were sampled within the same lesion were included. Percentage agreement and Cohen's Kappa were calculated. A total of 293317 women were screened during 761124 separate episodes with recalls for widespread calcifications in 2355 episodes. In 171 women, a second target was biopsied within the same lesion. In 149 (86%) cases, the second target biopsy result agreed with the first biopsy (κ = 0.6768). Agreement increased with increasing mammography score (85%, 86% and 92% for score 3, 4 and 5 lesions). Same day multiple biopsied lesions were three times more likely to yield concordant results compared to post-hoc second target biopsy cases. While a single target biopsy is sufficient to discriminate a benign vs. malignant diagnosis in most cases, in 14% there is added value in performing a second target biopsy. Biopsies performed prospectively are more likely to yield concordant results compared to post-hoc second target biopsy cases, suggesting a single prospective biopsy may be sufficient when results are radiological-pathological concordant; discordance still requires repeat sampling. © 2018 The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists.

  13. Infrared dim and small target detecting and tracking method inspired by Human Visual System

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dong, Xiabin; Huang, Xinsheng; Zheng, Yongbin; Shen, Lurong; Bai, Shengjian

    2014-01-01

    Detecting and tracking dim and small target in infrared images and videos is one of the most important techniques in many computer vision applications, such as video surveillance and infrared imaging precise guidance. Recently, more and more algorithms based on Human Visual System (HVS) have been proposed to detect and track the infrared dim and small target. In general, HVS concerns at least three mechanisms including contrast mechanism, visual attention and eye movement. However, most of the existing algorithms simulate only a single one of the HVS mechanisms, resulting in many drawbacks of these algorithms. A novel method which combines the three mechanisms of HVS is proposed in this paper. First, a group of Difference of Gaussians (DOG) filters which simulate the contrast mechanism are used to filter the input image. Second, a visual attention, which is simulated by a Gaussian window, is added at a point near the target in order to further enhance the dim small target. This point is named as the attention point. Eventually, the Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) algorithm is first introduced to predict the attention point of the next frame of an image which simulates the eye movement of human being. Experimental results of infrared images with different types of backgrounds demonstrate the high efficiency and accuracy of the proposed method to detect and track the dim and small targets.

  14. A retrospective detection algorithm for extraction of weak targets in clutter and interference environments

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Prengaman, R. J.; Thurber, R. E.; Bath, W. G.

    The usefulness of radar systems depends on the ability to distinguish between signals returned from desired targets and noise. A retrospective processor uses all contacts (or 'plots') from several past radar scans, taking into account all possible target trajectories formed from stored contacts for each input detection. The processor eliminates many false alarms, while retaining those contacts describing resonable trajectories. The employment of a retrospective processor makes it, therefore, possible to obtain large improvements in detection sensitivity in certain important clutter environments. Attention is given to the retrospective processing concept, a theoretical analysis of the multiscan detection process, the experimental evaluation of retrospective data filter, and aspects of retrospective data filter hardware implementation.

  15. Detection and Tracking of Moving Targets Behind Cluttered Environments Using Compressive Sensing

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dang, Vinh Quang

    Detection and tracking of moving targets (target's motion, vibration, etc.) in cluttered environments have been receiving much attention in numerous applications, such as disaster search-and-rescue, law enforcement, urban warfare, etc. One of the popular techniques is the use of stepped frequency continuous wave radar due to its low cost and complexity. However, the stepped frequency radar suffers from long data acquisition time. This dissertation focuses on detection and tracking of moving targets and vibration rates of stationary targets behind cluttered medium such as wall using stepped frequency radar enhanced by compressive sensing. The application of compressive sensing enables the reconstruction of the target space using fewer random frequencies, which decreases the acquisition time. Hardware-accelerated parallelization on GPU is investigated for the Orthogonal Matching Pursuit reconstruction algorithm. For simulation purpose, two hybrid methods have been developed to calculate the scattered fields from the targets through the wall approaching the antenna system, and to convert the incoming fields into voltage signals at terminals of the receive antenna. The first method is developed based on the plane wave spectrum approach for calculating the scattered fields of targets behind the wall. The method uses Fast Multiple Method (FMM) to calculate scattered fields on a particular source plane, decomposes them into plane wave components, and propagates the plane wave spectrum through the wall by integrating wall transmission coefficients before constructing the fields on a desired observation plane. The second method allows one to calculate the complex output voltage at terminals of a receiving antenna which fully takes into account the antenna effects. This method adopts the concept of complex antenna factor in Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) community for its calculation.

  16. Accuracy of software-assisted detection of tumour feeders in transcatheter hepatic chemoembolization using three target definition protocols.

    PubMed

    Iwazawa, J; Ohue, S; Hashimoto, N; Mitani, T

    2014-02-01

    To compare the accuracy of computer software analysis using three different target-definition protocols to detect tumour feeder vessels for transarterial chemoembolization of hepatocellular carcinoma. C-arm computed tomography (CT) data were analysed for 81 tumours from 57 patients who had undergone chemoembolization using software-assisted detection of tumour feeders. Small, medium, and large-sized targets were manually defined for each tumour. The tumour feeder was verified when the target tumour was enhanced on selective C-arm CT of the investigated vessel during chemoembolization. The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of the three protocols were evaluated and compared. One hundred and eight feeder vessels supplying 81 lesions were detected. The sensitivity of the small, medium, and large target protocols was 79.8%, 91.7%, and 96.3%, respectively; specificity was 95%, 88%, and 50%, respectively; and accuracy was 87.5%, 89.9%, and 74%, respectively. The sensitivity was significantly higher for the medium (p = 0.003) and large (p < 0.001) target protocols than for the small target protocol. The specificity and accuracy were higher for the small (p < 0.001 and p < 0.001, respectively) and medium (p < 0.001 and p < 0.001, respectively) target protocols than for the large target protocol. The overall accuracy of software-assisted automated feeder analysis in transarterial chemoembolization for hepatocellular carcinoma is affected by the target definition size. A large target definition increases sensitivity and decreases specificity in detecting tumour feeders. A target size equivalent to the tumour size most accurately predicts tumour feeders. Copyright © 2013 The Royal College of Radiologists. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Top-Down Visual Saliency via Joint CRF and Dictionary Learning.

    PubMed

    Yang, Jimei; Yang, Ming-Hsuan

    2017-03-01

    Top-down visual saliency is an important module of visual attention. In this work, we propose a novel top-down saliency model that jointly learns a Conditional Random Field (CRF) and a visual dictionary. The proposed model incorporates a layered structure from top to bottom: CRF, sparse coding and image patches. With sparse coding as an intermediate layer, CRF is learned in a feature-adaptive manner; meanwhile with CRF as the output layer, the dictionary is learned under structured supervision. For efficient and effective joint learning, we develop a max-margin approach via a stochastic gradient descent algorithm. Experimental results on the Graz-02 and PASCAL VOC datasets show that our model performs favorably against state-of-the-art top-down saliency methods for target object localization. In addition, the dictionary update significantly improves the performance of our model. We demonstrate the merits of the proposed top-down saliency model by applying it to prioritizing object proposals for detection and predicting human fixations.

  18. Fluorescence turn-on detection of target sequence DNA based on silicon nanodot-mediated quenching.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Yanan; Ning, Xinping; Mao, Guobin; Ji, Xinghu; He, Zhike

    2018-05-01

    We have developed a new enzyme-free method for target sequence DNA detection based on the dynamic quenching of fluorescent silicon nanodots (SiNDs) toward Cy5-tagged DNA probe. Fascinatingly, the water-soluble SiNDs can quench the fluorescence of cyanine (Cy5) in Cy5-tagged DNA probe in homogeneous solution, and the fluorescence of Cy5-tagged DNA probe can be restored in the presence of target sequence DNA (the synthetic target miRNA-27a). Based on this phenomenon, a SiND-featured fluorescent sensor has been constructed for "turn-on" detection of the synthetic target miRNA-27a for the first time. This newly developed approach possesses the merits of low cost, simple design, and convenient operation since no enzymatic reaction, toxic reagents, or separation procedures are involved. The established method achieves a detection limit of 0.16 nM, and the relative standard deviation of this method is 9% (1 nM, n = 5). The linear range is 0.5-20 nM, and the recoveries in spiked human fluids are in the range of 90-122%. This protocol provides a new tactic in the development of the nonenzymic miRNA biosensors and opens a promising avenue for early diagnosis of miRNA-associated disease. Graphical abstract The SiND-based fluorescent sensor for detection of S-miR-27a.

  19. Evaluation of Targeted Next-Generation Sequencing for Detection of Bovine Pathogens in Clinical Samples.

    PubMed

    Anis, Eman; Hawkins, Ian K; Ilha, Marcia R S; Woldemeskel, Moges W; Saliki, Jeremiah T; Wilkes, Rebecca P

    2018-07-01

    The laboratory diagnosis of infectious diseases, especially those caused by mixed infections, is challenging. Routinely, it requires submission of multiple samples to separate laboratories. Advances in next-generation sequencing (NGS) have provided the opportunity for development of a comprehensive method to identify infectious agents. This study describes the use of target-specific primers for PCR-mediated amplification with the NGS technology in which pathogen genomic regions of interest are enriched and selectively sequenced from clinical samples. In the study, 198 primers were designed to target 43 common bovine and small-ruminant bacterial, fungal, viral, and parasitic pathogens, and a bioinformatics tool was specifically constructed for the detection of targeted pathogens. The primers were confirmed to detect the intended pathogens by testing reference strains and isolates. The method was then validated using 60 clinical samples (including tissues, feces, and milk) that were also tested with other routine diagnostic techniques. The detection limits of the targeted NGS method were evaluated using 10 representative pathogens that were also tested by quantitative PCR (qPCR), and the NGS method was able to detect the organisms from samples with qPCR threshold cycle ( C T ) values in the 30s. The method was successful for the detection of multiple pathogens in the clinical samples, including some additional pathogens missed by the routine techniques because the specific tests needed for the particular organisms were not performed. The results demonstrate the feasibility of the approach and indicate that it is possible to incorporate NGS as a diagnostic tool in a cost-effective manner into a veterinary diagnostic laboratory. Copyright © 2018 Anis et al.

  20. Fractal analysis of seafloor textures for target detection in synthetic aperture sonar imagery

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nabelek, T.; Keller, J.; Galusha, A.; Zare, A.

    2018-04-01

    Fractal analysis of an image is a mathematical approach to generate surface related features from an image or image tile that can be applied to image segmentation and to object recognition. In undersea target countermeasures, the targets of interest can appear as anomalies in a variety of contexts, visually different textures on the seafloor. In this paper, we evaluate the use of fractal dimension as a primary feature and related characteristics as secondary features to be extracted from synthetic aperture sonar (SAS) imagery for the purpose of target detection. We develop three separate methods for computing fractal dimension. Tiles with targets are compared to others from the same background textures without targets. The different fractal dimension feature methods are tested with respect to how well they can be used to detect targets vs. false alarms within the same contexts. These features are evaluated for utility using a set of image tiles extracted from a SAS data set generated by the U.S. Navy in conjunction with the Office of Naval Research. We find that all three methods perform well in the classification task, with a fractional Brownian motion model performing the best among the individual methods. We also find that the secondary features are just as useful, if not more so, in classifying false alarms vs. targets. The best classification accuracy overall, in our experimentation, is found when the features from all three methods are combined into a single feature vector.

  1. Risk maps for targeting exotic plant pest detection programs in the United States

    Treesearch

    R.D. Magarey; D.M. Borchert; J.S. Engle; M Garcia-Colunga; Frank H. Koch; et al

    2011-01-01

    In the United States, pest risk maps are used by the Cooperative Agricultural Pest Survey for spatial and temporal targeting of exotic plant pest detection programs. Methods are described to create standardized host distribution, climate and pathway risk maps for the top nationally ranked exotic pest targets. Two examples are provided to illustrate the risk mapping...

  2. Time reversal optical tomography and decomposition methods for detection and localization of targets in highly scattering turbid media

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wu, Binlin

    New near-infrared (NIR) diffuse optical tomography (DOT) approaches were developed to detect, locate, and image small targets embedded in highly scattering turbid media. The first approach, referred to as time reversal optical tomography (TROT), is based on time reversal (TR) imaging and multiple signal classification (MUSIC). The second approach uses decomposition methods of non-negative matrix factorization (NMF) and principal component analysis (PCA) commonly used in blind source separation (BSS) problems, and compare the outcomes with that of optical imaging using independent component analysis (OPTICA). The goal is to develop a safe, affordable, noninvasive imaging modality for detection and characterization of breast tumors in early growth stages when those are more amenable to treatment. The efficacy of the approaches was tested using simulated data, and experiments involving model media and absorptive, scattering, and fluorescent targets, as well as, "realistic human breast model" composed of ex vivo breast tissues with embedded tumors. The experimental arrangements realized continuous wave (CW) multi-source probing of samples and multi-detector acquisition of diffusely transmitted signal in rectangular slab geometry. A data matrix was generated using the perturbation in the transmitted light intensity distribution due to the presence of absorptive or scattering targets. For fluorescent targets the data matrix was generated using the diffusely transmitted fluorescence signal distribution from the targets. The data matrix was analyzed using different approaches to detect and characterize the targets. The salient features of the approaches include ability to: (a) detect small targets; (b) provide three-dimensional location of the targets with high accuracy (~within a millimeter or 2); and (c) assess optical strength of the targets. The approaches are less computation intensive and consequently are faster than other inverse image reconstruction methods that

  3. Optimal Power Allocation Strategy in a Joint Bistatic Radar and Communication System Based on Low Probability of Intercept

    PubMed Central

    Wang, Fei; Salous, Sana; Zhou, Jianjiang

    2017-01-01

    In this paper, we investigate a low probability of intercept (LPI)-based optimal power allocation strategy for a joint bistatic radar and communication system, which is composed of a dedicated transmitter, a radar receiver, and a communication receiver. The joint system is capable of fulfilling the requirements of both radar and communications simultaneously. First, assuming that the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) corresponding to the target surveillance path is much weaker than that corresponding to the line of sight path at radar receiver, the analytically closed-form expression for the probability of false alarm is calculated, whereas the closed-form expression for the probability of detection is not analytically tractable and is approximated due to the fact that the received signals are not zero-mean Gaussian under target presence hypothesis. Then, an LPI-based optimal power allocation strategy is presented to minimize the total transmission power for information signal and radar waveform, which is constrained by a specified information rate for the communication receiver and the desired probabilities of detection and false alarm for the radar receiver. The well-known bisection search method is employed to solve the resulting constrained optimization problem. Finally, numerical simulations are provided to reveal the effects of several system parameters on the power allocation results. It is also demonstrated that the LPI performance of the joint bistatic radar and communication system can be markedly improved by utilizing the proposed scheme. PMID:29186850

  4. Optimal Power Allocation Strategy in a Joint Bistatic Radar and Communication System Based on Low Probability of Intercept.

    PubMed

    Shi, Chenguang; Wang, Fei; Salous, Sana; Zhou, Jianjiang

    2017-11-25

    In this paper, we investigate a low probability of intercept (LPI)-based optimal power allocation strategy for a joint bistatic radar and communication system, which is composed of a dedicated transmitter, a radar receiver, and a communication receiver. The joint system is capable of fulfilling the requirements of both radar and communications simultaneously. First, assuming that the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) corresponding to the target surveillance path is much weaker than that corresponding to the line of sight path at radar receiver, the analytically closed-form expression for the probability of false alarm is calculated, whereas the closed-form expression for the probability of detection is not analytically tractable and is approximated due to the fact that the received signals are not zero-mean Gaussian under target presence hypothesis. Then, an LPI-based optimal power allocation strategy is presented to minimize the total transmission power for information signal and radar waveform, which is constrained by a specified information rate for the communication receiver and the desired probabilities of detection and false alarm for the radar receiver. The well-known bisection search method is employed to solve the resulting constrained optimization problem. Finally, numerical simulations are provided to reveal the effects of several system parameters on the power allocation results. It is also demonstrated that the LPI performance of the joint bistatic radar and communication system can be markedly improved by utilizing the proposed scheme.

  5. Early detection and progression of decay in L-joints and lap-joints in a moderate decay hazard zone

    Treesearch

    Carol A. Clausen; Terry L. Highley; Daniel L. Lindner

    2006-01-01

    Accelerated test methods are needed to evaluate the initiation and progression of decay in wood exposed aboveground. The relationship between test conditions and initiation of decay, however, is poorly understood. Southern pine and maple L-joints and lap-joints were exposed aboveground in a configuration that encouraged water entrapment at the Valley View Experimental...

  6. Target-responsive DNAzyme cross-linked hydrogel for visual quantitative detection of lead.

    PubMed

    Huang, Yishun; Ma, Yanli; Chen, Yahong; Wu, Xuemeng; Fang, Luting; Zhu, Zhi; Yang, Chaoyong James

    2014-11-18

    Because of the severe health risks associated with lead pollution, rapid, sensitive, and portable detection of low levels of Pb(2+) in biological and environmental samples is of great importance. In this work, a Pb(2+)-responsive hydrogel was prepared using a DNAzyme and its substrate as cross-linker for rapid, sensitive, portable, and quantitative detection of Pb(2+). Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) were first encapsulated in the hydrogel as an indicator for colorimetric analysis. In the absence of lead, the DNAzyme is inactive, and the substrate cross-linker maintains the hydrogel in the gel form. In contrast, the presence of lead activates the DNAzyme to cleave the substrate, decreasing the cross-linking density of the hydrogel and resulting in dissolution of the hydrogel and release of AuNPs for visual detection. As low as 10 nM Pb(2+) can be detected by the naked eye. Furthermore, to realize quantitative visual detection, a volumetric bar-chart chip (V-chip) was used for quantitative readout of the hydrogel system by replacing AuNPs with gold-platinum core-shell nanoparticles (Au@PtNPs). The Au@PtNPs released from the hydrogel upon target activation can efficiently catalyze the decomposition of H2O2 to generate a large volume of O2. The gas pressure moves an ink bar in the V-chip for portable visual quantitative detection of lead with a detection limit less than 5 nM. The device was able to detect lead in digested blood with excellent accuracy. The method developed can be used for portable lead quantitation in many applications. Furthermore, the method can be further extended to portable visual quantitative detection of a variety of targets by replacing the lead-responsive DNAzyme with other DNAzymes.

  7. Joint Spatial-Spectral Feature Space Clustering for Speech Activity Detection from ECoG Signals

    PubMed Central

    Kanas, Vasileios G.; Mporas, Iosif; Benz, Heather L.; Sgarbas, Kyriakos N.; Bezerianos, Anastasios; Crone, Nathan E.

    2014-01-01

    Brain machine interfaces for speech restoration have been extensively studied for more than two decades. The success of such a system will depend in part on selecting the best brain recording sites and signal features corresponding to speech production. The purpose of this study was to detect speech activity automatically from electrocorticographic signals based on joint spatial-frequency clustering of the ECoG feature space. For this study, the ECoG signals were recorded while a subject performed two different syllable repetition tasks. We found that the optimal frequency resolution to detect speech activity from ECoG signals was 8 Hz, achieving 98.8% accuracy by employing support vector machines (SVM) as a classifier. We also defined the cortical areas that held the most information about the discrimination of speech and non-speech time intervals. Additionally, the results shed light on the distinct cortical areas associated with the two syllable repetition tasks and may contribute to the development of portable ECoG-based communication. PMID:24658248

  8. A New Strategy to Reduce Influenza Escape: Detecting Therapeutic Targets Constituted of Invariance Groups

    PubMed Central

    Lao, Julie; Vanet, Anne

    2017-01-01

    The pathogenicity of the different flu species is a real public health problem worldwide. To combat this scourge, we established a method to detect drug targets, reducing the possibility of escape. Besides being able to attach a drug candidate, these targets should have the main characteristic of being part of an essential viral function. The invariance groups that are sets of residues bearing an essential function can be detected genetically. They consist of invariant and synthetic lethal residues (interdependent residues not varying or slightly varying when together). We analyzed an alignment of more than 10,000 hemagglutinin sequences of influenza to detect six invariance groups, close in space, and on the protein surface. In parallel we identified five potential pockets on the surface of hemagglutinin. By combining these results, three potential binding sites were determined that are composed of invariance groups located respectively in the vestigial esterase domain, in the bottom of the stem and in the fusion area. The latter target is constituted of residues involved in the spring-loaded mechanism, an essential step in the fusion process. We propose a model describing how this potential target could block the reorganization of the hemagglutinin HA2 secondary structure and prevent viral entry into the host cell. PMID:28257108

  9. Colorimetric Detection of Small Molecules in Complex Matrixes via Target-Mediated Growth of Aptamer-Functionalized Gold Nanoparticles.

