Sample records for k-edge imaging system

  1. Spectral K-edge subtraction imaging

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhu, Y.; Samadi, N.; Martinson, M.; Bassey, B.; Wei, Z.; Belev, G.; Chapman, D.

    2014-05-01

    We describe a spectral x-ray transmission method to provide images of independent material components of an object using a synchrotron x-ray source. The imaging system and process is similar to K-edge subtraction (KES) imaging where two imaging energies are prepared above and below the K-absorption edge of a contrast element and a quantifiable image of the contrast element and a water equivalent image are obtained. The spectral method, termed ‘spectral-KES’ employs a continuous spectrum encompassing an absorption edge of an element within the object. The spectrum is prepared by a bent Laue monochromator with good focal and energy dispersive properties. The monochromator focuses the spectral beam at the object location, which then diverges onto an area detector such that one dimension in the detector is an energy axis. A least-squares method is used to interpret the transmitted spectral data with fits to either measured and/or calculated absorption of the contrast and matrix material-water. The spectral-KES system is very simple to implement and is comprised of a bent Laue monochromator, a stage for sample manipulation for projection and computed tomography imaging, and a pixelated area detector. The imaging system and examples of its applications to biological imaging are presented. The system is particularly well suited for a synchrotron bend magnet beamline with white beam access.

  2. Photon counting x-ray imaging with K-edge filtered x-rays: A simulation study.

    PubMed

    Atak, Haluk; Shikhaliev, Polad M

    2016-03-01

    In photon counting (PC) x-ray imaging and computed tomography (CT), the broad x-ray spectrum can be split into two parts using an x-ray filter with appropriate K-edge energy, which can improve material decomposition. Recent experimental study has demonstrated substantial improvement in material decomposition with PC CT when K-edge filtered x-rays were used. The purpose of the current work was to conduct further investigations of the K-edge filtration method using comprehensive simulation studies. The study was performed in the following aspects: (1) optimization of the K-edge filter for a particular imaging configuration, (2) effects of the K-edge filter parameters on material decomposition, (3) trade-off between the energy bin separation, tube load, and beam quality with K-edge filter, (4) image quality of general (unsubtracted) images when a K-edge filter is used to improve dual energy (DE) subtracted images, and (5) improvements with K-edge filtered x-rays when PC detector has limited energy resolution. The PC x-ray images of soft tissue phantoms with 15 and 30 cm thicknesses including iodine, CaCO3, and soft tissue contrast materials, were simulated. The signal to noise ratio (SNR) of the contrast elements was determined in general and material-decomposed images using K-edge filters with different atomic numbers and thicknesses. The effect of the filter atomic number and filter thickness on energy separation factor and SNR was determined. The boundary conditions for the tube load and halfvalue layer were determined when the K-edge filters are used. The material-decomposed images were also simulated using PC detector with limited energy resolution, and improvements with K-edge filtered x-rays were quantified. The K-edge filters with atomic numbers from 56 to 71 and K-edge energies 37.4-63.4 keV, respectively, can be used for tube voltages from 60 to 150 kVp, respectively. For a particular tube voltage of 120 kVp, the Gd and Ho were the optimal filter materials

  3. Image reconstruction for x-ray K-edge imaging with a photon counting detector

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Meng, Bo; Cong, Wenxiang; Xi, Yan; Wang, Ge

    2014-09-01

    Contrast agents with high-Z elements have K-absorption edges which significantly change X-ray attenuation coefficients. The K-edge characteristics is different for various kinds of contrast agents, which offers opportunities for material decomposition in biomedical applications. In this paper, we propose a new K-edge imaging method, which not only quantifies a distribution of a contrast agent but also provides an optimized contrast ratio. Our numerical simulation tests demonstrate the feasibility and merits of the proposed methodology.

  4. K-edge subtraction synchrotron X-ray imaging in bio-medical research.

    PubMed

    Thomlinson, W; Elleaume, H; Porra, L; Suortti, P

    2018-05-01

    High contrast in X-ray medical imaging, while maintaining acceptable radiation dose levels to the patient, has long been a goal. One of the most promising methods is that of K-edge subtraction imaging. This technique, first advanced as long ago as 1953 by B. Jacobson, uses the large difference in the absorption coefficient of elements at energies above and below the K-edge. Two images, one taken above the edge and one below the edge, are subtracted leaving, ideally, only the image of the distribution of the target element. This paper reviews the development of the KES techniques and technology as applied to bio-medical imaging from the early low-power tube sources of X-rays to the latest high-power synchrotron sources. Applications to coronary angiography, functional lung imaging and bone growth are highlighted. A vision of possible imaging with new compact sources is presented. Copyright © 2018 Associazione Italiana di Fisica Medica. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. SR high-speed K-edge subtraction angiography in the small animal (abstract)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Takeda, T.; Akisada, M.; Nakajima, T.; Anno, I.; Ueda, K.; Umetani, K.; Yamaguchi, C.

    1989-07-01

    To assess the ability of the high-speed K-edge energy subtraction system which was made at beamline 8C of Photon Factory, Tsukuba, we performed an animal experiment. Rabbits were used for the intravenous K-edge subtraction angiography. In this paper, the actual images of the artery obtained by this system, are demonstrated. The high-speed K-edge subtraction system consisted of movable silicon (111) monocrystals, II-ITV, and digital memory system. Image processing was performed by 68000-IP computer. The monochromatic x-ray beam size was 50×60 mm. Photon energy above and below iodine K edge was changed within 16 ms and 32 frames of images were obtained sequentially. The rabbits were anaesthetized by phenobarbital and a 5F catheter was inserted into inferior vena cava via the femoral vein. 1.5 ml/kg of contrast material (Conlaxin H) was injected at the rate of 0.5 ml/kg/s. TV images were obtained 3 s after the starting point of injection. By using this system, the clear K-edge subtracted images were obtained sequentially as a conventional DSA system. The quality of the images were better than that obtained by DSA. The dynamical blood flow was analyzed, and the best arterial image could be selected from the sequential images. The structures of aortic arch, common carotid arteries, right subclavian artery, and internal thoracic artery were obtained at the chest. Both common carotid arteries and vertebral arteries were recorded at the neck. The diameter of about 0.3-0.4 mm artery could be clearly revealed. The high-speed K-edge subtraction system demonstrates the very sharp arterial images clearly and dynamically.

  6. Reducing radiation dose by application of optimized low-energy x-ray filters to K-edge imaging with a photon counting detector.

    PubMed

    Choi, Yu-Na; Lee, Seungwan; Kim, Hee-Joung

    2016-01-21

    K-edge imaging with photon counting x-ray detectors (PCXDs) can improve image quality compared with conventional energy integrating detectors. However, low-energy x-ray photons below the K-edge absorption energy of a target material do not contribute to image formation in the K-edge imaging and are likely to be completely absorbed by an object. In this study, we applied x-ray filters to the K-edge imaging with a PCXD based on cadmium zinc telluride for reducing radiation dose induced by low-energy x-ray photons. We used aluminum (Al) filters with different thicknesses as the low-energy x-ray filters and implemented the iodine K-edge imaging with an energy bin of 34-48 keV at the tube voltages of 50, 70 and 90 kVp. The effects of the low-energy x-ray filters on the K-edge imaging were investigated with respect to signal-difference-to-noise ratio (SDNR), entrance surface air kerma (ESAK) and figure of merit (FOM). The highest value of SDNR was observed in the K-edge imaging with a 2 mm Al filter, and the SDNR decreased as a function of the filter thicknesses. Compared to the K-edge imaging with a 2 mm Al filter, the ESAK was reduced by 66%, 48% and 39% in the K-edge imaging with a 12 mm Al filter for 50 kVp, 70 kVp and 90 kVp, respectively. The FOM values, which took into account the ESAK and SDNR, were maximized for 8, 6 to 8 and 4 mm Al filters at 50 kVp, 70 kVp and 90 kVp, respectively. We concluded that the use of an optimal low-energy filter thickness, which was determined by maximizing the FOM, could significantly reduce radiation dose while maintaining image quality in the K-edge imaging with the PCXD.

  7. K-edge ratio method for identification of multiple nanoparticulate contrast agents by spectral CT imaging

    PubMed Central

    Ghadiri, H; Ay, M R; Shiran, M B; Soltanian-Zadeh, H

    2013-01-01

    Objective: Recently introduced energy-sensitive X-ray CT makes it feasible to discriminate different nanoparticulate contrast materials. The purpose of this work is to present a K-edge ratio method for differentiating multiple simultaneous contrast agents using spectral CT. Methods: The ratio of two images relevant to energy bins straddling the K-edge of the materials is calculated using an analytic CT simulator. In the resulting parametric map, the selected contrast agent regions can be identified using a thresholding algorithm. The K-edge ratio algorithm is applied to spectral images of simulated phantoms to identify and differentiate up to four simultaneous and targeted CT contrast agents. Results: We show that different combinations of simultaneous CT contrast agents can be identified by the proposed K-edge ratio method when energy-sensitive CT is used. In the K-edge parametric maps, the pixel values for biological tissues and contrast agents reach a maximum of 0.95, whereas for the selected contrast agents, the pixel values are larger than 1.10. The number of contrast agents that can be discriminated is limited owing to photon starvation. For reliable material discrimination, minimum photon counts corresponding to 140 kVp, 100 mAs and 5-mm slice thickness must be used. Conclusion: The proposed K-edge ratio method is a straightforward and fast method for identification and discrimination of multiple simultaneous CT contrast agents. Advances in knowledge: A new spectral CT-based algorithm is proposed which provides a new concept of molecular CT imaging by non-iteratively identifying multiple contrast agents when they are simultaneously targeting different organs. PMID:23934964

  8. Three-dimensional labeling of newly formed bone using synchrotron radiation barium K-edge subtraction imaging

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Panahifar, Arash; Swanston, Treena M.; Pushie, M. Jake; Belev, George; Chapman, Dean; Weber, Lynn; Cooper, David M. L.

    2016-07-01

    Bone is a dynamic tissue which exhibits complex patterns of growth as well as continuous internal turnover (i.e. remodeling). Tracking such changes can be challenging and thus a high resolution imaging-based tracer would provide a powerful new perspective on bone tissue dynamics. This is, particularly so if such a tracer can be detected in 3D. Previously, strontium has been demonstrated to be an effective tracer which can be detected by synchrotron-based dual energy K-edge subtraction (KES) imaging in either 2D or 3D. The use of strontium is, however, limited to very small sample thicknesses due to its low K-edge energy (16.105 keV) and thus is not suitable for in vivo application. Here we establish proof-of-principle for the use of barium as an alternative tracer with a higher K-edge energy (37.441 keV), albeit for ex vivo imaging at the moment, which enables application in larger specimens and has the potential to be developed for in vivo imaging of preclinical animal models. New bone formation within growing rats in 2D and 3D was demonstrated at the Biomedical Imaging and Therapy bending magnet (BMIT-BM) beamline of the Canadian Light Source synchrotron. Comparative x-ray fluorescence imaging confirmed those patterns of uptake detected by KES. This initial work provides a platform for the further development of this tracer and its exploration of applications for in vivo development.

  9. Sensitivity of photon-counting based K-edge imaging in X-ray computed tomography.

    PubMed

    Roessl, Ewald; Brendel, Bernhard; Engel, Klaus-Jürgen; Schlomka, Jens-Peter; Thran, Axel; Proksa, Roland

    2011-09-01

    The feasibility of K-edge imaging using energy-resolved, photon-counting transmission measurements in X-ray computed tomography (CT) has been demonstrated by simulations and experiments. The method is based on probing the discontinuities of the attenuation coefficient of heavy elements above and below the K-edge energy by using energy-sensitive, photon counting X-ray detectors. In this paper, we investigate the dependence of the sensitivity of K-edge imaging on the atomic number Z of the contrast material, on the object diameter D , on the spectral response of the X-ray detector and on the X-ray tube voltage. We assume a photon-counting detector equipped with six adjustable energy thresholds. Physical effects leading to a degradation of the energy resolution of the detector are taken into account using the concept of a spectral response function R(E,U) for which we assume four different models. As a validation of our analytical considerations and in order to investigate the influence of elliptically shaped phantoms, we provide CT simulations of an anthropomorphic Forbild-Abdomen phantom containing a gold-contrast agent. The dependence on the values of the energy thresholds is taken into account by optimizing the achievable signal-to-noise ratios (SNR) with respect to the threshold values. We find that for a given X-ray spectrum and object size the SNR in the heavy element's basis material image peaks for a certain atomic number Z. The dependence of the SNR in the high- Z basis-material image on the object diameter is the natural, exponential decrease with particularly deteriorating effects in the case where the attenuation from the object itself causes a total signal loss below the K-edge. The influence of the energy-response of the detector is very important. We observed that the optimal SNR values obtained with an ideal detector and with a CdTe pixel detector whose response, showing significant tailing, has been determined at a synchrotron differ by factors of

  10. SU-C-207-06: In Vivo Quantification of Gold Nanoparticles Using K-Edge Imaging Via Spectrum Shaping by Gold Filter

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

    Chen, H; Cormack, R; Bhagwat, M

    Purpose: Gold nanoparticles (AuNP) are multifunctional platforms ideal for drug delivery, targeted imaging and radiosensitization. We have investigated quantitative imaging of AuNPs using on board imager (OBI) cone beam computed tomography (CBCT). To this end, we also present, for the first time, a novel method for k-edge imaging of AuNP by filter-based spectral shaping. Methods: We used a digital 25 cm diameter water phantom, embedded with 3 cm spheres filled with AuNPs of different concentrations (0 mg/ml – 16 mg/ml). A poly-energetic X-ray spectrum of 140 kVp from a conventional X-ray tube is shaped by balanced K-edge filters to createmore » an excess of photons right above the K-edge of gold at 80.7 keV. The filters consist of gold, tin, copper and aluminum foils. The phantom with appropriately assigned attenuation coefficients is forward projected onto a detector for each energy bin and then integrated. FKD reconstruction is performed on the integrated projections. Scatter, detector efficiency and noise are included. Results: We found that subtracting the results of two filter sets (Filter A:127 µm gold foil with 254 µm tin, 330 µm copper and 1 mm aluminum, and Filter B: 635 µm tin with 264 µm copper and 1 mm aluminum), provides substantial image contrast. The resulting filtered spectra match well below 80.7 keV, while maintaining sufficient X-ray quanta just above that. Voxel intensities of AuNP containing spheres increase linearly with AuNP concentration. K-edge imaging provides 18% more sensitivity than the tin filter alone, and 38% more sensitivity than the gold filter alone. Conclusion: We have shown that it is feasible to quantitatively detect AuNP distributions in a patient-sized phantom using clinical CBCT and K-edge spectral shaping.« less

  11. Imaging Taurine in the Central Nervous System Using Chemically Specific X-ray Fluorescence Imaging at the Sulfur K-Edge

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

    Hackett, Mark J.; Paterson, Phyllis G.; Pickering, Ingrid J.

    A method to image taurine distributions within the central nervous system and other organs has long been sought. Since taurine is small and mobile, it cannot be chemically “tagged” and imaged using conventional immuno-histochemistry methods. Combining numerous indirect measurements, taurine is known to play critical roles in brain function during health and disease and is proposed to act as a neuro-osmolyte, neuro-modulator, and possibly a neuro-transmitter. Elucidation of taurine’s neurochemical roles and importance would be substantially enhanced by a direct method to visualize alterations, due to physiological and pathological events in the brain, in the local concentration of taurine atmore » or near cellular spatial resolution in vivo or in situ in tissue sections. We thus have developed chemically specific X-ray fluorescence imaging (XFI) at the sulfur K-edge to image the sulfonate group in taurine in situ in ex vivo tissue sections. To our knowledge, this represents the first undistorted imaging of taurine distribution in brain at 20 μm resolution. We report quantitative technique validation by imaging taurine in the cerebellum and hippocampus regions of the rat brain. Further, we apply the technique to image taurine loss from the vulnerable CA1 (cornus ammonis 1) sector of the rat hippocampus following global brain ischemia. The location-specific loss of taurine from CA1 but not CA3 neurons following ischemia reveals osmotic stress may be a key factor in delayed neurodegeneration after a cerebral ischemic insult and highlights the significant potential of chemically specific XFI to study the role of taurine in brain disease.« less

  12. A Monte Carlo simulation study of an improved K-edge log-subtraction X-ray imaging using a photon counting CdTe detector

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lee, Youngjin; Lee, Amy Candy; Kim, Hee-Joung

    2016-09-01

    Recently, significant effort has been spent on the development of photons counting detector (PCD) based on a CdTe for applications in X-ray imaging system. The motivation of developing PCDs is higher image quality. Especially, the K-edge subtraction (KES) imaging technique using a PCD is able to improve image quality and useful for increasing the contrast resolution of a target material by utilizing contrast agent. Based on above-mentioned technique, we presented an idea for an improved K-edge log-subtraction (KELS) imaging technique. The KELS imaging technique based on the PCDs can be realized by using different subtraction energy width of the energy window. In this study, the effects of the KELS imaging technique and subtraction energy width of the energy window was investigated with respect to the contrast, standard deviation, and CNR with a Monte Carlo simulation. We simulated the PCD X-ray imaging system based on a CdTe and polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) phantom which consists of the various iodine contrast agents. To acquired KELS images, images of the phantom using above and below the iodine contrast agent K-edge absorption energy (33.2 keV) have been acquired at different energy range. According to the results, the contrast and standard deviation were decreased, when subtraction energy width of the energy window is increased. Also, the CNR using a KELS imaging technique is higher than that of the images acquired by using whole energy range. Especially, the maximum differences of CNR between whole energy range and KELS images using a 1, 2, and 3 mm diameter iodine contrast agent were acquired 11.33, 8.73, and 8.29 times, respectively. Additionally, the optimum subtraction energy width of the energy window can be acquired at 5, 4, and 3 keV for the 1, 2, and 3 mm diameter iodine contrast agent, respectively. In conclusion, we successfully established an improved KELS imaging technique and optimized subtraction energy width of the energy window, and based on

  13. Spectral K-edge subtraction imaging of experimental non-radioactive barium uptake in bone.

    PubMed

    Panahifar, Arash; Samadi, Nazanin; Swanston, Treena M; Chapman, L Dean; Cooper, David M L

    2016-12-01

    To evaluate the feasibility of using non-radioactive barium as a bone tracer for detection with synchrotron spectral K-edge subtraction (SKES) technique. Male rats of 1-month old (i.e., developing skeleton) and 8-month old (i.e., skeletally mature) were orally dosed with low dose of barium chloride (33mg/kg/day Ba 2+ ) for 4weeks. The fore and hind limbs were dissected for imaging in projection and computed tomography modes at 100μm and 52μm pixel sizes. The SKES method utilizes a single bent Laue monochromator to prepare a 550eV energy spectrum to encompass the K-edge of barium (37.441keV), for collecting both 'above' and 'below' the K-edge data sets in a single scan. The SKES has a very good focal size, thus limits the 'crossover' and motion artifacts. In juvenile rats, barium was mostly incorporated in the areas of high bone turnover such as at the growth plate and the trabecular surfaces, but also in the cortical bone as the animals were growing at the time of tracer administration. However, the adults incorporated approximately half the concentration and mainly in the areas where bone remodeling was predominant and occasionally in the periosteal and endosteal layers of the diaphyseal cortical bone. The presented methodology is simple to implement and provides both structural and functional information, after labeling with barium, on bone micro-architecture and thus has great potential for in vivo imaging of pre-clinical animal models of musculoskeletal diseases to better understand their mechanisms and to evaluate the efficacy of pharmaceuticals. Copyright © 2016 Associazione Italiana di Fisica Medica. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Ca K-Edge XAS as a Probe of Calcium Centers in Complex Systems

    DOE PAGES

    Martin-Diaconescu, Vlad; Gennari, Marcello; Gerey, Bertrand; ...

    2014-12-10

    Calcium K-edge pre-edges coupled with TD-DFT theoretical calculation of spectra provide a powerful approach for the characterization of complex calcium centers in inorganic and bioinorganic chemistry. Herein, Ca K-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) is developed as a means to characterize the local environment of calcium centers. The spectra for six, seven, and eight coordinate inorganic and molecular calcium complexes were analyzed and determined to be primarily influenced by the coordination environment and site symmetry at the calcium center. The experimental results are closely correlated to time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) calculations of the XAS spectra. The applicability of this methodologymore » to complex systems was investigated using structural mimics of the oxygen-evolving complex (OEC) of PSII. It was found that Ca K-edge XAS is a sensitive probe for structural changes occurring in the cubane heterometallic cluster due to Mn oxidation. Future applications to the OEC are discussed.« less

  15. Investigation of Energy-Dispersive X-ray Computed Tomography System with CdTe Scan Detector and Comparing-Differentiator and Its Application to Gadolinium K-Edge Imaging

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chiba, Hiraku; Sato, Yuichi; Sato, Eiichi; Maeda, Tomoko; Matsushita, Ryo; Yanbe, Yutaka; Hagiwara, Osahiko; Matsukiyo, Hiroshi; Osawa, Akihiro; Enomoto, Toshiyuki; Watanabe, Manabu; Kusachi, Shinya; Sato, Shigehiro; Ogawa, Akira; Onagawa, Jun

    2012-10-01

    An energy-dispersive (ED) X-ray computed tomography (CT) system is useful for carrying out monochromatic imaging by selecting optimal energy photons. CT is performed by repeated linear scans and rotations of an object. X-ray photons from the object are detected by the cadmium telluride (CdTe) detector, and event pulses of X-ray photons are produced using charge-sensitive and shaping amplifiers. The lower photon energy is determined by a comparator, and the maximum photon energy of 70 keV corresponds to the tube voltage. Logical pulses from the comparator are counted by a counter card through a differentiator to reduce pulse width and rise time. In the ED-CT system, tube voltage and current were 70 kV and 0.30 mA, respectively, and X-ray intensity was 18.2 µGy/s at 1.0 m from the source at a tube voltage of 70 kV. Demonstration of gadolinium K-edge CT for cancer diagnosis was carried out by selecting photons with energies ranging from 50.4 to 70 keV, and photon-count energy subtraction imaging from 30 to 50.3 keV was also performed.

  16. MO-FG-CAMPUS-IeP1-01: Alternative K-Edge Filters for Low-Energy Image Acquisition in Contrast Enhanced Spectral Mammography

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

    Shrestha, S; Vedantham, S; Karellas, A

    Purpose: In Contrast Enhanced Spectral Mammography (CESM), Rh filter is often used during low-energy image acquisition. The potential for using Ag, In and Sn filters, which exhibit K-edge closer to, and just below that of Iodine, instead of the Rh filter, was investigated for the low-energy image acquisition. Methods: Analytical computations of the half-value thickness (HVT) and the photon fluence per mAs (photons/mm2/mAs) for 50µm Rh were compared with other potential K-edge filters (Ag, In and Sn), all with K-absorption edge below that of Iodine. Two strategies were investigated: fixed kVp and filter thickness (50µm for all filters) resulting inmore » HVT variation, and fixed kVp and HVT resulting in variation in Ag, In and Sn thickness. Monte Carlo simulations (GEANT4) were conducted to determine if the scatter-to-primary ratio (SPR) and the point spread function of scatter (scatter PSF) differed between Rh and other K-edge filters. Results: Ag, In and Sn filters (50µm thick) increased photon fluence/mAs by 1.3–1.4, 1.8–2, and 1.7–2 at 28-32 kVp compared to 50µm Rh, which could decrease exposure time. Additionally, the fraction of spectra closer to and just below Iodine’s K-edge increased with these filters, which could improve post-subtraction image contrast. For HVT matched to 50µm Rh filtered spectra, the thickness range for Ag, In, and Sn were (41,44)µm, (49,55)µm and (45,53)µm, and increased photon fluence/mAs by 1.5–1.7, 1.6–2, and 1.6–2.2, respectively. Monte Carlo simulations showed that neither the SPR nor the scatter PSF of Ag, In and Sn differed from Rh, indicating no additional detriment due to x-ray scatter. Conclusion: The use of Ag, In and Sn filters for low-energy image acquisition in CESM is potentially feasible and could decrease exposure time and may improve post-subtraction image contrast. Effect of these filters on radiation dose, contrast, noise and associated metrics are being investigated. Funding Support

  17. The potential for neurovascular intravenous angiography using K-edge digital subtraction angiography

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Schültke, E.; Fiedler, S.; Kelly, M.; Griebel, R.; Juurlink, B.; LeDuc, G.; Estève, F.; Le Bas, J.-F.; Renier, M.; Nemoz, C.; Meguro, K.

    2005-08-01

    Background: Catheterization of small-caliber blood vessels in the central nervous system can be extremely challenging. Alternatively, intravenous (i.v.) administration of contrast agent is minimally invasive and therefore carries a much lower risk for the patient. With conventional X-ray equipment, volumes of contrast agent that could be safely administered to the patient do not allow acquisition of high-quality images after i.v. injection, because the contrast bolus is extremely diluted by passage through the heart. However, synchrotron-based digital K-edge subtraction angiography does allow acquisition of high-quality images after i.v. administration of relatively small doses of contrast agent. Materials and methods: Eight adult male New Zealand rabbits were used for our experiments. Animals were submitted to both angiography with conventional X-ray equipment and synchrotron-based digital subtraction angiography. Results: With conventional X-ray equipment, no contrast was seen in either cerebral or spinal blood vessels after i.v. injection of iodinated contrast agent. However, using K-edge digital subtraction angiography, as little as 1 ml iodinated contrast agent, when administered as i.v. bolus, yielded images of small-caliber blood vessels in the central nervous system (both brain and spinal cord). Conclusions: If it would be possible to image blood vessels of the same diameter in the central nervous system of human patients, the synchrotron-based technique could yield high-quality images at a significantly lower risk for the patient than conventional X-ray imaging. Images could be acquired where catheterization of feeding blood vessels has proven impossible.

  18. Observation of yttrium oxide nanoparticles in cabbage (Brassica oleracea) through dual energy K-edge subtraction imaging

    DOE PAGES

    Chen, Yunyun; Sanchez, Carlos; Yue, Yuan; ...

    2016-03-25

    Background: The potential transfer of engineered nanoparticles (ENPs) from plants into the food chain has raised widespread concerns. In order to investigate the effects of ENPs on plants, young cabbage plants (Brassica oleracea) were exposed to a hydroponic system containing yttrium oxide (yttria) ENPs. The objective of this study was to reveal the impacts of NPs on plants by using K-edge subtraction imaging technique. Results: Using synchrotron dual-e nergy X-ray micro-tomography with K-edge subtraction technique, we studied the uptake, accumulation, distribution and concentration mapping of yttria ENPs in cabbage plants. It was found that yttria ENPs were uptaken by themore » cabbage roots but did not effectively transferred and mobilized through the cabbage stem and leaves. This could be due to the accumulation of yttria ENPs blocked at primary-lateral-root junction. Instead, non-yttria minerals were found in the xylem vessels of roots and stem. Conclusions: Synchrotron dual-energy X-ray micro-tomography is an effective method to observe yttria NPs inside the cabbage plants in both whole body and microscale level. Furthermore, the blockage of a plant's roots by nanoparticles is likely the first and potentially fatal environmental effect of such type of nanoparticles.« less

  19. An edge preserving differential image coding scheme

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Rost, Martin C.; Sayood, Khalid

    1992-01-01

    Differential encoding techniques are fast and easy to implement. However, a major problem with the use of differential encoding for images is the rapid edge degradation encountered when using such systems. This makes differential encoding techniques of limited utility, especially when coding medical or scientific images, where edge preservation is of utmost importance. A simple, easy to implement differential image coding system with excellent edge preservation properties is presented. The coding system can be used over variable rate channels, which makes it especially attractive for use in the packet network environment.

  20. Demonstration of iodine K-edge imaging by use of an energy-discrimination X-ray computed tomography system with a cadmium telluride detector.

    PubMed

    Abudurexiti, Abulajiang; Kameda, Masashi; Sato, Eiichi; Abderyim, Purkhet; Enomoto, Toshiyuki; Watanabe, Manabu; Hitomi, Keitaro; Tanaka, Etsuro; Mori, Hidezo; Kawai, Toshiaki; Takahashi, Kiyomi; Sato, Shigehiro; Ogawa, Akira; Onagawa, Jun

    2010-07-01

    An energy-discrimination K-edge X-ray computed tomography (CT) system is useful for increasing the contrast resolution of a target region by utilizing contrast media. The CT system has a cadmium telluride (CdTe) detector, and a projection curve is obtained by linear scanning with use of the CdTe detector in conjunction with an X-stage. An object is rotated by a rotation step angle with use of a turntable between the linear scans. Thus, CT is carried out by repetition of the linear scanning and the rotation of an object. Penetrating X-ray photons from the object are detected by the CdTe detector, and event signals of X-ray photons are produced with use of charge-sensitive and shaping amplifiers. Both the photon energy and the energy width are selected by use of a multi-channel analyzer, and the number of photons is counted by a counter card. For performing energy discrimination, a low-dose-rate X-ray generator for photon counting was developed; the maximum tube voltage and the minimum tube current were 110 kV and 1.0 microA, respectively. In energy-discrimination CT, the tube voltage and the current were 60 kV and 20.0 microA, respectively, and the X-ray intensity was 0.735 microGy/s at 1.0 m from the source and with a tube voltage of 60 kV. Demonstration of enhanced iodine K-edge X-ray CT was carried out by selection of photons with energies just beyond the iodine K-edge energy of 33.2 keV.

  1. Edge-oriented dual-dictionary guided enrichment (EDGE) for MRI-CT image reconstruction.

    PubMed

    Li, Liang; Wang, Bigong; Wang, Ge

    2016-01-01

    In this paper, we formulate the joint/simultaneous X-ray CT and MRI image reconstruction. In particular, a novel algorithm is proposed for MRI image reconstruction from highly under-sampled MRI data and CT images. It consists of two steps. First, a training dataset is generated from a series of well-registered MRI and CT images on the same patients. Then, an initial MRI image of a patient can be reconstructed via edge-oriented dual-dictionary guided enrichment (EDGE) based on the training dataset and a CT image of the patient. Second, an MRI image is reconstructed using the dictionary learning (DL) algorithm from highly under-sampled k-space data and the initial MRI image. Our algorithm can establish a one-to-one correspondence between the two imaging modalities, and obtain a good initial MRI estimation. Both noise-free and noisy simulation studies were performed to evaluate and validate the proposed algorithm. The results with different under-sampling factors show that the proposed algorithm performed significantly better than those reconstructed using the DL algorithm from MRI data alone.

  2. Silicon K-edge XANES spectra of silicate minerals

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Dien; Bancroft, G. M.; Fleet, M. E.; Feng, X. H.

    1995-03-01

    Silicon K-edge x-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) spectra of a selection of silicate and aluminosilicate minerals have been measured using synchrotron radiation (SR). The spectra are qualitatively interpreted based on MO calculation of the tetrahedral SiO{4/4-}cluster. The Si K-edge generally shifts to higher energy with increased polymerization of silicates by about 1.3 eV, but with considerable overlap for silicates of different polymerization types. The substitution of Al for Si shifts the Si K-edge to lower energy. The chemical shift of Si K-edge is also sensitive to cations in more distant atom shells; for example, the Si K-edge shifts to lower energy with the substitution of Al for Mg in octahedral sites. The shifts of the Si K-edge show weak correlation with average Si-O bond distance (dSi-O), Si-O bond valence (sSi-O) and distortion of SiO4 tetrahedra, due to the crystal structure complexity of silicate minerals and multiple factors effecting the x-ray absorption processes.

  3. Edge-based correlation image registration for multispectral imaging

    DOEpatents

    Nandy, Prabal [Albuquerque, NM

    2009-11-17

    Registration information for images of a common target obtained from a plurality of different spectral bands can be obtained by combining edge detection and phase correlation. The images are edge-filtered, and pairs of the edge-filtered images are then phase correlated to produce phase correlation images. The registration information can be determined based on these phase correlation images.

  4. Dual-energy fluorescent x-ray computed tomography system with a pinhole design: Use of K-edge discontinuity for scatter correction

    PubMed Central

    Sasaya, Tenta; Sunaguchi, Naoki; Thet-Lwin, Thet-; Hyodo, Kazuyuki; Zeniya, Tsutomu; Takeda, Tohoru; Yuasa, Tetsuya

    2017-01-01

    We propose a pinhole-based fluorescent x-ray computed tomography (p-FXCT) system with a 2-D detector and volumetric beam that can suppress the quality deterioration caused by scatter components. In the corresponding p-FXCT technique, projections are acquired at individual incident energies just above and below the K-edge of the imaged trace element; then, reconstruction is performed based on the two sets of projections using a maximum likelihood expectation maximization algorithm that incorporates the scatter components. We constructed a p-FXCT imaging system and performed a preliminary experiment using a physical phantom and an I imaging agent. The proposed dual-energy p-FXCT improved the contrast-to-noise ratio by a factor of more than 2.5 compared to that attainable using mono-energetic p-FXCT for a 0.3 mg/ml I solution. We also imaged an excised rat’s liver infused with a Ba contrast agent to demonstrate the feasibility of imaging a biological sample. PMID:28272496

  5. Portable X-Ray, K-Edge Heavy Metal Detector

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

    Fricke, V.

    The X-Ray, K-Edge Heavy Metal Detection System was designed and built by Ames Laboratory and the Center for Nondestructive Evaluation at Iowa State University. The system uses a C-frame inspection head with an X-ray tube mounted on one side of the frame and an imaging unit and a high purity germanium detector on the other side. the inspection head is portable and can be easily positioned around ventilation ducts and pipes up to 36 inches in diameter. Wide angle and narrow beam X-ray shots are used to identify the type of holdup material and the amount of the contaminant. Precisemore » assay data can be obtained within minutes of the interrogation. A profile of the containerized holdup material and a permanent record of the measurement are immediately available.« less

  6. Edge directed image interpolation with Bamberger pyramids

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rosiles, Jose Gerardo

    2005-08-01

    Image interpolation is a standard feature in digital image editing software, digital camera systems and printers. Classical methods for resizing produce blurred images with unacceptable quality. Bamberger Pyramids and filter banks have been successfully used for texture and image analysis. They provide excellent multiresolution and directional selectivity. In this paper we present an edge-directed image interpolation algorithm which takes advantage of the simultaneous spatial-directional edge localization at the subband level. The proposed algorithm outperform classical schemes like bilinear and bicubic schemes from the visual and numerical point of views.

  7. Imaging at an x-ray absorption edge using free electron laser pulses for interface dynamics in high energy density systems [Resonant phase contrast imaging for interface physics

    DOE PAGES

    Beckwith, M. A.; Jiang, S.; Schropp, A.; ...

    2017-05-01

    Tuning the energy of an x-ray probe to an absorption line or edge can provide material-specific measurements that are particularly useful for interfaces. Simulated hard x-ray images above the Fe K-edge are presented to examine ion diffusion across an interface between Fe 2O 3 and SiO 2 aerogel foam materials. The simulations demonstrate the feasibility of such a technique for measurements of density scale lengths near the interface with submicron spatial resolution. A proof-of-principle experiment is designed and performed at the Linac coherent light source facility. Preliminary data show the change of the interface after shock compression and heating withmore » simultaneous fluorescence spectra for temperature determination. Here, the results provide the first demonstration of using x-ray imaging at an absorption edge as a diagnostic to detect ultrafast phenomena for interface physics in high-energy-density systems.« less

  8. Model and reconstruction of a K-edge contrast agent distribution with an X-ray photon-counting detector

    PubMed Central

    Meng, Bo; Cong, Wenxiang; Xi, Yan; De Man, Bruno; Yang, Jian; Wang, Ge

    2017-01-01

    Contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CECT) helps enhance the visibility for tumor imaging. When a high-Z contrast agent interacts with X-rays across its K-edge, X-ray photoelectric absorption would experience a sudden increment, resulting in a significant difference of the X-ray transmission intensity between the left and right energy windows of the K-edge. Using photon-counting detectors, the X-ray intensity data in the left and right windows of the K-edge can be measured simultaneously. The differential information of the two kinds of intensity data reflects the contrast-agent concentration distribution. K-edge differences between various matters allow opportunities for the identification of contrast agents in biomedical applications. In this paper, a general radon transform is established to link the contrast-agent concentration to X-ray intensity measurement data. An iterative algorithm is proposed to reconstruct a contrast-agent distribution and tissue attenuation background simultaneously. Comprehensive numerical simulations are performed to demonstrate the merits of the proposed method over the existing K-edge imaging methods. Our results show that the proposed method accurately quantifies a distribution of a contrast agent, optimizing the contrast-to-noise ratio at a high dose efficiency. PMID:28437900

  9. Animal experiments by K-edge subtraction angiography by using SR (abstract)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Anno, I.; Akisada, M.; Takeda, T.; Sugishita, Y.; Kakihana, M.; Ohtsuka, S.; Nishimura, K.; Hasegawa, S.; Takenaka, E.; Hyodo, K.; Ando, M.

    1989-07-01

    controlled by a mechanical ventilator. The respirations were held for several seconds when taking the images. Approximately 10 to 15 ml of 76% water soluble iodinated contrast medium (Urografin 76, Schering) was injected by an automatic electronic injector at the rate of approximately 10 ml/s. Three or four times injections were done so as not to exceed the normal renal excretion threshold. Intravenous drip infusion of saline (500 ml/2 h) was used to accelerate the washout of contrast medium via renal system. One hundred micrograms of nitroglycerin were administered, intravenously to dilate the coronary arteries, approximately 3 min prior to contrast injection. Sometimes we used 0.1 mg/kg of beta blockage agent (Propranorol) to decrease the heart rate. Subsequently, the heart rate of the dogs was decreased from approximately 200/s to 100/s. These techniques are commonly used in human examinations. Materials are positioned at left anterior oblique view. The sequential images are now detected above the iodine K edge by an image intensifier (RTP 9240F, Toshiba) and recorded at high signal-to-noise ratio analog video recording system (C1900, Hamamatsu Photonics, S/N 45 dB). Proximal coronary arteries are well visualized, however the distal portions are unsatisfactory, because of the overlapping of the contrast-filled dense heart chambers and pulmonary vessels. Bolus injection of contrast medium is also necessary, unless overlapping is inevitable, so are the same in conventional intravenous DSA. The energy above and below the K edge is now changed by tilting the angle of crystal, mechanically, so it has not sufficient speed to subtract the moving material. Real time A/D converter and frame buffering memories have not been available, until now. Even though there are many limitations in the hardware and many problems to overcome, our preliminary animal experiments allow us to have high expectations.

  10. Edge detection based on computational ghost imaging with structured illuminations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yuan, Sheng; Xiang, Dong; Liu, Xuemei; Zhou, Xin; Bing, Pibin

    2018-03-01

    Edge detection is one of the most important tools to recognize the features of an object. In this paper, we propose an optical edge detection method based on computational ghost imaging (CGI) with structured illuminations which are generated by an interference system. The structured intensity patterns are designed to make the edge of an object be directly imaged from detected data in CGI. This edge detection method can extract the boundaries for both binary and grayscale objects in any direction at one time. We also numerically test the influence of distance deviations in the interference system on edge extraction, i.e., the tolerance of the optical edge detection system to distance deviation. Hopefully, it may provide a guideline for scholars to build an experimental system.

  11. Simultaneous K-edge subtraction tomography for tracing strontium using parametric X-ray radiation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hayakawa, Y.; Hayakawa, K.; Kaneda, T.; Nogami, K.; Sakae, T.; Sakai, T.; Sato, I.; Takahashi, Y.; Tanaka, T.

    2017-07-01

    The X-ray source based on parametric X-ray radiation (PXR) has been regularly providing a coherent X-ray beam for application studies at Nihon University. Recently, three dimensional (3D) computed tomography (CT) has become one of the most important applications of the PXR source. The methodology referred to as K-edge subtraction (KES) imaging is a particularly successful application utilizing the energy selectivity of PXR. In order to demonstrate the applicability of PXR-KES, a simultaneous KES experiment for a specimen containing strontium was performed using a PXR beam having an energy near the Sr K-edge of 16.1 keV. As a result, the 3D distribution of Sr was obtained by subtraction between the two simultaneously acquired tomographic images.

  12. Method for wafer edge profile extraction using optical images obtained in edge defect inspection process

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Okamoto, Hiroaki; Sakaguchi, Naoshi; Hayano, Fuminori

    2010-03-01

    It is becoming increasingly important to monitor wafer edge profiles in the immersion lithography era. A Nikon edge defect inspection tool acquires the circumferential optical images of the wafer edge during its inspection process. Nikon's unique illumination system and optics make it possible to then convert the brightness data of the captured images to quantifiable edge profile information. During this process the wafer's outer shape is also calculated. Test results show that even newly shipped bare wafers may not have a constant shape over 360 degree. In some cases repeated deformations with 90 degree pitch are observed.

  13. Mammographic x-ray unit kilovoltage test tool based on k-edge absorption effect.

    PubMed

    Napolitano, Mary E; Trueblood, Jon H; Hertel, Nolan E; David, George

    2002-09-01

    A simple tool to determine the peak kilovoltage (kVp) of a mammographic x-ray unit has been designed. Tool design is based on comparing the effect of k-edge discontinuity of the attenuation coefficient for a series of element filters. Compatibility with the mammography accreditation phantom (MAP) to obtain a single quality control film is a second design objective. When the attenuation of a series of sequential elements is studied simultaneously, differences in the absorption characteristics due to the k-edge discontinuities are more evident. Specifically, when the incident photon energy is higher than the k-edge energy of a number of the elements and lower than the remainder, an inflection may be seen in the resulting attenuation data. The maximum energy of the incident photon spectra may be determined based on this inflection point for a series of element filters. Monte Carlo photon transport analysis was used to estimate the photon transmission probabilities for each of the sequential k-edge filter elements. The photon transmission corresponds directly to optical density recorded on mammographic x-ray film. To observe the inflection, the element filters chosen must have k-edge energies that span a range greater than the expected range of the end point energies to be determined. For the design, incident x-ray spectra ranging from 25 to 40 kVp were assumed to be from a molybdenum target. Over this range, the k-edge energy changes by approximately 1.5 keV between sequential elements. For this design 21 elements spanning an energy range from 20 to 50 keV were chosen. Optimum filter element thicknesses were calculated to maximize attenuation differences at the k-edge while maintaining optical densities between 0.10 and 3.00. Calculated relative transmission data show that the kVp could be determined to within +/-1 kV. To obtain experimental data, a phantom was constructed containing 21 different elements placed in an acrylic holder. MAP images were used to determine

  14. Power spectrum weighted edge analysis for straight edge detection in images

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Karvir, Hrishikesh V.; Skipper, Julie A.

    2007-04-01

    Most man-made objects provide characteristic straight line edges and, therefore, edge extraction is a commonly used target detection tool. However, noisy images often yield broken edges that lead to missed detections, and extraneous edges that may contribute to false target detections. We present a sliding-block approach for target detection using weighted power spectral analysis. In general, straight line edges appearing at a given frequency are represented as a peak in the Fourier domain at a radius corresponding to that frequency, and a direction corresponding to the orientation of the edges in the spatial domain. Knowing the edge width and spacing between the edges, a band-pass filter is designed to extract the Fourier peaks corresponding to the target edges and suppress image noise. These peaks are then detected by amplitude thresholding. The frequency band width and the subsequent spatial filter mask size are variable parameters to facilitate detection of target objects of different sizes under known imaging geometries. Many military objects, such as trucks, tanks and missile launchers, produce definite signatures with parallel lines and the algorithm proves to be ideal for detecting such objects. Moreover, shadow-casting objects generally provide sharp edges and are readily detected. The block operation procedure offers advantages of significant reduction in noise influence, improved edge detection, faster processing speed and versatility to detect diverse objects of different sizes in the image. With Scud missile launcher replicas as target objects, the method has been successfully tested on terrain board test images under different backgrounds, illumination and imaging geometries with cameras of differing spatial resolution and bit-depth.

  15. Edge-based image restoration.

    PubMed

    Rareş, Andrei; Reinders, Marcel J T; Biemond, Jan

    2005-10-01

    In this paper, we propose a new image inpainting algorithm that relies on explicit edge information. The edge information is used both for the reconstruction of a skeleton image structure in the missing areas, as well as for guiding the interpolation that follows. The structure reconstruction part exploits different properties of the edges, such as the colors of the objects they separate, an estimate of how well one edge continues into another one, and the spatial order of the edges with respect to each other. In order to preserve both sharp and smooth edges, the areas delimited by the recovered structure are interpolated independently, and the process is guided by the direction of the nearby edges. The novelty of our approach lies primarily in exploiting explicitly the constraint enforced by the numerical interpretation of the sequential order of edges, as well as in the pixel filling method which takes into account the proximity and direction of edges. Extensive experiments are carried out in order to validate and compare the algorithm both quantitatively and qualitatively. They show the advantages of our algorithm and its readily application to real world cases.

  16. Active edge maps for medical image registration

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kerwin, William; Yuan, Chun

    2001-07-01

    Applying edge detection prior to performing image registration yields several advantages over raw intensity- based registration. Advantages include the ability to register multicontrast or multimodality images, immunity to intensity variations, and the potential for computationally efficient algorithms. In this work, a common framework for edge-based image registration is formulated as an adaptation of snakes used in boundary detection. Called active edge maps, the new formulation finds a one-to-one transformation T(x) that maps points in a source image to corresponding locations in a target image using an energy minimization approach. The energy consists of an image component that is small when edge features are well matched in the two images, and an internal term that restricts T(x) to allowable configurations. The active edge map formulation is illustrated here with a specific example developed for affine registration of carotid artery magnetic resonance images. In this example, edges are identified using a magnitude of gradient operator, image energy is determined using a Gaussian weighted distance function, and the internal energy includes separate, adjustable components that control volume preservation and rigidity.

  17. Carbon K-edge spectra of carbonate minerals.

    PubMed

    Brandes, Jay A; Wirick, Sue; Jacobsen, Chris

    2010-09-01

    Carbon K-edge X-ray spectroscopy has been applied to the study of a wide range of organic samples, from polymers and coals to interstellar dust particles. Identification of carbonaceous materials within these samples is accomplished by the pattern of resonances in the 280-320 eV energy region. Carbonate minerals are often encountered in the study of natural samples, and have been identified by a distinctive resonance at 290.3 eV. Here C K-edge and Ca L-edge spectra from a range of carbonate minerals are presented. Although all carbonates exhibit a sharp 290 eV resonance, both the precise position of this resonance and the positions of other resonances vary among minerals. The relative strengths of the different carbonate resonances also vary with crystal orientation to the linearly polarized X-ray beam. Intriguingly, several carbonate minerals also exhibit a strong 288.6 eV resonance, consistent with the position of a carbonyl resonance rather than carbonate. Calcite and aragonite, although indistinguishable spectrally at the C K-edge, exhibited significantly different spectra at the Ca L-edge. The distinctive spectral fingerprints of carbonates provide an identification tool, allowing for the examination of such processes as carbon sequestration in minerals, Mn substitution in marine calcium carbonates (dolomitization) and serpentinization of basalts.

  18. Image steganography based on 2k correction and coherent bit length

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sun, Shuliang; Guo, Yongning

    2014-10-01

    In this paper, a novel algorithm is proposed. Firstly, the edge of cover image is detected with Canny operator and secret data is embedded in edge pixels. Sorting method is used to randomize the edge pixels in order to enhance security. Coherent bit length L is determined by relevant edge pixels. Finally, the method of 2k correction is applied to achieve better imperceptibility in stego image. The experiment shows that the proposed method is better than LSB-3 and Jae-Gil Yu's in PSNR and capacity.

  19. Nucleus and cytoplasm segmentation in microscopic images using K-means clustering and region growing.

    PubMed

    Sarrafzadeh, Omid; Dehnavi, Alireza Mehri

    2015-01-01

    Segmentation of leukocytes acts as the foundation for all automated image-based hematological disease recognition systems. Most of the time, hematologists are interested in evaluation of white blood cells only. Digital image processing techniques can help them in their analysis and diagnosis. The main objective of this paper is to detect leukocytes from a blood smear microscopic image and segment them into their two dominant elements, nucleus and cytoplasm. The segmentation is conducted using two stages of applying K-means clustering. First, the nuclei are segmented using K-means clustering. Then, a proposed method based on region growing is applied to separate the connected nuclei. Next, the nuclei are subtracted from the original image. Finally, the cytoplasm is segmented using the second stage of K-means clustering. The results indicate that the proposed method is able to extract the nucleus and cytoplasm regions accurately and works well even though there is no significant contrast between the components in the image. In this paper, a method based on K-means clustering and region growing is proposed in order to detect leukocytes from a blood smear microscopic image and segment its components, the nucleus and the cytoplasm. As region growing step of the algorithm relies on the information of edges, it will not able to separate the connected nuclei more accurately in poor edges and it requires at least a weak edge to exist between the nuclei. The nucleus and cytoplasm segments of a leukocyte can be used for feature extraction and classification which leads to automated leukemia detection.

  20. Error of the slanted edge method for measuring the modulation transfer function of imaging systems.

    PubMed

    Xie, Xufen; Fan, Hongda; Wang, Hongyuan; Wang, Zebin; Zou, Nianyu

    2018-03-01

    The slanted edge method is a basic approach for measuring the modulation transfer function (MTF) of imaging systems; however, its measurement accuracy is limited in practice. Theoretical analysis of the slanted edge MTF measurement method performed in this paper reveals that inappropriate edge angles and random noise reduce this accuracy. The error caused by edge angles is analyzed using sampling and reconstruction theory. Furthermore, an error model combining noise and edge angles is proposed. We verify the analyses and model with respect to (i) the edge angle, (ii) a statistical analysis of the measurement error, (iii) the full width at half-maximum of a point spread function, and (iv) the error model. The experimental results verify the theoretical findings. This research can be referential for applications of the slanted edge MTF measurement method.

  1. Energy-discrimination X-ray computed tomography system utilizing a silicon-PIN detector and its application to 2.0-keV-width K-edge imaging

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hagiwara, Osahiko; Watanabe, Manabu; Sato, Eiichi; Matsukiyo, Hiroshi; Osawa, Akihiro; Enomoto, Toshiyuki; Nagao, Jiro; Sato, Shigehiro; Ogawa, Akira; Onagawa, Jun

    2011-05-01

    Demonstration of narrow-energy-width computed tomography (CT) was carried out by means of energy-discrimination. An X-ray CT system is of a first-generation type and consists of an X-ray generator, a turntable, a translation stage, a two-stage controller, a silicon-PIN detector system with amplifiers, a multi-channel analyzer (MCA), a counter card (CC), and a personal computer (PC). CT is accomplished by repeating the translation and the rotation of an object, and projection curves of the object are obtained by the translation of the moving object. Both photon-energy level and energy width are determined by the MCA, and the pulses of the discriminated event signal from the MCA are counted by CC in conjunction with PC. The maximum count rate was approximately 300 cps (counts per second) with energy widths of 2.0 keV, and energy-discrimination CT was carried out with a photon-energy resolution of 0.15 keV. To perform iodine K-edge CT, X-ray photons with an energy range from 33.2 to 35.2 keV were used. Next, to carry out cerium K-edge CT, an energy range from 40.3 to 42.3 keV was selected.

  2. Three dimensional mapping of strontium in bone by dual energy K-edge subtraction imaging

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cooper, D. M. L.; Chapman, L. D.; Carter, Y.; Wu, Y.; Panahifar, A.; Britz, H. M.; Bewer, B.; Zhouping, W.; Duke, M. J. M.; Doschak, M.

    2012-09-01

    The bones of many terrestrial vertebrates, including humans, are continually altered through an internal process of turnover known as remodeling. This process plays a central role in bone adaptation and disease. The uptake of fluorescent tetracyclines within bone mineral is widely exploited as a means of tracking new tissue formation. While investigation of bone microarchitecture has undergone a dimensional shift from 2D to 3D in recent years, we lack a 3D equivalent to fluorescent labeling. In the current study we demonstrate the ability of synchrotron radiation dual energy K-edge subtraction (KES) imaging to map the 3D distribution of elemental strontium within rat vertebral samples. This approach has great potential for ex vivo analysis of preclinical models and human tissue samples. KES also represents a powerful tool for investigating the pharmokinetics of strontium-based drugs recently approved in many countries around the globe for the treatment of osteoporosis.

  3. Strong excitonic interactions in the oxygen K-edge of perovskite oxides.

    PubMed

    Tomita, Kota; Miyata, Tomohiro; Olovsson, Weine; Mizoguchi, Teruyasu

    2017-07-01

    Excitonic interactions of the oxygen K-edge electron energy-loss near-edge structure (ELNES) of perovskite oxides, CaTiO 3 , SrTiO 3 , and BaTiO 3 , together with reference oxides, MgO, CaO, SrO, BaO, and TiO 2 , were investigated using a first-principles Bethe-Salpeter equation calculation. Although the transition energy of oxygen K-edge is high, strong excitonic interactions were present in the oxygen K-edge ELNES of the perovskite oxides, whereas the excitonic interactions were negligible in the oxygen K-edge ELNES of the reference compounds. Detailed investigation of the electronic structure suggests that the strong excitonic interaction in the oxygen K-edge ELNES of the perovskite oxides is caused by the directionally confined, low-dimensional electronic structure at the Ti-O-Ti bonds. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. Nucleus and cytoplasm segmentation in microscopic images using K-means clustering and region growing

    PubMed Central

    Sarrafzadeh, Omid; Dehnavi, Alireza Mehri

    2015-01-01

    Background: Segmentation of leukocytes acts as the foundation for all automated image-based hematological disease recognition systems. Most of the time, hematologists are interested in evaluation of white blood cells only. Digital image processing techniques can help them in their analysis and diagnosis. Materials and Methods: The main objective of this paper is to detect leukocytes from a blood smear microscopic image and segment them into their two dominant elements, nucleus and cytoplasm. The segmentation is conducted using two stages of applying K-means clustering. First, the nuclei are segmented using K-means clustering. Then, a proposed method based on region growing is applied to separate the connected nuclei. Next, the nuclei are subtracted from the original image. Finally, the cytoplasm is segmented using the second stage of K-means clustering. Results: The results indicate that the proposed method is able to extract the nucleus and cytoplasm regions accurately and works well even though there is no significant contrast between the components in the image. Conclusions: In this paper, a method based on K-means clustering and region growing is proposed in order to detect leukocytes from a blood smear microscopic image and segment its components, the nucleus and the cytoplasm. As region growing step of the algorithm relies on the information of edges, it will not able to separate the connected nuclei more accurately in poor edges and it requires at least a weak edge to exist between the nuclei. The nucleus and cytoplasm segments of a leukocyte can be used for feature extraction and classification which leads to automated leukemia detection. PMID:26605213

  5. Borosilicate glass structure: An investigation of high resolution B K-edge XANES

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dong, S.; Henderson, G. S.; Galoisy, L.; Calas, G.

    2009-05-01

    The Alkali-borosilicate glasses in the systems Na2O-B2O3-SiO2 and K2O- B2O3-SiO2 have been prepared by melting/quenching in air and studied using synchrotron radiation B K-edge XANES to estimate the evolution of boron coordination as a function of composition. The ratio of alkali/B2O3 (R) and SiO2/B2O3 (K) in the glasses are respectively between 0.5 to 2.0 and 0.5 to 7.0. The edge features of trigonal B ([3]B) and tetrahedral B ([4]B) in B K-edge XANES spectra have been interpreted carefully from B standards such as (B2O3 and BPO4), as well as, a wide range of borate minerals. We find that the proportion of tetrahedral B in glass is increasing as a function of both R and K, similar to previous studies. Contributions of the [3]B and [4]B features to the B K-edge XANES is complex with 6-7 individual transitions contributing to the overall spectral envelope. Many of these transitions are common to both B coordination states making extraction of quantitative [4]B numbers difficult. However, we can calculate the proportion of tetrahedral B accurately by appropriate curve- fitting.

  6. On the Structure of the Iron K-Edge

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Palmeri, P.; Mendoza, C.; Kallman, T. R.; Bautista, M. A.; White, Nicholas E. (Technical Monitor)

    2002-01-01

    It is shown that the commonly held view of a sharp Fe K edge must be modified if the decay pathways of the series of resonances converging to the K thresholds are adequately taken into account. These resonances display damped Lorentzian profiles of nearly constant widths that are smeared to impose continuity across the threshold. By modeling the effects of K damping on opacities, it is found that the broadening of the K edge grows with the ionization level of the plasma, and the appearance at high ionization of a localized absorption feature at 7.2 keV is identified as the Kbeta unresolved transition array.

  7. Image segmentation on adaptive edge-preserving smoothing

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    He, Kun; Wang, Dan; Zheng, Xiuqing

    2016-09-01

    Nowadays, typical active contour models are widely applied in image segmentation. However, they perform badly on real images with inhomogeneous subregions. In order to overcome the drawback, this paper proposes an edge-preserving smoothing image segmentation algorithm. At first, this paper analyzes the edge-preserving smoothing conditions for image segmentation and constructs an edge-preserving smoothing model inspired by total variation. The proposed model has the ability to smooth inhomogeneous subregions and preserve edges. Then, a kind of clustering algorithm, which reasonably trades off edge-preserving and subregion-smoothing according to the local information, is employed to learn the edge-preserving parameter adaptively. At last, according to the confidence level of segmentation subregions, this paper constructs a smoothing convergence condition to avoid oversmoothing. Experiments indicate that the proposed algorithm has superior performance in precision, recall, and F-measure compared with other segmentation algorithms, and it is insensitive to noise and inhomogeneous-regions.

  8. Edge detection of optical subaperture image based on improved differential box-counting method

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Yi; Hui, Mei; Liu, Ming; Dong, Liquan; Kong, Lingqin; Zhao, Yuejin

    2018-01-01

    Optical synthetic aperture imaging technology is an effective approach to improve imaging resolution. Compared with monolithic mirror system, the image of optical synthetic aperture system is often more complex at the edge, and as a result of the existence of gap between segments, which makes stitching becomes a difficult problem. So it is necessary to extract the edge of subaperture image for achieving effective stitching. Fractal dimension as a measure feature can describe image surface texture characteristics, which provides a new approach for edge detection. In our research, an improved differential box-counting method is used to calculate fractal dimension of image, then the obtained fractal dimension is mapped to grayscale image to detect edges. Compared with original differential box-counting method, this method has two improvements as follows: by modifying the box-counting mechanism, a box with a fixed height is replaced by a box with adaptive height, which solves the problem of over-counting the number of boxes covering image intensity surface; an image reconstruction method based on super-resolution convolutional neural network is used to enlarge small size image, which can solve the problem that fractal dimension can't be calculated accurately under the small size image, and this method may well maintain scale invariability of fractal dimension. The experimental results show that the proposed algorithm can effectively eliminate noise and has a lower false detection rate compared with the traditional edge detection algorithms. In addition, this algorithm can maintain the integrity and continuity of image edge in the case of retaining important edge information.

  9. Image Edge Extraction via Fuzzy Reasoning

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Dominquez, Jesus A. (Inventor); Klinko, Steve (Inventor)

    2008-01-01

    A computer-based technique for detecting edges in gray level digital images employs fuzzy reasoning to analyze whether each pixel in an image is likely on an edge. The image is analyzed on a pixel-by-pixel basis by analyzing gradient levels of pixels in a square window surrounding the pixel being analyzed. An edge path passing through the pixel having the greatest intensity gradient is used as input to a fuzzy membership function, which employs fuzzy singletons and inference rules to assigns a new gray level value to the pixel that is related to the pixel's edginess degree.

  10. Cell edge detection in JPEG2000 wavelet domain - analysis on sigmoid function edge model.

    PubMed

    Punys, Vytenis; Maknickas, Ramunas

    2011-01-01

    Big virtual microscopy images (80K x 60K pixels and larger) are usually stored using the JPEG2000 image compression scheme. Diagnostic quantification, based on image analysis, might be faster if performed on compressed data (approx. 20 times less the original amount), representing the coefficients of the wavelet transform. The analysis of possible edge detection without reverse wavelet transform is presented in the paper. Two edge detection methods, suitable for JPEG2000 bi-orthogonal wavelets, are proposed. The methods are adjusted according calculated parameters of sigmoid edge model. The results of model analysis indicate more suitable method for given bi-orthogonal wavelet.

  11. The ship edge feature detection based on high and low threshold for remote sensing image

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Xuan; Li, Shengyang

    2018-05-01

    In this paper, a method based on high and low threshold is proposed to detect the ship edge feature due to the low accuracy rate caused by the noise. Analyze the relationship between human vision system and the target features, and to determine the ship target by detecting the edge feature. Firstly, using the second-order differential method to enhance the quality of image; Secondly, to improvement the edge operator, we introduction of high and low threshold contrast to enhancement image edge and non-edge points, and the edge as the foreground image, non-edge as a background image using image segmentation to achieve edge detection, and remove the false edges; Finally, the edge features are described based on the result of edge features detection, and determine the ship target. The experimental results show that the proposed method can effectively reduce the number of false edges in edge detection, and has the high accuracy of remote sensing ship edge detection.

  12. Atomic multiplets at the L2,3 edge of 3d transition metals and the ligand K edge in x-ray absorption spectroscopy of ionic systems

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Olalde-Velasco, P.; Jiménez-Mier, J.; Denlinger, J.; Yang, W.-L.

    2013-06-01

    Experimental X-ray absorption spectra at the fluorine K and transition metal L2,3 absorption edges of the MF2 (M=Cr-Ni) family are presented. Ligand field calculations in D4h symmetry show very good agreement with the transition metal L2,3 XAS spectra. To successfully explain nominal Cr2+ L2,3 XAS spectrum in CrF2, the inclusion of Cr+ and Cr3+ was needed implying the presence of a disproportionation reaction. The multiplet calculations were then modified to remove the structure of the 2p hole in the calculated M 2p→3d absorption spectra. These results for the 3dn+1 states are in one to one correspondence with the leading edge structures found at the fluorine K edge. A direct comparison with the metal L2,3 edges also indicates that there is evidence of the metal multiplet at the fluorine K pre-edge structures.

  13. Edge-Based Image Compression with Homogeneous Diffusion

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mainberger, Markus; Weickert, Joachim

    It is well-known that edges contain semantically important image information. In this paper we present a lossy compression method for cartoon-like images that exploits information at image edges. These edges are extracted with the Marr-Hildreth operator followed by hysteresis thresholding. Their locations are stored in a lossless way using JBIG. Moreover, we encode the grey or colour values at both sides of each edge by applying quantisation, subsampling and PAQ coding. In the decoding step, information outside these encoded data is recovered by solving the Laplace equation, i.e. we inpaint with the steady state of a homogeneous diffusion process. Our experiments show that the suggested method outperforms the widely-used JPEG standard and can even beat the advanced JPEG2000 standard for cartoon-like images.

  14. Ca L2,3-edge XANES and Sr K-edge EXAFS study of hydroxyapatite and fossil bone apatite.

    PubMed

    Zougrou, I M; Katsikini, M; Brzhezinskaya, M; Pinakidou, F; Papadopoulou, L; Tsoukala, E; Paloura, E C

    2016-08-01

    Upon burial, the organic and inorganic components of hard tissues such as bone, teeth, and tusks are subjected to various alterations as a result of interactions with the chemical milieu of soil, groundwater, and presence of microorganisms. In this study, simulation of the Ca L 2,3-edge X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) spectrum of hydroxyapatite, using the CTM4XAS code, reveals that the different symmetry of the two nonequivalent Ca(1) and Ca(2) sites in the unit cell gives rise to specific spectral features. Moreover, Ca L 2,3-edge XANES spectroscopy is applied in order to assess variations in fossil bone apatite crystallinity due to heavy bacterial alteration and catastrophic mineral dissolution, compared to well-preserved fossil apatite, fresh bone, and geologic apatite reference samples. Fossilization-induced chemical alterations are investigated by means of Ca L 2,3-edge XANES and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and are related to histological evaluation using optical microscopy images. Finally, the variations in the bonding environment of Sr and its preference for substitution in the Ca(1) or Ca(2) sites upon increasing the Sr/Ca ratio is assessed by Sr K-edge extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectroscopy.

  15. Ca L2,3-edge XANES and Sr K-edge EXAFS study of hydroxyapatite and fossil bone apatite

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zougrou, I. M.; Katsikini, M.; Brzhezinskaya, M.; Pinakidou, F.; Papadopoulou, L.; Tsoukala, E.; Paloura, E. C.

    2016-08-01

    Upon burial, the organic and inorganic components of hard tissues such as bone, teeth, and tusks are subjected to various alterations as a result of interactions with the chemical milieu of soil, groundwater, and presence of microorganisms. In this study, simulation of the Ca L 2,3-edge X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) spectrum of hydroxyapatite, using the CTM4XAS code, reveals that the different symmetry of the two nonequivalent Ca(1) and Ca(2) sites in the unit cell gives rise to specific spectral features. Moreover, Ca L 2,3-edge XANES spectroscopy is applied in order to assess variations in fossil bone apatite crystallinity due to heavy bacterial alteration and catastrophic mineral dissolution, compared to well-preserved fossil apatite, fresh bone, and geologic apatite reference samples. Fossilization-induced chemical alterations are investigated by means of Ca L 2,3-edge XANES and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and are related to histological evaluation using optical microscopy images. Finally, the variations in the bonding environment of Sr and its preference for substitution in the Ca(1) or Ca(2) sites upon increasing the Sr/Ca ratio is assessed by Sr K-edge extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectroscopy.

  16. In-flight edge response measurements for high-spatial-resolution remote sensing systems

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Blonski, Slawomir; Pagnutti, Mary A.; Ryan, Robert; Zanoni, Vickie

    2002-09-01

    In-flight measurements of spatial resolution were conducted as part of the NASA Scientific Data Purchase Verification and Validation process. Characterization included remote sensing image products with ground sample distance of 1 meter or less, such as those acquired with the panchromatic imager onboard the IKONOS satellite and the airborne ADAR System 5500 multispectral instrument. Final image products were used to evaluate the effects of both the image acquisition system and image post-processing. Spatial resolution was characterized by full width at half maximum of an edge-response-derived line spread function. The edge responses were analyzed using the tilted-edge technique that overcomes the spatial sampling limitations of the digital imaging systems. As an enhancement to existing algorithms, the slope of the edge response and the orientation of the edge target were determined by a single computational process. Adjacent black and white square panels, either painted on a flat surface or deployed as tarps, formed the ground-based edge targets used in the tests. Orientation of the deployable tarps was optimized beforehand, based on simulations of the imaging system. The effects of such factors as acquisition geometry, temporal variability, Modulation Transfer Function compensation, and ground sample distance on spatial resolution were investigated.

  17. Application of an oscillation-type linear cadmium telluride detector to enhanced gadolinium K-edge computed tomography

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Matsukiyo, Hiroshi; Sato, Eiichi; Hagiwara, Osahiko; Abudurexiti, Abulajiang; Osawa, Akihiro; Enomoto, Toshiyuki; Watanabe, Manabu; Nagao, Jiro; Sato, Shigehiro; Ogawa, Akira; Onagawa, Jun

    2011-03-01

    A linear cadmium telluride (CdTe) detector is useful for carrying out energy-discrimination X-ray imaging, including computed tomography (CT). To perform enhanced gadolinium K-edge CT, we used an oscillation-type linear CdTe detector with an energy resolution of 1.2 keV. CT is performed by repeating the linear scan and the rotation of an object. Penetrating X-ray photons from the object are detected by the CdTe detector, and event signals of X-ray photons are produced using charge-sensitive and shaping amplifiers. Both the photon energy and the energy width are selected using a multichannel analyzer, and the number of photons is counted by a counter card. In energy-discrimination CT, tube voltage and current were 80 kV and 20 μA, respectively, and X-ray intensity was 1.55 μGy/s at 1.0 m from the source at a tube voltage of 80 kV. Demonstration of enhanced gadolinium K-edge X-ray CT was carried out by selecting photons with energies just beyond gadolinium K-edge energy of 50.3 keV.

  18. Segmentation of Brain Lesions in MRI and CT Scan Images: A Hybrid Approach Using k-Means Clustering and Image Morphology

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Agrawal, Ritu; Sharma, Manisha; Singh, Bikesh Kumar

    2018-04-01

    Manual segmentation and analysis of lesions in medical images is time consuming and subjected to human errors. Automated segmentation has thus gained significant attention in recent years. This article presents a hybrid approach for brain lesion segmentation in different imaging modalities by combining median filter, k means clustering, Sobel edge detection and morphological operations. Median filter is an essential pre-processing step and is used to remove impulsive noise from the acquired brain images followed by k-means segmentation, Sobel edge detection and morphological processing. The performance of proposed automated system is tested on standard datasets using performance measures such as segmentation accuracy and execution time. The proposed method achieves a high accuracy of 94% when compared with manual delineation performed by an expert radiologist. Furthermore, the statistical significance test between lesion segmented using automated approach and that by expert delineation using ANOVA and correlation coefficient achieved high significance values of 0.986 and 1 respectively. The experimental results obtained are discussed in lieu of some recently reported studies.

  19. Edge detection - Image-plane versus digital processing

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Huck, Friedrich O.; Fales, Carl L.; Park, Stephen K.; Triplett, Judith A.

    1987-01-01

    To optimize edge detection with the familiar Laplacian-of-Gaussian operator, it has become common to implement this operator with a large digital convolution mask followed by some interpolation of the processed data to determine the zero crossings that locate edges. It is generally recognized that this large mask causes substantial blurring of fine detail. It is shown that the spatial detail can be improved by a factor of about four with either the Wiener-Laplacian-of-Gaussian filter or an image-plane processor. The Wiener-Laplacian-of-Gaussian filter minimizes the image-gathering degradations if the scene statistics are at least approximately known and also serves as an interpolator to determine the desired zero crossings directly. The image-plane processor forms the Laplacian-of-Gaussian response by properly combining the optical design of the image-gathering system with a minimal three-by-three lateral-inhibitory processing mask. This approach, which is suggested by Marr's model of early processing in human vision, also reduces data processing by about two orders of magnitude and data transmission by up to an order of magnitude.

  20. Imaging system design and image interpolation based on CMOS image sensor

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Yu-feng; Liang, Fei; Guo, Rui

    2009-11-01

    An image acquisition system is introduced, which consists of a color CMOS image sensor (OV9620), SRAM (CY62148), CPLD (EPM7128AE) and DSP (TMS320VC5509A). The CPLD implements the logic and timing control to the system. SRAM stores the image data, and DSP controls the image acquisition system through the SCCB (Omni Vision Serial Camera Control Bus). The timing sequence of the CMOS image sensor OV9620 is analyzed. The imaging part and the high speed image data memory unit are designed. The hardware and software design of the image acquisition and processing system is given. CMOS digital cameras use color filter arrays to sample different spectral components, such as red, green, and blue. At the location of each pixel only one color sample is taken, and the other colors must be interpolated from neighboring samples. We use the edge-oriented adaptive interpolation algorithm for the edge pixels and bilinear interpolation algorithm for the non-edge pixels to improve the visual quality of the interpolated images. This method can get high processing speed, decrease the computational complexity, and effectively preserve the image edges.

  1. Canny edge-based deformable image registration

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kearney, Vasant; Huang, Yihui; Mao, Weihua; Yuan, Baohong; Tang, Liping

    2017-02-01

    This work focuses on developing a 2D Canny edge-based deformable image registration (Canny DIR) algorithm to register in vivo white light images taken at various time points. This method uses a sparse interpolation deformation algorithm to sparsely register regions of the image with strong edge information. A stability criterion is enforced which removes regions of edges that do not deform in a smooth uniform manner. Using a synthetic mouse surface ground truth model, the accuracy of the Canny DIR algorithm was evaluated under axial rotation in the presence of deformation. The accuracy was also tested using fluorescent dye injections, which were then used for gamma analysis to establish a second ground truth. The results indicate that the Canny DIR algorithm performs better than rigid registration, intensity corrected Demons, and distinctive features for all evaluation matrices and ground truth scenarios. In conclusion Canny DIR performs well in the presence of the unique lighting and shading variations associated with white-light-based image registration.

  2. Iron K-edge X-ray absorption near-edge structure spectroscopy of aerodynamically levitated silicate melts and glasses

    DOE PAGES

    Alderman, O. L. G.; Wilding, M. C.; Tamalonis, A.; ...

    2017-01-26

    Here, the local structure about Fe(II) and Fe(III) in silicate melts was investigated in-situ using iron K-edge X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy. An aerodynamic levitation and laser heating system was used to allow access to high temperatures without contamination, and was combined with a chamber and gas mixing system to allow the iron oxidation state, Fe 3+/ΣFe, to be varied by systematic control of the atmospheric oxygen fugacity. Eleven alkali-free, mostly iron-rich and depolymerized base compositions were chosen for the experiments, including pure oxide FeO, olivines (Fe,Mg) 2SiO 4, pyroxenes (Fe,Mg)SiO 3, calcic FeO-CaSiO 3, and a calcium aluminosilicatemore » composition, where total iron content is denoted by FeO for convenience. Melt temperatures varied between 1410 and 2160 K and oxygen fugacities between FMQ – 2.3(3) to FMQ + 9.1(3) log units (uncertainties in parentheses) relative to the fayalite-magnetite-β-quartz (FMQ) buffer.« less

  3. Markov random field model-based edge-directed image interpolation.

    PubMed

    Li, Min; Nguyen, Truong Q

    2008-07-01

    This paper presents an edge-directed image interpolation algorithm. In the proposed algorithm, the edge directions are implicitly estimated with a statistical-based approach. In opposite to explicit edge directions, the local edge directions are indicated by length-16 weighting vectors. Implicitly, the weighting vectors are used to formulate geometric regularity (GR) constraint (smoothness along edges and sharpness across edges) and the GR constraint is imposed on the interpolated image through the Markov random field (MRF) model. Furthermore, under the maximum a posteriori-MRF framework, the desired interpolated image corresponds to the minimal energy state of a 2-D random field given the low-resolution image. Simulated annealing methods are used to search for the minimal energy state from the state space. To lower the computational complexity of MRF, a single-pass implementation is designed, which performs nearly as well as the iterative optimization. Simulation results show that the proposed MRF model-based edge-directed interpolation method produces edges with strong geometric regularity. Compared to traditional methods and other edge-directed interpolation methods, the proposed method improves the subjective quality of the interpolated edges while maintaining a high PSNR level.

  4. Identification of column edges of DNA fragments by using K-means clustering and mean algorithm on lane histograms of DNA agarose gel electrophoresis images

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Turan, Muhammed K.; Sehirli, Eftal; Elen, Abdullah; Karas, Ismail R.

    2015-07-01

    Gel electrophoresis (GE) is one of the most used method to separate DNA, RNA, protein molecules according to size, weight and quantity parameters in many areas such as genetics, molecular biology, biochemistry, microbiology. The main way to separate each molecule is to find borders of each molecule fragment. This paper presents a software application that show columns edges of DNA fragments in 3 steps. In the first step the application obtains lane histograms of agarose gel electrophoresis images by doing projection based on x-axis. In the second step, it utilizes k-means clustering algorithm to classify point values of lane histogram such as left side values, right side values and undesired values. In the third step, column edges of DNA fragments is shown by using mean algorithm and mathematical processes to separate DNA fragments from the background in a fully automated way. In addition to this, the application presents locations of DNA fragments and how many DNA fragments exist on images captured by a scientific camera.

  5. HST/WFC3 Imaging and Multi-Wavelength Characterization of Edge-On Protoplanetary Disks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gould, Carolina; Williams, Hayley; Duchene, Gaspard

    2017-10-01

    In recent years, the imaging detail in resolved protoplanetary disks has vastly improved and created a critical mass of objects to survey and compare properties, leading us to better understandings of system formation. In particular, disks with an edge-on inclination offer an important perspective, not only for the imaging convenience since the disk blocks stellar light, but scientifically an edge-on disk provides an otherwise impossible opportunity to observe vertical dust structure of a protoplanetary system. In this contribution, we compare seven HST-imaged edge-on protoplanetary disks in the Taurus, Chamaeleon and Ophiuchus star-forming regions, making note the variation in morphology (settled vs flared), dust properties revealed by multiwavelength color mapping, brightness variability over years timescales, and the presence in some systems of a blue-colored atmosphere far above the disk midplane. By using a uniform approach for their analysis, together these seven edge-on protoplanetary disk systems can give insights on evolutionary processes and inform future projects that explore this critical stage of planet formation.

