Miasis ocular por Oestrus ovis

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María Beltrán F

2006-01-01

Full Text Available Se presentan tres casos de miasis ocular (dos adultos y un niñoprocedentes de zonas ganaderas de la provincia de Huaura,departamento de Lima,que acudieron al Hospital Regional de Huacho por presentar el ojo rojo,fotofobia, edema palpebral y sensación de cuerpo extraño;se extrajeron larvas adheridas al canto interno del ojo,las cuales se recibieron en el Instituto Nacional de Salud y fueron identificadas como Oestrus ovis .

Evaluation of norgestomet Crestar® on oestrus synchronization and reproductive performance of dairy cows in Algeria

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Abdelhanine Ayad

2015-03-01

Conclusion: The norgestomet Crestar® treatment carried out during 9–10 days did not improve reproductive performance in dairy cattle. However, these data demonstrate that this hormonal protocol can be used to obtain high oestrus cow rates to initiate correct timing of insemination.

Interrelationship between milk constituents, serum oestradiol and vaginal mucus indicators of oestrus in Egyptian buffaloes.

Science.gov (United States)

Kandiel, M M M; El-Naggar, R A M; Abdel-Ghaffar, A E; Sosa, G A M; Abou El-Roos, N A

2014-02-01

The intensity of heat signs in buffaloes is generally low and the incidence of suboestrus varied from 15 to 73% (Buffalopedia). The objective of this study was to investigate the feasibility of monitoring the changes in some milk constituents, oestradiol levels and electrical conductivity of vaginal mucus during peri-oestrous period in prediction of the timing of oestrus in buffaloes. Twenty-one Egyptian buffaloes aged 3-9 year, 1st-6th lactations, were examined by oestrous detector and ultrasonographically for monitoring the ovarian and uterine activity for 7 days around the time of standing oestrus. Sodium, potassium, chloride and lactose were assayed in aqueous phase of milk; besides, oestradiol was estimated in serum. Current results declared highly significant acute changes in milk constituents at the time of oestrus characterized by peaking of chloride and sodium levels and lowering of potassium and lactose values. The alternation in milk composition when arranged in decreasing order of magnitude, sodium was the highest (77.78 ± 0.69%), followed by chloride (61.60 ± 1.52%) and potassium (-58.14 ± 10.89%). Concomitantly, milk lactose decreased by 26.07 ± 7.97% compared to baseline levels. Synchronously, vaginal electrical resistance (VER) showed a significant (p milk during peri-oestrous period may be used as a practical non-invasive indicator for oestrous detection and prediction of ovulation in Egyptian buffaloes. © 2013 Blackwell Verlag GmbH.

External Ophthalmomyiasis Caused by Oestrus ovis: A Rare Case Report from India

OpenAIRE

Pandey, Anita; Madan, Molly; Asthana, Ashish K.; Das, Anupam; Kumar, Sandeep; Jain, Kirti

2009-01-01

Myiasis of different organs has been reported off and on from various regions in the world. We report a human case of external ophthalmomyiasis caused by the larvae of a sheep nasal botfly, Oestrus ovis, for the first time from Meerut city in Western Uttar Pradesh, India. A 25-year-old farmer presented with severe symptoms of conjunctivitis. The larvae, 3 in number, were observed in the bulbar conjunctiva, and following removal the symptoms of eye inflammation improved within a few hours.

Reproductive status and synchronization of oestrus for predetermined insemination of Philippine carabaos (swamp buffalo) raised by smallholder farmers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Momongan, V.G.; Palad, O.A.; Singh, M.; Sarabia, A.S.; Chiong, R.D.; Nava, Z.M.; Obsioma, A.R.; Del Barrio, A.N.

1984-01-01

There is an urgent need to improve size, and meat and milk productivity of the Philippine carabao, a swamp type of water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis), through crossbreeding with the riverine type. Studies were conducted to assess the reproductive status of carabaos raised by smallholder farmers, determine conception rates of buffaloes to artificial insemination (AI) through oestrus synchronization, and examine the patterns of plasma progesterone in cyclic and acyclic carabao heifers. Approximately 20% of carabaos raised by smallholder farmers were diagnosed pregnant by rectal palpation. This low pregnancy rate may be due to a combination of factors such as the failure to submit for examination carabaos exhibiting external signs of pregnancy, the deliberate postponement of breeding for working females, the inability of bulls to gain access to carabaos in oestrus which are tethered at night, or the high incidence of anoestrus or suboestrus. The reproductive problems in non-pregnant animals were cystic (19.5%), infantile (25.7%), and dormant ovaries (51.3%), and pathology of the uterus and cervix (3.5%). Both feeding and management practices in different locations influenced the nutritional status of female carabaos examined. Animals in good body condition were either cycling or pregnant. A 30-40% conception rate was achieved by synchronization of oestrus and insemination with frozen semen at 72 and 96 h later. Based on progesterone radioimmunoassay and rectal palpation of the ovaries, anoestrus in carabao heifers was due either to a failure of cycling animals to exhibit oestrus or those with inactive ovaries. (author)

External Ophthalmomyiasis Caused by Oestrus ovis: A Rare Case Report from India

Science.gov (United States)

Madan, Molly; Asthana, Ashish K.; Das, Anupam; Kumar, Sandeep; Jain, Kirti

2009-01-01

Myiasis of different organs has been reported off and on from various regions in the world. We report a human case of external ophthalmomyiasis caused by the larvae of a sheep nasal botfly, Oestrus ovis, for the first time from Meerut city in Western Uttar Pradesh, India. A 25-year-old farmer presented with severe symptoms of conjunctivitis. The larvae, 3 in number, were observed in the bulbar conjunctiva, and following removal the symptoms of eye inflammation improved within a few hours. PMID:19290093

Synchronization of oestrus in sheep: Use of different doses of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

age of cow, date of calving, and body mass). The high .... Use of different doses of progestagen outside the ... the induced oestrous period between the different treatments following .... Oestrus in the control group was synchronized by inserting.

Study of sexual cycle, reproductive seasonality and control of oestrus in Criollo goats in Chile

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Santa Maria, A.; Cox, J.; Munoz, E.; Rodriguez, R.; Caldera, L.

1990-01-01

The study addresses the traditional system of goat production practised by peasant farmers in the marginal areas of Chile. As a significant proportion of peasant families depend exclusively on this animal for their livelihood, an improvement in the efficiency of goat production would have economic and social benefits for this sector of the Chilean community. In order to achieve this improvement experiments were conducted to provide basic knowledge on the reproductive indices of local (Criollo) goats under traditional management conditions. These showed that the mean duration of the oestrous cycle was 20.65±1.38 days (n=95) and that of oestrus was 29.66±7.30 hours (n=89). Sexual activity was concentrated between the months of March and August, with a peak of activity in June-July (corresponding to the months with shortest day length) and a cessation of activity between October and January. Other trials were conducted to evaluate the possibility of introducing artificial insemination as a means of improving the genetic merit of local goats. Thus, the efficacy of locally made sponges impregnated with progesterone or fluorogestone acetate (FGA) (with or without PMSG or prostaglandins) prior to artificial insemination showed that the FGA-PMSG combination was the most reliable in inducing oestrus in local goats. However, in terms of cost effectiveness a progesterone-prostaglandin combination was best. (author). 60 refs, 7 figs, 7 tabs

Comparison of two oestrus synchronisation protocols administered to dairy cows during routine reproduction services

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Viora, L; Denwood, M; Ellis, K

2015-01-01

Progesterone-based oestrus synchronisation protocols are frequently used for treatment of cows presented for examination during routine reproduction management service. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of the addition of gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH) at the start of a progesterone......-based oestrus synchronisation protocol for cows presented for examination during routine veterinary service on a commercial dairy farm over 10 months. Overall 139 animals were retained in the study, of which 78 received a standard progesterone-based treatment (STD) and 61 received the same treatment...

Effect of exogenous progesterone on oestrus response of West ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Twenty-four (24) healthy, parous West African dwarf (WAD) does aged 2 – 3 years were used to study the effects of varying doses of progesterone on oestrus synchronization and plasma progesterone levels. The does were randomly assigned to 4 treatment groups consisting of 12.5, 25.0 and 37.5 mg progesterone ...

Synchronization of oestrus in sheep: Use of different doses of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Synchronization of oestrus in sheep: Use of different doses of progestagen outside the normal breeding season. JPC Greyling, WF Kotzé, GJ Taylor, WJ Hagendijk, F Cloete. Abstract. No Abstract. Full Text: EMAIL FREE FULL TEXT EMAIL FREE FULL TEXT · DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT.

Progesterone concentration, pregnancy and calving rate in Simmental dairy cows after oestrus synchronisation and hCG treatment during the early luteal phase.

Science.gov (United States)

Šuluburić, Adam; Milanović, Svetlana; Vranješ-Đurić, Sanja; Jovanović, Ivan B; Barna, Tomislav; Stojić, Milica; Fratrić, Natalija; Szenci, Ottó; Gvozdić, Dragan

2017-09-01

Early embryonic development may be negatively affected by insufficient progesterone (P4) production. Therefore, the aim of our study was to increase P4 by gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) and/or human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) treatments after inducing oestrus by prostaglandin (PG) treatment. Lactating Simmental dairy cows (n = 110), between 1 to 5 lactations, with an average milk production of 6,500 1/305 days, at 40-80 days postpartum were used and grouped as follows: (1) PG + GnRH treatment at AI (GnRH group), (2) PG + hCG treatment at day 7 after AI (hCG group), (3) PG + GnRH at AI + hCG treatment at day 7 after AI (GnRH/hCG group), and (4) spontaneous oestrus (C: control group). All animals were double inseminated (at the time of oestrus detection and 12 ± 2 h thereafter). Blood serum and milk samples were collected at the day of observed oestrus (day 0), and 14, 21 and 28 days after AI. Serum P4 was determined using a commercial radioimmunoassay (RIA) test (INEP, Zemun), and milk P4 was determined using enzyme-linked immunoassay (ELISA) test (NIV Novi Sad). Pregnancy status was confirmed by ultrasonography between days 28 and 35 after AI. Differences of serum or milk P4 medians, pregnancy (and calving) rate were determined using Dunn's Multiple Comparison Tests and Z test, respectively. Serum P4 medians were significantly higher at days 14, 21 and 28 after AI in the hCG-treated animals, indicating increased luteal activity, with a similar tendency in whole milk P4 values. Treatment with hCG during the early luteal phase significantly contributed to the maintenance of gestation at days 28-35 after AI, and also increased the calving rate in Simmental dairy cows.

Effects of Long and Short-Term Progestagen Treatments Combined with PMSG on Oestrus Synchronization and Fertility in Awassi Ewes during the Breeding Season

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B. Ustuner

2007-01-01

Full Text Available Synchronization of oestrus has been used to increase reproductive efficiency in most animals, including ewes. The aim of the present study was to compare the effect of the length of a progestagen treatment (12 d vs. 6 d on synchronization efficiency (oestrus response, time to onset of oestrus and duration of oestrus and fertility rate using fluorogestone acetate (FGA progestagen sponge treatment with pregnant mare serum gonadotropin (PMSG administration applied at different times of sponge removal. Ewes (n = 68 were divided into two groups; long term (LT, n = 33 and short term (ST, n = 35 groups treated with FGA progestagen sponges. At the end of intravaginal sponge treatment period the animals of each group were divided into the 3 subgroups in relation to time of PMSG (300 IU treatment. PMSG treatment was applied 24 h before sponge removal, at sponge removal and 24 h after sponge removal for LT1 and ST1, LT2 and ST2, and LT3 and ST3, respectively. Each ewe was inseminated intra-cervically twice with skim cow milk-diluted semen (1000 × 106 motile cells/ml 40 h and 60 h after sponge removal. Non-return rates (NRR-30 were monitored from 12 day after sponge removal to 30 day with the aid of teaser rams. Onsets of oestrus response and oestrus cessation were significantly different (P P P >. The NRR-30 and lambing rate of the ST and LT after timed AI were 35.7% and 31.0% and 32.1% and 28.6%, respectively (P > 0.05.

Induction of oestrus and early pregnancy diagnosis in Awassi sheep

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Al-Merestani, M.R.; Zarkawi, M.; Wardeh, M.

1997-12-01

An experiment on Syrian Awassi ewes and yearlings was conducted out-side the normal breeding season to study the possibility of inducing oestrus and increasing birth rate as an attempt to improve the reproductive efficiency, in addition to evaluating the possibility of early pregnancy diagnosis using progesterone radioimmunoassay kits. One-hundred-and fifty-five local female awassi sheep (96 ewes and 59 ewe lambs) were divided into 4 groups. Group T1 (n= 50 ewes) were fitted with itravaginal sponges containing 60 mg of medroxy progesterone acetate (MAP) for 14 days followd by 600 IU of pregnant mare's serum gonadotrophin (PMSG) at sponge withdrawal, whereas the control group C1 (n= 46 ewes) received no treatment. Group T2 (n= 41 yearlings) were fitted with itravaginal sponges containing 60 mg of MAP for 14 days followed by 400 IU PMSG at sponge withdrawal, whereas the control group C2 (n= 18 yearlings) received no treatment. The females in both T1 and T2 groups responded to the hormonal treatment, and showed oestrus behaviour within 36-48 h of sponge withdrawal. Total oestrus rate was 96% and 92.7% for groups T1 and T2, respectively. Lambing rates were 80%, 32.6%, 78.0% and 5.6% for groups T1, C1, T2 and C2, respectively. Twinning rates increased to 32.5% and 33.3% for groups T1 and T2, respectively, compared to 6.7% and 0% for groups C1 and C2, respectively. There were no significant differences in pregnancy duration between groups T1 (151.7 ± 1.7 days), and T2 (154.4 ± 1.5 days), and between single (154.4 ± 1.8 daus and 151.5 ± 1.6 days) and twin-born lambs (151.7 ± 1.5 days and 150.8 ± 1.3 days) for single and twin born lambs in groups T1 and T2, respectively. Hormonal treatment had no effect on the overall average lamb birth weight, which was 4.3 ± 1.0 Kg, 4.4 ± 0.7 Kg and 3.9 ± 1.0 Kg for groups T1, C1, and T2, respectively, and the birth weight for the only lamb born in group C2 was 4.0 kg. However, average birth weight for single born lambs was

Morphological and morphometric evaluation of prepubertal gilt ovaries, uterine tubes and uterus at different oestrus cycle stages

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Guilherme Oberlender

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Studies are performed in developing techniques/procedures that provide greater reproductive performance in farm animals, including pigs. In this sense, the study of gilts reproductive organs at different oestrus cycle stages for assessing the presence of abnormalities and/or other parameters that may affect the future animal fertility is important. In order to evaluate the morphological, morphometric and histomorphometric features of ovaries, uterus and uterine tubes (UTs characteristics of prepubertal gilts at different oestrus cycle stages, reproductive tracts from 48 animals immediately after slaughter were obtained. After, the structures were dissected and removed, and the ovaries were used for classification of oestrus cycle stage of each gilt in follicular phase (FP and luteal phase (FL. Then, morphometric evaluations of ovaries, UTs, uterine horns and uterine body were performed. Besides that, medial segments of UTs and uterus were fixed in Bouin solution, processed and included in paraffin, when histological sections of 5.0 micrometers (µm were obtained and stained with Hematoxylin and Eosin. Histomorphometric analyzes using image capture system and specific software were performed. Afterwards, data were submitted to Student's t test for assessment the statistical differences (P0.05 between morphometric parameters of ovaries, UTs and uterus of gilts in FP and LP. Likewise, in respect to the placement of reproductive structures, both in the oestrus cycle stages, as in the general average, there was no difference (P>0.05. Regarding the histomorphometric variables, gilts classified in FP presented a higher (P<0.05 height of glandular and UT epithelium compared to animals in LP. On the other hand, the diameter of endometrial glands was higher (P<0.05 in gilts at LP compared to FP. Furthermore, gilts in LP presented a higher (P<0.05 proportion of endometrium occupied by glands, whereas animals in FP had a higher (P<0.05 proportion of

Reproductive responses and progesterone levels of postpartum oestrus synchronization in goats with different body reserves

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Fabiana V. Rodrigues

2011-10-01

Full Text Available Thirty adult goats were classified at parturition into two body condition score (BCS groups: BCI (n=16 with a score of 2.7 and BCII (n=14 with a score of 2.0. On the fiftieth day postpartum, oestrus was synchronized by CIDR for 5 days. Upon CIDR removal (Day 0, they received 1 mL of PGF2α IM and mated for 72 hours. Kids were kept with does and weaned at 40 days of age. Blood samples were taken at 0, 1, 4, 8 and 21 days after CIDR removal for progesterone assay. The BCI group showed a greater weight loss compared to the BCII group, and BCS before synchronization was 1.9±0.08 and 1.6±0.07 for the BCI and BCII groups, respectively (Pvs 36%; Pvs 1.25; Pvs 0.25; P<0.05. Progesterone concentration was higher in pregnant does in BCI. A positive relationship was found between progesterone level at CIDR removal and BCS at parturition (0.57; P<0.01, also between progesterone level at 21 days after CIDR removal and BCS at parturition (0.47; P<0.05, or BCS before synchronization (0.51; P<0.05. We conclude that oestrus response to postpartum CIDR synchronization appeared to be slightly dependent on BCS. However, goats with low BCS at oestrus synchronization exhibited a reduction in pregnancy rate.

Factors that affect the quality and efficiency of artificial insemination in oestrus synchronization programmes in dairy cattle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pedroso, R.; Roller, F.; Gonzalez, N.; Felipe, N.; Bravo, M.

2001-01-01

Experiments were performed during a three-year period in order to identify the factors affecting quality and efficiency of artificial insemination (AI) when it is used in cattle subjected to oestrus induction and synchronization (OIS) programmes. The study took place in the Western part of the country and 3 herds with a total of 6357 animals were used. The first study was a survey to evaluate the factors affecting the efficiency of AI in OIS. The second study examined the effects of body condition score (BCS) and three different regimes of OIS on the results of AI. Progesterone levels were measured in blood and milk using radioimmunoassay to determine the incidence of acyclic animals in the herds. Data were recorded and analysed using the artificial insemination database application (AIDA) and further statistical analyses were done using Systat. The results found in the survey showed a low conception rate (18%) and a great variability in the period from calving to conception (154 ± 98.11 days). The latter parameter was significantly different between herds (P<0.001). A high percentage of animals selected for OIS programmes (37%) showed a poor BCS (<2.5 on a scale of 1-5). Motility of semen used for AI was low (<30%) in 47% of the samples evaluated. The results from progesterone measurements demonstrated that the reasons for poor fertility were low accuracy in oestrus detection, poor response to treatment for OIS, non-fertilization, embryo mortality and functional disturbances present after treatment. Under our field conditions during the dry season, acyclicity (anoestrus) is a frequent problem in primiparous cows and in those with poor BCS. The BCS in heifers and the quality of different treatments had a significant effect on the conception rate. These results confirm that the use of progesterone measurement together with data management using AIDA is a very appropriate way to evaluate and improve the quality and efficiency of AI in OIS programmes. (author)

[Automated detection of estrus and mastitis in dairy cows].

Science.gov (United States)

de Mol, R M

2001-02-15

The development and test of detection models for oestrus and mastitis in dairy cows is described in a PhD thesis that was defended in Wageningen on June 5, 2000. These models were based on sensors for milk yield, milk temperature, electrical conductivity of milk, and cow activity and concentrate intake, and on combined processing of the sensor data. The models alert farmers to cows that need attention, because of possible oestrus or mastitis. A first detection model for cows, milked twice a day, was based on time series models for the sensor variables. A time series model describes the dependence between successive observations. The parameters of the time series models were fitted on-line for each cow after each milking by means of a Kalman filter, a mathematical method to estimate the state of a system on-line. The Kalman filter gives the best estimate of the current state of a system based on all preceding observations. This model was tested for 2 years on two experimental farms, and under field conditions on four farms over several years. A second detection model, for cow milked in an automatic milking system (AMS), was based on a generalization of the first model. Two data sets (one small, one large) were used for testing. The results for oestrus detection were good for both models. The results for mastitis detection were varying (in some cases good, in other cases moderate). Fuzzy logic was used to classify mastitis and oestrus alerts with both detection models, to reduce the number of false positive alerts. Fuzzy logic makes approximate reasoning possible, where statements can be partly true or false. Input for the fuzzy logic model were alerts from the detection models and additional information. The number of false positive alerts decreased considerably, while the number of detected cases remained at the same level. These models make automated detection possible in practice.

External ophthalmomyiasis by Oestrus ovis: A case report from Davangere

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Sridhar Rao

2018-01-01

Full Text Available External ophthalmomyiasis is an infestation of the eye with larvae of Dermatobia hominis or Oestrus ovis (sheep bot fly. We describe a case of ophthalmomyiasis in a 38-year-old male, who presented with ocular foreign body sensation, redness, pain, and watering of the eye. The causative larvae were removed and sent to the laboratory for identification. By studying morphological features, it was identified as the first instar larvae of O. ovis. The patient was put on topical and oral antibiotics but was lost to follow-up. This is probably the first report from this part of Karnataka.

The influence of antibiotic treatment of bitches in oestrus on their attractiveness to males during mating.

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Dziecioł, M; Nizański, W; Stańczyk, E; Kozdrowski, R; Najder-Kozdrowska, L; Twardoń, J

2013-01-01

The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of the antibiotic treatment, including the mode of drugs administration, on bitches' attractiveness to the stud dogs during mating. Moreover, we tried to estimate the possibility of aversive effect of the drug vehicle on the male behavior. In experiment I, four bitches in oestrus without antibiotic treatment (group A), four bitches treated with intravaginal antibiotic (group B) and four bitches treated with intramuscular antibiotic (group C) were presented to four stud dogs. In experiment II, bitches in oestrus (n = 5) were presented to the males (n = 2) before and after the application to the females' vulva the antibiotic carrier--Miglyol 840 (Sasol, Germany). In both experiments the presence of the typical sexual behavior of the males (sniffing, licking the vulva and anal region, mating attempts) was evaluated. In experiment III the reaction of the males to the samples containing oestrual discharge from the bitches untreated and treated with antibiotics was evaluated. In the last part of study the aversion reaction to the samples containing antibiotic and the antibiotic carrier was evaluated. The results of experiments showed that females treated with the antibiotics were less attractive to males than untreated females, regardless of the method of administration. We did not observe adverse effect of the antibiotic carrier but samples from the bitches treated with antibiotics were significantly less attractive to the males. We concluded that the reason for reduced attractiveness of the bitches in oestrus after antibiotic treatment was the changes in semiochemical signal emitted by treated females as a consequence of elimination of the vaginal bacterial flora, which seems to be involved in creation of the typical, recognizable by the stud dogs, oestrual signal but also by the possible covering effect of used drugs.

Successful induction of oestrus, ovulation and pregnancy in adult ewes and ewe lambs out of the breeding season using a GnRH+progesterone oestrus synchronisation protocol.

Science.gov (United States)

Martinez, M F; McLeod, B; Tattersfield, G; Smaill, B; Quirke, L D; Juengel, J L

2015-04-01

A series of experiments was designed to assess the effect of a treatment protocol (U-synch) for inducing oestrus and ovulation out of the breeding season in adult ewes and ewe lambs. The protocol consisted of a 7-day treatment with an intravaginal progesterone-releasing device (IPRD), administration of GnRH at IPRD insertion on Day 0, and equine chorionic gonadotropin (eCG) and prostaglandin F2α at IPRD removal on Day 7. In Experiment 1, 50 or 100 μg GnRH were sufficient to induce ovulation at the beginning of the protocol in 3/9 and 4/9 ewes, respectively; while the resulting proportion of sheep ovulating after the treatment protocol was 88.9% and 77.8% in ewes initially treated with 50 or 100 μg GnRH, respectively. In Experiment 2, the proportion of Romney-cross ewe lambs ovulating was greater (P<0.0001) in the U-synch group (95.4%) than in the untreated Control group (3.2%). In Experiment 3, pregnancy rates of Dorset-cross sheep in the U-synch (60.7%) and Standard (12-day IPRD and eCG treatment; 56.5%) groups were greater (P=0.01) than in the untreated Control group (43.4%). The incidence of twin pregnancies was greater (P=0.005) in the U-synch group than in the Control group. A 7-day IPRD treatment including GnRH treatment at device insertion and eCG treatment at device removal induced oestrus and ovulation during the non-breeding season in a high proportion of mature ewes and ewe lambs. High pregnancy rates to natural mating, with a low rate of triplet pregnancies, were also observed. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Increased body condition score through increased lean muscle, but not fat deposition, is associated with reduced reproductive response to oestrus induction in beef cows.

Science.gov (United States)

Guzmán, A; Gonzalez-Padilla, E; Garcés-Yepez, P; Rosete-Fernández, J V; Calderón-Robles, R C; Whittier, W D; Keisler, D H; Gutierrez, C G

2016-10-01

Energy reserve, estimated as body condition score (BCS), is the major determinant of the re-initiation of ovarian activity in postpartum cows. Leptin, IGF-I and insulin are positively related to BCS and are putative mediators between BCS and reproductive function. However, when BCS and body composition dissociates, concentrations of these metabolic hormones are altered. We hypothesized that increasing lean muscle tissue, but not fat tissue, would diminish the reproductive response to oestrus induction treatments. Thirty lactating beef cows with BCS of 3.10±1.21 and 75.94±12 days postpartum were divided in two groups. Control cows (n=15) were supplemented with 10.20 kg of concentrate daily for 60 days. Treated cows (n=15) were supplemented equally, and received a β-adrenergic receptor agonist (β-AA; 0.15 mg/kg BW) to achieve accretion of lean tissue mass and not fat tissue mass. Twelve days after ending concentrate supplementation/β-AA treatment, cows received a progestin implant to induce oestrus. Cows displaying oestrus were inseminated during the following 60 days, and maintained with a fertile bull for a further 21 days. Cows in both groups gained weight during the supplementation period (Daily weight gain: Control=0.75 kg v. β-AA=0.89 kg). Cows treated with β-AA had a larger increase in BCS (i.e. change in BCS: control=1 point (score 4.13) v. β-AA=2 points (score 5.06; P0.05) did not differ between groups. However, the number of cows displaying oestrus (control 13/15 v. β-AA 8/15; P<0.05) and the percentage cycling (control 6/8 v. β-AA 3/10; P=0.07) after progestin treatment and the pregnancy percentage at the end of the breeding period (control 13/15 v. β-AA 8/15; P<0.05) were lower in β-AA than control cows. In summary, the increase BCS through muscle tissue accretion, but not through fat tissue accretion, resulted in a lower response to oestrus induction, lower percentage of cycling animals and lower pregnancy percentage after progestin treatment

External ophthalmomyiasis presenting to an emergency department: corneal findings as a sign of Oestrus ovis.

Science.gov (United States)

Gholamhossein, Yaghoubi; Behrouz, Heydari

2013-10-01

This study aims to determine the frequency of opthalmyomyiasis externa and the ocular findings of disease in Southern Khorasan. All patients referred to the emergency department of Valiaser hospital during the year 2011 with external ophthalmomyiasis were enrolled in this study. The diagnosis of external ophthalmomyiasis was made according to clinical findings and the presence of Oestrus ovis larvae. There were 18 cases of external ophthalmomyiasis in the emergency department of Valiaser hospital in 2011. Most cases had the common signs and symptoms of allergic conjunctivitis, except for three males who were referred with respective complaints of red eye, foreign body sensation, and swelling around the eyelids after contact injury the previous day; corneal infiltration was present in three cases. The visual acuity among the three cases that had peripheral corneal involvement was 20 / 30 in both eyes. The bulbar conjunctiva showed chemosis in all cases and a ropy pattern discharge that was clinically compatible with external ophthalmomyiasis. However, in one case, microscopic slit lamp examination did not show Oestrus ovis larvae. The frequency of external ophthalmomyiasis was high in this region. Although external ophthalmomyiasis usually manifests as allergic conjunctivitis, coronary-like corneal infiltration may be considered in the differential diagnosis of external ophthalmomyiasis or toxic insult.

Follikel-stimulerende hormoon en interstisieelsel-stimulerende hormoon in die hipofisevoorlob van die ooi en die voorkoms van oestrus en ovulasie

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Marincowitz, G.

1964-01-01

In the Netherlands, separate activities of FSH and ICSH in the pituitary, morphological changes in ovaries and vaginal smears were examined in Texel ewes during the oestrus cycle. Both FSH and ICSH content of the pituitary decreased very sharply in late dioestrus. Immediately after ovulation, FSH

Control of oestrus and ovulation rates in Yankasa ewes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oyedipe, E.O.; Pathiraja, N.; Gyang, E.O.; Bawa, E.K.; Eduvie, L.O.

1991-01-01

Experiments were carried out in Yankasa sheep to study the efficacy of progesterone for oestrous synchronization and the effect of various gonadotrophin treatments (pregnant mare serum gonadotrophin (PMSG), human chorionic gonadotrophin (HCG) and gonadotrophin releasing hormone (GnRH)) on ovulation rates and litter size, and to elucidate responses by monitoring progesterone concentration. Preliminary studies showed normal progesterone profiles during the cycle, and a mean ovulation rate and litter size of 1.36 ± 0.34 and 1.23 respectively. Following synchronization with progesterone pessaries, PMSG dosage influenced ovulation rates. When 500 IU PMSG was given to ewes, HCG injection had an additive effect of increasing ovulation rate. Plasma progesterone concentrations showed significant treatment effects, being increased in relation to an increase in ovulation rates. Ovulation in Yankasa ewes occurred between 30-32 hours from onset of oestrus. In a fertility trial, mean ovulation rates and corresponding litter size were 2.1 versus 1.8 and 1.5 versus 1.2 for PMSG treated and untreated ewes respectively. 24 refs, 8 figs, 5 tabs

Evaluation of an implant to synchronize oestrus and/or to resolve suckling anoestrus in Brahman cows

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Olivera, M.; Martinez, G.

1990-01-01

A study was conducted to evaluate the effect of a commercial progesterone implant in inducing oestrus and subsequent fertility (conception rate) in 63 adult Brahman cows with 3-5 month old calves at foot. Half the acyclic cows came into heat as a result of the implant; however, only 29% of these became pregnant after first insemination. The poor conception rate agrees with the results of other studies where progesterone treated cattle were found to be less fertile than those cycling spontaneously. (author). 13 refs, 1 tab

Identification d’un récepteur à l’odeur d’oestrus chez le rat

OpenAIRE

Richevaux, Louis

2016-01-01

L’olfaction est un sens primordial dans la majorité des espèces animales. En effet nombre de signaux sociaux sont véhiculés par ce sens, par exemple lors des phases de reproduction. Lors de ce stage, nous avons cherché à identifier et prélever les neurones olfactifs de rat répondant à une odeur spécifique de la période d’ovulation des femelles, dite oestrus : la 6-méthyl-5-hepten-2-one (ou méthylheptenone MH). Pour détecter les neurones répondant à la MH, nous avons utilisé une approche d’im...

cDNA cloning, structural analysis, SNP detection and tissue ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

THOMAS NAICY

detection and tissue expression profile of the IGF1 gene in Malabari and Attappady Black goats of India. J. Genet. ... Keywords. gene cloning; gene expression; goat; insulin-like growth factor 1; mRNA; single-nucleotide ..... cle tenderness (Koohmaraie et al. .... growth factor (IGF) system in the bovine oviduct at oestrus and.

Evaluation of a seasonal-breeding artificial insemination programme in Uruguay using milk progesterone radioimmunoassay

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cavestany, D.; Juanbeltz, R.; Canclini, E.; ElHordoy, D.; Lanzzeri, S.; Gama, S.; Martinez, E.; Galina, C.S.

2001-01-01

To evaluate artificial insemination (AI) services and reproductive efficiency in dairy herds in Uruguay two surveys were conducted in 1995 and 1996. The 1995 survey was done in 10 dairy farms of 3 regions on 696 lactating Holstein cows. The 1996 survey was done in 5 dairy farms in one region and included 768 cows. Precision of oestrus detection and efficiency of AI services were determined by milk progesterone samples taken at days 0, 10 and 23 after breeding and by analysis of the records. In 1995 and 1996, the intervals from calving to first service were 123 and 101 days, and to conception were 158 and 134 days, respectively. Parity, body weight and body condition at calving influenced these parameters, but not body weight or body condition at breeding nor milk production. Accuracy of pregnancy diagnosis by milk progesterone was 70.4%. Heat detection rate was 37.5% and pregnancy rate was 15.6%. In 1997 a second study was done to determine the factors affecting reproductive efficiency in a seasonal breeding AI programme in 328 lactating cows on 3 dairy farms. Milk progesterone measurement revealed that 12.5% of the cows were anoestrous at the beginning of the season and remained so during the trial. The category mostly affected were first-calf heifers (82%). Also, 8.5% of the cows cycling were never reported in heat and this was influenced by farm. Oestrus detection efficiency for cows determined to be cycling by progesterone profiles was evaluated in three periods of 21 days and overall efficiency was 46.9%. Main factor affecting it was farm, with an effect of parity (67.8% in mature cows and 33.2% in first-calf heifers) but no effect of days postpartum. Mean interval from the beginning of the breeding season to first service was 27.4 days, again with a strong farm variation but no effect of parity or days postpartum. In an attempt to improve reproductive efficiency in lactating dairy cows, a treatment protocol was designed, where 414 cows in two herds were

Epidemiology of Oestrus ovis (Diptera: Oestridae in sheep in Botucatu, State of São Paulo Epidemiologia de Oestrus ovis (Diptera: Oestridae em ovinos em Botucatu, São Paulo

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Bruna Fernanda da Silva

2012-12-01

Full Text Available The seasonal factors that influence Oestrus ovis infestation in sheep were determined in Botucatu, State of São Paulo, Southwestern Brazil, from April 2008 to March 2011. Two tracer lambs were monthly exposed to natural infestation by O. ovis larvae for 28 consecutive days, by grazing with a sheep flock. Tracer animals were then euthanized and the larvae of O. ovis recovered from nasal and sinus cavities. Of the 72 tracer lambs, 50% were infested with O. ovis larvae and the mean intensity of infestation per head infested was 16.8 larvae, with an average of 7.8 L1, 5.3 L2 and 3.7 L3. O. ovis larvae were present during the four seasons of the year, but the mean larval burden was significantly higher during the spring and summer months, compared to winter (P Os fatores sazonais que influenciam a infestação por larvas de Oestrus ovis, foram determinados no período de abril de 2008 a março de 2011, em ovinos criados em Botucatu, São Paulo, região Sudeste do Brasil. Mensalmente, dois cordeiros traçadores permaneceram em pastejo com um rebanho ovino durante 28 dias consecutivos, expostos à infestação natural por larvas de O. ovis. Em seguida, os cordeiros foram sacrificados, e as larvas de O. ovis recuperadas da cavidade nasal e seios frontais. Dos 72 cordeiros traçadores, 50% estavam infestados por larvas de O. ovis, com intensidade média de infestação de 16,8 larvas/cabeça infestada, com média de 7,8 L1, 5,3 L2 e 3,7 L3. As larvas de O. ovis foram recuperadas durante as quatro estações do ano, mas o número médio de larvas foi significativamente superior durante os meses de primavera e verão comparado aos meses de inverno (P < 0,05. A maior taxa de recuperação larval coincidiu com temperaturas médias entre 20 °C e 25 °C e umidade relativa do ar por volta de 70%. Os resultados sugerem que a evolução e desenvolvimento de O. ovis ocorre praticamente durante o ano inteiro, mas a infestação é mais frequente nos meses de

Improving productivity through the use of artificial insemination in dual purpose farms in Costa Rica

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Estrada, S.; Perez, E.

2001-01-01

The objective of the present study was to identify the major causes of inefficiency in the AI services provided to dual-purpose farms in the region of Tilaran, Guanacaste. The study included four representative farms from the region, where AI was done on a routine basis in which 80 to 100 first services were done annually. The overall conception rate (CR) was 42.7% (271/635) and was significantly influenced by three variables: lactation, oestrus signs and technician. Cows that were inseminated during their lactation number 5 had 2.17 times greater chance of getting pregnant (P<0.001) than cows inseminated during any other lactation. Cows inseminated after detecting oestrus because they were mounting others had 1.2 less chance to get pregnant than those detected by standing heat, but those cows detected by other signs such as restlessness or bellowing had 1.8 more opportunity to get pregnant than those detected by standing heat. The interval from calving to first service was 114.1 days and three variables had significant (P<0.05) effects on this interval: farm, calving season and lactation. Cows calving during the rainy season had a shorter interval than those calving in the dry season. There was a significant difference between the first lactation and the others. Only lactation had significant effect on first service CR. It was concluded that farm type, lactation, season, and heat signs were the most important factors having an influence on the efficiency of AI. Variables involved are closely related to management and should be targeted in future work aimed at improving reproductive efficiency. (author)

A case of nasal myiasis due to Oestrus ovis (Diptera: Oestridae) in a llama (Lama glama).

Science.gov (United States)

Gomez-Puerta, Luis Antonio; Alroy, Karen Ann; Ticona, Daniel Santiago; Lopez-Urbina, Maria Teresa; Gonzalez, Armando Emiliano

2013-01-01

Infection by the larval form of Oestrus ovis (sheep bot fly) is common in many areas of Peru. This is an obligate parasite of sheep and goats, and it is the cause of oestrosis, or nasal myiasis, which can lead to severe clinical manifestations in livestock. A case of myiasis caused by O. ovis in a llama (Lama glama) in Cuzco, Peru, is reported here. This llama presented with respiratory distress and died due to bilateral hemorrhagic pneumonia. During the necropsy, six intact dipterous larvae were recovered from the nasal fossae and cranial sinuses being identified as O. ovis. This is the first report of nasal myiasis in llamas due to O. ovis in Peru.

A case of nasal myiasis due to Oestrus ovis (Diptera: Oestridae in a llama (Lama glama

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Luis Antonio Gomez-Puerta

Full Text Available Infection by the larval form of Oestrus ovis (sheep bot fly is common in many areas of Peru. This is an obligate parasite of sheep and goats, and it is the cause of oestrosis, or nasal myiasis, which can lead to severe clinical manifestations in livestock. A case of myiasis caused byO. ovis in a llama (Lama glama in Cuzco, Peru, is reported here. This llama presented with respiratory distress and died due to bilateral hemorrhagic pneumonia. During the necropsy, six intact dipterous larvae were recovered from the nasal fossae and cranial sinuses being identified as O. ovis. This is the first report of nasal myiasis in llamas due to O. ovis in Peru.

PREPARATION OF TEASER RAMS BY LATERAL DEVIATION OF PREPUCE AND PENIS

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Rashid Ahmad

2003-07-01

Full Text Available For oestrus detection in sheep while in flocks, limited exposure is given to rams with tied apron in front of their prepucial opening. For better and un-feared use of rams for oestrus detection and for effect of , ram exposure on postpartum reproductive characteristics of ewes, rams before the attainment of puberty and those sexually mature (adult rams were operated for lateral deviation of prepuce and penis. The operations were successful, no post operative complications were recorded and these rams exhibited normal libido and were found efficient for oestrus detection in ewes.

Ovis aries (Artiodactyla: Bovidae e Capra hircus (Artiodactyla: Bovidae parasitados por Oestrus ovis (Diptera: Oestridae no Distrito Federal, Brasil

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Edison Cansi

2011-12-01

Abstract. The Oestrosis is an obligatory and cavitary myiasis of sheep and goat, wild and domestic, caused by the larvae of Oestrus ovis (Linnaeus fly. This study records the presence of O. ovis in the West Central region of Brazil as parasites of goats and sheep. We obtained six larvae from sheep and goats with suspects of oestrosis in Brasília (Brazil originate two females adult of O. ovis, after 20 and 23 days respectively of pupation. This finding is probably associated with expansion and diversification of farming in the Cerrado of the Brazilian central plateau.

Reproductive performance of Zebu cattle in Mexico

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Galina, C.S.; Murcia, C.; Beatty, A.; Navarro Fierro, R.; Porras, A.

1990-01-01

In order to evaluate the efficacy of oestrus detection procedures and to measure fertility following insemination, monthly visits were made to two Zebu herds to carry out rectal examinations for pregnancy diagnosis and to assess ovarian activity post-partum. During each visit, the percentage of cows inseminated during that month was calculated, on the basis of the number of cows eligible for insemination (i.e. non-pregnant cows >40 days post-partum that had not been inseminated). To evaluate the efficacy of oestrus detection, the percentage of cows inseminated within the next 15 days following the detection of a corpus luteum (CL) was calculated. Oestrus synchronization programmes were carried out in one farm using prostaglandin F 2 or slow releasing progestagen devices. Differences in reproductive response were found between farms; days from calving to the appearance of a palpable CL were 166 and 100 for farms A and B respectively, days from calving to first insemination 167 and 107 respectively, and calving interval 17.1 and 14.8 months respectively (P < 0.01). However, there was no difference in the number of services per conception, the average for the two farms being 1.6. On average, only 17% of those eligible were inseminated and only 39% of the animals detected with a CL were subsequently seen in oestrus. Higher percentages of cows were observed in oestrus during the spring and summer (30 and 33% respectively) than in the winter (21%) and autumn (15%) (P < 0.05). The percentage of cows detected in oestrus increased as the study progressed. No significant differences were found in conception rate following a synchronized oestrus (average 29.7%), regardless of the method used. (author). 21 refs, 3 tabs

Conception rates to fixed-time artificial insemination of two oestrus synchronisation programmes in dairy heifers.

Science.gov (United States)

Sahu, S K; Parkinson, T J; Laven, R A

2015-05-01

To evaluate the conception rate to fixed-time artificial insemination (FTAI) of two oestrus synchronisation programmes in dairy heifers on eight farms over 2 years. The study was conducted in 2008 and 2010 on eight farms near Palmerston North, New Zealand. Nulliparous Friesian and Friesian×Jersey heifers (13-15 months of age) were randomly allocated to one of two oestrus synchronisation programmes. Group 1 (GPG+P4; n=330), received gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH) I/M on Day 0, a progesterone (P4)-releasing intravaginal device from Days 0-7, prostaglandin F2α (PGF) I/M on Day 7 and a second dose of GnRH at the time of FTAI on Day 9. The second group (P4+PGF; n=343) received a P4-releasing intravaginal device from Days 0-7, PGF on Day 6 and FTAI on Day 9. Pregnancy was diagnosed from Days 42-52 by transrectal ultrasonography. The overall conception rate was 52.4% and 54.8% for the GPG+P4 and P4+PGF groups, respectively. The odds of conception for the two treatments were not different (OR=0.90; 95% CI=0.67-1.23), nor was there any difference between groups in different years (p=0.58). Farm affected conception rate (p=0.002), but there was no interaction with treatment (p=0.92) . This study has shown that an alternative synchronisation programme can produce similar results in terms of conception rate to the GPG+P4 treatment, currently commonly used in heifers. More research is required to establish whether other modifications to the GPG+P4 programme can produce similar results at lower costs, and to identify and quantify farm factors which affect the economic benefit of heifer synchronisation. This study indicated that synchronising heifers with P4 and PGF resulted in conception rates equivalent to those resulting from a GPG+P4 treatment, but with reduced drug costs. However, because heifers in the GPG+P4 group received the second GnRH injection at the time of AI, they needed only three yardings as opposed to the four required for the heifers treated with P4

Milk progesterone enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay as a tool to investigate ovarian cyclicity of water buffaloes in relation to body condition score and milk production.

Science.gov (United States)

Banu, Turgish A; Shamsuddin, Mohammed; Bhattacharjee, Jayonta; Islam, Mohammad F; Khan, Saiful I; Ahmed, Jalal U

2012-05-03

Application of assisted reproductive technologies in buffaloes is limited to some extent by farmers' inability to detect oestrus because of its poor expression. The present study aimed at investigating reliability of a milk progesterone enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to assess the ovarian cyclicity during post partum, oestrus and post-breeding periods in water buffaloes. Progesterone concentrations were measured by an ELISA in milk of 23 postpartum buffaloes in relation to oestrus, pregnancy, body condition score (BCS) and milk production. Two milk samples were taken at 10 days intervals, every month starting from day 30 and continued to day 150 post partum. BCS and milk production were recorded during sample collection. Milk samples from bred buffaloes were collected at Day 0 (day of breeding), Days 10-12 and Days 22-24. Defatted milk was preserved at -80°C until analysis. Pregnancy was confirmed by palpation per rectum on Days 70-90. Seventeen buffaloes had 47 ovulatory cycles, one to four in each, 13 were detected in oestrus once (28 % oestrus detection rate). Progesterone concentration ≥1 ng/ml in one of the two 10-day-interval milk samples reflected ovulation and corpus luteum formation. The intervals between calving to first luteal activity and to first detected oestrus varied from 41 to 123 days (n = 17) and 83 to 135 (n = 13) days, respectively. Eight buffaloes were bred in the course of the study and seven were found pregnant. These buffaloes had a progesterone profile of low (progesterone ELISA is a reliable tool for monitoring ovarian cyclicity and good BCS may be an indicator of resuming cyclicity in water buffalo.

Control of the reproductive performance of Chios sheep and Damascus goats: Studies using hormone radioimmuoassays

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mavrogenis, A.P.

1988-01-01

The effects of environment on conception rate and litter size, and of the goat status and age in the preceding season on the time of oestrus appearance were studied. Furthermore, the effect of season of kidding and daily milk production at the occurrence of oestrus on 'days open' was examined. Environmental factors such as temperature, humidity, age of goat or management and feeding could not account for the variation in reproductive behaviour. Ovarian activity monitored for 53 weeks showed that: there was a short period of anoestrus from late March to early July; conventional methods of heat detection are inadequate; there was an irregular heat wave in July which was not followed by repeated cycles; and the regular breeding season for the Damascus goat is in autumn (September to December) and the average length of the cycle is 21 days. The duration of oestrus was studied in parous and non-parous goats following oestrus synchronization with progesterone analogue and PMSG. Overt oestrus appeared 31.1 h (range 24-48 h) after the removal of sponges, and continued for 36-44 h. Its duration was somewhat longer in parous compared to non-parous goats. Serum progesterone levels correlated with oestrus detection by vasectomized males. Milk and blood samples were collected at regular intervals starting three days post-partum to study post-partum anoestrus in Chios sheep. Progesterone assays, carried out using skimmed milk and blood serum, showed that first ovulation occurred approximately within 30 days post-partum. Progesterone levels were much higher in serum than in skimmed milk. It is suggested that Chios sheep have ovulations during the suckling period although overt oestrus could not always be detected by vasectomized males. 50 refs, 8 figs, 7 tabs

Clean copy association of production diseases with motor activity-sensing devices and milk progesterone concentrations in dairy cows.

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, J; Ntallaris, T; Routly, J E; Jones, D N; Cameron, J; Holman-Coates, A; Smith, R F; Humblot, P; Dobson, H

2018-05-31

We have previously established that the efficiency of identifying oestrus with activity-sensing devices can be compromised by common production diseases; the present study was undertaken to determine how these diseases may affect device readings. A total of 67 Holstein-Friesian cows, >20 days postpartum, were equipped with activity-sensing neck collars and pedometers, and simultaneous milk progesterone profiles were also monitored twice a week. The influences of common production stressors on maximum activity and progesterone values were analysed. Approximately 30% potential oestrus events (low progesterone value between two high values) remained unrecognised by both activity methods, and progesterone values in these animals were higher on the potential day of oestrus when both activity methods did not detect an event (0.043 ± 0.004 versus 0.029 ± 0.004 ng/mL; P = 0.03). Data from a subset of 45 cows (two events each) were subjected to mixed models and multiple regression modelling to investigate associations with production diseases. Cow motor activity was lower in lame cows. Maximum progesterone concentrations prior to oestrus increased as time postpartum and body condition score (BCS) increased. There were also fewer days of low progesterone prior to oestrus associated with increases in BCS and maximum progesterone concentrations prior to oestrus. In conclusion, lameness was associated with lower activity values, but this suppression was insufficient to account for lowered oestrus detection efficiency of either device. However, associations were identified between production diseases and progesterone profiles. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Milk progesterone enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay as a tool to investigate ovarian cyclicity of water buffaloes in relation to body condition score and milk production

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Banu Turgish A

2012-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Application of assisted reproductive technologies in buffaloes is limited to some extent by farmers’ inability to detect oestrus because of its poor expression. The present study aimed at investigating reliability of a milk progesterone enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA to assess the ovarian cyclicity during post partum, oestrus and post-breeding periods in water buffaloes. Methods Progesterone concentrations were measured by an ELISA in milk of 23 postpartum buffaloes in relation to oestrus, pregnancy, body condition score (BCS and milk production. Two milk samples were taken at 10 days intervals, every month starting from day 30 and continued to day 150 post partum. BCS and milk production were recorded during sample collection. Milk samples from bred buffaloes were collected at Day 0 (day of breeding, Days 10–12 and Days 22–24. Defatted milk was preserved at −80°C until analysis. Pregnancy was confirmed by palpation per rectum on Days 70–90. Results Seventeen buffaloes had 47 ovulatory cycles, one to four in each, 13 were detected in oestrus once (28 % oestrus detection rate. Progesterone concentration ≥1 ng/ml in one of the two 10-day-interval milk samples reflected ovulation and corpus luteum formation. The intervals between calving to first luteal activity and to first detected oestrus varied from 41 to 123 days (n = 17 and 83 to 135 (n = 13 days, respectively. Eight buffaloes were bred in the course of the study and seven were found pregnant. These buffaloes had a progesterone profile of low (P P  Conclusions Milk progesterone ELISA is a reliable tool for monitoring ovarian cyclicity and good BCS may be an indicator of resuming cyclicity in water buffalo.

Improvement of cattle production in Myanmar through the use of progesterone RIA to increase efficiency and quality of artificial insemination services

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Than Hla, U.; Aung Myatt, U.; Daw Su Su Kyi; Ye Htun Win, U.

2001-01-01

A survey of Artificial Insemination (AI) status in Myanmar was carried out in the Mandalay region. Most farms are smallholdings with 1-12 breedable cattle per farm. During the survey a total 435 first inseminations carried out by 5 AI technicians were recorded. The conception rate (CR) at first service was 60.7% and the overall CR was 63.3%. Interval from calving to first service was 103.6 ± 40.0 days. Progesterone measurement on the samples collected on the day of AI (day 0) showed that 6.3% of the services were done when progesterone was high (>3nmol/L), indicating that the cows could not have been in oestrus. Most of the farmers detected oestrus based on signs such as mucus discharge, bellowing and mounting. After the preliminary survey a study was conducted to test two intervention measures: to reduce the interval from calving to first service by nutritional supplementation with urea molasses multinutrient blocks (UMMB); and to reduce the number of AI done during the luteal phase. In this study 245 first AI were recorded. Interval from calving to first oestrus was 95.8 ± 24.8 days. Incidence of AI at luteal phase declined to 4%. In spite of better heat detection, the conception rate was 55.9%, which is lower than during the survey phase. This could be attributed to lower fertility of semen from certain bulls used in the second phase. Assessment of progesterone values in the samples showed that 3.8% of AI were done during anovulatory oestrous cycles, 7.8% in anoestrous cows and 5.9% in cows with irregular or short oestrous cycles. (author)

Short communication. Melatonin improves the reproductive performance of seasonal anoestrus goats exposed to buck effect during early post-partum

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L. A. Zarazaga

2013-10-01

Full Text Available The aim of the present study was to determine whether any combination of buck effect and melatonin treatment could improve reproductive performance in Payoya female goats during early postpartum. Forty-four pregnant female goats were used. After birth in spring, they were distributed into two major groups: females submitted to the buck effect (BE, N=22 or not such effect (NBE, N=22. In turn, the BE animals were subdivided into: 1 no further treatment (CBE, N=11 and 2 implanted with melatonin (MELBE, N=11. And the NBE animals were subdivided into: 3 no further treatment (CNBE, N=12 and 4 implanted with melatonin (MELNBE, N=10. Melatonin was implanted 10 days after birth. Oestrus activity was tested daily using entire males from day of birth (D0 in the groups NBE and from D55 after birth in the BE groups. Transrectal ultrasonography was performed 10 days after the detection of oestrus and 45 days after mounting to determine pregnancy. Fecundity, fertility and productivity were higher in MELBE animals compared to CNBE animals (fecundity and fertility: 66.7% vs. 0.0%, and productivity: 0.73 vs. 0.00 kids/female for MELBE and CNBE respectively, p<0.05, and CBE animals (fecundity and fertility: 66.7% vs. 14.3%, and productivity: 0.73 vs. 0.09 kids/female for MELBE and CBE respectively; p<0.05. No significant differences were recorded between the subgroups of the NBE animals. The present results show that exogenous melatonin improves the reproductive performances of early post-partum Payoya does exposed to male effect during the seasonal anoestrus.

Controlled breeding and reproductive management in water buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis) using Eazi Breed controlled internal drug release.

Science.gov (United States)

Hiremath, Shivayogi; Ramesha, Kerekoppa P

2015-06-04

Buffalo reproduction is considerably affected by late maturity, poor oestrus symptoms and long postpartum periods. This study was undertaken to evaluate the efficiency of Eazi Breed controlled internal drug release (CIDR), an intravaginal progesterone-releasing device, in relation to oestrus and fertility. Five hundred true anoestrus buffalo cows, in the age group 4-6 years in 10 villages of Dharwad district in Karnataka state in India, were randomly selected and treated with CIDR for 9 days. Two mL of Cidirol (1 mg oestradiol benzoate) was administered intramuscularly to all animals on day 10. Forty-two buffaloes (8.4%) that failed to show oestrus signs (1.6%) or showed weak signs of oestrus (6.8%) after the first treatment were treated again 72 h after the Cidriol injection with a new device, and inseminated after the expression of oestrus. After the second treatment all the animals showed oestrus signs. The percentage of buffaloes showing intense oestrus was 67.40%, intermediate oestrus was shown by 25.80%, whilst 6.80% buffaloes showed weak oestrus even after the second treatment. The buffaloes showing oestrus signs were inseminated twice with an interval of 12 h, starting 12 h after the start of the oestrus signs. In 86 buffaloes showing prolonged oestrus signs a third insemination was done. The conception rates were 85.16%, 60.47% and 44.11% respectively in buffaloes showing intense, intermediate and weak oestrus. Transrectal palpation of the genital tract was performed 45-60 days post-insemination to diagnose pregnancy status, and in doubtful cases pregnancy was reconfirmed at 90 days after insemination. Out of 500 buffaloes treated in this way 380 animals became pregnant and the pregnancy rate was 76%. This study revealed the usefulness of Eazi Breed CIDR along with Cidirol treatment in buffaloes to improve their reproductive performance.

Controlled breeding and reproductive management in water buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis using Eazi Breed controlled internal drug release

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Shivayogi Hiremath

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Buffalo reproduction is considerably affected by late maturity, poor oestrus symptoms and long postpartum periods. This study was undertaken to evaluate the efficiency of Eazi Breed controlled internal drug release (CIDR, an intravaginal progesterone-releasing device, in relation to oestrus and fertility. Five hundred true anoestrus buffalo cows, in the age group 4–6 years in 10 villages of Dharwad district in Karnataka state in India, were randomly selected and treated with CIDR for 9 days. Two mL of Cidirol (1 mg oestradiol benzoate was administered intramuscularly to all animals on day 10. Forty-two buffaloes (8.4% that failed to show oestrus signs (1.6% or showed weak signs of oestrus (6.8% after the first treatment were treated again 72 h after the Cidriol injection with a new device, and inseminated after the expression of oestrus. After the second treatment all the animals showed oestrus signs. The percentage of buffaloes showing intense oestrus was 67.40%, intermediate oestrus was shown by 25.80%, whilst 6.80% buffaloes showed weak oestrus even after the second treatment. The buffaloes showing oestrus signs were inseminated twice with an interval of 12 h, starting 12 h after the start of the oestrus signs. In 86 buffaloes showing prolonged oestrus signs a third insemination was done. The conception rates were 85.16%, 60.47% and 44.11% respectively in buffaloes showing intense, intermediate and weak oestrus. Transrectal palpation of the genital tract was performed 45–60 days post-insemination to diagnose pregnancy status, and in doubtful cases pregnancy was reconfirmed at 90 days after insemination. Out of 500 buffaloes treated in this way 380 animals became pregnant and the pregnancy rate was 76%. This study revealed the usefulness of Eazi Breed CIDR along with Cidirol treatment in buffaloes to improve their reproductive performance.

Detection of pregnancy by radioimmunoassay of a pregnancy serum protein (PSP60) in cattle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mialon, M.M.; Renand, G.; Camous, S.; Martal, J.; Menissier, F.

1994-01-01

The accuracy and efficiency of pregnancy diagnoses in cattle by pregnancy serum protein (PSP60) radioimmunoassay, a progesterone radioimmunoassay or oestrus detection were compared. Blood samples were taken from 349 suckling heifers and cows ( 1 191 inseminations) at 28, 35, 50 and 90 d post-insemination for PSP60 determination and at 22-23 d for progesterone. Females were declared nonpregnant when plasma PSP60 concentration was lower than 0.2 ng/ml at 28, 35 and 50 d and 0.5 ng/ml at 90 d. When compared with rectal palpation at 90 d, the accuracy of positive (negative) diagnoses by progesterone assay was 80% (100%) in heifers and 75% (99%) in cows. The accuracy of positive diagnoses by PSP60 assay increased with gestation stage from 90% on d 28 in heifers (74% in cows) to 100% (99% in cows) at the time of rectal palpation. This accuracy was 84% on d 28 in cows when the interval from calving to blood sampling was higher than 115 d. Whatever the stage, the accuracy of negative diagnoses was higher than 90%. Efficiency in detecting pregnant or nonpregnant females on d 28 was equivalent to the progesterone assay. The method for detecting oestrus applied in this experiment was as efficient as the PSP60 or progesterone test at any stage of gestation. The PSP60 test is very flexible, which makes its use particularly interesting in naturally mated suckling herds because of the uncertainty regarding the date of fertilization. (authors)

Genetics of Fertility Indicators Based on Behaviour and Progesterone in Milk

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Løvendahl, P; Chagunda, M; O'Connell, J

2009-01-01

Genetic selection for female is diffecult because current records based on AI information are biased from farmer's decisions and have low heritablity (h2 = 0.03). Automated on-farm progesterone based heat detection methods are becoming commercially available, as has eqipment based on behaviour...... oestrus and would enable improved genetic selection for fertility traits....

THE EFFECT OF Anredera cordifolia (Ten. Steenis SUPPLEMENTATION ON UTERINE INVOLUTION PROCESS EVALUATED BY OESTRUS POST PARTUM BEHAVIOR AND FERNING

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R. Purwasih

2014-09-01

Full Text Available The aim of this study was to determine the effect of Anrederacordifolia (Ten. Steenissupplementation on uterine involution process in rabbit. The research design applied was completelyrandomized design with 4 treatments and 3 replications (T0 = without Anredera cordifoliasupplementation; TI = Anredera cordifolia supplemented two days before parturition; T2 = Anrederacordifolia supplemented two days after parturition; T3 = Anredera cordifolia supplemented two daysbefore until two days after parturition. The results showed that Anredera cordifolia (Ten. Steenissupplementation could accelerate post partum oestrus in does that were characterized by post partumoestrus behavior, ferning of saliva and cervical mucus. The best treatment was T3, that was four daysAnredera cordifolia supplementation that was administered at 0.45 g/kg of body weight/day. Furtherresearch was needed to find an optimal dose of Anredera cordifolia (Ten. Steenis on uterine involution.

Possibilities of implementing progesterone EIA test in the control of reproduction in dairy cows

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Barna S. Tomislav,

2013-09-01

Full Text Available The aim of this study was to implement the progesterone EIA test, developed in our laboratory by using an anti-progesterone antibody (Yamaguchi University, Japan, in order to determine the optimal moment for artificial insemination (AI and to detect pregnancy in Holstein-Friesian cows according to the progesterone concentration in the whole milk. Also, the influence of β-carotene, applied at the day of insemination and human chorionic gonadotrophin applied on day 7 after AI on the progesterone level and the pregnancy rate were evaluated.For the accuracy of oestrus detection, the milk samples from 70 cows were collected on the day of insemination. Milk samples from 148 cows were collected 19-22 days following insemination for pregnancy check.After detection of naturally occurring oestrus (day 0 and AI, cows were divided into the following groups: group A (n = 19 was treated with 200 mg β-carotene (20 ml Carofertin® i.m. Alvetra u. Werfft Gmbh, Austria, group B (n = 17 was treated with 1 500 IU hCG i.m. (Schering-Plough, the Netherlands and control (non treated group C (n = 18. The milk samples for EIA progesterone concentration analysis were collected on the day of AI, the 14th and the 20th day of the oestrus cycle. Oestrus detection errors and inappropriate moments of insemination according to the progesterone concentration were detected in 22.86% animals (16/70. The test accuracy for non-pregnant cows was 90.48% (76/84. The accuracy of the progesterone test in pregnant cows was 75% (48/64. False positive results (high progesterone level, but the cows were not pregnant was detected in 25% of cows (16/64 as a result of a prolonged oestrus cycles, embrional mortality and endomethritis (10/16 cases. The treatment of cows with 1500 IU of hCG, on the day 7 of the oestrus cycle, resulted in statistically significant increase of progesterone concentration in the dioestrus (P 0.05.The EIA test developed in our laboratory could be used for accurate

PREPARATION OF TEASER RAMS BY LATERAL DEVIATION OF PREPUCE AND PENIS

OpenAIRE

Rashid Ahmad

2003-01-01

For oestrus detection in sheep while in flocks, limited exposure is given to rams with tied apron in front of their prepucial opening. For better and un-feared use of rams for oestrus detection and for effect of , ram exposure on postpartum reproductive characteristics of ewes, rams before the attainment of puberty and those sexually mature (adult rams) were operated for lateral deviation of prepuce and penis. The operations were successful, no post operative complications were recorded and t...

Effect of pregnant mare serum gonadotrophin injection on litter size in young Etawah-cross does

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N.M Artiningsihi

1996-03-01

Full Text Available The incidence of twins and/or multiple births in 20 heads of young Etawah-cross does was studied following oestrous synchronization using intravaginal sponges containing 60 mg medroxyprogesterorle acetate (Repromap for 15 days . Twenty four hours priorto sponges withdrawal, the does were injected with pregnant mare serum gonadotrophin (PMSG at dose rates of 0 (Group A, 10 (Group B, 15 (Group C and 20 iu/kg (Group D body weight. Amature buck fitted with an apron was used to detect the onset of oestrus at every four hours. The oestrous doe was naturally mated twice, 12 hours after onset of oestrus and 10 hours later. About 3-5 days after oestrus, all does were subjected to mid-ventral laparoscopy to detect ovulation rate . Two months after mating all does were subjected to pregnancy test using diagnostic ultrasonography. Results showed that all does exhibited clear sign of oestrus. The onset of oestrus occurred 15-43 hours after sponges withdrawal or 39-59 hours after PMSG injection. Does injected with PMSG (Groups B, C and D showed oestrus 16-21 hours earlier (P0 .05 than that of control (Group A . However, there was no significant differences among the PMSG-treated groups . Ovulation rates increased from 1.0 in Group Ato 1.8 in Group B and 2.6 in bah Groups Cand D. Average litter size in Groups A, B, C and D were 1.0, 1.8, 2.4 and 1.0, respectively. It was concluded that injection of 15 iu PMSG/kg body weight gave the best result for increasing litter size in young Etawah-cross does .

Improving the productivity of dairy cows on smallholder farms in Mauritius through studies on nutrition and reproduction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boodoo, A.A.; Boodhoo, K.; Toolsee, P.; Saraye, G.; Rangasamy, M.

1999-01-01

Two phases made up this project. The Phase I was a survey of the reproductive performance of 150 smallholder cows in 3 different climatic areas of the country. Phase II examined an intervention strategy whereby cottonseed cake was introduced into the production system and the effect on milk production and resumption of ovarian activity were monitored. 30 cows were targeted per area. In Phase I, 62, 62 and 80% of the cows resumed ovarian activity by 90 days in the 3 areas, respectively. The overall mean interval from calving to first ovulation was 86 ± 38 days. The average conception rate was only 36% with 2.5 services per conception. The efficiency and accuracy of oestrus detection were 31 and 87%, respectively. In Phase II supplementation significantly increased milk production and was highly cost effective. However, supplementation had no significant effect on the interval from calving to first oestrus. Forty seven, 75 and 85% of the cows resumed ovarian activity by 90 days. Conception rate and late resumption of ovarian activity were clearly identified as 2 major factors affecting the long inter-calving interval. The factors affecting the reproductive performance are discussed. (author)

The influence of oestrous substances on cyclicity and oestrous behaviour in dairy heifers

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Nordéus Kristina

2012-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Declining fertility is a major concern for dairy farmers today. One explanation is shorter and weaker expression of oestrus in dairy cows making it difficult to determine optimal time for artificial insemination (AI. Chemical communication is of interest in the search for tools to detect oestrus or to synchronise or enhance oestrous periods. Pheromones, used in chemical communication within species, can influence reproduction in different ways. The aim here was to investigate whether oestrous cycle length, and duration and intensity of oestrous expression in dairy heifers could be manipulated through exposure to pheromones in oestrual substances from other females. Methods Beginning on day 16 of two consecutive control oestrous cycles, ten heifers of the Swedish Red Breed (SRB were exposed to water. During the two following cycles the heifers were exposed to urine and vaginal mucus, obtained from cows in oestrus. Cyclicity parameters were monitored through hormone measurements, oestrus detection and ultrasonographic examination. Results We found no difference in cycle length or in duration of standing oestrus between control and treatment. We did, however, find a tendency of interaction between type of exposure (control or treatment and cycle number within type of exposure for cycle length (p = 0.068, with the length differing less between the treatment cycles. We also found a tendency of effect of type of exposure on maximal concentration (p = 0.073 and sum of concentrations (p = 0.063 of LH during the LH surge, with values being higher for the control cycles. There were also significant differences in when the different signs of oestrus occurred and in the intensity of oestrous expression. The score for oedema and hyperaemia of external genitalia was significantly higher (p = 0.004 for the control cycles and there was also a significant interaction between type of exposure and time period for restlessness (p = 0.011, with

Causes of postpartum anoestrus in cattle in the tropics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hansel, W.; Alila, H.W.

