WorldWideScience

Sample records for minefield detection performance

  1. Minefield overwatch using moving target indicator radar

    Science.gov (United States)

    Donadio, Anthony; Ewing, Robert; Kenneally, William J.; Santapietro, John J.

    1999-07-01

    Traditional antipersonnel land mines are an effective military tool, but they are unable to distinguish friend from foe, or civilian from military personnel. The concept described here uses an advanced moving target indicator (MTI) radar to scan the minefield in order to detect movement towards or within the minefield, coupled with visual identification by a human operator and a communication link for command and control. Selected mines in the minefield can then be activated by means of the command link. In order to demonstrate this concept, a 3D, interactive simulation has been developed. This simulation builds on previous work by integrating a detailed analytical model of an MTI radar. This model has been tailored to the specific application of detection of slowly moving dismounted entities immersed in ground clutter. The model incorporates the effects of internal scatterer motion and antenna scanning modulation in order to provide a realistic representation of the detection problem in this environment. The angle information on the MTI target detection is then passed to a virtual 3D sight which cues a human operator to the target location. In addition, radar propagation effects and an experimental design in which the radar itself is used as a command link are explored.

  2. Multiple Autonomous Vehicles for Minefield Reconnaissance and Mapping

    Science.gov (United States)

    1997-12-01

    NPS-ME-97-008 NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL Monterey, California ItC A D- 19980421 131 =C QUALTY Ui Ji.CTEJ) THESIS MULTIPLE AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES FOR...MULTIPLE AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES FOR MINEFIELD 5. FUNDING NUMBERS RECONNAISSANCE AND MAPPING N0001497WX30039 6. AUTHOR(S) Jack A. Starr 7. PERFORMING... AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES FOR MINEFIELD RECONNAISSANCE AND MAPPING Jack A. Starr Lieutenant, United States Navy B.S., Oregon State University, 1991 Submitted in

  3. Minefield Mapping Using Cooperative Multirobot Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alaa Khamis

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents a team-theoretic approach to cooperative multirobot systems. The individual actions of the robots are controlled by the Belief-Desire-Intention model to endow the robots with the know-how needed to execute these actions deliberately. The cooperative behaviors between the heterogeneous robots are governed by the Team-Log theory to endow all the robots in the team with the know-how-to-cooperate and determine the team members’ commitments to each other despite their different types, properties, and goals. The proposed approach is tested for validity with the real life problem of minefield mapping. Different minefield sweeping strategies are studied to control the mobility of the mobile sweepers within the minefield in order to maximize the area coverage and improve picture compilation capability of the multirobot system.

  4. Semantic risk estimation of suspected minefields based on spatial relationships analysis of minefield indicators from multi-level remote sensing imagery

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chan, Jonathan Cheung-Wai; Sahli, Hichem; Wang, Yuhang

    2005-06-01

    This paper presents semantic risk estimation of suspected minefields using spatial relationships of minefield indicators extracted from multi-level remote sensing. Both satellite image and pyramidal airborne acquisitions from 900m to 30m flying heights with resolutions from 1m to 2cm resolutions are used for identification of minefield indicators. R-Histogram [1] is a quantitative representation of spatial relationship between two objects in an image. Eight spatial relationships can be generated: 1) LEFT OF, 2) RIGHT OF, 3) ABOVE, 4) BELOW, 5) NEAR, 6) FAR, 7) INSIDE, 8) OUTSIDE. R-Histogram semantics are first generated from selected indicators and metrics such as topological proximity and directional relationships are trained for soft classification of risk index (normalized as 0-1). We presented a framework of how semantic metadata generated from remote sensing images are used in risk estimation. The resultant risk index identified seven out of twelve mine accidents occurred at high risk region. More importantly, comparison with ground truth obtained after mine clearance show that three out of the four identified pattern minefields falls into the area estimated at very high risk. A parcel-based per-field risk estimation can also be easily generated to show the usefulness of the risk index.

  5. Planning the safe transit of a ship through a mapped minefield ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Sea minefields obstructing naval missions have to be breached with minimum effort and acceptable risk. With the advent of autonomous mapping, it is feasible to have high quality information of obstructing sea minefields and their environment before moving into them. The challenge remains to use this knowledge optimally ...

  6. Airborne Multi-Spectral Minefield Survey

    Science.gov (United States)

    2005-05-01

    Swedish Defence Research Agency), GEOSPACE (Austria), GTD ( Ingenieria de Sistemas y Software Industrial, Spain), IMEC (Ineruniversity MicroElectronic...RTO-MP-SET-092 18 - 1 UNCLASSIFIED/UNLIMITED UNCLASSIFIED/UNLIMITED Airborne Multi-Spectral Minefield Survey Dirk-Jan de Lange, Eric den...actions is the severe lack of baseline information. To respond to this in a rapid way, cost-efficient data acquisition methods are a key issue. de

  7. Tread lightly through these accounting minefields.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sherman, H D; Young, S D

    2001-01-01

    In the current economic climate, there is tremendous pressure--and personal incentive for managers--to report sales growth and meet investors' revenue expectations. As a result, more companies have been issuing misleading financial reports, according to the SEC, especially involving game playing around earnings. But it's shareholders who suffer from aggressive accounting strategies; they don't get a true sense of the financial health of the company, and when problems come to light, the shares they're holding can plummet in value. How can investors and their representatives on corporate boards spot trouble before it blows up in their faces? According to the authors, they should keep their eyes peeled for common abuses in six areas: revenue measurement and recognition, provisions and reserves for uncertain future costs, asset valuation, derivatives, related party transactions, and information used for bench-marking performance. If a disaster strikes, it will most likely be in one of these accounting minefields. This article examines the hazards of each minefield in turn, using examples like Metallgesellschaft, Xerox, MicroStrategy, and Lernout & Hauspie. It also provides a set of questions to ask in order to determine where a company's accounting practices might be overly aggressive. For those whose greatest interest is in fairly valuing the business--not presenting it in the best possible light--these questions are the first line of defense against creative accounting. Accounting game players are adroit, but it's both foolish and dangerous, contend the authors, to declare oneself ignorant and hence powerless against their machinations. They argue that members of corporate boards need to be financially literate.

  8. Human Error Assessmentin Minefield Cleaning Operation Using Human Event Analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohammad Hajiakbari

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Background & objective: Human error is one of the main causes of accidents. Due to the unreliability of the human element and the high-risk nature of demining operations, this study aimed to assess and manage human errors likely to occur in such operations. Methods: This study was performed at a demining site in war zones located in the West of Iran. After acquiring an initial familiarity with the operations, methods, and tools of clearing minefields, job task related to clearing landmines were specified. Next, these tasks were studied using HTA and related possible errors were assessed using ATHEANA. Results: de-mining task was composed of four main operations, including primary detection, technical identification, investigation, and neutralization. There were found four main reasons for accidents occurring in such operations; walking on the mines, leaving mines with no action, error in neutralizing operation and environmental explosion. The possibility of human error in mine clearance operations was calculated as 0.010. Conclusion: The main causes of human error in de-mining operations can be attributed to various factors such as poor weather and operating conditions like outdoor work, inappropriate personal protective equipment, personality characteristics, insufficient accuracy in the work, and insufficient time available. To reduce the probability of human error in de-mining operations, the aforementioned factors should be managed properly.

  9. Navigating political minefields: partnerships in organizational case study research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moll, Sandra

    2012-01-01

    The purpose of this paper is to examine key challenges associated with conducting politically sensitive research within a workplace setting, and to highlight strategic partnerships that can be developed to address these challenges. The author's research on employee mental health issues within a large healthcare facility serves as the foundation for identification and description of "political minefields" that investigators may encounter when conducting organizational case study research. Key methodological principles from the literature on qualitative case study research will frame discussion of how to understand and address political sensitivities in the research process. The benefits of conducting organizational case study research will be outlined, followed by discussion of methodological challenges that can emerge in negotiating entry, collecting data (gatekeepers, researcher reflexivity, participant authenticity and non-maleficence), and communicating research findings. Courage, collaboration and clear communication with stakeholders at all levels of the organization are critical to the success of workplace based case study research.

  10. Risk Assessments of Minefields in Humanitarian Mine Action - a Bayesian Approach

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Vistisen, Jan Bastholm

    2006-01-01

    thesis, has concentrated on the development of a risk model quantifying to what extent a minefield poses a risk to a society. The risk model is derived in two steps: First, a general model, which requires detailed information about the mined area in question, is derived. Secondly, by the introduction...... risk model seems to be the lack of actual information about the binomial parameter q. A considerable part of the enclosed thesis focuses therefore on ways to provide information about q through statistical modelling. Depending on the level of historical information available to a hypothetical decision....... The possibility of making updates of the entering probability distributions p(m) and p(q) through incoming accident statistics by the use of Bayes' rule makes the suggested risk model dynamic. Moreover, the application of Bayesian data analysis gives the derived risk model a very flexible structure which allows...

  11. Performance Evaluation Test of the Orbit Screen Model 68A and the Komplet Model 48-25 Rock Crusher

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    2008-01-01

    ... minefields along the border of Ecuador and Peru. Although these devices could conceivably be used in tandem as a system, this evaluation focused on the performance potential of each unit to operate as a stand-alone system...

  12. Landmine detection by nuclear techniques

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Megahid, R M [Reactor Physics Department, Nuclear Research Centre, Atomic Energy Authority, Cairo (Egypt)

    2000-11-15

    According to the information given by recent published data , more than 150 million land mines are buried in more than 70 countries, among them is Egypt . In Egypt, more than 23 million land mines lie buried in the northern parts of the western desert and western parts of Sinai . These mines are triggered accidentally by civilian activities, ravaging the land and killing or maiming a lot of innocent civilian people . For humanitarian demining , the removal of land mines already in the ground is very difficult and quite costly. In addition, detecting minimum metal antipersonnel mines and distinguishing them from the metallic debris of a minefields is difficult with current available detectors.

  13. Landmine detection by nuclear techniques

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Megahid, R.M.

    2000-01-01

    According to the information given by recent published data , more than 150 million land mines are buried in more than 70 countries, among them is Egypt . In Egypt, more than 23 million land mines lie buried in the northern parts of the western desert and western parts of Sinai . These mines are triggered accidentally by civilian activities, ravaging the land and killing or maiming a lot of innocent civilian people . For humanitarian demining , the removal of land mines already in the ground is very difficult and quite costly. In addition, detecting minimum metal antipersonnel mines and distinguishing them from the metallic debris of a minefields is difficult with current available detectors

  14. Detecting Plastic PFM-1 Butterfly Mines Using Thermal Infrared Sensing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baur, J.; de Smet, T.; Nikulin, A.

    2017-12-01

    Remnant plastic-composite landmines, such as the mass-produced PFM-1, represent an ongoing humanitarian threat aggravated by high costs associated with traditional demining efforts. These particular unexploded ordnance (UXO) devices pose a challenge to conventional geophysical detection methods, due their plastic-body design and small size. Additionally, the PFM-1s represent a particularly heinous UXO, due to their low mass ( 25 lb) trigger limit and "butterfly" wing design, earning them the reputation of a "toy mine" - disproportionally impacting children across post-conflict areas. We developed a detection algorithm based on data acquired by a thermal infrared camera mounted to a commercial UAV to detect time-variable temperature difference between the PFM-1 and the surrounding environment. We present results of a field study focused on thermal detection and identification of the PFM-1 anti-personnel landmines from a remotely operated unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). We conducted a series of field detection experiments meant to simulate the mountainous terrains where PFM-1 mines were historically deployed and remain in place. In our tests, 18 inert PFM-1 mines along with the aluminum KSF-1 casing were randomly dispersed to mimic an ellipsoidal minefield of 8-10 x 18-20 m dimensions in a de-vegetated rubble yard at Chenango Valley State Park (New York State). We collected multiple thermal infrared imagery datasets focused on these model minefields with the FLIR Vue Pro R attached to the 3DR Solo UAV flying at approximately at 2 m. We identified different environmental variables to constrain the optimal time of day and daily temperature variations to reveal presence of these plastic UXOs. We show that in the early-morning hours when thermal inertia is greatest, the PFM-1 mines can be detected based on their differential thermal inertia. Because the mines have statistically different temperatures than background and a characteristic shape, we were able to train a

  15. Aerodynamic sampling for landmine trace detection

    Science.gov (United States)

    Settles, Gary S.; Kester, Douglas A.

    2001-10-01

    Electronic noses and similar sensors show promise for detecting buried landmines through the explosive trace signals they emit. A key step in this detection is the sampler or sniffer, which acquires the airborne trace signal and presents it to the detector. Practicality demands no physical contact with the ground. Further, both airborne particulates and molecular traces must be sampled. Given a complicated minefield terrain and microclimate, this becomes a daunting chore. Our prior research on canine olfactory aerodynamics revealed several ways that evolution has dealt with such problems: 1) proximity of the sniffer to the scent source is important, 2) avoid exhaling back into the scent source, 3) use an aerodynamic collar on the sniffer inlet, 4) use auxiliary airjets to stir up surface particles, and 5) manage the 'impedance mismatch' between sniffer and sensor airflows carefully. Unfortunately, even basic data on aerodynamic sniffer performance as a function of inlet-tube and scent-source diameters, standoff distance, etc., have not been previously obtained. A laboratory-prototype sniffer was thus developed to provide guidance for landmine trace detectors. Initial experiments with this device are the subject of this paper. For example, a spike in the trace signal is observed upon starting the sniffer airflow, apparently due to rapid depletion of the available signal-laden air. Further, shielding the sniffer from disruptive ambient airflows arises as a key issue in sampling efficiency.

  16. Remote Mine Detection Technologies for Land and Water Environments

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hoover, Eddie R.

    1999-05-11

    The detection of mines, both during and after hostilities, is a growing international problem. It limits military operations during wartime and unrecovered mines create tragic consequences for civilians. From a purely humanitarian standpoint an estimated 100 million or more unrecovered mines are located in over 60 countries worldwide. This paper presents an overview of some of the technologies currently being investigated by Sandia National Laboratories for the detection and monitoring of minefields in land and water environments. The three technical areas described in this paper are: 1) the development of new mathematical techniques for combining or fusing the data from multiple sources for enhanced decision-making; 2) an environmental fate and transport (EF&T) analysis approach that is central to improving trace chemical sensing technique; and 3) the investigation of an underwater range imaging device to aid in locating and characterizing mines and other obstacles in coastal waters.

  17. Minimum detectable gas concentration performance evaluation method for gas leak infrared imaging detection systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Xu; Jin, Weiqi; Li, Jiakun; Wang, Xia; Li, Shuo

    2017-04-01

    Thermal imaging technology is an effective means of detecting hazardous gas leaks. Much attention has been paid to evaluation of the performance of gas leak infrared imaging detection systems due to several potential applications. The minimum resolvable temperature difference (MRTD) and the minimum detectable temperature difference (MDTD) are commonly used as the main indicators of thermal imaging system performance. This paper establishes a minimum detectable gas concentration (MDGC) performance evaluation model based on the definition and derivation of MDTD. We proposed the direct calculation and equivalent calculation method of MDGC based on the MDTD measurement system. We build an experimental MDGC measurement system, which indicates the MDGC model can describe the detection performance of a thermal imaging system to typical gases. The direct calculation, equivalent calculation, and direct measurement results are consistent. The MDGC and the minimum resolvable gas concentration (MRGC) model can effectively describe the performance of "detection" and "spatial detail resolution" of thermal imaging systems to gas leak, respectively, and constitute the main performance indicators of gas leak detection systems.

  18. Integrated Robotic Systems for Humanitarian Demining

    OpenAIRE

    Colon, E.; Cubber, G. De; Ping, H.; Habumuremyi, J-C; Sahli, H.; Baudoin, Y.

    2007-01-01

    This paper summarises the main results of 10 years of research and development in Humanitarian Demining. The Hudem project focuses on mine detection systems and aims at provided different solutions to support the mine detection operations. Robots using different kind of locomotion systems have been designed and tested on dummy minefields. In order to control these robots, software interfaces, control algorithms, visual positioning and terrain following systems have also been developed. Typica...

  19. Minefield reconnaissance and detector system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Butler, M.T.; Cave, S.P.; Creager, J.D.; Johnson, C.M.; Mathes, J.B.; Smith, K.J.

    1994-04-26

    A multi-sensor system is described for detecting the presence of objects on the surface of the ground or buried just under the surface, such as anti-personnel or anti-tank mines or the like. A remote sensor platform has a plurality of metal detector sensors and a plurality of short pulse radar sensors. The remote sensor platform is remotely controlled from a processing and control unit and signals from the remote sensor platform are sent to the processing and control unit where they are individually evaluated in separate data analysis subprocess steps to obtain a probability score for each of the pluralities of sensors. These probability scores are combined in a fusion subprocess step by comparing score sets to a probability table which is derived based upon the historical incidence of object present conditions given that score set. A decision making rule is applied to provide an output which is optionally provided to a marker subprocess for controlling a marker device to mark the location of found objects. 7 figures.

  20. Defence Technology Strategy for the Demands of the 21st Century

    Science.gov (United States)

    2006-10-01

    mines and/or explosive ordnance; both making safe individual devices and breaching minefields: - Mechanical systems: ploughs and flails - Explosive...period 2000 to 200 well over a thousand people were killed world-wide with thousands more injured. were lost in one incident alone, - the sinking of...underwater sensors. Enable detection and tracking of stressing targets in high clutter and difficult environments. Examine options and develop kill

  1. Computer-aided detection of pulmonary nodules: influence of nodule characteristics on detection performance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Marten, K.; Engelke, C.; Seyfarth, T.; Grillhoesl, A.; Obenauer, S.; Rummeny, E.J.

    2005-01-01

    AIM: To evaluate prospectively the influence of pulmonary nodule characteristics on detection performances of a computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) tool and experienced chest radiologists using multislice CT (MSCT). MATERIALS AND METHODS: MSCT scans of 20 consecutive patients were evaluated by a CAD system and two independent chest radiologists for presence of pulmonary nodules. Nodule size, position, margin, matrix characteristics, vascular and pleural attachments and reader confidence were recorded and data compared with an independent standard of reference. Statistical analysis for predictors influencing nodule detection or reader performance included chi-squared, retrograde stepwise conditional logistic regression with odds ratios and nodule detection proportion estimates (DPE), and ROC analysis. RESULTS: For 135 nodules, detection rates for CAD and readers were 76.3, 52.6 and 52.6%, respectively; false-positive rates were 0.55, 0.25 and 0.15 per examination, respectively. In consensus with CAD the reader detection rate increased to 93.3%, and the false-positive rate dropped to 0.1/scan. DPEs for nodules ≤5 mm were significantly higher for ICAD than for the readers (p<0.05). Absence of vascular attachment was the only significant predictor of nodule detection by CAD (p=0.0006-0.008). There were no predictors of nodule detection for reader consensus with CAD. In contrast, vascular attachment predicted nodule detection by the readers (p=0.0001-0.003). Reader sensitivity was higher for nodules with vascular attachment than for unattached nodules (sensitivities 0.768 and 0.369; 95% confidence intervals=0.651-0.861 and 0.253-0.498, respectively). CONCLUSION: CAD increases nodule detection rates, decreases false-positive rates and compensates for deficient reader performance in detection of smallest lesions and of nodules without vascular attachment

  2. Microcystin Detection Characteristics of Fluorescence Immunochromatography and High Performance Liquid Chromatography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pyo, Dong Jin; Park, Geun Young; Choi, Jong Chon; Oh, Chang Suk

    2005-01-01

    Different detection characteristics of fluorescence immunochromatography method and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method for the analysis of cyanobacterial toxins were studied. In particular, low and high limits of detection, detection time and reproducibility and detectable microcystin species were compared when fluorescence immunochromatography method and high performance liquid chromatography method were applied for the detection of microcystin (MC), a cyclic peptide toxin of the freshwater cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa. A Fluorescence immunochromatography assay system has the unique advantages of short detection time and low detection limit, and high performance liquid chromatography detection method has the strong advantage of individual quantifications of several species of microcystins

  3. Software Design Document MCC CSCI (1). Volume 1 Sections 1.0-2.18

    Science.gov (United States)

    1991-06-01

    is in a minefield. Note that the minefields ar- searched in reverse chronological order. This algorithm deals correctly with laying down multiple...Development :SiMNET:MCC: __________________I ReconstVehicle Handle ISoc :reconscr.h cStr array of 30 char IStandard C type. pStr array of 30 char...Declared vehicle Ishort IStandard C type. problem char Standard C tye Internal Variables Variable I Type I Where Typedef Declared cStr Iarray of 100 char

  4. Performance Verification on UWB Antennas for Breast Cancer Detection

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vijayasarveswari V.

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Breast cancer is a common disease among women and death figure is continuing to increase. Early breast cancer detection is very important. Ultra wide-band (UWB is the promising candidate for short communication applications. This paper presents the performance of different types of UWB antennas for breast cancer detection. Two types of antennas are used i.e: UWB pyramidal antenna and UWB horn antenna. These antennas are used to transmit and receive the UWB signal. The collected signals are fed into developed neural network module to measure the performance efficiency of each antenna. The average detection efficiency is 88.46% and 87.55% for UWB pyramidal antenna and UWB horn antenna respectively. These antennas can be used to detect breast cancer in the early stage and save precious lives.

  5. Integrated Robotic systems for Humanitarian Demining

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E. Colon

    2007-06-01

    Full Text Available This paper summarises the main results of 10 years of research and development in Humanitarian Demining. The Hudem project focuses on mine detection systems and aims at provided different solutions to support the mine detection operations. Robots using different kind of locomotion systems have been designed and tested on dummy minefields. In order to control these robots, software interfaces, control algorithms, visual positioning and terrain following systems have also been developed. Typical data acquisition results obtained during trial campaigns with robots and data acquisition systems are reported. Lessons learned during the project and future work conclude this paper.

  6. Using intraindividual variability to detect malingering in cognitive performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Strauss, E; Hultsch, D F; Hunter, M; Slick, D J; Patry, B; Levy-Bencheton, J

    1999-11-01

    The utility of measures for detecting malingering was evaluated using a simulation design in which half the participants were encouraged to do their best and half were asked to feign head injury. Particular attention was focused on the utility of repeated assessment (intraindividual variability) in discriminating the groups. Participants were tested on three occasions on measures commonly used to detect malingering including a specific symptom validity test (SVT). The results indicated that multiple measures of malingering obtained in single assessment (occasion one) discriminated the groups effectively. In addition, however, intraindividual variability in performance, particularly of indicators from the SVT, provided unique information beyond level of performance. The results suggest that response inconsistency across testing sessions may be a clinically useful measure for the detection of malingering.

