40 CFR 1515.10 - Obtaining available information.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 34 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Obtaining available information. 1515.10 Section 1515.10 Protection of Environment COUNCIL ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT PROCEDURES Availability of Information § 1515.10 Obtaining available information. (a) When a...

48 CFR 209.105-1 - Obtaining information.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... Information Retrieval System (PPIRS), available at http://www.ppirs.gov. Information relating to contract... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 3 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Obtaining information. 209....105-1 Obtaining information. (1) For guidance on using the Excluded Parties List System, see PGI 209...

48 CFR 209.105-1 - Obtaining information.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... Performance Information Retrieval System (PPIRS), available at http://www.ppirs.gov. Information relating to... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 3 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Obtaining information. 209....105-1 Obtaining information. (1) For guidance on using the System for Award Management Exclusions, see...

48 CFR 209.105-1 - Obtaining information.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... Information Retrieval System (PPIRS), available at http://www.ppirs.gov. Information relating to contract... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 3 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Obtaining information. 209....105-1 Obtaining information. (1) For guidance on using the Excluded Parties List System, see PGI 209...

48 CFR 209.105-1 - Obtaining information.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... Information Retrieval System (PPIRS), available at http://www.ppirs.gov. Information relating to contract... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 3 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Obtaining information. 209....105-1 Obtaining information. (1) For guidance on using the Excluded Parties List System, see PGI 209...

48 CFR 9.105-1 - Obtaining information.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 1 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Obtaining information. 9... information. (a) Before making a determination of responsibility, the contracting officer shall possess or obtain information sufficient to be satisfied that a prospective contractor currently meets the...

48 CFR 509.105-1 - Obtaining information.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 4 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Obtaining information. 509... Obtaining information. (a) From a prospective contractor. FAR 9.105-1 lists a number of sources of information that a contracting officer may utilize before making a determination of responsibility. The...

48 CFR 509.105-1 - Obtaining information.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 4 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Obtaining information. 509... Obtaining information. (a) From a prospective contractor. FAR 9.105-1 lists a number of sources of information that a contracting officer may utilize before making a determination of responsibility. The...

48 CFR 509.105-1 - Obtaining information.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 4 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Obtaining information. 509... Obtaining information. (a) From a prospective contractor. FAR 9.105-1 lists a number of sources of information that a contracting officer may utilize before making a determination of responsibility. The...

48 CFR 509.105-1 - Obtaining information.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 4 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Obtaining information. 509... Obtaining information. (a) From a prospective contractor. FAR 9.105-1 lists a number of sources of information that a contracting officer may utilize before making a determination of responsibility. The...

Pixel-based parametric source depth map for Cerenkov luminescence imaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Altabella, L.; Boschi, F.; Spinelli, A. E.

2016-01-01

Optical tomography represents a challenging problem in optical imaging because of the intrinsically ill-posed inverse problem due to photon diffusion. Cerenkov luminescence tomography (CLT) for optical photons produced in tissues by several radionuclides (i.e.: 32P, 18F, 90Y), has been investigated using both 3D multispectral approach and multiviews methods. Difficult in convergence of 3D algorithms can discourage to use this technique to have information of depth and intensity of source. For these reasons, we developed a faster 2D corrected approach based on multispectral acquisitions, to obtain source depth and its intensity using a pixel-based fitting of source intensity. Monte Carlo simulations and experimental data were used to develop and validate the method to obtain the parametric map of source depth. With this approach we obtain parametric source depth maps with a precision between 3% and 7% for MC simulation and 5-6% for experimental data. Using this method we are able to obtain reliable information about the source depth of Cerenkov luminescence with a simple and flexible procedure.

Information Structure Influences Depth of Syntactic Processing: Event-Related Potential Evidence for the Chomsky Illusion

PubMed Central

Wang, Lin; Bastiaansen, Marcel; Yang, Yufang; Hagoort, Peter

2012-01-01

Information structure facilitates communication between interlocutors by highlighting relevant information. It has previously been shown that information structure modulates the depth of semantic processing. Here we used event-related potentials to investigate whether information structure can modulate the depth of syntactic processing. In question-answer pairs, subtle (number agreement) or salient (phrase structure) syntactic violations were placed either in focus or out of focus through information structure marking. P600 effects to these violations reflect the depth of syntactic processing. For subtle violations, a P600 effect was observed in the focus condition, but not in the non-focus condition. For salient violations, comparable P600 effects were found in both conditions. These results indicate that information structure can modulate the depth of syntactic processing, but that this effect depends on the salience of the information. When subtle violations are not in focus, they are processed less elaborately. We label this phenomenon the Chomsky illusion. PMID:23110131

Information structure influences depth of syntactic processing: event-related potential evidence for the Chomsky illusion.

PubMed

Wang, Lin; Bastiaansen, Marcel; Yang, Yufang; Hagoort, Peter

2012-01-01

Information structure facilitates communication between interlocutors by highlighting relevant information. It has previously been shown that information structure modulates the depth of semantic processing. Here we used event-related potentials to investigate whether information structure can modulate the depth of syntactic processing. In question-answer pairs, subtle (number agreement) or salient (phrase structure) syntactic violations were placed either in focus or out of focus through information structure marking. P600 effects to these violations reflect the depth of syntactic processing. For subtle violations, a P600 effect was observed in the focus condition, but not in the non-focus condition. For salient violations, comparable P600 effects were found in both conditions. These results indicate that information structure can modulate the depth of syntactic processing, but that this effect depends on the salience of the information. When subtle violations are not in focus, they are processed less elaborately. We label this phenomenon the Chomsky illusion.

48 CFR 209.105-1 - Obtaining information.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 3 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Obtaining information. 209....105-1 Obtaining information. (1) For guidance on using the Exclusions section of the System for Award... responsibility (see FAR 9.104-1(c)). One source of information relating to contractor performance is the Past...

5 CFR 1501.12 - Obtaining further information.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 5 Administrative Personnel 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Obtaining further information. 1501.12 Section 1501.12 Administrative Personnel THE INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS EMPLOYEES LOYALTY BOARD OPERATIONS OF THE INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS EMPLOYEES LOYALTY BOARD § 1501.12 Obtaining further information...

Enhanced visualization of the retinal vasculature using depth information in OCT.

PubMed

de Moura, Joaquim; Novo, Jorge; Charlón, Pablo; Barreira, Noelia; Ortega, Marcos

2017-12-01

Retinal vessel tree extraction is a crucial step for analyzing the microcirculation, a frequently needed process in the study of relevant diseases. To date, this has normally been done by using 2D image capture paradigms, offering a restricted visualization of the real layout of the retinal vasculature. In this work, we propose a new approach that automatically segments and reconstructs the 3D retinal vessel tree by combining near-infrared reflectance retinography information with Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) sections. Our proposal identifies the vessels, estimates their calibers, and obtains the depth at all the positions of the entire vessel tree, thereby enabling the reconstruction of the 3D layout of the complete arteriovenous tree for subsequent analysis. The method was tested using 991 OCT images combined with their corresponding near-infrared reflectance retinography. The different stages of the methodology were validated using the opinion of an expert as a reference. The tests offered accurate results, showing coherent reconstructions of the 3D vasculature that can be analyzed in the diagnosis of relevant diseases affecting the retinal microcirculation, such as hypertension or diabetes, among others.

[In-depth interviews and the Kano model to determine user requirements in a burns unit].

PubMed

González-Revaldería, J; Holguín-Holgado, P; Lumbreras-Marín, E; Núñez-López, G

To determine the healthcare requirements of patients in a Burns Unit, using qualitative techniques, such us in-depth personal interviews and Kano's methodology. Qualitative methodology using in-depth personal interviews (12 patients), Kano's conceptual model, and the SERVQHOS questionnaire (24 patients). All patients had been hospitalised in the last 12 months in the Burns Unit. Using Kano's methodology, service attributes were grouped by affinity diagrams, and classified as follows: must-be, attractive (unexpected, great satisfaction), and one-dimensional (linked to the degree of functionality of the service). The outcomes were compared with those obtained with SERVQHOS questionnaire. From the analysis of in-depth interviews, 11 requirements were obtained, referring to hotel aspects, information, need for closer staff relationship, and organisational aspects. The attributes classified as must-be were free television and automatic TV disconnection at midnight. Those classified as attractive were: individual room for more privacy, information about dressing change times in order to avoid anxiety, and additional staff for in-patients. The results were complementary to those obtained with the SERVQHOS questionnaire. In-depth personal interviews provide extra knowledge about patient requirements, complementing the information obtained with questionnaires. With this methodology, a more active patient participation is achieved and the companion's opinion is also taken into account. Copyright © 2016 SECA. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

Objective fitting of hemoglobin dynamics in traumatic bruises based on temperature depth profiling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vidovič, Luka; Milanič, Matija; Majaron, Boris

2014-02-01

Pulsed photothermal radiometry (PPTR) allows noninvasive measurement of laser-induced temperature depth profiles. The obtained profiles provide information on depth distribution of absorbing chromophores, such as melanin and hemoglobin. We apply this technique to objectively characterize mass diffusion and decomposition rate of extravasated hemoglobin during the bruise healing process. In present study, we introduce objective fitting of PPTR data obtained over the course of the bruise healing process. By applying Monte Carlo simulation of laser energy deposition and simulation of the corresponding PPTR signal, quantitative analysis of underlying bruise healing processes is possible. Introduction of objective fitting enables an objective comparison between the simulated and experimental PPTR signals. In this manner, we avoid reconstruction of laser-induced depth profiles and thus inherent loss of information in the process. This approach enables us to determine the value of hemoglobin mass diffusivity, which is controversial in existing literature. Such information will be a valuable addition to existing bruise age determination techniques.

5 CFR 2411.5 - Procedure for obtaining information.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 5 Administrative Personnel 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Procedure for obtaining information. 2411.5 Section 2411.5 Administrative Personnel FEDERAL LABOR RELATIONS AUTHORITY, GENERAL COUNSEL OF THE... OFFICIAL INFORMATION § 2411.5 Procedure for obtaining information. (a) Authority/General Counsel/Panel/IG...

Are face representations depth cue invariant?

PubMed

Dehmoobadsharifabadi, Armita; Farivar, Reza

2016-06-01

The visual system can process three-dimensional depth cues defining surfaces of objects, but it is unclear whether such information contributes to complex object recognition, including face recognition. The processing of different depth cues involves both dorsal and ventral visual pathways. We investigated whether facial surfaces defined by individual depth cues resulted in meaningful face representations-representations that maintain the relationship between the population of faces as defined in a multidimensional face space. We measured face identity aftereffects for facial surfaces defined by individual depth cues (Experiments 1 and 2) and tested whether the aftereffect transfers across depth cues (Experiments 3 and 4). Facial surfaces and their morphs to the average face were defined purely by one of shading, texture, motion, or binocular disparity. We obtained identification thresholds for matched (matched identity between adapting and test stimuli), non-matched (non-matched identity between adapting and test stimuli), and no-adaptation (showing only the test stimuli) conditions for each cue and across different depth cues. We found robust face identity aftereffect in both experiments. Our results suggest that depth cues do contribute to forming meaningful face representations that are depth cue invariant. Depth cue invariance would require integration of information across different areas and different pathways for object recognition, and this in turn has important implications for cortical models of visual object recognition.

48 CFR 9.105-1 - Obtaining information.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... the responsibility of prospective contractors, including requesting preaward surveys when necessary..., especially when research and development is involved, the contracting officer may obtain this information... information concerning (i) the low bidder or (ii) those offerors in range for award. (2) Preaward surveys...

48 CFR 9.105-1 - Obtaining information.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... the responsibility of prospective contractors, including requesting preaward surveys when necessary..., especially when research and development is involved, the contracting officer may obtain this information... information concerning (i) the low bidder or (ii) those offerors in range for award. (2) Preaward surveys...

48 CFR 9.105-1 - Obtaining information.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... the responsibility of prospective contractors, including requesting preaward surveys when necessary..., especially when research and development is involved, the contracting officer may obtain this information... information concerning (i) the low bidder or (ii) those offerors in range for award. (2) Preaward surveys...

48 CFR 9.105-1 - Obtaining information.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... information required concerning the adequacy of prospective contractors' accounting systems and these systems... accounting systems, and these systems' suitability for use in administering the proposed type of contract. (3... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Obtaining information. 9...

Securing recruitment and obtaining informed consent in minority ethnic groups in the UK.

PubMed

Lloyd, Cathy E; Johnson, Mark R D; Mughal, Shanaz; Sturt, Jackie A; Collins, Gary S; Roy, Tapash; Bibi, Rukhsana; Barnett, Anthony H

2008-03-30

Previous health research has often explicitly excluded individuals from minority ethnic backgrounds due to perceived cultural and communication difficulties, including studies where there might be language/literacy problems in obtaining informed consent. This study addressed these difficulties by developing audio-recorded methods of obtaining informed consent and recording data. This report outlines 1) our experiences with securing recruitment to a qualitative study investigating alternative methods of data collection, and 2) the development of a standardised process for obtaining informed consent from individuals from minority ethnic backgrounds whose main language does not have an agreed written form. Two researchers from South Asian backgrounds recruited adults with Type 2 diabetes whose main language was spoken and not written, to attend a series of focus groups. A screening tool was used at recruitment in order to assess literacy skills in potential participants. Informed consent was obtained using audio-recordings of the patient information and recording patients' verbal consent. Participants' perceptions of this method of obtaining consent were recorded. Recruitment rates were improved by using telephone compared to face-to-face methods. The screening tool was found to be acceptable by all potential participants. Audio-recorded methods of obtaining informed consent were easy to implement and accepted by all participants. Attrition rates differed according to ethnic group. Snowballing techniques only partly improved participation rates. Audio-recorded methods of obtaining informed consent are an acceptable alternative to written consent in study populations where literacy skills are variable. Further exploration of issues relating to attrition is required, and a range of methods may be necessary in order to maximise response and participation rates.

Determination of relative ion chamber calibration coefficients from depth-ionization measurements in clinical electron beams

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Muir, B. R.; McEwen, M. R.; Rogers, D. W. O.

2014-10-01

A method is presented to obtain ion chamber calibration coefficients relative to secondary standard reference chambers in electron beams using depth-ionization measurements. Results are obtained as a function of depth and average electron energy at depth in 4, 8, 12 and 18 MeV electron beams from the NRC Elekta Precise linac. The PTW Roos, Scanditronix NACP-02, PTW Advanced Markus and NE 2571 ion chambers are investigated. The challenges and limitations of the method are discussed. The proposed method produces useful data at shallow depths. At depths past the reference depth, small shifts in positioning or drifts in the incident beam energy affect the results, thereby providing a built-in test of incident electron energy drifts and/or chamber set-up. Polarity corrections for ion chambers as a function of average electron energy at depth agree with literature data. The proposed method produces results consistent with those obtained using the conventional calibration procedure while gaining much more information about the behavior of the ion chamber with similar data acquisition time. Measurement uncertainties in calibration coefficients obtained with this method are estimated to be less than 0.5%. These results open up the possibility of using depth-ionization measurements to yield chamber ratios which may be suitable for primary standards-level dissemination.

Multilevel depth and image fusion for human activity detection.

PubMed

Ni, Bingbing; Pei, Yong; Moulin, Pierre; Yan, Shuicheng

2013-10-01

Recognizing complex human activities usually requires the detection and modeling of individual visual features and the interactions between them. Current methods only rely on the visual features extracted from 2-D images, and therefore often lead to unreliable salient visual feature detection and inaccurate modeling of the interaction context between individual features. In this paper, we show that these problems can be addressed by combining data from a conventional camera and a depth sensor (e.g., Microsoft Kinect). We propose a novel complex activity recognition and localization framework that effectively fuses information from both grayscale and depth image channels at multiple levels of the video processing pipeline. In the individual visual feature detection level, depth-based filters are applied to the detected human/object rectangles to remove false detections. In the next level of interaction modeling, 3-D spatial and temporal contexts among human subjects or objects are extracted by integrating information from both grayscale and depth images. Depth information is also utilized to distinguish different types of indoor scenes. Finally, a latent structural model is developed to integrate the information from multiple levels of video processing for an activity detection. Extensive experiments on two activity recognition benchmarks (one with depth information) and a challenging grayscale + depth human activity database that contains complex interactions between human-human, human-object, and human-surroundings demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed multilevel grayscale + depth fusion scheme. Higher recognition and localization accuracies are obtained relative to the previous methods.

Depth information in natural environments derived from optic flow by insect motion detection system: a model analysis

PubMed Central

Schwegmann, Alexander; Lindemann, Jens P.; Egelhaaf, Martin

2014-01-01

Knowing the depth structure of the environment is crucial for moving animals in many behavioral contexts, such as collision avoidance, targeting objects, or spatial navigation. An important source of depth information is motion parallax. This powerful cue is generated on the eyes during translatory self-motion with the retinal images of nearby objects moving faster than those of distant ones. To investigate how the visual motion pathway represents motion-based depth information we analyzed its responses to image sequences recorded in natural cluttered environments with a wide range of depth structures. The analysis was done on the basis of an experimentally validated model of the visual motion pathway of insects, with its core elements being correlation-type elementary motion detectors (EMDs). It is the key result of our analysis that the absolute EMD responses, i.e., the motion energy profile, represent the contrast-weighted nearness of environmental structures during translatory self-motion at a roughly constant velocity. In other words, the output of the EMD array highlights contours of nearby objects. This conclusion is largely independent of the scale over which EMDs are spatially pooled and was corroborated by scrutinizing the motion energy profile after eliminating the depth structure from the natural image sequences. Hence, the well-established dependence of correlation-type EMDs on both velocity and textural properties of motion stimuli appears to be advantageous for representing behaviorally relevant information about the environment in a computationally parsimonious way. PMID:25136314

21 CFR 20.109 - Data and information obtained by contract.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 1 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Data and information obtained by contract. 20.109... GENERAL PUBLIC INFORMATION Availability of Specific Categories of Records § 20.109 Data and information obtained by contract. (a) All data and information obtained by the Food and Drug Administration by contract...

Motivational Influences on Cognition: Task Involvement, Ego Involvement, and Depth of Information Processing.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Graham, Sandra; Golan, Shari

1991-01-01

Task involvement and ego involvement were studied in relation to depth of information processing for 126 fifth and sixth graders in 2 experiments. Ego involvement resulted in poorer word recall at deep rather than shallow information processing levels. Implications for the study of motivation are discussed. (SLD)

Focal Depth of the WenChuan Earthquake Aftershocks from modeling of Seismic Depth Phases

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luo, Y.; Zeng, X.; Chong, J.; Ni, S.; Chen, Y.

2008-12-01

After the 05/12/2008 great WenChuan earthquake in Sichuan Province of China, tens of thousands earthquakes occurred with hundreds of them stronger than M4. Those aftershocks provide valuable information about seismotectonics and rupture processes for the mainshock, particularly accurate spatial distribution of aftershocks is very informational for determining rupture fault planes. However focal depth can not be well resolved just with first arrivals recorded by relatively sparse network in Sichuan Province, therefore 3D seismicity distribution is difficult to obtain though horizontal location can be located with accuracy of 5km. Instead local/regional depth phases such as sPmP, sPn, sPL and teleseismic pP,sP are very sensitive to depth, and be readily modeled to determine depth with accuracy of 2km. With reference 1D velocity structure resolved from receiver functions and seismic refraction studies, local/regional depth phases such as sPmP, sPn and sPL are identified by comparing observed waveform with synthetic seismograms by generalized ray theory and reflectivity methods. For teleseismic depth phases well observed for M5.5 and stronger events, we developed an algorithm in inverting both depth and focal mechanism from P and SH waveforms. Also we employed the Cut and Paste (CAP) method developed by Zhao and Helmberger in modeling mechanism and depth with local waveforms, which constrains depth by fitting Pnl waveforms and the relative weight between surface wave and Pnl. After modeling all the depth phases for hundreds of events , we find that most of the M4 earthquakes occur between 2-18km depth, with aftershocks depth ranging 4-12km in the southern half of Longmenshan fault while aftershocks in the northern half featuring large depth range up to 18km. Therefore seismogenic zone in the northern segment is deeper as compared to the southern segment. All the aftershocks occur in upper crust, given that the Moho is deeper than 40km, or even 60km west of the

A High Spatial Resolution Depth Sensing Method Based on Binocular Structured Light

PubMed Central

Yao, Huimin; Ge, Chenyang; Xue, Jianru; Zheng, Nanning

2017-01-01

Depth information has been used in many fields because of its low cost and easy availability, since the Microsoft Kinect was released. However, the Kinect and Kinect-like RGB-D sensors show limited performance in certain applications and place high demands on accuracy and robustness of depth information. In this paper, we propose a depth sensing system that contains a laser projector similar to that used in the Kinect, and two infrared cameras located on both sides of the laser projector, to obtain higher spatial resolution depth information. We apply the block-matching algorithm to estimate the disparity. To improve the spatial resolution, we reduce the size of matching blocks, but smaller matching blocks generate lower matching precision. To address this problem, we combine two matching modes (binocular mode and monocular mode) in the disparity estimation process. Experimental results show that our method can obtain higher spatial resolution depth without loss of the quality of the range image, compared with the Kinect. Furthermore, our algorithm is implemented on a low-cost hardware platform, and the system can support the resolution of 1280 × 960, and up to a speed of 60 frames per second, for depth image sequences. PMID:28397759

Obtaining information by dynamic (effortful) touching

PubMed Central

Turvey, M. T.; Carello, Claudia

2011-01-01

Dynamic touching is effortful touching. It entails deformation of muscles and fascia and activation of the embedded mechanoreceptors, as when an object is supported and moved by the body. It is realized as exploratory activities that can vary widely in spatial and temporal extents (a momentary heft, an extended walk). Research has revealed the potential of dynamic touching for obtaining non-visual information about the body (e.g. limb orientation), attachments to the body (e.g. an object's height and width) and the relation of the body both to attachments (e.g. hand's location on a grasped object) and surrounding surfaces (e.g. places and their distances). Invariants over the exploratory activity (e.g. moments of a wielded object's mass distribution) seem to ground this ‘information about’. The conception of a haptic medium as a nested tensegrity structure has been proposed to express the obtained information realized by myofascia deformation, by its invariants and transformations. The tensegrity proposal rationalizes the relative indifference of dynamic touch to the site of mechanical contact (hand, foot, torso or probe) and the overtness of exploratory activity. It also provides a framework for dynamic touching's fractal nature, and the finding that its degree of fractality may matter to its accomplishments. PMID:21969694

A qualitative approach for recovering relative depths in dynamic scenes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Haynes, S. M.; Jain, R.

1987-01-01

This approach to dynamic scene analysis is a qualitative one. It computes relative depths using very general rules. The depths calculated are qualitative in the sense that the only information obtained is which object is in front of which others. The motion is qualitative in the sense that the only required motion data is whether objects are moving toward or away from the camera. Reasoning, which takes into account the temporal character of the data and the scene, is qualitative. This approach to dynamic scene analysis can tolerate imprecise data because in dynamic scenes the data are redundant.

Updating default depths in the ISC bulletin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bolton, Maiclaire K.; Storchak, Dmitry A.; Harris, James

2006-09-01

The International Seismological Centre (ISC) publishes the definitive global bulletin of earthquake locations. In the ISC bulletin, we aim to obtain a free depth, but often this is not possible. Subsequently, the first option is to obtain a depth derived from depth phases. If depth phases are not available, we then use the reported depth from a reputable local agency. Finally, as a last resort, we set a default depth. In the past, common depths of 10, 33, or multiples of 50 km have been assigned. Assigning a more meaningful default depth, specific to a seismic region will increase the consistency of earthquake locations within the ISC bulletin and allow the ISC to publish better positions and magnitude estimates. It will also improve the association of reported secondary arrivals to corresponding seismic events. We aim to produce a global set of default depths, based on a typical depth for each area, from well-constrained events in the ISC bulletin or where depth could be constrained using a consistent set of depth phase arrivals provided by a number of different reporters. In certain areas, we must resort to using other assumptions. For these cases, we use a global crustal model (Crust2.0) to set default depths to half the thickness of the crust.

Stereoscopic depth perception varies with hues

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Zaiqing; Shi, Junsheng; Tai, Yonghang; Yun, Lijun

2012-09-01

The contribution of color information to stereopsis is controversial, and whether the stereoscopic depth perception varies with chromaticity is ambiguous. This study examined the changes in depth perception caused by hue variations. Based on the fact that a greater disparity range indicates more efficient stereoscopic perception, the effect of hue variations on depth perception was evaluated through the disparity range with random-dot stereogram stimuli. The disparity range was obtained by constant-stimulus method for eight chromaticity points sampled from the CIE 1931 chromaticity diagram. Eight sample points include four main color hues: red, yellow, green, and blue at two levels of chroma. The results show that the disparity range for the yellow hue is greater than the red hue, the latter being greater than the blue hue and the disparity range for green hue is smallest. We conclude that the perceived depth is not the same for different hues for a given size of disparity. We suggest that the stereoscopic depth perception can vary with chromaticity.

National Practice Patterns of Obtaining Informed Consent for Stroke Thrombolysis.

PubMed

Mendelson, Scott J; Courtney, D Mark; Gordon, Elisa J; Thomas, Leena F; Holl, Jane L; Prabhakaran, Shyam

2018-03-01

No standard approach to obtaining informed consent for stroke thrombolysis with tPA (tissue-type plasminogen activator) currently exists. We aimed to assess current nationwide practice patterns of obtaining informed consent for tPA. An online survey was developed and distributed by e-mail to clinicians involved in acute stroke care. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to determine independent factors contributing to always obtaining informed consent for tPA. Among 268 respondents, 36.7% reported always obtaining informed consent and 51.8% reported the informed consent process caused treatment delays. Being an emergency medicine physician (odds ratio, 5.8; 95% confidence interval, 2.9-11.5) and practicing at a nonacademic medical center (odds ratio, 2.1; 95% confidence interval, 1.0-4.3) were independently associated with always requiring informed consent. The most commonly cited cause of delay was waiting for a patient's family to reach consensus about treatment. Most clinicians always or often require informed consent for stroke thrombolysis. Future research should focus on standardizing content and delivery of tPA information to reduce delays. © 2018 American Heart Association, Inc.

Analysis shear wave velocity structure obtained from surface wave methods in Bornova, Izmir

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

Pamuk, Eren, E-mail: eren.pamuk@deu.edu.tr; Akgün, Mustafa, E-mail: mustafa.akgun@deu.edu.tr; Özdağ, Özkan Cevdet, E-mail: cevdet.ozdag@deu.edu.tr

2016-04-18

Properties of the soil from the bedrock is necessary to describe accurately and reliably for the reduction of earthquake damage. Because seismic waves change their amplitude and frequency content owing to acoustic impedance difference between soil and bedrock. Firstly, shear wave velocity and depth information of layers on bedrock is needed to detect this changing. Shear wave velocity can be obtained using inversion of Rayleigh wave dispersion curves obtained from surface wave methods (MASW- the Multichannel Analysis of Surface Waves, ReMi-Refraction Microtremor, SPAC-Spatial Autocorrelation). While research depth is limeted in active source study, a passive source methods are utilized formore » deep depth which is not reached using active source methods. ReMi method is used to determine layer thickness and velocity up to 100 m using seismic refraction measurement systems.The research carried out up to desired depth depending on radius using SPAC which is utilized easily in conditions that district using of seismic studies in the city. Vs profiles which are required to calculate deformations in under static and dynamic loads can be obtained with high resolution using combining rayleigh wave dispersion curve obtained from active and passive source methods. In the this study, Surface waves data were collected using the measurements of MASW, ReMi and SPAC at the İzmir Bornova region. Dispersion curves obtained from surface wave methods were combined in wide frequency band and Vs-depth profiles were obtained using inversion. Reliability of the resulting soil profiles were provided by comparison with theoretical transfer function obtained from soil paremeters and observed soil transfer function from Nakamura technique and by examination of fitting between these functions. Vs values are changed between 200-830 m/s and engineering bedrock (Vs>760 m/s) depth is approximately 150 m.« less

A new look on anomalous thermal gradient values obtained in South Portugal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Duque, M. R.; Malico, I.

2012-04-01

A NEW LOOK ON THE ANOMALOUS THERMAL GRADIENT VALUES OBTAINED IN SOUTH PORTUGAL Duque, M. R. and Malico, I. M. Physics Department, University of Évora, Rua Romão Ramalho, 59,7000-671, Évora, Portugal It is well known that soil temperatures can be altered by water circulation. In this paper, we study numerically this effect by simulating some aquifers occurring in South Portugal. At this location, the thermal gradient values obtained in boreholes with depths less than 200 m, range between 22 and 30 °C km-1. However, there, it is easy to find places where temperatures are around 30 °C, at depths of 100 m. The obtained thermal gradient values show an increase one day after raining and a decrease during the dry season. Additionally, the curve of temperature as function of depth showed no hot water inlet in the hole. The region studied shows a smooth topography due to intensive erosion, but it was affected by alpine and hercinian orogenies. As a result, a high topography in depth, with folds and wrinkles is present. The space between adjacent folds is now filled by small sedimentary basins. Aquifers existing in this region can reach considerable depths and return to depths near the surface, but hot springs in the area are scarce. Water temperature rises in depth, and when the speed is high enough high temperatures near the surface, due to water circulation, can be found. The ability of the fluid to flow through the system depends on topography relief, rock permeability and basal heat flow. In this study, the steady-state fluid flow and heat transfer by conduction and advection are modeled. Fractures in the medium are simulated by an equivalent porous medium saturated with liquid. Thermal conductivity values for the water and the rocks can vary in space .Porosities used have high values in the region of the aquifer, low values in the lower region of the model and intermediate values in the upper regions. The results obtained show that temperature anomaly values

Critical assessment of pediatric neurosurgery patient/parent educational information obtained via the Internet.

PubMed

Garcia, Michael; Daugherty, Christopher; Ben Khallouq, Bertha; Maugans, Todd

2018-05-01

OBJECTIVE The Internet is used frequently by patients and family members to acquire information about pediatric neurosurgical conditions. The sources, nature, accuracy, and usefulness of this information have not been examined recently. The authors analyzed the results from searches of 10 common pediatric neurosurgical terms using a novel scoring test to assess the value of the educational information obtained. METHODS Google and Bing searches were performed for 10 common pediatric neurosurgical topics (concussion, craniosynostosis, hydrocephalus, pediatric brain tumor, pediatric Chiari malformation, pediatric epilepsy surgery, pediatric neurosurgery, plagiocephaly, spina bifida, and tethered spinal cord). The first 10 "hits" obtained with each search engine were analyzed using the Currency, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy, and Purpose (CRAAP) test, which assigns a numerical score in each of 5 domains. Agreement between results was assessed for 1) concurrent searches with Google and Bing; 2) Google searches over time (6 months apart); 3) Google searches using mobile and PC platforms concurrently; and 4) searches using privacy settings. Readability was assessed with an online analytical tool. RESULTS Google and Bing searches yielded information with similar CRAAP scores (mean 72% and 75%, respectively), but with frequently differing results (58% concordance/matching results). There was a high level of agreement (72% concordance) over time for Google searches and also between searches using general and privacy settings (92% concordance). Government sources scored the best in both CRAAP score and readability. Hospitals and universities were the most prevalent sources, but these sources had the lowest CRAAP scores, due in part to an abundance of self-marketing. The CRAAP scores for mobile and desktop platforms did not differ significantly (p = 0.49). CONCLUSIONS Google and Bing searches yielded useful educational information, using either mobile or PC platforms. Most

48 CFR 1809.505-4 - Obtaining access to sensitive information.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 6 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Obtaining access to sensitive information. 1809.505-4 Section 1809.505-4 Federal Acquisition Regulations System NATIONAL... Organizational and Consultant Conflicts of Interest 1809.505-4 Obtaining access to sensitive information. (b) In...

40 CFR 166.34 - EPA review of information obtained in connection with emergency exemptions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 23 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false EPA review of information obtained in... PESTICIDES UNDER EMERGENCY CONDITIONS Specific, Quarantine, and Public Health Exemptions § 166.34 EPA review of information obtained in connection with emergency exemptions. EPA shall review information...

No scanning depth imaging system based on TOF

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Rongchun; Piao, Yan; Wang, Yu; Liu, Shuo

2016-03-01

To quickly obtain a 3D model of real world objects, multi-point ranging is very important. However, the traditional measuring method usually adopts the principle of point by point or line by line measurement, which is too slow and of poor efficiency. In the paper, a no scanning depth imaging system based on TOF (time of flight) was proposed. The system is composed of light source circuit, special infrared image sensor module, processor and controller of image data, data cache circuit, communication circuit, and so on. According to the working principle of the TOF measurement, image sequence was collected by the high-speed CMOS sensor, and the distance information was obtained by identifying phase difference, and the amplitude image was also calculated. Experiments were conducted and the experimental results show that the depth imaging system can achieve no scanning depth imaging function with good performance.

28 CFR 51.38 - Obtaining information from others.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 28 Judicial Administration 2 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Obtaining information from others. 51.38 Section 51.38 Judicial Administration DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE (CONTINUED) PROCEDURES FOR THE ADMINISTRATION OF SECTION 5 OF THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT OF 1965, AS AMENDED Processing of Submissions § 51.38 Obtaining...

28 CFR 51.38 - Obtaining information from others.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 28 Judicial Administration 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Obtaining information from others. 51.38 Section 51.38 Judicial Administration DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE (CONTINUED) PROCEDURES FOR THE ADMINISTRATION OF SECTION 5 OF THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT OF 1965, AS AMENDED Processing of Submissions § 51.38 Obtaining...

How Does Electronic Health Information Exchange Affect Hospital Performance Efficiency? The Effects of Breadth and Depth of Information Sharing.

PubMed

Cho, Na-Eun; Ke, Weiling; Atems, Bebonchu; Chang, Jongwha

2018-01-01

This research was motivated by the large investment in health information technology (IT) by hospitals and the inconsistent findings related to the effects of health IT adoption on hospital performance. Building on resource orchestration theory and the information systems literature, the authors developed a research model to investigate how the configuration strategies for sharing information under health IT systems affect hospital efficiency. The hypotheses were tested using data from the 2010 annual and IT surveys of the American Hospital Association, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services case mix index, and U.S. Census Bureau's small-area income and poverty estimates. The study revealed that in health IT systems, the breadth (extent) and depth (level of detail) of digital information sharing among stakeholders each has a curvilinear relationship with hospital efficiency. In addition, breadth and depth reinforce each other's positive effects and attenuate each other's negative effects, and their balance has a positive effect on hospital efficiency. The results of this research have the potential to enrich the literature on the value of adopting health IT systems as well as in providing practitioner guidelines for meaningful use.

Subfossil remains of Pediastrum - a tool to obtain palaeolimnological information parallel to pollen analysis?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Turner, F.; Zhu, L.; Ma, Q.; Peng, P.; Lü, X.

2014-12-01

It has been a long-time goal of palynologists to obtain additionally palaeoenvironmental information by the study of Quaternary non-pollen-palynomorphs (NPPs) in pollen slides. As a group of NPPs, subfossil remains of green algae of the genus Pediastrum (fam. Hydrodictyaceae) are frequently found in lake sediments and withstand the palynological standard preparation methods. Determination of Pediastrum taxa to subspecies level is relatively easy with a standard light microscope. Very few studies, however, have used them as palaeolimnological indicators and the knowledge on recent distribution and ecology of many taxa is limited. Introducing new data from Northwestern Europe and the Tibetan Plateau, we show that analysis of subfossil Pediastrum assemblages can reveal valuable information on limnological and climate parameters. Shifts in taxonomic composition of Pediastrum assemblages from lake sediments in northern Germany are shown to strongly reflect the Northern Atlantic Late Glacial climate oscillations. In contrast to previous studies that recognized trophic state as the main driver of change in Pediastrum species composition, we identify climate shifts and related factors as the major drivers of community change. Water depth and trophic state probably acted as secondary factors only. Ongoing research compares the composition of Pediastrum assemblages in surface sediments of Tibetan lakes to environmental variables. While Pediastrum algae are shown to be a part of phytoplankton communities in freshwater to mesosaline lakes, shifts in species composition along the salinity gradient indicate the possible use of the algae group as palaeobioindicator for past humidity changes on the Tibetan Plateau. Additionally, investigations on the relation between water depth and the Pediastrum species composition in lake Taro Co (4575 m asl.) are presented. Our results suggest this algae group has great potential for enabling environmental inferences.

12 CFR 1202.3 - What information can I obtain through FOIA?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 12 Banks and Banking 7 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false What information can I obtain through FOIA? 1202.3 Section 1202.3 Banks and Banking FEDERAL HOUSING FINANCE AGENCY ORGANIZATION AND OPERATIONS FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT § 1202.3 What information can I obtain through FOIA? (a) General. FHFA...

Magnetic Basement Depth Inversion in the Space Domain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nunes, Tiago Mane; Barbosa, Valéria Cristina F.; Silva, João Batista C.

2008-10-01

We present a total-field anomaly inversion method to determine both the basement relief and the magnetization direction (inclination and declination) of a 2D sedimentary basin presuming negligible sediment magnetization. Our method assumes that the magnetic intensity contrast is constant and known. We use a nonspectral approach based on approximating the vertical cross section of the sedimentary basin by a polygon, whose uppermost vertices are forced to coincide with the basin outcrop, which are presumably known. For fixed values of the x coordinates our method estimates the z coordinates of the unknown polygon vertices. To obtain the magnetization direction we assume that besides the total-field anomaly, information about the basement’s outcrops at the basin borders and the basement depths at a few points is available. To obtain stable depth-to-basement estimates we impose overall smoothness and positivity constraints on the parameter estimates. Tests on synthetic data showed that the simultaneous estimation of the irregular basement relief and the magnetization direction yields good estimates for the relief despite the mild instability in the magnetization direction. The inversion of aeromagnetic data from the onshore Almada Basin, Brazil, revealed a shallow, eastward-dipping basement basin.

[The meaning of autonomy in Chinese culture: obtaining informed consent for operation].