1984-01-01

Prolonged postpartum anoestrus is a major cause of economic losses in cattle in most tropical countries. The length of the period from parturition to first oestrus varies greatly in cattle in the tropics and is influenced by many factors, including endocrine events, management, nutrition, heat and humidity, genetic-environmental interactions, diseases and internal and external parasites. Results of recent research on endocrinology of the postpartum cow are particularly relevant to the problem in tropical cattle. Development of a pulsatile pattern of pituitary luteinizing hormone (LH) secretion is necessary for induction of the first postpartum oestrus, and many cows undergo a short episode of elevated plasma progesterone levels immediately before the first oestrus. Adrenal corticosteroids inhibit development of the pulsatile pattern of LH secretion. The concept is developed that elevated levels of cortisol, resulting from the stresses of heat, high humidity, malnutrition, parasites and diseases to which tropical cattle are often exposed, contribute to anoestrus. Techniques developed for oestrous cycle synchronization of cyclic cattle have been found to induce first oestrus and a fertile ovulation in a significant percentage of anoestrous lactating beef cattle. These treatments involve short-term (6-7 day) progesterone treatments, followed by single injections of prostaglandin Fsub(2α) and insemination 80 hours later. Some success has also been achieved in shortening the postpartum interval by pulsatile administration of gonadotropin-releasing hormone which, in turn, causes pulsatile release of LH, and by administering progestational compounds for short periods of time. Improved management, particularly oestrus detection and insemination at the optimum time, could contribute greatly to reducing the postpartum interval in tropical cattle. Nutritional factors that result in reduced haemoglobin levels (trace mineral deficiencies and parasite infestations) also cause

Improved Motion Estimation Using Early Zero-Block Detection

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Y. Lin

2008-07-01

Full Text Available We incorporate the early zero-block detection technique into the UMHexagonS algorithm, which has already been adopted in H.264/AVC JM reference software, to speed up the motion estimation process. A nearly sufficient condition is derived for early zero-block detection. Although the conventional early zero-block detection method can achieve significant improvement in computation reduction, the PSNR loss, to whatever extent, is not negligible especially for high quantization parameter (QP or low bit-rate coding. This paper modifies the UMHexagonS algorithm with the early zero-block detection technique to improve its coding performance. The experimental results reveal that the improved UMHexagonS algorithm greatly reduces computation while maintaining very high coding efficiency.

Effect of pregnancy on some biochemical parameters in Sahel goats in semi-arid zones.

Science.gov (United States)

Sandabe, U K; Mustapha, A R; Sambo, E Y

2004-05-01

The effects of pregnancy on some biochemical parameters were studied using 20 sexually mature, cycling goats with weight range 20-25 kg. They were randomly separated into two groups of 10 animals each. In one group, oestrus was detected while going round with a buck in the morning and evening; a single buck on detection of oestrus mated the does and the does were tagged as pregnant after confirmation of non-return of oestrus. The other group was kept cycling and tagged as non-pregnant. The mean serum glucose concentration in pregnant does was 63.35 +/- 7.70 mg/dl, significantly lower than 71.59 +/- 1.14 mg/dl for non-pregnant does (p 0.05), as did the liver enzymes (ALT, AST). Therefore this study showed that low serum glucose and high cholesterol levels are features of mid to late pregnancy in Sahel goats.

Improving Face Detection with TOE Cameras

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Dan Witzner; Larsen, Rasmus; Lauze, F

2007-01-01

A face detection method based on a boosted classifier using images from a time-of-flight sensor is presented. We show that the performance of face detection can be improved when using both depth and gray scale images and that the common use of integration of hypotheses for verification can...... be relaxed. Based on the detected face we employ an active contour method on depth images for full head segmentation....

Constraints limiting the efficiency of artificial insemination of cattle in Bangladesh

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shamsuddin, M.; Bhuiyan, M.M.U.; Sikder, T.K.; Sugulle, A.H.; Chanda, P.K.; Alam, M.G.S.; Galloway, D.

2001-01-01

The aim of the present study was to identify the factors that influence postpartum intervals to first detected luteal activity, first service and to conception, and the conception rates of cows in the artificial insemination (AI) programme in Bangladesh. A baseline survey (investigations 1, 2 and 3) was made on 444 milking cows of various breeds presented for the first postpartum insemination by 413 farmers living at 182 villages/regions in Mymensingh District to 6 AI centres and sub-centres. Each cow was then examined three times after each AI until she stopped returning to oestrus. Sixty to 120 days after the last AI, the cows were examined per rectum to confirm the pregnancy. Milk progesterone data on Day 0 and Day 21-24 contributed to a clear diagnosis with respect to pregnancy in 82.5% cows indicating a possible use of this progesterone assay schedule for pregnancy diagnosis in AI programmes. The intervals to first service and to conception varied from 31 to 427 days (median = 184; n=444) and 40 to 426 days (median 184; n=232) respectively, and conception rate from 32-58% (average 46.2%; n=444). Prolongation of weaning age of calves resulted in long intervals to first service and to conception (P<0.001); weaning age varied from 6 to 19 months (median = 10). Cows with body condition score (BCS; 1-5 scale) of 3 or more and cows calved during July to September had shorter intervals to first service and conception than those with BCS less than 3 and those calved during March. The conception rate was influenced by cattle rearing systems (intensive vs. extensive), purpose of rearing cows (dairy vs. dairy + draught), BCS and milk production (P<0.05). The degrees of vulvar swelling, nature of genital discharge, tonicity of uterus, and interval between oestrus and AI had significant effects on the conception rate. Bulls classified as good and poor on the basis of semen evaluation data differed with respect to the conception rate in AI (P<0.001); this indicates a way of

QRS Detection Based on Improved Adaptive Threshold

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Xuanyu Lu

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Cardiovascular disease is the first cause of death around the world. In accomplishing quick and accurate diagnosis, automatic electrocardiogram (ECG analysis algorithm plays an important role, whose first step is QRS detection. The threshold algorithm of QRS complex detection is known for its high-speed computation and minimized memory storage. In this mobile era, threshold algorithm can be easily transported into portable, wearable, and wireless ECG systems. However, the detection rate of the threshold algorithm still calls for improvement. An improved adaptive threshold algorithm for QRS detection is reported in this paper. The main steps of this algorithm are preprocessing, peak finding, and adaptive threshold QRS detecting. The detection rate is 99.41%, the sensitivity (Se is 99.72%, and the specificity (Sp is 99.69% on the MIT-BIH Arrhythmia database. A comparison is also made with two other algorithms, to prove our superiority. The suspicious abnormal area is shown at the end of the algorithm and RR-Lorenz plot drawn for doctors and cardiologists to use as aid for diagnosis.

An Improved Wavelet‐Based Multivariable Fault Detection Scheme

KAUST Repository

Harrou, Fouzi

2017-07-06

Data observed from environmental and engineering processes are usually noisy and correlated in time, which makes the fault detection more difficult as the presence of noise degrades fault detection quality. Multiscale representation of data using wavelets is a powerful feature extraction tool that is well suited to denoising and decorrelating time series data. In this chapter, we combine the advantages of multiscale partial least squares (MSPLSs) modeling with those of the univariate EWMA (exponentially weighted moving average) monitoring chart, which results in an improved fault detection system, especially for detecting small faults in highly correlated, multivariate data. Toward this end, we applied EWMA chart to the output residuals obtained from MSPLS model. It is shown through simulated distillation column data the significant improvement in fault detection can be obtained by using the proposed methods as compared to the use of the conventional partial least square (PLS)‐based Q and EWMA methods and MSPLS‐based Q method.

Derivatizations for improved detection of alcohols by gas chromatography and photoionization detection (GC-PID)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Krull, I.S.; Swartz, M.; Driscoll, J.N.

1984-01-01

Pentafluorophenyldimethylsilyl chloride (flophemesyl chloride, Fl) is a well known derivatization reagent for improved electron capture detection (ECD) in gas chromatography (GC)(GC-ECD), but it has never been utilized for improved detectability and sensitivity in GC-photoionization detection (GC-PID). A wide variety of flophemesyl alcohol derivatives have been used in order to show a new approach for realizing greatly reduced minimum detection limits (MDL) of virtually all alcohol derivatives in GC-PID analysis. This particular derivatization approach is inexpensive and easy to apply, leading to quantitative or near 100% conversion of the starting alcohols to the expected flophemesyl ethers (silyl ethers). Detection limits can be lowered by 2-3 orders of magnitude for such derivatives when compared with the starting alcohols, along with calibration plots that are linear over 5-7 orders of magnitude. Specific GC conditions have been developed for many flophemesyl derivatives, in all cases using packed columns. Both ECD and PID relative response factors (RRFs) and normalized RRFs have been determined, and such ratios can now be used for improved analytic identification from complex sample matrices, where appropriate. 28 references, 2 figures, 5 tables

Improved flaw detection and characterization with difference thermography

Science.gov (United States)

Winfree, William P.; Zalameda, Joseph N.; Howell, Patricia A.

2011-05-01

Flaw detection and characterization with thermographic techniques in graphite polymer composites is often limited by localized variations in the thermographic response. Variations in properties such as acceptable porosity, variations in fiber volume content and surface polymer thickness result in variations in the thermal response that in general cause significant variations in the initial thermal response. These variations result in a noise floor that increases the difficulty of detecting and characterizing deeper flaws. The paper investigates comparing thermographic responses taken before and after a change in state in a composite to improve the detection of subsurface flaws. A method is presented for registration of the responses before finding the difference. A significant improvement in the detectability is achieved by comparing the differences in response. Examples of changes in state due to application of a load and impact are presented.

Effects of a group-based reproductive management extension programme on key management outcomes affecting reproductive performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Brownlie, Tom S; Morton, John M; Heuer, Cord; McDougall, Scott

2015-02-01

A group-based reproductive management extension programme has been designed to help managers of dairy herds improve herd reproductive performance. The aims of this study were, firstly, to assess effects of participation by key decision makers (KDMs) in a farmer action group programme in 2009 and 2010 on six key management outcomes (KMOs) that affect reproductive performance over 2 years (2009-2010 and 2010-2011), and secondly, to describe KDM intentions to change management behaviour(s) affecting each management outcome after participation in the programme. Seasonal calving dairy herds from four regions of New Zealand were enrolled in the study. Intentions to modify management behaviour were recorded using the formal written action plans developed during the extension programme. KMOs assessed were calving pattern of the herd, pre-calving heifer liveweight, pre-calving and premating body condition score (BCS), oestrus detection, anoestrus cow management and bull management. Participation was associated with improvements in heifer liveweight, more heifers calving in the first 6 weeks of the seasonal calving period, premating BCS and oestrus detection. No significant effects were observed on anoestrus cow management or bull management. KDMs with greater numbers of proposed actions had lower 6 week in-calf rates in the second study year than KDMs who proposed fewer actions. A more effective strategy to ensure more appropriate objectives is proposed. Strategies to help KDMs to implement proposed actions more successfully should be investigated to improve the programme further. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Improved immunocytochemical detection of daunomycin

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ohara, Koji; Shin, Masashi; Larsson, Lars-Inge

2007-01-01

and mitochondria of heart muscle cells may help to improve our understanding of the cardiac toxicity of DM and related anthracyclin antibiotics. A number of ELISA tests were carried out in order to elucidate the mechanisms of H2O2-assisted antigen retrieval. A possible mechanism is that DM is reduced and converted......Improved immunocytochemical (ICC) detection of the anthracycline anticancer antibiotic daunomycin (DM) has been achieved by used of hydrogen peroxide oxidation prior to ICC staining for DM. The new method greatly enhanced the localization of DM accumulation in cardiac, smooth and skeletal muscle...... to its semiquinone and/or hydroquinone derivative in vivo. Oxidation by hydrogen peroxide acts to convert these derivatives back to the native antigen. The improved ICC methodology using oxidation to recreated native antigens from reduced metabolites may be helpful also with respect to the localization...

Defect Detectability Improvement for Conventional Friction Stir Welds

Science.gov (United States)

Hill, Chris

2013-01-01

This research was conducted to evaluate the effects of defect detectability via phased array ultrasound technology in conventional friction stir welds by comparing conventionally prepped post weld surfaces to a machined surface finish. A machined surface is hypothesized to improve defect detectability and increase material strength.

Improved QRD-M Detection Algorithm for Generalized Spatial Modulation Scheme

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Xiaorong Jing

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Generalized spatial modulation (GSM is a spectral and energy efficient multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO transmission scheme. It will lead to imperfect detection performance with relatively high computational complexity by directly applying the original QR-decomposition with M algorithm (QRD-M to the GSM scheme. In this paper an improved QRD-M algorithm is proposed for GSM signal detection, which achieves near-optimal performance but with relatively low complexity. Based on the QRD, the improved algorithm firstly transforms the maximum likelihood (ML detection of the GSM signals into searching an inverted tree structure. Then, in the searching process of the M branches, the branches corresponding to the illegitimate transmit antenna combinations (TACs and related to invalid number of active antennas are cut in order to improve the validity of the resultant branches at each level by taking advantage of characteristics of GSM signals. Simulation results show that the improved QRD-M detection algorithm provides similar performance to maximum likelihood (ML with the reduced computational complexity compared to the original QRD-M algorithm, and the optimal value of parameter M of the improved QRD-M algorithm for detection of the GSM scheme is equal to modulation order plus one.

IMPROVING CAUSE DETECTION SYSTEMS WITH ACTIVE LEARNING

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — IMPROVING CAUSE DETECTION SYSTEMS WITH ACTIVE LEARNING ISAAC PERSING AND VINCENT NG Abstract. Active learning has been successfully applied to many natural language...

Relationship of oestrus synchronization method, circulating hormones, luteinizing hormone and prostaglandin F-2 alpha receptors and luteal progesterone concentration to premature luteal regression in superovulated sheep.

Science.gov (United States)

Schiewe, M C; Fitz, T A; Brown, J L; Stuart, L D; Wildt, D E

1991-09-01

Ewes were treated with exogenous follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and oestrus was synchronized using either a dual prostaglandin F-2 alpha (PGF-2 alpha) injection regimen or pessaries impregnated with medroxy progesterone acetate (MAP). Natural cycling ewes served as controls. After oestrus or AI (Day 0), corpora lutea (CL) were enucleated surgically from the left and right ovaries on Days 3 and 6, respectively. The incidence of premature luteolysis was related (P less than 0.05) to PGF-2 alpha treatment and occurred in 7 of 8 ewes compared with 0 of 4 controls and 1 of 8 MAP-exposed females. Sheep with regressing CL had lower circulating and intraluteal progesterone concentrations and fewer total and small dissociated luteal cells on Day 3 than gonadotrophin-treated counterparts with normal CL. Progesterone concentration in the serum and luteal tissue was higher (P less than 0.05) in gonadotrophin-treated ewes with normal CL than in the controls; but luteinizing hormone (LH) receptors/cell were not different on Days 3 and 6. There were no apparent differences in the temporal patterns of circulating oestradiol-17 beta, FSH and LH. High progesterone in gonadotrophin-treated ewes with normal CL coincided with an increase in total luteal mass and numbers of cells, which were primarily reflected in more small luteal cells than in control ewes. Gonadotrophin-treated ewes with regressing CL on Day 3 tended (P less than 0.10) to have fewer small luteal cells and fewer (P less than 0.05) low-affinity PGF-2 alpha binding sites than sheep with normal CL. By Day 6, luteal integrity and cell viability was absent in ewes with prematurely regressed CL. These data demonstrate that (i) the incidence of premature luteal regression is highly correlated with the use of PGF-2 alpha; (ii) this abnormal luteal tissue is functionally competent for 2-3 days after ovulation, but deteriorates rapidly thereafter and (iii) luteal-dysfunctioning ewes experience a reduction in numbers of

Improved GLR method to instrument failure detection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jeong, Hak Yeoung; Chang, Soon Heung

1985-01-01

The generalized likehood radio(GLR) method performs statistical tests on the innovations sequence of a Kalman-Buchy filter state estimator for system failure detection and its identification. However, the major drawback of the convensional GLR is to hypothesize particular failure type in each case. In this paper, a method to solve this drawback is proposed. The improved GLR method is applied to a PWR pressurizer and gives successful results in detection and identification of any failure. Furthmore, some benefit on the processing time per each cycle of failure detection and its identification can be accompanied. (Author)

Improvement and implementation for Canny edge detection algorithm

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Tao; Qiu, Yue-hong

2015-07-01

Edge detection is necessary for image segmentation and pattern recognition. In this paper, an improved Canny edge detection approach is proposed due to the defect of traditional algorithm. A modified bilateral filter with a compensation function based on pixel intensity similarity judgment was used to smooth image instead of Gaussian filter, which could preserve edge feature and remove noise effectively. In order to solve the problems of sensitivity to the noise in gradient calculating, the algorithm used 4 directions gradient templates. Finally, Otsu algorithm adaptively obtain the dual-threshold. All of the algorithm simulated with OpenCV 2.4.0 library in the environments of vs2010, and through the experimental analysis, the improved algorithm has been proved to detect edge details more effectively and with more adaptability.

Improving Accuracy of Dempster-Shafer Theory Based Anomaly Detection Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ling Zou

2014-07-01

Full Text Available While the Dempster-Shafer theory of evidence has been widely used in anomaly detection, there are some issues with them. Dempster-Shafer theory of evidence trusts evidences equally which does not hold in distributed-sensor ADS. Moreover, evidences are dependent with each other sometimes which will lead to false alert. We propose improving by incorporating two algorithms. Features selection algorithm employs Gaussian Graphical Models to discover correlation between some candidate features. A group of suitable ADS were selected to detect and detection result were send to the fusion engine. Information gain is applied to set weight for every feature on Weights estimated algorithm. A weighted Dempster-Shafer theory of evidence combined the detection results to achieve a better accuracy. We evaluate our detection prototype through a set of experiments that were conducted with standard benchmark Wisconsin Breast Cancer Dataset and real Internet traffic. Evaluations on the Wisconsin Breast Cancer Dataset show that our prototype can find the correlation in nine features and improve the detection rate without affecting the false positive rate. Evaluations on Internet traffic show that Weights estimated algorithm can improve the detection performance significantly.

Evaluation of reproductive performance using milk progesterone assay

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reimers, T.J.

1990-01-01

Dairy herds (472) in the northeastern United States of America were surveyed to evaluate reproductive performance. Error of oestrus detection (>> 1 ng/mL of milk progesterone) on the day of insemination was 5.1% for 4558 cows. 'Standing' and 'riding other cows' were the most accurate signs of oestrus. Of cows in or near oestrus when inseminated, 28.1% were open three weeks later, 12.9% were probably open, and 59% were probably pregnant according to milk progesterone analysis. Post-partum days to first insemination and conception rates showed positive correlation. Concentrations of progesterone in milk samples collected 21 to 24 days after service allowed prediction with 88.6% accuracy that a cow was pregnant and with 93.9% accuracy that she was not. By rectal palpation, veterinarians predicted with 92.5% accuracy that a cow was pregnant. (author). 12 refs, 4 tabs

Microchannel electron multiplier: improvement in gain performances and detection dynamics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Audier, M.; Delmotte, J.C.; Boutot, J.P.

1978-01-01

The performances of an MCP are a function of its geometrical characteristics (diameter d and ratio 1/d of a channel, useful area) and of the applied voltage. Gain and mean output current are limited by saturation phenomena. By using a particular cascaded MCP's configuration, it is possible to simultaneously improve the gain, its associated fluctuations and the detection dynamics (detected level, counting rate). For gains 10 6 7 , the fluctuations, can be kept as low as 20% and an improvement by a factor > 10 can be obtained on the detection dynamics [fr

Real-Time Pore Pressure Detection: Indicators and Improved Methods

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Jincai Zhang

2017-01-01

Full Text Available High uncertainties may exist in the predrill pore pressure prediction in new prospects and deepwater subsalt wells; therefore, real-time pore pressure detection is highly needed to reduce drilling risks. The methods for pore pressure detection (the resistivity, sonic, and corrected d-exponent methods are improved using the depth-dependent normal compaction equations to adapt to the requirements of the real-time monitoring. A new method is proposed to calculate pore pressure from the connection gas or elevated background gas, which can be used for real-time pore pressure detection. The pore pressure detection using the logging-while-drilling, measurement-while-drilling, and mud logging data is also implemented and evaluated. Abnormal pore pressure indicators from the well logs, mud logs, and wellbore instability events are identified and analyzed to interpret abnormal pore pressures for guiding real-time drilling decisions. The principles for identifying abnormal pressure indicators are proposed to improve real-time pore pressure monitoring.

Detection algorithm of infrared small target based on improved SUSAN operator

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Xingmiao; Wang, Shicheng; Zhao, Jing

2010-10-01

The methods of detecting small moving targets in infrared image sequences that contain moving nuisance objects and background noise is analyzed in this paper. A novel infrared small target detection algorithm based on improved SUSAN operator is put forward. The algorithm selects double templates for the infrared small target detection: one size is greater than the small target point size and another size is equal to the small target point size. First, the algorithm uses the big template to calculate the USAN of each pixel in the image and detect the small target, the edge of the image and isolated noise pixels; Then the algorithm uses the another template to calculate the USAN of pixels detected in the first step and improves the principles of SUSAN algorithm based on the characteristics of the small target so that the algorithm can only detect small targets and don't sensitive to the edge pixels of the image and isolated noise pixels. So the interference of the edge of the image and isolate noise points are removed and the candidate target points can be identified; At last, the target is detected by utilizing the continuity and consistency of target movement. The experimental results indicate that the improved SUSAN detection algorithm can quickly and effectively detect the infrared small targets.

Use of radioimmunoassay techniques to study the effects of nutritional status and breed on reproductive performance of goats

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gonzalez, N; Carmenate, C; Pedroso, R; Perez, L O; Alvarez, T R; Gonzalez, N; Felipe, N; Bravo, M [Centro de Investigaciones para el Mejoramiento Animal, Havana (Cuba)

1996-05-01

Goats from 2-5 years old in 15 herds of four breeds, (Saanen, Nubian, Toggenburg and Alpine), were used in three experiments to determine reproductive behaviour (Experiment 1), metabolic profile (Experiment 2) and fertility of induced and synchronized oestrus (Experiment 3). Season, breed and physiological status were significant factors affecting reproductive behaviour and metabolic status (P<0.05). The principal causes of infertility in induced oestrus were failures in conception, early embryonic mortality and anovulatory oestrus. The herds had long intervals from birth to first insemination (306-458 days) and to first pregnancy (471-511 days), and low fertility (14-31%). The breeding patter was similar to breeds in temperate zones. Energy and mineral imbalances were found. Further research is necessary to improve reproductive performance of these breeds under tropical conditions. (author). 25 refs, 3 figs, 4 tabs.

Studies on the reproduction of water buffalo in the Amazon Basin

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vale, W.G.; Ohashi, O.M.; Sousay, J.S.; Ribeiro, H.F.L.

1990-01-01

Post-partum (pp) reproductive activity was studied in water buffalo kept under traditional and improved management conditions. A comparison of monthly calving patterns showed that in a herd subjected to variations in fodder availability between the rainy and dry seasons, parturitions occurred mainly between April and August. In contrast, in a herd for which reasonable pastures were available all year round and supplements were provided, calvings occurred throughout the year but were more frequent between November and March. These results indicate that, in the absence of an imposed breeding season, calvings occur throughout the year. Buffalo heifers reach sexual maturity between 2.1 and 3.3 years of age; it may be possible to reduce this by improving nutrition. Analysis of sequential milk progesterone profiles during the pp period showed that cows under improved management first ovulated 30.2±14 days pp; under traditional management conditions, this was delayed until 102.4±42.7 days pp, making remating impossible in many cows in time to calve at yearly intervals. Approximately one quarter of the water buffalo cows in oestrus engaged in homosexual behaviour; substantially more exhibited increased bellowing and urination, accompanied by characteristic pelvic movements. The teaser bull, however, is still the most reliable aid for the detection of oestrus in buffaloes. (author). 22 refs, 3 figs, 1 tab

Improved Conflict Detection for Graph Transformation with Attributes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Géza Kulcsár

2015-04-01

Full Text Available In graph transformation, a conflict describes a situation where two alternative transformations cannot be arbitrarily serialized. When enriching graphs with attributes, existing conflict detection techniques typically report a conflict whenever at least one of two transformations manipulates a shared attribute. In this paper, we propose an improved, less conservative condition for static conflict detection of graph transformation with attributes by explicitly taking the semantics of the attribute operations into account. The proposed technique is based on symbolic graphs, which extend the traditional notion of graphs by logic formulas used for attribute handling. The approach is proven complete, i.e., any potential conflict is guaranteed to be detected.

The Quantity and Quality of Brahman Cross Cattle Embryo After Injected FSH and PMSG

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adriani Adriani

2009-05-01

Full Text Available Twenty cattles were used in this experiment to determine the quantity and quality of embryo after injected FSH (follicle stimulating hormone and PMSG (pregnant mare serum gonadotrophin in Brahman Cross Cattle. The experiment was assigned into Completely Randomized Design with 5 treatments and 4 replications. The treatments were T1 = 4 mg of FSH twice a day intra-ovary decreased doses, T2 = 8 mg of FSH twice a day intra-ovary decreased doses, T3 = 300 IU of PMSG single dose intra-ovary, T4 = 600 IU of PMSG single dose intra-ovary, T5 = 40 mg of FSH twice a day intramuscular decreased doses. Trial cattle were oestrus synchronized using 15 mg of PGF2α that gave twice at 11-daily intervals. One day after giving FSH and PMSG was detected the cattle’s oestrus. Washing uterus was done at day 7 after AI using mixture of PBS, FCS and streptomicyn. Data observed were cow performances, embryo quantity and embryo quality. Results of experiment showed that 19 cattle (95% responded oestrus synchronized treatment and super ovulation, whereas 1 cattle (5% did not respond oestrus synchronized treatment and super ovulation. Generally, cattle showed oestrus at 2 – 3 days after giving PGF2α. Eleven cattle (57,90% showed oestrus at 2 days after giving PGF2α whereas the others (8 cattle, 42,10% showed oestrus 3 days giving PGF2α. The treatment of giving FSH and PMSG could increase (P<0,05 embryo. T5 was highest compared the others ( T1, T2, T3 and T4, while T2 and T4 were higher than T1 and T3. Produced total embryo was 82 with average 4,3 ± 5,67 using FSH and PMSG. 8 embryo (9,76%, 9 embryos (10,90, 20 embryo (24,40%, 16 embryo (19,50% and 29 embryos (35,40% were grade A, B, C, D and E respectively. It is concluded that giving of 40 mg FSH intramusculer produce the best embryo donor whereas and giving of FSH 8 mg intraovari was the best effeciency. (Animal Production 11(2: 96-102 (2009 Key Words : Brahman Cross Cattle, embryo, PGF2α PMSG, FSH

Improved explosive collection and detection with rationally assembled surface sampling materials

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chouyyok, Wilaiwan; Bays, J. Timothy; Gerasimenko, Aleksandr A.; Cinson, Anthony D.; Ewing, Robert G.; Atkinson, David A.; Addleman, R. Shane

2016-01-01

Sampling and detection of trace explosives is a key analytical process in modern transportation safety. In this work we have explored some of the fundamental analytical processes for collection and detection of trace level explosive on surfaces with the most widely utilized system, thermal desorption IMS. The performance of the standard muslin swipe material was compared with chemically modified fiberglass cloth. The fiberglass surface was modified to include phenyl functional groups. When compared to standard muslin, the phenyl functionalized fiberglass sampling material showed better analyte release from the sampling material as well as improved response and repeatability from multiple uses of the same swipe. The improved sample release of the functionalized fiberglass swipes resulted in a significant increase in sensitivity. Various physical and chemical properties were systematically explored to determine optimal performance. The results herein have relevance to improving the detection of other explosive compounds and potentially to a wide range of other chemical sampling and field detection challenges.

Application of progesterone and testosterone in the diagnose and control of reproduction in crossbreds animal husbandry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Madrid-Bury, Ninoska

1997-01-01

The progesterone (P 4 ) dosage resource, by means of radioinmunologic techniques (RIA), allows to relate the variations of its concentration in peripheral blood or milk, in different ovarian function moments, identifying and controlling reproductive problems. In mixed breeds livestock rearing the P4 has been good to identify: 1) dynamics of normal oestrus cycles, frequency of anovulatory oestrus, silent and short cycles; 2) reproductive state of cows in herd (94% of success in gestation identification, anoestrus or cyclicity); 3) Mating moment, highlighting an error of 19-23% in the oestrus observations and its reduction up to 6-11% applying management measures; 13,7% of repeating cows were inseminated with high P4; 4) State of nopregnacy (95% of accuracy); 5) Beginning of puberty (628 d and 309 k), the anovulatory no puberal oestrus (8,2%) and the short cycles (16,5%), and its relationship with the Reproductive Tract Qualification (RTQ), Corporal Condition (CC) and with the nutritional improvement; 6) Cyclicity Restart post delivery, highlighting the dissociation oestrus-ovulation when characterizing the luteal activity at the beginning of post delivery (63% of short FL); 7) Different profiles of repeating cows cycle (10 categories); 8) Frequency of embryonic mortality with variations of 6,6-11 and 8-23%; 9) Diagnose of ovarian problems, especially the presence of cysts; 10) higher fertility (62%) observed with levels of 3 or more than 3 ng/ml of P4, 4-5 d before the mating; and 11) Its integration in the strategy for the management of Reproductive Control Programs and monitoring of synchronization of oestrus treatments. In mixed breeds young bulls, the seric levels of testosterone (1,6-1,9 ng/ml) point out puberty [es

Nanobarcoding for improved nanoparticle detection in nanomedical biodistribution studies

Science.gov (United States)

Eustaquio, Trisha

Determination of the fate of nanoparticles (NPs) in a biological system, or NP biodistribution, is critical in evaluating a NP formulation for nanomedicine. Unlike small-molecule drugs, NPs impose unique challenges in the design of appropriate biodistribution studies due to their small size and subsequent detection signal. Current methods to determine NP biodistribution are greatly inadequate due to their limited detection thresholds. There is an overwhelming need for a sensitive and efficient imaging-based method that can (1) detect and measure small numbers of NPs of various types, ideally single NPs, (2) associate preferential NP uptake with histological cell type by preserving spatial information in samples, and (3) allow for relatively quick and accurate NP detection in in vitro (and possibly ex vivo) samples for comprehensive NP biodistribution studies. Herein, a novel method for improved NP detection is proposed, coined "nanobarcoding." Nanobarcoding utilizes a non-endogenous oligonucleotide, or "nanobarcode" (NB), conjugated to the NP surface to amplify the detection signal from a single NP via in situ polymerase chain reaction (ISPCR), and this signal amplification will facilitate rapid and precise detection of single NPs inside cells over large areas of sample such that more sophisticated studies can be performed on the NP-positive subpopulation. Moreover, nanobarcoding has the potential to be applied to the detection of more than one NP type to study the effects of physicochemical properties, targeting mechanisms, and route of entry on NP biodistribution. The nanobarcoding method was validated in vitro using NB-functionalized superparamagnetic iron oxide NPs (NB-SPIONs) as the model NP type for improved NP detection inside HeLa human cervical cancer cells, a cell line commonly used for ISPCR-mediated detection of human papilloma virus (HPV). Nanotoxicity effects of NB-SPIONs were also evaluated at the single-cell level using LEAP (Laser-Enabled Analysis

Sonar Image Enhancements for Improved Detection of Sea Mines

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jespersen, Karl; Sørensen, Helge Bjarup Dissing; Zerr, Benoit

1999-01-01

In this paper, five methods for enhancing sonar images prior to automatic detection of sea mines are investigated. Two of the methods have previously been published in connection with detection systems and serve as reference. The three new enhancement approaches are variance stabilizing log...... transform, nonlinear filtering, and pixel averaging for speckle reduction. The effect of the enhancement step is tested by using the full prcessing chain i.e. enhancement, detection and thresholding to determine the number of detections and false alarms. Substituting different enhancement algorithms...... in the processing chain gives a precise measure of the performance of the enhancement stage. The test is performed using a sonar image database with images ranging from very simple to very complex. The result of the comparison indicates that the new enhancement approaches improve the detection performance....

Antibiotic Resistome: Improving Detection and Quantification Accuracy for Comparative Metagenomics.

Science.gov (United States)

Elbehery, Ali H A; Aziz, Ramy K; Siam, Rania

2016-04-01

The unprecedented rise of life-threatening antibiotic resistance (AR), combined with the unparalleled advances in DNA sequencing of genomes and metagenomes, has pushed the need for in silico detection of the resistance potential of clinical and environmental metagenomic samples through the quantification of AR genes (i.e., genes conferring antibiotic resistance). Therefore, determining an optimal methodology to quantitatively and accurately assess AR genes in a given environment is pivotal. Here, we optimized and improved existing AR detection methodologies from metagenomic datasets to properly consider AR-generating mutations in antibiotic target genes. Through comparative metagenomic analysis of previously published AR gene abundance in three publicly available metagenomes, we illustrate how mutation-generated resistance genes are either falsely assigned or neglected, which alters the detection and quantitation of the antibiotic resistome. In addition, we inspected factors influencing the outcome of AR gene quantification using metagenome simulation experiments, and identified that genome size, AR gene length, total number of metagenomics reads and selected sequencing platforms had pronounced effects on the level of detected AR. In conclusion, our proposed improvements in the current methodologies for accurate AR detection and resistome assessment show reliable results when tested on real and simulated metagenomic datasets.

reducing the partum.to-mating period in autumn lactating ewes

African Journals Online (AJOL)

and/or synchronization of oestrus in farm animals (La- mond, 1964: Hunter, 1968; ... In the lactating ewe progesterone therapy soon ..... by oestrus after a relatively short delay (Table l). Con- sequently, more time was available for oestrus to be.

Effects of a progesterone-based oestrous synchronization protocol in 51- to 57-day postpartum high-producing dairy cows.

Science.gov (United States)

Garcia-Ispierto, I; López-Gatius, F; Bech-Sàbat, G; Yániz, J L; Angulo, E; Maris, C; Floc'h, S; Martino, A

2010-10-01

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of applying a progesterone-based oestrous synchronization protocol at 51-57 days postpartum in high-producing dairy cows. The data analysed were derived from 1345 lactating cows. Cows between 51 and 57 days postpartum were assigned to the groups: control, PRID (receiving a progesterone-releasing intravaginal device for 9 days, and prostaglandin F(2α) 24 h before PRID removal) or GnRH-PRID (the same as the PRID group plus GnRH at PRID insertion). Oestrus was detected by using pedometers and confirmed by examination of the genital tract at AI. Oestrous and conception rates before days 71-77 postpartum, pregnancy loss in early pregnant cows or the cumulative conception rate registered on day 120 postpartum were considered as the dependent variables in four consecutive logistic regression analyses. Based on the odds ratios, the oestrous rate increased by a factor of 1.73 in cows showing oestrus before treatment for each unit increase in the number of previous oestruses; decreased by a factor of 0.44 in the control group with respect to the treatment groups; and by a factor of 0.61 in cows without luteal structures at treatment with respect to cows with corpora lutea. The conception rates of cows inseminated before days 71-77 postpartum remained similar across the groups, whereas the likelihood of pregnancy loss for cows becoming pregnant during this period was 0.11 times lower in the PRID group than in the control. Based on the odds ratio, the likelihood of a higher cumulative conception rate on day 120 postpartum: increased in cows showing oestrus before treatment by a factor of 1.41 for each unit increase in the number of previous oestruses, was reduced 0.56-fold in control cows compared with treated cows, and was also reduced by a factor of 0.98 for each kilogram of milk production increase recorded at treatment. In conclusion, although oestrous synchronization programmes performed in this study did not improve

Resynchronising returns to service in anoestrous dairy cows in the South Island of New Zealand.

Science.gov (United States)

Bates, A J; Kenyon, A G; Laven, R A; McDowell, J C

2016-09-01

To investigate the effect of targeted resynchronisation of cows treated for non-observed oestrus before the planned start of mating (PSM), that were not detected in oestrus or pregnant 23 days after treatment (phantom cows), on the proportion pregnant at 42 days after PSM and the end of mating. Farm staff from eight herds in two regions of the South Island of New Zealand identified 1,819 cows not showing oestrus by 10 days before PSM. These cows were treated with intravaginal progesterone for 7 days, and I/M gonadorelin 10 days and 1 day before PSM. Three days before PSM they were injected with cloprostenol and equine chorionic gonadotrophin, with fixed time artificial insemination (FTAI) at PSM. By 23 days after PSM, 1,218 cows had not returned to oestrus. Of these, 161 cows confirmed not pregnant by transrectal ultrasonography were randomly assigned to no treatment (control group; n=74) or were resynchronised 25 days after PSM using the same treatment programme as above, with FTAI 35 days after PSM (n=87). All cows that returned to oestrus were artificially inseminated until 42 days after PSM, when natural mating was used. All cows were examined using transrectal ultrasonography 80 to 90 days after PSM to confirm conception dates. Of the 1,819 anoestrous cows treated before PSM, 526 (29 (95% CI=23.1-34.0)%) had not been observed in oestrus by 23 days after PSM and had not conceived, so were diagnosed as phantoms cows. For resynchronised cows, 42/87 (48 (95% CI=37.8-58.8)%) were pregnant by 42 days after PSM compared to 21/74 (28 (95% CI=18.1-38.7)%) control cows (p=0.009). At the end of mating 58/87 (67 (95% CI=56.6-76.7)%) cows in the resynchronised group were pregnant and 46/74 (62 (95% CI=50.9-73.2)%) in the control group (p=0.554). The hazard of conception from 21 to 42 days after PSM was 1.9 (95% CI=1.07-3.12) times greater for resynchronised than control cows (p=0.026). In cows not observed in oestrus and treated before PSM, resynchronisation increased the

Improvement to defect detection by ultrasonic data processing: the DTVG method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Francois, D.

1995-10-01

The cast elbows of the pipes of the principal primary circuit of French PWR, made of austenitic-ferritic stainless steel, pose problems to control. In order to improve the ultrasonic detection of defects in coarse-grained materials, we propose a method (called DTVG) based on the statistic study of the spatial stability of events contained in temporal signals. At the Beginning, the method was developed during a thesis (G. Corneloup, 1998) to improve the detection of cracks in thin thickness austenitic welds. Here, we propose to adapt the DTVG method and estimate its performances in detection of defects in thick materials representative of cast austenitic-ferritic elbows steels. The first objective of the study is adapting the original treatment applied to the thin thickness austenitic welds for the detection of defects in thick thickness austenitic-ferritic cast steels. The second objective consist of improving the algorithm to take in account the difference between thin and thick material and estimating the performances of the DTVG method in detection in specimen block with artificial defects. This work has led to adapt the original DTVG method to control thick cast austenitic-ferritic specimen (80 mm) under normal and oblique incidence. More, the study has allowed to make the the treatment automatic (automatic research of parameters). The results have shown that the DTVG method is fitted to detect artificial defects in thick cast austenitic-ferritic sample steel. All the defects in the specimen block have been detected without revealing false indication. (author). 4 refs., 4 figs

The improvement of the detection power of a U-shaped DC plasma

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

DRAGAN MARKOVIC

2001-04-01

Full Text Available Optimization of the operating parameters of U-shpaed DC arc plasma and spectrometer parameters has been undertaken to explore the possibilities of improving its detection power. It is demonstrated, with a U-shaped arc as an example, that the limits of detection, in addition to well-defined parameters as described by Boumans and Winge, depend on the signal integration time. It is shown that with increasing integration time, the limits of detection are decreased within some limits and that the precision and concentration sensitivity are improved as well. A mathematical expression for the dependence of the detection limit on the integration time is presented. To increase the reliability of the measurement of the mentioned parameters, the working conditions were optimized for the following analytes: Ag, Al, Au, Cr, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, Pd, Pt, and V. The obtained limits of detection are comparable or better than those obtained by ICP for the elements studied. Itwas estimed that the possibility exists for their further improvement up to 10 times.

Enhancement of optic cup detection through an improved vessel kink detection framework

Science.gov (United States)

Wong, Damon W. K.; Liu, Jiang; Tan, Ngan Meng; Zhang, Zhuo; Lu, Shijian; Lim, Joo Hwee; Li, Huiqi; Wong, Tien Yin

2010-03-01

Glaucoma is a leading cause of blindness. The presence and extent of progression of glaucoma can be determined if the optic cup can be accurately segmented from retinal images. In this paper, we present a framework which improves the detection of the optic cup. First, a region of interest is obtained from the retinal fundus image, and a pallor-based preliminary cup contour estimate is determined. Patches are then extracted from the ROI along this contour. To improve the usability of the patches, adaptive methods are introduced to ensure the patches are within the optic disc and to minimize redundant information. The patches are then analyzed for vessels by an edge transform which generates pixel segments of likely vessel candidates. Wavelet, color and gradient information are used as input features for a SVM model to classify the candidates as vessel or non-vessel. Subsequently, a rigourous non-parametric method is adopted in which a bi-stage multi-resolution approach is used to probe and localize the location of kinks along the vessels. Finally, contenxtual information is used to fuse pallor and kink information to obtain an enhanced optic cup segmentation. Using a batch of 21 images obtained from the Singapore Eye Research Institute, the new method results in a 12.64% reduction in the average overlap error against a pallor only cup, indicating viable improvements in the segmentation and supporting the use of kinks for optic cup detection.

Penggunaan Follicle Stimulating Hormone dan Pregnant Mare Serum Gonadotrophin untuk Superovulasi pada Sapi Persilangan Brahman

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adrian

2009-12-01

Full Text Available Twenty cattle were used in this experiment to determine the effect of administration follicle stimulating hormone (FSH and pregnant mare serum gonadotrophin (PMSG hormones on superovulation of Brahman cross cattle. The experiment was designed into completely randomized design with 5 treatments as follows. Treatments 1 (T1: 4 mg of FSH was injected twice a day intra-ovary, T2: 8 mg of FSH was injected twice a day intra-ovary, T3: 300 IU of PMSG was injected single dose intra-ovary, T4: 600 IU of PMSG was injected single dose intra-ovary, T5: 40 mg of FSH was injected intramuscular. All experimental cattle were oestrus synchronized using 15 mg of PGF2α twice at 11-days intervals. Number of corpus luteum (CL was detected by rectal palpation at day-7 after artificial insemination. Results showed that 19 cattle (95% indicated oestrus sign. Eleven cattle (57.9% showed oestrus sign 2 days after PGF2α injection and the rest 8 cattle (42.1% oestrus sign was detected at 3 days after PGF2α injection. FSH and PMSG treatments increased significantly (P<0.05 number of CL. The highest CL number was found in T5, meanwhile number of CL in T2 and T4 were higher compared to T1 and T3. The average treatment effect could produce 6.8±5.42 CL with range 2–26 CL. On the other hand single dose treatment of 600 IU PMSG (T4 showed high significant number of non ovulatory (persistent follicle compared to other treatments (T1, T2, T3 and T5 on average number of persistent follicle 2.0±1.97 from 19 cattles. It is concluded that the best superovulation treatment was produced by injection 40 mg of FSH intra-musculary.

Wombat reproduction (Marsupialia; Vombatidae): an update and future directions for the development of artificial breeding technology.

Science.gov (United States)

Hogan, Lindsay A; Janssen, Tina; Johnston, Stephen D

2013-06-01

This review provides an update on what is currently known about wombat reproductive biology and reports on attempts made to manipulate and/or enhance wombat reproduction as part of the development of artificial reproductive technology (ART) in this taxon. Over the last decade, the logistical difficulties associated with monitoring a nocturnal and semi-fossorial species have largely been overcome, enabling new features of wombat physiology and behaviour to be elucidated. Despite this progress, captive propagation rates are still poor and there are areas of wombat reproductive biology that still require attention, e.g. further characterisation of the oestrous cycle and oestrus. Numerous advances in the use of ART have also been recently developed in the Vombatidae but despite this research, practical methods of manipulating wombat reproduction for the purposes of obtaining research material or for artificial breeding are not yet available. Improvement of the propagation, genetic diversity and management of wombat populations requires a thorough understanding of Vombatidae reproduction. While semen collection and cryopreservation in wombats is fairly straightforward there is currently an inability to detect, induce or synchronise oestrus/ovulation and this is an impeding progress in the development of artificial insemination in this taxon.

Improving the Accuracy of Cloud Detection Using Machine Learning

Science.gov (United States)

Craddock, M. E.; Alliss, R. J.; Mason, M.

2017-12-01

Cloud detection from geostationary satellite imagery has long been accomplished through multi-spectral channel differencing in comparison to the Earth's surface. The distinction of clear/cloud is then determined by comparing these differences to empirical thresholds. Using this methodology, the probability of detecting clouds exceeds 90% but performance varies seasonally, regionally and temporally. The Cloud Mask Generator (CMG) database developed under this effort, consists of 20 years of 4 km, 15minute clear/cloud images based on GOES data over CONUS and Hawaii. The algorithms to determine cloudy pixels in the imagery are based on well-known multi-spectral techniques and defined thresholds. These thresholds were produced by manually studying thousands of images and thousands of man-hours to determine the success and failure of the algorithms to fine tune the thresholds. This study aims to investigate the potential of improving cloud detection by using Random Forest (RF) ensemble classification. RF is the ideal methodology to employ for cloud detection as it runs efficiently on large datasets, is robust to outliers and noise and is able to deal with highly correlated predictors, such as multi-spectral satellite imagery. The RF code was developed using Python in about 4 weeks. The region of focus selected was Hawaii and includes the use of visible and infrared imagery, topography and multi-spectral image products as predictors. The development of the cloud detection technique is realized in three steps. First, tuning of the RF models is completed to identify the optimal values of the number of trees and number of predictors to employ for both day and night scenes. Second, the RF models are trained using the optimal number of trees and a select number of random predictors identified during the tuning phase. Lastly, the model is used to predict clouds for an independent time period than used during training and compared to truth, the CMG cloud mask. Initial results

Improving PET spatial resolution and detectability for prostate cancer imaging

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bal, H; Guerin, L; Casey, M E; Conti, M; Eriksson, L; Michel, C; Fanti, S; Pettinato, C; Adler, S; Choyke, P

2014-01-01

Prostate cancer, one of the most common forms of cancer among men, can benefit from recent improvements in positron emission tomography (PET) technology. In particular, better spatial resolution, lower noise and higher detectability of small lesions could be greatly beneficial for early diagnosis and could provide a strong support for guiding biopsy and surgery. In this article, the impact of improved PET instrumentation with superior spatial resolution and high sensitivity are discussed, together with the latest development in PET technology: resolution recovery and time-of-flight reconstruction. Using simulated cancer lesions, inserted in clinical PET images obtained with conventional protocols, we show that visual identification of the lesions and detectability via numerical observers can already be improved using state of the art PET reconstruction methods. This was achieved using both resolution recovery and time-of-flight reconstruction, and a high resolution image with 2 mm pixel size. Channelized Hotelling numerical observers showed an increase in the area under the LROC curve from 0.52 to 0.58. In addition, a relationship between the simulated input activity and the area under the LROC curve showed that the minimum detectable activity was reduced by more than 23%. (paper)

Growth rate of ovulatory follicles during the first ovulatory oestrus (after seasonal anoestrus) and subsequent oestrous period in Irish Draught mares.

Science.gov (United States)

Newcombe, John R; Cuervo-Arango, Juan

2013-03-12

It is believed that during the spring transition, the developing follicle tends to grow more slowly, persist longer and grow to a larger diameter prior to ovulation than at subsequent oestrus periods. A general suspicion, that the first ovulation of the year is less fertile than subsequent ovulations could be explained by a slower growth rate of the ovulatory follicle during transition with the consequent production of a subfertile oocyte. By detailed serial examination of the same group of Irish Draught mares over three winter/spring periods, no significant difference was found in either growth rate or pre-ovulatory diameter when compared with subsequent ovulations. Mean growth rates over the ten days prior to ovulation were 2.20 mm/day (range 1.18 to 3.64) and 2.19 mm/day (range 1.25 to 3.41) for first and subsequent ovulations respectively. Mean maximum pre-ovulatory diameters were 44.7 mm (range 35 to 59) and 43.5 mm (range 31 to 57.5) for first and subsequent ovulations respectively. The impression gained by practitioners that the first follicle develops more slowly during the transition to the first ovulation of the season may be due to less frequent examinations and consequently a failure to observe and record that follicles may grow and then regress during this period. The largest follicle observed a few days previously is not necessarily the same large follicle found at a later examination.

Use of nuclear techniques for evaluation of first service conception rate in dairy herds with artificial insemination in Chile

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sepulveda, N.G.; Risopatron, J.; Rodriguez, F.; Perez, E.

2001-01-01

The objective of this study was to identify causes of inefficiency in Artificial Insemination (AI) services in 12 dairy farms located in southern Chile. Milk progesterone concentration was determined on the day of breeding and then 10-12 and 21-22 days after AI. Data for semen and cow inseminated, including physical signs of oestrus, were recorded in a computer database (AIDA). Information from 713 cows with first services was analysed. The mean interval from calving to first service was 88.7 days and the mean interval from calving to conception was 107.9 days. The conception rate at first service was 61.9%. Incidence of incorrect AI, most likely due to erroneous heat detection, was 8.9%. Herd related problems affected efficiency of AI in 15.2%. The results show that important factors affecting reproductive performance include nutritional management, oestrus detection and AI technique. (author)

Determination of endocrine patterns and their applications in the swamp buffalo

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kamonpatana, M.

1984-01-01

The introduction of AI in swamp buffalo breeding has made hormonal measurement and treatment an important area of research. Hormonal regulation of buffalo reproduction is becoming an increasingly important tool for monitoring genetic progress and productivity. The development of immunoassay techniques for measuring progesterone was quickly identified as a suitable tool for monitoring the reproductive status of the water buffalo. Progesterone profiles during the oestrous cycle, pregnancy, parturition and post partum have been established. A knowledge of progesterone levels has helped to improve clinical skills in determining reproductive status. Attempts have been made to understand the role of gonadotrophins during these reproductive stages, to advance the onset of postpartum cyclicity, and to characterize the weak signs of oestrus. Peripartal changes of oestrone and prostaglandin have been monitored. Endocrinological methods for oestrus synchronization have been developed and applied and oestrone sulphate and progesterone have been used to assess pregnancy status and a rapid pregnancy test has been utilized to maximize reproductive efficiency in ranch-type breeding herds. In the male attempts have been made to clarify the testicular testosterone secretory capacity and the possible relationships between testosterone secretion, libido, semen characteristics and the influence of season. Within the context of long-term improvement, these studies should help to decrease calving intervals, improve heat and non-pregnancy detection, and allow for subfertility discrimination and sire selection with consequent increases in milk and meat production and draught power. (author)

Improved cancer detection in automated breast ultrasound by radiologists using Computer Aided Detection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zelst, J.C.M. van; Tan, T.; Platel, B.; Jong, M. de; Steenbakkers, A.; Mourits, M.; Grivegnee, A.; Borelli, C.; Karssemeijer, N.; Mann, R.M.

2017-01-01

Objective: To investigate the effect of dedicated Computer Aided Detection (CAD) software for automated breast ultrasound (ABUS) on the performance of radiologists screening for breast cancer. Methods: 90 ABUS views of 90 patients were randomly selected from a multi-institutional archive of cases collected between 2010 and 2013. This dataset included normal cases (n = 40) with >1 year of follow up, benign (n = 30) lesions that were either biopsied or remained stable, and malignant lesions (n = 20). Six readers evaluated all cases with and without CAD in two sessions. CAD-software included conventional CAD-marks and an intelligent minimum intensity projection of the breast tissue. Readers reported using a likelihood-of-malignancy scale from 0 to 100. Alternative free-response ROC analysis was used to measure the performance. Results: Without CAD, the average area-under-the-curve (AUC) of the readers was 0.77 and significantly improved with CAD to 0.84 (p = 0.001). Sensitivity of all readers improved (range 5.2–10.6%) by using CAD but specificity decreased in four out of six readers (range 1.4–5.7%). No significant difference was observed in the AUC between experienced radiologists and residents both with and without CAD. Conclusions: Dedicated CAD-software for ABUS has the potential to improve the cancer detection rates of radiologists screening for breast cancer.

Improved cancer detection in automated breast ultrasound by radiologists using Computer Aided Detection

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zelst, J.C.M. van, E-mail: Jan.vanZelst@radboudumc.nl [Radboud University Medical Center, Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Nijmegen (Netherlands); Tan, T.; Platel, B. [Radboud University Medical Center, Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Nijmegen (Netherlands); Jong, M. de [Jeroen Bosch Medical Centre, Department of Radiology, ‘s-Hertogenbosch (Netherlands); Steenbakkers, A. [Radboud University Medical Center, Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Nijmegen (Netherlands); Mourits, M. [Jeroen Bosch Medical Centre, Department of Radiology, ‘s-Hertogenbosch (Netherlands); Grivegnee, A. [Jules Bordet Institute, Department of Radiology, Brussels (Belgium); Borelli, C. [Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Department of Radiological Sciences, Rome (Italy); Karssemeijer, N.; Mann, R.M. [Radboud University Medical Center, Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Nijmegen (Netherlands)

2017-04-15

Objective: To investigate the effect of dedicated Computer Aided Detection (CAD) software for automated breast ultrasound (ABUS) on the performance of radiologists screening for breast cancer. Methods: 90 ABUS views of 90 patients were randomly selected from a multi-institutional archive of cases collected between 2010 and 2013. This dataset included normal cases (n = 40) with >1 year of follow up, benign (n = 30) lesions that were either biopsied or remained stable, and malignant lesions (n = 20). Six readers evaluated all cases with and without CAD in two sessions. CAD-software included conventional CAD-marks and an intelligent minimum intensity projection of the breast tissue. Readers reported using a likelihood-of-malignancy scale from 0 to 100. Alternative free-response ROC analysis was used to measure the performance. Results: Without CAD, the average area-under-the-curve (AUC) of the readers was 0.77 and significantly improved with CAD to 0.84 (p = 0.001). Sensitivity of all readers improved (range 5.2–10.6%) by using CAD but specificity decreased in four out of six readers (range 1.4–5.7%). No significant difference was observed in the AUC between experienced radiologists and residents both with and without CAD. Conclusions: Dedicated CAD-software for ABUS has the potential to improve the cancer detection rates of radiologists screening for breast cancer.

A Decline in Response Variability Improves Neural Signal Detection during Auditory Task Performance.

Science.gov (United States)

von Trapp, Gardiner; Buran, Bradley N; Sen, Kamal; Semple, Malcolm N; Sanes, Dan H

2016-10-26

The detection of a sensory stimulus arises from a significant change in neural activity, but a sensory neuron's response is rarely identical to successive presentations of the same stimulus. Large trial-to-trial variability would limit the central nervous system's ability to reliably detect a stimulus, presumably affecting perceptual performance. However, if response variability were to decrease while firing rate remained constant, then neural sensitivity could improve. Here, we asked whether engagement in an auditory detection task can modulate response variability, thereby increasing neural sensitivity. We recorded telemetrically from the core auditory cortex of gerbils, both while they engaged in an amplitude-modulation detection task and while they sat quietly listening to the identical stimuli. Using a signal detection theory framework, we found that neural sensitivity was improved during task performance, and this improvement was closely associated with a decrease in response variability. Moreover, units with the greatest change in response variability had absolute neural thresholds most closely aligned with simultaneously measured perceptual thresholds. Our findings suggest that the limitations imposed by response variability diminish during task performance, thereby improving the sensitivity of neural encoding and potentially leading to better perceptual sensitivity. The detection of a sensory stimulus arises from a significant change in neural activity. However, trial-to-trial variability of the neural response may limit perceptual performance. If the neural response to a stimulus is quite variable, then the response on a given trial could be confused with the pattern of neural activity generated when the stimulus is absent. Therefore, a neural mechanism that served to reduce response variability would allow for better stimulus detection. By recording from the cortex of freely moving animals engaged in an auditory detection task, we found that variability

Bayesian image reconstruction for improving detection performance of muon tomography.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Guobao; Schultz, Larry J; Qi, Jinyi

2009-05-01

Muon tomography is a novel technology that is being developed for detecting high-Z materials in vehicles or cargo containers. Maximum likelihood methods have been developed for reconstructing the scattering density image from muon measurements. However, the instability of maximum likelihood estimation often results in noisy images and low detectability of high-Z targets. In this paper, we propose using regularization to improve the image quality of muon tomography. We formulate the muon reconstruction problem in a Bayesian framework by introducing a prior distribution on scattering density images. An iterative shrinkage algorithm is derived to maximize the log posterior distribution. At each iteration, the algorithm obtains the maximum a posteriori update by shrinking an unregularized maximum likelihood update. Inverse quadratic shrinkage functions are derived for generalized Laplacian priors and inverse cubic shrinkage functions are derived for generalized Gaussian priors. Receiver operating characteristic studies using simulated data demonstrate that the Bayesian reconstruction can greatly improve the detection performance of muon tomography.

Improving Polyp Detection Algorithms for CT Colonography: Pareto Front Approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Adam; Li, Jiang; Summers, Ronald M; Petrick, Nicholas; Hara, Amy K

2010-03-21

We investigated a Pareto front approach to improving polyp detection algorithms for CT colonography (CTC). A dataset of 56 CTC colon surfaces with 87 proven positive detections of 53 polyps sized 4 to 60 mm was used to evaluate the performance of a one-step and a two-step curvature-based region growing algorithm. The algorithmic performance was statistically evaluated and compared based on the Pareto optimal solutions from 20 experiments by evolutionary algorithms. The false positive rate was lower (pPareto optimization process can effectively help in fine-tuning and redesigning polyp detection algorithms.

Oxytocin determination by radioimmunoassay in cattle. 2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schams, D.; Baumann, G.; Leidl, W.

1982-01-01

Oxytocin concentration in jugular vein blood was measured radioimmunologically with a detection limit of 3 pg/ml plasma in male and female cattle. Five bulls were tested; during mating a cow in oestrus with intromission and ejaculation, during mounting a dummy or another bull with ejaculation into an artificial vagina or during false mounts. No increase in oxytocin concentrations could be observed, but stimulation with an electro-ejaculator caused an increase ranging from 5-84 pg/ml after a latent period of 3-5 min. A similar response was observed in two cows following the same procedure. The contact with a bull, false mount or mating with intromission and ejaculation was not followed by a measurable oxytocin release in 5 test cows. The following stimulation techniques, massage of vulva and clitoris, massage of cervix and uterus per rectum, artificial insemination, introduction of a speculum into the vagina or insufflation of air into the vagina were performed with 5 cows and 5 heifers. Insufflation of air into the vagina was the most effective stimulus, eleciting an oxytocin release up to 588 pg/ml. All 5 heiers responded positively, as well as 4 cows in oestrus. The other manipulations cuased an oxytocin response mainly in heifers (whether in oestrus or dioestrus), whereas only one cow in oestrus responded with an oxytocin release. In general, oxytocin concentrations increase about 30-90 s after the start of the stimulus. (author)

Improvement of detection limits of PIXE by substrate signal reduction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beaulieu, S.; Nejedly, Z.; Campbell, J.L.; Edwards, G.C.; Dias, G.M.

2002-01-01

Limits of detection (LODs) for aerosol samples collected using PIXE International cascade impactors, were improved approximately 50% after reducing the cross-sectional area of the analytical beam based on results obtained from microscope photographs of aerosol deposits. Improvements in LODs were most noticeable for selected elements collected on the smaller stages of the impactor (stages 1-3)

Impedance pattern of vaginal and vestibular mucosa in cyclic goats

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ivo Křivánek

2008-01-01

Full Text Available The changes of vaginal and vestibular impedance during the oestrous cycle in goats were examined. The onset of oestrus was teased with a buck once a day during the experiment. Impedance was mea­sured by a four-terminal method. The vaginal impedance was recorded under slight pressure of electrodes to the vaginal dorsal wall at the cervix. The vestibular impedance was recorded under slight pressure of electrodes to the vestibular dorsal wall 5 cm from the vulva and at the vulva. The im­pe­dan­ce was measured once a day from 4 days before the expected oestrus to 6 days after onset of oestrus. The vaginal impedance at the cervix decreased during pro-oestrus (P < 0.01 and increased du­ring oestrus (P < 0.01. The vestibular impedance 5 cm from the vulva decreased during pro-oestrus (P < 0.01 and increased after oestrus (P < 0.01. The decrease of vaginal impedance during peri-oestrus was nearly twofold in comparison with the vestibular impedance 5 cm from the vulva. No sig­ni­fi­cant decrease of the vestibular impedance at the vulva was found during the oestrous cycle. The results indicate that the vaginal impedance at the cervix and vestibular impedance 5 cm from the vulva measured by means of a four-terminal method during the oestrous cycle display cyclic changes that are closely related to the oestrous behaviour of goats.

Design of improved detection instrumentation for the annulus gas system for wolsong 2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Seog Nam; Koo, Jun Mo; Chang, Ik Ho; Jung, Ho Chang; Han, Sang Joon

1996-01-01

The improved and advanced Annulus Gas System (AGS) has been developed for Wolsong 2 to satisfy the requirements of the regulatory body. The Atomic Energy Control Board (AECB) required a shorter detection time following a small leak from a pressure tube and/or calandria tube. This paper describes licensing requirements, functional requirements and detail design description for the AGS. The Wolsong unit No. 1 AGS was designed to operate as a stagnant system normally requiring only pressure regulation and having provisions for purging. The improved AGS involves the adoption of gas recirculation in AGS, duplication of dew point indicators with additional instrumentation and sampling provisions to prompt operator action. The improved system operates in the recirculation mode with continuous dew point measurement for leak detection. An AGS with improved detection instrumentation is provided. 8 refs., 3 figs. (author)

Research on Abnormal Detection Based on Improved Combination of K - means and SVDD

Science.gov (United States)

Hao, Xiaohong; Zhang, Xiaofeng

2018-01-01

In order to improve the efficiency of network intrusion detection and reduce the false alarm rate, this paper proposes an anomaly detection algorithm based on improved K-means and SVDD. The algorithm first uses the improved K-means algorithm to cluster the training samples of each class, so that each class is independent and compact in class; Then, according to the training samples, the SVDD algorithm is used to construct the minimum superspheres. The subordinate relationship of the samples is determined by calculating the distance of the minimum superspheres constructed by SVDD. If the test sample is less than the center of the hypersphere, the test sample belongs to this class, otherwise it does not belong to this class, after several comparisons, the final test of the effective detection of the test sample.In this paper, we use KDD CUP99 data set to simulate the proposed anomaly detection algorithm. The results show that the algorithm has high detection rate and low false alarm rate, which is an effective network security protection method.

An improved algorithm of laser spot center detection in strong noise background

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Le; Wang, Qianqian; Cui, Xutai; Zhao, Yu; Peng, Zhong

2018-01-01

Laser spot center detection is demanded in many applications. The common algorithms for laser spot center detection such as centroid and Hough transform method have poor anti-interference ability and low detection accuracy in the condition of strong background noise. In this paper, firstly, the median filtering was used to remove the noise while preserving the edge details of the image. Secondly, the binarization of the laser facula image was carried out to extract target image from background. Then the morphological filtering was performed to eliminate the noise points inside and outside the spot. At last, the edge of pretreated facula image was extracted and the laser spot center was obtained by using the circle fitting method. In the foundation of the circle fitting algorithm, the improved algorithm added median filtering, morphological filtering and other processing methods. This method could effectively filter background noise through theoretical analysis and experimental verification, which enhanced the anti-interference ability of laser spot center detection and also improved the detection accuracy.

Improving Nocturnal Fire Detection with the VIIRS Day-Night Band

Science.gov (United States)

Polivka, Thomas N.; Wang, Jun; Ellison, Luke T.; Hyer, Edward J.; Ichoku, Charles M.

2016-01-01

Building on existing techniques for satellite remote sensing of fires, this paper takes advantage of the day-night band (DNB) aboard the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) to develop the Firelight Detection Algorithm (FILDA), which characterizes fire pixels based on both visible-light and infrared (IR) signatures at night. By adjusting fire pixel selection criteria to include visible-light signatures, FILDA allows for significantly improved detection of pixels with smaller and/or cooler subpixel hotspots than the operational Interface Data Processing System (IDPS) algorithm. VIIRS scenes with near-coincident Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection (ASTER) overpasses are examined after applying the operational VIIRS fire product algorithm and including a modified "candidate fire pixel selection" approach from FILDA that lowers the 4-µm brightness temperature (BT) threshold but includes a minimum DNB radiance. FILDA is shown to be effective in detecting gas flares and characterizing fire lines during large forest fires (such as the Rim Fire in California and High Park fire in Colorado). Compared with the operational VIIRS fire algorithm for the study period, FILDA shows a large increase (up to 90%) in the number of detected fire pixels that can be verified with the finer resolution ASTER data (90 m). Part (30%) of this increase is likely due to a combined use of DNB and lower 4-µm BT thresholds for fire detection in FILDA. Although further studies are needed, quantitative use of the DNB to improve fire detection could lead to reduced response times to wildfires and better estimate of fire characteristics (smoldering and flaming) at night.

Mobile Anomaly Detection Based on Improved Self-Organizing Maps

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chunyong Yin

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Anomaly detection has always been the focus of researchers and especially, the developments of mobile devices raise new challenges of anomaly detection. For example, mobile devices can keep connection with Internet and they are rarely turned off even at night. This means mobile devices can attack nodes or be attacked at night without being perceived by users and they have different characteristics from Internet behaviors. The introduction of data mining has made leaps forward in this field. Self-organizing maps, one of famous clustering algorithms, are affected by initial weight vectors and the clustering result is unstable. The optimal method of selecting initial clustering centers is transplanted from K-means to SOM. To evaluate the performance of improved SOM, we utilize diverse datasets and KDD Cup99 dataset to compare it with traditional one. The experimental results show that improved SOM can get higher accuracy rate for universal datasets. As for KDD Cup99 dataset, it achieves higher recall rate and precision rate.