  7. Standalone computer-aided detection compared to radiologists' performance for the detection of mammographic masses

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hupse, Rianne; Samulski, Maurice; Imhof-Tas, Mechli W.; Karssemeijer, Nico; Lobbes, Marc; Boetes, Carla; Heeten, Ard den; Beijerinck, David; Pijnappel, Ruud

    2013-01-01

    We developed a computer-aided detection (CAD) system aimed at decision support for detection of malignant masses and architectural distortions in mammograms. The effect of this system on radiologists' performance depends strongly on its standalone performance. The purpose of this study was to compare the standalone performance of this CAD system to that of radiologists. In a retrospective study, nine certified screening radiologists and three residents read 200 digital screening mammograms without the use of CAD. Performances of the individual readers and of CAD were computed as the true-positive fraction (TPF) at a false-positive fraction of 0.05 and 0.2. Differences were analysed using an independent one-sample t-test. At a false-positive fraction of 0.05, the performance of CAD (TPF = 0.487) was similar to that of the certified screening radiologists (TPF = 0.518, P = 0.17). At a false-positive fraction of 0.2, CAD performance (TPF = 0.620) was significantly lower than the radiologist performance (TPF = 0.736, P <0.001). Compared to the residents, CAD performance was similar for all false-positive fractions. The sensitivity of CAD at a high specificity was comparable to that of human readers. These results show potential for CAD to be used as an independent reader in breast cancer screening. (orig.)

  8. Detection of Operator Performance Breakdown as an Automation Triggering Mechanism

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yoo, Hyo-Sang; Lee, Paul U.; Landry, Steven J.

    2015-01-01

    Performance breakdown (PB) has been anecdotally described as a state where the human operator "loses control of context" and "cannot maintain required task performance." Preventing such a decline in performance is critical to assure the safety and reliability of human-integrated systems, and therefore PB could be useful as a point at which automation can be applied to support human performance. However, PB has never been scientifically defined or empirically demonstrated. Moreover, there is no validated objective way of detecting such a state or the transition to that state. The purpose of this work is: 1) to empirically demonstrate a PB state, and 2) to develop an objective way of detecting such a state. This paper defines PB and proposes an objective method for its detection. A human-in-the-loop study was conducted: 1) to demonstrate PB by increasing workload until the subject reported being in a state of PB, and 2) to identify possible parameters of a detection method for objectively identifying the subjectively-reported PB point, and 3) to determine if the parameters are idiosyncratic to an individual/context or are more generally applicable. In the experiment, fifteen participants were asked to manage three concurrent tasks (one primary and two secondary) for 18 minutes. The difficulty of the primary task was manipulated over time to induce PB while the difficulty of the secondary tasks remained static. The participants' task performance data was collected. Three hypotheses were constructed: 1) increasing workload will induce subjectively-identified PB, 2) there exists criteria that identifies the threshold parameters that best matches the subjectively-identified PB point, and 3) the criteria for choosing the threshold parameters is consistent across individuals. The results show that increasing workload can induce subjectively-identified PB, although it might not be generalizable-only 12 out of 15 participants declared PB. The PB detection method based on

  9. Conflict Detection Performance Analysis for Function Allocation Using Time-Shifted Recorded Traffic Data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guerreiro, Nelson M.; Butler, Ricky W.; Maddalon, Jeffrey M.; Hagen, George E.; Lewis, Timothy A.

    2015-01-01

    The performance of the conflict detection function in a separation assurance system is dependent on the content and quality of the data available to perform that function. Specifically, data quality and data content available to the conflict detection function have a direct impact on the accuracy of the prediction of an aircraft's future state or trajectory, which, in turn, impacts the ability to successfully anticipate potential losses of separation (detect future conflicts). Consequently, other separation assurance functions that rely on the conflict detection function - namely, conflict resolution - are prone to negative performance impacts. The many possible allocations and implementations of the conflict detection function between centralized and distributed systems drive the need to understand the key relationships that impact conflict detection performance, with respect to differences in data available. This paper presents the preliminary results of an analysis technique developed to investigate the impacts of data quality and data content on conflict detection performance. Flight track data recorded from a day of the National Airspace System is time-shifted to create conflicts not present in the un-shifted data. A methodology is used to smooth and filter the recorded data to eliminate sensor fusion noise, data drop-outs and other anomalies in the data. The metrics used to characterize conflict detection performance are presented and a set of preliminary results is discussed.

  10. 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.

  11. On the performance of pre-microRNA detection algorithms

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Saçar Demirci, Müşerref Duygu; Baumbach, Jan; Allmer, Jens

    2017-01-01

    assess 13 ab initio pre-miRNA detection approaches using all relevant, published, and novel data sets while judging algorithm performance based on ten intrinsic performance measures. We present an extensible framework, izMiR, which allows for the unbiased comparison of existing algorithms, adding new...

  12. Continuous detection of weak sensory signals in afferent spike trains: the role of anti-correlated interspike intervals in detection performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goense, J B M; Ratnam, R

    2003-10-01

    An important problem in sensory processing is deciding whether fluctuating neural activity encodes a stimulus or is due to variability in baseline activity. Neurons that subserve detection must examine incoming spike trains continuously, and quickly and reliably differentiate signals from baseline activity. Here we demonstrate that a neural integrator can perform continuous signal detection, with performance exceeding that of trial-based procedures, where spike counts in signal- and baseline windows are compared. The procedure was applied to data from electrosensory afferents of weakly electric fish (Apteronotus leptorhynchus), where weak perturbations generated by small prey add approximately 1 spike to a baseline of approximately 300 spikes s(-1). The hypothetical postsynaptic neuron, modeling an electrosensory lateral line lobe cell, could detect an added spike within 10-15 ms, achieving near ideal detection performance (80-95%) at false alarm rates of 1-2 Hz, while trial-based testing resulted in only 30-35% correct detections at that false alarm rate. The performance improvement was due to anti-correlations in the afferent spike train, which reduced both the amplitude and duration of fluctuations in postsynaptic membrane activity, and so decreased the number of false alarms. Anti-correlations can be exploited to improve detection performance only if there is memory of prior decisions.

  13. Detection Performance of Packet Arrival under Downclocking for Mobile Edge Computing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhimin Wang

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Mobile edge computing (MEC enables battery-powered mobile nodes to acquire information technology services at the network edge. These nodes desire to enjoy their service under power saving. The sampling rate invariant detection (SRID is the first downclocking WiFi technique that can achieve this objective. With SRID, a node detects one packet arrival at a downclocked rate. Upon a successful detection, the node reverts to a full-clocked rate to receive the packet immediately. To ensure that a node acquires its service immediately, the detection performance (namely, the miss-detection probability and the false-alarm probability of SRID is of importance. This paper is the first one to theoretically study the crucial impact of SRID attributes (e.g., tolerance threshold, correlation threshold, and energy ratio threshold on the packet detection performance. Extensive Monte Carlo experiments show that our theoretical model is very accurate. This study can help system developers set reasonable system parameters for WiFi downclocking.

  14. Detection of argan oil adulteration with vegetable oils by high-performance liquid chromatography-evaporative light scattering detection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salghi, Rachid; Armbruster, Wolfgang; Schwack, Wolfgang

    2014-06-15

    Triacylglycerol profiles were selected as indicator of adulteration of argan oils to carry out a rapid screening of samples for the evaluation of authenticity. Triacylglycerols were separated by high-performance liquid chromatography-evaporative light scattering detection. Different peak area ratios were defined to sensitively detect adulteration of argan oil with vegetable oils such as sunflower, soy bean, and olive oil up to the level of 5%. Based on four reference argan oils, mean limits of detection and quantitation were calculated to approximately 0.4% and 1.3%, respectively. Additionally, 19 more argan oil reference samples were analysed by high-performance liquid chromatography-refractive index detection, resulting in highly comparative results. The overall strategy demonstrated a good applicability in practise, and hence a high potential to be transferred to routine laboratories. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Predicting detection performance with model observers: Fourier domain or spatial domain?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Baiyu; Yu, Lifeng; Leng, Shuai; Kofler, James; Favazza, Christopher; Vrieze, Thomas; McCollough, Cynthia

    2016-02-27

    The use of Fourier domain model observer is challenged by iterative reconstruction (IR), because IR algorithms are nonlinear and IR images have noise texture different from that of FBP. A modified Fourier domain model observer, which incorporates nonlinear noise and resolution properties, has been proposed for IR and needs to be validated with human detection performance. On the other hand, the spatial domain model observer is theoretically applicable to IR, but more computationally intensive than the Fourier domain method. The purpose of this study is to compare the modified Fourier domain model observer to the spatial domain model observer with both FBP and IR images, using human detection performance as the gold standard. A phantom with inserts of various low contrast levels and sizes was repeatedly scanned 100 times on a third-generation, dual-source CT scanner at 5 dose levels and reconstructed using FBP and IR algorithms. The human detection performance of the inserts was measured via a 2-alternative-forced-choice (2AFC) test. In addition, two model observer performances were calculated, including a Fourier domain non-prewhitening model observer and a spatial domain channelized Hotelling observer. The performance of these two mode observers was compared in terms of how well they correlated with human observer performance. Our results demonstrated that the spatial domain model observer correlated well with human observers across various dose levels, object contrast levels, and object sizes. The Fourier domain observer correlated well with human observers using FBP images, but overestimated the detection performance using IR images.

  16. MIMO scheme performance and detection in epsilon noise

    OpenAIRE

    Stepanov, Sander

    2006-01-01

    New approach for analysis and decoding MIMO signaling is developed for usual model of nongaussion noise consists of background and impulsive noise named epsilon - noise. It is shown that non-gaussion noise performance significantly worse than gaussion ones. Stimulation results strengthen out theory. Robust in statistical sense detection rule is suggested for such kind of noise features much best robust detector performance than detector designed for Gaussian noise in impulsive environment and...

  17. Performance evaluation software moving object detection and tracking in videos

    CERN Document Server

    Karasulu, Bahadir

    2013-01-01

    Performance Evaluation Software: Moving Object Detection and Tracking in Videos introduces a software approach for the real-time evaluation and performance comparison of the methods specializing in moving object detection and/or tracking (D&T) in video processing. Digital video content analysis is an important item for multimedia content-based indexing (MCBI), content-based video retrieval (CBVR) and visual surveillance systems. There are some frequently-used generic algorithms for video object D&T in the literature, such as Background Subtraction (BS), Continuously Adaptive Mean-shift (CMS),

  18. Ensemble of classifiers based network intrusion detection system performance bound

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Mkuzangwe, Nenekazi NP

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available This paper provides a performance bound of a network intrusion detection system (NIDS) that uses an ensemble of classifiers. Currently researchers rely on implementing the ensemble of classifiers based NIDS before they can determine the performance...

  19. [Research and Design of a System for Detecting Automated External Defbrillator Performance Parameters].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Kewu; Xiao, Shengxiang; Jiang, Lina; Hu, Jingkai

    2017-09-30

    In order to regularly detect the performance parameters of automated external defibrillator (AED), to make sure it is safe before using the instrument, research and design of a system for detecting automated external defibrillator performance parameters. According to the research of the characteristics of its performance parameters, combing the STM32's stability and high speed with PWM modulation control, the system produces a variety of ECG normal and abnormal signals through the digital sampling methods. Completed the design of the hardware and software, formed a prototype. This system can accurate detect automated external defibrillator discharge energy, synchronous defibrillation time, charging time and other key performance parameters.

  20. A statistical analysis on the leak detection performance of ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Chinedu Duru

    2017-11-09

    Nov 9, 2017 ... of underground and overground pipelines with wireless sensor networks through the .... detection performance analysis of pipeline leakage. This study and ..... case and apply to all materials transported through the pipeline.

  1. PERFORMANCE COMPARISON FOR INTRUSION DETECTION SYSTEM USING NEURAL NETWORK WITH KDD DATASET

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. Devaraju

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available Intrusion Detection Systems are challenging task for finding the user as normal user or attack user in any organizational information systems or IT Industry. The Intrusion Detection System is an effective method to deal with the kinds of problem in networks. Different classifiers are used to detect the different kinds of attacks in networks. In this paper, the performance of intrusion detection is compared with various neural network classifiers. In the proposed research the four types of classifiers used are Feed Forward Neural Network (FFNN, Generalized Regression Neural Network (GRNN, Probabilistic Neural Network (PNN and Radial Basis Neural Network (RBNN. The performance of the full featured KDD Cup 1999 dataset is compared with that of the reduced featured KDD Cup 1999 dataset. The MATLAB software is used to train and test the dataset and the efficiency and False Alarm Rate is measured. It is proved that the reduced dataset is performing better than the full featured dataset.

  2. 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

  3. Cluster Detection Tests in Spatial Epidemiology: A Global Indicator for Performance Assessment.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aline Guttmann

    Full Text Available In cluster detection of disease, the use of local cluster detection tests (CDTs is current. These methods aim both at locating likely clusters and testing for their statistical significance. New or improved CDTs are regularly proposed to epidemiologists and must be subjected to performance assessment. Because location accuracy has to be considered, performance assessment goes beyond the raw estimation of type I or II errors. As no consensus exists for performance evaluations, heterogeneous methods are used, and therefore studies are rarely comparable. A global indicator of performance, which assesses both spatial accuracy and usual power, would facilitate the exploration of CDTs behaviour and help between-studies comparisons. The Tanimoto coefficient (TC is a well-known measure of similarity that can assess location accuracy but only for one detected cluster. In a simulation study, performance is measured for many tests. From the TC, we here propose two statistics, the averaged TC and the cumulated TC, as indicators able to provide a global overview of CDTs performance for both usual power and location accuracy. We evidence the properties of these two indicators and the superiority of the cumulated TC to assess performance. We tested these indicators to conduct a systematic spatial assessment displayed through performance maps.

  4. Cluster Detection Tests in Spatial Epidemiology: A Global Indicator for Performance Assessment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guttmann, Aline; Li, Xinran; Feschet, Fabien; Gaudart, Jean; Demongeot, Jacques; Boire, Jean-Yves; Ouchchane, Lemlih

    2015-01-01

    In cluster detection of disease, the use of local cluster detection tests (CDTs) is current. These methods aim both at locating likely clusters and testing for their statistical significance. New or improved CDTs are regularly proposed to epidemiologists and must be subjected to performance assessment. Because location accuracy has to be considered, performance assessment goes beyond the raw estimation of type I or II errors. As no consensus exists for performance evaluations, heterogeneous methods are used, and therefore studies are rarely comparable. A global indicator of performance, which assesses both spatial accuracy and usual power, would facilitate the exploration of CDTs behaviour and help between-studies comparisons. The Tanimoto coefficient (TC) is a well-known measure of similarity that can assess location accuracy but only for one detected cluster. In a simulation study, performance is measured for many tests. From the TC, we here propose two statistics, the averaged TC and the cumulated TC, as indicators able to provide a global overview of CDTs performance for both usual power and location accuracy. We evidence the properties of these two indicators and the superiority of the cumulated TC to assess performance. We tested these indicators to conduct a systematic spatial assessment displayed through performance maps. PMID:26086911

  5. Progress in evaluation of human observer visual detection performance using the ROC curve approach

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Metz, C.E.; Starr, S.J.; Lusted, L.B.; Rossmann, K.

    1976-01-01

    The ROC approach to analysis of human observer detection performance as playing a key role in elucidation the relationships among the physical parameters of an imaging operation, the ability of a human observer to use the image to make decisions regarding the state of health or disease in a medical diagnostic situation, and the medical and social utility of those decisions, was studied. The conventional ROC curve describing observer performance in simple detection tasks can be used to predict observer performance in complex detection tasks. The conventional ROC curve thus provides a description of observer detection performance which is useful in situations more relevant clinically than those for which it is measured. Similar predictions regarding observer performance in identification and recognition tasks are currently being sought. The ROC curve can be used to relate signal detectability to various measures of the diagnostic and social benefit derived from a medical imaging procedure. These relationships provide a means for assessing the relative desirability of alternative diagnostic techniques and can be used to evaluate combinations of diagnostic studies

  6. Performance Assessment Method for a Forged Fingerprint Detection Algorithm

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shin, Yong Nyuo; Jun, In-Kyung; Kim, Hyun; Shin, Woochang

    The threat of invasion of privacy and of the illegal appropriation of information both increase with the expansion of the biometrics service environment to open systems. However, while certificates or smart cards can easily be cancelled and reissued if found to be missing, there is no way to recover the unique biometric information of an individual following a security breach. With the recognition that this threat factor may disrupt the large-scale civil service operations approaching implementation, such as electronic ID cards and e-Government systems, many agencies and vendors around the world continue to develop forged fingerprint detection technology, but no objective performance assessment method has, to date, been reported. Therefore, in this paper, we propose a methodology designed to evaluate the objective performance of the forged fingerprint detection technology that is currently attracting a great deal of attention.

  7. Setting Performance Objectives for Radiation Detection Systems in Homeland Security Applications - Economic Models

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wood, Thomas W.; Bredt, Ofelia P.; Heasler, Patrick G.; Reichmuth, Barbara A.; Milazzo, Matthew D.

    2005-01-01

    This paper develops simple frameworks for cost minimization of detector systems by trading off the costs of failed detection against the social costs of false alarms. A workable system must have a high degree of certainty in detecting real threats and yet impose low social costs. The models developed here use standard measures of detector performance and derive target detection probabilities and false-alarm tolerance specifications as functions of detector performance, threat traffic densities, and estimated costs

  8. Setting Performance Objectives for Radiation Detection Systems in Homeland Security Applications - Economic Models

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wood, Thomas W.; Bredt, Ofelia P.; Heasler, Patrick G.; Reichmuth, Barbara A.; Milazzo, Matthew D.

    2005-04-28

    This paper develops simple frameworks for cost minimization of detector systems by trading off the costs of failed detection against the social costs of false alarms. A workable system must have a high degree of certainty in detecting real threats and yet impose low social costs. The models developed here use standard measures of detector performance and derive target detection probabilities and false-alarm tolerance specifications as functions of detector performance, threat traffic densities, and estimated costs.

  9. 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

  10. Towards Reliable Evaluation of Anomaly-Based Intrusion Detection Performance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Viswanathan, Arun

    2012-01-01

    This report describes the results of research into the effects of environment-induced noise on the evaluation process for anomaly detectors in the cyber security domain. This research was conducted during a 10-week summer internship program from the 19th of August, 2012 to the 23rd of August, 2012 at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. The research performed lies within the larger context of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) Smart Grid cyber security project, a Department of Energy (DoE) funded effort involving the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology and the University of Southern California/ Information Sciences Institute. The results of the present effort constitute an important contribution towards building more rigorous evaluation paradigms for anomaly-based intrusion detectors in complex cyber physical systems such as the Smart Grid. Anomaly detection is a key strategy for cyber intrusion detection and operates by identifying deviations from profiles of nominal behavior and are thus conceptually appealing for detecting "novel" attacks. Evaluating the performance of such a detector requires assessing: (a) how well it captures the model of nominal behavior, and (b) how well it detects attacks (deviations from normality). Current evaluation methods produce results that give insufficient insight into the operation of a detector, inevitably resulting in a significantly poor characterization of a detectors performance. In this work, we first describe a preliminary taxonomy of key evaluation constructs that are necessary for establishing rigor in the evaluation regime of an anomaly detector. We then focus on clarifying the impact of the operational environment on the manifestation of attacks in monitored data. We show how dynamic and evolving environments can introduce high variability into the data stream perturbing detector performance. Prior research has focused on understanding the impact of this

  11. Performance Analysis of Iterative Channel Estimation and Multiuser Detection in Multipath DS-CDMA Channels

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Husheng; Betz, Sharon M.; Poor, H. Vincent

    2007-05-01

    This paper examines the performance of decision feedback based iterative channel estimation and multiuser detection in channel coded aperiodic DS-CDMA systems operating over multipath fading channels. First, explicit expressions describing the performance of channel estimation and parallel interference cancellation based multiuser detection are developed. These results are then combined to characterize the evolution of the performance of a system that iterates among channel estimation, multiuser detection and channel decoding. Sufficient conditions for convergence of this system to a unique fixed point are developed.

  12. Computer-aided Detection of Lung Cancer on Chest Radiographs: Effect on Observer Performance

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    de Hoop, Bartjan; de Boo, Diederik W.; Gietema, Hester A.; van Hoorn, Frans; Mearadji, Banafsche; Schijf, Laura; van Ginneken, Bram; Prokop, Mathias; Schaefer-Prokop, Cornelia

    2010-01-01

    Purpose: To assess how computer-aided detection (CAD) affects reader performance in detecting early lung cancer on chest radiographs. Materials and Methods: In this ethics committee-approved study, 46 individuals with 49 computed tomographically (CT)-detected and histologically proved lung cancers

  13. Computer-aided detection of pulmonary embolism: Influence on radiologists' detection performance with respect to vessel segments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Das, Marco; Muehlenbruch, Georg; Helm, Anita; Guenther, Rolf W.; Wildberger, Joachim E.; Bakai, Annemarie; Salganicoff, Marcos; Liang, Jianming; Wolf, Matthias; Stanzel, Sven

    2008-01-01

    The purpose was to assess the sensitivity of a CAD software prototype for the detection of pulmonary embolism in MDCT chest examinations with regard to vessel level and to assess the influence on radiologists' detection performance. Forty-three patients with suspected PE were included in this retrospective study. MDCT chest examinations with a standard PE protocol were acquired at a 16-slice MDCT. All patient data were read by three radiologists (R1, R2, R3), and all thrombi were marked. A CAD prototype software was applied to all datasets, and each finding of the software was analyzed with regard to vessel level. The standard of reference was assessed in a consensus read. Sensitivity for the radiologists and CAD software was assessed. Thirty-three patients were positive for PE, with a total of 215 thrombi. The mean overall sensitivity for the CAD software alone was 83% (specificity, 80%). Radiologist sensitivity was 77% = R3, 82% = R2, and R1 = 87%. With the aid of the CAD software, sensitivities increased to 98% (R1), 93% (R2), and 92% (R3) (p<0.0001). CAD performance at the lobar level was 87%, at the segmental 90% and at the subsegmental 77%. With the use of CAD for PE, the detection performance of radiologists can be improved. (orig.)

  14. Exploration of available feature detection and identification systems and their performance on radiographs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wantuch, Andrew C.; Vita, Joshua A.; Jimenez, Edward S.; Bray, Iliana E.

    2016-10-01

    Despite object detection, recognition, and identification being very active areas of computer vision research, many of the available tools to aid in these processes are designed with only photographs in mind. Although some algorithms used specifically for feature detection and identification may not take explicit advantage of the colors available in the image, they still under-perform on radiographs, which are grayscale images. We are especially interested in the robustness of these algorithms, specifically their performance on a preexisting database of X-ray radiographs in compressed JPEG form, with multiple ways of describing pixel information. We will review various aspects of the performance of available feature detection and identification systems, including MATLABs Computer Vision toolbox, VLFeat, and OpenCV on our non-ideal database. In the process, we will explore possible reasons for the algorithms' lessened ability to detect and identify features from the X-ray radiographs.