PubMed

Lin, Mei-Ling; Wu, Jo Yung-Wei; Huang, Mei-Chih

2008-10-01

The purpose of gaining the patient's informed consent is ethical, lying in respect for his or her autonomy, and such consent forms the foundation for the performance of clinical medical treatment. In order to respect the patient's autonomy, for example, during decisions about operations, doctors have the obligation to clearly explain that patient's medical condition to him/her. A thorough briefing should be given prior to the obtaining of the patients' consent. In fulfillment of their duties as medical professionals, both doctors and nurses should be involved in clinically informing patients as well as in obtaining their signature for operation and anesthesia. Although informing patients about their physical state is not the responsibility of nurses, it remains absolutely necessary for nurses to understand how people in Asian cultures understand autonomy. This paper begins with a discussion of autonomy in ethics, and then outlines the differences between the Eastern and Western concepts of autonomy, before discussing the obtaining of the signature of consent, a process performed by the nursing staff during clinical treatment, and resulting in the provision of such signatures by patients with the legal capacity to provide them.

Applications of just-noticeable depth difference model in joint multiview video plus depth coding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Chao; An, Ping; Zuo, Yifan; Zhang, Zhaoyang

2014-10-01

A new multiview just-noticeable-depth-difference(MJNDD) Model is presented and applied to compress the joint multiview video plus depth. Many video coding algorithms remove spatial and temporal redundancies and statistical redundancies but they are not capable of removing the perceptual redundancies. Since the final receptor of video is the human eyes, we can remove the perception redundancy to gain higher compression efficiency according to the properties of human visual system (HVS). Traditional just-noticeable-distortion (JND) model in pixel domain contains luminance contrast and spatial-temporal masking effects, which describes the perception redundancy quantitatively. Whereas HVS is very sensitive to depth information, a new multiview-just-noticeable-depth-difference(MJNDD) model is proposed by combining traditional JND model with just-noticeable-depth-difference (JNDD) model. The texture video is divided into background and foreground areas using depth information. Then different JND threshold values are assigned to these two parts. Later the MJNDD model is utilized to encode the texture video on JMVC. When encoding the depth video, JNDD model is applied to remove the block artifacts and protect the edges. Then we use VSRS3.5 (View Synthesis Reference Software) to generate the intermediate views. Experimental results show that our model can endure more noise and the compression efficiency is improved by 25.29 percent at average and by 54.06 percent at most compared to JMVC while maintaining the subject quality. Hence it can gain high compress ratio and low bit rate.

Multichannel optical mapping: investigation of depth information

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sase, Ichiro; Eda, Hideo; Seiyama, Akitoshi; Tanabe, Hiroki C.; Takatsuki, Akira; Yanagida, Toshio

2001-06-01

Near infrared (NIR) light has become a powerful tool for non-invasive imaging of human brain activity. Many systems have been developed to capture the changes in regional brain blood flow and hemoglobin oxygenation, which occur in the human cortex in response to neural activity. We have developed a multi-channel reflectance imaging system, which can be used as a `mapping device' and also as a `multi-channel spectrophotometer'. In the present study, we visualized changes in the hemodynamics of the human occipital region in multiple ways. (1) Stimulating left and right primary visual cortex independently by showing sector shaped checkerboards sequentially over the contralateral visual field, resulted in corresponding changes in the hemodynamics observed by `mapping' measurement. (2) Simultaneous measurement of functional-MRI and NIR (changes in total hemoglobin) during visual stimulation showed good spatial and temporal correlation with each other. (3) Placing multiple channels densely over the occipital region demonstrated spatial patterns more precisely, and depth information was also acquired by placing each pair of illumination and detection fibers at various distances. These results indicate that optical method can provide data for 3D analysis of human brain functions.

Real-time depth processing for embedded platforms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rahnama, Oscar; Makarov, Aleksej; Torr, Philip

2017-05-01

Obtaining depth information of a scene is an important requirement in many computer-vision and robotics applications. For embedded platforms, passive stereo systems have many advantages over their active counterparts (i.e. LiDAR, Infrared). They are power efficient, cheap, robust to lighting conditions and inherently synchronized to the RGB images of the scene. However, stereo depth estimation is a computationally expensive task that operates over large amounts of data. For embedded applications which are often constrained by power consumption, obtaining accurate results in real-time is a challenge. We demonstrate a computationally and memory efficient implementation of a stereo block-matching algorithm in FPGA. The computational core achieves a throughput of 577 fps at standard VGA resolution whilst consuming less than 3 Watts of power. The data is processed using an in-stream approach that minimizes memory-access bottlenecks and best matches the raster scan readout of modern digital image sensors.

Mapping snow depth distribution in forested terrain using unmanned aerial vehicles and structure-from-motion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Webster, C.; Bühler, Y.; Schirmer, M.; Stoffel, A.; Giulia, M.; Jonas, T.

2017-12-01

Snow depth distribution in forests exhibits strong spatial heterogeneity compared to adjacent open sites. Measurement of snow depths in forests is currently limited to a) manual point measurements, which are sparse and time-intensive, b) ground-penetrating radar surveys, which have limited spatial coverage, or c) airborne LiDAR acquisition, which are expensive and may deteriorate in denser forests. We present the application of unmanned aerial vehicles in combination with structure-from-motion (SfM) methods to photogrammetrically map snow depth distribution in forested terrain. Two separate flights were carried out 10 days apart across a heterogeneous forested area of 900 x 500 m. Corresponding snow depth maps were derived using both, LiDAR-based and SfM-based DTM data, obtained during snow-off conditions. Manual measurements collected following each flight were used to validate the snow depth maps. Snow depths were resolved at 5cm resolution and forest snow depth distribution structures such as tree wells and other areas of preferential melt were represented well. Differential snow depth maps showed maximum ablation in the exposed south sides of trees and smaller differences in the centre of gaps and on the north side of trees. This new application of SfM to map snow depth distribution in forests demonstrates a straightforward method for obtaining information that was previously only available through manual spatially limited ground-based measurements. These methods could therefore be extended to more frequent observation of snow depths in forests as well as estimating snow accumulation and depletion rates.

48 CFR 1509.505-4 - Obtaining access to proprietary information.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... PROTECTION AGENCY ACQUISITION PLANNING CONTRACTOR QUALIFICATIONS Organizational Conflicts of Interests 1509.505-4 Obtaining access to proprietary information. Contractors gaining access to confidential business... business information. ...

Depth discrimination in acousto-optic cerebral blood flow measurement simulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tsalach, A.; Schiffer, Z.; Ratner, E.; Breskin, I.; Zeitak, R.; Shechter, R.; Balberg, M.

2016-03-01

Monitoring cerebral blood flow (CBF) is crucial, as inadequate perfusion, even for relatively short periods of time, may lead to brain damage or even death. Thus, significant research efforts are directed at developing reliable monitoring tools that will enable continuous, bed side, simple and cost-effective monitoring of CBF. All existing non invasive bed side monitoring methods, which are mostly NIRS based, such as Laser Doppler or DCS, tend to underestimate CBF in adults, due to the indefinite effect of extra-cerebral tissues on the obtained signal. If those are to find place in day to day clinical practice, the contribution of extra-cerebral tissues must be eliminated and data from the depth (brain) should be extracted and discriminated. Recently, a novel technique, based on ultrasound modulation of light was developed for non-invasive, continuous CBF monitoring (termed ultrasound-tagged light (UTL or UT-NIRS)), and shown to correlate with readings of 133Xe SPECT and laser Doppler. We have assembled a comprehensive computerized simulation, modeling this acousto-optic technique in a highly scattering media. Using the combination of light and ultrasound, we show how depth information may be extracted, thus distinguishing between flow patterns taking place at different depths. Our algorithm, based on the analysis of light modulated by ultrasound, is presented and examined in a computerized simulation. Distinct depth discrimination ability is presented, suggesting that using such method one can effectively nullify the extra-cerebral tissues influence on the obtained signals, and specifically extract cerebral flow data.

Necessary Sequencing Depth and Clustering Method to Obtain Relatively Stable Diversity Patterns in Studying Fish Gut Microbiota.

PubMed

Xiao, Fanshu; Yu, Yuhe; Li, Jinjin; Juneau, Philippe; Yan, Qingyun

2018-05-25

The 16S rRNA gene is one of the most commonly used molecular markers for estimating bacterial diversity during the past decades. However, there is no consistency about the sequencing depth (from thousand to millions of sequences per sample), and the clustering methods used to generate OTUs may also be different among studies. These inconsistent premises make effective comparisons among studies difficult or unreliable. This study aims to examine the necessary sequencing depth and clustering method that would be needed to ensure a stable diversity patterns for studying fish gut microbiota. A total number of 42 samples dataset of Siniperca chuatsi (carnivorous fish) gut microbiota were used to test how the sequencing depth and clustering may affect the alpha and beta diversity patterns of fish intestinal microbiota. Interestingly, we found that the sequencing depth (resampling 1000-11,000 per sample) and the clustering methods (UPARSE and UCLUST) did not bias the estimates of the diversity patterns during the fish development from larva to adult. Although we should acknowledge that a suitable sequencing depth may differ case by case, our finding indicates that a shallow sequencing such as 1000 sequences per sample may be also enough to reflect the general diversity patterns of fish gut microbiota. However, we have shown in the present study that strict pre-processing of the original sequences is required to ensure reliable results. This study provides evidences to help making a strong scientific choice of the sequencing depth and clustering method for future studies on fish gut microbiota patterns, but at the same time reducing as much as possible the costs related to the analysis.

Time-resolved absorption and hemoglobin concentration difference maps: a method to retrieve depth-related information on cerebral hemodynamics.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Montcel, Bruno; Chabrier, Renée; Poulet, Patrick

2006-12-01

Time-resolved diffuse optical methods have been applied to detect hemodynamic changes induced by cerebral activity. We describe a near infrared spectroscopic (NIRS) reconstruction free method which allows retrieving depth-related information on absorption variations. Variations in the absorption coefficient of tissues have been computed over the duration of the whole experiment, but also over each temporal step of the time-resolved optical signal, using the microscopic Beer-Lambert law.Finite element simulations show that time-resolved computation of the absorption difference as a function of the propagation time of detected photons is sensitive to the depth profile of optical absorption variations. Differences in deoxyhemoglobin and oxyhemoglobin concentrations can also be calculated from multi-wavelength measurements. Experimental validations of the simulated results have been obtained for resin phantoms. They confirm that time-resolved computation of the absorption differences exhibited completely different behaviours, depending on whether these variations occurred deeply or superficially. The hemodynamic response to a short finger tapping stimulus was measured over the motor cortex and compared to experiments involving Valsalva manoeuvres. Functional maps were also calculated for the hemodynamic response induced by finger tapping movements.

Time-resolved absorption and hemoglobin concentration difference maps: a method to retrieve depth-related information on cerebral hemodynamics.

PubMed

Montcel, Bruno; Chabrier, Renée; Poulet, Patrick

2006-12-11

Time-resolved diffuse optical methods have been applied to detect hemodynamic changes induced by cerebral activity. We describe a near infrared spectroscopic (NIRS) reconstruction free method which allows retrieving depth-related information on absorption variations. Variations in the absorption coefficient of tissues have been computed over the duration of the whole experiment, but also over each temporal step of the time-resolved optical signal, using the microscopic Beer-Lambert law.Finite element simulations show that time-resolved computation of the absorption difference as a function of the propagation time of detected photons is sensitive to the depth profile of optical absorption variations. Differences in deoxyhemoglobin and oxyhemoglobin concentrations can also be calculated from multi-wavelength measurements. Experimental validations of the simulated results have been obtained for resin phantoms. They confirm that time-resolved computation of the absorption differences exhibited completely different behaviours, depending on whether these variations occurred deeply or superficially. The hemodynamic response to a short finger tapping stimulus was measured over the motor cortex and compared to experiments involving Valsalva manoeuvres. Functional maps were also calculated for the hemodynamic response induced by finger tapping movements.

21 CFR 20.109 - Data and information obtained by contract.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Data and information obtained by contract. 20.109 Section 20.109 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES GENERAL PUBLIC INFORMATION Availability of Specific Categories of Records § 20.109 Data and information...

Neural Integration of Information Specifying Human Structure from Form, Motion, and Depth

PubMed Central

Jackson, Stuart; Blake, Randolph

2010-01-01

Recent computational models of biological motion perception operate on ambiguous two-dimensional representations of the body (e.g., snapshots, posture templates) and contain no explicit means for disambiguating the three-dimensional orientation of a perceived human figure. Are there neural mechanisms in the visual system that represent a moving human figure’s orientation in three dimensions? To isolate and characterize the neural mechanisms mediating perception of biological motion, we used an adaptation paradigm together with bistable point-light (PL) animations whose perceived direction of heading fluctuates over time. After exposure to a PL walker with a particular stereoscopically defined heading direction, observers experienced a consistent aftereffect: a bistable PL walker, which could be perceived in the adapted orientation or reversed in depth, was perceived predominantly reversed in depth. A phase-scrambled adaptor produced no aftereffect, yet when adapting and test walkers differed in size or appeared on opposite sides of fixation aftereffects did occur. Thus, this heading direction aftereffect cannot be explained by local, disparity-specific motion adaptation, and the properties of scale and position invariance imply higher-level origins of neural adaptation. Nor is disparity essential for producing adaptation: when suspended on top of a stereoscopically defined, rotating globe, a context-disambiguated “globetrotter” was sufficient to bias the bistable walker’s direction, as were full-body adaptors. In sum, these results imply that the neural signals supporting biomotion perception integrate information on the form, motion, and three-dimensional depth orientation of the moving human figure. Models of biomotion perception should incorporate mechanisms to disambiguate depth ambiguities in two-dimensional body representations. PMID:20089892

Depth extraction method with high accuracy in integral imaging based on moving array lenslet technique

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Yao-yao; Zhang, Juan; Zhao, Xue-wei; Song, Li-pei; Zhang, Bo; Zhao, Xing

2018-03-01

In order to improve depth extraction accuracy, a method using moving array lenslet technique (MALT) in pickup stage is proposed, which can decrease the depth interval caused by pixelation. In this method, the lenslet array is moved along the horizontal and vertical directions simultaneously for N times in a pitch to get N sets of elemental images. Computational integral imaging reconstruction method for MALT is taken to obtain the slice images of the 3D scene, and the sum modulus (SMD) blur metric is taken on these slice images to achieve the depth information of the 3D scene. Simulation and optical experiments are carried out to verify the feasibility of this method.

The Enhancement of 3D Scans Depth Resolution Obtained by Confocal Scanning of Porous Materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martisek, Dalibor; Prochazkova, Jana

2017-12-01

The 3D reconstruction of simple structured materials using a confocal microscope is widely used in many different areas including civil engineering. Nonetheless, scans of porous materials such as concrete or cement paste are highly problematic. The well-known problem of these scans is low depth resolution in comparison to the horizontal and vertical resolution. The degradation of the image depth resolution is caused by systematic errors and especially by different random events. Our method is focused on the elimination of such random events, mainly the additive noise. We use an averaging method based on the Lindeberg-Lévy theorem that improves the final depth resolution to a level comparable with horizontal and vertical resolution. Moreover, using the least square method, we also precisely determine the limit value of a depth resolution. Therefore, we can continuously evaluate the difference between current resolution and the optimal one. This substantially simplifies the scanning process because the operator can easily determine the required number of scans.

Accurately Decoding Visual Information from fMRI Data Obtained in a Realistic Virtual Environment

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-06-09

Center for Learning and Memory , The University of Texas at Austin, 100 E 24th Street, Stop C7000, Austin, TX 78712, USA afloren@utexas.edu Received: 18...information from fMRI data obtained in a realistic virtual environment. Front. Hum. Neurosci. 9:327. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2015.00327 Accurately decoding...visual information from fMRI data obtained in a realistic virtual environment Andrew Floren 1*, Bruce Naylor 2, Risto Miikkulainen 3 and David Ress 4

System and technique for retrieving depth information about a surface by projecting a composite image of modulated light patterns

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hassebrook, Laurence G. (Inventor); Lau, Daniel L. (Inventor); Guan, Chun (Inventor)

2010-01-01

A technique, associated system and program code, for retrieving depth information about at least one surface of an object, such as an anatomical feature. Core features include: projecting a composite image comprising a plurality of modulated structured light patterns, at the anatomical feature; capturing an image reflected from the surface; and recovering pattern information from the reflected image, for each of the modulated structured light patterns. Pattern information is preferably recovered for each modulated structured light pattern used to create the composite, by performing a demodulation of the reflected image. Reconstruction of the surface can be accomplished by using depth information from the recovered patterns to produce a depth map/mapping thereof. Each signal waveform used for the modulation of a respective structured light pattern, is distinct from each of the other signal waveforms used for the modulation of other structured light patterns of a composite image; these signal waveforms may be selected from suitable types in any combination of distinct signal waveforms, provided the waveforms used are uncorrelated with respect to each other. The depth map/mapping to be utilized in a host of applications, for example: displaying a 3-D view of the object; virtual reality user-interaction interface with a computerized device; face--or other animal feature or inanimate object--recognition and comparison techniques for security or identification purposes; and 3-D video teleconferencing/telecollaboration.

System and technique for retrieving depth information about a surface by projecting a composite image of modulated light patterns

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Guan, Chun (Inventor); Hassebrook, Laurence G. (Inventor); Lau, Daniel L. (Inventor)

2008-01-01

A technique, associated system and program code, for retrieving depth information about at least one surface of an object. Core features include: projecting a composite image comprising a plurality of modulated structured light patterns, at the object; capturing an image reflected from the surface; and recovering pattern information from the reflected image, for each of the modulated structured light patterns. Pattern information is preferably recovered for each modulated structured light pattern used to create the composite, by performing a demodulation of the reflected image. Reconstruction of the surface can be accomplished by using depth information from the recovered patterns to produce a depth map/mapping thereof. Each signal waveform used for the modulation of a respective structured light pattern, is distinct from each of the other signal waveforms used for the modulation of other structured light patterns of a composite image; these signal waveforms may be selected from suitable types in any combination of distinct signal waveforms, provided the waveforms used are uncorrelated with respect to each other. The depth map/mapping to be utilized in a host of applications, for example: displaying a 3-D view of the object; virtual reality user-interaction interface with a computerized device; face--or other animal feature or inanimate object--recognition and comparison techniques for security or identification purposes; and 3-D video teleconferencing/telecollaboration.

Depth reversals in stereoscopic displays driven by apparent size

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sacher, Gunnar; Hayes, Amy; Thornton, Ian M.; Sereno, Margaret E.; Malony, Allen D.

1998-04-01

In visual scenes, depth information is derived from a variety of monocular and binocular cues. When in conflict, a monocular cue is sometimes able to override the binocular information. We examined the accuracy of relative depth judgments in orthographic, stereoscopic displays and found that perceived relative size can override binocular disparity as a depth cue in a situation where the relative size information is itself generated from disparity information, not from retinal size difference. A size discrimination task confirmed the assumption that disparity information was perceived and used to generate apparent size differences. The tendency for the apparent size cue to override disparity information can be modulated by varying the strength of the apparent size cue. In addition, an analysis of reaction times provides supporting evidence for this novel depth reversal effect. We believe that human perception must be regarded as an important component of stereoscopic applications. Hence, if applications are to be effective and accurate, it is necessary to take into account the richness and complexity of the human visual perceptual system that interacts with them. We discuss implications of this and similar research for human performance in virtual environments, the design of visual presentations for virtual worlds, and the design of visualization tools.

Strong-field Photoionization of Sputtered Neutral Molecules for Molecular Depth Profiling

PubMed Central

Willingham, D; Brenes, D. A.; Wucher, A

2009-01-01

Molecular depth profiles of an organic thin film of guanine vapor deposited onto a Ag substrate are obtained using a 40 keV C60 cluster ion beam in conjunction with time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometric (ToF-SIMS) detection. Strong-field, femtosecond photoionization of intact guanine molecules is used to probe the neutral component of the profile for direct comparison with the secondary ion component. The ability to simultaneously acquire secondary ions and photoionized neutral molecules reveals new fundamental information about the factors that influence the properties of the depth profile. Results show that there is an increased ionization probability for protonated molecular ions within the first 10 nm due to the generation of free protons within the sample. Moreover, there is a 50% increase in fragment ion signal relative to steady state values 25 nm before reaching the guanine/Ag interface as a result of interfacial chemical damage accumulation. An altered layer thickness of 20 nm is observed as a consequence of ion beam induced chemical mixing. In general, we show that the neutral component of a molecular depth profile using the strong-field photoionization technique can be used to elucidate the effects of variations in ionization probability on the yield of molecular ions as well as to aid in obtaining accurate information about depth dependent chemical composition that cannot be extracted from TOF-SIMS data alone. PMID:20495665

Modeling of Depth Cue Integration in Manual Control Tasks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sweet, Barbara T.; Kaiser, Mary K.; Davis, Wendy

2003-01-01

Psychophysical research has demonstrated that human observers utilize a variety of visual cues to form a perception of three-dimensional depth. However, most of these studies have utilized a passive judgement paradigm, and failed to consider depth-cue integration as a dynamic and task-specific process. In the current study, we developed and experimentally validated a model of manual control of depth that examines how two potential cues (stereo disparity and relative size) are utilized in both first- and second-order active depth control tasks. We found that stereo disparity plays the dominate role for determining depth position, while relative size dominates perception of depth velocity. Stereo disparity also plays a reduced role when made less salient (i.e., when viewing distance is increased). Manual control models predict that position information is sufficient for first-order control tasks, while velocity information is required to perform a second-order control task. Thus, the rules for depth-cue integration in active control tasks are dependent on both task demands and cue quality.

Comparative morphometry of facial surface models obtained from a stereo vision system in a healthy population

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

López, Leticia; Gastélum, Alfonso; Chan, Yuk Hin; Delmas, Patrice; Escorcia, Lilia; Márquez, Jorge

2014-11-01

Our goal is to obtain three-dimensional measurements of craniofacial morphology in a healthy population, using standard landmarks established by a physical-anthropology specialist and picked from computer reconstructions of the face of each subject. To do this, we designed a multi-stereo vision system that will be used to create a data base of human faces surfaces from a healthy population, for eventual applications in medicine, forensic sciences and anthropology. The acquisition process consists of obtaining the depth map information from three points of views, each depth map is obtained from a calibrated pair of cameras. The depth maps are used to build a complete, frontal, triangular-surface representation of the subject face. The triangular surface is used to locate the landmarks and the measurements are analyzed with a MATLAB script. The classification of the subjects was done with the aid of a specialist anthropologist that defines specific subject indices, according to the lengths, areas, ratios, etc., of the different structures and the relationships among facial features. We studied a healthy population and the indices from this population will be used to obtain representative averages that later help with the study and classification of possible pathologies.

12 CFR 232.3 - Financial information exception for obtaining and using medical information.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... that the debt is current and that the consumer has no delinquencies in her repayment history. If the..., mental, or behavioral health, condition or history, type of treatment, or prognosis into account as part... example, to obtain and use information about: (i) The dollar amount, repayment terms, repayment history...

The (In)Effectiveness of Simulated Blur for Depth Perception in Naturalistic Images.

PubMed

Maiello, Guido; Chessa, Manuela; Solari, Fabio; Bex, Peter J

2015-01-01

We examine depth perception in images of real scenes with naturalistic variation in pictorial depth cues, simulated dioptric blur and binocular disparity. Light field photographs of natural scenes were taken with a Lytro plenoptic camera that simultaneously captures images at up to 12 focal planes. When accommodation at any given plane was simulated, the corresponding defocus blur at other depth planes was extracted from the stack of focal plane images. Depth information from pictorial cues, relative blur and stereoscopic disparity was separately introduced into the images. In 2AFC tasks, observers were required to indicate which of two patches extracted from these images was farther. Depth discrimination sensitivity was highest when geometric and stereoscopic disparity cues were both present. Blur cues impaired sensitivity by reducing the contrast of geometric information at high spatial frequencies. While simulated generic blur may not assist depth perception, it remains possible that dioptric blur from the optics of an observer's own eyes may be used to recover depth information on an individual basis. The implications of our findings for virtual reality rendering technology are discussed.

The (In)Effectiveness of Simulated Blur for Depth Perception in Naturalistic Images

PubMed Central

Maiello, Guido; Chessa, Manuela; Solari, Fabio; Bex, Peter J.

2015-01-01

We examine depth perception in images of real scenes with naturalistic variation in pictorial depth cues, simulated dioptric blur and binocular disparity. Light field photographs of natural scenes were taken with a Lytro plenoptic camera that simultaneously captures images at up to 12 focal planes. When accommodation at any given plane was simulated, the corresponding defocus blur at other depth planes was extracted from the stack of focal plane images. Depth information from pictorial cues, relative blur and stereoscopic disparity was separately introduced into the images. In 2AFC tasks, observers were required to indicate which of two patches extracted from these images was farther. Depth discrimination sensitivity was highest when geometric and stereoscopic disparity cues were both present. Blur cues impaired sensitivity by reducing the contrast of geometric information at high spatial frequencies. While simulated generic blur may not assist depth perception, it remains possible that dioptric blur from the optics of an observer’s own eyes may be used to recover depth information on an individual basis. The implications of our findings for virtual reality rendering technology are discussed. PMID:26447793

Nonextensive statistics and skin depth of transverse wave in collisional plasma

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

Hashemzadeh, M., E-mail: hashemzade@gmail.com

Skin depth of transverse wave in a collisional plasma is studied taking into account the nonextensive electron distribution function. Considering the kinetic theory for charge particles and using the Bhatnagar-Gross-Krook collision model, a generalized transverse dielectric permittivity is obtained. The transverse dispersion relation in different frequency ranges is investigated. Obtaining the imaginary part of the wave vector from the dispersion relation, the skin depth for these frequency ranges is also achieved. Profiles of the skin depth show that by increasing the q parameter, the penetration depth decreases. In addition, the skin depth increases by increasing the electron temperature. Finally, itmore » is found that in the high frequency range and high electron temperature, the penetration depth decreases by increasing the collision frequency. In contrast, by increasing the collision frequency in a highly collisional frequency range, the skin depth of transverse wave increases.« less

Pictorial depth probed through relative sizes

PubMed Central

Wagemans, Johan; van Doorn, Andrea J; Koenderink, Jan J

2011-01-01

In the physical environment familiar size is an effective depth cue because the distance from the eye to an object equals the ratio of its physical size to its angular extent in the visual field. Such simple geometrical relations do not apply to pictorial space, since the eye itself is not in pictorial space, and consequently the notion “distance from the eye” is meaningless. Nevertheless, relative size in the picture plane is often used by visual artists to suggest depth differences. The depth domain has no natural origin, nor a natural unit; thus only ratios of depth differences could have an invariant significance. We investigate whether the pictorial relative size cue yields coherent depth structures in pictorial spaces. Specifically, we measure the depth differences for all pairs of points in a 20-point configuration in pictorial space, and we account for these observations through 19 independent parameters (the depths of the points modulo an arbitrary offset), with no meaningful residuals. We discuss a simple formal framework that allows one to handle individual differences. We also compare the depth scale obtained by way of this method with depth scales obtained in totally different ways, finding generally good agreement. PMID:23145258

Quantified Differentiation of Surface Topography for Nano-materials As-Obtained from Atomic Force Microscopy Images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gupta, Mousumi; Chatterjee, Somenath

2018-04-01

Surface texture is an important issue to realize the nature (crest and trough) of surfaces. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) image is a key analysis for surface topography. However, in nano-scale, the nature (i.e., deflection or crack) as well as quantification (i.e., height or depth) of deposited layers is essential information for material scientist. In this paper, a gradient-based K-means algorithm is used to differentiate the layered surfaces depending on their color contrast of as-obtained from AFM images. A transformation using wavelet decomposition is initiated to extract the information about deflection or crack on the material surfaces from the same images. Z-axis depth analysis from wavelet coefficients provides information about the crack present in the material. Using the above method corresponding surface information for the material is obtained. In addition, the Gaussian filter is applied to remove the unwanted lines, which occurred during AFM scanning. Few known samples are taken as input, and validity of the above approaches is shown.

Towards nanometric resolution in multilayer depth profiling: a comparative study of RBS, SIMS, XPS and GDOES.

PubMed

Escobar Galindo, Ramón; Gago, Raul; Duday, David; Palacio, Carlos

2010-04-01

An increasing amount of effort is currently being directed towards the development of new functionalized nanostructured materials (i.e., multilayers and nanocomposites). Using an appropriate combination of composition and microstructure, it is possible to optimize and tailor the final properties of the material to its final application. The analytical characterization of these new complex nanostructures requires high-resolution analytical techniques that are able to provide information about surface and depth composition at the nanometric level. In this work, we comparatively review the state of the art in four different depth-profiling characterization techniques: Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy (RBS), secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and glow discharge optical emission spectroscopy (GDOES). In addition, we predict future trends in these techniques regarding improvements in their depth resolutions. Subnanometric resolution can now be achieved in RBS using magnetic spectrometry systems. In SIMS, the use of rotating sample holders and oxygen flooding during analysis as well as the optimization of floating low-energy ion guns to lower the impact energy of the primary ions improves the depth resolution of the technique. Angle-resolved XPS provides a very powerful and nondestructive technique for obtaining depth profiling and chemical information within the range of a few monolayers. Finally, the application of mathematical tools (deconvolution algorithms and a depth-profiling model), pulsed sources and surface plasma cleaning procedures is expected to greatly improve GDOES depth resolution.

Depth Reconstruction from Single Images Using a Convolutional Neural Network and a Condition Random Field Model.

PubMed

Liu, Dan; Liu, Xuejun; Wu, Yiguang

2018-04-24

This paper presents an effective approach for depth reconstruction from a single image through the incorporation of semantic information and local details from the image. A unified framework for depth acquisition is constructed by joining a deep Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) and a continuous pairwise Conditional Random Field (CRF) model. Semantic information and relative depth trends of local regions inside the image are integrated into the framework. A deep CNN network is firstly used to automatically learn a hierarchical feature representation of the image. To get more local details in the image, the relative depth trends of local regions are incorporated into the network. Combined with semantic information of the image, a continuous pairwise CRF is then established and is used as the loss function of the unified model. Experiments on real scenes demonstrate that the proposed approach is effective and that the approach obtains satisfactory results.

Sonic depth sounder for laboratory and field use

USGS Publications Warehouse

Richardson, E.V.; Simons, Daryl B.; Posakony, G.J.

1961-01-01

The laboratory investigation of roughness in alluvial channels has led to the development of a special electronic device capable of mapping the streambed configuration under dynamic conditions. This electronic device employs an ultrasonic pulse-echo principle, similar to that of a fathometer, that utilizes microsecond techniques to give high accuracy in shallow depths. This instrument is known as the sonic depth sounder and was designed to cover a depth range of 0 to 4 feet with an accuracy of ? 0.5 percent. The sonic depth sounder is capable of operation at frequencies of 500, 1,000 and 2,000 kilocycles. The ultrasonic beam generated at the transducer is designed to give a minimum-diameter interrogating signal over the extended depth range. The information obtained from a sonic depth sounder is recorded on a strip-chart recorder. This permanent record allows an analysis to be made of the streambed configuration under different dynamic conditions. The model 1024 sonic depth sounder was designed principally as a research instrument to meet laboratory needs. As such, it is somewhat limited in its application as a field instrument on large streams and rivers. The principles employed in this instrument, however, have many potentials for field applications such as the indirect measurement of bed load when the bed roughness is ripples and (or) dunes, depth measurement, determination of bed configuration, and determination of depth of scour around bridge piers and abutments. For field application a modification of the present system into a battery-operated lightweight instrument designed to operate at a depth range of 0 to 30 feet is possible and desirable.

Super-resolution depth information from a short-wave infrared laser gated-viewing system by using correlated double sampling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Göhler, Benjamin; Lutzmann, Peter

2017-10-01

Primarily, a laser gated-viewing (GV) system provides range-gated 2D images without any range resolution within the range gate. By combining two GV images with slightly different gate positions, 3D information within a part of the range gate can be obtained. The depth resolution is higher (super-resolution) than the minimal gate shift step size in a tomographic sequence of the scene. For a state-of-the-art system with a typical frame rate of 20 Hz, the time difference between the two required GV images is 50 ms which may be too long in a dynamic scenario with moving objects. Therefore, we have applied this approach to the reset and signal level images of a new short-wave infrared (SWIR) GV camera whose read-out integrated circuit supports correlated double sampling (CDS) actually intended for the reduction of kTC noise (reset noise). These images are extracted from only one single laser pulse with a marginal time difference in between. The SWIR GV camera consists of 640 x 512 avalanche photodiodes based on mercury cadmium telluride with a pixel pitch of 15 μm. A Q-switched, flash lamp pumped solid-state laser with 1.57 μm wavelength (OPO), 52 mJ pulse energy after beam shaping, 7 ns pulse length and 20 Hz pulse repetition frequency is used for flash illumination. In this paper, the experimental set-up is described and the operating principle of CDS is explained. The method of deriving super-resolution depth information from a GV system by using CDS is introduced and optimized. Further, the range accuracy is estimated from measured image data.

The Career Development of Women in Executive Level Positions in Information Technology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cordova-Wentling, Rose Mary; Thomas, Steven P.

2006-01-01

The purpose of this study was to develop an in-depth understanding of career development for women in executive level positions in information technology. The study examined the barriers that hindered and the factors that assisted the women in achieving executive level positions. Furthermore, this study obtained an in-depth understanding of the…

Freeboard, Snow Depth and Sea-Ice Roughness in East Antarctica from In Situ and Multiple Satellite Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Markus, Thorsten; Masson, Robert; Worby, Anthony; Lytle, Victoria; Kurtz, Nathan; Maksym, Ted

2011-01-01

In October 2003 a campaign on board the Australian icebreaker Aurora Australis had the objective to validate standard Aqua Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer (AMSR-E) sea-ice products. Additionally, the satellite laser altimeter on the Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite (ICESat) was in operation. To capture the large-scale information on the sea-ice conditions necessary for satellite validation, the measurement strategy was to obtain large-scale sea-ice statistics using extensive sea-ice measurements in a Lagrangian approach. A drifting buoy array, spanning initially 50 km 100 km, was surveyed during the campaign. In situ measurements consisted of 12 transects, 50 500 m, with detailed snow and ice measurements as well as random snow depth sampling of floes within the buoy array using helicopters. In order to increase the amount of coincident in situ and satellite data an approach has been developed to extrapolate measurements in time and in space. Assuming no change in snow depth and freeboard occurred during the period of the campaign on the floes surveyed, we use buoy ice-drift information as well as daily estimates of thin-ice fraction and rough-ice vs smooth-ice fractions from AMSR-E and QuikSCAT, respectively, to estimate kilometer-scale snow depth and freeboard for other days. The results show that ICESat freeboard estimates have a mean difference of 1.8 cm when compared with the in situ data and a correlation coefficient of 0.6. Furthermore, incorporating ICESat roughness information into the AMSR-E snow depth algorithm significantly improves snow depth retrievals. Snow depth retrievals using a combination of AMSR-E and ICESat data agree with in situ data with a mean difference of 2.3 cm and a correlation coefficient of 0.84 with a negligible bias.

Ubiquitous Creation of Bas-Relief Surfaces with Depth-of-Field Effects Using Smartphones.

PubMed

Sohn, Bong-Soo

2017-03-11

This paper describes a new method to automatically generate digital bas-reliefs with depth-of-field effects from general scenes. Most previous methods for bas-relief generation take input in the form of 3D models. However, obtaining 3D models of real scenes or objects is often difficult, inaccurate, and time-consuming. From this motivation, we developed a method that takes as input a set of photographs that can be quickly and ubiquitously captured by ordinary smartphone cameras. A depth map is computed from the input photographs. The value range of the depth map is compressed and used as a base map representing the overall shape of the bas-relief. However, the resulting base map contains little information on details of the scene. Thus, we construct a detail map using pixel values of the input image to express the details. The base and detail maps are blended to generate a new depth map that reflects both overall depth and scene detail information. This map is selectively blurred to simulate the depth-of-field effects. The final depth map is converted to a bas-relief surface mesh. Experimental results show that our method generates a realistic bas-relief surface of general scenes with no expensive manual processing.

Ubiquitous Creation of Bas-Relief Surfaces with Depth-of-Field Effects Using Smartphones

PubMed Central

Sohn, Bong-Soo

2017-01-01

This paper describes a new method to automatically generate digital bas-reliefs with depth-of-field effects from general scenes. Most previous methods for bas-relief generation take input in the form of 3D models. However, obtaining 3D models of real scenes or objects is often difficult, inaccurate, and time-consuming. From this motivation, we developed a method that takes as input a set of photographs that can be quickly and ubiquitously captured by ordinary smartphone cameras. A depth map is computed from the input photographs. The value range of the depth map is compressed and used as a base map representing the overall shape of the bas-relief. However, the resulting base map contains little information on details of the scene. Thus, we construct a detail map using pixel values of the input image to express the details. The base and detail maps are blended to generate a new depth map that reflects both overall depth and scene detail information. This map is selectively blurred to simulate the depth-of-field effects. The final depth map is converted to a bas-relief surface mesh. Experimental results show that our method generates a realistic bas-relief surface of general scenes with no expensive manual processing. PMID:28287487

48 CFR 1809.505-4 - Obtaining access to sensitive information.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... Organizational and Consultant Conflicts of Interest 1809.505-4 Obtaining access to sensitive information. (b) In... support management activities and administrative functions. The Assistant Administrator for Procurement... require contractors and subcontractors and their employees in procurements that support management...

Pennsylvania StreamStats--A web-based application for obtaining water-resource-related information

USGS Publications Warehouse

Stuckey, Marla H.; Hoffman, Scott A.

2010-01-01

StreamStats is a national web-based Geographic Information System (GIS) application, developed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc., to provide a variety of water-resource-related information. Users can easily obtain descriptive information, basin characteristics, and streamflow statistics for USGS streamgages and ungaged stream locations throughout Pennsylvania. StreamStats also allows users to search upstream and (or) downstream from user-selected points to identify locations of and obtain information for water-resource-related activities, such as dams and streamgages.

Stereoscopic depth constancy

PubMed Central

Guan, Phillip

2016-01-01

Depth constancy is the ability to perceive a fixed depth interval in the world as constant despite changes in viewing distance and the spatial scale of depth variation. It is well known that the spatial frequency of depth variation has a large effect on threshold. In the first experiment, we determined that the visual system compensates for this differential sensitivity when the change in disparity is suprathreshold, thereby attaining constancy similar to contrast constancy in the luminance domain. In a second experiment, we examined the ability to perceive constant depth when the spatial frequency and viewing distance both changed. To attain constancy in this situation, the visual system has to estimate distance. We investigated this ability when vergence, accommodation and vertical disparity are all presented accurately and therefore provided veridical information about viewing distance. We found that constancy is nearly complete across changes in viewing distance. Depth constancy is most complete when the scale of the depth relief is constant in the world rather than when it is constant in angular units at the retina. These results bear on the efficacy of algorithms for creating stereo content. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Vision in our three-dimensional world’. PMID:27269596

Transverse depth-dependent changes in corneal collagen lamellar orientation and distribution

PubMed Central

Abass, Ahmed; Hayes, Sally; White, Nick; Sorensen, Thomas; Meek, Keith M.