  6. Edge detection techniques for iris recognition system

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tania, U. T.; Motakabber, S. M. A.; Ibrahimy, M. I.

    2013-12-01

    Nowadays security and authentication are the major parts of our daily life. Iris is one of the most reliable organ or part of human body which can be used for identification and authentication purpose. To develop an iris authentication algorithm for personal identification, this paper examines two edge detection techniques for iris recognition system. Between the Sobel and the Canny edge detection techniques, the experimental result shows that the Canny's technique has better ability to detect points in a digital image where image gray level changes even at slow rate.

  7. An edge-directed interpolation method for fetal spine MR images.

    PubMed

    Yu, Shaode; Zhang, Rui; Wu, Shibin; Hu, Jiani; Xie, Yaoqin

    2013-10-10

    Fetal spinal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a prenatal routine for proper assessment of fetus development, especially when suspected spinal malformations occur while ultrasound fails to provide details. Limited by hardware, fetal spine MR images suffer from its low resolution.High-resolution MR images can directly enhance readability and improve diagnosis accuracy. Image interpolation for higher resolution is required in clinical situations, while many methods fail to preserve edge structures. Edge carries heavy structural messages of objects in visual scenes for doctors to detect suspicions, classify malformations and make correct diagnosis. Effective interpolation with well-preserved edge structures is still challenging. In this paper, we propose an edge-directed interpolation (EDI) method and apply it on a group of fetal spine MR images to evaluate its feasibility and performance. This method takes edge messages from Canny edge detector to guide further pixel modification. First, low-resolution (LR) images of fetal spine are interpolated into high-resolution (HR) images with targeted factor by bi-linear method. Then edge information from LR and HR images is put into a twofold strategy to sharpen or soften edge structures. Finally a HR image with well-preserved edge structures is generated. The HR images obtained from proposed method are validated and compared with that from other four EDI methods. Performances are evaluated from six metrics, and subjective analysis of visual quality is based on regions of interest (ROI). All these five EDI methods are able to generate HR images with enriched details. From quantitative analysis of six metrics, the proposed method outperforms the other four from signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR), structure similarity index (SSIM), feature similarity index (FSIM) and mutual information (MI) with seconds-level time consumptions (TC). Visual analysis of ROI shows that the proposed method maintains

  8. The Edge Detectors Suitable for Retinal OCT Image Segmentation

    PubMed Central

    Yang, Jing; Gao, Qian; Zhou, Sheng

    2017-01-01

    Retinal layer thickness measurement offers important information for reliable diagnosis of retinal diseases and for the evaluation of disease development and medical treatment responses. This task critically depends on the accurate edge detection of the retinal layers in OCT images. Here, we intended to search for the most suitable edge detectors for the retinal OCT image segmentation task. The three most promising edge detection algorithms were identified in the related literature: Canny edge detector, the two-pass method, and the EdgeFlow technique. The quantitative evaluation results show that the two-pass method outperforms consistently the Canny detector and the EdgeFlow technique in delineating the retinal layer boundaries in the OCT images. In addition, the mean localization deviation metrics show that the two-pass method caused the smallest edge shifting problem. These findings suggest that the two-pass method is the best among the three algorithms for detecting retinal layer boundaries. The overall better performance of Canny and two-pass methods over EdgeFlow technique implies that the OCT images contain more intensity gradient information than texture changes along the retinal layer boundaries. The results will guide our future efforts in the quantitative analysis of retinal OCT images for the effective use of OCT technologies in the field of ophthalmology. PMID:29065594

  9. Blurred image restoration using knife-edge function and optimal window Wiener filtering.

    PubMed

    Wang, Min; Zhou, Shudao; Yan, Wei

    2018-01-01

    Motion blur in images is usually modeled as the convolution of a point spread function (PSF) and the original image represented as pixel intensities. The knife-edge function can be used to model various types of motion-blurs, and hence it allows for the construction of a PSF and accurate estimation of the degradation function without knowledge of the specific degradation model. This paper addresses the problem of image restoration using a knife-edge function and optimal window Wiener filtering. In the proposed method, we first calculate the motion-blur parameters and construct the optimal window. Then, we use the detected knife-edge function to obtain the system degradation function. Finally, we perform Wiener filtering to obtain the restored image. Experiments show that the restored image has improved resolution and contrast parameters with clear details and no discernible ringing effects.

  10. Blurred image restoration using knife-edge function and optimal window Wiener filtering

    PubMed Central

    Zhou, Shudao; Yan, Wei

    2018-01-01

    Motion blur in images is usually modeled as the convolution of a point spread function (PSF) and the original image represented as pixel intensities. The knife-edge function can be used to model various types of motion-blurs, and hence it allows for the construction of a PSF and accurate estimation of the degradation function without knowledge of the specific degradation model. This paper addresses the problem of image restoration using a knife-edge function and optimal window Wiener filtering. In the proposed method, we first calculate the motion-blur parameters and construct the optimal window. Then, we use the detected knife-edge function to obtain the system degradation function. Finally, we perform Wiener filtering to obtain the restored image. Experiments show that the restored image has improved resolution and contrast parameters with clear details and no discernible ringing effects. PMID:29377950

  11. ESIM: Edge Similarity for Screen Content Image Quality Assessment.

    PubMed

    Ni, Zhangkai; Ma, Lin; Zeng, Huanqiang; Chen, Jing; Cai, Canhui; Ma, Kai-Kuang

    2017-10-01

    In this paper, an accurate full-reference image quality assessment (IQA) model developed for assessing screen content images (SCIs), called the edge similarity (ESIM), is proposed. It is inspired by the fact that the human visual system (HVS) is highly sensitive to edges that are often encountered in SCIs; therefore, essential edge features are extracted and exploited for conducting IQA for the SCIs. The key novelty of the proposed ESIM lies in the extraction and use of three salient edge features-i.e., edge contrast, edge width, and edge direction. The first two attributes are simultaneously generated from the input SCI based on a parametric edge model, while the last one is derived directly from the input SCI. The extraction of these three features will be performed for the reference SCI and the distorted SCI, individually. The degree of similarity measured for each above-mentioned edge attribute is then computed independently, followed by combining them together using our proposed edge-width pooling strategy to generate the final ESIM score. To conduct the performance evaluation of our proposed ESIM model, a new and the largest SCI database (denoted as SCID) is established in our work and made to the public for download. Our database contains 1800 distorted SCIs that are generated from 40 reference SCIs. For each SCI, nine distortion types are investigated, and five degradation levels are produced for each distortion type. Extensive simulation results have clearly shown that the proposed ESIM model is more consistent with the perception of the HVS on the evaluation of distorted SCIs than the multiple state-of-the-art IQA methods.

  12. Investigating the interstellar dust through the Fe K-edge

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rogantini, D.; Costantini, E.; Zeegers, S. T.; de Vries, C. P.; Bras, W.; de Groot, F.; Mutschke, H.; Waters, L. B. F. M.

    2018-01-01

    Context. The chemical and physical properties of interstellar dust in the densest regions of the Galaxy are still not well understood. X-rays provide a powerful probe since they can penetrate gas and dust over a wide range of column densities (up to 1024 cm-2). The interaction (scattering and absorption) with the medium imprints spectral signatures that reflect the individual atoms which constitute the gas, molecule, or solid. Aims: In this work we investigate the ability of high resolution X-ray spectroscopy to probe the properties of cosmic grains containing iron. Although iron is heavily depleted into interstellar dust, the nature of the Fe-bearing grains is still largely uncertain. Methods: In our analysis we use iron K-edge synchrotron data of minerals likely present in the ISM dust taken at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility. We explore the prospects of determining the chemical composition and the size of astrophysical dust in the Galactic centre and in molecular clouds with future X-ray missions. The energy resolution and the effective area of the present X-ray telescopes are not sufficient to detect and study the Fe K-edge, even for bright X-ray sources. Results: From the analysis of the extinction cross sections of our dust models implemented in the spectral fitting program SPEX, the Fe K-edge is promising for investigating both the chemistry and the size distribution of the interstellar dust. We find that the chemical composition regulates the X-ray absorption fine structures in the post edge region, whereas the scattering feature in the pre-edge is sensitive to the mean grain size. Finally, we note that the Fe K-edge is insensitive to other dust properties, such as the porosity and the geometry of the dust. The absorption, scattering, and extinction cross sections of the compounds are only available at the CDS via anonymous ftp to http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (http://130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/qcat?J/A+A/609/A22

  13. Multiple energy synchrotron biomedical imaging system

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bassey, B.; Martinson, M.; Samadi, N.; Belev, G.; Karanfil, C.; Qi, P.; Chapman, D.

    2016-12-01

    A multiple energy imaging system that can extract multiple endogenous or induced contrast materials as well as water and bone images would be ideal for imaging of biological subjects. The continuous spectrum available from synchrotron light facilities provides a nearly perfect source for multiple energy x-ray imaging. A novel multiple energy x-ray imaging system, which prepares a horizontally focused polychromatic x-ray beam, has been developed at the BioMedical Imaging and Therapy bend magnet beamline at the Canadian Light Source. The imaging system is made up of a cylindrically bent Laue single silicon (5,1,1) crystal monochromator, scanning and positioning stages for the subjects, flat panel (area) detector, and a data acquisition and control system. Depending on the crystal’s bent radius, reflection type, and the horizontal beam width of the filtered synchrotron radiation (20-50 keV) used, the size and spectral energy range of the focused beam prepared varied. For example, with a bent radius of 95 cm, a (1,1,1) type reflection and a 50 mm wide beam, a 0.5 mm wide focused beam of spectral energy range 27 keV-43 keV was obtained. This spectral energy range covers the K-edges of iodine (33.17 keV), xenon (34.56 keV), cesium (35.99 keV), and barium (37.44 keV) some of these elements are used as biomedical and clinical contrast agents. Using the developed imaging system, a test subject composed of iodine, xenon, cesium, and barium along with water and bone were imaged and their projected concentrations successfully extracted. The estimated dose rate to test subjects imaged at a ring current of 200 mA is 8.7 mGy s-1, corresponding to a cumulative dose of 1.3 Gy and a dose of 26.1 mGy per image. Potential biomedical applications of the imaging system will include projection imaging that requires any of the extracted elements as a contrast agent and multi-contrast K-edge imaging.

  14. Edge Sharpness Assessment by Parametric Modeling: Application to Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

    PubMed

    Ahmad, R; Ding, Y; Simonetti, O P

    2015-05-01

    In biomedical imaging, edge sharpness is an important yet often overlooked image quality metric. In this work, a semi-automatic method to quantify edge sharpness in the presence of significant noise is presented with application to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The method is based on parametric modeling of image edges. First, an edge map is automatically generated and one or more edges-of-interest (EOI) are manually selected using graphical user interface. Multiple exclusion criteria are then enforced to eliminate edge pixels that are potentially not suitable for sharpness assessment. Second, at each pixel of the EOI, an image intensity profile is read along a small line segment that runs locally normal to the EOI. Third, the profiles corresponding to all EOI pixels are individually fitted with a sigmoid function characterized by four parameters, including one that represents edge sharpness. Last, the distribution of the sharpness parameter is used to quantify edge sharpness. For validation, the method is applied to simulated data as well as MRI data from both phantom imaging and cine imaging experiments. This method allows for fast, quantitative evaluation of edge sharpness even in images with poor signal-to-noise ratio. Although the utility of this method is demonstrated for MRI, it can be adapted for other medical imaging applications.

  15. Efficient method of image edge detection based on FSVM

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cai, Aiping; Xiong, Xiaomei

    2013-07-01

    For efficient object cover edge detection in digital images, this paper studied traditional methods and algorithm based on SVM. It analyzed Canny edge detection algorithm existed some pseudo-edge and poor anti-noise capability. In order to provide a reliable edge extraction method, propose a new detection algorithm based on FSVM. Which contains several steps: first, trains classify sample and gives the different membership function to different samples. Then, a new training sample is formed by increase the punishment some wrong sub-sample, and use the new FSVM classification model for train and test them. Finally the edges are extracted of the object image by using the model. Experimental result shows that good edge detection image will be obtained and adding noise experiments results show that this method has good anti-noise.

  16. 3CCD image segmentation and edge detection based on MATLAB

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    He, Yong; Pan, Jiazhi; Zhang, Yun

    2006-09-01

    This research aimed to identify weeds from crops in early stage in the field operation by using image-processing technology. As 3CCD images offer greater binary value difference between weed and crop section than ordinary digital images taken by common cameras. It has 3 channels (green, red, ifred) which takes a snap-photo of the same area, and the three images can be composed into one image, which facilitates the segmentation of different areas. By the application of image-processing toolkit on MATLAB, the different areas in the image can be segmented clearly. As edge detection technique is the first and very important step in image processing, The different result of different processing method was compared. Especially, by using the wavelet packet transform toolkit on MATLAB, An image was preprocessed and then the edge was extracted, and getting more clearly cut image of edge. The segmentation methods include operations as erosion, dilation and other algorithms to preprocess the images. It is of great importance to segment different areas in digital images in field real time, so as to be applied in precision farming, to saving energy and herbicide and many other materials. At present time Large scale software as MATLAB on PC was used, but the computation can be reduced and integrated into a small embed system, which means that the application of this technique in agricultural engineering is feasible and of great economical value.

  17. Edge enhancement algorithm for low-dose X-ray fluoroscopic imaging.

    PubMed

    Lee, Min Seok; Park, Chul Hee; Kang, Moon Gi

    2017-12-01

    Low-dose X-ray fluoroscopy has continually evolved to reduce radiation risk to patients during clinical diagnosis and surgery. However, the reduction in dose exposure causes quality degradation of the acquired images. In general, an X-ray device has a time-average pre-processor to remove the generated quantum noise. However, this pre-processor causes blurring and artifacts within the moving edge regions, and noise remains in the image. During high-pass filtering (HPF) to enhance edge detail, this noise in the image is amplified. In this study, a 2D edge enhancement algorithm comprising region adaptive HPF with the transient improvement (TI) method, as well as artifacts and noise reduction (ANR), was developed for degraded X-ray fluoroscopic images. The proposed method was applied in a static scene pre-processed by a low-dose X-ray fluoroscopy device. First, the sharpness of the X-ray image was improved using region adaptive HPF with the TI method, which facilitates sharpening of edge details without overshoot problems. Then, an ANR filter that uses an edge directional kernel was developed to remove the artifacts and noise that can occur during sharpening, while preserving edge details. The quantitative and qualitative results obtained by applying the developed method to low-dose X-ray fluoroscopic images and visually and numerically comparing the final images with images improved using conventional edge enhancement techniques indicate that the proposed method outperforms existing edge enhancement methods in terms of objective criteria and subjective visual perception of the actual X-ray fluoroscopic image. The developed edge enhancement algorithm performed well when applied to actual low-dose X-ray fluoroscopic images, not only by improving the sharpness, but also by removing artifacts and noise, including overshoot. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  18. Effect of Edge-Preserving Adaptive Image Filter on Low-Contrast Detectability in CT Systems: Application of ROC Analysis

    PubMed Central

    Okumura, Miwa; Ota, Takamasa; Kainuma, Kazuhisa; Sayre, James W.; McNitt-Gray, Michael; Katada, Kazuhiro

    2008-01-01

    Objective. For the multislice CT (MSCT) systems with a larger number of detector rows, it is essential to employ dose-reduction techniques. As reported in previous studies, edge-preserving adaptive image filters, which selectively eliminate only the noise elements that are increased when the radiation dose is reduced without affecting the sharpness of images, have been developed. In the present study, we employed receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis to assess the effects of the quantum denoising system (QDS), which is an edge-preserving adaptive filter that we have developed, on low-contrast resolution, and to evaluate to what degree the radiation dose can be reduced while maintaining acceptable low-contrast resolution. Materials and Methods. The low-contrast phantoms (Catphan 412) were scanned at various tube current settings, and ROC analysis was then performed for the groups of images obtained with/without the use of QDS at each tube current to determine whether or not a target could be identified. The tube current settings for which the area under the ROC curve (Az value) was approximately 0.7 were determined for both groups of images with/without the use of QDS. Then, the radiation dose reduction ratio when QDS was used was calculated by converting the determined tube current to the radiation dose. Results. The use of the QDS edge-preserving adaptive image filter allowed the radiation dose to be reduced by up to 38%. Conclusion. The QDS was found to be useful for reducing the radiation dose without affecting the low-contrast resolution in MSCT studies. PMID:19043565

  19. Combining volumetric edge display and multiview display for expression of natural 3D images

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yasui, Ryota; Matsuda, Isamu; Kakeya, Hideki

    2006-02-01

    In the present paper the authors present a novel stereoscopic display method combining volumetric edge display technology and multiview display technology to realize presentation of natural 3D images where the viewers do not suffer from contradiction between binocular convergence and focal accommodation of the eyes, which causes eyestrain and sickness. We adopt volumetric display method only for edge drawing, while we adopt stereoscopic approach for flat areas of the image. Since focal accommodation of our eyes is affected only by the edge part of the image, natural focal accommodation can be induced if the edges of the 3D image are drawn on the proper depth. The conventional stereo-matching technique can give us robust depth values of the pixels which constitute noticeable edges. Also occlusion and gloss of the objects can be roughly expressed with the proposed method since we use stereoscopic approach for the flat area. We can attain a system where many users can view natural 3D objects at the consistent position and posture at the same time in this system. A simple optometric experiment using a refractometer suggests that the proposed method can give us 3-D images without contradiction between binocular convergence and focal accommodation.

  20. Swarm Intelligence for Optimizing Hybridized Smoothing Filter in Image Edge Enhancement

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rao, B. Tirumala; Dehuri, S.; Dileep, M.; Vindhya, A.

    In this modern era, image transmission and processing plays a major role. It would be impossible to retrieve information from satellite and medical images without the help of image processing techniques. Edge enhancement is an image processing step that enhances the edge contrast of an image or video in an attempt to improve its acutance. Edges are the representations of the discontinuities of image intensity functions. For processing these discontinuities in an image, a good edge enhancement technique is essential. The proposed work uses a new idea for edge enhancement using hybridized smoothening filters and we introduce a promising technique of obtaining best hybrid filter using swarm algorithms (Artificial Bee Colony (ABC), Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) and Ant Colony Optimization (ACO)) to search for an optimal sequence of filters from among a set of rather simple, representative image processing filters. This paper deals with the analysis of the swarm intelligence techniques through the combination of hybrid filters generated by these algorithms for image edge enhancement.

  1. Edge-preserving image compression for magnetic-resonance images using dynamic associative neural networks (DANN)-based neural networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wan, Tat C.; Kabuka, Mansur R.

    1994-05-01

    With the tremendous growth in imaging applications and the development of filmless radiology, the need for compression techniques that can achieve high compression ratios with user specified distortion rates becomes necessary. Boundaries and edges in the tissue structures are vital for detection of lesions and tumors, which in turn requires the preservation of edges in the image. The proposed edge preserving image compressor (EPIC) combines lossless compression of edges with neural network compression techniques based on dynamic associative neural networks (DANN), to provide high compression ratios with user specified distortion rates in an adaptive compression system well-suited to parallel implementations. Improvements to DANN-based training through the use of a variance classifier for controlling a bank of neural networks speed convergence and allow the use of higher compression ratios for `simple' patterns. The adaptation and generalization capabilities inherent in EPIC also facilitate progressive transmission of images through varying the number of quantization levels used to represent compressed patterns. Average compression ratios of 7.51:1 with an averaged average mean squared error of 0.0147 were achieved.

  2. Identification of jasmine flower (Jasminum sp.) based on the shape of the flower using sobel edge and k-nearest neighbour

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Qur’ania, A.; Sarinah, I.

    2018-03-01

    People often wrong in knowing the type of jasmine by just looking at the white color of the jasmine, while not all white flowers including jasmine and not all jasmine flowers have white. There is a jasmine that is yellow and there is a jasmine that is white and purple.The aim of this research is to identify Jasmine flower (Jasminum sp.) based on the shape of the flower image-based using Sobel edge detection and k-Nearest Neighbor. Edge detection is used to detect the type of flower from the flower shape. Edge detection aims to improve the appearance of the border of a digital image. While k-Nearest Neighbor method is used to classify the classification of test objects into classes that have neighbouring properties closest to the object of training. The data used in this study are three types of jasmine namely jasmine white (Jasminum sambac), jasmine gambir (Jasminum pubescens), and jasmine japan (Pseuderanthemum reticulatum). Testing of jasmine flower image resized 50 × 50 pixels, 100 × 100 pixels, 150 × 150 pixels yields an accuracy of 84%. Tests on distance values of the k-NN method with spacing 5, 10 and 15 resulted in different accuracy rates for 5 and 10 closest distances yielding the same accuracy rate of 84%, for the 15 shortest distance resulted in a small accuracy of 65.2%.

  3. Transition-edge sensor imaging arrays for astrophysics applications

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Burney, Jennifer Anne

    Many interesting objects in our universe currently elude observation in the optical band: they are too faint or they vary rapidly and thus any structure in their radiation is lost over the period of an exposure. Conventional photon detectors cannot simultaneously provide energy resolution and time-stamping of individual photons at fast rates. Superconducting detectors have recently made the possibility of simultaneous photon counting, imaging, and energy resolution a reality. Our research group has pioneered the use of one such detector, the Transition-Edge Sensor (TES). TES physics is simple and elegant. A thin superconducting film, biased at its critical temperature, can act as a particle detector: an incident particle deposits energy and drives the film into its superconducting-normal transition. By inductively coupling the detector to a SQUID amplifier circuit, this resistance change can be read out as a current pulse, and its energy deduced by integrating over the pulse. TESs can be used to accurately time-stamp (to 0.1 [mu]s) and energy-resolve (0.15 eV at 1.6 eV) near-IR/visible/near-UV photons at rates of 30~kHz. The first astronomical observations using fiber-coupled detectors were made at the Stanford Student Observatory 0.6~m telescope in 1999. Further observations of the Crab Pulsar from the 107" telescope at the University of Texas McDonald Observatory showed rapid phase variations over the near-IR/visible/near-UV band. These preliminary observations provided a glimpse into a new realm of observations of pulsars, binary systems, and accreting black holes promised by TES arrays. This thesis describes the development, characterization, and preliminary use of the first camera system based on Transition-Edge Sensors. While single-device operation is relatively well-understood, the operation of a full imaging array poses significant challenges. This thesis addresses all aspects related to the creation and characterization of this cryogenic imaging

  4. Face recognition via edge-based Gabor feature representation for plastic surgery-altered images

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chude-Olisah, Chollette C.; Sulong, Ghazali; Chude-Okonkwo, Uche A. K.; Hashim, Siti Z. M.

    2014-12-01

    Plastic surgery procedures on the face introduce skin texture variations between images of the same person (intra-subject), thereby making the task of face recognition more difficult than in normal scenario. Usually, in contemporary face recognition systems, the original gray-level face image is used as input to the Gabor descriptor, which translates to encoding some texture properties of the face image. The texture-encoding process significantly degrades the performance of such systems in the case of plastic surgery due to the presence of surgically induced intra-subject variations. Based on the proposition that the shape of significant facial components such as eyes, nose, eyebrow, and mouth remains unchanged after plastic surgery, this paper employs an edge-based Gabor feature representation approach for the recognition of surgically altered face images. We use the edge information, which is dependent on the shapes of the significant facial components, to address the plastic surgery-induced texture variation problems. To ensure that the significant facial components represent useful edge information with little or no false edges, a simple illumination normalization technique is proposed for preprocessing. Gabor wavelet is applied to the edge image to accentuate on the uniqueness of the significant facial components for discriminating among different subjects. The performance of the proposed method is evaluated on the Georgia Tech (GT) and the Labeled Faces in the Wild (LFW) databases with illumination and expression problems, and the plastic surgery database with texture changes. Results show that the proposed edge-based Gabor feature representation approach is robust against plastic surgery-induced face variations amidst expression and illumination problems and outperforms the existing plastic surgery face recognition methods reported in the literature.

  5. Nitrogen K-edge x-ray absorption near edge structure of pyrimidine-containing nucleotides in aqueous solution

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shimada, Hiroyuki; Minami, Hirotake; Okuizumi, Naoto; Sakuma, Ichiro; Ukai, Masatoshi; Fujii, Kentaro; Yokoya, Akinari; Fukuda, Yoshihiro; Saitoh, Yuji

    2015-05-01

    X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) was measured at energies around the N K-edge of the pyrimidine-containing nucleotides, cytidine 5'-monophosphate (CMP), 2'-deoxythymidine 5'-monophosphate (dTMP), and uridine 5'-monophosphate (UMP), in aqueous solutions and in dried films under various pH conditions. The features of resonant excitations below the N K-edge in the XANES spectra for CMP, dTMP, and UMP changed depending on the pH of the solutions. The spectral change thus observed is systematically explained by the chemical shift of the core-levels of N atoms in the nucleobase moieties caused by structural changes due to protonation or deprotonation at different proton concentrations. This interpretation is supported by the results of theoretical calculations using density functional theory for the corresponding nucleobases in the neutral and protonated or deprotonated forms.

  6. Image edge detection based tool condition monitoring with morphological component analysis.

    PubMed

    Yu, Xiaolong; Lin, Xin; Dai, Yiquan; Zhu, Kunpeng

    2017-07-01

    The measurement and monitoring of tool condition are keys to the product precision in the automated manufacturing. To meet the need, this study proposes a novel tool wear monitoring approach based on the monitored image edge detection. Image edge detection has been a fundamental tool to obtain features of images. This approach extracts the tool edge with morphological component analysis. Through the decomposition of original tool wear image, the approach reduces the influence of texture and noise for edge measurement. Based on the target image sparse representation and edge detection, the approach could accurately extract the tool wear edge with continuous and complete contour, and is convenient in charactering tool conditions. Compared to the celebrated algorithms developed in the literature, this approach improves the integrity and connectivity of edges, and the results have shown that it achieves better geometry accuracy and lower error rate in the estimation of tool conditions. Copyright © 2017 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Accelerated Edge-Preserving Image Restoration Without Boundary Artifacts

    PubMed Central

    Matakos, Antonios; Ramani, Sathish; Fessler, Jeffrey A.

    2013-01-01

    To reduce blur in noisy images, regularized image restoration methods have been proposed that use non-quadratic regularizers (like l1 regularization or total-variation) that suppress noise while preserving edges in the image. Most of these methods assume a circulant blur (periodic convolution with a blurring kernel) that can lead to wraparound artifacts along the boundaries of the image due to the implied periodicity of the circulant model. Using a non-circulant model could prevent these artifacts at the cost of increased computational complexity. In this work we propose to use a circulant blur model combined with a masking operator that prevents wraparound artifacts. The resulting model is non-circulant, so we propose an efficient algorithm using variable splitting and augmented Lagrangian (AL) strategies. Our variable splitting scheme, when combined with the AL framework and alternating minimization, leads to simple linear systems that can be solved non-iteratively using FFTs, eliminating the need for more expensive CG-type solvers. The proposed method can also efficiently tackle a variety of convex regularizers including edge-preserving (e.g., total-variation) and sparsity promoting (e.g., l1 norm) regularizers. Simulation results show fast convergence of the proposed method, along with improved image quality at the boundaries where the circulant model is inaccurate. PMID:23372080

  8. Optimization of the K-edge imaging for vulnerable plaques using gold nanoparticles and energy-resolved photon counting detectors: a simulation study

    PubMed Central

    Alivov, Yahya; Baturin, Pavlo; Le, Huy Q.; Ducote, Justin; Molloi, Sabee

    2014-01-01

    We investigated the effect of different imaging parameters such as dose, beam energy, energy resolution, and number of energy bins on image quality of K-edge spectral computed tomography (CT) of gold nanoparticles (GNP) accumulated in an atherosclerotic plaque. Maximum likelihood technique was employed to estimate the concentration of GNP, which served as a targeted intravenous contrast material intended to detect the degree of plaque's inflammation. The simulations studies used a single slice parallel beam CT geometry with an X-ray beam energy ranging between 50 and 140 kVp. The synthetic phantoms included small (3 cm in diameter) cylinder and chest (33x24 cm2) phantom, where both phantoms contained tissue, calcium, and gold. In the simulation studies GNP quantification and background (calcium and tissue) suppression task were pursued. The X-ray detection sensor was represented by an energy resolved photon counting detector (e.g., CdZnTe) with adjustable energy bins. Both ideal and more realistic (12% FWHM energy resolution) implementations of photon counting detector were simulated. The simulations were performed for the CdZnTe detector with pixel pitch of 0.5-1 mm, which corresponds to the performance without significant charge sharing and cross-talk effects. The Rose model was employed to estimate the minimum detectable concentration of GNPs. A figure of merit (FOM) was used to optimize the X-ray beam energy (kVp) to achieve the highest signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) with respect to patient dose. As a result, the successful identification of gold and background suppression was demonstrated. The highest FOM was observed at 125 kVp X-ray beam energy. The minimum detectable GNP concentration was determined to be approximately 1.06 μmol/mL (0.21 mg/mL) for an ideal detector and about 2.5 μmol/mL (0.49 mg/mL) for more realistic (12% FWHM) detector. The studies show the optimal imaging parameters at lowest patient dose using an energy resolved photon counting detector

  9. First Order Statistics of Speckle around a Scatterer Volume Density Edge and Edge Detection in Ultrasound Images.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Yue

    1990-01-01

    Ultrasonic imaging plays an important role in medical imaging. But the images exhibit a granular structure, commonly known as speckle. The speckle tends to mask the presence of low-contrast lesions and reduces the ability of a human observer to resolve fine details. Our interest in this research is to examine the problem of edge detection and come up with methods for improving the visualization of organ boundaries and tissue inhomogeneity edges. An edge in an image can be formed either by acoustic impedance change or by scatterer volume density change (or both). The echo produced from these two kinds of edges has different properties. In this work, it has been proved that the echo from a scatterer volume density edge is the Hilbert transform of the echo from a rough impedance boundary (except for a constant) under certain conditions. This result can be used for choosing the correct signal to transmit to optimize the performance of edge detectors and characterizing an edge. The signal to noise ratio of the echo produced by a scatterer volume density edge is also obtained. It is found that: (1) By transmitting a signal with high bandwidth ratio and low center frequency, one can obtain a higher signal to noise ratio. (2) For large area edges, the farther the transducer is from the edge, the larger is the signal to noise ratio. But for small area edges, the nearer the transducer is to the edge, the larger is the signal to noise ratio. These results enable us to maximize the signal to noise ratio by adjusting these parameters. (3) The signal to noise ratio is not only related to the ratio of scatterer volume densities at the edge, but also related to the absolute value of scatterer volume densities. Some of these results have been proved through simulation and experiment. Different edge detection methods have been used to detect simulated scatterer volume density edges to compare their performance. A so-called interlaced array method has been developed for speckle

  10. Probing single magnon excitations in Sr₂IrO₄ using O K-edge resonant inelastic x-ray scattering.

    PubMed

    Liu, X; Dean, M P M; Liu, J; Chiuzbăian, S G; Jaouen, N; Nicolaou, A; Yin, W G; Rayan Serrao, C; Ramesh, R; Ding, H; Hill, J P

    2015-05-27

    Resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (RIXS) at the L-edge of transition metal elements is now commonly used to probe single magnon excitations. Here we show that single magnon excitations can also be measured with RIXS at the K-edge of the surrounding ligand atoms when the center heavy metal elements have strong spin-orbit coupling. This is demonstrated with oxygen K-edge RIXS experiments on the perovskite Sr2IrO4, where low energy peaks from single magnon excitations were observed. This new application of RIXS has excellent potential to be applied to a wide range of magnetic systems based on heavy elements, for which the L-edge RIXS energy resolution in the hard x-ray region is usually poor.

  11. Automatic comic page image understanding based on edge segment analysis

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Liu, Dong; Wang, Yongtao; Tang, Zhi; Li, Luyuan; Gao, Liangcai

    2013-12-01

    Comic page image understanding aims to analyse the layout of the comic page images by detecting the storyboards and identifying the reading order automatically. It is the key technique to produce the digital comic documents suitable for reading on mobile devices. In this paper, we propose a novel comic page image understanding method based on edge segment analysis. First, we propose an efficient edge point chaining method to extract Canny edge segments (i.e., contiguous chains of Canny edge points) from the input comic page image; second, we propose a top-down scheme to detect line segments within each obtained edge segment; third, we develop a novel method to detect the storyboards by selecting the border lines and further identify the reading order of these storyboards. The proposed method is performed on a data set consisting of 2000 comic page images from ten printed comic series. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method achieves satisfactory results on different comics and outperforms the existing methods.

  12. Edge Detection Method Based on Neural Networks for COMS MI Images

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lee, Jin-Ho; Park, Eun-Bin; Woo, Sun-Hee

    2016-12-01

    Communication, Ocean And Meteorological Satellite (COMS) Meteorological Imager (MI) images are processed for radiometric and geometric correction from raw image data. When intermediate image data are matched and compared with reference landmark images in the geometrical correction process, various techniques for edge detection can be applied. It is essential to have a precise and correct edged image in this process, since its matching with the reference is directly related to the accuracy of the ground station output images. An edge detection method based on neural networks is applied for the ground processing of MI images for obtaining sharp edges in the correct positions. The simulation results are analyzed and characterized by comparing them with the results of conventional methods, such as Sobel and Canny filters.

  13. K-shell photoabsorption edge of strongly coupled aluminum driven by laser-converted radiation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhao, Yang; Zhang, Zhiyu; Qing, Bo; Yang, Jiamin; Zhang, Jiyan; Wei, Minxi; Yang, Guohong; Song, Tianming; Xiong, Gang; Lv, Min; Hu, Zhimin; Deng, Bo; Hu, Xin; Zhang, Wenhai; Shang, Wanli; Hou, Lifei; Du, Huabing; Zhan, Xiayu; Yu, Ruizhen

    2017-03-01

    The first observation of the K-shell photoabsorption edge of strongly coupled aluminum generated by intense x-ray radiation-driven shocks is reported. By using a “dog bone” gold hohlraum as an x-ray converter, colliding shocks compression and preheating shielding are achieved to generate an unexplored state with a density of 5.5 g/cm3 and temperature of 0.43 eV (the ion-ion coupling parameter Γii is around 240). The time-resolved K-shell photoabsorption edges are measured with a crystal spectrometer using a short x-ray backlighter. The broadenings and redshifts of the edges are studied by using the slope fitting of the edge and quantum molecular dynamics calculations. This work shows that the K-edge of aluminum driven by laser-converted radiation provides a novel capability to probe WDM at extended conditions.

  14. Phosphorus K-edge XANES spectroscopy of mineral standards

    PubMed Central

    Ingall, Ellery D.; Brandes, Jay A.; Diaz, Julia M.; de Jonge, Martin D.; Paterson, David; McNulty, Ian; Elliott, W. Crawford; Northrup, Paul

    2011-01-01

    Phosphorus K-edge X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy was performed on phosphate mineral specimens including (a) twelve specimens from the apatite group covering a range of compositional variation and crystallinity; (b) six non-apatite calcium-rich phosphate minerals; (c) 15 aluminium-rich phosphate minerals; (d) ten phosphate minerals rich in either reduced iron or manganese; (e) four phosphate minerals rich in either oxidized iron or manganese; (f) eight phosphate minerals rich in either magnesium, copper, lead, zinc or rare-earth elements; and (g) four uranium phosphate minerals. The identity of all minerals examined in this study was independently confirmed using X-ray powder diffraction. Minerals were distinguished using XANES spectra with a combination of pre-edge features, edge position, peak shapes and post-edge features. Shared spectral features were observed in minerals with compositions dominated by the same specific cation. Analyses of apatite-group minerals indicate that XANES spectral patterns are not strongly affected by variations in composition and crystallinity typical of natural mineral specimens. PMID:21335905

  15. Comparison of morphological and conventional edge detectors in medical imaging applications

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kaabi, Lotfi; Loloyan, Mansur; Huang, H. K.

    1991-06-01

    Recently, mathematical morphology has been used to develop efficient image analysis tools. This paper compares the performance of morphological and conventional edge detectors applied to radiological images. Two morphological edge detectors including the dilation residue found by subtracting the original signal from its dilation by a small structuring element, and the blur-minimization edge detector which is defined as the minimum of erosion and dilation residues of the blurred image version, are compared with the linear Laplacian and Sobel and the non-linear Robert edge detectors. Various structuring elements were used in this study: regular 2-dimensional, and 3-dimensional. We utilized two criterions for edge detector's performance classification: edge point connectivity and the sensitivity to the noise. CT/MR and chest radiograph images have been used as test data. Comparison results show that the blur-minimization edge detector, with a rolling ball-like structuring element outperforms other standard linear and nonlinear edge detectors. It is less noise sensitive, and performs the most closed contours.

  16. K-edge energy-based calibration method for photon counting detectors

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ge, Yongshuai; Ji, Xu; Zhang, Ran; Li, Ke; Chen, Guang-Hong

    2018-01-01

    In recent years, potential applications of energy-resolved photon counting detectors (PCDs) in the x-ray medical imaging field have been actively investigated. Unlike conventional x-ray energy integration detectors, PCDs count the number of incident x-ray photons within certain energy windows. For PCDs, the interactions between x-ray photons and photoconductor generate electronic voltage pulse signals. The pulse height of each signal is proportional to the energy of the incident photons. By comparing the pulse height with the preset energy threshold values, x-ray photons with specific energies are recorded and sorted into different energy bins. To quantitatively understand the meaning of the energy threshold values, and thus to assign an absolute energy value to each energy bin, energy calibration is needed to establish the quantitative relationship between the threshold values and the corresponding effective photon energies. In practice, the energy calibration is not always easy, due to the lack of well-calibrated energy references for the working energy range of the PCDs. In this paper, a new method was developed to use the precise knowledge of the characteristic K-edge energy of materials to perform energy calibration. The proposed method was demonstrated using experimental data acquired from three K-edge materials (viz., iodine, gadolinium, and gold) on two different PCDs (Hydra and Flite, XCounter, Sweden). Finally, the proposed energy calibration method was further validated using a radioactive isotope (Am-241) with a known decay energy spectrum.

  17. Comparing object recognition from binary and bipolar edge images for visual prostheses.

    PubMed

    Jung, Jae-Hyun; Pu, Tian; Peli, Eli

    2016-11-01

    Visual prostheses require an effective representation method due to the limited display condition which has only 2 or 3 levels of grayscale in low resolution. Edges derived from abrupt luminance changes in images carry essential information for object recognition. Typical binary (black and white) edge images have been used to represent features to convey essential information. However, in scenes with a complex cluttered background, the recognition rate of the binary edge images by human observers is limited and additional information is required. The polarity of edges and cusps (black or white features on a gray background) carries important additional information; the polarity may provide shape from shading information missing in the binary edge image. This depth information may be restored by using bipolar edges. We compared object recognition rates from 16 binary edge images and bipolar edge images by 26 subjects to determine the possible impact of bipolar filtering in visual prostheses with 3 or more levels of grayscale. Recognition rates were higher with bipolar edge images and the improvement was significant in scenes with complex backgrounds. The results also suggest that erroneous shape from shading interpretation of bipolar edges resulting from pigment rather than boundaries of shape may confound the recognition.

  18. Comparing object recognition from binary and bipolar edge images for visual prostheses

    PubMed Central

    Jung, Jae-Hyun; Pu, Tian; Peli, Eli

    2017-01-01

    Visual prostheses require an effective representation method due to the limited display condition which has only 2 or 3 levels of grayscale in low resolution. Edges derived from abrupt luminance changes in images carry essential information for object recognition. Typical binary (black and white) edge images have been used to represent features to convey essential information. However, in scenes with a complex cluttered background, the recognition rate of the binary edge images by human observers is limited and additional information is required. The polarity of edges and cusps (black or white features on a gray background) carries important additional information; the polarity may provide shape from shading information missing in the binary edge image. This depth information may be restored by using bipolar edges. We compared object recognition rates from 16 binary edge images and bipolar edge images by 26 subjects to determine the possible impact of bipolar filtering in visual prostheses with 3 or more levels of grayscale. Recognition rates were higher with bipolar edge images and the improvement was significant in scenes with complex backgrounds. The results also suggest that erroneous shape from shading interpretation of bipolar edges resulting from pigment rather than boundaries of shape may confound the recognition. PMID:28458481

  19. Optimization of K-edge imaging for vulnerable plaques using gold nanoparticles and energy resolved photon counting detectors: a simulation study.

    PubMed

    Alivov, Yahya; Baturin, Pavlo; Le, Huy Q; Ducote, Justin; Molloi, Sabee

    2014-01-06

    We investigated the effect of different imaging parameters, such as dose, beam energy, energy resolution and the number of energy bins, on the image quality of K-edge spectral computed tomography (CT) of gold nanoparticles (GNP) accumulated in an atherosclerotic plaque. A maximum likelihood technique was employed to estimate the concentration of GNP, which served as a targeted intravenous contrast material intended to detect the degree of the plaque's inflammation. The simulation studies used a single-slice parallel beam CT geometry with an x-ray beam energy ranging between 50 and 140 kVp. The synthetic phantoms included small (3 cm in diameter) cylinder and chest (33 × 24 cm(2)) phantoms, where both phantoms contained tissue, calcium and gold. In the simulation studies, GNP quantification and background (calcium and tissue) suppression tasks were pursued. The x-ray detection sensor was represented by an energy resolved photon counting detector (e.g., CdZnTe) with adjustable energy bins. Both ideal and more realistic (12% full width at half maximum (FWHM) energy resolution) implementations of the photon counting detector were simulated. The simulations were performed for the CdZnTe detector with a pixel pitch of 0.5-1 mm, which corresponds to a performance without significant charge sharing and cross-talk effects. The Rose model was employed to estimate the minimum detectable concentration of GNPs. A figure of merit (FOM) was used to optimize the x-ray beam energy (kVp) to achieve the highest signal-to-noise ratio with respect to the patient dose. As a result, the successful identification of gold and background suppression was demonstrated. The highest FOM was observed at the 125 kVp x-ray beam energy. The minimum detectable GNP concentration was determined to be approximately 1.06 µmol mL(-1) (0.21 mg mL(-1)) for an ideal detector and about 2.5 µmol mL(-1) (0.49 mg mL(-1)) for a more realistic (12% FWHM) detector. The studies show the optimal

  20. Synthetic Aperture Microwave Imaging (SAMI) of the plasma edge on NSTX-U

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Vann, Roddy; Taylor, Gary; Brunner, Jakob; Ellis, Bob; Thomas, David

    2016-10-01

    The Synthetic Aperture Microwave Imaging (SAMI) system is a unique phased-array microwave camera with a +/-40° field of view in both directions. It can image cut-off surfaces corresponding to frequencies in the range 10-34.5GHz; these surfaces are typically in the plasma edge. SAMI operates in two modes: either imaging thermal emission from the plasma (often modified by its interaction with the plasma edge e.g. via BXO mode conversion) or ``active probing'' i.e. injecting a broad beam at the plasma surface and imaging the reflected/back-scattered signal. SAMI was successfully pioneered on the Mega-Amp Spherical Tokamak (MAST) at Culham Centre for Fusion Energy. SAMI has now been installed and commissioned on the National Spherical Torus Experiment Upgrade (NSTX-U) at Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory. The firmware has been upgraded to include real-time digital filtering, which enables continuous acquisition of the Doppler back-scattered active probing data. In this poster we shall present SAMI's analysis of the plasma edge on NSTX-U including measurements of the edge pitch angle on NSTX-U using SAMI's unique 2-D Doppler-backscattering capability.

  1. Nitrogen K-edge x-ray absorption near edge structure of pyrimidine-containing nucleotides in aqueous solution

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

    Shimada, Hiroyuki, E-mail: hshimada@cc.tuat.ac.jp; Minami, Hirotake; Okuizumi, Naoto

    2015-05-07

    X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) was measured at energies around the N K-edge of the pyrimidine-containing nucleotides, cytidine 5′-monophosphate (CMP), 2′-deoxythymidine 5′-monophosphate (dTMP), and uridine 5′-monophosphate (UMP), in aqueous solutions and in dried films under various pH conditions. The features of resonant excitations below the N K-edge in the XANES spectra for CMP, dTMP, and UMP changed depending on the pH of the solutions. The spectral change thus observed is systematically explained by the chemical shift of the core-levels of N atoms in the nucleobase moieties caused by structural changes due to protonation or deprotonation at different proton concentrations.more » This interpretation is supported by the results of theoretical calculations using density functional theory for the corresponding nucleobases in the neutral and protonated or deprotonated forms.« less

  2. Range image segmentation using Zernike moment-based generalized edge detector

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Ghosal, S.; Mehrotra, R.

    1992-01-01

    The authors proposed a novel Zernike moment-based generalized step edge detection method which can be used for segmenting range and intensity images. A generalized step edge detector is developed to identify different kinds of edges in range images. These edge maps are thinned and linked to provide final segmentation. A generalized edge is modeled in terms of five parameters: orientation, two slopes, one step jump at the location of the edge, and the background gray level. Two complex and two real Zernike moment-based masks are required to determine all these parameters of the edge model. Theoretical noise analysis is performed to show that these operators are quite noise tolerant. Experimental results are included to demonstrate edge-based segmentation technique.

  3. Temperature and radiation effects at the fluorine K-edge in LiF

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

    Schwartz, Craig P.; Ponce, Francisco; Friedrich, Stephan

    Here, the fluorine K-edge of LiF is studied both experimentally and theoretically as a function of temperature. Instantaneous thermal fluctuations in atomic positions are shown in molecular dynamics simulations to increase in amplitude from 0.029 to 0.064 nm in the temperature range from 40 to 298 K. This is sufficient to cause instantaneous deviations from local octahedral atomic symmetry in this rock-salt crystal, resulting in altered electronic structure. The lowered symmetry of the lowest core-excited states of fluorine atoms is evident in X-ray absorption spectra at the F K-edge. In addition, sufficient radiation exposure produces a new X-ray absorption peak,more » below the F K-edge of LiF, which is assigned to defects in LiF based on both calculations and comparison to previous experiments.« less

  4. Temperature and radiation effects at the fluorine K-edge in LiF

    DOE PAGES

    Schwartz, Craig P.; Ponce, Francisco; Friedrich, Stephan; ...

    2017-05-30

    Here, the fluorine K-edge of LiF is studied both experimentally and theoretically as a function of temperature. Instantaneous thermal fluctuations in atomic positions are shown in molecular dynamics simulations to increase in amplitude from 0.029 to 0.064 nm in the temperature range from 40 to 298 K. This is sufficient to cause instantaneous deviations from local octahedral atomic symmetry in this rock-salt crystal, resulting in altered electronic structure. The lowered symmetry of the lowest core-excited states of fluorine atoms is evident in X-ray absorption spectra at the F K-edge. In addition, sufficient radiation exposure produces a new X-ray absorption peak,more » below the F K-edge of LiF, which is assigned to defects in LiF based on both calculations and comparison to previous experiments.« less

  5. Low Z elements (Mg, Al, and Si) K-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy in minerals and disordered systems

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ildefonse, Ph.; Calas, G.; Flank, A. M.; Lagarde, P.

    1995-05-01

    Soft X-ray absorption near edge spectroscopy (XANES) and extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectroscopy have been performed at the Mg-, Al- and Si-K edges in order to establish the ability of this spectroscopy to derive structural information in disordered solids such as glasses and gels. Mg- and Al-K XANES are good structural probes to determine the coordination state of these elements in important minerals, glasses and gels. In a CaOsbnd MgOsbnd 2SiO2 glass Mg XANES spectra differ from that found in the crystalline equivalent, with a significant shift of the edge maxima to lower energy, consistent with a CN lower than 6. Mg-EXAFS on the same sample are in agreement and indicate the presence of 5-coordinated Mg with Mgsbnd O distances of 2.01Å. In aluminosilicate gels, Alsbnd K XANES has been used to investigate the [4]Al/Altotal ratios. These ratios increase as the Al/Si ratios decrease. Aluminosilicate and ferric-silicate gels were studied by using Sisbnd K edge XANES. XANES spectra differ significantly among the samples studied. Aluminosilicate gels with Al/Si= 1 present a different Al and Si local environment from that known in clay minerals with the same Al/Si ratio. The gel-to-mineral transformation thus implies a dissolution-recrystallization mechanism. On the contrary, ferric-silicate gel presents a Si local environment close to that found in nontronite which may be formed by a long range ordering of the initial gels.

  6. Surface stress mediated image force and torque on an edge dislocation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Raghavendra, R. M.; Divya, Iyer, Ganesh; Kumar, Arun; Subramaniam, Anandh

    2018-07-01

    The proximity of interfaces gives prominence to image forces experienced by dislocations. The presence of surface stress alters the traction-free boundary conditions existing on free-surfaces and hence is expected to alter the magnitude of the image force. In the current work, using a combined simulation of surface stress and an edge dislocation in a semi-infinite body, we evaluate the configurational effects on the system. We demonstrate that if the extra half-plane of the edge dislocation is parallel to the surface, the image force (glide) is not altered due to surface stress; however, the dislocation experiences a torque. The surface stress breaks the 'climb image force' symmetry, thus leading to non-equivalence between positive and negative climb. We discover an equilibrium position for the edge dislocation in the positive 'climb geometry', arising due to a competition between the interaction of the dislocation stress fields with the surface stress and the image dislocation. Torque in the climb configuration is not affected by surface stress (remains zero). Surface stress is computed using a recently developed two-scale model based on Shuttleworth's idea and image forces using a finite element model developed earlier. The effect of surface stress on the image force and torque experienced by the dislocation monopole is analysed using illustrative 3D models.

  7. Edge-enhanced imaging with polyvinyl alcohol/acrylamide photopolymer gratings.

    PubMed

    Márquez, Andrés; Neipp, Cristian; Beléndez, Augusto; Gallego, Sergi; Ortuño, Manuel; Pascual, Inmaculada

    2003-09-01

    We demonstrate edge-enhanced imaging produced by volume phase gratings recorded on a polyvinyl alcohol/acrylamide photopolymer. Bragg diffraction, exhibited by volume gratings, modifies the impulse response of the imaging system, facilitating spatial filtering operations with no need for a physical Fourier plane. We demonstrate that Kogelnik's coupled-wave theory can be used to calculate the transfer function for the transmitted and the diffracted orders. The experimental and simulated results agree, and they demonstrate the feasibility of our proposal.

  8. Iris recognition using image moments and k-means algorithm.

    PubMed

    Khan, Yaser Daanial; Khan, Sher Afzal; Ahmad, Farooq; Islam, Saeed

    2014-01-01

    This paper presents a biometric technique for identification of a person using the iris image. The iris is first segmented from the acquired image of an eye using an edge detection algorithm. The disk shaped area of the iris is transformed into a rectangular form. Described moments are extracted from the grayscale image which yields a feature vector containing scale, rotation, and translation invariant moments. Images are clustered using the k-means algorithm and centroids for each cluster are computed. An arbitrary image is assumed to belong to the cluster whose centroid is the nearest to the feature vector in terms of Euclidean distance computed. The described model exhibits an accuracy of 98.5%.

  9. Iris Recognition Using Image Moments and k-Means Algorithm

    PubMed Central

    Khan, Yaser Daanial; Khan, Sher Afzal; Ahmad, Farooq; Islam, Saeed

    2014-01-01

    This paper presents a biometric technique for identification of a person using the iris image. The iris is first segmented from the acquired image of an eye using an edge detection algorithm. The disk shaped area of the iris is transformed into a rectangular form. Described moments are extracted from the grayscale image which yields a feature vector containing scale, rotation, and translation invariant moments. Images are clustered using the k-means algorithm and centroids for each cluster are computed. An arbitrary image is assumed to belong to the cluster whose centroid is the nearest to the feature vector in terms of Euclidean distance computed. The described model exhibits an accuracy of 98.5%. PMID:24977221

  10. X-ray absorption near-edge spectroscopy in bioinorganic chemistry: Application to M–O2 systems

    PubMed Central

    Sarangi, Ritimukta

    2012-01-01

    Metal K-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) has been extensively applied to bioinorganic chemistry to obtain geometric structure information on metalloprotein and biomimetic model complex active sites by analyzing the higher energy extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) region of the spectrum. In recent years, focus has been on developing methodologies to interpret the lower energy K-pre-edge and rising-edge regions (XANES) and using it for electronic structure determination in complex bioinorganic systems. In this review, the evolution and progress of 3d-transition metal K-pre-edge and rising-edge methodology development is presented with particular focus on applications to bioinorganic systems. Applications to biomimetic transition metal–O2 intermediates (M = Fe, Co, Ni and Cu) are reviewed, which demonstrate the power of the method as an electronic structure determination technique and its impact in understanding the role of supporting ligands in tuning the electronic configuration of transition metal–O2 systems. PMID:23525635

  11. SU-E-J-13: Six Degree of Freedom Image Fusion Accuracy for Cranial Target Localization On the Varian Edge Stereotactic Radiosurgery System: Comparison Between 2D/3D and KV CBCT Image Registration

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

    Xu, H; Song, K; Chetty, I

    Purpose: To determine the 6 degree of freedom systematic deviations between 2D/3D and CBCT image registration with various imaging setups and fusion algorithms on the Varian Edge Linac. Methods: An anthropomorphic head phantom with radio opaque targets embedded was scanned with CT slice thicknesses of 0.8, 1, 2, and 3mm. The 6 DOF systematic errors were assessed by comparing 2D/3D (kV/MV with CT) with 3D/3D (CBCT with CT) image registrations with different offset positions, similarity measures, image filters, and CBCT slice thicknesses (1 and 2 mm). The 2D/3D registration accuracy of 51 fractions for 26 cranial SRS patients was alsomore » evaluated by analyzing 2D/3D pre-treatment verification taken after 3D/3D image registrations. Results: The systematic deviations of 2D/3D image registration using kV- kV, MV-kV and MV-MV image pairs were within ±0.3mm and ±0.3° for translations and rotations with 95% confidence interval (CI) for a reference CT with 0.8 mm slice thickness. No significant difference (P>0.05) on target localization was observed between 0.8mm, 1mm, and 2mm CT slice thicknesses with CBCT slice thicknesses of 1mm and 2mm. With 3mm CT slice thickness, both 2D/3D and 3D/3D registrations performed less accurately in longitudinal direction than thinner CT slice thickness (0.60±0.12mm and 0.63±0.07mm off, respectively). Using content filter and using similarity measure of pattern intensity instead of mutual information, improved the 2D/3D registration accuracy significantly (P=0.02 and P=0.01, respectively). For the patient study, means and standard deviations of residual errors were 0.09±0.32mm, −0.22±0.51mm and −0.07±0.32mm in VRT, LNG and LAT directions, respectively, and 0.12°±0.46°, −0.12°±0.39° and 0.06°±0.28° in RTN, PITCH, and ROLL directions, respectively. 95% CI of translational and rotational deviations were comparable to those in phantom study. Conclusion: 2D/3D image registration provided on the Varian Edge radiosurgery

  12. Implementing a Parallel Image Edge Detection Algorithm Based on the Otsu-Canny Operator on the Hadoop Platform.

    PubMed

    Cao, Jianfang; Chen, Lichao; Wang, Min; Tian, Yun

    2018-01-01

    The Canny operator is widely used to detect edges in images. However, as the size of the image dataset increases, the edge detection performance of the Canny operator decreases and its runtime becomes excessive. To improve the runtime and edge detection performance of the Canny operator, in this paper, we propose a parallel design and implementation for an Otsu-optimized Canny operator using a MapReduce parallel programming model that runs on the Hadoop platform. The Otsu algorithm is used to optimize the Canny operator's dual threshold and improve the edge detection performance, while the MapReduce parallel programming model facilitates parallel processing for the Canny operator to solve the processing speed and communication cost problems that occur when the Canny edge detection algorithm is applied to big data. For the experiments, we constructed datasets of different scales from the Pascal VOC2012 image database. The proposed parallel Otsu-Canny edge detection algorithm performs better than other traditional edge detection algorithms. The parallel approach reduced the running time by approximately 67.2% on a Hadoop cluster architecture consisting of 5 nodes with a dataset of 60,000 images. Overall, our approach system speeds up the system by approximately 3.4 times when processing large-scale datasets, which demonstrates the obvious superiority of our method. The proposed algorithm in this study demonstrates both better edge detection performance and improved time performance.

  13. Interaction of Nanostructured Calcium Silicate Hydrate with Ibuprofen Drug Molecules: X-ray Absorption Near Edge Structure (XANES) Study at the Ca, Si and O K-edge

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Guo, X. X.; Sham, T. K.; Zhu, Y. J.; Hu, Y. F.

    2013-04-01

    Mesoporous calcium silicate hydrate (CSH) nanostructure has been proven to be bioactive and biocompatible, and has a bright future in the application of bone treatment among other applications. X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) is a powerful tool for the study of the interactions of calcium silicate hydrates with drug molecules because it is element specific and it probes the unoccupied electronic states. Herein, we report the use of the calcium, silicon and oxygen K-edge XANES spectroscopy to identify how drug molecules interact with different groups in calcium silicate hydrate mesoporous nano-carriers with different morphologies. Significant changes are observed in XANES spectra after drug loading into the calcium silicate hydrate system, especially at the Si and O K-edge. The implications of these findings are discussed.

  14. Automatic Generation of Wide Dynamic Range Image without Pseudo-Edge Using Integration of Multi-Steps Exposure Images

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Migiyama, Go; Sugimura, Atsuhiko; Osa, Atsushi; Miike, Hidetoshi

    Recently, digital cameras are offering technical advantages rapidly. However, the shot image is different from the sight image generated when that scenery is seen with the naked eye. There are blown-out highlights and crushed blacks in the image that photographed the scenery of wide dynamic range. The problems are hardly generated in the sight image. These are contributory cause of difference between the shot image and the sight image. Blown-out highlights and crushed blacks are caused by the difference of dynamic range between the image sensor installed in a digital camera such as CCD and CMOS and the human visual system. Dynamic range of the shot image is narrower than dynamic range of the sight image. In order to solve the problem, we propose an automatic method to decide an effective exposure range in superposition of edges. We integrate multi-step exposure images using the method. In addition, we try to erase pseudo-edges using the process to blend exposure values. Afterwards, we get a pseudo wide dynamic range image automatically.

  15. Measurement of K Shell Photoelectric Cross Sections at a K Edge--A Laboratory Experiment

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nayak, S. V.; Badiger, N. M.

    2007-01-01

    We describe in this paper a new method for measuring the K shell photoelectric cross sections of high-Z elemental targets at a K absorption edge. In this method the external bremsstrahlung (EB) photons produced in the Ni target foil by beta particles from a weak[superscript 90]Sr-[superscript 90]Y beta source are passed through an elemental target…

  16. Asymptotically-Equal-To 10 eV ionization shift in Ir K{alpha}{sub 2} from a near-coincident Lu K-edge

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

    Pereira, N. R.; Weber, B. V.; Phipps, D.

    Close to an x-ray filter's K-edge the transmission depends strongly on the photon energy. For a few atom pairs, the K-edge of one is only a few tens of eV higher than a K-line energy of another, so that a small change in the line's energy becomes a measurable change in intensity behind such a matching filter. Lutetium's K-edge is Asymptotically-Equal-To 27 eV above iridium's K{alpha}{sub 2} line, Asymptotically-Equal-To 63.287 keV for cold Ir. A Lu filter reduces this line's intensity by Asymptotically-Equal-To 10 % when it is emitted by a plasma, indicating an ionization shift {Delta}E Asymptotically-Equal-To 10{+-}1 eV.

  17. New scheme for image edge detection using the switching mechanism of nonlinear optical material

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pahari, Nirmalya; Mukhopadhyay, Sourangshu

    2006-03-01

    The limitations of electronics in conducting parallel arithmetic, algebraic, and logic processing are well known. Very high-speed (terahertz) performance cannot be expected in conventional electronic mechanisms. To achieve such performance we can introduce optics instead of electronics for information processing, computing, and data handling. Nonlinear optical material (NOM) is a successful candidate in this regard to play a major role in the domain of optically controlled switching systems. The character of some NOMs is such as to reflect the probe beam in the presence of two read beams (or pump beams) exciting the material from opposite directions, using the principle of four-wave mixing. In image processing, edge extraction from an image is an important and essential task. Several optical methods of digital image processing are used for properly evaluating the image edges. We propose here a new method of image edge detection, extraction, and enhancement by use of AND-based switching operations with NOM. In this process we have used the optically inverted image of a supplied image. This can be obtained by the EXOR switching operation of the NOM.

  18. Solid energy calibration standards for P K-edge XANES: electronic structure analysis of PPh4Br.

    PubMed

    Blake, Anastasia V; Wei, Haochuan; Donahue, Courtney M; Lee, Kyounghoon; Keith, Jason M; Daly, Scott R

    2018-03-01

    P K-edge X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy is a powerful method for analyzing the electronic structure of organic and inorganic phosphorus compounds. Like all XANES experiments, P K-edge XANES requires well defined and readily accessible calibration standards for energy referencing so that spectra collected at different beamlines or under different conditions can be compared. This is especially true for ligand K-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy, which has well established energy calibration standards for Cl (Cs 2 CuCl 4 ) and S (Na 2 S 2 O 3 ·5H 2 O), but not neighboring P. This paper presents a review of common P K-edge XANES energy calibration standards and analysis of PPh 4 Br as a potential alternative. The P K-edge XANES region of commercially available PPh 4 Br revealed a single, highly resolved pre-edge feature with a maximum at 2146.96 eV. PPh 4 Br also showed no evidence of photodecomposition when repeatedly scanned over the course of several days. In contrast, we found that PPh 3 rapidly decomposes under identical conditions. Density functional theory calculations performed on PPh 3 and PPh 4 + revealed large differences in the molecular orbital energies that were ascribed to differences in the phosphorus oxidation state (III versus V) and molecular charge (neutral versus +1). Time-dependent density functional theory calculations corroborated the experimental data and allowed the spectral features to be assigned. The first pre-edge feature in the P K-edge XANES spectrum of PPh 4 Br was assigned to P 1s → P-C π* transitions, whereas those at higher energy were P 1s → P-C σ*. Overall, the analysis suggests that PPh 4 Br is an excellent alternative to other solid energy calibration standards commonly used in P K-edge XANES experiments.

  19. Wavelet domain image restoration with adaptive edge-preserving regularization.

    PubMed

    Belge, M; Kilmer, M E; Miller, E L

    2000-01-01

    In this paper, we consider a wavelet based edge-preserving regularization scheme for use in linear image restoration problems. Our efforts build on a collection of mathematical results indicating that wavelets are especially useful for representing functions that contain discontinuities (i.e., edges in two dimensions or jumps in one dimension). We interpret the resulting theory in a statistical signal processing framework and obtain a highly flexible framework for adapting the degree of regularization to the local structure of the underlying image. In particular, we are able to adapt quite easily to scale-varying and orientation-varying features in the image while simultaneously retaining the edge preservation properties of the regularizer. We demonstrate a half-quadratic algorithm for obtaining the restorations from observed data.

  20. Magnesium K-edge XANES spectroscopy of geological standards.

    PubMed

    Yoshimura, Toshihiro; Tamenori, Yusuke; Iwasaki, Nozomu; Hasegawa, Hiroshi; Suzuki, Atsushi; Kawahata, Hodaka

    2013-09-01

    Magnesium K-edge X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) spectra have been investigated to develop a systematic understanding of a suite of Mg-bearing geological materials such as silicate and carbonate minerals, sediments, rocks and chemical reagents. For the model compounds the Mg XANES was found to vary widely between compounds and to provide a fingerprint for the form of Mg involved in geologic materials. The energy positions and resonance features obtained from these spectra can be used to specify the dominant molecular host site of Mg, thus shedding light on Mg partitioning and isotope fractionation in geologic materials and providing a valuable complement to existing knowledge of Mg geochemistry.

  1. Implementing a Parallel Image Edge Detection Algorithm Based on the Otsu-Canny Operator on the Hadoop Platform

    PubMed Central

    Wang, Min; Tian, Yun

    2018-01-01

    The Canny operator is widely used to detect edges in images. However, as the size of the image dataset increases, the edge detection performance of the Canny operator decreases and its runtime becomes excessive. To improve the runtime and edge detection performance of the Canny operator, in this paper, we propose a parallel design and implementation for an Otsu-optimized Canny operator using a MapReduce parallel programming model that runs on the Hadoop platform. The Otsu algorithm is used to optimize the Canny operator's dual threshold and improve the edge detection performance, while the MapReduce parallel programming model facilitates parallel processing for the Canny operator to solve the processing speed and communication cost problems that occur when the Canny edge detection algorithm is applied to big data. For the experiments, we constructed datasets of different scales from the Pascal VOC2012 image database. The proposed parallel Otsu-Canny edge detection algorithm performs better than other traditional edge detection algorithms. The parallel approach reduced the running time by approximately 67.2% on a Hadoop cluster architecture consisting of 5 nodes with a dataset of 60,000 images. Overall, our approach system speeds up the system by approximately 3.4 times when processing large-scale datasets, which demonstrates the obvious superiority of our method. The proposed algorithm in this study demonstrates both better edge detection performance and improved time performance. PMID:29861711

  2. Quality optimized medical image information hiding algorithm that employs edge detection and data coding.

    PubMed

    Al-Dmour, Hayat; Al-Ani, Ahmed

    2016-04-01

    The present work has the goal of developing a secure medical imaging information system based on a combined steganography and cryptography technique. It attempts to securely embed patient's confidential information into his/her medical images. The proposed information security scheme conceals coded Electronic Patient Records (EPRs) into medical images in order to protect the EPRs' confidentiality without affecting the image quality and particularly the Region of Interest (ROI), which is essential for diagnosis. The secret EPR data is converted into ciphertext using private symmetric encryption method. Since the Human Visual System (HVS) is less sensitive to alterations in sharp regions compared to uniform regions, a simple edge detection method has been introduced to identify and embed in edge pixels, which will lead to an improved stego image quality. In order to increase the embedding capacity, the algorithm embeds variable number of bits (up to 3) in edge pixels based on the strength of edges. Moreover, to increase the efficiency, two message coding mechanisms have been utilized to enhance the ±1 steganography. The first one, which is based on Hamming code, is simple and fast, while the other which is known as the Syndrome Trellis Code (STC), is more sophisticated as it attempts to find a stego image that is close to the cover image through minimizing the embedding impact. The proposed steganography algorithm embeds the secret data bits into the Region of Non Interest (RONI), where due to its importance; the ROI is preserved from modifications. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method can embed large amount of secret data without leaving a noticeable distortion in the output image. The effectiveness of the proposed algorithm is also proven using one of the efficient steganalysis techniques. The proposed medical imaging information system proved to be capable of concealing EPR data and producing imperceptible stego images with minimal

  3. Simulations of iron K pre-edge X-ray absorption spectra using the restricted active space method.

    PubMed

    Guo, Meiyuan; Sørensen, Lasse Kragh; Delcey, Mickaël G; Pinjari, Rahul V; Lundberg, Marcus

    2016-01-28

    The intensities and relative energies of metal K pre-edge features are sensitive to both geometric and electronic structures. With the possibility to collect high-resolution spectral data it is important to find theoretical methods that include all important spectral effects: ligand-field splitting, multiplet structures, 3d-4p orbital hybridization, and charge-transfer excitations. Here the restricted active space (RAS) method is used for the first time to calculate metal K pre-edge spectra of open-shell systems, and its performance is tested against on six iron complexes: [FeCl6](n-), [FeCl4](n-), and [Fe(CN)6](n-) in ferrous and ferric oxidation states. The method gives good descriptions of the spectral shapes for all six systems. The mean absolute deviation for the relative energies of different peaks is only 0.1 eV. For the two systems that lack centrosymmetry [FeCl4](2-/1-), the ratios between dipole and quadrupole intensity contributions are reproduced with an error of 10%, which leads to good descriptions of the integrated pre-edge intensities. To gain further chemical insight, the origins of the pre-edge features have been analyzed with a chemically intuitive molecular orbital picture that serves as a bridge between the spectra and the electronic structures. The pre-edges contain information about both ligand-field strengths and orbital covalencies, which can be understood by analyzing the RAS wavefunction. The RAS method can thus be used to predict and rationalize the effects of changes in both the oxidation state and ligand environment in a number of hard X-ray studies of small and medium-sized molecular systems.

  4. Investigation of Prussian Blue Analogs by XMCD at the K-edge of transition metals

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bordage, A.; Nataf, L.; Baudelet, F.; Bleuzen, A.

    2016-05-01

    Despite transition metal (TM) K-edge x-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) seems an interesting tool to get magnetic and structural information at the atomic scale, the effects originating this signal are still poorly understood. We thus initiated a deep investigation of the TM K-edge XMCD using Prussian Blue analogs (PBA) as model-compounds. In a recent study of the NiFe PBA family, we demonstrated that the XMCD signals at the TM K-edges strongly vary with external (mechanical) or internal (chemical) pressure and so that they are highly sensitive to small structural distortions. Following these first results, we extended this approach to the MnFe and CoFe families to evaluate the effect of electronic parameters (number of unpaired electrons of the M II TM) on the XMCD signal. All the results set milestones in the disentanglement of the components originating the XMCD signals at the K-edge of TM and will eventually help in a better understanding of the photomagnetic properties of PBAs.

  5. Edge enhancement of color images using a digital micromirror device.

    PubMed

    Di Martino, J Matías; Flores, Jorge L; Ayubi, Gastón A; Alonso, Julia R; Fernández, Ariel; Ferrari, José A

    2012-06-01

    A method for orientation-selective enhancement of edges in color images is proposed. The method utilizes the capacity of digital micromirror devices to generate a positive and a negative color replica of the image used as input. When both images are slightly displaced and imagined together, one obtains an image with enhanced edges. The proposed technique does not require a coherent light source or precise alignment. The proposed method could be potentially useful for processing large image sequences in real time. Validation experiments are presented.

  6. Si K EDGE STRUCTURE AND VARIABILITY IN GALACTIC X-RAY BINARIES

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

    Schulz, Norbert S.; Corrales, Lia; Canizares, Claude R.

    2016-08-10

    We survey the Si K edge structure in various absorbed Galactic low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs) to study states of silicon in the inter- and circum-stellar medium. The bulk of these LMXBs lie toward the Galactic bulge region and all have column densities above 10{sup 22} cm{sup −2}. The observations were performed using the Chandra High Energy Transmission Grating Spectrometer. The Si K edge in all sources appears at an energy value of 1844 ± 0.001 eV. The edge exhibits significant substructure that can be described by a near edge absorption feature at 1849 ± 0.002 eV and a far edgemore » absorption feature at 1865 ± 0.002 eV. Both of these absorption features appear variable with equivalent widths up to several mÅ. We can describe the edge structure using several components: multiple edge functions, near edge absorption excesses from silicates in dust form, signatures from X-ray scattering optical depths, and a variable warm absorber from ionized atomic silicon. The measured optical depths of the edges indicate much higher values than expected from atomic silicon cross sections and interstellar medium abundances, and they appear consistent with predictions from silicate X-ray absorption and scattering. A comparison with models also indicates a preference for larger dust grain sizes. In many cases, we identify Si xiii resonance absorption and determine ionization parameters between log ξ = 1.8 and 2.8 and turbulent velocities between 300 and 1000 km s{sup −1}. This places the warm absorber in close vicinity of the X-ray binaries. In some data, we observe a weak edge at 1.840 keV, potentially from a lesser contribution of neutral atomic silicon.« less

  7. The crack detection algorithm of pavement image based on edge information

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yang, Chunde; Geng, Mingyue

    2018-05-01

    As the images of pavement cracks are affected by a large amount of complicated noises, such as uneven illumination and water stains, the detected cracks are discontinuous and the main body information at the edge of the cracks is easily lost. In order to solve the problem, a crack detection algorithm in pavement image based on edge information is proposed. Firstly, the image is pre-processed by the nonlinear gray-scale transform function and reconstruction filter to enhance the linear characteristic of the crack. At the same time, an adaptive thresholding method is designed to coarsely extract the cracks edge according to the gray-scale gradient feature and obtain the crack gradient information map. Secondly, the candidate edge points are obtained according to the gradient information, and the edge is detected based on the single pixel percolation processing, which is improved by using the local difference between pixels in the fixed region. Finally, complete crack is obtained by filling the crack edge. Experimental results show that the proposed method can accurately detect pavement cracks and preserve edge information.

  8. X-ray K-edge analysis of drain lines in Wilhelm Hall, Ames Laboratory

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

    Jensen, T.; Whitmore, C.

    1999-01-05

    From August 12--27, 1998 X-ray K-edge measurements were made on drain lines in seven rooms in Wilhelm Hall, Ames Laboratory. The purpose of these measurements was to determine the extent of thorium (and other heavy metal) contamination inside these pipes. The K-edge method is a noninvasive inspection technique that can provide accurate quantification of heavy metal contamination interior to an object. Of the seven drain lines inspected, one was found to have no significant contamination, three showed significant thorium deposits, two showed mercury contamination, and one line was found to contain mercury, thorium and uranium. The K-edge measurements were foundmore » to be consistent with readings from hand-held survey meters, and provided much greater detail on the location and amount of heavy metal contamination.« less

  9. The Research on Denoising of SAR Image Based on Improved K-SVD Algorithm

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tan, Linglong; Li, Changkai; Wang, Yueqin

    2018-04-01

    SAR images often receive noise interference in the process of acquisition and transmission, which can greatly reduce the quality of images and cause great difficulties for image processing. The existing complete DCT dictionary algorithm is fast in processing speed, but its denoising effect is poor. In this paper, the problem of poor denoising, proposed K-SVD (K-means and singular value decomposition) algorithm is applied to the image noise suppression. Firstly, the sparse dictionary structure is introduced in detail. The dictionary has a compact representation and can effectively train the image signal. Then, the sparse dictionary is trained by K-SVD algorithm according to the sparse representation of the dictionary. The algorithm has more advantages in high dimensional data processing. Experimental results show that the proposed algorithm can remove the speckle noise more effectively than the complete DCT dictionary and retain the edge details better.

  10. A Semi-Automatic Method for Image Analysis of Edge Dynamics in Living Cells

    PubMed Central

    Huang, Lawrence; Helmke, Brian P.