  15. RNA interference for performance enhancement and detection in doping control.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kohler, Maxie; Schänzer, Wilhelm; Thevis, Mario

    2011-10-01

    RNA interference represents a comparably new route of regulating and manipulating specific gene expression. Promising results were obtained in experimental therapies aim at the treatment of different kinds of diseases including cancer, diabetes mellitus or Dychenne muscular dystrophy. While studies on down-regulation efficiency are often performed by analyzing the regulated protein, the direct detection of small, interfering RNA molecules and antisense oligonucleotides is of great interest for the investigation of the metabolism and degradation and also for the detection of a putative misuse of these molecules in sports. Myostatin down-regulation was shown to result in increased performance and muscle growth and the regulation of several other proteins could be relevant for performance enhancement. This mini-review summarizes current approaches for the mass spectrometric analysis of siRNA and antisense oligonucleotides from biological matrices and the available data on biodistribution, metabolism, and half-life of relevant substances are discussed. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  16. Performance Test of BF3 Neutron Detection System

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Choi, Yu Sun; Shin, Ho Cheol [KHNP-CRI, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Cho, Jin Bok; Oh, Sae Hyun; Ryou, Seok Jean [USERS, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

    2015-10-15

    The neutron detecting system of First-of-a-kind plant such an APR1400 at Shin Kori should have been verified in the condition of low operating temperature and pressure of the primary coolant system before receiving the operation license. Auxiliary Ex-core Neutron Flux Monitoring System (AENFMS) is supposed to be installed using BF3 neutron detector in Shin Kori plant. The performance test of AENFMS was conducted to measure neutron sensitivity, moderation ratio and count rate in the same condition with Ex-core Neutron Flux Monitoring System (ENFMS) of APR1400 to verify its detection characteristics in compliance with the functional requirement. Performance test has been conducted for AENFMS of APR1400 to verify BF3 neutron sensitivity, moderation ration of PE, expecting neutron signal count rate from AENFMS, possible extending cable length from detector to pre-amplifier. As a result of measurement, the neutron sensitivity of 34.246±0.168(95%CI)cps/nv, moderation ratio of 11.343±0.039(95%CI) and AENFMS expecting count rate related to ENFMS of 17.8 times are acceptable in compliance with functional requirement, respectively.

  17. Radon detection system, design, test and performance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Balcazar, M.; Chavez, A.; Pina-Villalpando, G.; Navarrete, M.

    1999-01-01

    A portable radon detection system (α-Inin) has been designed and constructed for using it in adverse environmental conditions where humidity, temperature and chemical vaporous are present. The minimum integration time is in periods of 15 min during 41 days. A 12 V battery and a photovoltaic module allow the α-Inin autonomy in field measurements. Data is collected by means of a laptop computer where data processing and α-Inin programming are carried out. α-Inin performance was simultaneously tested in a controlled radon chamber, together with a commercial α-Meter

  18. Performance of computer-aided detection applied to full-field digital mammography in detection of breast cancers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sadaf, Arifa; Crystal, Pavel; Scaranelo, Anabel; Helbich, Thomas

    2011-01-01

    Objective: The aim of this retrospective study was to evaluate performance of computer-aided detection (CAD) with full-field digital mammography (FFDM) in detection of breast cancers. Materials and Methods: CAD was retrospectively applied to standard mammographic views of 127 cases with biopsy proven breast cancers detected with FFDM (Senographe 2000, GE Medical Systems). CAD sensitivity was assessed in total group of 127 cases and for subgroups based on breast density, mammographic lesion type, mammographic lesion size, histopathology and mode of presentation. Results: Overall CAD sensitivity was 91% (115 of 127 cases). There were no statistical differences (p > 0.1) in CAD detection of cancers in dense breasts 90% (53/59) versus non-dense breasts 91% (62/68). There was statistical difference (p 20 mm 97% (22/23). Conclusion: CAD applied to FFDM showed 100% sensitivity in identifying cancers manifesting as microcalcifications only and high sensitivity 86% (71/83) for other mammographic appearances of cancer. Sensitivity is influenced by lesion size. CAD in FFDM is an adjunct helping radiologist in early detection of breast cancers.

  19. Performance of computer-aided diagnosis for detection of lacunar infarcts on brain MR images: ROC analysis of radiologists' detection

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Uchiyama, Y.; Yokoyama, R.; Hara, T.; Fujita, H.; Asano, T.; Kato, H.; Hoshi, H.; Yamakawa, H.; Iwama, T.; Ando, H.; Yamakawa, H.

    2007-01-01

    The detection and management of asymptomatic lacunar infarcts on magnetic resonance (MR) images are important tasks for radiologists to ensure the prevention of sever cerebral infarctions. However, accurate identification of lacunar infarcts is a difficult. Therefore, we developed a computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) scheme for detection of lacunar infarcts. The purpose of this study was to evaluate radiologists' performance in detection of lacunar infarcts without and with use of CAD scheme. 30 T1- and 30 T2- weighted images obtained from 30 patients were used for an observer study, which were consisted of 15 cases with a single lacunar infarct and 15 cases without any lacunar infarct. Six radiologists participated in the observer study. They interpreted lacunar infarcts first without and then with use of the scheme. For all six observers, average area under the receiver operating characteristic curve value was increased from 0.920 to 0.965 when they used the computer output. This CAD scheme might have the potential to improve the accuracy of radiologists' performance in the detection of lacunar infarcts on MR images. (orig.)

  20. Performance of a direct detection camera for off-axis electron holography

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chang, Shery L.Y., E-mail: shery.chang@asu.edu [Ernst Ruska-Centre for Microscopy and Spectroscopy with Electrons, and Peter Grünberg Institute, Forschungszentrum Jülich, D-52425 Jülich (Germany); LeRoy Eyring Center for Solid State Science, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287 (United States); Dwyer, Christian [Ernst Ruska-Centre for Microscopy and Spectroscopy with Electrons, and Peter Grünberg Institute, Forschungszentrum Jülich, D-52425 Jülich (Germany); Department of Physics, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287 (United States); Barthel, Juri; Boothroyd, Chris B.; Dunin-Borkowski, Rafal E. [Ernst Ruska-Centre for Microscopy and Spectroscopy with Electrons, and Peter Grünberg Institute, Forschungszentrum Jülich, D-52425 Jülich (Germany)

    2016-02-15

    The performance of a direct detection camera (DDC) is evaluated in the context of off-axis electron holographic experiments in a transmission electron microscope. Its performance is also compared directly with that of a conventional charge-coupled device (CCD) camera. The DDC evaluated here can be operated either by the detection of individual electron events (counting mode) or by the effective integration of many such events during a given exposure time (linear mode). It is demonstrated that the improved modulation transfer functions and detective quantum efficiencies of both modes of the DDC give rise to significant benefits over the conventional CCD cameras, specifically, a significant improvement in the visibility of the holographic fringes and a reduction of the statistical error in the phase of the reconstructed electron wave function. The DDC's linear mode, which can handle higher dose rates, allows optimisation of the dose rate to achieve the best phase resolution for a wide variety of experimental conditions. For suitable conditions, the counting mode can potentially utilise a significantly lower dose to achieve a phase resolution that is comparable to that achieved using the linear mode. The use of multiple holograms and correlation techniques to increase the total dose in counting mode is also demonstrated. - Highlights: • Performance of a direct detection camera for off-axis electron holography has been evaluated. • Better holographic fringe visibility and phase resolution are achieved using DDC. • Both counting and linear modes offered by DDC are advantageous for different dose regimes.

  1. Performance of a direct detection camera for off-axis electron holography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chang, Shery L.Y.; Dwyer, Christian; Barthel, Juri; Boothroyd, Chris B.; Dunin-Borkowski, Rafal E.

    2016-01-01

    The performance of a direct detection camera (DDC) is evaluated in the context of off-axis electron holographic experiments in a transmission electron microscope. Its performance is also compared directly with that of a conventional charge-coupled device (CCD) camera. The DDC evaluated here can be operated either by the detection of individual electron events (counting mode) or by the effective integration of many such events during a given exposure time (linear mode). It is demonstrated that the improved modulation transfer functions and detective quantum efficiencies of both modes of the DDC give rise to significant benefits over the conventional CCD cameras, specifically, a significant improvement in the visibility of the holographic fringes and a reduction of the statistical error in the phase of the reconstructed electron wave function. The DDC's linear mode, which can handle higher dose rates, allows optimisation of the dose rate to achieve the best phase resolution for a wide variety of experimental conditions. For suitable conditions, the counting mode can potentially utilise a significantly lower dose to achieve a phase resolution that is comparable to that achieved using the linear mode. The use of multiple holograms and correlation techniques to increase the total dose in counting mode is also demonstrated. - Highlights: • Performance of a direct detection camera for off-axis electron holography has been evaluated. • Better holographic fringe visibility and phase resolution are achieved using DDC. • Both counting and linear modes offered by DDC are advantageous for different dose regimes.

  2. Observer performance in detecting multiple radiographic signals: prediction and analysis using a generalized ROC approach

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Metz, C.E.; Starr, S.J.; Lusted, L.B.

    1975-01-01

    The theories of decision processes and signal detection provide a framework for the evaluation of observer performance. Some radiologic procedures involve a search for multiple similar lesions, as in gallstone or pneumoconiosis examinations. A model is presented which attempts to predict, from the conventional receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve describing the detectability of a single visual signal in a radiograph, observer performance in an experiment requiring detection of more than one such signal. An experiment is described which tests the validity of this model for the case of detecting the presence of zero, one, or two low-contrast radiographic images of a two-mm.-diameter lucite bead embedded in radiographic mottle. Results from six observers, including three radiologists, confirm the validity of the model and suggest that human observer performance for relatively complex detection tasks can be predicted from the results of simpler experiments

  3. [Simultaneous determination of four compounds in Sanjing Shuanghuanglian Oral Liquid by high performance liquid chromatography-diode array detection-electrochemical detection].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Lin; Suo, Zhirong; Zheng, Jianbin

    2006-05-01

    Chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, baicalin and luteolin in Sanjing Shuanghuanglian Oral Liquid were simultaneously detected and identified using a high performance liquid chromatography coupled with diode array detection and electrochemical detection (HPLC-DAD-ECD). The separation was performed on a Zorbax SB-C18 column (150 mm x 4.6 mm i. d., 5.0 microm). The mobile phase consisted of (A) methanol and (B) methanol-water-acetic acid (50: 50: 1, v/v/v) using a linear gradient elution of 2%A-3%A at 0-3 min, 3%A-25%A at 3-15 min, 25%A-80%A at 15-20 min. The flow rate was 0.8 mL/min. The DAD detection was used at 275 nm. The ECD detection was done at 0.7 V. The column thermostat set at 30 degrees C. The limits of detection of the 4 compounds were 1 mg/L for chlorogenic acid, 0.2 mg/L for caffeic acid, 9 mg/L for baicalin, 7 mg/L for luteolin. The average recoveries were between 96.6%-99.6% with relative standard deviations (RSDs) of 2.5%-4.1%. The method is simple, rapid, reproducible and accurate. It can be used for the routine analysis of the four compounds in Shuanghuanglian Oral Liquid.

  4. Novel Magnetic and Chemical Micro Sensors for In-situ, Real-time, and Unattended Use

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Datskou, I.

    2001-01-01

    There exists a need to develop novel, advanced, unattended magnetic and chemical micro-sensor systems for successful detection, localization, classification and tracking of ground time critical targets of interest. Consistent with the underlying long-term objectives of the development of unattended ground sensors (UGS) program they have investigated the use of a new planted ground sensor platform based on Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) that can offer magnetic, chemical and possibly acoustic detection. The envisioned micro-system will be low-power and low-cost and will be built around a single type of microstructure element integrating a monolithic optical system and electronics package. This micro sensor can also incorporate burst telemetry to transmit the information, a renewable power source and will be capable of operating under field conditions, with sufficient sensitivity to permit high detection rates, and with sufficient chemical selectivity to prevent high false alarm rates. Preliminary studies, initial designs, and key predicted performance parameters will be presented. Possible applications of such a system include sensitive perimeter monitoring such as minefields and military/nuclear bases, vehicle detection, and aircraft navigation systems, and drug enforcement operations. The results of the present work demonstrate that the microcalorimetric spectroscopy technique can be applied to detect and identify chemicals in the ppm level and the studied microcantilever-based magnetometer can provide sensitivities in the order of 1(micro)T

  5. Performances of Four Helicobacter pylori Serological Detection Kits Using Stool Antigen Test as Gold Standard.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Biranjia-Hurdoyal, Susheela D; Seetulsingh-Goorah, Sharmila P

    2016-01-01

    The aim was to determine the performances of four Helicobacter pylori serological detection kits in different target groups, using Amplified IDEIA™ Hp StAR™ as gold standard. Kits studied were Rapid Immunochromatoghraphic Hexagon, Helicoblot 2.1, an EIA IgG kit and EIA IgA kit. Stool and blood samples were collected from 162 apparently healthy participants (control) and 60 Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients. The performances of the four serological detection kits were found to be affected by gender, age, health status and ethnicity of the participants. In the control group, the Helicoblot 2.1 kit had the best performance (AUC = 0.85; ppoor performances. In the T2DM subgroup, the kits H2.1 and EIA IgG had best performances, with accuracies of 96.5% and 93.1% respectively. The performance of EIA IgG improved with adjustment of its cut-off value. The performances of the detection kits were affected by various factors which should be taken into consideration.

  6. Data-Driven Anomaly Detection Performance for the Ares I-X Ground Diagnostic Prototype

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martin, Rodney A.; Schwabacher, Mark A.; Matthews, Bryan L.

    2010-01-01

    In this paper, we will assess the performance of a data-driven anomaly detection algorithm, the Inductive Monitoring System (IMS), which can be used to detect simulated Thrust Vector Control (TVC) system failures. However, the ability of IMS to detect these failures in a true operational setting may be related to the realistic nature of how they are simulated. As such, we will investigate both a low fidelity and high fidelity approach to simulating such failures, with the latter based upon the underlying physics. Furthermore, the ability of IMS to detect anomalies that were previously unknown and not previously simulated will be studied in earnest, as well as apparent deficiencies or misapplications that result from using the data-driven paradigm. Our conclusions indicate that robust detection performance of simulated failures using IMS is not appreciably affected by the use of a high fidelity simulation. However, we have found that the inclusion of a data-driven algorithm such as IMS into a suite of deployable health management technologies does add significant value.

  7. Assay for dihydroorotase using high-performance liquid chromatography with radioactivity detection

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mehdi, S.; Wiseman, J.S.

    1989-01-01

    An assay for measuring dihydroorotase activity was devised. Radiolabeled substrate and product were separated by high-performance liquid chromatography using a reverse-phase column with ion-pairing, and the radioactivity was quantitated by flow detection

  8. Performance Evaluation of Target Detection with a Near-Space Vehicle-Borne Radar in Blackout Condition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Yanpeng; Li, Xiang; Wang, Hongqiang; Deng, Bin; Qin, Yuliang

    2016-01-06

    Radar is a very important sensor in surveillance applications. Near-space vehicle-borne radar (NSVBR) is a novel installation of a radar system, which offers many benefits, like being highly suited to the remote sensing of extremely large areas, having a rapidly deployable capability and having low vulnerability to electronic countermeasures. Unfortunately, a target detection challenge arises because of complicated scenarios, such as nuclear blackout, rain attenuation, etc. In these cases, extra care is needed to evaluate the detection performance in blackout situations, since this a classical problem along with the application of an NSVBR. However, the existing evaluation measures are the probability of detection and the receiver operating curve (ROC), which cannot offer detailed information in such a complicated application. This work focuses on such requirements. We first investigate the effect of blackout on an electromagnetic wave. Performance evaluation indexes are then built: three evaluation indexes on the detection capability and two evaluation indexes on the robustness of the detection process. Simulation results show that the proposed measure will offer information on the detailed performance of detection. These measures are therefore very useful in detecting the target of interest in a remote sensing system and are helpful for both the NSVBR designers and users.

  9. Performance of computer-aided diagnosis for detection of lacunar infarcts on brain MR images: ROC analysis of radiologists' detection

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Uchiyama, Y.; Yokoyama, R.; Hara, T.; Fujita, H. [Dept. of Intelligent Image Information, Graduate Scholl of Medicine, Gifu Univ. (Japan); Asano, T.; Kato, H.; Hoshi, H. [Dept. of Radiology, Graduate Scholl of Medicine, Gifu Univ. (Japan); Yamakawa, H.; Iwama, T. [Dept. of Neurosurgery, Graduate Scholl of Medicine, Gifu Univ. (Japan); Ando, H. [Dept. of Neurosurgery, Gifu Municipal Hospital (Japan); Yamakawa, H. [Dept. of Emergency and Critical Care Medicine, Chuno-Kousei Hospital (Japan)

    2007-06-15

    The detection and management of asymptomatic lacunar infarcts on magnetic resonance (MR) images are important tasks for radiologists to ensure the prevention of sever cerebral infarctions. However, accurate identification of lacunar infarcts is a difficult. Therefore, we developed a computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) scheme for detection of lacunar infarcts. The purpose of this study was to evaluate radiologists' performance in detection of lacunar infarcts without and with use of CAD scheme. 30 T1- and 30 T2- weighted images obtained from 30 patients were used for an observer study, which were consisted of 15 cases with a single lacunar infarct and 15 cases without any lacunar infarct. Six radiologists participated in the observer study. They interpreted lacunar infarcts first without and then with use of the scheme. For all six observers, average area under the receiver operating characteristic curve value was increased from 0.920 to 0.965 when they used the computer output. This CAD scheme might have the potential to improve the accuracy of radiologists' performance in the detection of lacunar infarcts on MR images. (orig.)

  10. Performance of Four Transport and Storage Systems for Molecular Detection of Multidrug-Resistant Tuberculosis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rabodoarivelo, Marie Sylvianne; Imperiale, Bélen; andrianiavomikotroka, Rina; Brandao, Angela; Kumar, Parveen; Singh, Sarman; Ferrazoli, Lucilaine; Morcillo, Nora; Rasolofo, Voahangy; Palomino, Juan Carlos; Vandamme, Peter; Martin, Anandi

    2015-01-01

    Background Detection of drug-resistant tuberculosis is essential for the control of the disease but it is often hampered by the limitation of transport and storage of samples from remote locations to the reference laboratory. We performed a retrospective field study to evaluate the performance of four supports enabling the transport and storage of samples to be used for molecular detection of drug resistance using the GenoType MTBDRplus. Methods Two hundred Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains were selected and spotted on slides, FTA cards, GenoCards, and in ethanol. GenoType MTBDRplus was subsequently performed with the DNA extracted from these supports. Sensitivity and specificity were calculated and compared to the results obtained by drug susceptibility testing. Results For all supports, the overall sensitivity and specificity for detection of resistance to RIF was between 95% and 100%, and for INH between 95% and 98%. Conclusion The four transport and storage supports showed a good sensitivity and specificity for the detection of resistance to RIF and INH in M. tuberculosis strains using the GenoType MTBDRplus. These supports can be maintained at room temperature and could represent an important alternative cost-effective method useful for rapid molecular detection of drug-resistant TB in low-resource settings. PMID:26431352

  11. Computer-Aided Detection of Malignant Lung Nodules on Chest Radiographs: Effect on Observers' Performance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Kyung Hee; Goo, Jin Mo; Park, Chang Min; Lee, Hyun Ju; Jin, Kwang Nam

    2012-01-01

    To evaluate the effect of computer-aided detection (CAD) system on observer performance in the detection of malignant lung nodules on chest radiograph. Two hundred chest radiographs (100 normal and 100 abnormal with malignant solitary lung nodules) were evaluated. With CT and histological confirmation serving as a reference, the mean nodule size was 15.4 mm (range, 7-20 mm). Five chest radiologists and five radiology residents independently interpreted both the original radiographs and CAD output images using the sequential testing method. The performances of the observers for the detection of malignant nodules with and without CAD were compared using the jackknife free-response receiver operating characteristic analysis. Fifty-nine nodules were detected by the CAD system with a false positive rate of 1.9 nodules per case. The detection of malignant lung nodules significantly increased from 0.90 to 0.92 for a group of observers, excluding one first-year resident (p = 0.04). When lowering the confidence score was not allowed, the average figure of merit also increased from 0.90 to 0.91 (p = 0.04) for all observers after a CAD review. On average, the sensitivities with and without CAD were 87% and 84%, respectively; the false positive rates per case with and without CAD were 0.19 and 0.17, respectively. The number of additional malignancies detected following true positive CAD marks ranged from zero to seven for the various observers. The CAD system may help improve observer performance in detecting malignant lung nodules on chest radiographs and contribute to a decrease in missed lung cancer.

  12. Performance test of SKIROC II ASIC chip for the radiation detection

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jun, W. J.; Namgoong, H.; Kim, B. K.; Song, H. S.; Kim, H. S.; Lee, S. H.; Choi, H. J.; Ghergherehchi, M.; Chai, J. S. [Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon (Korea, Republic of)

    2017-04-15

    There is a PCB board called FEV8 board which can readout analog signal from any energy source, and amplify it for signal processing. For precise detection, the board had been designed to operate in wide range of energy condition, with high-resolutive detection performance. This function has the possibility of the utilization for the radiation detection. The channels of the prototype board must be evaluated to make sure that the board is perfect or not. This research had made an progress for the radiation detection as well as the electronics of the intricate combination of the measurement instrumentations. The number of the noisy channels had been measured for threshold scan, and every channels in the board had been evaluated. By improving the experimental conditions such as test script in Linux system or well designed ground condition of the test bench, much more clean data will be able to be acquisited.

  13. A performance comparison of direct- and indirect-detection flat-panel imagers

    CERN Document Server

    Partridge, M; Müller, L

    2002-01-01

    A comparison of the performance of a direct- and an indirect-detection amorphous silicon flat-panel X-ray imager is presented for a 6 MV beam. Experimental measurements of the noise characteristics, image lag, spectral response, spatial resolution and quantum efficiency are described, compared and discussed. The two systems are comprised of 512x512 pixel, 400 mu m pitch, arrays of a-Si:H p-i-n photodiodes and thin-film transistors. In the direct-detection system, X-rays interact to produce electron/hole pairs directly in the silicon photodiodes. For the indirect-detection system, a phosphor screen converts energy from the incident X-rays into visible light, which is then detected by the photodiodes. Both systems are shown to be quantum noise limited, with the total electronic noise in the detector 10-15 times smaller than the Poisson noise level in detected signal. The measured lag for both systems is 1.0+-0.1% or less in the first frame with subsequent signals decaying exponentially with frame read-out, with...