2015-01-01

It is thought that corneal surface topography may be stabilized by the angular orientation of out-of plane lamellae that insert into the anterior limiting membrane. In this study, micro-focus X-ray scattering data were used to obtain quantitative information about lamellar inclination (with respect to the corneal surface) and the X-ray scatter intensity throughout the depth of the cornea from the centre to the temporal limbus. The average collagen inclination remained predominantly parallel to the tissue surface at all depths. However, in the central cornea, the spread of inclination angles was greatest in the anterior-most stroma (reflecting the increased lamellar interweaving in this region), and decreased with tissue depth; in the peripheral cornea inclination angles showed less variation throughout the tissue thickness. Inclination angles in the deeper stroma were generally higher in the peripheral cornea, suggesting the presence of more interweaving in the posterior stroma away from the central cornea. An increase in collagen X-ray scatter was identified in a region extending from the sclera anteriorly until about 2 mm from the corneal centre. This could arise from the presence of larger diameter fibrils, probably of scleral origin, which are known to exist in this region. Incorporation of this quantitative information into finite-element models will further improve the accuracy with which they can predict the biomechanical response of the cornea to pathology and refractive procedures. PMID:25631562

Using Internet Search Engines to Obtain Medical Information: A Comparative Study

PubMed Central

Wang, Liupu; Wang, Juexin; Wang, Michael; Li, Yong; Liang, Yanchun

2012-01-01

Background The Internet has become one of the most important means to obtain health and medical information. It is often the first step in checking for basic information about a disease and its treatment. The search results are often useful to general users. Various search engines such as Google, Yahoo!, Bing, and Ask.com can play an important role in obtaining medical information for both medical professionals and lay people. However, the usability and effectiveness of various search engines for medical information have not been comprehensively compared and evaluated. Objective To compare major Internet search engines in their usability of obtaining medical and health information. Methods We applied usability testing as a software engineering technique and a standard industry practice to compare the four major search engines (Google, Yahoo!, Bing, and Ask.com) in obtaining health and medical information. For this purpose, we searched the keyword breast cancer in Google, Yahoo!, Bing, and Ask.com and saved the results of the top 200 links from each search engine. We combined nonredundant links from the four search engines and gave them to volunteer users in an alphabetical order. The volunteer users evaluated the websites and scored each website from 0 to 10 (lowest to highest) based on the usefulness of the content relevant to breast cancer. A medical expert identified six well-known websites related to breast cancer in advance as standards. We also used five keywords associated with breast cancer defined in the latest release of Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine-Clinical Terms (SNOMED CT) and analyzed their occurrence in the websites. Results Each search engine provided rich information related to breast cancer in the search results. All six standard websites were among the top 30 in search results of all four search engines. Google had the best search validity (in terms of whether a website could be opened), followed by Bing, Ask.com, and Yahoo!. The search

Using Internet search engines to obtain medical information: a comparative study.

PubMed

Wang, Liupu; Wang, Juexin; Wang, Michael; Li, Yong; Liang, Yanchun; Xu, Dong

2012-05-16

The Internet has become one of the most important means to obtain health and medical information. It is often the first step in checking for basic information about a disease and its treatment. The search results are often useful to general users. Various search engines such as Google, Yahoo!, Bing, and Ask.com can play an important role in obtaining medical information for both medical professionals and lay people. However, the usability and effectiveness of various search engines for medical information have not been comprehensively compared and evaluated. To compare major Internet search engines in their usability of obtaining medical and health information. We applied usability testing as a software engineering technique and a standard industry practice to compare the four major search engines (Google, Yahoo!, Bing, and Ask.com) in obtaining health and medical information. For this purpose, we searched the keyword breast cancer in Google, Yahoo!, Bing, and Ask.com and saved the results of the top 200 links from each search engine. We combined nonredundant links from the four search engines and gave them to volunteer users in an alphabetical order. The volunteer users evaluated the websites and scored each website from 0 to 10 (lowest to highest) based on the usefulness of the content relevant to breast cancer. A medical expert identified six well-known websites related to breast cancer in advance as standards. We also used five keywords associated with breast cancer defined in the latest release of Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine-Clinical Terms (SNOMED CT) and analyzed their occurrence in the websites. Each search engine provided rich information related to breast cancer in the search results. All six standard websites were among the top 30 in search results of all four search engines. Google had the best search validity (in terms of whether a website could be opened), followed by Bing, Ask.com, and Yahoo!. The search results highly overlapped between the

50 CFR 23.86 - How can I obtain information on a CoP?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 9 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false How can I obtain information on a CoP? 23... FAUNA AND FLORA (CITES) CITES Administration § 23.86 How can I obtain information on a CoP? As we receive information on an upcoming CoP from the CITES Secretariat, we will notify the public either...

50 CFR 23.86 - How can I obtain information on a CoP?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 6 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false How can I obtain information on a CoP? 23... FAUNA AND FLORA (CITES) CITES Administration § 23.86 How can I obtain information on a CoP? As we receive information on an upcoming CoP from the CITES Secretariat, we will notify the public either...

50 CFR 23.86 - How can I obtain information on a CoP?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 9 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false How can I obtain information on a CoP? 23... FAUNA AND FLORA (CITES) CITES Administration § 23.86 How can I obtain information on a CoP? As we receive information on an upcoming CoP from the CITES Secretariat, we will notify the public either...

50 CFR 23.86 - How can I obtain information on a CoP?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 9 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false How can I obtain information on a CoP? 23... FAUNA AND FLORA (CITES) CITES Administration § 23.86 How can I obtain information on a CoP? As we receive information on an upcoming CoP from the CITES Secretariat, we will notify the public either...

50 CFR 23.86 - How can I obtain information on a CoP?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 8 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false How can I obtain information on a CoP? 23... FAUNA AND FLORA (CITES) CITES Administration § 23.86 How can I obtain information on a CoP? As we receive information on an upcoming CoP from the CITES Secretariat, we will notify the public either...

40 CFR 2.311 - Special rules governing certain information obtained under the Motor Vehicle Information and Cost...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Special rules governing certain information obtained under the Motor Vehicle Information and Cost Savings Act. 2.311 Section 2.311 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY GENERAL PUBLIC INFORMATION Confidentiality of Business Information § 2.311 Special rules governing...

A Depth Map Generation Algorithm Based on Saliency Detection for 2D to 3D Conversion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Yizhong; Hu, Xionglou; Wu, Nengju; Wang, Pengfei; Xu, Dong; Rong, Shen

2017-09-01

In recent years, 3D movies attract people's attention more and more because of their immersive stereoscopic experience. However, 3D movies is still insufficient, so estimating depth information for 2D to 3D conversion from a video is more and more important. In this paper, we present a novel algorithm to estimate depth information from a video via scene classification algorithm. In order to obtain perceptually reliable depth information for viewers, the algorithm classifies them into three categories: landscape type, close-up type, linear perspective type firstly. Then we employ a specific algorithm to divide the landscape type image into many blocks, and assign depth value by similar relative height cue with the image. As to the close-up type image, a saliency-based method is adopted to enhance the foreground in the image and the method combine it with the global depth gradient to generate final depth map. By vanishing line detection, the calculated vanishing point which is regarded as the farthest point to the viewer is assigned with deepest depth value. According to the distance between the other points and the vanishing point, the entire image is assigned with corresponding depth value. Finally, depth image-based rendering is employed to generate stereoscopic virtual views after bilateral filter. Experiments show that the proposed algorithm can achieve realistic 3D effects and yield satisfactory results, while the perception scores of anaglyph images lie between 6.8 and 7.8.

"Negotiorum Gestio" in Family Medicine, Informed Consent Obtainment, and Disciplinary Responsibility.

PubMed

Birkeland, Søren

2016-01-01

Introduction. Negotiorum gestio (NG) denotes an action where a person well intendedly acts on behalf of another without obtaining the latter's prior consent. In broad terms, NG-like actions have played a considerable role in health care provision. In some settings, health care delivery with only little or presumed patients' consent has been the rule rather than the exception. However, bioethical principles regarding patient autonomy and obtainment of the patient's informed consent (IC) before intervention are now increasingly materialized in the law of many countries. Aim. To study legal consequences of NG in family medicine and IC handling options. Methods. Case law examination. Results. A disciplinary board case is described concerning a family doctor conducting unlawful NG by not coming up to legal IC requirements. Discussion and Conclusion. The practical and legal implications of IC and possible role of novel Shared Decision-Making approaches in coming up to regulation and bioethical demands are discussed. It is concluded that a doctor may run an unnecessary legal risk when conducting NG in decision-competent patients and furthermore it is suggested that novel Shared Decision-Making approaches could help in obtaining a rightful and practicable IC.

Bayesian depth estimation from monocular natural images.

PubMed

Su, Che-Chun; Cormack, Lawrence K; Bovik, Alan C

2017-05-01

Estimating an accurate and naturalistic dense depth map from a single monocular photographic image is a difficult problem. Nevertheless, human observers have little difficulty understanding the depth structure implied by photographs. Two-dimensional (2D) images of the real-world environment contain significant statistical information regarding the three-dimensional (3D) structure of the world that the vision system likely exploits to compute perceived depth, monocularly as well as binocularly. Toward understanding how this might be accomplished, we propose a Bayesian model of monocular depth computation that recovers detailed 3D scene structures by extracting reliable, robust, depth-sensitive statistical features from single natural images. These features are derived using well-accepted univariate natural scene statistics (NSS) models and recent bivariate/correlation NSS models that describe the relationships between 2D photographic images and their associated depth maps. This is accomplished by building a dictionary of canonical local depth patterns from which NSS features are extracted as prior information. The dictionary is used to create a multivariate Gaussian mixture (MGM) likelihood model that associates local image features with depth patterns. A simple Bayesian predictor is then used to form spatial depth estimates. The depth results produced by the model, despite its simplicity, correlate well with ground-truth depths measured by a current-generation terrestrial light detection and ranging (LIDAR) scanner. Such a strong form of statistical depth information could be used by the visual system when creating overall estimated depth maps incorporating stereopsis, accommodation, and other conditions. Indeed, even in isolation, the Bayesian predictor delivers depth estimates that are competitive with state-of-the-art "computer vision" methods that utilize highly engineered image features and sophisticated machine learning algorithms.

Depth Estimates for Slingram Electromagnetic Anomalies from Dipping Sheet-like Bodies by the Normalized Full Gradient Method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dondurur, Derman

2005-11-01

The Normalized Full Gradient (NFG) method was proposed in the mid 1960s and was generally used for the downward continuation of the potential field data. The method eliminates the side oscillations which appeared on the continuation curves when passing through anomalous body depth. In this study, the NFG method was applied to Slingram electromagnetic anomalies to obtain the depth of the anomalous body. Some experiments were performed on the theoretical Slingram model anomalies in a free space environment using a perfectly conductive thin tabular conductor with an infinite depth extent. The theoretical Slingram responses were obtained for different depths, dip angles and coil separations, and it was observed from NFG fields of the theoretical anomalies that the NFG sections yield the depth information of top of the conductor at low harmonic numbers. The NFG sections consisted of two main local maxima located at both sides of the central negative Slingram anomalies. It is concluded that these two maxima also locate the maximum anomaly gradient points, which indicates the depth of the anomaly target directly. For both theoretical and field data, the depth of the maximum value on the NFG sections corresponds to the depth of the upper edge of the anomalous conductor. The NFG method was applied to the in-phase component and correct depth estimates were obtained even for the horizontal tabular conductor. Depth values could be estimated with a relatively small error percentage when the conductive model was near-vertical and/or the conductor depth was larger.

32 CFR Appendix G to Part 275 - Releasing Information Obtained From Financial Institutions

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 32 National Defense 2 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Releasing Information Obtained From Financial Institutions G Appendix G to Part 275 National Defense Department of Defense (Continued) OFFICE OF THE... FINANCIAL PRIVACY ACT OF 1978 Pt. 275, App. G Appendix G to Part 275—Releasing Information Obtained From...

32 CFR Appendix G to Part 275 - Releasing Information Obtained From Financial Institutions

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 32 National Defense 2 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Releasing Information Obtained From Financial Institutions G Appendix G to Part 275 National Defense Department of Defense (Continued) OFFICE OF THE... FINANCIAL PRIVACY ACT OF 1978 Pt. 275, App. G Appendix G to Part 275—Releasing Information Obtained From...

32 CFR Appendix G to Part 275 - Releasing Information Obtained From Financial Institutions

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 32 National Defense 2 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Releasing Information Obtained From Financial Institutions G Appendix G to Part 275 National Defense Department of Defense (Continued) OFFICE OF THE... FINANCIAL PRIVACY ACT OF 1978 Pt. 275, App. G Appendix G to Part 275—Releasing Information Obtained From...

32 CFR Appendix G to Part 275 - Releasing Information Obtained From Financial Institutions

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 32 National Defense 2 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Releasing Information Obtained From Financial Institutions G Appendix G to Part 275 National Defense Department of Defense (Continued) OFFICE OF THE... FINANCIAL PRIVACY ACT OF 1978 Pt. 275, App. G Appendix G to Part 275—Releasing Information Obtained From...

Legal and psychological considerations for obtaining informed consent for reverse total shoulder arthroplasty.

PubMed

Blackwood, Craig; Dixon, Jen; Reilly, Peter; Emery, Roger J

2017-01-01

This paper seeks to outline recent legal developments and requirements pertinent to obtaining informed consent. We argue that this is of particular relevance to patients considering a reverse total shoulder arthroplasty, due to the high complication rate associated with this procedure. By examining the cognitive processes involved in decision-making, and other clinician-related factors such as delivery of information, gender bias and conflict of interest, we explore some of the barriers that can undermine the processes of shared decision-making and obtaining genuine informed consent. We argue that these issues highlight the importance for surgeons in understanding the cognitive processes and other influential factors involved in patients' comprehension and decision-making. We recommend, based on strong evidence, that decision aids could prove useful in overcoming such challenges and could provide one way of mitigating the ethical, professional and legal consequences of failing to obtain proper informed consent. They are not widely used in orthopaedics at present, although it would be in the interests of both the surgeon and patient for such measures to be explored.

Legal and psychological considerations for obtaining informed consent for reverse total shoulder arthroplasty

PubMed Central

Blackwood, Craig; Reilly, Peter; Emery, Roger J

2016-01-01

This paper seeks to outline recent legal developments and requirements pertinent to obtaining informed consent. We argue that this is of particular relevance to patients considering a reverse total shoulder arthroplasty, due to the high complication rate associated with this procedure. By examining the cognitive processes involved in decision-making, and other clinician-related factors such as delivery of information, gender bias and conflict of interest, we explore some of the barriers that can undermine the processes of shared decision-making and obtaining genuine informed consent. We argue that these issues highlight the importance for surgeons in understanding the cognitive processes and other influential factors involved in patients’ comprehension and decision-making. We recommend, based on strong evidence, that decision aids could prove useful in overcoming such challenges and could provide one way of mitigating the ethical, professional and legal consequences of failing to obtain proper informed consent. They are not widely used in orthopaedics at present, although it would be in the interests of both the surgeon and patient for such measures to be explored. PMID:28572846

Depth inpainting by tensor voting.

PubMed

Kulkarni, Mandar; Rajagopalan, Ambasamudram N

2013-06-01

Depth maps captured by range scanning devices or by using optical cameras often suffer from missing regions due to occlusions, reflectivity, limited scanning area, sensor imperfections, etc. In this paper, we propose a fast and reliable algorithm for depth map inpainting using the tensor voting (TV) framework. For less complex missing regions, local edge and depth information is utilized for synthesizing missing values. The depth variations are modeled by local planes using 3D TV, and missing values are estimated using plane equations. For large and complex missing regions, we collect and evaluate depth estimates from self-similar (training) datasets. We align the depth maps of the training set with the target (defective) depth map and evaluate the goodness of depth estimates among candidate values using 3D TV. We demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approaches on real as well as synthetic data.

Experimental analysis of bruises in human volunteers using radiometric depth profiling and diffuse reflectance spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vidovič, Luka; Milanič, Matija; Majaron, Boris

2015-07-01

We combine pulsed photothermal radiometry (PPTR) depth profiling with diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) measurements for a comprehensive analysis of bruise evolution in vivo. While PPTR enables extraction of detailed depth distribution and concentration profiles of selected absorbers (e.g. melanin, hemoglobin), DRS provides information in a wide range of visible wavelengths and thus offers an additional insight into dynamics of the hemoglobin degradation products. Combining the two approaches enables us to quantitatively characterize bruise evolution dynamics. Our results indicate temporal variations of the bruise evolution parameters in the course of bruise self-healing process. The obtained parameter values and trends represent a basis for a future development of an objective technique for bruise age determination.

Can the Analytical Hierarchy Process Model Be Effectively Applied in the Prioritization of Information Assurance Defense In-Depth Measures? --A Quantitative Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alexander, Rodney T.

2017-01-01

Organizational computing devices are increasingly becoming targets of cyber-attacks, and organizations have become dependent on the safety and security of their computer networks and their organizational computing devices. Business and government often use defense in-depth information assurance measures such as firewalls, intrusion detection…

32 CFR Appendix A to Part 275 - Obtaining Basic Identifying Account Information

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 32 National Defense 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Obtaining Basic Identifying Account Information... Information A. A DoD law enforcement office may issue a formal written request for basic identifying account... only the above specified basic identifying information concerning a customer's account. C. A format for...

Depth-tunable three-dimensional display with interactive light field control

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xie, Songlin; Wang, Peng; Sang, Xinzhu; Li, Chenyu; Dou, Wenhua; Xiao, Liquan

2016-07-01

A software-defined depth-tunable three-dimensional (3D) display with interactive 3D depth control is presented. With the proposed post-processing system, the disparity of the multi-view media can be freely adjusted. Benefiting from a wealth of information inherently contains in dense multi-view images captured with parallel arrangement camera array, the 3D light field is built and the light field structure is controlled to adjust the disparity without additional acquired depth information since the light field structure itself contains depth information. A statistical analysis based on the least square is carried out to extract the depth information inherently exists in the light field structure and the accurate depth information can be used to re-parameterize light fields for the autostereoscopic display, and a smooth motion parallax can be guaranteed. Experimental results show that the system is convenient and effective to adjust the 3D scene performance in the 3D display.

Profiling defect depth in composite materials using thermal imaging NDE

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Obeidat, Omar; Yu, Qiuye; Han, Xiaoyan

2018-04-01

Sonic Infrared (IR) NDE, is a relatively new NDE technology; it has been demonstrated as a reliable and sensitive method to detect defects. SIR uses ultrasonic excitation with IR imaging to detect defects and flaws in the structures being inspected. An IR camera captures infrared radiation from the target for a period of time covering the ultrasound pulse. This period of time may be much longer than the pulse depending on the defect depth and the thermal properties of the materials. With the increasing deployment of composites in modern aerospace and automobile structures, fast, wide-area and reliable NDE methods are necessary. Impact damage is one of the major concerns in modern composites. Damage can occur at a certain depth without any visual indication on the surface. Defect depth information can influence maintenance decisions. Depth profiling relies on the time delays in the captured image sequence. We'll present our work on the defect depth profiling by using the temporal information of IR images. An analytical model is introduced to describe heat diffusion from subsurface defects in composite materials. Depth profiling using peak time is introduced as well.

The effect of depth of step on the water performance of a flying-boat hull model

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bell, Joe W

1935-01-01

NACA model 11-C was tested with four different depths of step to obtain information as to the effect of the depth of step on the water performance. The depths of step were selected to cover the practicable range of depths and in each case the included angle between the forebody and afterbody keels was kept the same 6-1/2 degrees. Small depths of step were found to give lower resistance at speeds below and at the hump speed of the model and greater depths of step lower resistance at high speeds. For low resistance throughout the speed range of the model investigated the most desirable depth of step is from 2.5 to 4.0 percent of the beam. The change of the best trim angle caused by variation of the depth of step was not appreciable. Increased depth of step caused increases in the maximum positive trimming moments at all trim angles investigated.

Challenges of Obtaining Informed Consent in Emergency Ward: A Qualitative Study in One Iranian Hospital

PubMed Central

Davoudi, Nayyereh; Nayeri, Nahid Dehghan; Zokaei, Mohammad Saeed; Fazeli, Nematallah

2017-01-01

Background and Objective: Regarding the fact that emergency ward has unique characteristics, whose uniqueness affects informed consent processes by creating specific challenges. Hence, it seems necessary to identify the process and challenges of informed consent in the emergency ward through a qualitative study to understand actual patients’ and health care providers’ experiences, beliefs, values, and feelings about the informed consent in the emergency ward. Through such studies, new insight can be gained on the process of informed consent and its challenges with the hope that the resulting knowledge will enable the promotion of ethical, legal as well as effective health services to the patients in the emergency ward. Method: In this qualitative study, research field was one of the emergency wards of educational and public hospitals in Iran. Field work and participant observation were carried out for 515 hours from June 2014 to March 2016. Also, conversations and semi-structured interviews based on the observations were conducted. The participants of the study were nurses and physicians working in the emergency ward, as well as patients and their attendants who were involved in the process of obtaining informed consent. Results: Three main categories were extracted from the data: a sense of frustration; reverse protection; and culture of paternalism in consent process. Conclusion: Findings of this study can be utilized in correcting the structures and processes of obtaining informed consent together with promotion of patients' ethical and legal care in emergency ward. In this way, the approaches in consent process will be changed from paternalistic approach to patient-centered care which concomitantly protects patient’s autonomy. PMID:29399235

40 CFR 2.310 - Special rules governing certain information obtained under the Comprehensive Environmental...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... information obtained under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980... information obtained under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980, as amended. (a) Definitions. For purposes of this section: (1) Act means the Comprehensive...

Precise Relative Earthquake Depth Determination Using Array Processing Techniques

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Florez, M. A.; Prieto, G. A.

2014-12-01

The mechanism for intermediate depth and deep earthquakes is still under debate. The temperatures and pressures are above the point where ordinary fractures ought to occur. Key to constraining this mechanism is the precise determination of hypocentral depth. It is well known that using depth phases allows for significant improvement in event depth determination, however routinely and systematically picking such phases for teleseismic or regional arrivals is problematic due to poor signal-to-noise ratios around the pP and sP phases. To overcome this limitation we have taken advantage of the additional information carried by seismic arrays. We have used beamforming and velocity spectral analysis techniques to precise measure pP-P and sP-P differential travel times. These techniques are further extended to achieve subsample accuracy and to allow for events where the signal-to-noise ratio is close to or even less than 1.0. The individual estimates obtained at different subarrays for a pair of earthquakes can be combined using a double-difference technique in order to precisely map seismicity in regions where it is tightly clustered. We illustrate these methods using data from the recent M 7.9 Alaska earthquake and its aftershocks, as well as data from the Bucaramanga nest in northern South America, arguably the densest and most active intermediate-depth earthquake nest in the world.

Allegations of Failure to Obtain Informed Consent in Spinal Surgery Medical Malpractice Claims

PubMed Central

Grauberger, Jennifer; Kerezoudis, Panagiotis; Choudhry, Asad J.; Alvi, Mohammed Ali; Nassr, Ahmad; Currier, Bradford

2017-01-01

Importance Predictive factors associated with increased risk of medical malpractice litigation have been identified, including severity of injury, physician sex, and error in diagnosis. However, there is a paucity of literature investigating informed consent in spinal surgery malpractice. Objective To investigate the failure to obtain informed consent as an allegation in medical malpractice claims for patients undergoing a spinal procedure. Design, Setting, and Participants In this retrospective cohort study, a national medicolegal database was searched for malpractice claim cases related to spinal surgery for all years available (ie, January 1, 1980, through December 31, 2015). Main Outcomes and Measures Failure to obtain informed consent and associated medical malpractice case verdict. Results A total of 233 patients (117 [50.4%] male and 116 [49.8%] female; 80 with no informed consent allegation and 153 who cited lack of informed consent) who underwent spinal surgery and filed a malpractice claim were studied (mean [SD] age, 47.1 [13.1] years in the total group, 45.8 [12.9] years in the control group, and 47.9 [13.3] years in the informed consent group). Median interval between year of surgery and year of verdict was 5.4 years (interquartile range, 4-7 years). The most common informed consent allegations were failure to explain risks and adverse effects of surgery (52 [30.4%]) and failure to explain alternative treatment options (17 [9.9%]). In bivariate analysis, patients in the control group were more likely to require additional surgery (45 [56.3%] vs 53 [34.6%], P = .002) and have more permanent injuries compared with the informed consent group (46 [57.5%] vs 63 [42.0%], P = .03). On multivariable regression analysis, permanent injuries were more often associated with indemnity payment after a plaintiff verdict (odds ratio [OR], 3.12; 95% CI, 1.46-6.65; P = .003) or a settlement (OR, 6.26; 95% CI, 1.06-36.70; P = .04). Informed consent

Allegations of Failure to Obtain Informed Consent in Spinal Surgery Medical Malpractice Claims.

PubMed

Grauberger, Jennifer; Kerezoudis, Panagiotis; Choudhry, Asad J; Alvi, Mohammed Ali; Nassr, Ahmad; Currier, Bradford; Bydon, Mohamad

2017-06-21

Predictive factors associated with increased risk of medical malpractice litigation have been identified, including severity of injury, physician sex, and error in diagnosis. However, there is a paucity of literature investigating informed consent in spinal surgery malpractice. To investigate the failure to obtain informed consent as an allegation in medical malpractice claims for patients undergoing a spinal procedure. In this retrospective cohort study, a national medicolegal database was searched for malpractice claim cases related to spinal surgery for all years available (ie, January 1, 1980, through December 31, 2015). Failure to obtain informed consent and associated medical malpractice case verdict. A total of 233 patients (117 [50.4%] male and 116 [49.8%] female; 80 with no informed consent allegation and 153 who cited lack of informed consent) who underwent spinal surgery and filed a malpractice claim were studied (mean [SD] age, 47.1 [13.1] years in the total group, 45.8 [12.9] years in the control group, and 47.9 [13.3] years in the informed consent group). Median interval between year of surgery and year of verdict was 5.4 years (interquartile range, 4-7 years). The most common informed consent allegations were failure to explain risks and adverse effects of surgery (52 [30.4%]) and failure to explain alternative treatment options (17 [9.9%]). In bivariate analysis, patients in the control group were more likely to require additional surgery (45 [56.3%] vs 53 [34.6%], P = .002) and have more permanent injuries compared with the informed consent group (46 [57.5%] vs 63 [42.0%], P = .03). On multivariable regression analysis, permanent injuries were more often associated with indemnity payment after a plaintiff verdict (odds ratio [OR], 3.12; 95% CI, 1.46-6.65; P = .003) or a settlement (OR, 6.26; 95% CI, 1.06-36.70; P = .04). Informed consent allegations were significantly associated with less severe (temporary or emotional) injury (OR

Pulse shape discrimination and classification methods for continuous depth of interaction encoding PET detectors.

PubMed

Roncali, Emilie; Phipps, Jennifer E; Marcu, Laura; Cherry, Simon R

2012-10-21

In previous work we demonstrated the potential of positron emission tomography (PET) detectors with depth-of-interaction (DOI) encoding capability based on phosphor-coated crystals. A DOI resolution of 8 mm full-width at half-maximum was obtained for 20 mm long scintillator crystals using a delayed charge integration linear regression method (DCI-LR). Phosphor-coated crystals modify the pulse shape to allow continuous DOI information determination, but the relationship between pulse shape and DOI is complex. We are therefore interested in developing a sensitive and robust method to estimate the DOI. Here, linear discriminant analysis (LDA) was implemented to classify the events based on information extracted from the pulse shape. Pulses were acquired with 2×2×20 mm(3) phosphor-coated crystals at five irradiation depths and characterized by their DCI values or Laguerre coefficients. These coefficients were obtained by expanding the pulses on a Laguerre basis set and constituted a unique signature for each pulse. The DOI of individual events was predicted using LDA based on Laguerre coefficients (Laguerre-LDA) or DCI values (DCI-LDA) as discriminant features. Predicted DOIs were compared to true irradiation depths. Laguerre-LDA showed higher sensitivity and accuracy than DCI-LDA and DCI-LR and was also more robust to predict the DOI of pulses with higher statistical noise due to low light levels (interaction depths further from the photodetector face). This indicates that Laguerre-LDA may be more suitable to DOI estimation in smaller crystals where lower collected light levels are expected. This novel approach is promising for calculating DOI using pulse shape discrimination in single-ended readout depth-encoding PET detectors.

Pulse Shape Discrimination and Classification Methods for Continuous Depth of Interaction Encoding PET Detectors

PubMed Central

Roncali, Emilie; Phipps, Jennifer E.; Marcu, Laura; Cherry, Simon R.

2012-01-01

In previous work we demonstrated the potential of positron emission tomography (PET) detectors with depth-of-interaction (DOI) encoding capability based on phosphor-coated crystals. A DOI resolution of 8 mm full-width at half-maximum was obtained for 20 mm long scintillator crystals using a delayed charge integration linear regression method (DCI-LR). Phosphor-coated crystals modify the pulse shape to allow continuous DOI information determination, but the relationship between pulse shape and DOI is complex. We are therefore interested in developing a sensitive and robust method to estimate the DOI. Here, linear discriminant analysis (LDA) was implemented to classify the events based on information extracted from the pulse shape. Pulses were acquired with 2 × 2 × 20 mm3 phosphor-coated crystals at five irradiation depths and characterized by their DCI values or Laguerre coefficients. These coefficients were obtained by expanding the pulses on a Laguerre basis set and constituted a unique signature for each pulse. The DOI of individual events was predicted using LDA based on Laguerre coefficients (Laguerre-LDA) or DCI values (DCI-LDA) as discriminant features. Predicted DOIs were compared to true irradiation depths. Laguerre-LDA showed higher sensitivity and accuracy than DCI-LDA and DCI-LR and was also more robust to predict the DOI of pulses with higher statistical noise due to low light levels (interaction depths further from the photodetector face). This indicates that Laguerre-LDA may be more suitable to DOI estimation in smaller crystals where lower collected light levels are expected. This novel approach is promising for calculating DOI using pulse shape discrimination in single-ended readout depth-encoding PET detectors. PMID:23010690

Depth Profiles in Maize ( Zea mays L.) Seeds Studied by Photoacoustic Spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hernández-Aguilar, C.; Domínguez-Pacheco, A.; Cruz-Orea, A.; Zepeda-Bautista, R.

2015-06-01

Photoacoustic spectroscopy (PAS) has been used to analyze agricultural seeds and can be applied to the study of seed depth profiles of these complex samples composed of different structures. The sample depth profile can be obtained through the photoacoustic (PA) signal, amplitude, and phase at different light modulation frequencies. The PA signal phase is more sensitive to changes of thermal properties in layered samples than the PA signal amplitude. Hence, the PA signal phase can also be used to characterize layers at different depths. Thus, the objective of the present study was to obtain the optical absorption spectra of maize seeds ( Zea mays L.) by means of PAS at different light modulation frequencies (17 Hz, 30 Hz, and 50 Hz) and comparing these spectra with the ones obtained from the phase-resolved method in order to separate the optical absorption spectra of seed pericarp and endosperm. The results suggest the possibility of using the phase-resolved method to obtain optical absorption spectra of different seed structures, at different depths, without damaging the seed. Thus, PAS could be a nondestructive method for characterization of agricultural seeds and thus improve quality control in the food industry.

Is visual short-term memory depthful?

PubMed

Reeves, Adam; Lei, Quan

2014-03-01

Does visual short-term memory (VSTM) depend on depth, as it might be if information was stored in more than one depth layer? Depth is critical in natural viewing and might be expected to affect retention, but whether this is so is currently unknown. Cued partial reports of letter arrays (Sperling, 1960) were measured up to 700 ms after display termination. Adding stereoscopic depth hardly affected VSTM capacity or decay inferred from total errors. The pattern of transposition errors (letters reported from an uncued row) was almost independent of depth and cue delay. We conclude that VSTM is effectively two-dimensional. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Integration of Occlusion and Disparity Information for Judging Depth in Autism Spectrum Disorder

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, Danielle; Ropar, Danielle; Allen, Harriet A.

2017-01-01

In autism spectrum disorder (ASD), atypical integration of visual depth cues may be due to flattened perceptual priors or selective fusion. The current study attempts to disentangle these explanations by psychophysically assessing within-modality integration of ordinal (occlusion) and metric (disparity) depth cues while accounting for sensitivity…

Robust Fusion of Color and Depth Data for RGB-D Target Tracking Using Adaptive Range-Invariant Depth Models and Spatio-Temporal Consistency Constraints.

PubMed

Xiao, Jingjing; Stolkin, Rustam; Gao, Yuqing; Leonardis, Ales

2017-09-06

This paper presents a novel robust method for single target tracking in RGB-D images, and also contributes a substantial new benchmark dataset for evaluating RGB-D trackers. While a target object's color distribution is reasonably motion-invariant, this is not true for the target's depth distribution, which continually varies as the target moves relative to the camera. It is therefore nontrivial to design target models which can fully exploit (potentially very rich) depth information for target tracking. For this reason, much of the previous RGB-D literature relies on color information for tracking, while exploiting depth information only for occlusion reasoning. In contrast, we propose an adaptive range-invariant target depth model, and show how both depth and color information can be fully and adaptively fused during the search for the target in each new RGB-D image. We introduce a new, hierarchical, two-layered target model (comprising local and global models) which uses spatio-temporal consistency constraints to achieve stable and robust on-the-fly target relearning. In the global layer, multiple features, derived from both color and depth data, are adaptively fused to find a candidate target region. In ambiguous frames, where one or more features disagree, this global candidate region is further decomposed into smaller local candidate regions for matching to local-layer models of small target parts. We also note that conventional use of depth data, for occlusion reasoning, can easily trigger false occlusion detections when the target moves rapidly toward the camera. To overcome this problem, we show how combining target information with contextual information enables the target's depth constraint to be relaxed. Our adaptively relaxed depth constraints can robustly accommodate large and rapid target motion in the depth direction, while still enabling the use of depth data for highly accurate reasoning about occlusions. For evaluation, we introduce a new RGB

40 CFR 712.7 - Report of readily obtainable information for subparts B and C.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 30 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Report of readily obtainable... Report of readily obtainable information for subparts B and C. TSCA section 8(a) authorizes EPA to require persons to report information that is known to or reasonably ascertainable by them. For purposes...

Using fear appeals in warning labels to promote responsible gambling among VLT players: the key role of depth of information processing.

PubMed

Munoz, Yaromir; Chebat, Jean-Charles; Suissa, Jacob Amnon

2010-12-01

Video lottery terminals (VLT) are a highly lucrative gambling format, but at the same time they are among the most hazardous. Previous research has shown that threatening warnings may be an appropriate approach for promoting protective behavior. The present study explores the potential benefits of threatening warnings in the fight against compulsive gambling. A 4 × 2 factorial design experiment was used to test our model based on both Elaboration Likelihood Model and Protection Motivation Theory. 258 VLT adult players (58% males, 42% females) with various degrees of problem gambling were exposed to three threat levels (plus a control condition) from two different sources (i.e., either a medical source or a source related to the provider of VLT's). Our results show that both higher threat warnings and the medical source of warnings enhance Depth of Information Processing. It was also found that Depth of Information Processing affects positively attitude change and compliance intentions. The theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.

28 CFR 51.37 - Obtaining information from the submitting authority.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 28 Judicial Administration 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Obtaining information from the submitting authority. 51.37 Section 51.37 Judicial Administration DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE (CONTINUED) PROCEDURES FOR THE ADMINISTRATION OF SECTION 5 OF THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT OF 1965, AS AMENDED Processing of Submissions § 51.37...

25 CFR 162.520 - Who owns the energy resource information obtained under the WEEL?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... AND WATER LEASES AND PERMITS Wind and Solar Resource Leases Weels § 162.520 Who owns the energy resource information obtained under the WEEL? (a) The WEEL must specify the ownership of any energy... 25 Indians 1 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false Who owns the energy resource information obtained under...

25 CFR 162.520 - Who owns the energy resource information obtained under the WEEL?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... AND WATER LEASES AND PERMITS Wind and Solar Resource Leases Weels § 162.520 Who owns the energy resource information obtained under the WEEL? (a) The WEEL must specify the ownership of any energy... 25 Indians 1 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Who owns the energy resource information obtained under...

A Review of Depth and Normal Fusion Algorithms

PubMed Central

Štolc, Svorad; Pock, Thomas

2018-01-01

Geometric surface information such as depth maps and surface normals can be acquired by various methods such as stereo light fields, shape from shading and photometric stereo techniques. We compare several algorithms which deal with the combination of depth with surface normal information in order to reconstruct a refined depth map. The reasons for performance differences are examined from the perspective of alternative formulations of surface normals for depth reconstruction. We review and analyze methods in a systematic way. Based on our findings, we introduce a new generalized fusion method, which is formulated as a least squares problem and outperforms previous methods in the depth error domain by introducing a novel normal weighting that performs closer to the geodesic distance measure. Furthermore, a novel method is introduced based on Total Generalized Variation (TGV) which further outperforms previous approaches in terms of the geodesic normal distance error and maintains comparable quality in the depth error domain. PMID:29389903

Focusing and depth of field in photography: application in dermatology practice.

PubMed

Taheri, Arash; Yentzer, Brad A; Feldman, Steven R

2013-11-01

Conventional photography obtains a sharp image of objects within a given 'depth of field'; objects not within the depth of field are out of focus. In recent years, digital photography revolutionized the way pictures are taken, edited, and stored. However, digital photography does not result in a deeper depth of field or better focusing. In this article, we briefly review the concept of depth of field and focus in photography as well as new technologies in this area. A deep depth of field is used to have more objects in focus; a shallow depth of field can emphasize a subject by blurring the foreground and background objects. The depth of field can be manipulated by adjusting the aperture size of the camera, with smaller apertures increasing the depth of field at the cost of lower levels of light capture. Light-field cameras are a new generation of digital cameras that offer several new features, including the ability to change the focus on any object in the image after taking the photograph. Understanding depth of field and camera technology helps dermatologists to capture their subjects in focus more efficiently. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Cuff depth and continuous chest auscultation method for determination of tracheal tube insertion depth in nasal intubation: observational study.