A field study of postpartum period of dairy cows by rectal palpation and progesterone profiles in the milk by radioimmunoassay

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kozicki, Luis Ernandes; Silva, Marcelo Alves da; Woellner, Luis Carlos; Shibata, Flavia Kazumi

1998-01-01

This study was carried out on 18 calved dairy cows, near the town of Curitiba-PR-Brazil. The animals were submitted weekly to a rectal palpation of the genital tract and the uterine involution and ovarian activity were considered. The rectal palpations began from the 7 th day postpartum till the 49 th day. at the same milk samples the first morning milk were taken on the 9 th week. The progesterone (P 4 ) level determination of the milk was established by radioimmunoassay. The findings of the research showed: the postpartum oestrus was observed at the 28.5 th day and the corpus luteum was detected on the 34.5 th day. The period from oestrus to the first high progesterone level post partum was 5.5 days. The uterine involution period was carried on the 24.1 th day. The progesterone dominant period was shorter and had duration of 11.5 days on the first oestrus cycle post partum. The progesterone concentration from the first Corpus luteum post partum was low (1.9 ng/ml milk). The anoestrus rate until 49 th day postpartum was 33.3% and the silent heat rate reached 61.1%. (author)

Radioimmunoassay determination of the effect on animal reproduction of alternative of feeding suplementation in dairy cows. Alternativas de alimentacion en vacas lecheras y sus efectos en la reproduccion animal, determinados por radioinmunoanalisis, RIA

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Villalba, Patricio [Comision Ecuatoriana de Energia Atomica, Quito (Ecuador); Ambuludi, Eduardo [Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Universidad Central del (Ecuador)

1993-07-01

The principal object of this trial was to evaluate the influence of three alternatives of feeding suplementation in dairy cows in the post-partum period in ecuadorian highlands. Thirty sic animals in fist lactation were used in this experiment and were divided in three groups according to the feed intake: Group A diet was 5 Kg. of a commercial concentrate mixture with 12 per cent of crude protein plus pasture ad libitum; Group B diet was green banans (Musa paradisiaca) and pasture and Group C diet was the control only pasture. Using Radioimmunoassay technique (RIA), progesterone values were determinated in milk from each cow. the sampling was sequential, two samples a week, starting 6 days after parturition, until the animal was pregnant or until the study was finished, 150 days after post-partum for each cow. This research allowed us to evaluate the ovaric post-partum activity of each group: Frequency and length of the oestrus cycles; efficiency of oestrus detection, calving-first, oestrus period, calving-conception length, conception rate, and services per conception. Additional datas were used in this study such as: milk production, palpations and treatments.

Radioimmunoassay determination of the effect on animal reproduction of alternative of feeding suplementation in dairy cows

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Villalba, Patricio; Ambuludi, Eduardo

1993-01-01

The principal object of this trial was to evaluate the influence of three alternatives of feeding suplementation in dairy cows in the post-partum period in ecuadorian highlands. Thirty sic animals in fist lactation were used in this experiment and were divided in three groups according to the feed intake: Group A diet was 5 Kg. of a commercial concentrate mixture with 12 per cent of crude protein plus pasture ad libitum; Group B diet was green banans (Musa paradisiaca) and pasture and Group C diet was the control only pasture. Using Radioimmunoassay technique (RIA), progesterone values were determinated in milk from each cow. the sampling was sequential, two samples a week, starting 6 days after parturition, until the animal was pregnant or until the study was finished, 150 days after post-partum for each cow. This research allowed us to evaluate the ovaric post-partum activity of each group: Frequency and length of the oestrus cycles; efficiency of oestrus detection, calving-first, oestrus period, calving-conception length, conception rate, and services per conception. Additional datas were used in this study such as: milk production, palpations and treatments

Improving HOG with image segmentation: application to human detection

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Salas, Y.S.; Bermudez, D.V.; Peña, A.M.L.; Gomez, D.G.; Gevers, T.

2012-01-01

In this paper we improve the histogram of oriented gradients (HOG), a core descriptor of state-of-the-art object detection, by the use of higher-level information coming from image segmentation. The idea is to re-weight the descriptor while computing it without increasing its size. The benefits of

Improvement and development of automatic detection techniques

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yamada, Kiyomi; Takai, Setsuo; Togashi, Chikako; Itami, Jun

2000-01-01

For detection of radiation-induced mutation, establishment of a new sample preparation method and its procedures suitable for its automation is thought to be the key step to improve the detection efficacy and save labor. In this study, an investigation was made on the sensitivity to radiation exposure in respect of the occurrence of chromosomal breakage by high precision chromosome coloring method utilizing FISH. The number of chromosome breakage per cell was determined in chromosome 1, 4, 5, 9, 11 and 13 prepared from an identical sample exposed to three different grays. The breakage number was found to increase linearly as an increase in the amount of chromosomal DNA and hotspots of the radiation-induced breakages tended to concentrate in R band and the position of R band was almost coincident with the sites of chromosomal translocation breakages specific to leukemia, showing a correlation of radiation exposure to leukemia. Chromosome 13, 14 and 15, which were different in band pattern but similar in its length taken from cells exposed to X-ray at 5 Gy were investigated in detail and it was found that the sensitivity of chromosome to radiation was depending on the quantity and the quality of R band in each chromosome. The benefits of this chromosome coloring method for the analysis of chromosome breakage were as follows: when compared with the conventional dicentric method, the kinds of chromosomal abnormalities to be detectable were much more and its detection rate as well as accuracy was higher. In addition, the time required for determination was loess than one tenth of the conventional one. A breakage site was detectable with differences in color tone and thus, any special technique was not necessary. Therefore, the chromosome coloring method by FISH was demonstrated to be much suitable for automatic image analysis by computer. (M.N.)

Sensitivity of the improved Dutch tube diffusion test for detection of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The sensitivity of the improved two-tube test for detection of antimicrobial residues in Kenyan milk was investigated by comparison with the commercial Delvo test SP. Suspect positive milk samples (n =244) from five milk collection centers, were analyzed with the improved two-tube and the commercial Delvo SP test as per ...

Improvements in the detection of airborne plutonium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ryden, D.J.

1981-02-01

It is shown how it is possible to compensate individually for each of the background components on the filter paper used to collect samples. Experimentally it has been shown that the resulting compensated background count-rate averages zero with a standard deviation very close to the fundamental limit set by random statistical variations. Considerable improvements in the sensitivity of detecting airborne plutonium have been achieved. Two new plutonium-in-air monitors which use the compensation schemes described in this report are now available. Both have operated successfully in high concentrations of radon daughters. (author)

Improvements in detection system for pulse radiolysis facility

CERN Document Server

Rao, V N; Manimaran, P; Mishra, R K; Mohan, H; Mukherjee, T; Nadkarni, S A; Sapre, A V; Shinde, S J; Toley, M

2002-01-01

This report describes the improvements made in the detection system of the pulse radiolysis facility based on a 7 MeV Linear Electron Accelerator (LINAC) located in the Radiation Chemistry and Chemical Dynamics Division of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre. The facility was created in 1986 for kinetic studies of transient species whose absorption lies between 200 and 700 nm. The newly developed detection circuits consist of a silicon (Si) photodiode (PD) detector for the wavelength range 450-1100 nm and a germanium (Ge) photodiode detector for the wavelength range 900-1600 nm. With these photodiode-based detection set-up, kinetic experiments are now routinely carried out in the wavelength range 450-1600 nm. The performance of these circuits has been tested using standard chemical systems. The rise time has been found to be 150 ns. The photo-multiplier tube (PMT) bleeder circuit has been modified. A new DC back-off circuit has been built and installed in order to avoid droop at longer time scales. A steady baselin...

Improving Accuracy of Intrusion Detection Model Using PCA and optimized SVM

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sumaiya Thaseen Ikram

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Intrusion detection is very essential for providing security to different network domains and is mostly used for locating and tracing the intruders. There are many problems with traditional intrusion detection models (IDS such as low detection capability against unknown network attack, high false alarm rate and insufficient analysis capability. Hence the major scope of the research in this domain is to develop an intrusion detection model with improved accuracy and reduced training time. This paper proposes a hybrid intrusiondetection model by integrating the principal component analysis (PCA and support vector machine (SVM. The novelty of the paper is the optimization of kernel parameters of the SVM classifier using automatic parameter selection technique. This technique optimizes the punishment factor (C and kernel parameter gamma (γ, thereby improving the accuracy of the classifier and reducing the training and testing time. The experimental results obtained on the NSL KDD and gurekddcup dataset show that the proposed technique performs better with higher accuracy, faster convergence speed and better generalization. Minimum resources are consumed as the classifier input requires reduced feature set for optimum classification. A comparative analysis of hybrid models with the proposed model is also performed.

Quantitative Digital Tomosynthesis Mammography for Improved Breast Cancer Detection and Diagnosis

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Zhang, Yiheng

2008-01-01

.... When fully developed, the DTM can provide radiologists improved quantitative, three-dimensional volumetric information of the breast tissue, and assist in breast cancer detection and diagnosis...

Oestrus ovis (Diptera: Oestridae an important ectoparasite in sheep of four cantons of the municipality of Sorata province Larecaja, department of La Paz

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Choque-Fernández Graciela Cristina

2017-04-01

Full Text Available The study of Oestrosis in sheep was carried out in the cantons of Sorata, Obispo Bosque, Laripata and Ilabaya, belonging to the Municipality of Sorata, under the agreement made with the institution Departmental Agricultural and Livestock Service (SEDAG between August and September 2002, with 164 heads of sheep out of which 151 heads were Oestrus ovis, 13 were negative, taking into account the factors canton, sex, age and number of larvae per animal. The prevalence of Oestrosis in Sorata was 39% and by corner Obispo Bosque 28%, Ilabaya and Laripata 18% and 15% respectively. The analysis of variance to quantify the number of larvae per canton did not present significant differences (P> 0.005 as well as for the sex and age factor, which means that the canton Sorata, Obispo Bosque, Laripata and Ilabaya have equal % of Oestrosis for The age factor is not significant difference between females and males nor groups of age 1 and 2. Analysis of variance to determine the differences in the number of larvae per canton, sex, age and larval stage also does not exist significant differences, however, considering (P <0.005 because there are more larvae in the L-1 stage than L-2 and L-3. In this sense, Oestrosis affects all the cantons under study without distinction of age groups, sex, however varying in the presence of different larval stages, where L-1 predominates.

The effect of GnRH or oestradiol injected at pro-oestrus on luteal function and follicular dynamics of the subsequent oestrous cycle in non-lactating cycling Holstein cows

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

B.V.E. Segwagwe

2006-09-01

Full Text Available Oestrous synchronization involves synchronization of ovarian follicular turnover, new wave emergence, and finally induction of ovulation. The final step can be synchronized by the parenteral administration of either GnRH or oestradiol benzoate. This study investigated corpus luteum and follicular emergence after ovulation had been induced by the administration of either GnRH or oestradiol benzoate. The injection of oestradiol benzoate may have delayed the emergence of the first follicular wave subsequent to the induced ovulation; administration of oestradiol benzoate or GnRH lowered the progesterone rise so that the maximum dioestrous concentration of progesterone on Day 9 was lower when cows were treated during pro-oestrus compared to the spontaneously ovulating controls. One implication of findings from the present study is that induction of ovulation with either oestradiol benzoate or GnRH, administered 24 or 36 h after withdrawal of the CIDR device, respectively, may lower fertility. Future studies must identify the timing of administration relative to the time of CIDR device withdrawal and the optimum concentration of oestradiol benzoate or GnRH that would not have untoward effects on the development of the corpus lutea, particularly within the first week of dioestrus.

Influence of organic phosphorus on reproductive performance and metabolic profiles of anoestrous Farafra ewes in subtropics at the end of breeding season.

Science.gov (United States)

Senosy, W; Kassab, A Y; Hamdon, H A; Mohammed, A A

2018-05-07

The effect of organic phosphorus on metabolic, haematological and hormonal status, restoration of ovarian functions and conception rate in anoestrous Farafra ewes in subtropics were evaluated. Anoestrous Farafra ewes (n = 24; 34.72 ± 0.52 kg body weight) were allocated into two equal groups: control and phosphorus groups. The ewes of phosphorus group were treated with sodium 4-dimethylamino-2-methyl-phenyl-phosphonate as an organic bound phosphorous twice a week for successive 3 weeks. Ovarian follicle development and corpora lutea were checked three times a week till occurrence of oestrus using ultrasonography while pregnancy was confirmed at 30 days post-service. Plasma metabolites, reproductive hormones, thyroid hormones and minerals were detected at weeks -2, -1, 0 (mating day) and + 4 weeks post-oestrus. Phosphorus group had significantly (p ewes (2.1 ± 0.8 weeks vs. 4.6 ± 1.1 weeks). In addition, phosphorous supplementation significantly (p ewes (10.8 ± 0.44; p ewes in subtropics could improve reproductive performance and restore ovarian activity at the end of spring and early summer. © 2018 Blackwell Verlag GmbH.

Plasma levels of progesterone in cycling and pregnant ewes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reddy, K.P.; Rao, P.N.; Reddy, B.B.; Murthy, A.S.N.

1989-01-01

The plasma progesterone profile of six cycling and three pregnant Nellore ewes was estimated by radioimmunoassay. The progesterone level of cycling ewes started rising from undetectable level on the day of oestrus to a mean peak value of 0.41 ± 0.09ng/ml during post oestrus day 10 to 14 and then declined to undetectable levels 1 to 2 days before subsequent oestrus. But the progesterone levels of pregnant ewes exhibited further raise from the post oestrus day 14 to the day 40. However, no correlation between oestrous cycle length and the total progesterone produced during the oestrous cycle was observed. (author). 9 refs., 2 figs

Results of a multivariate approach to automated oestrus and mastitis detection

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mol, de R.M.; Kroeze, G.H.; Achten, J.M.F.H.; Maatje, K.; Rossing, W.

1997-01-01

In modern dairy farming sensors can be used to measure on-line milk yield, milk temperature, electrical conductivity of quarter milk, concentrate intake and the cow's activity. Together with information from the management information system (MIS), the sensor data can be used for the automated

Effects of GnRH, a progesterone-releasing device, and energy balance on an oestrus synchronisation program in anoestrous dairy cows.

Science.gov (United States)

Sahu, S K; Cockrem, J F; Parkinson, T J; Laven, R A

2017-08-01

The aim of this research was to study the roles of the day 0 energy balance and gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH) and progesterone levels on dominant follicle (DF) and corpus luteum (CL) development during the first 7 days of a gonadotrophin-prostaglandin-gonadotrophin (GPG) + progesterone (P4) program in anoestrous dairy cows. Cows (n = 81) were allocated to one of the three treatments: (1) GPG + P4 (days 0 and 9, 100 µg GnRH; day 0-7, intravaginal P4 device; day 7, 500 µg PGF 2α ); (2) GPG (as for treatment 1 but excluding the P4 device) and (3) prostaglandin + GnRH + P4 (as for treatment 1, but excluding day 0 GnRH). DF and CL size, plasma concentrations of insulin, insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) and non-esterified fatty acid (NEFA) were measured on days 0 and 7. The proportion of cows with a CL on day 7 was significantly different between groups (GPG: 78%, GPG+P4: 69%, PGF 2α + GnRH + P4: 42%, P = 0.02). The CL volume on day 7 was significantly associated with treatment, treatment by time postpartum and plasma concentrations of insulin, IGF-I and NEFA. In cows without a CL present on day 0 of an oestrus synchronisation program, removal of the day 0 GnRH treatment led to reduced CL development; however, no effect of adding progesterone was found. In contrast, in cows with a CL present on day 0 inclusion of a progesterone device led to a higher CL volume, but removal of the first GnRH injection had no effect. Response to the treatment was affected by plasma concentrations of insulin, IGF-I and NEFA. © 2017 Australian Veterinary Association.

Effects of hormonehCG following injection of estnanate of reproductive performances ofswamp buffalo (Bubalus bubalis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Polmer Situmorang

1998-12-01

Full Text Available Low reproductive performance of buffalo resulted the population growth in Indonesia was only slightly increase during the last 50 year. Reproductive performance can be improved by hormone treatment during synchronization . One study was conducted in Porsea and Siborong-borong to see the effects of hormone hCG on the reproductive performances of swamp buffalo . A total of 34 buffaloes were kept in field grazing and commercial concentrate 4 kg/head/day was given for supplementation in 27 buffaloes and the rest 7 buffaloes treated as control with no supplemeniation . Synchronization performed by two intromuscular (IM injections of2 ml estrumate in 11 days interval . The buffaloes were divided into 2 groups of 16 buffaloes without hCG (Control group and 18 buffaloes with hCG (Treated group. Treated group wereinjected with 500 IU hCG intro-muscularly (IM 24-48 hours following second injection of estrumate . All buffaloes were artificially inseminated (AI 48 and 72 hours after the second injection of estrumate. Results showed that injection of estrurnate twice in 11 days interval was very effective to synchronize oestrus of buffaloes. The persentage of buffalo showing oestrus was 67 .5 and 85 .3% following 48 and 72 Ins of thesecond injection of estrumate resfectively . The effectiveness of estrumate was significantly affected by body condition of buffaloes where the persentage of oestrus 48 and 72 hours following estrumate injection was significantly higher (P<0.01 in buffaloes with good body condition than those in poor body condition (74.5 and 92.5% vs 42 .9 and 57 .1%. Injection ofhCG following estrumate increased the percentage of oestrus and pregnancy of buffalo. Percentages of oestrus of buffaloes 48 and 72 hours following estrumate injections was significantly higher (P<0 .01 in hCG treatment (83 .3 and 100% than those in control groups (68 .8 and 81 .3% . The pregnancy rate of buffalo with good body condition was significantly higher (P<0

Harmonic detection of magnetic resonance for sensitivity improvement of optical atomic magnetometers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ranjbaran, M. [Laser and Plasma Research Institute, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Tehranchi, M.M., E-mail: teranchi@sbu.ac.ir [Laser and Plasma Research Institute, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Physics Department, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Hamidi, S.M. [Laser and Plasma Research Institute, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Khalkhali, S.M.H. [Physics Department, Kharazmi University, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

2017-02-15

Highly sensitive atomic magnetometers use optically detected magnetic resonance of atomic spins to measure extremely weak magnetic field changes. The magnetometer sensitivity is directly proportional to the ratio of intensity to line-shape of the resonance signal. To obtain narrower resonance signal, we implemented harmonic detection of magnetic resonance method in M{sub x} configuration. The nonlinear spin polarization dynamics in detection of the higher harmonics were employed in phenomenological Bloch equations. The measured and simulated harmonic components of the resonance signals in frequency domain yielded significantly narrower line-width accompanying much improved sensitivity. Our results confirm the sensitivity improvement by a factor of two in optical atomic magnetometer via second harmonic signal which can open a new insight in the weak magnetic field measurement system design. - Highlights: • Highly sensitive atomic magnetometers have been used to measure weak magentic filed. • To obtain narrower resonance signal, we impalnted harmonic detection of magnetic resonance. • The nonlinear spin polarization dynamics in detetion of the higher harmonics were imployed.

Detection of pulmonary nodules. Improvement by new screen-film systems?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lehmann, K.J.; Himmighoefer, U.

1994-01-01

In addition to digital radiography and AMBER, the development of asymmetric screen-film systems is another attempt to optimize chest radiography. Due to reduced contrast in the parenchyma, the former asymmetric screen-film systems did not show sufficient image quality. Three new asymmetric systems with completely different composition are available now. In-Sight VHC (Kodak), High Light GUV (3M) and Opthos D (Agfa) were compared to standard chest films using densitometric curves, a chest phantom for high and low contrast detectability, a nodule detection phantom and patient studies. The sensitivity of nodule detection in the mediastinum has been 41-48% for L-films and 58-65% for the asymmetric screen-film systems. No differences could be demonstrated for nodule detection in the lung field. Contrast in the parenchyma is equivalent to L-films. There is no loss of diagnostic information in the lung field. Differences between the asymmetric systems concern speed, dynamic range and granularity. If AMBER and digital radiography are not available, new asymmetric screen-film systems can improve nodule detection without further investment costs. (orig.) [de

Technical improvement and development of automatic detection method for genomic mutation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yamada, Kiyomi; Takai, Setsuo; Togashi, Chikako; Itami, Jun

1999-01-01

Fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) method was improved to estimate the dose of radiation exposure. Cleavage of DNA molecules in lymphocyte was used as the detection parameter and the procedures for preparation of samples suitable for atomic force microscopy and laser microscopy were developed. When ordinal primers on the market were used for PCR, the products were generally too small (about 200 b.p.) for detection by FISH method. Therefore, dATP and biotin-labeled dUTP were linked to its 3'-end by treatment with TdT for 2 hours, resulting that the mean length of PCR products was ca. 1.5 Kb. After hybridization using this prove, signal amplification was carried out according to biotin-avidin detection method. Thus, fluorescent signals on chromosomes could be easily detected. When three primers, D6S105, D6S291 and D6S282 were used as primer, fluorescent signal was detectable at 3 sites on chromatin fiber. These results indicate that this method is available for the analysis of cleavage of chromosomes. However, the backgrounds were much varied depending on the way to wash the preparation after incubation with fluorescent particle to form biotin-avidin binding. Therefore, further improvement of this method was necessary to apply in practice. When chromosomes 13, 14 and 15 from lymphocytes exposed to X-ray were used as test samples, it was demonstrated that radio-sensitivity was variable depending on the contents of R band in each chromosome. (M.N.)

The effect of intrauterine and cervical manipulation on the equine oestrous cycle and hormone profiles.

Science.gov (United States)

Hurtgen, J P; Ganjam, V K

1979-01-01

Endometrial biopsy or endometrial biopsy and uterine culture taken on Day 4 after oestrus induced lysis of the corpus luteum (CL), resulting in a sharp decline in serum progesterone concentration and shortened the interoestrous interval in 8/12 and 32/33 oestrous cycles, respectively, during 2 experiments. Cervical dilatation 4 days after oestrus shortened the interoestrus interval in 5/10 and 0/5 oestrous cycles. Endometrial biopsy and culture on Days 1 and 3 after oestrus also induced CL lysis during 4 of 7 cycles. Total oestrogen (oestrone plus oestradiol) concentrations increased at the onset of the subsequent oestrus in mares biopsied on Day 4 of dioestrus or in control cycle oestrous periods. Endometrial biopsy also induced lysis of the CL in mares with persistent luteal function. It is postulated that intracervical or intrauterine manipulations during the luteal phase of the oestrous cycle may directly, or indirectly, stimulate the release of an endogenous luteolysin (prostaglandin) resulting in CL regression, followed by oestrus and ovulation in the mare.

Computing Adaptive Feature Weights with PSO to Improve Android Malware Detection

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yanping Xu

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Android malware detection is a complex and crucial issue. In this paper, we propose a malware detection model using a support vector machine (SVM method based on feature weights that are computed by information gain (IG and particle swarm optimization (PSO algorithms. The IG weights are evaluated based on the relevance between features and class labels, and the PSO weights are adaptively calculated to result in the best fitness (the performance of the SVM classification model. Moreover, to overcome the defects of basic PSO, we propose a new adaptive inertia weight method called fitness-based and chaotic adaptive inertia weight-PSO (FCAIW-PSO that improves on basic PSO and is based on the fitness and a chaotic term. The goal is to assign suitable weights to the features to ensure the best Android malware detection performance. The results of experiments indicate that the IG weights and PSO weights both improve the performance of SVM and that the performance of the PSO weights is better than that of the IG weights.

Improved Genetic Algorithm Optimization for Forward Vehicle Detection Problems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Longhui Gang

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Automated forward vehicle detection is an integral component of many advanced driver-assistance systems. The method based on multi-visual information fusion, with its exclusive advantages, has become one of the important topics in this research field. During the whole detection process, there are two key points that should to be resolved. One is to find the robust features for identification and the other is to apply an efficient algorithm for training the model designed with multi-information. This paper presents an adaptive SVM (Support Vector Machine model to detect vehicle with range estimation using an on-board camera. Due to the extrinsic factors such as shadows and illumination, we pay more attention to enhancing the system with several robust features extracted from a real driving environment. Then, with the introduction of an improved genetic algorithm, the features are fused efficiently by the proposed SVM model. In order to apply the model in the forward collision warning system, longitudinal distance information is provided simultaneously. The proposed method is successfully implemented on a test car and evaluation experimental results show reliability in terms of both the detection rate and potential effectiveness in a real-driving environment.

A Method for Improving Reliability of Radiation Detection using Deep Learning Framework

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chang, Hojong; Kim, Tae-Ho; Han, Byunghun; Kim, Hyunduk; Kim, Ki-duk

2017-01-01

Radiation detection is essential technology for overall field of radiation and nuclear engineering. Previously, technology for radiation detection composes of preparation of the table of the input spectrum to output spectrum in advance, which requires simulation of numerous predicted output spectrum with simulation using parameters modeling the spectrum. In this paper, we propose new technique to improve the performance of radiation detector. The software in the radiation detector has been stagnant for a while with possible intrinsic error of simulation. In the proposed method, to predict the input source using output spectrum measured by radiation detector is performed using deep neural network. With highly complex model, we expect that the complex pattern between data and the label can be captured well. Furthermore, the radiation detector should be calibrated regularly and beforehand. We propose a method to calibrate radiation detector using GAN. We hope that the power of deep learning may also reach to radiation detectors and make huge improvement on the field. Using improved radiation detector, the reliability of detection would be confident, and there are many tasks remaining to solve using deep learning in nuclear engineering society.

Oestrus synchronization treatment induces histomorphological changes on the uterine tube epithelium of the gilt.

Science.gov (United States)

Juárez-Mosqueda, M L; Anzaldúa Arce, S R; Palma Lara, I; García Dalmán, C; Cornejo Cortés, M A; Córdova Izquierdo, A; Villaseñor Gaona, H; Trujillo Ortega, M E

2015-12-01

The aim of this study was to determine the histomorphological changes that occurred in response to two treatments for oestrus synchronization in three different regions of the gilt's uterine tubes epithelium: the ampulla (AMP), ampulla-isthmic junction (AIJ) and isthmus (IST). Nine prepuberal gilts were divided into three groups (n = 3): (1) eCG 400 IU and hCG 200 IU (eCG/hCG), (2) progesterone agonist (P4) and (3) control group. The number of secretory cells (stained with periodic acid-Schiff reaction or PAS-positive cells) decreased in the AMP in the P4 treated group when compared to the control group, whereas, no difference was observed in the number of PAS-negative cells in the AMP of the three groups. A significant decrease in the number of PAS-positive cells was observed in the AIJ and IST of the P4 treated group when compared to the eCG/hCG and control groups. An increase in the number of PAS-negative cells was observed in the AIJ and IST in the P4 treated group. The epithelium height in the AMP and AIJ was increased in the eCG/hCG group when compared to the control and P4 groups. In this last group, we observed a reduced height compared with the other two groups for the AIJ. In the IST, there were no significant changes in the epithelium height of the control or the other two groups (eCG/hCG and P4). The epithelial cells of the P4 treated group had the least amount of cytoplasmic granules and the lowest intensity of PAS staining in the AMP, AIJ and IST. Animals treated with eCG/hCG showed an intermediate number of cytoplasmic granules and intensity in all regions evaluated. These data show that P4 treatment for synchronization induces a significant (P epithelium. Moreover, eCG/hCG treatment increased the height of the epithelium in the AMP and AIJ, while in this last region, the P4 treatment decreased the epithelium height. These results show that synchronization treatments with P4 and in a smaller proportion with eCG/hCG can modify the amount of PAS

Improving detection probabilities for pests in stored grain.

Science.gov (United States)

Elmouttie, David; Kiermeier, Andreas; Hamilton, Grant

2010-12-01

The presence of insects in stored grain is a significant problem for grain farmers, bulk grain handlers and distributors worldwide. Inspection of bulk grain commodities is essential to detect pests and thereby to reduce the risk of their presence in exported goods. It has been well documented that insect pests cluster in response to factors such as microclimatic conditions within bulk grain. Statistical sampling methodologies for grain, however, have typically considered pests and pathogens to be homogeneously distributed throughout grain commodities. In this paper, a sampling methodology is demonstrated that accounts for the heterogeneous distribution of insects in bulk grain. It is shown that failure to account for the heterogeneous distribution of pests may lead to overestimates of the capacity for a sampling programme to detect insects in bulk grain. The results indicate the importance of the proportion of grain that is infested in addition to the density of pests within the infested grain. It is also demonstrated that the probability of detecting pests in bulk grain increases as the number of subsamples increases, even when the total volume or mass of grain sampled remains constant. This study underlines the importance of considering an appropriate biological model when developing sampling methodologies for insect pests. Accounting for a heterogeneous distribution of pests leads to a considerable improvement in the detection of pests over traditional sampling models. Copyright © 2010 Society of Chemical Industry.

A comparative study on methods of improving SCR for ship detection in SAR image

Science.gov (United States)

Lang, Haitao; Shi, Hongji; Tao, Yunhong; Ma, Li

2017-10-01

Knowledge about ship positions plays a critical role in a wide range of maritime applications. To improve the performance of ship detector in SAR image, an effective strategy is improving the signal-to-clutter ratio (SCR) before conducting detection. In this paper, we present a comparative study on methods of improving SCR, including power-law scaling (PLS), max-mean and max-median filter (MMF1 and MMF2), method of wavelet transform (TWT), traditional SPAN detector, reflection symmetric metric (RSM), scattering mechanism metric (SMM). The ability of SCR improvement to SAR image and ship detection performance associated with cell- averaging CFAR (CA-CFAR) of different methods are evaluated on two real SAR data.

[Microscopic structure of the epithelium of the oviducts in cows during the estrus cycle].

Science.gov (United States)

Uhrín, V

1983-03-01

The mucous membrane of a cow is covered with ciliary and secretory cells. The so-called basal cells occur at the basal membrane. The counts of ciliary cells vary during the sexual cycle: they reach the maximum (up to 68%) during oestrus. About 13% of cells lose cilia during metoestrus and at the beginning of dioestrus. Reciliation occurs during pro-oestrus. Light and dark ciliary cells can be discerned by the staining of cytoplasm and by the density of nuclei. A higher variability was found in the secretory cells. There are light and dark cells, cells with a wedge shape and rod-shaped cells. Their frequency and function are discussed. Mitoses of epithelium were found in rare cases. The relative volume of epithelium and the mucous membrane of connective tissues change during the sexual cycle. The volume of secretory cells increases during metoestrus and dioestrus and the volume of ciliary cells increases during pro-oestrus and heat. The volume of nuclei decreases in metoestrus and mainly in dioestrus. PAS positive granules occur in the cytoplasm of secretory cells, mainly during metoestrus, in the apical regions. Ptyalin-resistant polysaccharides, besides glycogen, were detected in the cells. The occurrence rate of lipids varies just slightly during the oestrous cycle.

A field study of postpartum period of dairy cows by rectal palpation and progesterone profiles in the milk by radioimmunoassay; Contribuicao ao estudo do puerperio de vacas leiteiras atraves de acompanhamento clinico-reprodutivo e determinacao de progesterona por radioimunoensaio

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kozicki, Luis Ernandes; Silva, Marcelo Alves da [Parana Univ., Curitiba, PR (Brazil). Setor de Ciencias Agrarias. Dept. de Medicina Veterinaria]. E-mail: lkozicki@agrarias.ufpr.br; Woellner, Luis Carlos; Shibata, Flavia Kazumi [Parana Univ., Curitiba, PR (Brazil). Centro de Medicina Nuclear

1998-07-01

This study was carried out on 18 calved dairy cows, near the town of Curitiba-PR-Brazil. The animals were submitted weekly to a rectal palpation of the genital tract and the uterine involution and ovarian activity were considered. The rectal palpations began from the 7{sup th} day postpartum till the 49{sup th} day. at the same milk samples the first morning milk were taken on the 9{sup th} week. The progesterone (P{sub 4}) level determination of the milk was established by radioimmunoassay. The findings of the research showed: the postpartum oestrus was observed at the 28.5{sup th} day and the corpus luteum was detected on the 34.5{sup th} day. The period from oestrus to the first high progesterone level post partum was 5.5 days. The uterine involution period was carried on the 24.1{sup th} day. The progesterone dominant period was shorter and had duration of 11.5 days on the first oestrus cycle post partum. The progesterone concentration from the first Corpus luteum post partum was low (1.9 ng/ml milk). The anoestrus rate until 49{sup th} day postpartum was 33.3% and the silent heat rate reached 61.1%. (author)

Improved detection limits for phthalates by selective solid-phase micro-extraction

KAUST Repository

Zia, Asif I.; Afsarimanesh, Nasrin; Xie, Li; Nag, Anindya; Al-Bahadly, I. H.; Yu, P. L.; Kosel, Jü rgen

2016-01-01

Presented research reports on an improved method and enhanced limits of detection for phthalates; a hazardous additive used in the production of plastics by solid-phase micro-extraction (SPME) polymer in comparison to molecularly imprinted solid

Detection of Early Ischemic Changes in Noncontrast CT Head Improved with "Stroke Windows".

Science.gov (United States)

Mainali, Shraddha; Wahba, Mervat; Elijovich, Lucas

2014-01-01

Introduction. Noncontrast head CT (NCCT) is the standard radiologic test for patients presenting with acute stroke. Early ischemic changes (EIC) are often overlooked on initial NCCT. We determine the sensitivity and specificity of improved EIC detection by a standardized method of image evaluation (Stroke Windows). Methods. We performed a retrospective chart review to identify patients with acute ischemic stroke who had NCCT at presentation. EIC was defined by the presence of hyperdense MCA/basilar artery sign; sulcal effacement; basal ganglia/subcortical hypodensity; and loss of cortical gray-white differentiation. NCCT was reviewed with standard window settings and with specialized Stroke Windows. Results. Fifty patients (42% females, 58% males) with a mean NIHSS of 13.4 were identified. EIC was detected in 9 patients with standard windows, while EIC was detected using Stroke Windows in 35 patients (18% versus 70%; P Windows (14% and 36%; P Windows (6% and 46%; P Windows significantly improved detection of EIC.

Bladed wheels damage detection through Non-Harmonic Fourier Analysis improved algorithm

Science.gov (United States)

Neri, P.

2017-05-01

Recent papers introduced the Non-Harmonic Fourier Analysis for bladed wheels damage detection. This technique showed its potential in estimating the frequency of sinusoidal signals even when the acquisition time is short with respect to the vibration period, provided that some hypothesis are fulfilled. Anyway, previously proposed algorithms showed severe limitations in cracks detection at their early stage. The present paper proposes an improved algorithm which allows to detect a blade vibration frequency shift due to a crack whose size is really small compared to the blade width. Such a technique could be implemented for condition-based maintenance, allowing to use non-contact methods for vibration measurements. A stator-fixed laser sensor could monitor all the blades as they pass in front of the spot, giving precious information about the wheel health. This configuration determines an acquisition time for each blade which become shorter as the machine rotational speed increases. In this situation, traditional Discrete Fourier Transform analysis results in poor frequency resolution, being not suitable for small frequency shift detection. Non-Harmonic Fourier Analysis instead showed high reliability in vibration frequency estimation even with data samples collected in a short time range. A description of the improved algorithm is provided in the paper, along with a comparison with the previous one. Finally, a validation of the method is presented, based on finite element simulations results.

Radioimmunoassay techniques and reproductive management of livestock in North Africa

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lahlou-Kassi, A.; Lakhdissi, H.

1984-01-01

The report summarizes the principal applications of progesterone radioimmunoassay (P 4 -RIA) in Morocco for evaluating and improving fertility in cattle, sheep and camels. In cattle, P 4 -RIA of blood or milk helped to determine the time for onset of sexual functions after parturition and the incidence of silent oestrus. It is especially important to assess the first factor in semi-extensively managed herds, while the second factor occurs mainly in intensively managed herds. P 4 -RIA is an important tool in fertility improvement programmes involving induction and synchronization of oestrus and testing for early pregnancy. In sheep, P 4 -RIA helped to define the optimum age at first mating of ewe lambs and the optimum mating season of the year for adult ewes. In camels, analysis of the profile of plasma progesterone before and after mating suggests that P 4 -RIA could be used for early pregnancy testing. (author)

Improvement in Limit of Detection of Enzymatic Biogas Sensor Utilizing Chromatography Paper for Breath Analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Motooka, Masanobu; Uno, Shigeyasu

2018-02-02

Breath analysis is considered to be an effective method for point-of-care diagnosis due to its noninvasiveness, quickness and simplicity. Gas sensors for breath analysis require detection of low-concentration substances. In this paper, we propose that reduction of the background current improves the limit of detection of enzymatic biogas sensors utilizing chromatography paper. After clarifying the cause of the background current, we reduced the background current by improving the fabrication process of the sensors utilizing paper. Finally, we evaluated the limit of detection of the sensor with the sample vapor of ethanol gas. The experiment showed about a 50% reduction of the limit of detection compared to previously-reported sensor. This result presents the possibility of the sensor being applied in diagnosis, such as for diabetes, by further lowering the limit of detection.

Improved Data-based Fault Detection Strategy and Application to Distillation Columns

KAUST Repository

Madakyaru, Muddu

2017-01-31

Chemical and petrochemical processes require continuous monitoring to detect abnormal events and to sustain normal operations. Furthermore, process monitoring enhances productivity, efficiency, and safety in process industries. Here, we propose an innovative statistical approach that exploits the advantages of multiscale partial least squares (MSPLS) models and generalized likelihood ratio (GLR) tests for fault detection in processes. Specifically, we combine an MSPLS algorithm with wavelet analysis to create our modeling framework. Then, we use GLR hypothesis testing based on the uncorrelated residuals obtained from the MSPLS model to improve fault detection. We use simulated distillation column data to evaluate the MSPLS-based GLR chart. Results show that our MSPLS-based GLR method is more powerful than the PLS-based Q and GLR method and MSPLS-based Q method, especially in early detection of small faults with abrupt or incipient behavior.

Improved Data-based Fault Detection Strategy and Application to Distillation Columns

KAUST Repository

Madakyaru, Muddu; Harrou, Fouzi; Sun, Ying

2017-01-01

Chemical and petrochemical processes require continuous monitoring to detect abnormal events and to sustain normal operations. Furthermore, process monitoring enhances productivity, efficiency, and safety in process industries. Here, we propose an innovative statistical approach that exploits the advantages of multiscale partial least squares (MSPLS) models and generalized likelihood ratio (GLR) tests for fault detection in processes. Specifically, we combine an MSPLS algorithm with wavelet analysis to create our modeling framework. Then, we use GLR hypothesis testing based on the uncorrelated residuals obtained from the MSPLS model to improve fault detection. We use simulated distillation column data to evaluate the MSPLS-based GLR chart. Results show that our MSPLS-based GLR method is more powerful than the PLS-based Q and GLR method and MSPLS-based Q method, especially in early detection of small faults with abrupt or incipient behavior.

Hormone levels in peripheral plasma of the Afrikaner cow: Pt. 1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Coetzer, W.A.; Van Niekerk, C.H.; Morgenthal, J.C.; Van der Westhuizen, J.M.

1978-01-01

Concentration of progesterone and luteinizing hormone were determined in peripheral blood plasma during the oestrus cycle of three non-lactating Afrikaner cows. Blood samples were drawn daily during the luteal phase (Day 3-16) and every 8 hours from Day 17 to 2 days after oestrus. Progesterone was measured by radioimmunoassay and LH by a double antibody radioimmunoassay. Progesterone levels increased gradually from Day 3, reaching maximum values of 6,3-13,3 ng/ml on Day 16-17. A temporary decrease in the progesterone concentration was found between Day 11 and 14 of the cycle. Progesterone levels dropped from peak values to less than 1 ng/ml within 48 hours and were followed by oestrus 50,7 hours later. Progesterone concentrations were lowest at oestrus ( [af

First service pregnancy rates following post-AI use of HCG in Ovsynch and Heatsynch programmes in lactating dairy cows.

Science.gov (United States)

Shabankareh, H Karami; Zandi, M; Ganjali, M

2010-08-01

Lactating dairy cows (n = 667) at random stages of the oestrous cycle were assigned to either ovsynch (O, n = 228), heatsynch (H, n = 252) or control (C, n = 187) groups. Cows in O and H groups received 100 microg of GnRH agonist, i.m. (day 0) starting at 44 +/- 3 days in milk (DIM), and 500 microg of cloprostenol, i.m. (day 7). In O group, cows received 100 microg of GnRH (day 9) and were artificially inseminated without oestrus detection 16-20 h later. In H group, cows received 1 mg oestradiol benzoate (EB) i.m., 24 h after the cloprostenol injection and were artificially inseminated without oestrus detection 48-52 h after the EB injection. Cows in C group were inseminated at natural oestrus. On the day of artificial insemination (AI), cows in all groups were assigned to subgroups as follows: human Chorionic Gonadotrophin (O-hCG) (n = 112), O-saline (n = 116), H-hCG (n = 123), H-saline (n = 129), C-hCG (n = 94) and C-saline (n = 93) subgroups. Cows in hCG and saline subgroups received 3000 IU hCG i.m. and or 10 ml saline at day 5 post-AI (day 15), respectively. Pregnancy status was assessed by palpation per rectum at days 40 to 45 after AI. The logistic regression model using just main effects of season (summer and winter), parity (primiparous and pluriparous), method(1) (O, H and C) and method(2) (hCG and saline) showed that all factors, except method(1), were significant. Significant effects of season (p days after AI significantly improved pregnancy rates in those cows that were treated with the H protocol compared with saline treatments (41.5% vs 24.8%; p < 0.01). O and H were more effective in primiparous than in pluriparous cows (46.1% vs 29.9%; p < 0.1 and 43.6% vs 24.6%; p < 0.01). First service pregnancy rates were higher in primiparous hCG-treated than in pluriparous hCG-treated cows (57.9% vs 32.3%; p < 0.01). The pregnancy rate was higher for the hCG-treated cows compared with saline-treated cows during warm period (37.9% vs 23.6%; p < 0.001).

Improved spectral kurtosis with adaptive redundant multiwavelet packet and its applications for rotating machinery fault detection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, Jinglong; Zi, Yanyang; He, Zhengjia; Yuan, Jing

2012-01-01

Rotating machinery fault detection is significant to avoid serious accidents and huge economic losses effectively. However, due to the vibration signal with the character of non-stationarity and nonlinearity, the detection and extraction of the fault feature turn into a challenging task. Therefore, a novel method called improved spectral kurtosis (ISK) with adaptive redundant multiwavelet packet (ARMP) is proposed for this task. Spectral kurtosis (SK) has been proved to be a powerful tool to detect and characterize the non-stationary signal. To improve the SK in filter limitation and enhance the resolution of spectral analysis as well as match fault feature optimally, the ARMP is introduced into the SK. Moreover, since kurtosis does not reflect the actual trend of periodic impulses, the SK is improved by incorporating an evaluation index called envelope spectrum entropy as supplement. The proposed method is applied to the rolling element bearing and gear fault detection to validate its reliability and effectiveness. Compared with the conventional frequency spectrum, envelope spectrum, original SK and some single wavelet methods, the results indicate that it could improve the accuracy of frequency-band selection and enhance the ability of rotating machinery fault detection. (paper)

Enhanced change detection performance reveals improved strategy use in avid action video game players.

Science.gov (United States)

Clark, Kait; Fleck, Mathias S; Mitroff, Stephen R

2011-01-01

Recent research has shown that avid action video game players (VGPs) outperform non-video game players (NVGPs) on a variety of attentional and perceptual tasks. However, it remains unknown exactly why and how such differences arise; while some prior research has demonstrated that VGPs' improvements stem from enhanced basic perceptual processes, other work indicates that they can stem from enhanced attentional control. The current experiment used a change-detection task to explore whether top-down strategies can contribute to VGPs' improved abilities. Participants viewed alternating presentations of an image and a modified version of the image and were tasked with detecting and localizing the changed element. Consistent with prior claims of enhanced perceptual abilities, VGPs were able to detect the changes while requiring less exposure to the change than NVGPs. Further analyses revealed this improved change detection performance may result from altered strategy use; VGPs employed broader search patterns when scanning scenes for potential changes. These results complement prior demonstrations of VGPs' enhanced bottom-up perceptual benefits by providing new evidence of VGPs' potentially enhanced top-down strategic benefits. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Techniques for the improvement of fertility for prolificacy of anoestrous ewes in Spain

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lopez Sebastian, A.; Palacio, M.; Gomez, A.

1991-01-01

Studies based on progesterone measurement by radioimmunoassay showed that ovarian activity resumed within 30 days when parturition occurred between June and November. Lambing from December onwards was followed by extended periods of ovarian inactivity. Lactation depressed the response to the ram effect. Pregnancy rates at first service were higher in dry ewes than in recently weaned or lactating ewes when prostaglandin (PG) was given 12 days after ram introduction. Experiments aimed at improving the ovulation response to the ram effect concluded that 14 or 16 days is a satisfactory interval from ram introduction to prostaglandin treatment, but the numbers of ewes lambing to first service can be maximized if progesterone pretreatment is given on the day of ram introduction. Attempts to increase ovulation rate, using a single injection of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) in a slow release vehicle, showed that this method is effective when FSH is given on the day of PG treatment (day 12-14 after oestrus). (author). 4 refs, 3 tabs

Efficacy of doramectin injectable against Oestrus ovis and gastrointestinal nematodes in sheep in the southwestern region of France.

Science.gov (United States)

Dorchies, P; Jacquiet, P; Bergeaud, J P; Duranton, C; Prévot, F; Alzieu, J P; Gossellin, J

2001-03-20

A study was conducted to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of doramectin administered intramuscularly at a dose rate of 200 microg/kg to sheep harbouring naturally acquired infections of gastrointestinal nematodes and Oestrus ovis in the southwestern region of France. On day 0, 24 sheep were selected on the basis of positive faecal egg counts (>100 EPG) and positive assessment of O. ovis infection (including positive O. ovis antibody level and positive clinical score). The sheep were randomly allocated to a non-medicated control group (T1) or a doramectin-treated group (T2) of 12 animals each. On day 0, sheep in group T2 received a single intramuscular injection of doramectin (200 microg/kg), whereas those in group T1 received an intramuscular injection of saline solution (sodium chloride, 0.02ml/kg). Individual faecal egg counts were performed on days 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 14. Between days 14 and 16, all sheep were slaughtered, and worm and O. ovis burdens were determined. In doramectin-treated sheep, faecal egg counts had decreased to zero by day 4 for all recovered types of nematode eggs: strongyles, Nematodirus sp., Trichuris sp., and Rhabditidae sp. For strongyles, Nematodirus sp., and Rhabditidae, the percentage reductions in faecal egg counts (geometric means) of doramectin-treated sheep, compared to the non-medicated control sheep were 100% from days 4-7. For Trichuris sp., they were 100, 99.7, 99.9, and 100% on days 4, 5, 6, and 7, respectively. On day 14, percentage reductions were 100% for Nematodirus sp. and Rhabditidae, and 99.8 and 99.1% for strongyles and Trichuris sp., respectively. At necropsy, only adult nematodes and mainly first-stage O. ovis larvae were recovered. Doramectin was highly efficacious against the adult stages of Teladorsagia circumcincta (100%), Nematodirus battus (100%), Nematodirus filicollis (99.9%), Oesophagostomum venulosum (99.8%), and Trichuris sp. (99.3%). It was also 100% efficacious against first-stage larvae of O

Improving Air Force Active Network Defense Systems through an Analysis of Intrusion Detection Techniques

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Dunklee, David R

2007-01-01

.... The research then presents four recommendations to improve DCC operations. These include: Transition or improve the current signature-based IDS systems to include the capability to query and visualize network flows to detect malicious traffic...

Improving Anomaly Detection for Text-Based Protocols by Exploiting Message Structures

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christian M. Mueller

2010-12-01

Full Text Available Service platforms using text-based protocols need to be protected against attacks. Machine-learning algorithms with pattern matching can be used to detect even previously unknown attacks. In this paper, we present an extension to known Support Vector Machine (SVM based anomaly detection algorithms for the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP. Our contribution is to extend the amount of different features used for classification (feature space by exploiting the structure of SIP messages, which reduces the false positive rate. Additionally, we show how combining our approach with attribute reduction significantly improves throughput.

A pragmatic approach to measuring, monitoring and evaluating interventions for improved tuberculosis case detection

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Blok, Lucie; Creswell, Jacob; Stevens, Robert; Brouwer, Miranda; Ramis, Oriol; Weil, Olivier; Klatser, Paul; Sahu, Suvanand; Bakker, Mirjam I.

2014-01-01

The inability to detect all individuals with active tuberculosis has led to a growing interest in new approaches to improve case detection. Policy makers and program staff face important challenges measuring effectiveness of newly introduced interventions and reviewing feasibility of scaling-up

A pragmatic approach to measuring, monitoring and evaluating interventions for improved tuberculosis case detection.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Blok, L; Creswell, J; Stevens, R.; Brouwer, M; Ramis, O; Weil, O; Klatser, P.R.; Sahu, S; Bakker, M.I.

2014-01-01

The inability to detect all individuals with active tuberculosis has led to a growing interest in new approaches to improve case detection. Policy makers and program staff face important challenges measuring effectiveness of newly introduced interventions and reviewing feasibility of scaling-up

An improved electrochemiluminescence polymerase chain reaction method for highly sensitive detection of plant viruses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tang Yabing; Xing Da; Zhu Debin; Liu Jinfeng

2007-01-01

Recently, we have reported an electrochemiluminescence polymerase chain reaction (ECL-PCR) method for detection of genetically modified organisms. The ECL-PCR method was further improved in the current study by introducing a multi-purpose nucleic acid sequence that was specific to the tris(bipyridine) ruthenium (TBR) labeled probe, into the 5' terminal of the primers. The method was applied to detect plant viruses. Conserved sequence of the plant viruses was amplified by PCR. The product was hybridized with a biotin labeled probe and a TBR labeled probe. The hybridization product was separated by streptavidin-coated magnetic beads, and detected by measuring the ECL signals of the TBR labeled. Under the optimized conditions, the experiment results show that the detection limit is 50 fmol of PCR products, and the signal-to-noise ratio is in excess of 14.6. The method was used to detect banana streak virus, banana bunchy top virus, and papaya leaf curl virus. The experiment results show that this method could reliably identity viruses infected plant samples. The improved ECL-PCR approach has higher sensitivity and lower cost than previous approach. It can effectively detect the plant viruses with simplicity, stability, and high sensitivity

Performance improvement of haptic collision detection using subdivision surface and sphere clustering.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A Ram Choi

Full Text Available Haptics applications such as surgery simulations require collision detections that are more precise than others. An efficient collision detection method based on the clustering of bounding spheres was proposed in our prior study. This paper analyzes and compares the applied effects of the five most common subdivision surface methods on some 3D models for haptic collision detection. The five methods are Butterfly, Catmull-Clark, Mid-point, Loop, and LS3 (Least Squares Subdivision Surface. After performing a number of experiments, we have concluded that LS3 method is the most appropriate for haptic simulations. The more we applied surface subdivision, the more the collision detection results became precise. However, it is observed that the performance becomes better until a certain threshold and degrades afterward. In order to reduce the performance degradation, we adopted our prior work, which was the fast and precise collision detection method based on adaptive clustering. As a result, we obtained a notable improvement of the speed of collision detection.

Mobile phones improve case detection and management of malaria in rural Bangladesh

Science.gov (United States)

2013-01-01

Background The recent introduction of mobile phones into the rural Bandarban district of Bangladesh provided a resource to improve case detection and treatment of patients with malaria. Methods During studies to define the epidemiology of malaria in villages in south-eastern Bangladesh, an area with hypoendemic malaria, the project recorded 986 mobile phone calls from families because of illness suspected to be malaria between June 2010 and June 2012. Results Based on phone calls, field workers visited the homes with ill persons, and collected blood samples for malaria on 1,046 people. 265 (25%) of the patients tested were positive for malaria. Of the 509 symptomatic malaria cases diagnosed during this study period, 265 (52%) were detected because of an initial mobile phone call. Conclusion Mobile phone technology was found to be an efficient and effective method for rapidly detecting and treating patients with malaria in this remote area. This technology, when combined with local knowledge and field support, may be applicable to other hard-to-reach areas to improve malaria control. PMID:23374585

High resolution PET breast imager with improved detection efficiency

Science.gov (United States)

Majewski, Stanislaw

2010-06-08

A highly efficient PET breast imager for detecting lesions in the entire breast including those located close to the patient's chest wall. The breast imager includes a ring of imaging modules surrounding the imaged breast. Each imaging module includes a slant imaging light guide inserted between a gamma radiation sensor and a photodetector. The slant light guide permits the gamma radiation sensors to be placed in close proximity to the skin of the chest wall thereby extending the sensitive region of the imager to the base of the breast. Several types of photodetectors are proposed for use in the detector modules, with compact silicon photomultipliers as the preferred choice, due to its high compactness. The geometry of the detector heads and the arrangement of the detector ring significantly reduce dead regions thereby improving detection efficiency for lesions located close to the chest wall.

Serum progesterone radioimmunoassay (RIA) for evaluation of reproductive performance of dairy herds

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sula, F.; Stefanllari, K.; Lamce, Th.

1996-01-01

This publication summarizes the principal application of P 4-RIA of blood which helped to determine the time for onset of sexual functions after parturition, the incidence of silent oestrus, and the correct timing of service. Progesterone profiles showed that cows in this herd ovulated considerably later than 35+/-7 days after calving, which is the value reported for many other herds of dairy cows. The percentage of cows in oestrus was found 66% within 60 days post-partum while the incidence of silent oestrus was 20%. The correct timing of service is 85%. According to this study, the major causes for the lowered reproductive efficiency in this herd were found to be the delayed onset of post-partum ovarian activity and the incidence of silent oestrus. 9 refs. 3 tabs

Spatially valid proprioceptive cues improve the detection of a visual stimulus

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jackson, Carl P T; Miall, R Chris; Balslev, Daniela

2010-01-01

, which has been demonstrated for other modality pairings. The aim of this study was to test whether proprioceptive signals can spatially cue a visual target to improve its detection. Participants were instructed to use a planar manipulandum in a forward reaching action and determine during this movement...

Hormonal treatments for synchronization and/ or induction of estrus ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

İD

oestrus synchronization in Saanen does during the transition period. I. Dogan. 1# ... Hence, following withdrawal of progesterone, oestrus and ovulation occur at a .... Control of sheep and goat reproduction: use of light and melatonin. Anim.

An Improved Saliency Detection Approach for Flying Apsaras in the Dunhuang Grotto Murals, China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhong Chen

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Saliency can be described as the ability of an item to be detected from its background in any particular scene, and it aims to estimate the probable location of the salient objects. Due to the salient map that computed by local contrast features can extract and highlight the edge parts including painting lines of Flying Apsaras, in this paper, we proposed an improved approach based on a frequency-tuned method for visual saliency detection of Flying Apsaras in the Dunhuang Grotto Murals, China. This improved saliency detection approach comprises three important steps: (1 image color and gray channel decomposition; (2 gray feature value computation and color channel convolution; (3 visual saliency definition based on normalization of previous visual saliency and spatial attention function. Unlike existing approaches that rely on many complex image features, this proposed approach only used local contrast and spatial attention information to simulate human’s visual attention stimuli. This improved approach resulted in a much more efficient salient map in the aspect of computing performance. Furthermore, experimental results on the dataset of Flying Apsaras in the Dunhuang Grotto Murals showed that the proposed visual saliency detection approach is very effective when compared with five other state-of-the-art approaches.

The enhanced reproduction of cow parent brahman cross post partum with feed supplement multinutrient block medicated

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nursyam Andi Syarifuddin; Anis Wahdi

2011-01-01

One of the problems in breeding Brahman Cross cattle reproduction efficiency is low due to the length of postpartum anestrus and the high number of services per conception is partly due to the low nutrient content of rations. This study aims to improve the performance of reproductive cows parent Brahman Cross post partum through feeding strategy supplement Multi nutrient Block plus Medicated (MBPM) which starts with the correct parent condition score so that it can accelerate the process appear oestrus post partum then increasing conception rate to minimize the number of service per conception as well as to improve the growth calf produced. This research uses 16 cows parent Brahman Cross post partum not exceeding 90 days comprising 9 tails were given feed supplements MBPM compared with 7 tail not given feed supplements MBPM as control. Research results show that feeding supplements MBPM can enhanced reproductive cow parent Brahman Cross post partum i.e. : maintain parent condition score in early post partum until the occurrence of pregnant, accelerating day 24,8 appear oestrus post partum, number service per conception = 1 and conception rate can reach 60%, maintaining the levels of urea plasma of blood and blood glucose levels within normal limits either at the time of post partum and oestrus post partum. Feeding supplements MBPM on cows parent Brahman Cross post partum can give added daily gain 0,51 kg on calf is suckling. (author)

A Review of Recent Developments in Buffalo Reproduction — A Review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

H. M. Warriach

2015-03-01

Full Text Available The buffalo is an important livestock resource in several countries of South Asia and the Mediterranean regions. However, reproductive efficiency is compromised due to known problems of biological and management origins, such as lack of animal selection and poor nutrition. Under optimal conditions puberty is attained at 15 to 18 months in river buffalo, 21 to 24 months in swamp buffalo and is influenced by genotype, nutrition, management and climate. However, under field conditions these values deteriorate up to a significant extant. To improve reproductive efficiency, several protocols of oestrus and ovulation synchronization have been adopted from their use in commercial cattle production. These protocols yield encouraging pregnancy rates of (30% to 50%, which are comparable to those achieved in buffaloes bred at natural oestrus. The use of sexed semen in buffalo heifers also showed promising pregnancy rates (50% when compared with conventional non-sexed semen. Assisted reproductive technologies have been transferred and adapted to buffalo but the efficiency of these technologies are low. However, these latest technologies offer the opportunity to accelerate the genetic gain in the buffalo industry after improving the technology and reducing its cost. Most buffaloes are kept under the small holder farming system in developing countries. Hence, future research should focus on simple, adoptable and impact- oriented approaches which identify the factors determining low fertility and oestrus behaviour in this species. Furthermore, role of kisspeptin needs to be explored in buffalo.

Resolution-improved in situ DNA hybridization detection based on microwave photonic interrogation.

Science.gov (United States)

Cao, Yuan; Guo, Tuan; Wang, Xudong; Sun, Dandan; Ran, Yang; Feng, Xinhuan; Guan, Bai-ou

2015-10-19

In situ bio-sensing system based on microwave photonics filter (MPF) interrogation method with improved resolution is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. A microfiber Bragg grating (mFBG) is used as sensing probe for DNA hybridization detection. Different from the traditional wavelength monitoring technique, we use the frequency interrogation scheme for resolution-improved bio-sensing detection. Experimental results show that the frequency shift of MPF notch presents a linear response to the surrounding refractive index (SRI) change over the range of 1.33 to 1.38, with a SRI resolution up to 2.6 × 10(-5) RIU, which has been increased for almost two orders of magnitude compared with the traditional fundamental mode monitoring technique (~3.6 × 10(-3) RIU). Due to the high Q value (about 27), the whole process of DNA hybridization can be in situ monitored. The proposed MPF-based bio-sensing system provides a new interrogation method over the frequency domain with improved sensing resolution and rapid interrogation rate for biochemical and environmental measurement.

Improved patient specific seizure detection during pre-surgical evaluation.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Chua, Eric C-P

2011-04-01

There is considerable interest in improved off-line automated seizure detection methods that will decrease the workload of EEG monitoring units. Subject-specific approaches have been demonstrated to perform better than subject-independent ones. However, for pre-surgical diagnostics, the traditional method of obtaining a priori data to train subject-specific classifiers is not practical. We present an alternative method that works by adapting the threshold of a subject-independent to a specific subject based on feedback from the user.

Improved OAM-Based Radar Targets Detection Using Uniform Concentric Circular Arrays

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mingtuan Lin

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Without any relative moves or beam scanning, the novel Orbital-Angular-Momentum- (OAM- based radar targets detection technique using uniform concentric circular arrays (UCCAs shows the azimuthal estimation ability, which provides new perspective for radar system design. However, the main estimation method, that is, Fast Fourier Transform (FFT, under this scheme suffers from low resolution. As a solution, this paper rebuilds the OAM-based radar targets detection model and introduces the multiple signal classification (MUSIC algorithm to improve the resolution for detecting targets within the main lobes. The spatial smoothing technique is proposed to tackle the coherent problem brought by the proposed model. Analytical study and simulation demonstrate the superresolution estimation capacity the MUSIC algorithm can achieve for detecting targets within the main lobes. The performance of the MUSIC algorithm to detect targets not illuminated by the main lobes is further evaluated. Despite the fact that MUSIC algorithm loses the resolution advantage under this case, its estimation is more robust than that of the FFT method. Overall, the proposed MUSIC algorithm for the OAM-based radar system demonstrates the superresolution ability for detecting targets within the main lobes and good robustness for targets out of the main lobes.

Optimal Seamline Detection for Orthoimage Mosaicking Based on DSM and Improved JPS Algorithm

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gang Chen

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Based on the digital surface model (DSM and jump point search (JPS algorithm, this study proposed a novel approach to detect the optimal seamline for orthoimage mosaicking. By threshold segmentation, DSM was first identified as ground regions and obstacle regions (e.g., buildings, trees, and cars. Then, the mathematical morphology method was used to make the edge of obstacles more prominent. Subsequently, the processed DSM was considered as a uniform-cost grid map, and the JPS algorithm was improved and employed to search for key jump points in the map. Meanwhile, the jump points would be evaluated according to an optimized function, finally generating a minimum cost path as the optimal seamline. Furthermore, the search strategy was modified to avoid search failure when the search map was completely blocked by obstacles in the search direction. Comparison of the proposed method and the Dijkstra’s algorithm was carried out based on two groups of image data with different characteristics. Results showed the following: (1 the proposed method could detect better seamlines near the centerlines of the overlap regions, crossing far fewer ground objects; (2 the efficiency and resource consumption were greatly improved since the improved JPS algorithm skips many image pixels without them being explicitly evaluated. In general, based on DSM, the proposed method combining threshold segmentation, mathematical morphology, and improved JPS algorithms was helpful for detecting the optimal seamline for orthoimage mosaicking.

Implementation. Improving caries detection, assessment, diagnosis and monitoring.

Science.gov (United States)

Pitts, N B

2009-01-01

This chapter deals with improving the detection, assessment, diagnosis and monitoring of caries to ensure optimal personalized caries management. This can be achieved by delivering what we have (synthesized evidence and international consensus) better and more consistently, as well as driving research and innovation in the areas where we need them. There is a need to better understand the interrelated pieces of the jigsaw that makes up evidence-based dentistry, i.e. the linkages between (a) research and synthesis, (b) dissemination of research results and (c) the implementation of research findings which should ensure that research findings change practice at the clinician-patient level. The current situation is outlined; it is at the implementation step where preventive caries control seems to have failed in some countries but not others. Opportunities for implementation include: capitalizing on the World Health Organization's global policy for improvement of oral health, which sets out an action plan for health promotion and integrated disease prevention; utilizing the developments around the International Caries Detection and Assessment System wardrobe of options and e-learning; building on initiatives from the International Dental Federation and the American Dental Association and linking these to patients' preferences, the wider moves to wellbeing and health maintenance. Challenges for implementation include the slow pace of evolution around dental remuneration systems and some groups of dentists failing to embrace clinical prevention. In the future, implementation of current and developing evidence should be accompanied by research into getting research findings into routine practice, with impacts on the behaviour of patients, professionals and policy makers. Copyright 2009 S. Karger AG, Basel

Knowledge Graphs as Context Models: Improving the Detection of Cross-Language Plagiarism with Paraphrasing

OpenAIRE

Franco-Salvador, Marc; Gupta, Parth; Rosso, Paolo

2013-01-01

Cross-language plagiarism detection attempts to identify and extract automatically plagiarism among documents in different languages. Plagiarized fragments can be translated verbatim copies or may alter their structure to hide the copying, which is known as paraphrasing and is more difficult to detect. In order to improve the paraphrasing detection, we use a knowledge graph-based approach to obtain and compare context models of document fragments in different languages. Experimental results i...

Determination of the reproductive performance of Holstein cows in Uruguay

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cavestany, D.; Tagle, R.; Lanzzeri, S.; Miranda, W.; Gama, S.

1990-01-01

Trials to determine the onset of post-partum (pp) ovarian activity in a Holstein herd were carried out in 1985 and repeated during the same time of the year in 1987. In each, 20 recently calved adult cows and first-calf heifers were randomly selected and sampled for milk progesterone (MP 4 ) determination twice a week between days 10 and 90 pp. Climatic conditions and availability of high quality fodder were better in 1987 than 1985. Results showed differences both in pregnancy rate (40% vs. 65%), as well as in the percentage of anoestrous cows (60% vs. 15%) between 1985 and 1987, respectively. In the second trial, not all cows in physiological oestrus (according to MP 4 measurements) were identified in heat by observation of behavioural signs. It was concluded that nutritional levels greatly influence the reproductive efficiency of the herd on this farm, and that poor oestrus detection was a further contributory factor. Another trial conducted on a dairy herd in order to compare the efficiency of oestrus synchronization by PGF 2α with manual enucleation of the corpus luteum (CL) showed no differences between treatment groups. Ovarian palpation to assess the presence of a CL was accurate in 69% of cases while the use of MP 4 estimations proved to be 100% efficent. (author). 13 refs, 1 fig., 2 tabs

Improved Method of Detection Falsification Results the Digital Image in Conditions of Attacks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kobozeva A.A.