  14. Suggestibility and signal detection performance in hallucination-prone students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alganami, Fatimah; Varese, Filippo; Wagstaff, Graham F; Bentall, Richard P

    2017-03-01

    Auditory hallucinations are associated with signal detection biases. We examine the extent to which suggestions influence performance on a signal detection task (SDT) in highly hallucination-prone and low hallucination-prone students. We also explore the relationship between trait suggestibility, dissociation and hallucination proneness. In two experiments, students completed on-line measures of hallucination proneness (the revised Launay-Slade Hallucination Scale; LSHS-R), trait suggestibility (Inventory of Suggestibility) and dissociation (Dissociative Experiences Scale-II). Students in the upper and lower tertiles of the LSHS-R performed an auditory SDT. Prior to the task, suggestions were made pertaining to the number of expected targets (Experiment 1, N = 60: high vs. low suggestions; Experiment 2, N = 62, no suggestion vs. high suggestion vs. no voice suggestion). Correlational and regression analyses indicated that trait suggestibility and dissociation predicted hallucination proneness. Highly hallucination-prone students showed a higher SDT bias in both studies. In Experiment 1, both bias scores were significantly affected by suggestions to the same degree. In Experiment 2, highly hallucination-prone students were more reactive to the high suggestion condition than the controls. Suggestions may affect source-monitoring judgments, and this effect may be greater in those who have a predisposition towards hallucinatory experiences.

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

    Science.gov (United States)

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

    2017-04-01

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

  16. Managing hotel services. Moving the goalposts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cohen, P

    1993-05-13

    Contractors are starting to tread the legal minefield of TUPE--Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 1981. But in future they may have to compete less on cost and more on quality. Phil Cohen reports.

  17. Detection of auditory signals in quiet and noisy backgrounds while performing a visuo-spatial task

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vishakha W Rawool

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Context: The ability to detect important auditory signals while performing visual tasks may be further compounded by background chatter. Thus, it is important to know how task performance may interact with background chatter to hinder signal detection. Aim: To examine any interactive effects of speech spectrum noise and task performance on the ability to detect signals. Settings and Design: The setting was a sound-treated booth. A repeated measures design was used. Materials and Methods: Auditory thresholds of 20 normal adults were determined at 0.5, 1, 2 and 4 kHz in the following conditions presented in a random order: (1 quiet with attention; (2 quiet with a visuo-spatial task or puzzle (distraction; (3 noise with attention and (4 noise with task. Statistical Analysis: Multivariate analyses of variance (MANOVA with three repeated factors (quiet versus noise, visuo-spatial task versus no task, signal frequency. Results: MANOVA revealed significant main effects for noise and signal frequency and significant noise–frequency and task–frequency interactions. Distraction caused by performing the task worsened the thresholds for tones presented at the beginning of the experiment and had no effect on tones presented in the middle. At the end of the experiment, thresholds (4 kHz were better while performing the task than those obtained without performing the task. These effects were similar across the quiet and noise conditions. Conclusion: Detection of auditory signals is difficult at the beginning of a distracting visuo-spatial task but over time, task learning and auditory training effects can nullify the effect of distraction and may improve detection of high frequency sounds.

  18. Performance of Narrowband Signal Detection under Correlated Rayleigh Fading Based on Synthetic Array

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ali Broumandan

    2009-01-01

    design parameters of probability of detection (Pd and probability of false alarm (Pfa. An optimum detector based on Estimator-Correlator (EC is developed, and its performance is compared with that of suboptimal Equal-Gain (EG combiner in different channel correlation scenarios. It is shown that in moderate channel correlation scenarios the detection performance of EC and EG is identical. The sensitivity of the proposed method to knowledge of motion parameters is also investigated. An extensive set of measurements based on CDMA-2000 pilot signals using the static antenna and synthetic array are used to experimentally verify these theoretical findings.

  19. A simple optimization can improve the performance of single feature polymorphism detection by Affymetrix expression arrays

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    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

  20. 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.

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

    Science.gov (United States)

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

    2002-10-20

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

  2. Consistency across repeated eyewitness interviews: contrasting police detectives' beliefs with actual eyewitness performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krix, Alana C; Sauerland, Melanie; Lorei, Clemens; Rispens, Imke

    2015-01-01

    In the legal system, inconsistencies in eyewitness accounts are often used to discredit witnesses' credibility. This is at odds with research findings showing that witnesses frequently report reminiscent details (details previously unrecalled) at an accuracy rate that is nearly as high as for consistently recalled information. The present study sought to put the validity of beliefs about recall consistency to a test by directly comparing them with actual memory performance in two recall attempts. All participants watched a film of a staged theft. Subsequently, the memory group (N = 84) provided one statement immediately after the film (either with the Self-Administered Interview or free recall) and one after a one-week delay. The estimation group (N = 81) consisting of experienced police detectives estimated the recall performance of the memory group. The results showed that actual recall performance was consistently underestimated. Also, a sharp decline of memory performance between recall attempts was assumed by the estimation group whereas actual accuracy remained stable. While reminiscent details were almost as accurate as consistent details, they were estimated to be much less accurate than consistent information and as inaccurate as direct contradictions. The police detectives expressed a great concern that reminiscence was the result of suggestive external influences. In conclusion, it seems that experienced police detectives hold many implicit beliefs about recall consistency that do not correspond with actual recall performance. Recommendations for police trainings are provided. These aim at fostering a differentiated view on eyewitness performance and the inclusion of more comprehensive classes on human memory structure.

  3. Consistency across repeated eyewitness interviews: contrasting police detectives' beliefs with actual eyewitness performance.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alana C Krix

    Full Text Available In the legal system, inconsistencies in eyewitness accounts are often used to discredit witnesses' credibility. This is at odds with research findings showing that witnesses frequently report reminiscent details (details previously unrecalled at an accuracy rate that is nearly as high as for consistently recalled information. The present study sought to put the validity of beliefs about recall consistency to a test by directly comparing them with actual memory performance in two recall attempts. All participants watched a film of a staged theft. Subsequently, the memory group (N = 84 provided one statement immediately after the film (either with the Self-Administered Interview or free recall and one after a one-week delay. The estimation group (N = 81 consisting of experienced police detectives estimated the recall performance of the memory group. The results showed that actual recall performance was consistently underestimated. Also, a sharp decline of memory performance between recall attempts was assumed by the estimation group whereas actual accuracy remained stable. While reminiscent details were almost as accurate as consistent details, they were estimated to be much less accurate than consistent information and as inaccurate as direct contradictions. The police detectives expressed a great concern that reminiscence was the result of suggestive external influences. In conclusion, it seems that experienced police detectives hold many implicit beliefs about recall consistency that do not correspond with actual recall performance. Recommendations for police trainings are provided. These aim at fostering a differentiated view on eyewitness performance and the inclusion of more comprehensive classes on human memory structure.

  4. Samsung Salmonella Detection Kit. AOAC Performance Tested Method(SM) 021203.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Jun; Cheung, Win Den; Opdyke, Jason; Harvey, John; Chong, Songchun; Moon, Cheol Gon

    2012-01-01

    Salmonella, one of the most common causes of foodborne illness, is a significant public health concern worldwide. There is a need in the food industry for methods that are simple, rapid, and sensitive for the detection of foodborne pathogens. In this study, the Samsung Salmonella Detection Kit, a real-time PCR assay for the detection of Salmonella, was evaluated according to the current AOAC guidelines. The validation consisted of lot-to-lot consistency, stability, robustness, and inclusivity/exclusivity studies, as well as a method comparison of 10 different food matrixes. In the validation, the Samsung Salmonella Detection Kit was used in conjunction with the Applied Biosystems StepOnePlus PCR system and the Samsung Food Testing Software for the detection of Salmonella species. The performance of the assays was compared to the U.S. Department of Agriculture/Food Safety and Inspection Service-Microbiology Laboratory Guidebook (USDA/FSIS-MLG) 4.05: Isolation and Identification of Salmonella from Meat, Poultry, Pasteurized Egg, and Catfish and the and U.S. Food and Drug Administration/Bacteriological Analytical Manual (FDA/BAM) Chapter 5 Salmonella reference methods. The validation was conducted using an unpaired study design for detection of Salmonella spp. in raw ground beef, raw pork, raw ground pork, raw chicken wings, raw salmon, alfalfa sprouts, pasteurized orange juice, peanut butter, pasteurized whole milk, and shell eggs. The Samsung Salmonella Detection Kit demonstrated lot-to-lot consistency among three independent lots as well as ruggedness with minor modifications to changes in enrichment incubation time, enrichment incubation temperature, and DNA sample volume for PCR reaction. Stability was observed for 13 months at -20 degrees C and 3 months at 5 degrees C. For the inclusivity/exclusivity study, the Samsung Salmonella Detection Kit correctly identified 147 Salmonella species isolates out of 147 isolates tested from each of three different enrichment

  5. Performances of the New Real Time Tsunami Detection Algorithm applied to tide gauges data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chierici, F.; Embriaco, D.; Morucci, S.

    2017-12-01

    Real-time tsunami detection algorithms play a key role in any Tsunami Early Warning System. We have developed a new algorithm for tsunami detection (TDA) based on the real-time tide removal and real-time band-pass filtering of seabed pressure time series acquired by Bottom Pressure Recorders. The TDA algorithm greatly increases the tsunami detection probability, shortens the detection delay and enhances detection reliability with respect to the most widely used tsunami detection algorithm, while containing the computational cost. The algorithm is designed to be used also in autonomous early warning systems with a set of input parameters and procedures which can be reconfigured in real time. We have also developed a methodology based on Monte Carlo simulations to test the tsunami detection algorithms. The algorithm performance is estimated by defining and evaluating statistical parameters, namely the detection probability, the detection delay, which are functions of the tsunami amplitude and wavelength, and the occurring rate of false alarms. In this work we present the performance of the TDA algorithm applied to tide gauge data. We have adapted the new tsunami detection algorithm and the Monte Carlo test methodology to tide gauges. Sea level data acquired by coastal tide gauges in different locations and environmental conditions have been used in order to consider real working scenarios in the test. We also present an application of the algorithm to the tsunami event generated by Tohoku earthquake on March 11th 2011, using data recorded by several tide gauges scattered all over the Pacific area.

  6. Modelling the imaging performance and low contrast detectability in digital mammography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Spyropoulou, V; Kalyvas, N; Gaitanis, A; Michail, C; Panayiotakis, G; Kandarakis, I

    2009-01-01

    A digital x-ray mammography is a modern method for the early detection of breast cancer. The quality of a mammography image depends on various factors, the detector structure and performance being of primary importance. The aim of this work was to develop an analytical model simulating the imaging performance of a new commercially available digital mammography detector. This was achieved within the framework of the linear cascaded systems (LCS) theory. System analysis has allowed the estimation of important image quality metrics such as the Modulation Transfer Function (MTF), the Noise Power Spectrum (NPS) and the Detective Quantum Efficiency (DQE). The detector was an indirect detection system consisting of a large area, 100μm thick, CsI:TI scintillator coupled to an active matrix array of amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) photodiodes combined with thin film transistors (TFT). Pixel size was 100μm, while the active pixel dimension was 70μm. MTF and DQE data were calculated for air kerma conditions of 25, 53, 67 μGy using a 28 kVp Mo-Mo x-ray spectrum. The theoretical results were compared with published experimental data. The deviation between the theoretical and experimental MTF curves was less than 4%, while the DQE differences were found at an acceptable level. The model was also used to estimate system's capability to detect low contrast objects in the breast. It was estimated that, in the breast gland, low contrast structures larger than 1.4mm can be adequately identified by the above system.

  7. Performances of Four Helicobacter pylori Serological Detection Kits Using Stool Antigen Test as Gold Standard.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Susheela D Biranjia-Hurdoyal

    Full Text Available The aim was to determine the performances of four Helicobacter pylori serological detection kits in different target groups, using Amplified IDEIA™ Hp StAR™ as gold standard. Kits studied were Rapid Immunochromatoghraphic Hexagon, Helicoblot 2.1, an EIA IgG kit and EIA IgA kit.Stool and blood samples were collected from 162 apparently healthy participants (control and 60 Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM patients.The performances of the four serological detection kits were found to be affected by gender, age, health status and ethnicity of the participants. In the control group, the Helicoblot 2.1 kit had the best performance (AUC = 0.85; p<0.05, accuracy = 86.4%, followed by EIA IgG (AUC = 0.75; p<0.05, accuracy = 75.2%. The Rapid Hexagon and EIA IgA kits had relatively poor performances. In the T2DM subgroup, the kits H2.1 and EIA IgG had best performances, with accuracies of 96.5% and 93.1% respectively. The performance of EIA IgG improved with adjustment of its cut-off value.The performances of the detection kits were affected by various factors which should be taken into consideration.

  8. Detecting nuclear materials smuggling: performance evaluation of container inspection policies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gaukler, Gary M; Li, Chenhua; Ding, Yu; Chirayath, Sunil S

    2012-03-01

    In recent years, the United States, along with many other countries, has significantly increased its detection and defense mechanisms against terrorist attacks. A potential attack with a nuclear weapon, using nuclear materials smuggled into the country, has been identified as a particularly grave threat. The system for detecting illicit nuclear materials that is currently in place at U.S. ports of entry relies heavily on passive radiation detectors and a risk-scoring approach using the automated targeting system (ATS). In this article we analyze this existing inspection system and demonstrate its performance for several smuggling scenarios. We provide evidence that the current inspection system is inherently incapable of reliably detecting sophisticated smuggling attempts that use small quantities of well-shielded nuclear material. To counter the weaknesses of the current ATS-based inspection system, we propose two new inspection systems: the hardness control system (HCS) and the hybrid inspection system (HYB). The HCS uses radiography information to classify incoming containers based on their cargo content into "hard" or "soft" containers, which then go through different inspection treatment. The HYB combines the radiography information with the intelligence information from the ATS. We compare and contrast the relative performance of these two new inspection systems with the existing ATS-based system. Our studies indicate that the HCS and HYB policies outperform the ATS-based policy for a wide range of realistic smuggling scenarios. We also examine the impact of changes in adversary behavior on the new inspection systems and find that they effectively preclude strategic gaming behavior of the adversary. © 2011 Society for Risk Analysis.

  9. Confabulation Based Real-time Anomaly Detection for Wide-area Surveillance Using Heterogeneous High Performance Computing Architecture

    Science.gov (United States)

    2015-06-01

    CONFABULATION BASED REAL-TIME ANOMALY DETECTION FOR WIDE-AREA SURVEILLANCE USING HETEROGENEOUS HIGH PERFORMANCE COMPUTING ARCHITECTURE SYRACUSE...DETECTION FOR WIDE-AREA SURVEILLANCE USING HETEROGENEOUS HIGH PERFORMANCE COMPUTING ARCHITECTURE 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER FA8750-12-1-0251 5b. GRANT...processors including graphic processor units (GPUs) and Intel Xeon Phi processors. Experimental results showed significant speedups, which can enable

  10. Radiologists' Performance for Detecting Lesions and the Interobserver Variability of Automated Whole Breast Ultrasound

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Sung Hun; Kang, Bong Joo; Choi, Byung Gil; Choi, Jae Jung; Lee, Ji Hye; Song, Byung Joo; Choe, Byung Joo; Park, Sarah; Kim, Hyunbin

    2013-01-01

    To compare the detection performance of the automated whole breast ultrasound (AWUS) with that of the hand-held breast ultrasound (HHUS) and to evaluate the interobserver variability in the interpretation of the AWUS. AWUS was performed in 38 breast cancer patients. A total of 66 lesions were included: 38 breast cancers, 12 additional malignancies and 16 benign lesions. Three breast radiologists independently reviewed the AWUS data and analyzed the breast lesions according to the BI-RADS classification. The detection rate of malignancies was 98.0% for HHUS and 90.0%, 88.0% and 96.0% for the three readers of the AWUS. The sensitivity and the specificity were 98.0% and 62.5% in HHUS, 90.0% and 87.5% for reader 1, 88.0% and 81.3% for reader 2, and 96.0% and 93.8% for reader 3, in AWUS. There was no significant difference in the radiologists' detection performance, sensitivity and specificity (p > 0.05) between the two modalities. The interobserver agreement was fair to good for the ultrasonographic features, categorization, size, and the location of breast masses. AWUS is thought to be useful for detecting breast lesions. In comparison with HHUS, AWUS shows no significant difference in the detection rate, sensitivity and the specificity, with high degrees of interobserver agreement

  11. Radiologists' Performance for Detecting Lesions and the Interobserver Variability of Automated Whole Breast Ultrasound

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, Sung Hun; Kang, Bong Joo; Choi, Byung Gil; Choi, Jae Jung; Lee, Ji Hye [Department of Radiology, Seoul St. Mary' s Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul 137-701 (Korea, Republic of); Song, Byung Joo; Choe, Byung Joo [Department of General Surgery, Seoul St. Mary' s Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul 137-701 (Korea, Republic of); Park, Sarah [Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul St. Mary' s Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul 137-701 (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Hyunbin [CMC Clinical Research Coordinating Center, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul 137-701 (Korea, Republic of)

    2013-07-01

    To compare the detection performance of the automated whole breast ultrasound (AWUS) with that of the hand-held breast ultrasound (HHUS) and to evaluate the interobserver variability in the interpretation of the AWUS. AWUS was performed in 38 breast cancer patients. A total of 66 lesions were included: 38 breast cancers, 12 additional malignancies and 16 benign lesions. Three breast radiologists independently reviewed the AWUS data and analyzed the breast lesions according to the BI-RADS classification. The detection rate of malignancies was 98.0% for HHUS and 90.0%, 88.0% and 96.0% for the three readers of the AWUS. The sensitivity and the specificity were 98.0% and 62.5% in HHUS, 90.0% and 87.5% for reader 1, 88.0% and 81.3% for reader 2, and 96.0% and 93.8% for reader 3, in AWUS. There was no significant difference in the radiologists' detection performance, sensitivity and specificity (p > 0.05) between the two modalities. The interobserver agreement was fair to good for the ultrasonographic features, categorization, size, and the location of breast masses. AWUS is thought to be useful for detecting breast lesions. In comparison with HHUS, AWUS shows no significant difference in the detection rate, sensitivity and the specificity, with high degrees of interobserver agreement.

  12. Inductively coupled plasma emission spectrometric detection of simulated high performance liquid chromatographic peaks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fraley, D.M.; Yates, D.; Manahan, S.E.

    1979-01-01

    Because of its multielement capability, element-specificity, and low detection limits, inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP) is a very promising technique for the detection of specific elemental species separated by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). This paper evaluated ICP as a detector for HPLC peaks containing specific elements. Detection limits for a number of elements have been evaluated in terms of the minimum detectable concentration of the element at the chromatographic peak maximum. The elements studies were Al, As, B, Ba, Ca, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Li, Mg, Mn, Mo, Na, Ni, P, Pb, Sb, Se, Sr, Ti, V, and Zn. In addition, ICP was compared with atomic absorption spectrometry for the detection of HPLC peaks composed of EDTA and NTA chelates of copper. Furthermore, ICP was compared to uv solution absorption for the detection of copper chelates. 6 figures, 4 tables

  13. Welcome to professional courtesy discounts: the medical community's pandora's box.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Winkler, A D

    1998-01-01

    Recent government regulations on fraud and abuse have transformed the tradition of professional courtesy discounts into a legal minefield threatening to explode on the uninformed medical provider. This paper offers an understanding of the issues involved and provider options.

  14. The Effect of Concurrent Music Reading and Performance on the Ability to Detect Tempo Change.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ellis, Mark Carlton

    1989-01-01

    Measures the ability of three groups of musicians to detect tempo change while reading and performing music. Compares this ability with that of the same musicians to detect tempo change while listening only. Found that for all groups the ability to detect tempo changes was inhibited by the playing task, although to different degrees for each…

  15. Acoustic detection in superconducting magnets for performance characterization and diagnostics

    OpenAIRE

    Marchevsky, M.; Wang, X.; Sabbi, G.; Prestemon, S.

    2014-01-01

    Quench diagnostics in superconducting accelerator magnets is essential for understanding performance limitations and improving magnet design. Applicability of the conventional quench diagnostics methods such as voltage taps or quench antennas is limited for long magnets or complex winding geometries, and alternative approaches are desirable. Here, we discuss acoustic sensing technique for detecting mechanical vibrations in superconducting magnets. Using LARP high-field Nb3Sn quadrupole HQ01 [...

  16. On the performance of data receivers with a restricted detection delay

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bergmans, J.W.M.; Willems, F.M.J.; Kerpen, G.S.M.

    1994-01-01

    It is well known that the performance of a data receiver for an intersymbol interference (ISI) channel can depend strongly on the detection delay d. For a discrete-time communication system, this paper derives a lower bound on the bit-error probability as a function of d. This "restricted delay

  17. Assessing the detectability of antioxidants in two-dimensional high-performance liquid chromatography.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bassanese, Danielle N; Conlan, Xavier A; Barnett, Neil W; Stevenson, Paul G

    2015-05-01

    This paper explores the analytical figures of merit of two-dimensional high-performance liquid chromatography for the separation of antioxidant standards. The cumulative two-dimensional high-performance liquid chromatography peak area was calculated for 11 antioxidants by two different methods--the areas reported by the control software and by fitting the data with a Gaussian model; these methods were evaluated for precision and sensitivity. Both methods demonstrated excellent precision in regards to retention time in the second dimension (%RSD below 1.16%) and cumulative second dimension peak area (%RSD below 3.73% from the instrument software and 5.87% for the Gaussian method). Combining areas reported by the high-performance liquid chromatographic control software displayed superior limits of detection, in the order of 1 × 10(-6) M, almost an order of magnitude lower than the Gaussian method for some analytes. The introduction of the countergradient eliminated the strong solvent mismatch between dimensions, leading to a much improved peak shape and better detection limits for quantification. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  18. Surface detection performance evaluation of pseudo-random noise continuous wave laser radar

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mitev, Valentin; Matthey, Renaud; Pereira do Carmo, Joao

    2017-11-01

    A number of space missions (including in the ESA Exploration Programme) foreseen a use of laser radar sensor (or lidar) for determination of range between spacecrafts or between spacecraft and ground surface (altimetry). Such sensors need to be compact, robust and power efficient, at the same time with high detection performance. These requirements can be achieved with a Pseudo-Random Noise continuous wave lidar (PRN cw lidar). Previous studies have pointed to the advantages of this lidar with respect to space missions, but they also identified its limitations in high optical background. The progress of the lasers and the detectors in the near IR spectral range requires a re-evaluation of the PRN cw lidar potential. Here we address the performances of this lidar for surface detection (altimetry) in planetary missions. The evaluation is based on the following system configuration: (i) A cw fiber amplifier as lidar transmitter. The seeding laser exhibits a single-frequency spectral line, with subsequent amplitude modulation. The fiber amplifier allows high output power level, keeping the spectral characteristics and the modulation of the seeding light input. (ii) An avalanche photodiode in photon counting detection; (iii) Measurement scenarios representative for Earth, Mercury and Mars.