PubMed

Ouchi, Kentaro; Sugiyama, Kazuna

2016-04-01

Incorrect endobronchial placement of the tracheal tube can lead to serious complications. Hence, it is necessary to determine the accuracy of tracheal tube positioning. Markers are included on tracheal tubes, in the process of their manufacture, as indicators of approximate intubation depth. In addition, continuous chest auscultation has been used for determining the proper position of the tube. We examined insertion depth using the cuff depth and continuous chest auscultation method (CC method), compared with insertion depth determined by the marker method, to assess the accuracy of these methods. After induction of anesthesia, tracheal intubation was performed in each patient. In the CC method, the depth of tube insertion was measured when the cuff had passed through the glottis, and again when breath sounds changed in quality; the depth of tube insertion was determined from these values. In the marker method, the depth of tube insertion was measured and determined when the marker of the tube had reached the glottis, using insertion depth according to the marker as an index. Insertion depth by the marker method was 26.6 ± 1.2 cm and by the CC method was 28.0 ± 1.2 cm (P < 0.0001). The CC method indicated a significantly greater depth than the marker method. This study determined the safe range of tracheal tube placement. Tube positions determined by the CC method were about 1 cm deeper than those determined by the marker. This information is important to prevent accidental one-lung ventilation and accidental extubation. UMIN No. UMIN000011375.

Improved pulmonary function in working divers breathing nitrox at shallow depths

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fitzpatrick, Daniel T.; Conkin, Johnny

2003-01-01

INTRODUCTION: There is limited data about the long-term pulmonary effects of nitrox use in divers at shallow depths. This study examined changes in pulmonary function in a cohort of working divers breathing a 46% oxygen enriched mixture while diving at depths less than 12 m. METHODS: A total of 43 working divers from the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory (NBL), NASA-Johnson Space Center completed a questionnaire providing information on diving history prior to NBL employment, diving history outside the NBL since employment, and smoking history. Cumulative dive hours were obtained from the NBL dive-time database. Medical records were reviewed to obtain the diver's height, weight, and pulmonary function measurements from initial pre-dive, first year and third year annual medical examinations. RESULTS: The initial forced vital capacity (FVC) and forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) were greater than predicted, 104% and 102%, respectively. After 3 yr of diving at the NBL, both the FVC and FEV1 showed a significant (p < 0.01) increase of 6.3% and 5.5%, respectively. There were no significant changes in peak expiratory flow (PEF), forced mid-expiratory flow rate (FEF(25-75%)), and forced expiratory flow rates at 25%, 50%, and 75% of FVC expired (FEF25%, FEF50%, FEF75%). Cumulative NBL dive hours was the only contributing variable found to be significantly associated with both FVC and FEV1 at 1 and 3 yr. CONCLUSIONS: NBL divers initially belong to a select group with larger than predicted lung volumes. Regular diving with nitrox at shallow depths over a 3-yr period did not impair pulmonary function. Improvements in FVC and FEV1 were primarily due to a training effect.

Stereo depth and the control of locomotive heading

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rushton, Simon K.; Harris, Julie M.

1998-04-01

Does the addition of stereoscopic depth aid steering--the perceptual control of locomotor heading--around an environment? This is a critical question when designing a tele-operation or Virtual Environment system, with implications for computational resources and visual comfort. We examined the role of stereoscopic depth in the perceptual control of heading by employing an active steering task. Three conditions were tested: stereoscopic depth; incorrect stereoscopic depth and no stereoscopic depth. Results suggest that stereoscopic depth does not improve performance in a visual control task. A further set of experiments examined the importance of a ground plane. As a ground plane is a common feature of all natural environments and provides a pictorial depth cue, it has been suggested that the visual system may be especially attuned to exploit its presence. Thus it would be predicted that a ground plane would aid judgments of locomotor heading. Results suggest that the presence of rich motion information in the lower visual field produces significant performance advantages and that provision of such information may prove a better target for system resources than stereoscopic depth. These findings have practical consequences for a system designer and also challenge previous theoretical and psychophysical perceptual research.

Determination of the maximum-depth to potential field sources by a maximum structural index method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fedi, M.; Florio, G.

2013-01-01

A simple and fast determination of the limiting depth to the sources may represent a significant help to the data interpretation. To this end we explore the possibility of determining those source parameters shared by all the classes of models fitting the data. One approach is to determine the maximum depth-to-source compatible with the measured data, by using for example the well-known Bott-Smith rules. These rules involve only the knowledge of the field and its horizontal gradient maxima, and are independent from the density contrast. Thanks to the direct relationship between structural index and depth to sources we work out a simple and fast strategy to obtain the maximum depth by using the semi-automated methods, such as Euler deconvolution or depth-from-extreme-points method (DEXP). The proposed method consists in estimating the maximum depth as the one obtained for the highest allowable value of the structural index (Nmax). Nmax may be easily determined, since it depends only on the dimensionality of the problem (2D/3D) and on the nature of the analyzed field (e.g., gravity field or magnetic field). We tested our approach on synthetic models against the results obtained by the classical Bott-Smith formulas and the results are in fact very similar, confirming the validity of this method. However, while Bott-Smith formulas are restricted to the gravity field only, our method is applicable also to the magnetic field and to any derivative of the gravity and magnetic field. Our method yields a useful criterion to assess the source model based on the (∂f/∂x)max/fmax ratio. The usefulness of the method in real cases is demonstrated for a salt wall in the Mississippi basin, where the estimation of the maximum depth agrees with the seismic information.

Fast calculation method of computer-generated hologram using a depth camera with point cloud gridding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Yu; Shi, Chen-Xiao; Kwon, Ki-Chul; Piao, Yan-Ling; Piao, Mei-Lan; Kim, Nam

2018-03-01

We propose a fast calculation method for a computer-generated hologram (CGH) of real objects that uses a point cloud gridding method. The depth information of the scene is acquired using a depth camera and the point cloud model is reconstructed virtually. Because each point of the point cloud is distributed precisely to the exact coordinates of each layer, each point of the point cloud can be classified into grids according to its depth. A diffraction calculation is performed on the grids using a fast Fourier transform (FFT) to obtain a CGH. The computational complexity is reduced dramatically in comparison with conventional methods. The feasibility of the proposed method was confirmed by numerical and optical experiments.

In-depth comparison of somatic point mutation callers based on different tumor next-generation sequencing depth data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cai, Lei; Yuan, Wei; Zhang, Zhou; He, Lin; Chou, Kuo-Chen

2016-11-01

Four popular somatic single nucleotide variant (SNV) calling methods (Varscan, SomaticSniper, Strelka and MuTect2) were carefully evaluated on the real whole exome sequencing (WES, depth of ~50X) and ultra-deep targeted sequencing (UDT-Seq, depth of ~370X) data. The four tools returned poor consensus on candidates (only 20% of calls were with multiple hits by the callers). For both WES and UDT-Seq, MuTect2 and Strelka obtained the largest proportion of COSMIC entries as well as the lowest rate of dbSNP presence and high-alternative-alleles-in-control calls, demonstrating their superior sensitivity and accuracy. Combining different callers does increase reliability of candidates, but narrows the list down to very limited range of tumor read depth and variant allele frequency. Calling SNV on UDT-Seq data, which were of much higher read-depth, discovered additional true-positive variations, despite an even more tremendous growth in false positive predictions. Our findings not only provide valuable benchmark for state-of-the-art SNV calling methods, but also shed light on the access to more accurate SNV identification in the future.

Performance Approach, Performance Avoidance and Depth of Information Processing: A Fresh Look at Relations between Students' Academic Motivation and Cognition.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barker, Katrina; Dowson, Martin

This study combines a trichotomous motivational variable (mastery goal, performance approach, and performance avoidance goal) with an information-processing variable referred to as depth of processing, to investigate the effects of motivation on the encoding and recall of verbal information with a sample of infants and primary grade students…

48 CFR 232.072-2 - Appropriate information.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 3 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Appropriate information... information. (a) The contracting officer shall obtain the type and depth of financial and other information... condition. While the contracting officer should not request information that is not necessary for protection...

Forage quantity estimation from MERIS using band depth parameters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ullah, Saleem; Yali, Si; Schlerf, Martin

Saleem Ullah1 , Si Yali1 , Martin Schlerf1 Forage quantity is an important factor influencing feeding pattern and distribution of wildlife. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the predictive performance of vegetation indices and band depth analysis parameters for estimation of green biomass using MERIS data. Green biomass was best predicted by NBDI (normalized band depth index) and yielded a calibration R2 of 0.73 and an accuracy (independent validation dataset, n=30) of 136.2 g/m2 (47 % of the measured mean) compared to a much lower accuracy obtained by soil adjusted vegetation index SAVI (444.6 g/m2, 154 % of the mean) and by other vegetation indices. This study will contribute to map and monitor foliar biomass over the year at regional scale which intern can aid the understanding of bird migration pattern. Keywords: Biomass, Nitrogen density, Nitrogen concentration, Vegetation indices, Band depth analysis parameters 1 Faculty of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation (ITC), University of Twente, The Netherlands

77 FR 37886 - Notice of Intent To Obtain Information Regarding Organizations Who Are Assisting African...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-06-25

... information regarding organizations active in this area, for the purpose of information sharing. SUMMARY: This notice announces that the U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) is seeking information about organizations, both... DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE Office of the Secretary Notice of Intent To Obtain Information Regarding...

Temporal consistent depth map upscaling for 3DTV

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schwarz, Sebastian; Sjöström, Mârten; Olsson, Roger

2014-03-01

The ongoing success of three-dimensional (3D) cinema fuels increasing efforts to spread the commercial success of 3D to new markets. The possibilities of a convincing 3D experience at home, such as three-dimensional television (3DTV), has generated a great deal of interest within the research and standardization community. A central issue for 3DTV is the creation and representation of 3D content. Acquiring scene depth information is a fundamental task in computer vision, yet complex and error-prone. Dedicated range sensors, such as the Time­ of-Flight camera (ToF), can simplify the scene depth capture process and overcome shortcomings of traditional solutions, such as active or passive stereo analysis. Admittedly, currently available ToF sensors deliver only a limited spatial resolution. However, sophisticated depth upscaling approaches use texture information to match depth and video resolution. At Electronic Imaging 2012 we proposed an upscaling routine based on error energy minimization, weighted with edge information from an accompanying video source. In this article we develop our algorithm further. By adding temporal consistency constraints to the upscaling process, we reduce disturbing depth jumps and flickering artifacts in the final 3DTV content. Temporal consistency in depth maps enhances the 3D experience, leading to a wider acceptance of 3D media content. More content in better quality can boost the commercial success of 3DTV.

Correction techniques for depth errors with stereo three-dimensional graphic displays

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Parrish, Russell V.; Holden, Anthony; Williams, Steven P.

1992-01-01

Three-dimensional (3-D), 'real-world' pictorial displays that incorporate 'true' depth cues via stereopsis techniques have proved effective for displaying complex information in a natural way to enhance situational awareness and to improve pilot/vehicle performance. In such displays, the display designer must map the depths in the real world to the depths available with the stereo display system. However, empirical data have shown that the human subject does not perceive the information at exactly the depth at which it is mathematically placed. Head movements can also seriously distort the depth information that is embedded in stereo 3-D displays because the transformations used in mapping the visual scene to the depth-viewing volume (DVV) depend intrinsically on the viewer location. The goal of this research was to provide two correction techniques; the first technique corrects the original visual scene to the DVV mapping based on human perception errors, and the second (which is based on head-positioning sensor input data) corrects for errors induced by head movements. Empirical data are presented to validate both correction techniques. A combination of the two correction techniques effectively eliminates the distortions of depth information embedded in stereo 3-D displays.

Gravity survey and depth to bedrock in Carson Valley, Nevada-California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Maurer, D.K.

1985-01-01

Gravity data were obtained from 460 stations in Carson Valley, Nevada and California. The data have been interpreted to obtain a map of approximate depth to bedrock for use in a ground-water model of the valley. This map delineates the shape of the alluvium-filled basin and shows that the maximum depth to bedrock exceeds 5,000 feet, on the west side of the valley. A north-south trending offset in the bedrock surface shows that the Carson-Valley/Pine-Nut-Mountain block has not been tilted to the west as a simple unit, but is comprised of several smaller blocks. (USGS)

Latent stereopsis for motion in depth in strabismic amblyopia.

PubMed

Hess, Robert F; Mansouri, Behzad; Thompson, Benjamin; Gheorghiu, Elena

2009-10-01

To investigate the residual stereo function of a group of 15 patients with strabismic amblyopia, by using motion-in-depth stimuli that allow discrimination of contributions from local disparity as opposed to those from local velocity mechanisms as a function of the rate of depth change. The stereo performance (percentage correct) was measured as a function of the rate of depth change for dynamic random dot stimuli that were either temporally correlated or uncorrelated. Residual stereoscopic function was demonstrated for motion in depth based on local disparity information in 2 of the 15 observers with strabismic amblyopia. The use of a neutral-density (ND) filter in front of the fixing eye enhanced motion-in-depth performance in four subjects randomly selected from the group that originally displayed only chance performance. This finding was true across temporal rate and for correlated and uncorrelated stimuli, suggesting that it was disparity based. The opposite occurred in a group of normal subjects. In a separate experiment, the hypothesis was that the beneficial effect of the ND filter is due to its contrast and/or mean luminance-reducing effects rather than any interocular time delay that it may introduce and that it is specific to motion-in-depth performance, as similar improvements were not found for static stereopsis. A small proportion of observers with strabismic amblyopia exhibit residual performance for motion in depth, and it is disparity based. Furthermore, some observers with strabismic amblyopia who do not display any significant stereo performance for motion in depth under normal binocular viewing may display above-chance stereo performance if the degree of interocular suppression is reduced. The authors term this phenomenon latent stereopsis.

Depth-resolved fluorescence of biological tissue

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Yicong; Xi, Peng; Cheung, Tak-Hong; Yim, So Fan; Yu, Mei-Yung; Qu, Jianan Y.

2005-06-01

The depth-resolved autofluorescence ofrabbit oral tissue, normal and dysplastic human ectocervical tissue within l20μm depth were investigated utilizing a confocal fluorescence spectroscopy with the excitations at 355nm and 457nm. From the topmost keratinizing layer of oral and ectocervical tissue, strong keratin fluorescence with the spectral characteristics similar to collagen was observed. The fluorescence signal from epithelial tissue between the keratinizing layer and stroma can be well resolved. Furthermore, NADH and FADfluorescence measured from the underlying non-keratinizing epithelial layer were strongly correlated to the tissue pathology. This study demonstrates that the depth-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy can reveal fine structural information on epithelial tissue and potentially provide more accurate diagnostic information for determining tissue pathology.

Feature-location binding in 3D: Feature judgments are biased by 2D location but not position-in-depth

PubMed Central

Finlayson, Nonie J.; Golomb, Julie D.

2016-01-01

A fundamental aspect of human visual perception is the ability to recognize and locate objects in the environment. Importantly, our environment is predominantly three-dimensional (3D), but while there is considerable research exploring the binding of object features and location, it is unknown how depth information interacts with features in the object binding process. A recent paradigm called the spatial congruency bias demonstrated that 2D location is fundamentally bound to object features (Golomb, Kupitz, & Thiemann, 2014), such that irrelevant location information biases judgments of object features, but irrelevant feature information does not bias judgments of location or other features. Here, using the spatial congruency bias paradigm, we asked whether depth is processed as another type of location, or more like other features. We initially found that depth cued by binocular disparity biased judgments of object color. However, this result seemed to be driven more by the disparity differences than the depth percept: Depth cued by occlusion and size did not bias color judgments, whereas vertical disparity information (with no depth percept) did bias color judgments. Our results suggest that despite the 3D nature of our visual environment, only 2D location information – not position-in-depth – seems to be automatically bound to object features, with depth information processed more similarly to other features than to 2D location. PMID:27468654

Feature-location binding in 3D: Feature judgments are biased by 2D location but not position-in-depth.

PubMed

Finlayson, Nonie J; Golomb, Julie D

2016-10-01

A fundamental aspect of human visual perception is the ability to recognize and locate objects in the environment. Importantly, our environment is predominantly three-dimensional (3D), but while there is considerable research exploring the binding of object features and location, it is unknown how depth information interacts with features in the object binding process. A recent paradigm called the spatial congruency bias demonstrated that 2D location is fundamentally bound to object features, such that irrelevant location information biases judgments of object features, but irrelevant feature information does not bias judgments of location or other features. Here, using the spatial congruency bias paradigm, we asked whether depth is processed as another type of location, or more like other features. We initially found that depth cued by binocular disparity biased judgments of object color. However, this result seemed to be driven more by the disparity differences than the depth percept: Depth cued by occlusion and size did not bias color judgments, whereas vertical disparity information (with no depth percept) did bias color judgments. Our results suggest that despite the 3D nature of our visual environment, only 2D location information - not position-in-depth - seems to be automatically bound to object features, with depth information processed more similarly to other features than to 2D location. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Peripheral Processing Facilitates Optic Flow-Based Depth Perception

PubMed Central

Li, Jinglin; Lindemann, Jens P.; Egelhaaf, Martin

2016-01-01

Flying insects, such as flies or bees, rely on consistent information regarding the depth structure of the environment when performing their flight maneuvers in cluttered natural environments. These behaviors include avoiding collisions, approaching targets or spatial navigation. Insects are thought to obtain depth information visually from the retinal image displacements (“optic flow”) during translational ego-motion. Optic flow in the insect visual system is processed by a mechanism that can be modeled by correlation-type elementary motion detectors (EMDs). However, it is still an open question how spatial information can be extracted reliably from the responses of the highly contrast- and pattern-dependent EMD responses, especially if the vast range of light intensities encountered in natural environments is taken into account. This question will be addressed here by systematically modeling the peripheral visual system of flies, including various adaptive mechanisms. Different model variants of the peripheral visual system were stimulated with image sequences that mimic the panoramic visual input during translational ego-motion in various natural environments, and the resulting peripheral signals were fed into an array of EMDs. We characterized the influence of each peripheral computational unit on the representation of spatial information in the EMD responses. Our model simulations reveal that information about the overall light level needs to be eliminated from the EMD input as is accomplished under light-adapted conditions in the insect peripheral visual system. The response characteristics of large monopolar cells (LMCs) resemble that of a band-pass filter, which reduces the contrast dependency of EMDs strongly, effectively enhancing the representation of the nearness of objects and, especially, of their contours. We furthermore show that local brightness adaptation of photoreceptors allows for spatial vision under a wide range of dynamic light

Depth-of-processing effects as college students use academic advising Web sites.

PubMed

Boatright-Horowitz, Su L; Langley, Michelle; Gunnip, Matthew

2009-06-01

This research examined students' cognitive and affective responses to an academic advising Web site. Specifically, we investigated whether exposure to our Web site increased student reports that they would access university Web sites to obtain various types of advising information. A depth-of-processing (DOP) manipulation revealed this effect as students engaged in semantic processing of Web content but not when they engaged in superficial examination of the physical appearance of the same Web site. Students appeared to scan online academic advising materials for information of immediate importance without noticing other information or hyperlinks (e.g., regarding internships and careers). Suggestions are presented for increasing the effectiveness of academic advising Web sites.

An exploration of how Mexican American WIC mothers obtain information about behaviors associated with childhood obesity risk

PubMed Central

Cole, Suzanne M.; McKenney-Shubert, Shannon J.; Jones, Sonya J.; Peterson, Karen E.

2016-01-01

Objective To explore how a sample of Mexican American mothers with preschool-aged children recruited from a Midwestern WIC clinic obtain information about 4 behaviors associated with childhood obesity risk: eating, physical activity, screen time and sleep. Methods One-on-1, structured interviews, in which participants were asked how they communicated with family, learned to take care of their first infant and obtained information about the 4 targeted behaviors for their preschool-aged child. Setting An urban WIC clinic in the Midwest. Participants Forty Mexican-descent WIC mothers with children ages 3–4. Phenomenon of Interest Exposure to information about the 4 targeted behaviors among Mexican-descent mothers participating in WIC. Analysis Quantitative and qualitative data were used to characterize and compare across participants. Results Participants primarily obtained information from their child’s maternal grandmother during their first child’s infancy and from health professionals for their preschool-aged child. Participants typically obtained information through interpersonal communication, television and magazines. Participants were most interested in healthy eating information and least interested in screen time information. Some participants did not seek information. Conclusions Participants engaged in different patterns of information seeking across their child’s development and the 4 behaviors, suggesting that future research should be behaviorally specific. Findings from this study suggest several hypotheses to test in future research. PMID:27876321

Depth-resolved monitoring of analytes diffusion in ocular tissues

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Larin, Kirill V.; Ghosn, Mohamad G.; Tuchin, Valery V.

2007-02-01

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a noninvasive imaging technique with high in-depth resolution. We employed OCT technique for monitoring and quantification of analyte and drug diffusion in cornea and sclera of rabbit eyes in vitro. Different analytes and drugs such as metronidazole, dexamethasone, ciprofloxacin, mannitol, and glucose solution were studied and whose permeability coefficients were calculated. Drug diffusion monitoring was performed as a function of time and as a function of depth. Obtained results suggest that OCT technique might be used for analyte diffusion studies in connective and epithelial tissues.

Depth-aware image seam carving.

PubMed

Shen, Jianbing; Wang, Dapeng; Li, Xuelong

2013-10-01

Image seam carving algorithm should preserve important and salient objects as much as possible when changing the image size, while not removing the secondary objects in the scene. However, it is still difficult to determine the important and salient objects that avoid the distortion of these objects after resizing the input image. In this paper, we develop a novel depth-aware single image seam carving approach by taking advantage of the modern depth cameras such as the Kinect sensor, which captures the RGB color image and its corresponding depth map simultaneously. By considering both the depth information and the just noticeable difference (JND) model, we develop an efficient JND-based significant computation approach using the multiscale graph cut based energy optimization. Our method achieves the better seam carving performance by cutting the near objects less seams while removing distant objects more seams. To the best of our knowledge, our algorithm is the first work to use the true depth map captured by Kinect depth camera for single image seam carving. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed approach produces better seam carving results than previous content-aware seam carving methods.

Remote operation: a selective review of research into visual depth perception.

PubMed

Reinhardt-Rutland, A H

1996-07-01

Some perceptual motor operations are performed remotely; examples include the handling of life-threatening materials and surgical procedures. A camera conveys the site of operation to a TV monitor, so depth perception relies mainly on pictorial information, perhaps with enhancement of the occlusion cue by motion. However, motion information such as motion parallax is not likely to be important. The effectiveness of pictorial information is diminished by monocular and binocular information conveying flatness of the screen and by difficulties in scaling: Only a degree of relative depth can be conveyed. Furthermore, pictorial information can mislead. Depth perception is probably adequate in remote operation, if target objects are well separated, with well-defined edges and familiar shapes. Stereoscopic viewing systems are being developed to introduce binocular information to remote operation. However, stereoscopic viewing is problematic because binocular disparity conflicts with convergence and monocular information. An alternative strategy to improve precision in remote operation may be to rely on individuals who lack binocular function: There is redundancy in depth information, and such individuals seem to compensate for the lack of binocular function.

MODA: a new algorithm to compute optical depths in multidimensional hydrodynamic simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Perego, Albino; Gafton, Emanuel; Cabezón, Rubén; Rosswog, Stephan; Liebendörfer, Matthias

2014-08-01

Aims: We introduce the multidimensional optical depth algorithm (MODA) for the calculation of optical depths in approximate multidimensional radiative transport schemes, equally applicable to neutrinos and photons. Motivated by (but not limited to) neutrino transport in three-dimensional simulations of core-collapse supernovae and neutron star mergers, our method makes no assumptions about the geometry of the matter distribution, apart from expecting optically transparent boundaries. Methods: Based on local information about opacities, the algorithm figures out an escape route that tends to minimize the optical depth without assuming any predefined paths for radiation. Its adaptivity makes it suitable for a variety of astrophysical settings with complicated geometry (e.g., core-collapse supernovae, compact binary mergers, tidal disruptions, star formation, etc.). We implement the MODA algorithm into both a Eulerian hydrodynamics code with a fixed, uniform grid and into an SPH code where we use a tree structure that is otherwise used for searching neighbors and calculating gravity. Results: In a series of numerical experiments, we compare the MODA results with analytically known solutions. We also use snapshots from actual 3D simulations and compare the results of MODA with those obtained with other methods, such as the global and local ray-by-ray method. It turns out that MODA achieves excellent accuracy at a moderate computational cost. In appendix we also discuss implementation details and parallelization strategies.

40 CFR 2.302 - Special rules governing certain information obtained under the Clean Water Act.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... information obtained under the Clean Water Act. 2.302 Section 2.302 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL... governing certain information obtained under the Clean Water Act. (a) Definitions. For the purposes of this section: (1) Act means the Clean Water Act, as amended, 33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq. (2)(i) Effluent data means...

The Survey of Fires in Buildings. Third Report: The Use of Information Obtained From Fire Surveys

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Silcock, A.

1973-01-01

The previous two reports in this series gave details of the general. scope of the pilot exercise and methods by which it was carried out. In addition the nature of the information obtained was illustrated by preliminary analyses of the house and industrial fires surveyed. Some brief comments on the use of the information were made. This report indicates a method of assessing the nation wide effects of applying conclusions drawn from the results of limited numbers of surveys and considers the use of the information for specific purposes.

Thermal-depth matching in dynamic scene based on affine projection and feature registration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Hongyu; Jia, Tong; Wu, Chengdong; Li, Yongqiang

2018-03-01

This paper aims to study the construction of 3D temperature distribution reconstruction system based on depth and thermal infrared information. Initially, a traditional calibration method cannot be directly used, because the depth and thermal infrared camera is not sensitive to the color calibration board. Therefore, this paper aims to design a depth and thermal infrared camera calibration board to complete the calibration of the depth and thermal infrared camera. Meanwhile a local feature descriptors in thermal and depth images is proposed. The belief propagation matching algorithm is also investigated based on the space affine transformation matching and local feature matching. The 3D temperature distribution model is built based on the matching of 3D point cloud and 2D thermal infrared information. Experimental results show that the method can accurately construct the 3D temperature distribution model, and has strong robustness.

Extreme precipitation depths for Texas, excluding the Trans-Pecos region

USGS Publications Warehouse

Lanning-Rush, Jennifer; Asquith, William H.; Slade, Raymond M.

1998-01-01

Storm durations of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 days were investigated for this report. The extreme precipitation depth for a particular area is estimated from an “extreme precipitation curve” (an upper limit or envelope curve developed from graphs of extreme precipitation depths for each climatic region). The extreme precipitation curves were determined using precipitation depth-duration information from a subset (24 “extreme” storms) of 213 “notable” storms documented throughout Texas. The extreme precipitation curves can be used to estimate extreme precipitation depth for a particular area. The extreme precipitation depth represents a limiting depth, which can provide useful comparative information for more quantitative analyses.

Direct Measurements of the Penetration Depth in a Superconducting Film using Magnetic Force Microscopy

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

E Nazaretski; J Thibodaux; I Vekhter

2011-12-31

We report the local measurements of the magnetic penetration depth in a superconducting Nb film using magnetic force microscopy (MFM). We developed a method for quantitative extraction of the penetration depth from single-parameter simultaneous fits to the lateral and height profiles of the MFM signal, and demonstrate that the obtained value is in excellent agreement with that obtained from the bulk magnetization measurements.

32 CFR Appendix G to Part 275 - Releasing Information Obtained From Financial Institutions

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... FINANCIAL PRIVACY ACT OF 1978 Pt. 275, App. G Appendix G to Part 275—Releasing Information Obtained From... record was obtained pursuant to the Right to Financial Privacy Act of 1978, 12 U.S.C. 3401 et seq., and... transferring law enforcement office, personnel security element, or intelligence organization, or designee...

How to reinforce perception of depth in single two-dimensional pictures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nagata, S.

1989-01-01

The physical conditions of the display of single 2-D pictures, which produce images realistically, were studied by using the characteristics of the intake of the information for visual depth perception. Depth sensitivity, which is defined as the ratio of viewing distance to depth discrimination threshold, was introduced in order to evaluate the availability of various cues for depth perception: binocular parallax, motion parallax, accommodation, convergence, size, texture, brightness, and air-perspective contrast. The effects of binocular parallax in different conditions, the depth sensitivity of which is greatest at a distance of up to about 10 m, were studied with the new versatile stereoscopic display. From these results, four conditions to reinforce the perception of depth in single pictures were proposed, and these conditions are met by the old viewing devices and the new high-definition and wide television displays.

Relationship Between the Sonic Layer Depth and Mixed Layer Depth Identified from U.S. Navy Sea Glider Data

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-09-01

LAYER DEPTH AND MIXED LAYER DEPTH IDENTIFIED FROM U.S. NAVY SEA GLIDER DATA Vance A. Villarreal September 2014 Thesis Advisor: Peter C. Chu Second...searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments...DEPTH IDENTIFIED FROM U.S. NAVY SEA GLIDER DATA 5. FUNDING NUMBERS 6. AUTHOR(S) Vance A. Villarreal 7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES

An Exploration of How Mexican American WIC Mothers Obtain Information About Behaviors Associated With Childhood Obesity Risk.

PubMed

Davis, Rachel E; Cole, Suzanne M; McKenney-Shubert, Shannon J; Jones, Sonya J; Peterson, Karen E

2017-03-01

To explore how a sample of Mexican American mothers with preschool-aged children recruited from a Midwestern Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) clinic obtained information about 4 behaviors associated with childhood obesity risk: eating, physical activity, screen time, and sleep. One-on-one structured interviews in which participants were asked how they communicated with family, learned to take care of their first infant, and obtained information about the 4 targeted behaviors for their preschool-aged child. An urban WIC clinic in the Midwest. Forty Mexican-descent mothers enrolled in WIC with children aged 3-4 years. Exposure to information about the 4 targeted behaviors among Mexican-descent mothers participating in WIC. Quantitative and qualitative data were used to characterize and compare across participants. Participants primarily obtained information from their child's maternal grandmother during their first child's infancy and from health professionals for their preschool-aged child. Participants typically obtained information through interpersonal communication, television, and magazines. Participants were most interested in healthy eating information and least interested in screen time information. Some participants did not seek information. Participants engaged in different patterns of information seeking across their child's development and the 4 behaviors, which suggests that future research should be behaviorally specific. Findings from this study suggest several hypotheses to test in future research. Copyright © 2016 Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Numerical investigation of depth profiling capabilities of helium and neon ions in ion microscopy

PubMed Central

Rzeznik, Lukasz; Wirtz, Tom

2016-01-01

The analysis of polymers by secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) has been a topic of interest for many years. In recent years, the primary ion species evolved from heavy monatomic ions to cluster and massive cluster primary ions in order to preserve a maximum of organic information. The progress in less-damaging sputtering goes along with a loss in lateral resolution for 2D and 3D imaging. By contrast the development of a mass spectrometer as an add-on tool for the helium ion microscope (HIM), which uses finely focussed He+ or Ne+ beams, allows for the analysis of secondary ions and small secondary cluster ions with unprecedented lateral resolution. Irradiation induced damage and depth profiling capabilities obtained with these light rare gas species have been far less investigated than ion species used classically in SIMS. In this paper we simulated the sputtering of multi-layered polymer samples using the BCA (binary collision approximation) code SD_TRIM_SP to study preferential sputtering and atomic mixing in such samples up to a fluence of 1018 ions/cm2. Results show that helium primary ions are completely inappropriate for depth profiling applications with this kind of sample materials while results for neon are similar to argon. The latter is commonly used as primary ion species in SIMS. For the two heavier species, layers separated by 10 nm can be distinguished for impact energies of a few keV. These results are encouraging for 3D imaging applications where lateral and depth information are of importance. PMID:28144525

Impact of sequencing depth in ChIP-seq experiments

PubMed Central

Jung, Youngsook L.; Luquette, Lovelace J.; Ho, Joshua W.K.; Ferrari, Francesco; Tolstorukov, Michael; Minoda, Aki; Issner, Robbyn; Epstein, Charles B.; Karpen, Gary H.; Kuroda, Mitzi I.; Park, Peter J.

2014-01-01

In a chromatin immunoprecipitation followed by high-throughput sequencing (ChIP-seq) experiment, an important consideration in experimental design is the minimum number of sequenced reads required to obtain statistically significant results. We present an extensive evaluation of the impact of sequencing depth on identification of enriched regions for key histone modifications (H3K4me3, H3K36me3, H3K27me3 and H3K9me2/me3) using deep-sequenced datasets in human and fly. We propose to define sufficient sequencing depth as the number of reads at which detected enrichment regions increase <1% for an additional million reads. Although the required depth depends on the nature of the mark and the state of the cell in each experiment, we observe that sufficient depth is often reached at <20 million reads for fly. For human, there are no clear saturation points for the examined datasets, but our analysis suggests 40–50 million reads as a practical minimum for most marks. We also devise a mathematical model to estimate the sufficient depth and total genomic coverage of a mark. Lastly, we find that the five algorithms tested do not agree well for broad enrichment profiles, especially at lower depths. Our findings suggest that sufficient sequencing depth and an appropriate peak-calling algorithm are essential for ensuring robustness of conclusions derived from ChIP-seq data. PMID:24598259

An exploration of strategies used by older people to obtain information about health- and social care services in the community.

PubMed

Mc Grath, Margaret; Clancy, Kathleen; Kenny, Anne

2016-10-01

To explore the strategies used by older people living in Ireland to obtain information about community health and social services. A qualitative exploratory design was used. Focus groups (n = 3) were conducted with community dwelling older people (n = 17). A series of vignettes were used to guide discussion regarding hypothetical situations that approximated real-life scenarios for older people. Data were transcribed verbatim and analysed using content analysis. Obtaining information about community health and social services is an ongoing process that requires continuous commitment by older adults. Key strategies which emerged from the data included (i) taking a proactive stance towards accessing health information, (ii) making use of personal networks in your community and (iii) developing 'insider' knowledge. Older people in this study had a proactive approach to obtaining health information and identified the importance of taking responsibility for managing their own needs. Despite this, obtaining basic information about community health and social services was a challenging and time-consuming process. Future research should focus on developing health literacy interventions that build upon and expand the strategies currently used by older people. © 2015 The Authors. Health Expectations published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Extracting Depth From Motion Parallax in Real-World and Synthetic Displays

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hecht, Heiko; Kaiser, Mary K.; Aiken, William; Null, Cynthia H. (Technical Monitor)

1994-01-01

In psychophysical studies on human sensitivity to visual motion parallax (MP), the use of computer displays is pervasive. However, a number of potential problems are associated with such displays: cue conflicts arise when observers accommodate to the screen surface, and observer head and body movements are often not reflected in the displays. We investigated observers' sensitivity to depth information in MP (slant, depth order, relative depth) using various real-world displays and their computer-generated analogs. Angle judgments of real-world stimuli were consistently superior to judgments that were based on computer-generated stimuli. Similar results were found for perceived depth order and relative depth. Perceptual competence of observers tends to be underestimated in research that is based on computer generated displays. Such findings cannot be generalized to more realistic viewing situations.

Integrating Depth and Image Sequences for Planetary Rover Mapping Using Rgb-D Sensor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peng, M.; Wan, W.; Xing, Y.; Wang, Y.; Liu, Z.; Di, K.; Zhao, Q.; Teng, B.; Mao, X.

2018-04-01

RGB-D camera allows the capture of depth and color information at high data rates, and this makes it possible and beneficial integrate depth and image sequences for planetary rover mapping. The proposed mapping method consists of three steps. First, the strict projection relationship among 3D space, depth data and visual texture data is established based on the imaging principle of RGB-D camera, then, an extended bundle adjustment (BA) based SLAM method with integrated 2D and 3D measurements is applied to the image network for high-precision pose estimation. Next, as the interior and exterior elements of RGB images sequence are available, dense matching is completed with the CMPMVS tool. Finally, according to the registration parameters after ICP, the 3D scene from RGB images can be registered to the 3D scene from depth images well, and the fused point cloud can be obtained. Experiment was performed in an outdoor field to simulate the lunar surface. The experimental results demonstrated the feasibility of the proposed method.

A new segmentation strategy for processing magnetic anomaly detection data of shallow depth ferromagnetic pipeline

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feng, Shuo; Liu, Dejun; Cheng, Xing; Fang, Huafeng; Li, Caifang

2017-04-01

Magnetic anomalies produced by underground ferromagnetic pipelines because of the polarization of earth's magnetic field are used to obtain the information on the location, buried depth and other parameters of pipelines. In order to achieve a fast inversion and interpretation of measured data, it is necessary to develop a fast and stable forward method. Magnetic dipole reconstruction (MDR), as a kind of integration numerical method, is well suited for simulating a thin pipeline anomaly. In MDR the pipeline model must be cut into small magnetic dipoles through different segmentation methods. The segmentation method has an impact on the stability and speed of forward calculation. Rapid and accurate simulation of deep-buried pipelines has been achieved by exciting segmentation method. However, in practical measurement, the depth of underground pipe is uncertain. When it comes to the shallow-buried pipeline, the present segmentation may generate significant errors. This paper aims at solving this problem in three stages. First, the cause of inaccuracy is analyzed by simulation experiment. Secondly, new variable interval section segmentation is proposed based on the existing segmentation. It can help MDR method to obtain simulation results in a fast way under the premise of ensuring the accuracy of different depth models. Finally, the measured data is inversed based on new segmentation method. The result proves that the inversion based on the new segmentation can achieve fast and accurate inversion of depth parameters of underground pipes without being limited by pipeline depth.