    2011-01-01

    Spatial asymmetry of actin edge ruffling contributes to the process of cell polarization and directional migration, but mechanisms by which external cues control actin polymerization near cell edges remain unclear. We designed a quantitative image analysis strategy to measure the spatiotemporal distribution of actin edge ruffling. Time-lapse images of endothelial cells (ECs) expressing mRFP-actin were segmented using an active contour method. In intensity line profiles oriented normal to the cell edge, peak detection identified the angular distribution of polymerized actin within 1 µm of the cell edge, which was localized to lamellipodia and edge ruffles. Edge features associated with filopodia and peripheral stress fibers were removed. Circular statistical analysis enabled detection of cell polarity, indicated by a unimodal distribution of edge ruffles. To demonstrate the approach, we detected a rapid, nondirectional increase in edge ruffling in serum-stimulated ECs and a change in constitutive ruffling orientation in quiescent, nonpolarized ECs. Error analysis using simulated test images demonstrate robustness of the method to variations in image noise levels, edge ruffle arc length, and edge intensity gradient. These quantitative measurements of edge ruffling dynamics enable investigation at the cellular length scale of the underlying molecular mechanisms regulating actin assembly and cell polarization. PMID:21643526

  11. Multiresolution edge detection using enhanced fuzzy c-means clustering for ultrasound image speckle reduction

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

    Tsantis, Stavros; Spiliopoulos, Stavros; Karnabatidis, Dimitrios

    Purpose: Speckle suppression in ultrasound (US) images of various anatomic structures via a novel speckle noise reduction algorithm. Methods: The proposed algorithm employs an enhanced fuzzy c-means (EFCM) clustering and multiresolution wavelet analysis to distinguish edges from speckle noise in US images. The edge detection procedure involves a coarse-to-fine strategy with spatial and interscale constraints so as to classify wavelet local maxima distribution at different frequency bands. As an outcome, an edge map across scales is derived whereas the wavelet coefficients that correspond to speckle are suppressed in the inverse wavelet transform acquiring the denoised US image. Results: A totalmore » of 34 thyroid, liver, and breast US examinations were performed on a Logiq 9 US system. Each of these images was subjected to the proposed EFCM algorithm and, for comparison, to commercial speckle reduction imaging (SRI) software and another well-known denoising approach, Pizurica's method. The quantification of the speckle suppression performance in the selected set of US images was carried out via Speckle Suppression Index (SSI) with results of 0.61, 0.71, and 0.73 for EFCM, SRI, and Pizurica's methods, respectively. Peak signal-to-noise ratios of 35.12, 33.95, and 29.78 and edge preservation indices of 0.94, 0.93, and 0.86 were found for the EFCM, SIR, and Pizurica's method, respectively, demonstrating that the proposed method achieves superior speckle reduction performance and edge preservation properties. Based on two independent radiologists’ qualitative evaluation the proposed method significantly improved image characteristics over standard baseline B mode images, and those processed with the Pizurica's method. Furthermore, it yielded results similar to those for SRI for breast and thyroid images significantly better results than SRI for liver imaging, thus improving diagnostic accuracy in both superficial and in-depth structures. Conclusions: A new wavelet

  12. Multiresolution edge detection using enhanced fuzzy c-means clustering for ultrasound image speckle reduction.

    PubMed

    Tsantis, Stavros; Spiliopoulos, Stavros; Skouroliakou, Aikaterini; Karnabatidis, Dimitrios; Hazle, John D; Kagadis, George C

    2014-07-01

    Speckle suppression in ultrasound (US) images of various anatomic structures via a novel speckle noise reduction algorithm. The proposed algorithm employs an enhanced fuzzy c-means (EFCM) clustering and multiresolution wavelet analysis to distinguish edges from speckle noise in US images. The edge detection procedure involves a coarse-to-fine strategy with spatial and interscale constraints so as to classify wavelet local maxima distribution at different frequency bands. As an outcome, an edge map across scales is derived whereas the wavelet coefficients that correspond to speckle are suppressed in the inverse wavelet transform acquiring the denoised US image. A total of 34 thyroid, liver, and breast US examinations were performed on a Logiq 9 US system. Each of these images was subjected to the proposed EFCM algorithm and, for comparison, to commercial speckle reduction imaging (SRI) software and another well-known denoising approach, Pizurica's method. The quantification of the speckle suppression performance in the selected set of US images was carried out via Speckle Suppression Index (SSI) with results of 0.61, 0.71, and 0.73 for EFCM, SRI, and Pizurica's methods, respectively. Peak signal-to-noise ratios of 35.12, 33.95, and 29.78 and edge preservation indices of 0.94, 0.93, and 0.86 were found for the EFCM, SIR, and Pizurica's method, respectively, demonstrating that the proposed method achieves superior speckle reduction performance and edge preservation properties. Based on two independent radiologists' qualitative evaluation the proposed method significantly improved image characteristics over standard baseline B mode images, and those processed with the Pizurica's method. Furthermore, it yielded results similar to those for SRI for breast and thyroid images significantly better results than SRI for liver imaging, thus improving diagnostic accuracy in both superficial and in-depth structures. A new wavelet-based EFCM clustering model was introduced toward

  13. Invited Review Article: Gas puff imaging diagnostics of edge plasma turbulence in magnetic fusion devices

    DOE PAGES

    Zweben, S. J.; Terry, J. L.; Stotler, D. P.; ...

    2017-04-27

    Gas puff imaging (GPI) is a diagnostic of plasma turbulence which uses a puff of neutral gas at the plasma edge to increase the local visible light emission for improved space-time resolution of plasma fluctuations. This paper reviews gas puff imaging diagnostics of edge plasma turbulence in magnetic fusion research, with a focus on the instrumentation, diagnostic cross-checks, and interpretation issues. The gas puff imaging hardware, optics, and detectors are described for about 10 GPI systems implemented over the past similar to 15 years. Comparison of GPI results with other edge turbulence diagnostic results is described, and many common featuresmore » are observed. Here, several issues in the interpretation of GPI measurements are discussed, and potential improvements in hardware and modeling are suggested.« less

  14. Invited Review Article: Gas puff imaging diagnostics of edge plasma turbulence in magnetic fusion devices

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

    Zweben, S. J.; Terry, J. L.; Stotler, D. P.

    Gas puff imaging (GPI) is a diagnostic of plasma turbulence which uses a puff of neutral gas at the plasma edge to increase the local visible light emission for improved space-time resolution of plasma fluctuations. This paper reviews gas puff imaging diagnostics of edge plasma turbulence in magnetic fusion research, with a focus on the instrumentation, diagnostic cross-checks, and interpretation issues. The gas puff imaging hardware, optics, and detectors are described for about 10 GPI systems implemented over the past similar to 15 years. Comparison of GPI results with other edge turbulence diagnostic results is described, and many common featuresmore » are observed. Here, several issues in the interpretation of GPI measurements are discussed, and potential improvements in hardware and modeling are suggested.« less

  15. Picosecond sulfur K-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy with applications to excited state proton transfer

    DOE PAGES

    Van Kuiken, Benjamin E.; Ross, Matthew R.; Strader, Matthew L.; ...

    2017-05-08

    Picosecond X-ray absorption (XA) spectroscopy at the S K-edge (~2.4 keV) is demonstrated and used to monitor excited state dynamics in a small organosulfur molecule (2-Thiopyridone, 2TP) following optical excitation. Multiple studies have reported that the thione (2TP) is converted into the thiol (2-Mercaptopyridine, 2MP) following photoexcitation. However, the timescale and photochemical pathway of this reaction remain uncertain. In this work, time-resolved XA spectroscopy at the S K-edge is used to monitor the formation and decay of two transient species following 400nm excitation of 2TP dissolved in acetonitrile. The first transient species forms within the instrument response time (70 ps)more » and decays within 6 ns. The second transient species forms on a timescale of ~400 ps and decays on a 15 ns timescale. Time-dependent density functional theory is used to identify the first and second transient species as the lowestlying triplet states of 2TP and 2MP, respectively. This study demonstrates transient S K-edge XA spectroscopy as a sensitive and viable probe of time-evolving charge dynamics near sulfur sites in small molecules with future applications towards studying complex biological and material systems.« less

  16. Retention Mechanisms of Citric Acid in Ternary Kaolinite-Fe(III)-Citrate Acid Systems Using Fe K-edge EXAFS and L3,2-edge XANES Spectroscopy

    PubMed Central

    Yang, Jianjun; Wang, Jian; Pan, Weinan; Regier, Tom; Hu, Yongfeng; Rumpel, Cornelia; Bolan, Nanthi; Sparks, Donald

    2016-01-01

    Organic carbon (OC) stability in tropical soils is strongly interlinked with multivalent cation interaction and mineral association. Low molecular weight organic acids (LMWOAs) represent the readily biodegradable OC. Therefore, investigating retention mechanisms of LMWOAs in mineral-cation-LMWOAs systems is critical to understanding soil C cycling. Given the general acidic conditions and dominance of kaolinite in tropical soils, we investigated the retention mechanisms of citric acid (CA) in kaolinite-Fe(III)-CA systems with various Fe/CA molar ratios at pH ~3.5 using Fe K-edge EXAFS and L3,2-edge XANES techniques. With Fe/CA molar ratios >2, the formed ferrihydrite mainly contributed to CA retention through adsorption and/or coprecipitation. With Fe/CA molar ratios from 2 to 0.5, ternary complexation of CA to kaolinite via a five-coordinated Fe(III) bridge retained higher CA than ferrihydrite-induced adsorption and/or coprecipitation. With Fe/CA molar ratios ≤0.5, kaolinite-Fe(III)-citrate complexation preferentially occurred, but less CA was retained than via outer-sphere kaolinite-CA complexation. This study highlighted the significant impact of varied Fe/CA molar ratios on CA retention mechanisms in kaolinite-Fe(III)-CA systems under acidic conditions, and clearly showed the important contribution of Fe-bridged ternary complexation on CA retention. These findings will enhance our understanding of the dynamics of CA and other LMWOAs in tropical soils. PMID:27212680

  17. Retention mechanisms of citric acid in ternary kaolinite-Fe(III)-citrate acid systems using Fe K-edge EXAFS and L 3,2-edge XANES spectroscopy

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

    Yang, Jianjun; Wang, Jian; Pan, Weinan

    Organic carbon (OC) stability in tropical soils is strongly interlinked with multivalent cation interaction and mineral association. Low molecular weight organic acids (LMWOAs) represent the readily biodegradable OC. Therefore, investigating retention mechanisms of LMWOAs in mineral-cation-LMWOAs systems is critical to understanding soil C cycling. Given the general acidic conditions and dominance of kaolinite in tropical soils, we investigated the retention mechanisms of citric acid (CA) in kaolinite-Fe(III)-CA systems with various Fe/CA molar ratios at pH ~3.5 using Fe K-edge EXAFS and L- 3,2-edge XANES techniques. With Fe/CA molar ratios >2, the formed ferrihydrite mainly contributed to CA retention through adsorptionmore » and/or coprecipitation. With Fe/CA molar ratios from 2 to 0.5, ternary complexation of CA to kaolinite via a five-coordinated Fe(III) bridge retained higher CA than ferrihydrite-induced adsorption and/or coprecipitation. With Fe/CA molar ratios ≤ 0.5, kaolinite-Fe(III)-citrate complexation preferentially occurred, but less CA was retained than via outer-sphere kaolinite-CA complexation. This study highlighted the significant impact of varied Fe/CA molar ratios on CA retention mechanisms in kaolinite-Fe(III)-CA systems under acidic conditions, and clearly showed the important contribution of Fe-bridged ternary complexation on CA retention. In conclusion, these findings will enhance our understanding of the dynamics of CA and other LMWOAs in tropical soils.« less

  18. Retention mechanisms of citric acid in ternary kaolinite-Fe(III)-citrate acid systems using Fe K-edge EXAFS and L 3,2-edge XANES spectroscopy

    DOE PAGES

    Yang, Jianjun; Wang, Jian; Pan, Weinan; ...

    2016-05-23

    Organic carbon (OC) stability in tropical soils is strongly interlinked with multivalent cation interaction and mineral association. Low molecular weight organic acids (LMWOAs) represent the readily biodegradable OC. Therefore, investigating retention mechanisms of LMWOAs in mineral-cation-LMWOAs systems is critical to understanding soil C cycling. Given the general acidic conditions and dominance of kaolinite in tropical soils, we investigated the retention mechanisms of citric acid (CA) in kaolinite-Fe(III)-CA systems with various Fe/CA molar ratios at pH ~3.5 using Fe K-edge EXAFS and L- 3,2-edge XANES techniques. With Fe/CA molar ratios >2, the formed ferrihydrite mainly contributed to CA retention through adsorptionmore » and/or coprecipitation. With Fe/CA molar ratios from 2 to 0.5, ternary complexation of CA to kaolinite via a five-coordinated Fe(III) bridge retained higher CA than ferrihydrite-induced adsorption and/or coprecipitation. With Fe/CA molar ratios ≤ 0.5, kaolinite-Fe(III)-citrate complexation preferentially occurred, but less CA was retained than via outer-sphere kaolinite-CA complexation. This study highlighted the significant impact of varied Fe/CA molar ratios on CA retention mechanisms in kaolinite-Fe(III)-CA systems under acidic conditions, and clearly showed the important contribution of Fe-bridged ternary complexation on CA retention. In conclusion, these findings will enhance our understanding of the dynamics of CA and other LMWOAs in tropical soils.« less

  19. Neutron Bragg-edge-imaging for strain mapping under in situ tensile loading

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Woracek, R.; Penumadu, D.; Kardjilov, N.; Hilger, A.; Strobl, M.; Wimpory, R. C.; Manke, I.; Banhart, J.

    2011-05-01

    Wavelength selective neutron radiography at a cold neutron reactor source was used to measure strain and determine (residual) stresses in a steel sample under plane stress conditions. We present a new technique that uses an energy-resolved neutron imaging system based on a double crystal monochromator and is equipped with a specially developed (in situ) biaxial load frame to perform Bragg edge based transmission imaging. The neutron imaging technique provides a viewing area of 7 cm by 7 cm with a spatial resolution on the order of ˜ 100 μm. The stress-induced shifts of the Bragg edge corresponding to the (110) lattice plane were resolved spatially for a ferritic steel alloy A36 (ASTM international) sample. Furthermore it is demonstrated that results agree with comparative data obtained using neutron diffraction and resistance based strain-gauge rosettes.

  20. Experimental results of use of triple-energy X-ray beam with K-edge filter in multi-energy imaging

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kim, D.; Lee, S.; Jeon, P.-H.

    2016-04-01

    Multi-energy imaging is useful for contrast enhancement of lesions, quantitative analysis of specific materials and material separation in the human body. Generally, dual-energy methods are applied to discriminating two materials, but this method cannot discriminate more than two materials. Photon-counting detectors provide spectral information from polyenergetic X-rays using multiple energy bins. In this work, we developed triple-energy X-ray beams using a filter with K-edge energy and applied them experimentally. The energy spectra of triple-energy X-ray beams were assessed by using a spectrometer. The designed triple-energy X-ray beams were validated by measuring quantitative evaluations with mean energy ratio (MER), contrast variation ratio (CVR) and exposure efficiency (EE). Then, triple-energy X-ray beams were used to extract density map of three materials, iodine (I), aluminum (Al) and polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA). The results of the thickness density maps obtained with the developed triple-energy X-ray beams were compared to those acquired using the photon-counting method. As a result, it was found experimentally that the proposed triple-energy X-ray beam technique can separate the three materials as well as the photon-counting method.

  1. NIKOS II - A System For Non-Invasive Imaging Of Coronary Arteries

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dix, Wolf-Rainer; Engelke, Klaus; Heintze, Gerhard; Heuer, Joachim; Graeff, Walter; Kupper, Wolfram; Lohmann, Michael; Makin, I.; Moechel, Thomas; Reumann, Reinhold; Stellmaschek, Karl-Heinz

    1989-05-01

    This paper presents results of the initial in-vivo investigations with the system NIKOS II (NIKOS = Nicht-invasive Koronarangiographie mit Synchrotronstrahlung), an advanced version of NIKOS I which was developed since 1981. Aim of the work is to be able to visualize coronary arteries down to 1mm diameter with an iodine mass density of lmg/cm2, thus allowing non-invasive investigations by intravenous injection of the contrast agent. For this purpose Digital Subtraction Angiography (DSA) in energy subtraction mode (dichromography) is employed. The two images for subtraction are taken at photon energies just below and above the iodine K-edge (33.17keV) After subtraction the background contrast from bone and soft tissue is suppressed and the iodinated structures are strongly enhanced because of the abrupt change of absorption at the K-edge. The two monoenergetic beams are filtered out of a synchrotron radiation beam by a crystal monochromator and measured with a two line detector. One scan (two images) lasts between 250ms (final version) and ls (at present ). The images from the in-vivo investigations of dogs have been promising. The right coronary artery (diameter 1.5mm) was clearly visible. With application of better image processing algorithms the images illustrated in this paper have a definite potential for improvement.

  2. An Interactive Procedure to Preserve the Desired Edges during the Image Processing of Noise Reduction

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hsu, Chih-Yu; Huang, Hsuan-Yu; Lee, Lin-Tsang

    2010-12-01

    The paper propose a new procedure including four stages in order to preserve the desired edges during the image processing of noise reduction. A denoised image can be obtained from a noisy image at the first stage of the procedure. At the second stage, an edge map can be obtained by the Canny edge detector to find the edges of the object contours. Manual modification of an edge map at the third stage is optional to capture all the desired edges of the object contours. At the final stage, a new method called Edge Preserved Inhomogeneous Diffusion Equation (EPIDE) is used to smooth the noisy images or the previously denoised image at the first stage for achieving the edge preservation. The Optical Character Recognition (OCR) results in the experiments show that the proposed procedure has the best recognition result because of the capability of edge preservation.

  3. Edge Turbulence Imaging in Alcator C-Mod

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zweben, Stewart J.

    2001-10-01

    This talk will describe measurements and modeling of the 2-D structure of edge turbulence in Alcator C-Mod. The radial vs. poloidal structure was measured using Gas Puff Imaging (GPI) (R. Maqueda et al, RSI 72, 931 (2001), J. Terry et al, J. Nucl. Materials 290-293, 757 (2001)), in which the visible light emitted by an edge neutral gas puff (generally D or He) is viewed along the local magnetic field by a fast-gated video camera. Strong fluctuations are observed in the gas cloud light emission when the camera is gated at ~2 microsec exposure time per frame. The structure of these fluctuations is highly turbulent with a typical radial and poloidal scale of ≈1 cm, and often with local maxima in the scrape-off layer (i.e. ``blobs"). Video clips and analyses of these images will be presented along with their variation in different plasma regimes. The local time dependence of edge turbulence is measured using high-speed photodiodes viewing the gas puff emission, a scanning Langmuir probe, and also with a Princeton Scientific Instruments ultra-fast framing camera, which can make 2-D images the gas puff at up to 200,000 frames/sec. Probe measurements show that the strong turbulence region moves to the separatrix as the density limit is approached, which may be connected to the density limit (B. LaBombard et al., Phys. Plasmas 8 2107 (2001)). Comparisons of this C-Mod turbulence data will be made with results of simulations from the Drift-Ballooning Mode (DBM) (B.N. Rogers et al, Phys. Rev. Lett. 20 4396 (1998))and Non-local Edge Turbulence (NLET) codes.

  4. Ultrasound image edge detection based on a novel multiplicative gradient and Canny operator.

    PubMed

    Zheng, Yinfei; Zhou, Yali; Zhou, Hao; Gong, Xiaohong

    2015-07-01

    To achieve the fast and accurate segmentation of ultrasound image, a novel edge detection method for speckle noised ultrasound images was proposed, which was based on the traditional Canny and a novel multiplicative gradient operator. The proposed technique combines a new multiplicative gradient operator of non-Newtonian type with the traditional Canny operator to generate the initial edge map, which is subsequently optimized by the following edge tracing step. To verify the proposed method, we compared it with several other edge detection methods that had good robustness to noise, with experiments on the simulated and in vivo medical ultrasound image. Experimental results showed that the proposed algorithm has higher speed for real-time processing, and the edge detection accuracy could be 75% or more. Thus, the proposed method is very suitable for fast and accurate edge detection of medical ultrasound images. © The Author(s) 2014.

  5. Time-Resolved K-shell Photoabsorption Edge Measurement in a Strongly Coupled Matter Driven by Laser-converted Radiation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhao, Yang; Yang, Jia-Min; Zhang, Ji-Yan; Yang, Guo-Hong; Xiong, Gang; Wei, Min-Xi; Song, Tian-Ming; Zhang, Zhi-Yu

    2013-06-01

    A time-resolved K edge absorption measurement of warm dense KCl was performed on Shenguang II laser facility. The x-ray radiation driven shocks were adopted to take colliding shocks compression. By using Dog bone hohlraum the CH/KCl/CH sample was shielded from the laser hitting point to suppress the M band preheating and enhance the compressibility. Thus, an unexplored and extreme region of the plasma state with the maximum 5 times solid density and temperature lower than 3 eV (with coupling constant Γii around 100) was first obtained. The photoabsorption spectra of chlorine near the K-shell edge have been measured with a crystal spectrometer using a short x-ray backlighter. The K edge red shift up to 11.7 eV and broadening of 15.2 eV were obtained for the maximum compression. The electron temperature, inferred by Fermi-Dirac fit of the measured K-edge broadening, was consistent with the hydrodynamic predictions. The comparison of the K edge shift with a plasma model, in which the ionization effect, continuum lowering and partial degeneracy are considered, shows that more improvements are desired to describe in details the variation of K edge shift. This work might extend future study of WDM in extreme conditions of high compression.

  6. Edge co-occurrences can account for rapid categorization of natural versus animal images

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Perrinet, Laurent U.; Bednar, James A.

    2015-06-01

    Making a judgment about the semantic category of a visual scene, such as whether it contains an animal, is typically assumed to involve high-level associative brain areas. Previous explanations require progressively analyzing the scene hierarchically at increasing levels of abstraction, from edge extraction to mid-level object recognition and then object categorization. Here we show that the statistics of edge co-occurrences alone are sufficient to perform a rough yet robust (translation, scale, and rotation invariant) scene categorization. We first extracted the edges from images using a scale-space analysis coupled with a sparse coding algorithm. We then computed the “association field” for different categories (natural, man-made, or containing an animal) by computing the statistics of edge co-occurrences. These differed strongly, with animal images having more curved configurations. We show that this geometry alone is sufficient for categorization, and that the pattern of errors made by humans is consistent with this procedure. Because these statistics could be measured as early as the primary visual cortex, the results challenge widely held assumptions about the flow of computations in the visual system. The results also suggest new algorithms for image classification and signal processing that exploit correlations between low-level structure and the underlying semantic category.

  7. LLSURE: local linear SURE-based edge-preserving image filtering.

    PubMed

    Qiu, Tianshuang; Wang, Aiqi; Yu, Nannan; Song, Aimin

    2013-01-01

    In this paper, we propose a novel approach for performing high-quality edge-preserving image filtering. Based on a local linear model and using the principle of Stein's unbiased risk estimate as an estimator for the mean squared error from the noisy image only, we derive a simple explicit image filter which can filter out noise while preserving edges and fine-scale details. Moreover, this filter has a fast and exact linear-time algorithm whose computational complexity is independent of the filtering kernel size; thus, it can be applied to real time image processing tasks. The experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the new filter for various computer vision applications, including noise reduction, detail smoothing and enhancement, high dynamic range compression, and flash/no-flash denoising.

  8. Half-quadratic variational regularization methods for speckle-suppression and edge-enhancement in SAR complex image

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhao, Xia; Wang, Guang-xin

    2008-12-01

    Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) is an active remote sensing sensor. It is a coherent imaging system, the speckle is its inherent default, which affects badly the interpretation and recognition of the SAR targets. Conventional methods of removing the speckle is studied usually in real SAR image, which reduce the edges of the images at the same time as depressing the speckle. Morever, Conventional methods lost the information about images phase. Removing the speckle and enhancing the target and edge simultaneously are still a puzzle. To suppress the spckle and enhance the targets and the edges simultaneously, a half-quadratic variational regularization method in complex SAR image is presented, which is based on the prior knowledge of the targets and the edge. Due to the non-quadratic and non- convex quality and the complexity of the cost function, a half-quadratic variational regularization variation is used to construct a new cost function,which is solved by alternate optimization. In the proposed scheme, the construction of the model, the solution of the model and the selection of the model peremeters are studied carefully. In the end, we validate the method using the real SAR data.Theoretic analysis and the experimental results illustrate the the feasibility of the proposed method. Further more, the proposed method can preserve the information about images phase.

  9. A non-reference evaluation method for edge detection of wear particles in ferrograph images

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, Jingqiu; Bi, Ju; Wang, Lianjun; Wang, Xiaolei

    2018-02-01

    Edges are one of the most important features of wear particles in a ferrograph image and are widely used to extract parameters, recognize types of wear particles, and assist in the identification of the wear mode and severity. Edge detection is a critical step in ferrograph image processing and analysis. Till date, there has been no single algorithm that guarantees the production of good quality edges in ferrograph images for a variety of applications. Therefore, it is desirable to have a reliable evaluation method for measuring the performance of various edge detection algorithms and for aiding in the selection of the optimal parameter and algorithm for ferrographic applications. In this paper, a new non-reference method for the objective evaluation of wear particle edge detection is proposed. In this method, a comprehensive index of edge evaluation is composed of three components, i.e., the reconstruction based similarity sub-index between the original image and the reconstructed image, the confidence degree sub-index used to show the true or false degree of the edge pixels, and the edge form sub-index that is used to determine the direction consistency and width uniformity of the edges. Two experiments are performed to illustrate the validity of the proposed method. First, this method is used to select the best parameters for an edge detection algorithm, and it is then used to compare the results obtained using various edge detection algorithms and determine the best algorithm. Experimental results of various real ferrograph images verify the effectiveness of the proposed method.

  10. Edge enhancement and noise suppression for infrared image based on feature analysis

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jiang, Meng

    2018-06-01

    Infrared images are often suffering from background noise, blurred edges, few details and low signal-to-noise ratios. To improve infrared image quality, it is essential to suppress noise and enhance edges simultaneously. To realize it in this paper, we propose a novel algorithm based on feature analysis in shearlet domain. Firstly, as one of multi-scale geometric analysis (MGA), we introduce the theory and superiority of shearlet transform. Secondly, after analyzing the defects of traditional thresholding technique to suppress noise, we propose a novel feature extraction distinguishing image structures from noise well and use it to improve the traditional thresholding technique. Thirdly, with computing the correlations between neighboring shearlet coefficients, the feature attribute maps identifying the weak detail and strong edges are completed to improve the generalized unsharped masking (GUM). At last, experiment results with infrared images captured in different scenes demonstrate that the proposed algorithm suppresses noise efficiently and enhances image edges adaptively.

  11. Image sharpness assessment based on wavelet energy of edge area

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Jin; Zhang, Hong; Zhang, Lei; Yang, Yifan; He, Lei; Sun, Mingui

    2018-04-01

    Image quality assessment is needed in multiple image processing areas and blur is one of the key reasons of image deterioration. Although great full-reference image quality assessment metrics have been proposed in the past few years, no-reference method is still an area of current research. Facing this problem, this paper proposes a no-reference sharpness assessment method based on wavelet transformation which focuses on the edge area of image. Based on two simple characteristics of human vision system, weights are introduced to calculate weighted log-energy of each wavelet sub band. The final score is given by the ratio of high-frequency energy to the total energy. The algorithm is tested on multiple databases. Comparing with several state-of-the-art metrics, proposed algorithm has better performance and less runtime consumption.

  12. [Road Extraction in Remote Sensing Images Based on Spectral and Edge Analysis].

    PubMed

    Zhao, Wen-zhi; Luo, Li-qun; Guo, Zhou; Yue, Jun; Yu, Xue-ying; Liu, Hui; Wei, Jing

    2015-10-01

    Roads are typically man-made objects in urban areas. Road extraction from high-resolution images has important applications for urban planning and transportation development. However, due to the confusion of spectral characteristic, it is difficult to distinguish roads from other objects by merely using traditional classification methods that mainly depend on spectral information. Edge is an important feature for the identification of linear objects (e. g. , roads). The distribution patterns of edges vary greatly among different objects. It is crucial to merge edge statistical information into spectral ones. In this study, a new method that combines spectral information and edge statistical features has been proposed. First, edge detection is conducted by using self-adaptive mean-shift algorithm on the panchromatic band, which can greatly reduce pseudo-edges and noise effects. Then, edge statistical features are obtained from the edge statistical model, which measures the length and angle distribution of edges. Finally, by integrating the spectral and edge statistical features, SVM algorithm is used to classify the image and roads are ultimately extracted. A series of experiments are conducted and the results show that the overall accuracy of proposed method is 93% comparing with only 78% overall accuracy of the traditional. The results demonstrate that the proposed method is efficient and valuable for road extraction, especially on high-resolution images.

  13. Imaging System Model Crammed Into A 32K Microcomputer

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tyson, Robert K.

    1986-12-01

    An imaging system model, based upon linear systems theory, has been developed for a microcomputer with less than 32K of free random access memory (RAM). The model includes diffraction effects of the optics, aberrations in the optics, and atmospheric propagation transfer functions. Variables include pupil geometry, magnitude and character of the aberrations, and strength of atmospheric turbulence ("seeing"). Both coherent and incoherent image formation can be evaluated. The techniques employed for crowding the model into a very small computer will be discussed in detail. Simplifying assumptions for the diffraction and aberration phenomena will be shown along with practical considerations in modeling the optical system. Particular emphasis is placed on avoiding inaccuracies in modeling the pupil and the associated optical transfer function knowing limits on spatial frequency content and resolution. Memory and runtime constraints are analyzed stressing the efficient use of assembly language Fourier transform routines, disk input/output, and graphic displays. The compromises between computer time, limited RAM, and scientific accuracy will be given with techniques for balancing these parameters for individual needs.

  14. The P K-near edge absorption spectra of phosphates

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Franke, R.; Hormes, J.

    1995-12-01

    The X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) at the P K-edge in several orthophosphates with various cations, in condensed, and in substituted sodium phosphates have been measured using synchrotron radiation from the ELSA storage ring at the University of Bonn. The measured spectra demonstrate that chemical changes beyond the PO 4- tetrahedra are reflected by energy shifts of the pre-edge and continuum resonances, by the presence of characteristic shoulders and new peaks and by differences in the intensity of the white line. We discuss the energy differences between the white line positions and the corresponding P ls binding energies as a measure of half of the energy gap. The corresponding values correlate with the valence of the cations and the intensity of the white lines. The energy positions of the continuum resonances are discussed on the basis of an empirical bond-length correlation supporting a 1/ r2 - dependence.

  15. Real-time capture and reconstruction system with multiple GPUs for a 3D live scene by a generation from 4K IP images to 8K holograms.

    PubMed

    Ichihashi, Yasuyuki; Oi, Ryutaro; Senoh, Takanori; Yamamoto, Kenji; Kurita, Taiichiro

    2012-09-10

    We developed a real-time capture and reconstruction system for three-dimensional (3D) live scenes. In previous research, we used integral photography (IP) to capture 3D images and then generated holograms from the IP images to implement a real-time reconstruction system. In this paper, we use a 4K (3,840 × 2,160) camera to capture IP images and 8K (7,680 × 4,320) liquid crystal display (LCD) panels for the reconstruction of holograms. We investigate two methods for enlarging the 4K images that were captured by integral photography to 8K images. One of the methods increases the number of pixels of each elemental image. The other increases the number of elemental images. In addition, we developed a personal computer (PC) cluster system with graphics processing units (GPUs) for the enlargement of IP images and the generation of holograms from the IP images using fast Fourier transform (FFT). We used the Compute Unified Device Architecture (CUDA) as the development environment for the GPUs. The Fast Fourier transform is performed using the CUFFT (CUDA FFT) library. As a result, we developed an integrated system for performing all processing from the capture to the reconstruction of 3D images by using these components and successfully used this system to reconstruct a 3D live scene at 12 frames per second.

  16. [An object-oriented remote sensing image segmentation approach based on edge detection].

    PubMed

    Tan, Yu-Min; Huai, Jian-Zhu; Tang, Zhong-Shi

    2010-06-01

    Satellite sensor technology endorsed better discrimination of various landscape objects. Image segmentation approaches to extracting conceptual objects and patterns hence have been explored and a wide variety of such algorithms abound. To this end, in order to effectively utilize edge and topological information in high resolution remote sensing imagery, an object-oriented algorithm combining edge detection and region merging is proposed. Susan edge filter is firstly applied to the panchromatic band of Quickbird imagery with spatial resolution of 0.61 m to obtain the edge map. Thanks to the resulting edge map, a two-phrase region-based segmentation method operates on the fusion image from panchromatic and multispectral Quickbird images to get the final partition result. In the first phase, a quad tree grid consisting of squares with sides parallel to the image left and top borders agglomerates the square subsets recursively where the uniform measure is satisfied to derive image object primitives. Before the merger of the second phrase, the contextual and spatial information, (e. g., neighbor relationship, boundary coding) of the resulting squares are retrieved efficiently by means of the quad tree structure. Then a region merging operation is performed with those primitives, during which the criterion for region merging integrates edge map and region-based features. This approach has been tested on the QuickBird images of some site in Sanxia area and the result is compared with those of ENVI Zoom Definiens. In addition, quantitative evaluation of the quality of segmentation results is also presented. Experiment results demonstrate stable convergence and efficiency.

  17. Full multiple-scattering calculations on silicates and oxides at the Al K edge

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cabaret, Delphine; Sainctavit, Philippe; Ildefonse, Philippe; Flank, Anne-Marie

    1996-05-01

    We present full multiple-scattering calculations at the aluminium K edge that we compare with experiments for four crystalline silicates and oxide minerals. In the different minerals aluminium atoms are either fourfold or sixfold coordinated to oxygen atoms in Al sites that are poorly symmetric. The calculations are based on different choices of one-electron potentials according to aluminium coordinations and crystallographic structures of the compounds. Hence it is possible to determine how the near-edge spectral features are a sensitive probe of the effective potential seen by the photoelectron in the molecular environment. The purpose of this work is to determine on the one hand the relation between Al K-edge spectral features and the geometrical arrangements around the aluminium sites, and on the other hand the electronic structure of the compounds.

  18. Photoabsorption study of Bacillus megaterium, DNA and Related Biological Materials in the Phosphorus K-edge Region

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Frigo, Sean P.; McNulty,Ian; Richmond, Robert C.; Ehret, Charles F.

    2003-01-01

    We have measured the x-ray transmission spectra of several biologically related samples in the phosphorus K-edge absorption region. These include red phosphorus, hydrated sodium phosphate (Na3PO4 12 H2O), deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), adenosinetriphosphate (ATP), diolylphosphatidyl choline (DOPC), and Bacillus megaterium spores. Red phosphorus essentially displays an edge-jump. All other spectra are similar in form and energy position, where each is dominated by a narrower, more intense first peak and a broader but less intense second peak. The corresponding K-edge absorption thresholds are shifted towards higher energy relative to that for red phosphorus, as expected for increasing degrees of phosphorus oxidation. The B.meguterium spectrum has aspects common to both the phosphate and DNA spectra and is therefore interpreted as a composite of spectra arising from DNA/RNA and phosphates within the spore. The B. megaterium spore spectrum provides needed information for resonant radiation damage studies in the phosphorus K-edge absorption region by identifying candidate photoexcitations. In addition, the absorption spectra will be useful in macromolecular crystallography studies employing anomalous dispersion effects at the phosphorus K-edge.

  19. Photoabsorption Study of Bacillus megaterium, DNA and Related Biological Materials in the Phosphorus K-edge Region

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Frigo, Sean P.; McNulty, Ian; Richmond, Robert C.; Ehret, Charles F.

    2002-01-01

    We have measured the x-ray transmission spectra of several biologically related samples in the phosphorus K-edge absorption region. These include elemental red phosphorus, hydrated sodium phosphate (Na3PO4.12H2O), deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), adenosinetriphosphate (ATP), diolylphosphatidyl choline (DOPC), and Bacillus megaterium spores. Elemental red phosphorus essentially displays an edge-jump. All other spectra are similar in form and energy position. Each spectrum for these substances is dominated by a narrower, more intense first peak and a broader but less intense second peak. The corresponding K-edge absorption thresholds are shifted towards higher energy relative to that for elemental red phosphorus, as expected for increasing degrees of phosphorus oxidation. The B. megaterium spectrum has aspects common to both the phosphate and DNA spectra and is therefore interpreted as a composite of spectra arising from DNA/RNA and phosphates within the spore. The B. megaterium spore spectrum provides needed information for resonant radiation damage studies in the phosphorus K-edge absorption region by identifying candidate photoexcitations. In addition,the absorption spectra will be useful in macromolecular crystallography studies employing anomalous dispersion effects at the phosphorus K-edge.

  20. Assignment of Pre-edge Features in the Ru K-edge X-ray Absorption Spectra of Organometallic Ruthenium Complexes

    PubMed Central

    Getty, Kendra; Delgado-Jaime, Mario Ulises

    2010-01-01

    The nature of the lowest energy bound-state transition in the Ru K-edge X-ray Absorption Spectra for a series of Grubbs-type ruthenium complexes was investigated. The pre-edge feature was unambiguously assigned as resulting from formally electric dipole forbidden Ru 4d←1s transitions. The intensities of these transitions are extremely sensitive to the ligand environment and the symmetry of the metal centre. In centrosymmetric complexes the pre-edge is very weak since it is limited by the weak electric quadrupole intensity mechanism. By contrast, upon breaking centrosymmetry, Ru 5p-4d mixing allows for introduction of electric dipole allowed character resulting in a dramatic increase in the pre-edge intensity. The information content of this approach is explored as it relates to complexes of importance in olefin metathesis and its relevance as a tool for the study of reactive intermediates. PMID:20151030

  1. Comparison of edge analysis techniques for the determination of the MTF of digital radiographic systems.

    PubMed

    Samei, Ehsan; Buhr, Egbert; Granfors, Paul; Vandenbroucke, Dirk; Wang, Xiaohui

    2005-08-07

    The modulation transfer function (MTF) is well established as a metric to characterize the resolution performance of a digital radiographic system. Implemented by various laboratories, the edge technique is currently the most widespread approach to measure the MTF. However, there can be differences in the results attributed to differences in the analysis technique employed. The objective of this study was to determine whether comparable results can be obtained from different algorithms processing identical images representative of those of current digital radiographic systems. Five laboratories participated in a round-robin evaluation of six different algorithms including one prescribed in the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) 62220-1 standard. The algorithms were applied to two synthetic and 12 real edge images from different digital radiographic systems including CR, and direct- and indirect-conversion detector systems. The results were analysed in terms of variability as well as accuracy of the resulting presampled MTFs. The results indicated that differences between the individual MTFs and the mean MTF were largely below 0.02. In the case of the two simulated edge images, all algorithms yielded similar results within 0.01 of the expected true MTF. The findings indicated that all algorithms tested in this round-robin evaluation, including the IEC-prescribed algorithm, were suitable for accurate MTF determination from edge images, provided the images are not excessively noisy. The agreement of the MTF results was judged sufficient for the measurement of the MTF necessary for the determination of the DQE.

  2. Low-Dose-Rate Computed Tomography System Utilizing 25 mm/s-Scan Silicon X-ray Diode and Its Application to Iodine K-Edge Imaging Using Filtered Bremsstrahlung Photons

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Matsushita, Ryo; Sato, Eiichi; Yanbe, Yutaka; Chiba, Hiraku; Maeda, Tomoko; Hagiwara, Osahiko; Matsukiyo, Hiroshi; Osawa, Akihiro; Enomoto, Toshiyuki; Watanabe, Manabu; Kusachi, Shinya; Sato, Shigehiro; Ogawa, Akira; Onagawa, Jun

    2013-03-01

    A low-dose-rate X-ray computed tomography (CT) system is useful for reducing absorbed dose for patients. The CT system with a tube current of sub-mA was developed using a silicon X-ray diode (Si-XD). The Si-XD is a high-sensitivity Si photodiode (PD) selected for detecting X-ray photons, and the X-ray sensitivity of the Si-XD was twice as high as that of Si-PD cerium-doped yttrium aluminum perovskite [YAP(Ce)]. X-ray photons are directly detected using the Si-XD without a scintillator, and the photocurrent from the diode is amplified using current-voltage and voltage-voltage amplifiers. The output voltage is converted into logical pulses using a voltage-frequency converter with a maximum frequency of 500 kHz, and the frequency is proportional to the voltage. The pulses from the converter are sent to the differentiator with a time constant of 500 ns to generate short positive pulses for counting, and the pulses are counted using a counter card. Tomography is accomplished by repeated linear scans and rotations of an object, and projection curves of the object are obtained by the linear scan. The exposure time for obtaining a tomogram was 5 min at a scan step of 0.5 mm and a rotation step of 3.0°. The tube current and voltage were 0.55 mA and 60 kV, respectively, and iodine K-edge CT was carried out using filtered bremsstrahlung X-ray spectra with a peak energy of 38 keV.

  3. SU-E-I-76: Optimizing Imaging Parameters for a Novel Radiographic Imaging System for the Detection of Corrosion in Aluminum Aircraft Structures.

    PubMed

    Hammonds, J; Price, R; Donnelly, E; Pickens, D

    2012-06-01

    A laboratory-based phase-contrast radiography/tomosynthesis imaging system previously (Med. Phys. Vol. 38, 2353 May 2011) for improved detection of low-contrast soft-tissue masses was used to evaluate the sensitivity for detecting the presence of thin layers of corrosion on aluminum aircraft structures. The evaluation utilized a test object of aluminum (2.5 inch × 2.5 inch × 1/8 inch) on which different geometric patterns of 0.0038 inch thick anodized aluminum oxide was deposited. A circular area of radius 1 inch centered on the phantom's midpoint was milled to an approximate thickness of 0.022 inches. The x-ray source used for this investigation was a dual focal spot, tungsten anode x-ray tube. The focal used during the investigation has a nominal size of 0.010 mm. The active area of the imager is 17.1 cm × 23.9 cm (2016 × 2816 pixels) with a pixel pitch of 0.085 mm. X-ray tube voltages ranged from 20-40 kVp and source- to-object and object-to-image distances were varied from 20-100 cm. Performance of the phase-contrast mode was compared to conventional absorption-based radiography using contrast ratio and contrast-to-noise ratios (C/N). Phase-contrast performance was based on edge-enhancement index (EEI) and the edge-enhancement-to-noise (EE/N) ratio. for absorption-based radiography, the best C/N ratio was observed at the lowest kVp value (20 kVp). The optimum sampling angle for tomosynthesis was +/- 8 degrees. Comparing C/N to EE/N demonstrated the phase-contrast techniques improve the conspicuity of the oxide layer edges. This work provides the optimal parameters that a radiographic imaging system would need to differentiate the two different compounds of aluminum. Subcontractee from Positron Systems Inc. (Boise, Idaho) through United States Air Force grant (AF083-225). © 2012 American Association of Physicists in Medicine.

  4. K-Shell Photoabsorption Edge of Strongly Coupled Matter Driven by Laser-Converted Radiation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhao, Yang; Yang, Jiamin; Zhang, Jiyan; Yang, Guohong; Wei, Minxi; Xiong, Gang; Song, Tianming; Zhang, Zhiyu; Bao, Lihua; Deng, Bo; Li, Yukun; He, Xiaoan; Li, Chaoguang; Mei, Yu; Yu, Ruizhen; Jiang, Shaoen; Liu, Shenye; Ding, Yongkun; Zhang, Baohan

    2013-10-01

    The first observation of the K-shell photoabsorption edge of strongly coupled matter with an ion-ion coupling parameter of about 65 generated by intense x-ray radiation-driven shocks is reported. The soft x-ray radiation generated by laser interaction with a “dog bone” high-Z hohlraum is used to ablate two thick CH layers, which cover a KCl sample, to create symmetrical inward shocks. While the two shocks impact at the central KCl sample, a highly compressed KCl is obtained with a density of 3-5 times solid density and a temperature of about 2-4 eV. The photoabsorption spectra of chlorine near the K-shell edge are measured with a crystal spectrometer using a short x-ray backlighter. The redshift of the K edge up to 11.7 eV and broadening of 15.2 eV are obtained for the maximum compression. A comparison of the measured redshifts and broadenings with dense plasma calculations are made, and it indicates potential improvements in the theoretical description.

  5. Helium ion microscopy of graphene: beam damage, image quality and edge contrast

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fox, D.; Zhou, Y. B.; O'Neill, A.; Kumar, S.; Wang, J. J.; Coleman, J. N.; Duesberg, G. S.; Donegan, J. F.; Zhang, H. Z.

    2013-08-01

    A study to analyse beam damage, image quality and edge contrast in the helium ion microscope (HIM) has been undertaken. The sample investigated was graphene. Raman spectroscopy was used to quantify the disorder that can be introduced into the graphene as a function of helium ion dose. The effects of the dose on both freestanding and supported graphene were compared. These doses were then correlated directly to image quality by imaging graphene flakes at high magnification. It was found that a high magnification image with a good signal to noise ratio will introduce very significant sample damage. A safe imaging dose of the order of 1013 He+ cm-2 was established, with both graphene samples becoming highly defective at doses over 5 × 1014 He+ cm-2. The edge contrast of a freestanding graphene flake imaged in the HIM was then compared with the contrast of the same flake observed in a scanning electron microscope and a transmission electron microscope. Very strong edge sensitivity was observed in the HIM. This enhanced edge sensitivity over the other techniques investigated makes the HIM a powerful nanoscale dimensional metrology tool, with the capability of both fabricating and imaging features with sub-nanometre resolution.

  6. Lunar-edge based on-orbit modulation transfer function (MTF) measurement

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cheng, Ying; Yi, Hongwei; Liu, Xinlong

    2017-10-01

    Modulation transfer function (MTF) is an important parameter for image quality evaluation of on-orbit optical image systems. Various methods have been proposed to determine the MTF of an imaging system which are based on images containing point, pulse and edge features. In this paper, the edge of the moon can be used as a high contrast target to measure on-orbit MTF of image systems based on knife-edge methods. The proposed method is an extension of the ISO 12233 Slanted-edge Spatial Frequency Response test, except that the shape of the edge is a circular arc instead of a straight line. In order to get more accurate edge locations and then obtain a more authentic edge spread function (ESF), we choose circular fitting method based on least square to fit lunar edge in sub-pixel edge detection process. At last, simulation results show that the MTF value at Nyquist frequency calculated using our lunar edge method is reliable and accurate with error less than 2% comparing with theoretical MTF value.

  7. Photoionization of the Fe lons: Structure of the K-Edge

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Palmeri, P.; Mendoza, C.; Kallman, T.; Bautista, M.; White, Nicholas E. (Technical Monitor)

    2002-01-01

    X-ray absorption and emission features arising from the inner-shell transitions in iron are of practical importance in astrophysics due to the Fe cosmic abundance and to the absence of traits from other elements in the nearby spectrum. As a result, the strengths and energies of such features can constrain the ionization stage, elemental abundance, and column density of the gas in the vicinity of the exotic cosmic objects, e.g. active galactic nuclei (AGN) and galactic black hole candidates. Although the observational technology in X-ray astronomy is still evolving and currently lacks high spectroscopic resolution, the astrophysical models have been based on atomic calculations that predict a sudden and high step-like increase of the cross section at the K-shell threshold (see for instance. New Breit-Pauli R-matrix calculations of the photoionization cross section of the ground states of Fe XVII in the region near the K threshold are presented. They strongly support the view that the previously assumed sharp edge behaviour is not correct. The latter has been caused by the neglect of spectator Auger channels in the decay of the resonances converging to the K threshold. These decay channels include the dominant KLL channels and give rise to constant widths (independent of n). As a consequence, these series display damped Lorentzian components that rapidly blend to impose continuity at threshold, thus reformatting the previously held picture of the edge. Apparent broadened iron edges detected in the spectra of AGN and galactic black hole candidates seem to indicate that these quantum effects may be at least partially responsible for the observed broadening.

  8. Image processing system and method for recognizing and removing shadows from the image of a monitored scene

    DOEpatents

    Osbourn, Gordon C.

    1996-01-01

    The shadow contrast sensitivity of the human vision system is simulated by configuring information obtained from an image sensor so that the information may be evaluated with multiple pixel widths in order to produce a machine vision system able to distinguish between shadow edges and abrupt object edges. A second difference of the image intensity for each line of the image is developed and this second difference is used to screen out high frequency noise contributions from the final edge detection signals. These edge detection signals are constructed from first differences of the image intensity where the screening conditions are satisfied. The positional coincidence of oppositely signed maxima in the first difference signal taken from the right and the second difference signal taken from the left is used to detect the presence of an object edge. Alternatively, the effective number of responding operators (ENRO) may be utilized to determine the presence of object edges.

  9. Quantum Image Processing and Its Application to Edge Detection: Theory and Experiment

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yao, Xi-Wei; Wang, Hengyan; Liao, Zeyang; Chen, Ming-Cheng; Pan, Jian; Li, Jun; Zhang, Kechao; Lin, Xingcheng; Wang, Zhehui; Luo, Zhihuang; Zheng, Wenqiang; Li, Jianzhong; Zhao, Meisheng; Peng, Xinhua; Suter, Dieter

    2017-07-01

    Processing of digital images is continuously gaining in volume and relevance, with concomitant demands on data storage, transmission, and processing power. Encoding the image information in quantum-mechanical systems instead of classical ones and replacing classical with quantum information processing may alleviate some of these challenges. By encoding and processing the image information in quantum-mechanical systems, we here demonstrate the framework of quantum image processing, where a pure quantum state encodes the image information: we encode the pixel values in the probability amplitudes and the pixel positions in the computational basis states. Our quantum image representation reduces the required number of qubits compared to existing implementations, and we present image processing algorithms that provide exponential speed-up over their classical counterparts. For the commonly used task of detecting the edge of an image, we propose and implement a quantum algorithm that completes the task with only one single-qubit operation, independent of the size of the image. This demonstrates the potential of quantum image processing for highly efficient image and video processing in the big data era.

  10. Automated framework for estimation of lung tumor locations in kV-CBCT images for tumor-based patient positioning in stereotactic lung body radiotherapy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yoshidome, Satoshi; Arimura, Hidetaka; Terashima, Koutarou; Hirakawa, Masakazu; Hirose, Taka-aki; Fukunaga, Junichi; Nakamura, Yasuhiko

    2017-03-01

    Recently, image-guided radiotherapy (IGRT) systems using kilovolt cone-beam computed tomography (kV-CBCT) images have become more common for highly accurate patient positioning in stereotactic lung body radiotherapy (SLBRT). However, current IGRT procedures are based on bone structures and subjective correction. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the proposed framework for automated estimation of lung tumor locations in kV-CBCT images for tumor-based patient positioning in SLBRT. Twenty clinical cases are considered, involving solid, pure ground-glass opacity (GGO), mixed GGO, solitary, and non-solitary tumor types. The proposed framework consists of four steps: (1) determination of a search region for tumor location detection in a kV-CBCT image; (2) extraction of a tumor template from a planning CT image; (3) preprocessing for tumor region enhancement (edge and tumor enhancement using a Sobel filter and a blob structure enhancement (BSE) filter, respectively); and (4) tumor location estimation based on a template-matching technique. The location errors in the original, edge-, and tumor-enhanced images were found to be 1.2 ± 0.7 mm, 4.2 ± 8.0 mm, and 2.7 ± 4.6 mm, respectively. The location errors in the original images of solid, pure GGO, mixed GGO, solitary, and non-solitary types of tumors were 1.2 ± 0.7 mm, 1.3 ± 0.9 mm, 0.4 ± 0.6 mm, 1.1 ± 0.8 mm and 1.0 ± 0.7 mm, respectively. These results suggest that the proposed framework is robust as regards automatic estimation of several types of tumor locations in kV-CBCT images for tumor-based patient positioning in SLBRT.

  11. A new method of edge detection for object recognition

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Maddox, Brian G.; Rhew, Benjamin

    2004-01-01

    Traditional edge detection systems function by returning every edge in an input image. This can result in a large amount of clutter and make certain vectorization algorithms less accurate. Accuracy problems can then have a large impact on automated object recognition systems that depend on edge information. A new method of directed edge detection can be used to limit the number of edges returned based on a particular feature. This results in a cleaner image that is easier for vectorization. Vectorized edges from this process could then feed an object recognition system where the edge data would also contain information as to what type of feature it bordered.

  12. Clinical evaluation of a 2K x 2K workstation for primary diagnosis in pediatric radiology

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Razavi, Mahmood; Sayre, James W.; Simons, Margaret A.; Hamedaninia, Azar; Boechat, Maria I.; Hall, Theodore R.; Kangarloo, Hooshang; Taira, Ricky K.; Chuang, Keh-Shih; Kashifian, Payam

    1991-07-01

    Preliminary results of a large-scale ROC study evaluating the diagnostic performance of digital hardcopy film and 2K X 2K softcopy display for pediatric chest radiographs are presented. The pediatric disease categories studied were pneumothorax, linear atelectasis, air bronchograms, and interstitial disease. Digital images were obtained directly from a computed radiography system. Results from the readings of 239 chest radiographs by 4 radiologists show no significant difference between viewing images on film and softcopy display for the disease categories pneumothorax and air bronchograms. A slight performance edge for softcopy was seen for the disease categories of interstitial disease and linear atelectasis.

  13. A PKC-MARCKS-PI3K regulatory module links Ca2+ and PIP3 signals at the leading edge of polarized macrophages.

    PubMed

    Ziemba, Brian P; Falke, Joseph J

    2018-01-01

    The leukocyte chemosensory pathway detects attractant gradients and directs cell migration to sites of inflammation, infection, tissue damage, and carcinogenesis. Previous studies have revealed that local Ca2+ and PIP3 signals at the leading edge of polarized leukocytes play central roles in positive feedback loop essential to cell polarization and chemotaxis. These prior studies showed that stimulation of the leading edge Ca2+ signal can strongly activate PI3K, thereby triggering a larger PIP3 signal, but did not elucidate the mechanistic link between Ca2+ and PIP3 signaling. A hypothesis explaining this link emerged, postulating that Ca2+-activated PKC displaces the MARCKS protein from plasma membrane PIP2, thereby releasing sequestered PIP2 to serve as the target and substrate lipid of PI3K in PIP3 production. In vitro single molecule studies of the reconstituted pathway on lipid bilayers demonstrated the feasibility of this PKC-MARCKS-PI3K regulatory module linking Ca2+ and PIP3 signals in the reconstituted system. The present study tests the model predictions in live macrophages by quantifying the effects of: (a) two pathway activators-PDGF and ATP that stimulate chemoreceptors and Ca2+ influx, respectively; and (b) three pathway inhibitors-wortmannin, EGTA, and Go6976 that inhibit PI3K, Ca2+ influx, and PKC, respectively; on (c) four leading edge activity sensors-AKT-PH-mRFP, CKAR, MARCKSp-mRFP, and leading edge area that report on PIP3 density, PKC activity, MARCKS membrane binding, and leading edge expansion/contraction, respectively. The results provide additional evidence that PKC and PI3K are both essential elements of the leading edge positive feedback loop, and strongly support the existence of a PKC-MARCKS-PI3K regulatory module linking the leading edge Ca2+ and PIP3 signals. As predicted, activators stimulate leading edge PKC activity, displacement of MARCKS from the leading edge membrane and increased leading edge PIP3 levels, while inhibitors

  14. A PKC-MARCKS-PI3K regulatory module links Ca2+ and PIP3 signals at the leading edge of polarized macrophages

    PubMed Central

    Ziemba, Brian P.

    2018-01-01

    The leukocyte chemosensory pathway detects attractant gradients and directs cell migration to sites of inflammation, infection, tissue damage, and carcinogenesis. Previous studies have revealed that local Ca2+ and PIP3 signals at the leading edge of polarized leukocytes play central roles in positive feedback loop essential to cell polarization and chemotaxis. These prior studies showed that stimulation of the leading edge Ca2+ signal can strongly activate PI3K, thereby triggering a larger PIP3 signal, but did not elucidate the mechanistic link between Ca2+ and PIP3 signaling. A hypothesis explaining this link emerged, postulating that Ca2+-activated PKC displaces the MARCKS protein from plasma membrane PIP2, thereby releasing sequestered PIP2 to serve as the target and substrate lipid of PI3K in PIP3 production. In vitro single molecule studies of the reconstituted pathway on lipid bilayers demonstrated the feasibility of this PKC-MARCKS-PI3K regulatory module linking Ca2+ and PIP3 signals in the reconstituted system. The present study tests the model predictions in live macrophages by quantifying the effects of: (a) two pathway activators—PDGF and ATP that stimulate chemoreceptors and Ca2+ influx, respectively; and (b) three pathway inhibitors—wortmannin, EGTA, and Go6976 that inhibit PI3K, Ca2+ influx, and PKC, respectively; on (c) four leading edge activity sensors—AKT-PH-mRFP, CKAR, MARCKSp-mRFP, and leading edge area that report on PIP3 density, PKC activity, MARCKS membrane binding, and leading edge expansion/contraction, respectively. The results provide additional evidence that PKC and PI3K are both essential elements of the leading edge positive feedback loop, and strongly support the existence of a PKC-MARCKS-PI3K regulatory module linking the leading edge Ca2+ and PIP3 signals. As predicted, activators stimulate leading edge PKC activity, displacement of MARCKS from the leading edge membrane and increased leading edge PIP3 levels, while inhibitors

  15. Localized Ras signaling at the leading edge regulates PI3K, cell polarity, and directional cell movement

    PubMed Central

    Sasaki, Atsuo T.; Chun, Cheryl; Takeda, Kosuke; Firtel, Richard A.

    2004-01-01

    During chemotaxis, receptors and heterotrimeric G-protein subunits are distributed and activated almost uniformly along the cell membrane, whereas PI(3,4,5)P3, the product of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K), accumulates locally at the leading edge. The key intermediate event that creates this strong PI(3,4,5)P3 asymmetry remains unclear. Here, we show that Ras is rapidly and transiently activated in response to chemoattractant stimulation and regulates PI3K activity. Ras activation occurs at the leading edge of chemotaxing cells, and this local activation is independent of the F-actin cytoskeleton, whereas PI3K localization is dependent on F-actin polymerization. Inhibition of Ras results in severe defects in directional movement, indicating that Ras is an upstream component of the cell's compass. These results support a mechanism by which localized Ras activation mediates leading edge formation through activation of basal PI3K present on the plasma membrane and other Ras effectors required for chemotaxis. A feedback loop, mediated through localized F-actin polymerization, recruits cytosolic PI3K to the leading edge to amplify the signal. PMID:15534002

  16. Bimagnon studies in cuprates with resonant inelastic x-ray scattering at the O K edge. I. Assessment on La2CuO4 and comparison with the excitation at Cu L3 and Cu K edges

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bisogni, V.; Simonelli, L.; Ament, L. J. P.; Forte, F.; Moretti Sala, M.; Minola, M.; Huotari, S.; van den Brink, J.; Ghiringhelli, G.; Brookes, N. B.; Braicovich, L.

    2012-06-01

    We assess the capabilities of magnetic resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (RIXS) at the O K edge in undoped cuprates by taking La2CuO4 as a benchmark case, based on a series of RIXS measurements that we present here. By combining the experimental results with basic theory we point out the fingerprints of bimagnon excitation in the O K edge RIXS spectra. These are a dominant peak around 450 meV, the almost complete absence of dispersion both with π and σ polarization, and the almost constant intensity vs the transferred momentum with σ polarization. This behavior is quite different from Cu L3 edge RIXS giving a strongly dispersing bimagnon tending to zero at the center of the Brillouin zone. This is clearly shown by RIXS measurements at the Cu L3 edge that we present. The Cu L3 bimagnon spectra and those at the Cu K edge—both from the literature and from our data—however, have the same shape. These similarities and differences are understood in terms of different sampling of the bimagnon continuum. This panorama points out the unique possibilities offered by O K RIXS in the study of magnetic excitations in cuprates near the center of the BZ.

  17. A robust sub-pixel edge detection method of infrared image based on tremor-based retinal receptive field model

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gao, Kun; Yang, Hu; Chen, Xiaomei; Ni, Guoqiang

    2008-03-01

    Because of complex thermal objects in an infrared image, the prevalent image edge detection operators are often suitable for a certain scene and extract too wide edges sometimes. From a biological point of view, the image edge detection operators work reliably when assuming a convolution-based receptive field architecture. A DoG (Difference-of- Gaussians) model filter based on ON-center retinal ganglion cell receptive field architecture with artificial eye tremors introduced is proposed for the image contour detection. Aiming at the blurred edges of an infrared image, the subsequent orthogonal polynomial interpolation and sub-pixel level edge detection in rough edge pixel neighborhood is adopted to locate the foregoing rough edges in sub-pixel level. Numerical simulations show that this method can locate the target edge accurately and robustly.

  18. Long-Range Chemical Sensitivity in the Sulfur K-Edge X-ray Absorption Spectra of Substituted Thiophenes

    PubMed Central

    2015-01-01

    Thiophenes are the simplest aromatic sulfur-containing compounds and are stable and widespread in fossil fuels. Regulation of sulfur levels in fuels and emissions has become and continues to be ever more stringent as part of governments’ efforts to address negative environmental impacts of sulfur dioxide. In turn, more effective removal methods are continually being sought. In a chemical sense, thiophenes are somewhat obdurate and hence their removal from fossil fuels poses problems for the industrial chemist. Sulfur K-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy provides key information on thiophenic components in fuels. Here we present a systematic study of the spectroscopic sensitivity to chemical modifications of the thiophene system. We conclude that while the utility of sulfur K-edge X-ray absorption spectra in understanding the chemical composition of sulfur-containing fossil fuels has already been demonstrated, care must be exercised in interpreting these spectra because the assumption of an invariant spectrum for thiophenic forms may not always be valid. PMID:25116792

  19. Image-Data Compression Using Edge-Optimizing Algorithm for WFA Inference.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Culik, Karel II; Kari, Jarkko

    1994-01-01

    Presents an inference algorithm that produces a weighted finite automata (WFA), in particular, the grayness functions of graytone images. Image-data compression results based on the new inference algorithm produces a WFA with a relatively small number of edges. Image-data compression results alone and in combination with wavelets are discussed.…

  20. K-edge Subtraction Angiography with Synchrotron X-Rays: Final Technical Report, (February 1, 1984 to January 31, 1987)

    DOE R&D Accomplishments Database

    Hofstadter, R.

    1987-09-01

    The aim was the development of an angiographic method and appropriate equipment for imaging with x-rays the coronary arteries in a non-invasive manner. Successive steps involved studies with phantoms, live animals and finally with human subjects. Clinical evaluation of human coronary arteries remains a goal of this and a continuing project, and steps along the way to such an achievement are in process. Transvenous injection of a dye using the method of iodine dichromography near 33.2 keV, the K-edge of iodine, forms the basis of the method

  1. Iodine filter imaging system for subtraction angiography using synchrotron radiation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Umetani, K.; Ueda, K.; Takeda, T.; Itai, Y.; Akisada, M.; Nakajima, T.

    1993-11-01

    A new type of real-time imaging system was developed for transvenous coronary angiography. A combination of an iodine filter and a single energy broad-bandwidth X-ray produces two-energy images for the iodine K-edge subtraction technique. X-ray images are sequentially converted to visible images by an X-ray image intensifier. By synchronizing the timing of the movement of the iodine filter into and out of the X-ray beam, two output images of the image intensifier are focused side by side on the photoconductive layer of a camera tube by an oscillating mirror. Both images are read out by electron beam scanning of a 1050-scanning-line video camera within a camera frame time of 66.7 ms. One hundred ninety two pairs of iodine-filtered and non-iodine-filtered images are stored in the frame memory at a rate of 15 pairs/s. In vivo subtracted images of coronary arteries in dogs were obtained in the form of motion pictures.

  2. A pre-edge analysis of Mn K-edge XANES spectra to help determine the speciation of manganese in minerals and glasses

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chalmin, E.; Farges, F.; Brown, G. E.

    2009-01-01

    High-resolution manganese K-edge X-ray absorption near edge structure spectra were collected on a set of 40 Mn-bearing minerals. The pre-edge feature information (position, area) was investigated to extract as much as possible quantitative valence and symmetry information for manganese in various “test” and “unknown” minerals and glasses. The samples present a range of manganese symmetry environments (tetrahedral, square planar, octahedral, and cubic) and valences (II to VII). The extraction of the pre-edge information is based on a previous multiple scattering and multiplet calculations for model compounds. Using the method described in this study, a robust estimation of the manganese valence could be obtained from the pre-edge region at 5% accuracy level. This method applied to 20 “test” compounds (such as hausmannite and rancieite) and to 15 “unknown” compounds (such as axinite and birnessite) provides a quantitative estimate of the average valence of manganese in complex minerals and silicate glasses.

  3. Edge guided image reconstruction in linear scan CT by weighted alternating direction TV minimization.

    PubMed

    Cai, Ailong; Wang, Linyuan; Zhang, Hanming; Yan, Bin; Li, Lei; Xi, Xiaoqi; Li, Jianxin

    2014-01-01

    Linear scan computed tomography (CT) is a promising imaging configuration with high scanning efficiency while the data set is under-sampled and angularly limited for which high quality image reconstruction is challenging. In this work, an edge guided total variation minimization reconstruction (EGTVM) algorithm is developed in dealing with this problem. The proposed method is modeled on the combination of total variation (TV) regularization and iterative edge detection strategy. In the proposed method, the edge weights of intermediate reconstructions are incorporated into the TV objective function. The optimization is efficiently solved by applying alternating direction method of multipliers. A prudential and conservative edge detection strategy proposed in this paper can obtain the true edges while restricting the errors within an acceptable degree. Based on the comparison on both simulation studies and real CT data set reconstructions, EGTVM provides comparable or even better quality compared to the non-edge guided reconstruction and adaptive steepest descent-projection onto convex sets method. With the utilization of weighted alternating direction TV minimization and edge detection, EGTVM achieves fast and robust convergence and reconstructs high quality image when applied in linear scan CT with under-sampled data set.

  4. Optimizing Robinson Operator with Ant Colony Optimization As a Digital Image Edge Detection Method

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yanti Nasution, Tarida; Zarlis, Muhammad; K. M Nasution, Mahyuddin

    2017-12-01

    Edge detection serves to identify the boundaries of an object against a background of mutual overlap. One of the classic method for edge detection is operator Robinson. Operator Robinson produces a thin, not assertive and grey line edge. To overcome these deficiencies, the proposed improvements to edge detection method with the approach graph with Ant Colony Optimization algorithm. The repairs may be performed are thicken the edge and connect the edges cut off. Edge detection research aims to do optimization of operator Robinson with Ant Colony Optimization then compare the output and generated the inferred extent of Ant Colony Optimization can improve result of edge detection that has not been optimized and improve the accuracy of the results of Robinson edge detection. The parameters used in performance measurement of edge detection are morphology of the resulting edge line, MSE and PSNR. The result showed that Robinson and Ant Colony Optimization method produces images with a more assertive and thick edge. Ant Colony Optimization method is able to be used as a method for optimizing operator Robinson by improving the image result of Robinson detection average 16.77 % than classic Robinson result.

  5. Dynamical System Approach for Edge Detection Using Coupled FitzHugh-Nagumo Neurons.

    PubMed

    Li, Shaobai; Dasmahapatra, Srinandan; Maharatna, Koushik

    2015-12-01

    The prospect of emulating the impressive computational capabilities of biological systems has led to considerable interest in the design of analog circuits that are potentially implementable in very large scale integration CMOS technology and are guided by biologically motivated models. For example, simple image processing tasks, such as the detection of edges in binary and grayscale images, have been performed by networks of FitzHugh-Nagumo-type neurons using the reaction-diffusion models. However, in these studies, the one-to-one mapping of image pixels to component neurons makes the size of the network a critical factor in any such implementation. In this paper, we develop a simplified version of the employed reaction-diffusion model in three steps. In the first step, we perform a detailed study to locate this threshold using continuous Lyapunov exponents from dynamical system theory. Furthermore, we render the diffusion in the system to be anisotropic, with the degree of anisotropy being set by the gradients of grayscale values in each image. The final step involves a simplification of the model that is achieved by eliminating the terms that couple the membrane potentials of adjacent neurons. We apply our technique to detect edges in data sets of artificially generated and real images, and we demonstrate that the performance is as good if not better than that of the previous methods without increasing the size of the network.

  6. X-ray Absorption and Emission Spectroscopy of CrIII (Hydr)Oxides: Analysis of the K-Pre-Edge Region

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Frommer, Jakob; Nachtegaal, Maarten; Czekaj, Izabela; Weng, Tsu-Chien; Kretzschmar, Ruben

    2009-10-01

    Pre-edge spectral features below the main X-ray absorption K-edge of transition metals show a pronounced chemical sensitivity and are promising sources of structural information. Nevertheless, the use of pre-edge analysis in applied research is limited because of the lack of definite theoretical peak-assignments. The aim of this study was to determine the factors affecting the chromium K-pre-edge features in trivalent chromium-bearing oxides and oxyhydroxides. The selected phases varied in the degree of octahedral polymerization and the degree of iron-for-chromium substitution in the crystal structure. We investigated the pre-edge fine structure by means of high-energy-resolution fluorescence detected X-ray absorption spectroscopy and by 1s2p resonant X-ray emission spectroscopy. Multiplet theory and full multiple-scattering calculations were used to analyze the experimental data. We show that the chromium K-pre-edge contains localized and nonlocalized transitions. Contributions arising from nonlocalized metal-metal transitions are sensitive to the nearest metal type and to the linkage mode between neighboring metal octahedra. Analyzing these transitions opens up new opportunities for investigating the local coordination environment of chromium in poorly ordered solids of environmental relevance.

  7. Classification of visible and infrared hyperspectral images based on image segmentation and edge-preserving filtering

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cui, Binge; Ma, Xiudan; Xie, Xiaoyun; Ren, Guangbo; Ma, Yi

    2017-03-01

    The classification of hyperspectral images with a few labeled samples is a major challenge which is difficult to meet unless some spatial characteristics can be exploited. In this study, we proposed a novel spectral-spatial hyperspectral image classification method that exploited spatial autocorrelation of hyperspectral images. First, image segmentation is performed on the hyperspectral image to assign each pixel to a homogeneous region. Second, the visible and infrared bands of hyperspectral image are partitioned into multiple subsets of adjacent bands, and each subset is merged into one band. Recursive edge-preserving filtering is performed on each merged band which utilizes the spectral information of neighborhood pixels. Third, the resulting spectral and spatial feature band set is classified using the SVM classifier. Finally, bilateral filtering is performed to remove "salt-and-pepper" noise in the classification result. To preserve the spatial structure of hyperspectral image, edge-preserving filtering is applied independently before and after the classification process. Experimental results on different hyperspectral images prove that the proposed spectral-spatial classification approach is robust and offers more classification accuracy than state-of-the-art methods when the number of labeled samples is small.

  8. Multispectral image sharpening using wavelet transform techniques and spatial correlation of edges

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Lemeshewsky, George P.; Schowengerdt, Robert A.

    2000-01-01

    Several reported image fusion or sharpening techniques are based on the discrete wavelet transform (DWT). The technique described here uses a pixel-based maximum selection rule to combine respective transform coefficients of lower spatial resolution near-infrared (NIR) and higher spatial resolution panchromatic (pan) imagery to produce a sharpened NIR image. Sharpening assumes a radiometric correlation between the spectral band images. However, there can be poor correlation, including edge contrast reversals (e.g., at soil-vegetation boundaries), between the fused images and, consequently, degraded performance. To improve sharpening, a local area-based correlation technique originally reported for edge comparison with image pyramid fusion is modified for application with the DWT process. Further improvements are obtained by using redundant, shift-invariant implementation of the DWT. Example images demonstrate the improvements in NIR image sharpening with higher resolution pan imagery.

  9. Size-dependent scanning parameters (kVp and mAs) for photon-counting spectral CT system in pediatric imaging: simulation study

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chen, Han; Danielsson, Mats; Xu, Cheng

    2016-06-01

    We are developing a photon-counting spectral CT detector with a small pixel size of 0.4× 0.5 mm2, offering a potential advantage for better visualization of small structures in pediatric patients. The purpose of this study is to determine the patient size dependent scanning parameters (kVp and mAs) for pediatric CT in two imaging cases: adipose imaging and iodinated blood imaging. Cylindrical soft-tissue phantoms of diameters between 10-25 cm were used to mimic patients of different ages from 0 to 15 y. For adipose imaging, a 5 mm diameter adipose sphere was assumed as an imaging target, while in the case of iodinated imaging, an iodinated blood sphere of 1 mm in diameter was assumed. By applying the geometry of a commercial CT scanner (GE Lightspeed VCT), simulations were carried out to calculate the detectability index, {{d}\\prime 2} , with tube potentials varying from 40 to 140 kVp. The optimal kVp for each phantom in each imaging case was determined such that the dose-normalized detectability index, {{d}\\prime 2}/ dose, is maximized. With the assumption that the detectability index in pediatric imaging is required the same as in typical adult imaging, the value of mAs at optimal kVp for each phantom was selected to achieve a reference detectability index that was obtained by scanning an adult phantom (30 cm in diameter) in a typical adult CT procedure (120 kVp and 200 mAs) using a modeled energy-integrating system. For adipose imaging, the optimal kVps are 50, 60, 80, and 120 kVp, respectively, for phantoms of 10, 15, 20, and 25 cm in diameter. The corresponding mAs values required to achieve the reference detectability index are only 9%, 23%, 24%, and 54% of the mAs that is used for adult patients at 120 kVp, for 10, 15, 20, and 25 cm diameter phantoms, respectively. In the case of iodinated imaging, a tube potential of 60 kVp was found optimal for all phantoms investigated, and the mAs values required to achieve the reference detectability

  10. High-resolution molybdenum K-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy analyzed with time-dependent density functional theory.

    PubMed

    Lima, Frederico A; Bjornsson, Ragnar; Weyhermüller, Thomas; Chandrasekaran, Perumalreddy; Glatzel, Pieter; Neese, Frank; DeBeer, Serena

    2013-12-28

    X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) is a widely used experimental technique capable of selectively probing the local structure around an absorbing atomic species in molecules and materials. When applied to heavy elements, however, the quantitative interpretation can be challenging due to the intrinsic spectral broadening arising from the decrease in the core-hole lifetime. In this work we have used high-energy resolution fluorescence detected XAS (HERFD-XAS) to investigate a series of molybdenum complexes. The sharper spectral features obtained by HERFD-XAS measurements enable a clear assignment of the features present in the pre-edge region. Time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) has been previously shown to predict K-pre-edge XAS spectra of first row transition metal compounds with a reasonable degree of accuracy. Here we extend this approach to molybdenum K-edge HERFD-XAS and present the necessary calibration. Modern pure and hybrid functionals are utilized and relativistic effects are accounted for using either the Zeroth Order Regular Approximation (ZORA) or the second order Douglas-Kroll-Hess (DKH2) scalar relativistic approximations. We have found that both the predicted energies and intensities are in excellent agreement with experiment, independent of the functional used. The model chosen to account for relativistic effects also has little impact on the calculated spectra. This study provides an important calibration set for future applications of molybdenum HERFD-XAS to complex catalytic systems.

  11. First-Principles Fe L 2,3 -Edge and O K-Edge XANES and XMCD Spectra for Iron Oxides

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

    Sassi, Michel; Pearce, Carolyn I.; Bagus, Paul S.

    X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) and X-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) spectroscopies are tools in widespread use for providing detailed local atomic structure, oxidation state, and magnetic structure information for materials and organometallic complexes. The analysis of these spectra for transition-metal L-edges is routinely performed on the basis of ligand-field multiplet theory because one- and two-particle mean-field ab initio methods typically cannot describe the multiplet structure. Here we show that multireference configuration interaction (MRCI) calculations can satisfactorily reproduce measured XANES spectra for a range of complex iron oxide materials including hematite and magnetite. MRCI Fe L2,3-edge XANES and XMCD spectramore » of Fe(II)O6, Fe(III)O6, and Fe(III)O4 in magnetite are found to be in very good qualitative agreement with experiment and multiplet calculations. Point-charge embedding and small distortions of the first-shell oxygen ligands have only small effects. Oxygen K-edge XANES/XMCD spectra for magnetite investigated by a real-space Green’s function approach complete the very good qualitative agreement with experiment. Material-specific differences in local coordination and site symmetry are well reproduced, making the approach useful for assigning spectral features to specific oxidation states and coordination environments.« less

  12. Quantitative characterization of edge enhancement in phase contrast x-ray imaging.

    PubMed

    Monnin, P; Bulling, S; Hoszowska, J; Valley, J F; Meuli, R; Verdun, F R

    2004-06-01

    The aim of this study was to model the edge enhancement effect in in-line holography phase contrast imaging. A simple analytical approach was used to quantify refraction and interference contrasts in terms of beam energy and imaging geometry. The model was applied to predict the peak intensity and frequency of the edge enhancement for images of cylindrical fibers. The calculations were compared with measurements, and the relationship between the spatial resolution of the detector and the amplitude of the phase contrast signal was investigated. Calculations using the analytical model were in good agreement with experimental results for nylon, aluminum and copper wires of 50 to 240 microm diameter, and with numerical simulations based on Fresnel-Kirchhoff theory. A relationship between the defocusing distance and the pixel size of the image detector was established. This analytical model is a useful tool for optimizing imaging parameters in phase contrast in-line holography, including defocusing distance, detector resolution and beam energy.