  19. Sleep-spindle detection: crowdsourcing and evaluating performance of experts, non-experts and automated methods

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Warby, Simon C.; Wendt, Sabrina Lyngbye; Welinder, Peter

    2014-01-01

    to crowdsource spindle identification by human experts and non-experts, and we compared their performance with that of automated detection algorithms in data from middle- to older-aged subjects from the general population. We also refined methods for forming group consensus and evaluating the performance...... of event detectors in physiological data such as electroencephalographic recordings from polysomnography. Compared to the expert group consensus gold standard, the highest performance was by individual experts and the non-expert group consensus, followed by automated spindle detectors. This analysis showed...... that crowdsourcing the scoring of sleep data is an efficient method to collect large data sets, even for difficult tasks such as spindle identification. Further refinements to spindle detection algorithms are needed for middle- to older-aged subjects....

  20. Performance evaluation of sea surface simulation methods for target detection

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xia, Renjie; Wu, Xin; Yang, Chen; Han, Yiping; Zhang, Jianqi

    2017-11-01

    With the fast development of sea surface target detection by optoelectronic sensors, machine learning has been adopted to improve the detection performance. Many features can be learned from training images by machines automatically. However, field images of sea surface target are not sufficient as training data. 3D scene simulation is a promising method to address this problem. For ocean scene simulation, sea surface height field generation is the key point to achieve high fidelity. In this paper, two spectra-based height field generation methods are evaluated. Comparison between the linear superposition and linear filter method is made quantitatively with a statistical model. 3D ocean scene simulating results show the different features between the methods, which can give reference for synthesizing sea surface target images with different ocean conditions.

  1. Detecting Distributed Scans Using High-Performance Query-DrivenVisualization

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Stockinger, Kurt; Bethel, E. Wes; Campbell, Scott; Dart, Eli; Wu,Kesheng

    2006-09-01

    Modern forensic analytics applications, like network trafficanalysis, perform high-performance hypothesis testing, knowledgediscovery and data mining on very large datasets. One essential strategyto reduce the time required for these operations is to select only themost relevant data records for a given computation. In this paper, wepresent a set of parallel algorithms that demonstrate how an efficientselection mechanism -- bitmap indexing -- significantly speeds up acommon analysist ask, namely, computing conditional histogram on verylarge datasets. We present a thorough study of the performancecharacteristics of the parallel conditional histogram algorithms. Asacase study, we compute conditional histograms for detecting distributedscans hidden in a dataset consisting of approximately 2.5 billion networkconnection records. We show that these conditional histograms can becomputed on interactive timescale (i.e., in seconds). We also show how toprogressively modify the selection criteria to narrow the analysis andfind the sources of the distributed scans.

  2. A performance comparison of direct- and indirect-detection flat-panel imagers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Partridge, M.; Hesse, B.-M.; Mueller, L.

    2002-01-01

    A comparison of the performance of a direct- and an indirect-detection amorphous silicon flat-panel X-ray imager is presented for a 6 MV beam. Experimental measurements of the noise characteristics, image lag, spectral response, spatial resolution and quantum efficiency are described, compared and discussed. The two systems are comprised of 512x512 pixel, 400 μm pitch, arrays of a-Si:H p-i-n photodiodes and thin-film transistors. In the direct-detection system, X-rays interact to produce electron/hole pairs directly in the silicon photodiodes. For the indirect-detection system, a phosphor screen converts energy from the incident X-rays into visible light, which is then detected by the photodiodes. Both systems are shown to be quantum noise limited, with the total electronic noise in the detector 10-15 times smaller than the Poisson noise level in detected signal. The measured lag for both systems is 1.0±0.1% or less in the first frame with subsequent signals decaying exponentially with frame read-out, with a half-life of between 3.3 and 3.8 frames. Both systems are demonstrated to have a pronounced sensitivity to low-energy multiply scattered photons, although this is shown to be effectively filtered out using a 2 mm copper build-up plate. The direct-detection system, with the 2 mm Cu build-up, shows greater sensitivity to scattered radiation than the indirect system. The spatial resolutions of both systems were effectively equal with an f 50 of 0.25 mm -1 when pixels are binned 2x2, although a slight contribution from optical scattering in the phosphor screen is seen for the indirect-detection system. The quantum efficiency of the direct-detection system is a factor of 0.45 lower than that of the indirect-detection system. The application of these detectors to megavoltage CT is discussed, with the conclusion that the indirect-detection system is to be preferred

  3. An evidence accumulation model for conflict detection performance in a simulated air traffic control task.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neal, Andrew; Kwantes, Peter J

    2009-04-01

    The aim of this article is to develop a formal model of conflict detection performance. Our model assumes that participants iteratively sample evidence regarding the state of the world and accumulate it over time. A decision is made when the evidence reaches a threshold that changes over time in response to the increasing urgency of the task. Two experiments were conducted to examine the effects of conflict geometry and timing on response proportions and response time. The model is able to predict the observed pattern of response times, including a nonmonotonic relationship between distance at point of closest approach and response time, as well as effects of angle of approach and relative velocity. The results demonstrate that evidence accumulation models provide a good account of performance on a conflict detection task. Evidence accumulation models are a form of dynamic signal detection theory, allowing for the analysis of response times as well as response proportions, and can be used for simulating human performance on dynamic decision tasks.

  4. Performance comparison of two androgen receptor splice variant 7 (AR-V7) detection methods.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bernemann, Christof; Steinestel, Julie; Humberg, Verena; Bögemann, Martin; Schrader, Andres Jan; Lennerz, Jochen K

    2018-01-23

    To compare the performance of two established androgen receptor splice variant 7 (AR-V7) mRNA detection systems, as paradoxical responses to next-generation androgen-deprivation therapy in AR-V7 mRNA-positive circulating tumour cells (CTC) of patients with castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) could be related to false-positive classification using detection systems with different sensitivities. We compared the performance of two established mRNA-based AR-V7 detection technologies using either SYBR Green or TaqMan chemistries. We assessed in vitro performance using eight genitourinary cancer cell lines and serial dilutions in three AR-V7-positive prostate cancer cell lines, as well as in 32 blood samples from patients with CRPC. Both assays performed identically in the cell lines and serial dilutions showed identical diagnostic thresholds. Performance comparison in 32 clinical patient samples showed perfect concordance between the assays. In particular, both assays determined AR-V7 mRNA-positive CTCs in three patients with unexpected responses to next-generation anti-androgen therapy. Thus, technical differences between the assays can be excluded as the underlying reason for the unexpected responses to next-generation anti-androgen therapy in a subset of AR-V7 patients. Irrespective of the method used, patients with AR-V7 mRNA-positive CRPC should not be systematically precluded from an otherwise safe treatment option. © 2018 The Authors BJU International © 2018 BJU International Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  5. Performance Analysis of Ship Wake Detection on Sentinel-1 SAR Images

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria Daniela Graziano

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available A novel technique for ship wake detection has been recently proposed and applied on X-band Synthetic Aperture Radar images provided by COSMO/SkyMed and TerraSAR-X. The approach shows that the vast majority of wake features are correctly detected and validated in critical situations. In this paper, the algorithm was applied to 28 wakes imaged by Sentinel-1 mission with different polarizations and incidence angles with the aim of testing the method’s robustness with reference to radar frequency and resolution. The detection process is properly modified. The results show that the features were correctly classified in 78.5% of cases, whereas false confirmations occur mainly on Kelvin cusps. Finally, the results were compared with the algorithm performance on X-band images, showing that no significant difference arises. In fact, the total false confirmations rate was 15.8% on X-band images and 18.5% on C-band images. Moreover, since the main criticality concerns again the false confirmation of Kelvin cusps, the same empirical criterion suggested for the X-band SAR images yielded a negligible 1.5% of false detection rate.

  6. Early Detection of At-Risk Undergraduate Students through Academic Performance Predictors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rowtho, Vikash

    2017-01-01

    Undergraduate student dropout is gradually becoming a global problem and the 39 Small Islands Developing States (SIDS) are no exception to this trend. The purpose of this research was to develop a method that can be used for early detection of students who are at-risk of performing poorly in their undergraduate studies. A sample of 279 students…

  7. HPNAIDM: The High-Performance Network Anomaly/Intrusion Detection and Mitigation System

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chen, Yan [Northwesten University

    2013-12-05

    Identifying traffic anomalies and attacks rapidly and accurately is critical for large network operators. With the rapid growth of network bandwidth, such as the next generation DOE UltraScience Network, and fast emergence of new attacks/virus/worms, existing network intrusion detection systems (IDS) are insufficient because they: • Are mostly host-based and not scalable to high-performance networks; • Are mostly signature-based and unable to adaptively recognize flow-level unknown attacks; • Cannot differentiate malicious events from the unintentional anomalies. To address these challenges, we proposed and developed a new paradigm called high-performance network anomaly/intrustion detection and mitigation (HPNAIDM) system. The new paradigm is significantly different from existing IDSes with the following features (research thrusts). • Online traffic recording and analysis on high-speed networks; • Online adaptive flow-level anomaly/intrusion detection and mitigation; • Integrated approach for false positive reduction. Our research prototype and evaluation demonstrate that the HPNAIDM system is highly effective and economically feasible. Beyond satisfying the pre-set goals, we even exceed that significantly (see more details in the next section). Overall, our project harvested 23 publications (2 book chapters, 6 journal papers and 15 peer-reviewed conference/workshop papers). Besides, we built a website for technique dissemination, which hosts two system prototype release to the research community. We also filed a patent application and developed strong international and domestic collaborations which span both academia and industry.

  8. Determination of carbohydrates by high performance anion chromatography-pulsed amperometric detection in mushrooms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Shuai; Tang, Qingjiu; Luo, Xi; Xue, Jun-Jie; Liu, Yanfang; Yang, Yan; Zhang, Jingsong; Feng, Na

    2012-01-01

    A method of detecting carbohydrates (fucose, trehalose, mannitol, arabitol, mannose, glucose, galactose, fructose, and ribose) by high-performance anion chromatography-pulsed amperometric detection (HAPEC-PAD) was established. The conditions are: CarboPac MA1 column, NaOH as the eluent, temperature 30°C, Au working electrode, Ag/AgCl reference electrode, and flow rate 0.4 mL/min. These nine analytes, which yielded high resolution by this method, could be detected in 40 minutes. Mushrooms were tested and good precision, stability, and reproducibility were achieved. This method is suitable for mushroom samples and could support research and development on sugar and sugar alcohol, which contains special effects.

  9. "Binary" and "non-binary" detection tasks: are current performance measures optimal?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gur, David; Rockette, Howard E; Bandos, Andriy I

    2007-07-01

    We have observed that a very large fraction of responses for several detection tasks during the performance of observer studies are in the extreme ranges of lower than 11% or higher than 89% regardless of the actual presence or absence of the abnormality in question or its subjectively rated "subtleness." This observation raises questions regarding the validity and appropriateness of using multicategory rating scales for such detection tasks. Monte Carlo simulation of binary and multicategory ratings for these tasks demonstrate that the use of the former (binary) often results in a less biased and more precise summary index and hence may lead to a higher statistical power for determining differences between modalities.

  10. Amperometric Detection in Microchip Electrophoresis Devices: Effect of Electrode Material and Alignment on Analytical Performance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fischer, David J.; Hulvey, Matthew K.; Regel, Anne R.; Lunte, Susan M.

    2012-01-01

    The fabrication and evaluation of different electrode materials and electrode alignments for microchip electrophoresis with electrochemical (EC) detection is described. The influences of electrode material, both metal and carbon-based, on sensitivity and limits of detection (LOD) were examined. In addition, the effects of working electrode alignment on analytical performance (in terms of peak shape, resolution, sensitivity, and LOD) were directly compared. Using dopamine (DA), norepinephrine (NE), and catechol (CAT) as test analytes, it was found that pyrolyzed photoresist electrodes with end-channel alignment yielded the lowest limit of detection (35 nM for DA). In addition to being easier to implement, end-channel alignment also offered better analytical performance than off-channel alignment for the detection of all three analytes. In-channel electrode alignment resulted in a 3.6-fold reduction in peak skew and reduced peak tailing by a factor of 2.1 for catechol in comparison to end-channel alignment. PMID:19802847

  11. Parametric Analysis of Surveillance Quality and Level and Quality of Intent Information and Their Impact on Conflict Detection Performance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guerreiro, Nelson M.; Butler, Ricky W.; Hagen, George E.; Maddalon, Jeffrey M.; Lewis, Timothy A.

    2016-01-01

    A loss-of-separation (LOS) is said to occur when two aircraft are spatially too close to one another. A LOS is the fundamental unsafe event to be avoided in air traffic management and conflict detection (CD) is the function that attempts to predict these LOS events. In general, the effectiveness of conflict detection relates to the overall safety and performance of an air traffic management concept. An abstract, parametric analysis was conducted to investigate the impact of surveillance quality, level of intent information, and quality of intent information on conflict detection performance. The data collected in this analysis can be used to estimate the conflict detection performance under alternative future scenarios or alternative allocations of the conflict detection function, based on the quality of the surveillance and intent information under those conditions.Alternatively, this data could also be used to estimate the surveillance and intent information quality required to achieve some desired CD performance as part of the design of a new separation assurance system.

  12. Decision Making on AUVs for adaptive minehunting surveys

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Giodini, S.; Hunter, A.J.; Naus, H.W.L.; Bakker, B.; Bekers, D.J.; Ditzel, M.; Vossen, R. van; Dugelay, S.; Baralli, F.; Beckers, A.L.D.

    2014-01-01

    Minehunting operations can benefit from the use of Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) because these vehicles are able to acquire high-resolution images of the seabed leaving the man out of the minefield. However, because there are severe communication constraints between the AUV and the control

  13. Writing Clinical Research Papers for Publication | Arotiba | Nigerian ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Potential minefields of academic research and writing such as authorship, plagiarism, duplicate publication and 'salami-slicing' were highlighted. Recommendation: Education in the 'art' of writing and presentation of scientific papers and the critical appraisal of scientific literature need to be included in our undergraduate ...

  14. ALGORITHMS FOR OPTIMIZATION OF SYSYTEM PERFORMANCE IN LAYERED DETECTION SYSTEMS UNDER DETECTOR COORELATION

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wood, Thomas W.; Heasler, Patrick G.; Daly, Don S.

    2010-01-01

    Almost all of the 'architectures' for radiation detection systems in Department of Energy (DOE) and other USG programs rely on some version of layered detector deployment. Efficacy analyses of layered (or more generally extended) detection systems in many contexts often assume statistical independence among detection events and thus predict monotonically increasing system performance with the addition of detection layers. We show this to be a false conclusion for the ROC curves typical of most current technology gamma detectors, and more generally show that statistical independence is often an unwarranted assumption for systems in which there is ambiguity about the objects to be detected. In such systems, a model of correlation among detection events allows optimization of system algorithms for interpretation of detector signals. These algorithms are framed as optimal discriminant functions in joint signal space, and may be applied to gross counting or spectroscopic detector systems. We have shown how system algorithms derived from this model dramatically improve detection probabilities compared to the standard serial detection operating paradigm for these systems. These results would not surprise anyone who has confronted the problem of correlated errors (or failure rates) in the analogous contexts, but is seems to be largely underappreciated among those analyzing the radiation detection problem - independence is widely assumed and experimental studies typical fail to measure correlation. This situation, if not rectified, will lead to several unfortunate results. Including overconfidence in system efficacy, overinvestment in layers of similar technology, and underinvestment in diversity among detection assets.

  15. Performance evaluation for epileptic electroencephalogram (EEG) detection by using Neyman-Pearson criteria and a support vector machine

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Chun-mei; Zhang, Chong-ming; Zou, Jun-zhong; Zhang, Jian

    2012-02-01

    The diagnosis of several neurological disorders is based on the detection of typical pathological patterns in electroencephalograms (EEGs). This is a time-consuming task requiring significant training and experience. A lot of effort has been devoted to developing automatic detection techniques which might help not only in accelerating this process but also in avoiding the disagreement among readers of the same record. In this work, Neyman-Pearson criteria and a support vector machine (SVM) are applied for detecting an epileptic EEG. Decision making is performed in two stages: feature extraction by computing the wavelet coefficients and the approximate entropy (ApEn) and detection by using Neyman-Pearson criteria and an SVM. Then the detection performance of the proposed method is evaluated. Simulation results demonstrate that the wavelet coefficients and the ApEn are features that represent the EEG signals well. By comparison with Neyman-Pearson criteria, an SVM applied on these features achieved higher detection accuracies.

  16. Anthropometric and performance measures to study talent detection in youth volleyball.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Melchiorri, Giovanni; Viero, Valerio; Triossi, Tamara; Annino, Giuseppe; Padua, Elvira; Tancredi, Virginia

    2017-12-01

    The aim of this work was to study anthropometric and performance measurements in 60 young male volleyball players (YV) and 60 youth not active in the sport (YNA) to assess which of these would be more useful to study the characteristics of potential performers. Eight measures to assess anthropometric characteristics, six performance measures and two tests for joint mobility were used. Also relative age and level of maturation were assessed. The anthropometric variables, relative age and level of maturation measured did not show statistically significant differences between groups. The YV and YNA groups showed differences in the performance measures. YV group was characterized by a better performance of the ability to repeat short sprints, of the upper limbs, abdominal muscles and lower limbs, with a medium effect size (Shuttle Running Test: 0.6; Push-Up: 0.5; Sit-Up: 0.4; counter movement jump: 0.4). These performance variables were very sensitive and specific: the SRT measurement had the best positive likelihood ratio that indicates the utility of the test in identifying type of players (YV and YNA). In talent detection in youth volleyball, in the 11-13 age range, performance variables should be preferred to anthropometric ones.

  17. A New Approach to Performing Bundle Adjustment for Time Series UAV Images 3D Building Change Detection

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wenzhuo Li

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Successful change detection in multi-temporal images relies on high spatial co-registration accuracy. However, co-registration accuracy alone cannot meet the needs of change detection when using several ground control points to separately geo-reference multi-temporal images from unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs. This letter reports on a new approach to perform bundle adjustment—named united bundle adjustment (UBA—to solve this co-registration problem for change detection in multi-temporal UAV images. In UBA, multi-temporal UAV images are matched with each other to construct a unified tie point net. One single bundle adjustment process is performed on the unified tie point net, placing every image into the same coordinate system and thus automatically accomplishing spatial co-registration. We then perform change detection using both orthophotos and three-dimensional height information derived from dense image matching techniques. Experimental results show that UBA co-registration accuracy is higher than the accuracy of commonly-used approaches for multi-temporal UAV images. Our proposed preprocessing method extends the capacities of consumer-level UAVs so they can eventually meet the growing need for automatic building change detection and dynamic monitoring using only RGB band images.

  18. Test performance of faecal occult blood testing for the detection of bowel cancer in people with chronic kidney disease (DETECT protocol

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Williams Narelle

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Cancer is a major cause of mortality and morbidity in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD. In patients without kidney disease, screening is a major strategy for reducing the risk of cancer and improving the health outcomes for those who developed cancers by detecting treatable cancers at an early stage. Among those with CKD, the effectiveness, the efficacy and patients' preferences for cancer screening are unknown. Methods/Design This work describes the protocol for the DETECT study examining the effectiveness, efficiency and patient's perspectives of colorectal cancer screening using immunochemical faecal occult blood testing (iFOBT for people with CKD. The aims of the DETECT study are 1 to determine the test performance characteristics of iFOBT screening in individuals with CKD, 2 to estimate the incremental costs and health benefits of iFOBT screening in CKD compared to no screening and 3 to elicit patients' perspective for colorectal cancer screening in the CKD population. Three different study designs will be used to explore the uncertainties surrounding colorectal cancer screening in CKD. A diagnostic test accuracy study of iFOBT screening will be conducted across all stages of CKD in patients ages 35-70. Using individually collected direct healthcare costs and outcomes from the diagnostic test accuracy study, cost-utility and cost-effective analyses will be performed to estimate the costs and health benefits of iFOBT screening in CKD. Qualitative in-depth interviews will be undertaken in a subset of participants from the diagnostic test accuracy study to investigate the perspectives, experiences, attitudes and beliefs about colorectal cancer screening among individuals with CKD. Discussion The DETECT study will target the three major unknowns about early cancer detection in CKD. Findings from our study will provide accurate and definitive estimates of screening efficacy and efficiency for colorectal cancer, and

  19. Imaging, object detection, and change detection with a polarized multistatic GPR array

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beer, N. Reginald; Paglieroni, David W.

    2015-07-21

    A polarized detection system performs imaging, object detection, and change detection factoring in the orientation of an object relative to the orientation of transceivers. The polarized detection system may operate on one of several modes of operation based on whether the imaging, object detection, or change detection is performed separately for each transceiver orientation. In combined change mode, the polarized detection system performs imaging, object detection, and change detection separately for each transceiver orientation, and then combines changes across polarizations. In combined object mode, the polarized detection system performs imaging and object detection separately for each transceiver orientation, and then combines objects across polarizations and performs change detection on the result. In combined image mode, the polarized detection system performs imaging separately for each transceiver orientation, and then combines images across polarizations and performs object detection followed by change detection on the result.

  20. PERFORMANCE COMPARISON OF INTRUSION DETECTION SYSTEM USING VARIOUS TECHNIQUES – A REVIEW

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. Devaraju

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available Nowadays, the security has become a critical part of any organization or industry information systems. The Intrusion Detection System is an effective method to deal with the new kind of threats such as DoS, Porbe, R2L and U2R. In this paper, we analyze the various approaches such as Hidden Semi Markov Model, Conditional Random Fields and Layered Approach, Bayesian classification, Data Mining techniques, Clustering Algorithms such as K-Means and Fuzzy c-Means, Back Propagation Neural Network, SOM Neural Network, Rough Set Neural Network Algorithm, Genetic Algorithm, Pattern Matching, Principle Component Analysis, Linear Discriminant Analysis, Independent Component Analysis, Multivariate Statistical Analysis, SOM/PSO algorithm etc. The performance is measured for two different datasets using various approaches. The datasets are trained and tested for identifying the new attacks that will affect the hosts or networks. The well known KDD Cup 1999 or DARPA 1999 dataset has been used to improve the accuracy and performance. The four groups of attacks are identified as Probe, DoS, U2R and R2L. The dataset used for training set is 494,021 and testing set is 311,028. The aim is to improve the detection rate and performance of the proposed system.