    PubMed

    Soh, Jun Hui; Lin, Yiyang; Rana, Subinoy; Ying, Jackie Y; Stevens, Molly M

    2015-08-04

    A versatile and sensitive colorimetric assay that allows the rapid detection of small-molecule targets using the naked eye is demonstrated. The working principle of the assay integrates aptamer-target recognition and the aptamer-controlled growth of gold nanoparticles (Au NPs). Aptamer-target interactions modulate the amount of aptamer strands adsorbed on the surface of aptamer-functionalized Au NPs via desorption of the aptamer strands when target molecules bind with the aptamer. Depending on the resulting aptamer coverage, Au NPs grow into morphologically varied nanostructures, which give rise to different colored solutions. Au NPs with low aptamer coverage grow into spherical NPs, which produce red-colored solutions, whereas Au NPs with high aptamer coverage grow into branched NPs, which produce blue-colored solutions. We achieved visible colorimetric response and nanomolar detection limits for the detection of ochratoxin A (1 nM) in red wine samples, as well as cocaine (1 nM) and 17β-estradiol (0.2 nM) in spiked synthetic urine and saliva, respectively. The detection limits were well within clinically and physiologically relevant ranges, and below the maximum food safety limits. The assay is highly sensitive, specific, and able to detect an array of analytes rapidly without requiring sophisticated equipment, making it relevant for many applications, such as high-throughput drug and clinical screening, food sampling, and diagnostics. Furthermore, the assay is easily adapted as a chip-based platform for rapid and portable target detection.

  10. Thermoacoustic molecular tomography with magnetic nanoparticle contrast agents for targeted tumor detection.

    PubMed

    Nie, Liming; Ou, Zhongmin; Yang, Sihua; Xing, Da

    2010-08-01

    The primary feasibility steps of demonstrating the ability of microwave-induced thermoacoustic (TA) in phantoms have been previously reported. However, none were shown to target a diseased site in living subjects in thermoacoustic tomography (TAT) field so far. To determine the expressions of oncogenic surface molecules, it is quite necessary to image tumor lesions and acquire pathogenic status on them via TAT. Compared to biological tissues, iron oxide nanoparticles have a much higher microwave absorbance. Fe3O4/polyaniline (PANI) nanoparticles were prepared via polymerization of aniline in the Fe304 superparamagnetic fluids. Then Fe3O4/PANI was conjugated to folic acid (FA), which can bind specifically to the surface of the folate receptor used as a tumor marker. FA-Fe3O4/PANI targeted tumor was irradiated by pulsed microwave at 6 GHz for thermoacoustic detection and imaging. The effect of the Fe3O4/PANI superparamagnetic nanoparticles for enhancing TAT images was successfully investigated in ex vivo human blood and in vivo mouse tail. Intravenous administration of the targeted nanoparticles to mice bearing tumors showed fivefold greater thermoacoustic signal and much longer elimination time than that of mice injected with nontargeted nanoparticles in the tumor. The specific targeting ability of FA-Fe3O4/PANI to tumor was also verified on fluorescence microscopy. Fabricated iron oxide nanoparticles conjugated with tumor ligands for targeted TAT tumor detection at the molecular level was reported for the first time. The results indicate that thermoacoustic molecular imaging with functionalized iron oxide nanoparticles may contribute to targeted and functional early cancer imaging. Also, the modified iron oxide nanoparticles combined with suitable tumor markers may also be used as novel nanomaterials for targeted and guided cancer thermal therapy.

  11. Dependency of human target detection performance on clutter and quality of supporting image analysis algorithms in a video surveillance task

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Huber, Samuel; Dunau, Patrick; Wellig, Peter; Stein, Karin

    2017-10-01

    Background: In target detection, the success rates depend strongly on human observer performances. Two prior studies tested the contributions of target detection algorithms and prior training sessions. The aim of this Swiss-German cooperation study was to evaluate the dependency of human observer performance on the quality of supporting image analysis algorithms. Methods: The participants were presented 15 different video sequences. Their task was to detect all targets in the shortest possible time. Each video sequence showed a heavily cluttered simulated public area from a different viewing angle. In each video sequence, the number of avatars in the area was altered to 100, 150 and 200 subjects. The number of targets appearing was kept at 10%. The number of marked targets varied from 0, 5, 10, 20 up to 40 marked subjects while keeping the positive predictive value of the detection algorithm at 20%. During the task, workload level was assessed by applying an acoustic secondary task. Detection rates and detection times for the targets were analyzed using inferential statistics. Results: The study found Target Detection Time to increase and Target Detection Rates to decrease with increasing numbers of avatars. The same is true for the Secondary Task Reaction Time while there was no effect on Secondary Task Hit Rate. Furthermore, we found a trend for a u-shaped correlation between the numbers of markings and RTST indicating increased workload. Conclusion: The trial results may indicate useful criteria for the design of training and support of observers in observational tasks.

  12. A target detection multi-layer matched filter for color and hyperspectral cameras

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Miyanishi, Tomoya; Preece, Bradley L.; Reynolds, Joseph P.

    2018-05-01

    In this article, a method for applying matched filters to a 3-dimentional hyperspectral data cube is discussed. In many applications, color visible cameras or hyperspectral cameras are used for target detection where the color or spectral optical properties of the imaged materials are partially known in advance. Therefore, the use of matched filtering with spectral data along with shape data is an effective method for detecting certain targets. Since many methods for 2D image filtering have been researched, we propose a multi-layer filter where ordinary spatially matched filters are used before the spectral filters. We discuss a way to layer the spectral filters for a 3D hyperspectral data cube, accompanied by a detectability metric for calculating the SNR of the filter. This method is appropriate for visible color cameras and hyperspectral cameras. We also demonstrate an analysis using the Night Vision Integrated Performance Model (NV-IPM) and a Monte Carlo simulation in order to confirm the effectiveness of the filtering in providing a higher output SNR and a lower false alarm rate.

  13. Multispectral image fusion for target detection

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Leviner, Marom; Maltz, Masha

    2009-09-01

    Various different methods to perform multi-spectral image fusion have been suggested, mostly on the pixel level. However, the jury is still out on the benefits of a fused image compared to its source images. We present here a new multi-spectral image fusion method, multi-spectral segmentation fusion (MSSF), which uses a feature level processing paradigm. To test our method, we compared human observer performance in an experiment using MSSF against two established methods: Averaging and Principle Components Analysis (PCA), and against its two source bands, visible and infrared. The task that we studied was: target detection in the cluttered environment. MSSF proved superior to the other fusion methods. Based on these findings, current speculation about the circumstances in which multi-spectral image fusion in general and specific fusion methods in particular would be superior to using the original image sources can be further addressed.

  14. Ultrasonic detection technology based on joint robot on composite component with complex surface

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

    Hao, Juan; Xu, Chunguang; Zhang, Lan

    Some components have complex surface, such as the airplane wing and the shell of a pressure vessel etc. The quality of these components determines the reliability and safety of related equipment. Ultrasonic nondestructive detection is one of the main methods used for testing material defects at present. In order to improve the testing precision, the acoustic axis of the ultrasonic transducer should be consistent with the normal direction of the measured points. When we use joint robots, automatic ultrasonic scan along the component surface normal direction can be realized by motion trajectory planning and coordinate transformation etc. In order tomore » express the defects accurately and truly, the robot position and the signal of the ultrasonic transducer should be synchronized.« less

  15. Collimator optimization in myocardial perfusion SPECT using the ideal observer and realistic background variability for lesion detection and joint detection and localization tasks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ghaly, Michael; Du, Yong; Links, Jonathan M.; Frey, Eric C.

    2016-03-01

    In SPECT imaging, collimators are a major factor limiting image quality and largely determine the noise and resolution of SPECT images. In this paper, we seek the collimator with the optimal tradeoff between image noise and resolution with respect to performance on two tasks related to myocardial perfusion SPECT: perfusion defect detection and joint detection and localization. We used the Ideal Observer (IO) operating on realistic background-known-statistically (BKS) and signal-known-exactly (SKE) data. The areas under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) and localization ROC (LROC) curves (AUCd, AUCd+l), respectively, were used as the figures of merit for both tasks. We used a previously developed population of 54 phantoms based on the eXtended Cardiac Torso Phantom (XCAT) that included variations in gender, body size, heart size and subcutaneous adipose tissue level. For each phantom, organ uptakes were varied randomly based on distributions observed in patient data. We simulated perfusion defects at six different locations with extents and severities of 10% and 25%, respectively, which represented challenging but clinically relevant defects. The extent and severity are, respectively, the perfusion defect’s fraction of the myocardial volume and reduction of uptake relative to the normal myocardium. Projection data were generated using an analytical projector that modeled attenuation, scatter, and collimator-detector response effects, a 9% energy resolution at 140 keV, and a 4 mm full-width at half maximum (FWHM) intrinsic spatial resolution. We investigated a family of eight parallel-hole collimators that spanned a large range of sensitivity-resolution tradeoffs. For each collimator and defect location, the IO test statistics were computed using a Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) method for an ensemble of 540 pairs of defect-present and -absent images that included the aforementioned anatomical and uptake variability. Sets of test statistics were

  16. Multiplexed target detection using DNA-binding dye chemistry in droplet digital PCR.

    PubMed

    McDermott, Geoffrey P; Do, Duc; Litterst, Claudia M; Maar, Dianna; Hindson, Christopher M; Steenblock, Erin R; Legler, Tina C; Jouvenot, Yann; Marrs, Samuel H; Bemis, Adam; Shah, Pallavi; Wong, Josephine; Wang, Shenglong; Sally, David; Javier, Leanne; Dinio, Theresa; Han, Chunxiao; Brackbill, Timothy P; Hodges, Shawn P; Ling, Yunfeng; Klitgord, Niels; Carman, George J; Berman, Jennifer R; Koehler, Ryan T; Hiddessen, Amy L; Walse, Pramod; Bousse, Luc; Tzonev, Svilen; Hefner, Eli; Hindson, Benjamin J; Cauly, Thomas H; Hamby, Keith; Patel, Viresh P; Regan, John F; Wyatt, Paul W; Karlin-Neumann, George A; Stumbo, David P; Lowe, Adam J

    2013-12-03

    Two years ago, we described the first droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) system aimed at empowering all researchers with a tool that removes the substantial uncertainties associated with using the analogue standard, quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR). This system enabled TaqMan hydrolysis probe-based assays for the absolute quantification of nucleic acids. Due to significant advancements in droplet chemistry and buoyed by the multiple benefits associated with dye-based target detection, we have created a "second generation" ddPCR system compatible with both TaqMan-probe and DNA-binding dye detection chemistries. Herein, we describe the operating characteristics of DNA-binding dye based ddPCR and offer a side-by-side comparison to TaqMan probe detection. By partitioning each sample prior to thermal cycling, we demonstrate that it is now possible to use a DNA-binding dye for the quantification of multiple target species from a single reaction. The increased resolution associated with partitioning also made it possible to visualize and account for signals arising from nonspecific amplification products. We expect that the ability to combine the precision of ddPCR with both DNA-binding dye and TaqMan probe detection chemistries will further enable the research community to answer complex and diverse genetic questions.

  17. Detection of defects in laser welding of AZ31B magnesium alloy in zero-gap lap joint configuration by a real-time spectroscopic analysis

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Harooni, Masoud; Carlson, Blair; Kovacevic, Radovan

    2014-05-01

    The effect of surface oxide layer existing at the lap-joint faying surface of magnesium sheets is investigated on the keyhole dynamics of the weld pool and weld bead qualities. It is observed that by removing the oxide layer from the faying surface of the lap joint, a high quality weld can be achieved in the laser welding process. However, the presence of an oxide layer deteriorates the quality of the weld by forming pores at the interface of the two overlapped sheets. The purpose of this paper is to identify the correlation between the integrity of the weld and the interaction between the laser and material. A spectroscopy sensor was applied to detect the spectra emitted from a plasma plume during the laser welding of AZ31B magnesium alloy in a zero-gap lap joint configuration. The electron temperature was calculated by applying a Boltzmann plot method based on the detected spectra, and the correlation between the pore formation and the spectral signals was studied. The laser molten pool and the keyhole condition were monitored in real-time by a high speed charge-coupled device (CCD) camera. A green laser was used as an illumination source in order to detect the influence of the oxide layer on the dynamic behavior of the molten pool. Results revealed that the detected spectrum and weld defects had a meaningful correlation for real-time monitoring of the weld quality during laser welding of magnesium alloys.

  18. CT-guided robotically-assisted infiltration of foot and ankle joints.

    PubMed

    Wiewiorski, Martin; Valderrabano, Victor; Kretzschmar, Martin; Rasch, Helmut; Markus, Tanja; Dziergwa, Severine; Kos, Sebastian; Bilecen, Deniz; Jacob, Augustinus Ludwig

    2009-01-01

    It was our aim to describe a CT-guided robotically-assisted infiltration technique for diagnostic injections in foot and ankle orthopaedics. CT-guided mechatronically-assisted joint infiltration was performed on 16 patients referred to the orthopaedic department for diagnostic foot and ankle assessment. All interventions were performed using an INNOMOTION-assistance device on a multislice CT scanner in an image-guided therapy suite. Successful infiltration was defined as CT localization of contrast media in the target joint. Additionally, pre- and post-interventional VAS pain scores were assessed. All injections (16/16 joints) were technically successful. Contrast media deposit was documented in all targeted joints. Significant relief of pain was noted by all 16 patients (p<0.01). CT-guided robotically-assisted intervention is an exact, reliable and safe application method for diagnostic infiltration of midfoot and hindfoot joints. The high accuracy and feasibility in a clinical environment make it a viable alternative to the commonly used fluoroscopic-guided procedures.

  19. Ultrasonic guided wave inspection of Inconel 625 brazed lap joints

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Comot, Pierre; Bocher, Philippe; Belanger, Pierre

    2016-04-01

    The aerospace industry has been investigating the use of brazing for structural joints, as a mean of reducing cost and weight. There therefore is a need for a rapid, robust, and cost-effective non-destructive testing method for evaluating the structural integrity of the joints. The mechanical strength of brazed joints depends mainly on the amount of brittle phases in their microstructure. Ultrasonic guided waves offer the possibility of detecting brittle phases in joints using spatio-temporal measurements. Moreover, they offer the opportunity to inspect complex shape joints. This study focused on the development of a technique based on ultrasonic guided waves for the inspection of Inconel 625 lap joints brazed with BNi-2 filler metal. A finite element model of a lap joint was used to optimize the inspection parameters and assess the feasibility of detecting the amount of brittle phases in the joint. A finite element parametric study simulating the input signal shape, the center frequency, and the excitation direction was performed. The simulations showed that the ultrasonic guided wave energy transmitted through, and reflected from, the joints was proportional to the amount of brittle phases in the joint.

  20. Study on a novel laser target detection system based on software radio technique

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Song, Song; Deng, Jia-hao; Wang, Xue-tian; Gao, Zhen; Sun, Ji; Sun, Zhi-hui

    2008-12-01

    This paper presents that software radio technique is applied to laser target detection system with the pseudo-random code modulation. Based on the theory of software radio, the basic framework of the system, hardware platform, and the implementation of the software system are detailed. Also, the block diagram of the system, DSP circuit, block diagram of the pseudo-random code generator, and soft flow diagram of signal processing are designed. Experimental results have shown that the application of software radio technique provides a novel method to realize the modularization, miniaturization and intelligence of the laser target detection system, and the upgrade and improvement of the system will become simpler, more convenient, and cheaper.

  1. Surveillance theory applied to virus detection: a case for targeted discovery

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Bogich, Tiffany L.; Anthony, Simon J.; Nichols, James D.

    2013-01-01

    Virus detection and mathematical modeling have gone through rapid developments in the past decade. Both offer new insights into the epidemiology of infectious disease and characterization of future risk; however, modeling has not yet been applied to designing the best surveillance strategies for viral and pathogen discovery. We review recent developments and propose methods to integrate viral and pathogen discovery and mathematical modeling through optimal surveillance theory, arguing for a more targeted approach to novel virus detection guided by the principles of adaptive management and structured decision-making.

  2. Direct detection of sub-GeV dark matter with semiconductor targets

    DOE PAGES

    Essig, Rouven; Fernández-Serra, Marivi; Mardon, Jeremy; ...

    2016-05-09

    Dark matter in the sub-GeV mass range is a theoretically motivated but largely unexplored paradigm. Such light masses are out of reach for conventional nuclear recoil direct detection experiments, but may be detected through the small ionization signals caused by dark matter-electron scattering. Semiconductors are well-studied and are particularly promising target materials because their O(1 eV) band gaps allow for ionization signals from dark matter particles as light as a few hundred keV. Current direct detection technologies are being adapted for dark matter-electron scattering. In this paper, we provide the theoretical calculations for dark matter-electron scattering rate in semiconductors, overcomingmore » several complications that stem from the many-body nature of the problem. We use density functional theory to numerically calculate the rates for dark matter-electron scattering in silicon and germanium, and estimate the sensitivity for upcoming experiments such as DAMIC and SuperCDMS. We find that the reach for these upcoming experiments has the potential to be orders of magnitude beyond current direct detection constraints and that sub-GeV dark matter has a sizable modulation signal. We also give the first direct detection limits on sub-GeV dark matter from its scattering off electrons in a semiconductor target (silicon) based on published results from DAMIC. We make available publicly our code, QEdark, with which we calculate our results. Our results can be used by experimental collaborations to calculate their own sensitivities based on their specific setup. In conclusion, the searches we propose will probe vast new regions of unexplored dark matter model and parameter space.« less

  3. Constant-Envelope Waveform Design for Optimal Target-Detection and Autocorrelation Performances

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

    Sen, Satyabrata

    2013-01-01

    We propose an algorithm to directly synthesize in time-domain a constant-envelope transmit waveform that achieves the optimal performance in detecting an extended target in the presence of signal-dependent interference. This approach is in contrast to the traditional indirect methods that synthesize the transmit signal following the computation of the optimal energy spectral density. Additionally, we aim to maintain a good autocorrelation property of the designed signal. Therefore, our waveform design technique solves a bi-objective optimization problem in order to simultaneously improve the detection and autocorrelation performances, which are in general conflicting in nature. We demonstrate this compromising characteristics of themore » detection and autocorrelation performances with numerical examples. Furthermore, in the absence of the autocorrelation criterion, our designed signal is shown to achieve a near-optimum detection performance.« less

  4. Selective tuning of the right inferior frontal gyrus during target detection

    PubMed Central

    Hampshire, Adam; Thompson, Russell; Duncan, John; Owen, Adrian M.

    2010-01-01

    In the human brain, a network of frontal and parietal regions is commonly recruited during tasks that demand the deliberate, focused control of thought and action. Previously, using a simple target detection task, we reported striking differences in the selectivity of the BOLD response in anatomically distinct subregions of this network. In particular, it was observed that the right inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) followed a tightly tuned function, selectively responding only to the current target object. Here, we examine this functional specialization further, using adapted versions of our original task. Our results demonstrate that the response of the right IFG to targets is a strong and replicable phenomenon. It occurs under increased attentional load, when targets and distractors are equally frequent, and when controlling for inhibitory processes. These findings support the hypothesis that the right IFG responds selectively to those items that are of the most relevance to the currently intended task schema. PMID:19246331

  5. Development of a low-cost airborne ultrasound sensor for the detection of brick joints behind a wall painting.

    PubMed

    García-Diego, Fernando-Juan; Bravo, José María; Pérez-Miralles, Juan; Estrada, Héctor; Fernández-Navajas, Angel

    2012-01-01

    Non-destructive methods are of great interest for the analysis of cultural heritage. Among the different possible techniques, this paper presents a low cost prototype based on the emission and reception of airborne ultrasound without direct contact with the test specimen. We successfully performed a method test for the detection of brick joints under a XV th century Renaissance fresco of the Metropolitan Cathedral of the city of Valencia (Spain). Both laboratory and in situ results are in agreement. Using this prototype system, an early moisture detection system has been installed in the dome that supports the fresco. The result is encouraging and opens interesting prospects for future research.