2016-08-01

Full Text Available The modern level of information technologies development has led to unheard ease embodiments hitherto unauthorized modifications of digital content. At the moment, very important question is the effective expert examination of authenticity of digital images, video, audio, development of the methods for identification and localization of violations of their integrity using these contents for purposes other than entertainment. Present paper deals with the improvement of the detection method of the cloning results in digital images - one of the most frequently used in the software tools falsification realized in all modern graphics editors. The method is intended for clone detection areas and pre-image in terms of additional disturbing influences in the image after the cloning operation for "masking" of the results, which complicates the search process. The improvement is aimed at reducing the number of "false alarms", when the area of the clone / pre-image detected in the original image or the localization of the identified areas do not correspond to the real clone and pre-image. The proposed improvement, based on analysis of different sizes per-pixel image blocks with the least difference from each other, has made it possible efficient functioning of the method, regardless of the specificity of the analyzed digital image.

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2018-01-01

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

Portopulmonary hypertension: Improved detection using CT and echocardiography in combination

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Devaraj, Anand; Loveridge, Robert; Bernal, William; Willars, Christopher; Wendon, Julia A.; Auzinger, Georg; Bosanac, Diana; Stefanidis, Konstantinos; Desai, Sujal R.

2014-01-01

To establish the relationship between CT signs of pulmonary hypertension and mean pulmonary artery pressure (mPAP) in patients with liver disease, and to determine the additive value of CT in the detection of portopulmonary hypertension in combination with transthoracic echocardiography. Forty-nine patients referred for liver transplantation were retrospectively reviewed. Measured CT signs included the main pulmonary artery/ascending aorta diameter ratio (PA/AA meas ) and the mean left and right main PA diameter (RLPA meas ). Enlargement of the pulmonary artery compared to the ascending aorta was also assessed visually (PA/AA vis ). CT measurements were correlated with right-sided heart catheter-derived mPAP. The ability of PA/AA vis combined with echocardiogram-derived right ventricular systolic pressure (RVSP) to detect portopulmonary hypertension was tested with ROC analysis. There were moderate correlations between mPAP and both PA/AA meas and RLPA meas (r s = 0.41 and r s = 0.42, respectively; p vis and transthoracic echocardiography-derived RVSP improved the detection of portopulmonary hypertension (AUC = 0.8, p < 0.0001). CT contributes to the non-invasive detection of portopulmonary hypertension when used in a diagnostic algorithm with transthoracic echocardiography. CT may have a role in the pre-liver transplantation triage of patients with portopulmonary hypertension for right-sided heart catheterisation. (orig.)

Classification with an edge: Improving semantic image segmentation with boundary detection

Science.gov (United States)

Marmanis, D.; Schindler, K.; Wegner, J. D.; Galliani, S.; Datcu, M.; Stilla, U.

2018-01-01

We present an end-to-end trainable deep convolutional neural network (DCNN) for semantic segmentation with built-in awareness of semantically meaningful boundaries. Semantic segmentation is a fundamental remote sensing task, and most state-of-the-art methods rely on DCNNs as their workhorse. A major reason for their success is that deep networks learn to accumulate contextual information over very large receptive fields. However, this success comes at a cost, since the associated loss of effective spatial resolution washes out high-frequency details and leads to blurry object boundaries. Here, we propose to counter this effect by combining semantic segmentation with semantically informed edge detection, thus making class boundaries explicit in the model. First, we construct a comparatively simple, memory-efficient model by adding boundary detection to the SEGNET encoder-decoder architecture. Second, we also include boundary detection in FCN-type models and set up a high-end classifier ensemble. We show that boundary detection significantly improves semantic segmentation with CNNs in an end-to-end training scheme. Our best model achieves >90% overall accuracy on the ISPRS Vaihingen benchmark.

Imaging of underground karst water channels using an improved multichannel transient Rayleigh wave detecting method.

Science.gov (United States)

Zheng, Xuhui; Liu, Lei; Sun, Jinzhong; Li, Gao; Zhou, Fubiao; Xu, Jiemin

2018-01-01

Geological and hydrogeological conditions in karst areas are complicated from the viewpoint of engineering. The construction of underground structures in these areas is often disturbed by the gushing of karst water, which may delay the construction schedule, result in economic losses, and even cause heavy casualties. In this paper, an innovative method of multichannel transient Rayleigh wave detecting is proposed by introducing the concept of arrival time difference phase between channels (TDP). Overcoming the restriction of the space-sampling law, the proposed method can extract the phase velocities of different frequency components from only two channels of transient Rayleigh wave recorded on two adjacent detecting points. This feature greatly improves the work efficiency and lateral resolution of transient Rayleigh wave detecting. The improved multichannel transient Rayleigh wave detecting method is applied to the detection of karst caves and fractures in rock mass of the foundation pit of Yan'an Road Station of Guiyang Metro. The imaging of the detecting results clearly reveals the distribution of karst water inflow channels, which provided significant guidance for water plugging and enabled good control over karst water gushing in the foundation pit.

Multifunctional Dendrimer-templated Antibody Presentation on Biosensor Surfaces for Improved Biomarker Detection.

Science.gov (United States)

Han, Hye Jung; Kannan, Rangaramanujam M; Wang, Sunxi; Mao, Guangzhao; Kusanovic, Juan Pedro; Romero, Roberto

2010-02-08

Dendrimers, with their well-defined globular shape and a high density of functional groups, are ideal nanoscale materials for templating sensor surfaces. This work exploits dendrimers as a versatile platform for capturing biomarkers with improved sensitivity and specificity. Synthesis, characterization, fabrication, and functional validation of the dendrimer-based assay platform are described. Bifunctional hydroxyl/thiol functionalized G4-polyamidoamine (PAMAM) dendrimer is synthesized and immobilized on to the polyethylene-glycol (PEG)-functionalized assay plate by coupling PEG-maleimide and dendrimer thiol groups. Simultaneously, part of the dendrimer thiol groups are converted to hydrazide functionalities. The resulting dendrimer-modified surface is coupled to the capture antibody in the Fc region of the oxidized antibody. This preserves the orientation flexibility of the antigen binding region (Fv) of the antibody. To validate the approach, the fabricated plates are further used as a solid phase for developing a sandwich type ELISA to detect IL-6 and IL-1β, important biomarkers for early stages of chorioamnionitis. The dendrimer-modified plate provides assays with significantly enhanced sensitivity, lower nonspecific adsorption, and a detection limit of 0.13 pg ml -1 for IL-6 luminol detection and 1.15 pg ml -1 for IL-1β TMB detection, which are significantly better than those for the traditional ELISA. The assays were validated in human serum samples from normal (non-pregnant) woman and pregnant women with pyelonephritis. The specificity and the improved sensitivity of the dendrimer-based capture strategy could have significant implications for the detection of a wide range of cytokines and biomarkers since the capture strategy could be applied to multiplex microbead assays, conductometric immunosensors and field effect biosensors.

Improving staff response to seizures on the epilepsy monitoring unit with online EEG seizure detection algorithms.

Science.gov (United States)

Rommens, Nicole; Geertsema, Evelien; Jansen Holleboom, Lisanne; Cox, Fieke; Visser, Gerhard

2018-05-11

User safety and the quality of diagnostics on the epilepsy monitoring unit (EMU) depend on reaction to seizures. Online seizure detection might improve this. While good sensitivity and specificity is reported, the added value above staff response is unclear. We ascertained the added value of two electroencephalograph (EEG) seizure detection algorithms in terms of additional detected seizures or faster detection time. EEG-video seizure recordings of people admitted to an EMU over one year were included, with a maximum of two seizures per subject. All recordings were retrospectively analyzed using Encevis EpiScan and BESA Epilepsy. Detection sensitivity and latency of the algorithms were compared to staff responses. False positive rates were estimated on 30 uninterrupted recordings (roughly 24 h per subject) of consecutive subjects admitted to the EMU. EEG-video recordings used included 188 seizures. The response rate of staff was 67%, of Encevis 67%, and of BESA Epilepsy 65%. Of the 62 seizures missed by staff, 66% were recognized by Encevis and 39% by BESA Epilepsy. The median latency was 31 s (staff), 10 s (Encevis), and 14 s (BESA Epilepsy). After correcting for walking time from the observation room to the subject, both algorithms detected faster than staff in 65% of detected seizures. The full recordings included 617 h of EEG. Encevis had a median false positive rate of 4.9 per 24 h and BESA Epilepsy of 2.1 per 24 h. EEG-video seizure detection algorithms may improve reaction to seizures by improving the total number of seizures detected and the speed of detection. The false positive rate is feasible for use in a clinical situation. Implementation of these algorithms might result in faster diagnostic testing and better observation during seizures. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Improved Statistical Fault Detection Technique and Application to Biological Phenomena Modeled by S-Systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Mansouri, Majdi; Nounou, Mohamed N; Nounou, Hazem N

2017-09-01

In our previous work, we have demonstrated the effectiveness of the linear multiscale principal component analysis (PCA)-based moving window (MW)-generalized likelihood ratio test (GLRT) technique over the classical PCA and multiscale principal component analysis (MSPCA)-based GLRT methods. The developed fault detection algorithm provided optimal properties by maximizing the detection probability for a particular false alarm rate (FAR) with different values of windows, and however, most real systems are nonlinear, which make the linear PCA method not able to tackle the issue of non-linearity to a great extent. Thus, in this paper, first, we apply a nonlinear PCA to obtain an accurate principal component of a set of data and handle a wide range of nonlinearities using the kernel principal component analysis (KPCA) model. The KPCA is among the most popular nonlinear statistical methods. Second, we extend the MW-GLRT technique to one that utilizes exponential weights to residuals in the moving window (instead of equal weightage) as it might be able to further improve fault detection performance by reducing the FAR using exponentially weighed moving average (EWMA). The developed detection method, which is called EWMA-GLRT, provides improved properties, such as smaller missed detection and FARs and smaller average run length. The idea behind the developed EWMA-GLRT is to compute a new GLRT statistic that integrates current and previous data information in a decreasing exponential fashion giving more weight to the more recent data. This provides a more accurate estimation of the GLRT statistic and provides a stronger memory that will enable better decision making with respect to fault detection. Therefore, in this paper, a KPCA-based EWMA-GLRT method is developed and utilized in practice to improve fault detection in biological phenomena modeled by S-systems and to enhance monitoring process mean. The idea behind a KPCA-based EWMA-GLRT fault detection algorithm is to

An improved technique for the detection of pilot contamination attacks in TDD wireless communication systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mihaylova Dimitriya

2017-01-01

Full Text Available One of the problems phasing the physical layer security of a wireless system is its vulnerability to pilot contamination attacks and hence schemes for its detection need to be applied. A method proposed in the literature consists of training with two N-PSK pilots. Although the method is effective in most of the cases, it is not able to discover an attack initiated during the transmission of the second pilot from the pair if both the legitimate and non-legitimate pilots coincide. In this current paper, an improvement to this method is proposed which detects an intruder who misses the first pilot transmission. The suggested improvement eliminates the usage of threshold values in the detection – a main drawback of previously existing solution.

Improved anomaly detection using multi-scale PLS and generalized likelihood ratio test

KAUST Repository

Madakyaru, Muddu

2017-02-16

Process monitoring has a central role in the process industry to enhance productivity, efficiency, and safety, and to avoid expensive maintenance. In this paper, a statistical approach that exploit the advantages of multiscale PLS models (MSPLS) and those of a generalized likelihood ratio (GLR) test to better detect anomalies is proposed. Specifically, to consider the multivariate and multi-scale nature of process dynamics, a MSPLS algorithm combining PLS and wavelet analysis is used as modeling framework. Then, GLR hypothesis testing is applied using the uncorrelated residuals obtained from MSPLS model to improve the anomaly detection abilities of these latent variable based fault detection methods even further. Applications to a simulated distillation column data are used to evaluate the proposed MSPLS-GLR algorithm.

Improved anomaly detection using multi-scale PLS and generalized likelihood ratio test

KAUST Repository

Madakyaru, Muddu; Harrou, Fouzi; Sun, Ying

2017-01-01

Process monitoring has a central role in the process industry to enhance productivity, efficiency, and safety, and to avoid expensive maintenance. In this paper, a statistical approach that exploit the advantages of multiscale PLS models (MSPLS) and those of a generalized likelihood ratio (GLR) test to better detect anomalies is proposed. Specifically, to consider the multivariate and multi-scale nature of process dynamics, a MSPLS algorithm combining PLS and wavelet analysis is used as modeling framework. Then, GLR hypothesis testing is applied using the uncorrelated residuals obtained from MSPLS model to improve the anomaly detection abilities of these latent variable based fault detection methods even further. Applications to a simulated distillation column data are used to evaluate the proposed MSPLS-GLR algorithm.

Improved Detection of Human Respiration Using Data Fusion Basedon a Multistatic UWB Radar

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hao Lv

2016-09-01

Full Text Available This paper investigated the feasibility for improved detection of human respiration using data fusion based on a multistatic ultra-wideband (UWB radar. UWB-radar-based respiration detection is an emerging technology that has great promise in practice. It can be applied to remotely sense the presence of a human target for through-wall surveillance, post-earthquake search and rescue, etc. In these applications, a human target’s position and posture are not known a priori. Uncertainty of the two factors results in a body orientation issue of UWB radar, namely the human target’s thorax is not always facing the radar. Thus, the radial component of the thorax motion due to respiration decreases and the respiratory motion response contained in UWB radar echoes is too weak to be detected. To cope with the issue, this paper used multisensory information provided by the multistatic UWB radar, which took the form of impulse radios and comprised one transmitting and four separated receiving antennas. An adaptive Kalman filtering algorithm was then designed to fuse the UWB echo data from all the receiving channels to detect the respiratory-motion response contained in those data. In the experiment, a volunteer’s respiration was correctly detected when he curled upon a camp bed behind a brick wall. Under the same scenario, the volunteer’s respiration was detected based on the radar’s single transmitting-receiving channels without data fusion using conventional algorithm, such as adaptive line enhancer and single-channel Kalman filtering. Moreover, performance of the data fusion algorithm was experimentally investigated with different channel combinations and antenna deployments. The experimental results show that the body orientation issue for human respiration detection via UWB radar can be dealt well with the multistatic UWB radar and the Kalman-filter-based data fusion, which can be applied to improve performance of UWB radar in real applications.

release of lh in ewes treated with progestogen and oestrogen during

African Journals Online (AJOL)

ly in ewes after the use of progestogens to synchronise oestrus or to ... Two hours later a blood ... which received progesterone exhibited neither oestrus nor an LH surge ... been too short (Radford et al., 1970) or the fall in proges- terone titre ...

Surface Coatings as Xenon Diffusion Barriers for Improved Detection of Clandestine Nuclear Explosions

OpenAIRE

Bläckberg, Lisa

2014-01-01

This thesis investigates surface coatings as xenon diffusion barriers on plastic scintillators. The motivation for the work is improved radioxenon detection systems, used within the verification regime of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT). One type of radioxenon detection systems used in this context is the Swedish SAUNA system. This system uses a cylindrical plastic scintillator cell to measure the beta decay from radioxenon isotopes. The detector cell also acts as a container...

Improved Ordinary Measure and Image Entropy Theory based intelligent Copy Detection Method

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dengpan Ye

2011-10-01

Full Text Available Nowadays, more and more multimedia websites appear in social network. It brings some security problems, such as privacy, piracy, disclosure of sensitive contents and so on. Aiming at copyright protection, the copy detection technology of multimedia contents becomes a hot topic. In our previous work, a new computer-based copyright control system used to detect the media has been proposed. Based on this system, this paper proposes an improved media feature matching measure and an entropy based copy detection method. The Levenshtein Distance was used to enhance the matching degree when using for feature matching measure in copy detection. For entropy based copy detection, we make a fusion of the two features of entropy matrix of the entropy feature we extracted. Firstly,we extract the entropy matrix of the image and normalize it. Then, we make a fusion of the eigenvalue feature and the transfer matrix feature of the entropy matrix. The fused features will be used for image copy detection. The experiments show that compared to use these two kinds of features for image detection singly, using feature fusion matching method is apparent robustness and effectiveness. The fused feature has a high detection for copy images which have been received some attacks such as noise, compression, zoom, rotation and so on. Comparing with referred methods, the method proposed is more intelligent and can be achieved good performance.

Improved detection of canine Angiostrongylus vasorum infection using real-time PCR and indirect ELISA.

Science.gov (United States)

Jefferies, Ryan; Morgan, Eric R; Helm, Jenny; Robinson, Matthew; Shaw, Susan E

2011-12-01

This study reports the development of a real-time PCR assay and an indirect ELISA to improve on current detection of canine Angiostrongylus vasorum infection. A highly specific fluorescent probe-based, real-time PCR assay was developed to target the A. vasorum second internal transcribed spacer region and detected DNA in EDTA blood, lung tissue, broncho-alveolar larvage fluid, endotracheal mucus, pharyngeal swabs and faecal samples. PCR was fast (∼1 h), highly efficient when using EDTA blood samples, consistently detected a single molecule of parasite DNA and did not amplify DNA from other parasitic nematodes or definitive host species. An indirect ELISA was also developed using the soluble protein fraction from adult A. vasorum worms. Some cross-reactive antigen recognition was observed when tested against sera from dogs infected with Crenosoma vulpis (n = 8), Toxocara canis (n = 5) and Dirofilaria immitis (n = 5). This was largely overcome by setting the cut-off for a positive result at an appropriately high level. Field evaluation of the real-time PCR and ELISA was conducted by testing sera and EDTA blood from dogs with suspected A. vasorum infection (n = 148) and compared with the Baermann's larval migration test in faeces. Thirty-one dogs were positive by at least one test. Of these, 20 (65%) were detected by the Baermann method, 18 (58%) by blood PCR, 24 (77%) by ELISA and 28 (90%) by blood PCR and ELISA together. Combined testing using real-time PCR and ELISA therefore improved the detection rate of A. vasorum infection and holds promise for improved clinical diagnosis and epidemiological investigation.

Significance of MPEG-7 textural features for improved mass detection in mammography.

Science.gov (United States)

Eltonsy, Nevine H; Tourassi, Georgia D; Fadeev, Aleksey; Elmaghraby, Adel S

2006-01-01

The purpose of the study is to investigate the significance of MPEG-7 textural features for improving the detection of masses in screening mammograms. The detection scheme was originally based on morphological directional neighborhood features extracted from mammographic regions of interest (ROIs). Receiver Operating Characteristics (ROC) was performed to evaluate the performance of each set of features independently and merged into a back-propagation artificial neural network (BPANN) using the leave-one-out sampling scheme (LOOSS). The study was based on a database of 668 mammographic ROIs (340 depicting cancer regions and 328 depicting normal parenchyma). Overall, the ROC area index of the BPANN using the directional morphological features was Az=0.85+/-0.01. The MPEG-7 edge histogram descriptor-based BPNN showed an ROC area index of Az=0.71+/-0.01 while homogeneous textural descriptors using 30 and 120 channels helped the BPNN achieve similar ROC area indexes of Az=0.882+/-0.02 and Az=0.877+/-0.01 respectively. After merging the MPEG-7 homogeneous textural features with the directional neighborhood features the performance of the BPANN increased providing an ROC area index of Az=0.91+/-0.01. MPEG-7 homogeneous textural descriptor significantly improved the morphology-based detection scheme.

On the theoretical aspects of improved fog detection and prediction in India

Science.gov (United States)

Dey, Sagnik

2018-04-01

The polluted Indo-Gangetic Basin (IGB) in northern India experiences fog (a condition when visibility degrades below 1 km) every winter (Dec-Jan) causing a massive loss of economy and even loss of life due to accidents. This can be minimized by improved fog detection (especially at night) and forecasting so that activities can be reorganized accordingly. Satellites detect fog at night by a positive brightness temperature difference (BTD). However, fixing the right BTD threshold holds the key to accuracy. Here I demonstrate the sensitivity of BTD in response to changes in fog and surface emissivity and their temperatures and justify a new BTD threshold. Further I quantify the dependence of critical fog droplet number concentration, NF (i.e. minimum fog concentration required to degrade visibility below 1 km) on liquid water content (LWC). NF decreases exponentially with an increase in LWC from 0.01 to 1 g/m3, beyond which it stabilizes. A 10 times low bias in simulated LWC below 1 g/m3 would require 107 times higher aerosol concentration to form the required number of fog droplets. These results provide the theoretical aspects that will help improving the existing fog detection algorithm and fog forecasting by numerical models in India.

Pairing field methods to improve inference in wildlife surveys while accommodating detection covariance.

Science.gov (United States)

Clare, John; McKinney, Shawn T; DePue, John E; Loftin, Cynthia S

2017-10-01

It is common to use multiple field sampling methods when implementing wildlife surveys to compare method efficacy or cost efficiency, integrate distinct pieces of information provided by separate methods, or evaluate method-specific biases and misclassification error. Existing models that combine information from multiple field methods or sampling devices permit rigorous comparison of method-specific detection parameters, enable estimation of additional parameters such as false-positive detection probability, and improve occurrence or abundance estimates, but with the assumption that the separate sampling methods produce detections independently of one another. This assumption is tenuous if methods are paired or deployed in close proximity simultaneously, a common practice that reduces the additional effort required to implement multiple methods and reduces the risk that differences between method-specific detection parameters are confounded by other environmental factors. We develop occupancy and spatial capture-recapture models that permit covariance between the detections produced by different methods, use simulation to compare estimator performance of the new models to models assuming independence, and provide an empirical application based on American marten (Martes americana) surveys using paired remote cameras, hair catches, and snow tracking. Simulation results indicate existing models that assume that methods independently detect organisms produce biased parameter estimates and substantially understate estimate uncertainty when this assumption is violated, while our reformulated models are robust to either methodological independence or covariance. Empirical results suggested that remote cameras and snow tracking had comparable probability of detecting present martens, but that snow tracking also produced false-positive marten detections that could potentially substantially bias distribution estimates if not corrected for. Remote cameras detected marten

Improvement of retinal blood vessel detection by spur removal and Gaussian matched filtering compensation

Science.gov (United States)

Xiao, Di; Vignarajan, Janardhan; An, Dong; Tay-Kearney, Mei-Ling; Kanagasingam, Yogi

2016-03-01

Retinal photography is a non-invasive and well-accepted clinical diagnosis of ocular diseases. Qualitative and quantitative assessment of retinal images is crucial in ocular diseases related clinical application. In this paper, we proposed approaches for improving the quality of blood vessel detection based on our initial blood vessel detection methods. A blood vessel spur pruning method has been developed for removing the blood vessel spurs both on vessel medial lines and binary vessel masks, which are caused by artifacts and side-effect of Gaussian matched vessel enhancement. A Gaussian matched filtering compensation method has been developed for removing incorrect vessel branches in the areas of low illumination. The proposed approaches were applied and tested on the color fundus images from one publicly available database and our diabetic retinopathy screening dataset. A preliminary result has demonstrated the robustness and good performance of the proposed approaches and their potential application for improving retinal blood vessel detection.

Follicular dynamics, interval to ovulation and fertility after AI in short-term progesterone and PGF2α oestrous synchronization protocol in sheep.

Science.gov (United States)

Cox, J F; Allende, R; Lara, E; Leiva, A; Díaz, T; Dorado, J; Saravia, F

2012-12-01

The study was aimed to assess the influence that short-term progesterone treatments have on follicular dynamics, oestrus and ovulation in sheep. The treatment was tested thereafter in a field trial to assess its fertility after AI with fresh semen. In a first experiment, 12 ewes without CL were grouped to receive a new (n = 6) or used CIDR (n = 6) for 7 days and blood samples were obtained to follow plasma progesterone profiles. In a second experiment, 39 cycling ewes were synchronized by a 7-day P4+PGF2α protocol using a new (n = 20) or a 7-day used CIDR (n = 19). Half of both groups received 400 IU eCG and half remained untreated as controls. Ultrasound ovarian examination and oestrous detection were used to compare follicular dynamics, oestrus and ovulation in both groups. In a third experiment, 288 ewes in 3 farms were synchronized by the short-term P4+PGF2α+eCG protocol and ewes were AI with fresh semen 24 h after oestrous detection. Lambing performance was used to test the fertility of the treatment. In Experiment 1, ewes with new inserts presented higher P4 concentration than ewes with used inserts throughout the sampling period (p 0.10). However, ewes treated with eCG show shorter interval to oestrus (p = 0.004) and tend to have larger mature CL (p = 0.06). In Experiment 3, oestrous presentation and lambing performance after AI with fresh semen was considered normal compared to published results. Results suggest that the oestrous synchronization protocol based on P4+PGF2α allows little control of follicular dynamics without compromising fertility after AI with fresh semen provided that eCG is added at the end of the treatment. © 2012 Blackwell Verlag GmbH.

Addition of Carbon to the Culture Medium Improves the Detection Efficiency of Aflatoxin Synthetic Fungi

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tadahiro Suzuki

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Aflatoxin (AF is a harmful secondary metabolite that is synthesized by the Aspergillus species. Although AF detection techniques have been developed, techniques for detection of AF synthetic fungi are still required. Techniques such as plate culture methods are continually being modified for this purpose. However, plate culture methods require refinement because they suffer from several issues. In this study, activated charcoal powder (carbon was added to a culture medium containing cyclodextrin (CD to enhance the contrast of fluorescence and improve the detection efficiency for AF synthetic fungi. Two culture media, potato dextrose agar and yeast extract sucrose agar, were investigated using both plate and liquid cultures. The final concentrations of CD and carbon in the media were 3 mg/mL and 0.3 mg/mL, respectively. Addition of carbon improved the visibility of fluorescence by attenuating approximately 30% of light scattering. Several fungi that could not be detected with only CD in the medium were detected with carbon addition. The carbon also facilitated fungal growth in the potato dextrose liquid medium. The results suggest that addition of carbon to media can enhance the observation of AF-derived fluorescence.

Improvements of the sensitivity of burst cartridge detection; Amelioration du seuil de detection des ruptures de gaine

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vasnier, F [Commissariat a l' Energie Atomique, Saclay (France). Centre d' Etudes Nucleaires

1967-07-01

I - Special tests for improving the sensitivity of burst cartridge detection equipment in power reactors II - Scintillator purge-flow tests using aged gas in the B.C.D. /E.D.F. 2 Summary. - The first part of this report describes the tests carried out on fission product detectors by a process in which gas is continuously injected in front of the scintillator. Using this system, the background is reduced and perturbations caused by pneumatic switches on the prospecting circuits are eliminated. The quality of the signals thus obtained permits better processing of the data and thus leads to a possible improvement in the sensitivity of burst cartridge detection. The second part gives results of tests carried out with both fresh and aged gases, the economic advantage of the latter being that it permits recycling through the reactor. Reduction of the background is less pronounced but the advantage of the stable signals is conserved. (author) [French] I - Essais speciaux pour ameliorer le seuil de detection des installations de D.R.G. des reacteurs de puissance II- Essais de balayage sous scintillateur avec gaz vieilli a la D.R.G. /E.D.F. 2 Sommaire. - La premiere partie de ce rapport decrit les essais effectues sur les detecteurs de produits de fission par un procede d'injection continue de gaz sous le scintillateur. Grace a ce systeme on obtient une reduction du bruit de fond et l'elimination des perturbations causees par les commutations pneumatiques des circuits de prospection. La qualite des signaux obtenus ainsi permet un meilleur traitement des informations d'ou une amelioration possible du seuil de detection des ruptures de gaines. La seconde partie donne les resultats d'essais effectues avec du gaz propre et vieilli, l'utilisation de ce dernier presentant l'avantage economique d'etre recycle du reacteur. La reduction du bruit de fond est moins importante mais on conserve l'avantage de la stabilisation des signaux. (auteur)

Sexual exchange relationships in captive chimpanzees

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hemelrijk, C.K.; Van Laere, G.J.; Van Hooff, J.A.R.A.M.

1992-01-01

In a group of captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), we studied whether females received more social benefits from males when they were in oestrus than at other times and whether males distributed their beneficial acts especially to females with whom they mated more frequently. When in oestrus,

Defect Detection of Adhesive Layer of Thermal Insulation Materials Based on Improved Particle Swarm Optimization of ECT.

Science.gov (United States)

Wen, Yintang; Jia, Yao; Zhang, Yuyan; Luo, Xiaoyuan; Wang, Hongrui

2017-10-25

This paper studies the defect detection problem of adhesive layer of thermal insulation materials. A novel detection method based on an improved particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm of Electrical Capacitance Tomography (ECT) is presented. Firstly, a least squares support vector machine is applied for data processing of measured capacitance values. Then, the improved PSO algorithm is proposed and applied for image reconstruction. Finally, some experiments are provided to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method in defect detection for adhesive layer of thermal insulation materials. The performance comparisons demonstrate that the proposed method has higher precision by comparing with traditional ECT algorithms.

Improved efficiency access control equipment and explosive, weapons and drug abuse detection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jenkins, A.; Milford, A.; Woollven, J.

1985-01-01

The second generation portal explosives detector has been designed with increased detection capability and convenience in service. The method of detection and performance relative to the first generation is described. A novel method of auto-calibration and self diagnosis is described and results are discussed. Improvements in convenience of operation have been achieved and operating space and costs reduced by combining metal detection capability, together with explosives detection. This allows both alarm signal and diagnostic outputs to be combined on a single remote panel in the guard room, and reduces the number of guards needed to man the access control. This type of access control is entirely a defensive measure against attack but a further additional feature is proposed which will also check the state of mind of all personnel passing through the check point. Any person suffering from the effect of narcotic or alcohol will be detected by their inability to reproduce their normal signature. A new method of signature analysis in five dimensions is described together with proposals for integrating the check without increasing the time in the test area. Some recent results on the effects of alcohol on signature reproduction is given

Improving Intrusion Detection System Based on Snort Rules for Network Probe Attacks Detection with Association Rules Technique of Data Mining

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nattawat Khamphakdee

2015-07-01

Full Text Available The intrusion detection system (IDS is an important network security tool for securing computer and network systems. It is able to detect and monitor network traffic data. Snort IDS is an open-source network security tool. It can search and match rules with network traffic data in order to detect attacks, and generate an alert. However, the Snort IDS  can detect only known attacks. Therefore, we have proposed a procedure for improving Snort IDS rules, based on the association rules data mining technique for detection of network probe attacks.  We employed the MIT-DARPA 1999 data set for the experimental evaluation. Since behavior pattern traffic data are both normal and abnormal, the abnormal behavior data is detected by way of the Snort IDS. The experimental results showed that the proposed Snort IDS rules, based on data mining detection of network probe attacks, proved more efficient than the original Snort IDS rules, as well as icmp.rules and icmp-info.rules of Snort IDS.  The suitable parameters for the proposed Snort IDS rules are defined as follows: Min_sup set to 10%, and Min_conf set to 100%, and through the application of eight variable attributes. As more suitable parameters are applied, higher accuracy is achieved.

Darkfield illumination improves microscopic detection of metals in Timm's stained tissue

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Baatrup, E; Frederickson, C J

1989-01-01

Deposits of trace or toxic metals can be quickly identified by light microscopical surveys of tissue sections stained for metals by variants of Timm's silver enhancement method. The present work shows that the small, isolated silver grains that label isolated deposits of metal in tissue are undet...... are undetectable in brightfield light microscopy but are easily detected in darkfield microscopy. Darkfield illumination is therefore recommended for improving the detection of trace or toxic metals in tissue. Udgivelsesdato: 1989-Aug......Deposits of trace or toxic metals can be quickly identified by light microscopical surveys of tissue sections stained for metals by variants of Timm's silver enhancement method. The present work shows that the small, isolated silver grains that label isolated deposits of metal in tissue...

Portopulmonary hypertension: Improved detection using CT and echocardiography in combination

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Devaraj, Anand [Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Foundation Trust, Department of Radiology, London (United Kingdom); Loveridge, Robert; Bernal, William; Willars, Christopher; Wendon, Julia A.; Auzinger, Georg [King' s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, The Institute of Liver Studies, King' s Health Partners, King' s College London, London (United Kingdom); Bosanac, Diana; Stefanidis, Konstantinos; Desai, Sujal R. [King' s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Department of Radiology, King' s Health Partners, King' s College London, London (United Kingdom)

2014-10-15

To establish the relationship between CT signs of pulmonary hypertension and mean pulmonary artery pressure (mPAP) in patients with liver disease, and to determine the additive value of CT in the detection of portopulmonary hypertension in combination with transthoracic echocardiography. Forty-nine patients referred for liver transplantation were retrospectively reviewed. Measured CT signs included the main pulmonary artery/ascending aorta diameter ratio (PA/AA{sub meas}) and the mean left and right main PA diameter (RLPA{sub meas}). Enlargement of the pulmonary artery compared to the ascending aorta was also assessed visually (PA/AA{sub vis}). CT measurements were correlated with right-sided heart catheter-derived mPAP. The ability of PA/AA{sub vis} combined with echocardiogram-derived right ventricular systolic pressure (RVSP) to detect portopulmonary hypertension was tested with ROC analysis. There were moderate correlations between mPAP and both PA/AA{sub meas} and RLPA{sub meas} (r{sub s} = 0.41 and r{sub s} = 0.42, respectively; p < 0.005). Compared to transthoracic echocardiography alone (AUC = 0.59, p = 0.23), a diagnostic algorithm incorporating PA/AA{sub vis} and transthoracic echocardiography-derived RVSP improved the detection of portopulmonary hypertension (AUC = 0.8, p < 0.0001). CT contributes to the non-invasive detection of portopulmonary hypertension when used in a diagnostic algorithm with transthoracic echocardiography. CT may have a role in the pre-liver transplantation triage of patients with portopulmonary hypertension for right-sided heart catheterisation. (orig.)

Milk and hair progesterone contents during the oestrous cycle and gestation in goats

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guo Dazhi; Zeng Xianyin; Liu Xianyi; Chen Faju; Song Xuehua

1991-01-01

Milk and hair progesterone contents were determined during the oestrous cycle and gestation in Saanen, F1 crosses (Saanen x Chengdu Mah) and F2 (Saanen x (Saanen x Chengdu Mah)) goats using the radioimmunoassay kits provided by the IAEA. Hair samples were collected from the back of the goats every day from day 1 (after oestrus) to day 28 and every 5 days from day 30 to parturition. Foremilk samples were also collected daily from day 1 to day 20. The results showed that there were significant differences in milk progesterone concentration between pregnant and non-pregnant goats during days 19 to 22 after oestrus. Progesterone in goat hair could be detected using the RIA kits. Hair progesterone content was correlated with the milk progesterone profile during the first 20 days of pregnancy in non-pregnant goats; a similar correlation was observed during the oestrous cycle. When milk samples were collected on day 22 post-oestrus and 3.9 ng/mL was taken as the discriminatory level, the accuracy of pregnancy and non-pregnancy diagnosis was 82.4% and 100% respectively. When hair samples were collected on day 22 and 3.7 ng/50 mg hair was taken as the discriminatory level, the accuracy of pregnancy and non-pregnancy diagnosis was 77.8% and 100% respectively. During gestation, hair progesterone contents increased gradually from day 30 to day 120 and decreased rapidly from day -8 before parturition to parturition. 6 refs, 3 figs, 2 tabs

Using hormones to manage dairy cow fertility: the clinical and ethical beliefs of veterinary practitioners.

Science.gov (United States)

Higgins, Helen M; Ferguson, Eamonn; Smith, Robert F; Green, Martin J

2013-01-01

In the face of a steady decline in dairy cow fertility over several decades, using hormones to assist reproduction has become common. In the European Union, hormones are prescription-only medicines, giving veterinary practitioners a central role in their deployment. This study explored the clinical and ethical beliefs of practitioners, and provides data on their current prescribing practices. During 2011, 93 practitioners working in England completed a questionnaire (95% response rate). Of the 714 non-organic farms they attended, only 4 farms (0.6%) never used hormones to assist the insemination of lactating dairy cows. Practitioners agreed (>80%) that hormones improve fertility and farm businesses profitability. They also agreed (>80%) that if farmers are able to tackle management issues contributing to poor oestrus expression, then over a five year period these outcomes would both improve, relative to using hormones instead. If management issues are addressed instead of prescribing hormones, practitioners envisaged a less favourable outcome for veterinary practices profitability (p<0.01), but an improvement in genetic selection for fertility (p<0.01) and overall cow welfare (p<0.01). On farms making no efforts to address underlying management problems, long-term routine use at the start of breeding for timing artificial insemination or inducing oestrus was judged "unacceptable" by 69% and 48% of practitioners, respectively. In contrast, practitioners agreed (≥ 90%) that both these types of use are acceptable, provided a period of time has been allowed to elapse during which the cow is observed for natural oestrus. Issues discussed include: weighing quality versus length of cow life, fiscal factors, legal obligations, and balancing the interests of all stakeholders, including the increasing societal demand for food. This research fosters debate and critical appraisal, contributes to veterinary ethics, and encourages the pro-active development of professional

Using hormones to manage dairy cow fertility: the clinical and ethical beliefs of veterinary practitioners.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Helen M Higgins

Full Text Available In the face of a steady decline in dairy cow fertility over several decades, using hormones to assist reproduction has become common. In the European Union, hormones are prescription-only medicines, giving veterinary practitioners a central role in their deployment. This study explored the clinical and ethical beliefs of practitioners, and provides data on their current prescribing practices. During 2011, 93 practitioners working in England completed a questionnaire (95% response rate. Of the 714 non-organic farms they attended, only 4 farms (0.6% never used hormones to assist the insemination of lactating dairy cows. Practitioners agreed (>80% that hormones improve fertility and farm businesses profitability. They also agreed (>80% that if farmers are able to tackle management issues contributing to poor oestrus expression, then over a five year period these outcomes would both improve, relative to using hormones instead. If management issues are addressed instead of prescribing hormones, practitioners envisaged a less favourable outcome for veterinary practices profitability (p<0.01, but an improvement in genetic selection for fertility (p<0.01 and overall cow welfare (p<0.01. On farms making no efforts to address underlying management problems, long-term routine use at the start of breeding for timing artificial insemination or inducing oestrus was judged "unacceptable" by 69% and 48% of practitioners, respectively. In contrast, practitioners agreed (≥ 90% that both these types of use are acceptable, provided a period of time has been allowed to elapse during which the cow is observed for natural oestrus. Issues discussed include: weighing quality versus length of cow life, fiscal factors, legal obligations, and balancing the interests of all stakeholders, including the increasing societal demand for food. This research fosters debate and critical appraisal, contributes to veterinary ethics, and encourages the pro-active development of

Improved biosensor-based detection system

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

2015-01-01

Described is a new biosensor-based detection system for effector compounds, useful for in vivo applications in e.g. screening and selecting of cells which produce a small molecule effector compound or which take up a small molecule effector compound from its environment. The detection system...... comprises a protein or RNA-based biosensor for the effector compound which indirectly regulates the expression of a reporter gene via two hybrid proteins, providing for fewer false signals or less 'noise', tuning of sensitivity or other advantages over conventional systems where the biosensor directly...

Improving the recommender algorithms with the detected communities in bipartite networks

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Peng; Wang, Duo; Xiao, Jinghua

2017-04-01

Recommender system offers a powerful tool to make information overload problem well solved and thus gains wide concerns of scholars and engineers. A key challenge is how to make recommendations more accurate and personalized. We notice that community structures widely exist in many real networks, which could significantly affect the recommendation results. By incorporating the information of detected communities in the recommendation algorithms, an improved recommendation approach for the networks with communities is proposed. The approach is examined in both artificial and real networks, the results show that the improvement on accuracy and diversity can be 20% and 7%, respectively. This reveals that it is beneficial to classify the nodes based on the inherent properties in recommender systems.

Trends in advanced reproductive management using hormonal radioimmunoassay in swamp buffaloes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kamonpatana, M.; Pansin, C.; Sophon, S.; Parnpai, R.; Sravasi, S.; Srisakwattana, K.

1990-01-01

The objective of the experiments reported on here was to study methods of improving reproduction in cattle and buffaloes. These included clinical and behavioural observations, recording of body weights and measurement of reproductive hormones (luteinizing hormone, prolactin, testosterone, progesterone and oestrone sulphate) by radioimmunoassay. The results indicated that puberty in both males and females can be identified accurately by concurrent measurement of body weight and hormones. The postpartum reproductive functions of village buffaloes can be monitored by serial measurement of progesterone; such measurements, used in conjunction with artificial insemination or natural mating, can be applied for reducing the calving interval. Oestrus induction and synchronization were used in a programme for introducing superior genetic stock to village buffaloes, and proved to be of benefit to small farmers. The conception rate can be improved when animals with an active corpus luteum are correctly identified with the progesterone test for use in synchronization programmes, and when breeding is done at the most appropriate time in relation to the onset of oestrus. (author). 6 refs, 4 tabs

Leadership training to improve adenoma detection rate in screening colonoscopy: A randomised trial

NARCIS (Netherlands)

M.F. Kaminski (Michal); J. Anderson (John); R.M. Valori (Roland ); E. Kraszewska (Ewa); M. Rupinski (Maciej); J. Pachlewski (Jacek); E. Wronska (Ewa); M. Bretthauer (Michael); S. Thomas-Gibson (Siwan); E.J. Kuipers (Ernst); J. Regula (J.)

2016-01-01

textabstractObjective Suboptimal adenoma detection rate (ADR) at colonoscopy is associated with increased risk of interval colorectal cancer. It is uncertain how ADR might be improved. We compared the effect of leadership training versus feedback only on colonoscopy quality in a countrywide

Fault-tolerant control for current sensors of doubly fed induction generators based on an improved fault detection method

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Li, Hui; Yang, Chao; Hu, Yaogang

2014-01-01

Fault-tolerant control of current sensors is studied in this paper to improve the reliability of a doubly fed induction generator (DFIG). A fault-tolerant control system of current sensors is presented for the DFIG, which consists of a new current observer and an improved current sensor fault...... detection algorithm, and fault-tolerant control system are investigated by simulation. The results indicate that the outputs of the observer and the sensor are highly coherent. The fault detection algorithm can efficiently detect both soft and hard faults in current sensors, and the fault-tolerant control...

Overview of progesterone profiles in dairy cows

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Blavy, P.; Derks, M.; Martin, O.

2016-01-01

The aim of this study was to gain a better understanding of the variability in shape and features of all progesterone profiles during oestrus cycles in cows, and to create templates for cycle shapes and features as a base for further research. Milk progesterone data from 1418 oestrus cycles, coming...

Improvement of a picking algorithm real-time P-wave detection by kurtosis

Science.gov (United States)

Ishida, H.; Yamada, M.

2016-12-01

Earthquake early warning (EEW) requires fast and accurate P-wave detection. The current EEW system in Japan uses the STA/LTAalgorithm (Allen, 1978) to detect P-wave arrival.However, some stations did not trigger during the 2011 Great Tohoku Earthquake due to the emergent onset. In addition, accuracy of the P-wave detection is very important: on August 1, 2016, the EEW issued a false alarm with M9 in Tokyo region due to a thunder noise.To solve these problems, we use a P-wave detection method using kurtosis statistics. It detects the change of statistic distribution of the waveform amplitude. This method was recently developed (Saragiotis et al., 2002) and used for off-line analysis such as making seismic catalogs. To apply this method for EEW, we need to remove an acausal calculation and enable a real-time processing. Here, we propose a real-time P-wave detection method using kurtosis statistics with a noise filter.To avoid false triggering by a noise, we incorporated a simple filter to classify seismic signal and noise. Following Kong et al. (2016), we used the interquartilerange and zero cross rate for the classification. The interquartile range is an amplitude measure that is equal to the middle 50% of amplitude in a certain time window. The zero cross rate is a simple frequency measure that counts the number of times that the signal crosses baseline zero. A discriminant function including these measures was constructed by the linear discriminant analysis.To test this kurtosis method, we used strong motion records for 62 earthquakes between April, 2005 and July, 2015, which recorded the seismic intensity greater equal to 6 lower in the JMA intensity scale. The records with hypocentral distance picks. It shows that the median error is 0.13 sec and 0.035 sec for STA/LTA and kurtosis method. The kurtosis method tends to be more sensitive to small changes in amplitude.Our approach will contribute to improve the accuracy of source location determination of

Improving cyberbullying detection with user context

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dadvar, M.; Trieschnigg, Rudolf Berend; Ordelman, Roeland J.F.; de Jong, Franciska M.G.

The negative consequences of cyberbullying are becoming more alarming every day and technical solutions that allow for taking appropriate action by means of automated detection are still very limited. Up until now, studies on cyberbullying detection have focused on individual comments only,

Moving object detection in top-view aerial videos improved by image stacking

Science.gov (United States)

Teutsch, Michael; Krüger, Wolfgang; Beyerer, Jürgen

2017-08-01

Image stacking is a well-known method that is used to improve the quality of images in video data. A set of consecutive images is aligned by applying image registration and warping. In the resulting image stack, each pixel has redundant information about its intensity value. This redundant information can be used to suppress image noise, resharpen blurry images, or even enhance the spatial image resolution as done in super-resolution. Small moving objects in the videos usually get blurred or distorted by image stacking and thus need to be handled explicitly. We use image stacking in an innovative way: image registration is applied to small moving objects only, and image warping blurs the stationary background that surrounds the moving objects. Our video data are coming from a small fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that acquires top-view gray-value images of urban scenes. Moving objects are mainly cars but also other vehicles such as motorcycles. The resulting images, after applying our proposed image stacking approach, are used to improve baseline algorithms for vehicle detection and segmentation. We improve precision and recall by up to 0.011, which corresponds to a reduction of the number of false positive and false negative detections by more than 3 per second. Furthermore, we show how our proposed image stacking approach can be implemented efficiently.

A method to test the reproducibility and to improve performance of computer-aided detection schemes for digitized mammograms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zheng Bin; Gur, David; Good, Walter F.; Hardesty, Lara A.

2004-01-01

The purpose of this study is to develop a new method for assessment of the reproducibility of computer-aided detection (CAD) schemes for digitized mammograms and to evaluate the possibility of using the implemented approach for improving CAD performance. Two thousand digitized mammograms (representing 500 cases) with 300 depicted verified masses were selected in the study. Series of images were generated for each digitized image by resampling after a series of slight image rotations. A CAD scheme developed in our laboratory was applied to all images to detect suspicious mass regions. We evaluated the reproducibility of the scheme using the detection sensitivity and false-positive rates for the original and resampled images. We also explored the possibility of improving CAD performance using three methods of combining results from the original and resampled images, including simple grouping, averaging output scores, and averaging output scores after grouping. The CAD scheme generated a detection score (from 0 to 1) for each identified suspicious region. A region with a detection score >0.5 was considered as positive. The CAD scheme detected 238 masses (79.3% case-based sensitivity) and identified 1093 false-positive regions (average 0.55 per image) in the original image dataset. In eleven repeated tests using original and ten sets of rotated and resampled images, the scheme detected a maximum of 271 masses and identified as many as 2359 false-positive regions. Two hundred and eighteen masses (80.4%) and 618 false-positive regions (26.2%) were detected in all 11 sets of images. Combining detection results improved reproducibility and the overall CAD performance. In the range of an average false-positive detection rate between 0.5 and 1 per image, the sensitivity of the scheme could be increased approximately 5% after averaging the scores of the regions detected in at least four images. At low false-positive rate (e.g., ≤average 0.3 per image), the grouping method

[Submicroscopic changes in ciliated cells of the epithelium of the oviduct in cows during the estrus cycle].

Science.gov (United States)

Uhrín, V; Kliment, J

1983-03-01

The submicroscopic changes in the ciliary cells of the ampullar part of oviduct are of qualitative as well as quantitative nature. The mitochondria are mainly located in the supranuclear region. They are small, having densely arranged lamelliform cristae and dense matrix. They have the largest volume in metoestrus and the highest number and the largest surface already during oestrus. The volume and surface of granular endoplasmic reticulum culminates already during pro-oestrus. The reticulum occurs mainly over the nucleus where it produces tubuli densely covered with ribosomes which begin to dilate already during pro-oestrus. The Golgi apparatus and the membranes of smooth reticulum are poorly developed and their quantitative changes during the cycle are not significant. Various forms of lysosomes, whose volume reaches its maximum in dioestrus and during pro-oestrus, constitute a constant component of cytoplasm. Secretory granules occur only rarely in these cells. Kinocilia grow from the basal corpuscles and are more frequent on cells with a light cytoplasm. Higher-density cells have more micro-villi between kinocilia. Deciliation with the disintegration of membrane, filaments and often also the basal corpuscles is observed during metoestrus and at the beginning of dioestrus. Reciliation begins with the formation of basal corpuscles and their replication at the end of dioestrus and in pro-oestrus. The frequency of ciliary regeneration is comparatively small.

Improving the detection of illicit substance use in preoperative anesthesiological assessment.

Science.gov (United States)

Kleinwächter, R; Kork, F; Weiss-Gerlach, E; Ramme, A; Linnen, H; Radtke, F; Lütz, A; Krampe, H; Spies, C D

2010-01-01

Illicit substance use (ISU) is a worldwide burden, and its prevalence in surgical patients has not been well investigated. Co-consumption of legal substances, such as alcohol and tobacco, complicates the perioperative management and is frequently underestimated during routine preoperative assessment. The aim of this study was to compare the anesthesiologists' detection rate of ISU during routine preoperative assessment with a computerized self-assessment questionnaire. In total, 2,938 patients were included in this study. Prior to preoperative assessment, patients were asked to complete a computer-based questionnaire that addressed ISU, alcohol use disorder (AUDIT), nicotine use (Fagerström) and socio-economic variables (education, income, employment, partnership and size of household). Medical records were reviewed, and the anesthesiologists' detection of ISU was compared to the patients' self-reported ISU. Seven point five percent of patients reported ISU within the previous twelve months. ISU was highest in the age group between 18 and 30 years (26.4%; P<0.01). Patients reporting ISU were more often men than women (P<0.01), smokers (P<0.01) and tested positive for alcohol use disorder (P<0.01). Anesthesiologists detected ISU in one in 43 patients, whereas the computerized self-assessment reported it in one in 13 patients. The detection was best in the subgroup self-reporting frequent ISU (P<0.01). Anesthesiologists underestimate the prevalence of ISU. Computer-based self-assessment increases the detection of ISU in preoperative assessment and may decrease perioperative risk. More strategies to improve the detection of ISU as well as brief interventions for ISU are required in preoperative assessment clinics.

Improved Deep Belief Networks (IDBN Dynamic Model-Based Detection and Mitigation for Targeted Attacks on Heavy-Duty Robots

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lianpeng Li

2018-04-01

Full Text Available In recent years, the robots, especially heavy-duty robots, have become the hardest-hit areas for targeted attacks. These attacks come from both the cyber-domain and the physical-domain. In order to improve the security of heavy-duty robots, this paper proposes a detection and mitigation mechanism which based on improved deep belief networks (IDBN and dynamic model. The detection mechanism consists of two parts: (1 IDBN security checks, which can detect targeted attacks from the cyber-domain; (2 Dynamic model and security detection, used to detect the targeted attacks which can possibly lead to a physical-domain damage. The mitigation mechanism was established on the base of the detection mechanism and could mitigate transient and discontinuous attacks. Moreover, a test platform was established to carry out the performance evaluation test for the proposed mechanism. The results show that, the detection accuracy for the attack of the cyber-domain of IDBN reaches 96.2%, and the detection accuracy for the attack of physical-domain control commands reaches 94%. The performance evaluation test has verified the reliability and high efficiency of the proposed detection and mitigation mechanism for heavy-duty robots.

Does endoscopic ultrasound improve detection of locally recurrent anal squamous-cell cancer?

Science.gov (United States)

Peterson, Carrie Y; Weiser, Martin R; Paty, Philip B; Guillem, Jose G; Nash, Garrett M; Garcia-Aguilar, Julio; Patil, Sujata; Temple, Larissa K

2015-02-01

Evaluating patients for recurrent anal cancer after primary treatment can be difficult owing to distorted anatomy and scarring. Many institutions incorporate endoscopic ultrasound to improve detection, but the effectiveness is unknown. The aim of this study is to compare the effectiveness of digital rectal examination and endoscopic ultrasound in detecting locally recurrent disease during routine follow-up of patients with anal cancer. This study is a retrospective, single-institution review. This study was conducted at an oncologic tertiary referral center. Included were 175 patients with nonmetastatic anal squamous-cell cancer, without persistent disease after primary chemoradiotherapy, who had at least 1 posttreatment ultrasound and examination by a colorectal surgeon. The primary outcomes measured were the first modality to detect local recurrence, concordance, crude cancer detection rate, sensitivity, specificity, and predictive value. Eight hundred fifty-five endoscopic ultrasounds and 873 digital rectal examinations were performed during 35 months median follow-up. Overall, ultrasound detected 7 (0.8%) mesorectal and 32 (3.7%) anal canal abnormalities; digital examination detected 69 (7.9%) anal canal abnormalities. Locally recurrent disease was found on biopsy in 8 patients, all detected first or only with digital examination. Four patients did not have an ultrasound at the time of diagnosis of recurrence. The concordance of ultrasound and digital examination in detecting recurrent disease was fair at 0.37 (SE, 0.08; 95% CI, 0.21-0.54), and there was no difference in crude cancer detection rate, sensitivity, specificity, and negative or positive predictive values. The heterogeneity of follow-up timing and examinations is not standardized in this study but is reflective of general practice. Endoscopic ultrasound did not provide any advantage over digital rectal examination in identifying locally recurrent anal cancer, and should not be recommended for

Comparative study of oestrous cycles and ovulation characteristics of cattle kept at different altitudes in Peru

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cardenas, H.; Vivanco, W.; Alvarado, E.; Padilla, A.; Flores, A.

1990-01-01

Progesterone (P 4 ) profiles were used to characterize certain aspects of the oestrous cycle in dairy Holstein (H) heifers bred under a typical intensive management system in the central coast area of Peru (12 deg. 05' S, 76 deg. 57' W) and in Brown Swiss (BS) and Simmental (SIM) dual purpose heifers reared under extensive management conditions in the central highlands (14 deg. 07' S, 70 deg. 43' W, 4250 m elevation). In the coastal experiment a group of eight H heifers were evaluated during their normal oestrous cycles, and a similar group after synchronization with norgestomet and oestradiol valerate. Serum concentrations of P 4 were measured throughout the oestrous cycles by RIA in daily samples obtained from the jugular vein. The occurrence of ovulation at 30 h after the onset of standing oestrus was determined by laparoscopy or by rectal palpation. Oestrus detection was performed by visual observation of anatomical changes and homosexual behaviour. In the trial carried out in the highlands, eight naturally cycling BS and seven SIM, as well as eight PGF 2α synchronized BS and four SIM, were studied. Parameters similar to those mentioned for the coastal experiment were evaluated in this trial. The evaluations of the PGF 2α synchronized heifers were performed from the commencement of treatment to the end of the first oestrous cycle. The profiles of serum P 4 during natural oestrous cycles of H heifers on the coast and BS and SIM in the highlands were similar to those already defined for cattle in other environments. The PGF 2α treated BS and SIM heifers showed more rapid luteolysis than control heifers; as a consequence, the overall P 4 profiles in synchronized and natural oestruses were different. However, ovulations occurred about 30 h after the onset of standing oestrus in both naturally cycling and synchronized heifers in both environments. (author). 37 refs, 7 figs, 3 tabs

Spatio-Temporal Layout of Human Actions for Improved Bag-of-Words Action Detection

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Burghouts, G.J.; Schutte, K.

2013-01-01

We investigate how human action recognition can be improved by considering spatio-temporal layout of actions. From literature, we adopt a pipeline consisting of STIP features, a random forest to quantize the features into histograms, and an SVM classifier. Our goal is to detect 48 human actions,

An improved procedure for detection and enumeration of walrus signatures in airborne thermal imagery

Science.gov (United States)

Burn, Douglas M.; Udevitz, Mark S.; Speckman, Suzann G.; Benter, R. Bradley

2009-01-01

In recent years, application of remote sensing to marine mammal surveys has been a promising area of investigation for wildlife managers and researchers. In April 2006, the United States and Russia conducted an aerial survey of Pacific walrus (Odobenus rosmarus divergens) using thermal infrared sensors to detect groups of animals resting on pack ice in the Bering Sea. The goal of this survey was to estimate the size of the Pacific walrus population. An initial analysis of the U.S. data using previously-established methods resulted in lower detectability of walrus groups in the imagery and higher variability in calibration models than was expected based on pilot studies. This paper describes an improved procedure for detection and enumeration of walrus groups in airborne thermal imagery. Thermal images were first subdivided into smaller 200 x 200 pixel "tiles." We calculated three statistics to represent characteristics of walrus signatures from the temperature histogram for each the. Tiles that exhibited one or more of these characteristics were examined further to determine if walrus signatures were present. We used cluster analysis on tiles that contained walrus signatures to determine which pixels belonged to each group. We then calculated a thermal index value for each walrus group in the imagery and used generalized linear models to estimate detection functions (the probability of a group having a positive index value) and calibration functions (the size of a group as a function of its index value) based on counts from matched digital aerial photographs. The new method described here improved our ability to detect walrus groups at both 2 m and 4 m spatial resolution. In addition, the resulting calibration models have lower variance than the original method. We anticipate that the use of this new procedure will greatly improve the quality of the population estimate derived from these data. This procedure may also have broader applicability to thermal infrared

Improvement of LOD in Fluorescence Detection with Spectrally Nonuniform Background by Optimization of Emission Filtering.

Science.gov (United States)

Galievsky, Victor A; Stasheuski, Alexander S; Krylov, Sergey N

2017-10-17

The limit-of-detection (LOD) in analytical instruments with fluorescence detection can be improved by reducing noise of optical background. Efficiently reducing optical background noise in systems with spectrally nonuniform background requires complex optimization of an emission filter-the main element of spectral filtration. Here, we introduce a filter-optimization method, which utilizes an expression for the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) as a function of (i) all noise components (dark, shot, and flicker), (ii) emission spectrum of the analyte, (iii) emission spectrum of the optical background, and (iv) transmittance spectrum of the emission filter. In essence, the noise components and the emission spectra are determined experimentally and substituted into the expression. This leaves a single variable-the transmittance spectrum of the filter-which is optimized numerically by maximizing SNR. Maximizing SNR provides an accurate way of filter optimization, while a previously used approach based on maximizing a signal-to-background ratio (SBR) is the approximation that can lead to much poorer LOD specifically in detection of fluorescently labeled biomolecules. The proposed filter-optimization method will be an indispensable tool for developing new and improving existing fluorescence-detection systems aiming at ultimately low LOD.

Improving battery safety by early detection of internal shorting with a bifunctional separator

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Hui; Zhuo, Denys; Kong, Desheng; Cui, Yi

2014-10-01

Lithium-based rechargeable batteries have been widely used in portable electronics and show great promise for emerging applications in transportation and wind-solar-grid energy storage, although their safety remains a practical concern. Failures in the form of fire and explosion can be initiated by internal short circuits associated with lithium dendrite formation during cycling. Here we report a new strategy for improving safety by designing a smart battery that allows internal battery health to be monitored in situ. Specifically, we achieve early detection of lithium dendrites inside batteries through a bifunctional separator, which offers a third sensing terminal in addition to the cathode and anode. The sensing terminal provides unique signals in the form of a pronounced voltage change, indicating imminent penetration of dendrites through the separator. This detection mechanism is highly sensitive, accurate and activated well in advance of shorting and can be applied to many types of batteries for improved safety.

Combination of activity and lying/standing data for detection of oestrus in cows

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jónsson, Ragnar Ingi; Blanke, Mogens; Poulsen, Niels Kjølstad

2009-01-01

is measured by a sensor attached to the hind leg of the cow. Activity and lying/standing behaviour are modelled as a discrete event system, constructed using automata theory. In an attempt to estimate a biologically relevant lying balance, a lying balance indicator is constructed and is influencing transition...

Improving dementia care: The role of screening and detection of cognitive impairment

Science.gov (United States)

Borson, Soo; Frank, Lori; Bayley, Peter J.; Boustani, Malaz; Dean, Marge; Lin, Pei-Jung; McCarten, J. Riley; Morris, John C.; Salmon, David P.; Schmitt, Frederick A.; Stefanacci, Richard G.; Mendiondo, Marta S.; Peschin, Susan; Hall, Eric J.; Fillit, Howard; Ashford, J. Wesson

2014-01-01

The value of screening for cognitive impairment, including dementia and Alzheimer's disease, has been debated for decades. Recent research on causes of and treatments for cognitive impairment has converged to challenge previous thinking about screening for cognitive impairment. Consequently, changes have occurred in health care policies and priorities, including the establishment of the annual wellness visit, which requires detection of any cognitive impairment for Medicare enrollees. In response to these changes, the Alzheimer's Foundation of America and the Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation convened a workgroup to review evidence for screening implementation and to evaluate the implications of routine dementia detection for health care redesign. The primary domains reviewed were consideration of the benefits, harms, and impact of cognitive screening on health care quality. In conference, the workgroup developed 10 recommendations for realizing the national policy goals of early detection as the first step in improving clinical care and ensuring proactive, patient-centered management of dementia. PMID:23375564

xMSanalyzer: automated pipeline for improved feature detection and downstream analysis of large-scale, non-targeted metabolomics data

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Uppal Karan

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Detection of low abundance metabolites is important for de novo mapping of metabolic pathways related to diet, microbiome or environmental exposures. Multiple algorithms are available to extract m/z features from liquid chromatography-mass spectral data in a conservative manner, which tends to preclude detection of low abundance chemicals and chemicals found in small subsets of samples. The present study provides software to enhance such algorithms for feature detection, quality assessment, and annotation. Results xMSanalyzer is a set of utilities for automated processing of metabolomics data. The utilites can be classified into four main modules to: 1 improve feature detection for replicate analyses by systematic re-extraction with multiple parameter settings and data merger to optimize the balance between sensitivity and reliability, 2 evaluate sample quality and feature consistency, 3 detect feature overlap between datasets, and 4 characterize high-resolution m/z matches to small molecule metabolites and biological pathways using multiple chemical databases. The package was tested with plasma samples and shown to more than double the number of features extracted while improving quantitative reliability of detection. MS/MS analysis of a random subset of peaks that were exclusively detected using xMSanalyzer confirmed that the optimization scheme improves detection of real metabolites. Conclusions xMSanalyzer is a package of utilities for data extraction, quality control assessment, detection of overlapping and unique metabolites in multiple datasets, and batch annotation of metabolites. The program was designed to integrate with existing packages such as apLCMS and XCMS, but the framework can also be used to enhance data extraction for other LC/MS data software.

Improved detection of multiple environmental antibiotics through an optimized sample extraction strategy in liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Yi, Xinzhu; Bayen, Stéphane; Kelly, Barry C; Li, Xu; Zhou, Zhi

2015-12-01

A solid-phase extraction/liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization/multi-stage mass spectrometry (SPE-LC-ESI-MS/MS) method was optimized in this study for sensitive and simultaneous detection of multiple antibiotics in urban surface waters and soils. Among the seven classes of tested antibiotics, extraction efficiencies of macrolides, lincosamide, chloramphenicol, and polyether antibiotics were significantly improved under optimized sample extraction pH. Instead of only using acidic extraction in many existing studies, the results indicated that antibiotics with low pK a values (antibiotics with high pK a values (>7) were extracted more efficiently under neutral conditions. The effects of pH were more obvious on polar compounds than those on non-polar compounds. Optimization of extraction pH resulted in significantly improved sample recovery and better detection limits. Compared with reported values in the literature, the average reduction of minimal detection limits obtained in this study was 87.6% in surface waters (0.06-2.28 ng/L) and 67.1% in soils (0.01-18.16 ng/g dry wt). This method was subsequently applied to detect antibiotics in environmental samples in a heavily populated urban city, and macrolides, sulfonamides, and lincomycin were frequently detected. Antibiotics with highest detected concentrations were sulfamethazine (82.5 ng/L) in surface waters and erythromycin (6.6 ng/g dry wt) in soils. The optimized sample extraction strategy can be used to improve the detection of a variety of antibiotics in environmental surface waters and soils.

Improved multi-stage neonatal seizure detection using a heuristic classifier and a data-driven post-processor.

Science.gov (United States)

Ansari, A H; Cherian, P J; Dereymaeker, A; Matic, V; Jansen, K; De Wispelaere, L; Dielman, C; Vervisch, J; Swarte, R M; Govaert, P; Naulaers, G; De Vos, M; Van Huffel, S

2016-09-01

After identifying the most seizure-relevant characteristics by a previously developed heuristic classifier, a data-driven post-processor using a novel set of features is applied to improve the performance. The main characteristics of the outputs of the heuristic algorithm are extracted by five sets of features including synchronization, evolution, retention, segment, and signal features. Then, a support vector machine and a decision making layer remove the falsely detected segments. Four datasets including 71 neonates (1023h, 3493 seizures) recorded in two different university hospitals, are used to train and test the algorithm without removing the dubious seizures. The heuristic method resulted in a false alarm rate of 3.81 per hour and good detection rate of 88% on the entire test databases. The post-processor, effectively reduces the false alarm rate by 34% while the good detection rate decreases by 2%. This post-processing technique improves the performance of the heuristic algorithm. The structure of this post-processor is generic, improves our understanding of the core visually determined EEG features of neonatal seizures and is applicable for other neonatal seizure detectors. The post-processor significantly decreases the false alarm rate at the expense of a small reduction of the good detection rate. Copyright © 2016 International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

GnRH and prostaglandin-based synchronization protocols as alternatives to progestogen-based treatments in sheep.

Science.gov (United States)

Rekik, M; Haile, A; Abebe, A; Muluneh, D; Goshme, S; Ben Salem, I; Hilali, M El-Dine; Lassoued, N; Chanyalew, Y; Rischkowsky, B

2016-12-01

The study investigated, for cycling sheep, synchronizing protocols simultaneously to the standard "P" protocol using progestogens priming with intravaginal devices and gonadotropin. In November 2014, 90 adult Menz ewes were assigned to either the "P" protocol, "PGF" treatment where oestrus and ovulation were synchronized using two injections of prostaglandin 11 days apart or a "GnRH" treatment where the ewes had their oestrus and ovulation synchronized with GnRH (day 0)-prostaglandin (day 6)-GnRH (day 9) sequence. The ewes were naturally mated at the induced oestrus and the following 36 days. Plasma progesterone revealed that 92% of the ewes were ovulating before synchronization and all, except one, ovulated in response to the applied treatments. All "P" ewes exhibited oestrus during the 96-hr period after the end of the treatments in comparison with only 79.3% and 73.3% for "PGF" and "GnRH" ewes, respectively (p sheep after the rainy season when most animals are spontaneously cycling. © 2016 Blackwell Verlag GmbH.