  1. Lesion detection and quantification performance of the Tachyon-I time-of-flight PET scanner: phantom and human studies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Xuezhu; Peng, Qiyu; Zhou, Jian; Huber, Jennifer S.; Moses, William W.; Qi, Jinyi

    2018-03-01

    The first generation Tachyon PET (Tachyon-I) is a demonstration single-ring PET scanner that reaches a coincidence timing resolution of 314 ps using LSO scintillator crystals coupled to conventional photomultiplier tubes. The objective of this study was to quantify the improvement in both lesion detection and quantification performance resulting from the improved time-of-flight (TOF) capability of the Tachyon-I scanner. We developed a quantitative TOF image reconstruction method for the Tachyon-I and evaluated its TOF gain for lesion detection and quantification. Scans of either a standard NEMA torso phantom or healthy volunteers were used as the normal background data. Separately scanned point source and sphere data were superimposed onto the phantom or human data after accounting for the object attenuation. We used the bootstrap method to generate multiple independent noisy datasets with and without a lesion present. The signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of a channelized hotelling observer (CHO) was calculated for each lesion size and location combination to evaluate the lesion detection performance. The bias versus standard deviation trade-off of each lesion uptake was also calculated to evaluate the quantification performance. The resulting CHO-SNR measurements showed improved performance in lesion detection with better timing resolution. The detection performance was also dependent on the lesion size and location, in addition to the background object size and shape. The results of bias versus noise trade-off showed that the noise (standard deviation) reduction ratio was about 1.1–1.3 over the TOF 500 ps and 1.5–1.9 over the non-TOF modes, similar to the SNR gains for lesion detection. In conclusion, this Tachyon-I PET study demonstrated the benefit of improved time-of-flight capability on lesion detection and ROI quantification for both phantom and human subjects.

  2. Performance Analysis of Si-Based Ultra-Shallow Junction Photodiodes for UV Radiation Detection

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Shi, L.

    2013-01-01

    This thesis presents a performance investigation of newly-developed ultra-shallow junction photodiodes (PureB-diodes) for ultraviolet (UV) radiation detection. The photodiodes are fabricated by pure boron chemical vapor deposition (PureB CVD) technology, which can provide nanometer-thin boron

  3. Micro-crack detection in high-performance cementitious materials

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lura, Pietro; Guang, Ye; Tanaka, Kyoji

    2005-01-01

    of high-performance cement pastes in silicone moulds that exert minimal external restraint. Cast-in steel rods with varying diameter internally restrain the autogenous shrinkage and lead to crack formation. Dimensions of the steel rods are chosen so that the size of this restraining inclusion resembles......-ray tomography, do not allow sufficient resolution of microcracks. A new technique presented in this paper allows detection of microcracks in cement paste while avoiding artefacts induced by unwanted restraint, drying or temperature variations. The technique consists in casting small circular cylindrical samples...... aggregate size. Gallium intrusion of the cracks and subsequent examination by electron probe micro analysis, EPMA, are used to identify the cracks. The gallium intrusion technique allows controllable impregnation of cracks in the cement paste. A distinct contrast between gallium and the surrounding material...

  4. Laser radar range and detection performance for MEMS corner cube retroreflector arrays

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grasso, Robert J.; Odhner, Jefferson E.; Stewart, Hamilton; McDaniel, Robert V.

    2004-12-01

    BAE SYSTEMS reports on a program to characterize the performance of MEMS corner cube retroreflector arrays under laser illumination. These arrays have significant military and commercial application in the areas of: 1) target identification; 2) target tracking; 3) target location; 4) identification friend-or-foe (IFF); 5) parcel tracking, and; 6) search and rescue assistance. BAE SYSTEMS has theoretically determined the feasibility of these devices to learn if sufficient signal-to-noise performance exists to permit a cooperative laser radar sensor to be considered for device location and interrogation. Results indicate that modest power-apertures are required to achieve SNR performance consistent with high probability of detection and low false alarm rates.

  5. Performance of Molecular Approaches for Aspergillus Detection and Azole Resistance Surveillance in Cystic Fibrosis

    OpenAIRE

    Hélène Guegan; Sylviane Chevrier; Chantal Belleguic; Eric Deneuville; Florence Robert-Gangneux; Florence Robert-Gangneux; Jean-Pierre Gangneux; Jean-Pierre Gangneux

    2018-01-01

    Aspergillus fumigatus triazole resistance is an emerging concern for treating chronically infected/colonized patients. This study sought to evaluate the performance of PCR assays to detect Aspergillus fungi together with azole resistance in sputum samples from cystic fibrosis (CF) patients. In total, 119 sputum samples from 87 CF patients were prospectively processed for Aspergillus detection by means of mycological culture and four qPCR assays, 2 in-house methods and two commercial multiplex...

  6. CoSMOS: Performance of Kurtosis Algorithm for Radio Frequency Interference Detection and Mitigation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Misra, Sidharth; Kristensen, Steen Savstrup; Skou, Niels

    2007-01-01

    The performance of a previously developed algorithm for Radio Frequency Interference (RFI) detection and mitigation is experimentally evaluated. Results obtained from CoSMOS, an airborne campaign using a fully polarimetric L-band radiometer are analyzed for this purpose. Data is collected using two...

  7. Performance Analysis of Heterodyne-Detected OCDMA Systems Using PolSK Modulation over a Free-Space Optical Turbulence Channel

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fan Bai

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents a novel model of heterodyne-detected optical code-division multiple-access (OCDMA systems employing polarization shift keying (PolSK modulation over a free-space optical (FSO turbulence channel. In this article, a new transceiver configuration and detailed analytical model for the proposed system are provided and discussed, taking into consideration the potential of heterodyne detection on mitigating the impact of turbulence-induced irradiance fluctuation on the performance of the proposed system under the gamma-gamma turbulence channel. Furthermore, we derived the closed-form expressions for the system error probability and outage probability, respectively. We determine the advantages of the proposed modeling by performing a comparison with a direct detection scheme obtained from an evaluation of link performance under the same environment conditions. The presented work also shows the most significant impact factor that degrades the performance of the proposed system and indicates that the proposed approach offers an optimum link performance compared to conventional cases.

  8. 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

  9. Computer-aided detection of brain metastasis on 3D MR imaging: Observer performance study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sunwoo, Leonard; Kim, Young Jae; Choi, Seung Hong; Kim, Kwang-Gi; Kang, Ji Hee; Kang, Yeonah; Bae, Yun Jung; Yoo, Roh-Eul; Kim, Jihang; Lee, Kyong Joon; Lee, Seung Hyun; Choi, Byung Se; Jung, Cheolkyu; Sohn, Chul-Ho; Kim, Jae Hyoung

    2017-01-01

    To assess the effect of computer-aided detection (CAD) of brain metastasis (BM) on radiologists' diagnostic performance in interpreting three-dimensional brain magnetic resonance (MR) imaging using follow-up imaging and consensus as the reference standard. The institutional review board approved this retrospective study. The study cohort consisted of 110 consecutive patients with BM and 30 patients without BM. The training data set included MR images of 80 patients with 450 BM nodules. The test set included MR images of 30 patients with 134 BM nodules and 30 patients without BM. We developed a CAD system for BM detection using template-matching and K-means clustering algorithms for candidate detection and an artificial neural network for false-positive reduction. Four reviewers (two neuroradiologists and two radiology residents) interpreted the test set images before and after the use of CAD in a sequential manner. The sensitivity, false positive (FP) per case, and reading time were analyzed. A jackknife free-response receiver operating characteristic (JAFROC) method was used to determine the improvement in the diagnostic accuracy. The sensitivity of CAD was 87.3% with an FP per case of 302.4. CAD significantly improved the diagnostic performance of the four reviewers with a figure-of-merit (FOM) of 0.874 (without CAD) vs. 0.898 (with CAD) according to JAFROC analysis (p reviewers (FOM without vs. with CAD, 0.834 vs. 0.877, p review the CAD results was approximately 72 sec (40% of the total review time). CAD as a second reader helps radiologists improve their diagnostic performance in the detection of BM on MR imaging, particularly for less-experienced reviewers.

  10. High-Performance Signal Detection for Adverse Drug Events using MapReduce Paradigm.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fan, Kai; Sun, Xingzhi; Tao, Ying; Xu, Linhao; Wang, Chen; Mao, Xianling; Peng, Bo; Pan, Yue

    2010-11-13

    Post-marketing pharmacovigilance is important for public health, as many Adverse Drug Events (ADEs) are unknown when those drugs were approved for marketing. However, due to the large number of reported drugs and drug combinations, detecting ADE signals by mining these reports is becoming a challenging task in terms of computational complexity. Recently, a parallel programming model, MapReduce has been introduced by Google to support large-scale data intensive applications. In this study, we proposed a MapReduce-based algorithm, for common ADE detection approach, Proportional Reporting Ratio (PRR), and tested it in mining spontaneous ADE reports from FDA. The purpose is to investigate the possibility of using MapReduce principle to speed up biomedical data mining tasks using this pharmacovigilance case as one specific example. The results demonstrated that MapReduce programming model could improve the performance of common signal detection algorithm for pharmacovigilance in a distributed computation environment at approximately liner speedup rates.

  11. Performance Evaluation of Three Different High Resolution Satellite Images in Semi-Automatic Urban Illegal Building Detection

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khalilimoghadama, N.; Delavar, M. R.; Hanachi, P.

    2017-09-01

    The problem of overcrowding of mega cities has been bolded in recent years. To meet the need of housing this increased population, which is of great importance in mega cities, a huge number of buildings are constructed annually. With the ever-increasing trend of building constructions, we are faced with the growing trend of building infractions and illegal buildings (IBs). Acquiring multi-temporal satellite images and using change detection techniques is one of the proper methods of IB monitoring. Using the type of satellite images with different spatial and spectral resolutions has always been an issue in efficient detection of the building changes. In this research, three bi-temporal high-resolution satellite images of IRS-P5, GeoEye-1 and QuickBird sensors acquired from the west of metropolitan area of Tehran, capital of Iran, in addition to city maps and municipality property database were used to detect the under construction buildings with improved performance and accuracy. Furthermore, determining the employed bi-temporal satellite images to provide better performance and accuracy in the case of IB detection is the other purpose of this research. The Kappa coefficients of 70 %, 64 %, and 68 % were obtained for producing change image maps using GeoEye-1, IRS-P5, and QuickBird satellite images, respectively. In addition, the overall accuracies of 100 %, 6 %, and 83 % were achieved for IB detection using the satellite images, respectively. These accuracies substantiate the fact that the GeoEye-1 satellite images had the best performance among the employed images in producing change image map and detecting the IBs.

  12. Performance of optical biosensor using alcohol oxidase enzyme for formaldehyde detection

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sari, A. P.; Rachim, A.; Nurlely, Fauzia, V.

    2017-07-01

    The recent issue in the world is the long exposure of formaldehyde which is can increase the risk of human health, therefore, that is very important to develop a device and method that can be optimized to detect the formaldehyde elements accurately, have a long lifetime and can be fabricated and produced in large quantities. A new and simple prepared optical biosensor for detection of formaldehyde in aqueous solutions using alcohol oxidase (AOX) enzyme was successfully fabricated. The poly-n-butyl acrylic-co-N-acryloxysuccinimide (nBA-NAS) membranes containing chromoionophore ETH5294 were used for immobilization of alcohol oxidase enzyme (AOX). Biosensor response was based on the colour change of chromoionophore as a result of enzymatic oxidation of formaldehyde and correlated with the detection concentration of formaldehyde. The performance of biosensor parameters were measured through the optical absorption value using UV-Vis spectrophotometer including the repeatability, reproducibility, selectivity and lifetime. The results showed that the prepared biosensor has good repeatability (RSD = 1.9 %) and good reproducibility (RSD = 2.1 %). The biosensor was selective formaldehyde with no disturbance by methanol, ethanol, and acetaldehyde, and also stable before 49 days and decrease by 41.77 % after 49 days.

  13. Single-channel ground airborne radio system (SINCGARS) based remote control for the M1 Abrahms

    Science.gov (United States)

    Urda, Joseph R.

    1995-04-01

    Remote control of the Ml Abrahms Main Battle Tank through a minefield breach operation will remove the vehicle crew from the inherent hazard. A successful remote control system will provide automotive control yet not impair normal operation. This requires a minimum of physical parts, and an unobtrusive installation. Most importantly, a system failure must not impair the regular operation as a manned system. The system itself need not be complex. A minefield breach only requires simple control of automotive function and a mine plow interface. Control hardware for the Ml-Al can be reduced to two linear actuators, an electrical interface for the engine control unit, an interface for the mine plow, and the associated cables. Communication between vehicle control and operator control takes place over the vehicles organic radio (typically SINCGARS). This helps reduce the number of special purpose components for the remote control device. The device is currently awaiting an automotive safety test to prepare for its safety release. Because of the specific nature of the MDL-STD 1553-B data bus the device will not control an M1-A2 Main Battle Tank. The architecture will allow control of the M1-A2 through the 1553-B data bus however the physical hardware has not been constructed. The control scheme will not change. The communication interface will provide greater flexibility when interfacing to the vehicle tactical radio. Operational utility will be determined by U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command personnel. The obvious benefit is that if a remote tank is lost during a minefield breach the crew is saved.

  14. Simultaneous determination of 13 carbohydrates using high-performance anion-exchange chromatography coupled with pulsed amperometric detection and mass spectrometry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Dan; Feng, Feng; Yuan, Fei; Su, Jin; Cheng, Yan; Wu, Hanqiu; Song, Kun; Nie, Bo; Yu, Lian; Zhang, Feng

    2017-04-01

    A simple, accurate, and highly sensitive method was developed for the determination of 13 carbohydrates in polysaccharide of Spirulina platensis based on high-performance anion-exchange chromatography coupled with pulsed amperometric detection and mass spectrometry. Samples were extracted with deionized water using ultrasonic-assisted extraction, and the ultrasound-assisted extraction conditions were optimized by Box-Behnken design. Then the extracted polysaccharide was hydrolyzed by adding 1 mol/L trifluoroacetic acid before determination by high-performance anion-exchange chromatography coupled with pulsed amperometric detection and confirmed by high-performance anion-exchange chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. The high-performance anion-exchange chromatography coupled with pulsed amperometric detection method was performed on a CarboPac PA20 column by gradient elution using deionized water, 0.1 mol/L sodium hydroxide solution, and 0.4 mol/L sodium acetate solution. Excellent linearity was observed in the range of 0.05-10 mg/L. The average recoveries ranged from 80.7 to 121.7%. The limits of detection and limits of quantification for 13 carbohydrates were 0.02-0.10 and 0.2-1.2  μg/kg, respectively. The developed method has been successfully applied to ambient samples, and the results indicated that high-performance anion-exchange chromatography coupled with pulsed amperometric detection and mass spectrometry could provide a rapid and accurate method for the simultaneous determination of carbohydrates. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  15. Virtual colonoscopy: effect of computer-assisted detection (CAD) on radiographer performance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Burling, D.; Moore, A.; Marshall, M.; Weldon, J.; Gillen, C.; Baldwin, R.; Smith, K.; Pickhardt, P.; Honeyfield, L.; Taylor, S.

    2008-01-01

    Aim: To investigate the effect of a virtual colonoscopy (VC) computed-assisted detection (CAD) system on polyp detection by trained radiographers. Materials and methods: Four radiographers trained in VC interpretation and utilization of CAD systems read a total of 62 endoscopically validated VC examinations containing 150 polyps (size range 5-50 mm) in four sessions, recording any polyps found and the examination interpretation time, first without and then with the addition of CAD as a 'second reader'. After a temporal separation of 6 weeks to reduce recall bias, VC examinations were re-read using 'concurrent reader' CAD. Interpretation times, polyp detection, and number of false-positives were compared between the different reader paradigms using paired t and paired exact tests. Results: Overall, use of 'second reader' CAD significantly improved polyp detection by 12% (p < 0.001, CI 6%,17%)) from 48 to 60%. There was no significant improvement using CAD as a concurrent reader (p = 0.20; difference of 7%, CI -3%, 16%) and no significant overall difference in recorded false-positives with second reader or concurrent CAD paradigms compared with unassisted reading (p = 0.25 and 0.65, respectively). The mean interpretation time was 21.7 min for unassisted reading, 29.6 (p < 0.001) min for second reader and 19.1 min (p = 0.12) for concurrent reading paradigms. Conclusion: CAD, when used as a second reader, can significantly improve radiographer reading performance with only a moderate increase in interpretation times

  16. Computer-aided detection of brain metastasis on 3D MR imaging: Observer performance study.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Leonard Sunwoo

    Full Text Available To assess the effect of computer-aided detection (CAD of brain metastasis (BM on radiologists' diagnostic performance in interpreting three-dimensional brain magnetic resonance (MR imaging using follow-up imaging and consensus as the reference standard.The institutional review board approved this retrospective study. The study cohort consisted of 110 consecutive patients with BM and 30 patients without BM. The training data set included MR images of 80 patients with 450 BM nodules. The test set included MR images of 30 patients with 134 BM nodules and 30 patients without BM. We developed a CAD system for BM detection using template-matching and K-means clustering algorithms for candidate detection and an artificial neural network for false-positive reduction. Four reviewers (two neuroradiologists and two radiology residents interpreted the test set images before and after the use of CAD in a sequential manner. The sensitivity, false positive (FP per case, and reading time were analyzed. A jackknife free-response receiver operating characteristic (JAFROC method was used to determine the improvement in the diagnostic accuracy.The sensitivity of CAD was 87.3% with an FP per case of 302.4. CAD significantly improved the diagnostic performance of the four reviewers with a figure-of-merit (FOM of 0.874 (without CAD vs. 0.898 (with CAD according to JAFROC analysis (p < 0.01. Statistically significant improvement was noted only for less-experienced reviewers (FOM without vs. with CAD, 0.834 vs. 0.877, p < 0.01. The additional time required to review the CAD results was approximately 72 sec (40% of the total review time.CAD as a second reader helps radiologists improve their diagnostic performance in the detection of BM on MR imaging, particularly for less-experienced reviewers.

  17. Characterization of E 471 food emulsifiers by high-performance thin-layer chromatography-fluorescence detection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oellig, Claudia; Brändle, Klara; Schwack, Wolfgang

    2018-07-13

    Mono- and diacylglycerol (MAG and DAG) emulsifiers, also known as food additive E 471, are widely used to adjust techno-functional properties in various foods. Besides MAGs and DAGs, E 471 emulsifiers additionally comprise different amounts of triacylglycerols (TAGs) and free fatty acids (FFAs). MAGs, DAGs, TAGs and FFAs are generally determined by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) or gas chromatography (GC) coupled to mass selective detection, analyzing the individual representatives of the lipid classes. In this work we present a rapid and sensitive method for the determination of MAGs, DAGs, TAGs and FFAs in E 471 emulsifiers by high-performance thin-layer chromatography with fluorescence detection (HPTLC-FLD), including a response factor system for quantitation. Samples were simply dissolved and diluted with t-butyl methyl ether before a two-fold development was performed on primuline pre-impregnated LiChrospher silica gel plates with diethyl ether and n-pentane/n-hexane/diethyl ether (52:20:28, v/v/v) as the mobile phases to 18 and 75 mm, respectively. For quantitation, the plate was scanned in the fluorescence mode at UV 366/>400 nm, when the cumulative signal for each lipid class was used. Calibration was done with 1,2-distearin and amounts of lipid classes were calculated with response factors and expressed as monostearin, distearin, tristearin and stearic acid. Limits of detection and quantitation were 1 and 4 ng/zone, respectively, for 1,2-distearin. Thus, the HPTLC-FLD approach represents a simple, rapid and convenient screening alternative to HPLC and GC analysis of the individual compounds. Visual detection additionally enables an easy characterization and the direct comparison of emulsifiers through the lipid class pattern, when utilized as a fingerprint. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  18. U.S. Navy Employment Options for Unmanned Surface Vehicles (USVs)

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-01-01

    the Navy had cleared in compliance with the Paris Peace Accords. The second condition under which minefield proofing is conducted is when there is...www.gdrs.com/about/profile/pdfs/UDTPacific2006_4A3_.pdf Bertram, Volker, “Unmanned Surface Vehicles: A Survey,” Brest , France: ENSIETA, 2008. As of

  19. Performance analysis of EM-based blind detection for ON-OFF keying modulation over atmospheric optical channels

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dabiri, Mohammad Taghi; Sadough, Seyed Mohammad Sajad

    2018-04-01

    In the free-space optical (FSO) links, atmospheric turbulence lead to scintillation in the received signal. Due to its ease of implementation, intensity modulation with direct detection (IM/DD) based on ON-OFF keying (OOK) is a popular signaling scheme in these systems. Over turbulence channel, to detect OOK symbols in a blind way, i.e., without sending pilot symbols, an expectation-maximization (EM)-based detection method was recently proposed in the literature related to free-space optical (FSO) communication. However, the performance of EM-based detection methods severely depends on the length of the observation interval (Ls). To choose the optimum values of Ls at target bit error rates (BER)s of FSO communications which are commonly lower than 10-9, Monte-Carlo simulations would be very cumbersome and require a very long processing time. To facilitate performance evaluation, in this letter we derive the analytic expressions for BER and outage probability. Numerical results validate the accuracy of our derived analytic expressions. Our results may serve to evaluate the optimum value for Ls without resorting to time-consuming Monte-Carlo simulations.

  20. HPTLC-aptastaining - Innovative protein detection system for high-performance thin-layer chromatography

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morschheuser, Lena; Wessels, Hauke; Pille, Christina; Fischer, Judith; Hünniger, Tim; Fischer, Markus; Paschke-Kratzin, Angelika; Rohn, Sascha

    2016-05-01

    Protein analysis using high-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC) is not commonly used but can complement traditional electrophoretic and mass spectrometric approaches in a unique way. Due to various detection protocols and possibilities for hyphenation, HPTLC protein analysis is a promising alternative for e.g., investigating posttranslational modifications. This study exemplarily focused on the investigation of lysozyme, an enzyme which is occurring in eggs and technologically added to foods and beverages such as wine. The detection of lysozyme is mandatory, as it might trigger allergenic reactions in sensitive individuals. To underline the advantages of HPTLC in protein analysis, the development of innovative, highly specific staining protocols leads to improved sensitivity for protein detection on HPTLC plates in comparison to universal protein derivatization reagents. This study aimed at developing a detection methodology for HPTLC separated proteins using aptamers. Due to their affinity and specificity towards a wide range of targets, an aptamer based staining procedure on HPTLC (HPTLC-aptastaining) will enable manifold analytical possibilities. Besides the proof of its applicability for the very first time, (i) aptamer-based staining of proteins is applicable on different stationary phase materials and (ii) furthermore, it can be used as an approach for a semi-quantitative estimation of protein concentrations.

  1. Comparison of model and human observer performance for detection and discrimination tasks using dual-energy x-ray images

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Richard, Samuel; Siewerdsen, Jeffrey H.