  6. Development of a Low-Cost Airborne Ultrasound Sensor for the Detection of Brick Joints behind a Wall Painting

    PubMed Central

    García-Diego, Fernando-Juan; Bravo, José María; Pérez-Miralles, Juan; Estrada, Héctor; Fernández-Navajas, Angel

    2012-01-01

    Non-destructive methods are of great interest for the analysis of cultural heritage. Among the different possible techniques, this paper presents a low cost prototype based on the emission and reception of airborne ultrasound without direct contact with the test specimen. We successfully performed a method test for the detection of brick joints under a XVth century Renaissance fresco of the Metropolitan Cathedral of the city of Valencia (Spain). Both laboratory and in situ results are in agreement. Using this prototype system, an early moisture detection system has been installed in the dome that supports the fresco. The result is encouraging and opens interesting prospects for future research. PMID:22438711

  7. Imaging of targeted lipid microbubbles to detect cancer cells using third harmonic generation microscopy

    PubMed Central

    Harpel, Kaitlin; Baker, Robert Dawson; Amirsolaimani, Babak; Mehravar, Soroush; Vagner, Josef; Matsunaga, Terry O.; Banerjee, Bhaskar; Kieu, Khanh

    2016-01-01

    The use of receptor-targeted lipid microbubbles imaged by ultrasound is an innovative method of detecting and localizing disease. However, since ultrasound requires a medium between the transducer and the object being imaged, it is impractical to apply to an exposed surface in a surgical setting where sterile fields need be maintained and ultrasound gel may cause the bubbles to collapse. Multiphoton microscopy (MPM) is an emerging tool for accurate, label-free imaging of tissues and cells with high resolution and contrast. We have recently determined a novel application of MPM to be used for detecting targeted microbubble adherence to the upregulated plectin-receptor on pancreatic tumor cells. Specifically, the third-harmonic generation response can be used to detect bound microbubbles to various cell types presenting MPM as an alternative and useful imaging method. This is an interesting technique that can potentially be translated as a diagnostic tool for the early detection of cancer and inflammatory disorders. PMID:27446711

  8. Discriminating between camouflaged targets by their time of detection by a human-based observer assessment method

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Selj, G. K.; Søderblom, M.

    2015-10-01

    Detection of a camouflaged object in natural sceneries requires the target to be distinguishable from its local background. The development of any new camouflage pattern therefore has to rely on a well-founded test methodology - which has to be correlated with the final purpose of the pattern - as well as an evaluation procedure, containing the optimal criteria for i) discriminating between the targets and then eventually ii) for a final rank of the targets. In this study we present results from a recent camouflage assessment trial where human observers were used in a search by photo methodology to assess generic test camouflage patterns. We conducted a study to investigate possible improvements in camouflage patterns for battle dress uniforms. The aim was to do a comparative study of potential, and generic patterns intended for use in arid areas (sparsely vegetated, semi desert). We developed a test methodology that was intended to be simple, reliable and realistic with respect to the operational benefit of camouflage. Therefore we chose to conduct a human based observer trial founded on imagery of realistic targets in natural backgrounds. Inspired by a recent and similar trial in the UK, we developed new and purpose-based software to be able to conduct the observer trial. Our preferred assessment methodology - the observer trial - was based on target recordings in 12 different, but operational relevant scenes, collected in a dry and sparsely vegetated area (Rhodes). The scenes were chosen with the intention to span as broadly as possible. The targets were human-shaped mannequins and were situated identically in each of the scenes to allow for a relative comparison of camouflage effectiveness in each scene. Test of significance, among the targets' performance, was carried out by non-parametric tests as the corresponding time of detection distributions in overall were found to be difficult to parameterize. From the trial, containing 12 different scenes from

  9. Evaluation of 3D-CPA, HR-HPV, and TCT joint detection on cervical disease screening.

    PubMed

    Liang, Hui; Fu, Min; Zhou, Jian; Song, Lei

    2016-08-01

    The application value of three-dimensional color power angiography (3D-CPA), high-risk human papillomavirus (HR-HPV), ThinPrep cytology test (TCT) joint detection on cervical disease screening was investigated. In total, 1,900 patients that were examined in Gynecological and Cervix Clinic of Maternal and Child Care Service Center of Xuzhou from June 2012 to March 2015 were enrolled in the present study. After admission, the patients underwent TCT, HR-HPV and 3D-CPA examinations, and vascular morphology and typing, vascularization index (VI) were recorded. Colposcopic biopsy was performed in patients with a positive outcome of any of the three indices. Pathological diagnosis was taken as the golden standard to assess the sensitivity, specificity, diagnostic rate, and Youden index of the three methods being used independently or jointly. Of the 1,900 patients, 276 cases (14.53%) were HR-HPV-positive, 214 cases (11.26%) were VI-positive and 164 cases (8.63%) were TCT-positive. A total of 418 cases were confirmed with a positive outcome of any of the three indices and a cervical biopsy was obtained. Of the 418 cases, 162 cases (38.75%) were diagnosed with chronic cervicitis, 146 cases with low-level cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) (34.93%), 104 cases (24.88%) with high level CIN, 6 cases (1.44%) with cervical cancer. Histology more than low level CIN was defined as positive: i) screening results when the three methods were used independently: HPV was confirmed with the highest sensitivity (90.63%), VI with the highest specificity (83.95%), and HPV with the highest diagnostic accuracy (83.73%); ii) screening results under HPV+TCT and HPV+TCT+VI: HPV+TCT+VI was confirmed with the highest sensitivity and specificity: sensitivity (94.53%), specificity (81.48%), diagnosis coincidence rate (89.47%) and the highest Youden index of 0.760; and iii) vascular morphology and grading were significantly different in the early stage cervical carcinoma, high level CIM, and

  10. Targeted detection of murine colonic dysplasia in vivo with flexible multispectral scanning fiber endoscopy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Joshi, Bishnu P.; Miller, Sharon J.; Lee, Cameron; Gustad, Adam; Seibel, Eric J.; Wang, Thomas D.

    2012-02-01

    We demonstrate a multi-spectral scanning fiber endoscope (SFE) that collects fluorescence images in vivo from three target peptides that bind specifically to murine colonic adenomas. This ultrathin endoscope was demonstrated in a genetically engineered mouse model of spontaneous colorectal adenomas based on somatic Apc (adenomatous polyposis coli) gene inactivation. The SFE delivers excitation at 440, 532, 635 nm with <2 mW per channel. The target 7-mer peptides were conjugated to visible organic dyes, including 7-Diethylaminocoumarin-3-carboxylic acid (DEAC) (λex=432 nm, λem=472 nm), 5-Carboxytetramethylrhodamine (5-TAMRA) (λex=535 nm, λem=568 nm), and CF-633 (λex=633 nm, λem=650 nm). Target peptides were first validated using techniques of pfu counting, flow cytometry and previously established methods of fluorescence endoscopy. Peptides were applied individually or in combination and detected with fluorescence imaging. The ability to image multiple channels of fluorescence concurrently was successful for all three channels in vitro, while two channels were resolved simultaneously in vivo. Selective binding of the peptide was evident to adenomas and not to adjacent normal-appearing mucosa. Multispectral wide-field fluorescence detection using the SFE is achievable, and this technology has potential to advance early cancer detection and image-guided therapy in human patients by simultaneously visualizing multiple over expressed molecular targets unique to dysplasia.

  11. A new comprehensive method for detection of livestock-related pathogenic viruses using a target enrichment system.

    PubMed

    Oba, Mami; Tsuchiaka, Shinobu; Omatsu, Tsutomu; Katayama, Yukie; Otomaru, Konosuke; Hirata, Teppei; Aoki, Hiroshi; Murata, Yoshiteru; Makino, Shinji; Nagai, Makoto; Mizutani, Tetsuya

    2018-01-08

    We tested usefulness of a target enrichment system SureSelect, a comprehensive viral nucleic acid detection method, for rapid identification of viral pathogens in feces samples of cattle, pigs and goats. This system enriches nucleic acids of target viruses in clinical/field samples by using a library of biotinylated RNAs with sequences complementary to the target viruses. The enriched nucleic acids are amplified by PCR and subjected to next generation sequencing to identify the target viruses. In many samples, SureSelect target enrichment method increased efficiencies for detection of the viruses listed in the biotinylated RNA library. Furthermore, this method enabled us to determine nearly full-length genome sequence of porcine parainfluenza virus 1 and greatly increased Breadth, a value indicating the ratio of the mapping consensus length in the reference genome, in pig samples. Our data showed usefulness of SureSelect target enrichment system for comprehensive analysis of genomic information of various viruses in field samples. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. A false-alarm aware methodology to develop robust and efficient multi-scale infrared small target detection algorithm

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Moradi, Saed; Moallem, Payman; Sabahi, Mohamad Farzan

    2018-03-01

    False alarm rate and detection rate are still two contradictory metrics for infrared small target detection in an infrared search and track system (IRST), despite the development of new detection algorithms. In certain circumstances, not detecting true targets is more tolerable than detecting false items as true targets. Hence, considering background clutter and detector noise as the sources of the false alarm in an IRST system, in this paper, a false alarm aware methodology is presented to reduce false alarm rate while the detection rate remains undegraded. To this end, advantages and disadvantages of each detection algorithm are investigated and the sources of the false alarms are determined. Two target detection algorithms having independent false alarm sources are chosen in a way that the disadvantages of the one algorithm can be compensated by the advantages of the other one. In this work, multi-scale average absolute gray difference (AAGD) and Laplacian of point spread function (LoPSF) are utilized as the cornerstones of the desired algorithm of the proposed methodology. After presenting a conceptual model for the desired algorithm, it is implemented through the most straightforward mechanism. The desired algorithm effectively suppresses background clutter and eliminates detector noise. Also, since the input images are processed through just four different scales, the desired algorithm has good capability for real-time implementation. Simulation results in term of signal to clutter ratio and background suppression factor on real and simulated images prove the effectiveness and the performance of the proposed methodology. Since the desired algorithm was developed based on independent false alarm sources, our proposed methodology is expandable to any pair of detection algorithms which have different false alarm sources.

  13. Simulation of sea surface wave influence on small target detection with airborne laser depth sounding.

    PubMed

    Tulldahl, H Michael; Steinvall, K Ove

    2004-04-20

    A theoretical model for simulation of airborne depth-sounding lidar is presented with the purpose of analyzing the influence from water surface waves on the ability to detect 1-m3 targets placed on the sea bottom. Although water clarity is the main limitation, sea surface waves can significantly affect the detectability. The detection probability for a target at a 9-m depth can be above 90% at 1-m/s wind and below 80% at 6-m/s wind for the same water clarity. The simulation model contains both numerical and analytical components. Simulated data are compared with measured data and give realistic results for bottom depths between 3 and 10 m.

  14. Detection and Identification of Multiple Stationary Human Targets Via Bio-Radar Based on the Cross-Correlation Method

    PubMed Central

    Zhang, Yang; Chen, Fuming; Xue, Huijun; Li, Zhao; An, Qiang; Wang, Jianqi; Zhang, Yang

    2016-01-01

    Ultra-wideband (UWB) radar has been widely used for detecting human physiological signals (respiration, movement, etc.) in the fields of rescue, security, and medicine owing to its high penetrability and range resolution. In these applications, especially in rescue after disaster (earthquake, collapse, mine accident, etc.), the presence, number, and location of the trapped victims to be detected and rescued are the key issues of concern. Ample research has been done on the first issue, whereas the identification and localization of multi-targets remains a challenge. False positive and negative identification results are two common problems associated with the detection of multiple stationary human targets. This is mainly because the energy of the signal reflected from the target close to the receiving antenna is considerably stronger than those of the targets at further range, often leading to missing or false recognition if the identification method is based on the energy of the respiratory signal. Therefore, a novel method based on cross-correlation is proposed in this paper that is based on the relativity and periodicity of the signals, rather than on the energy. The validity of this method is confirmed through experiments using different scenarios; the results indicate a discernible improvement in the detection precision and identification of the multiple stationary targets. PMID:27801795

  15. Detection and Identification of Multiple Stationary Human Targets Via Bio-Radar Based on the Cross-Correlation Method.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Yang; Chen, Fuming; Xue, Huijun; Li, Zhao; An, Qiang; Wang, Jianqi; Zhang, Yang

    2016-10-27

    Ultra-wideband (UWB) radar has been widely used for detecting human physiological signals (respiration, movement, etc.) in the fields of rescue, security, and medicine owing to its high penetrability and range resolution. In these applications, especially in rescue after disaster (earthquake, collapse, mine accident, etc.), the presence, number, and location of the trapped victims to be detected and rescued are the key issues of concern. Ample research has been done on the first issue, whereas the identification and localization of multi-targets remains a challenge. False positive and negative identification results are two common problems associated with the detection of multiple stationary human targets. This is mainly because the energy of the signal reflected from the target close to the receiving antenna is considerably stronger than those of the targets at further range, often leading to missing or false recognition if the identification method is based on the energy of the respiratory signal. Therefore, a novel method based on cross-correlation is proposed in this paper that is based on the relativity and periodicity of the signals, rather than on the energy. The validity of this method is confirmed through experiments using different scenarios; the results indicate a discernible improvement in the detection precision and identification of the multiple stationary targets.

  16. Shilling Attacks Detection in Recommender Systems Based on Target Item Analysis

    PubMed Central

    Zhou, Wei; Wen, Junhao; Koh, Yun Sing; Xiong, Qingyu; Gao, Min; Dobbie, Gillian; Alam, Shafiq

    2015-01-01

    Recommender systems are highly vulnerable to shilling attacks, both by individuals and groups. Attackers who introduce biased ratings in order to affect recommendations, have been shown to negatively affect collaborative filtering (CF) algorithms. Previous research focuses only on the differences between genuine profiles and attack profiles, ignoring the group characteristics in attack profiles. In this paper, we study the use of statistical metrics to detect rating patterns of attackers and group characteristics in attack profiles. Another question is that most existing detecting methods are model specific. Two metrics, Rating Deviation from Mean Agreement (RDMA) and Degree of Similarity with Top Neighbors (DegSim), are used for analyzing rating patterns between malicious profiles and genuine profiles in attack models. Building upon this, we also propose and evaluate a detection structure called RD-TIA for detecting shilling attacks in recommender systems using a statistical approach. In order to detect more complicated attack models, we propose a novel metric called DegSim’ based on DegSim. The experimental results show that our detection model based on target item analysis is an effective approach for detecting shilling attacks. PMID:26222882

  17. A Joint Multitarget Estimator for the Joint Target Detection and Tracking Filter

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2015-06-27

    function is the information theoretic part of the problem and aims for entropy maximization, while the second one arises from the constraint in the...objective functions in conflict. The first objective function is the information theo- retic part of the problem and aims for entropy maximization...theory. For the sake of completeness and clarity, we also summarize how each concept is utilized later. Entropy : A random variable is statistically

  18. Dual signal amplification for highly sensitive electrochemical detection of uropathogens via enzyme-based catalytic target recycling.

    PubMed

    Su, Jiao; Zhang, Haijie; Jiang, Bingying; Zheng, Huzhi; Chai, Yaqin; Yuan, Ruo; Xiang, Yun

    2011-11-15

    We report an ultrasensitive electrochemical approach for the detection of uropathogen sequence-specific DNA target. The sensing strategy involves a dual signal amplification process, which combines the signal enhancement by the enzymatic target recycling technique with the sensitivity improvement by the quantum dot (QD) layer-by-layer (LBL) assembled labels. The enzyme-based catalytic target DNA recycling process results in the use of each target DNA sequence for multiple times and leads to direct amplification of the analytical signal. Moreover, the LBL assembled QD labels can further enhance the sensitivity of the sensing system. The coupling of these two effective signal amplification strategies thus leads to low femtomolar (5fM) detection of the target DNA sequences. The proposed strategy also shows excellent discrimination between the target DNA and the single-base mismatch sequences. The advantageous intrinsic sequence-independent property of exonuclease III over other sequence-dependent enzymes makes our new dual signal amplification system a general sensing platform for monitoring ultralow level of various types of target DNA sequences. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. EzyAmp signal amplification cascade enables isothermal detection of nucleic acid and protein targets.

    PubMed

    Linardy, Evelyn M; Erskine, Simon M; Lima, Nicole E; Lonergan, Tina; Mokany, Elisa; Todd, Alison V

    2016-01-15

    Advancements in molecular biology have improved the ability to characterize disease-related nucleic acids and proteins. Recently, there has been an increasing desire for tests that can be performed outside of centralised laboratories. This study describes a novel isothermal signal amplification cascade called EzyAmp (enzymatic signal amplification) that is being developed for detection of targets at the point of care. EzyAmp exploits the ability of some restriction endonucleases to cleave substrates containing nicks within their recognition sites. EzyAmp uses two oligonucleotide duplexes (partial complexes 1 and 2) which are initially cleavage-resistant as they lack a complete recognition site. The recognition site of partial complex 1 can be completed by hybridization of a triggering oligonucleotide (Driver Fragment 1) that is generated by a target-specific initiation event. Binding of Driver Fragment 1 generates a completed complex 1, which upon cleavage, releases Driver Fragment 2. In turn, binding of Driver Fragment 2 to partial complex 2 creates completed complex 2 which when cleaved releases additional Driver Fragment 1. Each cleavage event separates fluorophore quencher pairs resulting in an increase in fluorescence. At this stage a cascade of signal production becomes independent of further target-specific initiation events. This study demonstrated that the EzyAmp cascade can facilitate detection and quantification of nucleic acid targets with sensitivity down to aM concentration. Further, the same cascade detected VEGF protein with a sensitivity of 20nM showing that this universal method for amplifying signal may be linked to the detection of different types of analytes in an isothermal format. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  20. Complex background suppression using global-local registration strategy for the detection of small-moving target on moving platform

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zou, Tianhao; Zuo, Zhengrong

    2018-02-01

    Target detection is a very important and basic problem of computer vision and image processing. The most often case we meet in real world is a detection task for a moving-small target on moving platform. The commonly used methods, such as Registration-based suppression, can hardly achieve a desired result. To crack this hard nut, we introduce a Global-local registration based suppression method. Differ from the traditional ones, the proposed Global-local Registration Strategy consider both the global consistency and the local diversity of the background, obtain a better performance than normal background suppression methods. In this paper, we first discussed the features about the small-moving target detection on unstable platform. Then we introduced a new strategy and conducted an experiment to confirm its noisy stability. In the end, we confirmed the background suppression method based on global-local registration strategy has a better perform in moving target detection on moving platform.

  1. Detection of ferromagnetic target based on mobile magnetic gradient tensor system

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gang, Y. I. N.; Yingtang, Zhang; Zhining, Li; Hongbo, Fan; Guoquan, Ren

    2016-03-01

    Attitude change of mobile magnetic gradient tensor system critically affects the precision of gradient measurements, thereby increasing ambiguity in target detection. This paper presents a rotational invariant-based method for locating and identifying ferromagnetic targets. Firstly, unit magnetic moment vector was derived based on the geometrical invariant, such that the intermediate eigenvector of the magnetic gradient tensor is perpendicular to the magnetic moment vector and the source-sensor displacement vector. Secondly, unit source-sensor displacement vector was derived based on the characteristic that the angle between magnetic moment vector and source-sensor displacement is a rotational invariant. By introducing a displacement vector between two measurement points, the magnetic moment vector and the source-sensor displacement vector were theoretically derived. To resolve the problem of measurement noises existing in the realistic detection applications, linear equations were formulated using invariants corresponding to several distinct measurement points and least square solution of magnetic moment vector and source-sensor displacement vector were obtained. Results of simulation and principal verification experiment showed the correctness of the analytical method, along with the practicability of the least square method.

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

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Riasati, Vahid R.

    2016-05-01

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

  3. The application of IR detector with windowing technique in the small and dim target detection

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Su, Xiaofeng; Chen, Fansheng; Dong, Yucui; Cui, Kun; Huang, Sijie

    2015-04-01

    The performance of small and dim IR target detection is mostly affected by the signal to noise ratio(SNR) and signal to clutter ratio(SCR), for the MWIR especially LWIR array detector, because of the background radiation and the optical system radiation, the SCR cannot be unlimited increased by using a longer integral time, so the frame rate of the detector was mainly limited by the data readout time especially in a large-scale infrared detector, in this paper a new MWIR array detector with windowing technique was used to do the experiment, which can get a faster frame rate around the target by using the windowing mode, so the redundant information could be ignore, and the background subtraction was used to remove the fixed pattern noise and adjust the dynamic range of the target, then a local NUC(non uniformity correction) technique was proposed to improve the SCR of the target, the advantage between local NUC and global NUC was analyzed in detail, finally the multi local window frame accumulation was adopted to enhance the target further, and the SNR of the target was improved. The experiment showed the SCR of the target can improved from 1.3 to 36 at 30 frames accumulation, which make the target detection and tracking become very easily by using the new method.

  4. Disbond Detection in Bonded Aluminum Joints Using Lamb Wave Amplitude and Time-of-Flight

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Sun, Keun J.; Johnston, Patrick H.