ASCS online fault detection and isolation based on an improved MPCA

Science.gov (United States)

Peng, Jianxin; Liu, Haiou; Hu, Yuhui; Xi, Junqiang; Chen, Huiyan

2014-09-01

Multi-way principal component analysis (MPCA) has received considerable attention and been widely used in process monitoring. A traditional MPCA algorithm unfolds multiple batches of historical data into a two-dimensional matrix and cut the matrix along the time axis to form subspaces. However, low efficiency of subspaces and difficult fault isolation are the common disadvantages for the principal component model. This paper presents a new subspace construction method based on kernel density estimation function that can effectively reduce the storage amount of the subspace information. The MPCA model and the knowledge base are built based on the new subspace. Then, fault detection and isolation with the squared prediction error (SPE) statistic and the Hotelling ( T 2) statistic are also realized in process monitoring. When a fault occurs, fault isolation based on the SPE statistic is achieved by residual contribution analysis of different variables. For fault isolation of subspace based on the T 2 statistic, the relationship between the statistic indicator and state variables is constructed, and the constraint conditions are presented to check the validity of fault isolation. Then, to improve the robustness of fault isolation to unexpected disturbances, the statistic method is adopted to set the relation between single subspace and multiple subspaces to increase the corrective rate of fault isolation. Finally fault detection and isolation based on the improved MPCA is used to monitor the automatic shift control system (ASCS) to prove the correctness and effectiveness of the algorithm. The research proposes a new subspace construction method to reduce the required storage capacity and to prove the robustness of the principal component model, and sets the relationship between the state variables and fault detection indicators for fault isolation.

Improved detection of focal pneumonia by chest radiography with bone suppression imaging

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, Feng; Engelmann, Roger; Pesce, Lorenzo; Armato, Samuel G.; MacMahon, Heber

2012-01-01

To evaluate radiologists' ability to detect focal pneumonia by use of standard chest radiographs alone compared with standard plus bone-suppressed chest radiographs. Standard chest radiographs in 36 patients with 46 focal airspace opacities due to pneumonia (10 patients had bilateral opacities) and 20 patients without focal opacities were included in an observer study. A bone suppression image processing system was applied to the 56 radiographs to create corresponding bone suppression images. In the observer study, eight observers, including six attending radiologists and two radiology residents, indicated their confidence level regarding the presence of a focal opacity compatible with pneumonia for each lung, first by use of standard images, then with the addition of bone suppression images. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was used to evaluate the observers' performance. The mean value of the area under the ROC curve (AUC) for eight observers was significantly improved from 0.844 with use of standard images alone to 0.880 with standard plus bone suppression images (P < 0.001) based on 46 positive lungs and 66 negative lungs. Use of bone suppression images improved radiologists' performance for detection of focal pneumonia on chest radiographs. (orig.)

Improved detection of focal pneumonia by chest radiography with bone suppression imaging

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Li, Feng; Engelmann, Roger; Pesce, Lorenzo; Armato, Samuel G.; MacMahon, Heber [University of Chicago, Department of Radiology, MC-2026, Chicago, IL (United States)

2012-12-15

To evaluate radiologists' ability to detect focal pneumonia by use of standard chest radiographs alone compared with standard plus bone-suppressed chest radiographs. Standard chest radiographs in 36 patients with 46 focal airspace opacities due to pneumonia (10 patients had bilateral opacities) and 20 patients without focal opacities were included in an observer study. A bone suppression image processing system was applied to the 56 radiographs to create corresponding bone suppression images. In the observer study, eight observers, including six attending radiologists and two radiology residents, indicated their confidence level regarding the presence of a focal opacity compatible with pneumonia for each lung, first by use of standard images, then with the addition of bone suppression images. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was used to evaluate the observers' performance. The mean value of the area under the ROC curve (AUC) for eight observers was significantly improved from 0.844 with use of standard images alone to 0.880 with standard plus bone suppression images (P < 0.001) based on 46 positive lungs and 66 negative lungs. Use of bone suppression images improved radiologists' performance for detection of focal pneumonia on chest radiographs. (orig.)

Multi-disciplinary team for early gastric cancer diagnosis improves the detection rate of early gastric cancer.

Science.gov (United States)

Di, Lianjun; Wu, Huichao; Zhu, Rong; Li, Youfeng; Wu, Xinglong; Xie, Rui; Li, Hongping; Wang, Haibo; Zhang, Hua; Xiao, Hong; Chen, Hui; Zhen, Hong; Zhao, Kui; Yang, Xuefeng; Xie, Ming; Tuo, Bigung

2017-12-06

Gastric cancer is a frequent malignant tumor worldwide and its early detection is crucial for curing the disease and enhancing patients' survival rate. This study aimed to assess whether the multi-disciplinary team (MDT) can improve the detection rate of early gastric cancer (EGC). The detection rate of EGC at the Digestive Endoscopy Center, Affiliated Hospital, Zunyi Medical College, China between September 2013 and September 2015 was analyzed. MDT for the diagnosis of EGC in the hospital was established in September 2014. The study was divided into 2 time periods: September 1, 2013 to August 31, 2014 (period 1) and September 1, 2014 to September 1, 2015 (period 2). A total of 60,800 patients' gastroscopies were performed during the two years. 61 of these patients (0.1%) were diagnosed as EGC, accounting for 16.44% (61/371) of total patients with gastric cancer. The EGC detection rate before MDT (period 1) was 0.05% (16/29403), accounting for 9.09% (16/176) of total patients with gastric cancer during this period. In comparison, the EGC detection rate during MDT (period 2) was 0.15% (45/31397), accounting for 23% (45/195) of total patients with gastric cancer during this period (P cooperation with Department of Pathology (OR = 10.1, 95% CI 2.39-43.3, P < 0.05). MDT could improve the endoscopic detection rate of EGC.

Improving mass candidate detection in mammograms via feature maxima propagation and local feature selection.

Science.gov (United States)

Melendez, Jaime; Sánchez, Clara I; van Ginneken, Bram; Karssemeijer, Nico

2014-08-01

Mass candidate detection is a crucial component of multistep computer-aided detection (CAD) systems. It is usually performed by combining several local features by means of a classifier. When these features are processed on a per-image-location basis (e.g., for each pixel), mismatching problems may arise while constructing feature vectors for classification, which is especially true when the behavior expected from the evaluated features is a peaked response due to the presence of a mass. In this study, two of these problems, consisting of maxima misalignment and differences of maxima spread, are identified and two solutions are proposed. The first proposed method, feature maxima propagation, reproduces feature maxima through their neighboring locations. The second method, local feature selection, combines different subsets of features for different feature vectors associated with image locations. Both methods are applied independently and together. The proposed methods are included in a mammogram-based CAD system intended for mass detection in screening. Experiments are carried out with a database of 382 digital cases. Sensitivity is assessed at two sets of operating points. The first one is the interval of 3.5-15 false positives per image (FPs/image), which is typical for mass candidate detection. The second one is 1 FP/image, which allows to estimate the quality of the mass candidate detector's output for use in subsequent steps of the CAD system. The best results are obtained when the proposed methods are applied together. In that case, the mean sensitivity in the interval of 3.5-15 FPs/image significantly increases from 0.926 to 0.958 (p < 0.0002). At the lower rate of 1 FP/image, the mean sensitivity improves from 0.628 to 0.734 (p < 0.0002). Given the improved detection performance, the authors believe that the strategies proposed in this paper can render mass candidate detection approaches based on image location classification more robust to feature

Automatic video shot boundary detection using k-means clustering and improved adaptive dual threshold comparison

Science.gov (United States)

Sa, Qila; Wang, Zhihui

2018-03-01

At present, content-based video retrieval (CBVR) is the most mainstream video retrieval method, using the video features of its own to perform automatic identification and retrieval. This method involves a key technology, i.e. shot segmentation. In this paper, the method of automatic video shot boundary detection with K-means clustering and improved adaptive dual threshold comparison is proposed. First, extract the visual features of every frame and divide them into two categories using K-means clustering algorithm, namely, one with significant change and one with no significant change. Then, as to the classification results, utilize the improved adaptive dual threshold comparison method to determine the abrupt as well as gradual shot boundaries.Finally, achieve automatic video shot boundary detection system.

An ensemble classification approach for improved Land use/cover change detection

Science.gov (United States)

Chellasamy, M.; Ferré, T. P. A.; Humlekrog Greve, M.; Larsen, R.; Chinnasamy, U.

2014-11-01

Change Detection (CD) methods based on post-classification comparison approaches are claimed to provide potentially reliable results. They are considered to be most obvious quantitative method in the analysis of Land Use Land Cover (LULC) changes which provides from - to change information. But, the performance of post-classification comparison approaches highly depends on the accuracy of classification of individual images used for comparison. Hence, we present a classification approach that produce accurate classified results which aids to obtain improved change detection results. Machine learning is a part of broader framework in change detection, where neural networks have drawn much attention. Neural network algorithms adaptively estimate continuous functions from input data without mathematical representation of output dependence on input. A common practice for classification is to use Multi-Layer-Perceptron (MLP) neural network with backpropogation learning algorithm for prediction. To increase the ability of learning and prediction, multiple inputs (spectral, texture, topography, and multi-temporal information) are generally stacked to incorporate diversity of information. On the other hand literatures claims backpropagation algorithm to exhibit weak and unstable learning in use of multiple inputs, while dealing with complex datasets characterized by mixed uncertainty levels. To address the problem of learning complex information, we propose an ensemble classification technique that incorporates multiple inputs for classification unlike traditional stacking of multiple input data. In this paper, we present an Endorsement Theory based ensemble classification that integrates multiple information, in terms of prediction probabilities, to produce final classification results. Three different input datasets are used in this study: spectral, texture and indices, from SPOT-4 multispectral imagery captured on 1998 and 2003. Each SPOT image is classified

Improved optical ranging for space based gravitational wave detection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sutton, Andrew J; Shaddock, Daniel A; McKenzie, Kirk; Ware, Brent; De Vine, Glenn; Spero, Robert E; Klipstein, W

2013-01-01

The operation of 10 6  km scale laser interferometers in space will permit the detection of gravitational waves at previously unaccessible frequency regions. Multi-spacecraft missions, such as the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA), will use time delay interferometry to suppress the otherwise dominant laser frequency noise from their measurements. This is accomplished by performing sub-sample interpolation of the optical phase measurements recorded at each spacecraft for synchronization and cancellation of the otherwise dominant laser frequency noise. These sub-sample interpolation time shifts are dependent upon the inter-spacecraft range and will be measured using a pseudo-random noise ranging modulation upon the science laser. One limit to the ranging performance is mutual interference between the outgoing and incoming ranging signals upon each spacecraft. This paper reports on the demonstration of a noise cancellation algorithm which is shown to providing a factor of ∼8 suppression of the mutual interference noise. Demonstration of the algorithm in an optical test bed showed an rms ranging error of 0.06 m, improved from 0.19 m in previous results, surpassing the 1 m RMS LISA specification and potentially improving the cancellation of laser frequency noise. (paper)

Improved detection limit for {sup 59}Ni using the technique of accelerator mass spectrometry

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Persson, Per; Erlandsson, Bengt; Hellborg, Ragnar; Kiisk, Madis; Larsson, Ragnar; Skog, Goeran; Stenstroem, Kristina [Lund Univ. (Sweden). Dept. of Nuclear Physics

2002-11-01

59 Ni is produced by neutron activation in the stainless steel close to the core of a nuclear reactor. To be able to classify the different parts of the reactor with respect to their content of long-lived radionuclides before final storage it is important to measure the 59 Ni level. Accelerator mass spectrometry is an ultra-sensitive method for counting atoms, suitable for 59 Ni measurements. Improvements in the reduction of the background and in the chemical reduction of cobalt, the interfering isobar, have been made. This chemical purification is essential when using small tandem accelerators, <3 MV, combined with the detection of characteristic projectile X-rays. These improvements have lowered the detection limit for 59 Ni by a factor of twenty compared with the first value reported for the Lund AMS facility. Material from the Swedish nuclear industry has been analysed and examples of the results are presented.

Genetic variability of the length of postpartum anoestrus in Charolais cows and its relationship with age at puberty

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ménissier François

2000-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Fertility records (n = 1 802 were collected from 615 Charolais primiparous and multiparous cows managed in an experimental herd over an 11-year period. The objectives of the study were to describe the genetic variability of the re-establishment of postpartum reproductive activity and the relationship with body weight (BW and body condition score (BCS at calving and age at puberty. The length of postpartum anoestrus was estimated based on weekly blood progesterone assays and on twice daily detection of oestrus behaviour. The first oestrus behaviour was observed 69 days (± 25 days s.d. post-calving and the first positive progesterone measurement (≥ 1 ng mL-1 was observed at 66 days (± 22 days s.d. for the group of easy-calving multiparous suckling cows. Estimates of heritability and repeatability were h2 = 0.12 and r = 0.38 respectively, for the interval from calving to first oestrus (ICO. Corresponding values were h2 = 0.35 and r = 0.60 for the interval from calving to the first positive progesterone test (ICP. The genetic correlation between both criteria was high (rg = 0.98. The genetic relationships between postpartum intervals and BW and BCS of the female at calving were negative: the genetic aptitude to be heavier at calving and to have high body reserves was related to shorter postpartum intervals. A favourable genetic correlation between age at puberty and postpartum intervals was found (rg between 0.45 and 0.70. The heifers which were genetically younger at puberty also had shorter postpartum intervals.

Improved detection probability of low level light and infrared image fusion system

Science.gov (United States)

Luo, Yuxiang; Fu, Rongguo; Zhang, Junju; Wang, Wencong; Chang, Benkang

2018-02-01

Low level light(LLL) image contains rich information on environment details, but is easily affected by the weather. In the case of smoke, rain, cloud or fog, much target information will lose. Infrared image, which is from the radiation produced by the object itself, can be "active" to obtain the target information in the scene. However, the image contrast and resolution is bad, the ability of the acquisition of target details is very poor, and the imaging mode does not conform to the human visual habit. The fusion of LLL and infrared image can make up for the deficiency of each sensor and give play to the advantages of single sensor. At first, we show the hardware design of fusion circuit. Then, through the recognition probability calculation of the target(one person) and the background image(trees), we find that the trees detection probability of LLL image is higher than that of the infrared image, and the person detection probability of the infrared image is obviously higher than that of LLL image. The detection probability of fusion image for one person and trees is higher than that of single detector. Therefore, image fusion can significantly enlarge recognition probability and improve detection efficiency.

Improved Diffuse Fluorescence Flow Cytometer Prototype for High Sensitivity Detection of Rare Circulating Cells In Vivo

Science.gov (United States)

Pestana, Noah Benjamin

Accurate quantification of circulating cell populations is important in many areas of pre-clinical and clinical biomedical research, for example, in the study of cancer metastasis or the immune response following tissue and organ transplants. Normally this is done "ex-vivo" by drawing and purifying a small volume of blood and then analyzing it with flow cytometry, hemocytometry or microfludic devices, but the sensitivity of these techniques are poor and the process of handling samples has been shown to affect cell viability and behavior. More recently "in vivo flow cytometry" (IVFC) techniques have been developed where fluorescently-labeled cells flowing in a small blood vessel in the ear or retina are analyzed, but the sensitivity is generally poor due to the small sampling volume. To address this, our group recently developed a method known as "Diffuse Fluorescence Flow Cytometry" (DFFC) that allows detection and counting of rare circulating cells with diffuse photons, offering extremely high single cell counting sensitivity. In this thesis, an improved DFFC prototype was designed and validated. The chief improvements were three-fold, i) improved optical collection efficiency, ii) improved detection electronics, and iii) development of a method to mitigate motion artifacts during in vivo measurements. In combination, these improvements yielded an overall instrument detection sensitivity better than 1 cell/mL in vivo, which is the most sensitive IVFC system reported to date. Second, development and validation of a low-cost microfluidic device reader for analysis of ocular fluids is described. We demonstrate that this device has equivalent or better sensitivity and accuracy compared a fluorescence microscope, but at an order-of-magnitude reduced cost with simplified operation. Future improvements to both instruments are also discussed.

Multiple strategies to improve sensitivity, speed and robustness of isothermal nucleic acid amplification for rapid pathogen detection

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lemieux Bertrand

2011-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background In the past decades the rapid growth of molecular diagnostics (based on either traditional PCR or isothermal amplification technologies meet the demand for fast and accurate testing. Although isothermal amplification technologies have the advantages of low cost requirements for instruments, the further improvement on sensitivity, speed and robustness is a prerequisite for the applications in rapid pathogen detection, especially at point-of-care diagnostics. Here, we describe and explore several strategies to improve one of the isothermal technologies, helicase-dependent amplification (HDA. Results Multiple strategies were approached to improve the overall performance of the isothermal amplification: the restriction endonuclease-mediated DNA helicase homing, macromolecular crowding agents, and the optimization of reaction enzyme mix. The effect of combing all strategies was compared with that of the individual strategy. With all of above methods, we are able to detect 50 copies of Neisseria gonorrhoeae DNA in just 20 minutes of amplification using a nearly instrument-free detection platform (BESt™ cassette. Conclusions The strategies addressed in this proof-of-concept study are independent of expensive equipments, and are not limited to particular primers, targets or detection format. However, they make a large difference in assay performance. Some of them can be adjusted and applied to other formats of nucleic acid amplification. Furthermore, the strategies to improve the in vitro assays by maximally simulating the nature conditions may be useful in the general field of developing molecular assays. A new fast molecular assay for Neisseria gonorrhoeae has also been developed which has great potential to be used at point-of-care diagnostics.

Monitoring reproductive performance of cross-bred dairy cattle on smallholder farms in Malaysia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wahab, S.; Jainudeen, M.R.; Azizuddin, K.

1990-01-01

The paper reports on the reproductive performance of smallholder dairy cross-bred cattle in Malaysia, as monitored by milk progesterone radioimmunoassay and rectal palpation. Infertility was identified as the major problem faced by the smallholder farmers. The results show that there is a strong and significant association between suckling and delayed post-partum ovarian activity. The longer calving intervals in smallholder dairy herds compared with those in institutional herds are due to inactive ovaries rather than failure to detect oestrus. The use of a progesterone releasing intravaginal device (PRID) for treatment of anoestrus resulted in 93% of cows cycling, with a conception rate of 46% to insemination at the induced oestrus. Cows that suckled their calves had significantly longer calving intervals. The mean body score for cattle on smallholder herds was 3.8 -+ 1.1, and fertile cows had significantly higher scores than infertile cows. There was strong evidence to suggest that increased body scores corresponded to shorter intervals between calving and resumption of sexual activity, calving and conception, and successive calvings. (author). 12 refs, 4 tabs

An improved early detection method of type-2 diabetes mellitus using multiple classifier system

KAUST Repository

Zhu, Jia

2015-01-01

The specific causes of complex diseases such as Type-2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) have not yet been identified. Nevertheless, many medical science researchers believe that complex diseases are caused by a combination of genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors. Detection of such diseases becomes an issue because it is not free from false presumptions and is accompanied by unpredictable effects. Given the greatly increased amount of data gathered in medical databases, data mining has been used widely in recent years to detect and improve the diagnosis of complex diseases. However, past research showed that no single classifier can be considered optimal for all problems. Therefore, in this paper, we focus on employing multiple classifier systems to improve the accuracy of detection for complex diseases, such as T2DM. We proposed a dynamic weighted voting scheme called multiple factors weighted combination for classifiers\\' decision combination. This method considers not only the local and global accuracy but also the diversity among classifiers and localized generalization error of each classifier. We evaluated our method on two real T2DM data sets and other medical data sets. The favorable results indicated that our proposed method significantly outperforms individual classifiers and other fusion methods.

Artificial neural network techniques to improve the ability of optical coherence tomography to detect optic neuritis.

Science.gov (United States)

Garcia-Martin, Elena; Herrero, Raquel; Bambo, Maria P; Ara, Jose R; Martin, Jesus; Polo, Vicente; Larrosa, Jose M; Garcia-Feijoo, Julian; Pablo, Luis E

2015-01-01

To analyze the ability of Spectralis optical coherence tomography (OCT) to detect multiple sclerosis (MS) and to distinguish MS eyes with antecedent optic neuritis (ON). To analyze the capability of artificial neural network (ANN) techniques to improve the diagnostic precision. MS patients and controls were enrolled (n = 217). OCT was used to determine the 768 retinal nerve fiber layer thicknesses. Sensitivity and specificity were evaluated to test the ability of OCT to discriminate between MS and healthy eyes, and between MS with and without antecedent ON using ANN. Using ANN technique multilayer perceptrons, OCT could detect MS with a sensitivity of 89.3%, a specificity of 87.6%, and a diagnostic precision of 88.5%. Compared with the OCT-provided parameters, the ANN had a better sensitivity-specificity balance. ANN technique improves the capability of Spectralis OCT to detect MS disease and to distinguish MS eyes with or without antecedent ON.

Hyperspectral Imagery Target Detection Using Improved Anomaly Detection and Signature Matching Methods

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Smetek, Timothy E

2007-01-01

This research extends the field of hyperspectral target detection by developing autonomous anomaly detection and signature matching methodologies that reduce false alarms relative to existing benchmark detectors...

On the possibility of improving the sensitivity of dark-matter detection

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Paschos, E.A.; Pilaftsis, A. (Dortmund Univ. (Germany, F.R.). Inst. fuer Physik); Zioutas, K. (Thessaloniki Univ. (Greece). Nuclear and Elementary Particle Physics Section)

1990-02-22

First we investigate the detectability of nuclear magnetic transitions produced by dark-matter particles. The M1 transitions are mediated by spin-dependent interactions between dark matter and nuclei. We assume that the dark matter consists mainly of photinos, and show that the expected rate is of the order of 1 event/kg/d for the excitation of nuclear magnetic states accompanied also by a recoiling nucleus. The de-excitation decay that follows, {approx equal} (ms-{mu}s), might later be observed as electromagnetic radiation in the GHz region in future, more sensitive, microwave devices. Secondly, we propose to utilize liquid-xenon detectors for measuring the energy of the recoiling nucleus, either through the Xe odd-isotopes or through other mixed atoms, such as hydrogen, with lowest masses. Furthermore the mass scale of these calorimeters (1-100 t) gives a greatly improved sensitivity for darkmatter detection compared with other conventional systems. (orig.).

Improving Probe Immobilization for Label-Free Capacitive Detection of DNA Hybridization on Microfabricated Gold Electrodes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sandro Carrara

2008-02-01

Full Text Available Alternative approaches to labeled optical detection for DNA arrays are actively investigated for low-cost point-of-care applications. In this domain, label-free capacitive detection is one of the most intensely studied techniques. It is based on the idea to detect the Helmholtz ion layer displacements when molecular recognition occurs at the electrodes/solution interface. The sensing layer is usually prepared by using thiols terminated DNA single-strength oligonucleotide probes on top of the sensor electrodes. However, published data shows evident time drift, which greatly complicates signal conditioning and processing and ultimately increases the uncertainty in DNA recognition sensing. The aim of this work is to show that newly developed ethylene-glycol functionalized alkanethiols greatly reduce time drift, thereby significantly improving capacitance based label-free detection of DNA.

The effect of nutritional management of the dairy cow on reproductive efficiency.

Science.gov (United States)

Roche, James F

2006-12-01

The cause of low fertility in dairy cows is multifactorial. Poor nutrition during the dry and early postpartum periods results in reduced glucose, insulin, insulin-like growth factor (IGF-I) and low LH pulse frequency with concomitant increases in beta-hydroxy butyrate, non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA) and triacylglycerol. Cows must mobilize large lipid, but also some protein reserves, with a consequent increased incidence of such metabolic disorders as hypocalcaemia, acidosis, ketosis, fatty liver and displaced abomasums. The occurrence of milk fever and ketosis affects uterine contractions, delays calving and increases the risk of retained foetal membranes (RFM) and endometritis. The nutritional risk factors that cause RFM are hypocalcaemia, high body condition score (BCS) at calving and deficiencies in Vitamin E and selenium. The risk factors for endometritis are hypocalcaemia, RFM, high triacylglycerol and NEFA. Thus, metabolic disorders predispose cows to gynaecological disorders, thereby reducing reproductive efficiency. Cows that are overconditioned at calving or those that lose excess body weight are more likely to have a prolonged interval to first oestrus, thereby prolonging days open. Nutritionally induced postpartum anoestrus is characterized by turnover of dominant follicles incapable of producing sufficient oestradiol to induce ovulation due to reduced LH pulse frequency. High nutrition can also increase metabolic clearance rate of steroid hormones such as progesterone or oestradiol. Lower concentrations of oestradiol on the day of oestrus are highly correlated with the occurrence of suboestrus, thereby making the detection of oestrus in high yielding cows even more difficult. Nutrition also affects conception rate (CR) to AI. Cows that develop hypocalcaemia, ketosis, acidosis or displaced abomasums have lower CRs and take longer to become pregnant. Excessive loss of BCS and excess protein content of the ration can reduce CR while supplemental fats

Nickel-base alloy overlay weld with improved ultrasonic flaw detection by magnetic stirring welding

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takashi, Hirano; Kenji, Hirano; Masayuki, Watando; Takahiro, Arakawa; Minoru, Maeda

2001-01-01

Ultrasonic flaw detection is more difficult in Nickel-base alloy welds containing dendrites owing to the decrease ultrasonic transmissibility they cause. The present paper discusses application of magnetic stirring welding as a means for reducing dendrite growth with consequent improvement in ultrasonic transmissibility. Single pass and multi-pass welding tests were conducted to determine optimal welding conditions. By PT and macro observation subsequent to welding was carried out, optimal operation conditions were clarified. Overlay welding tests and UT clearly indicated ultrasonic beam transmissibility in overlay welds to be improved and detection capacity to be greater through application of magnetic stirring welding. Optimal operation conditions were determined based on examination of temper bead effects in the heat affected zone of low alloy steel by application of magnetic stirring welding to the butt welded joints between low alloy and stainless steel. Hardness in this zone of low alloy steel after the fourth layer was less than 350 HV. (author)

An Improved Fruit Fly Optimization Algorithm and Its Application in Heat Exchange Fouling Ultrasonic Detection

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xia Li

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Inspired by the basic theory of Fruit Fly Optimization Algorithm, in this paper, cat mapping was added to the original algorithm, and the individual distribution and evolution mechanism of fruit fly population were improved in order to increase the search speed and accuracy. The flowchart of the improved algorithm was drawn to show its procedure. Using classical test functions, simulation optimization results show that the improved algorithm has faster and more reliable optimization ability. The algorithm was then combined with sparse decomposition theory and used in processing fouling detection ultrasonic signals to verify the validity and practicability of the improved algorithm.

Foundations for Improvements to Passive Detection Systems - Final Report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Labov, S E; Pleasance, L; Sokkappa, P; Craig, W; Chapline, G; Frank, M; Gronberg, J; Jernigan, J G; Johnson, S; Kammeraad, J; Lange, D; Meyer, A; Nelson, K; Pohl, B; Wright, D; Wurtz, R

2004-01-01

This project explores the scientific foundation and approach for improving passive detection systems for plutonium and highly enriched uranium in real applications. Sources of gamma-ray radiation of interest were chosen to represent a range of national security threats, naturally occurring radioactive materials, industrial and medical radiation sources, and natural background radiation. The gamma-ray flux emerging from these sources, which include unclassified criticality experiment configurations as surrogates for nuclear weapons, were modeled in detail. The performance of several types of gamma-ray imaging systems using Compton scattering were modeled and compared. A mechanism was created to model the combine sources and background emissions and have the simulated radiation ''scene'' impinge on a model of a detector. These modeling tools are now being used in various projects to optimize detector performance and model detector sensitivity in complex measuring environments. This study also developed several automated algorithms for isotope identification from gamma-ray spectra and compared these to each other and to algorithms already in use. Verification testing indicates that these alternative isotope identification algorithms produced less false positive and false negative results than the ''GADRAS'' algorithms currently in use. In addition to these algorithms that used binned spectra, a new approach to isotope identification using ''event mode'' analysis was developed. Finally, a technique using muons to detect nuclear material was explored

Improved Bi film wrapped single walled carbon nanotubes for ultrasensitive electrochemical detection of trace Cr(VI)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ouyang, Ruizhuo; Zhang, Wangyao; Zhou, Shilin; Xue, Zi-Ling; Xu, Lina; Gu, Yingying; Miao, Yuqing

2013-01-01

Highlights: • Electrostatic interaction improves the quality of Bi deposition. • The designed Bi/SWNTs/GCE shows many advantages over Bi/GCE toward Cr VI detection. • The Bi/SWNTs/GCE exhibits good analyzing behavior with pretty low detection limit. • The fabricated sensor is better of reproducibility, repeatability and life time. • River samples were successfully analyzed using current sensor for Cr VI detection. -- Abstract: We report here the successful fabrication of an improved Bi film wrapped single walled carbon nanotubes modified glassy carbon electrode (Bi/SWNTs/GCE) as a highly sensitive platform for ultratrace Cr(VI) detection through catalytic adsorptive cathodic stripping voltammetry (AdCSV). The introduction of negatively charged SWNTs extraordinarily decreased the size of Bi particles to nanoscale due to electrostatic interaction which made Bi(III) cations easily attracted onto the surface of SWNTs in good order, leading to higher quality of Bi film deposition. The obtained Bi/SWNTs composite was well characterized with electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), the static water contact angle and the voltammetric measurements. The results demonstrate the improvements in the quality of Bi film deposited on the surface of SWNTs such as faster speed of electron transfer, more uniform and smoother morphology, better hydrophilicity and higher stripping signal. Using diethylene triaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA) as complexing ligand, the fabricated electrode displays a well-defined and highly sensitive peak for the reduction of Cr(III)–DTPA complex at −1.06 V (vs. Ag/AgCl) with a linear concentration range of 0–25 nM and a fairly low detection limit of 0.036 nM. No interference was found in the presence of coexisting ions, and good recoveries were achieved for the analysis of a river sample. In comparison to previous approaches using Bi film modified GCE, the newly designed electrode exhibits better

Improved target detection and bearing estimation utilizing fast orthogonal search for real-time spectral analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Osman, Abdalla; El-Sheimy, Naser; Nourledin, Aboelamgd; Theriault, Jim; Campbell, Scott

2009-01-01

The problem of target detection and tracking in the ocean environment has attracted considerable attention due to its importance in military and civilian applications. Sonobuoys are one of the capable passive sonar systems used in underwater target detection. Target detection and bearing estimation are mainly obtained through spectral analysis of received signals. The frequency resolution introduced by current techniques is limited which affects the accuracy of target detection and bearing estimation at a relatively low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). This research investigates the development of a bearing estimation method using fast orthogonal search (FOS) for enhanced spectral estimation. FOS is employed in this research in order to improve both target detection and bearing estimation in the case of low SNR inputs. The proposed methods were tested using simulated data developed for two different scenarios under different underwater environmental conditions. The results show that the proposed method is capable of enhancing the accuracy for target detection as well as bearing estimation especially in cases of a very low SNR

Progesterone profiles and post-partum fertility in dairy cattle in southern Chile

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Correa, J.E.; Gatica, R.; Tapia, P.

1990-01-01

Milk samples were taken at weekly intervals from 77 dairy cows on days 23, 30, 37, 43 and 50 post-partum (pp) in order to monitor ovarian activity through progesterone concentration measurement. Skim milk samples were assayed for progesterone by radioimmunoassay using kits provided through the FAO and IAEA. Oestrus, clinical examinations, treatments, artificial insemination and pregnancy diagnosis were recorded. The profiles of progesterone concentration and oestrus occurrence combined with behavioural and clinical data indicated that the study cows were in the following reproductive states: I - normal, 38%; II - 'silent' oestrus, 12%; III - prolonged luteal activity, 13%; IV - irregular cyclic activity, 23%; and V - anoestrus, 13%. After artificial insemination, 89% (25/28) of normal, 77% (7/9) of silent oestrus, 50% (5/10) of prolonged luteal activity, 82% (14/17) of irregular cyclic activity and 80% (8/10) of anoestrous cows eventually became pregnant either with or without hormone treatment. With the exception of the anoestrous group, these results seem to support the idea that once a week sampling for progesterone over a seven week period pp is sufficient to monitor the ovarian activity and predict the fertility of a dairy herd. (author). 16 refs, 6 figs, 3 tabs

Improvement of the Xpert Carba-R Kit for the Detection of Carbapenemase-Producing Enterobacteriaceae.

Science.gov (United States)

Dortet, Laurent; Fusaro, Mathieu; Naas, Thierry

2016-06-01

The Xpert Carba-R kit, version 2 (v2), which has been improved for the efficient detection of blaOXA-181 and blaOXA-232 genes, was tested on a collection of 150 well-characterized enterobacterial isolates that had a reduced susceptibility to carbapenems. The performance of the Xpert Carba-R v2 was high, as it was able to detect the five major carbapenemases (NDM, VIM, IMP, KPC, and OXA-48). Thus, it is now well adapted to the carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae epidemiology of many countries worldwide. Copyright © 2016, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Improvement of Detection of Hypoattenuation in Acute Ischemic Stroke in Unenhanced Computed Tomography Using an Adaptive Smoothing Filter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takahashi, N.; Lee, Y.; Tsai, D. Y.; Ishii, K.; Kinoshita, T.; Tamura, H.; K imura, M.

2008-01-01

Background: Much attention has been directed toward identifying early signs of cerebral ischemia on computed tomography (CT) images. Hypoattenuation of ischemic brain parenchyma has been found to be the most frequent early sign. Purpose: To evaluate the effect of a previously proposed adaptive smoothing filter for improving detection of parenchymal hypoattenuation of acute ischemic stroke on unenhanced CT images. Material and Methods: Twenty-six patients with parenchymal hypoattenuation and 49 control subjects without hypoattenuation were retrospectively selected in this study. The adaptive partial median filter (APMF) designed for improving detectability of hypoattenuation areas on unenhanced CT images was applied. Seven radiologists, including four certified radiologists and three radiology residents, indicated their confidence level regarding the presence (or absence) of hypoattenuation on CT images, first without and then with the APMF processed images. Their performances without and with the APMF processed images were evaluated by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. Results: The mean areas under the ROC curves (AUC) for all observers increased from 0.875 to 0.929 (P=0.002) when the radiologists observed with the APMF processed images. The mean sensitivity in the detection of hypoattenuation significantly improved, from 69% (126 of 182 observations) to 89% (151 of 182 observations), when employing the APMF (P=0.012). The specificity, however, was unaffected by the APMF (P=0.41). Conclusion: The APMF has the potential to improve the detection of parenchymal hypoattenuation of acute ischemic stroke on unenhanced CT images

Improvement of retinal blood vessel detection using morphological component analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Imani, Elaheh; Javidi, Malihe; Pourreza, Hamid-Reza

2015-03-01

Detection and quantitative measurement of variations in the retinal blood vessels can help diagnose several diseases including diabetic retinopathy. Intrinsic characteristics of abnormal retinal images make blood vessel detection difficult. The major problem with traditional vessel segmentation algorithms is producing false positive vessels in the presence of diabetic retinopathy lesions. To overcome this problem, a novel scheme for extracting retinal blood vessels based on morphological component analysis (MCA) algorithm is presented in this paper. MCA was developed based on sparse representation of signals. This algorithm assumes that each signal is a linear combination of several morphologically distinct components. In the proposed method, the MCA algorithm with appropriate transforms is adopted to separate vessels and lesions from each other. Afterwards, the Morlet Wavelet Transform is applied to enhance the retinal vessels. The final vessel map is obtained by adaptive thresholding. The performance of the proposed method is measured on the publicly available DRIVE and STARE datasets and compared with several state-of-the-art methods. An accuracy of 0.9523 and 0.9590 has been respectively achieved on the DRIVE and STARE datasets, which are not only greater than most methods, but are also superior to the second human observer's performance. The results show that the proposed method can achieve improved detection in abnormal retinal images and decrease false positive vessels in pathological regions compared to other methods. Also, the robustness of the method in the presence of noise is shown via experimental result. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Divide and Conquer: Sub-Grouping of ASD Improves ASD Detection Based on Brain Morphometry

Science.gov (United States)

Baum, Stefi A.; Cahill, Nathan D.; Michael, Andrew M.

2016-01-01

Low success (ASD) classification using brain morphometry from the large multi-site ABIDE dataset and inconsistent findings on brain morphometric abnormalities in ASD can be attributed to the ASD heterogeneity. In this study, we show that ASD brain morphometry is highly heterogeneous, and demonstrate that the heterogeneity can be mitigated and classification improved if autism severity (AS), verbal IQ (VIQ) and age are used with morphometric features. Morphometric features from structural MRIs (sMRIs) of 734 males (ASD: 361, controls: 373) of ABIDE were derived using FreeSurfer. Applying the Random Forest classifier, an AUC of 0.61 was achieved. Adding VIQ and age to morphometric features, AUC improved to 0.68. Sub-grouping the subjects by AS, VIQ and age improved the classification with the highest AUC of 0.8 in the moderate-AS sub-group (AS = 7–8). Matching subjects on age and/or VIQ in each sub-group further improved the classification with the highest AUC of 0.92 in the low AS sub-group (AS = 4–5). AUC decreased with AS and VIQ, and was the lowest in the mid-age sub-group (13–18 years). The important features were mainly from the frontal, temporal, ventricular, right hippocampal and left amygdala regions. However, they highly varied with AS, VIQ and age. The curvature and folding index features from frontal, temporal, lingual and insular regions were dominant in younger subjects suggesting their importance for early detection. When the experiments were repeated using the Gradient Boosting classifier similar results were obtained. Our findings suggest that identifying brain biomarkers in sub-groups of ASD can yield more robust and insightful results than searching across the whole spectrum. Further, it may allow identification of sub-group specific brain biomarkers that are optimized for early detection and monitoring, increasing the utility of sMRI as an important tool for early detection of ASD. PMID:27065101

Development of techniques using DNA analysis method for detection/analysis of radiation-induced mutation. Development of an useful probe/primer and improvement of detection efficacy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maekawa, Hideaki; Tsuchida, Kozo; Hashido, Kazuo; Takada, Naoko; Kameoka, Yosuke; Hirata, Makoto

1999-01-01

Previously, it was demonstrated that detection of centromere became easy and reliable through fluorescent staining by FISH method using a probe of the sequence preserved in α-satelite DNA. Since it was, however, found inappropriate to detect dicentrics based on the relative amount of DNA probe on each chromosome. A prove which allows homogeneous detection of α-satelite DNA for each chromosome was constructed. A presumed sequence specific to kinetochore, CENP-B box was amplified by PCR method and the product DNA was used as a probe. However, the variation in amounts of probe DNA among chromosomes was decreased by only about 20%. Then, a program for image processing of the results obtained from FISH using α-satelite DNA was constructed to use as a marker for centromere. When compared with detection of abnormal chromosomes stained by the conventional method, calculation efficacy for only detection of centromere was improved by the use of this program. Calculation to discriminate the normal or not was still complicated and the detection efficacy was little improved. Chromosomal abnormalities in lymphocytes were used to detect the effects of radiation. In this method, it is needed to shift the phase of cells into metaphase. The mutation induced by radiation might be often repaired during shifting. To exclude this possibility, DNA extraction was conducted at a low temperature and immediately after exposure to 137 Cs, and a rapid genome detection method was established using the genome DNA. As the model genomes, the following three were used: 1) long chain repeated sequences widely dispersed over chromosome, 2) cluster genes, 3) single copy genes. The effects of radiation were detectable at 1-2 Gy for the long repeated sequences and at 7 Gy for the cluster genes, respectively, whereas no significant effects were observed at any Gy tested for the single copy genes. Amplification was marked in the cells exposed at 1-10 Gy (peak at 4 Gy), suggesting that these regions had

Increasing the productive efficiency of carabaos under smallholder farming systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Momongan, V.G.; Sarabia, A.S.; Roxas, N.P.; Palad, O.A.; Obsioma, A.R.; Nava, Z.M.; Del Barrio, A.N.

1990-01-01

There is a need to improve the reproductive efficiency of carabaos to meet the increasing demand for draught power, meat and milk. Under village conditions carabaos appear to have a pregnancy rate of 17.7%; this could be attributed greatly to tethering management, which prevents their natural breeding activities. Moreover, about 32% of the breedable female carabaos are acyclic and only 3.5% are in oestrus at any one time. Carabaos which are either cycling or pregnant have a better body condition than those which are acyclic or non-pregnant. The plasma progesterone level was very low at the time of insemination (<0.5 ng/mL), but gradually increased to above 2.0 ng/mL during the first and second trimesters of pregnancy. Thus, it was possible to diagnose early pregnancy and to confirm oestrus. A positive correlation was observed between plasma and milk progesterone concentrations during the oestrous cycle (r=0.60) and pregnancy (r=0.50). Oestrus synchronization was found to be a useful tool in implementing the cross-breeding of Philippine carabaos with riverine buffaloes through artificial insemination; an average pregnancy rate of about 30% was obtained using frozen semen. The performance of cross-breds showed that the weights at birth were about 36.0 ± 0.9 kg for Phil-Ravi, 33.6 ± 0.9 kg for Phil-Murrah compared with 26.8 ± 0.9 kg for Philippine carabaos. The weights of the three genotypes at 12 months were: 157.0 ± 9.8 kg for Philippine carabaos, 215.4 ± 7.7 kg for Phil-Ravi and 199.8 ± 12.1 kg for Phil-Murrah. At 2 years of age, the carabaos weighed 217.3 ± 18.6 kg, Phil-Ravi 365 ± 23.4 kg and Phil-Murrah 366.3 ± 19.4 kg. The results of this study show that progesterone measurement and oestrus synchronization can be used effectively for cross-breeding carabaos with the frozen semen of river buffaloes. (author). 9 refs, 5 figs, 4 tabs

Computer-aided detection of pulmonary embolism at CT pulmonary angiography: can it improve performance of inexperienced readers?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blackmon, Kevin N.; McCain, Joshua W.; Koonce, James D.; Costello, Philip; Florin, Charles; Bogoni, Luca; Salganicoff, Marcos; Lee, Heon; Bastarrika, Gorka; Thilo, Christian; Joseph Schoepf, U.

2011-01-01

To evaluate the effect of a computer-aided detection (CAD) algorithm on the performance of novice readers for detection of pulmonary embolism (PE) at CT pulmonary angiography (CTPA). We included CTPA examinations of 79 patients (50 female, 52 ± 18 years). Studies were evaluated by two independent inexperienced readers who marked all vessels containing PE. After 3 months all studies were reevaluated by the same two readers, this time aided by CAD prototype. A consensus read by three expert radiologists served as the reference standard. Statistical analysis used χ 2 and McNemar testing. Expert consensus revealed 119 PEs in 32 studies. For PE detection, the sensitivity of CAD alone was 78%. Inexperienced readers' initial interpretations had an average per-PE sensitivity of 50%, which improved to 71% (p < 0.001) with CAD as a second reader. False positives increased from 0.18 to 0.25 per study (p = 0.03). Per-study, the readers initially detected 27/32 positive studies (84%); with CAD this number increased to 29.5 studies (92%; p = 0.125). Our results suggest that CAD significantly improves the sensitivity of PE detection for inexperienced readers with a small but appreciable increase in the rate of false positives. (orig.)

Computer-aided detection of pulmonary embolism at CT pulmonary angiography: can it improve performance of inexperienced readers?

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Blackmon, Kevin N.; McCain, Joshua W.; Koonce, James D.; Costello, Philip [Medical University of South Carolina, Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, Charleston, SC (United States); Florin, Charles; Bogoni, Luca; Salganicoff, Marcos [Siemens AG, H IM SYNGO CAD Research and Development, Malvern, PA (United States); Lee, Heon [Medical University of South Carolina, Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, Charleston, SC (United States); Seoul Medical Center, Department of Radiology, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Bastarrika, Gorka [Medical University of South Carolina, Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, Charleston, SC (United States); University of Navarra, Department of Radiology, Pamplona (Spain); Thilo, Christian; Joseph Schoepf, U. [Medical University of South Carolina, Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, Charleston, SC (United States); Medical University of South Carolina, Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Charleston, SC (United States)

2011-06-15

To evaluate the effect of a computer-aided detection (CAD) algorithm on the performance of novice readers for detection of pulmonary embolism (PE) at CT pulmonary angiography (CTPA). We included CTPA examinations of 79 patients (50 female, 52 {+-} 18 years). Studies were evaluated by two independent inexperienced readers who marked all vessels containing PE. After 3 months all studies were reevaluated by the same two readers, this time aided by CAD prototype. A consensus read by three expert radiologists served as the reference standard. Statistical analysis used {chi}{sup 2} and McNemar testing. Expert consensus revealed 119 PEs in 32 studies. For PE detection, the sensitivity of CAD alone was 78%. Inexperienced readers' initial interpretations had an average per-PE sensitivity of 50%, which improved to 71% (p < 0.001) with CAD as a second reader. False positives increased from 0.18 to 0.25 per study (p = 0.03). Per-study, the readers initially detected 27/32 positive studies (84%); with CAD this number increased to 29.5 studies (92%; p = 0.125). Our results suggest that CAD significantly improves the sensitivity of PE detection for inexperienced readers with a small but appreciable increase in the rate of false positives. (orig.)

Item Purification Does Not Always Improve DIF Detection: A Counterexample with Angoff's Delta Plot

Science.gov (United States)

Magis, David; Facon, Bruno

2013-01-01

Item purification is an iterative process that is often advocated as improving the identification of items affected by differential item functioning (DIF). With test-score-based DIF detection methods, item purification iteratively removes the items currently flagged as DIF from the test scores to get purified sets of items, unaffected by DIF. The…

Improving detection sensitivity for partial discharge monitoring of high voltage equipment

Science.gov (United States)

Hao, L.; Lewin, P. L.; Swingler, S. G.

2008-05-01

Partial discharge (PD) measurements are an important technique for assessing the health of power apparatus. Previous published research by the authors has shown that an electro-optic system can be used for PD measurement of oil-filled power transformers. A PD signal generated within an oil-filled power transformer may reach a winding and then travel along the winding to the bushing core bar. The bushing, acting like a capacitor, can transfer the high frequency components of the partial discharge signal to its earthed tap point. Therefore, an effective PD current measurement can be implemented at the bushing tap by using a radio frequency current transducer around the bushing-tap earth connection. In addition, the use of an optical transmission technique not only improves the electrical noise immunity and provides the possibility of remote measurement but also realizes electrical isolation and enhances safety for operators. However, the bushing core bar can act as an aerial and in addition noise induced by the electro-optic modulation system may influence overall measurement sensitivity. This paper reports on a machine learning technique, namely the use of a support vector machine (SVM), to improve the detection sensitivity of the system. Comparison between the signal extraction performances of a passive hardware filter and the SVM technique has been assessed. The results obtained from the laboratory-based experiment have been analysed and indicate that the SVM approach provides better performance than the passive hardware filter and it can reliably detect discharge signals with apparent charge greater than 30 pC.

Improving detection sensitivity for partial discharge monitoring of high voltage equipment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hao, L; Lewin, P L; Swingler, S G

2008-01-01

Partial discharge (PD) measurements are an important technique for assessing the health of power apparatus. Previous published research by the authors has shown that an electro-optic system can be used for PD measurement of oil-filled power transformers. A PD signal generated within an oil-filled power transformer may reach a winding and then travel along the winding to the bushing core bar. The bushing, acting like a capacitor, can transfer the high frequency components of the partial discharge signal to its earthed tap point. Therefore, an effective PD current measurement can be implemented at the bushing tap by using a radio frequency current transducer around the bushing-tap earth connection. In addition, the use of an optical transmission technique not only improves the electrical noise immunity and provides the possibility of remote measurement but also realizes electrical isolation and enhances safety for operators. However, the bushing core bar can act as an aerial and in addition noise induced by the electro-optic modulation system may influence overall measurement sensitivity. This paper reports on a machine learning technique, namely the use of a support vector machine (SVM), to improve the detection sensitivity of the system. Comparison between the signal extraction performances of a passive hardware filter and the SVM technique has been assessed. The results obtained from the laboratory-based experiment have been analysed and indicate that the SVM approach provides better performance than the passive hardware filter and it can reliably detect discharge signals with apparent charge greater than 30 pC

Resolution improvement of low frequency AC magnetic field detection for modulated MR sensors.

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Jinghua; Pan, Mengchun; Hu, Jiafei; Li, Sizhong; Chen, Dixiang; Tian, Wugang; Sun, Kun; Du, Qingfa; Wang, Yuan; Pan, Long; Zhou, Weihong; Zhang, Qi; Li, Peisen; Peng, Junping; Qiu, Weicheng; Zhou, Jikun

2017-09-01

Magnetic modulation methods especially Micro-Electro-Mechanical System (MEMS) modulation can improve the sensitivity of magnetoresistive (MR) sensors dramatically, and pT level detection of Direct Current (DC) magnetic field can be realized. While in a Low Frequency Alternate Current (LFAC) magnetic field measurement situation, frequency measurement is limited by a serious spectrum aliasing problem caused by the remanence in sensors and geomagnetic field, leading to target information loss because frequency indicates the magnetic target characteristics. In this paper, a compensation field produced with integrated coils is applied to the MR sensor to remove DC magnetic field distortion, and a LFAC magnetic field frequency estimation algorithm is proposed based on a search of the database, which is derived from the numerical model revealing the relationship of the LFAC frequency and determination factor [defined by the ratio of Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT) coefficients]. In this algorithm, an inverse modulation of sensor signals is performed to detect jumping-off point of LFAC in the time domain; this step is exploited to determine sampling points to be processed. A determination factor is calculated and taken into database to figure out frequency with a binary search algorithm. Experimental results demonstrate that the frequency measurement resolution of the LFAC magnetic field is improved from 12.2 Hz to 0.8 Hz by the presented method, which, within the signal band of a magnetic anomaly (0.04-2 Hz), indicates that the proposed method may expand the applications of magnetoresistive (MR) sensors to human healthcare and magnetic anomaly detection (MAD).

Improved people detection in nuclear plants by video processing for safety purpose

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jorge, Carlos Alexandre F.; Mol, Antonio Carlos A.; Carvalho, Paulo Victor R., E-mail: calexandre@ien.gov.br, E-mail: mol@ien.gov.br, E-mail: paulov@ien.gov.br [Instituto de Engenharia Nuclear (IEN/CNEN-RJ), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil); Seixas, Jose M.; Silva, Eduardo Antonio B., E-mail: seixas@lps.ufrj.br, E-mail: eduardo@smt.ufrj.br [Coordenacao dos Programas de Pos-Graduacao em Engenharia (COPPE/UFRJ), RJ (Brazil). Programa de Engenharia Eletrica; Waintraub, Fabio, E-mail: fabiowaintraub@hotmail.com [Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), RJ (Brazil). Escola Politecnica. Departamento de Engenharia Eletronica e de Computacao

2013-07-01

This work describes improvements in a surveillance system for safety purposes in nuclear plants. The objective is to track people online in video, in order to estimate the dose received by personnel, during working tasks executed in nuclear plants. The estimation will be based on their tracked positions and on dose rate mapping in a nuclear research reactor, Argonauta. Cameras have been installed within Argonauta room, supplying the data needed. Video processing methods were combined for detecting and tracking people in video. More specifically, segmentation, performed by background subtraction, was combined with a tracking method based on color distribution. The use of both methods improved the overall results. An alternative approach was also evaluated, by means of blind source signal separation. Results are commented, along with perspectives. (author)

Improved people detection in nuclear plants by video processing for safety purpose

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jorge, Carlos Alexandre F.; Mol, Antonio Carlos A.; Carvalho, Paulo Victor R.; Seixas, Jose M.; Silva, Eduardo Antonio B.; Waintraub, Fabio

2013-01-01

This work describes improvements in a surveillance system for safety purposes in nuclear plants. The objective is to track people online in video, in order to estimate the dose received by personnel, during working tasks executed in nuclear plants. The estimation will be based on their tracked positions and on dose rate mapping in a nuclear research reactor, Argonauta. Cameras have been installed within Argonauta room, supplying the data needed. Video processing methods were combined for detecting and tracking people in video. More specifically, segmentation, performed by background subtraction, was combined with a tracking method based on color distribution. The use of both methods improved the overall results. An alternative approach was also evaluated, by means of blind source signal separation. Results are commented, along with perspectives. (author)

The influence of the oestrous cycle on the radiation response of solid tumours

Science.gov (United States)

Swann, Patricia R.

Oestrogen increases the transcription of nitric oxide synthase, thus increasing nitric oxide production, which can result in vasodilation of blood vessels. Fluctuating levels of oestrogen throughout the menstrual cycle has the potential to affect tumour blood flow. Variations of blood supply to a solid tumour can influence tumour oxygenation and subsequently the percentage of hypoxic cells. As hypoxic cells are more resistant to radiation than well-oxygenated cells, this could potentially affect the radiation response of the tumour. This project evaluated the impact of the oestrous stage on the radiation response of BCHT, RIF-1 and SCCvii tumours in syngeneic C3H mice. The oestrous cycle consists of the following stages, pro-oestrus, oestrus, metoestrus and dioestrus and each stage can be determined by the cellular composition of vaginal smears. The peak of oestrogen occurs in the ovulatory phase and a second smaller peak occurs in dioestrus. Subcutaneous tumour were treated at a volume of 200 - 250 mm3 with local irradiation of 10 Gy ionising radiation at different stages of the oestrous cycle. Tumours were excised either immediately or 24 hours after irradiation and disaggregated into a single cell suspension. Tumour cell survival was assessed by clonogenic assay of the excised tumour relative to untreated tumours excised at the corresponding oestrous stage. Tumours irradiated in oestrus consistently produced the lowest surviving fraction after immediate and delayed excision. Tumours irradiated in pro-oestrus and excised immediately after irradiation, showed a two-fold increase in surviving fraction compared to tumours irradiated in oestrus. The surviving fractions of tumours excised 24 hours after irradiation were less than for tumours excised immediately after irradiation. Surviving fractions of irradiated, clamped KHT tumours were independent of oestrous stage. To confirm that these oestrous stage dependent changes were due to changes in tumour perfusion, the

Anomaly Detection for Aviation Safety Based on an Improved KPCA Algorithm

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiaoyu Zhang

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Thousands of flights datasets should be analyzed per day for a moderate sized fleet; therefore, flight datasets are very large. In this paper, an improved kernel principal component analysis (KPCA method is proposed to search for signatures of anomalies in flight datasets through the squared prediction error statistics, in which the number of principal components and the confidence for the confidence limit are automatically determined by OpenMP-based K-fold cross-validation algorithm and the parameter in the radial basis function (RBF is optimized by GPU-based kernel learning method. Performed on Nvidia GeForce GTX 660, the computation of the proposed GPU-based RBF parameter is 112.9 times (average 82.6 times faster than that of sequential CPU task execution. The OpenMP-based K-fold cross-validation process for training KPCA anomaly detection model becomes 2.4 times (average 1.5 times faster than that of sequential CPU task execution. Experiments show that the proposed approach can effectively detect the anomalies with the accuracy of 93.57% and false positive alarm rate of 1.11%.

Improving Visual Threat Detection: Research to Validate the Threat Detection Skills Trainer

Science.gov (United States)

2013-08-01

26 Threat Detection and Mitigation Strategies...quicker when identifying threats in relevant locations. This task utilized the Flicker paradigm (Rensink, O’Regan, & Clark, 1997; Scholl, 2000...the meaning and implication of threats, why cues were relevant, strategies used to detect and mitigate threats, and challenges when attempting to

Improved detection of incipient anomalies via multivariate memory monitoring charts: Application to an air flow heating system

KAUST Repository

Harrou, Fouzi

2016-08-11

Detecting anomalies is important for reliable operation of several engineering systems. Multivariate statistical monitoring charts are an efficient tool for checking the quality of a process by identifying abnormalities. Principal component analysis (PCA) was shown effective in monitoring processes with highly correlated data. Traditional PCA-based methods, nevertheless, often are relatively inefficient at detecting incipient anomalies. Here, we propose a statistical approach that exploits the advantages of PCA and those of multivariate memory monitoring schemes, like the multivariate cumulative sum (MCUSUM) and multivariate exponentially weighted moving average (MEWMA) monitoring schemes to better detect incipient anomalies. Memory monitoring charts are sensitive to incipient anomalies in process mean, which significantly improve the performance of PCA method and enlarge its profitability, and to utilize these improvements in various applications. The performance of PCA-based MEWMA and MCUSUM control techniques are demonstrated and compared with traditional PCA-based monitoring methods. Using practical data gathered from a heating air-flow system, we demonstrate the greater sensitivity and efficiency of the developed method over the traditional PCA-based methods. Results indicate that the proposed techniques have potential for detecting incipient anomalies in multivariate data. © 2016 Elsevier Ltd

Improving the Lane Reference Detection for Autonomous Road Vehicle Control

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Felipe Jiménez

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Autonomous road vehicles are increasingly becoming more important and there are several techniques and sensors that are being applied for vehicle control. This paper presents an alternative system for maintaining the position of autonomous vehicles without adding additional elements to the standard sensor architecture, by using a 3D laser scanner for continuously detecting a reference element in situations in which the GNSS receiver fails or provides accuracy below the required level. Considering that the guidance variables are more accurately estimated when dealing with reference points in front of and behind the vehicle, an algorithm based on vehicle dynamics mathematical model is proposed to extend the detected points in cases where the sensor is placed at the front of the vehicle. The algorithm has been tested when driving along a lane delimited by New Jersey barriers at both sides and the results show a correct behaviour. The system is capable of estimating the reference element behind the vehicle with sufficient accuracy when the laser scanner is placed at the front of it, so the robustness of the control input variables (lateral and angular errors estimation is improved making it unnecessary to place the sensor on the vehicle roof or to introduce additional sensors.

Detection of glyco-mucin profiles improves specificity of MUC16 and MUC1 biomarkers in ovarian serous tumours

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ricardo, Sara; da Silva, Lara Patricia Marcos; Pereira, Daniela

2015-01-01

The CA125 assay detects circulating MUC16 and is one of the most widely used cancer biomarkers for the follow-up of ovarian cancer. We previously demonstrated that detection of aberrant cancer-associated glycoforms of MUC16 as well as MUC1 in circulation could improve the yield of these serum ass...

Background Adjusted Alignment-Free Dissimilarity Measures Improve the Detection of Horizontal Gene Transfer

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kujin Tang

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Horizontal gene transfer (HGT plays an important role in the evolution of microbial organisms including bacteria. Alignment-free methods based on single genome compositional information have been used to detect HGT. Currently, Manhattan and Euclidean distances based on tetranucleotide frequencies are the most commonly used alignment-free dissimilarity measures to detect HGT. By testing on simulated bacterial sequences and real data sets with known horizontal transferred genomic regions, we found that more advanced alignment-free dissimilarity measures such as CVTree and d2* that take into account the background Markov sequences can solve HGT detection problems with significantly improved performance. We also studied the influence of different factors such as evolutionary distance between host and donor sequences, size of sliding window, and host genome composition on the performances of alignment-free methods to detect HGT. Our study showed that alignment-free methods can predict HGT accurately when host and donor genomes are in different order levels. Among all methods, CVTree with word length of 3, d2* with word length 3, Markov order 1 and d2* with word length 4, Markov order 1 outperform others in terms of their highest F1-score and their robustness under the influence of different factors.

An improved data clustering algorithm for outlier detection

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anant Agarwal

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Data mining is the extraction of hidden predictive information from large databases. This is a technology with potential to study and analyze useful information present in data. Data objects which do not usually fit into the general behavior of the data are termed as outliers. Outlier Detection in databases has numerous applications such as fraud detection, customized marketing, and the search for terrorism. By definition, outliers are rare occurrences and hence represent a small portion of the data. However, the use of Outlier Detection for various purposes is not an easy task. This research proposes a modified PAM for detecting outliers. The proposed technique has been implemented in JAVA. The results produced by the proposed technique are found better than existing technique in terms of outliers detected and time complexity.

The use of progesterone RIA to increase efficiency and quality of artificial insemination services of beef cattle in South Sulawesi, Indonesia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Toleng, L.; Sonjaya, H.; Yusuf, M.; Hamid, A.

2001-01-01

The technique of artificial insemination (AI) has been used in Indonesia for several years. The fertility rate resulting from this technique, however, is still lower than that for natural mating. Therefore, two studies were conducted to evaluate the factors that might cause lower efficiency of AI in beef cattle. The first was a survey to evaluate reproductive performance and factors that affect the inefficiency of AI. A total of 652 beef cows inseminated on one large and several small farms were used. Data for farm, cow, inseminator and each insemination were recorded. Serum samples were taken at the day of insemination (day 0), and days 10-12 and 20-22 after AI, and at time of manual pregnancy diagnosis. The second study was conducted to evaluate whether the induction of first postpartum oestrus in suckling cows could be done by hormonal treatments. Two groups of suckling Brahman cows were used, with and without treatment using Controlled Intra-vaginal Drug Release devices (CIDR). CIDR were inserted into the vagina, oestradiol benzoate (OB) was injected, the CIDR were removed after 12 days and two Als were performed at 24 and 72 hr later. The studies were conducted during dry and wet seasons. Mean overall conception rate (CR) for the large and small farms were 23 and 38%, respectively. Season of the year, housing system, type of heat, time of AI, and characteristics of AI technicians (level of education and non-AI work) affected the CR. Oestrus behaviour was detected in 95 and 100% of cows respectively for the first and the second period. However, the proportions of animals showing ovulatory oestrus during the first and second periods were 22 and 48% (P<0.01), and pregnancy rates were 12 and 24%, respectively. These findings show that reproductive rate of cows served by AI in this area is low and that factors related to the cow, farm management and AI technician affect this problem. CIDR treatment can induce oestrus behaviour in suckling cows, but only few of

Environmental DNA (eDNA sampling improves occurrence and detection estimates of invasive burmese pythons.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Margaret E Hunter

Full Text Available Environmental DNA (eDNA methods are used to detect DNA that is shed into the aquatic environment by cryptic or low density species. Applied in eDNA studies, occupancy models can be used to estimate occurrence and detection probabilities and thereby account for imperfect detection. However, occupancy terminology has been applied inconsistently in eDNA studies, and many have calculated occurrence probabilities while not considering the effects of imperfect detection. Low detection of invasive giant constrictors using visual surveys and traps has hampered the estimation of occupancy and detection estimates needed for population management in southern Florida, USA. Giant constrictor snakes pose a threat to native species and the ecological restoration of the Florida Everglades. To assist with detection, we developed species-specific eDNA assays using quantitative PCR (qPCR for the Burmese python (Python molurus bivittatus, Northern African python (P. sebae, boa constrictor (Boa constrictor, and the green (Eunectes murinus and yellow anaconda (E. notaeus. Burmese pythons, Northern African pythons, and boa constrictors are established and reproducing, while the green and yellow anaconda have the potential to become established. We validated the python and boa constrictor assays using laboratory trials and tested all species in 21 field locations distributed in eight southern Florida regions. Burmese python eDNA was detected in 37 of 63 field sampling events; however, the other species were not detected. Although eDNA was heterogeneously distributed in the environment, occupancy models were able to provide the first estimates of detection probabilities, which were greater than 91%. Burmese python eDNA was detected along the leading northern edge of the known population boundary. The development of informative detection tools and eDNA occupancy models can improve conservation efforts in southern Florida and support more extensive studies of invasive

Environmental DNA (eDNA) sampling improves occurrence and detection estimates of invasive burmese pythons.

Science.gov (United States)

Hunter, Margaret E; Oyler-McCance, Sara J; Dorazio, Robert M; Fike, Jennifer A; Smith, Brian J; Hunter, Charles T; Reed, Robert N; Hart, Kristen M

2015-01-01

Environmental DNA (eDNA) methods are used to detect DNA that is shed into the aquatic environment by cryptic or low density species. Applied in eDNA studies, occupancy models can be used to estimate occurrence and detection probabilities and thereby account for imperfect detection. However, occupancy terminology has been applied inconsistently in eDNA studies, and many have calculated occurrence probabilities while not considering the effects of imperfect detection. Low detection of invasive giant constrictors using visual surveys and traps has hampered the estimation of occupancy and detection estimates needed for population management in southern Florida, USA. Giant constrictor snakes pose a threat to native species and the ecological restoration of the Florida Everglades. To assist with detection, we developed species-specific eDNA assays using quantitative PCR (qPCR) for the Burmese python (Python molurus bivittatus), Northern African python (P. sebae), boa constrictor (Boa constrictor), and the green (Eunectes murinus) and yellow anaconda (E. notaeus). Burmese pythons, Northern African pythons, and boa constrictors are established and reproducing, while the green and yellow anaconda have the potential to become established. We validated the python and boa constrictor assays using laboratory trials and tested all species in 21 field locations distributed in eight southern Florida regions. Burmese python eDNA was detected in 37 of 63 field sampling events; however, the other species were not detected. Although eDNA was heterogeneously distributed in the environment, occupancy models were able to provide the first estimates of detection probabilities, which were greater than 91%. Burmese python eDNA was detected along the leading northern edge of the known population boundary. The development of informative detection tools and eDNA occupancy models can improve conservation efforts in southern Florida and support more extensive studies of invasive constrictors

Computed tomography in the detection of pulmonary metastases. Improvement by application of spiral technology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kauczor, H.U.; Hansen, M.; Schweden, F.; Strunk, H.; Mildenberger, P.; Thelen, M.