    2008-01-01

    Model observer performance, computed theoretically using cascaded systems analysis (CSA), was compared to the performance of human observers in detection and discrimination tasks. Dual-energy (DE) imaging provided a wide range of acquisition and decomposition parameters for which observer performance could be predicted and measured. This work combined previously derived observer models (e.g., Fisher-Hotelling and non-prewhitening) with CSA modeling of the DE image noise-equivalent quanta (NEQ) and imaging task (e.g., sphere detection, shape discrimination, and texture discrimination) to yield theoretical predictions of detectability index (d ' ) and area under the receiver operating characteristic (A Z ). Theoretical predictions were compared to human observer performance assessed using 9-alternative forced-choice tests to yield measurement of A Z as a function of DE image acquisition parameters (viz., allocation of dose between the low- and high-energy images) and decomposition technique [viz., three DE image decomposition algorithms: standard log subtraction (SLS), simple-smoothing of the high-energy image (SSH), and anti-correlated noise reduction (ACNR)]. Results showed good agreement between theory and measurements over a broad range of imaging conditions. The incorporation of an eye filter and internal noise in the observer models demonstrated improved correspondence with human observer performance. Optimal acquisition and decomposition parameters were shown to depend on the imaging task; for example, ACNR and SSH yielded the greatest performance in the detection of soft-tissue and bony lesions, respectively. This study provides encouraging evidence that Fourier-based modeling of NEQ computed via CSA and imaging task provides a good approximation to human observer performance for simple imaging tasks, helping to bridge the gap between Fourier metrics of detector performance (e.g., NEQ) and human observer performance.

  2. Acoustic detection in superconducting magnets for performance characterization and diagnostics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Marchevsky, M; Wang, X; Sabbi, G; Prestemon, S

    2013-01-01

    Quench diagnostics in superconducting accelerator magnets is essential for understanding performance limitations and improving magnet design. Applicability of the conventional quench diagnostics methods such as voltage taps or quench antennas is limited for long magnets or complex winding geometries, and alternative approaches are desirable. Here, we discuss acoustic sensing technique for detecting mechanical vibrations in superconducting magnets. Using LARP high-field Nb3Sn quadrupole HQ01, we show how acoustic data is connected with voltage instabilities measured simultaneously in the magnet windings during provoked extractions and current ramps to quench. Instrumentation and data analysis techniques for acoustic sensing are reviewed. (author)

  3. Acoustic detection in superconducting magnets for performance characterization and diagnostics

    CERN Document Server

    Marchevsky, M.; Sabbi, G.; Prestemon, S.

    2013-01-01

    Quench diagnostics in superconducting accelerator magnets is essential for understanding performance limitations and improving magnet design. Applicability of the conventional quench diagnostics methods such as voltage taps or quench antennas is limited for long magnets or complex winding geometries, and alternative approaches are desirable. Here, we discuss acoustic sensing technique for detecting mechanical vibrations in superconducting magnets. Using LARP high-field Nb$_{3}$Sn quadrupole HQ01 [1], we show how acoustic data is connected with voltage instabilities measured simultaneously in the magnet windings during provoked extractions and current ramps to quench. Instrumentation and data analysis techniques for acoustic sensing are reviewed.

  4. Random Gap Detection Test (RGDT) performance of individuals with central auditory processing disorders from 5 to 25 years of age.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dias, Karin Ziliotto; Jutras, Benoît; Acrani, Isabela Olszanski; Pereira, Liliane Desgualdo

    2012-02-01

    The aim of the present study was to assess the auditory temporal resolution ability in individuals with central auditory processing disorders, to examine the maturation effect and to investigate the relationship between the performance on a temporal resolution test with the performance on other central auditory tests. Participants were divided in two groups: 131 with Central Auditory Processing Disorder and 94 with normal auditory processing. They had pure-tone air-conduction thresholds no poorer than 15 dB HL bilaterally, normal admittance measures and presence of acoustic reflexes. Also, they were assessed with a central auditory test battery. Participants who failed at least one or more tests were included in the Central Auditory Processing Disorder group and those in the control group obtained normal performance on all tests. Following the auditory processing assessment, the Random Gap Detection Test was administered to the participants. A three-way ANOVA was performed. Correlation analyses were also done between the four Random Gap Detection Test subtests data as well as between Random Gap Detection Test data and the other auditory processing test results. There was a significant difference between the age-group performances in children with and without Central Auditory Processing Disorder. Also, 48% of children with Central Auditory Processing Disorder failed the Random Gap Detection Test and the percentage decreased as a function of age. The highest percentage (86%) was found in the 5-6 year-old children. Furthermore, results revealed a strong significant correlation between the four Random Gap Detection Test subtests. There was a modest correlation between the Random Gap Detection Test results and the dichotic listening tests. No significant correlation was observed between the Random Gap Detection Test data and the results of the other tests in the battery. Random Gap Detection Test should not be administered to children younger than 7 years old because

  5. High-performance fluorescence-encoded magnetic microbeads as microfluidic protein chip supports for AFP detection

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gong, Xiaoqun [School of Life Sciences, Tianjin Engineering Center of Micro-Nano Biomaterials and Detection-Treatment Technology, Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemical Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072 (China); Yan, Huan; Yang, Jiumin [Department of Laboratory Medicine, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, 300052 (China); Wu, Yudong; Zhang, Jian; Yao, Yingyi [School of Life Sciences, Tianjin Engineering Center of Micro-Nano Biomaterials and Detection-Treatment Technology, Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemical Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072 (China); Liu, Ping [Bioscience (Tianjin) Diagnostic Technology CO., LTD, Tianjin, 300300 (China); Wang, Huiquan [Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Electronics and Information Engineering, Tianjin Polytechnic University, Tianjin, 300387 (China); Hu, Zhidong, E-mail: huzhidong27@163.com [Department of Laboratory Medicine, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, 300052 (China); Chang, Jin, E-mail: jinchang@tju.edu.cn [School of Life Sciences, Tianjin Engineering Center of Micro-Nano Biomaterials and Detection-Treatment Technology, Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemical Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072 (China)

    2016-10-05

    Fluorescence-encoded magnetic microbeads (FEMMs), with the fluorescence encoding ability of quantum dots (QDs) and magnetic enrichment and separation functions of Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4} nanoparticles, have been widely used for multiple biomolecular detection as microfluidic protein chip supports. However, the preparation of FEMMs with long-term fluorescent encoding and immunodetection stability is still a challenge. In this work, we designed a novel high-temperature chemical swelling strategy. The QDs and Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4} nanoparticles were effectively packaged into microbeads via the thermal motion of the polymer chains and the hydrophobic interaction between the nanoparticles and microbeads. The FEMMs obtained a highly uniform fluorescent property and long-term encoding and immunodetection stability and could be quickly magnetically separated and enriched. Then, the QD-encoded magnetic microbeads were applied to alpha fetoprotein (AFP) detection via sandwich immunoreaction. The properties of the encoded microspheres were characterized using a self-designed detecting apparatus, and the target molecular concentration in the sample was also quantified. The results suggested that the high-performance FEMMs have great potential in the field of biomolecular detection. - Graphical abstract: We designed a novel strategy to prepare a kind of high-performance fluorescence-encoded magnetic microbeads as microfluidic protein chip support with long-time fluorescent encoding and immunodetection stability for AFP detection. - Highlights: • A novel strategy combined the high temperature with chemical swelling technology is designed. • Based on hydrophobic interaction and polymer thermal motion, QDs and Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4} were effectively packaged into microbeads. • The fluorescence-encoded magnetic microbeads show long-term fluorescent encoding and immunodetection stability.

  6. [Performance of an abbreviated mini mental examination to detect dementia in older people].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiménez, Daniel; Lavados, Manuel; Rojas, Paula; Henríquez, Claudio; Silva, Fernando; Guillón, Marta

    2017-07-01

    The usefulness of the abbreviated Mini-Mental State Examination included in the Chilean Functional assessment of elderly people (MM-SE-EFAM) to detect Dementia has not been determined. To assess the performance of the MMSE-EFAM to detect dementia. We studied a non-probabilistic sample of subjects older than 65 years who had been assessed by the MMSE-EFAM in a Chilean primary care center during a period of 6 months. Patients underwent clinical evaluation by a neurologist blinded to MMSE-EFAM score, to establish the diagnosis of dementia using DSM-IV-TR criteria. Besides, the full Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) was applied. The clinical diagnosis of Dementia was established in 13 of the 54 peoples evaluated. MMSE-EFAM had a sensitivity of 30.8% (95% confidence intervals (CI); 9-61.4) and a specificity of 90.2% (95% CI; 76.9%-97.3%), while MMSE had a sensitivity of 84.6% (95% CI; 54.6-98.1) and a specificity of 58.5% (95% CI; 42.1-73.7). In a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis, the areas under the curve (AUC) were 0.77 (95% CI; 0.61-0.93) and 0.82 (95% CI; 0.70-0.95) for MMSE-EFAM and MMSE, respectively. Socio-demographic variables did not influence test performance in both cases. MMSE-EFAM has a low sensitivity to detect patients with Dementia and it is not an effective screening tool. These results are in agreement with the evidence and international guidelines that do not support the use of cognitive screening tools to detect dementia in the older general population.

  7. Intraoperative tumor detection: Relative performance of single-element, dual-element, and imaging probes with various collimators

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hartsough, N.E.; Barrett, H.H.; Barber, H.B.; Woolfenden, J.M.

    1995-01-01

    Accurate tumor staging depends on finding all tumor sites, and curative surgery requires the removal of all cancerous tissue from those sites. One technique for locating tumors is to inject patients before surgery with a radiotracer that is preferentially taken up by cancerous tissue. Then, an intraoperative gamma-sensitive probe is used to locate the tumors. Small (< 1-cm diameter) tumors, often undetectable by external imaging and by the standard surgical inspection with sight and touch, can be found with probes. Simple calculations and measurements with radioactive tumor models show that small tumors should be detected by single-element probes, but often such probes fail to detect these small tumors in practice. This discrepancy is often caused by the use of a uniform background to predict probe performance. Real backgrounds are nonuniform and can decrease probe performance dramatically. Dual-element, coincidence, or imaging probes may solve the background problem. The authors devised a method to predict probe performance in a realistic background which includes variations in normal organ uptakes. They predict the relative performance of both existing probes and those in the design stage so that optimal detector and collimator configurations can be determined. The procedure includes a Monte-Carlo-calculated point-response function, a numerical torso phantom, and measured biodistribution of a monoclonal antibody. The Hotelling Trace Value, a measure of tumor-detection performance, is computed from the probe responses in simulated studies

  8. Performance Assessment of Four Chimeric Trypanosoma cruzi Antigens Based on Antigen-Antibody Detection for Diagnosis of Chronic Chagas Disease.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fred Luciano Neves Santos

    Full Text Available The performance of serologic tests in chronic Chagas disease diagnosis largely depends on the type and quality of the antigen preparations that are used for detection of anti-Trypanosoma cruzi antibodies. Whole-cell T. cruzi extracts or recombinant proteins have shown variation in the performance and cross-reactivity. Synthetic chimeric proteins comprising fragments of repetitive amino acids of several different proteins have been shown to improve assay performances to detect Chagasic infections. Here, we describe the production of four chimeric T. cruzi proteins and the assessment of their performance for diagnostic purposes. Circular Dichroism spectra indicated the absence of well-defined secondary structures, while polydispersity evaluated by Dynamic Light Scattering revealed only minor aggregates in 50 mM carbonate-bicarbonate (pH 9.6, demonstrating that it is an appropriate buffering system for sensitizing microplates. Serum samples from T. cruzi-infected and non-infected individuals were used to assess the performance of these antigens for detecting antibodies against T. cruzi, using both enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and a liquid bead array platform. Performance parameters (AUC, sensitivity, specificity, accuracy and J index showed high diagnostic accuracy for all chimeric proteins for detection of specific anti-T. cruzi antibodies and differentiated seropositive individuals from those who were seronegative. Our data suggest that these four chimeric proteins are eligible for phase II studies.

  9. 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...

  10. Computer-aided detection (CAD) of lung nodules in CT scans: radiologist performance and reading time with incremental CAD assistance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Roos, Justus E.; Paik, David; Olsen, David; Liu, Emily G.; Leung, Ann N.; Mindelzun, Robert; Choudhury, Kingshuk R.; Napel, Sandy; Rubin, Geoffrey D.; Chow, Lawrence C.; Naidich, David P.

    2010-01-01

    The diagnostic performance of radiologists using incremental CAD assistance for lung nodule detection on CT and their temporal variation in performance during CAD evaluation was assessed. CAD was applied to 20 chest multidetector-row computed tomography (MDCT) scans containing 190 non-calcified ≥3-mm nodules. After free search, three radiologists independently evaluated a maximum of up to 50 CAD detections/patient. Multiple free-response ROC curves were generated for free search and successive CAD evaluation, by incrementally adding CAD detections one at a time to the radiologists' performance. The sensitivity for free search was 53% (range, 44%-59%) at 1.15 false positives (FP)/patient and increased with CAD to 69% (range, 59-82%) at 1.45 FP/patient. CAD evaluation initially resulted in a sharp rise in sensitivity of 14% with a minimal increase in FP over a time period of 100 s, followed by flattening of the sensitivity increase to only 2%. This transition resulted from a greater prevalence of true positive (TP) versus FP detections at early CAD evaluation and not by a temporal change in readers' performance. The time spent for TP (9.5 s ± 4.5 s) and false negative (FN) (8.4 s ± 6.7 s) detections was similar; FP decisions took two- to three-times longer (14.4 s ± 8.7 s) than true negative (TN) decisions (4.7 s ± 1.3 s). When CAD output is ordered by CAD score, an initial period of rapid performance improvement slows significantly over time because of non-uniformity in the distribution of TP CAD output and not to a changing reader performance over time. (orig.)

  11. Temporal diagnostic analysis of the SWAT model to detect dominant periods of poor model performance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guse, Björn; Reusser, Dominik E.; Fohrer, Nicola

    2013-04-01

    Hydrological models generally include thresholds and non-linearities, such as snow-rain-temperature thresholds, non-linear reservoirs, infiltration thresholds and the like. When relating observed variables to modelling results, formal methods often calculate performance metrics over long periods, reporting model performance with only few numbers. Such approaches are not well suited to compare dominating processes between reality and model and to better understand when thresholds and non-linearities are driving model results. We present a combination of two temporally resolved model diagnostic tools to answer when a model is performing (not so) well and what the dominant processes are during these periods. We look at the temporal dynamics of parameter sensitivities and model performance to answer this question. For this, the eco-hydrological SWAT model is applied in the Treene lowland catchment in Northern Germany. As a first step, temporal dynamics of parameter sensitivities are analyzed using the Fourier Amplitude Sensitivity test (FAST). The sensitivities of the eight model parameters investigated show strong temporal variations. High sensitivities were detected for two groundwater (GW_DELAY, ALPHA_BF) and one evaporation parameters (ESCO) most of the time. The periods of high parameter sensitivity can be related to different phases of the hydrograph with dominances of the groundwater parameters in the recession phases and of ESCO in baseflow and resaturation periods. Surface runoff parameters show high parameter sensitivities in phases of a precipitation event in combination with high soil water contents. The dominant parameters give indication for the controlling processes during a given period for the hydrological catchment. The second step included the temporal analysis of model performance. For each time step, model performance was characterized with a "finger print" consisting of a large set of performance measures. These finger prints were clustered into

  12. Neutron detection performance of silicon carbide and diamond detectors with incomplete charge collection properties

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hodgson, M., E-mail: michael.hodgson@becq.co.uk [Department of Physics, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH (United Kingdom); Lohstroh, A.; Sellin, P. [Department of Physics, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH (United Kingdom); Thomas, D. [NPL, Teddington TW11 0LW (United Kingdom)

    2017-03-01

    The benefits of neutron detection and spectroscopy with carbon based, wide band gap, semiconductor detectors have previously been discussed within the literature. However, at the time of writing there are still limitations with these detectors related to availability, cost, size and perceived quality. This study demonstrates that lower quality materials—indicated by lower charge collection efficiency (CCE), poor resolution and polarisation effect—available at wafer scale and lower cost, can fulfil requirements for fast neutron detection and spectroscopy for fluxes over several orders of magnitude, where only coarse energy discrimination is required. In this study, a single crystal diamond detector (D-SC, with 100% CCE), a polycrystalline diamond (D-PC, with ≈4% CCE) and semi-insulating silicon carbide (SiC-SI, with ≈35% CCE) have been compared for alpha and fast neutron performance. All detectors demonstrated alpha induced polarisation effects in the form of a change of both energy peak position and count rate with irradiation time. Despite these operational issues the ability to detect fast neutrons and distinguish neutron energies was observed. This performance was demonstrated over a wide dynamic range (500–40,000 neutrons/s), with neutron induced polarisation being demonstrated in D-PC and SiC-SI at high fluxes.

  13. Spontaneous Alpha Power Lateralization Predicts Detection Performance in an Un-Cued Signal Detection Task.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gonzalo Boncompte

    Full Text Available Focusing one's attention by external guiding stimuli towards a specific area of the visual field produces systematical neural signatures. One of the most robust is the change in topological distribution of oscillatory alpha band activity across parieto-occipital cortices. In particular, decreases in alpha activity over contralateral and/or increases over ipsilateral scalp sites, respect to the side of the visual field where attention was focused. This evidence comes mainly from experiments where an explicit cue informs subjects where to focus their attention, thus facilitating detection of an upcoming target stimulus. However, recent theoretical models of attention have highlighted a stochastic or non-deterministic component related to visuospatial attentional allocation. In an attempt to evidence this component, here we analyzed alpha activity in a signal detection paradigm in the lack of informative cues; in the absence of preceding information about the location (and time of appearance of target stimuli. We believe that the unpredictability of this situation could be beneficial for unveiling this component. Interestingly, although total alpha power did not differ between Seen and Unseen conditions, we found a significant lateralization of alpha activity over parieto-occipital electrodes, which predicted behavioral performance. This effect had a smaller magnitude compared to paradigms in which attention is externally guided (cued. However we believe that further characterization of this spontaneous component of attention is of great importance in the study of visuospatial attentional dynamics. These results support the presence of a spontaneous component of visuospatial attentional allocation and they advance pre-stimulus alpha-band lateralization as one of its neural signatures.

  14. Evaluation of Techniques to Detect Significant Network Performance Problems using End-to-End Active Network Measurements

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cottrell, R.Les; Logg, Connie; Chhaparia, Mahesh; /SLAC; Grigoriev, Maxim; /Fermilab; Haro, Felipe; /Chile U., Catolica; Nazir, Fawad; /NUST, Rawalpindi; Sandford, Mark

    2006-01-25

    End-to-End fault and performance problems detection in wide area production networks is becoming increasingly hard as the complexity of the paths, the diversity of the performance, and dependency on the network increase. Several monitoring infrastructures are built to monitor different network metrics and collect monitoring information from thousands of hosts around the globe. Typically there are hundreds to thousands of time-series plots of network metrics which need to be looked at to identify network performance problems or anomalous variations in the traffic. Furthermore, most commercial products rely on a comparison with user configured static thresholds and often require access to SNMP-MIB information, to which a typical end-user does not usually have access. In our paper we propose new techniques to detect network performance problems proactively in close to realtime and we do not rely on static thresholds and SNMP-MIB information. We describe and compare the use of several different algorithms that we have implemented to detect persistent network problems using anomalous variations analysis in real end-to-end Internet performance measurements. We also provide methods and/or guidance for how to set the user settable parameters. The measurements are based on active probes running on 40 production network paths with bottlenecks varying from 0.5Mbits/s to 1000Mbit/s. For well behaved data (no missed measurements and no very large outliers) with small seasonal changes most algorithms identify similar events. We compare the algorithms' robustness with respect to false positives and missed events especially when there are large seasonal effects in the data. Our proposed techniques cover a wide variety of network paths and traffic patterns. We also discuss the applicability of the algorithms in terms of their intuitiveness, their speed of execution as implemented, and areas of applicability. Our encouraging results compare and evaluate the accuracy of our

  15. An empirical model to describe performance degradation for warranty abuse detection in portable electronics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oh, Hyunseok; Choi, Seunghyuk; Kim, Keunsu; Youn, Byeng D.; Pecht, Michael

    2015-01-01

    Portable electronics makers have introduced liquid damage indicators (LDIs) into their products to detect warranty abuse caused by water damage. However, under certain conditions, these indicators can exhibit inconsistencies in detecting liquid damage. This study is motivated by the fact that the reliability of LDIs in portable electronics is suspected. In this paper, first, the scheme of life tests is devised for LDIs in conjunction with a robust color classification rule. Second, a degradation model is proposed by considering the two physical mechanisms—(1) phase change from vapor to water and (2) water transport in the porous paper—for LDIs. Finally, the degradation model is validated with additional tests using actual smartphone sets subjected to the thermal cycling of −15 °C to 25 °C and the relative humidity of 95%. By employing the innovative life testing scheme and the novel performance degradation model, it is expected that the performance of LDIs for a particular application can be assessed quickly and accurately. - Highlights: • Devise an efficient scheme of life testing for a warranty abuse detector in portable electronics. • Develop a performance degradation model for the warranty abuse detector used in portable electronics. • Validate the performance degradation model with life tests of actual smartphone sets. • Help make a decision on warranty service in portable electronics manufacturers

  16. Diagnostic performance of fecal quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction for detection of Lawsonia intracellularis–associated proliferative enteropathy in nursery pigs

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pedersen, Ken Steen; Stege, Helle; Jensen, Tim Kåre

    2013-01-01

    Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) tests for detection and quantification of Lawsonia intracellularis in feces from pigs have been developed. The objective of the current study was to evaluate the diagnostic performance of a fecal qPCR test for detection of nursery pigs with L. intrace......Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) tests for detection and quantification of Lawsonia intracellularis in feces from pigs have been developed. The objective of the current study was to evaluate the diagnostic performance of a fecal qPCR test for detection of nursery pigs with L...

  17. Surviving mergers & acquisitions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dixon, Diane L

    2002-01-01

    Mergers and acquisitions are never easy to implement. The health care landscape is a minefield of failed mergers and uneasy alliances generating great turmoil and pain. But some mergers have been successful, creating health systems that benefit the communities they serve. Five prominent leaders offer their advice on minimizing the difficulties of M&As.

  18. Evaluating the performance of the ORTECR DetectiveTM for emergency urine bioassay

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li, C.; Ko, R.; Moodie, G.; Kramer, G. H.