    1992-01-01

    In recent years, there was a need of developing efficient nondestructive integrity assessment techniques for large area laminate structures, such as detections of disbond, crack, and corrosion in fuselage of an aircraft. Together with the improving tomography and computer technologies, progress has been made in many fields in NDE towards a faster inspection. Ultrasonically, Lamb wave is considered to be a candidate for large area inspections based on its capability of propagating a relatively long distance in thin plates and its media-thickness-dependent propagation properties. Moreover, the occurence of disbonds, corrosion, and even cracks often results in reduction of effective thickness of a laminate. The idea is to assess the condition of a structure by sensing the response of propagating Lamb waves to these flaws over long path length. A series of tests in the sequence of disbond, corrosion, and crack have been done on various types of specimen to investigate the feasibility of this approach. This paper will present some of the test results for disbond detection on aluminum lap splice joints.

  5. Target-specific NMR detection of protein-ligand interactions with antibody-relayed 15N-group selective STD.

    PubMed

    Hetényi, Anasztázia; Hegedűs, Zsófia; Fajka-Boja, Roberta; Monostori, Éva; Kövér, Katalin E; Martinek, Tamás A

    2016-12-01

    Fragment-based drug design has been successfully applied to challenging targets where the detection of the weak protein-ligand interactions is a key element. 1 H saturation transfer difference (STD) NMR spectroscopy is a powerful technique for this work but it requires pure homogeneous proteins as targets. Monoclonal antibody (mAb)-relayed 15 N-GS STD spectroscopy has been developed to resolve the problem of protein mixtures and impure proteins. A 15 N-labelled target-specific mAb is selectively irradiated and the saturation is relayed through the target to the ligand. Tests on the anti-Gal-1 mAb/Gal-1/lactose system showed that the approach is experimentally feasible in a reasonable time frame. This method allows detection and identification of binding molecules directly from a protein mixture in a multicomponent system.

  6. Revitalizing Nuclear Operations in the Joint Environment

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2014-02-01

    height of the Cold War, US schol - ars and joint operational planners were working simultaneously on weapons development and operational art to employ...leadership’s large-target- category withholds thought necessary to maintain stability in a strategic crisis. The inclusion of nuclear effects and...escalation. The inclusion of these points in tomorrow’s doctrine as well as an intellec- tual discussion on the topic will inform Joint Staff planners

  7. Energy Efficient Signal Detection for Army Applications Based on Ordering

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2011-09-01

    Systems, (07 2010): 0. doi: 10.1109/TAES.2010.5545189 2011/09/03 18:03:52 35 Qian He, Rick S. Blum, Alexander M. Haimovich. Noncoherent MIMO Radar for...Conference Proceeding publications (other than abstracts): PaperReceived . Noncoherent Versus Coherent MIMO Radar for Joint TargetPosition and Velocity... noncoherent signal detection for networked sensors using ordered transmissions, 2011 45th Annual Conference on Information Sciences and Systems (CISS

  8. Comparative study of the detection of joint injury in early-stage rheumatoid arthritis by magnetic resonance imaging of the wrist and finger joints and physical examination.

    PubMed

    Tamai, Mami; Kawakami, Atsushi; Iwamoto, Naoki; Kawashiri, Shin-Ya; Fujikawa, Keita; Aramaki, Toshiyuki; Kita, Junko; Okada, Akitomo; Koga, Tomohiro; Arima, Kazuhiko; Kamachi, Makoto; Yamasaki, Satoshi; Nakamura, Hideki; Ida, Hiroaki; Origuchi, Tomoki; Takao, Shoichiro; Aoyagi, Kiyoshi; Uetani, Masataka; Eguchi, Katsumi

    2011-03-01

    To verify whether magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-proven joint injury is sensitive as compared with joint injury determined by physical examination. MRI of the wrist and finger joints of both hands was examined in 51 early-stage rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients by both plain and gadolinium diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid-enhanced MRI. Synovitis, bone edema, and bone erosion (the latter two included as bone lesions at the wrist joints); metacarpophalangeal joints; and proximal interphalangeal joints were considered as MRI-proven joint injury. Japan College of Rheumatology-certified rheumatologists had given a physical examination just before the MRI study. The presence of tender and/or swollen joints in the same fields as MRI was considered as joint injury on physical examination. The association of MRI-proven joint injury with physical examination-proven joint injury was examined. A total of 1,110 sites were available to be examined. MRI-proven joint injury was found in 521 sites, whereas the other 589 sites were normal. Physical examination-proven joint injury was found in 305 sites, which was significantly low as compared with MRI-proven joint injury (P = 1.1 × 10(-12) versus MRI). Joint injury on physical examination was not found in 81.5% of the sites where MRI findings were normal. Furthermore, an association of the severity of MRI-proven joint injury with that of joint injury on physical examination was clearly demonstrated (P = 1.6 × 10(-15), r(s) = 0.469). Our present data suggest that MRI is not only sensitive but accurately reflects the joint injury in patients with early-stage RA. Copyright © 2011 by the American College of Rheumatology.

  9. Joint Fire Support

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2010-06-30

    intelligence application package for theater battle management core system ( TBMCS ) functionality at wing and squadron levels. The automated four... TBMCS , Joint Surveillance and Target Attack Radar System (Ground Control Station), and Global Command and Control System, as well as with Allied FA...The TBMCS is a force level integrated air C2 system. TBMCS provides hardware, software, and communications interfaces to support the preparation

  10. Joint optimization of logistics infrastructure investments and subsidies in a regional logistics network with CO 2 emission reduction targets

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

    Zhang, Dezhi; Zhan, Qingwen; Chen, Yuche

    This study proposes an optimization model that simultaneously incorporates the selection of logistics infrastructure investments and subsidies for green transport modes to achieve specific CO 2 emission targets in a regional logistics network. The proposed model is formulated as a bi-level formulation, in which the upper level determines the optimal selection of logistics infrastructure investments and subsidies for green transport modes such that the benefit-cost ratio of the entire logistics system is maximized. The lower level describes the selected service routes of logistics users. A genetic and Frank-Wolfe hybrid algorithm is introduced to solve the proposed model. The proposed modelmore » is applied to the regional logistics network of Changsha City, China. Findings show that using the joint scheme of the selection of logistics infrastructure investments and green subsidies is more effective than using them solely. In conclusion, carbon emission reduction targets can significantly affect logistics infrastructure investments and subsidy levels.« less

  11. Joint optimization of logistics infrastructure investments and subsidies in a regional logistics network with CO 2 emission reduction targets

    DOE PAGES

    Zhang, Dezhi; Zhan, Qingwen; Chen, Yuche; ...

    2016-03-14

    This study proposes an optimization model that simultaneously incorporates the selection of logistics infrastructure investments and subsidies for green transport modes to achieve specific CO 2 emission targets in a regional logistics network. The proposed model is formulated as a bi-level formulation, in which the upper level determines the optimal selection of logistics infrastructure investments and subsidies for green transport modes such that the benefit-cost ratio of the entire logistics system is maximized. The lower level describes the selected service routes of logistics users. A genetic and Frank-Wolfe hybrid algorithm is introduced to solve the proposed model. The proposed modelmore » is applied to the regional logistics network of Changsha City, China. Findings show that using the joint scheme of the selection of logistics infrastructure investments and green subsidies is more effective than using them solely. In conclusion, carbon emission reduction targets can significantly affect logistics infrastructure investments and subsidy levels.« less

  12. A targeted change-detection procedure by combining change vector analysis and post-classification approach

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ye, Su; Chen, Dongmei; Yu, Jie

    2016-04-01

    In remote sensing, conventional supervised change-detection methods usually require effective training data for multiple change types. This paper introduces a more flexible and efficient procedure that seeks to identify only the changes that users are interested in, here after referred to as "targeted change detection". Based on a one-class classifier "Support Vector Domain Description (SVDD)", a novel algorithm named "Three-layer SVDD Fusion (TLSF)" is developed specially for targeted change detection. The proposed algorithm combines one-class classification generated from change vector maps, as well as before- and after-change images in order to get a more reliable detecting result. In addition, this paper introduces a detailed workflow for implementing this algorithm. This workflow has been applied to two case studies with different practical monitoring objectives: urban expansion and forest fire assessment. The experiment results of these two case studies show that the overall accuracy of our proposed algorithm is superior (Kappa statistics are 86.3% and 87.8% for Case 1 and 2, respectively), compared to applying SVDD to change vector analysis and post-classification comparison.

  13. Stakeholder engagement analysis - a bioethics dilemma in patient-targeted intervention: patients with temporomandibular joint disorders.

    PubMed

    Barkhordarian, Andre; Demerjian, Gary; Jan, Allison; Sama, Nateli; Nguyen, Mia; Du, Angela; Chiappelli, Francesco

    2015-01-20

    Modern health care in the field of Medicine, Dentistry and Nursing is grounded in fundamental philosophy and epistemology of translational science. Recently in the U.S major national initiatives have been implemented in the hope of closing the gaps that sometimes exist between the two fundamental components of translational science, the translational research and translational effectiveness. Subsequent to these initiatives, many improvements have been made; however, important bioethical issues and limitations do still exist that need to be addressed. One such issue is the stakeholder engagement and its assessment and validation. Federal, state and local organizations such as PCORI and AHRQ concur that the key to a better understanding of the relationship between translational research and translational effectiveness is the assessment of the extent to which stakeholders are actively engaged in the translational process of healthcare. The stakeholder engagement analysis identifies who the stakeholders are, maps their contribution and involvement, evaluates their priorities and opinions, and accesses their current knowledge base. This analysis however requires conceptualization and validation from the bioethics standpoint. Here, we examine the bioethical dilemma of stakeholder engagement analysis in the context of the person-environment fit (PE-fit) theoretical model. This model is an approach to quantifying stakeholder engagement analysis for the design of patient-targeted interventions. In our previous studies of Alzheimer patients, we have developed, validated and used a simple instrument based on the PE-fit model that can be adapted and utilized in a much less studied pathology as a clinical model that has a wide range of symptoms and manifestations, the temporomandibular joint disorders (TMD). The temporomandibular joint (TMJ) is the jaw joint endowed with sensory and motor innervations that project from within the central nervous system and its dysfunction can

  14. Quality control for normal liquid-based cytology: Rescreening, high-risk HPV targeted reviewing and/or high-risk HPV detection?

    PubMed Central

    Depuydt, Christophe E; Arbyn, Marc; Benoy, Ina H; Vandepitte, Johan; Vereecken, Annie J; Bogers, Johannes J

    2009-01-01

    The objective of this prospective study was to compare the number of CIN2+cases detected in negative cytology by different quality control (QC) methods. Full rescreening, high-risk (HR) human papillomavirus (HPV)-targeted reviewing and HR HPV detection were compared. Randomly selected negative cytology detected by BD FocalPoint™ (NFR), by guided screening of the prescreened which needed further review (GS) and by manual screening (MS) was used. A 3-year follow-up period was available. Full rescreening of cytology only detected 23.5% of CIN2+ cases, whereas the cytological rescreening of oncogenic positive slides (high-risk HPV-targeted reviewing) detected 7 of 17 CIN2+ cases (41.2%). Quantitative real-time PCR for 15 oncogenic HPV types detected all CIN2+ cases. Relative sensitivity to detect histological CIN2+ was 0.24 for full rescreening, 0.41 for HR-targeted reviewing and 1.00 for HR HPV detection. In more than half of the reviewed negative cytological preparations associated with histological CIN2+cases no morphologically abnormal cells were detected despite a positive HPV test. The visual cut-off for the detection of abnormal cytology was established at 6.5 HR HPV copies/cell. High-risk HPV detection has a higher yield for detection of CIN2+ cases as compared to manual screening followed by 5% full review, or compared to targeted reviewing of smears positive for oncogenic HPV types, and show diagnostic properties that support its use as a QC procedure in cytologic laboratories. PMID:18544049

  15. A Targeted Swallow Screen for the Detection of Postoperative Dysphagia.

    PubMed

    Gee, Erica; Lancaster, Elizabeth; Meltzer, Jospeh; Mendelsohn, Abie H; Benharash, Peyman

    2015-10-01

    Postoperative dysphagia leads to aspiration pneumonia, prolonged hospital stay, and is associated with increased mortality. A simple and sensitive screening test to identify patients requiring objective dysphagia evaluation is presently lacking. In this study, we evaluated the efficacy of a novel targeted swallow screen evaluation. This was a prospective trial involving all adult patients who underwent elective cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass at our institution over an 8-week period. Within 24 hours of extubation and before the initiation of oral intake, all postsurgical patients were evaluated using the targeted swallow screen. A fiberoptic endoscopic evaluation of swallowing was requested for failed screenings. During the study, 50 postcardiac surgery patients were screened. Fifteen (30%) failed the targeted swallow screen, and ten of the fifteen (66%) failed the subsequent fiberoptic endoscopic evaluation of swallowing exam and were confirmed to have dysphagia. The screening test had 100 per cent sensitivity for detecting dysphagia in our patient population, and a specificity of 87.5 per cent. The overall incidence of dysphagia was 20 per cent. We have shown that a targeted swallow evaluation can efficiently screen patients during the postcardiac surgery period. Furthermore, we have shown that the true incidence of dysphagia after cardiac surgery is significantly higher than previously recognized in literature.

  16. Improving Target Detection in Visual Search Through the Augmenting Multi-Sensory Cues

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2013-01-01

    target detection, visual search James Merlo, Joseph E. Mercado , Jan B.F. Van Erp, Peter A. Hancock University of Central Florida 12201 Research Parkway...were controlled by a purpose-created, LabView- based software computer program that synchronised the respective displays and recorded response times and

  17. Rapid detection of proteins in transgenic crops without protein reference standards by targeted proteomic mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Schacherer, Lindsey J; Xie, Weiping; Owens, Michaela A; Alarcon, Clara; Hu, Tiger X

    2016-09-01

    Liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry is increasingly used for protein detection for transgenic crops research. Currently this is achieved with protein reference standards which may take a significant time or efforts to obtain and there is a need for rapid protein detection without protein reference standards. A sensitive and specific method was developed to detect target proteins in transgenic maize leaf crude extract at concentrations as low as ∼30 ng mg(-1) dry leaf without the need of reference standards or any sample enrichment. A hybrid Q-TRAP mass spectrometer was used to monitor all potential tryptic peptides of the target proteins in both transgenic and non-transgenic samples. The multiple reaction monitoring-initiated detection and sequencing (MIDAS) approach was used for initial peptide/protein identification via Mascot database search. Further confirmation was achieved by direct comparison between transgenic and non-transgenic samples. Definitive confirmation was provided by running the same experiments of synthetic peptides or protein standards, if available. A targeted proteomic mass spectrometry method using MIDAS approach is an ideal methodology for detection of new proteins in early stages of transgenic crop research and development when neither protein reference standards nor antibodies are available. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.

  18. JointMMCC: Joint Maximum-Margin Classification and Clustering of Imaging Data

    PubMed Central

    Filipovych, Roman; Resnick, Susan M.; Davatzikos, Christos

    2012-01-01

    A number of conditions are characterized by pathologies that form continuous or nearly-continuous spectra spanning from the absence of pathology to very pronounced pathological changes (e.g., normal aging, Mild Cognitive Impairment, Alzheimer's). Moreover, diseases are often highly heterogeneous with a number of diagnostic subcategories or subconditions lying within the spectra (e.g., Autism Spectrum Disorder, schizophrenia). Discovering coherent subpopulations of subjects within the spectrum of pathological changes may further our understanding of diseases, and potentially identify subconditions that require alternative or modified treatment options. In this paper, we propose an approach that aims at identifying coherent subpopulations with respect to the underlying MRI in the scenario where the condition is heterogeneous and pathological changes form a continuous spectrum. We describe a Joint Maximum-Margin Classification and Clustering (JointMMCC) approach that jointly detects the pathologic population via semi-supervised classification, as well as disentangles heterogeneity of the pathological cohort by solving a clustering subproblem. We propose an efficient solution to the non-convex optimization problem associated with JointMMCC. We apply our proposed approach to an MRI study of aging, and identify coherent subpopulations (i.e., clusters) of cognitively less stable adults. PMID:22328179

  19. Identification of new antibacterial targets in RNA polymerase of Mycobacterium tuberculosis by detecting positive selection sites.

    PubMed

    Wang, QingBiao; Xu, Yiqin; Gu, Zhuoya; Liu, Nian; Jin, Ke; Li, Yao; Crabbe, M James C; Zhong, Yang

    2018-04-01

    Bacterial RNA polymerase (RNAP) is an effective target for antibacterial treatment. In order to search new potential targets in RNAP of Mycobacterium, we detected adaptive selections of RNAP related genes in 13 strains of Mycobacterium by phylogenetic analysis. We first collected sequences of 17 genes including rpoA, rpoB, rpoC, rpoZ, and sigma factor A-M. Then maximum likelihood trees were constructed, followed by positive selection detection. We found that sigG shows positive selection along the clade (M. tuberculosis, M. bovis), suggesting its important evolutionary role and its potential to be a new antibacterial target. Moreover, the regions near 933Cys and 935His on the rpoB subunit of M. tuberculosis showed significant positive selection, which could also be a new attractive target for anti-tuberculosis drugs. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Cognitive Slowing and Learning of Target Detection Skills in Pre-Demented Subjects

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Amieva, Helene; Rouch-Leroyer, Isabelle; Letenneur, Luc; Dartigues, Jean Francois; Fabrigoule, Collette

    2004-01-01

    Alzheimer's disease produces a generalized slowing of cognitive processing increasing with the progression of dementia. However little is known about this phenomenon in the pre-demented stages. Our purpose was to investigate cognitive slowing in pre-demented subjects and their ability to develop target detection skills while performing a…

  1. Thermal imaging in screening of joint inflammation and rheumatoid arthritis in children.

    PubMed

    Lasanen, R; Piippo-Savolainen, E; Remes-Pakarinen, T; Kröger, L; Heikkilä, A; Julkunen, P; Karhu, J; Töyräs, J

    2015-02-01

    Potential of modern thermal imaging for screening and differentiation of joint inflammation has not been assessed in child and juvenile patient populations, typically demanding groups in diagnostics of musculoskeletal disorders. We hypothesize that thermal imaging can detect joint inflammation in patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis or autoimmune disease with arthritis such as systemic lupus erythematosus. To evaluate the hypothesis, we studied 58 children exhibiting symptoms of joint inflammation. First, the patients' joints were examined along clinical procedure supplemented with ultrasound imaging when deemed necessary by the clinician. Second, thermal images were acquired from patients' knees and ankles. Results of thermal imaging were compared to clinical evaluations in knee and ankle. The temperatures were significantly (pmax = 0.044, pmean < 0.001) higher in inflamed ankle joints, but not in inflamed knee joints. No significant difference was found between the skin surface temperatures of medial and lateral aspects of ankle joints. In knee joints the mean temperatures of medial and lateral aspect differed significantly (p = 0.004). We have demonstrated that thermal imaging may have potential for detecting joint inflammation in ankle joints of children. For knee joints our results are inconclusive and further research is warranted.

  2. Performance Evaluation of Target Detection with a Near-Space Vehicle-Borne Radar in Blackout Condition.

    PubMed

    Li, Yanpeng; Li, Xiang; Wang, Hongqiang; Deng, Bin; Qin, Yuliang

    2016-01-06

    Radar is a very important sensor in surveillance applications. Near-space vehicle-borne radar (NSVBR) is a novel installation of a radar system, which offers many benefits, like being highly suited to the remote sensing of extremely large areas, having a rapidly deployable capability and having low vulnerability to electronic countermeasures. Unfortunately, a target detection challenge arises because of complicated scenarios, such as nuclear blackout, rain attenuation, etc. In these cases, extra care is needed to evaluate the detection performance in blackout situations, since this a classical problem along with the application of an NSVBR. However, the existing evaluation measures are the probability of detection and the receiver operating curve (ROC), which cannot offer detailed information in such a complicated application. This work focuses on such requirements. We first investigate the effect of blackout on an electromagnetic wave. Performance evaluation indexes are then built: three evaluation indexes on the detection capability and two evaluation indexes on the robustness of the detection process. Simulation results show that the proposed measure will offer information on the detailed performance of detection. These measures are therefore very useful in detecting the target of interest in a remote sensing system and are helpful for both the NSVBR designers and users.