  13. Characterization of extracellular polymeric substances in the biofilms of typical bacteria by the sulfur K-edge XANES spectroscopy.

    PubMed

    Lin, Huirong; Ye, Chengsong; Lv, Lu; Zheng, Clark Renjun; Zhang, Shenghua; Zheng, Lei; Zhao, Yidong; Yu, Xin

    2014-08-01

    A combined approach of physicochemical extraction and sulfur K-edge X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy was applied to characterize the extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) of typical bacterial biofilms in this study. Physicochemical analysis showed variation of the contents of DNA, polysaccharide and protein in different fractions of EPS in different mediums. The sulfur K-edge XANES analysis yielded a variety of spectra. Spectral fitting of the XANES spectra utilizing a large set of model compounds showed that there was more reduced sulfur in both LB-EPS (loosely bound EPS) and TB-EPS (tightly bound EPS) of all the biofilms in LB medium than in R2A medium. More oxidized sulfur was identified in LB-EPS than that in TB-EPS, suggesting different niches and physiological heterogeneity in the biofilms. Our results suggested that the sulfur K-edge XANES can be a useful tool to analyze the sulfur speciation in EPS of biofilms. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  14. HST and Adaptive Optics Imaging of the Edge-on Circumtertiary Disk in the Young Triple System HV Tauri

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Stapelfeldt, K. R.; Menard, F.; Brandner, W.; Padgett, D. L.; Krist, J. E.; Watson, A. M.

    2000-12-01

    Hubble Space Telescope images of the HV Tauri triple system show that HV Tau C appears as a compact bipolar nebula at visual wavelengths. Near-infrared adaptive optics observations made at the Canada France Hawaii Telescope show a similar morphology, and no directly visible star at wavelengths less than 2 microns. These results confirm the conclusions of Monin & Bouvier 2000, namely that HV Tau C is an optically thick circumstellar disk seen close to edge-on. The images are compared to scattered light models for circumstellar disks. We find that the HV Tau C disk has an outer radius of 85 AU, inclination of about 6 deg, gaussian scale height of 15 AU at its outer radius, and is flared. The thickness of the dark lane indicates a total disk mass about half that of Jupiter. There is clear evidence for declining dust opacity toward longer wavelengths, as the dust lane thickness shrinks by 30 between 0.8 and 2.2 microns; the trend is consistent with interstellar dust grains. Tidal truncation of the disk outer radius may have occurred in this system.

  15. A new region-edge based level set model with applications to image segmentation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhi, Xuhao; Shen, Hong-Bin

    2018-04-01

    Level set model has advantages in handling complex shapes and topological changes, and is widely used in image processing tasks. The image segmentation oriented level set models can be grouped into region-based models and edge-based models, both of which have merits and drawbacks. Region-based level set model relies on fitting to color intensity of separated regions, but is not sensitive to edge information. Edge-based level set model evolves by fitting to local gradient information, but can get easily affected by noise. We propose a region-edge based level set model, which considers saliency information into energy function and fuses color intensity with local gradient information. The evolution of the proposed model is implemented by a hierarchical two-stage protocol, and the experimental results show flexible initialization, robust evolution and precise segmentation.

  16. Edge smoothing for real-time simulation of a polygon face object system as viewed by a moving observer

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Lotz, Robert W. (Inventor); Westerman, David J. (Inventor)

    1980-01-01

    The visual system within an aircraft flight simulation system receives flight data and terrain data which is formated into a buffer memory. The image data is forwarded to an image processor which translates the image data into face vertex vectors Vf, defining the position relationship between the vertices of each terrain object and the aircraft. The image processor then rotates, clips, and projects the image data into two-dimensional display vectors (Vd). A display generator receives the Vd faces, and other image data to provide analog inputs to CRT devices which provide the window displays for the simulated aircraft. The video signal to the CRT devices passes through an edge smoothing device which prolongs the rise time (and fall time) of the video data inversely as the slope of the edge being smoothed. An operational amplifier within the edge smoothing device has a plurality of independently selectable feedback capacitors each having a different value. The values of the capacitors form a series which doubles as a power of two. Each feedback capacitor has a fast switch responsive to the corresponding bit of a digital binary control word for selecting (1) or not selecting (0) that capacitor. The control word is determined by the slope of each edge. The resulting actual feedback capacitance for each edge is the sum of all the selected capacitors and is directly proportional to the value of the binary control word. The output rise time (or fall time) is a function of the feedback capacitance, and is controlled by the slope through the binary control word.

  17. The optimization of edge and line detectors for forest image analysis

    Treesearch

    Zhiling Long; Joseph Picone; Victor A. Rudis

    2000-01-01

    Automated image analysis for forestry applications is becoming increasingly important with the rapid evolution of satellite and land-based remote imaging industries. Features derived from line information play a very important role in analyses of such images. Many edge and line detection algorithms have been proposed but few, if any, comprehensive studies exist that...

  18. [Plaque segmentation of intracoronary optical coherence tomography images based on K-means and improved random walk algorithm].

    PubMed

    Wang, Guanglei; Wang, Pengyu; Han, Yechen; Liu, Xiuling; Li, Yan; Lu, Qian

    2017-06-01

    In recent years, optical coherence tomography (OCT) has developed into a popular coronary imaging technology at home and abroad. The segmentation of plaque regions in coronary OCT images has great significance for vulnerable plaque recognition and research. In this paper, a new algorithm based on K -means clustering and improved random walk is proposed and Semi-automated segmentation of calcified plaque, fibrotic plaque and lipid pool was achieved. And the weight function of random walk is improved. The distance between the edges of pixels in the image and the seed points is added to the definition of the weight function. It increases the weak edge weights and prevent over-segmentation. Based on the above methods, the OCT images of 9 coronary atherosclerotic patients were selected for plaque segmentation. By contrasting the doctor's manual segmentation results with this method, it was proved that this method had good robustness and accuracy. It is hoped that this method can be helpful for the clinical diagnosis of coronary heart disease.

  19. Fast digital zooming system using directionally adaptive image interpolation and restoration.

    PubMed

    Kang, Wonseok; Jeon, Jaehwan; Yu, Soohwan; Paik, Joonki

    2014-01-01

    This paper presents a fast digital zooming system for mobile consumer cameras using directionally adaptive image interpolation and restoration methods. The proposed interpolation algorithm performs edge refinement along the initially estimated edge orientation using directionally steerable filters. Either the directionally weighted linear or adaptive cubic-spline interpolation filter is then selectively used according to the refined edge orientation for removing jagged artifacts in the slanted edge region. A novel image restoration algorithm is also presented for removing blurring artifacts caused by the linear or cubic-spline interpolation using the directionally adaptive truncated constrained least squares (TCLS) filter. Both proposed steerable filter-based interpolation and the TCLS-based restoration filters have a finite impulse response (FIR) structure for real time processing in an image signal processing (ISP) chain. Experimental results show that the proposed digital zooming system provides high-quality magnified images with FIR filter-based fast computational structure.

  20. Image change detection systems, methods, and articles of manufacture

    DOEpatents

    Jones, James L.; Lassahn, Gordon D.; Lancaster, Gregory D.

    2010-01-05

    Aspects of the invention relate to image change detection systems, methods, and articles of manufacture. According to one aspect, a method of identifying differences between a plurality of images is described. The method includes loading a source image and a target image into memory of a computer, constructing source and target edge images from the source and target images to enable processing of multiband images, displaying the source and target images on a display device of the computer, aligning the source and target edge images, switching displaying of the source image and the target image on the display device, to enable identification of differences between the source image and the target image.

  1. Edge detection

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hildreth, E. C.

    1985-09-01

    For both biological systems and machines, vision begins with a large and unwieldly array of measurements of the amount of light reflected from surfaces in the environment. The goal of vision is to recover physical properties of objects in the scene such as the location of object boundaries and the structure, color and texture of object surfaces, from the two-dimensional image that is projected onto the eye or camera. This goal is not achieved in a single step: vision proceeds in stages, with each stage producing increasingly more useful descriptions of the image and then the scene. The first clues about the physical properties of the scene are provided by the changes of intensity in the image. The importance of intensity changes and edges in early visual processing has led to extensive research on their detection, description and use, both in computer and biological vision systems. This article reviews some of the theory that underlies the detection of edges, and the methods used to carry out this analysis.

  2. Multispectral image sharpening using a shift-invariant wavelet transform and adaptive processing of multiresolution edges

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Lemeshewsky, G.P.; Rahman, Z.-U.; Schowengerdt, R.A.; Reichenbach, S.E.

    2002-01-01

    Enhanced false color images from mid-IR, near-IR (NIR), and visible bands of the Landsat thematic mapper (TM) are commonly used for visually interpreting land cover type. Described here is a technique for sharpening or fusion of NIR with higher resolution panchromatic (Pan) that uses a shift-invariant implementation of the discrete wavelet transform (SIDWT) and a reported pixel-based selection rule to combine coefficients. There can be contrast reversals (e.g., at soil-vegetation boundaries between NIR and visible band images) and consequently degraded sharpening and edge artifacts. To improve performance for these conditions, I used a local area-based correlation technique originally reported for comparing image-pyramid-derived edges for the adaptive processing of wavelet-derived edge data. Also, using the redundant data of the SIDWT improves edge data generation. There is additional improvement because sharpened subband imagery is used with the edge-correlation process. A reported technique for sharpening three-band spectral imagery used forward and inverse intensity, hue, and saturation transforms and wavelet-based sharpening of intensity. This technique had limitations with opposite contrast data, and in this study sharpening was applied to single-band multispectral-Pan image pairs. Sharpening used simulated 30-m NIR imagery produced by degrading the spatial resolution of a higher resolution reference. Performance, evaluated by comparison between sharpened and reference image, was improved when sharpened subband data were used with the edge correlation.

  3. Quantifying edge significance on maintaining global connectivity

    PubMed Central

    Qian, Yuhua; Li, Yebin; Zhang, Min; Ma, Guoshuai; Lu, Furong

    2017-01-01

    Global connectivity is a quite important issue for networks. The failures of some key edges may lead to breakdown of the whole system. How to find them will provide a better understanding on system robustness. Based on topological information, we propose an approach named LE (link entropy) to quantify the edge significance on maintaining global connectivity. Then we compare the LE with the other six acknowledged indices on the edge significance: the edge betweenness centrality, degree product, bridgeness, diffusion importance, topological overlap and k-path edge centrality. Experimental results show that the LE approach outperforms in quantifying edge significance on maintaining global connectivity. PMID:28349923

  4. Combining Stereo SECCHI COR2 and HI1 Images for Automatic CME Front Edge Tracking

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Kirnosov, Vladimir; Chang, Lin-Ching; Pulkkinen, Antti

    2016-01-01

    COR2 coronagraph images are the most commonly used data for coronal mass ejection (CME) analysis among the various types of data provided by the STEREO (Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory) SECCHI (Sun-Earth Connection Coronal and Heliospheric Investigation) suite of instruments. The field of view (FOV) in COR2 images covers 215 solar radii (Rs) that allow for tracking the front edge of a CME in its initial stage to forecast the lead-time of a CME and its chances of reaching the Earth. However, estimating the lead-time of a CME using COR2 images gives a larger lead-time, which may be associated with greater uncertainty. To reduce this uncertainty, CME front edge tracking should be continued beyond the FOV of COR2 images. Therefore, heliospheric imager (HI1) data that covers 1590 Rs FOV must be included. In this paper, we propose a novel automatic method that takes both COR2 and HI1 images into account and combine the results to track the front edges of a CME continuously. The method consists of two modules: pre-processing and tracking. The pre-processing module produces a set of segmented images, which contain the signature of a CME, for both COR2 and HI1 separately. In addition, the HI1 images are resized and padded, so that the center of the Sun is the central coordinate of the resized HI1 images. The resulting COR2 andHI1 image set is then fed into the tracking module to estimate the position angle (PA) and track the front edge of a CME. The detected front edge is then used to produce a height-time profile that is used to estimate the speed of a CME. The method was validated using 15 CME events observed in the period from January 1, 2008 to August 31, 2009. The results demonstrate that the proposed method is effective for CME front edge tracking in both COR2 and HI1 images. Using this method, the CME front edge can now be tracked automatically and continuously in a much larger range, i.e., from 2 to 90 Rs, for the first time. These improvement scan greatly

  5. Detecting Edges in Images by Use of Fuzzy Reasoning

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Dominguez, Jesus A.; Klinko, Steve

    2003-01-01

    A method of processing digital image data to detect edges includes the use of fuzzy reasoning. The method is completely adaptive and does not require any advance knowledge of an image. During initial processing of image data at a low level of abstraction, the nature of the data is indeterminate. Fuzzy reasoning is used in the present method because it affords an ability to construct useful abstractions from approximate, incomplete, and otherwise imperfect sets of data. Humans are able to make some sense of even unfamiliar objects that have imperfect high-level representations. It appears that to perceive unfamiliar objects or to perceive familiar objects in imperfect images, humans apply heuristic algorithms to understand the images

  6. Optimal frequency domain textural edge detection filter

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Townsend, J. K.; Shanmugan, K. S.; Frost, V. S.

    1985-01-01

    An optimal frequency domain textural edge detection filter is developed and its performance evaluated. For the given model and filter bandwidth, the filter maximizes the amount of output image energy placed within a specified resolution interval centered on the textural edge. Filter derivation is based on relating textural edge detection to tonal edge detection via the complex low-pass equivalent representation of narrowband bandpass signals and systems. The filter is specified in terms of the prolate spheroidal wave functions translated in frequency. Performance is evaluated using the asymptotic approximation version of the filter. This evaluation demonstrates satisfactory filter performance for ideal and nonideal textures. In addition, the filter can be adjusted to detect textural edges in noisy images at the expense of edge resolution.

  7. A translational registration system for LANDSAT image segments

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Parada, N. D. J. (Principal Investigator); Erthal, G. J.; Velasco, F. R. D.; Mascarenhas, N. D. D.

    1983-01-01

    The use of satellite images obtained from various dates is essential for crop forecast systems. In order to make possible a multitemporal analysis, it is necessary that images belonging to each acquisition have pixel-wise correspondence. A system developed to obtain, register and record image segments from LANDSAT images in computer compatible tapes is described. The translational registration of the segments is performed by correlating image edges in different acquisitions. The system was constructed for the Burroughs B6800 computer in ALGOL language.

  8. Few-photon color imaging using energy-dispersive superconducting transition-edge sensor spectrometry

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Niwa, Kazuki; Numata, Takayuki; Hattori, Kaori; Fukuda, Daiji

    2017-04-01

    Highly sensitive spectral imaging is increasingly being demanded in bioanalysis research and industry to obtain the maximum information possible from molecules of different colors. We introduce an application of the superconducting transition-edge sensor (TES) technique to highly sensitive spectral imaging. A TES is an energy-dispersive photodetector that can distinguish the wavelength of each incident photon. Its effective spectral range is from the visible to the infrared (IR), up to 2800 nm, which is beyond the capabilities of other photodetectors. TES was employed in this study in a fiber-coupled optical scanning microscopy system, and a test sample of a three-color ink pattern was observed. A red-green-blue (RGB) image and a near-IR image were successfully obtained in the few-incident-photon regime, whereas only a black and white image could be obtained using a photomultiplier tube. Spectral data were also obtained from a selected focal area out of the entire image. The results of this study show that TES is feasible for use as an energy-dispersive photon-counting detector in spectral imaging applications.

  9. Few-photon color imaging using energy-dispersive superconducting transition-edge sensor spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Niwa, Kazuki; Numata, Takayuki; Hattori, Kaori; Fukuda, Daiji

    2017-04-04

    Highly sensitive spectral imaging is increasingly being demanded in bioanalysis research and industry to obtain the maximum information possible from molecules of different colors. We introduce an application of the superconducting transition-edge sensor (TES) technique to highly sensitive spectral imaging. A TES is an energy-dispersive photodetector that can distinguish the wavelength of each incident photon. Its effective spectral range is from the visible to the infrared (IR), up to 2800 nm, which is beyond the capabilities of other photodetectors. TES was employed in this study in a fiber-coupled optical scanning microscopy system, and a test sample of a three-color ink pattern was observed. A red-green-blue (RGB) image and a near-IR image were successfully obtained in the few-incident-photon regime, whereas only a black and white image could be obtained using a photomultiplier tube. Spectral data were also obtained from a selected focal area out of the entire image. The results of this study show that TES is feasible for use as an energy-dispersive photon-counting detector in spectral imaging applications.

  10. K-space reconstruction with anisotropic kernel support (KARAOKE) for ultrafast partially parallel imaging.

    PubMed

    Miao, Jun; Wong, Wilbur C K; Narayan, Sreenath; Wilson, David L

    2011-11-01

    Partially parallel imaging (PPI) greatly accelerates MR imaging by using surface coil arrays and under-sampling k-space. However, the reduction factor (R) in PPI is theoretically constrained by the number of coils (N(C)). A symmetrically shaped kernel is typically used, but this often prevents even the theoretically possible R from being achieved. Here, the authors propose a kernel design method to accelerate PPI faster than R = N(C). K-space data demonstrates an anisotropic pattern that is correlated with the object itself and to the asymmetry of the coil sensitivity profile, which is caused by coil placement and B(1) inhomogeneity. From spatial analysis theory, reconstruction of such pattern is best achieved by a signal-dependent anisotropic shape kernel. As a result, the authors propose the use of asymmetric kernels to improve k-space reconstruction. The authors fit a bivariate Gaussian function to the local signal magnitude of each coil, then threshold this function to extract the kernel elements. A perceptual difference model (Case-PDM) was employed to quantitatively evaluate image quality. A MR phantom experiment showed that k-space anisotropy increased as a function of magnetic field strength. The authors tested a K-spAce Reconstruction with AnisOtropic KErnel support ("KARAOKE") algorithm with both MR phantom and in vivo data sets, and compared the reconstructions to those produced by GRAPPA, a popular PPI reconstruction method. By exploiting k-space anisotropy, KARAOKE was able to better preserve edges, which is particularly useful for cardiac imaging and motion correction, while GRAPPA failed at a high R near or exceeding N(C). KARAOKE performed comparably to GRAPPA at low Rs. As a rule of thumb, KARAOKE reconstruction should always be used for higher quality k-space reconstruction, particularly when PPI data is acquired at high Rs and/or high field strength.

  11. K-space reconstruction with anisotropic kernel support (KARAOKE) for ultrafast partially parallel imaging

    PubMed Central

    Miao, Jun; Wong, Wilbur C. K.; Narayan, Sreenath; Wilson, David L.

    2011-01-01

    Purpose: Partially parallel imaging (PPI) greatly accelerates MR imaging by using surface coil arrays and under-sampling k-space. However, the reduction factor (R) in PPI is theoretically constrained by the number of coils (NC). A symmetrically shaped kernel is typically used, but this often prevents even the theoretically possible R from being achieved. Here, the authors propose a kernel design method to accelerate PPI faster than R = NC. Methods: K-space data demonstrates an anisotropic pattern that is correlated with the object itself and to the asymmetry of the coil sensitivity profile, which is caused by coil placement and B1 inhomogeneity. From spatial analysis theory, reconstruction of such pattern is best achieved by a signal-dependent anisotropic shape kernel. As a result, the authors propose the use of asymmetric kernels to improve k-space reconstruction. The authors fit a bivariate Gaussian function to the local signal magnitude of each coil, then threshold this function to extract the kernel elements. A perceptual difference model (Case-PDM) was employed to quantitatively evaluate image quality. Results: A MR phantom experiment showed that k-space anisotropy increased as a function of magnetic field strength. The authors tested a K-spAce Reconstruction with AnisOtropic KErnel support (“KARAOKE”) algorithm with both MR phantom and in vivo data sets, and compared the reconstructions to those produced by GRAPPA, a popular PPI reconstruction method. By exploiting k-space anisotropy, KARAOKE was able to better preserve edges, which is particularly useful for cardiac imaging and motion correction, while GRAPPA failed at a high R near or exceeding NC. KARAOKE performed comparably to GRAPPA at low Rs. Conclusions: As a rule of thumb, KARAOKE reconstruction should always be used for higher quality k-space reconstruction, particularly when PPI data is acquired at high Rs and∕or high field strength. PMID:22047378

  12. Synchrotron-based intra-venous K-edge digital subtraction angiography in a pig model: a feasibility study.

    PubMed

    Schültke, Elisabeth; Fiedler, Stefan; Nemoz, Christian; Ogieglo, Lissa; Kelly, Michael E; Crawford, Paul; Esteve, Francois; Brochard, Thierry; Renier, Michel; Requardt, Herwig; Le Duc, Geraldine; Juurlink, Bernhard; Meguro, Kotoo

    2010-03-01

    K-edge digital subtraction angiography (KEDSA) combined with the tunability of synchrotron beam yields an imaging technique that is highly sensitive to low concentrations of contrast agents. Thus, contrast agent can be administered intravenously, obviating the need for insertion of a guided catheter to deliver a bolus of contrast agent close to the target tissue. With the high-resolution detectors used at synchrotron facilities, images can be acquired at high spatial resolution. Thus, the KEDSA appears particularly suited for studies of neurovascular pathology in animal models, where the vascular diameters are significantly smaller than in human patients. This feasibility study was designed to test the suitability of KEDSA after intravenous injection of iodine-based contrast agent for use in a pig model. Four adult male pigs were used for our experiments. Neurovascular angiographic images were acquired using KEDSA with a solid state Germanium (Ge) detector at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) in Grenoble, France. After intravenous injection of 0.9 ml/kg iodinated contrast agent (Xenetix), the peak iodine concentrations in the internal carotid and middle cerebral arteries reached 35 mg/ml. KEDSA images in radiography mode allowed the visualization of intracranial arteries of less than 1.5mm diameter. Copyright 2009 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Two-Photon Absorption of Soft X-Ray Free Electron Laser Radiation by Graphite Near the Carbon K-Absorption Edge

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

    Christensen, Steven T; Lam, Royce K.; Raj, Sumana L.

    We have examined the transmission of soft X-ray pulses from the FERMI free electron laser through carbon films of varying thickness, quantifying nonlinear effects of pulses above and below the carbon K-edge. At typical of soft X-ray free electron laser intensities, pulses exhibit linear absorption at photon energies above and below the K-edge, ~308 and ~260 eV, respectively; whereas two-photon absorption becomes significant slightly below the K-edge, ~284.2 eV. The measured two-photon absorption cross section at 284.18 eV (~6 x 10-48 cm4 s) is 7 orders of magnitude above what is expected from a simple theory based on hydrogen-like atomsmore » - a result of resonance effects.« less

  14. Two-photon absorption of soft X-ray free electron laser radiation by graphite near the carbon K-absorption edge

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lam, Royce K.; Raj, Sumana L.; Pascal, Tod A.; Pemmaraju, C. D.; Foglia, Laura; Simoncig, Alberto; Fabris, Nicola; Miotti, Paolo; Hull, Christopher J.; Rizzuto, Anthony M.; Smith, Jacob W.; Mincigrucci, Riccardo; Masciovecchio, Claudio; Gessini, Alessandro; De Ninno, Giovanni; Diviacco, Bruno; Roussel, Eleonore; Spampinati, Simone; Penco, Giuseppe; Di Mitri, Simone; Trovò, Mauro; Danailov, Miltcho B.; Christensen, Steven T.; Sokaras, Dimosthenis; Weng, Tsu-Chien; Coreno, Marcello; Poletto, Luca; Drisdell, Walter S.; Prendergast, David; Giannessi, Luca; Principi, Emiliano; Nordlund, Dennis; Saykally, Richard J.; Schwartz, Craig P.

    2018-07-01

    We have examined the transmission of soft X-ray pulses from the FERMI free electron laser through carbon films of varying thickness, quantifying nonlinear effects of pulses above and below the carbon K-edge. At typical of soft X-ray free electron laser intensities, pulses exhibit linear absorption at photon energies above and below the K-edge, ∼308 and ∼260 eV, respectively; whereas two-photon absorption becomes significant slightly below the K-edge, ∼284.2 eV. The measured two-photon absorption cross section at 284.18 eV (∼6 × 10-48 cm4 s) is 7 orders of magnitude above what is expected from a simple theory based on hydrogen-like atoms - a result of resonance effects.

  15. Single image super resolution algorithm based on edge interpolation in NSCT domain

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, Mengqun; Zhang, Wei; He, Xinyu

    2017-11-01

    In order to preserve the texture and edge information and to improve the space resolution of single frame, a superresolution algorithm based on Contourlet (NSCT) is proposed. The original low resolution image is transformed by NSCT, and the directional sub-band coefficients of the transform domain are obtained. According to the scale factor, the high frequency sub-band coefficients are amplified by the interpolation method based on the edge direction to the desired resolution. For high frequency sub-band coefficients with noise and weak targets, Bayesian shrinkage is used to calculate the threshold value. The coefficients below the threshold are determined by the correlation among the sub-bands of the same scale to determine whether it is noise and de-noising. The anisotropic diffusion filter is used to effectively enhance the weak target in the low contrast region of the target and background. Finally, the high-frequency sub-band is amplified by the bilinear interpolation method to the desired resolution, and then combined with the high-frequency subband coefficients after de-noising and small target enhancement, the NSCT inverse transform is used to obtain the desired resolution image. In order to verify the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm, the proposed algorithm and several common image reconstruction methods are used to test the synthetic image, motion blurred image and hyperspectral image, the experimental results show that compared with the traditional single resolution algorithm, the proposed algorithm can obtain smooth edges and good texture features, and the reconstructed image structure is well preserved and the noise is suppressed to some extent.

  16. Information theoretic analysis of edge detection in visual communication

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jiang, Bo; Rahman, Zia-ur

    2010-08-01

    Generally, the designs of digital image processing algorithms and image gathering devices remain separate. Consequently, the performance of digital image processing algorithms is evaluated without taking into account the artifacts introduced into the process by the image gathering process. However, experiments show that the image gathering process profoundly impacts the performance of digital image processing and the quality of the resulting images. Huck et al. proposed one definitive theoretic analysis of visual communication channels, where the different parts, such as image gathering, processing, and display, are assessed in an integrated manner using Shannon's information theory. In this paper, we perform an end-to-end information theory based system analysis to assess edge detection methods. We evaluate the performance of the different algorithms as a function of the characteristics of the scene, and the parameters, such as sampling, additive noise etc., that define the image gathering system. The edge detection algorithm is regarded to have high performance only if the information rate from the scene to the edge approaches the maximum possible. This goal can be achieved only by jointly optimizing all processes. People generally use subjective judgment to compare different edge detection methods. There is not a common tool that can be used to evaluate the performance of the different algorithms, and to give people a guide for selecting the best algorithm for a given system or scene. Our information-theoretic assessment becomes this new tool to which allows us to compare the different edge detection operators in a common environment.

  17. Edge detection and localization with edge pattern analysis and inflection characterization

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jiang, Bo

    2012-05-01

    In general edges are considered to be abrupt changes or discontinuities in two dimensional image signal intensity distributions. The accuracy of front-end edge detection methods in image processing impacts the eventual success of higher level pattern analysis downstream. To generalize edge detectors designed from a simple ideal step function model to real distortions in natural images, research on one dimensional edge pattern analysis to improve the accuracy of edge detection and localization proposes an edge detection algorithm, which is composed by three basic edge patterns, such as ramp, impulse, and step. After mathematical analysis, general rules for edge representation based upon the classification of edge types into three categories-ramp, impulse, and step (RIS) are developed to reduce detection and localization errors, especially reducing "double edge" effect that is one important drawback to the derivative method. But, when applying one dimensional edge pattern in two dimensional image processing, a new issue is naturally raised that the edge detector should correct marking inflections or junctions of edges. Research on human visual perception of objects and information theory pointed out that a pattern lexicon of "inflection micro-patterns" has larger information than a straight line. Also, research on scene perception gave an idea that contours have larger information are more important factor to determine the success of scene categorization. Therefore, inflections or junctions are extremely useful features, whose accurate description and reconstruction are significant in solving correspondence problems in computer vision. Therefore, aside from adoption of edge pattern analysis, inflection or junction characterization is also utilized to extend traditional derivative edge detection algorithm. Experiments were conducted to test my propositions about edge detection and localization accuracy improvements. The results support the idea that these edge

  18. Wavelet-based edge correlation incorporated iterative reconstruction for undersampled MRI.

    PubMed

    Hu, Changwei; Qu, Xiaobo; Guo, Di; Bao, Lijun; Chen, Zhong

    2011-09-01

    Undersampling k-space is an effective way to decrease acquisition time for MRI. However, aliasing artifacts introduced by undersampling may blur the edges of magnetic resonance images, which often contain important information for clinical diagnosis. Moreover, k-space data is often contaminated by the noise signals of unknown intensity. To better preserve the edge features while suppressing the aliasing artifacts and noises, we present a new wavelet-based algorithm for undersampled MRI reconstruction. The algorithm solves the image reconstruction as a standard optimization problem including a ℓ(2) data fidelity term and ℓ(1) sparsity regularization term. Rather than manually setting the regularization parameter for the ℓ(1) term, which is directly related to the threshold, an automatic estimated threshold adaptive to noise intensity is introduced in our proposed algorithm. In addition, a prior matrix based on edge correlation in wavelet domain is incorporated into the regularization term. Compared with nonlinear conjugate gradient descent algorithm, iterative shrinkage/thresholding algorithm, fast iterative soft-thresholding algorithm and the iterative thresholding algorithm using exponentially decreasing threshold, the proposed algorithm yields reconstructions with better edge recovery and noise suppression. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  19. Temperature dependence of pre-edge features in Ti K-edge XANES spectra for ATiO₃ (A = Ca and Sr), A₂TiO₄ (A = Mg and Fe), TiO₂ rutile and TiO₂ anatase.

    PubMed

    Hiratoko, Tatsuya; Yoshiasa, Akira; Nakatani, Tomotaka; Okube, Maki; Nakatsuka, Akihiko; Sugiyama, Kazumasa

    2013-07-01

    XANES (X-ray absorption near-edge structure) spectra of the Ti K-edges of ATiO3 (A = Ca and Sr), A2TiO4 (A = Mg and Fe), TiO2 rutile and TiO2 anatase were measured in the temperature range 20-900 K. Ti atoms for all samples were located in TiO6 octahedral sites. The absorption intensity invariant point (AIIP) was found to be between the pre-edge and post-edge. After the AIIP, amplitudes damped due to Debye-Waller factor effects with temperature. Amplitudes in the pre-edge region increased with temperature normally by thermal vibration. Use of the AIIP peak intensity as a standard point enables a quantitative comparison of the intensity of the pre-edge peaks in various titanium compounds over a wide temperature range.

  20. Parallel algorithm for determining motion vectors in ice floe images by matching edge features

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Manohar, M.; Ramapriyan, H. K.; Strong, J. P.

    1988-01-01

    A parallel algorithm is described to determine motion vectors of ice floes using time sequences of images of the Arctic ocean obtained from the Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) instrument flown on-board the SEASAT spacecraft. Researchers describe a parallel algorithm which is implemented on the MPP for locating corresponding objects based on their translationally and rotationally invariant features. The algorithm first approximates the edges in the images by polygons or sets of connected straight-line segments. Each such edge structure is then reduced to a seed point. Associated with each seed point are the descriptions (lengths, orientations and sequence numbers) of the lines constituting the corresponding edge structure. A parallel matching algorithm is used to match packed arrays of such descriptions to identify corresponding seed points in the two images. The matching algorithm is designed such that fragmentation and merging of ice floes are taken into account by accepting partial matches. The technique has been demonstrated to work on synthetic test patterns and real image pairs from SEASAT in times ranging from .5 to 0.7 seconds for 128 x 128 images.

  1. Confocal Microscopy Imaging with an Optical Transition Edge Sensor

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fukuda, D.; Niwa, K.; Hattori, K.; Inoue, S.; Kobayashi, R.; Numata, T.

    2018-05-01

    Fluorescence color imaging at an extremely low excitation intensity was performed using an optical transition edge sensor (TES) embedded in a confocal microscope for the first time. Optical TES has the ability to resolve incident single photon energy; therefore, the wavelength of each photon can be measured without spectroscopic elements such as diffraction gratings. As target objects, animal cells labeled with two fluorescent dyes were irradiated with an excitation laser at an intensity below 1 μW. In our confocal system, an optical fiber-coupled TES device is used to detect photons instead of the pinhole and photomultiplier tube used in typical confocal microscopes. Photons emitted from the dyes were collected by the objective lens, and sent to the optical TES via the fiber. The TES measures the wavelength of each photon arriving in an exposure time of 70 ms, and a fluorescent photon spectrum is constructed. This measurement is repeated by scanning the target sample, and finally a two-dimensional RGB-color image is obtained. The obtained image showed that the photons emitted from the dyes of mitochondria and cytoskeletons were clearly resolved at a detection intensity level of tens of photons. TES exhibits ideal performance as a photon detector with a low dark count rate (< 1 Hz) and wavelength resolving power. In the single-mode fiber-coupled system, the confocal microscope can be operated in the super-resolution mode. These features are very promising to realize high-sensitivity and high-resolution photon spectral imaging, and would help avoid cell damage and photobleaching of fluorescence dyes.

  2. Infrared image enhancement based on the edge detection and mathematical morphology

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, Linlin; Zhao, Yuejin; Dong, Liquan; Liu, Xiaohua; Yu, Xiaomei; Hui, Mei; Chu, Xuhong; Gong, Cheng

    2010-11-01

    The development of the un-cooled infrared imaging technology from military necessity. At present, It is widely applied in industrial, medicine, scientific and technological research and so on. The infrared radiation temperature distribution of the measured object's surface can be observed visually. The collection of infrared images from our laboratory has following characteristics: Strong spatial correlation, Low contrast , Poor visual effect; Without color or shadows because of gray image , and has low resolution; Low definition compare to the visible light image; Many kinds of noise are brought by the random disturbances of the external environment. Digital image processing are widely applied in many areas, it can now be studied up close and in detail in many research field. It has become one kind of important means of the human visual continuation. Traditional methods for image enhancement cannot capture the geometric information of images and tend to amplify noise. In order to remove noise and improve visual effect. Meanwhile, To overcome the above enhancement issues. The mathematical model of FPA unit was constructed based on matrix transformation theory. According to characteristics of FPA, Image enhancement algorithm which combined with mathematical morphology and edge detection are established. First of all, Image profile is obtained by using the edge detection combine with mathematical morphological operators. And then, through filling the template profile by original image to get the ideal background image, The image noise can be removed on the base of the above method. The experiments show that utilizing the proposed algorithm can enhance image detail and the signal to noise ratio.

  3. Chemical forms of sulfur in geological and archeological asphaltenes from Middle East, France, and Spain determined by sulfur K- and L-edge X-ray absorption near-edge structure spectroscopy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sarret, Géraldine; Connan, Jacques; Kasrai, Masoud; Bancroft, G. Michael; Charrié-Duhaut, Armelle; Lemoine, Sylvie; Adam, Pierre; Albrecht, Pierre; Eybert-Bérard, Laurent

    1999-11-01

    Asphaltene samples extracted from archeological and geological bitumens from the Middle East, France, and Spain were studied by sulfur K- and L-edge X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy in combination with isotopic analyses (δ 13C and δD). Within each series, the samples were genetically related by their δ 13C values. The gross and elemental composition and the δD values were used to characterize the weathering state of the samples. Sulfur K- and L-edge XANES results show that in all the samples, dibenzothiophenes are the dominant forms of sulfur. In the least oxidized asphaltenes, minor species include disulfides, alkyl and aryl sulfides, and sulfoxides. With increasing alteration the proportion of oxidized sulfur (sulfoxides, sulfones, sulfonates and sulfates) increases, whereas the disulfide and sulfide content decreases. This evolution is observed in all the series, regardless of the origin of the asphaltenes. This work illustrates the advantages of XANES spectroscopy as a selective probe for determining sulfur speciation in natural samples. It also shows that S K- and L-edge XANES spectroscopy are complementary for identifying the oxidized and reduced forms of sulfur, respectively.

  4. Information theoretic analysis of canny edge detection in visual communication

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jiang, Bo; Rahman, Zia-ur

    2011-06-01

    In general edge detection evaluation, the edge detectors are examined, analyzed, and compared either visually or with a metric for specific an application. This analysis is usually independent of the characteristics of the image-gathering, transmission and display processes that do impact the quality of the acquired image and thus, the resulting edge image. We propose a new information theoretic analysis of edge detection that unites the different components of the visual communication channel and assesses edge detection algorithms in an integrated manner based on Shannon's information theory. The edge detection algorithm here is considered to achieve high performance only if the information rate from the scene to the edge approaches the maximum possible. Thus, by setting initial conditions of the visual communication system as constant, different edge detection algorithms could be evaluated. This analysis is normally limited to linear shift-invariant filters so in order to examine the Canny edge operator in our proposed system, we need to estimate its "power spectral density" (PSD). Since the Canny operator is non-linear and shift variant, we perform the estimation for a set of different system environment conditions using simulations. In our paper we will first introduce the PSD of the Canny operator for a range of system parameters. Then, using the estimated PSD, we will assess the Canny operator using information theoretic analysis. The information-theoretic metric is also used to compare the performance of the Canny operator with other edge-detection operators. This also provides a simple tool for selecting appropriate edgedetection algorithms based on system parameters, and for adjusting their parameters to maximize information throughput.

  5. Superpixel edges for boundary detection

    DOEpatents

    Moya, Mary M.; Koch, Mark W.

    2016-07-12

    Various embodiments presented herein relate to identifying one or more edges in a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) image comprising a plurality of superpixels. Superpixels sharing an edge (or boundary) can be identified and one or more properties of the shared superpixels can be compared to determine whether the superpixels form the same or two different features. Where the superpixels form the same feature the edge is identified as an internal edge. Where the superpixels form two different features, the edge is identified as an external edge. Based upon classification of the superpixels, the external edge can be further determined to form part of a roof, wall, etc. The superpixels can be formed from a speckle-reduced SAR image product formed from a registered stack of SAR images, which is further segmented into a plurality of superpixels. The edge identification process is applied to the SAR image comprising the superpixels and edges.

  6. Fast internal marker tracking algorithm for onboard MV and kV imaging systems

    PubMed Central

    Mao, W.; Wiersma, R. D.; Xing, L.

    2008-01-01

    Intrafraction organ motion can limit the advantage of highly conformal dose techniques such as intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) due to target position uncertainty. To ensure high accuracy in beam targeting, real-time knowledge of the target location is highly desired throughout the beam delivery process. This knowledge can be gained through imaging of internally implanted radio-opaque markers with fluoroscopic or electronic portal imaging devices (EPID). In the case of MV based images, marker detection can be problematic due to the significantly lower contrast between different materials in comparison to their kV-based counterparts. This work presents a fully automated algorithm capable of detecting implanted metallic markers in both kV and MV images with high consistency. Using prior CT information, the algorithm predefines the volumetric search space without manual region-of-interest (ROI) selection by the user. Depending on the template selected, both spherical and cylindrical markers can be detected. Multiple markers can be simultaneously tracked without indexing confusion. Phantom studies show detection success rates of 100% for both kV and MV image data. In addition, application of the algorithm to real patient image data results in successful detection of all implanted markers for MV images. Near real-time operational speeds of ∼10 frames∕sec for the detection of five markers in a 1024×768 image are accomplished using an ordinary PC workstation. PMID:18561670

  7. An automatic optimum kernel-size selection technique for edge enhancement

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Chavez, Pat S.; Bauer, Brian P.

    1982-01-01

    Edge enhancement is a technique that can be considered, to a first order, a correction for the modulation transfer function of an imaging system. Digital imaging systems sample a continuous function at discrete intervals so that high-frequency information cannot be recorded at the same precision as lower frequency data. Because of this, fine detail or edge information in digital images is lost. Spatial filtering techniques can be used to enhance the fine detail information that does exist in the digital image, but the filter size is dependent on the type of area being processed. A technique has been developed by the authors that uses the horizontal first difference to automatically select the optimum kernel-size that should be used to enhance the edges that are contained in the image

  8. Development of a 1K x 1K GaAs QWIP Far IR Imaging Array

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Jhabvala, M.; Choi, K.; Goldberg, A.; La, A.; Gunapala, S.

    2003-01-01

    In the on-going evolution of GaAs Quantum Well Infrared Photodetectors (QWIPs) we have developed a 1,024 x 1,024 (1K x1K), 8.4-9 microns infrared focal plane array (FPA). This 1 megapixel detector array is a hybrid using the Rockwell TCM 8050 silicon readout integrated circuit (ROIC) bump bonded to a GaAs QWIP array fabricated jointly by engineers at the Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) and the Army Research Laboratory (ARL). The finished hybrid is thinned at the Jet Propulsion Lab. Prior to this development the largest format array was a 512 x 640 FPA. We have integrated the 1K x 1K array into an imaging camera system and performed tests over the 40K-90K temperature range achieving BLIP performance at an operating temperature of 76K (f/2 camera system). The GaAs array is relatively easy to fabricate once the superlattice structure of the quantum wells has been defined and grown. The overall arrays costs are currently dominated by the costs associated with the silicon readout since the GaAs array fabrication is based on high yield, well-established GaAs processing capabilities. In this paper we will present the first results of our 1K x 1K QWIP array development including fabrication methodology, test data and our imaging results.

  9. Adiabatic Demagnetization Refrigerator Field Mapping and Shielding Models for a 70 mK Superconducting Transition Edge Sensor Array and Associated Electronics

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ladner, D. R.; Martinez-Galarce, D. S.; McCammon, D.

    2006-04-01

    An X-ray detection instrument to be flown on a sounding rocket experiment (the Advanced Technology Solar Spectroscopic Imager - ATSSI) for solar physics observations is being developed by the Lockheed Martin Solar and Astrophysics Laboratory (LMSAL). The detector is a novel class of microcalorimeter, a superconducting Transition-Edge Sensor (TES), that coupled with associated SQUID and feedback electronics requires high temperature stability at ~70 mK to resolve the energy of absorbed X-ray photons emitted from the solar corona. The cooling system incorporates an existing Adiabatic Demagnetization Refrigerator (ADR) developed at the University of Wisconsin (UW), which was previously flown to study the diffuse cosmic X-ray background. The Si thermistor detectors for that project required 130 K shielded JFET electronic components that are much less sensitive to the external field of the ADR solenoid than are the 1st (~70 mK) and 2nd (~2 K) SQUID stages used with TESs for solar observations. Modification of the Wisconsin ADR design, including TES focal plane and electronics re-positioning, therefore requires a tradeoff between the existing ADR solenoid nulling coil geometry and a low mass passive solenoid shield, while preserving the vibration isolation features of the existing design. We have developed models to accurately compute the magnetic field with and without shielding or nulling coils at critical locations to guide the re-design of the detector subsystem. The models and their application are described.

  10. NIKOS II - A System For Non-Invasive Imaging Of Coronary Arteries With Synchrotron Radiation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dix, Wolf-Rainer; Engelke, Klaus; Heuer, Joachim; Graeff, Walter; Kupper, Wolfram; Lohmann, Michael; Makin, I.; Moechel, Thomas; Reumann, Reinhold

    1989-10-01

    Aim of the work is the visualization of coronary arteries down to 1 mm diameter with an iodine mass density of 1 mg/cm , thus allowing non-invasive investigations by intravenous injection of the contrast agent. Digital Subtraction Angiography (DSA) in energy subtraction mode (dichromography) is employed for this purpose. The two images Cor subtraction are taken at photon energies just below and above the iodine K-edge (33.17 keV). After subtraction the background contrast - such as bone and soft tissue - is suppressed and the iodinated structures are strongly enhanced because of the abrupt change of absorption at the edge. The two monoenergetic beams (bandwidth about 250 eV) with high intensity (about 1011 photons/mm /s) are only available if synchrotron radiation is used. In HASYLAB at DESY (Hamburg, FRG) the system NIKOS was developed for dichromography. It consists of six main parts: A wiggler beam line, a monochromator which filters the two 12 cm wide beams out of the white synchrotron radiation beam, a fast scanning device, a fast low-noise two-line detector, a safety system and a computer system. At present, one scan (two images) lasts 1 s. The images from the in-vivo investigations of dogs have been promising. The right coronary artery (diameter 1.5 mm) was clearly visible.

  11. Nickel L-edge and K-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy of non-innocent Ni[S₂C₂(CF₃)₂]₂(n) series (n = -2, -1, 0): direct probe of nickel fractional oxidation state changes.

    PubMed

    Gu, Weiwei; Wang, Hongxin; Wang, Kun

    2014-05-07

    A series of nickel dithiolene complexes Ni[S2C2(CF3)2]2(n) (n = -2, -1, 0) has been investigated using Ni L- and K-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS). The L3 centroid shifts about 0.3 eV for a change of one unit in the formal oxidation state (or 0.3 eV per oxi), corresponding to ~33% of the shift for Ni oxides or fluorides (about 0.9 eV per oxi). The K-edge XAS edge position shifts about 0.7 eV per oxi, corresponding to ~38% of that for Ni oxides (1.85 eV per oxi). In addition, Ni L sum rule analysis found the Ni(3d) ionicity in the frontier orbitals being 50.5%, 44.0% and 38.5% respectively (for n = -2, -1, 0), in comparison with their formal oxidation states (of Ni(II), Ni(III), and Ni(IV)). For the first time, direct and quantitative measurement of the Ni fractional oxidation state changes becomes possible for Ni dithiolene complexes, illustrating the power of L-edge XAS and L sum rule analysis in such a study. The Ni L-edge and K-edge XAS can be used in a complementary manner to better assess the oxidation states for Ni.

  12. Information theoretic analysis of linear shift-invariant edge-detection operators

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jiang, Bo; Rahman, Zia-ur

    2012-06-01

    Generally, the designs of digital image processing algorithms and image gathering devices remain separate. Consequently, the performance of digital image processing algorithms is evaluated without taking into account the influences by the image gathering process. However, experiments show that the image gathering process has a profound impact on the performance of digital image processing and the quality of the resulting images. Huck et al. proposed one definitive theoretic analysis of visual communication channels, where the different parts, such as image gathering, processing, and display, are assessed in an integrated manner using Shannon's information theory. We perform an end-to-end information theory based system analysis to assess linear shift-invariant edge-detection algorithms. We evaluate the performance of the different algorithms as a function of the characteristics of the scene and the parameters, such as sampling, additive noise etc., that define the image gathering system. The edge-detection algorithm is regarded as having high performance only if the information rate from the scene to the edge image approaches its maximum possible. This goal can be achieved only by jointly optimizing all processes. Our information-theoretic assessment provides a new tool that allows us to compare different linear shift-invariant edge detectors in a common environment.

  13. Edge Response and NIIRS Estimates for Commercial Remote Sensing Satellites

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Blonski, Slawomir; Ryan, Robert E.; Pagnutti, mary; Stanley, Thomas

    2006-01-01

    Spatial resolution of panchromatic imagery from commercial remote sensing satellites was characterized based on edge response measurements using edge targets and the tilted-edge technique. Relative Edge Response (RER) was estimated as a geometric mean of normalized edge response differences measured in two directions of image pixels at points distanced from the edge by -0.5 and 0.5 of ground sample distance. RER is one of the engineering parameters used in the General Image Quality Equation to provide predictions of imaging system performance expressed in terms of the National Imagery Interpretability Rating Scale (NIIRS). By assuming a plausible range of signal-to-noise ratio and assessing the effects of Modulation Transfer Function compensation, the NIIRS estimates were made and then compared with vendor-provided values and evaluations conducted by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.

  14. Optical Assessment of Soft Contact Lens Edge-Thickness.

    PubMed

    Tankam, Patrice; Won, Jungeun; Canavesi, Cristina; Cox, Ian; Rolland, Jannick P

    2016-08-01

    To assess the edge shape of soft contact lenses using Gabor-Domain Optical Coherence Microscopy (GD-OCM) with a 2-μm imaging resolution in three dimensions and to generate edge-thickness profiles at different distances from the edge tip of soft contact lenses. A high-speed custom-designed GD-OCM system was used to produce 3D images of the edge of an experimental soft contact lens (Bausch + Lomb, Rochester, NY) in four different configurations: in air, submerged into water, submerged into saline with contrast agent, and placed onto the cornea of a porcine eyeball. An algorithm to compute the edge-thickness was developed and applied to cross-sectional images. The proposed algorithm includes the accurate detection of the interfaces between the lens and the environment, and the correction of the refraction error. The sharply defined edge tip of a soft contact lens was visualized in 3D. Results showed precise thickness measurement of the contact lens edge profile. Fifty cross-sectional image frames for each configuration were used to test the robustness of the algorithm in evaluating the edge-thickness at any distance from the edge tip. The precision of the measurements was less than 0.2 μm. The results confirmed the ability of GD-OCM to provide high-definition images of soft contact lens edges. As a nondestructive, precise, and fast metrology tool for soft contact lens measurement, the integration of GD-OCM in the design and manufacturing of contact lenses will be beneficial for further improvement in edge design and quality control. In the clinical perspective, the in vivo evaluation of the lens fitted onto the cornea will advance our understanding of how the edge interacts with the ocular surface. The latter will provide insights into the impact of long-term use of contact lenses on the visual performance.

  15. Optical Assessment of Soft Contact Lens Edge-Thickness

    PubMed Central

    Tankam, Patrice; Won, Jungeun; Canavesi, Cristina; Cox, Ian; Rolland, Jannick P.

    2016-01-01

    Purpose To assess the edge shape of soft contact lenses using Gabor-Domain Optical Coherence Microscopy (GD-OCM) with a 2 μm imaging resolution in three dimensions, and to generate edge-thickness profiles at different distances from the edge tip of soft contact lenses. Methods A high-speed custom-designed GD-OCM system was used to produce 3D images of the edge of an experimental soft contact lens (Bausch + Lomb, Rochester NY) in four different configurations: in air, submerged into water, submerged into saline with contrast agent, and placed onto the cornea of a porcine eyeball. An algorithm to compute the edge-thickness was developed and applied to cross-sectional images. The proposed algorithm includes the accurate detection of the interfaces between the lens and the environment, and the correction of the refraction error. Results The sharply defined edge tip of a soft contact lens was visualized in 3D. Results showed precise thickness measurement of the contact lens edge profile. 50 cross-sectional image frames for each configuration were used to test the robustness of the algorithm in evaluating the edge-thickness at any distance from the edge tip. The precision of the measurements was less than 0.2 μm. Conclusions The results confirmed the ability of GD-OCM to provide high definition images of soft contact lens edges. As a non-destructive, precise, and fast metrology tool for soft contact lens measurement, the integration of GD-OCM in the design and manufacturing of contact lenses will be beneficial for further improvement in edge design and quality control. In the clinical perspective, the in-vivo evaluation of the lens fitted onto the cornea will advance our understanding of how the edge interacts with the ocular surface. The latter will provide insights into the impact of long-term use of contact lenses on the visual performance. PMID:27232902

  16. Absorption and scattering by interstellar dust in the silicon K-edge of GX 5-1

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zeegers, S. T.; Costantini, E.; de Vries, C. P.; Tielens, A. G. G. M.; Chihara, H.; de Groot, F.; Mutschke, H.; Waters, L. B. F. M.; Zeidler, S.

    2017-03-01

    Context. We study the absorption and scattering of X-ray radiation by interstellar dust particles, which allows us to access the physical and chemical properties of dust. The interstellar dust composition is not well understood, especially on the densest sight lines of the Galactic plane. X-rays provide a powerful tool in this study. Aims: We present newly acquired laboratory measurements of silicate compounds taken at the Soleil synchrotron facility in Paris using the Lucia beamline. The dust absorption profiles resulting from this campaign were used in this pilot study to model the absorption by interstellar dust along the line of sight of the low-mass X-ray binary GX 5-1. Methods: The measured laboratory cross-sections were adapted for astrophysical data analysis and the resulting extinction profiles of the Si K-edge were implemented in the SPEX spectral fitting program. We derive the properties of the interstellar dust along the line of sight by fitting the Si K-edge seen in absorption in the spectrum of GX 5-1. Results: We measured the hydrogen column density towards GX 5-1 to be 3.40 ± 0.1 × 1022 cm-2. The best fit of the silicon edge in the spectrum of GX 5-1 is obtained by a mixture of olivine and pyroxene. In this study, our modeling is limited to Si absorption by silicates with different Mg:Fe ratios. We obtained an abundance of silicon in dust of 4.0 ± 0.3 × 10-5 per H atom and a lower limit for total abundance, considering both gas and dust of >4.4 × 10-5 per H atom, which leads to a gas to dust ratio of >0.22. Furthermore, an enhanced scattering feature in the Si K-edge may suggest the presence of large particles along the line of sight.

  17. Edge detection for optical synthetic aperture based on deep neural network

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tan, Wenjie; Hui, Mei; Liu, Ming; Kong, Lingqin; Dong, Liquan; Zhao, Yuejin

    2017-09-01

    Synthetic aperture optics systems can meet the demands of the next-generation space telescopes being lighter, larger and foldable. However, the boundaries of segmented aperture systems are much more complex than that of the whole aperture. More edge regions mean more imaging edge pixels, which are often mixed and discretized. In order to achieve high-resolution imaging, it is necessary to identify the gaps between the sub-apertures and the edges of the projected fringes. In this work, we introduced the algorithm of Deep Neural Network into the edge detection of optical synthetic aperture imaging. According to the detection needs, we constructed image sets by experiments and simulations. Based on MatConvNet, a toolbox of MATLAB, we ran the neural network, trained it on training image set and tested its performance on validation set. The training was stopped when the test error on validation set stopped declining. As an input image is given, each intra-neighbor area around the pixel is taken into the network, and scanned pixel by pixel with the trained multi-hidden layers. The network outputs make a judgment on whether the center of the input block is on edge of fringes. We experimented with various pre-processing and post-processing techniques to reveal their influence on edge detection performance. Compared with the traditional algorithms or their improvements, our method makes decision on a much larger intra-neighbor, and is more global and comprehensive. Experiments on more than 2,000 images are also given to prove that our method outperforms classical algorithms in optical images-based edge detection.

  18. First demonstration of 10 keV-width energy-discrimination K-edge radiography using a cadmium-telluride X-ray camera with a tungsten-target tube

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Watanabe, Manabu; Sato, Eiichi; Abderyim, Purkhet; Abudurexiti, Abulajiang; Hagiwara, Osahiko; Matsukiyo, Hiroshi; Osawa, Akihiro; Enomoto, Toshiyuki; Nagao, Jiro; Sato, Shigehiro; Ogawa, Akira; Onagawa, Jun

    2011-05-01

    Energy-discrimination X-ray camera is useful to perform monochromatic radiography using polychromatic X-rays. This X-ray camera was developed to carry out K-edge radiography using cerium and gadolinium-based contrast media. In this camera, objects are irradiated by a cone beam from a tungsten-target X-ray generator, and penetrating X-ray photons are detected by a cadmium-telluride detector with amplifiers. Both optimal photon-energy level and energy width are selected using a multichannel analyzer, and the photon number is counted by a counter card. Radiography was performed by the detector scanning using an x- y stage driven by a two-stage controller, and radiograms were shown on a personal computer monitor. In radiography, tube voltage and current were 90 kV and 5.8 μA, respectively, and the X-ray intensity was 0.61 μGy/s at 1.0 m from the X-ray source. The K-edge energies of cerium and gadolinium are 40.3 and 50.3 keV, respectively, and 10 keV-width enhanced K-edge radiography was performed using X-ray photons with energies just beyond K-edge energies of cerium and gadolinium. Thus, cerium K-edge radiography was carried out using X-ray photons with an energy range from 40.3 to 50. 3 keV, and gadolinium K-edge radiography was accomplished utilizing photon energies ranging from 50.3 to 60.3 keV.

  19. X-ray absorption near edge structure/electron energy loss near edge structure calculation using the supercell orthogonalized linear combination of atomic orbitals method

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ching, Wai-Yim; Rulis, Paul

    2009-03-01

    Over the last eight years, a large number of x-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) and/or electron energy loss near edge structure (ELNES) spectroscopic calculations for complex oxides and nitrides have been performed using the supercell-OLCAO (orthogonalized linear combination of atomic orbitals) method, obtaining results in very good agreement with experiments. The method takes into account the core-hole effect and includes the dipole matrix elements calculated from ab initio wavefunctions. In this paper, we describe the method in considerable detail, emphasizing the special advantages of this method for large complex systems. Selected results are reviewed and several hitherto unpublished results are also presented. These include the Y K edge of Y ions segregated to the core of a Σ31 grain boundary in alumina, O K edges of water molecules, C K edges in different types of single walled carbon nanotubes, and the Co K edge in the cyanocobalamin (vitamin B12) molecule. On the basis of these results, it is argued that the interpretation of specific features of the calculated XANES/ELNES edges is not simple for complex material systems because of the delocalized nature of the conduction band states. The long-standing notion of the 'fingerprinting' technique for spectral interpretation of experimental data is not tenable. A better approach is to fully characterize the structure under study, using either crystalline data or accurate ab initio modeling. Comparison between calculated XANES/ELNES spectra and available measurements enables us to ascertain the validity of the modeled structure. For complex crystals or structures, it is necessary to use the weighted sum of the spectra from structurally nonequivalent sites for comparison with the measured data. Future application of the supercell-OLCAO method to complex biomolecular systems is also discussed.

  20. A high pressure La K-edge X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy investigation of La1/3NbO3

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Marini, C.; Joseph, B.; Noked, O.; Shuker, R.; Kennedy, B. J.; Mathon, O.; Pascarelli, S.; Sterer, E.

    2018-01-01

    La K-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy has been used to elucidate the changes in the local electronic and lattice structure that occur in the A-site deficient double perovskite La?NbO? up to 6 GPa. The pressure evolution of the oxygen dodecahedrum around the A-site has been examined. XANES (X-ray absorption near edge structure) data show modifications ascribed to the increase of bands overlapping as a consequence of the bond distance contraction, which has been directly probed by EXAFS (extended x-ray absorption fine structure) spectra. The La-O Debye Waller factors (DWFs) tend to increase whereas the La-Nb bond DWFs show only a tendency to decrease indicating the robustness of the crystal lattice structure, even in presence of the oxygen disordering. This permits the system to reverse back to its original conditions in this pressure range as evident from the measurements upon pressure release. The present results have been interpreted in the light of charge transfer related to the two-step reduction mechanism acting at the Nb site (with niobium ions passing from Nb? to Nb?) which also results in the elongation of the Nb-O bond distances in the octahedra, in agreement with the Nb K-edge results reported earlier.

  1. Warriors Edge Simulation and Gaming System: The Squad Simulation

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2005-08-01

    Warriors Edge Simulation and Gaming System: The Squad Simulation by Mark Thomas and Gary Moss ARL-TR-3564 August 2005...Edge Simulation and Gaming System: The Squad Simulation Mark Thomas and Gary Moss Computational and Information Sciences Directorate, ARL...2004–30 September 2004 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER 5b. GRANT NUMBER 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE Warriors Edge Simulation and Gaming System: The Squad

  2. Probing ultrafast ππ*/nπ* internal conversion in organic chromophores via K-edge resonant absorption

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

    Wolf, T. J. A.; Myhre, R. H.; Cryan, J. P.

    Many photoinduced processes including photosynthesis and human vision happen in organic molecules and involve coupled femtosecond dynamics of nuclei and electrons. Organic molecules with heteroatoms often possess an important excited-state relaxation channel from an optically allowed ππ* to a dark nπ* state. The ππ*/nπ* internal conversion is difficult to investigate, as most spectroscopic methods are not exclusively sensitive to changes in the excited-state electronic structure. Here, we report achieving the required sensitivity by exploiting the element and site specificity of near-edge soft X-ray absorption spectroscopy. As a hole forms in the n orbital during ππ*/nπ* internal conversion, the absorption spectrummore » at the heteroatom K-edge exhibits an additional resonance. We demonstrate the concept using the nucleobase thymine at the oxygen K-edge, and unambiguously show that ππ*/nπ* internal conversion takes place within (60 ± 30) fs. Furthermore, high-level-coupled cluster calculations confirm the method’s impressive electronic structure sensitivity for excited-state investigations.« less

  3. Probing ultrafast ππ*/nπ* internal conversion in organic chromophores via K-edge resonant absorption

    DOE PAGES

    Wolf, T. J. A.; Myhre, R. H.; Cryan, J. P.; ...

    2017-06-22

    Many photoinduced processes including photosynthesis and human vision happen in organic molecules and involve coupled femtosecond dynamics of nuclei and electrons. Organic molecules with heteroatoms often possess an important excited-state relaxation channel from an optically allowed ππ* to a dark nπ* state. The ππ*/nπ* internal conversion is difficult to investigate, as most spectroscopic methods are not exclusively sensitive to changes in the excited-state electronic structure. Here, we report achieving the required sensitivity by exploiting the element and site specificity of near-edge soft X-ray absorption spectroscopy. As a hole forms in the n orbital during ππ*/nπ* internal conversion, the absorption spectrummore » at the heteroatom K-edge exhibits an additional resonance. We demonstrate the concept using the nucleobase thymine at the oxygen K-edge, and unambiguously show that ππ*/nπ* internal conversion takes place within (60 ± 30) fs. Furthermore, high-level-coupled cluster calculations confirm the method’s impressive electronic structure sensitivity for excited-state investigations.« less

  4. Deferred slanted-edge analysis: a unified approach to spatial frequency response measurement on distorted images and color filter array subsets.

    PubMed

    van den Bergh, F

    2018-03-01

    The slanted-edge method of spatial frequency response (SFR) measurement is usually applied to grayscale images under the assumption that any distortion of the expected straight edge is negligible. By decoupling the edge orientation and position estimation step from the edge spread function construction step, it is shown in this paper that the slanted-edge method can be extended to allow it to be applied to images suffering from significant geometric distortion, such as produced by equiangular fisheye lenses. This same decoupling also allows the slanted-edge method to be applied directly to Bayer-mosaicked images so that the SFR of the color filter array subsets can be measured directly without the unwanted influence of demosaicking artifacts. Numerical simulation results are presented to demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed deferred slanted-edge method in relation to existing methods.

  5. Segmentation of brain volume based on 3D region growing by integrating intensity and edge for image-guided surgery

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tsagaan, Baigalmaa; Abe, Keiichi; Goto, Masahiro; Yamamoto, Seiji; Terakawa, Susumu

    2006-03-01

    This paper presents a segmentation method of brain tissues from MR images, invented for our image-guided neurosurgery system under development. Our goal is to segment brain tissues for creating biomechanical model. The proposed segmentation method is based on 3-D region growing and outperforms conventional approaches by stepwise usage of intensity similarities between voxels in conjunction with edge information. Since the intensity and the edge information are complementary to each other in the region-based segmentation, we use them twice by performing a coarse-to-fine extraction. First, the edge information in an appropriate neighborhood of the voxel being considered is examined to constrain the region growing. The expanded region of the first extraction result is then used as the domain for the next processing. The intensity and the edge information of the current voxel only are utilized in the final extraction. Before segmentation, the intensity parameters of the brain tissues as well as partial volume effect are estimated by using expectation-maximization (EM) algorithm in order to provide an accurate data interpretation into the extraction. We tested the proposed method on T1-weighted MR images of brain and evaluated the segmentation effectiveness comparing the results with ground truths. Also, the generated meshes from the segmented brain volume by using mesh generating software are shown in this paper.

  6. Combined optimization of image-gathering and image-processing systems for scene feature detection

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Halyo, Nesim; Arduini, Robert F.; Samms, Richard W.

    1987-01-01

    The relationship between the image gathering and image processing systems for minimum mean squared error estimation of scene characteristics is investigated. A stochastic optimization problem is formulated where the objective is to determine a spatial characteristic of the scene rather than a feature of the already blurred, sampled and noisy image data. An analytical solution for the optimal characteristic image processor is developed. The Wiener filter for the sampled image case is obtained as a special case, where the desired characteristic is scene restoration. Optimal edge detection is investigated using the Laplacian operator x G as the desired characteristic, where G is a two dimensional Gaussian distribution function. It is shown that the optimal edge detector compensates for the blurring introduced by the image gathering optics, and notably, that it is not circularly symmetric. The lack of circular symmetry is largely due to the geometric effects of the sampling lattice used in image acquisition. The optimal image gathering optical transfer function is also investigated and the results of a sensitivity analysis are shown.

  7. Single-scale center-surround Retinex based restoration of low-illumination images with edge enhancement

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kwok, Ngaiming; Shi, Haiyan; Peng, Yeping; Wu, Hongkun; Li, Ruowei; Liu, Shilong; Rahman, Md Arifur

    2018-04-01

    Restoring images captured under low-illuminations is an essential front-end process for most image based applications. The Center-Surround Retinex algorithm has been a popular approach employed to improve image brightness. However, this algorithm in its basic form, is known to produce color degradations. In order to mitigate this problem, here the Single-Scale Retinex algorithm is modifid as an edge extractor while illumination is recovered through a non-linear intensity mapping stage. The derived edges are then integrated with the mapped image to produce the enhanced output. Furthermore, in reducing color distortion, the process is conducted in the magnitude sorted domain instead of the conventional Red-Green-Blue (RGB) color channels. Experimental results had shown that improvements with regard to mean brightness, colorfulness, saturation, and information content can be obtained.

  8. Calibrated Multi-Temporal Edge Images for City Infrastructure Growth Assessment and Prediction

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Al-Ruzouq, R.; Shanableh, A.; Boharoon, Z.; Khalil, M.

    2018-03-01

    Urban Growth or urbanization can be defined as the gradual process of city's population growth and infrastructure development. It is typically demonstrated by the expansion of a city's infrastructure, mainly development of its roads and buildings. Uncontrolled urban Growth in cities has been responsible for several problems that include living environment, drinking water, noise and air pollution, waste management, traffic congestion and hydraulic processes. Accurate identification of urban growth is of great importance for urban planning and water/land management. Recent advances in satellite imagery, in terms of improved spatial and temporal resolutions, allows for efficient identification of change patterns and the prediction of built-up areas. In this study, two approaches were adapted to quantify and assess the pattern of urbanization, in Ajman City at UAE, during the last three decades. The first approach relies on image processing techniques and multi-temporal Landsat satellite images with ground resolution varying between 15 to 60 meters. In this approach, the derived edge images (roads and buildings) were used as the basis of change detection. The second approach relies on digitizing features from high-resolution images captured at different years. The latest approach was adopted, as a reference and ground truth, to calibrate extracted edges from Landsat images. It has been found that urbanized area almost increased by 12 folds during the period 1975-2015 where the growth of buildings and roads were almost parallel until 2005 when the roads spatial expansion witnessed a steep increase due to the vertical expansion of the City. Extracted Edges features, were successfully used for change detection and quantification in term of buildings and roads.

  9. Oxidant K edge x-ray emission spectroscopy of UF 4 and UO 2

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

    Tobin, J. G.; Yu, S. -W.; Qiao, R.

    The K-Edge (1s) x-ray emission spectroscopy of uranium tetrafluoride and uranium dioxide were compared to each other and to the results of a pair of earlier cluster calculations. Here, using a very simplified approach, it is possible to qualitatively reconstruct the main features of the x-ray emission spectra from the cluster calculation state energies and 2p percentages.

  10. Oxidant K edge x-ray emission spectroscopy of UF 4 and UO 2

    DOE PAGES

    Tobin, J. G.; Yu, S. -W.; Qiao, R.; ...

    2018-01-31

    The K-Edge (1s) x-ray emission spectroscopy of uranium tetrafluoride and uranium dioxide were compared to each other and to the results of a pair of earlier cluster calculations. Here, using a very simplified approach, it is possible to qualitatively reconstruct the main features of the x-ray emission spectra from the cluster calculation state energies and 2p percentages.

  11. A high-resolution optical imaging system for obtaining the serial transverse section images of biologic tissue

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wu, Li; Zhang, Bin; Wu, Ping; Liu, Qian; Gong, Hui

    2007-05-01

    A high-resolution optical imaging system was designed and developed to obtain the serial transverse section images of the biologic tissue, such as the mouse brain, in which new knife-edge imaging technology, high-speed and high-sensitive line-scan CCD and linear air bearing stages were adopted and incorporated with an OLYMPUS microscope. The section images on the tip of the knife-edge were synchronously captured by the reflection imaging in the microscope while cutting the biologic tissue. The biologic tissue can be sectioned at interval of 250 nm with the same resolution of the transverse section images obtained in x and y plane. And the cutting job can be automatically finished based on the control program wrote specially in advance, so we save the mass labor of the registration of the vast images data. In addition, by using this system a larger sample can be cut than conventional ultramicrotome so as to avoid the loss of the tissue structure information because of splitting the tissue sample to meet the size request of the ultramicrotome.

  12. Performance evaluation of image-intensifier-TV fluoroscopy systems

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    van der Putten, Wilhelm J.; Bouley, Shawn

    1995-05-01

    Through use of a computer model and an aluminum low contrast phantom developed in-house, a method has been developed which is able to grade the imaging performance of fluoroscopy systems through use of a variable, K. This parameter was derived from Rose's model of image perception and is here used as a figure of merit to grade fluoroscopy systems. From Rose's model for an ideal system, a typical value of K for the perception of low contrast details should be between 3 and 7, assuming threshold vision by human observers. Thus, various fluoroscopy systems are graded with different values of K, with a lower value of K indicating better imaging performance of the system. A series of fluoroscopy systems have been graded where the best system produces a value in the low teens, while the poorest systems produce a value in the low twenties. Correlation with conventional image quality measurements is good and the method has the potential for automated assessment of image quality.

  13. Edge enhancement and image equalization by unsharp masking using self-adaptive photochromic filters.

    PubMed

    Ferrari, José A; Flores, Jorge L; Perciante, César D; Frins, Erna

    2009-07-01

    A new method for real-time edge enhancement and image equalization using photochromic filters is presented. The reversible self-adaptive capacity of photochromic materials is used for creating an unsharp mask of the original image. This unsharp mask produces a kind of self filtering of the original image. Unlike the usual Fourier (coherent) image processing, the technique we propose can also be used with incoherent illumination. Validation experiments with Bacteriorhodopsin and photochromic glass are presented.

  14. Mapping Catalytically Relevant Edge Electronic States of MoS2

    PubMed Central

    2018-01-01

    Molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) is a semiconducting transition metal dichalcogenide that is known to be a catalyst for both the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) as well as for hydro-desulfurization (HDS) of sulfur-rich hydrocarbon fuels. Specifically, the edges of MoS2 nanostructures are known to be far more catalytically active as compared to unmodified basal planes. However, in the absence of the precise details of the geometric and electronic structure of the active catalytic sites, a rational means of modulating edge reactivity remain to be developed. Here we demonstrate using first-principles calculations, X-ray absorption spectroscopy, as well as scanning transmission X-ray microscopy (STXM) imaging that edge corrugations yield distinctive spectroscopic signatures corresponding to increased localization of hybrid Mo 4d states. Independent spectroscopic signatures of such edge states are identified at both the S L2,3 and S K-edges with distinctive spatial localization of such states observed in S L2,3-edge STXM imaging. The presence of such low-energy hybrid states at the edge of the conduction band is seen to correlate with substantially enhanced electrocatalytic activity in terms of a lower Tafel slope and higher exchange current density. These results elucidate the nature of the edge electronic structure and provide a clear framework for its rational manipulation to enhance catalytic activity. PMID:29721532

  15. Integration of adaptive guided filtering, deep feature learning, and edge-detection techniques for hyperspectral image classification

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wan, Xiaoqing; Zhao, Chunhui; Gao, Bing

    2017-11-01

    The integration of an edge-preserving filtering technique in the classification of a hyperspectral image (HSI) has been proven effective in enhancing classification performance. This paper proposes an ensemble strategy for HSI classification using an edge-preserving filter along with a deep learning model and edge detection. First, an adaptive guided filter is applied to the original HSI to reduce the noise in degraded images and to extract powerful spectral-spatial features. Second, the extracted features are fed as input to a stacked sparse autoencoder to adaptively exploit more invariant and deep feature representations; then, a random forest classifier is applied to fine-tune the entire pretrained network and determine the classification output. Third, a Prewitt compass operator is further performed on the HSI to extract the edges of the first principal component after dimension reduction. Moreover, the regional growth rule is applied to the resulting edge logical image to determine the local region for each unlabeled pixel. Finally, the categories of the corresponding neighborhood samples are determined in the original classification map; then, the major voting mechanism is implemented to generate the final output. Extensive experiments proved that the proposed method achieves competitive performance compared with several traditional approaches.

  16. Many-Body Effects in the Mesoscopic x-Ray Edge Problem

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hentschel, M.; R"Oder, G.; Ullmo, D.

    Many-body phenomena, a key interest in the investigation ofbulk solid state systems, are studied here in the context of the x-ray edge problem for mesoscopic systems. We investigate the many-body effects associated with the sudden perturbation following the x-ray excition of a core electron into the conduction band. For small systems with dimensions at the nanoscale we find considerable deviations from the well-understood metallic case where Anderson orthogonality catastrophe and the Mahan-Nozières-DeDominicis response cause characteristic deviations of the photoabsorption cross section from the naive expectation. Whereas the K-edge is typically rounded in metallic systems, we find a slightly peaked K-edge in generic mesoscopic systems with chaotic-coherent electron dynamics. Thus the behavior of the photoabsorption cross section at threshold depends on the system size and is different for the metallic and the mesoscopic case.

  17. The influence of coordination geometry and valency on the K-edge absorption near edge spectra of selected chromium compounds

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pantelouris, A.; Modrow, H.; Pantelouris, M.; Hormes, J.; Reinen, D.

    2004-05-01

    X-ray absorption spectra at the chromium K-edge are reported for a number of selected chromium compounds of known chemical structure. The spectra were obtained with use of synchrotron radiation available at the ELectron Stretcher Accelerator ELSA in Bonn. The compounds studied include the tetrahedrally coordinated compounds Ca 2Ge 0.8Cr 0.2O 4, Ba 2Ge 0.1Cr 0.9O 4, Sr 2CrO 4, Ca 2(PO 4) x(CrO 4) 1- xCl ( x=0.25,0.5), Ca 5(CrO 4) 3Cl, CrO 3, the octahedrally coordinated compounds Cr(II)-acetate, CrCl 3, CrF 3, Cr 2O 3, KCr(SO 4) 2 · 12H 2O, CrO 2 and cubic coordinated metallic chromium. In these compounds chromium exhibits a wide range of formal oxidation states (0 to VI). The absorption features in the near edge region are shown to be characteristic of the spatial environment of the absorbing atom. The occurrence of a single pre-edge line easily allows one to distinguish between tetrahedral and octahedral coordination geometry, whereas the energy position of the absorption edge is found to be very sensitive to the valency of the excited chromium atom. Calculations of the ionisation potential of Cr in different oxidation states using the non-relativistic Hartree-Fock method (Froese-Fischer) confirm that the ionisation limit shifts to higher energy with increasing Cr valency. More detailed information on the electronic structure of the different compounds is gained by real-space full multiple scattering calculations using the FEFF8 code.

  18. K-KIDS: The Imaging Survey for Stellar Companions at Solar System Scales Around More than 1000 K Dwarfs

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nusdeo, Daniel A.