1994-01-01

Computed tomography is the imaging modality of choice for detection or exclusion of pulmonary metastases. In most cases these are spheric, multiple, bilateral, and located in the peripheral areas of the middle and lower fields of the lungs. Differential diagnosis of solitary pulmonary nodules is difficult. Evaluating whether they are malignant or benign is insufficient despite the application of multiple CT criteria. Spiral computed tomography acquiring an imaging volume in a breathhold has led to significant improvement in the sensitivity of detecting pulmonary nodules. Imaging protocols are presented, and the influence of the different parameters is discussed. Although not all pulmonary metastases may be detected with spiral computed tomography, it is the most important examination when considering pulmonary metastasectomy. Computed tomography is the imaging modality of choice when monitoring pulmonary metastases during systemic therapeutic regimens by measuring all nodules or 'indicator lesions'. (orig.) [de

Improving the Detectability of the Catalan Seismic Network for Local Seismic Activity Monitoring

Science.gov (United States)

Jara, Jose Antonio; Frontera, Tànit; Batlló, Josep; Goula, Xavier

2016-04-01

The seismic survey of the territory of Catalonia is mainly performed by the regional seismic network operated by the Cartographic and Geologic Institute of Catalonia (ICGC). After successive deployments and upgrades, the current network consists of 16 permanent stations equipped with 3 component broadband seismometers (STS2, STS2.5, CMG3ESP and CMG3T), 24 bits digitizers (Nanometrics Trident) and VSAT telemetry. Data are continuously sent in real-time via Hispasat 1D satellite to the ICGC datacenter in Barcelona. Additionally, data from other 10 stations of neighboring areas (Spain, France and Andorra) are continuously received since 2011 via Internet or VSAT, contributing both to detect and to locate events affecting the region. More than 300 local events with Ml ≥ 0.7 have been yearly detected and located in the region. Nevertheless, small magnitude earthquakes, especially those located in the south and south-west of Catalonia may still go undetected by the automatic detection system (DAS), based on Earthworm (USGS). Thus, in order to improve the detection and characterization of these missed events, one or two new stations should be installed. Before making the decision about where to install these new stations, the performance of each existing station is evaluated taking into account the fraction of detected events using the station records, compared to the total number of events in the catalogue, occurred during the station operation time from January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2014. These evaluations allow us to build an Event Detection Probability Map (EDPM), a required tool to simulate EDPMs resulting from different network topology scenarios depending on where these new stations are sited, and becoming essential for the decision-making process to increase and optimize the event detection probability of the seismic network.

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2018-03-01

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

Improvement of early detection of breast cancer through collaborative multi-country efforts: Medical physics component.

Science.gov (United States)

Mora, Patricia; Faulkner, Keith; Mahmoud, Ahmed M; Gershan, Vesna; Kausik, Aruna; Zdesar, Urban; Brandan, María-Ester; Kurt, Serap; Davidović, Jasna; Salama, Dina H; Aribal, Erkin; Odio, Clara; Chaturvedi, Arvind K; Sabih, Zahida; Vujnović, Saša; Paez, Diana; Delis, Harry

2018-04-01

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) through a Coordinated Research Project on "Enhancing Capacity for Early Detection and Diagnosis of Breast Cancer through Imaging", brought together a group of mammography radiologists, medical physicists and radiographers; to investigate current practices and improve procedures for the early detection of breast cancer by strengthening both the clinical and medical physics components. This paper addresses the medical physics component. The countries that participated in the CRP were Bosnia and Herzegovina, Costa Rica, Egypt, India, Kenya, the Frmr. Yug. Rep. of Macedonia, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Slovenia, Turkey, Uganda, United Kingdom and Zambia. Ten institutions participated using IAEA quality control protocols in 9 digital and 3 analogue mammography equipment. A spreadsheet for data collection was generated and distributed. Evaluation of image quality was done using TOR MAX and DMAM2 Gold phantoms. QC results for analogue equipment showed satisfactory results. QC tests performed on digital systems showed that improvements needed to be implemented, especially in thickness accuracy, signal difference to noise ratio (SDNR) values for achievable levels, uniformity and modulation transfer function (MTF). Mean glandular dose (MGD) was below international recommended levels for patient radiation protection. Evaluation of image quality by phantoms also indicated the need for improvement. Common activities facilitated improvement in mammography practice, including training of medical physicists in QC programs and infrastructure was improved and strengthened; networking among medical physicists and radiologists took place and was maintained over time. IAEA QC protocols provided a uniformed approach to QC measurements. Copyright © 2018 Associazione Italiana di Fisica Medica. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Iterative image reconstruction algorithms in coronary CT angiography improve the detection of lipid-core plaque - a comparison with histology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Puchner, Stefan B.; Ferencik, Maros; Maurovich-Horvat, Pal; Nakano, Masataka; Otsuka, Fumiyuki; Virmani, Renu; Kauczor, Hans-Ulrich; Hoffmann, Udo; Schlett, Christopher L.

2015-01-01

To evaluate whether iterative reconstruction algorithms improve the diagnostic accuracy of coronary CT angiography (CCTA) for detection of lipid-core plaque (LCP) compared to histology. CCTA and histological data were acquired from three ex vivo hearts. CCTA images were reconstructed using filtered back projection (FBP), adaptive-statistical (ASIR) and model-based (MBIR) iterative algorithms. Vessel cross-sections were co-registered between FBP/ASIR/MBIR and histology. Plaque area 2 : 5.78 ± 2.29 vs. 3.39 ± 1.68 FBP; 5.92 ± 1.87 vs. 3.43 ± 1.62 ASIR; 6.40 ± 1.55 vs. 3.49 ± 1.50 MBIR; all p < 0.0001). AUC for detecting LCP was 0.803/0.850/0.903 for FBP/ASIR/MBIR and was significantly higher for MBIR compared to FBP (p = 0.01). MBIR increased sensitivity for detection of LCP by CCTA. Plaque area <60 HU in CCTA was associated with LCP in histology regardless of the reconstruction algorithm. However, MBIR demonstrated higher accuracy for detecting LCP, which may improve vulnerable plaque detection by CCTA. (orig.)

Improvement of the Error-detection Mechanism in Adults with Dyslexia Following Reading Acceleration Training.

Science.gov (United States)

Horowitz-Kraus, Tzipi

2016-05-01

The error-detection mechanism aids in preventing error repetition during a given task. Electroencephalography demonstrates that error detection involves two event-related potential components: error-related and correct-response negativities (ERN and CRN, respectively). Dyslexia is characterized by slow, inaccurate reading. In particular, individuals with dyslexia have a less active error-detection mechanism during reading than typical readers. In the current study, we examined whether a reading training programme could improve the ability to recognize words automatically (lexical representations) in adults with dyslexia, thereby resulting in more efficient error detection during reading. Behavioural and electrophysiological measures were obtained using a lexical decision task before and after participants trained with the reading acceleration programme. ERN amplitudes were smaller in individuals with dyslexia than in typical readers before training but increased following training, as did behavioural reading scores. Differences between the pre-training and post-training ERN and CRN components were larger in individuals with dyslexia than in typical readers. Also, the error-detection mechanism as represented by the ERN/CRN complex might serve as a biomarker for dyslexia and be used to evaluate the effectiveness of reading intervention programmes. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

On Improving Face Detection Performance by Modelling Contextual Information

OpenAIRE

Atanasoaei, Cosmin; McCool, Chris; Marcel, Sébastien

2010-01-01

In this paper we present a new method to enhance object detection by removing false alarms and merging multiple detections in a principled way with few parameters. The method models the output of an object classiï¬er which we consider as the context. A hierarchical model is built using the detection distribution around a target sub-window to discriminate between false alarms and true detections. Next the context is used to iteratively reï¬ne the detections. Finally the detections are clustere...

Evaluating and Improving Automatic Sleep Spindle Detection by Using Multi-Objective Evolutionary Algorithms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Min-Yin Liu

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Sleep spindles are brief bursts of brain activity in the sigma frequency range (11–16 Hz measured by electroencephalography (EEG mostly during non-rapid eye movement (NREM stage 2 sleep. These oscillations are of great biological and clinical interests because they potentially play an important role in identifying and characterizing the processes of various neurological disorders. Conventionally, sleep spindles are identified by expert sleep clinicians via visual inspection of EEG signals. The process is laborious and the results are inconsistent among different experts. To resolve the problem, numerous computerized methods have been developed to automate the process of sleep spindle identification. Still, the performance of these automated sleep spindle detection methods varies inconsistently from study to study. There are two reasons: (1 the lack of common benchmark databases, and (2 the lack of commonly accepted evaluation metrics. In this study, we focus on tackling the second problem by proposing to evaluate the performance of a spindle detector in a multi-objective optimization context and hypothesize that using the resultant Pareto fronts for deriving evaluation metrics will improve automatic sleep spindle detection. We use a popular multi-objective evolutionary algorithm (MOEA, the Strength Pareto Evolutionary Algorithm (SPEA2, to optimize six existing frequency-based sleep spindle detection algorithms. They include three Fourier, one continuous wavelet transform (CWT, and two Hilbert-Huang transform (HHT based algorithms. We also explore three hybrid approaches. Trained and tested on open-access DREAMS and MASS databases, two new hybrid methods of combining Fourier with HHT algorithms show significant performance improvement with F1-scores of 0.726–0.737.

Computer-aided detection of colorectal polyps: can it improve sensitivity of less-experienced readers? Preliminary findings.

Science.gov (United States)

Baker, Mark E; Bogoni, Luca; Obuchowski, Nancy A; Dass, Chandra; Kendzierski, Renee M; Remer, Erick M; Einstein, David M; Cathier, Pascal; Jerebko, Anna; Lakare, Sarang; Blum, Andrew; Caroline, Dina F; Macari, Michael

2007-10-01

To determine whether computer-aided detection (CAD) applied to computed tomographic (CT) colonography can help improve sensitivity of polyp detection by less-experienced radiologist readers, with colonoscopy or consensus used as the reference standard. The release of the CT colonographic studies was approved by the individual institutional review boards of each institution. Institutions from the United States were HIPAA compliant. Written informed consent was waived at all institutions. The CT colonographic studies in 30 patients from six institutions were collected; 24 images depicted at least one confirmed polyp 6 mm or larger (39 total polyps) and six depicted no polyps. By using an investigational software package, seven less-experienced readers from two institutions evaluated the CT colonographic images and marked or scored polyps by using a five-point scale before and after CAD. The time needed to interpret the CT colonographic findings without CAD and then to re-evaluate them with CAD was recorded. For each reader, the McNemar test, adjusted for clustered data, was used to compare sensitivities for readers without and with CAD; a Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used to analyze the number of false-positive results per patient. The average sensitivity of the seven readers for polyp detection was significantly improved with CAD-from 0.810 to 0.908 (P=.0152). The number of false-positive results per patient without and with CAD increased from 0.70 to 0.96 (95% confidence interval for the increase: -0.39, 0.91). The mean total time for the readings was 17 minutes 54 seconds; for interpretation of CT colonographic findings alone, the mean time was 14 minutes 16 seconds; and for review of CAD findings, the mean time was 3 minutes 38 seconds. Results of this feasibility study suggest that CAD for CT colonography significantly improves per-polyp detection for less-experienced readers. Copyright (c) RSNA, 2007.

Distance Measurement Methods for Improved Insider Threat Detection

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Owen Lo

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Insider threats are a considerable problem within cyber security and it is often difficult to detect these threats using signature detection. Increasing machine learning can provide a solution, but these methods often fail to take into account changes of behaviour of users. This work builds on a published method of detecting insider threats and applies Hidden Markov method on a CERT data set (CERT r4.2 and analyses a number of distance vector methods (Damerau–Levenshtein Distance, Cosine Distance, and Jaccard Distance in order to detect changes of behaviour, which are shown to have success in determining different insider threats.

Factors associated with fertility of nulliparous dairy heifers following a 10-day fixed-time artificial insemination program with sex-sorted and conventional semen.

Science.gov (United States)

Noonan, E J; Kelly, J C; Beggs, D S

2016-05-01

To examine factors associated with fertility on dairy farms that used a common fixed-time artificial insemination (FTAI) program in yearling heifers. Records were analysed from 954 yearling heifers on 10 south-west Victorian dairy farms that used a common FTAI program, involving the insertion of a 1.9-g progesterone-releasing device for 10 days; 2 mg oestradiol benzoate at insertion; 500 µg cloprostenol on day 7; and FTAI 48 h after device removal. Weight, age, expression of oestrus, sire, semen type (frozen sex-sorted or frozen conventional) and timing of insemination were examined for their relationship with first-service conception rates. Heifers over 300 kg body weight were 1.18-fold more likely to express oestrus during the FTAI program. For every extra 1 kg, there was a 1.5% increase in the likelihood of expressing oestrus. First-service conception rates were 40.3% and 56.0% for sex-sorted and conventional semen, respectively, and were significantly higher when oestrus was expressed. The difference was greater for sex-sorted semen (3.4-fold) compared with conventional semen (1.5-fold). The interval from device removal to insemination varied between 47 and 51.4 h and had no significant effect on conception rates. However, there was a trend towards a higher conception rate for sex-sorted semen when inseminations were performed >50 h after device removal. Increased fertility was associated with larger heifers and heifers that expressed oestrus, particularly when sexed-sorted semen was used. Variation in the timing of AI with respect to device removal between 47 and 51.4 h did not adversely affect conception rates. © 2016 Australian Veterinary Association.

Improvement of detection of stress corrosion cracks with ultrasonic phased array probes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wustenberg, H.; Mohrle, W.; Wegner, W.; Schenk, G.; Erhard, A.

1986-01-01

Probes with linear arrays can be used for the detection of stress corrosion cracks especially if the variability of the sound field is used to change the skewing angle of angle beam probes. The phased array concept can be used to produce a variable skewing angle or a variable angle of incidence depending on the orientation of the linear array on the wedge. This helps to adapt the direction of the ultrasonic beam to probable crack orientations. It has been demonstrated with artificial reflectors as well as with corrosion cracks, that the detection of misoriented cracks can be improved by this approach. The experiences gained during the investigations are encouraging the application of phased array probes for stress corrosion phenomena close to the heat effected zone of welds. Probes with variable skewing angles may find some interesting applications on welds in tubular structures e.g., at off shore constructions and on some difficult geometries within the primary circuit of nuclear power plants

Improvements on coronal hole detection in SDO/AIA images using supervised classification

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Reiss Martin A.

2015-01-01

Full Text Available We demonstrate the use of machine learning algorithms in combination with segmentation techniques in order to distinguish coronal holes and filaments in SDO/AIA EUV images of the Sun. Based on two coronal hole detection techniques (intensity-based thresholding, SPoCA, we prepared datasets of manually labeled coronal hole and filament channel regions present on the Sun during the time range 2011–2013. By mapping the extracted regions from EUV observations onto HMI line-of-sight magnetograms we also include their magnetic characteristics. We computed shape measures from the segmented binary maps as well as first order and second order texture statistics from the segmented regions in the EUV images and magnetograms. These attributes were used for data mining investigations to identify the most performant rule to differentiate between coronal holes and filament channels. We applied several classifiers, namely Support Vector Machine (SVM, Linear Support Vector Machine, Decision Tree, and Random Forest, and found that all classification rules achieve good results in general, with linear SVM providing the best performances (with a true skill statistic of ≈ 0.90. Additional information from magnetic field data systematically improves the performance across all four classifiers for the SPoCA detection. Since the calculation is inexpensive in computing time, this approach is well suited for applications on real-time data. This study demonstrates how a machine learning approach may help improve upon an unsupervised feature extraction method.

New techniques using transcervical uterine cannulation for the diagnosis of uterine disorders in bitches.

Science.gov (United States)

Watts, J R; Wright, P J; Lee, C S; Whithear, K G

1997-01-01

A technique for collecting uterine samples from bitches without the need for surgery was developed. This technique involved visualizing the cervix with a rigid endoscope and passing a catheter through the cervix into the uterus. Samples for microbiology and cytology were obtained by the infusion and aspiration of sterile normal saline. This technique allowed uterine microbiology and cytology of the normal bitch throughout the reproductive cycle. Microorganisms were frequently recovered from the uterus during pro-oestrus and oestrus, but rarely at other stages of the reproductive cycle. The uterine microflora often reflected the vaginal microflora during pro-oestrus and oestrus. The cells found in uterine cytology samples from normal bitches included endometrial epithelial cells, leukocytes, erythrocytes, cervical cells, spermatozoa and bacteria. The types, proportions, morphology and numbers of cells varied throughout the reproductive cycle. The endoscope could be passed into the uterus and the endometrium examined from parturition until day 23 post partum. These procedures and contrast hysterography were used to investigate the reproductive tract of bitches. The above techniques have facilitated the diagnosis of postpartum metritis (n = 3), pyometra (n = 2), endometritis (n = 1), abortion (n = 1), retained placenta (n = 1), postpartum uterine rupture (n = 1), endometrial subinvolution (n = 1) and misalliance (n = 1) in 21 bitches investigated.

An improved algorithm for small and cool fire detection using MODIS data: A preliminary study in the southeastern United States

Science.gov (United States)

Wanting Wang; John J. Qu; Xianjun Hao; Yongqiang Liu; William T. Sommers

2006-01-01

Traditional fire detection algorithms mainly rely on hot spot detection using thermal infrared (TIR) channels with fixed or contextual thresholds. Three solar reflectance channels (0.65 μm, 0.86 μm, and 2.1 μm) were recently adopted into the MODIS version 4 contextual algorithm to improve the active fire detection. In the southeastern United...

Improvements of low-level radioxenon detection sensitivity by a state-of-the art coincidence setup.

Science.gov (United States)

Cagniant, A; Le Petit, G; Gross, P; Douysset, G; Richard-Bressand, H; Fontaine, J-P

2014-05-01

The ability to quantify isotopic ratios of 135, 133 m, 133 and 131 m radioxenon is essential for the verification of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). In order to improve detection limits, CEA has developed a new on-site setup using photon/electron coincidence (Le Petit et al., 2013. J. Radioanal. Nucl. Chem., DOI : 10.1007/s 10697-013-2525-8.). Alternatively, the electron detection cell equipped with large silicon chips (PIPS) can be used with HPGe detector for laboratory analysis purpose. This setup allows the measurement of β/γ coincidences for the detection of (133)Xe and (135)Xe; and K-shell Conversion Electrons (K-CE)/X-ray coincidences for the detection of (131m)Xe, (133m)Xe and (133)Xe as well. Good energy resolution of 11 keV at 130 keV and low energy threshold of 29 keV for the electron detection were obtained. This provides direct discrimination between K-CE from (133)Xe, (133m)Xe and (131m)Xe. Estimation of Minimum Detectable Activity (MDA) for (131m)Xe is in the order of 1mBq over a 4 day measurement. An analysis of an environmental radioxenon sample using this method is shown. © 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd All rights reserved.

An Adaptive Cultural Algorithm with Improved Quantum-behaved Particle Swarm Optimization for Sonar Image Detection.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Xingmei; Hao, Wenqian; Li, Qiming

2017-12-18

This paper proposes an adaptive cultural algorithm with improved quantum-behaved particle swarm optimization (ACA-IQPSO) to detect the underwater sonar image. In the population space, to improve searching ability of particles, iterative times and the fitness value of particles are regarded as factors to adaptively adjust the contraction-expansion coefficient of the quantum-behaved particle swarm optimization algorithm (QPSO). The improved quantum-behaved particle swarm optimization algorithm (IQPSO) can make particles adjust their behaviours according to their quality. In the belief space, a new update strategy is adopted to update cultural individuals according to the idea of the update strategy in shuffled frog leaping algorithm (SFLA). Moreover, to enhance the utilization of information in the population space and belief space, accept function and influence function are redesigned in the new communication protocol. The experimental results show that ACA-IQPSO can obtain good clustering centres according to the grey distribution information of underwater sonar images, and accurately complete underwater objects detection. Compared with other algorithms, the proposed ACA-IQPSO has good effectiveness, excellent adaptability, a powerful searching ability and high convergence efficiency. Meanwhile, the experimental results of the benchmark functions can further demonstrate that the proposed ACA-IQPSO has better searching ability, convergence efficiency and stability.

Improving the performance of univariate control charts for abnormal detection and classification

Science.gov (United States)

Yiakopoulos, Christos; Koutsoudaki, Maria; Gryllias, Konstantinos; Antoniadis, Ioannis

2017-03-01

Bearing failures in rotating machinery can cause machine breakdown and economical loss, if no effective actions are taken on time. Therefore, it is of prime importance to detect accurately the presence of faults, especially at their early stage, to prevent sequent damage and reduce costly downtime. The machinery fault diagnosis follows a roadmap of data acquisition, feature extraction and diagnostic decision making, in which mechanical vibration fault feature extraction is the foundation and the key to obtain an accurate diagnostic result. A challenge in this area is the selection of the most sensitive features for various types of fault, especially when the characteristics of failures are difficult to be extracted. Thus, a plethora of complex data-driven fault diagnosis methods are fed by prominent features, which are extracted and reduced through traditional or modern algorithms. Since most of the available datasets are captured during normal operating conditions, the last decade a number of novelty detection methods, able to work when only normal data are available, have been developed. In this study, a hybrid method combining univariate control charts and a feature extraction scheme is introduced focusing towards an abnormal change detection and classification, under the assumption that measurements under normal operating conditions of the machinery are available. The feature extraction method integrates the morphological operators and the Morlet wavelets. The effectiveness of the proposed methodology is validated on two different experimental cases with bearing faults, demonstrating that the proposed approach can improve the fault detection and classification performance of conventional control charts.

Improving Earth/Prediction Models to Improve Network Processing

Science.gov (United States)

Wagner, G. S.

2017-12-01

The United States Atomic Energy Detection System (USAEDS) primaryseismic network consists of a relatively small number of arrays andthree-component stations. The relatively small number of stationsin the USAEDS primary network make it both necessary and feasibleto optimize both station and network processing.Station processing improvements include detector tuning effortsthat use Receiver Operator Characteristic (ROC) curves to helpjudiciously set acceptable Type 1 (false) vs. Type 2 (miss) errorrates. Other station processing improvements include the use ofempirical/historical observations and continuous background noisemeasurements to compute time-varying, maximum likelihood probabilityof detection thresholds.The USAEDS network processing software makes extensive use of theazimuth and slowness information provided by frequency-wavenumberanalysis at array sites, and polarization analysis at three-componentsites. Most of the improvements in USAEDS network processing aredue to improvements in the models used to predict azimuth, slowness,and probability of detection. Kriged travel-time, azimuth andslowness corrections-and associated uncertainties-are computedusing a ground truth database. Improvements in station processingand the use of improved models for azimuth, slowness, and probabilityof detection have led to significant improvements in USADES networkprocessing.

Improved peak detection in mass spectrum by incorporating continuous wavelet transform-based pattern matching.

Science.gov (United States)

Du, Pan; Kibbe, Warren A; Lin, Simon M

2006-09-01

A major problem for current peak detection algorithms is that noise in mass spectrometry (MS) spectra gives rise to a high rate of false positives. The false positive rate is especially problematic in detecting peaks with low amplitudes. Usually, various baseline correction algorithms and smoothing methods are applied before attempting peak detection. This approach is very sensitive to the amount of smoothing and aggressiveness of the baseline correction, which contribute to making peak detection results inconsistent between runs, instrumentation and analysis methods. Most peak detection algorithms simply identify peaks based on amplitude, ignoring the additional information present in the shape of the peaks in a spectrum. In our experience, 'true' peaks have characteristic shapes, and providing a shape-matching function that provides a 'goodness of fit' coefficient should provide a more robust peak identification method. Based on these observations, a continuous wavelet transform (CWT)-based peak detection algorithm has been devised that identifies peaks with different scales and amplitudes. By transforming the spectrum into wavelet space, the pattern-matching problem is simplified and in addition provides a powerful technique for identifying and separating the signal from the spike noise and colored noise. This transformation, with the additional information provided by the 2D CWT coefficients can greatly enhance the effective signal-to-noise ratio. Furthermore, with this technique no baseline removal or peak smoothing preprocessing steps are required before peak detection, and this improves the robustness of peak detection under a variety of conditions. The algorithm was evaluated with SELDI-TOF spectra with known polypeptide positions. Comparisons with two other popular algorithms were performed. The results show the CWT-based algorithm can identify both strong and weak peaks while keeping false positive rate low. The algorithm is implemented in R and will be

Oxytocin administration selectively improves olfactory detection thresholds for lyral in patients with schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Woolley, J D; Lam, O; Chuang, B; Ford, J M; Mathalon, D H; Vinogradov, S

2015-03-01

Olfaction plays an important role in mammalian social behavior. Olfactory deficits are common in schizophrenia and correlate with negative symptoms and low social drive. Despite their prominence and possible clinical relevance, little is understood about the pathological mechanisms underlying olfactory deficits in schizophrenia and there are currently no effective treatments for these deficits. The prosocial neuropeptide oxytocin may affect the olfactory system when administered intranasally to humans and there is growing interest in its therapeutic potential in schizophrenia. To examine this model, we administered 40IU of oxytocin and placebo intranasally to 31 patients with a schizophrenia spectrum illness and 34 age-matched healthy control participants in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over study. On each test day, participants completed an olfactory detection threshold test for two different odors: (1) lyral, a synthetic fragrance compound for which patients with schizophrenia have specific olfactory detection threshold deficits, possibly related to decreased cyclic adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate (cAMP) signaling; and (2) anise, a compound for which olfactory detection thresholds change with menstrual cycle phase in women. On the placebo test day, patients with schizophrenia did not significantly differ from healthy controls in detection of either odor. We found that oxytocin administration significantly and selectively improved olfactory detection thresholds for lyral but not for anise in patients with schizophrenia. In contrast, oxytocin had no effect on detection of either odor in healthy controls. Our data indicate that oxytocin administration may ameliorate olfactory deficits in schizophrenia and suggest the effects of intranasal oxytocin may extend to influencing the olfactory system. Given that oxytocin has been found to increase cAMP signaling in vitro a possible mechanism for these effects is discussed. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Improved detection of hydrophilic phosphopeptides using graphite powder microcolumns and mass spectrometry: evidence for in vivo doubly phosphorylated dynamin I and dynamin III

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Larsen, Martin Røssel; Graham, Mark E; Robinson, Phillip J

2004-01-01

A common strategy in proteomics to improve the number and quality of peptides detected by mass spectrometry (MS) is to desalt and concentrate proteolytic digests using reversed phase (RP) chromatography prior to analysis. However, this does not allow for detection of small or hydrophilic peptides...... a large improvement in the detection of small amounts of phosphopeptides by MS and the approach has major implications for both small- and large-scale projects in phosphoproteomics.......A common strategy in proteomics to improve the number and quality of peptides detected by mass spectrometry (MS) is to desalt and concentrate proteolytic digests using reversed phase (RP) chromatography prior to analysis. However, this does not allow for detection of small or hydrophilic peptides......, or peptides altered in hydrophilicity such as phosphopeptides. We used microcolumns to compare the ability of RP resin or graphite powder to retain phosphopeptides. A number of standard phosphopeptides and a biologically relevant phosphoprotein, dynamin I, were analyzed. MS revealed that some phosphopeptides...

Real-time PCR improves Helicobacter pylori detection in patients with peptic ulcer bleeding.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

María José Ramírez-Lázaro

Full Text Available BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Histological and rapid urease tests to detect H. pylori in biopsy specimens obtained during peptic ulcer bleeding episodes (PUB often produce false-negative results. We aimed to examine whether immunohistochemistry and real-time PCR can improve the sensitivity of these biopsies. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We selected 52 histology-negative formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded biopsy specimens obtained during PUB episodes. Additional tests showed 10 were true negatives and 42 were false negatives. We also selected 17 histology-positive biopsy specimens obtained during PUB to use as controls. We performed immunohistochemistry staining and real-time PCR for 16S rRNA, ureA, and 23S rRNA for H. pylori genes on all specimens. RESULTS: All controls were positive for H. pylori on all PCR assays and immunohistochemical staining. Regarding the 52 initially negative biopsies, all PCR tests were significantly more sensitive than immunohistochemical staining (p<0.01. Sensitivity and specificity were 55% and 80% for 16S rRNA PCR, 43% and 90% for ureA PCR, 41% and 80% for 23S rRNA PCR, and 7% and 100% for immunohistochemical staining, respectively. Combined analysis of PCR assays for two genes were significantly more sensitive than ureA or 23S rRNA PCR tests alone (p<0.05 and marginally better than 16S rRNA PCR alone. The best combination was 16S rRNA+ureA, with a sensitivity of 64% and a specificity of 80%. CONCLUSIONS: Real-time PCR improves the detection of H. pylori infection in histology-negative formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded biopsy samples obtained during PUB episodes. The low reported prevalence of H. pylori in PUB may be due to the failure of conventional tests to detect infection.

An Improved Wavelet‐Based Multivariable Fault Detection Scheme

KAUST Repository

Harrou, Fouzi; Sun, Ying; Madakyaru, Muddu

2017-01-01

Data observed from environmental and engineering processes are usually noisy and correlated in time, which makes the fault detection more difficult as the presence of noise degrades fault detection quality. Multiscale representation of data using

Targeting safety improvements through identification of incident origination and detection in a near-miss incident learning system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Novak, Avrey; Nyflot, Matthew J.; Ermoian, Ralph P.; Jordan, Loucille E.; Sponseller, Patricia A.; Kane, Gabrielle M.; Ford, Eric C.; Zeng, Jing

2016-01-01

Purpose: Radiation treatment planning involves a complex workflow that has multiple potential points of vulnerability. This study utilizes an incident reporting system to identify the origination and detection points of near-miss errors, in order to guide their departmental safety improvement efforts. Previous studies have examined where errors arise, but not where they are detected or applied a near-miss risk index (NMRI) to gauge severity. Methods: From 3/2012 to 3/2014, 1897 incidents were analyzed from a departmental incident learning system. All incidents were prospectively reviewed weekly by a multidisciplinary team and assigned a NMRI score ranging from 0 to 4 reflecting potential harm to the patient (no potential harm to potential critical harm). Incidents were classified by point of incident origination and detection based on a 103-step workflow. The individual steps were divided among nine broad workflow categories (patient assessment, imaging for radiation therapy (RT) planning, treatment planning, pretreatment plan review, treatment delivery, on-treatment quality management, post-treatment completion, equipment/software quality management, and other). The average NMRI scores of incidents originating or detected within each broad workflow area were calculated. Additionally, out of 103 individual process steps, 35 were classified as safety barriers, the process steps whose primary function is to catch errors. The safety barriers which most frequently detected incidents were identified and analyzed. Finally, the distance between event origination and detection was explored by grouping events by the number of broad workflow area events passed through before detection, and average NMRI scores were compared. Results: Near-miss incidents most commonly originated within treatment planning (33%). However, the incidents with the highest average NMRI scores originated during imaging for RT planning (NMRI = 2.0, average NMRI of all events = 1.5), specifically

Targeting safety improvements through identification of incident origination and detection in a near-miss incident learning system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Novak, Avrey; Nyflot, Matthew J.; Ermoian, Ralph P.; Jordan, Loucille E.; Sponseller, Patricia A.; Kane, Gabrielle M.; Ford, Eric C.; Zeng, Jing, E-mail: jzeng13@uw.edu [Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Washington Medical Center, 1959 NE Pacific Street, Campus Box 356043, Seattle, Washington 98195 (United States)

2016-05-15

Purpose: Radiation treatment planning involves a complex workflow that has multiple potential points of vulnerability. This study utilizes an incident reporting system to identify the origination and detection points of near-miss errors, in order to guide their departmental safety improvement efforts. Previous studies have examined where errors arise, but not where they are detected or applied a near-miss risk index (NMRI) to gauge severity. Methods: From 3/2012 to 3/2014, 1897 incidents were analyzed from a departmental incident learning system. All incidents were prospectively reviewed weekly by a multidisciplinary team and assigned a NMRI score ranging from 0 to 4 reflecting potential harm to the patient (no potential harm to potential critical harm). Incidents were classified by point of incident origination and detection based on a 103-step workflow. The individual steps were divided among nine broad workflow categories (patient assessment, imaging for radiation therapy (RT) planning, treatment planning, pretreatment plan review, treatment delivery, on-treatment quality management, post-treatment completion, equipment/software quality management, and other). The average NMRI scores of incidents originating or detected within each broad workflow area were calculated. Additionally, out of 103 individual process steps, 35 were classified as safety barriers, the process steps whose primary function is to catch errors. The safety barriers which most frequently detected incidents were identified and analyzed. Finally, the distance between event origination and detection was explored by grouping events by the number of broad workflow area events passed through before detection, and average NMRI scores were compared. Results: Near-miss incidents most commonly originated within treatment planning (33%). However, the incidents with the highest average NMRI scores originated during imaging for RT planning (NMRI = 2.0, average NMRI of all events = 1.5), specifically

An improved AE detection method of rail defect based on multi-level ANC with VSS-LMS

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Xin; Cui, Yiming; Wang, Yan; Sun, Mingjian; Hu, Hengshan

2018-01-01

In order to ensure the safety and reliability of railway system, Acoustic Emission (AE) method is employed to investigate rail defect detection. However, little attention has been paid to the defect detection at high speed, especially for noise interference suppression. Based on AE technology, this paper presents an improved rail defect detection method by multi-level ANC with VSS-LMS. Multi-level noise cancellation based on SANC and ANC is utilized to eliminate complex noises at high speed, and tongue-shaped curve with index adjustment factor is proposed to enhance the performance of variable step-size algorithm. Defect signals and reference signals are acquired by the rail-wheel test rig. The features of noise signals and defect signals are analyzed for effective detection. The effectiveness of the proposed method is demonstrated by comparing with the previous study, and different filter lengths are investigated to obtain a better noise suppression performance. Meanwhile, the detection ability of the proposed method is verified at the top speed of the test rig. The results clearly illustrate that the proposed method is effective in detecting rail defects at high speed, especially for noise interference suppression.

Improving detection of first-episode psychosis by mental health-care services using a self-report questionnaire

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Boonstra, Nynke; Wunderink, Lex; Sytema, Sjoerd; Wiersma, Durk

2009-01-01

Objective: To examine the utility of the Community Assessment of Psychic Experiences (CAPE)-42, a self-report questionnaire, to improve detection of first-episode psychosis in new referrals to mental health services. Method: At first contact with mental health-care services patients were asked to

Using Information From Prior Satellite Scans to Improve Cloud Detection Near the Day-Night Terminator

Science.gov (United States)

Yost, Christopher R.; Minnis, Patrick; Trepte, Qing Z.; Palikonda, Rabindra; Ayers, Jeffrey K.; Spangenberg, Doulas A.

2012-01-01

With geostationary satellite data it is possible to have a continuous record of diurnal cycles of cloud properties for a large portion of the globe. Daytime cloud property retrieval algorithms are typically superior to nighttime algorithms because daytime methods utilize measurements of reflected solar radiation. However, reflected solar radiation is difficult to accurately model for high solar zenith angles where the amount of incident radiation is small. Clear and cloudy scenes can exhibit very small differences in reflected radiation and threshold-based cloud detection methods have more difficulty setting the proper thresholds for accurate cloud detection. Because top-of-atmosphere radiances are typically more accurately modeled outside the terminator region, information from previous scans can help guide cloud detection near the terminator. This paper presents an algorithm that uses cloud fraction and clear and cloudy infrared brightness temperatures from previous satellite scan times to improve the performance of a threshold-based cloud mask near the terminator. Comparisons of daytime, nighttime, and terminator cloud fraction derived from Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) radiance measurements show that the algorithm greatly reduces the number of false cloud detections and smoothes the transition from the daytime to the nighttime clod detection algorithm. Comparisons with the Geoscience Laser Altimeter System (GLAS) data show that using this algorithm decreases the number of false detections by approximately 20 percentage points.

Synchronization of ovulation and fixed time intrauterine insemination in ewes.

Science.gov (United States)

Deligiannis, C; Valasi, I; Rekkas, C A; Goulas, P; Theodosiadou, E; Lainas, T; Amiridis, G S

2005-02-01

A novel method for oestrus-ovulation synchronization in sheep followed by fixed time insemination is presented herewith. Mature dry ewes (n = 28) of Karagouniko breed being at an unknown stage of the oestrous cycle, were used during the middle of breeding season. The treatment protocol consisted of an initial administration of a GnRH analogue followed 5 days later by a prostaglandin F2alpha injection. Thirty-six hours later a second GnRH injection was administered to synchronize ovulation, and laparoscopic intrauterine insemination was performed 12-14 h later. Three days after insemination, fertile rams were introduced into the flock twice daily and oestrus-mating detection was carried out. For progesterone (P(4)) determination, blood samples were collected on alternate days, starting 2 days before the first GnRH injection and continuing for 17 days after insemination. An additional sample was taken on the day of insemination. Pregnancy diagnosis was carried out by trans-abdominal ultrasonography. Fourteen ewes (50%) conceived at insemination and maintained pregnancy; from the remainder 14 ewes 10 became pregnant at natural service, while four, although they mated at least two to three times, failed to conceive. In response to the first GnRH, P(4) concentration increased at higher levels in ewes that conceived at AI compared with those that failed to conceive (47.54 and 22.44%, respectively; p < 0.05). Significant differences (p < 0.05) in mean P(4) concentration between pregnant and non-pregnant animals were detected 1 day before AI (0.17 +/- 0.06 and 0.26 +/- 0.14 ng/ml, respectively) on the day of AI (0.15 +/- 0.04 and 0.24 +/- 0.08 ng/ml, respectively) as well as 9 and 11 days thereafter (0.48 +/- 0.12 and 0.38 +/- 0.12 ng/ml; 0.68 +/- 0.14 and 0.50 +/- 0.18 ng/ml, respectively). These results indicate that using the proposed protocol, an acceptable conception rate can be achieved which could be further improved by modifying the time intervals between

Evaluation of a nutritional strategy to increase ovulation rate in merino ewes mated in late spring-early summer.

Science.gov (United States)

Nottle, M B; Kleemann, D O; Grosser, T I; Seamark, R F

1997-07-01

A nutritional strategy for increasing ovulation rate in Merino ewes mated in late spring-early summer was evaluated on two commercial farms. The strategy used the 'ram effect' to induce oestrus in seasonally anoestrus ewes and supplementary feeding of lupin grain six days prior to oestrus to increase ovulation rate. Ewes that had been isolated from rams for 6 weeks were exposed to vasectomised rams for 2 weeks and then mated to fertile rams for 6 weeks. Feeding 500 g lupins/head/day for 14 days commencing 12 days after the introduction of vasectomised rams, increased the number of ovulations from 126 to 146 per 100 ewes exposed to rams (P < 0.05). This increase was reflected in an improvement in fecundity (lambs born per ewe lambing; P < 0.05) but not fertility (ewes lambing per ewe mated to rams). Net reproductive performance (the product of fertility, fecundity and lamb survival) was increased by 11 lambs weaned per 100 ewes exposed to rams due to lupin supplementation at mating.

Combined diversity and improved energy detection in cooperative spectrum sensing with faded reporting channels

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Srinivas Nallagonda

2016-04-01

Full Text Available In this paper we evaluate the performance of cooperative spectrum sensing (CSS where each cognitive radio (CR employs an improved energy detector (IED with multiple antennas and uses selection combining (SC for detecting the primary user (PU in noisy and faded sensing (S channels. We derive an expression for the probability of false alarm and expressions for probability of missed detection in non-faded (AWGN and Rayleigh faded sensing environments in terms of cumulative distribution function (CDF. Each CR transmits its decision about PU via noisy and faded reporting (R channel to fusion center (FC. In this paper we assume that S-channels are noisy and Rayleigh faded while several cases of fading are considered for R-channels such as: (i Hoyt (or Nakagami-q, (ii Rayleigh, (iii Rician (or Nakagami-n, and (iv Weibull. A Binary Symmetric channel (BSC with a fixed error probability (r in the R-channel is also considered. The impact of fading in R-channel, S-channel and several network parameters such as IED parameter, normalized detection threshold, number of CRs, and number of antennas on missed detection and total error probability is assessed. The effects of Hoyt, Rician, and Weibull fading parameters on overall performance of IED-CSS are also highlighted.

Integration of biomimicry and nanotechnology for significantly improved detection of circulating tumor cells (CTCs).

Science.gov (United States)

Myung, Ja Hye; Park, Sin-Jung; Wang, Andrew Z; Hong, Seungpyo

2017-12-13

Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) have received a great deal of scientific and clinical attention as a biomarker for diagnosis and prognosis of many types of cancer. Given their potential significance in clinics, a variety of detection methods, utilizing the recent advances in nanotechnology and microfluidics, have been introduced in an effort of achieving clinically significant detection of CTCs. However, effective detection and isolation of CTCs still remain a tremendous challenge due to their extreme rarity and phenotypic heterogeneity. Among many approaches that are currently under development, this review paper focuses on a unique, promising approach that takes advantages of naturally occurring processes achievable through application of nanotechnology to realize significant improvement in sensitivity and specificity of CTC capture. We provide an overview of successful outcome of this biomimetic CTC capture system in detection of tumor cells from in vitro, in vivo, and clinical pilot studies. We also emphasize the clinical impact of CTCs as biomarkers in cancer diagnosis and predictive prognosis, which provides a cost-effective, minimally invasive method that potentially replaces or supplements existing methods such as imaging technologies and solid tissue biopsy. In addition, their potential prognostic values as treatment guidelines and that ultimately help to realize personalized therapy are discussed. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

An improved reconstruction algorithm based on multi-user detection for uplink grant-free NOMA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hou Chengyan

2017-01-01

Full Text Available For the traditional orthogonal matching pursuit(OMP algorithm in multi-user detection(MUD for uplink grant-free NOMA, here is a poor BER performance, so in this paper we propose an temporal-correlation orthogonal matching pursuit algorithm(TOMP to realize muli-user detection. The core idea of the TOMP is to use the time correlation of the active user sets to achieve user activity and data detection in a number of continuous time slots. We use the estimated active user set in the current time slot as a priori information to estimate the active user sets for the next slot. By maintaining the active user set Tˆl of size K(K is the number of users, but modified in each iteration. Specifically, active user set is believed to be reliable in one iteration but shown error in another iteration, can be added to the set path delay Tˆl or removed from it. Theoretical analysis of the improved algorithm provide a guarantee that the multi-user can be successfully detected with a high probability. The simulation results show that the proposed scheme can achieve better bit error rate (BER performance in the uplink grant-free NOMA system.

Modeling detection probability to improve marsh bird surveys in southern Canada and the Great Lakes states

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Douglas C. Tozer

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Marsh birds are notoriously elusive, with variation in detection probability across species, regions, seasons, and different times of day and weather. Therefore, it is important to develop regional field survey protocols that maximize detections, but that also produce data for estimating and analytically adjusting for remaining differences in detections. We aimed to improve regional field survey protocols by estimating detection probability of eight elusive marsh bird species throughout two regions that have ongoing marsh bird monitoring programs: the southern Canadian Prairies (Prairie region and the southern portion of the Great Lakes basin and parts of southern Québec (Great Lakes-St. Lawrence region. We accomplished our goal using generalized binomial N-mixture models and data from ~22,300 marsh bird surveys conducted between 2008 and 2014 by Bird Studies Canada's Prairie, Great Lakes, and Québec Marsh Monitoring Programs. Across all species, on average, detection probability was highest in the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence region from the beginning of May until mid-June, and then fell throughout the remainder of the season until the end of June; was lowest in the Prairie region in mid-May and then increased throughout the remainder of the season until the end of June; was highest during darkness compared with light; and did not vary significantly according to temperature (range: 0-30°C, cloud cover (0%-100%, or wind (0-20 kph, or during morning versus evening. We used our results to formulate improved marsh bird survey protocols for each region. Our analysis and recommendations are useful and contribute to conservation of wetland birds at various scales from local single-species studies to the continental North American Marsh Bird Monitoring Program.

False star detection and isolation during star tracking based on improved chi-square tests.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Hao; Niu, Yanxiong; Lu, Jiazhen; Yang, Yanqiang; Su, Guohua

2017-08-01

The star sensor is a precise attitude measurement device for a spacecraft. Star tracking is the main and key working mode for a star sensor. However, during star tracking, false stars become an inevitable interference for star sensor applications, which may result in declined measurement accuracy. A false star detection and isolation algorithm in star tracking based on improved chi-square tests is proposed in this paper. Two estimations are established based on a Kalman filter and a priori information, respectively. The false star detection is operated through adopting the global state chi-square test in a Kalman filter. The false star isolation is achieved using a local state chi-square test. Semi-physical experiments under different trajectories with various false stars are designed for verification. Experiment results show that various false stars can be detected and isolated from navigation stars during star tracking, and the attitude measurement accuracy is hardly influenced by false stars. The proposed algorithm is proved to have an excellent performance in terms of speed, stability, and robustness.

Development of early core anomaly detection system by using in-sodium microphone in JOYO. Fundamental characteristics test of in-sodium microphone in water and examination of improvement of detection accuracy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Komai, Masafumi

2001-07-01

Fast reactor core anomalies can be detected in near real-time with acoustic sensors. An acoustic detection system senses an in-core anomaly immediately from the fast acoustic signals that propagate through the sodium coolant. One example of a detectable anomaly is sodium boiling due to local blockage in a sub-assembly; the slight change in background acoustic signals can be detected. A key advantage of the acoustic detector is that it can be located outside the core. The location of the anomaly in the core can be determined by correlating multiple acoustic signals. This report describes the testing and fundamental characteristics of a microphone suitable for use in the sodium coolant and examines methods to improve the system's S/N ratio. Testing in water confirmed that the in-sodium microphone has good impulse and wide band frequency responses. These tests used impulse and white noise signals that imitate acoustic signals from boiling sodium. Correlation processing of multiple microphone signals to improve S/N ratio is also described. (author)

The use of image morphing to improve the detection of tumors in emission imaging

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dykstra, C.; Greer, K.; Jaszczak, R.; Celler, A.

1999-01-01

Two of the limitations on the utility of SPECT and planar scintigraphy for the non-invasive detection of carcinoma are the small sizes of many tumors and the possible low contrast between tumor uptake and background. This is particularly true for breast imaging. Use of some form of image processing can improve the visibility of tumors which are at the limit of hardware resolution. Smoothing, by some form of image averaging, either during or post-reconstruction, is widely used to reduce noise and thereby improve the detectability of regions of elevated activity. However, smoothing degrades resolution and, by averaging together closely spaced noise, may make noise look like a valid region of increased uptake. Image morphing by erosion and dilation does not average together image values; it instead selectively removes small features and irregularities from an image without changing the larger features. Application of morphing to emission images has shown that it does not, therefore, degrade resolution and does not always degrade contrast. For these reasons it may be a better method of image processing for noise removal in some images. In this paper the authors present a comparison of the effects of smoothing and morphing using breast and liver studies

Improved sensitivity and limit-of-detection of lateral flow devices using spatial constrictions of the flow-path.

Science.gov (United States)

Katis, Ioannis N; He, Peijun J W; Eason, Robert W; Sones, Collin L

2018-05-03

We report on the use of a laser-direct write (LDW) technique that allows the fabrication of lateral flow devices with enhanced sensitivity and limit of detection. This manufacturing technique comprises the dispensing of a liquid photopolymer at specific regions of a nitrocellulose membrane and its subsequent photopolymerisation to create impermeable walls inside the volume of the membrane. These polymerised structures are intentionally designed to create fluidic channels which are constricted over a specific length that spans the test zone within which the sample interacts with pre-deposited reagents. Experiments were conducted to show how these constrictions alter the fluid flow rate and the test zone area within the constricted channel geometries. The slower flow rate and smaller test zone area result in the increased sensitivity and lowered limit of detection for these devices. We have quantified these via the improved performance of a C-Reactive Protein (CRP) sandwich assay on our lateral flow devices with constricted flow paths which demonstrate an improvement in its sensitivity by 62x and in its limit of detection by 30x when compared to a standard lateral flow CRP device. Crown Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

An improved haemolytic plaque assay for the detection of cells secreting antibody to bacterial antigens

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Barington, T; Heilmann, C

1992-01-01

Recent advances in the development of conjugate polysaccharide vaccines for human use have stimulated interest in the use of assays detecting antibody-secreting cells (AbSC) with specificity for bacterial antigens. Here we present improved haemolytic plaque-forming cell (PFC) assays detecting Ab......SC with specificity for tetanus and diphtheria toxoid as well as for Haemophilus influenzae type b and pneumococcal capsular polysaccharides. These assays were found to be less time consuming, more economical and yielded 1.9-3.4-fold higher plaque numbers than traditional Jerne-type PFC assays. In the case of anti......-polysaccharide antibodies aggregation of secreted monomeric antibody (IgG) is critical for plaque formation and increases the avidity of binding to target cells....

SU-E-T-310: Targeting Safety Improvements Through Analysis of Near-Miss Error Detection Points in An Incident Learning Database

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Novak, A; Nyflot, M; Sponseller, P; Howard, J; Logan, W; Holland, L; Jordan, L; Carlson, J; Ermoian, R; Kane, G; Ford, E; Zeng, J

2014-01-01

Purpose: Radiation treatment planning involves a complex workflow that can make safety improvement efforts challenging. This study utilizes an incident reporting system to identify detection points of near-miss errors, in order to guide our departmental safety improvement efforts. Previous studies have examined where errors arise, but not where they are detected or their patterns. Methods: 1377 incidents were analyzed from a departmental nearmiss error reporting system from 3/2012–10/2013. All incidents were prospectively reviewed weekly by a multi-disciplinary team, and assigned a near-miss severity score ranging from 0–4 reflecting potential harm (no harm to critical). A 98-step consensus workflow was used to determine origination and detection points of near-miss errors, categorized into 7 major steps (patient assessment/orders, simulation, contouring/treatment planning, pre-treatment plan checks, therapist/on-treatment review, post-treatment checks, and equipment issues). Categories were compared using ANOVA. Results: In the 7-step workflow, 23% of near-miss errors were detected within the same step in the workflow, while an additional 37% were detected by the next step in the workflow, and 23% were detected two steps downstream. Errors detected further from origination were more severe (p<.001; Figure 1). The most common source of near-miss errors was treatment planning/contouring, with 476 near misses (35%). Of those 476, only 72(15%) were found before leaving treatment planning, 213(45%) were found at physics plan checks, and 191(40%) were caught at the therapist pre-treatment chart review or on portal imaging. Errors that passed through physics plan checks and were detected by therapists were more severe than other errors originating in contouring/treatment planning (1.81 vs 1.33, p<0.001). Conclusion: Errors caught by radiation treatment therapists tend to be more severe than errors caught earlier in the workflow, highlighting the importance of safety

Use of rapid-scan EPR to improve detection sensitivity for spin-trapped radicals.

Science.gov (United States)

Mitchell, Deborah G; Rosen, Gerald M; Tseitlin, Mark; Symmes, Breanna; Eaton, Sandra S; Eaton, Gareth R

2013-07-16

The short lifetime of superoxide and the low rates of formation expected in vivo make detection by standard continuous wave (CW) electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) challenging. The new rapid-scan EPR method offers improved sensitivity for these types of samples. In rapid-scan EPR, the magnetic field is scanned through resonance in a time that is short relative to electron spin relaxation times, and data are processed to obtain the absorption spectrum. To validate the application of rapid-scan EPR to spin trapping, superoxide was generated by the reaction of xanthine oxidase and hypoxanthine with rates of 0.1-6.0 μM/min and trapped with 5-tert-butoxycarbonyl-5-methyl-1-pyrroline-N-oxide (BMPO). Spin trapping with BMPO to form the BMPO-OOH adduct converts the very short-lived superoxide radical into a more stable spin adduct. There is good agreement between the hyperfine splitting parameters obtained for BMPO-OOH by CW and rapid-scan EPR. For the same signal acquisition time, the signal/noise ratio is >40 times higher for rapid-scan than for CW EPR. Rapid-scan EPR can detect superoxide produced by Enterococcus faecalis at rates that are too low for detection by CW EPR. Copyright © 2013 Biophysical Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Improved prenatal detection of chromosomal anomalies

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Frøslev-Friis, Christina; Hjort-Pedersen, Karina; Henriques, Carsten U

2011-01-01

Prenatal screening for karyotype anomalies takes place in most European countries. In Denmark, the screening method was changed in 2005. The aim of this study was to study the trends in prevalence and prenatal detection rates of chromosome anomalies and Down syndrome (DS) over a 22-year period....

Reproductive status following artificial insemination and factors affecting conception rate in dairy cows in smallholder production systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nordin, Y.; Zaini, N.; Wan Zahari, W.M.

2007-01-01

A survey was conducted to evaluate the reproductive status following artificial insemination (AI) and factors affecting conception rate (CR) in dairy cows under the smallholder production system, using the concentration of progesterone (P4) in milk samples taken on the day of AI (Sample 1), day 10-12 after AI (Sample 2) and day 22-24 after AI (Sample 3). The survey involved 115 cows in 33 farms. A follow-up study was carried out on four farms with interventions to improve record keeping, feed supplementation, heat detection and timely pregnancy diagnosis. Based on Sample 1 (n = 115), 93% of the cows had low P4 and were likely to have been in or close to oestrus at AI. Based on Samples 1 and 2 (n = 107), 85% of the cows had ovulatory oestrus. Based on all three samples (n = 59), 54.2% of the cows appeared to have conceived, 18.6% had either non-fertilization or early embryonic mortality and 18.6% had late embryonic mortality, luteal cyst or a persistent corpus luteum. The incidence of AI on pregnant animals was 1.7% and on those in doubtful reproductive status was 6.8%. The overall CR was 35.5% from 121 inseminations done on 115 cows. Mean intervals from calving to first AI (n = 77) and to conception (n = 43) were 90.7 and 113.6 days, respectively. The effects of level of milk production, lactation state and site of semen deposition on CR were significant (p 0.05) but CR tended to be lower in first parity cows and in cows with excessive body condition. The CR was also lower in farms that practice AI only in the afternoon, in farms where relatively less time was spent on dairy activities and in those farms practicing grazing and supplementation with concentrate only, as compared to those providing additional roughage supplementation. CR tended to be higher when AI was carried out by technicians with longer formal training. The survey showed that there was a high occurrence of ovulatory oestrus in cows under the smallholder production system but the CR obtained was

"Cough officer screening" improves detection of pulmonary tuberculosis in hospital in-patients

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Wen Jen-Ho

2010-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Current tuberculosis (TB reporting protocols are insufficient to achieve the goals established by the Stop TB partnership. Some countries have recommended implementation of active case finding program. We assessed the effect of Cough Officer Screening (an active screening system on the rate of TB detection and health care system delays over the course of four years. Methods Patients who were hospitalized at the Changhua Christian Hospital (Changhua, Taiwan were enrolled from September 2004 to July 2006 (Stage I and August 2006 to August 2008 (Stage II. Stage II was implemented after a Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA cycle analysis indicated that we should exclude ICU and paediatric patients. Results In Stage I, our COS system alerted physicians to 19,836 patients, and 7,998 were examined. 184 of these 7,998 patients (2.3% had TB. Among these 184 patients, 142 (77.2% were examined for TB before COS alarming and 42 were diagnosed after COS alarming. In Stage II, a total of 11,323 patients were alerted by the COS system. Among them, 6,221 patients were examined by physicians, and 125 of these patients (2.0% had TB. Among these 125 patients, 113 (90.4% were examined for TB before COS alarming and 12 were diagnosed after COS alarming. The median time from COS alarm to clinical action was significantly less (p = 0.041 for Stage I (1 day; range: 0-16 days than for Stage II (2 days; range: 0-10 days. Conclusion Our COS system improves detection of TB by reducing the delay from infection to diagnosis. Modifications of scope may be needed to improve cost-effectiveness.

Effect of β-carotene integration to Italian trotter mares in peripartum

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A. Falaschini

2011-03-01

Full Text Available In Italy trotter horses begin racing activity in the summer, two years after their birth year, so that the foals born in the first months of the year are better developed than those born in late spring-summer. As it is known, mares are characterised by an oestrus cyclic activity, which founds its best time in spring. The management of trotter mares tries to anticipate the foaling at first months of the year and therefore the next oestrus cycle, too...

An Improved Opposition-Based Learning Particle Swarm Optimization for the Detection of SNP-SNP Interactions

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Shang, Junliang; Sun, Yan; Li, Shengjun; Liu, Jin-Xing; Zheng, Chun-Hou; Zhang, Junying

2015-01-01

SNP-SNP interactions have been receiving increasing attention in understanding the mechanism underlying susceptibility to complex diseases. Though many works have been done for the detection of SNP-SNP interactions, the algorithmic development is still ongoing. In this study, an improved opposition-based learning particle swarm optimization (IOBLPSO) is proposed for the detection of SNP-SNP interactions. Highlights of IOBLPSO are the introduction of three strategies, namely, opposition-based learning, dynamic inertia weight, and a postprocedure. Opposition-based learning not only enhances the global explorative ability, but also avoids premature convergence. Dynamic inertia weight allows particles to cover a wider search space when the considered SNP is likely to be a random one and converges on promising regions of the search space while capturing a highly suspected SNP. The postprocedure is used to carry out a deep search in highly suspected SNP sets. Experiments of IOBLPSO are performed on both simulation data sets and a real data set of age-related macular degeneration, results of which demonstrate that IOBLPSO is promising in detecting SNP-SNP interactions. IOBLPSO might be an alternative to existing methods for detecting SNP-SNP interactions. PMID:26236727

A Time-Domain Structural Damage Detection Method Based on Improved Multiparticle Swarm Coevolution Optimization Algorithm

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Shao-Fei Jiang

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Optimization techniques have been applied to structural health monitoring and damage detection of civil infrastructures for two decades. The standard particle swarm optimization (PSO is easy to fall into the local optimum and such deficiency also exists in the multiparticle swarm coevolution optimization (MPSCO. This paper presents an improved MPSCO algorithm (IMPSCO firstly and then integrates it with Newmark’s algorithm to localize and quantify the structural damage by using the damage threshold proposed. To validate the proposed method, a numerical simulation and an experimental study of a seven-story steel frame were employed finally, and a comparison was made between the proposed method and the genetic algorithm (GA. The results show threefold: (1 the proposed method not only is capable of localization and quantification of damage, but also has good noise-tolerance; (2 the damage location can be accurately detected using the damage threshold proposed in this paper; and (3 compared with the GA, the IMPSCO algorithm is more efficient and accurate for damage detection problems in general. This implies that the proposed method is applicable and effective in the community of damage detection and structural health monitoring.

Improved Detection of Vowel Envelope Frequency Following Responses Using Hotelling's T2 Analysis.

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Vanheusden, Frederique J; Bell, Steven L; Chesnaye, Michael A; Simpson, David M

2018-05-11

Objective detection of brainstem responses to natural speech stimuli is an important tool for the evaluation of hearing aid fitting, especially in people who may not be able to respond reliably in behavioral tests. Of particular interest is the envelope frequency following response (eFFR), which refers to the EEG response at the stimulus' fundamental frequency (and its harmonics), and here in particular to the response to natural spoken vowel sounds. This article introduces the frequency-domain Hotelling's T (HT2) method for eFFR detection. This method was compared, in terms of sensitivity in detecting eFFRs at the fundamental frequency (HT2_F0), to two different single-channel frequency domain methods (F test on Fourier analyzer (FA) amplitude spectra [FA-F-Test] and magnitude-squared coherence [MSC]) in detecting envelope following responses to natural vowel stimuli in simulated data and EEG data from normal-hearing subjects. Sensitivity was assessed based on the number of detections and the time needed to detect a response for a false-positive rate of 5%. The study also explored whether a single-channel, multifrequency HT2 (HT2_3F) and a multichannel, multifrequency HT2 (HT2_MC) could further improve response detection. Four repeated words were presented sequentially at 70 dB SPL LAeq through ER-2 insert earphones. The stimuli consisted of a prolonged vowel in a /hVd/ structure (where V represents different vowel sounds). Each stimulus was presented over 440 sweeps (220 condensation and 220 rarefaction). EEG data were collected from 12 normal-hearing adult participants. After preprocessing and artifact removal, eFFR detection was compared between the algorithms. For the simulation study, simulated EEG signals were generated by adding random noise at multiple signal to noise ratios (SNRs; 0 to -60dB) to the auditory stimuli as well as to a single sinusoid at the fluctuating and flattened fundamental frequency (f0). For each SNR, 1000 sets of 440 simulated epochs

Balanced detection for self-mixing interferometry to improve signal-to-noise ratio

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Zhao, Changming; Norgia, Michele; Li, Kun

2018-01-01

We apply balanced detection to self-mixing interferometry for displacement and vibration measurement, using two photodiodes for implementing a differential acquisition. The method is based on the phase opposition of the self-mixing signal measured between the two laser diode facet outputs. The balanced signal obtained by enlarging the self-mixing signal, also by canceling of the common-due noises mainly due to disturbances on laser supply and transimpedance amplifier. Experimental results demonstrate the signal-to-noise ratio significantly improves, with almost twice signals enhancement and more than half noise decreasing. This method allows for more robust, longer-distance measurement systems, especially using fringe-counting.

Dual-focus Magnification, High-Definition Endoscopy Improves Pathology Detection in Direct-to-Test Diagnostic Upper Gastrointestinal Endoscopy.

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Bond, Ashley; Burkitt, Michael D; Cox, Trevor; Smart, Howard L; Probert, Chris; Haslam, Neil; Sarkar, Sanchoy

2017-03-01

In the UK, the majority of diagnostic upper gastrointestinal (UGI) endoscopies are a result of direct-to-test referral from the primary care physician. The diagnostic yield of these tests is relatively low, and the burden high on endoscopy services. Dual-focus magnification, high-definition endoscopy is expected to improve detection and classification of UGI mucosal lesions and also help minimize biopsies by allowing better targeting. This is a retrospective study of patients attending for direct-to-test UGI endoscopy from January 2015 to June 2015. The primary outcome of interest was the identification of significant pathology. Detection of significant pathology was modelled using logistic regression. 500 procedures were included. The mean age of patients was 61.5 (±15.6) years; 60.8% of patients were female. Ninety-four gastroscopies were performed using dual-focus magnification high-definition endoscopy. Increasing age, male gender, type of endoscope, and type of operator were all identified as significant factors influencing the odds of detecting significant mucosal pathology. Use of dual-focus magnification, high-definition endoscopy was associated with an odds ratio of 1.87 (95%CI 1.11-3.12) favouring the detection of significant pathology. Subsequent analysis suggested that the increased detection of pathology during dual-focus magnification, high-definition endoscopy also influenced patient follow-up and led to a 3.0 fold (p=0.04) increase in the proportion of patients entered into an UGI endoscopic surveillance program. Dual-focus magnification, high-definition endoscopy improved the diagnostic yield for significant mucosal pathology in patients referred for direct-to-test endoscopy. If this finding is recapitulated elsewhere it will have substantial impact on the provision of UGI endoscopic services.

Camera trap arrays improve detection probability of wildlife: Investigating study design considerations using an empirical dataset.

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O'Connor, Kelly M; Nathan, Lucas R; Liberati, Marjorie R; Tingley, Morgan W; Vokoun, Jason C; Rittenhouse, Tracy A G

2017-01-01

Camera trapping is a standard tool in ecological research and wildlife conservation. Study designs, particularly for small-bodied or cryptic wildlife species often attempt to boost low detection probabilities by using non-random camera placement or baited cameras, which may bias data, or incorrectly estimate detection and occupancy. We investigated the ability of non-baited, multi-camera arrays to increase detection probabilities of wildlife. Study design components were evaluated for their influence on wildlife detectability by iteratively parsing an empirical dataset (1) by different sizes of camera arrays deployed (1-10 cameras), and (2) by total season length (1-365 days). Four species from our dataset that represented a range of body sizes and differing degrees of presumed detectability based on life history traits were investigated: white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), bobcat (Lynx rufus), raccoon (Procyon lotor), and Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana). For all species, increasing from a single camera to a multi-camera array significantly improved detection probability across the range of season lengths and number of study sites evaluated. The use of a two camera array increased survey detection an average of 80% (range 40-128%) from the detection probability of a single camera across the four species. Species that were detected infrequently benefited most from a multiple-camera array, where the addition of up to eight cameras produced significant increases in detectability. However, for species detected at high frequencies, single cameras produced a season-long (i.e, the length of time over which cameras are deployed and actively monitored) detectability greater than 0.75. These results highlight the need for researchers to be critical about camera trap study designs based on their intended target species, as detectability for each focal species responded differently to array size and season length. We suggest that researchers a priori identify

Camera trap arrays improve detection probability of wildlife: Investigating study design considerations using an empirical dataset.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kelly M O'Connor

Full Text Available Camera trapping is a standard tool in ecological research and wildlife conservation. Study designs, particularly for small-bodied or cryptic wildlife species often attempt to boost low detection probabilities by using non-random camera placement or baited cameras, which may bias data, or incorrectly estimate detection and occupancy. We investigated the ability of non-baited, multi-camera arrays to increase detection probabilities of wildlife. Study design components were evaluated for their influence on wildlife detectability by iteratively parsing an empirical dataset (1 by different sizes of camera arrays deployed (1-10 cameras, and (2 by total season length (1-365 days. Four species from our dataset that represented a range of body sizes and differing degrees of presumed detectability based on life history traits were investigated: white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus, bobcat (Lynx rufus, raccoon (Procyon lotor, and Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana. For all species, increasing from a single camera to a multi-camera array significantly improved detection probability across the range of season lengths and number of study sites evaluated. The use of a two camera array increased survey detection an average of 80% (range 40-128% from the detection probability of a single camera across the four species. Species that were detected infrequently benefited most from a multiple-camera array, where the addition of up to eight cameras produced significant increases in detectability. However, for species detected at high frequencies, single cameras produced a season-long (i.e, the length of time over which cameras are deployed and actively monitored detectability greater than 0.75. These results highlight the need for researchers to be critical about camera trap study designs based on their intended target species, as detectability for each focal species responded differently to array size and season length. We suggest that researchers a priori

Improved detection of breast cancer on FDG-PET cancer screening using breast positioning device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kaida, Hayato; Ishibashi, Masatoshi; Fujii, Teruhiko; Kurata, Seiji; Ogo, Etsuyo; Hayabuchi, Naofumi; Tanaka, Maki

2008-01-01

The aim of this study was to investigate the detection rate of breast cancer by positron emission tomography cancer screening using a breast positioning device. Between January 2004 and January 2006, 1,498 healthy asymptomatic individuals underwent cancer screening by fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) at our institution; 660 of 1498 asymptomatic healthy women underwent breast PET imaging in the prone position using the breast positioning device to examine the mammary glands in addition to whole-body PET imaging. All subjects that showed abnormal 18 F-FDG uptake in the mammary glands were referred for further examination or surgery at our institution or a local hospital. Our data were compared with the histopathological findings or findings of other imaging modalities in our institution and replies from the doctors at another hospital. Of the 660 participants, 7 (1.06%) were found to have breast cancers at a curable stage. All the seven cancers were detected by breast PET imaging, but only five of these were detected by whole-body PET imaging; the other two were detected by breast PET imaging using the breast positioning device. In cancer screening, prone breast imaging using a positioning device may help to improve the detection rate of breast cancer. However, overall cancer including mammography and ultrasonography screening should be performed to investigate the false-negative cases and reduce false-positive cases. The effectiveness of prone breast PET imaging in cancer screening should be investigated using a much larger number of cases in the near future. (author)

Selectivity improvement of positive photoionization ion mobility spectrometry for rapid detection of organophosphorus pesticides by switching dopant concentration.