Human machine interface by using stereo-based depth extraction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liao, Chao-Kang; Wu, Chi-Hao; Lin, Hsueh-Yi; Chang, Ting-Ting; Lin, Tung-Yang; Huang, Po-Kuan

2014-03-01

The ongoing success of three-dimensional (3D) cinema fuels increasing efforts to spread the commercial success of 3D to new markets. The possibilities of a convincing 3D experience at home, such as three-dimensional television (3DTV), has generated a great deal of interest within the research and standardization community. A central issue for 3DTV is the creation and representation of 3D content. Acquiring scene depth information is a fundamental task in computer vision, yet complex and error-prone. Dedicated range sensors, such as the Time­ of-Flight camera (ToF), can simplify the scene depth capture process and overcome shortcomings of traditional solutions, such as active or passive stereo analysis. Admittedly, currently available ToF sensors deliver only a limited spatial resolution. However, sophisticated depth upscaling approaches use texture information to match depth and video resolution. At Electronic Imaging 2012 we proposed an upscaling routine based on error energy minimization, weighted with edge information from an accompanying video source. In this article we develop our algorithm further. By adding temporal consistency constraints to the upscaling process, we reduce disturbing depth jumps and flickering artifacts in the final 3DTV content. Temporal consistency in depth maps enhances the 3D experience, leading to a wider acceptance of 3D media content. More content in better quality can boost the commercial success of 3DTV.

Depth image super-resolution via semi self-taught learning framework

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Furong; Cao, Zhiguo; Xiao, Yang; Zhang, Xiaodi; Xian, Ke; Li, Ruibo

2017-06-01

Depth images have recently attracted much attention in computer vision and high-quality 3D content for 3DTV and 3D movies. In this paper, we present a new semi self-taught learning application framework for enhancing resolution of depth maps without making use of ancillary color images data at the target resolution, or multiple aligned depth maps. Our framework consists of cascade random forests reaching from coarse to fine results. We learn the surface information and structure transformations both from a small high-quality depth exemplars and the input depth map itself across different scales. Considering that edge plays an important role in depth map quality, we optimize an effective regularized objective that calculates on output image space and input edge space in random forests. Experiments show the effectiveness and superiority of our method against other techniques with or without applying aligned RGB information

Hydrologic controls on equilibrium soil depths

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nicótina, L.; Tarboton, D. G.; Tesfa, T. K.; Rinaldo, A.

2011-04-01

This paper deals with modeling the mutual feedbacks between runoff production and geomorphological processes and attributes that lead to patterns of equilibrium soil depth. Our primary goal is an attempt to describe spatial patterns of soil depth resulting from long-term interactions between hydrologic forcings and soil production, erosion, and sediment transport processes under the framework of landscape dynamic equilibrium. Another goal is to set the premises for exploiting the role of soil depths in shaping the hydrologic response of a catchment. The relevance of the study stems from the massive improvement in hydrologic predictions for ungauged basins that would be achieved by using directly soil depths derived from geomorphic features remotely measured and objectively manipulated. Hydrological processes are here described by explicitly accounting for local soil depths and detailed catchment topography. Geomorphological processes are described by means of well-studied geomorphic transport laws. The modeling approach is applied to the semiarid Dry Creek Experimental Watershed, located near Boise, Idaho. Modeled soil depths are compared with field data obtained from an extensive survey of the catchment. Our results show the ability of the model to describe properly the mean soil depth and the broad features of the distribution of measured data. However, local comparisons show significant scatter whose origins are discussed.

Compatibility of the Relationship of Early Recollections and Life Style with Parent Schemas Obtained through Adlerian Interviews

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Canel, Azize Nilgün

2016-01-01

In this study, the Adlerian Interview Form has been used as a semi-structured, in-depth interview method to identify the experiences of six participants regarding Adler's concepts of early recollections and life style. Subsequent to transcribing the obtained information, recollections to be included in the analysis were subjected to the criterion…

Depth distribution of secondary phases in kesterite Cu 2ZnSnS 4 by angle-resolved X-ray absorption spectroscopy

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

Just, J.; Lützenkirchen-Hecht, D.; Müller, O.

The depth distribution of secondary phases in the solar cell absorber material Cu 2ZnSnS 4 (CZTS) is quantitatively investigated using X-ray Absorption Near Edge Structure (XANES) analysis at the K-edge of sulfur at varying incidence angles. Varying information depths from several nanometers up to the full thickness is achieved. A quantitative profile of the phase distribution is obtained by a self-consistent fit of a multilayer model to the XANES spectra for different angles. Single step co-evaporated CZTS thin-films are found to exhibit zinc and copper sulfide secondary phases preferentially at the front or back interfaces of the film.

Depth distribution of secondary phases in kesterite Cu 2ZnSnS 4 by angle-resolved X-ray absorption spectroscopy

DOE PAGES

Just, J.; Lützenkirchen-Hecht, D.; Müller, O.; ...

2017-12-12

The depth distribution of secondary phases in the solar cell absorber material Cu 2ZnSnS 4 (CZTS) is quantitatively investigated using X-ray Absorption Near Edge Structure (XANES) analysis at the K-edge of sulfur at varying incidence angles. Varying information depths from several nanometers up to the full thickness is achieved. A quantitative profile of the phase distribution is obtained by a self-consistent fit of a multilayer model to the XANES spectra for different angles. Single step co-evaporated CZTS thin-films are found to exhibit zinc and copper sulfide secondary phases preferentially at the front or back interfaces of the film.

Population differentiation decreases with depth in deep-sea gastropods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Etter, Ron J.; Rex, Michael A.

1990-08-01

The evolutionary processes that have generated the rich and highly endemic deep-sea benthic invertebrate fauna remain largely unstudied. Patterns of geographic variation constitute the most basic and essential information for understanding speciation and adaptive radiation. Here we present a multivariate analysis of phenotypic distance to quantify geographic variation in shell form among populations of eight deep-sea gastropod species distributed along a depth gradient in the western North Atlantic. Our primary aim is to identify regions within the deep sea that may promote population differentiation. The degree of interpopulation divergence is highest at the shelf-slope transition (200 m), and then decreases dramatically with increasing depth across the bathyal region (200-4000 m) to the abyssal plain (>4000 m). Phenotypic change parallels faunal change along the depth gradient, suggesting that the selective regime becomes more uniform with increasing depth. Results indicate that the potential for gastropod radiation within the deep-sea environment (>200 m) varies geographically and is highest in the narrow upper bathyal region.

Prediction of soil frost penetration depth in northwest of Iran using air freezing indices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mohammadi, H.; Moghbel, M.; Ranjbar, F.

2016-11-01

Information about soil frost penetration depth can be effective in finding appropriate solutions to reduce the agricultural crop damage, transportations, and building facilities. Amongst proper methods to achieve this information are the statistical and empirical models capable of estimating soil frost penetration depth. Therefore, the main objective of this research is to calculate soil frost penetration depth in northwest of Iran during the year 2007-2008 to validate two different models accuracy. To do so, the relationship between air and soil temperature in different depths (5-10-20-30-50-100 cm) at three times of the day (3, 9, and 15 GMT) for 14 weather stations over 7 provinces was analyzed using linear regression. Then, two different air freezing indices (AFIs) including Norwegian and Finn AFI was implemented. Finally, the frost penetration depth was calculated by McKeown method and the accuracy of models determined by actual soil frost penetration depth. The results demonstrated that there is a significant correlation between air and soil depth temperature in all studied stations up to the 30 cm under the surface. Also, according to the results, Norwegian index can be effectively used for determination of soil frost depth penetration and the correlation coefficient between actual and estimated soil frost penetration depth is r = 0.92 while the Finn index overestimates the frost depth in all stations with correlation coefficient r = 0.70.

Depth profiling of calcifications in breast tissue using picosecond Kerr-gated Raman spectroscopy.

PubMed

Baker, Rebecca; Matousek, Pavel; Ronayne, Kate Louise; Parker, Anthony William; Rogers, Keith; Stone, Nicholas

2007-01-01

Breast calcifications are found in both benign and malignant lesions and their composition can indicate the disease state. Calcium oxalate (dihydrate) (COD) is associated with benign lesions, however calcium hydroxyapatite (HAP) is found mainly in proliferative lesions including carcinoma. The diagnostic practices of mammography and histopathology examine the morphology of the specimen. They can not reliably distinguish between the two types of calcification, which may indicate the presence of a cancerous lesion during mammography. We demonstrate for the first time that Kerr-gated Raman spectroscopy is capable of non-destructive probing of sufficient biochemical information from calcifications buried within tissue, and this information can potentially be used as a first step in identifying the type of lesion. The method uses a picosecond pulsed laser combined with fast temporal gating of Raman scattered light to enable spectra to be collected from a specific depth within scattering media by collecting signals emerging from the sample at a given time delay following the laser pulse. Spectra characteristic of both HAP and COD were obtained at depths of up to 0.96 mm, in both chicken breast and fatty tissue; and normal and cancerous human breast by utilising different time delays. This presents great potential for the use of Raman spectroscopy as an adjunct to mammography in the early diagnosis of breast cancer.

Habitat requirements and burrowing depths of rodents in relation to shallow waste burial sites

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

Gano, K.A.; States, J.B.

1982-05-01

The purpose of this paper is to provide a review of the literature and summarize information on factors affecting habitat selection and maximum recorded burrowing depths for representative small mammals that we consider most likely to inhibit waste burial sites in arid and semi-arid regions of the West. The information is intended for waste management designers who need to know what to expect from small mammals that may be present at a particular site. Waste repositories oculd be designed to exclude the deep burrowing rodents of a region by creating an unattractive habitat over the waste. Summaries are given formore » habitat requirements of each group along with generalized modifications that could be employed to deter habitation. Representatives from the major groups considered to be deep burrowers are discussed. Further, detailed information about a particular species can be obtained from the references cited.« less

Joint Estimation of Source Range and Depth Using a Bottom-Deployed Vertical Line Array in Deep Water

PubMed Central

Li, Hui; Yang, Kunde; Duan, Rui; Lei, Zhixiong

2017-01-01

This paper presents a joint estimation method of source range and depth using a bottom-deployed vertical line array (VLA). The method utilizes the information on the arrival angle of direct (D) path in space domain and the interference characteristic of D and surface-reflected (SR) paths in frequency domain. The former is related to a ray tracing technique to backpropagate the rays and produces an ambiguity surface of source range. The latter utilizes Lloyd’s mirror principle to obtain an ambiguity surface of source depth. The acoustic transmission duct is the well-known reliable acoustic path (RAP). The ambiguity surface of the combined estimation is a dimensionless ad hoc function. Numerical efficiency and experimental verification show that the proposed method is a good candidate for initial coarse estimation of source position. PMID:28590442

76 FR 28434 - Notice of Disclosure of Confidential Business Information Obtained Under the Comprehensive...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-05-17

... Information Obtained Under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act to EPA Contractor Toeroek Associates Inc., and Their Subcontractor, Science Applications International Corp. AGENCY... disclose confidential business information (``CBI'') submitted to EPA Region 9 pursuant to CERCLA to EPA...

Action recognition in depth video from RGB perspective: A knowledge transfer manner

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Jun; Xiao, Yang; Cao, Zhiguo; Fang, Zhiwen

2018-03-01

Different video modal for human action recognition has becoming a highly promising trend in the video analysis. In this paper, we propose a method for human action recognition from RGB video to Depth video using domain adaptation, where we use learned feature from RGB videos to do action recognition for depth videos. More specifically, we make three steps for solving this problem in this paper. First, different from image, video is more complex as it has both spatial and temporal information, in order to better encode this information, dynamic image method is used to represent each RGB or Depth video to one image, based on this, most methods for extracting feature in image can be used in video. Secondly, as video can be represented as image, so standard CNN model can be used for training and testing for videos, beside, CNN model can be also used for feature extracting as its powerful feature expressing ability. Thirdly, as RGB videos and Depth videos are belong to two different domains, in order to make two different feature domains has more similarity, domain adaptation is firstly used for solving this problem between RGB and Depth video, based on this, the learned feature from RGB video model can be directly used for Depth video classification. We evaluate the proposed method on one complex RGB-D action dataset (NTU RGB-D), and our method can have more than 2% accuracy improvement using domain adaptation from RGB to Depth action recognition.

Measurement of aerosol optical depth in the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smirnov, Alexander; Yershov, Oleg; Villevalde, Yuri

1995-12-01

A brief summary of aerosol optical depth measurements in a maritime atmosphere during the last three decades is presented. The results of more than fifty publications have been analyzed and are summarized in a single table. New results of spectral aerosol optical depth measurements (from 440 to 1030 nm) in the Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic Ocean made from aboard a research vessel are also presented. Comparison of aerosol optical depths obtained over the Mediterranean Sea in the winter 1989-1990 with other Mediterranean data indicate substantial seasonal difference. The angstrom parameter values for the central and western Atlantic indicate good agreement with the results obtained for the north Atlantic. The measurements in the subtropical Atlantic region show significant variations. The pure atmosphere in the winter 1989-1990 evolved in the fall of 1991 into very turbid conditions which were probably associated with Saharan dust.

75 FR 76479 - Notice of Proposed Information Collection for Public Comment; Procedure for Obtaining...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-12-08

... appropriate automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology; e.g., permitting... Information Collection for Public Comment; Procedure for Obtaining Certificates of Insurance for Capital... toll-free number) or e-mail Ms. [email protected] . Persons with hearing or speech impairments...

An optical fiber expendable seawater temperature/depth profile sensor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Qiang; Chen, Shizhe; Zhang, Keke; Yan, Xingkui; Yang, Xianglong; Bai, Xuejiao; Liu, Shixuan

2017-10-01

Marine expendable temperature/depth profiler (XBT) is a disposable measuring instrument which can obtain temperature/depth profile data quickly in large area waters and mainly used for marine surveys, scientific research, military application. The temperature measuring device is a thermistor in the conventional XBT probe (CXBT)and the depth data is only a calculated value by speed and time depth calculation formula which is not an accurate measurement result. Firstly, an optical fiber expendable temperature/depth sensor based on the FBG-LPG cascaded structure is proposed to solve the problems of the CXBT, namely the use of LPG and FBG were used to detect the water temperature and depth, respectively. Secondly, the fiber end reflective mirror is used to simplify optical cascade structure and optimize the system performance. Finally, the optical path is designed and optimized using the reflective optical fiber end mirror. The experimental results show that the sensitivity of temperature and depth sensing based on FBG-LPG cascade structure is about 0.0030C and 0.1%F.S. respectively, which can meet the requirements of the sea water temperature/depth observation. The reflectivity of reflection mirror is in the range from 48.8% to 72.5%, the resonant peak of FBG and LPG are reasonable and the whole spectrum are suitable for demodulation. Through research on the optical fiber XBT (FXBT), the direct measurement of deep-sea temperature/depth profile data can be obtained simultaneously, quickly and accurately. The FXBT is a new all-optical seawater temperature/depth sensor, which has important academic value and broad application prospect and is expected to replace the CXBT in the future.

Determination of depth-viewing volumes for stereo three-dimensional graphic displays

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Parrish, Russell V.; Williams, Steven P.

1990-01-01

Real-world, 3-D, pictorial displays incorporating true depth cues via stereopsis techniques offer a potential means of displaying complex information in a natural way to prevent loss of situational awareness and provide increases in pilot/vehicle performance in advanced flight display concepts. Optimal use of stereopsis requires an understanding of the depth viewing volume available to the display designer. Suggested guidelines are presented for the depth viewing volume from an empirical determination of the effective region of stereopsis cueing (at several viewer-CRT screen distances) for a time multiplexed stereopsis display system. The results provide the display designer with information that will allow more effective placement of depth information to enable the full exploitation of stereopsis cueing. Increasing viewer-CRT screen distances provides increasing amounts of usable depth, but with decreasing fields-of-view. A stereopsis hardware system that permits an increased viewer-screen distance by incorporating larger screen sizes or collimation optics to maintain the field-of-view at required levels would provide a much larger stereo depth-viewing volume.

40 CFR 2.304 - Special rules governing certain information obtained under the Safe Drinking Water Act.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... information obtained under the Safe Drinking Water Act. 2.304 Section 2.304 Protection of Environment... Special rules governing certain information obtained under the Safe Drinking Water Act. (a) Definitions. For the purposes of this section: (1) Act means the Safe Drinking Water Act, 42 U.S.C. 300f et seq. (2...

40 CFR 2.304 - Special rules governing certain information obtained under the Safe Drinking Water Act.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... information obtained under the Safe Drinking Water Act. 2.304 Section 2.304 Protection of Environment... Special rules governing certain information obtained under the Safe Drinking Water Act. (a) Definitions. For the purposes of this section: (1) Act means the Safe Drinking Water Act, 42 U.S.C. 300f et seq. (2...

49 CFR 835.11 - Obtaining Board accident reports, factual accident reports, and supporting information.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... 49 Transportation 7 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Obtaining Board accident reports, factual accident reports, and supporting information. 835.11 Section 835.11 Transportation Other Regulations Relating to Transportation (Continued) NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD TESTIMONY OF BOARD EMPLOYEES § 835.11 Obtaining Board accident reports, factual...

49 CFR 835.11 - Obtaining Board accident reports, factual accident reports, and supporting information.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 49 Transportation 7 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Obtaining Board accident reports, factual accident reports, and supporting information. 835.11 Section 835.11 Transportation Other Regulations Relating to Transportation (Continued) NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD TESTIMONY OF BOARD EMPLOYEES § 835.11 Obtaining Board accident reports, factual...

49 CFR 835.11 - Obtaining Board accident reports, factual accident reports, and supporting information.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 49 Transportation 7 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Obtaining Board accident reports, factual accident reports, and supporting information. 835.11 Section 835.11 Transportation Other Regulations Relating to Transportation (Continued) NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD TESTIMONY OF BOARD EMPLOYEES § 835.11 Obtaining Board accident reports, factual...

49 CFR 835.11 - Obtaining Board accident reports, factual accident reports, and supporting information.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... 49 Transportation 7 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Obtaining Board accident reports, factual accident reports, and supporting information. 835.11 Section 835.11 Transportation Other Regulations Relating to Transportation (Continued) NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD TESTIMONY OF BOARD EMPLOYEES § 835.11 Obtaining Board accident reports, factual...

41 CFR 102-192.40 - Where can we obtain more information about the classes of mail?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... PROGRAMS 192-MAIL MANAGEMENT Introduction to this Part § 102-192.40 Where can we obtain more information... 41 Public Contracts and Property Management 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Where can we obtain more information about the classes of mail? 102-192.40 Section 102-192.40 Public Contracts and Property Management...

Soil depth mapping using seismic surface waves: Evaluation on eroded loess covered hillslopes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bernardie, Severine; Samyn, Kevin; Cerdan, Olivier; Grandjean, Gilles

2010-05-01

The purposes of the multidisciplinary DIGISOIL project are the integration and improvement of in situ and proximal technologies for the assessment of soil properties and soil degradation indicators. Foreseen developments concern sensor technologies, data processing and their integration to applications of (digital) soil mapping (DSM). Among available techniques, the seismic one is, in this study, particularly tested for characterising soil vulnerability to erosion. The spectral analysis of surface waves (SASW) method is an in situ seismic technique used for evaluation of the stiffnesses (G) and associated depth in layered systems. A profile of Rayleigh wave velocity versus frequency, i.e., the dispersion curve, is calculated from each recorded seismogram before to be inverted to obtain the vertical profile of shear wave velocity Vs. Then, the soil stiffness can easily be calculated from the shear velocity if the material density is estimated, and the soil stiffness as a function of depth can be obtained. This last information can be a good indicator to identify the soil bedrock limit. SASW measurements adapted to soil characterisation is proposed in the DIGISOIL project, as it produces in an easy and quick way a 2D map of the soil. This system was tested for the digital mapping of the depth of loamy material in a catchment of the European loess belt. The validation of this methodology has been performed with the realisation of several acquisitions along the seismic profiles: - Several boreholes were drilled until the bedrock, permitting to get the geological features of the soil and the depth of the bedrock; - Several laboratory measurements of various parameters were done on samples taken from the boreholes at various depths, such as dry density, solid density, and water content; - Dynamic penetration tests were also conducted along the seismic profile, until the bedrock is attained. Some empirical correlations between the parameters measured with laboratory tests

Modulation Depth Estimation and Variable Selection in State-Space Models for Neural Interfaces

PubMed Central

Hochberg, Leigh R.; Donoghue, John P.; Brown, Emery N.

2015-01-01

Rapid developments in neural interface technology are making it possible to record increasingly large signal sets of neural activity. Various factors such as asymmetrical information distribution and across-channel redundancy may, however, limit the benefit of high-dimensional signal sets, and the increased computational complexity may not yield corresponding improvement in system performance. High-dimensional system models may also lead to overfitting and lack of generalizability. To address these issues, we present a generalized modulation depth measure using the state-space framework that quantifies the tuning of a neural signal channel to relevant behavioral covariates. For a dynamical system, we develop computationally efficient procedures for estimating modulation depth from multivariate data. We show that this measure can be used to rank neural signals and select an optimal channel subset for inclusion in the neural decoding algorithm. We present a scheme for choosing the optimal subset based on model order selection criteria. We apply this method to neuronal ensemble spike-rate decoding in neural interfaces, using our framework to relate motor cortical activity with intended movement kinematics. With offline analysis of intracortical motor imagery data obtained from individuals with tetraplegia using the BrainGate neural interface, we demonstrate that our variable selection scheme is useful for identifying and ranking the most information-rich neural signals. We demonstrate that our approach offers several orders of magnitude lower complexity but virtually identical decoding performance compared to greedy search and other selection schemes. Our statistical analysis shows that the modulation depth of human motor cortical single-unit signals is well characterized by the generalized Pareto distribution. Our variable selection scheme has wide applicability in problems involving multisensor signal modeling and estimation in biomedical engineering systems. PMID

Layered compression for high-precision depth data.

PubMed

Miao, Dan; Fu, Jingjing; Lu, Yan; Li, Shipeng; Chen, Chang Wen

2015-12-01

With the development of depth data acquisition technologies, access to high-precision depth with more than 8-b depths has become much easier and determining how to efficiently represent and compress high-precision depth is essential for practical depth storage and transmission systems. In this paper, we propose a layered high-precision depth compression framework based on an 8-b image/video encoder to achieve efficient compression with low complexity. Within this framework, considering the characteristics of the high-precision depth, a depth map is partitioned into two layers: 1) the most significant bits (MSBs) layer and 2) the least significant bits (LSBs) layer. The MSBs layer provides rough depth value distribution, while the LSBs layer records the details of the depth value variation. For the MSBs layer, an error-controllable pixel domain encoding scheme is proposed to exploit the data correlation of the general depth information with sharp edges and to guarantee the data format of LSBs layer is 8 b after taking the quantization error from MSBs layer. For the LSBs layer, standard 8-b image/video codec is leveraged to perform the compression. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed coding scheme can achieve real-time depth compression with satisfactory reconstruction quality. Moreover, the compressed depth data generated from this scheme can achieve better performance in view synthesis and gesture recognition applications compared with the conventional coding schemes because of the error control algorithm.

45 CFR 73.735-803 - Prohibition against involvement in financial transactions based on information obtained through...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 45 Public Welfare 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Prohibition against involvement in financial transactions based on information obtained through Federal employment. 73.735-803 Section 73.735-803 Public Welfare DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES GENERAL ADMINISTRATION STANDARDS OF CONDUCT Financial...

Effect of current on spectrum of breaking waves in water of finite depth

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tung, C. C.; Huang, N. E.

1987-01-01

This paper presents an approximate method to compute the mean value, the mean square value and the spectrum of waves in water of finite depth taking into account the effect of wave breaking with or without the presence of current. It is assumed that there exists a linear and Gaussian ideal wave train whose spectrum is first obtained using the wave energy flux balance equation without considering wave breaking. The Miche wave breaking criterion for waves in finite water depth is used to limit the wave elevation and establish an expression for the breaking wave elevation in terms of the elevation and its second time derivative of the ideal waves. Simple expressions for the mean value, the mean square value and the spectrum are obtained. These results are applied to the case in which a deep water unidirectional wave train, propagating normally towards a straight shoreline over gently varying sea bottom of parallel and straight contours, encounters an adverse steady current whose velocity is assumed to be uniformly distributed with depth. Numerical results are obtained and presented in graphical form.

Thermal Images of Seeds Obtained at Different Depths by Photoacoustic Microscopy (PAM)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Domínguez-Pacheco, A.; Hernández-Aguilar, C.; Cruz-Orea, A.

2015-06-01

The objective of the present study was to obtain thermal images of a broccoli seed ( Brassica oleracea) by photoacoustic microscopy, at different modulation frequencies of the incident light beam ((0.5, 1, 5, and 20) Hz). The thermal images obtained in the amplitude of the photoacoustic signal vary with each applied frequency. In the lowest light frequency modulation, there is greater thermal wave penetration in the sample. Likewise, the photoacoustic signal is modified according to the structural characteristics of the sample and the modulation frequency of the incident light. Different structural components could be seen by photothermal techniques, as shown in the present study.

Interpreting Repeated Temperature-Depth Profiles for Groundwater Flow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bense, Victor F.; Kurylyk, Barret L.; van Daal, Jonathan; van der Ploeg, Martine J.; Carey, Sean K.

2017-10-01

Temperature can be used to trace groundwater flows due to thermal disturbances of subsurface advection. Prior hydrogeological studies that have used temperature-depth profiles to estimate vertical groundwater fluxes have either ignored the influence of climate change by employing steady-state analytical solutions or applied transient techniques to study temperature-depth profiles recorded at only a single point in time. Transient analyses of a single profile are predicated on the accurate determination of an unknown profile at some time in the past to form the initial condition. In this study, we use both analytical solutions and a numerical model to demonstrate that boreholes with temperature-depth profiles recorded at multiple times can be analyzed to either overcome the uncertainty associated with estimating unknown initial conditions or to form an additional check for the profile fitting. We further illustrate that the common approach of assuming a linear initial temperature-depth profile can result in significant errors for groundwater flux estimates. Profiles obtained from a borehole in the Veluwe area, Netherlands in both 1978 and 2016 are analyzed for an illustrative example. Since many temperature-depth profiles were collected in the late 1970s and 1980s, these previously profiled boreholes represent a significant and underexploited opportunity to obtain repeat measurements that can be used for similar analyses at other sites around the world.

Depth-resolved fluorescence of human ectocervical tissue

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Yicong; Xi, Peng; Cheung, Tak-Hong; Yim, So Fan; Yu, Mei-Yung; Qu, Jianan Y.

2005-04-01

The depth-resolved autofluorescence of normal and dysplastic human ectocervical tissue within 120um depth were investigated utilizing a portable confocal fluorescence spectroscopy with the excitations at 355nm and 457nm. From the topmost keratinizing layer of all ectocervical tissue samples, strong keratin fluorescence with the spectral characteristics similar to collagen was observed, which created serious interference in seeking the correlation between tissue fluorescence and tissue pathology. While from the underlying non-keratinizing epithelial layer, the measured NADH fluorescence induced by 355nm excitation and FAD fluorescence induced by 457nm excitation were strongly correlated to the tissue pathology. The ratios between NADH over FAD fluorescence increased statistically in the CIN epithelial relative to the normal and HPV epithelia, which indicated increased metabolic activity in precancerous tissue. This study demonstrates that the depth-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy can reveal fine structural information on epithelial tissue and potentially provide more accurate diagnostic information for determining tissue pathology.

Color image guided depth image super resolution using fusion filter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

He, Jin; Liang, Bin; He, Ying; Yang, Jun

2018-04-01

Depth cameras are currently playing an important role in many areas. However, most of them can only obtain lowresolution (LR) depth images. Color cameras can easily provide high-resolution (HR) color images. Using color image as a guide image is an efficient way to get a HR depth image. In this paper, we propose a depth image super resolution (SR) algorithm, which uses a HR color image as a guide image and a LR depth image as input. We use the fusion filter of guided filter and edge based joint bilateral filter to get HR depth image. Our experimental results on Middlebury 2005 datasets show that our method can provide better quality in HR depth images both numerically and visually.

What visual information is used for stereoscopic depth displacement discrimination?

PubMed

Nefs, Harold T; Harris, Julie M

2010-01-01

There are two ways to detect a displacement in stereoscopic depth, namely by monitoring the change in disparity over time (CDOT) or by monitoring the interocular velocity difference (IOVD). Though previous studies have attempted to understand which cue is most significant for the visual system, none has designed stimuli that provide a comparison in terms of relative efficiency between them. Here we used two-frame motion and random-dot noise to deliver equivalent strengths of CDOT and IOVD information to the visual system. Using three kinds of random-dot stimuli, we were able to isolate CDOT or IOVD or deliver both simultaneously. The proportion of dots delivering CDOT or IOVD signals could be varied, and we defined the discrimination threshold as the proportion needed to detect the direction of displacement (towards or away). Thresholds were similar for stimuli containing CDOT only, and containing both CDOT and IOVD, but only one participant was able to consistently perceive the displacement for stimuli containing only IOVD. We also investigated the effect of disparity pedestals on discrimination. Performance was best when the displacement crossed the reference plane, but was not significantly different for stimuli containing CDOT only and those containing both CDOT and IOVD. When stimuli are specifically designed to provide equivalent two-frame motion or disparity-change, few participants can reliably detect displacement when IOVD is the only cue. This challenges the notion that IOVD is involved in the discrimination of direction of displacement in two-frame motion displays.

Spatiotemporal Characteristics for the Depth from Luminance Contrast

PubMed Central

Matsubara, Kazuya; Matsumiya, Kazumichi; Shioiri, Satoshi; Takahashi, Shuichi; Hyodo, Yasuhide; Ohashi, Isao

2011-01-01

Images with higher luminance contrast tend to be perceived closer in depth. To investigate a spatiotemporal characteristic of this effect, we evaluated subjective depth of a test stimulus with various spatial and temporal frequencies. For the purpose, the depth of a reference stimulus was matched to that of the test stimulus by changing the binocular disparity. The results showed that the test stimulus was perceived closer with higher luminance contrast for all conditions. Contrast efficiency was obtained from the contrast that provided the subjective depth for each spatiotemporal frequency. The shape of the contrast efficiency function was spatially low-pass and temporally band-pass. This characteristic is different from the one measure for a detection task. This suggests that only subset of contrast signals are used for depth from contrast.

Model based estimation of image depth and displacement

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Damour, Kevin T.

1992-01-01

Passive depth and displacement map determinations have become an important part of computer vision processing. Applications that make use of this type of information include autonomous navigation, robotic assembly, image sequence compression, structure identification, and 3-D motion estimation. With the reliance of such systems on visual image characteristics, a need to overcome image degradations, such as random image-capture noise, motion, and quantization effects, is clearly necessary. Many depth and displacement estimation algorithms also introduce additional distortions due to the gradient operations performed on the noisy intensity images. These degradations can limit the accuracy and reliability of the displacement or depth information extracted from such sequences. Recognizing the previously stated conditions, a new method to model and estimate a restored depth or displacement field is presented. Once a model has been established, the field can be filtered using currently established multidimensional algorithms. In particular, the reduced order model Kalman filter (ROMKF), which has been shown to be an effective tool in the reduction of image intensity distortions, was applied to the computed displacement fields. Results of the application of this model show significant improvements on the restored field. Previous attempts at restoring the depth or displacement fields assumed homogeneous characteristics which resulted in the smoothing of discontinuities. In these situations, edges were lost. An adaptive model parameter selection method is provided that maintains sharp edge boundaries in the restored field. This has been successfully applied to images representative of robotic scenarios. In order to accommodate image sequences, the standard 2-D ROMKF model is extended into 3-D by the incorporation of a deterministic component based on previously restored fields. The inclusion of past depth and displacement fields allows a means of incorporating the temporal

Anti-aliasing techniques in photon-counting depth imaging using GHz clock rates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krichel, Nils J.; McCarthy, Aongus; Collins, Robert J.; Buller, Gerald S.

2010-04-01

Single-photon detection technologies in conjunction with low laser illumination powers allow for the eye-safe acquisition of time-of-flight range information on non-cooperative target surfaces. We previously presented a photon-counting depth imaging system designed for the rapid acquisition of three-dimensional target models by steering a single scanning pixel across the field angle of interest. To minimise the per-pixel dwelling times required to obtain sufficient photon statistics for accurate distance resolution, periodic illumination at multi- MHz repetition rates was applied. Modern time-correlated single-photon counting (TCSPC) hardware allowed for depth measurements with sub-mm precision. Resolving the absolute target range with a fast periodic signal is only possible at sufficiently short distances: if the round-trip time towards an object is extended beyond the timespan between two trigger pulses, the return signal cannot be assigned to an unambiguous range value. Whereas constructing a precise depth image based on relative results may still be possible, problems emerge for large or unknown pixel-by-pixel separations or in applications with a wide range of possible scene distances. We introduce a technique to avoid range ambiguity effects in time-of-flight depth imaging systems at high average pulse rates. A long pseudo-random bitstream is used to trigger the illuminating laser. A cyclic, fast-Fourier supported analysis algorithm is used to search for the pattern within return photon events. We demonstrate this approach at base clock rates of up to 2 GHz with varying pattern lengths, allowing for unambiguous distances of several kilometers. Scans at long stand-off distances and of scenes with large pixel-to-pixel range differences are presented. Numerical simulations are performed to investigate the relative merits of the technique.

Acceleration of color computer-generated hologram from three-dimensional scenes with texture and depth information

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shimobaba, Tomoyoshi; Kakue, Takashi; Ito, Tomoyoshi

2014-06-01

We propose acceleration of color computer-generated holograms (CGHs) from three-dimensional (3D) scenes that are expressed as texture (RGB) and depth (D) images. These images are obtained by 3D graphics libraries and RGB-D cameras: for example, OpenGL and Kinect, respectively. We can regard them as two-dimensional (2D) cross-sectional images along the depth direction. The generation of CGHs from the 2D cross-sectional images requires multiple diffraction calculations. If we use convolution-based diffraction such as the angular spectrum method, the diffraction calculation takes a long time and requires large memory usage because the convolution diffraction calculation requires the expansion of the 2D cross-sectional images to avoid the wraparound noise. In this paper, we first describe the acceleration of the diffraction calculation using "Band-limited double-step Fresnel diffraction," which does not require the expansion. Next, we describe color CGH acceleration using color space conversion. In general, color CGHs are generated on RGB color space; however, we need to repeat the same calculation for each color component, so that the computational burden of the color CGH generation increases three-fold, compared with monochrome CGH generation. We can reduce the computational burden by using YCbCr color space because the 2D cross-sectional images on YCbCr color space can be down-sampled without the impairing of the image quality.

The maximum economic depth of groundwater abstraction for irrigation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bierkens, M. F.; Van Beek, L. P.; de Graaf, I. E. M.; Gleeson, T. P.

2017-12-01

Over recent decades, groundwater has become increasingly important for agriculture. Irrigation accounts for 40% of the global food production and its importance is expected to grow further in the near future. Already, about 70% of the globally abstracted water is used for irrigation, and nearly half of that is pumped groundwater. In many irrigated areas where groundwater is the primary source of irrigation water, groundwater abstraction is larger than recharge and we see massive groundwater head decline in these areas. An important question then is: to what maximum depth can groundwater be pumped for it to be still economically recoverable? The objective of this study is therefore to create a global map of the maximum depth of economically recoverable groundwater when used for irrigation. The maximum economic depth is the maximum depth at which revenues are still larger than pumping costs or the maximum depth at which initial investments become too large compared to yearly revenues. To this end we set up a simple economic model where costs of well drilling and the energy costs of pumping, which are a function of well depth and static head depth respectively, are compared with the revenues obtained for the irrigated crops. Parameters for the cost sub-model are obtained from several US-based studies and applied to other countries based on GDP/capita as an index of labour costs. The revenue sub-model is based on gross irrigation water demand calculated with a global hydrological and water resources model, areal coverage of crop types from MIRCA2000 and FAO-based statistics on crop yield and market price. We applied our method to irrigated areas in the world overlying productive aquifers. Estimated maximum economic depths range between 50 and 500 m. Most important factors explaining the maximum economic depth are the dominant crop type in the area and whether or not initial investments in well infrastructure are limiting. In subsequent research, our estimates of

The Influence of Information Structure on the Depth of Semantic Processing: How Focus and Pitch Accent Determine the Size of the N400 Effect

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wang, Lin; Bastiaansen, Marcel; Yang, Yufang; Hagoort, Peter

2011-01-01

To highlight relevant information in dialogues, both wh-question context and pitch accent in answers can be used, such that focused information gains more attention and is processed more elaborately. To evaluate the relative influence of context and pitch accent on the depth of semantic processing, we measured event-related potentials (ERPs) to…

Differential patterns of 2D location versus depth decoding along the visual hierarchy.

PubMed

Finlayson, Nonie J; Zhang, Xiaoli; Golomb, Julie D

2017-02-15

Visual information is initially represented as 2D images on the retina, but our brains are able to transform this input to perceive our rich 3D environment. While many studies have explored 2D spatial representations or depth perception in isolation, it remains unknown if or how these processes interact in human visual cortex. Here we used functional MRI and multi-voxel pattern analysis to investigate the relationship between 2D location and position-in-depth information. We stimulated different 3D locations in a blocked design: each location was defined by horizontal, vertical, and depth position. Participants remained fixated at the center of the screen while passively viewing the peripheral stimuli with red/green anaglyph glasses. Our results revealed a widespread, systematic transition throughout visual cortex. As expected, 2D location information (horizontal and vertical) could be strongly decoded in early visual areas, with reduced decoding higher along the visual hierarchy, consistent with known changes in receptive field sizes. Critically, we found that the decoding of position-in-depth information tracked inversely with the 2D location pattern, with the magnitude of depth decoding gradually increasing from intermediate to higher visual and category regions. Representations of 2D location information became increasingly location-tolerant in later areas, where depth information was also tolerant to changes in 2D location. We propose that spatial representations gradually transition from 2D-dominant to balanced 3D (2D and depth) along the visual hierarchy. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Obtaining and providing health information in the community pharmacy setting.

PubMed

Iwanowicz, Susan L; Marciniak, Macary Weck; Zeolla, Mario M

2006-06-15

Community pharmacists are a valuable information resource for patients and other healthcare providers. The advent of new information technology, most notably the Internet, coupled with the rapid availability of new healthcare information, has fueled this demand. Pharmacy students must receive training that enables them to meet this need. Community advanced pharmacy practice experiences (APPEs) provide an excellent opportunity for students to develop and master drug information skills in a real-world setting. Preceptors must ensure that students are familiar with drug information resources and can efficiently identify the most useful resource for a given topic. Students must also be trained to assess the quality of resources and use this information to effectively respond to drug or health information inquiries. This article will discuss key aspects of providing drug information in the community pharmacy setting and can serve as a guide and resource for APPE preceptors.