    2018-01-01

    An initial sample of 1048 K dwarfs, hereafter known as the “K-KIDS” targets, was built from the Hipparcos and 2MASS catalogs in order to construct a robust list for a multiplicity survey. There have been two recent comprehensive stellar multiplicity surveys of low mass stars: Raghavan et. al. (2010) searched 454 solar-type stars and found a stellar multiplicity rate of 50%, and Winters et. al. (2017) surveyed 1121 M dwarfs and found a rate of 27%. A gap still remains in our understanding of the multiplicity rate of K dwarfs.For observational purposes, K-KIDS is confined equatorally to -30 < DEC < +30 to ensure that all stars are observable from either hemisphere, thereby creating a legacy sample that can be investigated for decades for stellar, brown dwarf, and planetary companions of various types. The RECONS team is conducting four companion surveys of these 1048 stars, including imaging surveys at various separations --- large (10+ arcseconds), medium (2–10 arcseconds), and small (0.02–2 arcseconds) --- and a radial velocity survey for the closest companions. Here we report on the small separation survey that targets scales similar to our Solar System, 0.1-100 AU, carried out using the Differential Speckle Survey Instrument on the Gemini and WIYN telescopes. To date, we have observed 964 out of 1048 systems, already finding 135 companions. We present a sample of K dwarf double stars with separations less than 100 AU, of which the vast majority are new discoveries. Further progress on the medium and large separation regimes ensures that a statistically significant stellar multiplicity rate for K dwarfs will soon be in achieved, which can then be investigated for dependences on, for example, stellar age and metallicity.This effort has been supported by the NSF through grant AST-1517413 and via observations obtained at the Gemini Observatory (North and South telescopes), which is operated by AURA under a cooperative agreement with the NSF on behalf of the

  19. Controlled formation of closed-edge nanopores in graphene

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    He, Kuang; Robertson, Alex W.; Gong, Chuncheng; Allen, Christopher S.; Xu, Qiang; Zandbergen, Henny; Grossman, Jeffrey C.; Kirkland, Angus I.; Warner, Jamie H.

    2015-07-01

    Dangling bonds at the edge of a nanopore in monolayer graphene make it susceptible to back-filling at low temperatures from atmospheric hydrocarbons, leading to potential instability for nanopore applications, such as DNA sequencing. We show that closed edge nanopores in bilayer graphene are robust to back-filling under atmospheric conditions for days. A controlled method for closed edge nanopore formation starting from monolayer graphene is reported using an in situ heating holder and electron beam irradiation within an aberration-corrected transmission electron microscopy. Tailoring of closed-edge nanopore sizes is demonstrated from 1.4-7.4 nm. These results should provide mechanisms for improving the stability of nanopores in graphene for a wide range of applications involving mass transport.Dangling bonds at the edge of a nanopore in monolayer graphene make it susceptible to back-filling at low temperatures from atmospheric hydrocarbons, leading to potential instability for nanopore applications, such as DNA sequencing. We show that closed edge nanopores in bilayer graphene are robust to back-filling under atmospheric conditions for days. A controlled method for closed edge nanopore formation starting from monolayer graphene is reported using an in situ heating holder and electron beam irradiation within an aberration-corrected transmission electron microscopy. Tailoring of closed-edge nanopore sizes is demonstrated from 1.4-7.4 nm. These results should provide mechanisms for improving the stability of nanopores in graphene for a wide range of applications involving mass transport. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Low magnification images, image processing techniques employed, modelling and simulation of closed edge nanoribbon, comprehensive AC-TEM dataset, and supporting analysis. See DOI: 10.1039/c5nr02277k

  20. High-Speed Edge-Detecting Line Scan Smart Camera

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Prokop, Norman F.

    2012-01-01

    A high-speed edge-detecting line scan smart camera was developed. The camera is designed to operate as a component in a NASA Glenn Research Center developed inlet shock detection system. The inlet shock is detected by projecting a laser sheet through the airflow. The shock within the airflow is the densest part and refracts the laser sheet the most in its vicinity, leaving a dark spot or shadowgraph. These spots show up as a dip or negative peak within the pixel intensity profile of an image of the projected laser sheet. The smart camera acquires and processes in real-time the linear image containing the shock shadowgraph and outputting the shock location. Previously a high-speed camera and personal computer would perform the image capture and processing to determine the shock location. This innovation consists of a linear image sensor, analog signal processing circuit, and a digital circuit that provides a numerical digital output of the shock or negative edge location. The smart camera is capable of capturing and processing linear images at over 1,000 frames per second. The edges are identified as numeric pixel values within the linear array of pixels, and the edge location information can be sent out from the circuit in a variety of ways, such as by using a microcontroller and onboard or external digital interface to include serial data such as RS-232/485, USB, Ethernet, or CAN BUS; parallel digital data; or an analog signal. The smart camera system can be integrated into a small package with a relatively small number of parts, reducing size and increasing reliability over the previous imaging system..

  1. A superior edge preserving filter with a systematic analysis

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Holladay, Kenneth W.; Rickman, Doug

    1991-01-01

    A new, adaptive, edge preserving filter for use in image processing is presented. It had superior performance when compared to other filters. Termed the contiguous K-average, it aggregates pixels by examining all pixels contiguous to an existing cluster and adding the pixel closest to the mean of the existing cluster. The process is iterated until K pixels were accumulated. Rather than simply compare the visual results of processing with this operator to other filters, some approaches were developed which allow quantitative evaluation of how well and filter performs. Particular attention is given to the standard deviation of noise within a feature and the stability of imagery under iterative processing. Demonstrations illustrate the performance of several filters to discriminate against noise and retain edges, the effect of filtering as a preprocessing step, and the utility of the contiguous K-average filter when used with remote sensing data.

  2. Oxygen K- and Mn L-Edges of La_xMn_yO_3-d Films

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Deleon, Michael; Tyson, Trevor; Qian, Q.; Dubourdieu, C.; Senateur, J. P.; Bosak, A.; Arena, D. A.

    2003-03-01

    The La_xMn_yO_3-d system holds much interest due to it's wide range of magnetic and transport properties with varying compositions. Oxygen defects and lanthanum deficiencies in the parent compound LaMnO3 induce a mixture of valences at the Mn site which enables transitions to a ferromagnetic metallic state through double exchange [1-5]. We have measured the oxygen K-edges and Mn L-edges for La_xMn_yO_3-d films of varying x deposited on (100) SrTiO3 and x=0.8 on varying thickness deposited on (001) LaAlO_3. These results are interpreted by multiplet structure computations. In addition, band structure results will be used to track changes in unoccupied levels on the Mn and O sites. This work is supported by NSF Career Grant DMR-9733862 and DMR-0209243. [1]A. Gupta, T.R. McGuire, P.R. Duncombe, M. Rupp, J. Z. Sun, W. J. Gallagher, G. Xiao. Appl. Phys. Let. 67, 3494 (1995) [2]P. S. I. P. N. de Silva, F.M. Richards, L. F. Cohen, J. A. Alonso, M. J. Martinez-Lope, M. T. Casais, K. A. Thomas, J. L. MacManus-Driscoll. J. A. Phys. 83, 3394(1998) [3] C. Chen, A. de Lozanne. A. Phys. Let. 73, 3950(1998) [4] S. J. Kim, C. S. Kim, S. Park, B. W. Lee. J. A. Phys. 89, 7416 (2001) [5] J. Topfer, J. B. Goodenough. Sol. St. Ionics 101, 1215 (1997)

  3. High quality image-pair-based deblurring method using edge mask and improved residual deconvolution

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cui, Guangmang; Zhao, Jufeng; Gao, Xiumin; Feng, Huajun; Chen, Yueting

    2017-04-01

    Image deconvolution problem is a challenging task in the field of image process. Using image pairs could be helpful to provide a better restored image compared with the deblurring method from a single blurred image. In this paper, a high quality image-pair-based deblurring method is presented using the improved RL algorithm and the gain-controlled residual deconvolution technique. The input image pair includes a non-blurred noisy image and a blurred image captured for the same scene. With the estimated blur kernel, an improved RL deblurring method based on edge mask is introduced to obtain the preliminary deblurring result with effective ringing suppression and detail preservation. Then the preliminary deblurring result is served as the basic latent image and the gain-controlled residual deconvolution is utilized to recover the residual image. A saliency weight map is computed as the gain map to further control the ringing effects around the edge areas in the residual deconvolution process. The final deblurring result is obtained by adding the preliminary deblurring result with the recovered residual image. An optical experimental vibration platform is set up to verify the applicability and performance of the proposed algorithm. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed deblurring framework obtains a superior performance in both subjective and objective assessments and has a wide application in many image deblurring fields.

  4. Magnesium K-Edge NEXAFS Spectroscopy of Chlorophyll a in Solution.

    PubMed

    Witte, Katharina; Streeck, Cornelia; Mantouvalou, Ioanna; Suchkova, Svetlana A; Lokstein, Heiko; Grötzsch, Daniel; Martyanov, Wjatscheslav; Weser, Jan; Kanngießer, Birgit; Beckhoff, Burkhard; Stiel, Holger

    2016-11-17

    The interaction of the central magnesium atom of chlorophyll a (Chl a) with the carbon and nitrogen backbone was investigated by magnesium K near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) spectroscopy in fluorescence detection mode. A crude extract of Chl a was measured as a 1 × 10 -2 mol/L ethanol solution (which represents an upper limit of concentration without aggregation) and as dried droplets. For the first time, the investigation of Mg bound to Chl a in a liquid environment by means of X-ray absorption spectroscopy is demonstrated. A pre-edge feature in the dissolved as well as in dried Chl a NEXFAS spectra has been identified as a characteristic transition originating from Mg in the Chl a molecule. This result is confirmed by theoretical DFT calculations leading to molecular orbitals (MO) which are mainly situated on the magnesium atom and nitrogen and carbon atoms from the pyrrole rings. The description is the first referring to the MO distribution with respect to the central Mg ion of Chl a and the surrounding atoms. On this basis, new approaches for the investigations of dynamic processes of molecules in solution and structure-function relationships of photosynthetic pigments and pigment-protein complexes in their native environment can be developed.

  5. Edge-directed inference for microaneurysms detection in digital fundus images

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Huang, Ke; Yan, Michelle; Aviyente, Selin

    2007-03-01

    Microaneurysms (MAs) detection is a critical step in diabetic retinopathy screening, since MAs are the earliest visible warning of potential future problems. A variety of algorithms have been proposed for MAs detection in mass screening. Different methods have been proposed for MAs detection. The core technology for most of existing methods is based on a directional mathematical morphological operation called "Top-Hat" filter that requires multiple filtering operations at each pixel. Background structure, uneven illumination and noise often cause confusion between MAs and some non-MA structures and limits the applicability of the filter. In this paper, a novel detection framework based on edge directed inference is proposed for MAs detection. The candidate MA regions are first delineated from the edge map of a fundus image. Features measuring shape, brightness and contrast are extracted for each candidate MA region to better exclude false detection from true MAs. Algorithmic analysis and empirical evaluation reveal that the proposed edge directed inference outperforms the "Top-Hat" based algorithm in both detection accuracy and computational speed.

  6. Sulfur K-edge extended X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy of homoleptic thiolato complexes with Zn(II) and Cd(II).

    PubMed

    Matsunaga, Yuki; Fujisawa, Kiyoshi; Ibi, Naoko; Fujita, Mitsuharu; Ohashi, Tetuya; Amir, Nagina; Miyashita, Yoshitaro; Aika, Ken-Ichi; Izumi, Yasuo; Okamoto, Ken-Ichi

    2006-02-01

    The sulfur K-edge extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectroscopy is applied to homoleptic thiolato complexes with Zn(II) and Cd(II), (Et(4)N)[Zn(SAd)(3)] (1), (Et(4)N)(2)[{Zn(ScHex)(2)}(2)(mu-ScHex)(2)] (2), (Et(4)N)(2)[{Cd(ScHex)(2)}(2)(mu-ScHex)(2)] (3), (Et(4)N)(2)[{Cd(ScHex)}(4)(mu-ScHex)(6)] (4), [Zn(mu-SAd)(2)](n) (5), and [Cd(mu-SAd)(2)](n) (6) (HSAd=1-adamantanethiol, HScHex=cyclohexanethiol). The EXAFS results are consistent with the X-ray crystal data of 1-4. The structures of 5 and 6, which have not been determined by X-ray crystallography, are proposed to be polynuclear structures on the basis of the sulfur K-edge EXAFS, far-IR spectra, and elemental analysis. Clear evidences of the S...S interactions (between bridging atoms or neighboring sulfur atoms) and the S...C(far) interactions (in which C(far) atom is next to carbon atom directly bonded to sulfur atom) were observed in the EXAFS data for all complexes and thus lead to the reliable determination of the structures of 5 and 6 in combination with conventional zinc K-edge EXAFS analysis for 5. This new methodology, sulfur K-edge EXAFS, could be applied for the structural determination of in vivo metalloproteins as well as inorganic compounds.

  7. Real-time and quantitative fluorescent live-cell imaging with quadruplex-specific red-edge probe (G4-REP).

    PubMed

    Yang, Sunny Y; Amor, Souheila; Laguerre, Aurélien; Wong, Judy M Y; Monchaud, David

    2017-05-01

    The development of quadruplex-directed molecular diagnostic and therapy rely on mechanistic insights gained at both cellular and tissue levels by fluorescence imaging. This technique is based on fluorescent reporters that label cellular DNA and RNA quadruplexes to spatiotemporally address their complex cell biology. The photophysical characteristics of quadruplex probes usually dictate the modality of cell imaging by governing the selection of the light source (lamp, LED, laser), the optical light filters and the detection modality. Here, we report the characterizations of prototype from a new generation of quadruplex dye termed G4-REP (for quadruplex-specific red-edge probe) that provides fluorescence responses regardless of the excitation wavelength and modality (owing to the versatility gained through the red-edge effect), thus allowing for diverse applications and most imaging facilities. This is demonstrated by cell images (and associated quantifications) collected through confocal and multiphoton microscopy as well as through real-time live-cell imaging system over extended period, monitoring both non-cancerous and cancerous human cell lines. Our results promote a new way of designing versatile, efficient and convenient quadruplex-reporting dyes for tracking these higher-order nucleic acid structures in living human cells. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled "G-quadruplex" Guest Editor: Dr. Concetta Giancola and Dr. Daniela Montesarchio. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  8. Dynamic edge warping - An experimental system for recovering disparity maps in weakly constrained systems

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Boyer, K. L.; Wuescher, D. M.; Sarkar, S.

    1991-01-01

    Dynamic edge warping (DEW), a technique for recovering reasonably accurate disparity maps from uncalibrated stereo image pairs, is presented. No precise knowledge of the epipolar camera geometry is assumed. The technique is embedded in a system including structural stereopsis on the front end and robust estimation in digital photogrammetry on the other for the purpose of self-calibrating stereo image pairs. Once the relative camera orientation is known, the epipolar geometry is computed and the system can use this information to refine its representation of the object space. Such a system will find application in the autonomous extraction of terrain maps from stereo aerial photographs, for which camera position and orientation are unknown a priori, and for online autonomous calibration maintenance for robotic vision applications, in which the cameras are subject to vibration and other physical disturbances after calibration. This work thus forms a component of an intelligent system that begins with a pair of images and, having only vague knowledge of the conditions under which they were acquired, produces an accurate, dense, relative depth map. The resulting disparity map can also be used directly in some high-level applications involving qualitative scene analysis, spatial reasoning, and perceptual organization of the object space. The system as a whole substitutes high-level information and constraints for precise geometric knowledge in driving and constraining the early correspondence process.

  9. Sulfur K-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy and time-dependent density functional theory of arsenic dithiocarbamates.

    PubMed

    Donahue, Courtney M; Pacheco, Juan S Lezama; Keith, Jason M; Daly, Scott R

    2014-06-28

    S K-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) calculations were performed on a series of As[S2CNR2]3 complexes, where R2 = Et2, (CH2)5 and Ph2, to determine how dithiocarbamate substituents attached to N affect As[S2CNR2]3 electronic structure. Complimentary [PPh4][S2CNR2] salts were also studied to compare dithiocarbamate bonding in the absence of As. The XAS results indicate that changing the orientation of the alkyl substituents from trans to cis (R2 = Et2vs. (CH2)5) yields subtle variations whereas differences associated with a change from alkyl to aryl are much more pronounced. For example, despite the differences in As 4p mixing, the first features in the S K-edge XAS spectra of [PPh4][S2CNPh2] and As[S2CNPh2]3 were both shifted by 0.3 eV compared to their alkyl-substituted derivatives. DFT calculations revealed that the unique shift observed for [PPh4][S2CNPh2] is due to phenyl-induced splitting of the π* orbitals delocalized over N, C and S. A similar phenomenon accounts for the shift observed for As[S2CNPh2]3, but the presence of two unique S environments (As-S and As···S) prevented reliable analysis of As-S covalency from the XAS data. In the absence of experimental values, DFT calculations revealed a decrease in As-S orbital mixing in As[S2CNPh2]3 that stems from a redistribution of electron density to S atoms participating in weaker As···S interactions. Simulated spectra obtained from TDDFT calculations reproduce the experimental differences in the S K-edge XAS data, which suggests that the theory is accurately modeling the experimental differences in As-S orbital mixing. The results highlight how S K-edge XAS and DFT can be used cooperatively to understand the electronic structure of low symmetry coordination complexes containing S atoms in different chemical environments.

  10. Subpixel edge estimation with lens aberrations compensation based on the iterative image approximation for high-precision thermal expansion measurements of solids

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Inochkin, F. M.; Kruglov, S. K.; Bronshtein, I. G.; Kompan, T. A.; Kondratjev, S. V.; Korenev, A. S.; Pukhov, N. F.

    2017-06-01

    A new method for precise subpixel edge estimation is presented. The principle of the method is the iterative image approximation in 2D with subpixel accuracy until the appropriate simulated is found, matching the simulated and acquired images. A numerical image model is presented consisting of three parts: an edge model, object and background brightness distribution model, lens aberrations model including diffraction. The optimal values of model parameters are determined by means of conjugate-gradient numerical optimization of a merit function corresponding to the L2 distance between acquired and simulated images. Computationally-effective procedure for the merit function calculation along with sufficient gradient approximation is described. Subpixel-accuracy image simulation is performed in a Fourier domain with theoretically unlimited precision of edge points location. The method is capable of compensating lens aberrations and obtaining the edge information with increased resolution. Experimental method verification with digital micromirror device applied to physically simulate an object with known edge geometry is shown. Experimental results for various high-temperature materials within the temperature range of 1000°C..2400°C are presented.

  11. Segmentation of prostate from ultrasound images using level sets on active band and intensity variation across edges.

    PubMed

    Li, Xu; Li, Chunming; Fedorov, Andriy; Kapur, Tina; Yang, Xiaoping

    2016-06-01

    In this paper, the authors propose a novel efficient method to segment ultrasound images of the prostate with weak boundaries. Segmentation of the prostate from ultrasound images with weak boundaries widely exists in clinical applications. One of the most typical examples is the diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer. Accurate segmentation of the prostate boundaries from ultrasound images plays an important role in many prostate-related applications such as the accurate placement of the biopsy needles, the assignment of the appropriate therapy in cancer treatment, and the measurement of the prostate volume. Ultrasound images of the prostate are usually corrupted with intensity inhomogeneities, weak boundaries, and unwanted edges, which make the segmentation of the prostate an inherently difficult task. Regarding to these difficulties, the authors introduce an active band term and an edge descriptor term in the modified level set energy functional. The active band term is to deal with intensity inhomogeneities and the edge descriptor term is to capture the weak boundaries or to rule out unwanted boundaries. The level set function of the proposed model is updated in a band region around the zero level set which the authors call it an active band. The active band restricts the authors' method to utilize the local image information in a banded region around the prostate contour. Compared to traditional level set methods, the average intensities inside∖outside the zero level set are only computed in this banded region. Thus, only pixels in the active band have influence on the evolution of the level set. For weak boundaries, they are hard to be distinguished by human eyes, but in local patches in the band region around prostate boundaries, they are easier to be detected. The authors incorporate an edge descriptor to calculate the total intensity variation in a local patch paralleled to the normal direction of the zero level set, which can detect weak boundaries

  12. Segmentation of prostate from ultrasound images using level sets on active band and intensity variation across edges

    PubMed Central

    Li, Xu; Li, Chunming; Fedorov, Andriy; Kapur, Tina; Yang, Xiaoping

    2016-01-01

    Purpose: In this paper, the authors propose a novel efficient method to segment ultrasound images of the prostate with weak boundaries. Segmentation of the prostate from ultrasound images with weak boundaries widely exists in clinical applications. One of the most typical examples is the diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer. Accurate segmentation of the prostate boundaries from ultrasound images plays an important role in many prostate-related applications such as the accurate placement of the biopsy needles, the assignment of the appropriate therapy in cancer treatment, and the measurement of the prostate volume. Methods: Ultrasound images of the prostate are usually corrupted with intensity inhomogeneities, weak boundaries, and unwanted edges, which make the segmentation of the prostate an inherently difficult task. Regarding to these difficulties, the authors introduce an active band term and an edge descriptor term in the modified level set energy functional. The active band term is to deal with intensity inhomogeneities and the edge descriptor term is to capture the weak boundaries or to rule out unwanted boundaries. The level set function of the proposed model is updated in a band region around the zero level set which the authors call it an active band. The active band restricts the authors’ method to utilize the local image information in a banded region around the prostate contour. Compared to traditional level set methods, the average intensities inside∖outside the zero level set are only computed in this banded region. Thus, only pixels in the active band have influence on the evolution of the level set. For weak boundaries, they are hard to be distinguished by human eyes, but in local patches in the band region around prostate boundaries, they are easier to be detected. The authors incorporate an edge descriptor to calculate the total intensity variation in a local patch paralleled to the normal direction of the zero level set, which can

  13. K- and L-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and resonant inelastic X-ray scattering (RIXS) determination of differential orbital covalency (DOC) of transition metal sites

    DOE PAGES

    Baker, Michael L.; Mara, Michael W.; Yan, James J.; ...

    2017-02-09

    Continual advancements in the development of synchrotron radiation sources have resulted in X-ray based spectroscopic techniques capable of probing the electronic and structural properties of numerous systems. This review gives an overview of the application of metal K-edge and L-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS), as well as Kα resonant inelastic X-ray scattering (RIXS), to the study of electronic structure in transition metal sites with emphasis on experimentally quantifying 3d orbital covalency. The specific sensitivities of K-edge XAS, L-edge XAS, and RIXS are discussed emphasizing the complementary nature of the methods. L-edge XAS and RIXS are sensitive to mixing between 3dmore » orbitals and ligand valence orbitals, and to the differential orbital covalency (DOC), that is, the difference in the covalencies for different symmetry sets of the d orbitals. Both L-edge XAS and RIXS are highly sensitive to and enable separation of σ and π donor bonding and π back bonding contributions to bonding. Applying ligand field multiplet simulations, including charge transfer via valence bond configuration interactions, DOC can be obtained for direct comparison with density functional theory calculations and to understand chemical trends. Here, the application of RIXS as a probe of frontier molecular orbitals in a heme enzyme demonstrates the potential of this method for the study of metal sites in highly covalent coordination sites in bioinorganic chemistry.« less

  14. K- and L-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and resonant inelastic X-ray scattering (RIXS) determination of differential orbital covalency (DOC) of transition metal sites

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

    Baker, Michael L.; Mara, Michael W.; Yan, James J.

    Continual advancements in the development of synchrotron radiation sources have resulted in X-ray based spectroscopic techniques capable of probing the electronic and structural properties of numerous systems. This review gives an overview of the application of metal K-edge and L-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS), as well as Kα resonant inelastic X-ray scattering (RIXS), to the study of electronic structure in transition metal sites with emphasis on experimentally quantifying 3d orbital covalency. The specific sensitivities of K-edge XAS, L-edge XAS, and RIXS are discussed emphasizing the complementary nature of the methods. L-edge XAS and RIXS are sensitive to mixing between 3dmore » orbitals and ligand valence orbitals, and to the differential orbital covalency (DOC), that is, the difference in the covalencies for different symmetry sets of the d orbitals. Both L-edge XAS and RIXS are highly sensitive to and enable separation of σ and π donor bonding and π back bonding contributions to bonding. Applying ligand field multiplet simulations, including charge transfer via valence bond configuration interactions, DOC can be obtained for direct comparison with density functional theory calculations and to understand chemical trends. Here, the application of RIXS as a probe of frontier molecular orbitals in a heme enzyme demonstrates the potential of this method for the study of metal sites in highly covalent coordination sites in bioinorganic chemistry.« less

  15. Optimization of beam quality for photon-counting spectral computed tomography in head imaging: simulation study

    PubMed Central

    Chen, Han; Xu, Cheng; Persson, Mats; Danielsson, Mats

    2015-01-01

    Abstract. Head computed tomography (CT) plays an important role in the comprehensive evaluation of acute stroke. Photon-counting spectral detectors, as promising candidates for use in the next generation of x-ray CT systems, allow for assigning more weight to low-energy x-rays that generally contain more contrast information. Most importantly, the spectral information can be utilized to decompose the original set of energy-selective images into several basis function images that are inherently free of beam-hardening artifacts, a potential advantage for further improving the diagnosis accuracy. We are developing a photon-counting spectral detector for CT applications. The purpose of this work is to determine the optimal beam quality for material decomposition in two head imaging cases: nonenhanced imaging and K-edge imaging. A cylindrical brain tissue of 16-cm diameter, coated by a 6-mm-thick bone layer and 2-mm-thick skin layer, was used as a head phantom. The imaging target was a 5-mm-thick blood vessel centered in the head phantom. In K-edge imaging, two contrast agents, iodine and gadolinium, with the same concentration (5  mg/mL) were studied. Three parameters that affect beam quality were evaluated: kVp settings (50 to 130 kVp), filter materials (Z=13 to 83), and filter thicknesses [0 to 2 half-value layer (HVL)]. The image qualities resulting from the varying x-ray beams were compared in terms of two figures of merit (FOMs): squared signal-difference-to-noise ratio normalized by brain dose (SDNR2/BD) and that normalized by skin dose (SDNR2/SD). For nonenhanced imaging, the results show that the use of the 120-kVp spectrum filtered by 2 HVL copper (Z=29) provides the best performance in both FOMs. When iodine is used in K-edge imaging, the optimal filter is 2 HVL iodine (Z=53) and the optimal kVps are 60 kVp in terms of SDNR2/BD and 75 kVp in terms of SDNR2/SD. A tradeoff of 65 kVp was proposed to lower the potential risk of skin injuries if a

  16. Mn K-Edge X-ray Absorption Studies of Oxo- and Hydroxo-manganese(IV) Complexes: Experimental and Theoretical Insights into Pre-Edge Properties

    PubMed Central

    2015-01-01

    Mn K-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) was used to gain insights into the geometric and electronic structures of [MnII(Cl)2(Me2EBC)], [MnIV(OH)2(Me2EBC)]2+, and [MnIV(O)(OH)(Me2EBC)]+, which are all supported by the tetradentate, macrocyclic Me2EBC ligand (Me2EBC = 4,11-dimethyl-1,4,8,11-tetraazabicyclo[6.6.2]hexadecane). Analysis of extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) data for [MnIV(O)(OH)(Me2EBC)]+ revealed Mn–O scatterers at 1.71 and 1.84 Å and Mn–N scatterers at 2.11 Å, providing the first unambiguous support for the formulation of this species as an oxohydroxomanganese(IV) adduct. EXAFS-determined structural parameters for [MnII(Cl)2(Me2EBC)] and [MnIV(OH)2(Me2EBC)]2+ are consistent with previously reported crystal structures. The Mn pre-edge energies and intensities of these complexes were examined within the context of data for other oxo- and hydroxomanganese(IV) adducts, and time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) computations were used to predict pre-edge properties for all compounds considered. This combined experimental and computational analysis revealed a correlation between the Mn–O(H) distances and pre-edge peak areas of MnIV=O and MnIV–OH complexes, but this trend was strongly modulated by the MnIV coordination geometry. Mn 3d-4p mixing, which primarily accounts for the pre-edge intensities, is not solely a function of the Mn–O(H) bond length; the coordination geometry also has a large effect on the distribution of pre-edge intensity. For tetragonal MnIV=O centers, more than 90% of the pre-edge intensity comes from excitations to the Mn=O σ* MO. Trigonal bipyramidal oxomanganese(IV) centers likewise feature excitations to the Mn=O σ* molecular orbital (MO) but also show intense transitions to 3dx2–y2 and 3dxy MOs because of enhanced 3d-4px,y mixing. This gives rise to a broader pre-edge feature for trigonal MnIV=O adducts. These results underscore the importance of reporting experimental pre-edge areas

  17. Mn K-edge X-ray absorption studies of oxo- and hydroxo-manganese(IV) complexes: experimental and theoretical insights into pre-edge properties.

    PubMed

    Leto, Domenick F; Jackson, Timothy A

    2014-06-16

    Mn K-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) was used to gain insights into the geometric and electronic structures of [Mn(II)(Cl)2(Me2EBC)], [Mn(IV)(OH)2(Me2EBC)](2+), and [Mn(IV)(O)(OH)(Me2EBC)](+), which are all supported by the tetradentate, macrocyclic Me2EBC ligand (Me2EBC = 4,11-dimethyl-1,4,8,11-tetraazabicyclo[6.6.2]hexadecane). Analysis of extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) data for [Mn(IV)(O)(OH)(Me2EBC)](+) revealed Mn-O scatterers at 1.71 and 1.84 Å and Mn-N scatterers at 2.11 Å, providing the first unambiguous support for the formulation of this species as an oxohydroxomanganese(IV) adduct. EXAFS-determined structural parameters for [Mn(II)(Cl)2(Me2EBC)] and [Mn(IV)(OH)2(Me2EBC)](2+) are consistent with previously reported crystal structures. The Mn pre-edge energies and intensities of these complexes were examined within the context of data for other oxo- and hydroxomanganese(IV) adducts, and time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) computations were used to predict pre-edge properties for all compounds considered. This combined experimental and computational analysis revealed a correlation between the Mn-O(H) distances and pre-edge peak areas of Mn(IV)═O and Mn(IV)-OH complexes, but this trend was strongly modulated by the Mn(IV) coordination geometry. Mn 3d-4p mixing, which primarily accounts for the pre-edge intensities, is not solely a function of the Mn-O(H) bond length; the coordination geometry also has a large effect on the distribution of pre-edge intensity. For tetragonal Mn(IV)═O centers, more than 90% of the pre-edge intensity comes from excitations to the Mn═O σ* MO. Trigonal bipyramidal oxomanganese(IV) centers likewise feature excitations to the Mn═O σ* molecular orbital (MO) but also show intense transitions to 3dx(2)-y(2) and 3dxy MOs because of enhanced 3d-4px,y mixing. This gives rise to a broader pre-edge feature for trigonal Mn(IV)═O adducts. These results underscore the importance of

  18. Edge profiles in K shell photoabsorption spectra of gaseous hydrides of 3p elements and homologues

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hauko, R.; Gomilšek, J. Padežnik; Kodre, A.; Arčon, I.; Aquilanti, G.

    2017-10-01

    Photoabsorption spectra of gaseous hydrides of 3p elements (PH3, H2S, HCl) are measured in the energy region of photoexcitations pertaining to K edge. The analysis of the edge profile is extended to hydrides of 4p series (GeH4, AsH3, H2Se, HBr) from an earlier experiment, and to published spectra of 2p hydrides (CH4, NH3, H2O, HF) and noble gases Ar, Kr and Ne and SiH4. The edge profiles are modelled with a linear combination of lorentzian components, describing excitations to individual bound states and to continuum. Transition energies and probabilities are also calculated in the non-relativistic molecular model of the ORCA code, in good agreement with the experiment. Edge profiles in the heavier homologues are closely similar, the symmetry of the molecule governs the transitions to the lowest unoccupied orbitals. In 2p series the effect of the strong nuclear potential prevails. Transitions to higher, atomic-like levels remain very much the same as in free atoms.

  19. Total edge irregularity strength of (n,t)-kite graph

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Winarsih, Tri; Indriati, Diari

    2018-04-01

    Let G(V, E) be a simple, connected, and undirected graph with vertex set V and edge set E. A total k-labeling is a map that carries vertices and edges of a graph G into a set of positive integer labels {1, 2, …, k}. An edge irregular total k-labeling λ :V(G)\\cup E(G)\\to \\{1,2,\\ldots,k\\} of a graph G is a labeling of vertices and edges of G in such a way that for any different edges e and f, weights wt(e) and wt(f) are distinct. The weight wt(e) of an edge e = xy is the sum of the labels of vertices x and y and the label of the edge e. The total edge irregularity strength of G, tes(G), is defined as the minimum k for which a graph G has an edge irregular total k-labeling. An (n, t)-kite graph consist of a cycle of length n with a t-edge path (the tail) attached to one vertex of a cycle. In this paper, we investigate the total edge irregularity strength of the (n, t)-kite graph, with n > 3 and t > 1. We obtain the total edge irregularity strength of the (n, t)-kite graph is tes((n, t)-kite) = \\lceil \\frac{n+t+2}{3}\\rceil .

  20. Quantum simulation of thermally-driven phase transition and oxygen K-edge x-ray absorption of high-pressure ice

    PubMed Central

    Kang, Dongdong; Dai, Jiayu; Sun, Huayang; Hou, Yong; Yuan, Jianmin

    2013-01-01

    The structure and phase transition of high-pressure ice are of long-standing interest and challenge, and there is still a huge gap between theoretical and experimental understanding. The quantum nature of protons such as delocalization, quantum tunneling and zero-point motion is crucial to the comprehension of the properties of high-pressure ice. Here we investigated the temperature-induced phase transition and oxygen K-edge x-ray absorption spectra of ice VII, VIII and X using ab initio path-integral molecular dynamics simulations. The tremendous difference between experiments and the previous theoretical predictions is closed for the phase diagram of ice below 300 K at pressures up to 110 GPa. Proton tunneling assists the proton-ordered ice VIII to transform into proton-disordered ice VII where only thermal activated proton-transfer cannot occur. The oxygen K edge with its shift is sensitive to the order-disorder transition, and therefore can be applied to diagnose the dynamics of ice structures. PMID:24253589

  1. Image Edge Tracking via Ant Colony Optimization

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Ruowei; Wu, Hongkun; Liu, Shilong; Rahman, M. A.; Liu, Sanchi; Kwok, Ngai Ming

    2018-04-01

    A good edge plot should use continuous thin lines to describe the complete contour of the captured object. However, the detection of weak edges is a challenging task because of the associated low pixel intensities. Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) has been employed by many researchers to address this problem. The algorithm is a meta-heuristic method developed by mimicking the natural behaviour of ants. It uses iterative searches to find the optimal solution that cannot be found via traditional optimization approaches. In this work, ACO is employed to track and repair broken edges obtained via conventional Sobel edge detector to produced a result with more connected edges.

  2. Identification of Uranyl Minerals Using Oxygen K-Edge X Ray Absorption Spectroscopy

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

    Ward, Jesse D.; Bowden, Mark E.; Resch, Charles T.

    2016-03-01

    Uranium analysis is consistently needed throughout the fuel cycle, from mining to fuel fabrication to environmental monitoring. Although most of the world’s uranium is immobilized as pitchblende or uraninite, there exists a plethora of secondary uranium minerals, nearly all of which contain the uranyl cation. Analysis of uranyl compounds can provide clues as to a sample’s facility of origin and chemical history. X-ray absorption spectroscopy is one technique that could enhance our ability to identify uranium minerals. Although there is limited chemical information to be gained from the uranium X-ray absorption edges, recent studies have successfully used ligand NEXAFS tomore » study the physical chemistry of various uranium compounds. This study extends the use of ligand NEXAFS to analyze a suite of uranium minerals. We find that major classes of uranyl compounds (carbonate, oxyhydroxide, silicate, and phosphate) exhibit characteristic lineshapes in the oxygen K-edge absorption spectra. As a result, this work establishes a library of reference spectra that can be used to classify unknown uranyl minerals.« less

  3. Edge Evaluation Using Local Edge Coherence

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1980-12-01

    response within each region. (The operators discussed below also compute an esti- mate of the direction of brightness change .) In the next step, the edges...worth remarking on is that Abdou and Pratt vary the relative strength of signal to noise by holding the contrast constant and changing the standard...threshold level on the basis of the busyness of the resulting thresholded image.) In applications where edge extraction is an important part of the processing

  4. Development of a new metal artifact reduction algorithm by using an edge preserving method for CBCT imaging

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kim, Juhye; Nam, Haewon; Lee, Rena

    2015-07-01

    CT (computed tomography) images, metal materials such as tooth supplements or surgical clips can cause metal artifact and degrade image quality. In severe cases, this may lead to misdiagnosis. In this research, we developed a new MAR (metal artifact reduction) algorithm by using an edge preserving filter and the MATLAB program (Mathworks, version R2012a). The proposed algorithm consists of 6 steps: image reconstruction from projection data, metal segmentation, forward projection, interpolation, applied edge preserving smoothing filter, and new image reconstruction. For an evaluation of the proposed algorithm, we obtained both numerical simulation data and data for a Rando phantom. In the numerical simulation data, four metal regions were added into the Shepp Logan phantom for metal artifacts. The projection data of the metal-inserted Rando phantom were obtained by using a prototype CBCT scanner manufactured by medical engineering and medical physics (MEMP) laboratory research group in medical science at Ewha Womans University. After these had been adopted the proposed algorithm was performed, and the result were compared with the original image (with metal artifact without correction) and with a corrected image based on linear interpolation. Both visual and quantitative evaluations were done. Compared with the original image with metal artifacts and with the image corrected by using linear interpolation, both the numerical and the experimental phantom data demonstrated that the proposed algorithm reduced the metal artifact. In conclusion, the evaluation in this research showed that the proposed algorithm outperformed the interpolation based MAR algorithm. If an optimization and a stability evaluation of the proposed algorithm can be performed, the developed algorithm is expected to be an effective tool for eliminating metal artifacts even in commercial CT systems.

  5. Analytical Bistatic k Space Images Compared to Experimental Swept Frequency EAR Images

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Shaeffer, John; Cooper, Brett; Hom, Kam

    2004-01-01

    A case study of flat plate scattering images obtained by the analytical bistatic k space and experimental swept frequency ISAR methods is presented. The key advantage of the bistatic k space image is that a single excitation is required, i.e., one frequency I one angle. This means that prediction approaches such as MOM only need to compute one solution at a single frequency. Bistatic image Fourier transform data are obtained by computing the scattered field at various bistatic positions about the body in k space. Experimental image Fourier transform data are obtained from the measured response to a bandwidth of frequencies over a target rotation range.

  6. Analysis of the detailed configuration of hydrated lanthanoid(III) ions in aqueous solution and crystalline salts by using K- and L(3)-edge XANES spectroscopy.

    PubMed

    D'Angelo, Paola; Zitolo, Andrea; Migliorati, Valentina; Persson, Ingmar

    2010-01-11

    The structural properties of the hydrated lanthanoid(III) ions in aqueous solution and in the isostructural trifluoromethanesulfonate salts have been investigated by a quantitative analysis of the X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) spectra at the K- and L(3)-edges. The XANES analysis has provided a clear description of the variation of lanthanoid(III) hydration properties across the series. It was found that all of the lanthanoid(III) hydration complexes retain a tricapped trigonal prism (TTP) geometry, and along the series two of the capping water molecules become less and less strongly bound, before finally, on average, one of them leaves the hydration cluster. This gives rise to an eight-coordinated distorted bicapped trigonal prism with two different Ln--O capping distances for the smallest lanthanoid(III) ions. This systematic study has shown that for lanthanoid compounds more accurate structural information is obtained from the analysis of the L(3)-edge than from K-edge XANES data. Moreover, whereas the second hydration shells provide a detectable contribution to the L(3)-edge XANES spectra of the lighter lanthanoid ions, the K-edge spectra are insensitive to the more distant coordination spheres.

  7. REAP (raster e-beam advanced process) using 50-kV raster e-beam system for sub-100-nm node mask technology

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Baik, Ki-Ho; Dean, Robert L.; Mueller, Mark; Lu, Maiying; Lem, Homer Y.; Osborne, Stephen; Abboud, Frank E.

    2002-07-01

    A chemically amplified resist (CAR) process has been recognized as an approach to meet the demanding critical dimension (CD) specifications of 100nm node technology and beyond. Recently, significant effort has been devoted to optimizing CAR materials, which offer the characteristics required for next generation photomask fabrication. In this paper, a process established with a positive-tone CAR from TOK and 50kV MEBES eXara system is discussed. This resist is developed for raster scan 50 kV e-beam systems. It has high contrast, good coating characteristics, good dry etch selectivity, and high environmental stability. The coating process is conducted in an environment with amine concentration less than 2 ppb. A nitrogen environment is provided during plate transfer steps. Resolution using a 60nm writing grid is 90nm line and space patterns. CD linearity is maintained down to 240nm for isolated lines or spaces by applying embedded proximity effect correction (emPEC). Optimizations of post-apply bake (PAB) and post-expose bake (PEB) time, temperature, and uniformity are completed to improve adhesion, coating uniformity, and resolution. A puddle develop process is optimized to improve line edge roughness, edge slope, and resolution. Dry etch process is optimized on a TetraT system to transfer the resist image into the chrome layer with minimum etch bias.

  8. An Iris Segmentation Algorithm based on Edge Orientation for Off-angle Iris Recognition

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

    Karakaya, Mahmut; Barstow, Del R; Santos-Villalobos, Hector J

    Iris recognition is known as one of the most accurate and reliable biometrics. However, the accuracy of iris recognition systems depends on the quality of data capture and is negatively affected by several factors such as angle, occlusion, and dilation. In this paper, we present a segmentation algorithm for off-angle iris images that uses edge detection, edge elimination, edge classification, and ellipse fitting techniques. In our approach, we first detect all candidate edges in the iris image by using the canny edge detector; this collection contains edges from the iris and pupil boundaries as well as eyelash, eyelids, iris texturemore » etc. Edge orientation is used to eliminate the edges that cannot be part of the iris or pupil. Then, we classify the remaining edge points into two sets as pupil edges and iris edges. Finally, we randomly generate subsets of iris and pupil edge points, fit ellipses for each subset, select ellipses with similar parameters, and average to form the resultant ellipses. Based on the results from real experiments, the proposed method shows effectiveness in segmentation for off-angle iris images.« less

  9. Exact edge, bulk, and bound states of finite topological systems

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Duncan, Callum W.; Öhberg, Patrik; Valiente, Manuel

    2018-05-01

    Finite topologically nontrivial systems are characterized, among many other unique properties, by the presence of bound states at their physical edges. These topological edge modes can be distinguished from usual Shockley waves energetically, as their energies remain finite and in gap even when the boundaries of the system represent an effectively infinite and sharp energetic barrier. Theoretically, the existence of topological edge modes can be shown by means of the bulk-edge correspondence and topological invariants. On a clean one-dimensional lattice and reducible two-dimensional models, in either the commensurate or semi-infinite case, the edge modes can be essentially obtained analytically, as shown previously [Y. Hatsugai, Phys. Rev. Lett. 71, 3697 (1993), 10.1103/PhysRevLett.71.3697; D. Hügel and B. Paredes, Phys. Rev. A 89, 023619 (2014), 10.1103/PhysRevA.89.023619]. In this work, we put forward a method for obtaining the spectrum and wave functions of topological edge modes for arbitrary finite lattices, including the incommensurate case. A small number of parameters are easily determined numerically, with the form of the eigenstates remaining fully analytical. We also obtain the bulk modes in the finite system analytically and their associated eigenenergies, which lie within the infinite-size limit continuum. Our method is general and can be easily applied to obtain the properties of nontopological models and/or extended to include impurities. As an example, we consider a relevant case of an impurity located next to one edge of a one-dimensional system, equivalent to a softened boundary in a separable two-dimensional model. We show that a localized impurity can have a drastic effect on the original topological edge modes of the system. Using the periodic Harper and Hofstadter models to illustrate our method, we find that, on increasing the impurity strength, edge states can enter or exit the continuum, and a trivial Shockley state bound to the impurity

  10. Observer-Based Discrete-Time Nonnegative Edge Synchronization of Networked Systems.

    PubMed

    Su, Housheng; Wu, Han; Chen, Xia

    2017-10-01

    This paper studies the multi-input and multi-output discrete-time nonnegative edge synchronization of networked systems based on neighbors' output information. The communication relationship among the edges of networked systems is modeled by well-known line graph. Two observer-based edge synchronization algorithms are designed, for which some necessary and sufficient synchronization conditions are derived. Moreover, some computable sufficient synchronization conditions are obtained, in which the feedback matrix and the observer matrix are computed by solving the linear programming problems. We finally design several simulation examples to demonstrate the validity of the given nonnegative edge synchronization algorithms.

  11. Isotope effects in liquid water probed by transmission mode x-ray absorption spectroscopy at the oxygen K-edge.

    PubMed

    Schreck, Simon; Wernet, Philippe

    2016-09-14

    The effects of isotope substitution in liquid water are probed by x-ray absorption spectroscopy at the O K-edge as measured in transmission mode. Confirming earlier x-ray Raman scattering experiments, the D2O spectrum is found to be blue shifted with respect to H2O, and the D2O spectrum to be less broadened. Following the earlier interpretations of UV and x-ray Raman spectra, the shift is related to the difference in ground-state zero-point energies between D2O and H2O, while the difference in broadening is related to the difference in ground-state vibrational zero-point distributions. We demonstrate that the transmission-mode measurements allow for determining the spectral shapes with unprecedented accuracy. Owing in addition to the increased spectral resolution and signal to noise ratio compared to the earlier measurements, the new data enable the stringent determination of blue shift and broadening in the O K-edge x-ray absorption spectrum of liquid water upon isotope substitution. The results are compared to UV absorption data, and it is discussed to which extent they reflect the differences in zero-point energies and vibrational zero-point distributions in the ground-states of the liquids. The influence of the shape of the final-state potential, inclusion of the Franck-Condon structure, and differences between liquid H2O and D2O resulting from different hydrogen-bond environments in the liquids are addressed. The differences between the O K-edge absorption spectra of water from our transmission-mode measurements and from the state-of-the-art x-ray Raman scattering experiments are discussed in addition. The experimentally extracted values of blue shift and broadening are proposed to serve as a test for calculations of ground-state zero-point energies and vibrational zero-point distributions in liquid H2O and D2O. This clearly motivates the need for new calculations of the O K-edge x-ray absorption spectrum of liquid water.

  12. Bioluminescent imaging reveals novel patterns of colonization and invasion in systemic Escherichia coli K1 experimental infection in the neonatal rat.

    PubMed

    Witcomb, Luci A; Collins, James W; McCarthy, Alex J; Frankel, Gadi; Taylor, Peter W

    2015-12-01

    Key features of Escherichia coli K1-mediated neonatal sepsis and meningitis, such as a strong age dependency and development along the gut-mesentery-blood-brain course of infection, can be replicated in the newborn rat. We examined temporal and spatial aspects of E. coli K1 infection following initiation of gastrointestinal colonization in 2-day-old (P2) rats after oral administration of E. coli K1 strain A192PP and a virulent bioluminescent derivative, E. coli A192PP-lux2. A combination of bacterial enumeration in the major organs, two-dimensional bioluminescence imaging, and three-dimensional diffuse light imaging tomography with integrated micro-computed tomography indicated multiple sites of colonization within the alimentary canal; these included the tongue, esophagus, and stomach in addition to the small intestine and colon. After invasion of the blood compartment, the bacteria entered the central nervous system, with restricted colonization of the brain, and also invaded the major organs, in line with increases in the severity of symptoms of infection. Both keratinized and nonkeratinized surfaces of esophagi were colonized to a considerably greater extent in susceptible P2 neonates than in corresponding tissues from infection-resistant 9-day-old rat pups; the bacteria appeared to damage and penetrate the nonkeratinized esophageal epithelium of infection-susceptible P2 animals, suggesting the esophagus represents a portal of entry for E. coli K1 into the systemic circulation. Thus, multimodality imaging of experimental systemic infections in real time indicates complex dynamic patterns of colonization and dissemination that provide new insights into the E. coli K1 infection of the neonatal rat. Copyright © 2015, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

  13. Bioluminescent Imaging Reveals Novel Patterns of Colonization and Invasion in Systemic Escherichia coli K1 Experimental Infection in the Neonatal Rat

    PubMed Central

    Witcomb, Luci A.; Collins, James W.; McCarthy, Alex J.; Frankel, Gadi

    2015-01-01

    Key features of Escherichia coli K1-mediated neonatal sepsis and meningitis, such as a strong age dependency and development along the gut-mesentery-blood-brain course of infection, can be replicated in the newborn rat. We examined temporal and spatial aspects of E. coli K1 infection following initiation of gastrointestinal colonization in 2-day-old (P2) rats after oral administration of E. coli K1 strain A192PP and a virulent bioluminescent derivative, E. coli A192PP-lux2. A combination of bacterial enumeration in the major organs, two-dimensional bioluminescence imaging, and three-dimensional diffuse light imaging tomography with integrated micro-computed tomography indicated multiple sites of colonization within the alimentary canal; these included the tongue, esophagus, and stomach in addition to the small intestine and colon. After invasion of the blood compartment, the bacteria entered the central nervous system, with restricted colonization of the brain, and also invaded the major organs, in line with increases in the severity of symptoms of infection. Both keratinized and nonkeratinized surfaces of esophagi were colonized to a considerably greater extent in susceptible P2 neonates than in corresponding tissues from infection-resistant 9-day-old rat pups; the bacteria appeared to damage and penetrate the nonkeratinized esophageal epithelium of infection-susceptible P2 animals, suggesting the esophagus represents a portal of entry for E. coli K1 into the systemic circulation. Thus, multimodality imaging of experimental systemic infections in real time indicates complex dynamic patterns of colonization and dissemination that provide new insights into the E. coli K1 infection of the neonatal rat. PMID:26351276

  14. Self-calibrated correlation imaging with k-space variant correlation functions.

    PubMed

    Li, Yu; Edalati, Masoud; Du, Xingfu; Wang, Hui; Cao, Jie J

    2018-03-01

    Correlation imaging is a previously developed high-speed MRI framework that converts parallel imaging reconstruction into the estimate of correlation functions. The presented work aims to demonstrate this framework can provide a speed gain over parallel imaging by estimating k-space variant correlation functions. Because of Fourier encoding with gradients, outer k-space data contain higher spatial-frequency image components arising primarily from tissue boundaries. As a result of tissue-boundary sparsity in the human anatomy, neighboring k-space data correlation varies from the central to the outer k-space. By estimating k-space variant correlation functions with an iterative self-calibration method, correlation imaging can benefit from neighboring k-space data correlation associated with both coil sensitivity encoding and tissue-boundary sparsity, thereby providing a speed gain over parallel imaging that relies only on coil sensitivity encoding. This new approach is investigated in brain imaging and free-breathing neonatal cardiac imaging. Correlation imaging performs better than existing parallel imaging techniques in simulated brain imaging acceleration experiments. The higher speed enables real-time data acquisition for neonatal cardiac imaging in which physiological motion is fast and non-periodic. With k-space variant correlation functions, correlation imaging gives a higher speed than parallel imaging and offers the potential to image physiological motion in real-time. Magn Reson Med 79:1483-1494, 2018. © 2017 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine. © 2017 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.

  15. Effect of aluminum on the local structure of silicon in zeolites as studied by Si K edge X-ray absorption near-edge fine structure: spectra simulation with a non-muffin tin atomic background.

    PubMed

    Bugaev, Lusegen A; Bokhoven, Jeroen A van; Khrapko, Valerii V

    2009-04-09

    Experimental Si K edge X-ray absorption near-edge fine structure (XANES) of zeolite faujasite, mordenite, and beta are interpreted by means of the FEFF8 code, replacing the theoretical atomic background mu(0) by a background that was extracted from an experimental spectrum. To some extent, this diminished the effect of the inaccuracy introduced by the MT potential and accounted for the intrinsic loss of photoelectrons. The agreement of the theoretical and experimental spectra at energies above the white lines enabled us to identify structural distortion around silicon, which occurs with increasing aluminum content. The Si K edge XANES spectra are very sensitive to slight distortions in the silicon coordination. Placing an aluminum atom on a nearest neighboring T site causes a distortion in the silicon tetrahedron, shortening one of the silicon-oxygen bonds relative to the other three.

  16. Super-resolved terahertz microscopy by knife-edge scan

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Giliberti, V.; Flammini, M.; Ciano, C.; Pontecorvo, E.; Del Re, E.; Ortolani, M.

    2017-08-01

    We present a compact, all solid-state THz confocal microscope operating at 0.30 THz that achieves super-resolution by using the knife-edge scan approach. In the final reconstructed image, a lateral resolution of 60 μm ≍ λ/17 is demonstrated when the knife-edge is deep in the near-field of the sample surface. When the knife-edge is lifted up to λ/4 from the sample surface, a certain degree of super-resolution is maintained with a resolution of 0.4 mm, i.e. more than a factor 2 if compared to the diffraction-limited scheme. The present results open an interesting path towards super-resolved imaging with in-depth information that would be peculiar to THz microscopy systems.

  17. Information theory analysis of sensor-array imaging systems for computer vision

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Huck, F. O.; Fales, C. L.; Park, S. K.; Samms, R. W.; Self, M. O.

    1983-01-01

    Information theory is used to assess the performance of sensor-array imaging systems, with emphasis on the performance obtained with image-plane signal processing. By electronically controlling the spatial response of the imaging system, as suggested by the mechanism of human vision, it is possible to trade-off edge enhancement for sensitivity, increase dynamic range, and reduce data transmission. Computational results show that: signal information density varies little with large variations in the statistical properties of random radiance fields; most information (generally about 85 to 95 percent) is contained in the signal intensity transitions rather than levels; and performance is optimized when the OTF of the imaging system is nearly limited to the sampling passband to minimize aliasing at the cost of blurring, and the SNR is very high to permit the retrieval of small spatial detail from the extensively blurred signal. Shading the lens aperture transmittance to increase depth of field and using a regular hexagonal sensor-array instead of square lattice to decrease sensitivity to edge orientation also improves the signal information density up to about 30 percent at high SNRs.

  18. High-Throughput Method for Automated Colony and Cell Counting by Digital Image Analysis Based on Edge Detection

    PubMed Central

    Choudhry, Priya

    2016-01-01

    Counting cells and colonies is an integral part of high-throughput screens and quantitative cellular assays. Due to its subjective and time-intensive nature, manual counting has hindered the adoption of cellular assays such as tumor spheroid formation in high-throughput screens. The objective of this study was to develop an automated method for quick and reliable counting of cells and colonies from digital images. For this purpose, I developed an ImageJ macro Cell Colony Edge and a CellProfiler Pipeline Cell Colony Counting, and compared them to other open-source digital methods and manual counts. The ImageJ macro Cell Colony Edge is valuable in counting cells and colonies, and measuring their area, volume, morphology, and intensity. In this study, I demonstrate that Cell Colony Edge is superior to other open-source methods, in speed, accuracy and applicability to diverse cellular assays. It can fulfill the need to automate colony/cell counting in high-throughput screens, colony forming assays, and cellular assays. PMID:26848849

  19. Research on improved edge extraction algorithm of rectangular piece

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    He, Yi-Bin; Zeng, Ya-Jun; Chen, Han-Xin; Xiao, San-Xia; Wang, Yan-Wei; Huang, Si-Yu

    Traditional edge detection operators such as Prewitt operator, LOG operator and Canny operator, etc. cannot meet the requirements of the modern industrial measurement. This paper proposes a kind of image edge detection algorithm based on improved morphological gradient. It can be detect the image using structural elements, which deals with the characteristic information of the image directly. Choosing different shapes and sizes of structural elements to use together, the ideal image edge information can be detected. The experimental result shows that the algorithm can well extract image edge with noise, which is clearer, and has more detailed edges compared with the previous edge detection algorithm.

  20. Initial Edge Stability Observations in the PEGASUS Toroidal Experiment

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bongard, M. W.; Battaglia, D. J.; Garstka, G. D.; Sontag, A. C.; Unterberg, E. A.

    2007-11-01

    Edge stability is an important consideration for design of fusion experiments, as transient heat loads generated by edge instabilities may damage the first wall. Such instabilities are now believed to include peeling (current driven) and ballooning (pressure driven) components. Peeling instability may be expected for high values of edge j||/B and low edge pressure gradient. This matches the operating space of Pegasus, with typical ˜100 kA/m^2, |B|˜ 0.01 T, and an L-mode edge. A new camera system has observed filamentary structures in the edge of nearly all ohmically-heated discharges. Ideal stability analysis of these discharges with DCON indicates marginal stability to resistive interchange for ψN>= 0.95. Modification of triangularity during startup is observed to delay instability onset. A plasma control system based on that used on DIII-D will allow study of the influence of plasma shaping on mode stability characteristics. An array of magnetic probes capable of insertion into the scrape-off layer and plasma edge is being developed to provide a local constraint on the edge current profile.

  1. The protonation states of oxo-bridged Mn(IV) dimers resolved by experimental and computational Mn K pre-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy.

    PubMed

    Krewald, Vera; Lassalle-Kaiser, Benedikt; Boron, Thaddeus T; Pollock, Christopher J; Kern, Jan; Beckwith, Martha A; Yachandra, Vittal K; Pecoraro, Vincent L; Yano, Junko; Neese, Frank; DeBeer, Serena

    2013-11-18

    In nature, the protonation of oxo bridges is a commonly encountered mechanism for fine-tuning chemical properties and reaction pathways. Often, however, the protonation states are difficult to establish experimentally. This is of particular importance in the oxygen evolving complex of photosystem II, where identification of the bridging oxo protonation states is one of the essential requirements toward unraveling the mechanism. In order to establish a combined experimental and theoretical protocol for the determination of protonation states, we have systematically investigated a series of Mn model complexes by Mn K pre-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy. An ideal test case for selective bis-μ-oxo-bridge protonation in a Mn dimer is represented by the system [Mn(IV)2(salpn)2(μ-OHn)2](n+). Although the three species [Mn(IV)2(salpn)2(μ-O)2], [Mn(IV)2(salpn)2(μ-O)(μ-OH)](+) and [Mn(IV)2(salpn)2(μ-OH)2](2+) differ only in the protonation of the oxo bridges, they exhibit distinct differences in the pre-edge region while maintaining the same edge energy. The experimental spectra are correlated in detail to theoretically calculated spectra. A time-dependent density functional theory approach for calculating the pre-edge spectra of molecules with multiple metal centers is presented, using both high spin (HS) and broken symmetry (BS) electronic structure solutions. The most intense pre-edge transitions correspond to an excitation of the Mn 1s core electrons into the unoccupied orbitals of local e(g) character (d(z)(2) and d(xy) based in the chosen coordinate system). The lowest energy experimental feature is dominated by excitations of 1s-α electrons, and the second observed feature is primarily attributed to 1s-β electron excitations. The observed energetic separation is due to spin polarization effects in spin-unrestricted density functional theory and models final state multiplet effects. The effects of spin polarization on the calculated Mn K pre-edge spectra, in

  2. Laminar Flow Control Leading Edge Systems in Simulated Airline Service

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wagner, R. D.; Maddalon, D. V.; Fisher, D. F.

    1988-01-01

    Achieving laminar flow on the wings of a commercial transport involves difficult problems associated with the wing leading edge. The NASA Leading Edge Flight Test Program has made major progress toward the solution of these problems. The effectiveness and practicality of candidate laminar flow leading edge systems were proven under representative airline service conditions. This was accomplished in a series of simulated airline service flights by modifying a JetStar aircraft with laminar flow leading edge systems and operating it out of three commercial airports in the United States. The aircraft was operated as an airliner would under actual air traffic conditions, in bad weather, and in insect infested environments.

  3. Morphological-transformation-based technique of edge detection and skeletonization of an image using a single spatial light modulator

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Munshi, Soumika; Datta, A. K.

    2003-03-01

    A technique of optically detecting the edge and skeleton of an image by defining shift operations for morphological transformation is described. A (2 × 2) source array, which acts as the structuring element of morphological operations, casts four angularly shifted optical projections of the input image. The resulting dilated image, when superimposed with the complementary input image, produces the edge image. For skeletonization, the source array casts four partially overlapped output images of the inverted input image, which is negated, and the resultant image is recorded in a CCD camera. This overlapped eroded image is again eroded and then dilated, producing an opened image. The difference between the eroded and opened image is then computed, resulting in a thinner image. This procedure of obtaining a thinned image is iterated until the difference image becomes zero, maintaining the connectivity conditions. The technique has been optically implemented using a single spatial modulator and has the advantage of single-instruction parallel processing of the image. The techniques have been tested both for binary and grey images.

  4. A next generation processing system for edging and trimming

    Treesearch

    A. Lynn Abbott; Daniel L. Schmoldt; Philip A. Araman

    2000-01-01

    This paper describes a prototype scanning system that is being developed for the processing of rough hardwood lumber. The overall goal of the system is to automate the selection of cutting positions for the edges and ends of rough, green lumber. Such edge and trim cuts are typically performed at sawmills in an effort to increase board value prior to sale, and this...

  5. Experimental and theoretical comparison of the O K-edge nonresonant inelastic X-ray scattering and X-ray absorption spectra of NaReO4.

    PubMed

    Bradley, Joseph A; Yang, Ping; Batista, Enrique R; Boland, Kevin S; Burns, Carol J; Clark, David L; Conradson, Steven D; Kozimor, Stosh A; Martin, Richard L; Seidler, Gerald T; Scott, Brian L; Shuh, David K; Tyliszczak, Tolek; Wilkerson, Marianne P; Wolfsberg, Laura E

    2010-10-06

    Accurate X-ray absorption spectra (XAS) of first row atoms, e.g., O, are notoriously difficult to obtain due to the extreme sensitivity of the measurement to surface contamination, self-absorption, and saturation affects. Herein, we describe a comprehensive approach for determining reliable O K-edge XAS data for ReO(4)(1-) and provide methodology for obtaining trustworthy and quantitative data on nonconducting molecular systems, even in the presence of surface contamination. This involves comparing spectra measured by nonresonant inelastic X-ray scattering (NRIXS), a bulk-sensitive technique that is not prone to X-ray self-absorption and provides exact peak intensities, with XAS spectra obtained by three different detection modes, namely total electron yield (TEY), fluorescence yield (FY), and scanning transmission X-ray microscopy (STXM). For ReO(4)(1-), TEY measurements were heavily influenced by surface contamination, while the FY and STXM data agree well with the bulk NRIXS analysis. These spectra all showed two intense pre-edge features indicative of the covalent interaction between the Re 5d and O 2p orbitals. Density functional theory calculations were used to assign these two peaks as O 1s excitations to the e and t(2) molecular orbitals that result from Re 5d and O 2p covalent mixing in T(d) symmetry. Electronic structure calculations were used to determine the amount of O 2p character (%) in these molecular orbitals. Time dependent-density functional theory (TD-DFT) was also used to calculate the energies and intensities of the pre-edge transitions. Overall, under these experimental conditions, this analysis suggests that NRIXS, STXM, and FY operate cooperatively, providing a sound basis for validation of bulk-like excitation spectra and, in combination with electronic structure calculations, suggest that NaReO(4) may serve as a well-defined O K-edge energy and intensity standard for future O K-edge XAS studies.

  6. [Accuracy of Modulation Transfer Function for Target Size and Field of View in a Circular Edge Strategy Using the CT Image Measurement Program].

    PubMed

    Fukunaga, Masaaki; Onishi, Hideo; Matsutomo, Norikazu; Yamamoto, Hiroyuki

    2016-06-01

    The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of target diameter and display-field of view (D-FOV) in modulation transfer function (MTF) by circular edge strategy using the computed tomography (CT) image measurement program "CTmeasure". We calculated the MTF (MTF(edge)) using the circular edge strategy applied to cylindrical phantom (200 mmφ) that inserted with cylinders have 10, 20, 30, and 40 mm diameters. The phantom images were reconstructed using filtered back projection method varied with D-FOV (240, 320, 400, and 500 mm). The study compared both MTF(edge) and MTF(wire) at MTF50% and MTF(10%) for target diameter and D-FOV, respectively. The MTF(edge) by the different of target diameter indicated in rough compatibility. However, MTF(edge) of D-FOV diameters (320, 400, and 500 mm) decreased in the high frequency range. The circular edge strategy for MTF depended on the D-FOV, however, it was little dependent on target diameter using the CT image measurement program "CTmeasure".

  7. S K-edge XAS and DFT Calculations on Square Planar NiII-thiolate Complexes: Effects of Active and Passive H-bonding

    PubMed Central

    Dey, Abhishek; Green, Kayla N.; Jenkins, Roxanne M.; Jeffrey, Stephen P.; Darensbourg, Marcetta; Hodgson, Keith O.; Hedman, Britt; Solomon, Edward I.

    2008-01-01

    S K-edge XAS for a low-spin NiII-thiolate complex shows a 0.2 eV shift to higher pre-edge energy but no change in Ni-S bond covalency upon H-bonding. This is different from the H-bonding effect we observed in high spin FeIII-thiolate complexes where there is a significant decrease in Fe-S bond covalency but no change in energy due to H-bonding (Dey, A.; Okamura, T.-A.; Ueyama, N.; Hedman, B.; Hodgson, K. O.; Solomon, E. I. J. Am. Chem. Soc.; 2005; 127, 12046-12053.). These differences were analyzed using DFT calculations and the results indicate that two different types of H-bonding interactions are possible in metal-thiolate systems. In the high-spin FeIII-thiolate case, the H-bonding involves a thiolate donor orbital which is also involved in bonding with the metal (active), while in the low-spin NiII-thiolate the orbital involved in H-bonding is non-bonding with respect to the M-S bonding (passive). The contributions of active and passive H-bonds to the reduction potential and Lewis acid properties of a metal center are evaluated. PMID:17949080

  8. Edge analyzing properties of center/surround response functions in cybernetic vision

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Jobson, D. J.

    1984-01-01

    The ability of center/surround response functions to make explicit high resolution spatial information in optical images was investigated by performing convolutions of two dimensional response functions and image intensity functions (mainly edges). The center/surround function was found to have the unique property of separating edge contrast from shape variations and of providing a direct basis for determining contrast and subsequently shape of edges in images. Computationally simple measures of contrast and shape were constructed for potential use in cybernetic vision systems. For one class of response functions these measures were found to be reasonably resilient for a range of scan direction and displacements of the response functions relative to shaped edges. A pathological range of scan directions was also defined and methods for detecting and handling these cases were developed. The relationship of these results to biological vision is discussed speculatively.

  9. PEGylated hybrid ytterbia nanoparticles as high-performance diagnostic probes for in vivo magnetic resonance and X-ray computed tomography imaging with low systemic toxicity

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Liu, Zhen; Pu, Fang; Liu, Jianhua; Jiang, Liyan; Yuan, Qinghai; Li, Zhengqiang; Ren, Jinsong; Qu, Xiaogang

    2013-05-01

    Novel nanoparticulate contrast agents with low systemic toxicity and inexpensive character have exhibited more advantages over routinely used small molecular contrast agents for the diagnosis and prognosis of disease. Herein, we designed and synthesized PEGylated hybrid ytterbia nanoparticles as high-performance nanoprobes for X-ray computed tomography (CT) imaging and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging both in vitro and in vivo. These well-defined nanoparticles were facile to prepare and cost-effective, meeting the criteria as a biomedical material. Compared with routinely used Iobitridol in clinic, our PEG-Yb2O3:Gd nanoparticles could provide much significantly enhanced contrast upon various clinical voltages ranging from 80 kVp to 140 kVp owing to the high atomic number and well-positioned K-edge energy of ytterbium. By the doping of gadolinium, our nanoparticulate contrast agent could perform perfect MR imaging simultaneously, revealing similar organ enrichment and bio-distribution with the CT imaging results. The super improvement in imaging efficiency was mainly attributed to the high content of Yb and Gd in a single nanoparticle, thus making these nanoparticles suitable for dual-modal diagnostic imaging with a low single-injection dose. In addition, detailed toxicological study in vitro and in vivo indicated that uniformly sized PEG-Yb2O3:Gd nanoparticles possessed excellent biocompatibility and revealed overall safety.Novel nanoparticulate contrast agents with low systemic toxicity and inexpensive character have exhibited more advantages over routinely used small molecular contrast agents for the diagnosis and prognosis of disease. Herein, we designed and synthesized PEGylated hybrid ytterbia nanoparticles as high-performance nanoprobes for X-ray computed tomography (CT) imaging and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging both in vitro and in vivo. These well-defined nanoparticles were facile to prepare and cost-effective, meeting the criteria as a biomedical material

  10. Passive 350 GHz Video Imaging Systems for Security Applications

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Heinz, E.; May, T.; Born, D.; Zieger, G.; Anders, S.; Zakosarenko, V.; Meyer, H.-G.; Schäffel, C.

    2015-10-01

    Passive submillimeter-wave imaging is a concept that has been in the focus of interest as a promising technology for personal security screening for a number of years. In contradiction to established portal-based millimeter-wave scanning techniques, it allows for scanning people from a distance in real time with high throughput and without a distinct inspection procedure. This opens up new possibilities for scanning, which directly address an urgent security need of modern societies: protecting crowds and critical infrastructure from the growing threat of individual terror attacks. Considering the low radiometric contrast of indoor scenes in the submillimeter range, this objective calls for an extremely high detector sensitivity that can only be achieved using cooled detectors. Our approach to this task is a series of passive standoff video cameras for the 350 GHz band that represent an evolving concept and a continuous development since 2007. Arrays of superconducting transition-edge sensors (TES), operated at temperatures below 1 K, are used as radiation detectors. By this means, background limited performance (BLIP) mode is achieved, providing the maximum possible signal to noise ratio. At video rates, this leads to a temperature resolution well below 1 K. The imaging system is completed by reflector optics based on free-form mirrors. For object distances of 5-25 m, a field of view up to 2 m height and a diffraction-limited spatial resolution in the order of 1-2 cm is provided. Opto-mechanical scanning systems are part of the optical setup and capable of frame rates of up to 25 frames per second.

  11. Metal artifact correction for x-ray computed tomography using kV and selective MV imaging.

    PubMed

    Wu, Meng; Keil, Andreas; Constantin, Dragos; Star-Lack, Josh; Zhu, Lei; Fahrig, Rebecca

    2014-12-01

    The overall goal of this work is to improve the computed tomography (CT) image quality for patients with metal implants or fillings by completing the missing kilovoltage (kV) projection data with selectively acquired megavoltage (MV) data that do not suffer from photon starvation. When both of these imaging systems, which are available on current radiotherapy devices, are used, metal streak artifacts are avoided, and the soft-tissue contrast is restored, even for regions in which the kV data cannot contribute any information. Three image-reconstruction methods, including two filtered back-projection (FBP)-based analytic methods and one iterative method, for combining kV and MV projection data from the two on-board imaging systems of a radiotherapy device are presented in this work. The analytic reconstruction methods modify the MV data based on the information in the projection or image domains and then patch the data onto the kV projections for a FBP reconstruction. In the iterative reconstruction, the authors used dual-energy (DE) penalized weighted least-squares (PWLS) methods to simultaneously combine the kV/MV data and perform the reconstruction. The authors compared kV/MV reconstructions to kV-only reconstructions using a dental phantom with fillings and a hip-implant numerical phantom. Simulation results indicated that dual-energy sinogram patch FBP and the modified dual-energy PWLS method can successfully suppress metal streak artifacts and restore information lost due to photon starvation in the kV projections. The root-mean-square errors of soft-tissue patterns obtained using combined kV/MV data are 10-15 Hounsfield units smaller than those of the kV-only images, and the structural similarity index measure also indicates a 5%-10% improvement in the image quality. The added dose from the MV scan is much less than the dose from the kV scan if a high efficiency MV detector is assumed. The authors have shown that it is possible to improve the image quality of

  12. Metal artifact correction for x-ray computed tomography using kV and selective MV imaging

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

    Wu, Meng, E-mail: mengwu@stanford.edu; Keil, Andreas; Constantin, Dragos

    Purpose: The overall goal of this work is to improve the computed tomography (CT) image quality for patients with metal implants or fillings by completing the missing kilovoltage (kV) projection data with selectively acquired megavoltage (MV) data that do not suffer from photon starvation. When both of these imaging systems, which are available on current radiotherapy devices, are used, metal streak artifacts are avoided, and the soft-tissue contrast is restored, even for regions in which the kV data cannot contribute any information. Methods: Three image-reconstruction methods, including two filtered back-projection (FBP)-based analytic methods and one iterative method, for combining kVmore » and MV projection data from the two on-board imaging systems of a radiotherapy device are presented in this work. The analytic reconstruction methods modify the MV data based on the information in the projection or image domains and then patch the data onto the kV projections for a FBP reconstruction. In the iterative reconstruction, the authors used dual-energy (DE) penalized weighted least-squares (PWLS) methods to simultaneously combine the kV/MV data and perform the reconstruction. Results: The authors compared kV/MV reconstructions to kV-only reconstructions using a dental phantom with fillings and a hip-implant numerical phantom. Simulation results indicated that dual-energy sinogram patch FBP and the modified dual-energy PWLS method can successfully suppress metal streak artifacts and restore information lost due to photon starvation in the kV projections. The root-mean-square errors of soft-tissue patterns obtained using combined kV/MV data are 10–15 Hounsfield units smaller than those of the kV-only images, and the structural similarity index measure also indicates a 5%–10% improvement in the image quality. The added dose from the MV scan is much less than the dose from the kV scan if a high efficiency MV detector is assumed. Conclusions: The authors have shown

  13. On the Total Edge Irregularity Strength of Generalized Butterfly Graph

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dwi Wahyuna, Hafidhyah; Indriati, Diari

    2018-04-01

    Let G(V, E) be a connected, simple, and undirected graph with vertex set V and edge set E. A total k-labeling is a map that carries vertices and edges of a graph G into a set of positive integer labels {1, 2, …, k}. An edge irregular total k-labeling λ: V(G) ∪ E(G) → {1, 2, …, k} of a graph G is a total k-labeling such that the weights calculated for all edges are distinct. The weight of an edge uv in G, denoted by wt(uv), is defined as the sum of the label of u, the label of v, and the label of uv. The total edge irregularity strength of G, denoted by tes(G), is the minimum value of the largest label k over all such edge irregular total k-labelings. A generalized butterfly graph, BFn , obtained by inserting vertices to every wing with assumption that sum of inserting vertices to every wing are same then it has 2n + 1 vertices and 4n ‑ 2 edges. In this paper, we investigate the total edge irregularity strength of generalized butterfly graph, BFn , for n > 2. The result is tes(B{F}n)=\\lceil \\frac{4n}{3}\\rceil .

  14. In situ removal of carbon contamination from a chromium-coated mirror: ideal optics to suppress higher-order harmonics in the carbon K-edge region.

    PubMed

    Toyoshima, Akio; Kikuchi, Takashi; Tanaka, Hirokazu; Mase, Kazuhiko; Amemiya, Kenta

    2015-11-01

    Carbon-free chromium-coated optics are ideal in the carbon K-edge region (280-330 eV) because the reflectivity of first-order light is larger than that of gold-coated optics while the second-order harmonics (560-660 eV) are significantly suppressed by chromium L-edge and oxygen K-edge absorption. Here, chromium-, gold- and nickel-coated mirrors have been adopted in the vacuum ultraviolet and soft X-ray branch beamline BL-13B at the Photon Factory in Tsukuba, Japan. Carbon contamination on the chromium-coated mirror was almost completely removed by exposure to oxygen at a pressure of 8 × 10(-2) Pa for 1 h under irradiation of non-monochromated synchrotron radiation. The pressure in the chamber recovered to the order of 10(-7) Pa within a few hours. The reflectivity of the chromium-coated mirror of the second-order harmonics in the carbon K-edge region (560-660 eV) was found to be a factor of 0.1-0.48 smaller than that of the gold-coated mirror.