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Zhou, Qinghua; Li, Jia; Wang, Bin; Wang, Shuang; Li, Haiyang; Chen, Jinyuan

2018-01-01

Ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) opened a potential avenue for the rapid detection of organophosphorus pesticides (OPPs), though an improved selectivity of stand-alone IMS was still in high demand. In this study, a stand-alone positive photoionization ion mobility spectrometry (PP-IMS) apparatus was constructed for the rapid detection of OPPs with acetone as dopant. The photoionization of acetone molecules was induced by the ultraviolet irradiation to produce the reactant ions (Ac) 2 H + , which were employed to ionize the OPPs including fenthion, imidan, phosphamidon, dursban, dimethoate and isocarbophos via the proton transfer reaction. Due to the difference in proton affinity, the tested OPPs exhibited the different dopant-dependent manners. Based on this observation, the switching of dopant concentration was implemented to improve the selectivity of PP-IMS for OPPs detection. For instance, a mixture of fenthion, dursban and dimethoate was tested. By switching the concentration of doped acetone from 0.07 to 2.33 to 19.94mgL -1 , the ion peaks of fenthion and dursban were inhibited in succession, achieving the selective detection of dimethoate at last. In addition, another mixture of imidan and phosphamidon was initially detected by PP-IMS with a dose of 0.07mgL -1 acetone, indicating that their ion peaks were severely overlapped; when the concentration of doped acetone was switched to 19.94mgL -1 , the inhibition of imidan signals promised the accurate identification of phosphamidon in mixture. Finally, the PP-IMS in combination of switching dopant concentration was applied to detect the mixed fenthion, dursban and dimethoate in Chinese cabbage, demonstrating the applicability of proposed method to real samples. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Vaginal fold prolapse during the last third of pregnancy, followed by normal parturition, in a bitch.

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Gouletsou, Pagona G; Galatos, Apostolos D; Apostolidis, Kosmas; Sideri, Aikaterini I

2009-06-01

This article describes a 1.5-year-old female, Greek Hound dog, weighing 16 kg, presented with a type III vaginal prolapse which occurred during the last third of pregnancy. Trans-abdominal ultrasonography revealed four live foetuses in the uterine horns. The animal was hospitalized and 4 days later gave birth without any interference. Three days later, resection of the prolapsed tissue was performed and the bitch recovered completely. Recurrence of a type I vaginal prolapse was observed 4 months later, during subsequent oestrus. This case is unusual because, although vaginal fold prolapse is mainly seen during proestrus/oestrus or during parturition, it was first noticed 47 days after mating and 13 days before parturition. Furthermore, even though the prolapse of vaginal fold was of type III and of considerable size, parturition proceeded normally. Finally, even though resection of the prolapsed tissue was performed 3 days after parturition, recurrence of vaginal fold oedema (type I) was observed in the subsequent oestrus.

New pediatric vision screener employing polarization-modulated, retinal-birefringence-scanning-based strabismus detection and bull's eye focus detection with an improved target system: opto-mechanical design and operation

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Irsch, Kristina; Gramatikov, Boris I.; Wu, Yi-Kai; Guyton, David L.

2014-06-01

Amblyopia ("lazy eye") is a major public health problem, caused by misalignment of the eyes (strabismus) or defocus. If detected early in childhood, there is an excellent response to therapy, yet most children are detected too late to be treated effectively. Commercially available vision screening devices that test for amblyopia's primary causes can detect strabismus only indirectly and inaccurately via assessment of the positions of external light reflections from the cornea, but they cannot detect the anatomical feature of the eyes where fixation actually occurs (the fovea). Our laboratory has been developing technology to detect true foveal fixation, by exploiting the birefringence of the uniquely arranged Henle fibers delineating the fovea using retinal birefringence scanning (RBS), and we recently described a polarization-modulated approach to RBS that enables entirely direct and reliable detection of true foveal fixation, with greatly enhanced signal-to-noise ratio and essentially independent of corneal birefringence (a confounding variable with all polarization-sensitive ophthalmic technology). Here, we describe the design and operation of a new pediatric vision screener that employs polarization-modulated, RBS-based strabismus detection and bull's eye focus detection with an improved target system, and demonstrate the feasibility of this new approach.

New pediatric vision screener employing polarization-modulated, retinal-birefringence-scanning-based strabismus detection and bull's eye focus detection with an improved target system: opto-mechanical design and operation.

Science.gov (United States)

Irsch, Kristina; Gramatikov, Boris I; Wu, Yi-Kai; Guyton, David L

2014-06-01

Amblyopia ("lazy eye") is a major public health problem, caused by misalignment of the eyes (strabismus) or defocus. If detected early in childhood, there is an excellent response to therapy, yet most children are detected too late to be treated effectively. Commercially available vision screening devices that test for amblyopia's primary causes can detect strabismus only indirectly and inaccurately via assessment of the positions of external light reflections from the cornea, but they cannot detect the anatomical feature of the eyes where fixation actually occurs (the fovea). Our laboratory has been developing technology to detect true foveal fixation, by exploiting the birefringence of the uniquely arranged Henle fibers delineating the fovea using retinal birefringence scanning (RBS), and we recently described a polarization-modulated approach to RBS that enables entirely direct and reliable detection of true foveal fixation, with greatly enhanced signal-to-noise ratio and essentially independent of corneal birefringence (a confounding variable with all polarization-sensitive ophthalmic technology). Here, we describe the design and operation of a new pediatric vision screener that employs polarization-modulated, RBS-based strabismus detection and bull's eye focus detection with an improved target system, and demonstrate the feasibility of this new approach.

Improvement of a real-time RT-PCR assay for the detection of enterovirus RNA

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Bruynseels Peggy

2009-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract We describe an improvement of an earlier reported real-time RT-PCR assay for the detection of enterovirus RNA, based on the 5' exonuclease digestion of a dual-labeled fluorogenic probe by Taq DNA polymerase. A different extraction method, real-time RT-PCR instrument and primer set were evaluated. Our data show that the optimized assay yields a higher sensitivity and reproducibility and resulted in a significant reduced hands-on time per sample.

Improved Bi Film Wrapped Single Walled Carbon Nanotubes for Ultrasensitive Electrochemical Detection of Trace Cr(VI)

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Zhou, Shilin; Xue, Zi-Ling; Xu, Lina; Gu, Yingying; Miao, Yuqing

2014-01-01

We report here the successful fabrication of an improved Bi film wrapped single walled carbon nanotubes modified glassy carbon electrode (Bi/SWNTs/GCE) as a highly sensitive platform for ultratrace Cr(VI) detection through catalytic adsorptive cathodic stripping voltammetry (AdCSV). The introduction of negatively charged SWNTs extraordinarily decreased the size of Bi particles to nanoscale due to electrostatic interaction which made Bi(III) cations easily attracted onto the surface of SWNTs in good order, leading to higher quality of Bi film deposition. The obtained Bi/SWNTs composite was well characterized with electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), the static water contact angle and the voltammetric measurements. The results demonstrates the improvements in the quality of Bi film deposited on the surface of SWNTs such as faster speed of electron transfer, more uniform and smoother morphology, better hydrophilicity and higher stripping signal. Using diethylene triaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA) as complexing ligand, the fabricated electrode displays a well-defined and highly sensitive peak for the reduction of Cr(III)-DTPA complex at −1.06 V (vs. Ag/AgCl) with a linear concentration range of 0–25 nM and a fairly low detection limit of 0.036 nM. No interference was found in the presence of coexisting ions, and good recoveries were achieved for the analysis of a river sample. In comparison to previous approaches using Bi film modified GCE, the newly designed electrode exhibits better reproducibility and repeatability towards aqueous detection of trace Cr(VI) and appears to be very promising as the basis of a highly sensitive and selective voltammetric procedure for Cr(VI) detection at trace level in real samples. PMID:24771881

Delayed-Phase Cone-Beam CT Improves Detectability of Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma During Conventional Transarterial Chemoembolization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schernthaner, Ruediger Egbert; Lin, MingDe; Duran, Rafael; Chapiro, Julius; Wang, Zhijun; Geschwind, Jean-François

2015-01-01

PurposeTo evaluate the detectability of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) on dual-phase cone-beam CT (DPCBCT) during conventional transarterial chemoembolization (cTACE) compared to that of digital subtraction angiography (DSA) with respect to pre-procedure contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (CE-MRI) of the liver.MethodsThis retrospective study included 17 consecutive patients (10 male, mean age 64) with ICC who underwent pre-procedure CE-MRI of the liver, and DSA and DPCBCT (early-arterial phase (EAP) and delayed-arterial phase (DAP)) just before cTACE. The visibility of each ICC lesion was graded by two radiologists on a three-rank scale (complete, partial, and none) on DPCBCT and DSA images, and then compared to pre-procedure CE-MRI.ResultsOf 61 ICC lesions, only 45.9 % were depicted by DSA, whereas EAP- and DAP-CBCT yielded a significantly higher detectability rate of 73.8 % and 93.4 %, respectively (p < 0.01). Out of the 33 lesions missed on DSA, 18 (54.5 %) and 30 (90.9 %) were revealed on EAP- and DAP-CBCT images, respectively. DSA depicted only one lesion that was missed by DPCBCT due to streak artifacts caused by a prosthetic mitral valve. DAP-CBCT identified significantly more lesions than EAP-CBCT (p < 0.01). Conversely, EAP-CBCT did not detect lesions missed by DAP-CBCT. For complete lesion visibility, DAP-CBCT yielded significantly higher detectability (78.7 %) compared to EAP (31.1 %) and DSA (21.3 %) (p < 0.01).ConclusionDPCBCT, and especially the DAP-CBCT, significantly improved the detectability of ICC lesions during cTACE compared to DSA. We recommend the routine use of DAP-CBCT in patients with ICC for per-procedure detectability and treatment planning in the setting of TACE

Delayed-Phase Cone-Beam CT Improves Detectability of Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma During Conventional Transarterial Chemoembolization

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schernthaner, Ruediger Egbert [The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, Division of Vascular and Interventional Radiology (United States); Lin, MingDe [Philips Research North America, Ultrasound and Interventions (United States); Duran, Rafael; Chapiro, Julius; Wang, Zhijun; Geschwind, Jean-François, E-mail: jfg@jhmi.edu [The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, Division of Vascular and Interventional Radiology (United States)

2015-08-15

PurposeTo evaluate the detectability of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) on dual-phase cone-beam CT (DPCBCT) during conventional transarterial chemoembolization (cTACE) compared to that of digital subtraction angiography (DSA) with respect to pre-procedure contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (CE-MRI) of the liver.MethodsThis retrospective study included 17 consecutive patients (10 male, mean age 64) with ICC who underwent pre-procedure CE-MRI of the liver, and DSA and DPCBCT (early-arterial phase (EAP) and delayed-arterial phase (DAP)) just before cTACE. The visibility of each ICC lesion was graded by two radiologists on a three-rank scale (complete, partial, and none) on DPCBCT and DSA images, and then compared to pre-procedure CE-MRI.ResultsOf 61 ICC lesions, only 45.9 % were depicted by DSA, whereas EAP- and DAP-CBCT yielded a significantly higher detectability rate of 73.8 % and 93.4 %, respectively (p < 0.01). Out of the 33 lesions missed on DSA, 18 (54.5 %) and 30 (90.9 %) were revealed on EAP- and DAP-CBCT images, respectively. DSA depicted only one lesion that was missed by DPCBCT due to streak artifacts caused by a prosthetic mitral valve. DAP-CBCT identified significantly more lesions than EAP-CBCT (p < 0.01). Conversely, EAP-CBCT did not detect lesions missed by DAP-CBCT. For complete lesion visibility, DAP-CBCT yielded significantly higher detectability (78.7 %) compared to EAP (31.1 %) and DSA (21.3 %) (p < 0.01).ConclusionDPCBCT, and especially the DAP-CBCT, significantly improved the detectability of ICC lesions during cTACE compared to DSA. We recommend the routine use of DAP-CBCT in patients with ICC for per-procedure detectability and treatment planning in the setting of TACE.

Improvement in Detection of Wrong-Patient Errors When Radiologists Include Patient Photographs in Their Interpretation of Portable Chest Radiographs.

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Tridandapani, Srini; Olsen, Kevin; Bhatti, Pamela

2015-12-01

This study was conducted to determine whether facial photographs obtained simultaneously with radiographs improve radiologists' detection rate of wrong-patient errors, when they are explicitly asked to include the photographs in their evaluation. Radiograph-photograph combinations were obtained from 28 patients at the time of portable chest radiography imaging. From these, pairs of radiographs were generated. Each unique pair consisted of one new and one old (comparison) radiograph. Twelve pairs of mismatched radiographs (i.e., pairs containing radiographs of different patients) were also generated. In phase 1 of the study, 5 blinded radiologist observers were asked to interpret 20 pairs of radiographs without the photographs. In phase 2, each radiologist interpreted another 20 pairs of radiographs with the photographs. Radiologist observers were not instructed about the purpose of the photographs but were asked to include the photographs in their review. The detection rate of mismatched errors was recorded along with the interpretation time for each session for each observer. The two-tailed Fisher exact test was used to evaluate differences in mismatch detection rates between the two phases. A p value of error detection rates without (0/20 = 0%) and with (17/18 = 94.4%) photographs were different (p = 0.0001). The average interpretation times for the set of 20 radiographs were 26.45 (SD 8.69) and 20.55 (SD 3.40) min, for phase 1 and phase 2, respectively (two-tailed Student t test, p = 0.1911). When radiologists include simultaneously obtained photographs in their review of portable chest radiographs, there is a significant improvement in the detection of labeling errors. No statistically significant difference in interpretation time was observed. This may lead to improved patient safety without affecting radiologists' throughput.

Improved detection of calcium-binding proteins in polyacrylamide gels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anthony, F.A.; Babitch, J.A.

1984-01-01

The authors refined the method of Schibeci and Martonosi (1980) to enhance detection of calcium-binding proteins in polyacrylamide gels using 45 Ca 2+ . Their efforts have produced a method which is shorter, has 40-fold greater sensitivity over the previous method, and will detect 'EF hand'-containing calcium-binding proteins in polyacrylamide gels below the 0.5 μg level. In addition this method will detect at least one example from every described class of calcium-binding protein, including lectins and γ-carboxyglutamic acid containing calcium-binding proteins. The method should be useful for detecting calcium-binding proteins which may trigger neurotransmitter release. (Auth.)

A Novel Segment-Based Approach for Improving Classification Performance of Transport Mode Detection.

Science.gov (United States)

Guvensan, M Amac; Dusun, Burak; Can, Baris; Turkmen, H Irem

2017-12-30

Transportation planning and solutions have an enormous impact on city life. To minimize the transport duration, urban planners should understand and elaborate the mobility of a city. Thus, researchers look toward monitoring people's daily activities including transportation types and duration by taking advantage of individual's smartphones. This paper introduces a novel segment-based transport mode detection architecture in order to improve the results of traditional classification algorithms in the literature. The proposed post-processing algorithm, namely the Healing algorithm, aims to correct the misclassification results of machine learning-based solutions. Our real-life test results show that the Healing algorithm could achieve up to 40% improvement of the classification results. As a result, the implemented mobile application could predict eight classes including stationary, walking, car, bus, tram, train, metro and ferry with a success rate of 95% thanks to the proposed multi-tier architecture and Healing algorithm.

Improved Margins Detection of Regions Enriched with Gold Nanoparticles inside Biological Phantom

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Yossef Danan

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Utilizing the surface plasmon resonance (SPR effect of gold nanoparticles (GNPs enables their use as contrast agents in a variety of biomedical applications for diagnostics and treatment. These applications use both the very strong scattering and absorption properties of the GNPs due to their SPR effects. Most imaging methods use the light-scattering properties of the GNPs. However, the illumination source is in the same wavelength of the GNPs’ scattering wavelength, leading to background noise caused by light scattering from the tissue. In this paper we present a method to improve border detection of regions enriched with GNPs aiming for the real-time application of complete tumor resection by utilizing the absorption of specially targeted GNPs using photothermal imaging. Phantoms containing different concentrations of GNPs were irradiated with a continuous-wave laser and measured with a thermal imaging camera which detected the temperature field of the irradiated phantoms. By modulating the laser illumination, and use of a simple post processing, the border location was identified at an accuracy of better than 0.5 mm even when the surrounding area got heated. This work is a continuation of our previous research.

A Tumor-Targeted Nanodelivery System to Improve Early MRI Detection of Cancer

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Kathleen F. Pirollo

2006-01-01

Full Text Available The development of improvements in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI that would enhance sensitivity, leading to earlier detection of cancer and visualization of metastatic disease, is an area of intense exploration. We have devised a tumor-targeting, liposomal nanodelivery platform for use in gene medicine. This systemically administered nanocomplex has been shown to specifically and efficiently deliver both genes and oligonucleotides to primary and metastatic tumor cells, resulting in significant tumor growth inhibition and even tumor regression. Here we examine the effect on MRI of incorporating conventional MRI contrast agent Magnevist® into our anti-transferrin receptor single-chain antibody (TfRscFv liposomal complex. Both in vitro and in an in vivo orthotopic mouse model of pancreatic cancer, we show increased resolution and image intensity with the complexed Magnevist®. Using advanced microscopy techniques (scanning electron microscopy and scanning probe microscopy, we also established that the Magnevist® is in fact encapsulated by the liposome in the complex and that the complex still retains its nanodimensional size. These results demonstrate that this TfRscFv-liposome-Magnevist® nanocomplex has the potential to become a useful tool in early cancer detection.

Phylogenetically informed logic relationships improve detection of biological network organization

Science.gov (United States)

2011-01-01

Background A "phylogenetic profile" refers to the presence or absence of a gene across a set of organisms, and it has been proven valuable for understanding gene functional relationships and network organization. Despite this success, few studies have attempted to search beyond just pairwise relationships among genes. Here we search for logic relationships involving three genes, and explore its potential application in gene network analyses. Results Taking advantage of a phylogenetic matrix constructed from the large orthologs database Roundup, we invented a method to create balanced profiles for individual triplets of genes that guarantee equal weight on the different phylogenetic scenarios of coevolution between genes. When we applied this idea to LAPP, the method to search for logic triplets of genes, the balanced profiles resulted in significant performance improvement and the discovery of hundreds of thousands more putative triplets than unadjusted profiles. We found that logic triplets detected biological network organization and identified key proteins and their functions, ranging from neighbouring proteins in local pathways, to well separated proteins in the whole pathway, and to the interactions among different pathways at the system level. Finally, our case study suggested that the directionality in a logic relationship and the profile of a triplet could disclose the connectivity between the triplet and surrounding networks. Conclusion Balanced profiles are superior to the raw profiles employed by traditional methods of phylogenetic profiling in searching for high order gene sets. Gene triplets can provide valuable information in detection of biological network organization and identification of key genes at different levels of cellular interaction. PMID:22172058

Sensor integration of multiple tripolar concentric ring electrodes improves pentylenetetrazole-induced seizure onset detection in rats.

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Makeyev, Oleksandr; Ding, Quan; Kay, Steven M; Besio, Walter G

2012-01-01

As epilepsy affects approximately one percent of the world population, electrical stimulation of the brain has recently shown potential for additive seizure control therapy. Previously, we applied noninvasive transcranial focal stimulation via tripolar concentric ring electrodes on the scalp of rats after inducing seizures with pentylenetetrazole. We developed a system to detect seizures and automatically trigger the stimulation and evaluated the system on the electrographic activity from rats. In this preliminary study we propose and validate a novel seizure onset detection algorithm based on exponentially embedded family. Unlike the previously proposed approach it integrates the data from multiple electrodes allowing an improvement of the detector performance.

A simple optimization can improve the performance of single feature polymorphism detection by Affymetrix expression arrays

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Fujisawa Hironori

2010-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background High-density oligonucleotide arrays are effective tools for genotyping numerous loci simultaneously. In small genome species (genome size: Results We compared the single feature polymorphism (SFP detection performance of whole-genome and transcript hybridizations using the Affymetrix GeneChip® Rice Genome Array, using the rice cultivars with full genome sequence, japonica cultivar Nipponbare and indica cultivar 93-11. Both genomes were surveyed for all probe target sequences. Only completely matched 25-mer single copy probes of the Nipponbare genome were extracted, and SFPs between them and 93-11 sequences were predicted. We investigated optimum conditions for SFP detection in both whole genome and transcript hybridization using differences between perfect match and mismatch probe intensities of non-polymorphic targets, assuming that these differences are representative of those between mismatch and perfect targets. Several statistical methods of SFP detection by whole-genome hybridization were compared under the optimized conditions. Causes of false positives and negatives in SFP detection in both types of hybridization were investigated. Conclusions The optimizations allowed a more than 20% increase in true SFP detection in whole-genome hybridization and a large improvement of SFP detection performance in transcript hybridization. Significance analysis of the microarray for log-transformed raw intensities of PM probes gave the best performance in whole genome hybridization, and 22,936 true SFPs were detected with 23.58% false positives by whole genome hybridization. For transcript hybridization, stable SFP detection was achieved for highly expressed genes, and about 3,500 SFPs were detected at a high sensitivity (> 50% in both shoot and young panicle transcripts. High SFP detection performances of both genome and transcript hybridizations indicated that microarrays of a complex genome (e.g., of Oryza sativa can be

Persistent efficacy of a long acting injectable formulation of moxidectin against natural infestations of the sheep nasal bot (Oestrus ovis) in Spain.

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Rugg, Douglas; Ferrer, Luis Miguel; Sarasola, Patxi; Figueras, Luis; Lacasta, Delia; Liu, Bo; Bartram, David

2012-09-10

Cydectin(®) 2% LA Solution for Injection for Sheep (Pfizer Animal Health) is a long-acting (LA) formulation of moxidectin for the treatment and prevention of mixed infections of gastro-intestinal nematodes, respiratory nematodes and certain arthropod parasites in sheep. To evaluate the duration of persistent efficacy against nasal bots (Oestrus ovis), a natural exposure study was conducted in Spain during the summer of 2011. One hundred and twenty nasal bot-free, Rasa Aragonesa sheep were randomly allocated to eight groups of 15 animals each. On Day 0, four groups were treated at the recommended dose rate of 1 mg moxidectin/kg bodyweight. Four groups remained untreated as negative controls. All animals were held in nasal bot-proof housing except for exposure to natural challenge when one group of treated sheep and one of group of control animals were transferred to a local pasture at either 0-20, 20-40, 40-60, or 60-80 days after treatment. Following challenge, sheep were scored for clinical signs of bot infestation, necropsied and the heads sectioned for larval recovery. Nasal bot larvae were retrieved from 7 to 11 control sheep following each exposure period indicating that adult bots were active throughout the study. In the first challenge up to 20 days after treatment, when sheep were slaughtered immediately after exposure, the majority of larvae were first instar (L1) and only 3 of the 15 control sheep were infested with second instars (L2). There was 100% efficacy against L2 and 38.1% reduction in the number of live L1 in the treated sheep but mean counts were not significantly different between treatment and control groups (P ≥ 0.05). For the subsequent exposure periods 20-80 days after treatment (necropsies 7-9 days after challenge), 6-10 sheep were infested with L1 and 9-11 control sheep were infested with L2 and third instars (L3). There was negligible efficacy against L1, but treatment with moxidectin resulted in 100% control of L2 and L3. These

Geostationary Sensor Based Forest Fire Detection and Monitoring: An Improved Version of the SFIDE Algorithm

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Valeria Di Biase

2018-05-01

Full Text Available The paper aims to present the results obtained in the development of a system allowing for the detection and monitoring of forest fires and the continuous comparison of their intensity when several events occur simultaneously—a common occurrence in European Mediterranean countries during the summer season. The system, called SFIDE (Satellite FIre DEtection, exploits a geostationary satellite sensor (SEVIRI, Spinning Enhanced Visible and InfraRed Imager, on board of MSG, Meteosat Second Generation, satellite series. The algorithm was developed several years ago in the framework of a project (SIGRI funded by the Italian Space Agency (ASI. This algorithm has been completely reviewed in order to enhance its efficiency by reducing false alarms rate preserving a high sensitivity. Due to the very low spatial resolution of SEVIRI images (4 × 4 km2 at Mediterranean latitude the sensitivity of the algorithm should be very high to detect even small fires. The improvement of the algorithm has been obtained by: introducing the sun elevation angle in the computation of the preliminary thresholds to identify potential thermal anomalies (hot spots, introducing a contextual analysis in the detection of clouds and in the detection of night-time fires. The results of the algorithm have been validated in the Sardinia region by using ground true data provided by the regional Corpo Forestale e di Vigilanza Ambientale (CFVA. A significant reduction of the commission error (less than 10% has been obtained with respect to the previous version of the algorithm and also with respect to fire-detection algorithms based on low earth orbit satellites.

Feasibility of shutter-speed DCE-MRI for improved prostate cancer detection.

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Li, Xin; Priest, Ryan A; Woodward, William J; Tagge, Ian J; Siddiqui, Faisal; Huang, Wei; Rooney, William D; Beer, Tomasz M; Garzotto, Mark G; Springer, Charles S

2013-01-01

The feasibility of shutter-speed model dynamic-contrast-enhanced MRI pharmacokinetic analyses for prostate cancer detection was investigated in a prebiopsy patient cohort. Differences of results from the fast-exchange-regime-allowed (FXR-a) shutter-speed model version and the fast-exchange-limit-constrained (FXL-c) standard model are demonstrated. Although the spatial information is more limited, postdynamic-contrast-enhanced MRI biopsy specimens were also examined. The MRI results were correlated with the biopsy pathology findings. Of all the model parameters, region-of-interest-averaged K(trans) difference [ΔK(trans) ≡ K(trans)(FXR-a) - K(trans)(FXL-c)] or two-dimensional K(trans)(FXR-a) vs. k(ep)(FXR-a) values were found to provide the most useful biomarkers for malignant/benign prostate tissue discrimination (at 100% sensitivity for a population of 13, the specificity is 88%) and disease burden determination. (The best specificity for the fast-exchange-limit-constrained analysis is 63%, with the two-dimensional plot.) K(trans) and k(ep) are each measures of passive transcapillary contrast reagent transfer rate constants. Parameter value increases with shutter-speed model (relative to standard model) analysis are larger in malignant foci than in normal-appearing glandular tissue. Pathology analyses verify the shutter-speed model (FXR-a) promise for prostate cancer detection. Parametric mapping may further improve pharmacokinetic biomarker performance. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Using trend templates in a neonatal seizure algorithm improves detection of short seizures in a foetal ovine model.

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Zwanenburg, Alex; Andriessen, Peter; Jellema, Reint K; Niemarkt, Hendrik J; Wolfs, Tim G A M; Kramer, Boris W; Delhaas, Tammo

2015-03-01

Seizures below one minute in duration are difficult to assess correctly using seizure detection algorithms. We aimed to improve neonatal detection algorithm performance for short seizures through the use of trend templates for seizure onset and end. Bipolar EEG were recorded within a transiently asphyxiated ovine model at 0.7 gestational age, a common experimental model for studying brain development in humans of 30-34 weeks of gestation. Transient asphyxia led to electrographic seizures within 6-8 h. A total of 3159 seizures, 2386 shorter than one minute, were annotated in 1976 h-long EEG recordings from 17 foetal lambs. To capture EEG characteristics, five features, sensitive to seizures, were calculated and used to derive trend information. Feature values and trend information were used as input for support vector machine classification and subsequently post-processed. Performance metrics, calculated after post-processing, were compared between analyses with and without employing trend information. Detector performance was assessed after five-fold cross-validation conducted ten times with random splits. The use of trend templates for seizure onset and end in a neonatal seizure detection algorithm significantly improves the correct detection of short seizures using two-channel EEG recordings from 54.3% (52.6-56.1) to 59.5% (58.5-59.9) at FDR 2.0 (median (range); p seizures by EEG monitoring at the NICU.

Improving Fraudster Detection in Online Auctions by Using Neighbor-Driven Attributes

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Jun-Lin Lin

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Online auction websites use a simple reputation system to help their users to evaluate the trustworthiness of sellers and buyers. However, to improve their reputation in the reputation system, fraudulent users can easily deceive the reputation system by creating fake transactions. This inflated-reputation fraud poses a major problem for online auction websites because it can lead legitimate users into scams. Numerous approaches have been proposed in the literature to address this problem, most of which involve using social network analysis (SNA to derive critical features (e.g., k-core, center weight, and neighbor diversity for distinguishing fraudsters from legitimate users. This paper discusses the limitations of these SNA features and proposes a class of SNA features referred to as neighbor-driven attributes (NDAs. The NDAs of users are calculated from the features of their neighbors. Because fraudsters require collusive neighbors to provide them with positive ratings in the reputation system, using NDAs can be helpful for detecting fraudsters. Although the idea of NDAs is not entirely new, experimental results on a real-world dataset showed that using NDAs improves classification accuracy compared with state-of-the-art methods that use the k-core, center weight, and neighbor diversity.

An improved algorithm for automatic detection of saccades in eye movement data and for calculating saccade parameters.

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Behrens, F; Mackeben, M; Schröder-Preikschat, W

2010-08-01

This analysis of time series of eye movements is a saccade-detection algorithm that is based on an earlier algorithm. It achieves substantial improvements by using an adaptive-threshold model instead of fixed thresholds and using the eye-movement acceleration signal. This has four advantages: (1) Adaptive thresholds are calculated automatically from the preceding acceleration data for detecting the beginning of a saccade, and thresholds are modified during the saccade. (2) The monotonicity of the position signal during the saccade, together with the acceleration with respect to the thresholds, is used to reliably determine the end of the saccade. (3) This allows differentiation between saccades following the main-sequence and non-main-sequence saccades. (4) Artifacts of various kinds can be detected and eliminated. The algorithm is demonstrated by applying it to human eye movement data (obtained by EOG) recorded during driving a car. A second demonstration of the algorithm detects microsleep episodes in eye movement data.

Improved security detection strategy in quantum secure direct communication protocol based on four-particle Green-Horne-Zeilinger state

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Li, Jian; Nie, Jin-Rui; Li, Rui-Fan [Beijing Univ. of Posts and Telecommunications, Beijing (China). School of Computer; Jing, Bo [Beijing Univ. of Posts and Telecommunications, Beijing (China). School of Computer; Beijing Institute of Applied Meteorology, Beijing (China). Dept. of Computer Science

2012-06-15

To enhance the efficiency of eavesdropping detection in the quantum secure direct communication protocol, an improved quantum secure direct communication protocol based on a four-particle Green-Horne-Zeilinger (GHZ) state is presented. In the protocol, the four-particle GHZ state is used to detect eavesdroppers, and quantum dense coding is used to encode the message. In the security analysis, the method of entropy theory is introduced, and two detection strategies are compared quantitatively by using the constraint between the information that the eavesdroppers can obtain and the interference that has been introduced. If the eavesdropper wants to obtain all the information, the detection rate of the quantum secure direct communication using an Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) pair block will be 50% and the detection rate of the presented protocol will be 87%. At last, the security of the proposed protocol is discussed. The analysis results indicate that the protocol proposed is more secure than the others. (orig.)

Accelerometer and Camera-Based Strategy for Improved Human Fall Detection

KAUST Repository

Zerrouki, Nabil; Harrou, Fouzi; Sun, Ying; Houacine, Amrane

2016-01-01

In this paper, we address the problem of detecting human falls using anomaly detection. Detection and classification of falls are based on accelerometric data and variations in human silhouette shape. First, we use the exponentially weighted moving average (EWMA) monitoring scheme to detect a potential fall in the accelerometric data. We used an EWMA to identify features that correspond with a particular type of fall allowing us to classify falls. Only features corresponding with detected falls were used in the classification phase. A benefit of using a subset of the original data to design classification models minimizes training time and simplifies models. Based on features corresponding to detected falls, we used the support vector machine (SVM) algorithm to distinguish between true falls and fall-like events. We apply this strategy to the publicly available fall detection databases from the university of Rzeszow’s. Results indicated that our strategy accurately detected and classified fall events, suggesting its potential application to early alert mechanisms in the event of fall situations and its capability for classification of detected falls. Comparison of the classification results using the EWMA-based SVM classifier method with those achieved using three commonly used machine learning classifiers, neural network, K-nearest neighbor and naïve Bayes, proved our model superior.

Accelerometer and Camera-Based Strategy for Improved Human Fall Detection

KAUST Repository

Zerrouki, Nabil

2016-10-29

In this paper, we address the problem of detecting human falls using anomaly detection. Detection and classification of falls are based on accelerometric data and variations in human silhouette shape. First, we use the exponentially weighted moving average (EWMA) monitoring scheme to detect a potential fall in the accelerometric data. We used an EWMA to identify features that correspond with a particular type of fall allowing us to classify falls. Only features corresponding with detected falls were used in the classification phase. A benefit of using a subset of the original data to design classification models minimizes training time and simplifies models. Based on features corresponding to detected falls, we used the support vector machine (SVM) algorithm to distinguish between true falls and fall-like events. We apply this strategy to the publicly available fall detection databases from the university of Rzeszow’s. Results indicated that our strategy accurately detected and classified fall events, suggesting its potential application to early alert mechanisms in the event of fall situations and its capability for classification of detected falls. Comparison of the classification results using the EWMA-based SVM classifier method with those achieved using three commonly used machine learning classifiers, neural network, K-nearest neighbor and naïve Bayes, proved our model superior.

An improved UPLC method for the detection of undeclared horse meat addition by using myoglobin as molecular marker.

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Di Giuseppe, Antonella M A; Giarretta, Nicola; Lippert, Martina; Severino, Valeria; Di Maro, Antimo

2015-02-15

In 2013, following the scandal of the presence of undeclared horse meat in various processed beef products across the Europe, several researches have been undertaken for the safety of consumer health. In this framework, an improved UPLC separation method has been developed to detect the presence of horse myoglobin in raw meat samples. The separation of both horse and beef myoglobins was achieved in only seven minutes. The methodology was improved by preparing mixtures with different composition percentages of horse and beef meat. By using myoglobin as marker, low amounts (0.50mg/0.50g, w/w; ∼0.1%) of horse meat can be detected and quantified in minced raw meat samples with high reproducibility and sensitivity, thus offering a valid alternative to conventional PCR techniques. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Improvement of Breast Cancer Detection Using Non-subsampled Contourlet Transform and Super-Resolution Technique in Mammographic Images

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Fatemeh Pak

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Introduction Breast cancer is one of the most life-threatening conditions among women. Early detection of this disease is the only way to reduce the associated mortality rate. Mammography is a standard method for the early detection of breast cancer. Today, considering the importance of breast cancer detection, computer-aided detection techniques have been employed to increase the quality of mammographic images and help physicians reduce false positive rate (FPR. Materials and Methods In this study, a method was proposed for improving the quality of mammographic images to help radiologists establish a prompt and accurate diagnosis. The proposed approach included three major parts including pre-processing, feature extraction, and classification. In the pre-processing stage, the region of interest was determined and the image quality was improved by non-subsampled contourlet transform and super-resolution algorithm. In the feature extraction stage, some features of image components were extracted and skewness of each feature was calculated. Finally, a support vector machine was utilized to classify the features and determine the probability of benignity or malignancy of the disease. Results Based on the obtained results using Mammographic Image Analysis Society (MIAS database, the mean accuracy was estimated at 87.26% and maximum accuracy was 96.29%. Also, the mean and minimum FPRs were estimated at 9.55% and 2.87%, respectively.     Conclusion The results obtained using MIAS database indicated the superiority of the proposed method to other techniques. The reduced FPR in the proposed method was a significant finding in the present article.

Accurate Point-of-Care Detection of Ruptured Fetal Membranes: Improved Diagnostic Performance Characteristics with a Monoclonal/Polyclonal Immunoassay

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Linda C. Rogers

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Objective Accurate and timely diagnosis of rupture of membranes (ROM is imperative to allow for gestational age-specific interventions. This study compared the diagnostic performance characteristics between two methods used for the detection of ROM as measured in the same patient. Methods Vaginal secretions were evaluated using the conventional fern test as well as a point-of-care monoclonal/polyclonal immunoassay test (ROM Plus® in 75 pregnant patients who presented to labor and delivery with complaints of leaking amniotic fluid. Both tests were compared to analytical confirmation of ROM using three external laboratory tests. Diagnostic performance characteristics were calculated including sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV, negative predictive value (NPV, and accuracy. Results Diagnostic performance characteristics uniformly favored ROM detection using the immunoassay test compared to the fern test: sensitivity (100% vs. 77.8%, specificity (94.8% vs. 79.3%, PPV (75% vs. 36.8%, NPV (100% vs. 95.8%, and accuracy (95.5% vs. 79.1%. Conclusions The point-of-care immunoassay test provides improved diagnostic accuracy for the detection of ROM compared to fern testing. It has the potential of improving patient management decisions, thereby minimizing serious complications and perinatal morbidity.

Improved detection of electrical activity with a voltage probe based on a voltage-sensing phosphatase.

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Tsutsui, Hidekazu; Jinno, Yuka; Tomita, Akiko; Niino, Yusuke; Yamada, Yoshiyuki; Mikoshiba, Katsuhiko; Miyawaki, Atsushi; Okamura, Yasushi

2013-09-15

  One of the most awaited techniques in modern physiology is the sensitive detection of spatiotemporal electrical activity in a complex network of excitable cells. The use of genetically encoded voltage probes has been expected to enable such analysis. However, in spite of recent progress, existing probes still suffer from low signal amplitude and/or kinetics too slow to detect fast electrical activity. Here, we have developed an improved voltage probe named Mermaid2, which is based on the voltage-sensor domain of the voltage-sensing phosphatase from Ciona intestinalis and Förster energy transfer between a pair of fluorescent proteins. In mammalian cells, Mermaid2 permits ratiometric readouts of fractional changes of more than 50% over a physiologically relevant voltage range with fast kinetics, and it was used to follow a train of action potentials at frequencies of up to 150 Hz. Mermaid2 was also able to detect single action potentials and subthreshold voltage responses in hippocampal neurons in vitro, in addition to cortical electrical activity evoked by sound stimuli in single trials in living mice.

Effect of restricted suckling upon post-partum reproductive activity in sheep

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lopez Barbella, S.F.; Martinez Guillen, N.D.; Combellas, J.B. de; Rondon Morales, Z.

1990-01-01

The post-partum reproductive performance of adult West African ewes of proven fertility was studied to assess the beneficial effect of both 14 and 18 h restricted nursing or early weaning (35 days post-lambing) on the resumption of ovarian function and conception rate at first oestrus. Although the interval from lambing to first oestrus and/or conception in the 14 h nursing (55.13±11.03 days), 18 h nursing (65.00±15.65 days) and control (59.00±13.48 days) groups did not differ, the percentage of ewes that showed oestrus (90, 60 and 50% respectively) favoured the treatment with the shortest nursing time. When lambs were weaned early, the interval from lambing to oestrus (61.40±16.50 days) did not differ significantly from that for the 14 h nursing ewes (70.10±19.37 days) but tended to be lower than for the controls (94.25±62.38 days). Since differences in response were assumed to be dependent on body condition of the individual ewes at the time of lambing, and body weight changes of the dams after lambing were correlated with progesterone hormone, plasma proteins, glucose and free fatty acids, it was assumed that the beneficial effects of the treatments on the reproductive parameters were due to the partition of nutrients towards restoration of body reserves and subsequently to the secretion of progesterone. (author). 27 refs, 2 figs, 3 tabs

An improved EMD method for modal identification and a combined static-dynamic method for damage detection

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Yang, Jinping; Li, Peizhen; Yang, Youfa; Xu, Dian

2018-04-01

Empirical mode decomposition (EMD) is a highly adaptable signal processing method. However, the EMD approach has certain drawbacks, including distortions from end effects and mode mixing. In the present study, these two problems are addressed using an end extension method based on the support vector regression machine (SVRM) and a modal decomposition method based on the characteristics of the Hilbert transform. The algorithm includes two steps: using the SVRM, the time series data are extended at both endpoints to reduce the end effects, and then, a modified EMD method using the characteristics of the Hilbert transform is performed on the resulting signal to reduce mode mixing. A new combined static-dynamic method for identifying structural damage is presented. This method combines the static and dynamic information in an equilibrium equation that can be solved using the Moore-Penrose generalized matrix inverse. The combination method uses the differences in displacements of the structure with and without damage and variations in the modal force vector. Tests on a four-story, steel-frame structure were conducted to obtain static and dynamic responses of the structure. The modal parameters are identified using data from the dynamic tests and improved EMD method. The new method is shown to be more accurate and effective than the traditional EMD method. Through tests with a shear-type test frame, the higher performance of the proposed static-dynamic damage detection approach, which can detect both single and multiple damage locations and the degree of the damage, is demonstrated. For structures with multiple damage, the combined approach is more effective than either the static or dynamic method. The proposed EMD method and static-dynamic damage detection method offer improved modal identification and damage detection, respectively, in structures.

Factors influencing variation in physician adenoma detection rates: a theory-based approach for performance improvement.

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Atkins, Louise; Hunkeler, Enid M; Jensen, Christopher D; Michie, Susan; Lee, Jeffrey K; Doubeni, Chyke A; Zauber, Ann G; Levin, Theodore R; Quinn, Virginia P; Corley, Douglas A

2016-03-01

Interventions to improve physician adenoma detection rates for colonoscopy have generally not been successful, and there are little data on the factors contributing to variation that may be appropriate targets for intervention. We sought to identify factors that may influence variation in detection rates by using theory-based tools for understanding behavior. We separately studied gastroenterologists and endoscopy nurses at 3 Kaiser Permanente Northern California medical centers to identify potentially modifiable factors relevant to physician adenoma detection rate variability by using structured group interviews (focus groups) and theory-based tools for understanding behavior and eliciting behavior change: the Capability, Opportunity, and Motivation behavior model; the Theoretical Domains Framework; and the Behavior Change Wheel. Nine factors potentially associated with adenoma detection rate variability were identified, including 6 related to capability (uncertainty about which types of polyps to remove, style of endoscopy team leadership, compromised ability to focus during an examination due to distractions, examination technique during withdrawal, difficulty detecting certain types of adenomas, and examiner fatigue and pain), 2 related to opportunity (perceived pressure due to the number of examinations expected per shift and social pressure to finish examinations before scheduled breaks or the end of a shift), and 1 related to motivation (valuing a meticulous examination as the top priority). Examples of potential intervention strategies are provided. By using theory-based tools, this study identified several novel and potentially modifiable factors relating to capability, opportunity, and motivation that may contribute to adenoma detection rate variability and be appropriate targets for future intervention trials. Copyright © 2016 American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Echo-Planar Imaging-Based, J-Resolved Spectroscopic Imaging for Improved Metabolite Detection in Prostate Cancer

Science.gov (United States)

2016-12-01

post-process the multi-dimensional MRS data from different prostate pathologies . Scope: Improved cancer detection (specificity) in differentiating...MATERIALS AND METHODS Patients Between March 2012 and May 2013, twenty-two patients with PCa with a mean age of 63.8 years (range, 46–79 years), who...tumor voxels, which was confirmed by the pathology report. After reconstruction, the EP-JRESI data were overlaid onto MRI images. MRI and MRSI A body

Improved assessment of multiple sclerosis lesion segmentation agreement via detection and outline error estimates

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Wack David S

2012-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Presented is the method “Detection and Outline Error Estimates” (DOEE for assessing rater agreement in the delineation of multiple sclerosis (MS lesions. The DOEE method divides operator or rater assessment into two parts: 1 Detection Error (DE -- rater agreement in detecting the same regions to mark, and 2 Outline Error (OE -- agreement of the raters in outlining of the same lesion. Methods DE, OE and Similarity Index (SI values were calculated for two raters tested on a set of 17 fluid-attenuated inversion-recovery (FLAIR images of patients with MS. DE, OE, and SI values were tested for dependence with mean total area (MTA of the raters' Region of Interests (ROIs. Results When correlated with MTA, neither DE (ρ = .056, p=.83 nor the ratio of OE to MTA (ρ = .23, p=.37, referred to as Outline Error Rate (OER, exhibited significant correlation. In contrast, SI is found to be strongly correlated with MTA (ρ = .75, p  Conclusions The DE and OER indices are proposed as a better method than SI for comparing rater agreement of ROIs, which also provide specific information for raters to improve their agreement.

Three-dimensional black-blood contrast-enhanced MRI improves detection of intraluminal thrombi in patients with acute ischaemic stroke.

Science.gov (United States)

Jang, Won; Kwak, Hyo Sung; Chung, Gyung Ho; Hwang, Seung Bae

2018-03-19

This study evaluated the utility of three-dimensional (3D), black-blood (BB), contrast-enhanced, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for the detection of intraluminal thrombi in acute stroke patients. Forty-seven patients with acute stroke involving the anterior circulation underwent MRI examination within 6 h of clinical onset. Cerebral angiography was used as the reference standard. In a blinded manner, two neuroradiologists interpreted the following three data sets: (1) diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) + 3D BB contrast-enhanced MRI; (2) DWI + susceptibility weighted imaging (SWI); (3) DWI + 3D BB contrast-enhanced MRI + SWI. Of these patients, 47 had clots in the middle cerebral artery and four had clots in the anterior cerebral artery. For both observers, the area under the curve (Az) for data sets 1 and 3, which included 3D BB contrast-enhanced MRI, was significantly greater than it was for data set 2, which did not include 3D BB contrast-enhanced MR imaging (observer 1, 0.988 vs 0.904, p = 0.001; observer 2, 0.988 vs 0.894, p = 0.000). Three-dimensional BB contrast-enhanced MRI improves detection of intraluminal thrombi compared to conventional MRI methods in patients with acute ischaemic stroke. • BB contrast-enhanced MRI helps clinicians to assess the intraluminal clot • BB contrast-enhanced MRI improves detection of intraluminal thrombi • BB contrast-enhanced MRI for clot detection has a higher sensitivity.

BMVC test, an improved fluorescence assay for detection of malignant pleural effusions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lin, I-Ting; Tsai, Yu-Lin; Kang, Chi-Chih; Huang, Wei-Chun; Wang, Chiung-Lin; Lin, Mei-Ying; Lou, Pei-Jen; Shih, Jin-Yuan; Wang, Hao-Chien; Wu, Huey-Dong; Tsai, Tzu-Hsiu; Jan, I-Shiow; Chang, Ta-Chau

2014-01-01

The diagnosis of malignant pleural effusions is an important issue in the management of malignancy patients. Generally, cytologic examination is a routine diagnostic technique. However, morphological interpretation of cytology is sometimes inconclusive. Here an ancillary method named BMVC test is developed for rapid detection of malignant pleural effusion to improve the diagnostic accuracy at low cost. A simple assay kit is designed to collect living cells from clinical pleural effusion and a fluorescence probe, 3,6-Bis(1-methyl-4-vinylpyridinium) carbazole diiodide (BMVC), is used to illuminate malignant cells. The fluorescence intensity is quantitatively analyzed by ImageJ program. This method yields digital numbers for the test results without any grey zone or ambiguities in the current cytology tests due to intra-observer and inter-observer variability. Comparing with results from double-blind cytologic examination, this simple test gives a good discrimination between malignant and benign specimens with sensitivity of 89.4% (42/47) and specificity of 93.3% (56/60) for diagnosis of malignant pleural effusion. BMVC test provides accurate results in a short time period, and the digital output could assist cytologic examination to become more objective and clear-cut. This is a convenient ancillary tool for detection of malignant pleural effusions

Improved detection and mapping of deepwater hydrocarbon seeps: optimizing multibeam echosounder seafloor backscatter acquisition and processing techniques

Science.gov (United States)

Mitchell, Garrett A.; Orange, Daniel L.; Gharib, Jamshid J.; Kennedy, Paul

2018-02-01

Marine seep hunting surveys are a current focus of hydrocarbon exploration surveys due to recent advances in offshore geophysical surveying, geochemical sampling, and analytical technologies. Hydrocarbon seeps are ephemeral, small, discrete, and therefore difficult to sample on the deep seafloor. Multibeam echosounders are an efficient seafloor exploration tool to remotely locate and map seep features. Geophysical signatures from hydrocarbon seeps are acoustically-evident in bathymetric, seafloor backscatter, midwater backscatter datasets. Interpretation of these signatures in backscatter datasets is a fundamental component of commercial seep hunting campaigns. Degradation of backscatter datasets resulting from environmental, geometric, and system noise can interfere with the detection and delineation of seeps. We present a relative backscatter intensity normalization method and an oversampling acquisition technique that can improve the geological resolvability of hydrocarbon seeps. We use Green Canyon (GC) Block 600 in the Northern Gulf of Mexico as a seep calibration site for a Kongsberg EM302 30 kHz MBES prior to the start of the Gigante seep hunting program to analyze these techniques. At GC600, we evaluate the results of a backscatter intensity normalization, assess the effectiveness of 2X seafloor coverage in resolving seep-related features in backscatter data, and determine the off-nadir detection limits of bubble plumes using the EM302. Incorporating these techniques into seep hunting surveys can improve the detectability and sampling of seafloor seeps.

Improved detection and mapping of deepwater hydrocarbon seeps: optimizing multibeam echosounder seafloor backscatter acquisition and processing techniques

Science.gov (United States)

Mitchell, Garrett A.; Orange, Daniel L.; Gharib, Jamshid J.; Kennedy, Paul

2018-06-01

Marine seep hunting surveys are a current focus of hydrocarbon exploration surveys due to recent advances in offshore geophysical surveying, geochemical sampling, and analytical technologies. Hydrocarbon seeps are ephemeral, small, discrete, and therefore difficult to sample on the deep seafloor. Multibeam echosounders are an efficient seafloor exploration tool to remotely locate and map seep features. Geophysical signatures from hydrocarbon seeps are acoustically-evident in bathymetric, seafloor backscatter, midwater backscatter datasets. Interpretation of these signatures in backscatter datasets is a fundamental component of commercial seep hunting campaigns. Degradation of backscatter datasets resulting from environmental, geometric, and system noise can interfere with the detection and delineation of seeps. We present a relative backscatter intensity normalization method and an oversampling acquisition technique that can improve the geological resolvability of hydrocarbon seeps. We use Green Canyon (GC) Block 600 in the Northern Gulf of Mexico as a seep calibration site for a Kongsberg EM302 30 kHz MBES prior to the start of the Gigante seep hunting program to analyze these techniques. At GC600, we evaluate the results of a backscatter intensity normalization, assess the effectiveness of 2X seafloor coverage in resolving seep-related features in backscatter data, and determine the off-nadir detection limits of bubble plumes using the EM302. Incorporating these techniques into seep hunting surveys can improve the detectability and sampling of seafloor seeps.

Improving Abnormality Detection on Chest Radiography Using Game-Like Reinforcement Mechanics.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Po-Hao; Roth, Howard; Galperin-Aizenberg, Maya; Ruutiainen, Alexander T; Gefter, Warren; Cook, Tessa S

2017-11-01

Despite their increasing prevalence, online textbooks, question banks, and digital references focus primarily on explicit knowledge. Implicit skills such as abnormality detection require repeated practice on clinical service and have few digital substitutes. Using mechanics traditionally deployed in video games such as clearly defined goals, rapid-fire levels, and narrow time constraints may be an effective way to teach implicit skills. We created a freely available, online module to evaluate the ability of individuals to differentiate between normal and abnormal chest radiographs by implementing mechanics, including instantaneous feedback, rapid-fire cases, and 15-second timers. Volunteer subjects completed the modules and were separated based on formal experience with chest radiography. Performance between training and testing sets were measured for each group, and a survey was administered after each session. The module contained 74 cases and took approximately 20 minutes to complete. Thirty-two cases were normal radiographs and 56 cases were abnormal. Of the 60 volunteers recruited, 25 were "never trained" and 35 were "previously trained." "Never trained" users scored 21.9 out of 37 during training and 24.0 out of 37 during testing (59.1% vs 64.9%, P value online module may improve the abnormality detection rates of novice interpreters of chest radiography, although experienced interpreters are less likely to derive similar benefits. Users reviewed the educational module favorably. Copyright © 2017 The Association of University Radiologists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Application of core–shell-structured CdTe-SiO2 quantum dots synthesized via a facile solution method for improving latent fingerprint detection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gao Feng; Han Jiaxing; Lv Caifeng; Wang Qin; Zhang Jun; Li Qun; Bao Liru; Li Xin

2012-01-01

Fingerprint detection is important in criminal investigation. This paper reports a facile powder brushing technique for improving latent fingerprint detection using core–shell-structured CdTe-SiO 2 quantum dots (QDs) as fluorescent labeling marks. Core–shell-structured CdTe-SiO 2 QDs are prepared via a simple solution-based approach using NH 2 NH 2 ·H 2 O as pH adjustor and stabilizer, and their application for improving latent fingerprint detection is explored. The obtained CdTe-SiO 2 QDs show spherical shapes with well-defined core–shell structures encapsulating different amounts of QDs depending on the type of the pH adjustor and stabilizer. Moreover, the fluorescence of CdTe-SiO 2 QDs is largely enhanced by surface modification of the SiO 2 shell. The CdTe-SiO 2 QDs overcome the oxidation problem of pure CdTe QDs in air, thus affording better variability with strong adhesive ability, better resolution, and bright emission colors for practical application in latent fingerprint detection. In comparison with the conventional fluorescence powders, silver powders, and others, the effectiveness of CdTe-SiO 2 QD powders for detection of latent fingerprints present on a large variety of object surfaces is greatly improved. The synthesis method for CdTe-SiO 2 QDs is simple, cheap, and easy for large-scale production, and thus offers many advantages in the practical application of fingerprint detection.

Advanced Whale Detection Methods to Improve Whale-Ship Collision Avoidance

Science.gov (United States)

McGillivary, P. A.; Tougher, B.

2010-12-01

hydrophone arrays. We here discuss the possibility of using Ambient Noise Imaging (ANI) systems initially developed for location of non-calling sperm whales along high speed ferry routes in the Canary Islands. A ‘hybrid’ ANI system has also been developed which uses sound from calling whales to ‘illuminate’ non-calling whales. Such systems designed for sperm whales would require modification for Blue and fin whales along California shipping lanes, and Bowhead whales in Alaska. We discuss how ANI whale detection systems could be developed for California and Alaska by combining bottom moorings with autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) and autonomous surface vehicles (ASVs) as part of ocean observing systems. The mechanisms, challenges, and potential solutions for use of ANI whale detection systems along critical shipping lanes along the California and Alaska coast to reduce whale-ship collisions are discussed as a means that permit science to assist in development of integrated state and federal ocean management policies. The combination of new scientific technology with ocean policy decisions can improve coastal ocean management, improve the safety and reduce the cost of shipping, while at the same time protecting endangered whale species.

Low tube voltage CT for improved detection of pancreatic cancer: detection threshold for small, simulated lesions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Holm, Jon; Loizou, Louiza; Albiin, Nils; Kartalis, Nikolaos; Leidner, Bertil; Sundin, Anders

2012-01-01

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma is associated with dismal prognosis. The detection of small pancreatic tumors which are still resectable is still a challenging problem. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of decreasing the tube voltage from 120 to 80 kV on the detection of pancreatic tumors. Three scanning protocols was used; one using the standard tube voltage (120 kV) and current (160 mA) and two using 80 kV but with different tube currents (500 and 675 mA) to achieve equivalent dose (15 mGy) and noise (15 HU) as that of the standard protocol. Tumors were simulated into collected CT phantom images. The attenuation in normal parenchyma at 120 kV was set at 130 HU, as measured previously in clinical examinations, and the tumor attenuation was assumed to differ 20 HU and was set at 110HU. By scanning and measuring of iodine solution with different concentrations the corresponding tumor and parenchyma attenuation at 80 kV was found to be 185 and 219 HU, respectively. To objectively evaluate the differences between the three protocols, a multi-reader multi-case receiver operating characteristic study was conducted, using three readers and 100 cases, each containing 0–3 lesions. The highest reader averaged figure-of-merit (FOM) was achieved for 80 kV and 675 mA (FOM = 0,850), and the lowest for 120 kV (FOM = 0,709). There was a significant difference between the three protocols (p < 0,0001), when making an analysis of variance (ANOVA). Post-hoc analysis (students t-test) shows that there was a significant difference between 120 and 80 kV, but not between the two levels of tube currents at 80 kV. We conclude that when decreasing the tube voltage there is a significant improvement in tumor conspicuity

Improved axial position detection in optical tweezers measurements

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dreyer, Jakob Kisbye; Berg-Sørensen, Kirstine; Oddershede, Lene

2004-01-01

We investigate the axial position detection of a trapped microsphere in an optical trap by using a quadrant photodiode. By replacing the photodiode with a CCD camera, we obtain detailed information on the light scattered by the microsphere. The correlation of the interference pattern with the axial...... position displays complex behavior with regions of positive and negative interference. By analyzing the scattered light intensity as a function of the axial position of the trapped sphere, we propose a simple method to increase the sensitivity and control the linear range of axial position detection....

Application of progesterone and testosterone in the diagnose and control of reproduction in crossbreds animal husbandry; Aplicacion de progesterona y testosterona en el diagnostico y control de la reproduccion en ganaderias mestizas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Madrid-Bury, Ninoska [Fondo Nacional de Investigaciones Agropecuarias (FONAIAP), Centro de Investigaciones Agropecuarias del Estado Zulia, Maracaibo (Venezuela)

1997-07-01

The progesterone (P{sub 4}) dosage resource, by means of radioinmunologic techniques (RIA), allows to relate the variations of its concentration in peripheral blood or milk, in different ovarian function moments, identifying and controlling reproductive problems. In mixed breeds livestock rearing the P4 has been good to identify: 1) dynamics of normal oestrus cycles, frequency of anovulatory oestrus, silent and short cycles; 2) reproductive state of cows in herd (94% of success in gestation identification, anoestrus or cyclicity); 3) Mating moment, highlighting an error of 19-23% in the oestrus observations and its reduction up to 6-11% applying management measures; 13,7% of repeating cows were inseminated with high P4; 4) State of nopregnacy (95% of accuracy); 5) Beginning of puberty (628 d and 309 k), the anovulatory no puberal oestrus (8,2%) and the short cycles (16,5%), and its relationship with the Reproductive Tract Qualification (RTQ), Corporal Condition (CC) and with the nutritional improvement; 6) Cyclicity Restart post delivery, highlighting the dissociation oestrus-ovulation when characterizing the luteal activity at the beginning of post delivery (63% of short FL); 7) Different profiles of repeating cows cycle (10 categories); 8) Frequency of embryonic mortality with variations of 6,6-11 and 8-23%; 9) Diagnose of ovarian problems, especially the presence of cysts; 10) higher fertility (62%) observed with levels of 3 or more than 3 ng/ml of P4, 4-5 d before the mating; and 11) Its integration in the strategy for the management of Reproductive Control Programs and monitoring of synchronization of oestrus treatments. In mixed breeds young bulls, the seric levels of testosterone (1,6-1,9 ng/ml) point out puberty. [Spanish] El recurso del dosaje de la progesterona (P{sub 4}) mediante tecnicas radioinmunologicas (RIA) permite relacionar las variaciones de su concentracion en sangre periferica o leche con distintos momentos de la funcion ovarica y con la

Iterative image reconstruction algorithms in coronary CT angiography improve the detection of lipid-core plaque - a comparison with histology

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Puchner, Stefan B. [Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Cardiac MR PET CT Program, Department of Radiology, Boston, MA (United States); Medical University of Vienna, Department of Biomedical Imaging and Image-Guided Therapy, Vienna (Austria); Ferencik, Maros [Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Cardiac MR PET CT Program, Department of Radiology, Boston, MA (United States); Harvard Medical School, Division of Cardiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA (United States); Maurovich-Horvat, Pal [Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Cardiac MR PET CT Program, Department of Radiology, Boston, MA (United States); Semmelweis University, MTA-SE Lenduelet Cardiovascular Imaging Research Group, Heart and Vascular Center, Budapest (Hungary); Nakano, Masataka; Otsuka, Fumiyuki; Virmani, Renu [CV Path Institute Inc., Gaithersburg, MD (United States); Kauczor, Hans-Ulrich [University Hospital Heidelberg, Ruprecht-Karls-University of Heidelberg, Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Heidelberg (Germany); Hoffmann, Udo [Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Cardiac MR PET CT Program, Department of Radiology, Boston, MA (United States); Schlett, Christopher L. [Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Cardiac MR PET CT Program, Department of Radiology, Boston, MA (United States); University Hospital Heidelberg, Ruprecht-Karls-University of Heidelberg, Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Heidelberg (Germany)

2015-01-15

To evaluate whether iterative reconstruction algorithms improve the diagnostic accuracy of coronary CT angiography (CCTA) for detection of lipid-core plaque (LCP) compared to histology. CCTA and histological data were acquired from three ex vivo hearts. CCTA images were reconstructed using filtered back projection (FBP), adaptive-statistical (ASIR) and model-based (MBIR) iterative algorithms. Vessel cross-sections were co-registered between FBP/ASIR/MBIR and histology. Plaque area <60 HU was semiautomatically quantified in CCTA. LCP was defined by histology as fibroatheroma with a large lipid/necrotic core. Area under the curve (AUC) was derived from logistic regression analysis as a measure of diagnostic accuracy. Overall, 173 CCTA triplets (FBP/ASIR/MBIR) were co-registered with histology. LCP was present in 26 cross-sections. Average measured plaque area <60 HU was significantly larger in LCP compared to non-LCP cross-sections (mm{sup 2}: 5.78 ± 2.29 vs. 3.39 ± 1.68 FBP; 5.92 ± 1.87 vs. 3.43 ± 1.62 ASIR; 6.40 ± 1.55 vs. 3.49 ± 1.50 MBIR; all p < 0.0001). AUC for detecting LCP was 0.803/0.850/0.903 for FBP/ASIR/MBIR and was significantly higher for MBIR compared to FBP (p = 0.01). MBIR increased sensitivity for detection of LCP by CCTA. Plaque area <60 HU in CCTA was associated with LCP in histology regardless of the reconstruction algorithm. However, MBIR demonstrated higher accuracy for detecting LCP, which may improve vulnerable plaque detection by CCTA. (orig.)

An improved computing method for the image edge detection

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Gang Wang; Liang Xiao; Anzhi He

2007-01-01

The framework of detecting the image edge based on the sub-pixel multi-fractal measure (SPMM) is presented. The measure is defined, which gives the sub-pixel local distribution of the image gradient. The more precise singularity exponent of every pixel can be obtained by performing the SPMM analysis on the image. Using the singularity exponents and the multi-fractal spectrum of the image, the image can be segmented into a series of sets with different singularity exponents, thus the image edge can be detected automatically and easily. The simulation results show that the SPMM has higher quality factor in the image edge detection.

Milk progesterone profiles and the effect of the buck during the anoestrous period in goats

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guo Dazhi; Liu Xianyi; Chen Faju; Song Xuehua; Wang Kairong; Liu Xiangmo; Xu Gongyi

1991-01-01

Milk progesterone profiles in Chengdu Mah (CM), Saanen (S) and crossbred (CM x S, F1) goats were determined using radioimmunoassay throughout the period from kidding to the beginning of the next breeding season. Different patterns of progesterone profiles were recorded in these does. When milk progesterone concentrations were elevated above 6 ng/mL for at least 6 days they were regarded as signs of ovarian activity. The frequencies of such rises during anoestrus were 4.0, 1.8 and 2.5 per animal in CM, S and F1 goats respectively. The frequencies of progesterone rise were higher than that of behavioural oestrus in the does. After exposing the does to the buck three times during the anoestrus period, no significant 'male effect' was observed on the milk progesterone level or behavioural oestrus during the first six months after kidding. The male effect on behavioural oestrus became apparent only in the seventh month after kidding, while milk progesterone levels did not change markedly compared with those of the control does. (author). 9 refs, 4 figs

Reproductive characteristics of Awassi ewes under Cornell alternate month accelerated lambing system

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sabri Gül

2010-04-01

Full Text Available We investigated the reproductive responses of Awassi ewes under Cornell alternate month accelerated lambing (CAMAL system. Ewes were randomly allocated to two experimental groups. The first group (control group consists of 20 ewes exposed to rams in September under conventional management system while the second group (CAMAL were divided into four sub-flocks contain 20 head of ewes each one were exposed to rams to obtain three lambing in two years with different breeding and lambing months. In CAMAL ewes, oestrus was synchronized using intra-vaginal sponges with progesterone and PMSG administration. Results revealed that within CAMAL group, the percentage of animals in heat, onset of oestrus, litter size, birth weight and weaning weight were affected by mating months. September and November were the most appropriate months for oestrus ratio (97.5 % and litter size (1.18 and 0.98, respectively. Lambs of control group were heavier at birth and weaning than those of CAMAL group. On the other hand lamb yield was not affected statistically by the CAMAL administration.

Real-time ultrasonic imaging of the ovary and uterus of the dog.