Obtaining and Providing Health Information in the Community Pharmacy Setting

PubMed Central

Iwanowicz, Susan L.; Marciniak, Macary Weck; Zeolla, Mario M.

2006-01-01

Community pharmacists are a valuable information resource for patients and other healthcare providers. The advent of new information technology, most notably the Internet, coupled with the rapid availability of new healthcare information, has fueled this demand. Pharmacy students must receive training that enables them to meet this need. Community advanced pharmacy practice experiences (APPEs) provide an excellent opportunity for students to develop and master drug information skills in a real-world setting. Preceptors must ensure that students are familiar with drug information resources and can efficiently identify the most useful resource for a given topic. Students must also be trained to assess the quality of resources and use this information to effectively respond to drug or health information inquiries. This article will discuss key aspects of providing drug information in the community pharmacy setting and can serve as a guide and resource for APPE preceptors. PMID:17136178

24 CFR 5.905 - What special authority is there to obtain access to sex offender registration information?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... obtain access to sex offender registration information? 5.905 Section 5.905 Housing and Urban Development... access to sex offender registration information? (a) PHA obligation to obtain sex offender registration... applying for admission to any federally assisted housing program is subject to a lifetime sex offender...

24 CFR 5.905 - What special authority is there to obtain access to sex offender registration information?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... obtain access to sex offender registration information? 5.905 Section 5.905 Housing and Urban Development... access to sex offender registration information? (a) PHA obligation to obtain sex offender registration... applying for admission to any federally assisted housing program is subject to a lifetime sex offender...

24 CFR 5.905 - What special authority is there to obtain access to sex offender registration information?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... obtain access to sex offender registration information? 5.905 Section 5.905 Housing and Urban Development... access to sex offender registration information? (a) PHA obligation to obtain sex offender registration... applying for admission to any federally assisted housing program is subject to a lifetime sex offender...

24 CFR 5.905 - What special authority is there to obtain access to sex offender registration information?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... obtain access to sex offender registration information? 5.905 Section 5.905 Housing and Urban Development... access to sex offender registration information? (a) PHA obligation to obtain sex offender registration... applying for admission to any federally assisted housing program is subject to a lifetime sex offender...

24 CFR 5.905 - What special authority is there to obtain access to sex offender registration information?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... obtain access to sex offender registration information? 5.905 Section 5.905 Housing and Urban Development... access to sex offender registration information? (a) PHA obligation to obtain sex offender registration... applying for admission to any federally assisted housing program is subject to a lifetime sex offender...

Procedures of recruiting, obtaining informed consent, and compensating research participants in Qatar: findings from a qualitative investigation.

PubMed

Killawi, Amal; Khidir, Amal; Elnashar, Maha; Abdelrahim, Huda; Hammoud, Maya; Elliott, Heather; Thurston, Michelle; Asad, Humna; Al-Khal, Abdul Latif; Fetters, Michael D

2014-02-04

Very few researchers have reported on procedures of recruiting, obtaining informed consent, and compensating participants in health research in the Arabian Gulf Region. Empirical research can inform the debate about whether to adjust these procedures for culturally diverse settings. Our objective was to delineate procedures related to recruiting, obtaining informed consent, and compensating health research participants in the extremely high-density multicultural setting of Qatar. During a multistage mixed methods project, field observations and qualitative interviews were conducted in a general medicine clinic of a major medical center in Qatar. Participants were chosen based on gender, age, literacy, and preferred language, i.e., Arabic, English, Hindi and Urdu. Qualitative analysis identified themes about recruitment, informed consent, compensation, and other research procedures. A total of 153 individuals were approached and 84 enrolled; the latter showed a diverse age range (18 to 75 years); varied language representation: Arabic (n = 24), English (n = 20), Hindi (n = 20), and Urdu (n = 20); and balanced gender distribution: women (n = 43) and men (n = 41). Primary reasons for 30 declinations included concern about interview length and recording. The study achieved a 74% participation rate. Qualitative analytics revealed key themes about hesitation to participate, decisions about participation with family members as well as discussions with them as "incidental research participants", the informed consent process, privacy and gender rules of the interview environment, reactions to member checking and compensation, and motivation for participating. Vulnerability emerged as a recurring issue throughout the process among a minority of participants. This study from Qatar is the first to provide empirical data on recruitment, informed consent, compensation and other research procedures in a general adult population in the Middle East and Arabian Gulf. This

Time multiplexing based extended depth of focus imaging.

PubMed

Ilovitsh, Asaf; Zalevsky, Zeev

2016-01-01

We propose to utilize the time multiplexing super resolution method to extend the depth of focus of an imaging system. In standard time multiplexing, the super resolution is achieved by generating duplication of the optical transfer function in the spectrum domain, by the use of moving gratings. While this improves the spatial resolution, it does not increase the depth of focus. By changing the gratings frequency and, by that changing the duplication positions, it is possible to obtain an extended depth of focus. The proposed method is presented analytically, demonstrated via numerical simulations and validated by a laboratory experiment.

Determination of linear defect depths from eddy currents disturbances

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ramos, Helena Geirinhas; Rocha, Tiago; Pasadas, Dário; Ribeiro, Artur Lopes

2014-02-01

One of the still open problems in the inspection research concerns the determination of the maximum depth to which a surface defect goes. Eddy current testing being one of the most sensitive well established inspection methods, able to detect and characterize different type of defects in conductive materials, is an adequate technique to solve this problem. This paper reports a study concerning the disturbances in the magnetic field and in the lines of current due to a machined linear defect having different depths in order to extract relevant information that allows the determination of the defect characteristics. The image of the eddy currents (EC) is paramount to understand the physical phenomena involved. The EC images for this study are generated using a commercial finite element model (FLUX). The excitation used produces a uniform magnetic field on the plate under test in the absence of defects and the disturbances due to the defects are compared with those obtained from experimental measurements. In order to increase the limited penetration depth of the method giant magnetoresistors (GMR) are used to lower the working frequency. The geometry of the excitation planar coil produces a uniform magnetic field on an area of around the GMR sensor, inducing a uniform eddy current distribution on the plate. In the presence of defects in the material surface, the lines of currents inside the material are deviated from their uniform direction and the magnetic field produced by these currents is sensed by the GMR sensor. Besides the theoretical study of the electromagnetic system, the paper describes the experiments that have been carried out to support the theory and conclusions are drawn for cracks having different depths.

Depth.

PubMed

Koenderink, Jan J; van Doorn, Andrea J; Wagemans, Johan

2011-01-01

Depth is the feeling of remoteness, or separateness, that accompanies awareness in human modalities like vision and audition. In specific cases depths can be graded on an ordinal scale, or even measured quantitatively on an interval scale. In the case of pictorial vision this is complicated by the fact that human observers often appear to apply mental transformations that involve depths in distinct visual directions. This implies that a comparison of empirically determined depths between observers involves pictorial space as an integral entity, whereas comparing pictorial depths as such is meaningless. We describe the formal structure of pictorial space purely in the phenomenological domain, without taking recourse to the theories of optics which properly apply to physical space-a distinct ontological domain. We introduce a number of general ways to design and implement methods of geodesy in pictorial space, and discuss some basic problems associated with such measurements. We deal mainly with conceptual issues.

Focal depth measurement of scanning helium ion microscope

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

Guo, Hongxuan, E-mail: Guo.hongxuan@nims.go.jp; Itoh, Hiroshi; Wang, Chunmei

2014-07-14

When facing the challenges of critical dimension measurement of complicated nanostructures, such as of the three dimension integrated circuit, characterization of the focal depth of microscopes is important. In this Letter, we developed a method for characterizing the focal depth of a scanning helium ion microscope (HIM) by using an atomic force microscope tip characterizer (ATC). The ATC was tilted in a sample chamber at an angle to the scanning plan. Secondary electron images (SEIs) were obtained at different positions of the ATC. The edge resolution of the SEIs shows the nominal diameters of the helium ion beam at differentmore » focal levels. With this method, the nominal shapes of the helium ion beams were obtained with different apertures. Our results show that a small aperture is necessary to get a high spatial resolution and high depth of field images with HIM. This work provides a method for characterizing and improving the performance of HIM.« less

Focal depth measurement of scanning helium ion microscope

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guo, Hongxuan; Itoh, Hiroshi; Wang, Chunmei; Zhang, Han; Fujita, Daisuke

2014-07-01

When facing the challenges of critical dimension measurement of complicated nanostructures, such as of the three dimension integrated circuit, characterization of the focal depth of microscopes is important. In this Letter, we developed a method for characterizing the focal depth of a scanning helium ion microscope (HIM) by using an atomic force microscope tip characterizer (ATC). The ATC was tilted in a sample chamber at an angle to the scanning plan. Secondary electron images (SEIs) were obtained at different positions of the ATC. The edge resolution of the SEIs shows the nominal diameters of the helium ion beam at different focal levels. With this method, the nominal shapes of the helium ion beams were obtained with different apertures. Our results show that a small aperture is necessary to get a high spatial resolution and high depth of field images with HIM. This work provides a method for characterizing and improving the performance of HIM.

Signs of depth-luminance covariance in 3-D cluttered scenes.

PubMed

Scaccia, Milena; Langer, Michael S

2018-03-01

In three-dimensional (3-D) cluttered scenes such as foliage, deeper surfaces often are more shadowed and hence darker, and so depth and luminance often have negative covariance. We examined whether the sign of depth-luminance covariance plays a role in depth perception in 3-D clutter. We compared scenes rendered with negative and positive depth-luminance covariance where positive covariance means that deeper surfaces are brighter and negative covariance means deeper surfaces are darker. For each scene, the sign of the depth-luminance covariance was given by occlusion cues. We tested whether subjects could use this sign information to judge the depth order of two target surfaces embedded in 3-D clutter. The clutter consisted of distractor surfaces that were randomly distributed in a 3-D volume. We tested three independent variables: the sign of the depth-luminance covariance, the colors of the targets and distractors, and the background luminance. An analysis of variance showed two main effects: Subjects performed better when the deeper surfaces were darker and when the color of the target surfaces was the same as the color of the distractors. There was also a strong interaction: Subjects performed better under a negative depth-luminance covariance condition when targets and distractors had different colors than when they had the same color. Our results are consistent with a "dark means deep" rule, but the use of this rule depends on the similarity between the color of the targets and color of the 3-D clutter.

Stereo depth distortions in teleoperation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Diner, Daniel B.; Vonsydow, Marika

1988-01-01

In teleoperation, a typical application of stereo vision is to view a work space located short distances (1 to 3m) in front of the cameras. The work presented here treats converged camera placement and studies the effects of intercamera distance, camera-to-object viewing distance, and focal length of the camera lenses on both stereo depth resolution and stereo depth distortion. While viewing the fronto-parallel plane 1.4 m in front of the cameras, depth errors are measured on the order of 2cm. A geometric analysis was made of the distortion of the fronto-parallel plane of divergence for stereo TV viewing. The results of the analysis were then verified experimentally. The objective was to determine the optimal camera configuration which gave high stereo depth resolution while minimizing stereo depth distortion. It is found that for converged cameras at a fixed camera-to-object viewing distance, larger intercamera distances allow higher depth resolutions, but cause greater depth distortions. Thus with larger intercamera distances, operators will make greater depth errors (because of the greater distortions), but will be more certain that they are not errors (because of the higher resolution).

Laser measure of sea salinity, temperature and turbidity in depth

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hirschberg, J. G.; Wouters, A. W.; Byrne, J. D.

1974-01-01

A method is described in which a pulsed laser is used to probe the sea. Backscattered light is analyzed in time, intensity and wavelength. Tyndall, Raman and Brillouin scattering are used to obtain the backscatter turbidity, sound velocity, salinity, and the temperature as a function of depth.

Improving depth resolutions in positron beam spectroscopy by concurrent ion-beam sputtering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

John, Marco; Dalla, Ayham; Ibrahim, Alaa M.; Anwand, Wolfgang; Wagner, Andreas; Böttger, Roman; Krause-Rehberg, Reinhard

2018-05-01

The depth resolution of mono-energetic positron annihilation spectroscopy using a positron beam is shown to improve by concurrently removing the sample surface layer during positron beam spectroscopy. During ion-beam sputtering with argon ions, Doppler-broadening spectroscopy is performed with energies ranging from 3 keV to 5 keV allowing for high-resolution defect studies just below the sputtered surface. With this technique, significantly improved depth resolutions could be obtained even at larger depths when compared to standard positron beam experiments which suffer from extended positron implantation profiles at higher positron energies. Our results show that it is possible to investigate layered structures with a thickness of about 4 microns with significantly improved depth resolution. We demonstrated that a purposely generated ion-beam induced defect profile in a silicon sample could be resolved employing the new technique. A depth resolution of less than 100 nm could be reached.

Aerosol Optical Depth Determinations for BOREAS

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wrigley, R. C.; Livingston, J. M.; Russell, P. B.; Guzman, R. P.; Ried, D.; Lobitz, B.; Peterson, David L. (Technical Monitor)

1994-01-01

Automated tracking sun photometers were deployed by NASA/Ames Research Center aboard the NASA C-130 aircraft and at a ground site for all three Intensive Field Campaigns (IFCs) of the Boreal Ecosystem-Atmosphere Study (BOREAS) in central Saskatchewan, Canada during the summer of 1994. The sun photometer data were used to derive aerosol optical depths for the total atmospheric column above each instrument. The airborne tracking sun photometer obtained data in both the southern and northern study areas at the surface prior to takeoff, along low altitude runs near the ground tracking sun photometer, during ascents to 6-8 km msl, along remote sensing flightlines at altitude, during descents to the surface, and at the surface after landing. The ground sun photometer obtained data from the shore of Candle Lake in the southern area for all cloud-free times. During the first IFC in May-June ascents and descents of the airborne tracking sun photometer indicated the aerosol optical depths decreased steadily from the surface to 3.5 kni where they leveled out at approximately 0.05 (at 525 nm), well below levels caused by the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo. On a very clear day, May 31st, surface optical depths measured by either the airborne or ground sun photometers approached those levels (0.06-0.08 at 525 nm), but surface optical depths were often several times higher. On June 4th they increased from 0.12 in the morning to 0.20 in the afternoon with some evidence of brief episodes of pollen bursts. During the second IFC surface aerosol optical depths were variable in the extreme due to smoke from western forest fires. On July 20th the aerosol optical depth at 525 nm decreased from 0.5 in the morning to 0.2 in the afternoon; they decreased still further the next day to 0.05 and remained consistently low throughout the day to provide excellent conditions for several remote sensing missions flown that day. Smoke was heavy for the early morning of July 24th but cleared partially by 10

Depth-sensitive optical spectroscopy for layered tissue measurements (Conference Presentation)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Wei; Yu, Xiaojun; Liu, Quan; Liu, Linbo; Ong, Yi Hong

2017-02-01

Disease diagnosis based on the visual inspection of the pathological presentations or symptoms on the epithelial tissue such as the skin are subjective and highly depend on the experience of the doctors. Vital diagnostic information for the accurate identification of diseases is usually located underneath the surface and its depth distribution is known to be related to disease progression. Although optical spectroscopic measurements are fast and non-invasive, the accurate retrieval of the depth-specific diagnostic information is complicated by the heterogeneous nature of epithelial tissues. The optical signal measured from a tissue is often the result of averaging from a large tissue volume that mixes information from the region of interest and the surrounding tissue region, especially from the overlaying layers. Our group has developed a series of techniques for depth sensitive optical measurements from such layered tissues. We will first review the earlier development of composite fiber-optic probe, in which the source-detector separation and the angles of source and detector fibers are varied to achieve depth sensitive measurements. Then the more recent development of non-contact axicon lens based probes for depth sensitive fluorescence measurements and the corresponding numerical methods for optimization will be introduced. Finally, the most recently developed snapshot axicon lens based probe that can measure Raman spectra from five different depths at the same time will be discussed. Results from tissue phantoms, ex vivo pork samples and in vivo fingernail measurements will be presented, which indicates the great potential of depth sensitive optical spectroscopy for clinical tissue diagnosis.

Validation of snow depth reconstruction from lapse-rate webcam images against terrestrial laser scanner measurements in centrel Pyrenees

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Revuelto, Jesús; Jonas, Tobias; López-Moreno, Juan Ignacio

2015-04-01

Snow distribution in mountain areas plays a key role in many processes as runoff dynamics, ecological cycles or erosion rates. Nevertheless, the acquisition of high resolution snow depth data (SD) in space-time is a complex task that needs the application of remote sensing techniques as Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS). Such kind of techniques requires intense field work for obtaining high quality snowpack evolution during a specific time period. Combining TLS data with other remote sensing techniques (satellite images, photogrammetry…) and in-situ measurements could represent an improvement of the available information of a variable with rapid topographic changes. The aim of this study is to reconstruct daily SD distribution from lapse-rate images from a webcam and data from two to three TLS acquisitions during the snow melting periods of 2012, 2013 and 2014. This information is obtained at Izas Experimental catchment in Central Spanish Pyrenees; a catchment of 33ha, with an elevation ranging from 2050 to 2350m a.s.l. The lapse-rate images provide the Snow Covered Area (SCA) evolution at the study site, while TLS allows obtaining high resolution information of SD distribution. With ground control points, lapse-rate images are georrectified and their information is rasterized into a 1-meter resolution Digital Elevation Model. Subsequently, for each snow season, the Melt-Out Date (MOD) of each pixel is obtained. The reconstruction increases the estimated SD lose for each time step (day) in a distributed manner; starting the reconstruction for each grid cell at the MOD (note the reverse time evolution). To do so, the reconstruction has been previously adjusted in time and space as follows. Firstly, the degree day factor (SD lose/positive average temperatures) is calculated from the information measured at an automatic weather station (AWS) located in the catchment. Afterwards, comparing the SD lose at the AWS during a specific time period (i.e. between two TLS

40 CFR 2.303 - Special rules governing certain information obtained under the Noise Control Act of 1972.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... information obtained under the Noise Control Act of 1972. 2.303 Section 2.303 Protection of Environment... Special rules governing certain information obtained under the Noise Control Act of 1972. (a) Definitions. For the purposes of this section: (1) Act means the Noise Control Act of 1972, 42 U.S.C. 4901 et seq...

40 CFR 2.303 - Special rules governing certain information obtained under the Noise Control Act of 1972.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... information obtained under the Noise Control Act of 1972. 2.303 Section 2.303 Protection of Environment... Special rules governing certain information obtained under the Noise Control Act of 1972. (a) Definitions. For the purposes of this section: (1) Act means the Noise Control Act of 1972, 42 U.S.C. 4901 et seq...

Understanding of how older adults with low vision obtain, process, and understand health information and services.

PubMed

Kim, Hyung Nam

2017-10-16

Twenty-five years after the Americans with Disabilities Act, there has still been a lack of advancement of accessibility in healthcare for people with visual impairments, particularly older adults with low vision. This study aims to advance understanding of how older adults with low vision obtain, process, and use health information and services, and to seek opportunities of information technology to support them. A convenience sample of 10 older adults with low vision participated in semi-structured phone interviews, which were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim for analysis. Participants shared various concerns in accessing, understanding, and using health information, care services, and multimedia technologies. Two main themes and nine subthemes emerged from the analysis. Due to the concerns, older adults with low vision tended to fail to obtain the full range of all health information and services to meet their specific needs. Those with low vision still rely on residual vision such that multimedia-based information which can be useful, but it should still be designed to ensure its accessibility, usability, and understandability.

Analysis of the Quality of Information Obtained About Uterine Artery Embolization From the Internet

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

Tavare, Aniket N.; Alsafi, Ali, E-mail: ali.alsafi03@imperial.ac.uk; Hamady, Mohamad S.

Purpose: The Internet is widely used by patients to source health care-related information. We sought to analyse the quality of information available on the Internet about uterine artery embolization (UAE). Materials and Methods: We searched three major search engines for the phrase 'uterine artery embolization' and compiled the top 50 results from each engine. After excluding repeated sites, scientific articles, and links to documents, the remaining 50 sites were assessed using the LIDA instrument, which scores sites across the domains of accessibility, usability, and reliability. The Fleisch reading ease score (FRES) was calculated for each of the sites. Finally, wemore » checked the country of origin and the presence of certification by the Health On the Net Foundation (HONcode) as well as their effect on LIDA and FRES scores.ResultsThe following mean scores were obtained: accessibility 48/60 (80%), usability 42/54 (77%), reliability 20/51 (39%), total LIDA 110/165 (67%), and FRES 42/100 (42%). Nine sites had HONcode certification, and this was associated with significantly greater (p < 0.05) reliability and total LIDA and FRES scores. When comparing sites between United Kingdom and United States, there was marked variation in the quality of results obtained when searching for information on UAE (p < 0.05). Conclusion: In general, sites were well designed and easy to use. However, many scored poorly on the reliability of their information either because they were produced in a non-evidence-based way or because they lacking currency. It is important that patients are guided to reputable, location-specific sources of information online, especially because prominent search engine rank does not guarantee reliability of information.« less

Blur and the perception of depth at occlusions.

PubMed

Zannoli, Marina; Love, Gordon D; Narain, Rahul; Banks, Martin S

2016-01-01

The depth ordering of two surfaces, one occluding the other, can in principle be determined from the correlation between the occlusion border's blur and the blur of the two surfaces. If the border is blurred, the blurrier surface is nearer; if the border is sharp, the sharper surface is nearer. Previous research has found that observers do not use this informative cue. We reexamined this finding. Using a multiplane display, we confirmed the previous finding: Our observers did not accurately judge depth order when the blur was rendered and the stimulus presented on one plane. We then presented the same simulated scenes on multiple planes, each at a different focal distance, so the blur was created by the optics of the eye. Performance was now much better, which shows that depth order can be reliably determined from blur information but only when the optical effects are similar to those in natural viewing. We asked what the critical differences were in the single- and multiplane cases. We found that chromatic aberration provides useful information but accommodative microfluctuations do not. In addition, we examined how image formation is affected by occlusions and observed some interesting phenomena that allow the eye to see around and through occluding objects and may allow observers to estimate depth in da Vinci stereopsis, where one eye's view is blocked. Finally, we evaluated how accurately different rendering and displaying techniques reproduce the retinal images that occur in real occlusions. We discuss implications for computer graphics.

Increased depth-diameter ratios in the Medusae Fossae Formation deposits of Mars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barlow, N. G.

1993-01-01

Depth to diameter ratios for fresh impact craters on Mars are commonly cited as approximately 0.2 for simple craters and 0.1 for complex craters. Recent computation of depth-diameter ratios in the Amazonis-Memnonia region of Mars indicates that craters within the Medusae Fossae Formation deposits found in this region display greater depth-diameter ratios than expected for both simple and complex craters. Photoclinometric and shadow length techniques have been used to obtain depths of craters within the Amazonis-Memnonia region. The 37 craters in the 2 to 29 km diameter range and displaying fresh impact morphologies were identified in the area of study. This region includes the Amazonian aged upper and middle members of the Medusae Fossae Formation and Noachian aged cratered and hilly units. The Medusae Fossae Formation is characterized by extensive, flat to gently undulating deposits of controversial origin. These deposits appear to vary from friable to indurated. Early analysis of crater degradation in the Medusae Fossae region suggested that simple craters excavated to greater depths than expected based on the general depth-diameter relationships derived for Mars. However, too few craters were available in the initial analysis to estimate the actual depth-diameter ratios within this region. Although the analysis is continuing, we are now beginning to see a convergence towards specific values for the depth-diameter ratio depending on geologic unit.

42 CFR 478.24 - Opportunity for a party to obtain and submit information.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 42 Public Health 4 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Opportunity for a party to obtain and submit information. 478.24 Section 478.24 Public Health CENTERS FOR MEDICARE & MEDICAID SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) QUALITY IMPROVEMENT ORGANIZATIONS RECONSIDERATIONS AND APPEALS...

42 CFR 478.24 - Opportunity for a party to obtain and submit information.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 42 Public Health 4 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Opportunity for a party to obtain and submit information. 478.24 Section 478.24 Public Health CENTERS FOR MEDICARE & MEDICAID SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) QUALITY IMPROVEMENT ORGANIZATIONS RECONSIDERATIONS AND APPEALS...

42 CFR 478.24 - Opportunity for a party to obtain and submit information.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... 42 Public Health 4 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Opportunity for a party to obtain and submit information. 478.24 Section 478.24 Public Health CENTERS FOR MEDICARE & MEDICAID SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) QUALITY IMPROVEMENT ORGANIZATIONS RECONSIDERATIONS AND APPEALS...

42 CFR 478.24 - Opportunity for a party to obtain and submit information.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... 42 Public Health 4 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Opportunity for a party to obtain and submit information. 478.24 Section 478.24 Public Health CENTERS FOR MEDICARE & MEDICAID SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) QUALITY IMPROVEMENT ORGANIZATIONS RECONSIDERATIONS AND APPEALS...

40 CFR 2.302 - Special rules governing certain information obtained under the Clean Water Act.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... provide the information was issued under section 309(a)(3) of the Act, 33 U.S.C. 1319(a)(3), whether a civil action was brought under section 309(b) of the Act, 33 U.S.C. 1319(b), and whether the information... specifically does not apply to information obtained under section 310(d) or 312(g)(3) of the Act, 33 U.S.C...

40 CFR 2.302 - Special rules governing certain information obtained under the Clean Water Act.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... provide the information was issued under section 309(a)(3) of the Act, 33 U.S.C. 1319(a)(3), whether a civil action was brought under section 309(b) of the Act, 33 U.S.C. 1319(b), and whether the information... specifically does not apply to information obtained under section 310(d) or 312(g)(3) of the Act, 33 U.S.C...

40 CFR 2.302 - Special rules governing certain information obtained under the Clean Water Act.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... provide the information was issued under section 309(a)(3) of the Act, 33 U.S.C. 1319(a)(3), whether a civil action was brought under section 309(b) of the Act, 33 U.S.C. 1319(b), and whether the information... specifically does not apply to information obtained under section 310(d) or 312(g)(3) of the Act, 33 U.S.C...

If you watch it move, you'll recognize it in 3D: Transfer of depth cues between encoding and retrieval.

PubMed

Papenmeier, Frank; Schwan, Stephan

2016-02-01

Viewing objects with stereoscopic displays provides additional depth cues through binocular disparity supporting object recognition. So far, it was unknown whether this results from the representation of specific stereoscopic information in memory or a more general representation of an object's depth structure. Therefore, we investigated whether continuous object rotation acting as depth cue during encoding results in a memory representation that can subsequently be accessed by stereoscopic information during retrieval. In Experiment 1, we found such transfer effects from continuous object rotation during encoding to stereoscopic presentations during retrieval. In Experiments 2a and 2b, we found that the continuity of object rotation is important because only continuous rotation and/or stereoscopic depth but not multiple static snapshots presented without stereoscopic information caused the extraction of an object's depth structure into memory. We conclude that an object's depth structure and not specific depth cues are represented in memory. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Development of a Method to Obtain More Accurate General and Oral Health Related Information Retrospectively

PubMed Central

A, Golkari; A, Sabokseir; D, Blane; A, Sheiham; RG, Watt

2017-01-01

Statement of Problem: Early childhood is a crucial period of life as it affects one’s future health. However, precise data on adverse events during this period is usually hard to access or collect, especially in developing countries. Objectives: This paper first reviews the existing methods for retrospective data collection in health and social sciences, and then introduces a new method/tool for obtaining more accurate general and oral health related information from early childhood retrospectively. Materials and Methods: The Early Childhood Events Life-Grid (ECEL) was developed to collect information on the type and time of health-related adverse events during the early years of life, by questioning the parents. The validity of ECEL and the accuracy of information obtained by this method were assessed in a pilot study and in a main study of 30 parents of 8 to 11 year old children from Shiraz (Iran). Responses obtained from parents using the final ECEL were compared with the recorded health insurance documents. Results: There was an almost perfect agreement between the health insurance and ECEL data sets (Kappa value=0.95 and p < 0.001). Interviewees remembered the important events more accurately (100% exact timing match in case of hospitalization). Conclusions: The Early Childhood Events Life-Grid method proved to be highly accurate when compared with recorded medical documents. PMID:28959773

Non-destructive in-situ method and apparatus for determining radionuclide depth in media

DOEpatents

Xu, X. George; Naessens, Edward P.

2003-01-01

A non-destructive method and apparatus which is based on in-situ gamma spectroscopy is used to determine the depth of radiological contamination in media such as concrete. An algorithm, Gamma Penetration Depth Unfolding Algorithm (GPDUA), uses point kernel techniques to predict the depth of contamination based on the results of uncollided peak information from the in-situ gamma spectroscopy. The invention is better, faster, safer, and/cheaper than the current practice in decontamination and decommissioning of facilities that are slow, rough and unsafe. The invention uses a priori knowledge of the contaminant source distribution. The applicable radiological contaminants of interest are any isotopes that emit two or more gamma rays per disintegration or isotopes that emit a single gamma ray but have gamma-emitting progeny in secular equilibrium with its parent (e.g., .sup.60 Co, .sup.235 U, and .sup.137 Cs to name a few). The predicted depths from the GPDUA algorithm using Monte Carlo N-Particle Transport Code (MCNP) simulations and laboratory experiments using .sup.60 Co have consistently produced predicted depths within 20% of the actual or known depth.

Use of social media and internet to obtain health information by rural adolescent mothers.

PubMed

Logsdon, M Cynthia; Mittelberg, Meghan; Myers, John

2015-02-01

Adolescent mothers residing in rural areas need accurate health information to care for themselves and their babies. The purpose of this study was to determine the use of social media and Internet by adolescent mothers residing in rural areas, particularly in regard to obtaining health information. Using a cross-sectional design, a convenience sample of adolescent mothers living in a rural county in a state located in the southern U.S. (n = 15), completed the Pew Internet Survey during home visits with nurses from a community health agency. All adolescent mothers accessed Internet using cell phones (93%) or computers (100%). Many adolescent mothers sent or received over 50 text messages per day. Thirty-three percent of adolescent mothers searched for health information on the Internet every few weeks; 27% received health information from Facebook. Communication of health information using the Internet and social media may be effective with adolescent mothers residing in rural areas. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Depth profile measurement with lenslet images of the plenoptic camera

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Peng; Wang, Zhaomin; Zhang, Wei; Zhao, Hongying; Qu, Weijuan; Zhao, Haimeng; Asundi, Anand; Yan, Lei

2018-03-01

An approach for carrying out depth profile measurement of an object with the plenoptic camera is proposed. A single plenoptic image consists of multiple lenslet images. To begin with, these images are processed directly with a refocusing technique to obtain the depth map, which does not need to align and decode the plenoptic image. Then, a linear depth calibration is applied based on the optical structure of the plenoptic camera for depth profile reconstruction. One significant improvement of the proposed method concerns the resolution of the depth map. Unlike the traditional method, our resolution is not limited by the number of microlenses inside the camera, and the depth map can be globally optimized. We validated the method with experiments on depth map reconstruction, depth calibration, and depth profile measurement, with the results indicating that the proposed approach is both efficient and accurate.

The perception of ego-motion change in environments with varying depth: Interaction of stereo and optic flow.

PubMed

Ott, Florian; Pohl, Ladina; Halfmann, Marc; Hardiess, Gregor; Mallot, Hanspeter A

2016-07-01

When estimating ego-motion in environments (e.g., tunnels, streets) with varying depth, human subjects confuse ego-acceleration with environment narrowing and ego-deceleration with environment widening. Festl, Recktenwald, Yuan, and Mallot (2012) demonstrated that in nonstereoscopic viewing conditions, this happens despite the fact that retinal measurements of acceleration rate-a variable related to tau-dot-should allow veridical perception. Here we address the question of whether additional depth cues (specifically binocular stereo, object occlusion, or constant average object size) help break the confusion between narrowing and acceleration. Using a forced-choice paradigm, the confusion is shown to persist even if unambiguous stereo information is provided. The confusion can also be demonstrated in an adjustment task in which subjects were asked to keep a constant speed in a tunnel with varying diameter: Subjects increased speed in widening sections and decreased speed in narrowing sections even though stereoscopic depth information was provided. If object-based depth information (stereo, occlusion, constant average object size) is added, the confusion between narrowing and acceleration still remains but may be slightly reduced. All experiments are consistent with a simple matched filter algorithm for ego-motion detection, neglecting both parallactic and stereoscopic depth information, but leave open the possibility of cue combination at a later stage.

Depth estimation of multi-layered impact damage in PMC using lateral thermography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Whitlow, Travis; Kramb, Victoria; Reibel, Rick; Dierken, Josiah

2018-04-01

Characterization of impact damage in polymer matrix composites (PMCs) continues to be a challenge due to the complex internal structure of the material. Nondestructive characterization approaches such as normal incident immersion ultrasound and flash thermography are sensitive to delamination damage, but do not provide information regarding damage obscured by the delaminations. Characterization of material state below a delamination requires a technique which is sensitive to in-plane damage modes such as matrix cracking and fiber breakage. Previous studies of the lateral heat flow through a composite laminate showed that the diffusion time was sensitive to the depth of the simulated damage zone. The current study will further evaluate the lateral diffusion model to provide sensitivity limits for the modeled flaw dimensions. Comparisons between the model simulations and experimental data obtained using a concentrated heat source and machined targets will also be presented.

Green-Naghdi dynamics of surface wind waves in finite depth

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Manna, M. A.; Latifi, A.; Kraenkel, R. A.

2018-04-01

The Miles’ quasi laminar theory of waves generation by wind in finite depth h is presented. In this context, the fully nonlinear Green-Naghdi model equation is derived for the first time. This model equation is obtained by the non perturbative Green-Naghdi approach, coupling a nonlinear evolution of water waves with the atmospheric dynamics which works as in the classic Miles’ theory. A depth-dependent and wind-dependent wave growth γ is drawn from the dispersion relation of the coupled Green-Naghdi model with the atmospheric dynamics. Different values of the dimensionless water depth parameter δ = gh/U 1, with g the gravity and U 1 a characteristic wind velocity, produce two families of growth rate γ in function of the dimensionless theoretical wave-age c 0: a family of γ with h constant and U 1 variable and another family of γ with U 1 constant and h variable. The allowed minimum and maximum values of γ in this model are exhibited.

Assessing nest-building behavior of mice using a 3D depth camera.

PubMed

Okayama, Tsuyoshi; Goto, Tatsuhiko; Toyoda, Atsushi

2015-08-15

We developed a novel method to evaluate the nest-building behavior of mice using an inexpensive depth camera. The depth camera clearly captured nest-building behavior. Using three-dimensional information from the depth camera, we obtained objective features for assessing nest-building behavior, including "volume," "radius," and "mean height". The "volume" represents the change in volume of the nesting material, a pressed cotton square that a mouse shreds and untangles in order to build its nest. During the nest-building process, the total volume of cotton fragments is increased. The "radius" refers to the radius of the circle enclosing the fragments of cotton. It describes the extent of nesting material dispersion. The "radius" averaged approximately 60mm when a nest was built. The "mean height" represents the change in the mean height of objects. If the nest walls were high, the "mean height" was also high. These features provided us with useful information for assessment of nest-building behavior, similar to conventional methods for the assessment of nest building. However, using the novel method, we found that JF1 mice built nests with higher walls than B6 mice, and B6 mice built nests faster than JF1 mice. Thus, our novel method can evaluate the differences in nest-building behavior that cannot be detected or quantified by conventional methods. In future studies, we will evaluate nest-building behaviors of genetically modified, as well as several inbred, strains of mice, with several nesting materials. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Medical Comics as Tools to Aid in Obtaining Informed Consent for Stroke Care.

PubMed

Furuno, Yuichi; Sasajima, Hiroyasu

2015-07-01

Informed consent has now become common in medical practice. However, a gap still exists between doctors and patients in the understanding of clinical conditions. We designed medical comics about "subarachnoid hemorrhage" and "intracerebral hemorrhage" to help doctors obtain informed consent intuitively, quickly, and comprehensively.Between September 2010 and September 2012, we carried out a questionnaire survey about medical comics with the families of patients who had suffered an intracerebral or subarachnoid hemorrhage. The questionnaire consisted of 6 questions inquiring about their mental condition, reading time, usefulness of the comics in understanding brain function and anatomy, pathogenesis, doctor's explanation, and applicability of these comics.The results showed that 93.8% responders would prefer or strongly prefer the use of comics in other medical situations. When considering the level of understanding of brain function and anatomy, pathology of disease, and doctor's explanation, 81.3%, 75.0%, and 68.8% of responders, respectively, rated these comics as very useful or useful.We think that the visual and narrative illustrations in medical comics would be more helpful for patients than a lengthy explanation by a doctor. Most of the responders hoped that medical comics would be applied to other medical cases. Thus, medical comics could work as a new communication tool between doctors and patients.

Depth in Cultural Socialization in Families with Children Adopted from China.

PubMed

Zhang, Xian; Pinderhughes, Ellen E

2018-03-13

Parents raising children adopted from a different racial/ethnic group usually engage in cultural socialization-providing activities in adoptees' birth culture-hoping to instill pride and help adoptees develop a positive identity. Adoptive parents engage in a wide variety of socialization activities, yet adult adoptees have reported not having deep enough exposure from their parents. The present study explored the depth of cultural socialization in transracial adoptive families. Informed by Pinderhughes' Ethnic-Racial Socialization model, this study developed a continuum examining the depth in cultural socialization with three indicators: (1) the depth of cultural activities, (2) parents' motivation for cultural socialization, and (3) parental cultural attitudes. Qualitative analyses of 41 White parents raising children adopted from China found that parents' motivation and acknowledgement of cultural differences reflected deep appreciation of adoptees' birth culture, however, activities they provided were not as deep. Activities that facilitated close relationships with people who shared adoptees' background in a natural context appeared to provide the deepest cultural connection. Despite limitations, the study demonstrated that the depth continuum was able to capture variations and nuances in cultural socialization. Suggestions for future research and recommendation for practice were also included. © 2018 Family Process Institute.

Discovering Optimum Method to Extract Depth Information for Nearshore Coastal Waters from SENTINEL-2A - Case Study: Nayband Bay, Iran

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kabiri, K.