  3. Performance Evaluation of Target Detection with a Near-Space Vehicle-Borne Radar in Blackout Condition

    PubMed Central

    Li, Yanpeng; Li, Xiang; Wang, Hongqiang; Deng, Bin; Qin, Yuliang

    2016-01-01

    Radar is a very important sensor in surveillance applications. Near-space vehicle-borne radar (NSVBR) is a novel installation of a radar system, which offers many benefits, like being highly suited to the remote sensing of extremely large areas, having a rapidly deployable capability and having low vulnerability to electronic countermeasures. Unfortunately, a target detection challenge arises because of complicated scenarios, such as nuclear blackout, rain attenuation, etc. In these cases, extra care is needed to evaluate the detection performance in blackout situations, since this a classical problem along with the application of an NSVBR. However, the existing evaluation measures are the probability of detection and the receiver operating curve (ROC), which cannot offer detailed information in such a complicated application. This work focuses on such requirements. We first investigate the effect of blackout on an electromagnetic wave. Performance evaluation indexes are then built: three evaluation indexes on the detection capability and two evaluation indexes on the robustness of the detection process. Simulation results show that the proposed measure will offer information on the detailed performance of detection. These measures are therefore very useful in detecting the target of interest in a remote sensing system and are helpful for both the NSVBR designers and users. PMID:26751445

  4. Significance of clinical evaluation of the metacarpophalangeal joint in relation to synovial/bone pathology in rheumatoid and psoriatic arthritis detected by magnetic resonance imaging.

    PubMed

    Stone, Millicent A; White, Lawrence M; Gladman, Dafna D; Inman, Robert D; Chaya, Sam; Lax, Matthew; Salonen, David; Weber, Deborah A; Guthrie, Judy A; Pomeroy, Emma; Podbielski, Dominik; Keystone, Edward C

    2009-12-01

    Rheumatologists base many clinical decisions regarding the management of inflammatory joint diseases on joint counts performed at clinic. We investigated the reliability and accuracy of physically examining the metacarpophalangeal (MCP) joints to detect inflammatory synovitis using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) as the gold standard. MCP joints 2 to 5 in both hands of 5 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and 5 with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) were assessed by 5 independent examiners for joint-line swelling (visually and by palpation); joint-line tenderness by palpation (tender joint count, TJC) and stress pain; and by MRI (1.5 Tesla superconducting magnet). Interrater reliability was assessed using kappa statistics, and agreement between examination and corresponding MRI assessment was assessed by Fisher's exact tests (p < 0.05 considered statistically significant). Interrater agreement was highest for visual assessment of swelling (kappa = 0.55-0.63), slight-fair for assessment of swelling by palpation (kappa = 0.19-0.41), and moderate (kappa = 0.41-0.58) for assessment of joint tenderness. In patients with RA, TJC, stress pain, and visual swelling assessment were strongly associated with MRI evaluation of synovitis. Visual swelling assessment demonstrated high specificity (> 0.8) and positive predictive value (= 0.8). For PsA, significant associations exist between TJC and MRI synovitis scores (p < 0.01) and stress pain and MRI edema scores (p < 0.04). Assessment of swelling by palpation was not significantly associated with synovitis or edema as determined by MRI in RA or PsA (p = 0.54-1.0). In inflammatory arthritis, disease activity in MCP joints can be reliably assessed at the bedside by examining for joint-line tenderness (TJC) and visual inspection for swelling. Clinical assessment may have to be complemented by other methods for evaluating disease activity in the joint, such as MRI, particularly in patients with PsA.

  5. The Advanced Linked Extended Reconnaissance & Targeting Technology Demonstration project

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Edwards, Mark

    2008-04-01

    The Advanced Linked Extended Reconnaissance & Targeting (ALERT) Technology Demonstration (TD) project is addressing many operational needs of the future Canadian Army's Surveillance and Reconnaissance forces. Using the surveillance system of the Coyote reconnaissance vehicle as an experimental platform, the ALERT TD project aims to significantly enhance situational awareness by fusing multi-sensor and tactical data, developing automated processes, and integrating beyond line-of-sight sensing. The project is exploiting important advances made in computer processing capability, displays technology, digital communications, and sensor technology since the design of the original surveillance system. As the major research area within the project, concepts are discussed for displaying and fusing multi-sensor and tactical data within an Enhanced Operator Control Station (EOCS). The sensor data can originate from the Coyote's own visible-band and IR cameras, laser rangefinder, and ground-surveillance radar, as well as from beyond line-of-sight systems such as mini-UAVs and unattended ground sensors. Video-rate image processing has been developed to assist the operator to detect poorly visible targets. As a second major area of research, automatic target cueing capabilities have been added to the system. These include scene change detection, automatic target detection and aided target recognition algorithms processing both IR and visible-band images to draw the operator's attention to possible targets. The merits of incorporating scene change detection algorithms are also discussed. In the area of multi-sensor data fusion, up to Joint Defence Labs level 2 has been demonstrated. The human factors engineering aspects of the user interface in this complex environment are presented, drawing upon multiple user group sessions with military surveillance system operators. The paper concludes with Lessons Learned from the project. The ALERT system has been used in a number of C4ISR

  6. Direct Detection and Identification of Prosthetic Joint Infection Pathogens in Synovial Fluid by Metagenomic Shotgun Sequencing.

    PubMed

    Ivy, Morgan I; Thoendel, Matthew J; Jeraldo, Patricio R; Greenwood-Quaintance, Kerryl E; Hanssen, Arlen D; Abdel, Matthew P; Chia, Nicholas; Yao, Janet Z; Tande, Aaron J; Mandrekar, Jayawant N; Patel, Robin

    2018-05-30

    Background: Metagenomic shotgun sequencing has the potential to transform how serious infections are diagnosed by offering universal, culture-free pathogen detection. This may be especially advantageous for microbial diagnosis of prosthetic joint infection (PJI) by synovial fluid analysis, since synovial fluid cultures are not universally positive, and synovial fluid is easily obtained pre-operatively. We applied a metagenomics-based approach to synovial fluid in an attempt to detect microorganisms in 168 failed total knee arthroplasties. Results: Genus- and species-level analysis of metagenomic sequencing yielded the known pathogen in 74 (90%) and 68 (83%) of the 82 culture-positive PJIs analyzed, respectively, with testing of two (2%) and three (4%) samples, respectively, yielding additional pathogens not detected by culture. For the 25 culture-negative PJIs tested, genus- and species-level analysis yielded 19 (76%) and 21 (84%) samples with insignificant findings, respectively, and 6 (24%) and 4 (16%) with potential pathogens detected, respectively. Genus- and species-level analysis of the 60 culture-negative aseptic failure cases yielded 53 (88.3%) and 56 (93.3%) cases with insignificant findings, and 7 (11.7%) and 4 (6.7%) with potential clinically-significant organisms detected, respectively. There was one case of aseptic failure with synovial fluid culture growth; metagenomic analysis showed insignificant findings, suggesting possible synovial fluid culture contamination. Conclusion: Metagenomic shotgun sequencing can detect pathogens involved in PJI when applied to synovial fluid and may be particularly useful for culture-negative cases. Copyright © 2018 American Society for Microbiology.

  7. Increased expression of damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) in osteoarthritis of human knee joint compared to hip joint.

    PubMed

    Rosenberg, John H; Rai, Vikrant; Dilisio, Matthew F; Sekundiak, Todd D; Agrawal, Devendra K

    2017-12-01

    Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative disease characterized by the destruction of cartilage. The greatest risk factors for the development of OA include age and obesity. Recent studies suggest the role of inflammation in the pathogenesis of OA. The two most common locations for OA to occur are in the knee and hip joints. The knee joint experiences more mechanical stress, cartilage degeneration, and inflammation than the hip joint. This could contribute to the increased incidence of OA in the knee joint. Damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs), including high-mobility group box-1, receptor for advanced glycation end products, and alarmins (S100A8 and S100A9), are released in the joint in response to stress-mediated chondrocyte and cartilage damage. This facilitates increased cartilage degradation and inflammation in the joint. Studies have documented the role of DAMPs in the pathogenesis of OA; however, the comparison of DAMPs and its influence on OA has not been discussed. In this study, we compared the DAMPs between OA knee and hip joints and found a significant difference in the levels of DAMPs expressed in the knee joint compared to the hip joint. The increased levels of DAMPs suggest a difference in the underlying pathogenesis of OA in the knee and the hip and highlights DAMPs as potential therapeutic targets for OA in the future.

  8. Combined effects of expectations and visual uncertainty upon detection and identification of a target in the fog.

    PubMed

    Quétard, Boris; Quinton, Jean-Charles; Colomb, Michèle; Pezzulo, Giovanni; Barca, Laura; Izaute, Marie; Appadoo, Owen Kevin; Mermillod, Martial

    2015-09-01

    Detecting a pedestrian while driving in the fog is one situation where the prior expectation about the target presence is integrated with the noisy visual input. We focus on how these sources of information influence the oculomotor behavior and are integrated within an underlying decision-making process. The participants had to judge whether high-/low-density fog scenes displayed on a computer screen contained a pedestrian or a deer by executing a mouse movement toward the response button (mouse-tracking). A variable road sign was added on the scene to manipulate expectations about target identity. We then analyzed the timing and amplitude of the deviation of mouse trajectories toward the incorrect response and, using an eye tracker, the detection time (before fixating the target) and the identification time (fixations on the target). Results revealed that expectation of the correct target results in earlier decisions with less deviation toward the alternative response, this effect being partially explained by the facilitation of target identification.

  9. Percutaneous foot joint needle placement using a C-arm flat-panel detector CT.

    PubMed

    Wiewiorski, Martin; Takes, Martin Thanh Long; Valderrabano, Victor; Jacob, Augustinus Ludwig

    2012-03-01

    Image guidance is valuable for diagnostic injections in foot orthopaedics. Flat-detector computed tomography (FD-CT) was implemented using a C-arm, and the system was tested for needle guidance in foot joint injections. FD-CT-guided joint infiltration was performed in 6 patients referred from the orthopaedic department for diagnostic foot injections. All interventions were performed utilising a flat-panel fluoroscopy system utilising specialised image guidance and planning software. Successful infiltration was defined by localisation of contrast media depot in the targeted joint. The pre- and post-interventional numeric analogue scale (NAS) pain score was assessed. All injections were technically successful. Contrast media deposit was documented in all targeted joints. Significant relief of symptoms was noted by all 6 participants. FD-CT-guided joint infiltration is a feasible method for diagnostic infiltration of midfoot and hindfoot joints. The FD-CT approach may become an alternative to commonly used 2D-fluoroscopically guidance.

  10. [Study on spectral detection of green plant target].

    PubMed

    Deng, Wei; Zhao, Chun-jiang; He, Xiong-kui; Chen, Li-ping; Zhang, Lu-da; Wu, Guang-wei; Mueller, J; Zhai, Chang-yuan

    2010-08-01

    Weeds grow scatteredly in fields, where many insentient objects exist, for example, withered grasses, dry twig and barriers. In order to improve the precision level of spraying, it is important to study green plant detecting technology. The present paper discussed detecting method of green plant by using spectral recognizing technology, because of the real-time feature of spectral recognition. By analyzing the reflectivity difference between each of the two sides of the "red edge" of the spectrum from plants and surrounding environment, green plant discriminat index (GPDI) is defined as the value which equals the reflectivity ratio at the wavelength of 850 nm divided by the reflectivity ratio at the wavelength of 650 nm. The original spectral data of green plants and the background were measured by using the handhold FieldSpec 3 Spectroradiometer manufactured by ASD Inc. in USA. The spectral data were processed to get the reflectivity of each measured objects and to work out the GPDI thereof as well. The classification model of green plant and its background was built up using decision tree method in order to obtain the threshold of GPDI to distinguish green plants and the background. The threshold of GPDI was chosen as 5.54. The detected object was recognized as green plant when it is GPDI>GPDITH, and vice versa. Through another test, the accuracy rate was verified which was 100% by using the threshold. The authors designed and developed the green plant detector based on single chip microcomputer (SCM) "AT89S51" and photodiode "OPT101" to realize detecting green plants from the background. After passing through two optical filters, the center wavelengths of which are 650 and 850 nm respectively, the reflected light from measured targets was detected by two photodiodes and converted into electrical signals. These analog signals were then converted to digital signals via an analog-to-digital converter (ADS7813) after being amplified by a signal amplifier (OP400

  11. Sparse Representation for Infrared Dim Target Detection via a Discriminative Over-Complete Dictionary Learned Online

    PubMed Central

    Li, Zheng-Zhou; Chen, Jing; Hou, Qian; Fu, Hong-Xia; Dai, Zhen; Jin, Gang; Li, Ru-Zhang; Liu, Chang-Ju

    2014-01-01

    It is difficult for structural over-complete dictionaries such as the Gabor function and discriminative over-complete dictionary, which are learned offline and classified manually, to represent natural images with the goal of ideal sparseness and to enhance the difference between background clutter and target signals. This paper proposes an infrared dim target detection approach based on sparse representation on a discriminative over-complete dictionary. An adaptive morphological over-complete dictionary is trained and constructed online according to the content of infrared image by K-singular value decomposition (K-SVD) algorithm. Then the adaptive morphological over-complete dictionary is divided automatically into a target over-complete dictionary describing target signals, and a background over-complete dictionary embedding background by the criteria that the atoms in the target over-complete dictionary could be decomposed more sparsely based on a Gaussian over-complete dictionary than the one in the background over-complete dictionary. This discriminative over-complete dictionary can not only capture significant features of background clutter and dim targets better than a structural over-complete dictionary, but also strengthens the sparse feature difference between background and target more efficiently than a discriminative over-complete dictionary learned offline and classified manually. The target and background clutter can be sparsely decomposed over their corresponding over-complete dictionaries, yet couldn't be sparsely decomposed based on their opposite over-complete dictionary, so their residuals after reconstruction by the prescribed number of target and background atoms differ very visibly. Some experiments are included and the results show that this proposed approach could not only improve the sparsity more efficiently, but also enhance the performance of small target detection more effectively. PMID:24871988

  12. Sparse representation for infrared Dim target detection via a discriminative over-complete dictionary learned online.

    PubMed

    Li, Zheng-Zhou; Chen, Jing; Hou, Qian; Fu, Hong-Xia; Dai, Zhen; Jin, Gang; Li, Ru-Zhang; Liu, Chang-Ju

    2014-05-27

    It is difficult for structural over-complete dictionaries such as the Gabor function and discriminative over-complete dictionary, which are learned offline and classified manually, to represent natural images with the goal of ideal sparseness and to enhance the difference between background clutter and target signals. This paper proposes an infrared dim target detection approach based on sparse representation on a discriminative over-complete dictionary. An adaptive morphological over-complete dictionary is trained and constructed online according to the content of infrared image by K-singular value decomposition (K-SVD) algorithm. Then the adaptive morphological over-complete dictionary is divided automatically into a target over-complete dictionary describing target signals, and a background over-complete dictionary embedding background by the criteria that the atoms in the target over-complete dictionary could be decomposed more sparsely based on a Gaussian over-complete dictionary than the one in the background over-complete dictionary. This discriminative over-complete dictionary can not only capture significant features of background clutter and dim targets better than a structural over-complete dictionary, but also strengthens the sparse feature difference between background and target more efficiently than a discriminative over-complete dictionary learned offline and classified manually. The target and background clutter can be sparsely decomposed over their corresponding over-complete dictionaries, yet couldn't be sparsely decomposed based on their opposite over-complete dictionary, so their residuals after reconstruction by the prescribed number of target and background atoms differ very visibly. Some experiments are included and the results show that this proposed approach could not only improve the sparsity more efficiently, but also enhance the performance of small target detection more effectively.

  13. Small Infrared Target Detection by Region-Adaptive Clutter Rejection for Sea-Based Infrared Search and Track

    PubMed Central

    Kim, Sungho; Lee, Joohyoung

    2014-01-01

    This paper presents a region-adaptive clutter rejection method for small target detection in sea-based infrared search and track. In the real world, clutter normally generates many false detections that impede the deployment of such detection systems. Incoming targets (missiles, boats, etc.) can be located in the sky, horizon and sea regions, which have different types of clutters, such as clouds, a horizontal line and sea-glint. The characteristics of regional clutter were analyzed after the geometrical analysis-based region segmentation. The false detections caused by cloud clutter were removed by the spatial attribute-based classification. Those by the horizontal line were removed using the heterogeneous background removal filter. False alarms by sun-glint were rejected using the temporal consistency filter, which is the most difficult part. The experimental results of the various cluttered background sequences show that the proposed region adaptive clutter rejection method produces fewer false alarms than that of the mean subtraction filter (MSF) with an acceptable degradation detection rate. PMID:25054633

  14. Elevated sacroilac joint uptake ratios in systemic lupus erythematosus

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

    De Smet, A.A.; Mahmood, T.; Robinson, R.G.

    1984-08-01

    Sacroiliac joint radiographs and radionuclide sacroiliac joint uptake ratios were obtained on 14 patients with active systemic lupus erythematosus. Elevated joint ratios were found unilaterally in two patients and bilaterally in seven patients when their lupus was active. In patients whose disease became quiescent, the uptake ratios returned to normal. Two patients had persistently elevated ratios with continued clinical and laboratory evidence of active lupus. Mild sacroiliac joint sclerosis and erosions were detected on pelvic radiographs in these same two patients. Elevated quantitative sacroiliac joint uptake ratios may occur as a manifestation of active systemic lupus erythematosus.

  15. Effects of clonidine and scopolamine on multiple target detection in rapid serial visual presentation.

    PubMed

    Brown, Stephen B R E; Slagter, Heleen A; van Noorden, Martijn S; Giltay, Erik J; van der Wee, Nic J A; Nieuwenhuis, Sander

    2016-01-01

    The specific role of neuromodulator systems in regulating rapid fluctuations of attention is still poorly understood. In this study, we examined the effects of clonidine and scopolamine on multiple target detection in a rapid serial visual presentation task to assess the role of the central noradrenergic and cholinergic systems in temporal attention. Eighteen healthy volunteers took part in a crossover double-dummy study in which they received clonidine (150/175 μg), scopolamine (1.2 mg), and placebo by mouth in counterbalanced order. A dual-target attentional blink task was administered at 120 min after scopolamine intake and 180 min after clonidine intake. The electroencephalogram was measured during task performance. Clonidine and scopolamine both impaired detection of the first target (T1). For clonidine, this impairment was accompanied by decreased amplitudes of the P2 and P3 components of the event-related potential. The drugs did not impair second-target (T2) detection, except if T2 was presented immediately after T1. The attentional blink for T2 was not affected, in line with a previous study that found no effect of clonidine on the attentional blink. These and other results suggest that clonidine and scopolamine may impair temporal attention through a decrease in tonic alertness and that this decrease in alertness can be temporarily compensated by a phasic alerting response to a salient stimulus. The comparable behavioral effects of clonidine and scopolamine are consistent with animal studies indicating close interactions between the noradrenergic and cholinergic neuromodulator systems.