  15. A novel method for real-time edge-enhancement and its application to pattern recognition

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ge, Huayong; Bai, Enjian; Fan, Hong

    2010-11-01

    The coupling gain coefficient g is redefined and deduced based on coupling theory, the variant of coupling gain coefficient g for different ΓL and r is analyzed. A new optical system is proposed for image edge-enhancement. It recycles the back signal to amplify the edge signal, which has the advantages of high throughput efficiency and brightness. The optical system is designed and built, and the edge-enhanced image of hand bone is captured electronically by CCD camera. The principle of optical correlation is demonstrated, 3-D correlation distribution of letter H with and without edge-enhancement is simulated, the discrimination capability Iac and the full-width at half maximum intensity (FWHM) are compared for two kinds of correlators. The analysis shows that edge-enhancement preprocessing can improve the performance of correlator effectively.

  16. Accelerating non-contrast-enhanced MR angiography with inflow inversion recovery imaging by skipped phase encoding and edge deghosting (SPEED).

    PubMed

    Chang, Zheng; Xiang, Qing-San; Shen, Hao; Yin, Fang-Fang

    2010-03-01

    To accelerate non-contrast-enhanced MR angiography (MRA) with inflow inversion recovery (IFIR) with a fast imaging method, Skipped Phase Encoding and Edge Deghosting (SPEED). IFIR imaging uses a preparatory inversion pulse to reduce signals from static tissue, while leaving inflow arterial blood unaffected, resulting in sparse arterial vasculature on modest tissue background. By taking advantage of vascular sparsity, SPEED can be simplified with a single-layer model to achieve higher efficiency in both scan time reduction and image reconstruction. SPEED can also make use of information available in multiple coils for further acceleration. The techniques are demonstrated with a three-dimensional renal non-contrast-enhanced IFIR MRA study. Images are reconstructed by SPEED based on a single-layer model to achieve an undersampling factor of up to 2.5 using one skipped phase encoding direction. By making use of information available in multiple coils, SPEED can achieve an undersampling factor of up to 8.3 with four receiver coils. The reconstructed images generally have comparable quality as that of the reference images reconstructed from full k-space data. As demonstrated with a three-dimensional renal IFIR scan, SPEED based on a single-layer model is able to reduce scan time further and achieve higher computational efficiency than the original SPEED.

  17. Experimental observation of the shift and width of the aluminium K absorption edge in laser shock-compressed plasmas

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hall, T. A.; Al-Kuzee, J.; Benuzzi, A.; Koenig, M.; Krishnan, J.; Grandjouan, N.; Batani, D.; Bossi, S.; Nicolella, S.

    1998-03-01

    Experimental measurements of the shift and width of the aluminium K-absorption edge in laser shock-compressed plasma is presented. The spectrometer used in these experiments allows an accurate wavelength calibration and fiduciary and hence provides precise measurements of both the shift and the width of the absorption edge. Results have been obtained for compressions up to approximately ×2 and temperatures up to about 1.5 eV. The values of shift and width are compared with a new model with which there is very good agreement.

  18. A threshold selection method based on edge preserving

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lou, Liantang; Dan, Wei; Chen, Jiaqi

    2015-12-01

    A method of automatic threshold selection for image segmentation is presented. An optimal threshold is selected in order to preserve edge of image perfectly in image segmentation. The shortcoming of Otsu's method based on gray-level histograms is analyzed. The edge energy function of bivariate continuous function is expressed as the line integral while the edge energy function of image is simulated by discretizing the integral. An optimal threshold method by maximizing the edge energy function is given. Several experimental results are also presented to compare with the Otsu's method.

  19. Resonant inelastic x-ray scattering on iso-C₂H₂Cl₂ around the chlorine K-edge: structural and dynamical aspects.

    PubMed

    Kawerk, Elie; Carniato, Stéphane; Journel, Loïc; Marchenko, Tatiana; Piancastelli, Maria Novella; Žitnik, Matjaž; Bučar, Klemen; Bohnic, Rok; Kavčič, Matjaž; Céolin, Denis; Khoury, Antonio; Simon, Marc

    2014-10-14

    We report a theoretical and experimental study of the high resolution resonant K(α) X-ray emission lines around the chlorine K-edge in gas phase 1,1-dichloroethylene. With the help of ab initio electronic structure calculations and cross section evaluation, we interpret the lowest lying peak in the X-ray absorption and emission spectra. The behavior of the K(α) emission lines with respect to frequency detuning highlights the existence of femtosecond nuclear dynamics on the dissociative Potential Energy Surface of the first K-shell core-excited state.

  20. Content-based unconstrained color logo and trademark retrieval with color edge gradient co-occurrence histograms

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Phan, Raymond; Androutsos, Dimitrios

    2008-01-01

    In this paper, we present a logo and trademark retrieval system for unconstrained color image databases that extends the Color Edge Co-occurrence Histogram (CECH) object detection scheme. We introduce more accurate information to the CECH, by virtue of incorporating color edge detection using vector order statistics. This produces a more accurate representation of edges in color images, in comparison to the simple color pixel difference classification of edges as seen in the CECH. Our proposed method is thus reliant on edge gradient information, and as such, we call this the Color Edge Gradient Co-occurrence Histogram (CEGCH). We use this as the main mechanism for our unconstrained color logo and trademark retrieval scheme. Results illustrate that the proposed retrieval system retrieves logos and trademarks with good accuracy, and outperforms the CECH object detection scheme with higher precision and recall.

  1. Electron-beam induced amorphization of stishovite: Silicon-coordination change observed using Si K-edge extended electron energy-loss fine structure

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    van Aken, P. A.; Sharp, T. G.; Seifert, F.

    The analysis of the extended energy-loss fine structure (EXELFS) of the Si K-edge for sixfold-coordinated Si in synthetic stishovite and fourfold-coordinated Si in natural α-quartz is reported by using electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS) in combination with transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The stishovite Si K-edge EXELFS spectra were measured as a time-dependent series to document irradiation-induced amorphization. The amorphization was also investigated through the change in Si K- and O K-edge energy-loss near edge structure (ELNES). For α-quartz, in contrast to stishovite, electron irradiation-induced vitrification, verified by selected area electron diffraction (SAED), produced no detectable changes of the EXELFS. The Si K-edge EXELFS were analysed with the classical extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) treatment and compared to ab initio curve-waved multiple-scattering (MS) calculations of EXAFS spectra for stishovite and α-quartz. Highly accurate information on the local atomic environment of the silicon atoms during the irradiation-induced amorphization of stishovite is obtained from the EXELFS structure parameters (Si-O bond distances, coordination numbers and Debye-Waller factors). The mean Si-O bond distance R and mean Si coordination number N changes from R=0.1775 nm and N=6 for stishovite through a disordered intermediate state (R 0.172 nm and N 5) to R 0.167 nm and N 4.5 for a nearly amorphous state similar to α-quartz (R=0.1609 nm and N=4). During the amorphization process, the Debye-Waller factor (DWF) passes through a maximum value of as it changes from for sixfold to for fourfold coordination of Si. This increase in Debye-Waller factor indicates an increase in mean-square relative displacement (MSRD) between the central silicon atom and its oxygen neighbours that is consistent with the presence of an intermediate structural state with fivefold coordination of Si. The distribution of coordination states can be estimated by

  2. Bayesian penalized-likelihood reconstruction algorithm suppresses edge artifacts in PET reconstruction based on point-spread-function.

    PubMed

    Yamaguchi, Shotaro; Wagatsuma, Kei; Miwa, Kenta; Ishii, Kenji; Inoue, Kazumasa; Fukushi, Masahiro

    2018-03-01

    The Bayesian penalized-likelihood reconstruction algorithm (BPL), Q.Clear, uses relative difference penalty as a regularization function to control image noise and the degree of edge-preservation in PET images. The present study aimed to determine the effects of suppression on edge artifacts due to point-spread-function (PSF) correction using a Q.Clear. Spheres of a cylindrical phantom contained a background of 5.3 kBq/mL of [ 18 F]FDG and sphere-to-background ratios (SBR) of 16, 8, 4 and 2. The background also contained water and spheres containing 21.2 kBq/mL of [ 18 F]FDG as non-background. All data were acquired using a Discovery PET/CT 710 and were reconstructed using three-dimensional ordered-subset expectation maximization with time-of-flight (TOF) and PSF correction (3D-OSEM), and Q.Clear with TOF (BPL). We investigated β-values of 200-800 using BPL. The PET images were analyzed using visual assessment and profile curves, edge variability and contrast recovery coefficients were measured. The 38- and 27-mm spheres were surrounded by higher radioactivity concentration when reconstructed with 3D-OSEM as opposed to BPL, which suppressed edge artifacts. Images of 10-mm spheres had sharper overshoot at high SBR and non-background when reconstructed with BPL. Although contrast recovery coefficients of 10-mm spheres in BPL decreased as a function of increasing β, higher penalty parameter decreased the overshoot. BPL is a feasible method for the suppression of edge artifacts of PSF correction, although this depends on SBR and sphere size. Overshoot associated with BPL caused overestimation in small spheres at high SBR. Higher penalty parameter in BPL can suppress overshoot more effectively. Copyright © 2018 Associazione Italiana di Fisica Medica. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. The existence of topological edge states in honeycomb plasmonic lattices

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, Li; Zhang, Ruo-Yang; Xiao, Meng; Han, Dezhuan; Chan, C. T.; Wen, Weijia

    2016-10-01

    In this paper, we investigate the band properties of 2D honeycomb plasmonic lattices consisting of metallic nanoparticles. By means of the coupled dipole method and quasi-static approximation, we theoretically analyze the band structures stemming from near-field interaction of localized surface plasmon polaritons for both the infinite lattice and ribbons. Naturally, the interaction of point dipoles decouples into independent out-of-plane and in-plane polarizations. For the out-of-plane modes, both the bulk spectrum and the range of the momentum k ∥ where edge states exist in ribbons are similar to the electronic bands in graphene. Nevertheless, the in-plane polarized modes show significant differences, which do not only possess additional non-flat edge states in ribbons, but also have different distributions of the flat edge states in reciprocal space. For in-plane polarized modes, we derived the bulk-edge correspondence, namely, the relation between the number of flat edge states at a fixed {k}\\parallel , Zak phases of the bulk bands and the winding number associated with the bulk Hamiltonian, and verified it through four typical ribbon boundaries, i.e. zigzag, bearded zigzag, armchair, and bearded armchair. Our approach gives a new topological understanding of edge states in such plasmonic systems, and may also apply to other 2D ‘vector wave’ systems.

  4. Prediction of Iron K-Edge Absorption Spectra Using Time-Dependent Density Functional Theory

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

    George, S.DeBeer; Petrenko, T.; Neese, F.

    2009-05-14

    Iron K-edge X-ray absorption pre-edge features have been calculated using a time-dependent density functional approach. The influence of functional, solvation, and relativistic effects on the calculated energies and intensities has been examined by correlation of the calculated parameters to experimental data on a series of 10 iron model complexes, which span a range of high-spin and low-spin ferrous and ferric complexes in O{sub h} to T{sub d} geometries. Both quadrupole and dipole contributions to the spectra have been calculated. We find that good agreement between theory and experiment is obtained by using the BP86 functional with the CP(PPP) basis setmore » on the Fe and TZVP one of the remaining atoms. Inclusion of solvation yields a small improvement in the calculated energies. However, the inclusion of scalar relativistic effects did not yield any improved correlation with experiment. The use of these methods to uniquely assign individual spectral transitions and to examine experimental contributions to backbonding is discussed.« less

  5. Simulation design of high reverse blocking high-K/low-K compound passivation AlGaN/GaN Schottky barrier diode with gated edge termination

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bai, Zhiyuan; Du, Jiangfeng; Xin, Qi; Li, Ruonan; Yu, Qi

    2017-11-01

    In this paper, a novel high-K/low-K compound passivation AlGaN/GaN Schottky Barrier Diode (CPG-SBD) is proposed to improve the off-state characteristics of AlGaN/GaN schottky barrier diode with gated edge termination (GET-SBD) by adding low-K blocks in to the high-K passivation layer. The reverse leakage current of CPG-SBD can be reduced to 1.6 nA/mm by reducing the thickness of high-K dielectric under GET region to 5 nm, while the forward voltage and on-state resistance keep 1 V and 3.8 Ω mm, respectively. Breakdown voltage of CPG-SBDs can be improved by inducing discontinuity of the electric field at the high-K/low-K interface. The breakdown voltage of the optimized CPG-SBD with 4 blocks of low-K can reach 1084 V with anode to cathode distance of 5 μm yielding a high FOM of 5.9 GW/cm2. From the C-V simulation results, CPG-SBDs induce no parasitic capacitance by comparison of the GET-SBDs.

  6. Assessment of transmitral flow after mitral valve edge-to-edge repair using High-speed particle image velocimetry

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jeyhani, Morteza; Shahriari, Shahrokh; Labrosse, Michel; Kadem, Lyes

    2013-11-01

    Approximately 500,000 people in North America suffer from mitral valve regurgitation (MR). MR is a disorder of the heart in which the mitral valve (MV) leaflets do not close securely during systole. Edge-to-edge repair (EtER) technique can be used to surgically treat MR. This technique produces a double-orifice configuration for the MV. Under these un-physiological conditions, flow downstream of the MV forms a double jet structure that may disturb the intraventricular hemodynamics. Abnormal flow patterns following EtER are mainly characterized by high-shear stress and stagnation zones in the left ventricle (LV), which increase the potential of blood component damage. In this study, a custom-made prosthetic bicuspid MV was used to analyze the LV flow patterns after EtER by means of digital particle image velocimetry (PIV). Although the repair of a MV using EtER technique is an effective approach, this study confirms that EtER leads to changes in the LV flow field, including the generation of a double mitral jet flow and high shear stress regions.

  7. Automatic Assessment and Reduction of Noise using Edge Pattern Analysis in Non-Linear Image Enhancement

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

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

    2004-01-01

    Noise is the primary visibility limit in the process of non-linear image enhancement, and is no longer a statistically stable additive noise in the post-enhancement image. Therefore novel approaches are needed to both assess and reduce spatially variable noise at this stage in overall image processing. Here we will examine the use of edge pattern analysis both for automatic assessment of spatially variable noise and as a foundation for new noise reduction methods.

  8. Nanoscale thermal imaging of dissipation in quantum systems and in encapsulated graphene

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Halbertal, Dorri

    Energy dissipation is a fundamental process governing the dynamics of physical systems. In condensed matter physics, in particular, scattering mechanisms, loss of quantum information, or breakdown of topological protection are deeply rooted in the intricate details of how and where the dissipation occurs. Despite its vital importance the microscopic behavior of a system is usually not formulated in terms of dissipation because the latter is not a readily measureable quantity on the microscale. While the motivation is clear, existing thermal imaging methods lack the necessary sensitivity and are unsuitable for low temperature operation required for the study of quantum systems. We developed a superconducting quantum interference nano thermometer device with sub 50 nm diameter that resides at the apex of a sharp pipette and provides scanning cryogenic thermal sensing with four orders of magnitude improved thermal sensitivity of below 1 uK/sqrtHz. The noncontact noninvasive thermometry allows thermal imaging of very low nanoscale energy dissipation down to the fundamental Landauer limitý of 40 fW for continuous readout of a single qubit at 1 GHz at 4.2 K. These advances enable observation of dissipation due to single electron charging of individual quantum dots in carbon nanotubes, opening the door to direct imaging of nanoscale dissipation processes in quantum matter. In this talk I will describe the technique and present a study of hBN encapsulated graphene which reveals a novel dissipation mechanism due to atomic-scale resonant localized states at the edges of graphene. These results provide a direct valuable glimpse into the electron thermalization process in systems with weak electron-phonon interactions. Funded by European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union's Horizon 2020 programme (Grant No. 655416), Minerva Foundation with funding from the Federal German Ministry of Education and Research, Rosa and Emilio Segré Research Award, and the MISTI.

  9. System and method for automated object detection in an image

    DOEpatents

    Kenyon, Garrett T.; Brumby, Steven P.; George, John S.; Paiton, Dylan M.; Schultz, Peter F.

    2015-10-06

    A contour/shape detection model may use relatively simple and efficient kernels to detect target edges in an object within an image or video. A co-occurrence probability may be calculated for two or more edge features in an image or video using an object definition. Edge features may be differentiated between in response to measured contextual support, and prominent edge features may be extracted based on the measured contextual support. The object may then be identified based on the extracted prominent edge features.

  10. A fiducial detection algorithm for real-time image guided IMRT based on simultaneous MV and kV imaging

    PubMed Central

    Mao, Weihua; Riaz, Nadeem; Lee, Louis; Wiersma, Rodney; Xing, Lei

    2008-01-01

    or be used for intra-fractional tumor tracking on a Linac equipped with a kV imaging system. Any motion exceeding a preset threshold can warn the therapist to suspend a treatment session and reposition the patient. PMID:18777916

  11. Surface modification study of borate materials from B K-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kasrai, Masoud; Fleet, Michael E.; Muthupari, Swaminathan; Li, D.; Bancroft, G. M.

    The B K-edge X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) spectra of two borates with tetrahedrally-coordinated B [[4]B; natural danburite (CaB2Si2O8) and synthetic boron phosphate (BPO4)] have been recorded in total electron yield (TEY) and fluorescence yield (FY) modes to investigate the surface and bulk structure of these materials. The TEY XANES measurement shows that danburite is susceptible to surface damage involving conversion of [4]B sites to [3]B sites by reaction with moisture and/or mechanical abrasion (grinding, polishing, etc.). The bulk of the mineral is essentially unaffected. Commercial boron phosphate powder exhibits more extensive surface and bulk damage, which increases with air exposure but is recovered on heating at 650°C. In contrast to ELNES, the XANES technique is not affected by beam damage and when collected in the FY mode is capable of yielding meaningful information on the coordination and intermediate-range structure of B in borate and borosilicate materials.

  12. Edge detection based on adaptive threshold b-spline wavelet for optical sub-aperture measuring

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, Shiqi; Hui, Mei; Liu, Ming; Zhao, Zhu; Dong, Liquan; Liu, Xiaohua; Zhao, Yuejin

    2015-08-01

    In the research of optical synthetic aperture imaging system, phase congruency is the main problem and it is necessary to detect sub-aperture phase. The edge of the sub-aperture system is more complex than that in the traditional optical imaging system. And with the existence of steep slope for large-aperture optical component, interference fringe may be quite dense when interference imaging. Deep phase gradient may cause a loss of phase information. Therefore, it's urgent to search for an efficient edge detection method. Wavelet analysis as a powerful tool is widely used in the fields of image processing. Based on its properties of multi-scale transform, edge region is detected with high precision in small scale. Longing with the increase of scale, noise is reduced in contrary. So it has a certain suppression effect on noise. Otherwise, adaptive threshold method which sets different thresholds in various regions can detect edge points from noise. Firstly, fringe pattern is obtained and cubic b-spline wavelet is adopted as the smoothing function. After the multi-scale wavelet decomposition of the whole image, we figure out the local modulus maxima in gradient directions. However, it also contains noise, and thus adaptive threshold method is used to select the modulus maxima. The point which greater than threshold value is boundary point. Finally, we use corrosion and expansion deal with the resulting image to get the consecutive boundary of image.

  13. Accuracy evaluation of the optical surface monitoring system on EDGE linear accelerator in a phantom study

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

    Mancosu, Pietro; Fogliata, Antonella, E-mail: Antonella.Fogliata@humanitas.it; Stravato, Antonella

    2016-07-01

    Frameless stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) requires dedicated systems to monitor the patient position during the treatment to avoid target underdosage due to involuntary shift. The optical surface monitoring system (OSMS) is here evaluated in a phantom-based study. The new EDGE linear accelerator from Varian (Varian, Palo Alto, CA) integrates, for cranial lesions, the common cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) and kV-MV portal images to the optical surface monitoring system (OSMS), a device able to detect real-time patient's face movements in all 6 couch axes (vertical, longitudinal, lateral, rotation along the vertical axis, pitch, and roll). We have evaluated the OSMS imagingmore » capability in checking the phantoms' position and monitoring its motion. With this aim, a home-made cranial phantom was developed to evaluate the OSMS accuracy in 4 different experiments: (1) comparison with CBCT in isocenter location, (2) capability to recognize predefined shifts up to 2° or 3 cm, (3) evaluation at different couch angles, (4) ability to properly reconstruct the surface when the linac gantry visually block one of the cameras. The OSMS system showed, with a phantom, to be accurate for positioning in respect to the CBCT imaging system with differences of 0.6 ± 0.3 mm for linear vector displacement, with a maximum rotational inaccuracy of 0.3°. OSMS presented an accuracy of 0.3 mm for displacement up to 1 cm and 1°, and 0.5 mm for larger displacements. Different couch angles (45° and 90°) induced a mean vector uncertainty < 0.4 mm. Coverage of 1 camera produced an uncertainty < 0.5 mm. Translations and rotations of a phantom can be accurately detect with the optical surface detector system.« less

  14. Edge-augmented Fourier partial sums with applications to Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Larriva-Latt, Jade; Morrison, Angela; Radgowski, Alison; Tobin, Joseph; Iwen, Mark; Viswanathan, Aditya

    2017-08-01

    Certain applications such as Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) require the reconstruction of functions from Fourier spectral data. When the underlying functions are piecewise-smooth, standard Fourier approximation methods suffer from the Gibbs phenomenon - with associated oscillatory artifacts in the vicinity of edges and an overall reduced order of convergence in the approximation. This paper proposes an edge-augmented Fourier reconstruction procedure which uses only the first few Fourier coefficients of an underlying piecewise-smooth function to accurately estimate jump information and then incorporate it into a Fourier partial sum approximation. We provide both theoretical and empirical results showing the improved accuracy of the proposed method, as well as comparisons demonstrating superior performance over existing state-of-the-art sparse optimization-based methods.

  15. Miniaturized Airborne Imaging Central Server System

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Sun, Xiuhong

    2011-01-01

    In recent years, some remote-sensing applications require advanced airborne multi-sensor systems to provide high performance reflective and emissive spectral imaging measurement rapidly over large areas. The key or unique problem of characteristics is associated with a black box back-end system that operates a suite of cutting-edge imaging sensors to collect simultaneously the high throughput reflective and emissive spectral imaging data with precision georeference. This back-end system needs to be portable, easy-to-use, and reliable with advanced onboard processing. The innovation of the black box backend is a miniaturized airborne imaging central server system (MAICSS). MAICSS integrates a complex embedded system of systems with dedicated power and signal electronic circuits inside to serve a suite of configurable cutting-edge electro- optical (EO), long-wave infrared (LWIR), and medium-wave infrared (MWIR) cameras, a hyperspectral imaging scanner, and a GPS and inertial measurement unit (IMU) for atmospheric and surface remote sensing. Its compatible sensor packages include NASA s 1,024 1,024 pixel LWIR quantum well infrared photodetector (QWIP) imager; a 60.5 megapixel BuckEye EO camera; and a fast (e.g. 200+ scanlines/s) and wide swath-width (e.g., 1,920+ pixels) CCD/InGaAs imager-based visible/near infrared reflectance (VNIR) and shortwave infrared (SWIR) imaging spectrometer. MAICSS records continuous precision georeferenced and time-tagged multisensor throughputs to mass storage devices at a high aggregate rate, typically 60 MB/s for its LWIR/EO payload. MAICSS is a complete stand-alone imaging server instrument with an easy-to-use software package for either autonomous data collection or interactive airborne operation. Advanced multisensor data acquisition and onboard processing software features have been implemented for MAICSS. With the onboard processing for real time image development, correction, histogram-equalization, compression, georeference, and

  16. Sub-surface defects detection of by using active thermography and advanced image edge detection

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tse, Peter W.; Wang, Gaochao

    2017-05-01

    Active or pulsed thermography is a popular non-destructive testing (NDT) tool for inspecting the integrity and anomaly of industrial equipment. One of the recent research trends in using active thermography is to automate the process in detecting hidden defects. As of today, human effort has still been using to adjust the temperature intensity of the thermo camera in order to visually observe the difference in cooling rates caused by a normal target as compared to that by a sub-surface crack exists inside the target. To avoid the tedious human-visual inspection and minimize human induced error, this paper reports the design of an automatic method that is capable of detecting subsurface defects. The method used the technique of active thermography, edge detection in machine vision and smart algorithm. An infrared thermo-camera was used to capture a series of temporal pictures after slightly heating up the inspected target by flash lamps. Then the Canny edge detector was employed to automatically extract the defect related images from the captured pictures. The captured temporal pictures were preprocessed by a packet of Canny edge detector and then a smart algorithm was used to reconstruct the whole sequences of image signals. During the processes, noise and irrelevant backgrounds exist in the pictures were removed. Consequently, the contrast of the edges of defective areas had been highlighted. The designed automatic method was verified by real pipe specimens that contains sub-surface cracks. After applying such smart method, the edges of cracks can be revealed visually without the need of using manual adjustment on the setting of thermo-camera. With the help of this automatic method, the tedious process in manually adjusting the colour contract and the pixel intensity in order to reveal defects can be avoided.

  17. Large Scale Hierarchical K-Means Based Image Retrieval With MapReduce

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2014-03-27

    hadoop distributed file system: Architecture and design, 2007. [10] G. Bradski. Dr. Dobb’s Journal of Software Tools, 2000. [11] Terry Costlow. Big data ...million images running on 20 virtual machines are shown. 15. SUBJECT TERMS Image Retrieval, MapReduce, Hierarchical K-Means, Big Data , Hadoop U U U UU 87...13 2.1.1.2 HDFS Data Representation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 2.1.1.3 Hadoop Engine

  18. Sensitivity of F-106B Leading-Edge-Vortex Images to Flight and Vapor-Screen Parameters

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Lamar, John E.; Johnson, Thomas D., Jr.

    1988-01-01

    A flight test was undertaken at NASA Langley Research Center with vapor-screen and image-enhancement techniques to obtain qualitative and quantitative information about near-field vortex flows above the wings of fighter aircraft. In particular, the effects of Reynolds and Mach numbers on the vortex system over an angle-of-attack range were sought. The relevance of these flows stems from their present and future use at many points in the flight envelope, especially during transonic maneuvers. The aircraft used in this flight program was the F-106B because it was available and had sufficient wing sweep (60 deg) to generate a significant leading-edge vortex system. The sensitivity of the visual results to vapor screen hardware and to onset flow changes is discussed.

  19. 20 kHz toluene planar laser-induced fluorescence imaging of a jet in nearly sonic crossflow

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Miller, V. A.; Troutman, V. A.; Mungal, M. G.; Hanson, R. K.

    2014-10-01

    This manuscript describes continuous, high-repetition-rate (20 kHz) toluene planar laser-induced fluorescence (PLIF) imaging in an expansion tube impulse flow facility. Cinematographic image sequences are acquired that visualize an underexpanded jet of hydrogen in Mach 0.9 crossflow, a practical flow configuration relevant to aerospace propulsion systems. The freestream gas is nitrogen seeded with toluene; toluene broadly absorbs and fluoresces in the ultraviolet, and the relatively high quantum yield of toluene produces large signals and high signal-to-noise ratios. Toluene is excited using a commercially available, frequency-quadrupled (266 nm), high-repetition-rate (20 kHz), pulsed (0.8-0.9 mJ per pulse), diode-pumped solid-state Nd:YAG laser, and fluorescence is imaged with a high-repetition-rate intensifier and CMOS camera. The resulting PLIF movie and image sequences are presented, visualizing the jet start-up process and the dynamics of the jet in crossflow; the freestream duration and a measure of freestream momentum flux steadiness are also inferred. This work demonstrates progress toward continuous PLIF imaging of practical flow systems in impulse facilities at kHz acquisition rates using practical, turn-key, high-speed laser and imaging systems.

  20. A novel cloning template designing method by using an artificial bee colony algorithm for edge detection of CNN based imaging sensors.

    PubMed

    Parmaksızoğlu, Selami; Alçı, Mustafa

    2011-01-01

    Cellular Neural Networks (CNNs) have been widely used recently in applications such as edge detection, noise reduction and object detection, which are among the main computer imaging processes. They can also be realized as hardware based imaging sensors. The fact that hardware CNN models produce robust and effective results has attracted the attention of researchers using these structures within image sensors. Realization of desired CNN behavior such as edge detection can be achieved by correctly setting a cloning template without changing the structure of the CNN. To achieve different behaviors effectively, designing a cloning template is one of the most important research topics in this field. In this study, the edge detecting process that is used as a preliminary process for segmentation, identification and coding applications is conducted by using CNN structures. In order to design the cloning template of goal-oriented CNN architecture, an Artificial Bee Colony (ABC) algorithm which is inspired from the foraging behavior of honeybees is used and the performance analysis of ABC for this application is examined with multiple runs. The CNN template generated by the ABC algorithm is tested by using artificial and real test images. The results are subjectively and quantitatively compared with well-known classical edge detection methods, and other CNN based edge detector cloning templates available in the imaging literature. The results show that the proposed method is more successful than other methods.

  1. A Novel Cloning Template Designing Method by Using an Artificial Bee Colony Algorithm for Edge Detection of CNN Based Imaging Sensors

    PubMed Central

    Parmaksızoğlu, Selami; Alçı, Mustafa

    2011-01-01

    Cellular Neural Networks (CNNs) have been widely used recently in applications such as edge detection, noise reduction and object detection, which are among the main computer imaging processes. They can also be realized as hardware based imaging sensors. The fact that hardware CNN models produce robust and effective results has attracted the attention of researchers using these structures within image sensors. Realization of desired CNN behavior such as edge detection can be achieved by correctly setting a cloning template without changing the structure of the CNN. To achieve different behaviors effectively, designing a cloning template is one of the most important research topics in this field. In this study, the edge detecting process that is used as a preliminary process for segmentation, identification and coding applications is conducted by using CNN structures. In order to design the cloning template of goal-oriented CNN architecture, an Artificial Bee Colony (ABC) algorithm which is inspired from the foraging behavior of honeybees is used and the performance analysis of ABC for this application is examined with multiple runs. The CNN template generated by the ABC algorithm is tested by using artificial and real test images. The results are subjectively and quantitatively compared with well-known classical edge detection methods, and other CNN based edge detector cloning templates available in the imaging literature. The results show that the proposed method is more successful than other methods. PMID:22163903

  2. Studies on effective atomic numbers, electron densities from mass attenuation coefficients near the K edge in some samarium compounds.

    PubMed

    Akman, F; Durak, R; Turhan, M F; Kaçal, M R

    2015-07-01

    The effective atomic numbers and electron densities of some samarium compounds were determined using the experimental total mass attenuation coefficient values near the K edge in the X-ray energy range from 36.847 up to 57.142 keV. The measurements, in the region from 36.847 to 57.142 keV, were done in a transmission geometry utilizing the Kα2, Kα1, Kβ1 and Kβ2 X-rays from different secondary source targets excited by the 59.54 keV gamma-photons from an Am-241 annular source. This paper presents the first measurement of the effective atomic numbers and electron densities for some samarium compounds near the K edge. The results of the study showed that the measured values were in good agreement with the theoretically calculated ones. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Microwave Imaging Reflectometry for the study of Edge Harmonic Oscillations on DIII-D [Microwave Imaging Reflectometry (MIR) for the study of Edge Harmonic Oscillations (EHOs) on DIII-D

    DOE PAGES

    Ren, X.; Chen, M.; Chen, X.; ...

    2015-10-23

    Quiescent H-mode (QH) is an ELM free mode of operation in which edge-localized harmonic oscillations (EHOs) are believed to enhance particle transport, thereby stabilizing ELMs and preventing damage to the divertor and plasma facing components. Microwave Imaging Reflectometer (MIR) enabling direct comparison between the measured and simulated 2D images of density fluctuations near the edge can determine the 2D structure of density oscillation which can help to explain the physics behind EHO modes. MIR data sometimes indicates a counter-propagation between higher (n>1) and dominant (n=1) harmonics of coherent EHOs in the steep gradient regions of the pedestal. To preclude diagnosticmore » artifacts, we have performed forward modeling that includes possible optical misalignments to show that offsets between transmitting and receiving antennas do not account for this feature. We have also simulated the non-uniform rotation of the EHO structure, which induces multiple harmonics that are properly characterized in the synthetic diagnostic. Excluding these possible explanations for the data, the counter-propagation observed in MIR data, which is not corroborated by external Mirnov coil array measurements, may be due to subtleties of the eigenmode structure, such as an inversion radius consistent with a magnetic island. Similar effects are observed in analysis of internal ECE-Imaging and BES data. Furthermore, the identification of a non-ideal structure motivates further exploration of nonlinear models of this instability.« less

  4. Theory of K-edge resonant inelastic x-ray scattering and its application for La0.5Sr1.5MnO4

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Seman, T. F.; Liu, X.; Hill, J. P.; van Veenendaal, M.; Ahn, K. H.

    2013-03-01

    We present a formula based on tight-binding approach for the calculation of K-edge resonant inelastic x-ray scattering spectrum for transition metal oxides, by extending the previous result [K. H. Ahn, A. J. Fedro, and M. van Veenendaal, Phys. Rev. B 79, 045103 (2009).] to include explicit momentum dependence and a basis with multiple core hole sites. We apply this formula to layered charge, orbital, and spin ordered manganites, La0.5Sr1.5MnO4. The K-edge RIXS spectrum is found not periodic with respect to the actual reciprocal lattice, but approximately periodic with respect to the reciprocal lattice for the hypothetical unit cell with one core hole site. With experimental strcuture and reasonable tight-binding parameters, we obtain good agreement with experimental data, in particular, with regards to the large variation of the intensity with momentum. We find that the screening in La0.5Sr1.5MnO4 is highly localized around the core hole site and demonstrate the potential of K-edge RIXS as a probe for the screening dynamics in materials. Work supported by US.DOE Contr. DE-AC02-98CH10886 (X.L.,J.H.), US.DOE Award DE-FG02-03ER46097 (M.v.V.), CMCSN under Grants DE-FG02-08ER46540 & DE-SC0007091 (T.S.,K.A.,M.v.V.), Argonne XSD Visitor Prog.(K.A.), US.DOE Contr. DE-AC02-06CH11357 (X.L.,J.H).

  5. Core level electron energy-loss spectra of minerals: pre-edge fine structures at the oxygen K-edge . Comment on ``Water in minerals detectable by electron energy-loss spectroscopy EELS'' by R. Wirth, Phys Chem Minerals (1997) 24:561-568

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    van Aken, P. A.; Liebscher, B.; Styrsa, V. J.

    In a recent paper entitled ``Water in minerals detectable by electron energy-loss spectroscopy EELS'' by R. Wirth, it has been claimed that OH-- and H2O-bearing minerals exhibit a characteristic peak in the ELNES spectra at about 528 eV prior to the onset of the O K-edge at 532 eV, which could be used for (semi-)quantitative determination of water- or OH-contents on a nanometer scale. It is shown here by parallel electron energy-loss spectroscopy (PEELS) recorded in a transmission electron microscope (TEM) that O K-pre-edge peaks with very high intensities may also exist in water-free compounds and minerals, in particular when they contain transition metals. These spectral features arise from covalent mixing of the metal and oxygen states, which introduces oxygen p character in unoccupied states of mainly metal character. The point is illustrated by the comparison of hematite (α-Fe2O3) and lepidocrocite (γ-FeOOH) O K-edge PEELS spectra which exhibit similar intensities of the pre-edge peak, despite of their grossly different OH- contents. As a consequence, the general validity of the method proposed by Wirth is questioned.

  6. Edge states at the interface of non-Hermitian systems

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yuce, C.

    2018-04-01

    Topological edge states appear at the interface of two topologically distinct Hermitian insulators. We study the extension of this idea to non-Hermitian systems. We consider P T -symmetric and topologically distinct non-Hermitian insulators with real spectra and study topological edge states at the interface of them. We show that P T symmetry is spontaneously broken at the interface during the topological phase transition. Therefore, topological edge states with complex energy eigenvalues appear at the interface. We apply our idea to a complex extension of the Su-Schrieffer-Heeger model.

  7. Combination of Sharing Matrix and Image Encryption for Lossless $(k,n)$ -Secret Image Sharing.

    PubMed

    Bao, Long; Yi, Shuang; Zhou, Yicong

    2017-12-01

    This paper first introduces a (k,n) -sharing matrix S (k, n) and its generation algorithm. Mathematical analysis is provided to show its potential for secret image sharing. Combining sharing matrix with image encryption, we further propose a lossless (k,n) -secret image sharing scheme (SMIE-SIS). Only with no less than k shares, all the ciphertext information and security key can be reconstructed, which results in a lossless recovery of original information. This can be proved by the correctness and security analysis. Performance evaluation and security analysis demonstrate that the proposed SMIE-SIS with arbitrary settings of k and n has at least five advantages: 1) it is able to fully recover the original image without any distortion; 2) it has much lower pixel expansion than many existing methods; 3) its computation cost is much lower than the polynomial-based secret image sharing methods; 4) it is able to verify and detect a fake share; and 5) even using the same original image with the same initial settings of parameters, every execution of SMIE-SIS is able to generate completely different secret shares that are unpredictable and non-repetitive. This property offers SMIE-SIS a high level of security to withstand many different attacks.

  8. High-spatial-resolution K-band Imaging of Select K2 Campaign Fields

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Colón, Knicole D.; Howell, Steve B.; Ciardi, David R.; Barclay, Thomas

    2017-12-01

    NASA's K2 mission began observing fields along the ecliptic plane in 2014. Each observing campaign lasts approximately 80 days, during which high-precision optical photometry of select astrophysical targets is collected by the Kepler spacecraft. Due to the 4 arcsec pixel scale of the Kepler photometer, significant blending between the observed targets can occur (especially in dense fields close to the Galactic plane). We undertook a program to use the Wide Field Camera (WFCAM) on the 3.8 m United Kingdom InfraRed Telescope (UKIRT) to collect high-spatial-resolution near-infrared images of targets in select K2 campaign fields, which we report here. These 0.4 arcsec resolution K-band images offer the opportunity to perform a variety of science, including vetting exoplanet candidates by identifying nearby stars blended with the target star and estimating the size, color, and type of galaxies observed by K2.

  9. A novel edge based embedding in medical images based on unique key generated using sudoku puzzle design.

    PubMed

    Santhi, B; Dheeptha, B

    2016-01-01

    The field of telemedicine has gained immense momentum, owing to the need for transmitting patients' information securely. This paper puts forth a unique method for embedding data in medical images. It is based on edge based embedding and XOR coding. The algorithm proposes a novel key generation technique by utilizing the design of a sudoku puzzle to enhance the security of the transmitted message. The edge blocks of the cover image alone, are utilized to embed the payloads. The least significant bit of the pixel values are changed by XOR coding depending on the data to be embedded and the key generated. Hence the distortion in the stego image is minimized and the information is retrieved accurately. Data is embedded in the RGB planes of the cover image, thus increasing its embedding capacity. Several measures including peak signal noise ratio (PSNR), mean square error (MSE), universal image quality index (UIQI) and correlation coefficient (R) are the image quality measures that have been used to analyze the quality of the stego image. It is evident from the results that the proposed technique outperforms the former methodologies.

  10. Lamb-Wave-Based Tomographic Imaging Techniques for Hole-Edge Corrosion Monitoring in Plate Structures

    PubMed Central

    Wang, Dengjiang; Zhang, Weifang; Wang, Xiangyu; Sun, Bo

    2016-01-01

    This study presents a novel monitoring method for hole-edge corrosion damage in plate structures based on Lamb wave tomographic imaging techniques. An experimental procedure with a cross-hole layout using 16 piezoelectric transducers (PZTs) was designed. The A0 mode of the Lamb wave was selected, which is sensitive to thickness-loss damage. The iterative algebraic reconstruction technique (ART) method was used to locate and quantify the corrosion damage at the edge of the hole. Hydrofluoric acid with a concentration of 20% was used to corrode the specimen artificially. To estimate the effectiveness of the proposed method, the real corrosion damage was compared with the predicted corrosion damage based on the tomographic method. The results show that the Lamb-wave-based tomographic method can be used to monitor the hole-edge corrosion damage accurately. PMID:28774041

  11. Images

    Science.gov Websites

    : Upload Date Photo Date 1 2 3 4 5 Next Arctic Edge 2018 Download Full Image Photo Details Arctic Edge 2018 Download Full Image Photo Details Arctic Edge 2018 Download Full Image Photo Details Arctic Edge 2018 Download Full Image Photo Details Arctic Edge 2018 Download Full Image Photo Details Arctic Edge 2018

  12. Real-time biscuit tile image segmentation method based on edge detection.

    PubMed

    Matić, Tomislav; Aleksi, Ivan; Hocenski, Željko; Kraus, Dieter

    2018-05-01

    In this paper we propose a novel real-time Biscuit Tile Segmentation (BTS) method for images from ceramic tile production line. BTS method is based on signal change detection and contour tracing with a main goal of separating tile pixels from background in images captured on the production line. Usually, human operators are visually inspecting and classifying produced ceramic tiles. Computer vision and image processing techniques can automate visual inspection process if they fulfill real-time requirements. Important step in this process is a real-time tile pixels segmentation. BTS method is implemented for parallel execution on a GPU device to satisfy the real-time constraints of tile production line. BTS method outperforms 2D threshold-based methods, 1D edge detection methods and contour-based methods. Proposed BTS method is in use in the biscuit tile production line. Copyright © 2018 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Killing of Bacillus Megaterium Spores by X-rays at the Phosphorus K-edge

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Richmond, Robert C.; Frigo, Sean P.; Ehret, Charles F.; Rose, M. Franklin (Technical Monitor)

    2001-01-01

    This study continues a progression of experiments on the radiation-induced killing of bacterial spores that began at the Argonne National Laboratory in 1957. A series of aliquots of Bacillus megaterium spores were prepared onto polycarbonate filters and irradiated with photons of 2159 eV compared to 2140 eV energy on the 2-IDB beamline at the Advanced Photon Source. Flux density was approximately 10(exp 18) photons/sec/sq mm. The phosphorous K-edge absorption spectrum in these spores was determined to peak at 2159 eV, wheras 2140 eV was determined to be outside that absorption spectrum. Spores on filters were irradiated at ambient conditions, and were either immediately plated for colony formation after irradiation, or were held for postirradiation exposure to oxygen prior to plating. Slopes of survival curves from the four conditions of irradiation, i.e., two photon energies each comparing immediate plating vs postirradiation holding, were used for quantitative determination of differences in rates of spore killing over a range of radiation doses. It was found that spores irradiated at the phosphorus K-edge were killed 20% more efficiently than when irradiated with 2140 eV photons, and this was true for both immediate plating and postirradiation holding in air. Postirradiation holding in air increased killing efficiency by about 12% for both photon energies compared to plating immediately after irradiation. The increase of killing efficiency with postirradiation holding is less than expected from earlier experiments using relatively low-flux X-rays, and raises the possibility of dose-mitigation by radical-radical recombination in the case of high-flux X-rays from the synchrotron.

  14. Killing of Bacillus Megaterium Spores by X-Rays at the Phosphorus K-Edge

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Richmond, Robert C.; Frigo, Sean P.; Ehret, Charles F.; Rose, M. Franklin (Technical Monitor)

    2001-01-01

    This study continues a progression of experiments on the radiation-induced killing of bacterial spores that began at the Argonne National Laboratory in 1957. A series of aliquots of Bacillus megaterium spores were prepared onto polycarbonate filters and irradiated with photons of 2159 eV compared to 2140 eV energy on the 2-IDB beamline at the Advanced Photon Source. Flux density was approximately 10 photons/sec/mm . The phosphorous K-edge absorption spectrum in these spores was determined to peak at 2159 eV, wheras 2140 eV was determined to be outside that absorption spectrum. Spores on filters were irradiated at ambient conditions, and were either immediately plated for colony formation after irradiation, or were held for postirradiation exposure to oxygen prior to plating. Slopes of survival curves from the four conditions of irradiation, i.e., two photon energies each comparing immediate plating vs postirradiation holding, were used for quantitative determination of differences in rates of spore killing over a range of radiation doses. It was found that spores irradiated at the phosphorus K-edge were killed 20% more efficiently than when irradiated with 2140eV photons, and this was true for both immediate plating and postirradiation holding in air. Postirradiation holding in air increased killing efficiency by about 12% for both photon energies compared to plating immediately after irradiation. The increase of killing efficiency with postirradiation holding is less than expected from earlier experiments using relatively low-flux X-rays, and raises the possibility of dose-mitigation by radical-radical recombination in the case of high-flux X-rays from the synchrotron.

  15. Automatic Contour Tracking in Ultrasound Images

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Li, Min; Kambhamettu, Chandra; Stone, Maureen

    2005-01-01

    In this paper, a new automatic contour tracking system, EdgeTrak, for the ultrasound image sequences of human tongue is presented. The images are produced by a head and transducer support system (HATS). The noise and unrelated high-contrast edges in ultrasound images make it very difficult to automatically detect the correct tongue surfaces. In…

  16. Imaging the Impact of Proton Irradiation on Edge Terminations in Vertical GaN pin Diodes

    DOE PAGES

    Collins, Kimberlee C.; King, Michael P.; Dickerson, Jeramy R.; ...

    2017-05-29

    Devices based on GaN have shown great promise for high power electronics, including their potential use as radiation tolerant components. An important step to realizing high power diodes is the design and implementation of an edge termination to mitigate field crowding, which can lead to premature breakdown. However, little is known about the effects of radiation on edge termination functionality. We experimentally examine the effects of proton irradiation on multiple field ring edge terminations in high power vertical GaN pin diodes using in operando imaging with electron beam induced current (EBIC). We find that exposure to proton irradiation influences fieldmore » spreading in the edge termination as well as carrier transport near the anode. By using depth-dependent EBIC measurements of hole diffusion length in homoepitaxial n-GaN we demonstrate that the carrier transport effect is due to a reduction in hole diffusion length following proton irradiation.« less

  17. Imaging the Impact of Proton Irradiation on Edge Terminations in Vertical GaN pin Diodes

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

    Collins, Kimberlee C.; King, Michael P.; Dickerson, Jeramy R.

    Devices based on GaN have shown great promise for high power electronics, including their potential use as radiation tolerant components. An important step to realizing high power diodes is the design and implementation of an edge termination to mitigate field crowding, which can lead to premature breakdown. However, little is known about the effects of radiation on edge termination functionality. We experimentally examine the effects of proton irradiation on multiple field ring edge terminations in high power vertical GaN pin diodes using in operando imaging with electron beam induced current (EBIC). We find that exposure to proton irradiation influences fieldmore » spreading in the edge termination as well as carrier transport near the anode. By using depth-dependent EBIC measurements of hole diffusion length in homoepitaxial n-GaN we demonstrate that the carrier transport effect is due to a reduction in hole diffusion length following proton irradiation.« less

  18. Segmentation via fusion of edge and needle map

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ahn, Hong-Young; Tou, Julius T.

    1991-03-01

    This paper presents an integrated image segmentation method using edge and needle map which compensates deficiencies of using either edge-based approach or region-based approach. Segmentation of an image is the first and most difficult step toward symbolic transformation of a raw image, which is essential in image understanding. In industrial applications, the task is further complicated by the ubiquitous presence of specularity in most industrial parts. Three images taken from three different illumination directions were used to separate specular and Lambertian components in the images. Needle map is generated from Lambertian component images using photometric stereo technique. In one channel, edges are extracted and linked from the averaged Lambertian images providing one source of segmentation. The other channel, Gaussian curvature and mean curvature values are estimated at each pixel from least square local surface fit of needle map. Labeled surface type image is then generated using the signs of Gaussian and mean curvatures, where one of ten surface types is assigned to each pixel. Connected regions of identical surface type pixels provide the first level grouping, a rough initial segmentation. Edge information and initial segmentation of surface type are fed to an integration module which interprets the edges and regions in a consistent way. During interpretation regions are merged or split, edges are discarded or generated depending upon global surface fit error and consistency with neighboring regions. The output of integrated segmentation is an explicit description of surface type and contours of each region which facilitates recognition, localization and attitude determination of objects in the image.

  19. Ice from the Solar System Edge Artist Concept

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2012-09-18

    Researchers are brewing up icy, organic concoctions in the lab to mimic materials at the edge of our solar system and beyond. The lab is shown at right, and a very young solar system, with its swirling planet-forming disk is at left.

  20. Reference spectra of important adsorbed organic and inorganic phosphate binding forms for soil P speciation using synchrotron-based K-edge XANES spectroscopy.

    PubMed

    Prietzel, Jörg; Harrington, Gertraud; Häusler, Werner; Heister, Katja; Werner, Florian; Klysubun, Wantana

    2016-03-01

    Direct speciation of soil phosphorus (P) by linear combination fitting (LCF) of P K-edge XANES spectra requires a standard set of spectra representing all major P species supposed to be present in the investigated soil. Here, available spectra of free- and cation-bound inositol hexakisphosphate (IHP), representing organic P, and of Fe, Al and Ca phosphate minerals are supplemented with spectra of adsorbed P binding forms. First, various soil constituents assumed to be potentially relevant for P sorption were compared with respect to their retention efficiency for orthophosphate and IHP at P levels typical for soils. Then, P K-edge XANES spectra for orthophosphate and IHP retained by the most relevant constituents were acquired. The spectra were compared with each other as well as with spectra of Ca, Al or Fe orthophosphate and IHP precipitates. Orthophosphate and IHP were retained particularly efficiently by ferrihydrite, boehmite, Al-saturated montmorillonite and Al-saturated soil organic matter (SOM), but far less efficiently by hematite, Ca-saturated montmorillonite and Ca-saturated SOM. P retention by dolomite was negligible. Calcite retained a large portion of the applied IHP, but no orthophosphate. The respective P K-edge XANES spectra of orthophosphate and IHP adsorbed to ferrihydrite, boehmite, Al-saturated montmorillonite and Al-saturated SOM differ from each other. They also are different from the spectra of amorphous FePO4, amorphous or crystalline AlPO4, Ca phosphates and free IHP. Inclusion of reference spectra of orthophosphate as well as IHP adsorbed to P-retaining soil minerals in addition to spectra of free or cation-bound IHP, AlPO4, FePO4 and Ca phosphate minerals in linear combination fitting exercises results in improved fit quality and a more realistic soil P speciation. A standard set of P K-edge XANES spectra of the most relevant adsorbed P binding forms in soils is presented.

  1. Image fusion via nonlocal sparse K-SVD dictionary learning.

    PubMed

    Li, Ying; Li, Fangyi; Bai, Bendu; Shen, Qiang

    2016-03-01

    Image fusion aims to merge two or more images captured via various sensors of the same scene to construct a more informative image by integrating their details. Generally, such integration is achieved through the manipulation of the representations of the images concerned. Sparse representation plays an important role in the effective description of images, offering a great potential in a variety of image processing tasks, including image fusion. Supported by sparse representation, in this paper, an approach for image fusion by the use of a novel dictionary learning scheme is proposed. The nonlocal self-similarity property of the images is exploited, not only at the stage of learning the underlying description dictionary but during the process of image fusion. In particular, the property of nonlocal self-similarity is combined with the traditional sparse dictionary. This results in an improved learned dictionary, hereafter referred to as the nonlocal sparse K-SVD dictionary (where K-SVD stands for the K times singular value decomposition that is commonly used in the literature), and abbreviated to NL_SK_SVD. The performance of the NL_SK_SVD dictionary is applied for image fusion using simultaneous orthogonal matching pursuit. The proposed approach is evaluated with different types of images, and compared with a number of alternative image fusion techniques. The resultant superior fused images using the present approach demonstrates the efficacy of the NL_SK_SVD dictionary in sparse image representation.

  2. 2D Doppler backscattering using synthetic aperture microwave imaging of MAST edge plasmas

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Thomas, D. A.; Brunner, K. J.; Freethy, S. J.; Huang, B. K.; Shevchenko, V. F.; Vann, R. G. L.

    2016-02-01

    Doppler backscattering (DBS) is already established as a powerful diagnostic; its extension to 2D enables imaging of turbulence characteristics from an extended region of the cut-off surface. The Synthetic Aperture Microwave Imaging (SAMI) diagnostic has conducted proof-of-principle 2D DBS experiments of MAST edge plasma. SAMI actively probes the plasma edge using a wide (±40° vertical and horizontal) and tuneable (10-34.5 GHz) beam. The Doppler backscattered signal is digitised in vector form using an array of eight Vivaldi PCB antennas. This allows the receiving array to be focused in any direction within the field of view simultaneously to an angular range of 6-24° FWHM at 10-34.5 GHz. This capability is unique to SAMI and is a novel way of conducting DBS experiments. In this paper the feasibility of conducting 2D DBS experiments is explored. Initial observations of phenomena previously measured by conventional DBS experiments are presented; such as momentum injection from neutral beams and an abrupt change in power and turbulence velocity coinciding with the onset of H-mode. In addition, being able to carry out 2D DBS imaging allows a measurement of magnetic pitch angle to be made; preliminary results are presented. Capabilities gained through steering a beam using a phased array and the limitations of this technique are discussed.

  3. DAVs: Red Edge and Outbursts

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Luan, Jing

    2018-04-01

    As established by ground based surveys, white dwarfs with hydrogen atmospheres pulsate as they cool across the temperature range, 12500K< Teff < 10800K . Known as DAVs or ZZ Ceti stars, their oscillations are attributed to overstable g-modes excited by convective driving. The effective temperature at the blue edge of the instability strip is slightly lower than that at which a surface convection zone appears. The temperature at the red edge is a two-decade old puzzle. Recently, Kepler discovered a number of cool DAVs exhibiting sporadic outbursts separated by days, each lasting several hours, and releasing \\sim 10^{33}-10^{34} {erg}. We provide quantitative explanations for both the red edge and the outbursts. The minimal frequency for overstable modes rises abruptly near the red edge. Although high frequency overstable modes exist below the red edge, their photometric amplitudes are generally too small to be detected by ground based observations. Nevertheless, these overstable parent modes can manifest themselves through nonlinear mode couplings to damped daughter modes which generate limit cycles giving rise to photometric outbursts.

  4. Real-space imaging of a topologically protected edge state with ultracold atoms in an amplitude-chirped optical lattice

    PubMed Central

    Leder, Martin; Grossert, Christopher; Sitta, Lukas; Genske, Maximilian; Rosch, Achim; Weitz, Martin

    2016-01-01

    To describe a mobile defect in polyacetylene chains, Su, Schrieffer and Heeger formulated a model assuming two degenerate energy configurations that are characterized by two different topological phases. An immediate consequence was the emergence of a soliton-type edge state located at the boundary between two regions of different configurations. Besides giving first insights in the electrical properties of polyacetylene materials, interest in this effect also stems from its close connection to states with fractional charge from relativistic field theory. Here, using a one-dimensional optical lattice for cold rubidium atoms with a spatially chirped amplitude, we experimentally realize an interface between two spatial regions of different topological order in an atomic physics system. We directly observe atoms confined in the edge state at the intersection by optical real-space imaging and characterize the state as well as the size of the associated energy gap. Our findings hold prospects for the spectroscopy of surface states in topological matter and for the quantum simulation of interacting Dirac systems. PMID:27767054

  5. Nb K-edge x-ray absorption investigation of the pressure induced amorphization in A-site deficient double perovskite La1/3NbO3.

    PubMed

    Marini, C; Noked, O; Kantor, I; Joseph, B; Mathon, O; Shuker, R; Kennedy, B J; Pascarelli, S; Sterer, E

    2016-02-03

    Nb K-edge x-ray absorption spectroscopy is utilized to investigate the changes in the local structure of the A-site deficient double perovskite La1/3NbO3 which undergoes a pressure induced irreversible amorphization. EXAFS results show that with increasing pressure up to 7.5 GPa, the average Nb-O bond distance decreases in agreement with the expected compression and tilting of the NbO6 octahedra. On the contrary, above 7.5 GPa, the average Nb-O bond distance show a tendency to increase. Significant changes in the Nb K-edge XANES spectrum with evident low energy shift of the pre-peak and the absorption edge is found to happen in La1/3NbO3 above 6.3 GPa. These changes evidence a gradual reduction of the Nb cations from Nb(5+) towards Nb(4+) above 6.3 GPa. Such a valence change accompanied by the elongation of the average Nb-O bond distances in the octahedra, introduces repulsion forces between non-bonding adjacent oxygen anions in the unoccupied A-sites. Above a critical pressure, the Nb reduction mechanism can no longer be sustained by the changing local structure and amorphization occurs, apparently due to the build-up of local strain. EXAFS and XANES results indicate two distinct pressure regimes having different local and electronic response in the La1/3NbO3 system before the occurence of the pressure induced amorphization at  ∼14.5 GPa.

  6. Three-dimensional contour edge detection algorithm

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, Yizhou; Ong, Sim Heng; Kassim, Ashraf A.; Foong, Kelvin W. C.

    2000-06-01

    This paper presents a novel algorithm for automatically extracting 3D contour edges, which are points of maximum surface curvature in a surface range image. The 3D image data are represented as a surface polygon mesh. The algorithm transforms the range data, obtained by scanning a dental plaster cast, into a 2D gray scale image by linearly converting the z-value of each vertex to a gray value. The Canny operator is applied to the median-filtered image to obtain the edge pixels and their orientations. A vertex in the 3D object corresponding to the detected edge pixel and its neighbors in the direction of the edge gradient are further analyzed with respect to their n-curvatures to extract the real 3D contour edges. This algorithm provides a fast method of reducing and sorting the unwieldy data inherent in the surface mesh representation. It employs powerful 2D algorithms to extract features from the transformed 3D models and refers to the 3D model for further analysis of selected data. This approach substantially reduces the computational burden without losing accuracy. It is also easily extended to detect 3D landmarks and other geometrical features, thus making it applicable to a wide range of applications.

  7. Edge-on!

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    2007-08-01

    Peering at Uranus's Rings as they Swing Edge-on to Earth for the First Time Since their Discovery in 1977 As Uranus coasts through a brief window of time when its rings are edge-on to Earth - a view of the planet we get only once every 42 years - astronomers peering at the rings with ESO's Very Large Telescope and other space or ground-based telescopes are getting an unprecedented view of the fine dust in the system, free from the glare of the bright rocky rings. They may even find a new moon or two. ESO PR Photo 37/07 ESO PR Photo 37/07 The Uranus System "ESO's VLT took data at the precise moment when the rings were edge-on to Earth," said Imke de Pater, of University of California, Berkeley who coordinated the worldwide campaign. She worked with two team members observing in Chile: Daphne Stam of the Technical University Delft in the Netherlands and Markus Hartung of ESO. The observations were done with NACO, one of the adaptive optics instruments installed at the VLT. With adaptive optics, it is possible to obtain images almost free from the blurring effect of the atmosphere. It is as if the 8.2-m telescope were observing from space. Observations were also done with the Keck telescope in Hawaii, the Hubble Space Telescope, and at the Palomar Observatory. "Using different telescopes around the world allows us to observe as much of the changes during the ring-plane crossing as possible: when Uranus sets as seen from the VLT, it can still be observed by the Keck," emphasised Stam. Uranus orbits the Sun in 84 years. Twice during a Uranian year, the rings appear edge-on to Earth for a brief period. The rings were discovered in 1977, so this is the first time for a Uranus ring-crossing to be observed from Earth. The advantage of observations at a ring-plane crossing is that it becomes possible to look at the rings from the shadowed or dark side. From that vantage point, the normally bright outer rings grow fainter because their centimetre- to metre-sized rocks obscure

  8. Improved Peritoneal Cavity and Abdominal Organ Imaging Using a Biphasic Contrast Agent Protocol and Spectral Photon Counting Computed Tomography K-Edge Imaging.

    PubMed

    Si-Mohamed, Salim; Thivolet, Arnaud; Bonnot, Pierre-Emmanuel; Bar-Ness, Daniel; Képénékian, Vahan; Cormode, David P; Douek, Philippe; Rousset, Pascal

    2018-05-23

    To validate in vitro the capability of a high-spatial-resolution prototype spectral photon-counting computed tomography (SPCCT) scanner to differentiate between 2 contrast agents and to assess in vivo the image quality and the feasibility to image the peritoneal cavity in rats using the 2 contrast agents simultaneously within the vascular and peritoneal compartments. The authors performed SPCCT imaging (100 mAs, 120 kVp) with energy bin thresholds set to 30, 51, 64, 72, and 85 keV in vitro on a custom-made polyoxymethylene cylindrical phantom consisting of tubes with dilutions of both contrast agents and in vivo on 2 groups of adult rats using 2 injection protocols. Approval from the institutional animal ethics committee was obtained. One group received macrocylic gadolinium chelate intraperitoneal (IP) and iodine intravenous (IV) injections (protocol A, n = 3), whereas the second group received iodine IP and gadolinium IV (protocol B, n = 3). Helical scans were performed 35 minutes after IP injection and 20 seconds after IV injection. The SPCCT and contrast material images, that is, iodine and gadolinium maps, were reconstructed with a field of view of 160 mm, an isotropic voxel size of 250 μm, and a matrix size of 640 × 640 pixels using a soft reconstruction kernel. The SPCCT images were reconstructed with 2 different spatial resolutions to compare the image quality (sharpness, diagnostic quality, and organ visualization) of SPCCT (250 μm) with single-energy computed tomography (CT) (600 μm). Two radiologists evaluated the peritoneal opacification index in 13 regions (score = 0-3 per region) on each type of image. Concentrations of contrast agents were measured in the organs of interest. In vitro, the concentration measurements correlated well with the expected concentrations. The linear regressions both had R values of 0.99, slopes of 0.84 and 0.87, and offsets at -0.52 and -0.38 mg/mL for iodine and gadolinium, respectively. In vivo, the SPCCT images were

  9. Tetrahalide complexes of the [U(NR)2]2+ ion: synthesis, theory, and chlorine K-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy.

    PubMed

    Spencer, Liam P; Yang, Ping; Minasian, Stefan G; Jilek, Robert E; Batista, Enrique R; Boland, Kevin S; Boncella, James M; Conradson, Steven D; Clark, David L; Hayton, Trevor W; Kozimor, Stosh A; Martin, Richard L; MacInnes, Molly M; Olson, Angela C; Scott, Brian L; Shuh, David K; Wilkerson, Marianne P

    2013-02-13

    Synthetic routes to salts containing uranium bis-imido tetrahalide anions [U(NR)(2)X(4)](2-) (X = Cl(-), Br(-)) and non-coordinating NEt(4)(+) and PPh(4)(+) countercations are reported. In general, these compounds can be prepared from U(NR)(2)I(2)(THF)(x) (x = 2 and R = (t)Bu, Ph; x = 3 and R = Me) upon addition of excess halide. In addition to providing stable coordination complexes with Cl(-), the [U(NMe)(2)](2+) cation also reacts with Br(-) to form stable [NEt(4)](2)[U(NMe)(2)Br(4)] complexes. These materials were used as a platform to compare electronic structure and bonding in [U(NR)(2)](2+) with [UO(2)](2+). Specifically, Cl K-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and both ground-state and time-dependent hybrid density functional theory (DFT and TDDFT) were used to probe U-Cl bonding interactions in [PPh(4)](2)[U(N(t)Bu)(2)Cl(4)] and [PPh(4)](2)[UO(2)Cl(4)]. The DFT and XAS results show the total amount of Cl 3p character mixed with the U 5f orbitals was roughly 7-10% per U-Cl bond for both compounds, which shows that moving from oxo to imido has little effect on orbital mixing between the U 5f and equatorial Cl 3p orbitals. The results are presented in the context of recent Cl K-edge XAS and DFT studies on other hexavalent uranium chloride systems with fewer oxo or imido ligands.

  10. Hyperspectral Imaging and K-Means Classification for Histologic Evaluation of Ductal Carcinoma In Situ.

    PubMed

    Khouj, Yasser; Dawson, Jeremy; Coad, James; Vona-Davis, Linda

    2018-01-01

    Hyperspectral imaging (HSI) is a non-invasive optical imaging modality that shows the potential to aid pathologists in breast cancer diagnoses cases. In this study, breast cancer tissues from different patients were imaged by a hyperspectral system to detect spectral differences between normal and breast cancer tissues. Tissue samples mounted on slides were identified from 10 different patients. Samples from each patient included both normal and ductal carcinoma tissue, both stained with hematoxylin and eosin stain and unstained. Slides were imaged using a snapshot HSI system, and the spectral reflectance differences were evaluated. Analysis of the spectral reflectance values indicated that wavelengths near 550 nm showed the best differentiation between tissue types. This information was used to train image processing algorithms using supervised and unsupervised data. The K-means method was applied to the hyperspectral data cubes, and successfully detected spectral tissue differences with sensitivity of 85.45%, and specificity of 94.64% with true negative rate of 95.8%, and false positive rate of 4.2%. These results were verified by ground-truth marking of the tissue samples by a pathologist. In the hyperspectral image analysis, the image processing algorithm, K-means, shows the greatest potential for building a semi-automated system that could identify and sort between normal and ductal carcinoma in situ tissues.

  11. Digital Image Display Control System, DIDCS. [for astronomical analysis

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Fischel, D.; Klinglesmith, D. A., III

    1979-01-01

    DIDCS is an interactive image display and manipulation system that is used for a variety of astronomical image reduction and analysis operations. The hardware system consists of a PDP 11/40 main frame with 32K of 16-bit core memory; 96K of 16-bit MOS memory; two 9 track 800 BPI tape drives; eight 2.5 million byte RKO5 type disk packs, three user terminals, and a COMTAL 8000-S display system which has sufficient memory to store and display three 512 x 512 x 8 bit images along with an overlay plane and function table for each image, a pseudo color table and the capability for displaying true color. The software system is based around the language FORTH, which will permit an open ended dictionary of user level words for image analyses and display. A description of the hardware and software systems will be presented along with examples of the types of astronomical research that are being performed. Also a short discussion of the commonality and exchange of this type of image analysis system will be given.

  12. A flight test of laminar flow control leading-edge systems

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Fischer, M. C.; Wright, A. S., Jr.; Wagner, R. D.

    1983-01-01

    NASA's program for development of a laminar flow technology base for application to commercial transports has made significant progress since its inception in 1976. Current efforts are focused on development of practical reliable systems for the leading-edge region where the most difficult problems in applying laminar flow exist. Practical solutions to these problems will remove many concerns about the ultimate practicality of laminar flow. To address these issues, two contractors performed studies, conducted development tests, and designed and fabricated fully functional leading-edge test articles for installation on the NASA JetStar aircraft. Systems evaluation and performance testing will be conducted to thoroughly evaluate all system capabilities and characteristics. A simulated airline service flight test program will be performed to obtain the operational sensitivity, maintenance, and reliability data needed to establish that practical solutions exist for the difficult leading-edge area of a future commercial transport employing laminar flow control.

  13. An Adaptive Immune Genetic Algorithm for Edge Detection

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Ying; Bai, Bendu; Zhang, Yanning

    An adaptive immune genetic algorithm (AIGA) based on cost minimization technique method for edge detection is proposed. The proposed AIGA recommends the use of adaptive probabilities of crossover, mutation and immune operation, and a geometric annealing schedule in immune operator to realize the twin goals of maintaining diversity in the population and sustaining the fast convergence rate in solving the complex problems such as edge detection. Furthermore, AIGA can effectively exploit some prior knowledge and information of the local edge structure in the edge image to make vaccines, which results in much better local search ability of AIGA than that of the canonical genetic algorithm. Experimental results on gray-scale images show the proposed algorithm perform well in terms of quality of the final edge image, rate of convergence and robustness to noise.

  14. MO-FG-204-03: Using Edge-Preserving Algorithm for Significantly Improved Image-Domain Material Decomposition in Dual Energy CT

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

    Zhao, W; Niu, T; Xing, L

    2015-06-15

    Purpose: To significantly improve dual energy CT (DECT) imaging by establishing a new theoretical framework of image-domain material decomposition with incorporation of edge-preserving techniques. Methods: The proposed algorithm, HYPR-NLM, combines the edge-preserving non-local mean filter (NLM) with the HYPR-LR (Local HighlY constrained backPRojection Reconstruction) framework. Image denoising using HYPR-LR framework depends on the noise level of the composite image which is the average of the different energy images. For DECT, the composite image is the average of high- and low-energy images. To further reduce noise, one may want to increase the window size of the filter of the HYPR-LR, leadingmore » resolution degradation. By incorporating the NLM filtering and the HYPR-LR framework, HYPR-NLM reduces the boost material decomposition noise using energy information redundancies as well as the non-local mean. We demonstrate the noise reduction and resolution preservation of the algorithm with both iodine concentration numerical phantom and clinical patient data by comparing the HYPR-NLM algorithm to the direct matrix inversion, HYPR-LR and iterative image-domain material decomposition (Iter-DECT). Results: The results show iterative material decomposition method reduces noise to the lowest level and provides improved DECT images. HYPR-NLM significantly reduces noise while preserving the accuracy of quantitative measurement and resolution. For the iodine concentration numerical phantom, the averaged noise levels are about 2.0, 0.7, 0.2 and 0.4 for direct inversion, HYPR-LR, Iter- DECT and HYPR-NLM, respectively. For the patient data, the noise levels of the water images are about 0.36, 0.16, 0.12 and 0.13 for direct inversion, HYPR-LR, Iter-DECT and HYPR-NLM, respectively. Difference images of both HYPR-LR and Iter-DECT show edge effect, while no significant edge effect is shown for HYPR-NLM, suggesting spatial resolution is well preserved for HYPR-NLM. Conclusion

  15. Edge of polar cap patches

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hosokawa, K.; Taguchi, S.; Ogawa, Y.

    2016-04-01

    On the night of 4 December 2013, a sequence of polar cap patches was captured by an all-sky airglow imager (ASI) in Longyearbyen, Norway (78.1°N, 15.5°E). The 630.0 nm airglow images from the ASI of 4 second exposure time, oversampled the emission of natural lifetime (with quenching) of at least ˜30 sec, introduce no observational blurring effects. By using such high-quality ASI images, we succeeded in visualizing an asymmetry in the gradients between the leading/trailing edges of the patches in a 2-D fashion. The gradient in the leading edge was found to be 2-3 times steeper than that in the trailing edge. We also identified fingerlike structures, appearing only along the trailing edge of the patches, whose horizontal scale size ranged from 55 to 210 km. These fingers are considered to be manifestations of plasma structuring through the gradient-drift instability (GDI), which is known to occur only along the trailing edge of patches. That is, the current 2-D observations visualized, for the first time, how GDI stirs the patch plasma and such a mixing process makes the trailing edge more gradual. This result strongly implies a close connection between the GDI-driven plasma stirring and the asymmetry in the large-scale shape of patches and then suggests that the fingerlike structures can be used as markers to estimate the fine-scale structure in the plasma flow within patches.

  16. Edge-illumination x-ray phase contrast imaging with Pt-based metallic glass masks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Saghamanesh, Somayeh; Aghamiri, Seyed Mahmoud-Reza; Olivo, Alessandro; Sadeghilarijani, Maryam; Kato, Hidemi; Kamali-Asl, Alireza; Yashiro, Wataru

    2017-06-01

    Edge-illumination x-ray phase contrast imaging (EI XPCI) is a non-interferometric phase-sensitive method where two absorption masks are employed. These masks are fabricated through a photolithography process followed by electroplating which is challenging in terms of yield as well as time- and cost-effectiveness. We report on the first implementation of EI XPCI with Pt-based metallic glass masks fabricated by an imprinting method. The new tested alloy exhibits good characteristics including high workability beside high x-ray attenuation. The fabrication process is easy and cheap, and can produce large-size masks for high x-ray energies within minutes. Imaging experiments show a good quality phase image, which confirms the potential of these masks to make the EI XPCI technique widely available and affordable.

  17. Edge-following algorithm for tracking geological features

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Tietz, J. C.

    1977-01-01

    Sequential edge-tracking algorithm employs circular scanning to point permit effective real-time tracking of coastlines and rivers from earth resources satellites. Technique eliminates expensive high-resolution cameras. System might also be adaptable for application in monitoring automated assembly lines, inspecting conveyor belts, or analyzing thermographs, or x ray images.

  18. Laser beam welding quality monitoring system based in high-speed (10 kHz) uncooled MWIR imaging sensors

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Linares, Rodrigo; Vergara, German; Gutiérrez, Raúl; Fernández, Carlos; Villamayor, Víctor; Gómez, Luis; González-Camino, Maria; Baldasano, Arturo; Castro, G.; Arias, R.; Lapido, Y.; Rodríguez, J.; Romero, Pablo

    2015-05-01

    The combination of flexibility, productivity, precision and zero-defect manufacturing in future laser-based equipment are a major challenge that faces this enabling technology. New sensors for online monitoring and real-time control of laserbased processes are necessary for improving products quality and increasing manufacture yields. New approaches to fully automate processes towards zero-defect manufacturing demand smarter heads where lasers, optics, actuators, sensors and electronics will be integrated in a unique compact and affordable device. Many defects arising in laser-based manufacturing processes come from instabilities in the dynamics of the laser process. Temperature and heat dynamics are key parameters to be monitored. Low cost infrared imagers with high-speed of response will constitute the next generation of sensors to be implemented in future monitoring and control systems for laser-based processes, capable to provide simultaneous information about heat dynamics and spatial distribution. This work describes the result of using an innovative low-cost high-speed infrared imager based on the first quantum infrared imager monolithically integrated with Si-CMOS ROIC of the market. The sensor is able to provide low resolution images at frame rates up to 10 KHz in uncooled operation at the same cost as traditional infrared spot detectors. In order to demonstrate the capabilities of the new sensor technology, a low-cost camera was assembled on a standard production laser welding head, allowing to register melting pool images at frame rates of 10 kHz. In addition, a specific software was developed for defect detection and classification. Multiple laser welding processes were recorded with the aim to study the performance of the system and its application to the real-time monitoring of laser welding processes. During the experiments, different types of defects were produced and monitored. The classifier was fed with the experimental images obtained. Self

  19. Scanned gate microscopy of inter-edge channel scattering in the quantum Hall regime

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Woodside, Michael T.; Vale, Chris; McEuen, Paul L.; Kadow, C.; Maranowski, K. D.; Gossard, A. C.

    2000-03-01

    Novel scanned probe techniques have recently been used to study in detail the microscopic properties of 2D electron gases in the quantum Hall regime [1]. We report local measurements of the scattering between edge states in a quantum Hall conductor with non-equilibrium edge state populations. Using an atomic force microscope (AFM) tip as a local gate to perturb the edge states, we find that the scattering is dominated by individual, microscopic scattering sites, which we directly image and characterise. The dependence of the scattering on the AFM tip voltage reveals that it involves tunneling both through quasi-bound impurity states and through disorder-induced weak links between the edge states. [1] S. H. Tessmer et al., Nature 392, 51 (1998); K. L. McCormick et al., Phys. Rev. B 59, 4654 (1999); A. Yacoby et al., Solid State Comm. 111, 1 (1999).

  20. Slanted-edge MTF testing for establishing focus alignment at infinite conjugate of space optical systems with gravity sag effects

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Newswander, T.; Riesland, David W.; Miles, Duane; Reinhart, Lennon

    2017-09-01

    For space optical systems that image extended scenes such as earth-viewing systems, modulation transfer function (MTF) test data is directly applicable to system optical resolution. For many missions, it is the most direct metric for establishing the best focus of the instrument. Additionally, MTF test products can be combined to predict overall imaging performance. For fixed focus instruments, finding the best focus during ground testing is critical to achieving good imaging performance. The ground testing should account for the full-imaging system, operational parameters, and operational environment. Testing the full-imaging system removes uncertainty caused by breaking configurations and the combination of multiple subassembly test results. For earth viewing, the imaging system needs to be tested at infinite conjugate. Operational environment test conditions should include temperature and vacuum. Optical MTF testing in the presence of operational vibration and gravity release is less straightforward and may not be possible on the ground. Gravity effects are mitigated by testing in multiple orientations. Many space telescope systems are designed and built to have optimum performance in a gravity-free environment. These systems can have imaging performance that is dominated by aberration including astigmatism. This paper discusses how the slanted edge MTF test is applied to determine the best focus of a space optical telescope in ground testing accounting for gravity sag effects. Actual optical system test results and conclusions are presented.