2017-09-01

The capabilities of Sentinel-2A imagery to determine bathymetric information in shallow coastal waters were examined. In this regard, two Sentinel-2A images (acquired on February and March 2016 in calm weather and relatively low turbidity) were selected from Nayband Bay, located in the northern Persian Gulf. In addition, a precise and accurate bathymetric map for the study area were obtained and used for both calibrating the models and validating the results. Traditional linear and ratio transform techniques, as well as a novel integrated method, were employed to determine depth values. All possible combinations of the three bands (Band 2: blue (458-523 nm), Band 3: green (543-578 nm), and Band 4: red (650-680 nm), spatial resolution: 10 m) have been considered (11 options) using the traditional linear and ratio transform techniques, together with 10 model options for the integrated method. The accuracy of each model was assessed by comparing the determined bathymetric information with field measured values. The correlation coefficients (R2), and root mean square errors (RMSE) for validation points were calculated for all models and for two satellite images. When compared with the linear transform method, the method employing ratio transformation with a combination of all three bands yielded more accurate results (R2Mac = 0.795, R2Feb = 0.777, RMSEMac = 1.889 m, and RMSEFeb =2.039 m). Although most of the integrated transform methods (specifically the method including all bands and band ratios) have yielded the highest accuracy, these increments were not significant, hence the ratio transformation has selected as optimum method.

Accurate object tracking system by integrating texture and depth cues

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Ju-Chin; Lin, Yu-Hang

2016-03-01

A robust object tracking system that is invariant to object appearance variations and background clutter is proposed. Multiple instance learning with a boosting algorithm is applied to select discriminant texture information between the object and background data. Additionally, depth information, which is important to distinguish the object from a complicated background, is integrated. We propose two depth-based models that can compensate texture information to cope with both appearance variants and background clutter. Moreover, in order to reduce the risk of drifting problem increased for the textureless depth templates, an update mechanism is proposed to select more precise tracking results to avoid incorrect model updates. In the experiments, the robustness of the proposed system is evaluated and quantitative results are provided for performance analysis. Experimental results show that the proposed system can provide the best success rate and has more accurate tracking results than other well-known algorithms.

Routine Mapping of the Snow Depth Distribution on Sea Ice

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Farrell, S. L.; Newman, T.; Richter-Menge, J.; Dattler, M.; Paden, J. D.; Yan, S.; Li, J.; Leuschen, C.

2016-12-01

The annual growth and retreat of the polar sea ice cover is influenced by the seasonal accumulation, redistribution and melt of snow on sea ice. Due to its high albedo and low thermal conductivity, snow is also a controlling parameter in the mass and energy budgets of the polar climate system. Under a changing climate scenario it is critical to obtain reliable and routine measurements of snow depth, across basin scales, and long time periods, so as to understand regional, seasonal and inter-annual variability, and the subsequent impacts on the sea ice cover itself. Moreover the snow depth distribution remains a significant source of uncertainty in the derivation of sea ice thickness from remote sensing measurements, as well as in numerical model predictions of future climate state. Radar altimeter systems flown onboard NASA's Operation IceBridge (OIB) mission now provide annual measurements of snow across both the Arctic and Southern Ocean ice packs. We describe recent advances in the processing techniques used to interpret airborne radar waveforms and produce accurate and robust snow depth results. As a consequence of instrument effects and data quality issues associated with the initial release of the OIB airborne radar data, the entire data set was reprocessed to remove coherent noise and sidelobes in the radar echograms. These reprocessed data were released to the community in early 2016, and are available for improved derivation of snow depth. Here, using the reprocessed data, we present the results of seven years of radar measurements collected over Arctic sea ice at the end of winter, just prior to melt. Our analysis provides the snow depth distribution on both seasonal and multi-year sea ice. We present the inter-annual variability in snow depth for both the Central Arctic and the Beaufort/Chukchi Seas. We validate our results via comparison with temporally and spatially coincident in situ measurements gathered during many of the OIB surveys. The results

Knee Kinetics during Squats of Varying Loads and Depths in Recreationally Trained Females.

PubMed

Flores, Victoria; Becker, James; Burkhardt, Eric; Cotter, Joshua

2018-03-06

The back squat exercise is typically practiced with varying squat depths and barbell loads. However, depth has been inconsistently defined, resulting in unclear safety precautions when squatting with loads. Additionally, females exhibit anatomical and kinematic differences to males which may predispose them to knee joint injuries. The purpose of this study was to characterize peak knee extensor moments (pKEMs) at three commonly practiced squat depths of above parallel, parallel, and full depth, and with three loads of 0% (unloaded), 50%, and 85% depth-specific one repetition maximum (1RM) in recreationally active females. Nineteen females (age, 25.1 ± 5.8 years; body mass, 62.5 ± 10.2 kg; height, 1.6 ± 0.10 m; mean ± SD) performed squats of randomized depth and load. Inverse dynamics were used to obtain pKEMs from three-dimensional knee kinematics. Depth and load had significant interaction effects on pKEMs (p = 0.014). Significantly greater pKEMs were observed at full depth compared to parallel depth with 50% 1RM load (p = 0.001, d = 0.615), and 85% 1RM load (p = 0.010, d = 0.714). Greater pKEMs were also observed at full depth compared to above parallel depth with 50% 1RM load (p = 0.003, d = 0.504). Results indicate effect of load on female pKEMs do not follow a progressively increasing pattern with either increasing depth or load. Therefore, when high knee loading is a concern, individuals are must carefully consider both the depth of squat being performed and the relative load they are using.

Depth profiling of high energy nitrogen ions implanted in the <1 0 0>, <1 1 0> and randomly oriented silicon crystals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Erić, M.; Petrović, S.; Kokkoris, M.; Lagoyannis, A.; Paneta, V.; Harissopulos, S.; Telečki, I.

2012-03-01

This work reports on the experimentally obtained depth profiles of 4 MeV 14N2+ ions implanted in the <1 0 0>, <1 1 0> and randomly oriented silicon crystals. The ion fluence was 1017 particles/cm2. The nitrogen depth profiling has been performed using the Nuclear Reaction Analysis (NRA) method, via the study of 14N(d,α0)12C and 14N(d,α1)12C nuclear reactions, and with the implementation of SRIM 2010 and SIMNRA computer simulation codes. For the randomly oriented silicon crystal, change of the density of silicon matrix and the nitrogen "bubble" formation have been proposed as the explanation for the difference between the experimental and simulated nitrogen depth profiles. During the implantation, the RBS/C spectra were measured on the nitrogen implanted and on the virgin crystal spots. These spectra provide information on the amorphization of the silicon crystals induced by the ion implantation.

[Spectrometric assessment of thyroid depth within the radioiodine test].

PubMed

Rink, T; Bormuth, F-J; Schroth, H-J; Braun, S; Zimny, M

2005-01-01

Aim of this study is the validation of a simple method for evaluating the depth of the target volume within the radioiodine test by analyzing the emitted iodine-131 energy spectrum. In a total of 250 patients (102 with a solitary autonomous nodule, 66 with multifocal autonomy, 29 with disseminated autonomy, 46 with Graves' disease, 6 for reducing goiter volume and 1 with only partly resectable papillary thyroid carcinoma), simultaneous uptake measurements in the Compton scatter (210 +/- 110 keV) and photopeak (364-45/+55 keV) windows were performed over one minute 24 hours after application of the 3 MBq test dose, with subsequent calculation of the respective count ratios. Measurements with a water-filled plastic neck phantom were carried out to perceive the relationship between these quotients and the average source depth and to get a calibration curve for calculating the depth of the target volume in the 250 patients for comparison with the sonographic reference data. Another calibration curve was obtained by evaluating the results of 125 randomly selected patient measurements to calculate the source depth in the other half of the group. The phantom measurements revealed a highly significant correlation (r = 0,99) between the count ratios and the source depth. Using these calibration data, a good relationship (r = 0,81, average deviation 6 mm corresponding to 22%) between the spectrometric and the sonographic depths was obtained. When using the calibration curve resulting from the 125 patient measurements, the overage deviation in the other half of the group was only 3 mm (12%). There was no difference between the disease groups. The described method allows on easy to use depth correction of the uptake measurements providing good results.

Networking Course Syllabus in Accredited Library and Information Science Programs: A Comparative Analysis Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Abouserie, Hossam Eldin Mohamed Refaat

2009-01-01

The study investigated networking courses offered in accredited Library and Information Science schools in the United States in 2009. The study analyzed and compared network syllabi according to Course Syllabus Evaluation Rubric to obtain in-depth understanding of basic features and characteristics of networking courses taught. The study embraced…

Depth resolved investigations of boron implanted silicon

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sztucki, M.; Metzger, T. H.; Milita, S.; Berberich, F.; Schell, N.; Rouvière, J. L.; Patel, J.

2003-01-01

We have studied the depth distribution and structure of defects in boron implanted silicon (0 0 1). Silicon wafers were implanted with a boron dose of 6×10 15 ions/cm -2 at 32 keV and went through different annealing treatments. Using diffuse X-ray scattering at grazing incidence and exit angles we are able to distinguish between different kinds of defects (point defect clusters and extrinsic stacking faults on {1 1 1} planes) and to determine their depth distribution as a function of the thermal budget. Cross-section transmission electron microscopy was used to gain complementary information. In addition we have determined the strain distribution caused by the boron implantation as a function of depth from rocking curve measurements.

40 CFR 2.305 - Special rules governing certain information obtained under the Solid Waste Disposal Act, as amended.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... information obtained under the Solid Waste Disposal Act, as amended. 2.305 Section 2.305 Protection of... § 2.305 Special rules governing certain information obtained under the Solid Waste Disposal Act, as amended. (a) Definitions. For purposes of this section: (1) Act means the Solid Waste Disposal Act, as...

40 CFR 2.305 - Special rules governing certain information obtained under the Solid Waste Disposal Act, as amended.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... information obtained under the Solid Waste Disposal Act, as amended. 2.305 Section 2.305 Protection of... § 2.305 Special rules governing certain information obtained under the Solid Waste Disposal Act, as amended. (a) Definitions. For purposes of this section: (1) Act means the Solid Waste Disposal Act, as...

Spectral entropy in monitoring anesthetic depth.

PubMed

Escontrela Rodríguez, B; Gago Martínez, A; Merino Julián, I; Martínez Ruiz, A

2016-10-01

Monitoring the brain response to hypnotics in general anesthesia, with the nociceptive and hemodynamic stimulus interaction, has been a subject of intense investigation for many years. Nowadays, monitors of depth of anesthesia are based in processed electroencephalogram by different algorithms, some of them unknown, to obtain a simplified numeric parameter approximate to brain activity state in each moment. In this review we evaluate if spectral entropy suitably reflects the brain electric behavior in response to hypnotics and the different intensity nociceptive stimulus effect during a surgical procedure. Copyright © 2015 Sociedad Española de Anestesiología, Reanimación y Terapéutica del Dolor. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

RGB-D depth-map restoration using smooth depth neighborhood supports

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Wei; Xue, Haoyang; Yu, Zhongjie; Wu, Qiang; Yang, Jie

2015-05-01

A method to restore the depth map of an RGB-D image using smooth depth neighborhood (SDN) supports is presented. The SDN supports are computed based on the corresponding color image of the depth map. Compared with the most widely used square supports, the proposed SDN supports can well-capture the local structure of the object. Only pixels with similar depth values are allowed to be included in the support. We combine our SDN supports with the joint bilateral filter (JBF) to form the SDN-JBF and use it to restore depth maps. Experimental results show that our SDN-JBF can not only rectify the misaligned depth pixels but also preserve sharp depth discontinuities.

Depth estimation using a lightfield camera

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roper, Carissa

The latest innovation to camera design has come in the form of the lightfield, or plenoptic, camera that captures 4-D radiance data rather than just the 2-D scene image via microlens arrays. With the spatial and angular light ray data now recorded on the camera sensor, it is feasible to construct algorithms that can estimate depth of field in different portions of a given scene. There are limitations to the precision due to hardware structure and the sheer number of scene variations that can occur. In this thesis, the potential of digital image analysis and spatial filtering to extract depth information is tested on the commercially available plenoptic camera.

Depth-color fusion strategy for 3-D scene modeling with Kinect.

PubMed

Camplani, Massimo; Mantecon, Tomas; Salgado, Luis

2013-12-01

Low-cost depth cameras, such as Microsoft Kinect, have completely changed the world of human-computer interaction through controller-free gaming applications. Depth data provided by the Kinect sensor presents several noise-related problems that have to be tackled to improve the accuracy of the depth data, thus obtaining more reliable game control platforms and broadening its applicability. In this paper, we present a depth-color fusion strategy for 3-D modeling of indoor scenes with Kinect. Accurate depth and color models of the background elements are iteratively built, and used to detect moving objects in the scene. Kinect depth data is processed with an innovative adaptive joint-bilateral filter that efficiently combines depth and color by analyzing an edge-uncertainty map and the detected foreground regions. Results show that the proposed approach efficiently tackles main Kinect data problems: distance-dependent depth maps, spatial noise, and temporal random fluctuations are dramatically reduced; objects depth boundaries are refined, and nonmeasured depth pixels are interpolated. Moreover, a robust depth and color background model and accurate moving objects silhouette are generated.

Spatial analysis of storm depths from an Arizona raingage network

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fennessey, N. M.; Eagleson, P. S.; Qinliang, W.; Rodriguez-Iturbe, I.

1986-01-01

Eight years of summer rainstorm observations are analyzed by a dense network of 93 raingages operated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, in the 150 km Walnut Gulch experimental catchment near Tucson, Arizona. Storms are defined by the total depths collected at each raingage during the noon-to-noon period for which there was depth recorded at any of the gages. For each of the resulting 428 storm days, the gage depths are interpolated onto a dense grid and the resulting random field analyzed to obtain moments, isohyetal plots, spatial correlation function, variance function, and the spatial distribution of storm depth.

Moho depth across the Trans-European Suture Zone from ambient vibration autocorrelations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Becker, Gesa; Knapmeyer-Endrun, Brigitte

2017-04-01

In 2018 the InSight mission to Mars will deploy a seismic station on the planet. This seismic station will consist of a three-component very broadband seismic sensor and a collocated three-component short period seismometer. Single station methods are therefore needed to extract information from the data and learn more about the interior structure of Mars. One potential method is the extraction of reflected phases from autocorrelations. Here autocorrelations are derived from ambient seismic noise to make the most of the data expected, as seismicity on Mars is likely less abundant than on Earth. These autocorrelations are calculated using a phase autocorrelation algorithm and time-frequency domain phase-weighted stacking as the main processing steps in addition to smoothing the spectrum of the data with a short term-long term average algorithm. Afterward the obtained results are filtered and analyzed in the frequency range of 1-2 Hz. The developed processing scheme is applied to data from permanent seismic stations located in different geological provinces across Europe, i.e. the Upper Rhine Graben, Central European Platform, Bohemian Massif, Northern German and Polish Basin, and the East European Craton, with varying Moho depths between 25-50 km. These crustal thicknesses are comparable to various estimates for Mars, therefore providing a good reference and indication of resolvability for Moho depths that might be encountered at the landing site. Changes in reflectivity can be observed in the calculated autocorrelations. The lag times of these changes are converted into depths with the help of available velocity information (EPcrust and local models for Poland and the Czech Republic, respectively) and the results are compared to existing information on Moho depths, which show good agreement. The results are temporarily stable, but show a clear correlation with the existence of cultural noise. Based on the closely located broadband and short period stations of the

40 CFR 2.308 - Special rules governing certain information obtained under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... information obtained under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. 2.308 Section 2.308 Protection of... § 2.308 Special rules governing certain information obtained under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic... Cosmetic Act, as amended, 21 U.S.C. 301 et seq. (2) Petition means a petition for the issuance of a...

40 CFR 2.308 - Special rules governing certain information obtained under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... information obtained under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. 2.308 Section 2.308 Protection of... § 2.308 Special rules governing certain information obtained under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic... Cosmetic Act, as amended, 21 U.S.C. 301 et seq. (2) Petition means a petition for the issuance of a...

40 CFR 2.308 - Special rules governing certain information obtained under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... information obtained under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. 2.308 Section 2.308 Protection of... § 2.308 Special rules governing certain information obtained under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic... Cosmetic Act, as amended, 21 U.S.C. 301 et seq. (2) Petition means a petition for the issuance of a...

40 CFR 2.308 - Special rules governing certain information obtained under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... information obtained under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. 2.308 Section 2.308 Protection of... § 2.308 Special rules governing certain information obtained under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic... Cosmetic Act, as amended, 21 U.S.C. 301 et seq. (2) Petition means a petition for the issuance of a...

40 CFR 2.308 - Special rules governing certain information obtained under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... information obtained under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. 2.308 Section 2.308 Protection of... § 2.308 Special rules governing certain information obtained under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic... Cosmetic Act, as amended, 21 U.S.C. 301 et seq. (2) Petition means a petition for the issuance of a...

Using "residual depths" to monitor pool depths independently of discharge

Treesearch

Thomas E. Lisle

1987-01-01

As vital components of habitat for stream fishes, pools are often monitored to follow the effects of enhancement projects and natural stream processes. Variations of water depth with discharge, however, can complicate monitoring changes in the depth and volume of pools. To subtract the effect of discharge on depth in pools, residual depths can be measured. Residual...

Medical Comics as Tools to Aid in Obtaining Informed Consent for Stroke Care

PubMed Central

Furuno, Yuichi; Sasajima, Hiroyasu

2015-01-01

Abstract Informed consent has now become common in medical practice. However, a gap still exists between doctors and patients in the understanding of clinical conditions. We designed medical comics about “subarachnoid hemorrhage” and “intracerebral hemorrhage” to help doctors obtain informed consent intuitively, quickly, and comprehensively. Between September 2010 and September 2012, we carried out a questionnaire survey about medical comics with the families of patients who had suffered an intracerebral or subarachnoid hemorrhage. The questionnaire consisted of 6 questions inquiring about their mental condition, reading time, usefulness of the comics in understanding brain function and anatomy, pathogenesis, doctor's explanation, and applicability of these comics. The results showed that 93.8% responders would prefer or strongly prefer the use of comics in other medical situations. When considering the level of understanding of brain function and anatomy, pathology of disease, and doctor's explanation, 81.3%, 75.0%, and 68.8% of responders, respectively, rated these comics as very useful or useful. We think that the visual and narrative illustrations in medical comics would be more helpful for patients than a lengthy explanation by a doctor. Most of the responders hoped that medical comics would be applied to other medical cases. Thus, medical comics could work as a new communication tool between doctors and patients. PMID:26131830

Contaminant transport in soil with depth-dependent reaction coefficients and time-dependent boundary conditions.

PubMed

Gao, Guangyao; Fu, Bojie; Zhan, Hongbin; Ma, Ying

2013-05-01

Predicting the fate and movement of contaminant in soils and groundwater is essential to assess and reduce the risk of soil contamination and groundwater pollution. Reaction processes of contaminant often decreased monotonously with depth. Time-dependent input sources usually occurred at the inlet of natural or human-made system such as radioactive waste disposal site. This study presented a one-dimensional convection-dispersion equation (CDE) for contaminant transport in soils with depth-dependent reaction coefficients and time-dependent inlet boundary conditions, and derived its analytical solution. The adsorption coefficient and degradation rate were represented as sigmoidal functions of soil depth. Solute breakthrough curves (BTCs) and concentration profiles obtained from CDE with depth-dependent and constant reaction coefficients were compared, and a constant effective reaction coefficient, which was calculated by arithmetically averaging the depth-dependent reaction coefficient, was proposed to reflect the lumped depth-dependent reaction effect. With the effective adsorption coefficient and degradation rate, CDE could produce similar BTCs and concentration profiles as those from CDE with depth-dependent reactions in soils with moderate chemical heterogeneity. In contrast, the predicted concentrations of CDE with fitted reaction coefficients at a certain depth departed significantly from those of CDE with depth-dependent reactions. Parametric analysis was performed to illustrate the effects of sinusoidally and exponentially decaying input functions on solute BTCs. The BTCs and concentration profiles obtained from the solutions for finite and semi-infinite domain were compared to investigate the effects of effluent boundary condition. The finite solution produced higher concentrations at the increasing limb of the BTCs and possessed a higher peak concentration than the semi-infinite solution which had a slightly long tail. Furthermore, the finite solution gave

Health Information Obtained From the Internet and Changes in Medical Decision Making: Questionnaire Development and Cross-Sectional Survey.

PubMed

Chen, Yen-Yuan; Li, Chia-Ming; Liang, Jyh-Chong; Tsai, Chin-Chung

2018-02-12

medical decision making (P=.01), consulting with others (P<.001), and promoting self-efficacy on deliberating the online health information (P<.001) based on the online health information they obtained. Present health care professionals have a responsibility to acknowledge that patients' medical decision making may be changed based on additional online health information. Health care professionals should assist patients' medical decision making by initiating as much dialogue with patients as possible, providing credible and convincing health information to patients, and guiding patients where to look for accurate, comprehensive, and understandable online health information. By doing so, patients will avoid becoming overwhelmed with extraneous and often conflicting health information. Educational interventions to promote health information seekers' ability to identify, locate, obtain, read, understand, evaluate, and effectively use online health information are highly encouraged. ©Yen-Yuan Chen, Chia-Ming Li, Jyh-Chong Liang, Chin-Chung Tsai. Originally published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (http://www.jmir.org), 12.02.2018.

Effect of water depth on wind-wave frequency spectrum I. Spectral form

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wen, Sheng-Chang; Guan, Chang-Long; Sun, Shi-Cai; Wu, Ke-Jian; Zhang, Da-Cuo

1996-06-01

Wen et al's method developed to obtain wind-wave frequency spectrum in deep water was used to derive the spectrum in finite depth water. The spectrum S(ω) (ω being angular frequency) when normalized with the zeroth moment m 0 and peak frequency {ie97-1}, contains in addition to the peakness factor {ie97-2} a depth parameter η=(2π m o)1/2/ d ( d being water depth), so the spectrum behavior can be studied for different wave growth stages and water depths.

Snow depth and snow cover retrieval from FengYun3B microwave radiation imagery based on a snow passive microwave unmixing method in Northeast China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gu, Lingjia; Ren, Ruizhi; Zhao, Kai; Li, Xiaofeng

2014-01-01

The precision of snow parameter retrieval is unsatisfactory for current practical demands. The primary reason is because of the problem of mixed pixels that are caused by low spatial resolution of satellite passive microwave data. A snow passive microwave unmixing method is proposed in this paper, based on land cover type data and the antenna gain function of passive microwaves. The land cover type of Northeast China is partitioned into grass, farmland, bare soil, forest, and water body types. The component brightness temperatures (CBT), namely unmixed data, with 1 km data resolution are obtained using the proposed unmixing method. The snow depth determined by the CBT and three snow depth retrieval algorithms are validated through field measurements taken in forest and farmland areas of Northeast China in January 2012 and 2013. The results show that the overall of the retrieval precision of the snow depth is improved by 17% in farmland areas and 10% in forest areas when using the CBT in comparison with the mixed pixels. The snow cover results based on the CBT are compared with existing MODIS snow cover products. The results demonstrate that more snow cover information can be obtained with up to 86% accuracy.

Depth interval estimates from motion parallax and binocular disparity beyond interaction space.

PubMed

Gillam, Barbara; Palmisano, Stephen A; Govan, Donovan G

2011-01-01

Static and dynamic observers provided binocular and monocular estimates of the depths between real objects lying well beyond interaction space. On each trial, pairs of LEDs were presented inside a dark railway tunnel. The nearest LED was always 40 m from the observer, with the depth separation between LED pairs ranging from 0 up to 248 m. Dynamic binocular viewing was found to produce the greatest (ie most veridical) estimates of depth magnitude, followed next by static binocular viewing, and then by dynamic monocular viewing. (No significant depth was seen with static monocular viewing.) We found evidence that both binocular and monocular dynamic estimates of depth were scaled for the observation distance when the ground plane and walls of the tunnel were visible up to the nearest LED. We conclude that both motion parallax and stereopsis provide useful long-distance depth information and that motion-parallax information can enhance the degree of stereoscopic depth seen.

A biomechanical evaluation of staircase riser heights and tread depths during stair-climbing.

PubMed

Mital, A; Fard, H F; Khaledi, H

1987-08-01

Several different staircase riser heights and tread depths were investigated in order to determine riser height and tread depth that minimized moments acting at the ankle, knee, and hipjoints while walking upstairs. The results indicated that joint moments were minimized when the riser height was 102 mm. For the tread depth, least moments were obtained when the depth was 305 mm. Copyright © 1987. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

A perspective on two chemometrics tools: PCA and MCR, and introduction of a new one: Pattern recognition entropy (PRE), as applied to XPS and ToF-SIMS depth profiles of organic and inorganic materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chatterjee, Shiladitya; Singh, Bhupinder; Diwan, Anubhav; Lee, Zheng Rong; Engelhard, Mark H.; Terry, Jeff; Tolley, H. Dennis; Gallagher, Neal B.; Linford, Matthew R.

2018-03-01

X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) are much used analytical techniques that provide information about the outermost atomic and molecular layers of materials. In this work, we discuss the application of multivariate spectral techniques, including principal component analysis (PCA) and multivariate curve resolution (MCR), to the analysis of XPS and ToF-SIMS depth profiles. Multivariate analyses often provide insight into data sets that is not easily obtained in a univariate fashion. Pattern recognition entropy (PRE), which has its roots in Shannon's information theory, is also introduced. This approach is not the same as the mutual information/entropy approaches sometimes used in data processing. A discussion of the theory of each technique is presented. PCA, MCR, and PRE are applied to four different data sets obtained from: a ToF-SIMS depth profile through ca. 100 nm of plasma polymerized C3F6 on Si, a ToF-SIMS depth profile through ca. 100 nm of plasma polymerized PNIPAM (poly (N-isopropylacrylamide)) on Si, an XPS depth profile through a film of SiO2 on Si, and an XPS depth profile through a film of Ta2O5 on Ta. PCA, MCR, and PRE reveal the presence of interfaces in the films, and often indicate that the first few scans in the depth profiles are different from those that follow. PRE and backward difference PRE provide this information in a straightforward fashion. Rises in the PRE signals at interfaces suggest greater complexity to the corresponding spectra. Results from PCA, especially for the higher principal components, were sometimes difficult to understand. MCR analyses were generally more interpretable.

Contour sensitive saliency and depth application in image retargeting

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lu, Hongju; Yue, Pengfei; Zhao, Yanhui; Liu, Rui; Fu, Yuanbin; Zheng, Yuanjie; Cui, Jia

2018-04-01

Image retargeting technique requires important information preservation and less edge distortion during increasing/decreasing image size. The major existed content-aware methods perform well. However, there are two problems should be improved: the slight distortion appeared at the object edges and the structure distortion in the nonsalient area. According to psychological theories, people evaluate image quality based on multi-level judgments and comparison between different areas, both image content and image structure. The paper proposes a new standard: the structure preserving in non-salient area. After observation and image analysis, blur (slight blur) is generally existed at the edge of objects. The blur feature is used to estimate the depth cue, named blur depth descriptor. It can be used in the process of saliency computation for balanced image retargeting result. In order to keep the structure information in nonsalient area, the salient edge map is presented in Seam Carving process, instead of field-based saliency computation. The derivative saliency from x- and y-direction can avoid the redundant energy seam around salient objects causing structure distortion. After the comparison experiments between classical approaches and ours, the feasibility of our algorithm is proved.

A Report on Indian Education: (A) In-Depth Study of Nine Indian Families; (B) Memory and Reasoning in Native Children: An Effort at Improvement Through the Teaching of Cognitive Strategies.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Berger, Allen; And Others

The purpose of this first phase of a 3-phase study was to obtain information to use as a base in developing a workable language arts curriculum. Part A of this report dealt with the techniques and results of in-depth interviews of 9 native families in Canada. Each family engaged in a sorting process to determine categories which were of immediate…

Modeling the depth-sectioning effect in reflection-mode dynamic speckle-field interferometric microscopy

PubMed Central

Zhou, Renjie; Jin, Di; Hosseini, Poorya; Singh, Vijay Raj; Kim, Yang-hyo; Kuang, Cuifang; Dasari, Ramachandra R.; Yaqoob, Zahid; So, Peter T. C.

2017-01-01

Unlike most optical coherence microscopy (OCM) systems, dynamic speckle-field interferometric microscopy (DSIM) achieves depth sectioning through the spatial-coherence gating effect. Under high numerical aperture (NA) speckle-field illumination, our previous experiments have demonstrated less than 1 μm depth resolution in reflection-mode DSIM, while doubling the diffraction limited resolution as under structured illumination. However, there has not been a physical model to rigorously describe the speckle imaging process, in particular explaining the sectioning effect under high illumination and imaging NA settings in DSIM. In this paper, we develop such a model based on the diffraction tomography theory and the speckle statistics. Using this model, we calculate the system response function, which is used to further obtain the depth resolution limit in reflection-mode DSIM. Theoretically calculated depth resolution limit is in an excellent agreement with experiment results. We envision that our physical model will not only help in understanding the imaging process in DSIM, but also enable better designing such systems for depth-resolved measurements in biological cells and tissues. PMID:28085800

The role of visuohaptic experience in visually perceived depth.

PubMed

Ho, Yun-Xian; Serwe, Sascha; Trommershäuser, Julia; Maloney, Laurence T; Landy, Michael S

2009-06-01

Berkeley suggested that "touch educates vision," that is, haptic input may be used to calibrate visual cues to improve visual estimation of properties of the world. Here, we test whether haptic input may be used to "miseducate" vision, causing observers to rely more heavily on misleading visual cues. Human subjects compared the depth of two cylindrical bumps illuminated by light sources located at different positions relative to the surface. As in previous work using judgments of surface roughness, we find that observers judge bumps to have greater depth when the light source is located eccentric to the surface normal (i.e., when shadows are more salient). Following several sessions of visual judgments of depth, subjects then underwent visuohaptic training in which haptic feedback was artificially correlated with the "pseudocue" of shadow size and artificially decorrelated with disparity and texture. Although there were large individual differences, almost all observers demonstrated integration of haptic cues during visuohaptic training. For some observers, subsequent visual judgments of bump depth were unaffected by the training. However, for 5 of 12 observers, training significantly increased the weight given to pseudocues, causing subsequent visual estimates of shape to be less veridical. We conclude that haptic information can be used to reweight visual cues, putting more weight on misleading pseudocues, even when more trustworthy visual cues are available in the scene.

Creating a water depth map from Earth Observation-derived flood extent and topography data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Matgen, Patrick; Giustarini, Laura; Chini, Marco; Hostache, Renaud; Pelich, Ramona; Schlaffer, Stefan

2017-04-01

Enhanced methods for monitoring temporal and spatial variations of water depth in rivers and floodplains are very important in operational water management. Currently, variations of water elevation can be estimated indirectly at the land-water interface using sequences of satellite EO imagery in combination with topographic data. In recent years high-resolution digital elevation models (DEM) and satellite EO data have become more readily available at global scale. This study introduces an approach for efficiently converting remote sensing-derived flood extent maps into water depth maps using a floodplain's topography information. For this we make the assumption of uniform flow, that is the depth of flow with respect to the drainage network is considered to be the same at every section of the floodplain. In other words, the depth of water above the nearest drainage is expected to be constant for a given river reach. To determine this value we first need the Height Above Nearest Drainage (HAND) raster obtained by using the area of interest's DEM as source topography and a shapefile of the river network. The HAND model normalizes the topography with respect to the drainage network. Next, the HAND raster is thresholded in order to generate a binary mask that optimally fits, over the entire region of study, the flood extent map obtained from SAR or any other remote sensing product, including aerial photographs. The optimal threshold value corresponds to the height of the water line above the nearest drainage, termed HANDWATER, and is considered constant for a given subreach. Once the HANDWATER has been optimized, a water depth map can be generated by subtracting the value of the HAND raster at the each location from this parameter value. These developments enable large scale and near real-time applications and only require readily available EO data, a DEM and the river network as input data. The approach is based on a hierarchical split-based approach that subdivides a

Depth detection in interactive projection system based on one-shot black-and-white stripe pattern.

PubMed

Zhou, Qian; Qiao, Xiaorui; Ni, Kai; Li, Xinghui; Wang, Xiaohao

2017-03-06

A novel method enabling estimation of not only the screen surface as the conventional one, but the depth information from two-dimensional coordinates in an interactive projection system was proposed in this research. In this method, a one-shot black-and-white stripe pattern from a projector is projected on a screen plane, where the deformed pattern is captured by a charge-coupled device camera. An algorithm based on object/shadow simultaneous detection is proposed for fulfillment of the correspondence. The depth information of the object is then calculated using the triangulation principle. This technology provides a more direct feeling of virtual interaction in three dimensions without using auxiliary equipment or a special screen as interaction proxies. Simulation and experiments are carried out and the results verified the effectiveness of this method in depth detection.

Quantitative operando visualization of the energy band depth profile in solar cells.

PubMed

Chen, Qi; Mao, Lin; Li, Yaowen; Kong, Tao; Wu, Na; Ma, Changqi; Bai, Sai; Jin, Yizheng; Wu, Dan; Lu, Wei; Wang, Bing; Chen, Liwei

2015-07-13

The energy band alignment in solar cell devices is critically important because it largely governs elementary photovoltaic processes, such as the generation, separation, transport, recombination and collection of charge carriers. Despite the expenditure of considerable effort, the measurement of energy band depth profiles across multiple layers has been extremely challenging, especially for operando devices. Here we present direct visualization of the surface potential depth profile over the cross-sections of operando organic photovoltaic devices using scanning Kelvin probe microscopy. The convolution effect due to finite tip size and cantilever beam crosstalk has previously prohibited quantitative interpretation of scanning Kelvin probe microscopy-measured surface potential depth profiles. We develop a bias voltage-compensation method to address this critical problem and obtain quantitatively accurate measurements of the open-circuit voltage, built-in potential and electrode potential difference.

Transforming Legacy Systems to Obtain Information Superiority

DTIC Science & Technology

2001-01-01

is imperative that innovative technologies be developed to enable legacy weapon systems to exploit the information revolution, achieve information ... dominance , and meet the required operational tempo. This paper presents an embedded-system architecture, open system middleware services, and a software

Pre-stack depth Migration imaging of the Hellenic Subduction Zone

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hussni, S. G.; Becel, A.; Schenini, L.; Laigle, M.; Dessa, J. X.; Galve, A.; Vitard, C.

2017-12-01

In 365 AD, a major M>8-tsunamignic earthquake occurred along the southwestern segment of the Hellenic subduction zone. Although this is the largest seismic event ever reported in Europe, some fundamental questions remain regarding the deep geometry of the interplate megathrust, as well as other faults within the overriding plate potentially connected to it. The main objective here is to image those deep structures, whose depths range between 15 and 45 km, using leading edge seismic reflection equipment. To this end, a 210-km-long multichannel seismic profile was acquired with the 8 km-long streamer and the 6600 cu.in source of R/V Marcus Langseth. This was realized at the end of 2015, during the SISMED cruise. This survey was made possible through a collective effort gathering labs (Géoazur, LDEO, ISTEP, ENS-Paris, EOST, LDO, Dpt. Geosciences of Pau Univ). A preliminary processing sequence has first been applied using Geovation software of CGG, which yielded a post-stack time migration of collected data, as well as pre-stack time migration obtained with a model derived from velocity analyses. Using Paradigm software, a pre-stack depth migration was subsequently carried out. This step required some tuning in the pre-processing sequence in order to improve multiple removal, noise suppression and to better reveal the true geometry of reflectors in depth. This iteration of pre-processing included, the use of parabolic Radon transform, FK filtering and time variant band pass filtering. An initial velocity model was built using depth-converted RMS velocities obtained from SISMED data for the sedimentary layer, complemented at depth with a smooth version of the tomographic velocities derived from coincident wide-angle data acquired during the 2012-ULYSSE survey. Then, we performed a Kirchhoff Pre-stack depth migration with traveltimes calculated using the Eikonal equation. Velocity model were then tuned through residual velocity analyses to flatten reflections in common

Diaphragm depth in normal subjects.

PubMed

Shahgholi, Leili; Baria, Michael R; Sorenson, Eric J; Harper, Caitlin J; Watson, James C; Strommen, Jeffrey A; Boon, Andrea J

2014-05-01

Needle electromyography (EMG) of the diaphragm carries the potential risk of pneumothorax. Knowing the approximate depth of the diaphragm should increase the test's safety and accuracy. Distances from the skin to the diaphragm and from the outer surface of the rib to the diaphragm were measured using B mode ultrasound in 150 normal subjects. When measured at the lower intercostal spaces, diaphragm depth varied between 0.78 and 4.91 cm beneath the skin surface and between 0.25 and 1.48 cm below the outer surface of the rib. Using linear regression modeling, body mass index (BMI) could be used to predict diaphragm depth from the skin to within an average of 1.15 mm. Diaphragm depth from the skin can vary by more than 4 cm. When image guidance is not available to enhance accuracy and safety of diaphragm EMG, it is possible to reliably predict the depth of the diaphragm based on BMI. Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Apparatus for in-situ calibration of instruments that measure fluid depth

DOEpatents

Campbell, M.D.

1994-01-11

The present invention provides a method and apparatus for in-situ calibration of distance measuring equipment. The method comprises obtaining a first distance measurement in a first location, then obtaining at least one other distance measurement in at least one other location of a precisely known distance from the first location, and calculating a calibration constant. The method is applied specifically to calculating a calibration constant for obtaining fluid level and embodied in an apparatus using a pressure transducer and a spacer of precisely known length. The calibration constant is used to calculate the depth of a fluid from subsequent single pressure measurements at any submerged position. 8 figures.

Apparatus for in-situ calibration of instruments that measure fluid depth

DOEpatents

Campbell, Melvin D.

1994-01-01

The present invention provides a method and apparatus for in-situ calibration of distance measuring equipment. The method comprises obtaining a first distance measurement in a first location, then obtaining at least one other distance measurement in at least one other location of a precisely known distance from the first location, and calculating a calibration constant. The method is applied specifically to calculating a calibration constant for obtaining fluid level and embodied in an apparatus using a pressure transducer and a spacer of precisely known length. The calibration constant is used to calculate the depth of a fluid from subsequent single pressure measurements at any submerged position.

How the public uses social media wechat to obtain health information in china: a survey study.