  16. Detection of atherosclerotic lesions and intimal macrophages using CD36-targeted nanovesicles.

    PubMed

    Nie, Shufang; Zhang, Jia; Martinez-Zaguilan, Raul; Sennoune, Souad; Hossen, Md Nazir; Lichtenstein, Alice H; Cao, Jun; Meyerrose, Gary E; Paone, Ralph; Soontrapa, Suthipong; Fan, Zhaoyang; Wang, Shu

    2015-12-28

    Current approaches to the diagnosis and therapy of atherosclerosis cannot target lesion-determinant cells in the artery wall. Intimal macrophage infiltration promotes atherosclerotic lesion development by facilitating the accumulation of oxidized low-density lipoproteins (oxLDL) and increasing inflammatory responses. The presence of these cells is positively associated with lesion progression, severity and destabilization. Hence, they are an important diagnostic and therapeutic target. The objective of this study was to noninvasively assess the distribution and accumulation of intimal macrophages using CD36-targeted nanovesicles. Soy phosphatidylcholine was used to synthesize liposome-like nanovesicles. 1-(Palmitoyl)-2-(5-keto-6-octene-dioyl) phosphatidylcholine was incorporated on their surface to target the CD36 receptor. All in vitro data demonstrate that these targeted nanovesicles had a high binding affinity for the oxLDL binding site of the CD36 receptor and participated in CD36-mediated recognition and uptake of nanovesicles by macrophages. Intravenous administration into LDL receptor null mice of targeted compared to non-targeted nanovesicles resulted in higher uptake in aortic lesions. The nanovesicles co-localized with macrophages and their CD36 receptors in aortic lesions. This molecular target approach may facilitate the in vivo noninvasive imaging of atherosclerotic lesions in terms of intimal macrophage accumulation and distribution and disclose lesion features related to inflammation and possibly vulnerability thereby facilitate early lesion detection and targeted delivery of therapeutic compounds to intimal macrophages. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  17. Detection and characterization of murine colitis and carcinogenesis by molecularly targeted contrast-enhanced ultrasound

    PubMed Central

    Brückner, Markus; Heidemann, Jan; Nowacki, Tobias M; Cordes, Friederike; Stypmann, Jörg; Lenz, Philipp; Gohar, Faekah; Lügering, Andreas; Bettenworth, Dominik

    2017-01-01

    AIM To study mucosal addressin cellular adhesion molecule-1 (MAdCAM-1) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-targeted contrast enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) for the assessment of murine colitis and carcinogenesis. METHODS C57BL/6 mice were challenged with 3% dextran sodium-sulfate (DSS) for three, six or nine days to study the development of acute colitis. Ultrasound was performed with and without the addition of unspecific contrast agents. MAdCAM-1-targeted contrast agent was used to detect and quantify MAdCAM-1 expression. Inflammatory driven colorectal azoxymethane (AOM)/DSS-induced carcinogenesis was examined on day 42 and 84 using VEGF-targeted contrast agent. Highly specific tissue echogenicity was quantified using specialized software. Sonographic findings were correlated to tissue staining, western blot analysis and immunohistochemistry to quantify the degree of inflammation and stage of carcinogenesis. RESULTS Native ultrasound detected increased general bowel wall thickening that correlated with more progressed and more severe DSS-colitis (healthy mice: 0.3 mm ± 0.03 vs six days DSS: 0.5 mm ± 0.2 vs nine days DSS: 0.6 mm ± 0.2, P < 0.05). Moreover, these sonographic findings correlated well with clinical parameters such as weight loss (r2 = 0.74) and histological damage (r2 = 0.86) (P < 0.01). In acute DSS-induced murine colitis, CEUS targeted against MAdCAM-1 detected and differentiated stages of mild, moderate and severe colitis via calculation of mean pixel contrast intensity in decibel (9.6 dB ± 1.6 vs 12.9 dB ± 1.4 vs 18 dB ± 3.33, P < 0.05). Employing the AOM/DSS-induced carcinogenesis model, tumor development was monitored by CEUS targeted against VEGF and detected a significantly increased echogenicity in tumors as compared to adjacent healthy mucosa (healthy mucosa, 1.6 dB ± 1.4 vs 42 d, 18.2 dB ± 3.3 vs 84 d, 18.6 dB ± 4.9, P < 0.01). Tissue echogenicity strongly correlated with histological analysis and immunohistochemistry

  18. Detection and characterization of murine colitis and carcinogenesis by molecularly targeted contrast-enhanced ultrasound.

    PubMed

    Brückner, Markus; Heidemann, Jan; Nowacki, Tobias M; Cordes, Friederike; Stypmann, Jörg; Lenz, Philipp; Gohar, Faekah; Lügering, Andreas; Bettenworth, Dominik

    2017-04-28

    To study mucosal addressin cellular adhesion molecule-1 (MAdCAM-1) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-targeted contrast enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) for the assessment of murine colitis and carcinogenesis. C57BL/6 mice were challenged with 3% dextran sodium-sulfate (DSS) for three, six or nine days to study the development of acute colitis. Ultrasound was performed with and without the addition of unspecific contrast agents. MAdCAM-1-targeted contrast agent was used to detect and quantify MAdCAM-1 expression. Inflammatory driven colorectal azoxymethane (AOM)/DSS-induced carcinogenesis was examined on day 42 and 84 using VEGF-targeted contrast agent. Highly specific tissue echogenicity was quantified using specialized software. Sonographic findings were correlated to tissue staining, western blot analysis and immunohistochemistry to quantify the degree of inflammation and stage of carcinogenesis. Native ultrasound detected increased general bowel wall thickening that correlated with more progressed and more severe DSS-colitis (healthy mice: 0.3 mm ± 0.03 vs six days DSS: 0.5 mm ± 0.2 vs nine days DSS: 0.6 mm ± 0.2, P < 0.05). Moreover, these sonographic findings correlated well with clinical parameters such as weight loss ( r 2 = 0.74) and histological damage ( r 2 = 0.86) ( P < 0.01). In acute DSS-induced murine colitis, CEUS targeted against MAdCAM-1 detected and differentiated stages of mild, moderate and severe colitis via calculation of mean pixel contrast intensity in decibel (9.6 dB ± 1.6 vs 12.9 dB ± 1.4 vs 18 dB ± 3.33, P < 0.05). Employing the AOM/DSS-induced carcinogenesis model, tumor development was monitored by CEUS targeted against VEGF and detected a significantly increased echogenicity in tumors as compared to adjacent healthy mucosa (healthy mucosa, 1.6 dB ± 1.4 vs 42 d, 18.2 dB ± 3.3 vs 84 d, 18.6 dB ± 4.9, P < 0.01). Tissue echogenicity strongly correlated with histological analysis and immunohistochemistry findings (VEGF

  19. Detecting target changes in multiple object tracking with peripheral vision: More pronounced eccentricity effects for changes in form than in motion.

    PubMed

    Vater, Christian; Kredel, Ralf; Hossner, Ernst-Joachim

    2017-05-01

    In the current study, dual-task performance is examined with multiple-object tracking as a primary task and target-change detection as a secondary task. The to-be-detected target changes in conditions of either change type (form vs. motion; Experiment 1) or change salience (stop vs. slowdown; Experiment 2), with changes occurring at either near (5°-10°) or far (15°-20°) eccentricities (Experiments 1 and 2). The aim of the study was to test whether changes can be detected solely with peripheral vision. By controlling for saccades and computing gaze distances, we could show that participants used peripheral vision to monitor the targets and, additionally, to perceive changes at both near and far eccentricities. Noticeably, gaze behavior was not affected by the actual target change. Detection rates as well as response times generally varied as a function of change condition and eccentricity, with faster detections for motion changes and near changes. However, in contrast to the effects found for motion changes, sharp declines in detection rates and increased response times were observed for form changes as a function of the eccentricities. This result can be ascribed to properties of the visual system, namely to the limited spatial acuity in the periphery and the comparably receptive motion sensitivity of peripheral vision. These findings show that peripheral vision is functional for simultaneous target monitoring and target-change detection as saccadic information suppression can be avoided and covert attention can be optimally distributed to all targets. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

  20. Rapid Target Detection in High Resolution Remote Sensing Images Using Yolo Model

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wu, Z.; Chen, X.; Gao, Y.; Li, Y.

    2018-04-01

    Object detection in high resolution remote sensing images is a fundamental and challenging problem in the field of remote sensing imagery analysis for civil and military application due to the complex neighboring environments, which can cause the recognition algorithms to mistake irrelevant ground objects for target objects. Deep Convolution Neural Network(DCNN) is the hotspot in object detection for its powerful ability of feature extraction and has achieved state-of-the-art results in Computer Vision. Common pipeline of object detection based on DCNN consists of region proposal, CNN feature extraction, region classification and post processing. YOLO model frames object detection as a regression problem, using a single CNN predicts bounding boxes and class probabilities in an end-to-end way and make the predict faster. In this paper, a YOLO based model is used for object detection in high resolution sensing images. The experiments on NWPU VHR-10 dataset and our airport/airplane dataset gain from GoogleEarth show that, compare with the common pipeline, the proposed model speeds up the detection process and have good accuracy.

  1. Study of time-reversal-based signal processing applied to polarimetric GPR detection of elongated targets

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Santos, Vinicius Rafael N.; Teixeira, Fernando L.

    2017-04-01

    Ground penetrating radar (GPR) is a useful sensing modality for mapping and identification of underground infrastructure networks, such as metal and concrete pipes (gas, water or sewer), phone conduits or cables, and other buried objects. Due to the polarization-dependent response of typical targets, it is of interest to investigate the optimum antenna arrangement and/or combination of arrangements that maximize the detection and classification capabilities of polarimetric GPR imaging systems. Here, we provide a preliminary study of time-reversal-based techniques applied to target detection by GPR utilizing different relative orientations of linear-polarized antenna elements (with respect to each other, as well as to the targets). We modeled three different pipe materials (metallic, plastic and concrete) and GPR systems operating at center frequencies of 100 MHz and 200 MHz. Full-wave numerical simulations are adopted to account for mutual coupling between targets. This type of assessment study may contribute to the improvement of GPR data interpretation of infrastructure networks in urban area surveys and in other engineering studies.

  2. Detection and Delineation of Oral Cancer With a PARP1-Targeted Optical Imaging Agent.

    PubMed

    Kossatz, Susanne; Weber, Wolfgang; Reiner, Thomas

    2017-01-01

    More sensitive and specific methods for early detection are imperative to improve survival rates in oral cancer. However, oral cancer detection is still largely based on visual examination and histopathology of biopsy material, offering no molecular selectivity or spatial resolution. Intuitively, the addition of optical contrast could improve oral cancer detection and delineation, but so far no molecularly targeted approach has been translated. Our fluorescently labeled small-molecule inhibitor PARPi-FL binds to the DNA repair enzyme poly(ADP-ribose)polymerase 1 (PARP1) and is a potential diagnostic aid for oral cancer delineation. Based on our preclinical work, a clinical phase I/II trial opened in March 2017 to evaluate PARPi-FL as a contrast agent for oral cancer imaging. In this commentary, we discuss why we chose PARP1 as a biomarker for tumor detection and which particular characteristics make PARPi-FL an excellent candidate to image PARP1 in optically guided applications. We also comment on the potential benefits of our molecularly targeted PARPi-FL-guided imaging approach in comparison to existing oral cancer screening adjuncts and mention the adaptability of PARPi-FL imaging to other environments and tumor types.

  3. Adding temporally localized noise can enhance the contribution of target knowledge on contrast detection.

    PubMed

    Silvestre, Daphné; Cavanagh, Patrick; Arleo, Angelo; Allard, Rémy

    2017-02-01

    External noise paradigms are widely used to characterize sensitivity by comparing the effect of a variable on contrast threshold when it is limited by internal versus external noise. A basic assumption of external noise paradigms is that the processing properties are the same in low and high noise. However, recent studies (e.g., Allard & Cavanagh, 2011; Allard & Faubert, 2014b) suggest that this assumption could be violated when using spatiotemporally localized noise (i.e., appearing simultaneously and at the same location as the target) but not when using spatiotemporally extended noise (i.e., continuously displayed, full-screen, dynamic noise). These previous findings may have been specific to the crowding and 0D noise paradigms that were used, so the purpose of the current study is to test if this violation of noise-invariant processing also occurs in a standard contrast detection task in white noise. The rationale of the current study is that local external noise triggers the use of recognition rather than detection and that a recognition process should be more affected by uncertainty about the shape of the target than one involving detection. To investigate the contribution of target knowledge on contrast detection, the effect of orientation uncertainty was evaluated for a contrast detection task in the absence of noise and in the presence of spatiotemporally localized or extended noise. A larger orientation uncertainty effect was observed with temporally localized noise than with temporally extended noise or with no external noise, indicating a change in the nature of the processing for temporally localized noise. We conclude that the use of temporally localized noise in external noise paradigms risks triggering a shift in process, invalidating the noise-invariant processing required for the paradigm. If, instead, temporally extended external noise is used to match the properties of internal noise, no such processing change occurs.

  4. Statistical sensor fusion analysis of near-IR polarimetric and thermal imagery for the detection of minelike targets

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Weisenseel, Robert A.; Karl, William C.; Castanon, David A.; DiMarzio, Charles A.

    1999-02-01

    We present an analysis of statistical model based data-level fusion for near-IR polarimetric and thermal data, particularly for the detection of mines and mine-like targets. Typical detection-level data fusion methods, approaches that fuse detections from individual sensors rather than fusing at the level of the raw data, do not account rationally for the relative reliability of different sensors, nor the redundancy often inherent in multiple sensors. Representative examples of such detection-level techniques include logical AND/OR operations on detections from individual sensors and majority vote methods. In this work, we exploit a statistical data model for the detection of mines and mine-like targets to compare and fuse multiple sensor channels. Our purpose is to quantify the amount of knowledge that each polarimetric or thermal channel supplies to the detection process. With this information, we can make reasonable decisions about the usefulness of each channel. We can use this information to improve the detection process, or we can use it to reduce the number of required channels.

  5. In Vivo Measurement of Glenohumeral Joint Contact Patterns

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bey, Michael J.; Kline, Stephanie K.; Zauel, Roger; Kolowich, Patricia A.; Lock, Terrence R.

    2009-12-01

    The objectives of this study were to describe a technique for measuring in-vivo glenohumeral joint contact patterns during dynamic activities and to demonstrate application of this technique. The experimental technique calculated joint contact patterns by combining CT-based 3D bone models with joint motion data that were accurately measured from biplane x-ray images. Joint contact patterns were calculated for the repaired and contralateral shoulders of 20 patients who had undergone rotator cuff repair. Significant differences in joint contact patterns were detected due to abduction angle and shoulder condition (i.e., repaired versus contralateral). Abduction angle had a significant effect on the superior/inferior contact center position, with the average joint contact center of the repaired shoulder 12.1% higher on the glenoid than the contralateral shoulder. This technique provides clinically relevant information by calculating in-vivo joint contact patterns during dynamic conditions and overcomes many limitations associated with conventional techniques for quantifying joint mechanics.

  6. Specific and selective target detection of supra-genome 21 Mers Salmonella via silicon nanowires biosensor

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mustafa, Mohammad Razif Bin; Dhahi, Th S.; Ehfaed, Nuri. A. K. H.; Adam, Tijjani; Hashim, U.; Azizah, N.; Mohammed, Mohammed; Noriman, N. Z.

    2017-09-01

    The nano structure based on silicon can be surface modified to be used as label-free biosensors that allow real-time measurements. The silicon nanowire surface was functionalized using 3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane (APTES), which functions as a facilitator to immobilize biomolecules on the silicon nanowire surface. The process is simple, economical; this will pave the way for point-of-care applications. However, the surface modification and subsequent detection mechanism still not clear. Thus, study proposed step by step process of silicon nano surface modification and its possible in specific and selective target detection of Supra-genome 21 Mers Salmonella. The device captured the molecule with precisely; the approach took the advantages of strong binding chemistry created between APTES and biomolecule. The results indicated how modifications of the nanowires provide sensing capability with strong surface chemistries that can lead to specific and selective target detection.

  7. Joint Optimization of Receiver Placement and Illuminator Selection for a Multiband Passive Radar Network.

    PubMed

    Xie, Rui; Wan, Xianrong; Hong, Sheng; Yi, Jianxin

    2017-06-14

    The performance of a passive radar network can be greatly improved by an optimal radar network structure. Generally, radar network structure optimization consists of two aspects, namely the placement of receivers in suitable places and selection of appropriate illuminators. The present study investigates issues concerning the joint optimization of receiver placement and illuminator selection for a passive radar network. Firstly, the required radar cross section (RCS) for target detection is chosen as the performance metric, and the joint optimization model boils down to the partition p -center problem (PPCP). The PPCP is then solved by a proposed bisection algorithm. The key of the bisection algorithm lies in solving the partition set covering problem (PSCP), which can be solved by a hybrid algorithm developed by coupling the convex optimization with the greedy dropping algorithm. In the end, the performance of the proposed algorithm is validated via numerical simulations.

  8. Ultra-Sensitive Detection of Plasmodium falciparum by Amplification of Multi-Copy Subtelomeric Targets

    PubMed Central

    Hofmann, Natalie; Mwingira, Felista; Shekalaghe, Seif; Robinson, Leanne J.; Mueller, Ivo; Felger, Ingrid

    2015-01-01

    Background Planning and evaluating malaria control strategies relies on accurate definition of parasite prevalence in the population. A large proportion of asymptomatic parasite infections can only be identified by surveillance with molecular methods, yet these infections also contribute to onward transmission to mosquitoes. The sensitivity of molecular detection by PCR is limited by the abundance of the target sequence in a DNA sample; thus, detection becomes imperfect at low densities. We aimed to increase PCR diagnostic sensitivity by targeting multi-copy genomic sequences for reliable detection of low-density infections, and investigated the impact of these PCR assays on community prevalence data. Methods and Findings Two quantitative PCR (qPCR) assays were developed for ultra-sensitive detection of Plasmodium falciparum, targeting the high-copy telomere-associated repetitive element 2 (TARE-2, ∼250 copies/genome) and the var gene acidic terminal sequence (varATS, 59 copies/genome). Our assays reached a limit of detection of 0.03 to 0.15 parasites/μl blood and were 10× more sensitive than standard 18S rRNA qPCR. In a population cross-sectional study in Tanzania, 295/498 samples tested positive using ultra-sensitive assays. Light microscopy missed 169 infections (57%). 18S rRNA qPCR failed to identify 48 infections (16%), of which 40% carried gametocytes detected by pfs25 quantitative reverse-transcription PCR. To judge the suitability of the TARE-2 and varATS assays for high-throughput screens, their performance was tested on sample pools. Both ultra-sensitive assays correctly detected all pools containing one low-density P. falciparum–positive sample, which went undetected by 18S rRNA qPCR, among nine negatives. TARE-2 and varATS qPCRs improve estimates of prevalence rates, yet other infections might still remain undetected when absent in the limited blood volume sampled. Conclusions Measured malaria prevalence in communities is largely determined by the

  9. Brain activation underlying threat detection to targets of different races.

    PubMed

    Senholzi, Keith B; Depue, Brendan E; Correll, Joshua; Banich, Marie T; Ito, Tiffany A

    2015-01-01

    The current study examined blood oxygen level-dependent signal underlying racial differences in threat detection. During functional magnetic resonance imaging, participants determined whether pictures of Black or White individuals held weapons. They were instructed to make shoot responses when the picture showed armed individuals but don't shoot responses to unarmed individuals, with the cost of not shooting armed individuals being greater than that of shooting unarmed individuals. Participants were faster to shoot armed Blacks than Whites, but faster in making don't shoot responses to unarmed Whites than Blacks. Brain activity differed to armed versus unarmed targets depending on target race, suggesting different mechanisms underlying threat versus safety decisions. Anterior cingulate cortex was preferentially engaged for unarmed Whites than Blacks. Parietal and visual cortical regions exhibited greater activity for armed Blacks than Whites. Seed-based functional connectivity of the amygdala revealed greater coherence with parietal and visual cortices for armed Blacks than Whites. Furthermore, greater implicit Black-danger associations were associated with increased amygdala activation to armed Blacks, compared to armed Whites. Our results suggest that different neural mechanisms may underlie racial differences in responses to armed versus unarmed targets.

  10. Genetic mutations in human rectal cancers detected by targeted sequencing.

    PubMed

    Bai, Jun; Gao, Jinglong; Mao, Zhijun; Wang, Jianhua; Li, Jianhui; Li, Wensheng; Lei, Yu; Li, Shuaishuai; Wu, Zhuo; Tang, Chuanning; Jones, Lindsey; Ye, Hua; Lou, Feng; Liu, Zhiyuan; Dong, Zhishou; Guo, Baishuai; Huang, Xue F; Chen, Si-Yi; Zhang, Enke

    2015-10-01

    Colorectal cancer (CRC) is widespread with significant mortality. Both inherited and sporadic mutations in various signaling pathways influence the development and progression of the cancer. Identifying genetic mutations in CRC is important for optimal patient treatment and many approaches currently exist to uncover these mutations, including next-generation sequencing (NGS) and commercially available kits. In the present study, we used a semiconductor-based targeted DNA-sequencing approach to sequence and identify genetic mutations in 91 human rectal cancer samples. Analysis revealed frequent mutations in KRAS (58.2%), TP53 (28.6%), APC (16.5%), FBXW7 (9.9%) and PIK3CA (9.9%), and additional mutations in BRAF, CTNNB1, ERBB2 and SMAD4 were also detected at lesser frequencies. Thirty-eight samples (41.8%) also contained two or more mutations, with common combination mutations occurring between KRAS and TP53 (42.1%), and KRAS and APC (31.6%). DNA sequencing for individual cancers is of clinical importance for targeted drug therapy and the advantages of such targeted gene sequencing over other NGS platforms or commercially available kits in sensitivity, cost and time effectiveness may aid clinicians in treating CRC patients in the near future.