  1. The effect of site geometry, Ti content and Ti oxidation state on the Ti K-edge XANES spectrum of synthetic hibonite

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Doyle, P. M.; Berry, A. J.; Schofield, P. F.; Mosselmans, J. F. W.

    2016-08-01

    The Al-rich oxide hibonite (CaAl12O19) is modeled to be the second mineral to condense from a gas of solar composition and is found within calcium-aluminum-rich inclusions and the matrix of chondritic meteorites. Both Ti3+ and Ti4+ are reported in meteoritic hibonite, so hibonite has been proposed as a single mineral oxybarometer that could be used to elucidate conditions within the first 0.2 Myrs of the Solar System. Synthetic hibonites with Ti3+/(Ti3+ + Ti4+) (hereafter Ti3+/ΣTi) ranging between 0 and 1 were prepared as matrix-matched standards for meteoritic hibonite. The largest yield of both Ti-free and Ti-bearing hibonite at ∼1300 and ∼1400 °C was obtained by a single sinter under reducing conditions. In situ micro-beam Ti K-edge X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) spectra were recorded from the synthetic hibonites, as well as from terrestrial hibonite. Spectral features in the post-crest region were shown to correlate with the Ti4+ content. Furthermore, Ti4+ on the M2 trigonal bipyramidal and the adjoining M4 octahedral sites appears to cause variability in the post-crest region as a function of orientation. For this suite of synthetic hibonites it was observed that the pre-edge peak region is not influenced by orientation, but is controlled by Ti3+/ΣTi, site geometry and/or Ti concentration. In particular, the pre-edge peak intensities reflect Ti coordination environment and distortion of the M4 octahedral site. Therefore, although pre-edge peak intensities have previously been used to determine Ti3+/ΣTi in meteoritic minerals, we excluded use of the pre-edge peak intensities for quantifying Ti valence states in hibonite. The energy of the absorption edge at a normalized intensity of 0.8 (E0.8) and the energy of the minimum between the pre-edge region and the absorption edge (Em1) were found to vary systematically with Ti3+/ΣTi. Ti3+/ΣTi in hibonite as a function of Em1 was modeled by a quadratic function that may be used to quantify Ti3

  2. Segmentation of 3D ultrasound computer tomography reflection images using edge detection and surface fitting

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hopp, T.; Zapf, M.; Ruiter, N. V.

    2014-03-01

    An essential processing step for comparison of Ultrasound Computer Tomography images to other modalities, as well as for the use in further image processing, is to segment the breast from the background. In this work we present a (semi-) automated 3D segmentation method which is based on the detection of the breast boundary in coronal slice images and a subsequent surface fitting. The method was evaluated using a software phantom and in-vivo data. The fully automatically processed phantom results showed that a segmentation of approx. 10% of the slices of a dataset is sufficient to recover the overall breast shape. Application to 16 in-vivo datasets was performed successfully using semi-automated processing, i.e. using a graphical user interface for manual corrections of the automated breast boundary detection. The processing time for the segmentation of an in-vivo dataset could be significantly reduced by a factor of four compared to a fully manual segmentation. Comparison to manually segmented images identified a smoother surface for the semi-automated segmentation with an average of 11% of differing voxels and an average surface deviation of 2mm. Limitations of the edge detection may be overcome by future updates of the KIT USCT system, allowing a fully-automated usage of our segmentation approach.

  3. Hybrid MV-kV 3D respiratory motion tracking during radiation therapy with low imaging dose

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yan, Huagang; Li, Haiyun; Liu, Zhixiang; Nath, Ravinder; Liu, Wu

    2012-12-01

    A novel real-time adaptive MV-kV imaging framework for image-guided radiation therapy is developed to reduce the thoracic and abdominal tumor targeting uncertainty caused by respiration-induced intrafraction motion with ultra-low patient imaging dose. In our method, continuous stereoscopic MV-kV imaging is used at the beginning of a radiation therapy delivery for several seconds to measure the implanted marker positions. After this stereoscopic imaging period, the kV imager is switched off except for the times when no fiducial marker is detected in the cine-MV images. The 3D time-varying marker positions are estimated by combining the MV 2D projection data and the motion correlations between directional components of marker motion established from the stereoscopic imaging period and updated afterwards; in particular, the most likely position is assumed to be the position on the projection line that has the shortest distance to the first principal component line segment constructed from previous trajectory points. An adaptive windowed auto-regressive prediction is utilized to predict the marker position a short time later (310 ms and 460 ms in this study) to allow for tracking system latency. To demonstrate the feasibility and evaluate the accuracy of the proposed method, computer simulations were performed for both arc and fixed-gantry deliveries using 66 h of retrospective tumor motion data from 42 patients treated for thoracic or abdominal cancers. The simulations reveal that using our hybrid approach, a smaller than 1.2 mm or 1.5 mm root-mean-square tracking error can be achieved at a system latency of 310 ms or 460 ms, respectively. Because the kV imaging is only used for a short period of time in our method, extra patient imaging dose can be reduced by an order of magnitude compared to continuous MV-kV imaging, while the clinical tumor targeting accuracy for thoracic or abdominal cancers is maintained. Furthermore, no additional hardware is required with the

  4. Fe K-edge XANES of Maya blue pigment

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Río, M. Sánchez del; Sodo, A.; Eeckhout, S. G.; Neisius, T.; Martinetto, P.; Dooryhée, E.; Reyes-Valerio, C.

    2005-08-01

    The utilization of techniques used in Materials Science for the characterization of artefacts of interest for cultural heritage is getting more and more attention nowadays. One of the products of the ancient Maya chemistry is the "Maya blue" pigment, made with natural indigo and palygorskite. This pigment is different from any other pigment used in other parts of the world. It is durable and acid-resistant, and still keeps many secrets to scientists even though it has been studied for more than 50 years. Although the pigment is basically made of palygorskite Si8(Mg2Al2)O20(OH)2(OH2)4.4H2O and an organic colourant (indigo: C16H10N2O2), a number of other compounds have been found in previous studies on archaeological samples, like other clays and minerals, iron nanoparticles, iron oxides, impurities of transition metals (Cr, Mn, Ti, V), etc. We measured at the ESRF ID26 beamline the Fe K-edge XANES spectra of the blue pigment in ancient samples. They are compared to XANES spectra of Maya blue samples synthesized under controlled conditions, and iron oxides usually employed as pigments (hematite and goethite). Our results show that the iron found in ancient Maya blue pigment is related to the Fe exchanged in the palygorskite clay. We did not find iron in metallic form or goethite in archaeological Maya blue.

  5. IRLooK: an advanced mobile infrared signature measurement, data reduction, and analysis system

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cukur, Tamer; Altug, Yelda; Uzunoglu, Cihan; Kilic, Kayhan; Emir, Erdem

    2007-04-01

    Infrared signature measurement capability has a key role in the electronic warfare (EW) self protection systems' development activities. In this article, the IRLooK System and its capabilities will be introduced. IRLooK is a truly innovative mobile infrared signature measurement system with all its design, manufacturing and integration accomplished by an engineering philosophy peculiar to ASELSAN. IRLooK measures the infrared signatures of military and civil platforms such as fixed/rotary wing aircrafts, tracked/wheeled vehicles and navy vessels. IRLooK has the capabilities of data acquisition, pre-processing, post-processing, analysis, storing and archiving over shortwave, mid-wave and long wave infrared spectrum by means of its high resolution radiometric sensors and highly sophisticated software analysis tools. The sensor suite of IRLooK System includes imaging and non-imaging radiometers and a spectroradiometer. Single or simultaneous multiple in-band measurements as well as high radiant intensity measurements can be performed. The system provides detailed information on the spectral, spatial and temporal infrared signature characteristics of the targets. It also determines IR Decoy characteristics. The system is equipped with a high quality field proven two-axes tracking mount to facilitate target tracking. Manual or automatic tracking is achieved by using a passive imaging tracker. The system also includes a high quality weather station and field-calibration equipment including cavity and extended area blackbodies. The units composing the system are mounted on flat-bed trailers and the complete system is designed to be transportable by large body aircraft.

  6. Magnetism of Nanographene-Based Microporous Carbon and Its Applications: Interplay of Edge Geometry and Chemistry Details in the Edge State

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Enoki, Toshiaki; Kiguchi, Manabu

    2018-03-01

    This paper is a contribution to the Physical Review Applied collection in memory of Mildred S. Dresselhaus. Nanographenes have important edge geometry dependence in their electronic structures. In armchair edges, electron wave interference works to contribute to energetic stability. Meanwhile, zigzag edges possess an edge-localized and spin-polarized nonbonding edge state, which causes electronic, magnetic, and chemical activities. In addition to the geometry dependence, the electronic structures are seriously affected by edge chemistry details. The edge chemistry dependence together with edge geometries on the electronic structures are discussed with samples of randomly networked nanographenes (microporous activated carbon fibers) in pristine state and under high-temperature annealing. In the pristine sample with the edges oxidized in ambient atmospheric conditions, the edge state, which is otherwise unstable, can be stabilized because of the charge transfer from nanographene to terminating oxygen. Nanographene, whose edges consist of a combination of magnetic zigzag edges and nonmagnetic armchair edges, is found to be ferrimagnetic with a nonzero net magnetic moment created under the interplay between a strong intrazigzag-edge ferromagnetic interaction and intermediate-strength interzigzag-edge antiferromagnetic-ferromagnetic interaction. At heat-treatment temperatures just below the fusion start (approximately 1500 K), the edge-terminating structure is changed from oxygen-containing groups to hydrogen in the nanographene network. Additionally, hydrogen-terminated zigzag edges, which are present as the majority and chemically unstable, play a triggering role in fusion above 1500 K. The fusion start brings about an insulator-to-metal transition at TI -M˜1500 K . Local fusions taking place percolatively between nanographenes work to expand the π -bond network, eventually resulting in the development of antiferromagnetic short-range order toward spin glass in the

  7. Edge grouping combining boundary and region information.

    PubMed

    Stahl, Joachim S; Wang, Song

    2007-10-01

    This paper introduces a new edge-grouping method to detect perceptually salient structures in noisy images. Specifically, we define a new grouping cost function in a ratio form, where the numerator measures the boundary proximity of the resulting structure and the denominator measures the area of the resulting structure. This area term introduces a preference towards detecting larger-size structures and, therefore, makes the resulting edge grouping more robust to image noise. To find the optimal edge grouping with the minimum grouping cost, we develop a special graph model with two different kinds of edges and then reduce the grouping problem to finding a special kind of cycle in this graph with a minimum cost in ratio form. This optimal cycle-finding problem can be solved in polynomial time by a previously developed graph algorithm. We implement this edge-grouping method, test it on both synthetic data and real images, and compare its performance against several available edge-grouping and edge-linking methods. Furthermore, we discuss several extensions of the proposed method, including the incorporation of the well-known grouping cues of continuity and intensity homogeneity, introducing a factor to balance the contributions from the boundary and region information, and the prevention of detecting self-intersecting boundaries.

  8. Overdrive and Edge as Refiners of "Belting"?: An Empirical Study Qualifying and Categorizing "Belting" Based on Audio Perception, Laryngostroboscopic Imaging, Acoustics, LTAS, and EGG.

    PubMed

    McGlashan, Julian; Thuesen, Mathias Aaen; Sadolin, Cathrine

    2017-05-01

    We aimed to study the categorizations "Overdrive" and "Edge" from the pedagogical method Complete Vocal Technique as refiners of the often ill-defined concept of "belting" by means of audio perception, laryngostroboscopic imaging, acoustics, long-term average spectrum (LTAS), and electroglottography (EGG). This is a case-control study. Twenty singers were recorded singing sustained vowels in a "belting" quality refined by audio perception as "Overdrive" and "Edge." Two studies were performed: (1) a laryngostroboscopic examination using a videonasoendoscopic camera system (Olympus) and the Laryngostrobe program (Laryngograph); (2) a simultaneous recording of the EGG and acoustic signals using Speech Studio (Laryngograph). The images were analyzed based on consensus agreement. Statistical analysis of the acoustic, LTAS, and EGG parameters was undertaken using the Student paired t test. The two modes of singing determined by audio perception have visibly different laryngeal gestures: Edge has a more constricted setting than that of Overdrive, where the ventricular folds seem to cover more of the vocal folds, the aryepiglottic folds show a sharper edge in Edge, and the cuneiform cartilages are rolled in anteromedially. LTAS analysis shows a statistical difference, particularly after the ninth harmonic, with a coinciding first formant. The combined group showed statistical differences in shimmer, harmonics-to-noise ratio, normalized noise energy, and mean sound pressure level (P ≤ 0.05). "Belting" sounds can be categorized using audio perception into two modes of singing: "Overdrive" and "Edge." This study demonstrates consistent visibly different laryngeal gestures between these modes and with some correspondingly significant differences in LTAS, EGG, and acoustic measures. Copyright © 2017 The Voice Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. Raster Scan Computer Image Generation (CIG) System Based On Refresh Memory

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dichter, W.; Doris, K.; Conkling, C.

    1982-06-01

    A full color, Computer Image Generation (CIG) raster visual system has been developed which provides a high level of training sophistication by utilizing advanced semiconductor technology and innovative hardware and firmware techniques. Double buffered refresh memory and efficient algorithms eliminate the problem of conventional raster line ordering by allowing the generated image to be stored in a random fashion. Modular design techniques and simplified architecture provide significant advantages in reduced system cost, standardization of parts, and high reliability. The major system components are a general purpose computer to perform interfacing and data base functions; a geometric processor to define the instantaneous scene image; a display generator to convert the image to a video signal; an illumination control unit which provides final image processing; and a CRT monitor for display of the completed image. Additional optional enhancements include texture generators, increased edge and occultation capability, curved surface shading, and data base extensions.

  10. Investigation of a Spin Transition in a LaCoO3 Single Crystal by the Method of X-Ray Magnetic Circular Dichroism at the Cobalt K- and L 2,3-Edges

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sikolenko, V. V.; Troyanchuk, I. O.; Karpinsky, D. V.; Rogalev, A.; Wilhelm, F.; Rosenberg, R.; Prabhakaran, D.; Efimova, E. A.; Efimov, V. V.; Tiutiunnikov, S. I.; Bobrikov, I. A.

    2018-02-01

    Spin transitions of cobalt ions in LaCoO3 single crystals have been studied by the method of X-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) at the K- and L 2,3-edges of Co3+ ions. The orbital momentum of cobalt ions obtained for the K-edge at the 3 d level in the region of the spin transition in the temperature range from 25 to 120 K increases by a factor of approximately 1.6, whereas the slope of the magnetization curve value in the same temperature range and magnetic field increases by a factor of more than 10. XMCD experiments at the cobalt L 2,3-edges demonstrate gradual growth of the ratio of the orbital momentum to the spin one L/ S from 0.48 to 0.53 in the temperature range from 60 K to 120 K.

  11. Real-time edge-enhanced optical correlator

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Liu, Tsuen-Hsi (Inventor); Cheng, Li-Jen (Inventor)

    1992-01-01

    Edge enhancement of an input image by four-wave mixing a first write beam with a second write beam in a photorefractive crystal, GaAs, was achieved for VanderLugt optical correlation with an edge enhanced reference image by optimizing the power ratio of a second write beam to the first write beam (70:1) and optimizing the power ratio of a read beam, which carries the reference image to the first write beam (100:701). Liquid crystal TV panels are employed as spatial light modulators to change the input and reference images in real time.

  12. A Novel Segmentation Approach Combining Region- and Edge-Based Information for Ultrasound Images

    PubMed Central

    Luo, Yaozhong; Liu, Longzhong; Li, Xuelong

    2017-01-01

    Ultrasound imaging has become one of the most popular medical imaging modalities with numerous diagnostic applications. However, ultrasound (US) image segmentation, which is the essential process for further analysis, is a challenging task due to the poor image quality. In this paper, we propose a new segmentation scheme to combine both region- and edge-based information into the robust graph-based (RGB) segmentation method. The only interaction required is to select two diagonal points to determine a region of interest (ROI) on the original image. The ROI image is smoothed by a bilateral filter and then contrast-enhanced by histogram equalization. Then, the enhanced image is filtered by pyramid mean shift to improve homogeneity. With the optimization of particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm, the RGB segmentation method is performed to segment the filtered image. The segmentation results of our method have been compared with the corresponding results obtained by three existing approaches, and four metrics have been used to measure the segmentation performance. The experimental results show that the method achieves the best overall performance and gets the lowest ARE (10.77%), the second highest TPVF (85.34%), and the second lowest FPVF (4.48%). PMID:28536703

  13. On-orbit point spread function estimation for THEOS imaging system

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Khetkeeree, Suphongsa; Liangrocapart, Sompong

    2018-03-01

    In this paper, we present two approaches for net Point Spread Function (net-PSF) estimation of Thailand Earth Observation System (THEOS) imaging system. In the first approach, we estimate the net- PSF by employing the specification information of the satellite. The analytic model of the net- PSF based on the simple model of push-broom imaging system. This model consists of a scanner, optical system, detector and electronics system. The mathematical PSF model of each component is demonstrated in spatial domain. In the second approach, the specific target images from THEOS imaging system are analyzed to determine the net-PSF. For panchromatic imaging system, the images of the checkerboard target at Salon de Provence airport are used to analysis the net-PSF by slant-edge method. For multispectral imaging system, the new man-made targets are proposed. It is a pier bridge in Lamchabang, Chonburi, Thailand. This place has had a lot of bridges which have several width sizes and orientation. The pulse method is used to analysis the images of this bridge for estimating the net-PSF. Finally, the Full Width at Half Maximums (FWHMs) of the net-PSF of both approaches is compared. The results show that both approaches coincide and all Modulation Transfer Functions (MTFs) at Nyquist of both approaches are better than the requirement. However, the FWHM of multispectral system more deviate than panchromatic system, because the targets are not specially constructed for estimating the characteristics of the satellite imaging system.

  14. Assignment of polarization-dependent peaks in carbon K-edge spectra from biogenic and geologic aragonite.

    PubMed

    Zhou, Dong; Metzler, Rebecca A; Tyliszczak, Tolek; Guo, Jinghua; Abrecht, Mike; Coppersmith, Susan N; Gilbert, P U P A

    2008-10-16

    Many biominerals, including mollusk and echinoderm shells, avian eggshells, modern and fossil bacterial sediments, planktonic coccolithophores, and foraminifera, contain carbonates in the form of biogenic aragonite or calcite. Here we analyze biogenic and geologic aragonite using different kinds of surface- and bulk-sensitive X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy at the carbon K-edge, as well as high-resolution scanning transmission X-ray microscopy (STXM). Besides the well-known main pi* and sigma* carbonate peaks, we observed and fully characterized four minor peaks, at energies between the main pi* and sigma* peaks. As expected, the main peaks are similar in geologic and biogenic aragonite, while the minor peaks differ in relative intensity. In this and previous work, the minor peaks appear to be the ones most affected in biomineralization processes, hence the interest in characterizing them. Peak assignment was achieved by correlation of polarization-dependent behavior of the minor peaks with that of the main pi* and sigma* peaks. The present characterization provides the background for future studies of aragonitic biominerals.

  15. Real-time 3D internal marker tracking during arc radiotherapy by the use of combined MV kV imaging

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Liu, W.; Wiersma, R. D.; Mao, W.; Luxton, G.; Xing, L.

    2008-12-01

    To minimize the adverse dosimetric effect caused by tumor motion, it is desirable to have real-time knowledge of the tumor position throughout the beam delivery process. A promising technique to realize the real-time image guided scheme in external beam radiation therapy is through the combined use of MV and onboard kV beam imaging. The success of this MV-kV triangulation approach for fixed-gantry radiation therapy has been demonstrated. With the increasing acceptance of modern arc radiotherapy in the clinics, a timely and clinically important question is whether the image guidance strategy can be extended to arc therapy to provide the urgently needed real-time tumor motion information. While conceptually feasible, there are a number of theoretical and practical issues specific to the arc delivery that need to be resolved before clinical implementation. The purpose of this work is to establish a robust procedure of system calibration for combined MV and kV imaging for internal marker tracking during arc delivery and to demonstrate the feasibility and accuracy of the technique. A commercially available LINAC equipped with an onboard kV imager and electronic portal imaging device (EPID) was used for the study. A custom built phantom with multiple ball bearings was used to calibrate the stereoscopic MV-kV imaging system to provide the transformation parameters from imaging pixels to 3D world coordinates. The accuracy of the fiducial tracking system was examined using a 4D motion phantom capable of moving in accordance with a pre-programmed trajectory. Overall, spatial accuracy of MV-kV fiducial tracking during the arc delivery process for normal adult breathing amplitude and period was found to be better than 1 mm. For fast motion, the results depended on the imaging frame rates. The RMS error ranged from ~0.5 mm for the normal adult breathing pattern to ~1.5 mm for more extreme cases with a low imaging frame rate of 3.4 Hz. In general, highly accurate real

  16. Real-time 3D internal marker tracking during arc radiotherapy by the use of combined MV-kV imaging.

    PubMed

    Liu, W; Wiersma, R D; Mao, W; Luxton, G; Xing, L

    2008-12-21

    To minimize the adverse dosimetric effect caused by tumor motion, it is desirable to have real-time knowledge of the tumor position throughout the beam delivery process. A promising technique to realize the real-time image guided scheme in external beam radiation therapy is through the combined use of MV and onboard kV beam imaging. The success of this MV-kV triangulation approach for fixed-gantry radiation therapy has been demonstrated. With the increasing acceptance of modern arc radiotherapy in the clinics, a timely and clinically important question is whether the image guidance strategy can be extended to arc therapy to provide the urgently needed real-time tumor motion information. While conceptually feasible, there are a number of theoretical and practical issues specific to the arc delivery that need to be resolved before clinical implementation. The purpose of this work is to establish a robust procedure of system calibration for combined MV and kV imaging for internal marker tracking during arc delivery and to demonstrate the feasibility and accuracy of the technique. A commercially available LINAC equipped with an onboard kV imager and electronic portal imaging device (EPID) was used for the study. A custom built phantom with multiple ball bearings was used to calibrate the stereoscopic MV-kV imaging system to provide the transformation parameters from imaging pixels to 3D world coordinates. The accuracy of the fiducial tracking system was examined using a 4D motion phantom capable of moving in accordance with a pre-programmed trajectory. Overall, spatial accuracy of MV-kV fiducial tracking during the arc delivery process for normal adult breathing amplitude and period was found to be better than 1 mm. For fast motion, the results depended on the imaging frame rates. The RMS error ranged from approximately 0.5 mm for the normal adult breathing pattern to approximately 1.5 mm for more extreme cases with a low imaging frame rate of 3.4 Hz. In general

  17. Edge-on View of Saturn's Rings

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1996-01-01

    TOP - This is a NASA Hubble Space Telescope snapshot of Saturn with its rings barely visible. Normally, astronomers see Saturn with its rings tilted. Earth was almost in the plane of Saturn's rings, thus the rings appear edge-on.

    In this view, Saturn's largest moon, Titan, is casting a shadow on Saturn. Titan's atmosphere is a dark brown haze. The other moons appear white because of their bright, icy surfaces. Four moons - from left to right, Mimas, Tethys, Janus, and Enceladus - are clustered around the edge of Saturn's rings on the right. Two other moons appear in front of the ring plane. Prometheus is on the right edge; Pandora, on the left. The rings also are casting a shadow on Saturn because the Sun was above the ring plane.

    BOTTOM - This photograph shows Saturn with its rings slightly tilted. The moon called Dione, on the lower right, is casting a long, thin shadow across the whole ring system due to the setting Sun on the ring plane. The moon on the upper left of Saturn is Tethys.

    Astronomers also are studying the unusual appearance of Saturn's rings. The bottom image displays a faint, narrow ring, the F-ring just outside the main ring, which normally is invisible from Earth. Close to the edge of Saturn's disk, the front section of rings seem brighter and more yellow than the back due to the additional lumination by yellowish Saturn.

    The color images were assembled from separate exposures taken August 6 (top) and November 17 (bottom), 1995 with the Wide Field Planetary Camera-2.

    The Wide Field/Planetary Camera 2 was developed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and managed by the Goddard Spaced Flight Center for NASA's Office of Space Science.

    This image and other images and data received from the Hubble Space Telescope are posted on the World Wide Web on the Space Telescope Science Institute home page at URL http://oposite.stsci.edu/pubinfo/

  18. Calculation of optical and K pre-edge absorption spectra for ferrous iron of distorted sites in oxide crystals

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Vercamer, Vincent; Hunault, Myrtille O. J. Y.; Lelong, Gérald; Haverkort, Maurits W.; Calas, Georges; Arai, Yusuke; Hijiya, Hiroyuki; Paulatto, Lorenzo; Brouder, Christian; Arrio, Marie-Anne; Juhin, Amélie

    2016-12-01

    Advanced semiempirical calculations have been performed to compute simultaneously optical absorption and K pre-edge x-ray absorption spectra of Fe2 + in four distinct site symmetries found in minerals. The four symmetries, i.e., a distorted octahedron, a distorted tetrahedron, a square planar site, and a trigonal bipyramidal site, are representative of the Fe2 + sites found in crystals and glasses. A particular attention has been paid to the definition of the p -d hybridization Hamiltonian which occurs for noncentrosymmetric symmetries in order to account for electric dipole transitions. For the different sites under study, an excellent agreement between calculations and experiments was found for both optical and x-ray absorption spectra, in particular in terms of relative intensities and energy positions of electronic transitions. To our knowledge, these are the first calculations of optical absorption spectra on Fe2 + placed in such diverse site symmetries, including centrosymmetric sites. The proposed theoretical model should help to interpret the features of both the optical absorption and the K pre-edge absorption spectra of 3 d transition metal ions and to go beyond the usual fingerprint interpretation.

  19. Concept of contrast transfer function for edge illumination x-ray phase-contrast imaging and its comparison with the free-space propagation technique.

    PubMed

    Diemoz, Paul C; Vittoria, Fabio A; Olivo, Alessandro

    2016-05-16

    Previous studies on edge illumination (EI) X-ray phase-contrast imaging (XPCi) have investigated the nature and amplitude of the signal provided by this technique. However, the response of the imaging system to different object spatial frequencies was never explicitly considered and studied. This is required in order to predict the performance of a given EI setup for different classes of objects. To this scope, in the present work we derive analytical expressions for the contrast transfer function of an EI imaging system, using the approximation of near-field regime, and study its dependence upon the main experimental parameters. We then exploit these results to compare the frequency response of an EI system with respect of that of a free-space propagation XPCi one. The results achieved in this work can be useful for predicting the signals obtainable for different types of objects and also as a basis for new retrieval methods.

  20. Localization of tumors in various organs, using edge detection algorithms

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    López Vélez, Felipe

    2015-09-01

    The edge of an image is a set of points organized in a curved line, where in each of these points the brightness of the image changes abruptly, or has discontinuities, in order to find these edges there will be five different mathematical methods to be used and later on compared with its peers, this is with the aim of finding which of the methods is the one that can find the edges of any given image. In this paper these five methods will be used for medical purposes in order to find which one is capable of finding the edges of a scanned image more accurately than the others. The problem consists in analyzing the following two biomedicals images. One of them represents a brain tumor and the other one a liver tumor. These images will be analyzed with the help of the five methods described and the results will be compared in order to determine the best method to be used. It was decided to use different algorithms of edge detection in order to obtain the results shown below; Bessel algorithm, Morse algorithm, Hermite algorithm, Weibull algorithm and Sobel algorithm. After analyzing the appliance of each of the methods to both images it's impossible to determine the most accurate method for tumor detection due to the fact that in each case the best method changed, i.e., for the brain tumor image it can be noticed that the Morse method was the best at finding the edges of the image but for the liver tumor image it was the Hermite method. Making further observations it is found that Hermite and Morse have for these two cases the lowest standard deviations, concluding that these two are the most accurate method to find the edges in analysis of biomedical images.

  1. Aircraft engine-mounted camera system for long wavelength infrared imaging of in-service thermal barrier coated turbine blades

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Markham, James; Cosgrove, Joseph; Scire, James; Haldeman, Charles; Agoos, Ian

    2014-12-01

    This paper announces the implementation of a long wavelength infrared camera to obtain high-speed thermal images of an aircraft engine's in-service thermal barrier coated turbine blades. Long wavelength thermal images were captured of first-stage blades. The achieved temporal and spatial resolutions allowed for the identification of cooling-hole locations. The software and synchronization components of the system allowed for the selection of any blade on the turbine wheel, with tuning capability to image from leading edge to trailing edge. Its first application delivered calibrated thermal images as a function of turbine rotational speed at both steady state conditions and during engine transients. In advance of presenting these data for the purpose of understanding engine operation, this paper focuses on the components of the system, verification of high-speed synchronized operation, and the integration of the system with the commercial jet engine test bed.

  2. Aircraft engine-mounted camera system for long wavelength infrared imaging of in-service thermal barrier coated turbine blades.

    PubMed

    Markham, James; Cosgrove, Joseph; Scire, James; Haldeman, Charles; Agoos, Ian

    2014-12-01

    This paper announces the implementation of a long wavelength infrared camera to obtain high-speed thermal images of an aircraft engine's in-service thermal barrier coated turbine blades. Long wavelength thermal images were captured of first-stage blades. The achieved temporal and spatial resolutions allowed for the identification of cooling-hole locations. The software and synchronization components of the system allowed for the selection of any blade on the turbine wheel, with tuning capability to image from leading edge to trailing edge. Its first application delivered calibrated thermal images as a function of turbine rotational speed at both steady state conditions and during engine transients. In advance of presenting these data for the purpose of understanding engine operation, this paper focuses on the components of the system, verification of high-speed synchronized operation, and the integration of the system with the commercial jet engine test bed.

  3. Analysis of Flame Retardancy in Polymer Blends by Synchrotron X-ray K-edge Tomography and Interferometric Phase Contrast Movies.

    PubMed

    Olatinwo, Mutairu B; Ham, Kyungmin; McCarney, Jonathan; Marathe, Shashidhara; Ge, Jinghua; Knapp, Gerry; Butler, Leslie G

    2016-03-10

    Underwriters Laboratories 94 test bars have been imaged with X-ray K-edge tomography between 12 and 32 keV to assess the bromine and antimony concentration gradient across char layers of partially burnt samples. Phase contrast tomography on partially burnt samples showed gas bubbles and dark-field scattering ascribed to residual blend inhomogeneity. In addition, single-shot grating interferometry was used to record X-ray movies of test samples during heating (IR and flame) intended to mimic the UL 94 plastics flammability test. The UL 94 test bars were formulated with varying concentrations of a brominated flame retardant, Saytex 8010, and a synergist, Sb2O3, blended into high-impact polystyrene (HIPS). Depending on the sample composition, samples will pass or fail the UL 94 plastics flammability test. Tomography and interferometry imaging show differences that correlate with UL 94 performance. Key features such as char layer, gas bubble formation, microcracks, and dissolution of the flame retardant in the char layer regions are used in understanding the efficiency of the flame retardant and synergist. The samples that pass the UL 94 test have a thick, highly visible char layer as well as an interior rich in gas bubbles. Growth of gas bubbles from flame-retardant thermal decomposition is noted in the X-ray phase contrast movies. Also noteworthy is an absence of bubbles near the burning surface of the polymer; dark-field images after burning suggest a microcrack structure between interior bubbles and the surface. The accepted mechanism for flame retardant activity includes free radical quenching in the flame by bromine and antimony species. The imaging supports this as well as provides a fast inspection of other parameters, such as viscosity and surface tension.

  4. Digital solar edge tracker for the Halogen Occultation Experiment

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Mauldin, L. E., III; Moore, A. S.; Stump, C. W.; Mayo, L. S.

    1987-01-01

    The optical and electronic design of the Halogen Occultation Experiment (Haloe) elevation sun sensor is described. The Haloe instrument is a gas-correlation radiometer now being developed at NASA Langley for the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite. The system uses a Galilean telescope to form a solar image on a linear silicon photodiode array. The array is a self-scanned monolithic CCD. The addresses of both solar edges imaged on the array are used by the control/pointing system to scan the Haloe science instantaneous field of view (IFOV) across the vertical solar diameter during instrument calibration and then to maintain the science IFOV 4 arcmin below the top edge during the science data occultation event. Vertical resolution of 16 arcsec and a radiometric dynamic range of 100 are achieved at the 700-nm operating wavelength. The design provides for loss of individual photodiode elements without loss of angular tracking capability.

  5. Elastically Deformable Side-Edge Link for Trailing-Edge Flap Aeroacoustic Noise Reduction

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Khorrami, Mehdi R. (Inventor); Lockard, David P. (Inventor); Moore, James B. (Inventor); Su, Ji (Inventor); Turner, Travis L. (Inventor); Lin, John C. (Inventor); Taminger, Karen M. (Inventor); Kahng, Seun K. (Inventor); Verden, Scott A. (Inventor)

    2014-01-01

    A system is provided for reducing aeroacoustic noise generated by an aircraft having wings equipped with trailing-edge flaps. The system includes a plurality of elastically deformable structures. Each structure is coupled to and along one of the side edges of one of the trailing-edge flaps, and is coupled to a portion of one of the wings that is adjacent to the one of the side edges. The structures elastically deform when the trailing-edge flaps are deployed away from the wings.

  6. Study on measurement of leading and trailing edges of blades based on optical scanning system

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chao, Bi; Liu, Hongguang; Bao, Longxiang; Li, Di

    2017-10-01

    In the field of aeronautics, the geometry and dimensional accuracy of the blade edges has a large influence on the aerodynamic performance of aero engine. Therefore, a non-contact optical scanning system is established to realize the measurement of leading and trailing edges of blades in a rapid, precise and efficient manner in the paper. Based on the mechanical framework of a traditional CMM, the system is equipped with a specified sensing device as the scanning probe, which is made up by two new-style laser scanning sensors installed at a certain angle to each other by a holder. In the measuring procedure, the geometric dimensions of the measured blade edges on every contour plane are determined by the contour information on five transversals at the leading or trailing edges, which can be used to determine the machining allowance of the blades. In order to verify the effectiveness and practicality of the system set up, a precision forging blade after grinded is adopted as the measured object and its leading and trailing edges are measured by the system respectively. In the experiment, the thickness of blade edges on three contour planes is measured by the optical scanning system several times. As the experiment results show, the repeatability accuracy of the system can meet its design requirements and the inspecting demands of the blade edges. As a result, the optical scanning system could serve as a component of the intelligent manufacturing system of blades to improve the machining quality of the blade edges.

  7. Improved venous suppression on renal MR angiography with recessed elliptical centric ordering of K-space.

    PubMed

    Ho, Bernard; Chao, Minh; Zhang, Hong Lei; Watts, Richard; Prince, Martin R

    2003-01-01

    To evaluate recessed elliptical centric ordering of k-space in renal magnetic resonance (MR) angiography. All imaging was performed on the same 1.5 T MR imaging system (GE Signa CVi) using the body coil for signal transmission and a phased array coil for reception. Gd, 30 ml, was injected manually at 2 ml/sec timed with automatic triggering (SmartPrep). In thirty patients using standard elliptical centric ordering, the scanner paused 8 seconds between detection of the leading edge of the Gd bolus and initiation of scanning beginning with the center of k-space. For the recessed-elliptical centric ordering in 20 consecutive patients, this delay was reduced to 4 seconds but the absolute center of k-space recessed in by 4 seconds such that in all patients the absolute center of k-space was acquired 8 seconds after detecting the leading edge of the bolus. On the arterial phase images signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) was measured in the aorta, each renal artery and vein and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) was measured relative to subcutaneous fat. The standard deviation of signal outside the patient was considered to be "noise" for calculation of SNR and CNR. Incidence of ringing artifact in the aorta and renal veins was noted. Aorta SNR and CNR was significantly higher with the recessed technique (p = 0.02) and the ratio of renal artery signal to renal vein signal was higher with the recessed technique, 4 ± 2, compared to standard elliptical centric, 3 ± 2 (p = 0.03). Ringing artifact was also reduced with the recessed technique in both the aorta and renal veins. Gadolinium-enhanced renal MR angiography is improved by recessing the absolute center of k-space.

  8. SU-E-J-28: Gantry Speed Significantly Affects Image Quality and Imaging Dose for 4D Cone-Beam Computed Tomography On the Varian Edge Platform

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

    Santoso, A; Song, K; Gardner, S

    Purpose: 4D-CBCT facilitates assessment of tumor motion at treatment position. We investigated the effect of gantry speed on 4D-CBCT image quality and dose using the Varian Edge On-Board Imager (OBI). Methods: A thoracic protocol was designed using a 125 kVp spectrum. Image quality parameters were obtained via 4D acquisition using a Catphan phantom with a gating system. A sinusoidal waveform was executed with a five second period and superior-inferior motion. 4D-CBCT scans were sorted into 4 and 10 phases. Image quality metrics included spatial resolution, contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR), uniformity index (UI), Hounsfield unit (HU) sensitivity, and RMS error (RMSE) ofmore » motion amplitude. Dosimetry was accomplished using Gafchromic XR-QA2 films within a CIRS Thorax phantom. This was placed on the gating phantom using the same motion waveform. Results: High contrast resolution decreased linearly from 5.93 to 4.18 lp/cm, 6.54 to 4.18 lp/cm, and 5.19 to 3.91 lp/cm for averaged, 4 phase, and 10 phase 4DCBCT volumes respectively as gantry speed increased from 1.0 to 6.0 degs/sec. CNRs decreased linearly from 4.80 to 1.82 as the gantry speed increased from 1.0 to 6.0 degs/sec, respectively. No significant variations in UIs, HU sensitivities, or RMSEs were observed with variable gantry speed. Ion chamber measurements compared to film yielded small percent differences in plastic water regions (0.1–9.6%), larger percent differences in lung equivalent regions (7.5–34.8%), and significantly larger percent differences in bone equivalent regions (119.1–137.3%). Ion chamber measurements decreased from 17.29 to 2.89 cGy with increasing gantry speed from 1.0 to 6.0 degs/sec. Conclusion: Maintaining technique factors while changing gantry speed changes the number of projections used for reconstruction. Increasing the number of projections by decreasing gantry speed decreases noise, however, dose is increased. The future of 4DCBCT’s clinical utility relies on further

  9. Evidence for Al/Si tetrahedral network in aluminosilicate glasses from Al K-edge x-ray-absorption spectroscopy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wu, Ziyu; Romano, C.; Marcelli, A.; Mottana, A.; Cibin, G.; della Ventura, G.; Giuli, G.; Courtial, P.; Dingwell, D. B.

    1999-10-01

    The structure of aluminosilicate melts and/or glasses plays a key role in the earth sciences for the understanding of rock-forming igneous processes, as well as in the materials sciences for their technical applications. In particular, the alkaline-earth aluminosilicate glasses are an extremely important group of materials, with a wide range of commercial application, as well as serving as an analog for natural basaltic melts. However, definition of their structure and properties is still controversial, and in particular the role and effect of Al has long been a subject of debate. Here we report a series of experimental x-ray absorption near-edge structure spectra at the Al K edge on a series of synthetic glasses of peralkaline composition in the CaO-Al2O3-SiO2 system, together with a general theoretical framework for data analysis based on an ab initio full multiple-scattering theory. We propose an Al/Si tetrahedral network model for aluminosilicate glasses based on distorted polyhedra, with varying both the T-O (T=Al or Si) bond lengths and the T-O-T angles, and with different Al/Si composition. This model achieves a significant agreement between experiments and simulations. In these glasses, experimental data and theoretical results concur to support a model in which Al is network former with a comparatively well ordered local medium-range order (up to 5 Å).

  10. Full-range k-domain linearization in spectral-domain optical coherence tomography.

    PubMed

    Jeon, Mansik; Kim, Jeehyun; Jung, Unsang; Lee, Changho; Jung, Woonggyu; Boppart, Stephen A

    2011-03-10

    A full-bandwidth k-domain linearization method for spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) is demonstrated. The method uses information of the wavenumber-pixel-position provided by a translating-slit-based wavelength filter. For calibration purposes, the filter is placed either after a broadband source or at the end of the sample path, and the filtered spectrum with a narrowed line width (∼0.5 nm) is incident on a line-scan camera in the detection path. The wavelength-swept spectra are co-registered with the pixel positions according to their central wavelengths, which can be automatically measured with an optical spectrum analyzer. For imaging, the method does not require a filter or a software recalibration algorithm; it simply resamples the OCT signal from the detector array without employing rescaling or interpolation methods. The accuracy of k-linearization is maximized by increasing the k-linearization order, which is known to be a crucial parameter for maintaining a narrow point-spread function (PSF) width at increasing depths. The broadening effect is studied by changing the k-linearization order by undersampling to search for the optimal value. The system provides more position information, surpassing the optimum without compromising the imaging speed. The proposed full-range k-domain linearization method can be applied to SD-OCT systems to simplify their hardware/software, increase their speed, and improve the axial image resolution. The experimentally measured width of PSF in air has an FWHM of 8 μm at the edge of the axial measurement range. At an imaging depth of 2.5 mm, the sensitivity of the full-range calibration case drops less than 10 dB compared with the uncompensated case.

  11. Three-dimensional profile extraction from CD-SEM image and top/bottom CD measurement by line-edge roughness analysis

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yamaguchi, Atsuko; Ohashi, Takeyoshi; Kawasaki, Takahiro; Inoue, Osamu; Kawada, Hiroki

    2013-04-01

    A new method for calculating critical dimension (CDs) at the top and bottom of three-dimensional (3D) pattern profiles from a critical-dimension scanning electron microscope (CD-SEM) image, called as "T-sigma method", is proposed and evaluated. Without preparing a library of database in advance, T-sigma can estimate a feature of a pattern sidewall. Furthermore, it supplies the optimum edge-definition (i.e., threshold level for determining edge position from a CDSEM signal) to detect the top and bottom of the pattern. This method consists of three steps. First, two components of line-edge roughness (LER); noise-induced bias (i.e., LER bias) and unbiased component (i.e., bias-free LER) are calculated with set threshold level. Second, these components are calculated with various threshold values, and the threshold-dependence of these two components, "T-sigma graph", is obtained. Finally, the optimum threshold value for the top and the bottom edge detection are given by the analysis of T-sigma graph. T-sigma was applied to CD-SEM images of three kinds of resist-pattern samples. In addition, reference metrology was performed with atomic force microscope (AFM) and scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM). Sensitivity of CD measured by T-sigma to the reference CD was higher than or equal to that measured by the conventional edge definition. Regarding the absolute measurement accuracy, T-sigma showed better results than the conventional definition. Furthermore, T-sigma graphs were calculated from CD-SEM images of two kinds of resist samples and compared with corresponding STEM observation results. Both bias-free LER and LER bias increased as the detected edge point moved from the bottom to the top of the pattern in the case that the pattern had a straight sidewall and a round top. On the other hand, they were almost constant in the case that the pattern had a re-entrant profile. T-sigma will be able to reveal a re-entrant feature. From these results, it is found

  12. Specimen preparation, imaging, and analysis protocols for knife-edge scanning microscopy.

    PubMed

    Choe, Yoonsuck; Mayerich, David; Kwon, Jaerock; Miller, Daniel E; Sung, Chul; Chung, Ji Ryang; Huffman, Todd; Keyser, John; Abbott, Louise C

    2011-12-09

    Major advances in high-throughput, high-resolution, 3D microscopy techniques have enabled the acquisition of large volumes of neuroanatomical data at submicrometer resolution. One of the first such instruments producing whole-brain-scale data is the Knife-Edge Scanning Microscope (KESM), developed and hosted in the authors' lab. KESM has been used to section and image whole mouse brains at submicrometer resolution, revealing the intricate details of the neuronal networks (Golgi), vascular networks (India ink), and cell body distribution (Nissl). The use of KESM is not restricted to the mouse nor the brain. We have successfully imaged the octopus brain, mouse lung, and rat brain. We are currently working on whole zebra fish embryos. Data like these can greatly contribute to connectomics research; to microcirculation and hemodynamic research; and to stereology research by providing an exact ground-truth. In this article, we will describe the pipeline, including specimen preparation (fixing, staining, and embedding), KESM configuration and setup, sectioning and imaging with the KESM, image processing, data preparation, and data visualization and analysis. The emphasis will be on specimen preparation and visualization/analysis of obtained KESM data. We expect the detailed protocol presented in this article to help broaden the access to KESM and increase its utilization.

  13. Sparse coded image super-resolution using K-SVD trained dictionary based on regularized orthogonal matching pursuit.

    PubMed

    Sajjad, Muhammad; Mehmood, Irfan; Baik, Sung Wook

    2015-01-01

    Image super-resolution (SR) plays a vital role in medical imaging that allows a more efficient and effective diagnosis process. Usually, diagnosing is difficult and inaccurate from low-resolution (LR) and noisy images. Resolution enhancement through conventional interpolation methods strongly affects the precision of consequent processing steps, such as segmentation and registration. Therefore, we propose an efficient sparse coded image SR reconstruction technique using a trained dictionary. We apply a simple and efficient regularized version of orthogonal matching pursuit (ROMP) to seek the coefficients of sparse representation. ROMP has the transparency and greediness of OMP and the robustness of the L1-minization that enhance the dictionary learning process to capture feature descriptors such as oriented edges and contours from complex images like brain MRIs. The sparse coding part of the K-SVD dictionary training procedure is modified by substituting OMP with ROMP. The dictionary update stage allows simultaneously updating an arbitrary number of atoms and vectors of sparse coefficients. In SR reconstruction, ROMP is used to determine the vector of sparse coefficients for the underlying patch. The recovered representations are then applied to the trained dictionary, and finally, an optimization leads to high-resolution output of high-quality. Experimental results demonstrate that the super-resolution reconstruction quality of the proposed scheme is comparatively better than other state-of-the-art schemes.

  14. On Super Edge-magic Total Labeling of Modified Watermill Graph

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nurdin; Ungko, T. S.; Gormantara, J.; Abdullah, A.; Aulyah, S.; Nikita

    2018-03-01

    An edge-magic total labeling on a graph G is one-to-one map from V(G) ∪ E(G) onto the set of integers 1,2, ...,ν + e, where ν = |V(G)| and e = |E(G)|, with the property that, given any edge uv, f(u) + f(u, ν}) + f(ν) = k for every u,v ∈ V(G), and k is called magic valuation. An edge-magic total labeling f is called super edge-magic total if f(v(G)) = {1,2 ...,|V(G)|} and f(E(G)) = {|V(G)| + 1, |V(G)| + 2,... |V(G) + E(G)|}. In this paper we investigate edge-magic total labeling of a new graph called modified Watermill graph. Furthermore, the magic valuation of the modified Watermill graph WM(n) is k=\\frac{1}{2}(21n+3), for n odd, n ≥ 3.

  15. Edge Density Imaging: Mapping the Anatomic Embedding of the Structural Connectome Within the White Matter of the Human Brain

    PubMed Central

    Owen, Julia P.; Chang, Yi-Shin; Mukherjee, Pratik

    2015-01-01

    The structural connectome has emerged as a powerful tool to characterize the network architecture of the human brain and shows great potential for generating important new biomarkers for neurologic and psychiatric disorders. The edges of the cerebral graph traverse white matter to interconnect cortical and subcortical nodes, although the anatomic embedding of these edges is generally overlooked in the literature. Mapping the paths of the connectome edges could elucidate the relative importance of individual white matter tracts to the overall network topology of the brain and also lead to a better understanding of the effect of regionally-specific white matter pathology on cognition and behavior. In this work, we introduce edge density imaging (EDI), which maps the number of network edges that pass through every white matter voxel. Test-retest analysis shows good to excellent reliability for edge density (ED) measurements, with consistent results using different cortical and subcortical parcellation schemes and different diffusion MR imaging acquisition parameters. We also demonstrate that ED yields complementary information to both traditional and emerging voxel-wise metrics of white matter microstructure and connectivity, including fractional anisotropy, track density, fiber orientation dispersion and neurite density. Our results demonstrate spatially ordered variations of ED throughout the white matter, notably including greater ED in posterior than anterior cerebral white matter. The EDI framework is employed to map the white matter regions that are enriched with pathways connecting rich club nodes and also those with high densities of intra-modular and inter-modular edges. We show that periventricular white matter has particularly high ED and high densities of rich club edges, which is significant for diseases in which these areas are selectively affected, ranging from white matter injury of prematurity in infants to leukoaraiosis in the elderly. Using edge

  16. Edge Modeling by Two Blur Parameters in Varying Contrasts.

    PubMed

    Seo, Suyoung

    2018-06-01

    This paper presents a method of modeling edge profiles with two blur parameters, and estimating and predicting those edge parameters with varying brightness combinations and camera-to-object distances (COD). First, the validity of the edge model is proven mathematically. Then, it is proven experimentally with edges from a set of images captured for specifically designed target sheets and with edges from natural images. Estimation of the two blur parameters for each observed edge profile is performed with a brute-force method to find parameters that produce global minimum errors. Then, using the estimated blur parameters, actual blur parameters of edges with arbitrary brightness combinations are predicted using a surface interpolation method (i.e., kriging). The predicted surfaces show that the two blur parameters of the proposed edge model depend on both dark-side edge brightness and light-side edge brightness following a certain global trend. This is similar across varying CODs. The proposed edge model is compared with a one-blur parameter edge model using experiments of the root mean squared error for fitting the edge models to each observed edge profile. The comparison results suggest that the proposed edge model has superiority over the one-blur parameter edge model in most cases where edges have varying brightness combinations.

  17. Local structure in LaMnO3 and CaMnO3 perovskites: A quantitative structural refinement of Mn K -edge XANES data

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Monesi, C.; Meneghini, C.; Bardelli, F.; Benfatto, M.; Mobilio, S.; Manju, U.; Sarma, D. D.

    2005-11-01

    Hole-doped perovskites such as La1-xCaxMnO3 present special magnetic and magnetotransport properties, and it is commonly accepted that the local atomic structure around Mn ions plays a crucial role in determining these peculiar features. Therefore experimental techniques directly probing the local atomic structure, like x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS), have been widely exploited to deeply understand the physics of these compounds. Quantitative XAS analysis usually concerns the extended region [extended x-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS)] of the absorption spectra. The near-edge region [x-ray absorption near-edge spectroscopy (XANES)] of XAS spectra can provide detailed complementary information on the electronic structure and local atomic topology around the absorber. However, the complexity of the XANES analysis usually prevents a quantitative understanding of the data. This work exploits the recently developed MXAN code to achieve a quantitative structural refinement of the Mn K -edge XANES of LaMnO3 and CaMnO3 compounds; they are the end compounds of the doped manganite series LaxCa1-xMnO3 . The results derived from the EXAFS and XANES analyses are in good agreement, demonstrating that a quantitative picture of the local structure can be obtained from XANES in these crystalline compounds. Moreover, the quantitative XANES analysis provides topological information not directly achievable from EXAFS data analysis. This work demonstrates that combining the analysis of extended and near-edge regions of Mn K -edge XAS spectra could provide a complete and accurate description of Mn local atomic environment in these compounds.

  18. Laboratory implementation of edge illumination X-ray phase-contrast imaging with energy-resolved detectors

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Diemoz, P. C.; Endrizzi, M.; Vittoria, F. A.; Hagen, C. K.; Kallon, G.; Basta, D.; Marenzana, M.; Delogu, P.; Vincenzi, A.; De Ruvo, L.; Spandre, G.; Brez, A.; Bellazzini, R.; Olivo, A.

    2015-03-01

    Edge illumination (EI) X-ray phase-contrast imaging (XPCI) has potential for applications in different fields of research, including materials science, non-destructive industrial testing, small-animal imaging, and medical imaging. One of its main advantages is the compatibility with laboratory equipment, in particular with conventional non-microfocal sources, which makes its exploitation in normal research laboratories possible. In this work, we demonstrate that the signal in laboratory implementations of EI can be correctly described with the use of the simplified geometrical optics. Besides enabling the derivation of simple expressions for the sensitivity and spatial resolution of a given EI setup, this model also highlights the EI's achromaticity. With the aim of improving image quality, as well as to take advantage of the fact that all energies in the spectrum contribute to the image contrast, we carried out EI acquisitions using a photon-counting energy-resolved detector. The obtained results demonstrate that this approach has great potential for future laboratory implementations of EI.

  19. Edge-diffraction effects in RCS predictions and their importance in systems analysis

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Friess, W. F.; Klement, D.; Ruppel, M.; Stein, Volker

    1996-06-01

    In developing RCS prediction codes a variety of physical effects such as the edge diffraction effect have to be considered with the consequence that the computer effort increases considerably. This fact limits the field of application of such codes, especially if the RCS data serve as input parameters for system simulators which very often need these data for a high number of observation angles and/or frequencies. Vice versa the issues of a system analysis can be used to estimate the relevance of physical effects under system viewpoints and to rank them according to their magnitude. This paper tries to evaluate the importance of RCS predictions containing an edge diffracted field for systems analysis. A double dihedral with a strong depolarizing behavior and a generic airplane design containing many arbitrarily oriented edges are used as test structures. Data of the scattered field are generated by the RCS computer code SIGMA with and without including edge diffraction effects. These data are submitted to the code DORA to determine radar range and radar detectibility and to a SAR simulator code to generate SAR imagery. In both cases special scenarios are assumed. The essential features of the computer codes in their current state are described, the results are presented and discussed under systems viewpoints.

  20. Low Dose CT Reconstruction via Edge-preserving Total Variation Regularization

    PubMed Central

    Tian, Zhen; Jia, Xun; Yuan, Kehong; Pan, Tinsu; Jiang, Steve B.

    2014-01-01

    High radiation dose in CT scans increases a lifetime risk of cancer and has become a major clinical concern. Recently, iterative reconstruction algorithms with Total Variation (TV) regularization have been developed to reconstruct CT images from highly undersampled data acquired at low mAs levels in order to reduce the imaging dose. Nonetheless, the low contrast structures tend to be smoothed out by the TV regularization, posing a great challenge for the TV method. To solve this problem, in this work we develop an iterative CT reconstruction algorithm with edge-preserving TV regularization to reconstruct CT images from highly undersampled data obtained at low mAs levels. The CT image is reconstructed by minimizing an energy consisting of an edge-preserving TV norm and a data fidelity term posed by the x-ray projections. The edge-preserving TV term is proposed to preferentially perform smoothing only on non-edge part of the image in order to better preserve the edges, which is realized by introducing a penalty weight to the original total variation norm. During the reconstruction process, the pixels at edges would be gradually identified and given small penalty weight. Our iterative algorithm is implemented on GPU to improve its speed. We test our reconstruction algorithm on a digital NCAT phantom, a physical chest phantom, and a Catphan phantom. Reconstruction results from a conventional FBP algorithm and a TV regularization method without edge preserving penalty are also presented for comparison purpose. The experimental results illustrate that both TV-based algorithm and our edge-preserving TV algorithm outperform the conventional FBP algorithm in suppressing the streaking artifacts and image noise under the low dose context. Our edge-preserving algorithm is superior to the TV-based algorithm in that it can preserve more information of low contrast structures and therefore maintain acceptable spatial resolution. PMID:21860076

  1. Simulated airline service experience with laminar-flow control leading-edge systems

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Maddalon, Dal V.; Fisher, David F.; Jennett, Lisa A.; Fischer, Michael C.

    1987-01-01

    The first JetStar leading edge flight test was made November 30, 1983. The JetStar was flown for more than 3 years. The titanium leading edge test articles today remain in virtually the same condition as they were in on that first flight. No degradation of laminar flow performance has occurred as a result of service. The JetStar simulated airline service flights have demonstrated that effective, practical leading edge systems are available for future commercial transports. Specific conclusions based on the results of the simulated airline service test program are summarized.

  2. Observation of quasi-coherent edge fluctuations in Ohmic plasmas on National Spherical Torus Experiment

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

    Banerjee, Santanu; Diallo, A.; Zweben, S. J.

    A quasi-coherent edge density mode with frequency f{sub mode} ∼ 40 kHz is observed in Ohmic plasmas in National Spherical Torus Experiment using the gas puff imaging diagnostic. This mode is located predominantly just inside the separatrix, with a maximum fluctuation amplitude significantly higher than that of the broadband turbulence in the same frequency range. The quasi-coherent mode has a poloidal wavelength λ{sub pol} ∼ 16 cm and a poloidal phase velocity of V{sub pol} ∼ 4.9 ± 0.3 km s{sup −1} in the electron diamagnetic direction, which are similar to the characteristics expected from a linear drift-wave-like mode in the edge. This is the first observation of amore » quasi-coherent edge mode in an Ohmic diverted tokamak, and so may be useful for validating tokamak edge turbulence codes.« less

  3. Theoretical investigation of the design and performance of a dual energy (kV and MV) radiotherapy imager

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

    Liu, Langechuan; Antonuk, Larry E., E-mail: antonuk@umich.edu; El-Mohri, Youcef

    reflector, incorporate a BGO converter with a 0.508 mm pitch and a 2 cm thickness, and operate at full resolution for kV imaging and 2 × 2 binning mode for MV imaging. Such a dual energy imager design should provide soft tissue visualization at low, clinically practical doses under MV conditions, while helping to preserve the high spatial resolution and high contrast offered by kV imaging. Conclusions: The authors’ theoretical investigation suggests that a dual energy imager capable of largely preserving the desirable characteristics of both kV and MV imaging is feasible. Such an imager, when coupled to a dual energy radiation source, could facilitate simplification of current treatment room imaging systems (as well as their associated quality assurance), and facilitate more precise integration of kV and MV imaging information by virtue of reduced geometric uncertainties.« less

  4. Shearlet-based edge detection: flame fronts and tidal flats

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    King, Emily J.; Reisenhofer, Rafael; Kiefer, Johannes; Lim, Wang-Q.; Li, Zhen; Heygster, Georg

    2015-09-01

    Shearlets are wavelet-like systems which are better suited for handling geometric features in multi-dimensional data than traditional wavelets. A novel method for edge and line detection which is in the spirit of phase congruency but is based on a complex shearlet transform will be presented. This approach to detection yields an approximate tangent direction of detected discontinuities as a byproduct of the computation, which then yields local curvature estimates. Two applications of the edge detection method will be discussed. First, the tracking and classification of flame fronts is a critical component of research in technical thermodynamics. Quite often, the flame fronts are transient or weak and the images are noisy. The standard methods used in the field for the detection of flame fronts do not handle such data well. Fortunately, using the shearlet-based edge measure yields good results as well as an accurate approximation of local curvature. Furthermore, a modification of the method will yield line detection, which is important for certain imaging modalities. Second, the Wadden tidal flats are a biodiverse region along the North Sea coast. One approach to surveying the delicate region and tracking the topographical changes is to use pre-existing Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images. Unfortunately, SAR data suffers from multiplicative noise as well as sensitivity to environmental factors. The first large-scale mapping project of that type showed good results but only with a tremendous amount of manual interaction because there are many edges in the data which are not boundaries of the tidal flats but are edges of features like fields or islands. Preliminary results will be presented.

  5. High-performance thermoelectricity in edge-over-edge zinc-porphyrin molecular wires.

    PubMed

    Noori, Mohammed; Sadeghi, Hatef; Lambert, Colin J

    2017-04-20

    If high efficiency organic thermoelectric materials could be identified, then these would open the way to a range of energy harvesting technologies and Peltier coolers using flexible and transparent thin-film materials. We have compared the thermoelectric properties of three zinc porphyrin (ZnP) dimers and a ZnP monomer and found that the "edge-over-edge" dimer formed from stacked ZnP rings possesses a high electrical conductance, negligible phonon thermal conductance and a high Seebeck coefficient of the order of 300 μV K -1 . These combine to yield a predicted room-temperature figure of merit of ZT ≈ 4, which is the highest room-temperature ZT ever reported for a single organic molecule. This high value of ZT is a consequence of the low phonon thermal conductance arising from the stacked nature of the porphyrin rings, which hinders phonon transport through the edge-over-edge molecule and enhances the Seebeck coefficient.

  6. Edge effects in phase-shifting masks for 0.25-µm lithography

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wong, Alfred K. K.; Neureuther, Andrew R.

    1993-03-01

    The impact on image quality of scattering from phase-shifter edges and of interactions between phase-shifter and chrome edges is assessed using rigorous electromagnetic simulation. Effects of edge taper in phase-shift masks, spacing between phase-shifter and chrome edges, small outrigger features with a trench phase-shifter, and of the repair of phase defects by etching to 360 degree(s) are considered. Near field distributions and diffraction efficiencies are examined and images are compared with more approximate results from the commonly used Hopkins' theory of imaging.

  7. Leading edge flap system for aircraft control augmentation

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Rao, D. M. (Inventor)

    1984-01-01

    Traditional roll control systems such as ailerons, elevons or spoilers are least effective at high angles of attack due to boundary layer separation over the wing. This invention uses independently deployed leading edge flaps on the upper surfaces of vortex stabilized wings to shift the center of lift outboard. A rolling moment is created that is used to control roll in flight at high angles of attack. The effectiveness of the rolling moment increases linearly with angle of attack. No adverse yaw effects are induced. In an alternate mode of operation, both leading edge flaps are deployed together at cruise speeds to create a very effective airbrake without appreciable modification in pitching moment. Little trim change is required.

  8. 4d Electronic structure analysis of ruthenium in the perovskite oxides by Ru K- and L-edge XAS.

    PubMed

    Kim, J Y; Hwang, S H; Kim, S J; Demazeau, G; Choy, J H; Shimada, H

    2001-03-01

    The 4d electronic structure of ruthenium in the perovskite oxides, La2MRuIVO6 (M = Zn, Mg, and Li) and Ba2YRuVO6, has been investigated by the Ru K-and L-edge XANES and EXAFS analyses. Such X-ray absorption spectroscopic results clarify that the RuIV (d4) and RuV (d3) ions are stabilized in nearly regular Oh site. Comparing the Ru L-edge XANES spectra of perovskites containing isovalent ruthenium, it has been found that the t2g state is mainly influenced by A site cation, whereas the eg is mainly affected by neighboring B site cation. The experimental EXAFS spectra in the range of R < or = approximately 4.5 A are well reproduced by ab-initio calculation based on crystallographic data, which supports the long-range structure presented by Rietveld refinement.

  9. On the Edge of Mercury

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2015-02-04

    In this image, Mercury's horizon cuts a striking edge against the stark blackness of space. On the right, sunlight harshly brings the landscape into relief while on the left, the surface is shrouded in the darkness of night. This image was acquired as part of MDIS's limb imaging campaign. Once per week, MDIS captures images of Mercury's limb, with an emphasis on imaging the southern hemisphere limb. These limb images provide information about Mercury's shape and complement measurements of topography made by the Mercury Laser Altimeter (MLA) of Mercury's northern hemisphere. The MESSENGER spacecraft is the first ever to orbit the planet Mercury, and the spacecraft's seven scientific instruments and radio science investigation are unraveling the history and evolution of the Solar System's innermost planet. In the mission's more than three years of orbital operations, MESSENGER has acquired over 250,000 images and extensive other data sets. MESSENGER is capable of continuing orbital operations until early 2015. Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram

  10. Edge-SIFT: discriminative binary descriptor for scalable partial-duplicate mobile search.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Shiliang; Tian, Qi; Lu, Ke; Huang, Qingming; Gao, Wen

    2013-07-01

    As the basis of large-scale partial duplicate visual search on mobile devices, image local descriptor is expected to be discriminative, efficient, and compact. Our study shows that the popularly used histogram-based descriptors, such as scale invariant feature transform (SIFT) are not optimal for this task. This is mainly because histogram representation is relatively expensive to compute on mobile platforms and loses significant spatial clues, which are important for improving discriminative power and matching near-duplicate image patches. To address these issues, we propose to extract a novel binary local descriptor named Edge-SIFT from the binary edge maps of scale- and orientation-normalized image patches. By preserving both locations and orientations of edges and compressing the sparse binary edge maps with a boosting strategy, the final Edge-SIFT shows strong discriminative power with compact representation. Furthermore, we propose a fast similarity measurement and an indexing framework with flexible online verification. Hence, the Edge-SIFT allows an accurate and efficient image search and is ideal for computation sensitive scenarios such as a mobile image search. Experiments on a large-scale dataset manifest that the Edge-SIFT shows superior retrieval accuracy to Oriented BRIEF (ORB) and is superior to SIFT in the aspects of retrieval precision, efficiency, compactness, and transmission cost.

  11. Application of Reflectance Transformation Imaging Technique to Improve Automated Edge Detection in a Fossilized Oyster Reef

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Djuricic, Ana; Puttonen, Eetu; Harzhauser, Mathias; Dorninger, Peter; Székely, Balázs; Mandic, Oleg; Nothegger, Clemens; Molnár, Gábor; Pfeifer, Norbert

    2016-04-01

    The world's largest fossilized oyster reef is located in Stetten, Lower Austria excavated during field campaigns of the Natural History Museum Vienna between 2005 and 2008. It is studied in paleontology to learn about change in climate from past events. In order to support this study, a laser scanning and photogrammetric campaign was organized in 2014 for 3D documentation of the large and complex site. The 3D point clouds and high resolution images from this field campaign are visualized by photogrammetric methods in form of digital surface models (DSM, 1 mm resolution) and orthophoto (0.5 mm resolution) to help paleontological interpretation of data. Due to size of the reef, automated analysis techniques are needed to interpret all digital data obtained from the field. One of the key components in successful automation is detection of oyster shell edges. We have tested Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI) to visualize the reef data sets for end-users through a cultural heritage viewing interface (RTIViewer). The implementation includes a Lambert shading method to visualize DSMs derived from terrestrial laser scanning using scientific software OPALS. In contrast to shaded RTI no devices consisting of a hardware system with LED lights, or a body to rotate the light source around the object are needed. The gray value for a given shaded pixel is related to the angle between light source and the normal at that position. Brighter values correspond to the slope surfaces facing the light source. Increasing of zenith angle results in internal shading all over the reef surface. In total, oyster reef surface contains 81 DSMs with 3 m x 2 m each. Their surface was illuminated by moving the virtual sun every 30 degrees (12 azimuth angles from 20-350) and every 20 degrees (4 zenith angles from 20-80). This technique provides paleontologists an interactive approach to virtually inspect the oyster reef, and to interpret the shell surface by changing the light source direction

  12. PathoSpotter-K: A computational tool for the automatic identification of glomerular lesions in histological images of kidneys

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Barros, George O.; Navarro, Brenda; Duarte, Angelo; Dos-Santos, Washington L. C.

    2017-04-01

    PathoSpotter is a computational system designed to assist pathologists in teaching about and researching kidney diseases. PathoSpotter-K is the version that was developed to detect nephrological lesions in digital images of kidneys. Here, we present the results obtained using the first version of PathoSpotter-K, which uses classical image processing and pattern recognition methods to detect proliferative glomerular lesions with an accuracy of 88.3 ± 3.6%. Such performance is only achieved by similar systems if they use images of cell in contexts that are much less complex than the glomerular structure. The results indicate that the approach can be applied to the development of systems designed to train pathology students and to assist pathologists in determining large-scale clinicopathological correlations in morphological research.

  13. Image compression technique

    DOEpatents

    Fu, Chi-Yung; Petrich, Loren I.

    1997-01-01

    An image is compressed by identifying edge pixels of the image; creating a filled edge array of pixels each of the pixels in the filled edge array which corresponds to an edge pixel having a value equal to the value of a pixel of the image array selected in response to the edge pixel, and each of the pixels in the filled edge array which does not correspond to an edge pixel having a value which is a weighted average of the values of surrounding pixels in the filled edge array which do correspond to edge pixels; and subtracting the filled edge array from the image array to create a difference array. The edge file and the difference array are then separately compressed and transmitted or stored. The original image is later reconstructed by creating a preliminary array in response to the received edge file, and adding the preliminary array to the received difference array. Filling is accomplished by solving Laplace's equation using a multi-grid technique. Contour and difference file coding techniques also are described. The techniques can be used in a method for processing a plurality of images by selecting a respective compression approach for each image, compressing each of the images according to the compression approach selected, and transmitting each of the images as compressed, in correspondence with an indication of the approach selected for the image.

  14. Automated endoscopic navigation and advisory system from medical image

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kwoh, Chee K.; Khan, Gul N.; Gillies, Duncan F.

    1999-05-01

    In this paper, we present a review of the research conducted by our group to design an automatic endoscope navigation and advisory system. The whole system can be viewed as a two-layer system. The first layer is at the signal level, which consists of the processing that will be performed on a series of images to extract all the identifiable features. The information is purely dependent on what can be extracted from the 'raw' images. At the signal level, the first task is performed by detecting a single dominant feature, lumen. Few methods of identifying the lumen are proposed. The first method used contour extraction. Contours are extracted by edge detection, thresholding and linking. This method required images to be divided into overlapping squares (8 by 8 or 4 by 4) where line segments are extracted by using a Hough transform. Perceptual criteria such as proximity, connectivity, similarity in orientation, contrast and edge pixel intensity, are used to group edges both strong and weak. This approach is called perceptual grouping. The second method is based on a region extraction using split and merge approach using spatial domain data. An n-level (for a 2' by 2' image) quadtree based pyramid structure is constructed to find the most homogenous large dark region, which in most cases corresponds to the lumen. The algorithm constructs the quadtree from the bottom (pixel) level upward, recursively and computes the mean and variance of image regions corresponding to quadtree nodes. On reaching the root, the largest uniform seed region, whose mean corresponds to a lumen is selected that is grown by merging with its neighboring regions. In addition to the use of two- dimensional information in the form of regions and contours, three-dimensional shape can provide additional information that will enhance the system capabilities. Shape or depth information from an image is estimated by various methods. A particular technique suitable for endoscopy is the shape from shading

  15. Stripe nonuniformity correction for infrared imaging system based on single image optimization

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hua, Weiping; Zhao, Jufeng; Cui, Guangmang; Gong, Xiaoli; Ge, Peng; Zhang, Jiang; Xu, Zhihai

    2018-06-01

    Infrared imaging is often disturbed by stripe nonuniformity noise. Scene-based correction method can effectively reduce the impact of stripe noise. In this paper, a stripe nonuniformity correction method based on differential constraint is proposed. Firstly, the gray distribution of stripe nonuniformity is analyzed and the penalty function is constructed by the difference of horizontal gradient and vertical gradient. With the weight function, the penalty function is optimized to obtain the corrected image. Comparing with other single-frame approaches, experiments show that the proposed method performs better in both subjective and objective analysis, and does less damage to edge and detail. Meanwhile, the proposed method runs faster. We have also discussed the differences between the proposed idea and multi-frame methods. Our method is finally well applied in hardware system.

  16. Optimal Shape of a Gamma-ray Collimator: single vs double knife edge

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Metz, Albert; Hogenbirk, Alfred

    2017-09-01

    Gamma-ray collimators in nuclear waste scanners are used for selecting a narrow vertical segment in activity measurements of waste vessels. The system that is used by NRG uses tapered slit collimators of both the single and double knife edge type. The properties of these collimators were investigated by means of Monte Carlo simulations. We found that single knife edge collimators are highly preferable for a conservative estimate of the activity of the waste vessels. These collimators show much less dependence on the angle of incidence of the radiation than double knife edge collimators. This conclusion also applies to cylindrical collimators of the single knife edge type, that are generally used in medical imaging spectroscopy.

  17. Continuous monitoring of prostate position using stereoscopic and monoscopic kV image guidance

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

    Stevens, M. Tynan R.; Parsons, Dave D.; Robar, James L.

    2016-05-15

    Purpose: To demonstrate continuous kV x-ray monitoring of prostate motion using both stereoscopic and monoscopic localizations, assess the spatial accuracy of these techniques, and evaluate the dose delivered from the added image guidance. Methods: The authors implemented both stereoscopic and monoscopic fiducial localizations using a room-mounted dual oblique x-ray system. Recently developed monoscopic 3D position estimation techniques potentially overcome the issue of treatment head interference with stereoscopic imaging at certain gantry angles. To demonstrate continuous position monitoring, a gold fiducial marker was placed in an anthropomorphic phantom and placed on the Linac couch. The couch was used as a programmablemore » translation stage. The couch was programmed with a series of patient prostate motion trajectories exemplifying five distinct categories: stable prostate, slow drift, persistent excursion, transient excursion, and high frequency excursions. The phantom and fiducial were imaged using 140 kVp, 0.63 mAs per image at 1 Hz for a 60 s monitoring period. Both stereoscopic and monoscopic 3D localization accuracies were assessed by comparison to the ground-truth obtained from the Linac log file. Imaging dose was also assessed, using optically stimulated luminescence dosimeter inserts in the phantom. Results: Stereoscopic localization accuracy varied between 0.13 ± 0.05 and 0.33 ± 0.30 mm, depending on the motion trajectory. Monoscopic localization accuracy varied from 0.2 ± 0.1 to 1.1 ± 0.7 mm. The largest localization errors were typically observed in the left–right direction. There were significant differences in accuracy between the two monoscopic views, but which view was better varied from trajectory to trajectory. The imaging dose was measured to be between 2 and 15 μGy/mAs, depending on location in the phantom. Conclusions: The authors have demonstrated the first use of monoscopic localization for a room-mounted dual x-ray system

  18. Spin-Polarization-Induced Preedge Transitions in the Sulfur K-Edge XAS Spectra of Open-Shell Transition-Metal Sulfates: Spectroscopic Validation of σ-Bond Electron Transfer.

    PubMed

    Frank, Patrick; Szilagyi, Robert K; Gramlich, Volker; Hsu, Hua-Fen; Hedman, Britt; Hodgson, Keith O

    2017-02-06

    Sulfur K-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) spectra of the monodentate sulfate complexes [M II (itao)(SO 4 )(H 2 O) 0,1 ] (M = Co, Ni, Cu) and [Cu(Me 6 tren)(SO 4 )] exhibit well-defined preedge transitions at 2479.4, 2479.9, 2478.4, and 2477.7 eV, respectively, despite having no direct metal-sulfur bond, while the XAS preedge of [Zn(itao)(SO 4 )] is featureless. The sulfur K-edge XAS of [Cu(itao)(SO 4 )] but not of [Cu(Me 6 tren)(SO 4 )] uniquely exhibits a weak transition at 2472.1 eV, an extraordinary 8.7 eV below the first inflection of the rising K-edge. Preedge transitions also appear in the sulfur K-edge XAS of crystalline [M II (SO 4 )(H 2 O)] (M = Fe, Co, Ni, and Cu, but not Zn) and in sulfates of higher-valent early transition metals. Ground-state density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent DFT (TDDFT) calculations show that charge transfer from coordinated sulfate to paramagnetic late transition metals produces spin polarization that differentially mixes the spin-up (α) and spin-down (β) spin orbitals of the sulfate ligand, inducing negative spin density at the sulfate sulfur. Ground-state DFT calculations show that sulfur 3p character then mixes into metal 4s and 4p valence orbitals and various combinations of ligand antibonding orbitals, producing measurable sulfur XAS transitions. TDDFT calculations confirm the presence of XAS preedge features 0.5-2 eV below the rising sulfur K-edge energy. The 2472.1 eV feature arises when orbitals at lower energy than the frontier occupied orbitals with S 3p character mix with the copper(II) electron hole. Transmission of spin polarization and thus of radical character through several bonds between the sulfur and electron hole provides a new mechanism for the counterintuitive appearance of preedge transitions in the XAS spectra of transition-metal oxoanion ligands in the absence of any direct metal-absorber bond. The 2472.1 eV transition is evidence for further radicalization from copper(II), which

  19. Spin-Polarization-Induced Preedge Transitions in the Sulfur K-Edge XAS Spectra of Open-Shell Transition-Metal Sulfates: Spectroscopic Validation of σ-Bond Electron Transfer

    DOE PAGES

    Frank, Patrick; Szilagyi, Robert K.; Gramlich, Volker; ...