PubMed

Zhang, Xingting; Wen, Dong; Liang, Jun; Lei, Jianbo

2017-07-05

On average, 570 million users, 93% in China's first-tier cities, log on to WeChat every day. WeChat has become the most widely and frequently used social media in China, and has been profoundly integrated into the daily life of many Chinese people. A variety of health-related information may be found on WeChat. The objective of this study is to understand how the general public views the impact of the rapidly emerging social media on health information acquisition. A self-administered questionnaire was designed, distributed, collected, and analyzed utilizing the online survey tool Sojump. WeChat was adopted to randomly release the questionnaires using convenience sampling and collect the results after a certain amount of time. (1) A total of 1636 questionnaires (WeChat customers) were collected from 32 provinces. (2) The primary means by which respondents received health education was via the Internet (71.79%). Baidu and WeChat were the top 2 search tools utilized (90.71% and 28.30%, respectively). Only 12.41% of respondents were satisfied with their online health information search. (3) Almost all had seen (98.35%) or read (97.68%) health information; however, only 14.43% believed that WeChat health information could improve health. Nearly one-third frequently received and read health information through WeChat. WeChat was selected (63.26%) as the most expected means for obtaining health information. (4) The major concerns regarding health information through WeChat included the following: excessively homogeneous information, the lack of a guarantee of professionalism, and the presence of advertisements. (5) Finally, the general public was most interested in individualized and interactive health information by managing clinicians, they will highly benefit from using social media rather than Internet search tools. The current state of health acquisition proves worrisome. The public has a high chance to access health information via WeChat. The growing popularity of

Spatio-thermal depth correction of RGB-D sensors based on Gaussian processes in real-time

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Heindl, Christoph; Pönitz, Thomas; Stübl, Gernot; Pichler, Andreas; Scharinger, Josef

2018-04-01

Commodity RGB-D sensors capture color images along with dense pixel-wise depth information in real-time. Typical RGB-D sensors are provided with a factory calibration and exhibit erratic depth readings due to coarse calibration values, ageing and thermal influence effects. This limits their applicability in computer vision and robotics. We propose a novel method to accurately calibrate depth considering spatial and thermal influences jointly. Our work is based on Gaussian Process Regression in a four dimensional Cartesian and thermal domain. We propose to leverage modern GPUs for dense depth map correction in real-time. For reproducibility we make our dataset and source code publicly available.

The challenge of obtaining information necessary for multi-criteria decision analysis implementation: the case of physiotherapy services in Canada

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background As fiscal constraints dominate health policy discussions across Canada and globally, priority-setting exercises are becoming more common to guide the difficult choices that must be made. In this context, it becomes highly desirable to have accurate estimates of the value of specific health care interventions. Economic evaluation is a well-accepted method to estimate the value of health care interventions. However, economic evaluation has significant limitations, which have lead to an increase in the use of Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA). One key concern with MCDA is the availability of the information necessary for implementation. In the Fall 2011, the Canadian Physiotherapy Association embarked on a project aimed at providing a valuation of physiotherapy services that is both evidence-based and relevant to resource allocation decisions. The framework selected for this project was MCDA. We report on how we addressed the challenge of obtaining some of the information necessary for MCDA implementation. Methods MCDA criteria were selected and areas of physiotherapy practices were identified. The building up of the necessary information base was a three step process. First, there was a literature review for each practice area, on each criterion. The next step was to conduct interviews with experts in each of the practice areas to critique the results of the literature review and to fill in gaps where there was no or insufficient literature. Finally, the results of the individual interviews were validated by a national committee to ensure consistency across all practice areas and that a national level perspective is applied. Results Despite a lack of research evidence on many of the considerations relevant to the estimation of the value of physiotherapy services (the criteria), sufficient information was obtained to facilitate MCDA implementation at the local level. Conclusions The results of this research project serve two purposes: 1) a method to

[The use of automated processing of information obtained during space flights for the monitoring and evaluation of airborne pollution].

PubMed

Bagmanov, B Kh; Mikhaĭlova, A Iu; Pavlov, S V

1997-01-01

The article describes experience on use of automated processing of information obtained during spaceflights for analysis of urban air pollution. The authors present a method for processing of information obtained during spaceflights and show how to identify foci of industrial release and area of their spread within and beyond the cities.

Absolute Depth Sensitivity in Cat Primary Visual Cortex under Natural Viewing Conditions.

PubMed

Pigarev, Ivan N; Levichkina, Ekaterina V

2016-01-01

Mechanisms of 3D perception, investigated in many laboratories, have defined depth either relative to the fixation plane or to other objects in the visual scene. It is obvious that for efficient perception of the 3D world, additional mechanisms of depth constancy could operate in the visual system to provide information about absolute distance. Neurons with properties reflecting some features of depth constancy have been described in the parietal and extrastriate occipital cortical areas. It has also been shown that, for some neurons in the visual area V1, responses to stimuli of constant angular size differ at close and remote distances. The present study was designed to investigate whether, in natural free gaze viewing conditions, neurons tuned to absolute depths can be found in the primary visual cortex (area V1). Single-unit extracellular activity was recorded from the visual cortex of waking cats sitting on a trolley in front of a large screen. The trolley was slowly approaching the visual scene, which consisted of stationary sinusoidal gratings of optimal orientation rear-projected over the whole surface of the screen. Each neuron was tested with two gratings, with spatial frequency of one grating being twice as high as that of the other. Assuming that a cell is tuned to a spatial frequency, its maximum response to the grating with a spatial frequency twice as high should be shifted to a distance half way closer to the screen in order to attain the same size of retinal projection. For hypothetical neurons selective to absolute depth, location of the maximum response should remain at the same distance irrespective of the type of stimulus. It was found that about 20% of neurons in our experimental paradigm demonstrated sensitivity to particular distances independently of the spatial frequencies of the gratings. We interpret these findings as an indication of the use of absolute depth information in the primary visual cortex.

Robust, Efficient Depth Reconstruction With Hierarchical Confidence-Based Matching.

PubMed

Sun, Li; Chen, Ke; Song, Mingli; Tao, Dacheng; Chen, Gang; Chen, Chun

2017-07-01

In recent years, taking photos and capturing videos with mobile devices have become increasingly popular. Emerging applications based on the depth reconstruction technique have been developed, such as Google lens blur. However, depth reconstruction is difficult due to occlusions, non-diffuse surfaces, repetitive patterns, and textureless surfaces, and it has become more difficult due to the unstable image quality and uncontrolled scene condition in the mobile setting. In this paper, we present a novel hierarchical framework with multi-view confidence-based matching for robust, efficient depth reconstruction in uncontrolled scenes. Particularly, the proposed framework combines local cost aggregation with global cost optimization in a complementary manner that increases efficiency and accuracy. A depth map is efficiently obtained in a coarse-to-fine manner by using an image pyramid. Moreover, confidence maps are computed to robustly fuse multi-view matching cues, and to constrain the stereo matching on a finer scale. The proposed framework has been evaluated with challenging indoor and outdoor scenes, and has achieved robust and efficient depth reconstruction.

The Correlation between Insertion Depth of Prodisc-C Artificial Disc and Postoperative Kyphotic Deformity: Clinical Importance of Insertion Depth of Artificial Disc.

PubMed

Lee, Do-Youl; Kim, Se-Hoon; Suh, Jung-Keun; Cho, Tai-Hyoung; Chung, Yong-Gu

2012-09-01

This study was designed to investigate the correlation between insertion depth of artificial disc and postoperative kyphotic deformity after Prodisc-C total disc replacement surgery, and the range of artificial disc insertion depth which is effective in preventing postoperative whole cervical or segmental kyphotic deformity. A retrospective radiological analysis was performed in 50 patients who had undergone single level total disc replacement surgery. Records were reviewed to obtain demographic data. Preoperative and postoperative radiographs were assessed to determine C2-7 Cobb's angle and segmental angle and to investigate postoperative kyphotic deformity. A formula was introduced to calculate insertion depth of Prodisc-C artificial disc. Statistical analysis was performed to search the correlation between insertion depth of Prodisc-C artificial disc and postoperative kyphotic deformity, and to estimate insertion depth of Prodisc-C artificial disc to prevent postoperative kyphotic deformity. In this study no significant statistical correlation was observed between insertion depth of Prodisc-C artificial disc and postoperative kyphotic deformity regarding C2-7 Cobb's angle. Statistical correlation between insertion depth of Prodisc-C artificial disc and postoperative kyphotic deformity was observed regarding segmental angle (p<0.05). It failed to estimate proper insertion depth of Prodisc-C artificial disc effective in preventing postoperative kyphotic deformity. Postoperative segmental kyphotic deformity is associated with insertion depth of Prodisc-C artificial disc. Anterior located artificial disc leads to lordotic segmental angle and posterior located artificial disc leads to kyphotic segmental angle postoperatively. But C2-7 Cobb's angle is not affected by artificial disc location after the surgery.

24 CFR 960.205 - Drug use by applicants: Obtaining information from drug treatment facility.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

.... This section addresses a PHA's authority to request and obtain information from drug abuse treatment... household member. (2) Drug abuse treatment facility. An entity: (i) That holds itself out as providing, and... consent forms signed by such household member that: (i) Requests any drug abuse treatment facility to...

24 CFR 960.205 - Drug use by applicants: Obtaining information from drug treatment facility.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

.... This section addresses a PHA's authority to request and obtain information from drug abuse treatment... household member. (2) Drug abuse treatment facility. An entity: (i) That holds itself out as providing, and... consent forms signed by such household member that: (i) Requests any drug abuse treatment facility to...

24 CFR 960.205 - Drug use by applicants: Obtaining information from drug treatment facility.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

.... This section addresses a PHA's authority to request and obtain information from drug abuse treatment... household member. (2) Drug abuse treatment facility. An entity: (i) That holds itself out as providing, and... consent forms signed by such household member that: (i) Requests any drug abuse treatment facility to...

24 CFR 960.205 - Drug use by applicants: Obtaining information from drug treatment facility.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

.... This section addresses a PHA's authority to request and obtain information from drug abuse treatment... household member. (2) Drug abuse treatment facility. An entity: (i) That holds itself out as providing, and... consent forms signed by such household member that: (i) Requests any drug abuse treatment facility to...

24 CFR 960.205 - Drug use by applicants: Obtaining information from drug treatment facility.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

.... This section addresses a PHA's authority to request and obtain information from drug abuse treatment... household member. (2) Drug abuse treatment facility. An entity: (i) That holds itself out as providing, and... consent forms signed by such household member that: (i) Requests any drug abuse treatment facility to...

Success of University Student Volunteers in Obtaining Consent for Reviewing Private Health Information for Emergency Research.

PubMed

Kramer, Adam I; Stephenson, Elizabeth; Betel, Adam; Crudden, Johanna; Boutis, Kathy

2017-01-01

This study aimed to determine the success of university student volunteers in obtaining consent from parents to allow review of their child's personal health information (PHI) for emergency research screening. This study also aimed to examine the variables associated with successful consent. This was a prospective cross-sectional study conducted at a pediatric emergency department (ED). University students, who functioned as delegates of the health information custodian, approached parents for consent. Of 2,506 parents, 1,852 (73.9%) provided consent to allow review of their child's PHI for research screening. Variables associated with successful consent were high (≥12 months) versus low (<12 months) volunteer experience (OR = 2.0), research related (vs. unrelated) to the child's chief complaint (OR = 2.0), child treated regularly by specialists at the study institution (OR = 1.7), and ED presentation mid-week vs. weekend (OR = 1.7) and morning vs. evening presentation (OR = 1.4). When approached by a university student volunteer, about 25% of parents declined to have their child's PHI reviewed for research screening. This model of obtaining consent may put some emergency research at risk for selection bias. Variables that increase the odds of successful consent can be considered in program design to improve the effectiveness of this model.

Quantitative operando visualization of the energy band depth profile in solar cells

PubMed Central

Chen, Qi; Mao, Lin; Li, Yaowen; Kong, Tao; Wu, Na; Ma, Changqi; Bai, Sai; Jin, Yizheng; Wu, Dan; Lu, Wei; Wang, Bing; Chen, Liwei

2015-01-01

The energy band alignment in solar cell devices is critically important because it largely governs elementary photovoltaic processes, such as the generation, separation, transport, recombination and collection of charge carriers. Despite the expenditure of considerable effort, the measurement of energy band depth profiles across multiple layers has been extremely challenging, especially for operando devices. Here we present direct visualization of the surface potential depth profile over the cross-sections of operando organic photovoltaic devices using scanning Kelvin probe microscopy. The convolution effect due to finite tip size and cantilever beam crosstalk has previously prohibited quantitative interpretation of scanning Kelvin probe microscopy-measured surface potential depth profiles. We develop a bias voltage-compensation method to address this critical problem and obtain quantitatively accurate measurements of the open-circuit voltage, built-in potential and electrode potential difference. PMID:26166580

Muon background studies for shallow depth Double - Chooz near detector

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gómez, H.

2015-08-01

Muon events are one of the main concerns regarding background in neutrino experiments. The placement of experimental set-ups in deep underground facilities reduce considerably their impact on the research of the expected signals. But in the cases where the detector is installed on surface or at shallow depth, muon flux remains high, being necessary their precise identification for further rejection. Total flux, mean energy or angular distributions are some of the parameters that can help to characterize the muons. Empirically, the muon rate can be measured in an experiment by a number of methods. Nevertheless, the capability to determine the muons angular distribution strongly depends on the detector features, while the measurement of the muon energy is quite difficult. Also considering that on-site measurements can not be extrapolated to other sites due to the difference on the overburden and its profile, it is necessary to find an adequate solution to perform the muon characterization. The method described in this work to obtain the main features of the muons reaching the experimental set-up, is based on the muon transport simulation by the MUSIC software, combined with a dedicated sampling algorithm for shallow depth installations based on a modified Gaisser parametrization. This method provides all the required information about the muons for any shallow depth installation if the corresponding overburden profile is implemented. In this work, the method has been applied for the recently commissioned Double - Chooz near detector, which will allow the cross-check between the simulation and the experimental data, as it has been done for the far detector.

40 CFR 1515.10 - What information is available, and how can it be obtained?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... can it be obtained? 1515.10 Section 1515.10 Protection of Environment COUNCIL ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY... Council on Environmental Quality will permit copying of any available material but will reserve the right... the Freedom of Information Act as amended (5 U.S.C. 552(b)). (c) The legislative history of the...

Body and blubber relationships in antarctic pack ice seals: implications for blubber depth patterns.

PubMed

Castellini, M A; Trumble, S J; Mau, T L; Yochem, P K; Stewart, B S; Koski, M A

2009-01-01

Morphometrics and blubber depths from all four high Antarctic seals (Weddell, Ross, crabeater, and leopard) were obtained during a midsummer research cruise in the Ross Sea as the physiological ecology component of the U.S. Antarctic Pack Ice Seals project. These data are the only in vivo measurements of all four species from the same location and time of year and focused on variances in morphometrics and blubber depth related to species, sex, and age. By controlling for location and season, this cross-species design provided the means to differentiate how blubber mass might be influenced in these groups. We measured both absolute blubber depth and ratio of blubber depth to body core diameter. We found that adult and younger animals showed differences in blubber depth, but male versus female seals did not show differences within any given species. However, when compared across species, the ratio of blubber ring depth to body core diameter suggests that adult Weddell seals differ in their use of blubber compared with the other three species. We propose that this difference in blubber pattern is most likely related to Weddell nutritional requirements during the breeding season having a greater influence on blubber depth than thermal requirements when compared with the other three species.

Fusion of 3D laser scanner and depth images for obstacle recognition in mobile applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Budzan, Sebastian; Kasprzyk, Jerzy

2016-02-01

The problem of obstacle detection and recognition or, generally, scene mapping is one of the most investigated problems in computer vision, especially in mobile applications. In this paper a fused optical system using depth information with color images gathered from the Microsoft Kinect sensor and 3D laser range scanner data is proposed for obstacle detection and ground estimation in real-time mobile systems. The algorithm consists of feature extraction in the laser range images, processing of the depth information from the Kinect sensor, fusion of the sensor information, and classification of the data into two separate categories: road and obstacle. Exemplary results are presented and it is shown that fusion of information gathered from different sources increases the effectiveness of the obstacle detection in different scenarios, and it can be used successfully for road surface mapping.

Depth-resolved ballistic imaging in a low-depth-of-field optical Kerr gated imaging system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zheng, Yipeng; Tan, Wenjiang; Si, Jinhai; Ren, YuHu; Xu, Shichao; Tong, Junyi; Hou, Xun

2016-09-01

We demonstrate depth-resolved imaging in a ballistic imaging system, in which a heterodyned femtosecond optical Kerr gate is introduced to extract useful imaging photons for detecting an object hidden in turbid media and a compound lens is proposed to ensure both the depth-resolved imaging capability and the long working distance. Two objects of about 15-μm widths hidden in a polystyrene-sphere suspension have been successfully imaged with approximately 600-μm depth resolution. Modulation-transfer-function curves with the object in and away from the object plane have also been measured to confirm the depth-resolved imaging capability of the low-depth-of-field (low-DOF) ballistic imaging system. This imaging approach shows potential for application in research of the internal structure of highly scattering fuel spray.

Effects of burn location and investigator on burn depth in a porcine model.

PubMed

Singer, Adam J; Toussaint, Jimmy; Chung, Won Taek; Thode, Henry C; McClain, Steve; Raut, Vivek

2016-02-01

In order to be useful, animal models should be reproducible and consistent regardless of sampling bias, investigator creating burn, and burn location. We determined the variability in burn depth based on biopsy location, burn location and investigator in a porcine model of partial thickness burns. 24 partial thickness burns (2.5 cm by 2.5 cm each) were created on the backs of 2 anesthetized pigs by 2 investigators (one experienced, one inexperienced) using a previously validated model. In one of the pigs, the necrotic epidermis covering each burn was removed. Five full thickness 4mm punch biopsies were obtained 1h after injury from the four corners and center of the burns and stained with Hematoxylin and Eosin and Masson's trichrome for determination of burn depth by a board certified dermatopathologist blinded to burn location and investigator. Comparisons of burn depth by biopsy location, burn location and investigator were performed with t-tests and ANOVA as appropriate. The mean (SD) depth of injury to blood vessels (the main determinant of burn progression) in debrided and non-debrided pigs pooled together was 1.8 (0.3)mm, which included 75% of the dermal depth. Non-debrided burns were 0.24 mm deeper than debrided burns (P<0.001). Burn depth increased marginally from cephalic to caudal in non-debrided burns, but showed no statistical differences for these locations, in debrided burns. Additionally, there were also no statistical differences in burn depths from midline to lateral in either of these burn types. Burn depth was similar for both investigators and among biopsy locations. Burn depth was greater for caudal locations in non-debrided burns and overall non-debrided burns were deeper than debrided burns. However, burn depth did not differ based on investigator, biopsy site, and medial-lateral location. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.

The change of magma chamber depth in and around the Baekdu Volcanic area from late Cenozoic

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, S. H.; Oh, C. W.; Lee, Y. S.; Lee, S. G.; Liu, J.

2016-12-01

The Baekdu Volcano is a 2750m high stratovolcanic cone resting on a basaltic shield and plateau and locates on the North Korea-China border. Its volcanic history can be divided into four stages (from the oldest to the youngest): (i) preshield plateau-forming eruptions, (ii) basalt shield formation, (iii) construction of a trachytic composite cone, and (iv) explosive ignimbrite forming eruptions. In the First stage, a fissure eruption produced basalts from the Oligocene to the Miocene (28-13 Ma) forming preshield plateau. Fissure and central eruptions occurred together during the shield-forming eruptions (4.21-1.70 Ma). In the third stage, the trachytic composite volcano formed during the Pleistocene (0.61-0.09 Ma). In this stage, magma changed to an acidic melt. The latest stage has been characterized by explosive ignimbrite-forming eruptions during the Holocene. The composite volcanic part consists of the Xiaobaishan, Lower, Middle and Upper Trachytes with rhyolites. The whole rock and clinopyroxene in basalts, trachytic and rhyolite, are analyzed to study the depth of magma chambers under the Baekdu Volcano. From the rhyolite, 9.8-12.7kbar is obtained for the depth of magma chamber. 3.7-4.1, 8.9-10.5 and 8.7 kbar are obtained from the middle, lower and Xiaobaishan trachytes. From the first and second stage basalts, 16.9-17.0 kbar and 14-14.4kbar are obtained respectively. The first stage basalt give extrusive age of 11.98 Ma whereas 1.12 and 1.09 Ma are obtained from the feldspar and groundmass in the second stage basalt. The Xiaobaishan trachyte and rhyolite give 0.25 and 0.21 Ma whereas the Middle trachyte gives 0.07-0.06 Ma. These data indicate that the magma chambers of the first and second stage basalts were located in the mantle and the magma chamber for the second stage basalt may have been underplated below continental crust. The Xiaobisan trachyte and rhyolite originated from the magma chamber in the depth of ca. 30-40 km and the Middle trachyte

Finite element simulation of crack depth measurements in concrete using diffuse ultrasound

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Seher, Matthias; Kim, Jin-Yeon; Jacobs, Laurence J.

2012-05-01

This research simulates the measurements of crack depth in concrete using diffuse ultrasound. The finite element method is employed to simulate the ultrasonic diffusion process around cracks with different geometrical shapes, with the goal of gaining physical insight into the data obtained from experimental measurements. The commercial finite element software Ansys is used to implement the two-dimensional concrete model. The model is validated with an analytical solution and experimental results. It is found from the simulation results that preliminary knowledge of the crack geometry is required to interpret the energy evolution curves from measurements and to correctly determine the crack depth.

The representation of visual depth perception based on the plenoptic function in the retina and its neural computation in visual cortex V1.

PubMed

Songnian, Zhao; Qi, Zou; Chang, Liu; Xuemin, Liu; Shousi, Sun; Jun, Qiu

2014-04-23

How it is possible to "faithfully" represent a three-dimensional stereoscopic scene using Cartesian coordinates on a plane, and how three-dimensional perceptions differ between an actual scene and an image of the same scene are questions that have not yet been explored in depth. They seem like commonplace phenomena, but in fact, they are important and difficult issues for visual information processing, neural computation, physics, psychology, cognitive psychology, and neuroscience. The results of this study show that the use of plenoptic (or all-optical) functions and their dual plane parameterizations can not only explain the nature of information processing from the retina to the primary visual cortex and, in particular, the characteristics of the visual pathway's optical system and its affine transformation, but they can also clarify the reason why the vanishing point and line exist in a visual image. In addition, they can better explain the reasons why a three-dimensional Cartesian coordinate system can be introduced into the two-dimensional plane to express a real three-dimensional scene. 1. We introduce two different mathematical expressions of the plenoptic functions, Pw and Pv that can describe the objective world. We also analyze the differences between these two functions when describing visual depth perception, that is, the difference between how these two functions obtain the depth information of an external scene.2. The main results include a basic method for introducing a three-dimensional Cartesian coordinate system into a two-dimensional plane to express the depth of a scene, its constraints, and algorithmic implementation. In particular, we include a method to separate the plenoptic function and proceed with the corresponding transformation in the retina and visual cortex.3. We propose that size constancy, the vanishing point, and vanishing line form the basis of visual perception of the outside world, and that the introduction of a three

The representation of visual depth perception based on the plenoptic function in the retina and its neural computation in visual cortex V1

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background How it is possible to “faithfully” represent a three-dimensional stereoscopic scene using Cartesian coordinates on a plane, and how three-dimensional perceptions differ between an actual scene and an image of the same scene are questions that have not yet been explored in depth. They seem like commonplace phenomena, but in fact, they are important and difficult issues for visual information processing, neural computation, physics, psychology, cognitive psychology, and neuroscience. Results The results of this study show that the use of plenoptic (or all-optical) functions and their dual plane parameterizations can not only explain the nature of information processing from the retina to the primary visual cortex and, in particular, the characteristics of the visual pathway’s optical system and its affine transformation, but they can also clarify the reason why the vanishing point and line exist in a visual image. In addition, they can better explain the reasons why a three-dimensional Cartesian coordinate system can be introduced into the two-dimensional plane to express a real three-dimensional scene. Conclusions 1. We introduce two different mathematical expressions of the plenoptic functions, P w and P v that can describe the objective world. We also analyze the differences between these two functions when describing visual depth perception, that is, the difference between how these two functions obtain the depth information of an external scene. 2. The main results include a basic method for introducing a three-dimensional Cartesian coordinate system into a two-dimensional plane to express the depth of a scene, its constraints, and algorithmic implementation. In particular, we include a method to separate the plenoptic function and proceed with the corresponding transformation in the retina and visual cortex. 3. We propose that size constancy, the vanishing point, and vanishing line form the basis of visual perception of the outside world, and

An investigation into the bedrock depth in the Eskisehir Quaternary Basin (Turkey) using the microtremor method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tün, M.; Pekkan, E.; Özel, O.; Guney, Y.

2016-10-01

Amplification can occur in a graben as a result of strong earthquake-induced ground motion. Thus, in seismic hazard and seismic site response studies, it is of the utmost importance to determine the geometry of the bedrock depth. The main objectives of this study were to determine the bedrock depth and map the depth-to-bedrock ratio for use in land use planning in regard to the mitigation of earthquake hazards in the Eskişehir Basin. The fundamental resonance frequencies (fr) of 318 investigation sites in the Eskişehir Basin were determined through case studies, and the 2-D S-wave velocity structure down to the bedrock depth was explored. Single-station microtremor data were collected from the 318 sites, as well as microtremor array data from nine sites, seismic reflection data from six sites, deep-drilling log data from three sites and shallow drilling log data from ten sites in the Eskişehir Graben. The fundamental resonance frequencies of the Eskişehir Basin sites were obtained from the microtremor data using the horizontal-to vertical (H/V) spectral ratio (HVSR) method. The phase velocities of the Rayleigh waves were estimated from the microtremor data using the spatial autocorrelation (SPAC) method. The fundamental resonance frequency range at the deepest point of the Eskişehir Basin was found to be 0.23-0.35 Hz. Based on the microtremor array measurements and the 2-D S-wave velocity profiles obtained using the SPAC method, a bedrock level with an average velocity of 1300 m s-1 was accepted as the bedrock depth limit in the region. The log data from a deep borehole and a seismic reflection cross-section of the basement rocks of the Eskişehir Basin were obtained and permitted a comparison of bedrock levels. Tests carried out using a multichannel walk-away technique permitted a seismic reflection cross-section to be obtained up to a depth of 1500-2000 m using an explosive energy source. The relationship between the fundamental resonance frequency in the

25 CFR 1000.73 - Once a Tribe/Consortium has been awarded a grant, may the Tribe/Consortium obtain information...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... 25 Indians 2 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Once a Tribe/Consortium has been awarded a grant, may the Tribe/Consortium obtain information from a non-BIA bureau? 1000.73 Section 1000.73 Indians OFFICE OF THE... § 1000.73 Once a Tribe/Consortium has been awarded a grant, may the Tribe/Consortium obtain information...

MATLAB-based algorithm to estimate depths of isolated thin dike-like sources using higher-order horizontal derivatives of magnetic anomalies.

PubMed

Ekinci, Yunus Levent

2016-01-01

This paper presents an easy-to-use open source computer algorithm (code) for estimating the depths of isolated single thin dike-like source bodies by using numerical second-, third-, and fourth-order horizontal derivatives computed from observed magnetic anomalies. The approach does not require a priori information and uses some filters of successive graticule spacings. The computed higher-order horizontal derivative datasets are used to solve nonlinear equations for depth determination. The solutions are independent from the magnetization and ambient field directions. The practical usability of the developed code, designed in MATLAB R2012b (MathWorks Inc.), was successfully examined using some synthetic simulations with and without noise. The algorithm was then used to estimate the depths of some ore bodies buried in different regions (USA, Sweden, and Canada). Real data tests clearly indicated that the obtained depths are in good agreement with those of previous studies and drilling information. Additionally, a state-of-the-art inversion scheme based on particle swarm optimization produced comparable results to those of the higher-order horizontal derivative analyses in both synthetic and real anomaly cases. Accordingly, the proposed code is verified to be useful in interpreting isolated single thin dike-like magnetized bodies and may be an alternative processing technique. The open source code can be easily modified and adapted to suit the benefits of other researchers.

Tensor-guided fitting of subduction slab depths

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bazargani, Farhad; Hayes, Gavin P.

2013-01-01

Geophysical measurements are often acquired at scattered locations in space. Therefore, interpolating or fitting the sparsely sampled data as a uniform function of space (a procedure commonly known as gridding) is a ubiquitous problem in geophysics. Most gridding methods require a model of spatial correlation for data. This spatial correlation model can often be inferred from some sort of secondary information, which may also be sparsely sampled in space. In this paper, we present a new method to model the geometry of a subducting slab in which we use a data‐fitting approach to address the problem. Earthquakes and active‐source seismic surveys provide estimates of depths of subducting slabs but only at scattered locations. In addition to estimates of depths from earthquake locations, focal mechanisms of subduction zone earthquakes also provide estimates of the strikes of the subducting slab on which they occur. We use these spatially sparse strike samples and the Earth’s curved surface geometry to infer a model for spatial correlation that guides a blended neighbor interpolation of slab depths. We then modify the interpolation method to account for the uncertainties associated with the depth estimates.

Toward Obtaining Reliable Particulate Air Quality Information from Satellites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Strawa, A. W.; Chatfield, R. B.; Legg, M.; Esswein, R.; Justice, E.

2009-12-01

Air quality agencies use ground sites to monitor air quality, providing accurate information at particular points. Using measurements from satellite imagery has the potential to provide air quality information in a timely manner with better spatial resolution and at a lower cost that can also useful for model validation. While previous studies show acceptable correlations between Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) derived from MODIS and surface Particulate Matter (PM) measurements on the eastern US, the data do not correlate well in the western US (Al-Saadi et al., 2005; Engle-Cox et al., 2004) . This paper seeks to improve the AOD-PM correlations by using advanced statistical analysis techniques. Our study area is the San Joaquin Valley in California because air quality in this region has failed to meet state and federal attainment standards for PM for the past several years. A previous investigation found good correlation of the AOD values between MODIS, MISR and AERONET, but poor correlations (R2 ~ 0.02) between satellite-based AOD and surface PM2.5 measurements. PM2.5 measurements correlated somewhat better (R2 ~ 0.18) with MODIS-derived AOD using the Deep Blue surface reflectance algorithm (Hsu et al., 2006) rather than the standard MODIS algorithm. This level of correlation is not adequate for reliable air quality measurements. Pelletier et al. (2007) used generalized additive models (GAMs) and meteorological data to improve the correlation between PM and AERONET AOD in western Europe. Additive models are more flexible than linear models and the functional relationships can be plotted to give a sense of the relationship between the predictor and the response. In this paper we use GAMs to improve surface PM2.5 to MODIS-AOD correlations. For example, we achieve an R2 ~ 0.44 using a GAM that includes the Deep Blue AOD, and day of year as parameters. Including NOx observations, improves the R2 ~ 0.64. Surprisingly Ångström exponent did not prove to be a significant

Depth-resolved ballistic imaging in a low-depth-of-field optical Kerr gated imaging system

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

Zheng, Yipeng; Tan, Wenjiang, E-mail: tanwenjiang@mail.xjtu.edu.cn; Si, Jinhai

2016-09-07

We demonstrate depth-resolved imaging in a ballistic imaging system, in which a heterodyned femtosecond optical Kerr gate is introduced to extract useful imaging photons for detecting an object hidden in turbid media and a compound lens is proposed to ensure both the depth-resolved imaging capability and the long working distance. Two objects of about 15-μm widths hidden in a polystyrene-sphere suspension have been successfully imaged with approximately 600-μm depth resolution. Modulation-transfer-function curves with the object in and away from the object plane have also been measured to confirm the depth-resolved imaging capability of the low-depth-of-field (low-DOF) ballistic imaging system. Thismore » imaging approach shows potential for application in research of the internal structure of highly scattering fuel spray.« less

Communication in Medicine: A Study of How Family Doctors Obtain Information on Recent Advances in the Treatment of Rheumatic Diseases

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Murray-Lyon, N.

1977-01-01

The results of a questionnaire on how 131 family doctors in Glasgow and the West of Scotland obtain information regarding recent advances are described, indicating that medical journals and formal lectures and symposia are still popular. Tape/slide and television presentations were not considered of much value. (Author/LBH)

Nitric oxide assisted C60 secondary ion mass spectrometry for molecular depth profiling of polyelectrolyte multilayers.

PubMed

Zappalà, G; Motta, V; Tuccitto, N; Vitale, S; Torrisi, A; Licciardello, A

2015-12-15

Secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) with polyatomic primary ions provides a successful tool for molecular depth profiling of polymer systems, relevant in many technological applications. Widespread C60 sources, however, cause in some polymers extensive damage with loss of molecular information along depth. We study a method, based on the use of a radical scavenger, for inhibiting ion-beam-induced reactions causing sample damage. Layered polystyrene sulfonate and polyacrylic acid based polyelectrolyte films, behaving differently towards C60 beam-induced damage, were selected and prepared as model systems. They were depth profiled by means of time-of-flight (TOF)-SIMS in dual beam mode, using fullerene ions for sputtering. Nitric oxide was introduced into the analysis chamber as a radical scavenger. The effect of sample cooling combined with NO-dosing on the quality of depth profiles was explored. NO-dosing during C60-SIMS depth profiling of >1 micrometer-thick multilayered polyelectrolytes allows detection, along depth, of characteristic fragments from systems otherwise damaged by C60 bombardment, and increases sputtering yield by more than one order of magnitude. By contrast, NO has little influence on those layers that are well profiled with C60 alone. Such leveling effect, more pronounced at low temperature, leads to a dramatic improvement of profile quality, with a clear definition of interfaces. NO-dosing provides a tool for extending the applicability, in SIMS depth profiling, of the widely spread fullerene ion sources. In view of the acceptable erosion rates on inorganics, obtainable with C60, the method could be of relevance also in connection with the 3D-imaging of hybrid polymer/inorganic systems. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Node Depth Adjustment Based Target Tracking in UWSNs Using Improved Harmony Search.

PubMed

Liu, Meiqin; Zhang, Duo; Zhang, Senlin; Zhang, Qunfei

2017-12-04

Underwater wireless sensor networks (UWSNs) can provide a promising solution to underwater target tracking. Due to the limited computation and bandwidth resources, only a small part of nodes are selected to track the target at each interval. How to improve tracking accuracy with a small number of nodes is a key problem. In recent years, a node depth adjustment system has been developed and applied to issues of network deployment and routing protocol. As far as we know, all existing tracking schemes keep underwater nodes static or moving with water flow, and node depth adjustment has not been utilized for underwater target tracking yet. This paper studies node depth adjustment method for target tracking in UWSNs. Firstly, since a Fisher Information Matrix (FIM) can quantify the estimation accuracy, its relation to node depth is derived as a metric. Secondly, we formulate the node depth adjustment as an optimization problem to determine moving depth of activated node, under the constraint of moving range, the value of FIM is used as objective function, which is aimed to be minimized over moving distance of nodes. Thirdly, to efficiently solve the optimization problem, an improved Harmony Search (HS) algorithm is proposed, in which the generating probability is modified to improve searching speed and accuracy. Finally, simulation results are presented to verify performance of our scheme.

Node Depth Adjustment Based Target Tracking in UWSNs Using Improved Harmony Search

PubMed Central

Zhang, Senlin; Zhang, Qunfei

2017-01-01

Underwater wireless sensor networks (UWSNs) can provide a promising solution to underwater target tracking. Due to the limited computation and bandwidth resources, only a small part of nodes are selected to track the target at each interval. How to improve tracking accuracy with a small number of nodes is a key problem. In recent years, a node depth adjustment system has been developed and applied to issues of network deployment and routing protocol. As far as we know, all existing tracking schemes keep underwater nodes static or moving with water flow, and node depth adjustment has not been utilized for underwater target tracking yet. This paper studies node depth adjustment method for target tracking in UWSNs. Firstly, since a Fisher Information Matrix (FIM) can quantify the estimation accuracy, its relation to node depth is derived as a metric. Secondly, we formulate the node depth adjustment as an optimization problem to determine moving depth of activated node, under the constraint of moving range, the value of FIM is used as objective function, which is aimed to be minimized over moving distance of nodes. Thirdly, to efficiently solve the optimization problem, an improved Harmony Search (HS) algorithm is proposed, in which the generating probability is modified to improve searching speed and accuracy. Finally, simulation results are presented to verify performance of our scheme. PMID:29207541

Inferring river bathymetry via Image-to-Depth Quantile Transformation (IDQT)

USGS Publications Warehouse

Legleiter, Carl

2016-01-01

Conventional, regression-based methods of inferring depth from passive optical image data undermine the advantages of remote sensing for characterizing river systems. This study introduces and evaluates a more flexible framework, Image-to-Depth Quantile Transformation (IDQT), that involves linking the frequency distribution of pixel values to that of depth. In addition, a new image processing workflow involving deep water correction and Minimum Noise Fraction (MNF) transformation can reduce a hyperspectral data set to a single variable related to depth and thus suitable for input to IDQT. Applied to a gravel bed river, IDQT avoided negative depth estimates along channel margins and underpredictions of pool depth. Depth retrieval accuracy (R25 0.79) and precision (0.27 m) were comparable to an established band ratio-based method, although a small shallow bias (0.04 m) was observed. Several ways of specifying distributions of pixel values and depths were evaluated but had negligible impact on the resulting depth estimates, implying that IDQT was robust to these implementation details. In essence, IDQT uses frequency distributions of pixel values and depths to achieve an aspatial calibration; the image itself provides information on the spatial distribution of depths. The approach thus reduces sensitivity to misalignment between field and image data sets and allows greater flexibility in the timing of field data collection relative to image acquisition, a significant advantage in dynamic channels. IDQT also creates new possibilities for depth retrieval in the absence of field data if a model could be used to predict the distribution of depths within a reach.

Target-depth estimation in active sonar: Cramer-Rao bounds for a bilinear sound-speed profile.

PubMed

Mours, Alexis; Ioana, Cornel; Mars, Jérôme I; Josso, Nicolas F; Doisy, Yves

2016-09-01

This paper develops a localization method to estimate the depth of a target in the context of active sonar, at long ranges. The target depth is tactical information for both strategy and classification purposes. The Cramer-Rao lower bounds for the target position as range and depth are derived for a bilinear profile. The influence of sonar parameters on the standard deviations of the target range and depth are studied. A localization method based on ray back-propagation with a probabilistic approach is then investigated. Monte-Carlo simulations applied to a summer Mediterranean sound-speed profile are performed to evaluate the efficiency of the estimator. This method is finally validated on data in an experimental tank.