  11. Breast Cancer Detection by B7-H3-Targeted Ultrasound Molecular Imaging.

    PubMed

    Bachawal, Sunitha V; Jensen, Kristin C; Wilson, Katheryne E; Tian, Lu; Lutz, Amelie M; Willmann, Jürgen K

    2015-06-15

    Ultrasound complements mammography as an imaging modality for breast cancer detection, especially in patients with dense breast tissue, but its utility is limited by low diagnostic accuracy. One emerging molecular tool to address this limitation involves contrast-enhanced ultrasound using microbubbles targeted to molecular signatures on tumor neovasculature. In this study, we illustrate how tumor vascular expression of B7-H3 (CD276), a member of the B7 family of ligands for T-cell coregulatory receptors, can be incorporated into an ultrasound method that can distinguish normal, benign, precursor, and malignant breast pathologies for diagnostic purposes. Through an IHC analysis of 248 human breast specimens, we found that vascular expression of B7-H3 was selectively and significantly higher in breast cancer tissues. B7-H3 immunostaining on blood vessels distinguished benign/precursors from malignant lesions with high diagnostic accuracy in human specimens. In a transgenic mouse model of cancer, the B7-H3-targeted ultrasound imaging signal was increased significantly in breast cancer tissues and highly correlated with ex vivo expression levels of B7-H3 on quantitative immunofluorescence. Our findings offer a preclinical proof of concept for the use of B7-H3-targeted ultrasound molecular imaging as a tool to improve the diagnostic accuracy of breast cancer detection in patients. ©2015 American Association for Cancer Research.

  12. Detection of Stimulus Displacements Across Saccades is Capacity-Limited and Biased in Favor of the Saccade Target

    PubMed Central

    Irwin, David E.; Robinson, Maria M.

    2015-01-01

    Retinal image displacements caused by saccadic eye movements are generally unnoticed. Recent theories have proposed that perceptual stability across saccades depends on a local evaluation process centered on the saccade target object rather than on remapping and evaluating the positions of all objects in a display. In three experiments, we examined whether objects other than the saccade target also influence perceptual stability by measuring displacement detection thresholds across saccades for saccade targets and a variable number of non-saccade objects. We found that the positions of multiple objects are maintained across saccades, but with variable precision, with the saccade target object having priority in the perception of displacement, most likely because it is the focus of attention before the saccade and resides near the fovea after the saccade. The perception of displacement of objects that are not the saccade target is affected by acuity limitations, attentional limitations, and limitations on memory capacity. Unlike previous studies that have found that a postsaccadic blank improves the detection of displacement direction across saccades, we found that postsaccadic blanking hurt the detection of displacement per se by increasing false alarms. Overall, our results are consistent with the hypothesis that visual working memory underlies the perception of stability across saccades. PMID:26640430

  13. Prospects for detection of target-dependent annual modulation in direct dark matter searches

    DOE PAGES

    Nobile, Eugenio Del; Gelmini, Graciela B.; Witte, Samuel J.

    2016-02-03

    Earth's rotation about the Sun produces an annual modulation in the expected scattering rate at direct dark matter detection experiments. The annual modulation as a function of the recoil energy E R imparted by the dark matter particle to a target nucleus is expected to vary depending on the detector material. However, for most interactions a change of variables from E R to v min, the minimum speed a dark matter particle must have to impart a fixed E R to a target nucleus, produces an annual modulation independent of the target element. We recently showed that if the darkmore » matter-nucleus cross section contains a non-factorizable target and dark matter velocity dependence, the annual modulation as a function of v min can be target dependent. Here we examine more extensively the necessary conditions for target-dependent modulation, its observability in present-day experiments, and the extent to which putative signals could identify a dark matter-nucleus differential cross section with a non-factorizable dependence on the dark matter velocity.« less

  14. panelcn.MOPS: Copy-number detection in targeted NGS panel data for clinical diagnostics.

    PubMed

    Povysil, Gundula; Tzika, Antigoni; Vogt, Julia; Haunschmid, Verena; Messiaen, Ludwine; Zschocke, Johannes; Klambauer, Günter; Hochreiter, Sepp; Wimmer, Katharina

    2017-07-01

    Targeted next-generation-sequencing (NGS) panels have largely replaced Sanger sequencing in clinical diagnostics. They allow for the detection of copy-number variations (CNVs) in addition to single-nucleotide variants and small insertions/deletions. However, existing computational CNV detection methods have shortcomings regarding accuracy, quality control (QC), incidental findings, and user-friendliness. We developed panelcn.MOPS, a novel pipeline for detecting CNVs in targeted NGS panel data. Using data from 180 samples, we compared panelcn.MOPS with five state-of-the-art methods. With panelcn.MOPS leading the field, most methods achieved comparably high accuracy. panelcn.MOPS reliably detected CNVs ranging in size from part of a region of interest (ROI), to whole genes, which may comprise all ROIs investigated in a given sample. The latter is enabled by analyzing reads from all ROIs of the panel, but presenting results exclusively for user-selected genes, thus avoiding incidental findings. Additionally, panelcn.MOPS offers QC criteria not only for samples, but also for individual ROIs within a sample, which increases the confidence in called CNVs. panelcn.MOPS is freely available both as R package and standalone software with graphical user interface that is easy to use for clinical geneticists without any programming experience. panelcn.MOPS combines high sensitivity and specificity with user-friendliness rendering it highly suitable for routine clinical diagnostics. © 2017 The Authors. Human Mutation published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  15. panelcn.MOPS: Copy‐number detection in targeted NGS panel data for clinical diagnostics

    PubMed Central

    Povysil, Gundula; Tzika, Antigoni; Vogt, Julia; Haunschmid, Verena; Messiaen, Ludwine; Zschocke, Johannes; Klambauer, Günter; Wimmer, Katharina

    2017-01-01

    Abstract Targeted next‐generation‐sequencing (NGS) panels have largely replaced Sanger sequencing in clinical diagnostics. They allow for the detection of copy‐number variations (CNVs) in addition to single‐nucleotide variants and small insertions/deletions. However, existing computational CNV detection methods have shortcomings regarding accuracy, quality control (QC), incidental findings, and user‐friendliness. We developed panelcn.MOPS, a novel pipeline for detecting CNVs in targeted NGS panel data. Using data from 180 samples, we compared panelcn.MOPS with five state‐of‐the‐art methods. With panelcn.MOPS leading the field, most methods achieved comparably high accuracy. panelcn.MOPS reliably detected CNVs ranging in size from part of a region of interest (ROI), to whole genes, which may comprise all ROIs investigated in a given sample. The latter is enabled by analyzing reads from all ROIs of the panel, but presenting results exclusively for user‐selected genes, thus avoiding incidental findings. Additionally, panelcn.MOPS offers QC criteria not only for samples, but also for individual ROIs within a sample, which increases the confidence in called CNVs. panelcn.MOPS is freely available both as R package and standalone software with graphical user interface that is easy to use for clinical geneticists without any programming experience. panelcn.MOPS combines high sensitivity and specificity with user‐friendliness rendering it highly suitable for routine clinical diagnostics. PMID:28449315

  16. LWIR hyperspectral change detection for target acquisition and situation awareness in urban areas

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dekker, Rob J.; Schwering, Piet B. W.; Benoist, Koen W.; Pignatti, Stefano; Santini, Federico; Friman, Ola

    2013-05-01

    This paper studies change detection of LWIR (Long Wave Infrared) hyperspectral imagery. Goal is to improve target acquisition and situation awareness in urban areas with respect to conventional techniques. Hyperspectral and conventional broadband high-spatial-resolution data were collected during the DUCAS trials in Zeebrugge, Belgium, in June 2011. LWIR data were acquired using the ITRES Thermal Airborne Spectrographic Imager TASI-600 that operates in the spectral range of 8.0-11.5 μm (32 band configuration). Broadband data were acquired using two aeroplanemounted FLIR SC7000 MWIR cameras. Acquisition of the images was around noon. To limit the number of false alarms due to atmospheric changes, the time interval between the images is less than 2 hours. Local co-registration adjustment was applied to compensate for misregistration errors in the order of a few pixels. The targets in the data that will be analysed in this paper are different kinds of vehicles. Change detection algorithms that were applied and evaluated are Euclidean distance, Mahalanobis distance, Chronochrome (CC), Covariance Equalisation (CE), and Hyperbolic Anomalous Change Detection (HACD). Based on Receiver Operating Characteristics (ROC) we conclude that LWIR hyperspectral has an advantage over MWIR broadband change detection. The best hyperspectral detector is HACD because it is most robust to noise. MWIR high spatial-resolution broadband results show that it helps to apply a false alarm reduction strategy based on spatial processing.

  17. Infrared telephoto lenses design for joint transform correlator

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chen, Yu; Huo, Furong; Zheng, Liqin

    2014-11-01

    Joint transform correlator (JTC) is quite useful for pattern recognition in many fields, which can realize automatic real-time recognition of target in cluttered background with high precision. For military application, JTC can also be applied for thermo target recognition especially at night. To make JTC recognize thermo targets, an infrared telephoto lens is designed in this paper. Long focal length and short tube length are required for this usage. So the structure of a positive lens group and a negative lens group are adopted. Besides, the effective focal length and relative aperture should be large enough to ensure the distant targets can be detected with adequate illumination. In this paper, the working waveband of adopted infrared CCD detector is 8-12μm. According to Nyquist law, the characteristic frequency of the system is 14lp/mm. The optional materials are very few for infrared optical systems, in which only several kinds of materials such as Germanium, ZnSe, ZnS are commonly used. Various aberrations are not easy to be corrected. So it is very difficult to design a good infrared optical system. Besides, doublet or triplet should be avoided to be used in infrared optical system considering possible cracking for different thermal expansion coefficients of different infrared materials. The original configuration is composed of three lenses. After optimization, the image quality can get limit diffraction. The root mean square (RMS) radii of three fields are 6.754μm, 7.301μm and 12.158μm respectively. They are all less than the Airy spot diameter 48.8μm. Wavefront aberration at 0.707 field of view (FOV) is only 0.1wavelength. After adjusting the radius to surface templates, setting tolerances and giving element drawings, this system has been fabricated successfully. Optical experimental results of infrared target recognition using JTC are given in this paper. The correlation peaks can be detected and located easily, which confirms the good image quality

  18. Selective detection of target proteins by peptide-enabled graphene biosensor.

    PubMed

    Khatayevich, Dmitriy; Page, Tamon; Gresswell, Carolyn; Hayamizu, Yuhei; Grady, William; Sarikaya, Mehmet

    2014-04-24

    Direct molecular detection of biomarkers is a promising approach for diagnosis and monitoring of numerous diseases, as well as a cornerstone of modern molecular medicine and drug discovery. Currently, clinical applications of biomarkers are limited by the sensitivity, complexity and low selectivity of available indirect detection methods. Electronic 1D and 2D nano-materials such as carbon nanotubes and graphene, respectively, offer unique advantages as sensing substrates for simple, fast and ultrasensitive detection of biomolecular binding. Versatile methods, however, have yet to be developed for simultaneous functionalization and passivation of the sensor surface to allow for enhanced detection and selectivity of the device. Herein, we demonstrate selective detection of a model protein against a background of serum protein using a graphene sensor functionalized via self-assembling multifunctional short peptides. The two peptides are engineered to bind to graphene and undergo co-assembly in the form of an ordered monomolecular film on the substrate. While the probe peptide displays the bioactive molecule, the passivating peptide prevents non-specific protein adsorption onto the device surface, ensuring target selectivity. In particular, we demonstrate a graphene field effect transistor (gFET) biosensor which can detect streptavidin against a background of serum bovine albumin at less than 50 ng/ml. Our nano-sensor design, allows us to restore the graphene surface and utilize each sensor in multiple experiments. The peptide-enabled gFET device has great potential to address a variety of bio-sensing problems, such as studying ligand-receptor interactions, or detection of biomarkers in a clinical setting. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  19. Target-aptamer binding triggered quadratic recycling amplification for highly specific and ultrasensitive detection of antibiotics at the attomole level.

    PubMed

    Wang, Hongzhi; Wang, Yu; Liu, Su; Yu, Jinghua; Xu, Wei; Guo, Yuna; Huang, Jiadong

    2015-05-14

    A novel electrochemical aptasensor for ultrasensitive detection of antibiotics by combining polymerase-assisted target recycling amplification with strand displacement amplification with the help of polymerase and nicking endonuclease has been reported. This work is the first time that target-aptamer binding triggered quadratic recycling amplification has been utilized for electrochemical detection of antibiotics.

  20. SERS detection and targeted ablation of lymphoma cells using functionalized Ag nanoparticles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yao, Qian; Cao, Fei; Feng, Chao; Zhao, Yan; Wang, Xiuhong

    2016-03-01

    Lymphoma is a heterogeneous group of malignancies of the lymphoid tissue, and is prevalent worldwide affecting both children and adults with a high mortality rate. There is in dire need of accurate and noninvasive approaches for early detection of the disease. Herein, we report a facile way to fabricate silver nanoparticle based nanoprobe by incorporating the corner-stone immunotherapeutic drug Rituxan for simultaneous detection and ablation of lymphoma cells in vitro. The fabricated nanoprobe can detect CD20 positive single lymphoma cell by surface enhanced Raman scattering technique with high specificity. The engineered nanoprobe retains the same antibody property as intact drug via Antibody-Dependent Cell-mediated Cytotoxicity (ADCC) analysis. The nanoprobe efficiently eradicates lymphoma cells in vitro. By integrating the advantages of sensitive SERS detection with targeted ablation capabilities of immunotherapeutic drug through site specificity, this nanoprobe can be applied as outstanding tools in living imaging, cancer diagnosis and treatment.

  1. Target vessel detection by epicardial ultrasound in off-pump coronary bypass surgery.

    PubMed

    Hayakawa, Masato; Asai, Tohru; Kinoshita, Takeshi; Suzuki, Tomoaki; Shiraishi, Shoichiro

    2013-01-01

    The detection of embedded coronary arteries is difficult especially in off-pump coronary bypass surgery. From June 2010, we introduced high-frequency epicardial ultrasound (ECUS) to assess and evaluate embedded arteries during off-pump coronary bypass surgery. Between June 2010 and June 2011, a total of 89 consecutive patients underwent isolated coronary bypass surgery at our institution. The patients consisted of 72 men and 17 women with a mean age of 67.9 years. We routinely use the VeriQC system (MediStim, Oslo, Norway) to detect the target vessels in the operation. The patients were assigned to one of two groups, depending on whether ECUS was used in the operation (n = 10, ECUS group) or not (n = 79, non-ECUS group). We analyzed the impact of introducing the ECUS in terms of operative outcome. All patients underwent revascularization using the off-pump technique without emergent conversion to cardiopulmonary bypass during surgery. The total number of distal anastomoses was 299, and 12 target vessels could not be identified either visually or on palpation. Thus, the frequency of the embedded coronary arteries was 4.01% (12/299 cases). The preoperative profiles of the two groups were not significantly different. Operation time was significantly longer in the ECUS group (P = 0.02). There were no significant differences in postoperative outcome between the two groups. In the present study, in which the target coronary arteries could not be detected either visually or on palpation in 12 (4.01%) of 299 cases, the use of high-frequency ECUS allowed all patients to undergo off-pump coronary bypass surgery without conversion to cardiopulmonary bypass during the operation. High-frequency ECUS is therefore useful in off-pump coronary bypass surgery.

  2. Magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound treatment of facet joint pain: summary of preclinical phase

    PubMed Central

    2014-01-01

    Study design A phantom experiment, two thermocouple experiments, three in vivo pig experiments, and a simulated treatment on a healthy human volunteer were conducted to test the feasibility, safety, and efficacy of magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS) for treating facet joint pain. Objective The goal of the current study was to develop a novel method for accurate and safe noninvasive facet joint ablation using MRgFUS. Summary of background data Facet joints are a common source of chronic back pain. Direct facet joint interventions include medial branch nerve ablation and intra-articular injections, which are widely used, but limited in the short and long term. MRgFUS is a breakthrough technology that enables accurate delivery of high-intensity focused ultrasound energy to create a localized temperature rise for tissue ablation, using MR guidance for treatment planning and real-time feedback. Methods We validated the feasibility, safety, and efficacy of MRgFUS for facet joint ablation using the ExAblate 2000® System (InSightec Ltd., Tirat Carmel, Israel) and confirmed the system's ability to ablate the edge of the facet joint and all terminal nerves innervating the joint. A phantom experiment, two thermocouple experiments, three in vivo pig experiments, and a simulated treatment on a healthy human volunteer were conducted. Results The experiments showed that targeting the facet joint with energies of 150–450 J provides controlled and accurate heating at the facet joint edge without penetration to the vertebral body, spinal canal, or root foramina. Treating with reduced diameter of the acoustic beam is recommended since a narrower beam improves access to the targeted areas. Conclusions MRgFUS can safely and effectively target and ablate the facet joint. These results are highly significant, given that this is the first study to demonstrate the potential of MRgFUS to treat facet joint pain. PMID:24921048

  3. Universal surface-enhanced Raman scattering amplification detector for ultrasensitive detection of multiple target analytes.

    PubMed

    Zheng, Jing; Hu, Yaping; Bai, Junhui; Ma, Cheng; Li, Jishan; Li, Yinhui; Shi, Muling; Tan, Weihong; Yang, Ronghua

    2014-02-18

    Up to now, the successful fabrication of efficient hot-spot substrates for surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) remains an unsolved problem. To address this issue, we describe herein a universal aptamer-based SERS biodetection approach that uses a single-stranded DNA as a universal trigger (UT) to induce SERS-active hot-spot formation, allowing, in turn, detection of a broad range of targets. More specifically, interaction between the aptamer probe and its target perturbs a triple-helix aptamer/UT structure in a manner that activates a hybridization chain reaction (HCR) among three short DNA building blocks that self-assemble into a long DNA polymer. The SERS-active hot-spots are formed by conjugating 4-aminobenzenethiol (4-ABT)-encoded gold nanoparticles with the DNA polymer through a specific Au-S bond. As proof-of-principle, we used this approach to quantify multiple target analytes, including thrombin, adenosine, and CEM cancer cells, achieving lowest limit of detection values of 18 pM, 1.5 nM, and 10 cells/mL, respectively. As a universal SERS detector, this prototype can be applied to many other target analytes through the use of suitable DNA-functional partners, thus inspiring new designs and applications of SERS for bioanalysis.

  4. BreaKmer: detection of structural variation in targeted massively parallel sequencing data using kmers.

    PubMed

    Abo, Ryan P; Ducar, Matthew; Garcia, Elizabeth P; Thorner, Aaron R; Rojas-Rudilla, Vanesa; Lin, Ling; Sholl, Lynette M; Hahn, William C; Meyerson, Matthew; Lindeman, Neal I; Van Hummelen, Paul; MacConaill, Laura E

    2015-02-18

    Genomic structural variation (SV), a common hallmark of cancer, has important predictive and therapeutic implications. However, accurately detecting SV using high-throughput sequencing data remains challenging, especially for 'targeted' resequencing efforts. This is critically important in the clinical setting where targeted resequencing is frequently being applied to rapidly assess clinically actionable mutations in tumor biopsies in a cost-effective manner. We present BreaKmer, a novel approach that uses a 'kmer' strategy to assemble misaligned sequence reads for predicting insertions, deletions, inversions, tandem duplications and translocations at base-pair resolution in targeted resequencing data. Variants are predicted by realigning an assembled consensus sequence created from sequence reads that were abnormally aligned to the reference genome. Using targeted resequencing data from tumor specimens with orthogonally validated SV, non-tumor samples and whole-genome sequencing data, BreaKmer had a 97.4% overall sensitivity for known events and predicted 17 positively validated, novel variants. Relative to four publically available algorithms, BreaKmer detected SV with increased sensitivity and limited calls in non-tumor samples, key features for variant analysis of tumor specimens in both the clinical and research settings. © The Author(s) 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research.

  5. A Plant Immune Receptor Detects Pathogen Effectors that Target WRKY Transcription Factors.

    PubMed

    Sarris, Panagiotis F; Duxbury, Zane; Huh, Sung Un; Ma, Yan; Segonzac, Cécile; Sklenar, Jan; Derbyshire, Paul; Cevik, Volkan; Rallapalli, Ghanasyam; Saucet, Simon B; Wirthmueller, Lennart; Menke, Frank L H; Sohn, Kee Hoon; Jones, Jonathan D G

    2015-05-21

    Defense against pathogens in multicellular eukaryotes depends on intracellular immune receptors, yet surveillance by these receptors is poorly understood. Several plant nucleotide-binding, leucine-rich repeat (NB-LRR) immune receptors carry fusions with other protein domains. The Arabidopsis RRS1-R NB-LRR protein carries a C-terminal WRKY DNA binding domain and forms a receptor complex with RPS4, another NB-LRR protein. This complex detects the bacterial effectors AvrRps4 or PopP2 and then activates defense. Both bacterial proteins interact with the RRS1 WRKY domain, and PopP2 acetylates lysines to block DNA binding. PopP2 and AvrRps4 interact with other WRKY domain-containing proteins, suggesting these effectors interfere with WRKY transcription factor-dependent defense, and RPS4/RRS1 has integrated a "decoy" domain that enables detection of effectors that target WRKY proteins. We propose that NB-LRR receptor pairs, one member of which carries an additional protein domain, enable perception of pathogen effectors whose function is to target that domain. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  6. A comparison of machine learning techniques for detection of drug target articles.