Science.gov (United States)

England, G C; Allen, W E

1989-01-01

The reproductive tracts of 50 bitches were ultrasonically imaged to evaluate the appearance of the uterus and ovaries at different stages of the oestrous cycle. Ovarian follicular growth was observed throughout the oestrous period. Follicles increased in size slowly until 7 days after the onset of pro-oestrus. Thereafter there was a rapid increase in diameter, indicating impending ovulation. The maximum recorded follicular diameter was 13 mm. It was not possible to observe ovulation since in the bitch follicles do not collapse as rapidly as in other species. During the post-ovulatory period there was a gradual loss of follicle shape and an increase in wall thickness. It was not possible to image the uterus of prepubertal bitches or young nulliparous bitches in anoestrus. During pro-oestrus and oestrus the uterus became increasingly hypoechoic with central regions of hyperechogenicity, which may represent uterine oedema. Uterine involution was observed in 5 bitches, and a rapid change in uterine diameter occurred over the first 3 days post partum. The ultrasonographic appearance was characteristic at this time.

Central genomic regulation of the expression of oestrous behaviour in dairy cows: a review.

Science.gov (United States)

Woelders, H; van der Lende, T; Kommadath, A; te Pas, M F W; Smits, M A; Kaal, L M T E

2014-05-01

The expression of oestrous behaviour in Holstein Friesian dairy cows has progressively decreased over the past 50 years. Reduced oestrus expression is one of the factors contributing to the current suboptimal reproductive efficiency in dairy farming. Variation between and within cows in the expression of oestrous behaviour is associated with variation in peripheral blood oestradiol concentrations during oestrus. In addition, there is evidence for a priming role of progesterone for the full display of oestrous behaviour. A higher rate of metabolic clearance of ovarian steroids could be one of the factors leading to lower peripheral blood concentrations of oestradiol and progesterone in high-producing dairy cows. Oestradiol acts on the brain by genomic, non-genomic and growth factor-dependent mechanisms. A firm base of understanding of the ovarian steroid-driven central genomic regulation of female sexual behaviour has been obtained from studies on rodents. These studies have resulted in the definition of five modules of oestradiol-activated genes in the brain, referred to as the GAPPS modules. In a recent series of studies, gene expression in the anterior pituitary and four brain areas (amygdala, hippocampus, dorsal hypothalamus and ventral hypothalamus) in oestrous and luteal phase cows, respectively, has been measured, and the relation with oestrous behaviour of these cows was analysed. These studies identified a number of genes of which the expression was associated with the intensity of oestrous behaviour. These genes could be grouped according to the GAPPS modules, suggesting close similarity of the regulation of oestrous behaviour in cows and female sexual behaviour in rodents. A better understanding of the central genomic regulation of the expression of oestrous behaviour in dairy cows may in due time contribute to improved (genomic) selection strategies for appropriate oestrus expression in high-producing dairy cows.

Towards Improved Airborne Fire Detection Systems Using Beetle Inspired Infrared Detection and Fire Searching Strategies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Herbert Bousack

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Every year forest fires cause severe financial losses in many countries of the world. Additionally, lives of humans as well as of countless animals are often lost. Due to global warming, the problem of wildfires is getting out of control; hence, the burning of thousands of hectares is obviously increasing. Most important, therefore, is the early detection of an emerging fire before its intensity becomes too high. More than ever, a need for early warning systems capable of detecting small fires from distances as large as possible exists. A look to nature shows that pyrophilous “fire beetles” of the genus Melanophila can be regarded as natural airborne fire detection systems because their larvae can only develop in the wood of fire-killed trees. There is evidence that Melanophila beetles can detect large fires from distances of more than 100 km by visual and infrared cues. In a biomimetic approach, a concept has been developed to use the surveying strategy of the “fire beetles” for the reliable detection of a smoke plume of a fire from large distances by means of a basal infrared emission zone. Future infrared sensors necessary for this ability are also inspired by the natural infrared receptors of Melanophila beetles.

Improved microscopical detection of acid-fast bacilli by the modified bleach method in lymphnode aspirates

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Annam Vamseedhar

2009-07-01

Full Text Available Objectives: To improve the smear microscopy for detection of acid-fast bacilli (AFB in fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC of lymph node using the bleach method and also to compare this with cytological diagnosis and the conventional Ziehl-Neelsen (ZN method. Study Design: In 99 consecutive patients with clinical suspicion of tuberculosis (TB presenting with lymphadenopathy, FNACs were performed. Smears from the aspirates were processed for routine cytology and the conventional ZN method. The remaining material in the needle hub and/or the syringe was used for the bleach method. The significance of the bleach method over the conventional ZN method and cytology was analyzed using the χ2 test. Results: Of 99 aspirates, 93 were studied and the remaining six were excluded from the study due to diagnosis of malignancy in 4.04% (4/6 and inadequate aspiration in 2.02% (2/6. Among the 93 aspirates, 33.33% (31/93 were positive for AFB on conventional ZN method, 41.94% (39/93 were indicative of TB on cytology and the smear positivity increased to 63.44% (59/93 on bleach method. Conclusion: The bleach method is simple, inexpensive and potent disinfectant, also limiting the risk of laboratory-acquired infections. The implementation of the bleach method clearly improves microscopic detection and can be a useful contribution to routine cytology.

Development of a world wide web-based interactive education program to improve detectability of pulmonary nodules on chest radiographs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ohm, Joon Young; Kim, Jin Hwan; Kim, Sung Soo; Han, Ki Tae; Ahn, Young Seob; Shin, Byung Seok; Bae, Kyongtae T.

2007-01-01

To design and develop a World Wide Web-based education program that will allow trainees to interactively learn and improve the diagnostic capability of detecting pulmonary nodules on chest radiographs. Chest radiographs with known diagnosis were retrieved and selected from our institutional clinical archives. A database was constructed by sorting radiographs into three groups: normal, nodule, and false positive (i.e., nodule-like focal opacity). Each nodule was assigned with the degree of detectability: easy, intermediate, difficult, and likely missed. Nodules were characterized by their morphology (well-defined, ill-defined, irregular, faint) and by other associated pathologies or potentially obscuring structures. The Web site was organized into four sections: study, test, record and information. The Web site allowed a user interactively to undergo the training section appropriate to the user's diagnostic capability. The training was enhanced by means of clinical and other pertinent radiological findings included in the database. The outcome of the training was tested with clinical test radiographs that presented nodules or false positives with varying diagnostic difficulties. A World Wide Web-based education program is a promising technique that would allow trainees to interactively learn and improve the diagnostic capability of detecting and characterizing pulmonary nodules

[Seasonal variations in estrus behavior and ovulatory activity in Chios and Serres ewes in Greece].

Science.gov (United States)

Avdi, M; Driancourt, M A; Chemineau, P

1993-01-01

Sheep are seasonal breeders, but a lower seasonality has been reported for sheep breeds from the Mediterranean countries enabling spring matings. To further substantiate this, the present study compared seasonal variation in oestrus behaviour and ovulation in two Greek breeds (Chios and Serres) maintained in the same environment. In 27 adult ewes of each breed, oestrus behaviour, the occurrence of ovulation and ovulation rate were monitored during 2 successive years by daily inspection by rams, weekly progesterone assay in circulating blood plasma and monthly ovarian laparoscopy. The periods of anoestrus (109 +/- 8 (wk) vs 178 +/- 5 d) and anovulation (63 +/- 8 vs 149 +/- 6 d) were significantly shorter (P duration of oestrus was also longer in Chios ewes (1.8 +/- 0.05 vs 1.5 +/- 0.06 d; P = 0.002). There were significant correlations between the duration of anovulatory periods of the 2 successive years in Chios (r = 0.43) but not Serres ewes. Ovulation rate was positively related to the onset of the sexual season in Serres but not in Chios ewes. The present data suggest that: i) the efficiency of Serres but not in Chios ewes. The present data suggest that: i) the efficiency of spring mating in these breeds is suboptimal since it is a period when the percentage of ewes exhibiting oestrus and ovulation as well as ovulation rate are limited, ii) owing to the large variation in seasonality within Chios ewes and to the good between year correlation in features of seasonality, selection against seasonality in Chios ewes could be worthwhile.

Improved detection rate of structural abnormalities in the first trimester using an extended examination protocol.

Science.gov (United States)

Iliescu, D; Tudorache, S; Comanescu, A; Antsaklis, P; Cotarcea, S; Novac, L; Cernea, N; Antsaklis, A

2013-09-01

To assess the potential of first-trimester sonography in the detection of fetal abnormalities using an extended protocol that is achievable with reasonable resources of time, personnel and ultrasound equipment. This was a prospective two-center 2-year study of 5472 consecutive unselected pregnant women examined at 12 to 13 + 6 gestational weeks. Women were examined using an extended morphogenetic ultrasound protocol that, in addition to the basic evaluation, involved a color Doppler cardiac sweep and identification of early contingent markers for major abnormalities. The prevalence of lethal and severe malformations was 1.39%. The first-trimester scan identified 40.6% of the cases detected overall and 76.3% of major structural defects. The first-trimester detection rate (DR) for major congenital heart disease (either isolated or associated with extracardiac abnormalities) was 90% and that for major central nervous system anomalies was 69.5%. In fetuses with increased nuchal translucency (NT), the first-trimester DR for major anomalies was 96%, and in fetuses with normal NT it was 66.7%. Most (67.1%) cases with major abnormalities presented with normal NT. A detailed first-trimester anomaly scan using an extended protocol is an efficient screening method to detect major fetal structural abnormalities in low-risk pregnancies. It is feasible at 12 to 13 + 6 weeks with ultrasound equipment and personnel already used for routine first-trimester screening. Rate of detection of severe malformations is greater in early- than in mid-pregnancy and on postnatal evaluation. Early heart investigation could be improved by an extended protocol involving use of color Doppler. Copyright © 2013 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Mouth self-examination to improve oral cancer awareness and early detection in a high-risk population.

Science.gov (United States)

Elango, Kalavathy Jayapal; Anandkrishnan, Nitin; Suresh, Amritha; Iyer, Subramania K; Ramaiyer, Sundaram Karimassery; Kuriakose, Moni Abraham

2011-07-01

Oral cancer is a potentially preventable disease due to its association with well-known risk factors and easy detectability. There is a significant deficiency in the awareness of oral cancer and its risk factors among the public. Raising public awareness could effectively contribute to achieving a significant reduction in the incidence of oral cancer. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of mouth self-examination (MSE) in improving the awareness of oral cancer and its risk factors as well as test its feasibility as an oral cancer-screening tool. The study was carried out in a high-risk population of 57,704 from India, of which, 34,766 individuals who have met the eligibility criteria formed the study population. MSE brochures and trained health workers were employed for the purpose of health education and cancer screening. The present study compared their efficacy to detect oral lesions. Subjects with suspicious lesions were referred to the trained oral cancer specialist for confirmation. A questionnaire to assess the awareness of oral cancer and its risk factors was developed and validated. SPSS (v.11.0) was used for data analysis. The program identified 216 cases of potentially malignant lesions as well as three cases of oral cancer. The findings of MSE and health workers showed 72% concordance, while that of health workers and oral cancer specialist showed 100% concordance. MSE had a low sensitivity of 18%, while the specificity was 99.9%. Though the technique identified high-risk lesions such as red patches (66.7%) and non-healing ulcers (42.9%), the detection rate of white patches was low (12.7%). Overall awareness of oral cancer and its risk factors after introduction of MSE program was over 80%; but the compliance to seek treatment was poor (32%). Mouth self-examination may be used as an effective tool to improve the awareness of oral cancer and for the early detection of lesions. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Improvements in brain activation detection using time-resolved diffuse optical means

Science.gov (United States)

Montcel, Bruno; Chabrier, Renee; Poulet, Patrick

2005-08-01

An experimental method based on time-resolved absorbance difference is described. The absorbance difference is calculated over each temporal step of the optical signal with the time-resolved Beer-Lambert law. Finite element simulations show that each step corresponds to a different scanned zone and that cerebral contribution increases with the arrival time of photons. Experiments are conducted at 690 and 830 nm with a time-resolved system consisting of picosecond laser diodes, micro-channel plate photo-multiplier tube and photon counting modules. The hemodynamic response to a short finger tapping stimulus is measured over the motor cortex. Time-resolved absorbance difference maps show that variations in the optical signals are not localized in superficial regions of the head, which testify for their cerebral origin. Furthermore improvements in the detection of cerebral activation is achieved through the increase of variations in absorbance by a factor of almost 5 for time-resolved measurements as compared to non-time-resolved measurements.

An Unsupervised Method of Change Detection in Multi-Temporal PolSAR Data Using a Test Statistic and an Improved K&I Algorithm

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jinqi Zhao

2017-12-01

Full Text Available In recent years, multi-temporal imagery from spaceborne sensors has provided a fast and practical means for surveying and assessing changes in terrain surfaces. Owing to the all-weather imaging capability, polarimetric synthetic aperture radar (PolSAR has become a key tool for change detection. Change detection methods include both unsupervised and supervised methods. Supervised change detection, which needs some human intervention, is generally ineffective and impractical. Due to this limitation, unsupervised methods are widely used in change detection. The traditional unsupervised methods only use a part of the polarization information, and the required thresholding algorithms are independent of the multi-temporal data, which results in the change detection map being ineffective and inaccurate. To solve these problems, a novel method of change detection using a test statistic based on the likelihood ratio test and the improved Kittler and Illingworth (K&I minimum-error thresholding algorithm is introduced in this paper. The test statistic is used to generate the comparison image (CI of the multi-temporal PolSAR images, and improved K&I using a generalized Gaussian model simulates the distribution of the CI. As a result of these advantages, we can obtain the change detection map using an optimum threshold. The efficiency of the proposed method is demonstrated by the use of multi-temporal PolSAR images acquired by RADARSAT-2 over Wuhan, China. The experimental results show that the proposed method is effective and highly accurate.

An improved specimens handling procedure for pathogen detection of the cerebrospinal fluid by microscope

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

WANG Hua-cheng

2013-02-01

Full Text Available Background The diagnosis of encephalitis depends on the finding of pathogens in the brain parenchyma or cerebrospinal fluid (CSF. But the success rates of finding pathogens by microscope are low by the traditional specimens handling procedure in which pathogens are detected by direct centrifugation of CSF getting from lumbar puncture. The process of pathogen collection from the CSF such as centrifugation and washing would cause the destruction and loss of pathogens, resulting in a lower rate of pathogen discovery. Therefore, in order to increase the detection rate of pathogenic microorganisms in CSF, these traditional steps need to be improved. Methods CSF samples of 23 patients with suspected viral encephalitis and 10 control patients with fracture were prepared by two methods: traditional specimens handling procedure (TSHP and improved specimens handling procedure (ISHP. In the ISHP, a final concentration of 2.5% glutaraldehyde was added to CSF in a glass tube, mixed and kept not moving in 4 ℃ for 2 to 4 h or in 37 ℃for 1 h. Then a smear was made from the sediment formed in the tube to check pathogens by microscope. As for the TSHP, pathogens were collected by direct centrifugation of CSF which had not been treated after lumbar puncture, and checked through Gimenze staining. Results There was no statistically significant difference between the two dealing procedures in the control group ( P = 1.000. As for the case group, there were 10 cases showing positive in Pandy test after TSHP, and visible sediments were seen in all the 23 cases after ISHP. There was statistically significant difference between two kinds of CSF treatment for the finding of pathogens (P = 0.000. Seven cases presented pathogen growth in CSF and were diagosed as rickettsial infections by Gimenze staining, immunofluorescence assay (IFA and polymerase chain reaction (PCR. Conclusion Improved specimens handling procedures of CSF contribute to the seperation of cells

Detecting adverse events in surgery: comparing events detected by the Veterans Health Administration Surgical Quality Improvement Program and the Patient Safety Indicators.

Science.gov (United States)

Mull, Hillary J; Borzecki, Ann M; Loveland, Susan; Hickson, Kathleen; Chen, Qi; MacDonald, Sally; Shin, Marlena H; Cevasco, Marisa; Itani, Kamal M F; Rosen, Amy K

2014-04-01

The Patient Safety Indicators (PSIs) use administrative data to screen for select adverse events (AEs). In this study, VA Surgical Quality Improvement Program (VASQIP) chart review data were used as the gold standard to measure the criterion validity of 5 surgical PSIs. Independent chart review was also used to determine reasons for PSI errors. The sensitivity, specificity, and positive predictive value of PSI software version 4.1a were calculated among Veterans Health Administration hospitalizations (2003-2007) reviewed by VASQIP (n = 268,771). Nurses re-reviewed a sample of hospitalizations for which PSI and VASQIP AE detection disagreed. Sensitivities ranged from 31% to 68%, specificities from 99.1% to 99.8%, and positive predictive values from 31% to 72%. Reviewers found that coding errors accounted for some PSI-VASQIP disagreement; some disagreement was also the result of differences in AE definitions. These results suggest that the PSIs have moderate criterion validity; however, some surgical PSIs detect different AEs than VASQIP. Future research should explore using both methods to evaluate surgical quality. Published by Elsevier Inc.

A diabetic retinopathy detection method using an improved pillar K-means algorithm.

Science.gov (United States)

Gogula, Susmitha Valli; Divakar, Ch; Satyanarayana, Ch; Rao, Allam Appa

2014-01-01

The paper presents a new approach for medical image segmentation. Exudates are a visible sign of diabetic retinopathy that is the major reason of vision loss in patients with diabetes. If the exudates extend into the macular area, blindness may occur. Automated detection of exudates will assist ophthalmologists in early diagnosis. This segmentation process includes a new mechanism for clustering the elements of high-resolution images in order to improve precision and reduce computation time. The system applies K-means clustering to the image segmentation after getting optimized by Pillar algorithm; pillars are constructed in such a way that they can withstand the pressure. Improved pillar algorithm can optimize the K-means clustering for image segmentation in aspects of precision and computation time. This evaluates the proposed approach for image segmentation by comparing with Kmeans and Fuzzy C-means in a medical image. Using this method, identification of dark spot in the retina becomes easier and the proposed algorithm is applied on diabetic retinal images of all stages to identify hard and soft exudates, where the existing pillar K-means is more appropriate for brain MRI images. This proposed system help the doctors to identify the problem in the early stage and can suggest a better drug for preventing further retinal damage.

An improved two-way continuous-variable quantum key distribution protocol with added noise in homodyne detection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sun Maozhu; Peng Xiang; Guo Hong

2013-01-01

We propose an improved two-way continuous-variable quantum key distribution (CV QKD) protocol by adding proper random noise on the receiver’s homodyne detection, the security of which is analysed against general collective attacks. The simulation result under the collective entangling cloner attack indicates that despite the correlation between two-way channels decreasing the secret key rate relative to the uncorrelated channels slightly, the performance of the two-way protocol is still far beyond that of the one-way protocols. Importantly, the added noise in detection is beneficial for the secret key rate and the tolerable excess noise of this two-way protocol. With the reasonable reconciliation efficiency of 90%, the two-way CV QKD with added noise allows the distribution of secret keys over 60 km fibre distance. (paper)

Improved quantification accuracy for duplex real-time PCR detection of genetically modified soybean and maize in heat processed foods

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

CHENG Fang

2013-04-01

Full Text Available Real-time PCR technique has been widely used in quantitative GMO detection in recent years.The accuracy of GMOs quantification based on the real-time PCR methods is still a difficult problem,especially for the quantification of high processed samples.To develop the suitable and accurate real-time PCR system for high processed GM samples,we made ameliorations to several real-time PCR parameters,including re-designed shorter target DNA fragment,similar lengths of amplified endogenous and exogenous gene targets,similar GC contents and melting temperatures of PCR primers and TaqMan probes.Also,one Heat-Treatment Processing Model (HTPM was established using soybean flour samples containing GM soybean GTS 40-3-2 to validate the effectiveness of the improved real-time PCR system.Tested results showed that the quantitative bias of GM content in heat processed samples were lowered using the new PCR system.The improved duplex real-time PCR was further validated using processed foods derived from GM soybean,and more accurate GM content values in these foods was also achieved.These results demonstrated that the improved duplex real-time PCR would be quite suitable in quantitative detection of high processed food products.

Evaluation of Advanced Signal Processing Techniques to Improve Detection and Identification of Embedded Defects

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Clayton, Dwight A. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Santos-Villalobos, Hector J. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Baba, Justin S. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

2016-09-01

, or an improvement in contrast over conventional SAFT reconstructed images. This report documents our efforts in four fronts: 1) Comparative study between traditional SAFT and FBD SAFT for concrete specimen with and without Alkali-Silica Reaction (ASR) damage, 2) improvement of our Model-Based Iterative Reconstruction (MBIR) for thick reinforced concrete [5], 3) development of a universal framework for sharing, reconstruction, and visualization of ultrasound NDE datasets, and 4) application of machine learning techniques for automated detection of ASR inside concrete. Our comparative study between FBD and traditional SAFT reconstruction images shows a clear difference between images of ASR and non-ASR specimens. In particular, the left first harmonic shows an increased contrast and sensitivity to ASR damage. For MBIR, we show the superiority of model-based techniques over delay and sum techniques such as SAFT. Improvements include elimination of artifacts caused by direct arrival signals, and increased contrast and Signal to Noise Ratio. For the universal framework, we document a format for data storage based on the HDF5 file format, and also propose a modular Graphic User Interface (GUI) for easy customization of data conversion, reconstruction, and visualization routines. Finally, two techniques for ASR automated detection are presented. The first technique is based on an analysis of the frequency content using Hilbert Transform Indicator (HTI) and the second technique employees Artificial Neural Network (ANN) techniques for training and classification of ultrasound data as ASR or non-ASR damaged classes. The ANN technique shows great potential with classification accuracy above 95%. These approaches are extensible to the detection of additional reinforced, thick concrete defects and damage.

Wrist Traction During MR Arthrography Improves Detection of Triangular Fibrocartilage Complex and Intrinsic Ligament Tears and Visibility of Articular Cartilage.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Ryan K L; Griffith, James F; Ng, Alex W H; Nung, Ryan C H; Yeung, David K W

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of traction during MR arthrography of the wrist on joint space widening, cartilage visibility, and detection of tears of the triangular fibrocartilage complex (TFCC) and intrinsic ligaments. A prospective study included 40 wrists in 39 patients (25 men, 14 women; mean age, 35 years). MR arthrography was performed with a 3-T MRI system with and without axial traction. Two radiologists independently measured wrist and carpal joint space widths and semiquantitatively graded articular cartilage visibility. Using conventional arthrography as the reference standard and working in consensus, they assessed for the presence of tears of the TFCC, lunotriquetral ligament (LTL), and scapholunate ligament (SLL). Visibility of a tear before traction was compared with visibility after traction. With traction, all joint spaces in the wrist and carpus were significantly widened (change, 0.15-1.01 mm; all p < 0.006). Subjective cartilage visibility of all joint spaces improved after traction (all p ≤ 0.048) except for that of the radioscaphoid space, which was well visualized even before traction. Conventional arthrography depicted 24 TFCC tears, seven LTL tears, and three SLL tears. The accuracy of tear detection improved after traction for the TFCC (98% after traction vs 83% before traction), the LTL (100% vs 88%), and the SLL (100% vs 95%). Tear visibility improved after traction for 54% of TFCC tears, 71% of LTL tears, and 66% of SLL tears. Wrist MR arthrography with axial traction significantly improved the visibility of articular cartilage and the detection and visibility of tears of the TFCC and intrinsic ligaments. The results favor more widespread use of traction during MR arthrography of the wrist.

Using Gas Phase Reactions of Hexamethylene Triperoxide Diamine (HMTD) to Improve Detection in Mass Spectrometry

Science.gov (United States)

Colizza, Kevin; Yevdokimov, Alexander; McLennan, Lindsay; Smith, James L.; Oxley, Jimmie C.

2018-01-01

Our efforts to lower the detection limits of hexamethylene triperoxide diamine (HMTD) have uncovered previously unreported gas-phase reactions of primary and secondary amines with one of the six methylene carbons. The reaction occurs primarily in the atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) source and is similar to the behavior of alcohols with HMTD [1]. However, unlike alcohols, the amine reaction conserves the hydrogen peroxide on the intact product. Furthermore, with or without amines, HMTD is oxidized to tetramethylene diperoxide diamine dialdehyde (TMDDD) in a temperature-dependent fashion in the APCI source. Synthesized TMDDD forms very strong adducts (not products) to ammonium and amine ions in the electrospray ionization (ESI) source. Attempts to improve HMTD detection by generating TMDDD in the APCI source with post-column addition of amines were not successful. Signal intensity of the solvent related HMTD product in methanol, [HMTD+MeOH2-H2O2]+ (m/z 207.0975), was understandably related to the amount of methanol in the HMTD environment as it elutes into the source. With conditions optimized for this product, the detection of 100 pg on column was accomplished with a robust analysis of 300 pg (1.44 pmol) routinely performed on the Orbitrap mass spectrometers. [Figure not available: see fulltext.

Flaw detection device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sasahara, Toshihiko

1998-01-01

The present invention provides a device for detecting welded portions of a reactor pressure vessel. Namely, the device of the present invention comprises (1) a casing to be disposed on the surface to be detected, (2) a probe driving means loaded to the casing, (3) a probe driven along the surface to be detected and (4) a pressure reduction means for keeping the hollow portion in the casing to an evacuated atmosphere. The casing comprises a flexible suction edge to be tightly in contact with the surface to be tested for maintaining the air tight state, (6) a guide wheel for moving the casing along the surface to be tested and (7) a handle for performing transferring operation. The flaw detection device thus constituted has following features. The working efficiency upon conducting detection is improved. The influence of the weight of the device on the detection is small. The device can be applied on the surface of a nonmagnetic material. The efficiency for the flaw detection can be improved. (I.S.)

Vision-based fall detection system for improving safety of elderly people

KAUST Repository

Harrou, Fouzi; Zerrouki, Nabil; Sun, Ying; Houacine, Amrane

2017-01-01

Recognition of human movements is very useful for several applications, such as smart rooms, interactive virtual reality systems, human detection and environment modeling. The objective of this work focuses on the detection and classification of falls based on variations in human silhouette shape, a key challenge in computer vision. Falls are a major health concern, specifically for the elderly. In this study, the detection is achieved with a multivariate exponentially weighted moving average (MEWMA) monitoring scheme, which is effective in detecting falls because it is sensitive to small changes. Unfortunately, an MEWMA statistic fails to differentiate real falls from some fall-like gestures. To remedy this limitation, a classification stage based on a support vector machine (SVM) is applied on detected sequences. To validate this methodology, two fall detection datasets have been tested: the University of Rzeszow fall detection dataset (URFD) and the fall detection dataset (FDD). The results of the MEWMA-based SVM are compared with three other classifiers: neural network (NN), naïve Bayes and K-nearest neighbor (KNN). These results show the capability of the developed strategy to distinguish fall events, suggesting that it can raise an early alert in the fall incidents.

Vision-based fall detection system for improving safety of elderly people

KAUST Repository

Harrou, Fouzi

2017-12-06

Recognition of human movements is very useful for several applications, such as smart rooms, interactive virtual reality systems, human detection and environment modeling. The objective of this work focuses on the detection and classification of falls based on variations in human silhouette shape, a key challenge in computer vision. Falls are a major health concern, specifically for the elderly. In this study, the detection is achieved with a multivariate exponentially weighted moving average (MEWMA) monitoring scheme, which is effective in detecting falls because it is sensitive to small changes. Unfortunately, an MEWMA statistic fails to differentiate real falls from some fall-like gestures. To remedy this limitation, a classification stage based on a support vector machine (SVM) is applied on detected sequences. To validate this methodology, two fall detection datasets have been tested: the University of Rzeszow fall detection dataset (URFD) and the fall detection dataset (FDD). The results of the MEWMA-based SVM are compared with three other classifiers: neural network (NN), naïve Bayes and K-nearest neighbor (KNN). These results show the capability of the developed strategy to distinguish fall events, suggesting that it can raise an early alert in the fall incidents.

Improved sensitivity using liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC-MS) for detection of propyl chloroformate derivatised β-N-methylamino-L-alanine (BMAA) in cyanobacteria

OpenAIRE

Esterhuizen-Londt, M; Downing, S; Downing, TG

2011-01-01

β-N-methylamino-L-alanine (BMAA) is a difficult molecule to detect, primarily due to its presence in low concentrations in complex matrices. This has resulted in contradictory reports on the presence of BMAA in cyanobacteria. We report improved sensitivity of detection using propyl chloroformate derivatisation, liquid chromatographic (LC) separation, and single quadrupole mass spectrometry (MS) detection. Triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (MS/MS) was used to confirm the identity of BMAA in ...

A Videotape-Based Training Method for Improving the Detection of Depression in Residents of Long-Term Care Facilities

Science.gov (United States)

Wood, Stacey; Cummings, Jeffrey L.; Schnelle, Betha; Stephens, Mary

2002-01-01

Purpose: This article reviews the effectiveness of a new training program for improving nursing staffs' detection of depression within long-term care facilities. The course was designed to increase recognition of the Minimal Data Set (MDS) Mood Trigger items, to be brief, and to rely on images rather than didactics. Design and Methods: This study…

Use of amplicon sequencing to improve sensitivity in PCR-based detection of microbial pathogen in environmental samples.

Science.gov (United States)

Saingam, Prakit; Li, Bo; Yan, Tao

2018-06-01

DNA-based molecular detection of microbial pathogens in complex environments is still plagued by sensitivity, specificity and robustness issues. We propose to address these issues by viewing them as inadvertent consequences of requiring specific and adequate amplification (SAA) of target DNA molecules by current PCR methods. Using the invA gene of Salmonella as the model system, we investigated if next generation sequencing (NGS) can be used to directly detect target sequences in false-negative PCR reaction (PCR-NGS) in order to remove the SAA requirement from PCR. False-negative PCR and qPCR reactions were first created using serial dilutions of laboratory-prepared Salmonella genomic DNA and then analyzed directly by NGS. Target invA sequences were detected in all false-negative PCR and qPCR reactions, which lowered the method detection limits near the theoretical minimum of single gene copy detection. The capability of the PCR-NGS approach in correcting false negativity was further tested and confirmed under more environmentally relevant conditions using Salmonella-spiked stream water and sediment samples. Finally, the PCR-NGS approach was applied to ten urban stream water samples and detected invA sequences in eight samples that would be otherwise deemed Salmonella negative. Analysis of the non-target sequences in the false-negative reactions helped to identify primer dime-like short sequences as the main cause of the false negativity. Together, the results demonstrated that the PCR-NGS approach can significantly improve method sensitivity, correct false-negative detections, and enable sequence-based analysis for failure diagnostics in complex environmental samples. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Adapting plant measurement data to improve hardware fault detection performance in pressurised water reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cilliers, A.C.; Mulder, E.J.

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► Attempt was to use available resources at a nuclear plant in a value added fashion. ► Includes plant measurement data and plant training and engineering simulator capabilities. ► Solving the fault masking effect by the distributed control systems in the plant. ► Modelling the effect of inaccuracies in plant models used in the simulators. ► Combination of above resulted in the development of a deterministic fault identifications system. -- Abstract: With the fairly recent adoption of digital control and instrumentation systems in the nuclear industry a lot of research now focus on the development expert fault identification systems. The fault identification systems enable detecting early onset faults of fault causes which allows maintenance planning on the equipment showing signs of deterioration or failure. This includes valve and leaks and small cracks in steam generator tubes usually detected by means of ultrasonic inspection. Detecting faults early during transient operation in NPPs is problematic due to the absence of a reliable reference to compare plant measurements with during transients. The distributed application of control systems operating independently to keep the plant operating within the safe operating boundaries complicates the problem since the control systems would not only operate to reduce the effect of transient disturbances but fault disturbances as well. This paper provides a method to adapt the plant measurements that isolates the control actions on the fault and re-introduces it into the measurement data, thereby improving plant diagnostic performance.

Improved Method for Direct Detection of Environmental Microorganisms Using an Amplification of 16S rDNA Region

Science.gov (United States)

Tsujimura, M.; Akutsu, J.; Zhang, Z.; Sasaki, M.; Tajima, H.; Kawarabayasi, Y.

2004-12-01

The thermostable proteins or enzymes were expected to be capable to be utilized in many areas of industries. Many thermophilic microorganisms, which possess the thermostable proteins or enzymes, were identified from the extreme environment. However, many unidentified and uncultivable microorganisms are still remaining in the environment on the earth. It is generally said that the cultivable microorganisms are less than 1% of entire microorganisms living in the earth, remaining over 99% are still uncultivable. As an approach to the uncultivable microorganisms, the PCR amplification of 16S rDNA region using primer sets designed from the conserved region has been generally utilized for detection and community analysis of microorganism in the environment. However, the facts, that PCR amplification introduces the mutation in the amplified DNA fragment and efficiency of PCR amplification is depend on the sequences of primer sets, indicated that the improving of PCR analysis was necessary for more correct detection of microorganisms. As the result of evaluation for the quality of DNA polymerases, sequences of primers used for amplification and conditions of PCR amplification, the DNA polymerase, the primer set and the conditions for amplification, which did not amplify the DNA fragment from the DNA contaminated within the DNA polymerase itself, were successfully selected. Also the rate of mutation in the DNA fragment amplified was evaluated using this conditions and the genomic DNA from cultivable microbes as a template. The result indicated the rate of mutation introduced by PCR was approximately 0.1% to 0.125%. The improved method using these conditions and error rate calculated was applied for the analysis of microorganisms in the geothermal environment. The result indicated that four kinds of dominant microorganisms, including both of bacteria and archaea, were alive within soil in the hot spring in Tohoku Area. We would like to apply this improved method to detection

A novel molecular diagnostic tool for improved sensitivity and reliability detection of “Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus”, bacterium associated with huanglongbing (HLB) bacterium Candidatus Liberibacter.

Science.gov (United States)

Sensitive and accurate detection is a prerequisite for efficient management and regulatory responses to prevent the introduction and spread of HLB-associated “Candidatus Liberibacter species to unaffected areas. To improve the current detection limit of HLB-associated “Ca. Liberibacter” spp, we deve...

Fluorescence-based endoscopic imaging of Thomsen-Friedenreich antigen to improve early detection of colorectal cancer.

Science.gov (United States)

Sakuma, Shinji; Yu, James Y H; Quang, Timothy; Hiwatari, Ken-Ichiro; Kumagai, Hironori; Kao, Stephanie; Holt, Alex; Erskind, Jalysa; McClure, Richard; Siuta, Michael; Kitamura, Tokio; Tobita, Etsuo; Koike, Seiji; Wilson, Kevin; Richards-Kortum, Rebecca; Liu, Eric; Washington, Kay; Omary, Reed; Gore, John C; Pham, Wellington

2015-03-01

Thomsen-Friedenreich (TF) antigen belongs to the mucin-type tumor-associated carbohydrate antigen. Notably, TF antigen is overexpressed in colorectal cancer (CRC) but is rarely expressed in normal colonic tissue. Increased TF antigen expression is associated with tumor invasion and metastasis. In this study, we sought to validate a novel nanobeacon for imaging TF-associated CRC in a preclinical animal model. We developed and characterized the nanobeacon for use with fluorescence colonoscopy. In vivo imaging was performed on an orthotopic rat model of CRC. Both white light and fluorescence colonoscopy methods were utilized to establish the ratio-imaging index for the probe. The nanobeacon exhibited specificity for TF-associated cancer. Fluorescence colonoscopy using the probe can detect lesions at the stage which is not readily confirmed by conventional visualization methods. Further, the probe can report the dynamic change of TF expression as tumor regresses during chemotherapy. Data from this study suggests that fluorescence colonoscopy can improve early CRC detection. Supplemented by the established ratio-imaging index, the probe can be used not only for early detection, but also for reporting tumor response during chemotherapy. Furthermore, since the data obtained through in vivo imaging confirmed that the probe was not absorbed by the colonic mucosa, no registered toxicity is associated with this nanobeacon. Taken together, these data demonstrate the potential of this novel probe for imaging TF antigen as a biomarker for the early detection and prediction of the progression of CRC at the molecular level. © 2014 UICC.

Use of Deception to Improve Client Honeypot Detection of Drive-by-Download Attacks

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Popovsky, Barbara; Narvaez Suarez, Julia F.; Seifert, Christian; Frincke, Deborah A.; O' Neil, Lori R.; Aval, Chiraag U.

2009-07-24

This paper presents the application of deception theory to improve the success of client honeypots at detecting malicious web page attacks from infected servers programmed by online criminals to launch drive-by-download attacks. The design of honeypots faces three main challenges: deception, how to design honeypots that seem real systems; counter-deception, techniques used to identify honeypots and hence defeating their deceiving nature; and counter counter-deception, how to design honeypots that deceive attackers. The authors propose the application of a deception model known as the deception planning loop to identify the current status on honeypot research, development and deployment. The analysis leads to a proposal to formulate a landscape of the honeypot research and planning of steps ahead.

How Intrusion Detection Can Improve Software Decoy Applications

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Monteiro, Valter

2003-01-01

This research concerns information security and computer-network defense. It addresses how to handle the information of log files and intrusion-detection systems to recognize when a system is under attack...

Improving aquatic warbler population assessments by accounting for imperfect detection.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Steffen Oppel

Full Text Available Monitoring programs designed to assess changes in population size over time need to account for imperfect detection and provide estimates of precision around annual abundance estimates. Especially for species dependent on conservation management, robust monitoring is essential to evaluate the effectiveness of management. Many bird species of temperate grasslands depend on specific conservation management to maintain suitable breeding habitat. One such species is the Aquatic Warbler (Acrocephalus paludicola, which breeds in open fen mires in Central Europe. Aquatic Warbler populations have so far been assessed using a complete survey that aims to enumerate all singing males over a large area. Because this approach provides no estimate of precision and does not account for observation error, detecting moderate population changes is challenging. From 2011 to 2013 we trialled a new line transect sampling monitoring design in the Biebrza valley, Poland, to estimate abundance of singing male Aquatic Warblers. We surveyed Aquatic Warblers repeatedly along 50 randomly placed 1-km transects, and used binomial mixture models to estimate abundances per transect. The repeated line transect sampling required 150 observer days, and thus less effort than the traditional 'full count' approach (175 observer days. Aquatic Warbler abundance was highest at intermediate water levels, and detection probability varied between years and was influenced by vegetation height. A power analysis indicated that our line transect sampling design had a power of 68% to detect a 20% population change over 10 years, whereas raw count data had a 9% power to detect the same trend. Thus, by accounting for imperfect detection we increased the power to detect population changes. We recommend to adopt the repeated line transect sampling approach for monitoring Aquatic Warblers in Poland and in other important breeding areas to monitor changes in population size and the effects of

Development and using computer codes for improvement of defect assembly detection on Russian WWER NPPs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Likhanskii, V.; Evdokimov, I.; Zborovskii, V.; Kanukova, V.; Sorokin, A.; Taran, M.; Ugrumov, A.; Riabinin, Y.

2009-01-01

Diagnostic methods of fuel failure detection for improving the radiation safety and shortening of fuel reload time at Russian WWERs are currently in development . The works include creation new computer means for increase of effectiveness of fuel monitoring and reliability of leakage tests. Reliability of failure detection can be noticeably improved when we apply an integrated approach including the following methods. The first is fuel failure analysis under operating conditions. Analysis is performed with the pilot version of the expert system, which has been developed on the basis of the mechanistic code RTOP-CA. The second stage of failure monitoring is 'sipping' tests in the mast of the refueling machine. The leakage tests are the final stage of failure monitoring. A new technique with pressure cycling in the specialized casks was introduced to meet the requirements of higher reliability in detection/confirmation of the leakages. Measurements of the activity release kinetics during the pressure cycling and handling of the acquired data with the RTOP-LT code enable to evaluate a defect size in leaking fuel assembly. The mechanistic codes RTOP-CA and RTOP-LT were verified on a base of specialized experimental data and currently the code were certified by Russian authorities Rostechnadzor. Now the pressure cycling method in the specialized casks has official status and is utilized at the all Russian WWER units. Some results of application of the integrated approach to fuel failure monitoring at several Russian NPPs with WWER units are reported in the present paper. Predictions of the current version of the expert system are compared with the results of the leakage tests and with the estimations of the defect size by the pressure cycling technique. Using the RTOP-CA code the level of activity is assessed for the following fuel campaign if the leaking fuel assembly was decided to be reloaded into the core. A project of the automated computer system on the basis of

Implementation and testing of a fault detection software tool for improving control system performance in a large commercial building

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Salsbury, T.I.; Diamond, R.C.

2000-05-01

This paper describes a model-based, feedforward control scheme that can detect faults in the controlled process and improve control performance over traditional PID control. The tool uses static simulation models of the system under control to generate feed-forward control action, which acts as a reference of correct operation. Faults that occur in the system cause discrepancies between the feedforward models and the controlled process. The scheme facilitates detection of faults by monitoring the level of these discrepancies. We present results from the first phase of tests on a dual-duct air-handling unit installed in a large office building in San Francisco. We demonstrate the ability of the tool to detect a number of preexisting faults in the system and discuss practical issues related to implementation.

Incidentally detected enhancing lesions found in breast MRI: analysis of apparent diffusion coefficient and T2 signal intensity significantly improves specificity

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Arponen, Otso; Masarwah, Amro; Taina, Mikko [Kuopio University Hospital, Kuopio University Hospital, Diagnostic Imaging Centre, Department of Clinical Radiology, PO Box 1777, Kuopio (Finland); Kuopio University Hospital, University of Eastern Finland, Institute of Clinical Medicine, School of Medicine, Department of Clinical Radiology, PO Box 1777, Kuopio (Finland); Sutela, Anna; Koenoenen, Mervi; Hakumaeki, Juhana; Sudah, Mazen [Kuopio University Hospital, Kuopio University Hospital, Diagnostic Imaging Centre, Department of Clinical Radiology, PO Box 1777, Kuopio (Finland); Sironen, Reijo [Kuopio University Hospital, Kuopio University Hospital, Department of Pathology, PO Box 1777, Kuopio (Finland); Kuopio University Hospital, University of Eastern Finland, Institute of Clinical Medicine, School of Medicine, Clinical Pathology and Forensic Medicine, PO Box 1777, Kuopio (Finland); University of Eastern Finland, Cancer Center of Eastern Finland, Kuopio (Finland); Vanninen, Ritva [Kuopio University Hospital, Kuopio University Hospital, Diagnostic Imaging Centre, Department of Clinical Radiology, PO Box 1777, Kuopio (Finland); Kuopio University Hospital, University of Eastern Finland, Institute of Clinical Medicine, School of Medicine, Department of Clinical Radiology, PO Box 1777, Kuopio (Finland); University of Eastern Finland, Cancer Center of Eastern Finland, Kuopio (Finland)

2016-12-15

To evaluate the value of adding T2- and diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) to the BI-RADS registered classification in MRI-detected lesions. This retrospective study included 112 consecutive patients who underwent 3.0T structural breast MRI with T2- and DWI on the basis of EUSOMA recommendations. Morphological and kinetic features, T2 signal intensity (T2 SI) and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) findings were assessed. Thirty-three (29.5 %) patients (mean age 57.0 ± 12.7 years) had 36 primarily MRI-detected incidental lesions of which 16 (44.4 %) proved to be malignant. No single morphological or kinetic feature was associated with malignancy. Both low T2 SI (P = 0.009) and low ADC values (≤0.87 x 10{sup -3} mm{sup 2}s{sup -1}, P < 0.001) yielded high specificity (80.0 %/80.0 %). The BI-RADS classification supplemented with information from DWI and T2-WI improved the diagnostic performance of the BI-RADS classification as sensitivity remained 100 % and specificity improved from 30 % to 65.0 %. The numbers of false positive lesions declined from 39 % (N = 14) to 19 % (N = 7). MRI-detected incidental lesions may be challenging to characterize as they have few specific malignancy indicating features. The specificity of MRI can be improved by incorporating T2 SI and ADC values into the BI-RADS assessment. (orig.)

VEHICLE LOCALIZATION BY LIDAR POINT CORRELATION IMPROVED BY CHANGE DETECTION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Schlichting

2016-06-01

Full Text Available LiDAR sensors are proven sensors for accurate vehicle localization. Instead of detecting and matching features in the LiDAR data, we want to use the entire information provided by the scanners. As dynamic objects, like cars, pedestrians or even construction sites could lead to wrong localization results, we use a change detection algorithm to detect these objects in the reference data. If an object occurs in a certain number of measurements at the same position, we mark it and every containing point as static. In the next step, we merge the data of the single measurement epochs to one reference dataset, whereby we only use static points. Further, we also use a classification algorithm to detect trees. For the online localization of the vehicle, we use simulated data of a vertical aligned automotive LiDAR sensor. As we only want to use static objects in this case as well, we use a random forest classifier to detect dynamic scan points online. Since the automotive data is derived from the LiDAR Mobile Mapping System, we are able to use the labelled objects from the reference data generation step to create the training data and further to detect dynamic objects online. The localization then can be done by a point to image correlation method using only static objects. We achieved a localization standard deviation of about 5 cm (position and 0.06° (heading, and were able to successfully localize the vehicle in about 93 % of the cases along a trajectory of 13 km in Hannover, Germany.

Vehicle Localization by LIDAR Point Correlation Improved by Change Detection

Science.gov (United States)

Schlichting, A.; Brenner, C.

2016-06-01

LiDAR sensors are proven sensors for accurate vehicle localization. Instead of detecting and matching features in the LiDAR data, we want to use the entire information provided by the scanners. As dynamic objects, like cars, pedestrians or even construction sites could lead to wrong localization results, we use a change detection algorithm to detect these objects in the reference data. If an object occurs in a certain number of measurements at the same position, we mark it and every containing point as static. In the next step, we merge the data of the single measurement epochs to one reference dataset, whereby we only use static points. Further, we also use a classification algorithm to detect trees. For the online localization of the vehicle, we use simulated data of a vertical aligned automotive LiDAR sensor. As we only want to use static objects in this case as well, we use a random forest classifier to detect dynamic scan points online. Since the automotive data is derived from the LiDAR Mobile Mapping System, we are able to use the labelled objects from the reference data generation step to create the training data and further to detect dynamic objects online. The localization then can be done by a point to image correlation method using only static objects. We achieved a localization standard deviation of about 5 cm (position) and 0.06° (heading), and were able to successfully localize the vehicle in about 93 % of the cases along a trajectory of 13 km in Hannover, Germany.

Response of the Syrian awassi ewes to the synthetic prostaglandin, prosolvin

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zarkawi, M.

1999-11-01

Thirty Awassi ewes were divided equally into 3 groups. Ewes in the first (T10) and second groups (T15) were injected intramuscularly twice with either 10 mg (T10) or 15 mg (T15) of prosolvin, with an interval of 11 days. Whereas, the third group (C) was used as a control group. Progesterone levels were measured in the sera of the ewes using radioimmunoassay (RIA). Oestrus behaviour appeared in the ewes in group T10 on average after 83.3 hours, while oestrus appeared in the ewes in group T15 on average after 136.5 hours, after the second injection of prosolvin. In the control group (C), oestrus behaviour appeared on average after 251.2 hours, post ram introduction. The differences between the treated and the control animals in the time of oestrus behaviour was significant (p < 0.05). Average concentration of progesterone at mating was 0.64, 0.48 and 0.32 nmol/l for T10, T15 and C groups, respectively. The treatment had a luteolytic effect on the active corpora lutea. Progesterone concentration dropped sharply within 24 hours after the second prosolvin injection. The concentration dropped from 8.48 n mol/l to 0.52 n mol/l in the sera of group T10, and from 7.95 n mol/l to 0.45 n mol/l for the group T15. The treatment had no effect on the duration of pregnancy or birth weight. It could be concluded that it is possible to use the synthetic prostaglandin, prosolvin, for oestrous synchronization in the local Awassi ewes inside the breeding season at the doses of 10 and 15 mg. (author)

[Histochemical and histological investigations on the vagina of the beagle she-dog during various functional conditions (author's transl)].

Science.gov (United States)

Wrobel, K H; El Etreby, M F; Günzel, P

1975-01-01

Histotopochemistry and histology of vaginal epithelium in female beagles were studied during oestrus, metoestrus-dioestrus, post partum period and at days 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 of pregnancy. During oestrus the epithelium is uniform throughout the whole vagina: it presents itself as a high, uncornified, stratified squamous epithelium with some glycogen and lipid droplets but devoid of leucocytes. The intercellular gaps of the stratum intermedium give strong reactions for ATPase and alkaline phosphatase. The activities of oxidoreductases studied decrease continuously from basal to apical. During gravidity, post partum period and metoestrus-dioestrus distinct morphological and histochemical differences can be stated between the cranial and caudal vaginal portions. Caudal vaginal epithelium outside oestrus remains of stratified squamous type. It exhibits strong mucification during pregnancy. The PAS-positive mucous substances prefer a position in the enlarged intercellular gaps of stratum intermedium and superficiale. During pregnancy the epithelium is relatively rich in acid and completely devoid of alkaline phosphatases. Outside oestrus the epithelium of the cranial vaginal region is a relatively flat, stratified columnar one and contains leucocytes with regularity. Also the cranial vaginal portion undergoes mucification during pregnancy with a maximum about day 33. The mucous material is situated intracellularly and not within the intercellular gaps. Further, larger intraepithelial mucus cysts are observed. Alkaline phosphatase is found during gravidity in the basal region and an adluminal border of the epithelium. The reactions for oxidoreductases are strongest in the columnar cell layer which shows more functional adaptations than the remainder of the epithelium. Histochemical tests for beta-D-glucuronidase and leucine aminopeptidase give negative results in the whole vagina during all different functional stages studied.

Response of the Syrian awassi ewes to the synthetic prostaglandin, prosolvin

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zarkawi, M.

2000-01-01

Thirty Awassi ewes were divided equally into 3 groups. Ewes in the first (T10) and second groups (T15) were injected intramuscularly twice with either 10 mg (T10) or 15 mg (T15) of prosolvin, with an interval of 11 days. Whereas, the third group (C) was used as a control group. Progesterone levels were measured in the sera of the ewes using radioimmunoassay (RIA). Oestrus behaviour appeared in the ewes in group T10 on average after 83.3 hours, while oestrus appeared in the ewes in group T15 on average after 136.5 hours, after the second injection of prosolvin. In the control group (C), oestrus behaviour appeared on average after 251.2 hours, post ram introduction. The differences between the treated and the control animals in the time of oestrus behaviour was significant (p < 0.05). Average concentration of progesterone at mating was 0.64, 0.48 and 0.32 nmol/l for T10, T15 and C groups, respectively. The treatment had a luteolytic effect on the active corpora lutea. Progesterone concentration dropped sharply within 24 hours after the second prosolvin injection. The concentration dropped from 8.48 n mol/l to 0.52 n mol/l in the sera of group T10, and from 7.95 n mol/l to 0.45 n mol/l for the group T15. The treatment had no effect on the duration of pregnancy or birth weight. It could be concluded that it is possible to use the synthetic prostaglandin, prosolvin, for oestrous synchronization in the local Awassi ewes inside the breeding season at the doses of 10 and 15 mg. (author)

The evaluation of two doses of prostaglandin F2α analogue, prosolvin, for oestrous synchronisation of Syrian Awassi ewes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zarkawi, M.

2001-01-01

Thirty Awassi ewes were divided equally into 3 groups. Ewes in the first (T10) and second groups (T15) were injected intramuscularly twice with either 10 mg (T10) or 15 mg (T15) of prosolvin, with an interval of 11 days. Whereas, the third group (C) was used as a control group. Progesterone levels were measured in the sera of the ewes using radioimmunoassay (RIA). Oestrus behaviour appeared in the ewes in group T10 on average after 83.3 hours, while oestrus appeared in the ewes in group T15 on average after 136.5 hours, after the second injection of prosolvin. In the control group (C), oestrus behaviour appeared on average after 251.2 hours, post ram introduction. The differences between the treated and the control animals in the time of oestrus behaviour was significant (p < 0.05). Average concentration of progesterone at mating was 0.64, 0.48 and 0.32 nmol/l for T10, T15 and C groups, respectively. The treatment had a luteolytic effect on the active corpora lutea. Progesterone concentration dropped sharply within 24 hours after the second prosolvin injection. The concentration dropped from 8.48 n mol/l to 0.52 n mol/l in the sera of group T10, and from 7.95 n mol/l to 0.45 n mol/l for the group T15. The treatment had no effect on the duration of pregnancy or birth weight. It could be concluded that it is possible to use the synthetic prostaglandin, prosolvin, for oestrous synchronization in the local Awassi ewes inside the breeding season at the doses of 10 and 15 mg. (author)

Some reproductive performances of Thai native (TN and 50% TN x Anglo-Nubian crossbred does with different levels of concentrate supplementation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Choldumrongkul, S.

2007-05-01

Full Text Available A 2 x 2 x 2 factorial in completely randomized design was conducted to determine the effect of genotype of does (Thai native (TN or 50% Anglo-Nubian (AN crossbred, levels of concentrate supplementation(1 % body weight or ad libitum and body condition of does (poor or good on oestrus incidence, kidding rate and multiple birth rate of does. Does rotationally grazed on Paspalum plicatulum pasture for 4 weeks andwere supplemented with concentrate. The experiment was divided into 4 periods: 1 does run with a teaser for 105 days before mating to determine an oestrus incidence 2 does joined with bucks of the same genotypefor 45 days 3 does run with a teaser for 150 days during pregnancy and 4 does run with a teaser 90 days post-partum. Genotype, levels of concentrate supplementation and body condition of does did not significantlyaffect (P>0.05 kidding rate or multiple birth rate and average kidding rate and multiple birth rate of the does was 83.8 and 82.3%, respectively. Birth weight of kids from TN does was significantly lower (P<0.01 than that from 50% TN x AN crossbred does (1.9 and 2.5 kg, respectively. Number of days of the first oestrus incidence in post-partum period for TN does was significantly (P<0.01 less than that of 50% ANcrossbred does (59.1 days and 75.0 days, respectively. Number of days of the first oestrus incidence in postpartum for does supplemented with concentrate ad libitum was significantly (P<0.01 lower than that ofdoes supplemented with 1% BW of concentrate (60.5 and 73.6 days, respectively.

Improved detection limits for phthalates by selective solid-phase micro-extraction

KAUST Repository

Zia, Asif I.

2016-03-30

Presented research reports on an improved method and enhanced limits of detection for phthalates; a hazardous additive used in the production of plastics by solid-phase micro-extraction (SPME) polymer in comparison to molecularly imprinted solid-phase extraction (MISPE) polymer. The polymers were functionalized on an interdigital capacitive sensor for selective binding of phthalate molecules from a complex mixture of chemicals. Both polymers owned predetermined selectivity by formation of valuable molecular recognition sites for Bis (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP). Polymers were immobilized on planar electrochemical sensor fabricated on a single crystal silicon substrate with 500 nm sputtered gold electrodes fabricated using MEMS fabrication techniques. Impedance spectra were obtained using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) to determine sample conductance for evaluation of phthalate concentration in the spiked sample solutions with various phthalate concentrations. Experimental results revealed that the ability of SPME polymer to adsorb target molecules on the sensing surface is better than that of MISPE polymer for phthalates in the sensing system. Testing the extracted samples using high performance liquid chromatography with photodiode array detectors validated the results.

Improved detection of Mycobacterium bovis infection in bovine lymph node tissue using immunomagnetic separation (IMS-based methods.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Linda D Stewart

Full Text Available Immunomagnetic separation (IMS can selectively isolate and concentrate Mycobacterium bovis cells from lymph node tissue to facilitate subsequent detection by PCR (IMS-PCR or culture (IMS-MGIT. This study describes application of these novel IMS-based methods to test for M. bovis in a survey of 280 bovine lymph nodes (206 visibly lesioned (VL, 74 non-visibly lesioned (NVL collected at slaughter as part of the Northern Ireland bovine TB eradication programme. Their performance was evaluated relative to culture. Overall, 174 (62.1% lymph node samples tested positive by culture, 162 (57.8% by IMS-PCR (targeting IS6110, and 191 (68.2% by IMS-MGIT culture. Twelve (6.9% of the 174 culture positive lymph node samples were not detected by either of the IMS-based methods. However, an additional 79 M. bovis positive lymph node samples (27 (13.1% VL and 52 (70.3% NVL were detected by the IMS-based methods and not by culture. When low numbers of viable M. bovis are present in lymph nodes (e.g. in NVLs of skin test reactor cattle decontamination prior to culture may adversely affect viability, leading to false negative culture results. In contrast, IMS specifically captures whole M. bovis cells (live, dead or potentially dormant which are not subject to any deleterious treatment before detection by PCR or MGIT culture. During this study only 2.7% of NVL lymph nodes tested culture positive, whereas 70.3% of the same samples tested M. bovis positive by the IMS-based tests. Results clearly demonstrate that not only are the IMS-based methods more rapid but they have greater detection sensitivity than the culture approach currently used for the detection of M. bovis infection in cattle. Adoption of the IMS-based methods for lymph node testing would have the potential to improve M. bovis detection in clinical samples.

Quantification, improvement, and harmonization of small lesion detection with state-of-the-art PET

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vos, Charlotte S. van der [Radboud University Medical Centre, Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Nijmegen (Netherlands); University of Twente, MIRA Institute for Biomedical Technology and Technical Medicine, Enschede (Netherlands); Koopman, Danielle [University of Twente, MIRA Institute for Biomedical Technology and Technical Medicine, Enschede (Netherlands); Isala Hospital, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Zwolle (Netherlands); Rijnsdorp, Sjoerd; Arends, Albert J. [Catharina Hospital, Department of Medical Physics, Eindhoven (Netherlands); Boellaard, Ronald [University of Groningen, University Medical Centre Groningen, Department of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, Groningen (Netherlands); VU University Medical Center, Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Amsterdam (Netherlands); Dalen, Jorn A. van [Isala Hospital, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Zwolle (Netherlands); Isala, Department of Medical Physics, Zwolle (Netherlands); Lubberink, Mark [Uppsala University, Department of Surgical Sciences, Uppsala (Sweden); Uppsala University Hospital, Department of Medical Physics, Uppsala (Sweden); Willemsen, Antoon T.M. [University of Groningen, University Medical Centre Groningen, Department of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, Groningen (Netherlands); Visser, Eric P. [Radboud University Medical Centre, Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Nijmegen (Netherlands)

2017-08-15

In recent years, there have been multiple advances in positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) that improve cancer imaging. The present generation of PET/CT scanners introduces new hardware, software, and acquisition methods. This review describes these new developments, which include time-of-flight (TOF), point-spread-function (PSF), maximum-a-posteriori (MAP) based reconstruction, smaller voxels, respiratory gating, metal artefact reduction, and administration of quadratic weight-dependent {sup 18}F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) activity. Also, hardware developments such as continuous bed motion (CBM), (digital) solid-state photodetectors and combined PET and magnetic resonance (MR) systems are explained. These novel techniques have a significant impact on cancer imaging, as they result in better image quality, improved small lesion detectability, and more accurate quantification of radiopharmaceutical uptake. This influences cancer diagnosis and staging, as well as therapy response monitoring and radiotherapy planning. Finally, the possible impact of these developments on the European Association of Nuclear Medicine (EANM) guidelines and EANM Research Ltd. (EARL) accreditation for FDG-PET/CT tumor imaging is discussed. (orig.)

Quantification, improvement, and harmonization of small lesion detection with state-of-the-art PET

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vos, Charlotte S. van der; Koopman, Danielle; Rijnsdorp, Sjoerd; Arends, Albert J.; Boellaard, Ronald; Dalen, Jorn A. van; Lubberink, Mark; Willemsen, Antoon T.M.; Visser, Eric P.

2017-01-01

In recent years, there have been multiple advances in positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) that improve cancer imaging. The present generation of PET/CT scanners introduces new hardware, software, and acquisition methods. This review describes these new developments, which include time-of-flight (TOF), point-spread-function (PSF), maximum-a-posteriori (MAP) based reconstruction, smaller voxels, respiratory gating, metal artefact reduction, and administration of quadratic weight-dependent 18 F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) activity. Also, hardware developments such as continuous bed motion (CBM), (digital) solid-state photodetectors and combined PET and magnetic resonance (MR) systems are explained. These novel techniques have a significant impact on cancer imaging, as they result in better image quality, improved small lesion detectability, and more accurate quantification of radiopharmaceutical uptake. This influences cancer diagnosis and staging, as well as therapy response monitoring and radiotherapy planning. Finally, the possible impact of these developments on the European Association of Nuclear Medicine (EANM) guidelines and EANM Research Ltd. (EARL) accreditation for FDG-PET/CT tumor imaging is discussed. (orig.)

Usage of polarisation features of landmines for improved automatic detection

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jong, W. de; Cremer, F.; Schutte, K.; Storm, J.

2000-01-01

In this paper the landmine detection performance of an infrared and a visual light camera both equipped with a polarisation filter are compared with the detection performance of these cameras without polarisation filters. Sequences of images have been recorded with in front of these cameras a

Development of a platform to combine sensor networks and home robots to improve fall detection in the home environment.

Science.gov (United States)

Della Toffola, Luca; Patel, Shyamal; Chen, Bor-rong; Ozsecen, Yalgin M; Puiatti, Alessandro; Bonato, Paolo

2011-01-01

Over the last decade, significant progress has been made in the development of wearable sensor systems for continuous health monitoring in the home and community settings. One of the main areas of application for these wearable sensor systems is in detecting emergency events such as falls. Wearable sensors like accelerometers are increasingly being used to monitor daily activities of individuals at a risk of falls, detect emergency events and send alerts to caregivers. However, such systems tend to have a high rate of false alarms, which leads to low compliance levels. Home robots can enable caregivers with the ability to quickly make an assessment and intervene if an emergency event is detected. This can provide an additional layer for detecting false positives, which can lead to improve compliance. In this paper, we present preliminary work on the development of a fall detection system based on a combination sensor networks and home robots. The sensor network architecture comprises of body worn sensors and ambient sensors distributed in the environment. We present the software architecture and conceptual design home robotic platform. We also perform preliminary characterization of the sensor network in terms of latencies and battery lifetime.

The auditory oddball paradigm revised to improve bedside detection of consciousness in behaviorally unresponsive patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Morlet, Dominique; Ruby, Perrine; André-Obadia, Nathalie; Fischer, Catherine

2017-11-01

Active paradigms requiring subjects to engage in a mental task on request have been developed to detect consciousness in behaviorally unresponsive patients. Using auditory ERPs, the active condition consists in orienting patient's attention toward oddball stimuli. In comparison with passive listening, larger P300 in the active condition identifies voluntary processes. However, contrast between these two conditions is usually too weak to be detected at the individual level. To improve test sensitivity, we propose as a control condition to actively divert the subject's attention from the auditory stimuli with a mental imagery task that has been demonstrated to be within the grasp of the targeted patients: navigate in one's home. Twenty healthy subjects were presented with a two-tone oddball paradigm in the three following condition: (a) passive listening, (b) mental imagery, (c) silent counting of deviant stimuli. Mental imagery proved to be more efficient than passive listening to lessen P300 response to deviant tones as compared with the active counting condition. An effect of attention manipulation (oriented vs. diverted) was observed in 19/20 subjects, of whom 18 showed the expected P300 effect and 1 showed an effect restricted to the N2 component. The only subject showing no effect also proved insufficient engagement in the tasks. Our study demonstrated the efficiency of diverting attention using mental imagery to improve the sensitivity of the active oddball paradigm. Using recorded instructions and requiring a small number of electrodes, the test was designed to be conveniently and economically used at the patient's bedside. © 2017 Society for Psychophysiological Research.

Differential expression of the P2X7 receptor in ovarian surface epithelium during the oestrous cycle in the mouse.

Science.gov (United States)

Vázquez-Cuevas, F G; Cruz-Rico, A; Garay, E; García-Carrancá, A; Pérez-Montiel, D; Juárez, B; Arellano, R O

2013-01-01

Purinergic signalling has been proposed as an intraovarian regulatory mechanism. Of the receptors responsible for purinergic transmission, the P2X7 receptor is an ATP-gated cationic channel that displays a broad spectrum of cellular functions ranging from apoptosis to cell proliferation and tumourigenesis. In the present study, we investigated the functional expression of P2X7 receptors in ovarian surface epithelium (OSE). P2X7 protein was detected in the OSE layer of the mouse, both in situ and in primary cultures. In cultures, 2'(3')-O-(4-Benzoylbenzoyl)adenosine-5'-triphosphate (BzATP) activation of P2X7 receptors increased [Ca(2+)]i and induced apoptosis. The functionality of the P2X7 receptor was investigated in situ by intrabursal injection of BzATP on each day of the oestrous cycle and evaluation of apoptosis 24h using the terminal deoxyribonucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP-fluorescein nick end-labelling (TUNEL) assay. Maximum effects of BzATP were observed during pro-oestrus, with the effects being blocked by A438079, a specific P2X7 receptor antagonist. Immunofluorescence staining for P2X7 protein revealed more robust expression during pro-oestrus and in OSE regions behind the antral follicles, strongly supporting the notion that the differences in apoptosis can be explained by increased receptor expression, which is regulated during the oestrous cycle. Finally, P2X7 receptor expression was detected in the OSE layer of human ovaries, with receptor expression maintained in human ovaries diagnosed with cancer, as well as in the human ovarian carcinoma SKOV3 cell line.

Application of Microwave Irradiation and Heat to Improve Gliadin Detection and Ricin ELISA Throughput with Food Samples

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eric A. E. Garber

2015-06-01

Full Text Available The utility of microwave irradiation to accelerate the onset of equilibrium and improve ELISA performance was examined using ELISAs for the detection of the plant toxin ricin and gliadin. The ricin ELISA normally requires several one hour incubations at 37 °C, a total assay time of approximately five hours, and employs a complex buffer containing PBS, Tween-20®, and non-fat milk. Different energy levels and pulse designs were compared to the use of abbreviated incubation times at 37 °C for the detection of ricin in food. The use of microwave irradiation had no significant advantage over the application of heat using an oven incubator and performed worse with some foods. In contrast, a gliadin ELISA that relied on 30 min incubation steps at room temperature and a salt-based buffer performed better upon irradiation but also displayed improvement upon incubating the microtiter plate at 37 °C. Whether microwave irradiation was advantageous compared to incubation in an oven was inconclusive. However, by abbreviating the incubation time of the ricin ELISA, it was possible to cut the assay time to less than 2 hours and still display LOD values < 10 ppb and recoveries of 78%–98%.