    2017-01-09

    Sulfur K-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) spectra of the monodentate sulfate complexes [M II(itao)(SO 4)(H 2O) 0,1] (M = Co, Ni, Cu) and [Cu(Me 6tren)(SO 4)] exhibit well-defined preedge transitions at 2479.4, 2479.9, 2478.4, and 2477.7 eV, respectively, despite having no direct metal–sulfur bond, while the XAS preedge of [Zn(itao)(SO 4)] is featureless. The sulfur K-edge XAS of [Cu(itao)(SO 4)] but not of [Cu(Me 6tren)(SO 4)] uniquely exhibits a weak transition at 2472.1 eV, an extraordinary 8.7 eV below the first inflection of the rising K-edge. Preedge transitions also appear in the sulfur K-edge XAS of crystalline [M II(SO 4)(Hmore » 2O)] (M = Fe, Co, Ni, and Cu, but not Zn) and in sulfates of higher-valent early transition metals. Ground-state density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent DFT (TDDFT) calculations show that charge transfer from coordinated sulfate to paramagnetic late transition metals produces spin polarization that differentially mixes the spin-up (α) and spin-down (β) spin orbitals of the sulfate ligand, inducing negative spin density at the sulfate sulfur. Ground-state DFT calculations show that sulfur 3p character then mixes into metal 4s and 4p valence orbitals and various combinations of ligand antibonding orbitals, producing measurable sulfur XAS transitions. TDDFT calculations confirm the presence of XAS preedge features 0.5–2 eV below the rising sulfur K-edge energy. The 2472.1 eV feature arises when orbitals at lower energy than the frontier occupied orbitals with S 3p character mix with the copper(II) electron hole. Transmission of spin polarization and thus of radical character through several bonds between the sulfur and electron hole provides a new mechanism for the counterintuitive appearance of preedge transitions in the XAS spectra of transition-metal oxoanion ligands in the absence of any direct metal–absorber bond. The 2472.1 eV transition is evidence for further radicalization from copper(II), which

  20. Synchronization using pulsed edge tracking in optical PPM communication system

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Gagliardi, R.

    1972-01-01

    A pulse position modulated (PPM) optical communication system using narrow pulses of light for data transmission requires accurate time synchronization between transmitter and receiver. The presence of signal energy in the form of optical pulses suggests the use of a pulse edge tracking method of maintaining the necessary timing. The edge tracking operation in a binary PPM system is examined, taking into account the quantum nature of the optical transmissions. Consideration is given first to pure synchronization using a periodic pulsed intensity, then extended to the case where position modulation is present and auxiliary bit decisioning is needed to aid the tracking operation. Performance analysis is made in terms of timing error and its associated statistics. Timing error variances are shown as a function of system signal to noise ratio.

  1. Anti-impulse-noise Edge Detection via Anisotropic Morphological Directional Derivatives.

    PubMed

    Shui, Peng-Lang; Wang, Fu-Ping

    2017-07-13

    Traditional differential-based edge detection suffers from abrupt degradation in performance when images are corrupted by impulse noises. The morphological operators such as the median filters and weighted median filters possess the intrinsic ability to counteract impulse noise. In this paper, by combining the biwindow configuration with weighted median filters, anisotropic morphological directional derivatives (AMDD) robust to impulse noise are proposed to measure the local grayscale variation around a pixel. For ideal step edges, the AMDD spatial response and directional representation are derived. The characteristics and edge resolution of two kinds of typical biwindows are analyzed thoroughly. In terms of the AMDD spatial response and directional representation of ideal step edges, the spatial matched filter is used to extract the edge strength map (ESM) from the AMDDs of an image. The spatial and directional matched filters are used to extract the edge direction map (EDM). Embedding the extracted ESM and EDM into the standard route of the differential-based edge detection, an anti-impulse-noise AMDD-based edge detector is constructed. It is compared with the existing state-of-the-art detectors on a recognized image dataset for edge detection evaluation. The results show that it attains competitive performance in noise-free and Gaussian noise cases and the best performance in impulse noise cases.

  2. Resonant inelastic X-ray scattering spectrometer with 25meV resolution at the Cu K -edge

    DOE PAGES

    Ketenoglu, Didem; Harder, Manuel; Klementiev, Konstantin; ...

    2015-06-27

    An unparalleled resolution is reported with an inelastic X-ray scattering instrument at the CuK-edge. Based on a segmented concave analyzer, featuring single-crystal quartz (SiO 2) pixels, the spectrometer delivers a resolution near 25meV (FWHM) at 8981eV. Besides the quartz analyzer, the performance of the spectrometer relies on a four-bounce Si(553) high-resolution monochromator and focusing Kirkpatrick–Baez optics. The measured resolution agrees with the ray-tracing simulation of an ideal spectrometer. The performance of the spectrometer is demonstrated by reproducing the phonon dispersion curve of a beryllium single-crystal.

  3. Time of flight dependent linearity in diffuse imaging: how effective is it to evaluate the spatial resolution by measuring the edge response function?

    PubMed

    Ortiz-Rascón, E; Bruce, N C; Rodríguez-Rosales, A A; Garduño-Mejía, J

    2016-03-01

    We describe the behavior of linearity in diffuse imaging by evaluating the differences between time-resolved images produced by photons arriving at the detector at different times. Two approaches are considered: Monte Carlo simulations and experimental results. The images of two complete opaque bars embedded in a transparent or in a turbid medium with a slab geometry are analyzed; the optical properties of the turbid medium sample are close to those of breast tissue. A simple linearity test was designed involving a direct comparison between the intensity profile produced by two bars scanned at the same time and the intensity profile obtained by adding two profiles of each bar scanned one at a time. It is shown that the linearity improves substantially when short time of flight photons are used in the imaging process, but even then the nonlinear behavior prevails. As the edge response function (ERF) has been used widely for testing the spatial resolution in imaging systems, the main implication of a time dependent linearity is the weakness of the linearity assumption when evaluating the spatial resolution through the ERF in diffuse imaging systems, and the need to evaluate the spatial resolution by other methods.

  4. Photoionization of Ne Atoms and Ne + Ions Near the K Edge: PrecisionSpectroscopy and Absolute Cross-sections

    DOE PAGES

    Müller, Alfred; Bernhardt, Dietrich; Borovik, Alexander; ...

    2017-02-17

    Single, double, and triple photoionization of Ne + ions by single photons have been investigated at the synchrotron radiation source PETRA III in Hamburg, Germany. Absolute cross-sections were measured by employing the photon-ion merged-beams technique. Photon energies were between about 840 and 930 eV, covering the range from the lowest-energy resonances associated with the excitation of one single K-shell electron up to double excitations involving one K- and one L-shell electron, well beyond the K-shell ionization threshold. Also, photoionization of neutral Ne was investigated just below the K edge. The chosen photon energy bandwidths were between 32 and 500 meV,more » facilitating the determination of natural line widths. The uncertainty of the energy scale is estimated to be 0.2 eV. For comparison with existing theoretical calculations, astrophysically relevant photoabsorption cross-sections were inferred by summing the measured partial ionization channels. Discussion of the observed resonances in the different final ionization channels reveals the presence of complex Auger-decay mechanisms. The ejection of three electrons from the lowest K-shell-excited Ne + (1s2s 2p 6 2S 1/2) level, for example, requires cooperative interaction of at least four electrons.« less

  5. Image compression technique

    DOEpatents

    Fu, C.Y.; Petrich, L.I.

    1997-03-25

    An image is compressed by identifying edge pixels of the image; creating a filled edge array of pixels each of the pixels in the filled edge array which corresponds to an edge pixel having a value equal to the value of a pixel of the image array selected in response to the edge pixel, and each of the pixels in the filled edge array which does not correspond to an edge pixel having a value which is a weighted average of the values of surrounding pixels in the filled edge array which do correspond to edge pixels; and subtracting the filled edge array from the image array to create a difference array. The edge file and the difference array are then separately compressed and transmitted or stored. The original image is later reconstructed by creating a preliminary array in response to the received edge file, and adding the preliminary array to the received difference array. Filling is accomplished by solving Laplace`s equation using a multi-grid technique. Contour and difference file coding techniques also are described. The techniques can be used in a method for processing a plurality of images by selecting a respective compression approach for each image, compressing each of the images according to the compression approach selected, and transmitting each of the images as compressed, in correspondence with an indication of the approach selected for the image. 16 figs.

  6. A singular K-space model for fast reconstruction of magnetic resonance images from undersampled data.

    PubMed

    Luo, Jianhua; Mou, Zhiying; Qin, Binjie; Li, Wanqing; Ogunbona, Philip; Robini, Marc C; Zhu, Yuemin

    2018-07-01

    Reconstructing magnetic resonance images from undersampled k-space data is a challenging problem. This paper introduces a novel method of image reconstruction from undersampled k-space data based on the concept of singularizing operators and a novel singular k-space model. Exploring the sparsity of an image in the k-space, the singular k-space model (SKM) is proposed in terms of the k-space functions of a singularizing operator. The singularizing operator is constructed by combining basic difference operators. An algorithm is developed to reliably estimate the model parameters from undersampled k-space data. The estimated parameters are then used to recover the missing k-space data through the model, subsequently achieving high-quality reconstruction of the image using inverse Fourier transform. Experiments on physical phantom and real brain MR images have shown that the proposed SKM method constantly outperforms the popular total variation (TV) and the classical zero-filling (ZF) methods regardless of the undersampling rates, the noise levels, and the image structures. For the same objective quality of the reconstructed images, the proposed method requires much less k-space data than the TV method. The SKM method is an effective method for fast MRI reconstruction from the undersampled k-space data. Graphical abstract Two Real Images and their sparsified images by singularizing operator.

  7. Optical edge effects create conjunctival indentation thickness artefacts.

    PubMed

    Sorbara, Luigina; Simpson, Trefford L; Maram, Jyotsna; Song, Eun Sun; Bizheva, Kostadinka; Hutchings, Natalie

    2015-05-01

    Conjunctival compression observed in ultrahigh resolution optical coherence tomography (UHR-OCT) images of contact lens edges could be actual tissue alteration, may be an optical artefact arising from the difference between the refractive indexes of the lens material and the conjunctival tissue, or could be a combination of the two. The purpose of this study is to image the artefact with contact lenses on a non-biological (non-indentable) medium and to determine the origins of the observed conjunctival compression. Two-dimensional cross-sectional images of the edges of a selection of marketed silicone hydrogel and hydrogel lenses (refractive index ranging from 1.40 to 1.43) were acquired with a research grade UHR-OCT system. The lenses were placed on three continuous surfaces, a glass sphere (refractive index n = 1.52), a rigid contact lens (n = 1.376) and the cornea of a healthy human subject (average n = 1.376). The displacement observed was analysed using ImageJ. The observed optical displacement ranged between 5.39(0.06) μm with Acuvue Advance and 11.99(0.18) μm with Air Optix Night & Day when the lens was imaged on the glass reference sphere. Similarly, on a rigid contact lens displacement ranged between 5.51(0.03) and 9.72(0.12) μm. Displacement was also observed when the lenses were imaged on the human conjunctiva and ranged from 6.49(0.80) μm for the 1-day Acuvue Moist to 17.4(0.22) μm for the Pure Vision contact lens. An optical displacement artefact was observed when imaging a contact lens on two rigid continuous surfaces with UHR-OCT where compression or indentation of the surface could not have been a factor. Contact lenses imaged in situ also exhibited displacement at the intersection of the contact lens edge and the conjunctiva, likely a manifestation of both the artefact and compression of the conjunctiva. © 2015 The Authors Ophthalmic & Physiological Optics © 2015 The College of Optometrists.

  8. Study of the D K K and D K K ¯ systems

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Debastiani, V. R.; Dias, J. M.; Oset, E.

    2017-07-01

    Using the fixed center approximation to Faddeev equations, we investigate the D K K and D K K ¯ three-body systems, considering that the D K dynamically generates, through its I =0 component, the Ds0 *(2317 ) molecule. According to our findings, for the D K K ¯ interaction we find evidence of a state I (JP)=1 /2 (0-) just above the Ds0 *(2317 )K ¯ threshold and around the D f0(980 ) threshold, with mass of about 2833-2858 MeV, made mostly of D f0(980 ). On the other hand, no evidence related to a state from the D K K interaction is found. The state found could be seen in the π π D invariant mass.

  9. Minimizing the Diameter of a Network Using Shortcut Edges

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Demaine, Erik D.; Zadimoghaddam, Morteza

    We study the problem of minimizing the diameter of a graph by adding k shortcut edges, for speeding up communication in an existing network design. We develop constant-factor approximation algorithms for different variations of this problem. We also show how to improve the approximation ratios using resource augmentation to allow more than k shortcut edges. We observe a close relation between the single-source version of the problem, where we want to minimize the largest distance from a given source vertex, and the well-known k-median problem. First we show that our constant-factor approximation algorithms for the general case solve the single-source problem within a constant factor. Then, using a linear-programming formulation for the single-source version, we find a (1 + ɛ)-approximation using O(klogn) shortcut edges. To show the tightness of our result, we prove that any ({3 over 2}-ɛ)-approximation for the single-source version must use Ω(klogn) shortcut edges assuming P ≠ NP.

  10. Low-level processing for real-time image analysis

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Eskenazi, R.; Wilf, J. M.

    1979-01-01

    A system that detects object outlines in television images in real time is described. A high-speed pipeline processor transforms the raw image into an edge map and a microprocessor, which is integrated into the system, clusters the edges, and represents them as chain codes. Image statistics, useful for higher level tasks such as pattern recognition, are computed by the microprocessor. Peak intensity and peak gradient values are extracted within a programmable window and are used for iris and focus control. The algorithms implemented in hardware and the pipeline processor architecture are described. The strategy for partitioning functions in the pipeline was chosen to make the implementation modular. The microprocessor interface allows flexible and adaptive control of the feature extraction process. The software algorithms for clustering edge segments, creating chain codes, and computing image statistics are also discussed. A strategy for real time image analysis that uses this system is given.

  11. Edge of Ice Shelf

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2017-12-08

    Edge of an ice shelf in Adelaide Island, off the Antarctic Peninsula. Credit: NASA / Maria-Jose Vinas NASA's Operation IceBridge is an airborne science mission to study Earth's polar ice. For more information about IceBridge, visit: www.nasa.gov/icebridge NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram

  12. The irreversible formation of palladium carbide during hydrogenation of 1-pentyne over silica-supported palladium nanoparticles: in situ Pd K and L3 edge XAS.

    PubMed

    Tew, Min Wei; Nachtegaal, Maarten; Janousch, Markus; Huthwelker, Thomas; van Bokhoven, Jeroen A

    2012-04-28

    The catalytically active phase of silica-supported palladium catalysts in the selective and non-selective hydrogenation of 1-pentyne was determined using in situ X-ray absorption spectroscopy at the Pd K and L(3) edges. Upon exposure to alkyne, a palladium carbide-like phase rapidly forms, which prevents hydrogen to diffuse into the bulk of the nano-sized particles. Both selective and non-selective hydrogenation occur over carbided particles. The palladium carbide-like phase is stable under reaction conditions and only partially decomposes under high hydrogen partial pressure. Non-selective hydrogenation to pentane is not indicative of hydride formation. The palladium carbide phase was detected in the EXAFS analysis and the K edge XANES showed representative features. This journal is © the Owner Societies 2012

  13. Intercomparison of methods for image quality characterization. I. Modulation transfer function

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

    Samei, Ehsan; Ranger, Nicole T.; Dobbins, James T. III

    The modulation transfer function (MTF) and the noise power spectrum (NPS) are widely recognized as the most relevant metrics of resolution and noise performance in radiographic imaging. These quantities have commonly been measured using various techniques, the specifics of which can have a bearing on the accuracy of the results. As a part of a study aimed at comparing the relative performance of different techniques, in this paper we report on a comparison of two established MTF measurement techniques: one using a slit test device [Dobbins et al., Med. Phys. 22, 1581-1593 (1995)] and another using a translucent edge testmore » device [Samei et al., Med. Phys. 25, 102-113 (1998)], with one another and with a third technique using an opaque edge test device recommended by a new international standard (IEC 62220-1, 2003). The study further aimed to substantiate the influence of various acquisition and processing parameters on the estimated MTF. The slit test device was made of 2 mm thick Pb slabs with a 12.5 {mu}m opening. The translucent edge test device was made of a laminated and polished Pt{sub 0.9}Ir{sub 0.1} alloy foil of 0.1 mm thickness. The opaque edge test device was made of a 2 mm thick W slab. All test devices were imaged on a representative indirect flat-panel digital radiographic system using three published beam qualities: 70 kV with 0.5 mm Cu filtration, 70 kV with 19 mm Al filtration, and 74 kV with 21 mm Al filtration (IEC-RQA5). The latter technique was also evaluated in conjunction with two external beam-limiting apertures (per IEC 62220-1), and with the tube collimator limiting the beam to the same area achieved with the apertures. The presampled MTFs were deduced from the acquired images by Fourier analysis techniques, and the results analyzed for relative values and the influence of impacting parameters. The findings indicated that the measurement technique has a notable impact on the resulting MTF estimate, with estimates from the overall IEC

  14. Intercomparison of methods for image quality characterization. I. Modulation transfer function.

    PubMed

    Samei, Ehsan; Ranger, Nicole T; Dobbins, James T; Chen, Ying

    2006-05-01

    The modulation transfer function (MTF) and the noise power spectrum (NPS) are widely recognized as the most relevant metrics of resolution and noise performance in radiographic imaging. These quantities have commonly been measured using various techniques, the specifics of which can have a bearing on the accuracy of the results. As a part of a study aimed at comparing the relative performance of different techniques, in this paper we report on a comparison of two established MTF measurement techniques: one using a slit test device [Dobbins et al., Med. Phys. 22, 1581-1593 (1995)] and another using a translucent edge test device [Samei et al., Med. Phys. 25, 102-113 (1998)], with one another and with a third technique using an opaque edge test device recommended by a new international standard (IEC 62220-1, 2003). The study further aimed to substantiate the influence of various acquisition and processing parameters on the estimated MTF. The slit test device was made of 2 mm thick Pb slabs with a 12.5 microm opening. The translucent edge test device was made of a laminated and polished Pt(0.9)Ir(0.1). alloy foil of 0.1 mm thickness. The opaque edge test device was made of a 2 mm thick W slab. All test devices were imaged on a representative indirect flat-panel digital radiographic system using three published beam qualities: 70 kV with 0.5 mm Cu filtration, 70 kV with 19 mm Al filtration, and 74 kV with 21 mm Al filtration (IEC-RQA5). The latter technique was also evaluated in conjunction with two external beam-limiting apertures (per IEC 62220-1), and with the tube collimator limiting the beam to the same area achieved with the apertures. The presampled MTFs were deduced from the acquired images by Fourier analysis techniques, and the results analyzed for relative values and the influence of impacting parameters. The findings indicated that the measurement technique has a notable impact on the resulting MTF estimate, with estimates from the overall IEC method 4

  15. LOCATING THE TRAILING EDGE OF THE CIRCUMBINARY RING IN THE KH 15D SYSTEM

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

    Capelo, Holly L.; Herbst, William; Leggett, S. K.

    2012-09-20

    Following two years of complete occultation of both stars in the binary T Tauri star KH 15D by its opaque circumbinary ring, KH 15D has abruptly brightened again during apastron phases, reaching I = 15 mag. Here, we show that the brightening is accompanied by a change in spectral class from K6/K7 (the spectral class of star A) to {approx}K1, and a bluing of the system in V - I by about 0.3 mag. A radial velocity measurement confirms that, at apastron, we are now seeing direct light from star B, which is more luminous and of earlier spectral classmore » than star A. Evidently, the trailing edge of the occulting screen has just become tangent to one anse of star B's projected orbit. This confirms a prediction of the precession models, supports the view that the tilted ring is self-gravitating, and ushers in a new era of the system's evolution that should be accompanied by the same kind of dramatic phenomena observed from 1995 to 2009. It also promotes KH 15D from a single-lined to a double-lined eclipsing binary, greatly enhancing its value for testing pre-main-sequence models. The results of our study strengthen the case for truncation of the outer ring at around 4 AU by a sub-stellar object such as an extremely young giant planet. The system is currently at an optimal configuration for detecting the putative planet and we urge expedient follow-up observations.« less

  16. Edge Extraction by an Exponential Function Considering X-ray Transmission Characteristics

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kim, Jong Hyeong; Youp Synn, Sang; Cho, Sung Man; Jong Joo, Won

    2011-04-01

    3-D radiographic methodology has been into the spotlight for quality inspection of mass product or in-service inspection of aging product. To locate a target object in 3-D space, its characteristic contours such as edge length, edge angle, and vertices are very important. In spite of a simple geometry product, it is very difficult to get clear shape contours from a single radiographic image. The image contains scattering noise at the edges and ambiguity coming from X-Ray absorption within the body. This article suggests a concise method to extract whole edges from a single X-ray image. At the edge point of the object, the intensity of the X-ray decays exponentially as the X-ray penetrates the object. Considering this X-Ray decaying property, edges are extracted by using the least square fitting with the control of Coefficient of Determination.

  17. The edge artifact in the point-spread function-based PET reconstruction at different sphere-to-background ratios of radioactivity.

    PubMed

    Kidera, Daisuke; Kihara, Ken; Akamatsu, Go; Mikasa, Shohei; Taniguchi, Takafumi; Tsutsui, Yuji; Takeshita, Toshiki; Maebatake, Akira; Miwa, Kenta; Sasaki, Masayuki

    2016-02-01

    The aim of this study was to quantitatively evaluate the edge artifacts in PET images reconstructed using the point-spread function (PSF) algorithm at different sphere-to-background ratios of radioactivity (SBRs). We used a NEMA IEC body phantom consisting of six spheres with 37, 28, 22, 17, 13 and 10 mm in inner diameter. The background was filled with (18)F solution with a radioactivity concentration of 2.65 kBq/mL. We prepared three sets of phantoms with SBRs of 16, 8, 4 and 2. The PET data were acquired for 20 min using a Biograph mCT scanner. The images were reconstructed with the baseline ordered subsets expectation maximization (OSEM) algorithm, and with the OSEM + PSF correction model (PSF). For the image reconstruction, the number of iterations ranged from one to 10. The phantom PET image analyses were performed by a visual assessment of the PET images and profiles, a contrast recovery coefficient (CRC), which is the ratio of SBR in the images to the true SBR, and the percent change in the maximum count between the OSEM and PSF images (Δ % counts). In the PSF images, the spheres with a diameter of 17 mm or larger were surrounded by a dense edge in comparison with the OSEM images. In the spheres with a diameter of 22 mm or smaller, an overshoot appeared in the center of the spheres as a sharp peak in the PSF images in low SBR. These edge artifacts were clearly observed in relation to the increase of the SBR. The overestimation of the CRC was observed in 13 mm spheres in the PSF images. In the spheres with a diameter of 17 mm or smaller, the Δ % counts increased with an increasing SBR. The Δ % counts increased to 91 % in the 10-mm sphere at the SBR of 16. The edge artifacts in the PET images reconstructed using the PSF algorithm increased with an increasing SBR. In the small spheres, the edge artifact was observed as a sharp peak at the center of spheres and could result in overestimation.

  18. 10J water-cooled DPSSL system based on Yb:YAG crystal edge-cladded by Cr:YAG ceramics (Conference Presentation)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zheng, Jian-Gang; Yan, Xiongwei; Jiang, Xinying; Wang, Zhenguo; Li, Mingzhong; Zhang, Jun; Zhu, Qihua; Zheng, Wanguo

    2017-05-01

    equilibrium between the edge cladding and the gain region. the amplifiers can be stably operated under 10Hz. Finally the output of the laser system was about 7.15J@10Hz and 10.8J@1-2Hz. The total optical-to-optical efficiency was about 8.3% for 1-2Hz (under the condition of 120kW/1ms pumping, 880mJ input and 10.8J output) and 5.6% for 10Hz.

  19. Benefits of Red-Edge Spectral Band and Texture Features for the Object-based Classification using RapidEye sSatellite Image data

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kim, H. O.; Yeom, J. M.

    2014-12-01

    Space-based remote sensing in agriculture is particularly relevant to issues such as global climate change, food security, and precision agriculture. Recent satellite missions have opened up new perspectives by offering high spatial resolution, various spectral properties, and fast revisit rates to the same regions. Here, we examine the utility of broadband red-edge spectral information in multispectral satellite image data for classifying paddy rice crops in South Korea. Additionally, we examine how object-based spectral features affect the classification of paddy rice growth stages. For the analysis, two seasons of RapidEye satellite image data were used. The results showed that the broadband red-edge information slightly improved the classification accuracy of the crop condition in heterogeneous paddy rice crop environments, particularly when single-season image data were used. This positive effect appeared to be offset by the multi-temporal image data. Additional texture information brought only a minor improvement or a slight decline, although it is well known to be advantageous for object-based classification in general. We conclude that broadband red-edge information derived from conventional multispectral satellite data has the potential to improve space-based crop monitoring. Because the positive or negative effects of texture features for object-based crop classification could barely be interpreted, the relationships between the textual properties and paddy rice crop parameters at the field scale should be further examined in depth.

  20. The leading-edge vortex of swift-wing shaped delta wings

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Muir, Rowan; Arredondo-Galeana, Abel; Viola, Ignazio Maria

    2017-11-01

    Recent investigations on the aerodynamics of natural fliers have illuminated the significance of the Leading-Edge Vortex (LEV) for lift generation in a variety of flight conditions. In this investigation, a model non-slender delta shaped wing with a sharp leading-edge is tested at low Reynolds Number, along with a delta wing of the same design, but with a modified trailing edge inspired by the wing of a common swift Apus apus. The effect of the tapering swift wing on LEV development and stability is compared with the flow structure over the un-modified delta wing model through particle image velocimetry. For the first time, a leading-edge vortex system consisting of a dual or triple LEV is recorded on a swift-wing shaped delta wing, where such a system is found across all tested conditions. It is shown that the spanwise location of LEV breakdown is governed by the local chord rather than Reynolds Number or angle of attack. These findings suggest that the trailing-edge geometry of the swift wing alone does not prevent the common swift from generating an LEV system comparable with that of a delta shaped wing. This work received funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council [EP/M506515/1] and the Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACYT).

  1. NO binding kinetics in myoglobin investigated by picosecond Fe K-edge absorption spectroscopy

    PubMed Central

    Silatani, Mahsa; Lima, Frederico A.; Penfold, Thomas J.; Rittmann, Jochen; Reinhard, Marco E.; Rittmann-Frank, Hannelore M.; Borca, Camelia; Grolimund, Daniel; Milne, Christopher J.; Chergui, Majed

    2015-01-01

    Diatomic ligands in hemoproteins and the way they bind to the active center are central to the protein’s function. Using picosecond Fe K-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy, we probe the NO-heme recombination kinetics with direct sensitivity to the Fe-NO binding after 532-nm photoexcitation of nitrosylmyoglobin (MbNO) in physiological solutions. The transients at 70 and 300 ps are identical, but they deviate from the difference between the static spectra of deoxymyoglobin and MbNO, showing the formation of an intermediate species. We propose the latter to be a six-coordinated domed species that is populated on a timescale of ∼200 ps by recombination with NO ligands. This work shows the feasibility of ultrafast pump–probe X-ray spectroscopic studies of proteins in physiological media, delivering insight into the electronic and geometric structure of the active center. PMID:26438842

  2. An evaluation of the stability of image quality parameters of Elekta X-ray volume imager and iViewGT imaging systems.

    PubMed

    Stanley, Dennis N; Rasmussen, Karl; Kirby, Neil; Papanikolaou, Nikos; Gutiérrez, Alonso N

    2018-05-01

    A robust image quality assurance and analysis methodology for image-guided localization systems is crucial to ensure the accurate localization and visualization of target tumors. In this study, the long-term stability of selected image parameters was assessed and evaluated for the cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) mode, planar radiographic kV mode, and the radiographic MV mode of an Elekta VersaHD. The CATPHAN, QckV-1, and QC-3 phantoms were used to evaluate the image quality parameters. The planar radiographic images were analyzed in PIPSpro™ with spatial resolution (f30, f40, f50), contrast to noise ratio (CNR) and noise being recorded. For XVI CBCT, Head and Neck Small20 (S20) and Pelvis Medium20 (M20) standard acquisition modes were evaluated for uniformity, noise, spatial resolution, and HU constancy. Dose and kVp for the XVI were recorded using the Unfors RaySafe Xi system with the R/F low detector for the kV planar radiographic mode. For each metric, values were normalized to the mean and the standard deviations were recorded. A total of 30 measurements were performed on a single Elekta VersaHD linear accelerator over an 18-month period without significant adjustment or recalibration to the XVI or iViewGT systems during the evaluated time frame. For the planar radiographic spatial resolution, the normalized standard deviation values of the f30, f40, and f50 were 0.004, 0.003, and 0.003 and 0.015, 0.009, and 0.017 for kV and MV, respectively. The average recorded dose for kV was 67.96 μGy. The standard deviations of the evaluated metrics for the S20 acquisition were 0.083(f30), 0.058(f40), 0.056(f50), 0.021(Water/poly-HU constancy), 0.029(uniformity) and 0.028(noise). The standard deviations for the M20 acquisition were 0.093(f30), 0.043(f40), 0.037(f50), 0.016(Water/poly-HU constancy), 0.010(uniformity) and 0.011(Noise). A study was performed to assess the stability of the basic image quality parameters recommended by TG-142 for the Elekta XVI and i

  3. Turbulence Measurements on a Flap-Edge Model

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Moriarty, Patrick; Bradshaw, Peter; Cantwell, Brian; Ross, James

    1998-01-01

    Turbulence measurements have been made on a flap-edge and leading-edge slat model using hot-wire anemometry, and, later, particle image velocimetry. The properties of hot-wire anemometry were studied using facilities at NASA Ames Research Center. Hot-film probes were used because of their durability, but cross-films were limited by non-linear end effects. As a warm-up exercise, hot-film probes were used to measure velocities in the farfield wake of a cylinder with an airfoil in the near-field wake. The airfoil reduced the drag coefficient of the system by 10%. A single-wire hot-film probe was used to measure velocity profiles over the top of a NACA 63(sub 2)-215 Mod. B wing with a Fowler flap and leading,-edge slat. Results showed the size of slat wake was dependent upon the slat deflection angle. Velocity increased through the slat gap with increased deflection. The acoustically modified slat decreased the chance of separation. Measurements were taken at the flap edge with a single hot-film. Trends in the data indicate velocity and turbulence levels increase at the flap edge. The acoustically modified flap modifies the mean flow near the flap edge. Correlations were made between the hot-film signal and the unsteady pressure transducers on the wing which were published in a NASA CDTM. The principles of Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) were studied at Florida State University. Spectral PIV was used to measure the spectra of a subsonic jet. Measured frequencies were close to the predicted frequency of jet shedding. Spectral PIV will be used to measure the spectra of the slat flow in the second 7 x lO-ft. wind tunnel test. PIV has an advantage that it can measure velocity and spectra of the entire flowfield instantaneously. However, problems arise when trying, to store this massive amount of PIV data. Support for this research has continued through a NASA Graduate Student Program Fellowship which will end in June 1999. The thesis should be completed by this time.

  4. An improved parallel fuzzy connected image segmentation method based on CUDA.

    PubMed

    Wang, Liansheng; Li, Dong; Huang, Shaohui

    2016-05-12

    Fuzzy connectedness method (FC) is an effective method for extracting fuzzy objects from medical images. However, when FC is applied to large medical image datasets, its running time will be greatly expensive. Therefore, a parallel CUDA version of FC (CUDA-kFOE) was proposed by Ying et al. to accelerate the original FC. Unfortunately, CUDA-kFOE does not consider the edges between GPU blocks, which causes miscalculation of edge points. In this paper, an improved algorithm is proposed by adding a correction step on the edge points. The improved algorithm can greatly enhance the calculation accuracy. In the improved method, an iterative manner is applied. In the first iteration, the affinity computation strategy is changed and a look up table is employed for memory reduction. In the second iteration, the error voxels because of asynchronism are updated again. Three different CT sequences of hepatic vascular with different sizes were used in the experiments with three different seeds. NVIDIA Tesla C2075 is used to evaluate our improved method over these three data sets. Experimental results show that the improved algorithm can achieve a faster segmentation compared to the CPU version and higher accuracy than CUDA-kFOE. The calculation results were consistent with the CPU version, which demonstrates that it corrects the edge point calculation error of the original CUDA-kFOE. The proposed method has a comparable time cost and has less errors compared to the original CUDA-kFOE as demonstrated in the experimental results. In the future, we will focus on automatic acquisition method and automatic processing.

  5. Image quality and radiation dose of brain computed tomography in children: effects of decreasing tube voltage from 120 kVp to 80 kVp.

    PubMed

    Park, Ji Eun; Choi, Young Hun; Cheon, Jung-Eun; Kim, Woo Sun; Kim, In-One; Cho, Hyun Suk; Ryu, Young Jin; Kim, Yu Jin

    2017-05-01

    Computed tomography (CT) has generated public concern associated with radiation exposure, especially for children. Lowering the tube voltage is one strategy to reduce radiation dose. To assess the image quality and radiation dose of non-enhanced brain CT scans acquired at 80 kilo-voltage peak (kVp) compared to those at 120 kVp in children. Thirty children who had undergone both 80- and 120-kVp non-enhanced brain CT were enrolled. For quantitative analysis, the mean attenuation of white and gray matter, attenuation difference, noise, signal-to-noise ratio, contrast-to-noise ratio and posterior fossa artifact index were measured. For qualitative analysis, noise, gray-white matter differentiation, artifact and overall image quality were scored. Radiation doses were evaluated by CT dose index, dose-length product and effective dose. The mean attenuations of gray and white matter and contrast-to-noise ratio were significantly increased at 80 kVp, while parameters related to image noise, i.e. noise, signal-to-noise ratio and posterior fossa artifact index were higher at 80 kVp than at 120 kVp. In qualitative analysis, 80-kVp images showed improved gray-white differentiation but more artifacts compared to 120-kVp images. Subjective image noise and overall image quality scores were similar between the two scans. Radiation dose parameters were significantly lower at 80 kVp than at 120 kVp. In pediatric non-enhanced brain CT scans, a decrease in tube voltage from 120 kVp to 80 kVp resulted in improved gray-white matter contrast, comparable image quality and decreased radiation dose.

  6. Overlay of multiframe SEM images including nonlinear field distortions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Babin, S.; Borisov, S.; Ivonin, I.; Nakazawa, S.; Yamazaki, Y.

    2018-03-01

    To reduce charging and shrinkage, CD-SEMs utilize low electron energies and multiframe imaging. This results in every next frame being altered due to stage and beam instability, as well as due to charging. Regular averaging of the frames blurs the edges; this directly effects the extracted values of critical dimensions. A technique was developed to overlay multiframe images without the loss of quality. This method takes into account drift, rotation, and magnification corrections, as well as nonlinear distortions due to wafer charging. A significant improvement in the signal to noise ratio and overall image quality without degradation of the feature's edge quality was achieved. The developed software is capable of working with regular and large size images up to 32K pixels in each direction.

  7. Imaging Systems for Size Measurements of Debrisat Fragments

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Shiotani, B.; Scruggs, T.; Toledo, R.; Fitz-Coy, N.; Liou, J. C.; Sorge, M.; Huynh, T.; Opiela, J.; Krisko, P.; Cowardin, H.

    2017-01-01

    The overall objective of the DebriSat project is to provide data to update existing standard spacecraft breakup models. One of the key sets of parameters used in these models is the physical dimensions of the fragments (i.e., length, average-cross sectional area, and volume). For the DebriSat project, only fragments with at least one dimension greater than 2 mm are collected and processed. Additionally, a significant portion of the fragments recovered from the impact test are needle-like and/or flat plate-like fragments where their heights are almost negligible in comparison to their other dimensions. As a result, two fragment size categories were defined: 2D objects and 3D objects. While measurement systems are commercially available, factors such as measurement rates, system adaptability, size characterization limitations and equipment costs presented significant challenges to the project and a decision was made to develop our own size characterization systems. The size characterization systems consist of two automated image systems, one referred to as the 3D imaging system and the other as the 2D imaging system. Which imaging system to use depends on the classification of the fragment being measured. Both imaging systems utilize point-and-shoot cameras for object image acquisition and create representative point clouds of the fragments. The 3D imaging system utilizes a space-carving algorithm to generate a 3D point cloud, while the 2D imaging system utilizes an edge detection algorithm to generate a 2D point cloud. From the point clouds, the three largest orthogonal dimensions are determined using a convex hull algorithm. For 3D objects, in addition to the three largest orthogonal dimensions, the volume is computed via an alpha-shape algorithm applied to the point clouds. The average cross-sectional area is also computed for 3D objects. Both imaging systems have automated size measurements (image acquisition and image processing) driven by the need to quickly

  8. The Edge States of the BF System and the London Equations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Balachandran, A. P.; Teotonio-Sobrinho, P.

    It is known that the 3D Chern-Simons interaction describes the scaling limit of a quantum Hall system and predicts edge currents in a sample with boundary, the currents generating a chiral U(1) Kac-Moody algebra. It is no doubt also recognized that, in a somewhat similar way, the 4D BF interaction (with B a two-form, dB the dual *j of the electromagnetic current, and F the electromagnetic field form) describes the scaling limit of a superconductor. We show in this paper that there are edge excitations in this model as well for manifolds with boundaries. They are the modes of a scalar field with invariance under the group of diffeomorphisms (diffeos) of the bounding spatial two-manifold. Not all diffeos of this group seem implementable by operators in quantum theory, the implementable group being a subgroup of volume-preserving diffeos. The BF system in this manner can lead to the w1+∞ algebra and its variants. Lagrangians for fields on the bounding manifold which account for the edge observables on quantization are also presented. They are the analogs of the (1+1)-dimensional massless scalar field Lagrangian describing the edge modes of an Abelian Chern-Simons theory with a disk as the spatial manifold. We argue that the addition of “Maxwell” terms constructed from F∧*F and dB∧*dB does not affect the edge states, and that the augmented Lagrangian has an infinite number of conserved charges—the aforementioned scalar field modes—localized at the edges. This Lagrangian is known to describe London equations and a massive vector field. A (3+1)-dimensional generalization of the Hall effect involving vortices coupled to B is also proposed.

  9. Infrared Images of an Infant Solar System

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    2002-05-01

    understanding of the formation of solar-type stars and planetary systems from the interstellar medium. However, in most cases the large difference of brightness between the young star and its surrounding material makes it impossible to image directly the circumstellar disk. But when the disk is seen nearly edge-on, the light from the central star will be blocked out by the dust grains in the disk. Other grains below and above the disk midplane scatter the stellar light, producing a typical pattern of a dark lane between two reflection nebulae. The first young stellar object (YSO) found to display this typical pattern, HH 30 IRS in the Taurus dark cloud at a distance of about 500 light-years (140 pc), was imaged by the Hubble Space telescope (HST) in 1996. Edge-on disks have since also been observed with ground-based telescopes in the near-infrared region of the spectrum, sometimes by means of adaptive optics techniques or speckle imaging, or under very good sky image quality, cf. ESO PR Photo 03d/01 with a VLT image of such an object in the Orion Nebula. A surprise discovery ESO PR Photo 12a/02 ESO PR Photo 12a/02 [Preview - JPEG: 400 x 459 pix - 55k] [Normal - JPEG: 800 x 918 pix - 352k] Caption : PR Photo 12a/02 shows a three-colour reproduction of the discovery image of strange-looking object (nicknamed the "Flying Saucer" by the astronomers), obtained with the SOFI multi-mode instrument at the ESO 3.5-m New Technology Telescope (NTT) at the La Silla Observatory. Compared to the unresolved stars in the field, the image of this object appears extended. Two characteristic reflection nebulae are barely visible, together with a marginally resolved dark dust lane in front of the star and oriented East-West. Technical information about the photo is available below. Last year, a group of astronomers [1] carried out follow-up observations of new X-ray sources found by the ESA XMM-Newton and NASA Chandra X-ray satellites. They were looking at the periphery of the so-called Rho

  10. Fermi edge singularities in the mesoscopic regime: Photoabsorption spectra

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hentschel, Martina; Ullmo, Denis; Baranger, Harold U.

    2007-12-01

    We study Fermi edge singularities in photoabsorption spectra of generic mesoscopic systems such as quantum dots or nanoparticles. We predict deviations from macroscopic-metallic behavior and propose experimental setups for the observation of these effects. The theory is based on the model of a localized, or rank one, perturbation caused by the (core) hole left behind after the photoexcitation of an electron into the conduction band. The photoabsorption spectra result from the competition between two many-body responses, Anderson’s orthogonality catastrophe and the Mahan-Nozières-DeDominicis contribution. Both mechanisms depend on the system size through the number of particles and, more importantly, fluctuations produced by the coherence characteristic of mesoscopic samples. The latter lead to a modification of the dipole matrix element and trigger one of our key results: a rounded K -edge typically found in metals will turn into a (slightly) peaked edge on average in the mesoscopic regime. We consider in detail the effect of the “bound state” produced by the core hole.

  11. Compact OAM microscope for edge enhancement of biomedical and object samples

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gozali, Richard; Nguyen, Thien-An; Bendau, Ethan; Alfano, Robert R.

    2017-09-01

    The production of orbital angular momentum (OAM) by using a q-plate, which functions as an electrically tunable spatial frequency filter, provides a simple and efficient method of edge contrast in biological and medical sample imaging for histological evaluation of tissue, smears, and PAP smears. An instrument producing OAM, such as a q-plate, situated at the Fourier plane of a 4f lens system, similar to the use of a high-pass spatial filter, allows the passage of high spatial frequencies and enables the production of an image with highly illuminated edges contrasted against a dark background for both opaque and transparent objects. Compared with ordinary spiral phase plates and spatial light modulators, the q-plate has the added advantage of electric control and tunability.

  12. Evaluation of partial k-space strategies to speed up time-domain EPR imaging.

    PubMed

    Subramanian, Sankaran; Chandramouli, Gadisetti V R; McMillan, Alan; Gullapalli, Rao P; Devasahayam, Nallathamby; Mitchell, James B; Matsumoto, Shingo; Krishna, Murali C

    2013-09-01

    Narrow-line spin probes derived from the trityl radical have led to the development of fast in vivo time-domain EPR imaging. Pure phase-encoding imaging modalities based on the single-point imaging scheme have demonstrated the feasibility of three-dimensional oximetric images with functional information in minutes. In this article, we explore techniques to improve the temporal resolution and circumvent the relatively short biological half-lives of trityl probes using partial k-space strategies. There are two main approaches: one involves the use of the Hermitian character of the k-space by which only part of the k-space is measured and the unmeasured part is generated using the Hermitian symmetry. This approach is limited in success by the accuracy of numerical estimate of the phase roll in the k-space that corrupts the Hermiticy. The other approach is to measure only a judicially chosen reduced region of k-space (a centrosymmetric ellipsoid region) that more or less accounts for >70% of the k-space energy. Both of these aspects were explored in Fourier transform-EPR imaging with a doubling of scan speed demonstrated by considering ellipsoid geometry of the k-space. Partial k-space strategies help improve the temporal resolution in studying fast dynamics of functional aspects in vivo with infused spin probes. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  13. Evaluation of Partial k-space strategies to speed up Time-domain EPR Imaging

    PubMed Central

    Subramanian, Sankaran; Chandramouli, Gadisetti VR; McMillan, Alan; Gullapalli, Rao P; Devasahayam, Nallathamby; Mitchell, James B.; Matsumoto, Shingo; Krishna, Murali C

    2012-01-01

    Narrow-line spin probes derived from the trityl radical have led to the development of fast in vivo time-domain EPR imaging. Pure phase-encoding imaging modalities based on the Single Point Imaging scheme (SPI) have demonstrated the feasibility of 3D oximetric images with functional information in minutes. In this paper, we explore techniques to improve the temporal resolution and circumvent the relatively short biological half-lives of trityl probes using partial k-space strategies. There are two main approaches: one involves the use of the Hermitian character of the k-space by which only part of the k-space is measured and the unmeasured part is generated using the Hermitian symmetry. This approach is limited in success by the accuracy of numerical estimate of the phase roll in the k-space that corrupts the Hermiticy. The other approach is to measure only a judicially chosen reduced region of k-space (a centrosymmetric ellipsoid region) that more or less accounts for >70% of the k-space energy. Both of these aspects were explored in FT-EPR imaging with a doubling of scan speed demonstrated by considering ellipsoid geometry of the k-space. Partial k-space strategies help improve the temporal resolution in studying fast dynamics of functional aspects in vivo with infused spin probes. PMID:23045171

  14. Short wavelength turbulence generated by shear in the quiescent H-mode edge on DIII–D [Short wavelength turbulence generated by shear in the QH-mode edge on DIII-D

    DOE PAGES

    Rost, Jon C.; Porkolab, Miklos; Dorris, James R.; ...

    2014-06-17

    A region of turbulence with large radial wavenumber (k rρ s > 1) is found in the high-shear portion of the plasma edge in Quiescent H-mode (QH-mode) on DIII{D using the Phase Contrast Imaging (PCI) diagnostic. At its peak outside the minimum of the E r well, the turbulence exhibits large amplitudemore » $$\\tilde{n}$$/n ~ 40%, with large radial wavenumber |$$\\bar{k}$$ r/ $$\\bar{k}$$ θ| ~ 11 and short radial correlation length L r/ρ i ~ 0.2. The turbulence inside the E r well minimum is characterized by the opposite sign in radial wavenumber from that of turbulence outside the minimum, consistent with the expected effects of velocity shear. The PCI diagnostic provides a line-integrated measurement of density uctuations, so data is taken during a scan of plasma position at constant parameters to allow the PCI to sample a range in k r/k θ . Analysis of the Doppler Shift and plasma geometry allows the turbulence to be localized to a narrow region 3 mm inside the last closed flux surface (LCFS), outside the minimum of the E r well. The turbulence amplitude and radial wavenumber and correlation length are determined by fitting the PCI results with a simple non-isotropic turbulence model with two regions of turbulence. Finally, these PCI observations, made in QH-mode, are qualitatively similar to those made in standard ELM-free H-mode and between edge localized modes (ELMs), suggesting a similar role for large k r turbulence there.« less

  15. Resonant inelastic x-ray scattering on iso-C{sub 2}H{sub 2}Cl{sub 2} around the chlorine K-edge: Structural and dynamical aspects

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

    Kawerk, Elie, E-mail: eliekawerk@hotmail.com, E-mail: ekawerk@units.it; Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Université Paris 06, UMR 7614, Laboratoire de Chimie Physique-Matière et Rayonnement, F-75005 Paris; Laboratoire de Physique Appliquée, Faculté des Sciences II, Université Libanaise, 90656 Jdeidet el Metn, Liban

    2014-10-14

    We report a theoretical and experimental study of the high resolution resonant K{sub α} X-ray emission lines around the chlorine K-edge in gas phase 1,1-dichloroethylene. With the help of ab initio electronic structure calculations and cross section evaluation, we interpret the lowest lying peak in the X-ray absorption and emission spectra. The behavior of the K{sub α} emission lines with respect to frequency detuning highlights the existence of femtosecond nuclear dynamics on the dissociative Potential Energy Surface of the first K-shell core-excited state.

  16. A spectral k-means approach to bright-field cell image segmentation.

    PubMed

    Bradbury, Laura; Wan, Justin W L

    2010-01-01

    Automatic segmentation of bright-field cell images is important to cell biologists, but difficult to complete due to the complex nature of the cells in bright-field images (poor contrast, broken halo, missing boundaries). Standard approaches such as level set segmentation and active contours work well for fluorescent images where cells appear as round shape, but become less effective when optical artifacts such as halo exist in bright-field images. In this paper, we present a robust segmentation method which combines the spectral and k-means clustering techniques to locate cells in bright-field images. This approach models an image as a matrix graph and segment different regions of the image by computing the appropriate eigenvectors of the matrix graph and using the k-means algorithm. We illustrate the effectiveness of the method by segmentation results of C2C12 (muscle) cells in bright-field images.

  17. Quantum Monte Carlo for the x-ray absorption spectrum of pyrrole at the nitrogen K-edge

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

    Zubarev, Dmitry Yu.; Austin, Brian M.; Lester, William A. Jr.

    Fixed-node diffusion Monte Carlo (FNDMC) is used to simulate the x-ray absorption spectrum of a gas-phase pyrrole molecule at the nitrogen K-edge. Trial wave functions for core-excited states are constructed from ground-state Kohn-Sham determinants substituted with singly occupied natural orbitals from configuration interaction with single excitations calculations of the five lowest valence-excited triplet states. The FNDMC ionization potential (IP) is found to lie within 0.3 eV of the experimental value of 406.1 {+-} 0.1 eV. The transition energies to anti-bonding virtual orbitals match the experimental spectrum after alignment of IP values and agree with the existing assignments.

  18. Chemical kinetics of Cs species in an alkali-activated municipal solid waste incineration fly ash and pyrophyllite-based system using Cs K-edge in situ X-ray absorption fine structure analysis

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shiota, Kenji; Nakamura, Takafumi; Takaoka, Masaki; Nitta, Kiyofumi; Oshita, Kazuyuki; Fujimori, Takashi; Ina, Toshiaki

    2017-05-01

    We conducted in situ X-ray absorption fine structure (in situ XAFS) analysis at the Cs K-edge to investigate the chemical kinetics of Cs species during reaction in an alkali-activated municipal solid waste incineration fly ash (MSWIFA) and pyrophyllite-based system. Understanding the kinetics of Cs is essential to the design of appropriate conditions for Cs stabilization. In situ XAFS analysis of four pastes, prepared from NaOHaq, sodium silicate solution, pyrophyllite, and MSWIFA with the addition of CsCl, was conducted in custom-built reaction cells at four curing temperatures (room temperature, 60 °C, 80 °C, 105 °C) for approximately 34 h. The results indicated that the change in Cs species during reaction at room temperature was small, while changes at higher temperatures were faster and more extreme, with the fastest conversion to pollucite occurring at 105 °C. Further analysis using a leaching test and a simple reaction model for Cs species during reaction showed that the pollucite formation rate was dependent on the curing temperature and had a significant negative correlation with Cs leaching. The activation energy of pollucite formation was estimated to be 31.5 kJ/mol. These results revealed that an important change in the chemical state of Cs occurs during reaction in the system.

  19. Improvement and implementation for Canny edge detection algorithm

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yang, Tao; Qiu, Yue-hong

    2015-07-01

    Edge detection is necessary for image segmentation and pattern recognition. In this paper, an improved Canny edge detection approach is proposed due to the defect of traditional algorithm. A modified bilateral filter with a compensation function based on pixel intensity similarity judgment was used to smooth image instead of Gaussian filter, which could preserve edge feature and remove noise effectively. In order to solve the problems of sensitivity to the noise in gradient calculating, the algorithm used 4 directions gradient templates. Finally, Otsu algorithm adaptively obtain the dual-threshold. All of the algorithm simulated with OpenCV 2.4.0 library in the environments of vs2010, and through the experimental analysis, the improved algorithm has been proved to detect edge details more effectively and with more adaptability.

  20. Extraction of edge-based and region-based features for object recognition

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Coutts, Benjamin; Ravi, Srinivas; Hu, Gongzhu; Shrikhande, Neelima

    1993-08-01

    One of the central problems of computer vision is object recognition. A catalogue of model objects is described as a set of features such as edges and surfaces. The same features are extracted from the scene and matched against the models for object recognition. Edges and surfaces extracted from the scenes are often noisy and imperfect. In this paper algorithms are described for improving low level edge and surface features. Existing edge extraction algorithms are applied to the intensity image to obtain edge features. Initial edges are traced by following directions of the current contour. These are improved by using corresponding depth and intensity information for decision making at branch points. Surface fitting routines are applied to the range image to obtain planar surface patches. An algorithm of region growing is developed that starts with a coarse segmentation and uses quadric surface fitting to iteratively merge adjacent regions into quadric surfaces based on approximate orthogonal distance regression. Surface information obtained is returned to the edge extraction routine to detect and remove fake edges. This process repeats until no more merging or edge improvement can take place. Both synthetic (with Gaussian noise) and real images containing multiple object scenes have been tested using the merging criteria. Results appeared quite encouraging.

  1. Low-complexity camera digital signal imaging for video document projection system

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hsia, Shih-Chang; Tsai, Po-Shien

    2011-04-01

    We present high-performance and low-complexity algorithms for real-time camera imaging applications. The main functions of the proposed camera digital signal processing (DSP) involve color interpolation, white balance, adaptive binary processing, auto gain control, and edge and color enhancement for video projection systems. A series of simulations demonstrate that the proposed method can achieve good image quality while keeping computation cost and memory requirements low. On the basis of the proposed algorithms, the cost-effective hardware core is developed using Verilog HDL. The prototype chip has been verified with one low-cost programmable device. The real-time camera system can achieve 1270 × 792 resolution with the combination of extra components and can demonstrate each DSP function.

  2. Multi-exponential analysis of magnitude MR images using a quantitative multispectral edge-preserving filter.

    PubMed

    Bonny, Jean Marie; Boespflug-Tanguly, Odile; Zanca, Michel; Renou, Jean Pierre

    2003-03-01

    A solution for discrete multi-exponential analysis of T(2) relaxation decay curves obtained in current multi-echo imaging protocol conditions is described. We propose a preprocessing step to improve the signal-to-noise ratio and thus lower the signal-to-noise ratio threshold from which a high percentage of true multi-exponential detection is detected. It consists of a multispectral nonlinear edge-preserving filter that takes into account the signal-dependent Rician distribution of noise affecting magnitude MR images. Discrete multi-exponential decomposition, which requires no a priori knowledge, is performed by a non-linear least-squares procedure initialized with estimates obtained from a total least-squares linear prediction algorithm. This approach was validated and optimized experimentally on simulated data sets of normal human brains.

  3. Molecular simulations of lipid systems: Edge stability and structure in pure and mixed bilayers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jiang, Yong

    2007-12-01

    Understanding the structural, mechanical and dynamical properties of lipid self-assembled systems is fundamental to understand the behavior of the cell membrane. This thesis has investigated the equilibrium properties of lipid systems with edge defects through various molecular simulation techniques. The overall goal of this study is to understand the free energy terms of the edges and to develop efficient methods to sample equilibrium distributions of mixed-lipid systems. In the first main part of my thesis, an atomistic molecular model is used to study lipid ribbon which has two edges on both sides. Details of the edge structures, such as area per lipid and tail torsional statistics are presented. Line tension, calculated from pressure tensor in MD simulation has good agreement with result from other sources. To further investigate edge properties on a longer timescale and larger length scale, we have applied a coarse-grained forcefield on mixed lipid systems and try to interpret the edge fluctuations in terms of free energy parameters such as line tension and bending modulus. We have identified two regimes with quite different edge behavior: a high line tension regime and a low line tension regime. The last part of this thesis focuses on a hybrid Molecular dynamics and Configurational-bias Monte Carlo (MCMD) simulation method in which molecules can change their type by growing and shrinking the terminal acyl united carbon atoms. A two-step extension of the MCMD method has been developed to allow for a larger difference in the components' tail lengths. Results agreed well with previous one-step mutation results for a mixture with a length difference of four carbons. The current method can efficiently sample mixtures with a length difference of eight carbons, with a small portion of lipids of intermediate tail length. Preliminary results are obtained for "bicelle"-type (DMPC/DHPC) ribbons.

  4. An enhanced narrow-band imaging method for the microvessel detection

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yu, Feng; Song, Enmin; Liu, Hong; Wan, Youming; Zhu, Jun; Hung, Chih-Cheng

    2018-02-01

    A medical endoscope system combined with the narrow-band imaging (NBI), has been shown to be a superior diagnostic tool for early cancer detection. The NBI can reveal the morphologic changes of microvessels in the superficial cancer. In order to improve the conspicuousness of microvessel texture, we propose an enhanced NBI method to improve the conspicuousness of endoscopic images. To obtain the more conspicuous narrow-band images, we use the edge operator to extract the edge information of the narrow-band blue and green images, and give a weight to the extracted edges. Then, the weighted edges are fused with the narrow-band blue and green images. Finally, the displayed endoscopic images are reconstructed with the enhanced narrow-band images. In addition, we evaluate the performance of enhanced narrow-band images with different edge operators. Experimental results indicate that the Sobel and Canny operators achieve the best performance of all. Compared with traditional NBI method of Olympus company, our proposed method has more conspicuous texture of microvessel.

  5. A Fast Superpixel Segmentation Algorithm for PolSAR Images Based on Edge Refinement and Revised Wishart Distance

    PubMed Central

    Zhang, Yue; Zou, Huanxin; Luo, Tiancheng; Qin, Xianxiang; Zhou, Shilin; Ji, Kefeng

    2016-01-01

    The superpixel segmentation algorithm, as a preprocessing technique, should show good performance in fast segmentation speed, accurate boundary adherence and homogeneous regularity. A fast superpixel segmentation algorithm by iterative edge refinement (IER) works well on optical images. However, it may generate poor superpixels for Polarimetric synthetic aperture radar (PolSAR) images due to the influence of strong speckle noise and many small-sized or slim regions. To solve these problems, we utilized a fast revised Wishart distance instead of Euclidean distance in the local relabeling of unstable pixels, and initialized unstable pixels as all the pixels substituted for the initial grid edge pixels in the initialization step. Then, postprocessing with the dissimilarity measure is employed to remove the generated small isolated regions as well as to preserve strong point targets. Finally, the superiority of the proposed algorithm is validated with extensive experiments on four simulated and two real-world PolSAR images from Experimental Synthetic Aperture Radar (ESAR) and Airborne Synthetic Aperture Radar (AirSAR) data sets, which demonstrate that the proposed method shows better performance with respect to several commonly used evaluation measures, even with about nine times higher computational efficiency, as well as fine boundary adherence and strong point targets preservation, compared with three state-of-the-art methods. PMID:27754385

  6. Ramp-edge structured tunneling devices using ferromagnet electrodes

    DOEpatents

    Kwon, Chuhee [Long Beach, CA; Jia, Quanxi [Los Alamos, NM

    2002-09-03

    The fabrication of ferromagnet-insulator-ferromagnet magnetic tunneling junction devices using a ramp-edge geometry based on, e.g., (La.sub.0.7 Sr.sub.0.3) MnO.sub.3, ferromagnetic electrodes and a SrTiO.sub.3 insulator is disclosed. The maximum junction magnetoresistance (JMR) as large as 23% was observed below 300 Oe at low temperatures (T<100 K). These ramp-edge junctions exhibited JMR of 6% at 200 K with a field less than 100 Oe.

  7. Quickbird Satellite in-orbit Modulation Transfer Function (MTF) Measurement Using Edge, Pulse and Impulse Methods for Summer 2003

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Helder, Dennis; Choi, Taeyoung; Rangaswamy, Manjunath

    2005-01-01

    The spatial characteristics of an imaging system cannot be expressed by a single number or simple statement. However, the Modulation Transfer Function (MTF) is one approach to measure the spatial quality of an imaging system. Basically, MTF is the normalized spatial frequency response of an imaging system. The frequency response of the system can be evaluated by applying an impulse input. The resulting impulse response is termed the Point Spread function (PSF). This function is a measure of the amount of blurring present in the imaging system and is itself a useful measure of spatial quality. An underlying assumption is that the imaging system is linear and shift-independent. The Fourier transform of the PSF is called the Optical Transfer Function (OTF) and the normalized magnitude of the OTF is the MTF. In addition to using an impulse input, a knife-edge in technique has also been used in this project. The sharp edge exercises an imaging system at all spatial frequencies. The profile of an edge response from an imaging system is called an Edge Spread Function (ESF). Differentiation of the ESF results in a one-dimensional version of the Point Spread Function (PSF). Finally, MTF can be calculated through use of Fourier transform of the PSF as stated previously. Every image includes noise in some degree which makes MTF of PSF estimation more difficult. To avoid the noise effects, many MTF estimation approaches use smooth numerical models. Historically, Gaussian models and Fermi functions were applied to reduce the random noise in the output profiles. The pulse-input method was used to measure the MTF of the Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) using 8th order even functions over the San Mateo Bridge in San Francisco, California. Because the bridge width was smaller than the 30-meter ground sample distance (GSD) of the TM, the Nyquist frequency was located before the first zero-crossing point of the sinc function from the Fourier transformation of the bridge pulse. To avoid

  8. High-resolution multi-channel seismic images of the Queen Charlotte Fault system offshore southeastern Alaska

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Miller, N. C.; Brothers, D. S.; Kluesner, J.; Balster-Gee, A.; Ten Brink, U. S.; Andrews, B. D.; Haeussler, P. J.; Watt, J. T.; Dartnell, P.; East, A. E.

    2016-12-01

    We present high-resolution multi-channel seismic (MCS) images of fault structure and sedimentary stratigraphy along the southeastern Alaska margin, where the northern Queen Charlotte Fault (QCF) cuts the shelf-edge and slope. The QCF is a dominantly strike slip system that forms the boundary between the Pacific (PA) and North American (NA) plates offshore western Canada and southeastern Alaska. The data were collected using a 64 channel, 200 m digital streamer and a 0.75-3 kJ sparker source aboard the R/V Norseman in August 2016. The survey was designed to cross a seafloor fault trace recently imaged by multibeam sonar (see adjacent poster by Brothers et al.) and to extend the subsurface information landward and seaward from the fault. Analysis of these MCS and multibeam data focus on addressing key questions that have significant implications for the kinematic and geodynamic history of the fault, including: Is the imaged surface fault in multibeam sonar the only recently-active fault trace? What is the shallow fault zone width and structure, is the internal structure of the recently-discovered pull-apart basin a dynamically developing structure? How does sediment thickness vary along the margin and how does this variation affect the fault expression? Can previous glacial sequences be identified in the stratigraphy?

  9. Improving temporal resolution and speed sensitivity of laser speckle contrast analysis imaging based on noise reduction with an anisotropic diffusion filter

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Song, Lipei; Wang, Xueyan; Zhang, Ru; Zhang, Kuanshou; Zhou, Zhen; Elson, Daniel S.

    2018-07-01

    The fluctuation of contrast caused by statistical noise degenerates the temporal/spatial resolution of laser speckle contrast imaging (LSCI) and limits the maximum speed when imaging. In this study, we investigated the application of the anisotropic diffusion filter (ADF) to temporal LSCI and found that the edge magnitude parameter of the ADF can be determined by the mean of the contrast image. Because the edge magnitude parameter is usually denoted as K, we term this the K-constant ADF (KC-ADF) and show that temporal sensitivity is improved when imaging because of the enhanced signal-to-noise ratio when using the KC-ADF in small-animal experiments. The cardiac cycle of a rat as high as 390 bpm can be imaged with an industrial camera.

  10. Structure of shock compressed model basaltic glass: Insights from O K-edge X-ray Raman scattering and high-resolution 27Al NMR spectroscopy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lee, Sung Keun; Park, Sun Young; Kim, Hyo-Im; Tschauner, Oliver; Asimow, Paul; Bai, Ligang; Xiao, Yuming; Chow, Paul

    2012-03-01

    The detailed atomic structures of shock compressed basaltic glasses are not well understood. Here, we explore the structures of shock compressed silicate glass with a diopside-anorthite eutectic composition (Di64An36), a common Fe-free model basaltic composition, using oxygen K-edge X-ray Raman scattering and high- resolution 27Al solid-state NMR spectroscopy and report previously unknown details of shock-induced changes in the atomic configurations. A topologically driven densification of the Di64An36 glass is indicated by the increase in oxygen K-edge energy for the glass upon shock compression. The first experimental evidence of the increase in the fraction of highly coordinated Al in shock compressed glass is found in the 27Al NMR spectra. This unambiguous evidence of shock-induced changes in Al coordination environments provides atomistic insights into shock compression in basaltic glasses and allows us to microscopically constrain the magnitude of impact events or relevant processes involving natural basalts on Earth and planetary surfaces.

  11. Two-peak structure in the K-edge RIXS spectra of a spatially frustrated Heisenberg antiferromagnet

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Datta, Trinanjan; Luo, Cheng; Yao, Dao-Xin

    2014-03-01

    Quantum fluctuations due to spatial anisotropy and strong magnetic frustration lead to the formation of a two-peak structure in the K-edge bimagnon RIXS intensity spectra of a Jx-Jy-J2 Heisenberg model on a square lattice. We compute the RIXS intensity, including up to first order 1/S spin wave expansion correction, using the Bethe-Salpeter equation within the ladder approximation scheme. The two-peak feature occurs in both the antiferromagnetic phase and the collinear antiferromagnetic phase. A knowledge of the peak splitting energy from both magnetically ordered regime can provide experimentalists with an alternative means to measure and study the effects of local microscopic exchange constants. Cottrell Research Corporation, NSFC-11074310, NSFC-11275279, Specialized Research Fund for the Doctoral Program of Higher Education.

  12. Detecting the optic disc boundary in digital fundus images using morphological, edge detection, and feature extraction techniques.

    PubMed

    Aquino, Arturo; Gegundez-Arias, Manuel Emilio; Marin, Diego

    2010-11-01

    Optic disc (OD) detection is an important step in developing systems for automated diagnosis of various serious ophthalmic pathologies. This paper presents a new template-based methodology for segmenting the OD from digital retinal images. This methodology uses morphological and edge detection techniques followed by the Circular Hough Transform to obtain a circular OD boundary approximation. It requires a pixel located within the OD as initial information. For this purpose, a location methodology based on a voting-type algorithm is also proposed. The algorithms were evaluated on the 1200 images of the publicly available MESSIDOR database. The location procedure succeeded in 99% of cases, taking an average computational time of 1.67 s. with a standard deviation of 0.14 s. On the other hand, the segmentation algorithm rendered an average common area overlapping between automated segmentations and true OD regions of 86%. The average computational time was 5.69 s with a standard deviation of 0.54 s. Moreover, a discussion on advantages and disadvantages of the models more generally used for OD segmentation is also presented in this paper.

  13. Image flows and one-liner graphical image representation.

    PubMed

    Makhervaks, Vadim; Barequet, Gill; Bruckstein, Alfred

    2002-10-01

    This paper introduces a novel graphical image representation consisting of a single curve-the one-liner. The first step of the algorithm involves the detection and ranking of image edges. A new edge exploration technique is used to perform both tasks simultaneously. This process is based on image flows. It uses a gradient vector field and a new operator to explore image edges. Estimation of the derivatives of the image is performed by using local Taylor expansions in conjunction with a weighted least-squares method. This process finds all the possible image edges without any pruning, and collects information that allows the edges found to be prioritized. This enables the most important edges to be selected to form a skeleton of the representation sought. The next step connects the selected edges into one continuous curve-the one-liner. It orders the selected edges and determines the curves connecting them. These two problems are solved separately. Since the abstract graph setting of the first problem is NP-complete, we reduce it to a variant of the traveling salesman problem and compute an approximate solution to it. We solve the second problem by using Dijkstra's shortest-path algorithm. The full software implementation for the entire one-liner determination process is available.

  14. Segmentation of dermatoscopic images by frequency domain filtering and k-means clustering algorithms.

    PubMed

    Rajab, Maher I

    2011-11-01

    Since the introduction of epiluminescence microscopy (ELM), image analysis tools have been extended to the field of dermatology, in an attempt to algorithmically reproduce clinical evaluation. Accurate image segmentation of skin lesions is one of the key steps for useful, early and non-invasive diagnosis of coetaneous melanomas. This paper proposes two image segmentation algorithms based on frequency domain processing and k-means clustering/fuzzy k-means clustering. The two methods are capable of segmenting and extracting the true border that reveals the global structure irregularity (indentations and protrusions), which may suggest excessive cell growth or regression of a melanoma. As a pre-processing step, Fourier low-pass filtering is applied to reduce the surrounding noise in a skin lesion image. A quantitative comparison of the techniques is enabled by the use of synthetic skin lesion images that model lesions covered with hair to which Gaussian noise is added. The proposed techniques are also compared with an established optimal-based thresholding skin-segmentation method. It is demonstrated that for lesions with a range of different border irregularity properties, the k-means clustering and fuzzy k-means clustering segmentation methods provide the best performance over a range of signal to noise ratios. The proposed segmentation techniques are also demonstrated to have similar performance when tested on real skin lesions representing high-resolution ELM images. This study suggests that the segmentation results obtained using a combination of low-pass frequency filtering and k-means or fuzzy k-means clustering are superior to the result that would be obtained by using k-means or fuzzy k-means clustering segmentation methods alone. © 2011 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

  15. Percutaneous Tricuspid Valve Regurgitation Repair With the MitraClip Device Using an Edge-to-Edge Bicuspidization Technique.

    PubMed

    Gafoor, Sameer; Petrescu, O Madalina; Lehr, Eric J; Puls, Charles; Zhang, Ming; Petersen, John L; Olsen, John V; Penev, Irina; Agrawal, Mayank; Sharma, Rahul; Barnhart, Glenn

    2017-03-01

    Patients who present with both severe mitral and tricuspid regurgitation who are symptomatic despite optimal medical therapy and at prohibitive risk for surgery pose a significant therapeutic challenge. The MitraClip device (Abbott Vascular) is approved for percutaneous mitral valve repair in high-risk and non-operative patients, and has also been used for tricuspid valve repair. Imaging support for percutaneous edge-to-edge tricuspid valve repair has not been reported and is a vital part of the procedure. Here, we present a periprocedural imaging strategy for percutaneous tricuspid valve repair with the MitraClip device using a bicuspidization technique.

  16. Calibrations for a MCAO Imaging System

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hibon, Pascale; B. Neichel; V. Garrel; R. Carrasco

    2017-09-01

    "GeMS, the Gemini Multi conjugate adaptive optics System installed at the Gemini South telescope (Cerro Pachon, Chile) started to deliver science since the beginning of 2013. GeMS is using the Multi Conjugate AdaptiveOptics (MCAO) technique allowing to dramatically increase the corrected field of view (FOV) compared to classical Single Conjugated Adaptive Optics (SCAO) systems. It is the first sodium-based multi-Laser Guide Star (LGS) adaptive optics system. It has been designed to feed two science instruments: GSAOI, a 4k×4k NIR imager covering 85"×85" with 0.02" pixel scale, and Flamingos-2, a NIR multi-object spectrograph. We present here an overview of the calibrations necessary for reducing and analysing the science datasets obtained with GeMS+GSAOI."

  17. A New Method for Computed Tomography Angiography (CTA) Imaging via Wavelet Decomposition-Dependented Edge Matching Interpolation.

    PubMed

    Li, Zeyu; Chen, Yimin; Zhao, Yan; Zhu, Lifeng; Lv, Shengqing; Lu, Jiahui

    2016-08-01

    The interpolation technique of computed tomography angiography (CTA) image provides the ability for 3D reconstruction, as well as reduces the detect cost and the amount of radiation. However, most of the image interpolation algorithms cannot take the automation and accuracy into account. This study provides a new edge matching interpolation algorithm based on wavelet decomposition of CTA. It includes mark, scale and calculation (MSC). Combining the real clinical image data, this study mainly introduces how to search for proportional factor and use the root mean square operator to find a mean value. Furthermore, we re- synthesize the high frequency and low frequency parts of the processed image by wavelet inverse operation, and get the final interpolation image. MSC can make up for the shortage of the conventional Computed Tomography (CT) and Magnetic Resonance Imaging(MRI) examination. The radiation absorption and the time to check through the proposed synthesized image were significantly reduced. In clinical application, it can help doctor to find hidden lesions in time. Simultaneously, the patients get less economic burden as well as less radiation exposure absorbed.

  18. Resonant inelastic x-ray scattering on iso-C2H2Cl2 around the chlorine K-edge: Structural and dynamical aspects

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kawerk, Elie; Carniato, Stéphane; Journel, Loïc; Marchenko, Tatiana; Piancastelli, Maria Novella; Žitnik, Matjaž; Bučar, Klemen; Bohnic, Rok; Kavčič, Matjaž; Céolin, Denis; Khoury, Antonio; Simon, Marc

    2014-10-01

    We report a theoretical and experimental study of the high resolution resonant Kα X-ray emission lines around the chlorine K-edge in gas phase 1,1-dichloroethylene. With the help of ab initio electronic structure calculations and cross section evaluation, we interpret the lowest lying peak in the X-ray absorption and emission spectra. The behavior of the Kα emission lines with respect to frequency detuning highlights the existence of femtosecond nuclear dynamics on the dissociative Potential Energy Surface of the first K-shell core-excited state.

  19. Graphene microsheets enter cells through spontaneous membrane penetration at edge asperities and corner sites

    PubMed Central

    Li, Yinfeng; Yuan, Hongyan; von dem Bussche, Annette; Creighton, Megan; Hurt, Robert H.; Kane, Agnes B.; Gao, Huajian

    2013-01-01

    Understanding and controlling the interaction of graphene-based materials with cell membranes is key to the development of graphene-enabled biomedical technologies and to the management of graphene health and safety issues. Very little is known about the fundamental behavior of cell membranes exposed to ultrathin 2D synthetic materials. Here we investigate the interactions of graphene and few-layer graphene (FLG) microsheets with three cell types and with model lipid bilayers by combining coarse-grained molecular dynamics (MD), all-atom MD, analytical modeling, confocal fluorescence imaging, and electron microscopic imaging. The imaging experiments show edge-first uptake and complete internalization for a range of FLG samples of 0.5- to 10-μm lateral dimension. In contrast, the simulations show large energy barriers relative to kBT for membrane penetration by model graphene or FLG microsheets of similar size. More detailed simulations resolve this paradox by showing that entry is initiated at corners or asperities that are abundant along the irregular edges of fabricated graphene materials. Local piercing by these sharp protrusions initiates membrane propagation along the extended graphene edge and thus avoids the high energy barrier calculated in simple idealized MD simulations. We propose that this mechanism allows cellular uptake of even large multilayer sheets of micrometer-scale lateral dimension, which is consistent with our multimodal bioimaging results for primary human keratinocytes, human lung epithelial cells, and murine macrophages. PMID:23840061

  20. Electronic and chemical state of aluminum from the single- (K) and double-electron excitation (KL II&III, KL I) x-ray absorption near-edge spectra of α-alumina, sodium aluminate, aqueous Al³⁺•(H₂O)₆, and aqueous Al(OH)₄⁻

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

    Fulton, John L.; Govind, Niranjan; Huthwelker, Thomas

    2015-07-02

    We probe, at high energy resolution, the double electron excitation (KL II&II) x-ray absorption region that lies approximately 115 eV above the main Al K-edge (1566 eV) of α-alumina and sodium aluminate. The two solid standards, α-alumina (octahedral) and sodium aluminate (tetrahedral) are compared to aqueous species that have the same Al coordination symmetries, Al³⁺•6H₂O (octahedral) and Al(OH)₄⁻ (tetrahedral). For the octahedral species, the edge height of the KL II&III-edge is approximately 10% of the main K-edge however the edge height is much weaker (3% of K-edge height) for Al species with tetrahedral symmetry. For the α-alumina and aqueous Al³⁺•6H₂Omore » the KL II&III spectra contain white line features and extended absorption fine structure (EXAFS) that mimics the K-edge spectra. The KL II&III-edge feature interferes with an important region of the extended-XAFS region of the spectra for the K-edge of the crystalline and aqueous standards. The K-edge spectra and K-edge positions are predicted using time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT). The TDDFT calculations for the K-edge XANES spectra reproduce the observed transitions in the experimental spectra of the four Al species. The KL II&III and KL I onsets and their corresponding chemical shifts for the four standards are estimated using the delta self-consistent field (ΔSCF) method. Research by JLF, NG, EJB, AV, TDS was supported by U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE), Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Division of Chemical Sciences, Geosciences, and Biosciences. NG thanks Amity Andersen for help with the α-Al₂O₃ and tetrahedral sodium aluminate (NaAlO₂) clusters. All the calculations were performed using the Molecular Science Computing Capability at EMSL, a national scientific user facility sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Biological and Environmental Research and located at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). PNNL