    PubMed

    Danger, Roxana; Segura-Bedmar, Isabel; Martínez, Paloma; Rosso, Paolo

    2010-12-01

    Important progress in treating diseases has been possible thanks to the identification of drug targets. Drug targets are the molecular structures whose abnormal activity, associated to a disease, can be modified by drugs, improving the health of patients. Pharmaceutical industry needs to give priority to their identification and validation in order to reduce the long and costly drug development times. In the last two decades, our knowledge about drugs, their mechanisms of action and drug targets has rapidly increased. Nevertheless, most of this knowledge is hidden in millions of medical articles and textbooks. Extracting knowledge from this large amount of unstructured information is a laborious job, even for human experts. Drug target articles identification, a crucial first step toward the automatic extraction of information from texts, constitutes the aim of this paper. A comparison of several machine learning techniques has been performed in order to obtain a satisfactory classifier for detecting drug target articles using semantic information from biomedical resources such as the Unified Medical Language System. The best result has been achieved by a Fuzzy Lattice Reasoning classifier, which reaches 98% of ROC area measure. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  7. Application of passive imaging polarimetry in the discrimination and detection of different color targets of identical shapes using color-blind imaging sensors

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    El-Saba, A. M.; Alam, M. S.; Surpanani, A.

    2006-05-01

    Important aspects of automatic pattern recognition systems are their ability to efficiently discriminate and detect proper targets with low false alarms. In this paper we extend the applications of passive imaging polarimetry to effectively discriminate and detect different color targets of identical shapes using color-blind imaging sensor. For this case of study we demonstrate that traditional color-blind polarization-insensitive imaging sensors that rely only on the spatial distribution of targets suffer from high false detection rates, especially in scenarios where multiple identical shape targets are present. On the other hand we show that color-blind polarization-sensitive imaging sensors can successfully and efficiently discriminate and detect true targets based on their color only. We highlight the main advantages of using our proposed polarization-encoded imaging sensor.

  8. Direct detection of sub-GeV dark matter with scintillating targets

    DOE PAGES

    Derenzo, Stephen; Essig, Rouven; Massari, Andrea; ...

    2017-07-28

    We suggest a novel experimental concept for detecting MeV-to-GeV-mass dark matter, in which the dark matter scatters off electrons in a scintillating target and produces a signal of one or a few photons. New large-area photodetectors are needed to measure the photon signal with negligible dark counts, which could be constructed from transition edge sensor (TES) or microwave kinetic inductance detector (MKID) technology. Alternatively, detecting two photons in coincidence may allow the use of conventional photodetectors like photomultiplier tubes. Here we describe why scintillators may have distinct advantages over other experiments searching for a low ionization signal from sub-GeV darkmore » matter, as there are fewer potential sources of spurious backgrounds. We discuss various target choices, but focus on calculating the expected dark matter-electron scattering rates in three scintillating crystals: sodium iodide (NaI), cesium iodide (CsI), and gallium arsenide (GaAs). Among these, GaAs has the lowest band gap (1.52 eV) compared to NaI (5.9 eV) or CsI (6.4 eV), which in principle allows it to probe dark matter masses as low as ~0.5 MeV, compared to ~1.5 MeV with NaI or CsI. We compare these scattering rates with those expected in silicon (Si) and germanium (Ge). The proposed experimental concept presents an important complementary path to existing efforts, and its potential advantages may make it the most sensitive direct-detection probe of dark matter down to MeV masses.« less

  9. Direct detection of sub-GeV dark matter with scintillating targets

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

    Derenzo, Stephen; Essig, Rouven; Massari, Andrea

    We suggest a novel experimental concept for detecting MeV-to-GeV-mass dark matter, in which the dark matter scatters off electrons in a scintillating target and produces a signal of one or a few photons. New large-area photodetectors are needed to measure the photon signal with negligible dark counts, which could be constructed from transition edge sensor (TES) or microwave kinetic inductance detector (MKID) technology. Alternatively, detecting two photons in coincidence may allow the use of conventional photodetectors like photomultiplier tubes. Here we describe why scintillators may have distinct advantages over other experiments searching for a low ionization signal from sub-GeV darkmore » matter, as there are fewer potential sources of spurious backgrounds. We discuss various target choices, but focus on calculating the expected dark matter-electron scattering rates in three scintillating crystals: sodium iodide (NaI), cesium iodide (CsI), and gallium arsenide (GaAs). Among these, GaAs has the lowest band gap (1.52 eV) compared to NaI (5.9 eV) or CsI (6.4 eV), which in principle allows it to probe dark matter masses as low as ~0.5 MeV, compared to ~1.5 MeV with NaI or CsI. We compare these scattering rates with those expected in silicon (Si) and germanium (Ge). The proposed experimental concept presents an important complementary path to existing efforts, and its potential advantages may make it the most sensitive direct-detection probe of dark matter down to MeV masses.« less

  10. Staphylococcus aureus methicillin resistance detected by HPLC-MS/MS targeted metabolic profiling.

    PubMed

    Schelli, Katie; Rutowski, Joshua; Roubidoux, Julia; Zhu, Jiangjiang

    2017-03-15

    Recently, novel bioanalytical methods, such as NMR and mass spectrometry based metabolomics approaches, have started to show promise in providing rapid, sensitive and reproducible detection of Staphylococcus aureus antibiotic resistance. Here we performed a proof-of-concept study focused on the application of HPLC-MS/MS based targeted metabolic profiling for detecting and monitoring the bacterial metabolic profile changes in response to sub-lethal levels of methicillin exposure. One hundred seventy-seven targeted metabolites from over 20 metabolic pathways were specifically screened and one hundred and thirty metabolites from in vitro bacterial tests were confidently detected from both methicillin susceptible and methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA and MRSA, respectively). The metabolic profiles can be used to distinguish the isogenic pairs of MSSA strains from MRSA strains, without or with sub-lethal levels of methicillin exposure. In addition, better separation between MSSA and MRSA strains can be achieved in the latter case using principal component analysis (PCA). Metabolite data from isogenic pairs of MSSA and MRSA strains were further compared without and with sub-lethal levels of methicillin exposure, with metabolic pathway analyses additionally performed. Both analyses suggested that the metabolic activities of MSSA strains were more susceptible to the perturbation of the sub-lethal levels of methicillin exposure compared to the MRSA strains. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  11. Endoplasmic reticulum stress-dependent ROS production mediates synovial myofibroblastic differentiation in the immobilization-induced rat knee joint contracture model.

    PubMed

    Jiang, Shihai; He, Ronghan; Zhu, Lei; Liang, Tangzhao; Wang, Zhe; Lu, Yunxiang; Ren, Jianhua; Yi, Xiaoyou; Xiao, Dahai; Wang, Kun

    2018-05-30

    Joint contracture is a common complication for people with joint immobility that involves fibrosis structural alteration in the joint capsule. Considering that endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress plays a prominent role in the promotion of tissue fibrosis, we investigated whether the unfolded protein response (UPR) contributes to the fibrotic development in immobilization-induced knee joint contractures. Using a non-traumatic rat knee joint contracture model, twelve female Sprague-Dawley rats received knee joint immobilization for a period of 8 weeks. We found that fibrosis protein markers (type I collagen, α-SMA) and UPR (GRP78, ATF6α, XBP1s) markers were parallelly upregulated in rat primary cultured synovial myofibroblasts. In the same cell types, pre-treatment with an ER stress inhibitor, 4-phenylbutyric acid (4-PBA), not only abrogated cytokine TGFβ1 stimulation but also reduced the protein level of UPR. Additionally, high reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation was detected in synovial myofibroblasts through flow cytometry, as expected. Notably, TGFβ1-induced UPR was significantly reduced through the inhibition of ROS with antioxidants. These data suggest that ER stress act as a pro-fibrotic stimulus through the overexpression of ROS in synovial fibroblasts. Interestingly, immunohistochemical results showed an increase in the UPR protein levels both in human acquired joint contractures capsule tissue and in animal knee joint contracture tissue. Together, our findings suggest that ER stress contributes to synovial myofibroblastic differentiation in joint capsule fibrosis and may also serve as a potential therapeutic target in joint contractures. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. Targeted Metabolomics Approach To Detect the Misuse of Steroidal Aromatase Inhibitors in Equine Sports by Biomarker Profiling.

    PubMed

    Chan, George Ho Man; Ho, Emmie Ngai Man; Leung, David Kwan Kon; Wong, Kin Sing; Wan, Terence See Ming

    2016-01-05

    The use of anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS) is prohibited in both human and equine sports. The conventional approach in doping control testing for AAS (as well as other prohibited substances) is accomplished by the direct detection of target AAS or their characteristic metabolites in biological samples using hyphenated techniques such as gas chromatography or liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. Such an approach, however, falls short when dealing with unknown designer steroids where reference materials and their pharmacokinetics are not available. In addition, AASs with fast elimination times render the direct detection approach ineffective as the detection window is short. A targeted metabolomics approach is a plausible alternative to the conventional direct detection approach for controlling the misuse of AAS in sports. Because the administration of AAS of the same class may trigger similar physiological responses or effects in the body, it may be possible to detect such administrations by monitoring changes in the endogenous steroidal expression profile. This study attempts to evaluate the viability of using the targeted metabolomics approach to detect the administration of steroidal aromatase inhibitors, namely androst-4-ene-3,6,17-trione (6-OXO) and androsta-1,4,6-triene-3,17-dione (ATD), in horses. Total (free and conjugated) urinary concentrations of 31 endogenous steroids were determined by gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry for a group of 2 resting and 2 in-training thoroughbred geldings treated with either 6-OXO or ATD. Similar data were also obtained from a control (untreated) group of in-training thoroughbred geldings (n = 28). Statistical processing and chemometric procedures using principle component analysis and orthogonal projection to latent structures-discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) have highlighted 7 potential biomarkers that could be used to differentiate urine samples obtained from the control and the treated groups

  13. Joint angle sensors for closed-loop control

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ko, Wen H.; Miao, Chih-Lei

    In order to substitute braces that have built-in goniometers and to provide feedback signals for closed loop control of lower extremity Functional Neuromuscular System in paraplegics, a stretchable capacitive sensor was developed to accurately detect angular movement in joints. Promising clinical evaluations on the knee joints of a paraplegic and a volunteer were done. The evaluations show great promise for the possibility of implantation applications.

  14. Visually directed vs. software-based targeted biopsy compared to transperineal template mapping biopsy in the detection of clinically significant prostate cancer.

    PubMed

    Valerio, Massimo; McCartan, Neil; Freeman, Alex; Punwani, Shonit; Emberton, Mark; Ahmed, Hashim U

    2015-10-01

    Targeted biopsy based on cognitive or software magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to transrectal ultrasound registration seems to increase the detection rate of clinically significant prostate cancer as compared with standard biopsy. However, these strategies have not been directly compared against an accurate test yet. The aim of this study was to obtain pilot data on the diagnostic ability of visually directed targeted biopsy vs. software-based targeted biopsy, considering transperineal template mapping (TPM) biopsy as the reference test. Prospective paired cohort study included 50 consecutive men undergoing TPM with one or more visible targets detected on preoperative multiparametric MRI. Targets were contoured on the Biojet software. Patients initially underwent software-based targeted biopsies, then visually directed targeted biopsies, and finally systematic TPM. The detection rate of clinically significant disease (Gleason score ≥3+4 and/or maximum cancer core length ≥4mm) of one strategy against another was compared by 3×3 contingency tables. Secondary analyses were performed using a less stringent threshold of significance (Gleason score ≥4+3 and/or maximum cancer core length ≥6mm). Median age was 68 (interquartile range: 63-73); median prostate-specific antigen level was 7.9ng/mL (6.4-10.2). A total of 79 targets were detected with a mean of 1.6 targets per patient. Of these, 27 (34%), 28 (35%), and 24 (31%) were scored 3, 4, and 5, respectively. At a patient level, the detection rate was 32 (64%), 34 (68%), and 38 (76%) for visually directed targeted, software-based biopsy, and TPM, respectively. Combining the 2 targeted strategies would have led to detection rate of 39 (78%). At a patient level and at a target level, software-based targeted biopsy found more clinically significant diseases than did visually directed targeted biopsy, although this was not statistically significant (22% vs. 14%, P = 0.48; 51.9% vs. 44.3%, P = 0.24). Secondary

  15. Detection of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) using isothermal amplification of target DNA sequences.

    PubMed

    Lee, David; La Mura, Maurizio; Allnutt, Theo R; Powell, Wayne

    2009-02-02

    The most common method of GMO detection is based upon the amplification of GMO-specific DNA amplicons using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Here we have applied the loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) method to amplify GMO-related DNA sequences, 'internal' commonly-used motifs for controlling transgene expression and event-specific (plant-transgene) junctions. We have tested the specificity and sensitivity of the technique for use in GMO studies. Results show that detection of 0.01% GMO in equivalent background DNA was possible and dilutions of template suggest that detection from single copies of the template may be possible using LAMP. This work shows that GMO detection can be carried out using LAMP for routine screening as well as for specific events detection. Moreover, the sensitivity and ability to amplify targets, even with a high background of DNA, here demonstrated, highlights the advantages of this isothermal amplification when applied for GMO detection.

  16. A multi-feature integration method for fatigue crack detection and crack length estimation in riveted lap joints using Lamb waves

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    He, Jingjing; Guan, Xuefei; Peng, Tishun; Liu, Yongming; Saxena, Abhinav; Celaya, Jose; Goebel, Kai

    2013-10-01

    This paper presents an experimental study of damage detection and quantification in riveted lap joints. Embedded lead zirconate titanate piezoelectric (PZT) ceramic wafer-type sensors are employed to perform in situ non-destructive evaluation (NDE) during fatigue cyclical loading. PZT wafers are used to monitor the wave reflection from the boundaries of the fatigue crack at the edge of bolt joints. The group velocity of the guided wave is calculated to select a proper time window in which the received signal contains the damage information. It is found that the fatigue crack lengths are correlated with three main features of the signal, i.e., correlation coefficient, amplitude change, and phase change. It was also observed that a single feature cannot be used to quantify the damage among different specimens since a considerable variability was observed in the response from different specimens. A multi-feature integration method based on a second-order multivariate regression analysis is proposed for the prediction of fatigue crack lengths using sensor measurements. The model parameters are obtained using training datasets from five specimens. The effectiveness of the proposed methodology is demonstrated using several lap joint specimens from different manufactures and under different loading conditions.

  17. A Dual Role for NOTCH Signaling in Joint Cartilage Maintenance and Osteoarthritis

    PubMed Central

    Liu, Zhaoyang; Chen, Jianquan; Mirando, Anthony; Wang, Cuicui; Zuscik, Michael J.; O’Keefe, Regis J.; Hilton, Matthew J.

    2015-01-01

    Loss of NOTCH signaling in postnatal murine joints results in osteoarthritis (OA), indicating a requirement for NOTCH during joint cartilage maintenance. Unexpectedly, NOTCH components are significantly up-regulated in human and murine post-traumatic OA, suggesting either a reparative or pathological role for NOTCH activation in OA. Here we investigated the potential dual role for NOTCH in joint maintenance and OA by generating two mouse models overexpressing the NOTCH1 intracellular domain within postnatal joint cartilage; one with sustained NOTCH activation that likely resembles pathological NOTCH signaling and one with transient NOTCH activation that more closely reflects physiological NOTCH signaling. Sustained NOTCH signaling in joint cartilage leads to an early and progressive OA pathology, while on the contrary, transient NOTCH activation enhances cartilage matrix synthesis and promotes joint maintenance under normal physiological conditions. Using RNA-seq, immunohistochemical, and biochemical approaches we identified several novel targets potentially responsible for NOTCH-mediated cartilage degradation, fibrosis, and OA progression, including components of the IL6/STAT3 and ERK/p38 MAPK pathways; factors that may also contribute to post-traumatic OA development. Collectively, these data demonstrate a dual role for the NOTCH pathway in joint cartilage and identify important downstream NOTCH effectors as potential targets for disease modifying osteoarthritis drugs (DMOADs). PMID:26198357

  18. A Novel Detection Method for Underwater Moving Targets by Measuring Their ELF Emissions with Inductive Sensors

    PubMed Central

    Li, Bin; Chen, Lianping; Li, Li

    2017-01-01

    In this article, we propose a novel detection method for underwater moving targets by detecting their extremely low frequency (ELF) emissions with inductive sensors. The ELF field source of the targets is modeled by a horizontal electric dipole at distances more than several times of the targets’ length. The formulas for the fields produced in air are derived with a three-layer model (air, seawater and seafloor) and are evaluated with a complementary numerical integration technique. A proof of concept measurement is presented. The ELF emissions from a surface ship were detected by inductive electronic and magnetic sensors as the ship was leaving a harbor. ELF signals are of substantial strength and have typical characteristic of harmonic line spectrum, and the fundamental frequency has a direct relationship with the ship’s speed. Due to the high sensitivity and low noise level of our sensors, it is capable of resolving weak ELF signals at long distance. In our experiment, a detection distance of 1300 m from the surface ship above the sea surface was realized, which shows that this method would be an appealing complement to the usual acoustic detection and magnetic anomaly detection capability. PMID:28788097

  19. Correlation between radiographic findings of osteoarthritis and arthroscopic findings of articular cartilage degeneration within the patellofemoral joint.

    PubMed

    Kijowski, Richard; Blankenbaker, Donna; Stanton, Paul; Fine, Jason; De Smet, Arthur

    2006-12-01

    To correlate radiographic findings of osteoarthritis on axial knee radiographs with arthroscopic findings of articular cartilage degeneration within the patellofemoral joint in patients with chronic knee pain. The study group consisted of 104 patients with osteoarthritis of the patellofemoral joint and 30 patients of similar age with no osteoarthritis of the patellofemoral joint. All patients in the study group had an axial radiograph of the knee performed prior to arthroscopic knee surgery. At the time of arthroscopy, each articular surface of the patellofemoral joint was graded using the Noyes classification system. Two radiologists retrospectively reviewed the knee radiographs to determine the presence of marginal osteophytes, joint-space narrowing, subchondral sclerosis, and subchondral cysts. The sensitivity and specificity of the various radiographic features of osteoarthritis for the detection of articular cartilage degeneration within the patellofemoral joint were determined. The sensitivity of marginal osteophytes, joint-space narrowing, subchondral sclerosis, and subchondral cysts for the detection of articular cartilage degeneration within the patellofemoral joint was 73%, 37%, 4%, and 0% respectively. The specificity of marginal osteophytes, joint-space narrowing, subchondral sclerosis, and subchondral cysts for the detection of articular cartilage degeneration within the patellofemoral joint was 67%, 90%, 100%, and 100% respectively. Marginal osteophytes were the most sensitive radiographic feature for the detection of articular cartilage degeneration within the patellofemoral joint. Joint-space narrowing, subchondral sclerosis, and subchondral cysts were insensitive radiographic features of osteoarthritis, and rarely occurred in the absence of associated osteophyte formation.

  20. High affinity γPNA sandwich hybridization assay for rapid detection of short nucleic acid targets with single mismatch discrimination.

    PubMed

    Goldman, Johnathan M; Zhang, Li Ang; Manna, Arunava; Armitage, Bruce A; Ly, Danith H; Schneider, James W

    2013-07-08

    Hybridization analysis of short DNA and RNA targets presents many challenges for detection. The commonly employed sandwich hybridization approach cannot be implemented for these short targets due to insufficient probe-target binding strengths for unmodified DNA probes. Here, we present a method capable of rapid and stable sandwich hybridization detection for 22 nucleotide DNA and RNA targets. Stable hybridization is achieved using an n-alkylated, polyethylene glycol γ-carbon modified peptide nucleic acid (γPNA) amphiphile. The γPNA's exceptionally high affinity enables stable hybridization of a second DNA-based probe to the remaining bases of the short target. Upon hybridization of both probes, an electrophoretic mobility shift is measured via interaction of the n-alkane modification on the γPNA with capillary electrophoresis running buffer containing nonionic surfactant micelles. We find that sandwich hybridization of both probes is stable under multiple binding configurations and demonstrate single base mismatch discrimination. The binding strength of both probes is also stabilized via coaxial stacking on adjacent hybridization to targets. We conclude with a discussion on the implementation of the proposed sandwich hybridization assay as a high-throughput microRNA detection method.