    2011-01-01

    The performance of the ORTEC R Detective TM as a field deployable tool for emergency urine bioassay of 137 Cs, 60 Co, 192 Ir, 169 Yb and 75 Se was evaluated against ANSI N13.30. The tested activity levels represent 10 % RL (reference level) and 1 % RL defined by [Li C., Vlahovich S., Dai X., Richardson R. B., Daka J. N. and Kramer G. H. Requirements for radiation emergency urine bioassay techniques for the public and first responders. Health Phys (in press, 99(5), 702-707 (2010)]. The tests were conducted for both single radionuclide and mixed radionuclides at two geometries, one conventional geometry (CG) and one improved geometry (IG) which improved the MDAs (minimum detectable amounts) by a factor of 1.6-2.7. The most challenging radionuclide was 169 Yb. The measurement of the mixture radionuclides for 169 Yb at the CG did not satisfy the ANSI N13.30 requirements even at 10 % RL. At 1 % RL, 169 Yb and 192 Ir were not detectable at either geometry, while the measurement of 60 Co in the mixed radionuclides satisfied the ANSI N13.30 requirements only at the IG. (authors)

  19. [Detection of the preservative chlorphenesin in cosmetics by high-performance liquid chromatography].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ikarashi, Yoshiaki; Miyazawa, Norimasa; Shimamura, Kimio; Sato, Nobuo; Yoshizawa, Ken-ichi; Hayashi, Masahito; Takano, Katsuhiro; Miyamoto, Michiko; Kojima, Takashi; Sakaguchi, Hiroshi; Fujiio, Makiko

    2009-01-01

    A simple determination method for preservative chlorphenesin in cosmetics was developed. Cosmetic samples were dissolved in methanol. The sample solution was analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with ODS column, using water-methanol (55:45) or water-acetonitrile (3:1) adjusted to pH 2.5 with phosphoric acid as the mobile phase. Chlorphenesin was detected with ultraviolet light detection at 280 nm. A linear relation was obtained between the peak areas and the concentrations of chlorphenesin in the range of 1-500 microg/ml. The determination limit of chlorphenesin was 1-2 microg/ml. Recoveries of chlorphenesin spiked in lotion and milky lotion at the levels of 0.03% and 0.3% were 98.8-100.0%. This method was applied for cosmetics including 0.03% and 0.3% of chlorphenesin and their content corresponded with the determined values.

  20. Simultaneous determination of caffeine, paracetamol, and ibuprofen in pharmaceutical formulations by high-performance liquid chromatography with UV detection and by capillary electrophoresis with conductivity detection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cunha, Rafael R; Chaves, Sandro C; Ribeiro, Michelle M A C; Torres, Lívia M F C; Muñoz, Rodrigo A A; Dos Santos, Wallans T P; Richter, Eduardo M

    2015-05-01

    Paracetamol, caffeine and ibuprofen are found in over-the-counter pharmaceutical formulations. In this work, we propose two new methods for simultaneous determination of paracetamol, caffeine and ibuprofen in pharmaceutical formulations. One method is based on high-performance liquid chromatography with diode-array detection and the other on capillary electrophoresis with capacitively coupled contactless conductivity detection. The separation by high-performance liquid chromatography with diode-array detection was achieved on a C18 column (250×4.6 mm(2), 5 μm) with a gradient mobile phase comprising 20-100% acetonitrile in 40 mmol L(-1) phosphate buffer pH 7.0. The separation by capillary electrophoresis with capacitively coupled contactless conductivity detection was achieved on a fused-silica capillary (40 cm length, 50 μm i.d.) using 10 mmol L(-1) 3,4-dimethoxycinnamate and 10 mmol L(-1) β-alanine with pH adjustment to 10.4 with lithium hydroxide as background electrolyte. The determination of all three pharmaceuticals was carried out in 9.6 min by liquid chromatography and in 2.2 min by capillary electrophoresis. Detection limits for caffeine, paracetamol and ibuprofen were 4.4, 0.7, and 3.4 μmol L(-1) by liquid chromatography and 39, 32, and 49 μmol L(-1) by capillary electrophoresis, respectively. Recovery values for spiked samples were between 92-107% for both proposed methods. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  1. Statistical Techniques For Real-time Anomaly Detection Using Spark Over Multi-source VMware Performance Data

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Solaimani, Mohiuddin [Univ. of Texas-Dallas, Richardson, TX (United States); Iftekhar, Mohammed [Univ. of Texas-Dallas, Richardson, TX (United States); Khan, Latifur [Univ. of Texas-Dallas, Richardson, TX (United States); Thuraisingham, Bhavani [Univ. of Texas-Dallas, Richardson, TX (United States); Ingram, Joey Burton [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

    2015-09-01

    Anomaly detection refers to the identi cation of an irregular or unusual pat- tern which deviates from what is standard, normal, or expected. Such deviated patterns typically correspond to samples of interest and are assigned different labels in different domains, such as outliers, anomalies, exceptions, or malware. Detecting anomalies in fast, voluminous streams of data is a formidable chal- lenge. This paper presents a novel, generic, real-time distributed anomaly detection framework for heterogeneous streaming data where anomalies appear as a group. We have developed a distributed statistical approach to build a model and later use it to detect anomaly. As a case study, we investigate group anomaly de- tection for a VMware-based cloud data center, which maintains a large number of virtual machines (VMs). We have built our framework using Apache Spark to get higher throughput and lower data processing time on streaming data. We have developed a window-based statistical anomaly detection technique to detect anomalies that appear sporadically. We then relaxed this constraint with higher accuracy by implementing a cluster-based technique to detect sporadic and continuous anomalies. We conclude that our cluster-based technique out- performs other statistical techniques with higher accuracy and lower processing time.

  2. Analysis of microdialysate monoamines, including noradrenaline, dopamine and serotonin, using capillary ultra-high performance liquid chromatography and electrochemical detection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ferry, Barbara; Gifu, Elena-Patricia; Sandu, Ioana; Denoroy, Luc; Parrot, Sandrine

    2014-03-01

    Electrochemical methods are very often used to detect catecholamine and indolamine neurotransmitters separated by conventional reverse-phase high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The present paper presents the development of a chromatographic method to detect monoamines present in low-volume brain dialysis samples using a capillary column filled with sub-2μm particles. Several parameters (repeatability, linearity, accuracy, limit of detection) for this new ultrahigh performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC) method with electrochemical detection were examined after optimization of the analytical conditions. Noradrenaline, adrenaline, serotonin, dopamine and its metabolite 3-methoxytyramine were separated in 1μL of injected sample volume; they were detected above concentrations of 0.5-1nmol/L, with 2.1-9.5% accuracy and intra-assay repeatability equal to or less than 6%. The final method was applied to very low volume dialysates from rat brain containing monoamine traces. The study demonstrates that capillary UHPLC with electrochemical detection is suitable for monitoring dialysate monoamines collected at high sampling rate. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  3. Performance of RVGui sensor and Kodak Ektaspeed Plus film for proximal caries detection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abreu, M; Mol, A; Ludlow, J B

    2001-03-01

    A high-resolution charge-coupled device was used to compare the diagnostic performances obtained with Trophy's new RVGui sensor and Kodak Ektaspeed Plus film with respect to caries detection. Three acquisition modes of the Trophy RVGui sensor were compared with Kodak Ektaspeed Plus film. Images of the proximal surfaces of 40 extracted posterior teeth were evaluated by 6 observers. The presence or absence of caries was scored by means of a 5-point confidence scale. The actual caries status of each surface was determined through ground-section histology. Responses were evaluated by means of receiver operating characteristic analysis. Areas under receiver operating characteristic curves (A(Z)) were assessed through analysis of variance. The mean A(Z) scores were 0.85 for film, 0.84 for the high-resolution caries mode, and 0.82 for both the low resolution caries mode and the high-resolution periodontal mode. These differences were not statistically significant (P =.70). The differences among observers also were not statistically significant (P =.23). The performance of the RVGui sensor in high- and low-resolution modes for proximal caries detection is comparable to that of Ektaspeed Plus film.

  4. Two K versus 4 K storage phosphor chest radiography: detection performance and image quality

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Koelblinger, Claus; Weber, Michael; Sailer, Johannes; Cartes-Zumelzu, Fabiola; Prokop, Mathias; Schaefer-Prokop, Cornelia

    2007-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of matrix size (4-K versus 2-K) in digital storage phosphor chest radiographs on image quality and on the detection of CT-proven thoracic abnormalities. In 85 patients who underwent a CT of the thorax, we obtained two additional posteroanterior storage phosphor chest radiographs, one with a matrix size of 3,520 x 4,280 (=4-K) and the other with a matrix size of 1,760 x 2,140 (=2-K). Acquisition, processing and presentation parameters were identical for all radiographs. Two radiologists evaluated the presence of mediastinal, pleural, and pulmonary abnormalities on hard copies of the radiographs, applying ROC analysis. In addition, four radiologists were asked to subjectively rank differences in image quality and to assess the demarcation of anatomic landmarks comparing the images in a blinded side-by-side manner. These data were analyzed using a two-sided binomial test with a significance level of P<0.05. Both tests, the ROC analysis of the detection performance and the binomial test of the subjective quality ratings, did not reveal significant differences between the two matrix sizes. Compared to 2-K radiographs, 4-K storage phosphor chest radiographs do not provide superior detection performance or image quality when evaluated in identical hard copy formats. (orig.)

  5. Drug Safety Monitoring in Children: Performance of Signal Detection Algorithms and Impact of Age Stratification

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    O.U. Osokogu (Osemeke); C. Dodd (Caitlin); A.C. Pacurariu (Alexandra C.); F. Kaguelidou (Florentia); D.M. Weibel (Daniel); M.C.J.M. Sturkenboom (Miriam)

    2016-01-01

    textabstractIntroduction: Spontaneous reports of suspected adverse drug reactions (ADRs) can be analyzed to yield additional drug safety evidence for the pediatric population. Signal detection algorithms (SDAs) are required for these analyses; however, the performance of SDAs in the pediatric

  6. High-performance ion mobility spectrometry with direct electrospray ionization (ESI-HPIMS) for the detection of additives and contaminants in food

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Midey, Anthony J.; Camacho, Amanda; Sampathkumaran, Jayanthi; Krueger, Clinton A.; Osgood, Mark A.; Wu, Ching

    2013-01-01

    Graphical abstract: -- Highlights: •A new ESI source was built for direct ionization from syringe. •Phthalates, food dyes, and sweeteners detected with high-performance IMS. •Phthalates directly detected in cola, soy bubble tea matrices with simple treatment. -- Abstract: High-performance ion mobility spectrometry (HPIMS) with an electrospray ionization (ESI) source detected a series of food contaminants and additive compounds identified as critical to monitoring the safety of food samples. These compounds included twelve phthalate plasticizers, legal and illegal food and cosmetic dyes, and artificial sweeteners that were all denoted as detection priorities. HPIMS separated and detected the range of compounds with a resolving power better than 60 in both positive and negative ion modes, comparable to the commonly used high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) methods, but with most acquisition times under a minute. The reduced mobilities, K 0 , have been determined, as have the linear response ranges for ESI-HPIMS, which are 1.5–2 orders of magnitude for concentrations down to sub-ng μL −1 levels. At least one unique mobility peak was seen for two subsets of the phthalates grouped by the country where they were banned. Furthermore, ESI-HPIMS successfully detected low nanogram levels of a phthalate at up to 30 times lower concentration than international detection levels in both a cola matrix and a soy-based bubble tea beverage using only a simplified sample treatment. A newly developed direct ESI source (Directspray) was combined with HPIMS to detect food-grade dyes and industrial dye adulterants, as well as the sweeteners sodium saccharin and sodium cyclamate, with the same good performance as with the phthalates. However, the Directspray method eliminated sources of carryover and decreased the time between sample runs. Limits-of-detection (LOD) for the analyte standards were estimated to be sub-ng μL −1 levels without extensive sample handling

  7. High-performance ion mobility spectrometry with direct electrospray ionization (ESI-HPIMS) for the detection of additives and contaminants in food

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Midey, Anthony J., E-mail: anthony.midey@excellims.com; Camacho, Amanda; Sampathkumaran, Jayanthi; Krueger, Clinton A.; Osgood, Mark A.; Wu, Ching

    2013-12-04

    Graphical abstract: -- Highlights: •A new ESI source was built for direct ionization from syringe. •Phthalates, food dyes, and sweeteners detected with high-performance IMS. •Phthalates directly detected in cola, soy bubble tea matrices with simple treatment. -- Abstract: High-performance ion mobility spectrometry (HPIMS) with an electrospray ionization (ESI) source detected a series of food contaminants and additive compounds identified as critical to monitoring the safety of food samples. These compounds included twelve phthalate plasticizers, legal and illegal food and cosmetic dyes, and artificial sweeteners that were all denoted as detection priorities. HPIMS separated and detected the range of compounds with a resolving power better than 60 in both positive and negative ion modes, comparable to the commonly used high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) methods, but with most acquisition times under a minute. The reduced mobilities, K{sub 0}, have been determined, as have the linear response ranges for ESI-HPIMS, which are 1.5–2 orders of magnitude for concentrations down to sub-ng μL{sup −1} levels. At least one unique mobility peak was seen for two subsets of the phthalates grouped by the country where they were banned. Furthermore, ESI-HPIMS successfully detected low nanogram levels of a phthalate at up to 30 times lower concentration than international detection levels in both a cola matrix and a soy-based bubble tea beverage using only a simplified sample treatment. A newly developed direct ESI source (Directspray) was combined with HPIMS to detect food-grade dyes and industrial dye adulterants, as well as the sweeteners sodium saccharin and sodium cyclamate, with the same good performance as with the phthalates. However, the Directspray method eliminated sources of carryover and decreased the time between sample runs. Limits-of-detection (LOD) for the analyte standards were estimated to be sub-ng μL{sup −1} levels without extensive

  8. Performance Analysis of Hierarchical Group Key Management Integrated with Adaptive Intrusion Detection in Mobile ad hoc Networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-04-05

    applications in wireless networks such as military battlefields, emergency response, mobile commerce , online gaming, and collaborative work are based on the...www.elsevier.com/locate/peva Performance analysis of hierarchical group key management integrated with adaptive intrusion detection in mobile ad hoc...Accepted 19 September 2010 Available online 26 September 2010 Keywords: Mobile ad hoc networks Intrusion detection Group communication systems Group

  9. The undefended accused in a minefield

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    (in terms of the decisions of S v Fani 1994 (3) SA 619 (E) and Shabalala and Others v Attorney- ..... of legal representation should be brought to the attention of the accused so .... that laypersons might not understand the effect of making these admissions. .... Few have the memories to store every detail of the evidence.

  10. Infrasonic detection performance in presence of nuisance signal

    Science.gov (United States)

    Charbit, Maurice; Arrowsmith, Stephen; Che, Il-young; Le Pichon, Alexis; Nouvellet, Adrien; Park, Junghyun; Roueff, Francois

    2014-05-01

    The infrasound network of the International Monitoring System (IMS) consists of sixty stations deployed all over the World by the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO). The IMS has been designed to reliably detect, at least by two stations, an explosion greater than 1 kiloton located anywhere on the Earth [1]. Each station is an array of at least four microbarometers with an aperture of 1 to 3 km. The first important issue is to detect the presence of the signal of interest (SOI) embedded in noise. The detector is commonly based on the property that the SOI provides coherent observations on the sensors but not the noise. The statistic of test, called F-stat [2], [5], [6] , calculated in a time cell a few seconds, is commonly used for this purpose. In this paper, we assume that a coherent source is permanently present arriving from an unknown direction of arrivals (DOA). The typical case is the presence of microbaroms or the presence of wind. This source is seen as a nuisance signal (NS). In [4], [3] authors assume that a time cell without the SOI (CH0) is available, whereas a following time cell is considered as the cell under test (CUT). Therefore the DOA and the SNR of the NS can be estimated. If the signal-to-noise ration SNR of the NS is large enough, the distribution of the F-stat under the absence of SOI is known to be a non central Fisher. It follows that the threshold can be performed from a given value of the FAR. The major drawback to keep the NS is that the NS could hide the SOI, this phenomena is similar to the leakage which is a well-known phenomena in the Fourier analysis. An other approach consists to use the DOA estimate of the NS to mitigate the NS by spatial notch filter in the frequency domain. On this approach a new algorithm is provided. To illustrate, numerical results on synthetical and real data are presented, in term of Receiver Operating Characteristic ROC curves. REFERENCES [1] Christie D.R. and Campus P., The IMS

  11. 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.

  12. Computer-aided pulmonary nodule detection. Performance of two CAD systems at different CT dose levels

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hein, Patrick Alexander; Rogalla, P.; Klessen, C.; Lembcke, A.; Romano, V.C.

    2009-01-01

    Purpose: To evaluate the impact of dose reduction on the performance of computer-aided lung nodule detection systems (CAD) of two manufacturers by comparing respective CAD results on ultra-low-dose computed tomography (ULD-CT) and standard dose CT (SD-CT). Materials and Methods: Multi-slice computed tomography (MSCT) data sets of 26 patients (13 male and 13 female, patients 31 - 74 years old) were retrospectively selected for CAD analysis. Indication for CT examination was staging of a known primary malignancy or suspected pulmonary malignancy. CT images were consecutively acquired at 5 mAs (ULD-CT) and 75 mAs (SD-CT) with 120kV tube voltage (1 mm slice thickness). The standard of reference was determined by three experienced readers in consensus. CAD reading algorithms (pre-commercial CAD system, Philips, Netherlands: CAD-1; LungCARE, Siemens, Germany: CAD-2) were applied to the CT data sets. Results: Consensus reading identified 253 nodules on SD-CT and ULD-CT. Nodules ranged in diameter between 2 and 41 mm (mean diameter 4.8 mm). Detection rates were recorded with 72% and 62% (CAD-1 vs. CAD-2) for SD-CT and with 73% and 56% for ULD-CT. Median also positive rates per patient were calculated with 6 and 5 (CAD-1 vs. CAD-2) for SD-CT and with 8 and 3 for ULD-CT. After separate statistical analysis of nodules with diameters of 5 mm and greater, the detection rates increased to 83% and 61% for SD-CT and to 89% and 67% for ULD-CT (CAD-1 vs. CAD-2). For both CAD systems there were no significant differences between the detection rates for standard and ultra-low-dose data sets (p>0.05). Conclusion: Dose reduction of the underlying CT scan did not significantly influence nodule detection performance of the tested CAD systems. (orig.)

  13. The Effects of Sensor Performance as Modeled by Signal Detection Theory on the Performance of Reinforcement Learning in a Target Acquisition Task

    Science.gov (United States)

    Quirion, Nate

    Unmanned Aerial Systems (UASs) today are fulfilling more roles than ever before. There is a general push to have these systems feature more advanced autonomous capabilities in the near future. To achieve autonomous behavior requires some unique approaches to control and decision making. More advanced versions of these approaches are able to adapt their own behavior and examine their past experiences to increase their future mission performance. To achieve adaptive behavior and decision making capabilities this study used Reinforcement Learning algorithms. In this research the effects of sensor performance, as modeled through Signal Detection Theory (SDT), on the ability of RL algorithms to accomplish a target localization task are examined. Three levels of sensor sensitivity are simulated and compared to the results of the same system using a perfect sensor. To accomplish the target localization task, a hierarchical architecture used two distinct agents. A simulated human operator is assumed to be a perfect decision maker, and is used in the system feedback. An evaluation of the system is performed using multiple metrics, including episodic reward curves and the time taken to locate all targets. Statistical analyses are employed to detect significant differences in the comparison of steady-state behavior of different systems.

  14. 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.

  15. FPGA-based High-Performance Collision Detection: An Enabling Technique for Image-Guided Robotic Surgery

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhaorui Zhang

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available Collision detection, which refers to the computational problem of finding the relative placement or con-figuration of two or more objects, is an essential component of many applications in computer graphics and robotics. In image-guided robotic surgery, real-time collision detection is critical for preserving healthy anatomical structures during the surgical procedure. However, the computational complexity of the problem usually results in algorithms that operate at low speed. In this paper, we present a fast and accurate algorithm for collision detection between Oriented-Bounding-Boxes (OBBs that is suitable for real-time implementation. Our proposed Sweep and Prune algorithm can perform a preliminary filtering to reduce the number of objects that need to be tested by the classical Separating Axis Test algorithm, while the OBB pairs of interest are preserved. These OBB pairs are re-checked by the Separating Axis Test algorithm to obtain accurate overlapping status between them. To accelerate the execution, our Sweep and Prune algorithm is tailor-made for the proposed method. Meanwhile, a high performance scalable hardware architecture is proposed by analyzing the intrinsic parallelism of our algorithm, and is implemented on FPGA platform. Results show that our hardware design on the FPGA platform can achieve around 8X higher running speed than the software design on a CPU platform. As a result, the proposed algorithm can achieve a collision frame rate of 1 KHz, and fulfill the requirement for the medical surgery scenario of Robot Assisted Laparoscopy.

  16. Effects of platooning on signal-detection performance, workload, and stress: A driving simulator study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heikoop, Daniël D; de Winter, Joost C F; van Arem, Bart; Stanton, Neville A

    2017-04-01

    Platooning, whereby automated vehicles travel closely together in a group, is attractive in terms of safety and efficiency. However, concerns exist about the psychological state of the platooning driver, who is exempted from direct control, yet remains responsible for monitoring the outside environment to detect potential threats. By means of a driving simulator experiment, we investigated the effects on recorded and self-reported measures of workload and stress for three task-instruction conditions: (1) No Task, in which participants had to monitor the road, (2) Voluntary Task, in which participants could do whatever they wanted, and (3) Detection Task, in which participants had to detect red cars. Twenty-two participants performed three 40-min runs in a constant-speed platoon, one condition per run in counterbalanced order. Contrary to some classic literature suggesting that humans are poor monitors, in the Detection Task condition participants attained a high mean detection rate (94.7%) and a low mean false alarm rate (0.8%). Results of the Dundee Stress State Questionnaire indicated that automated platooning was less distressing in the Voluntary Task than in the Detection Task and No Task conditions. In terms of heart rate variability, the Voluntary Task condition yielded a lower power in the low-frequency range relative to the high-frequency range (LF/HF ratio) than the Detection Task condition. Moreover, a strong time-on-task effect was found, whereby the mean heart rate dropped from the first to the third run. In conclusion, participants are able to remain attentive for a prolonged platooning drive, and the type of monitoring task has effects on the driver's psychological state. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Detection of Free Polyamines in Plants Subjected to Abiotic Stresses by High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gong, Xiaoqing; Liu, Ji-Hong

    2017-01-01

    High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) is a sensitive, rapid, and accurate technique to detect and characterize various metabolites from plants. The metabolites are extracted with different solvents and eluted with appropriate mobile phases in a designed HPLC program. Polyamines are known to accumulate under abiotic stress conditions in various plant species and thought to provide protection against oxidative stress by scavenging reactive oxygen species. Here, we describe a common method to detect the free polyamines in plant tissues both qualitatively and quantitatively.

  18. Performance and sensitivity analysis of the generalized likelihood ratio method for failure detection. M.S. Thesis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bueno, R. A.

    1977-01-01

    Results of the generalized likelihood ratio (GLR) technique for the detection of failures in aircraft application are presented, and its relationship to the properties of the Kalman-Bucy filter is examined. Under the assumption that the system is perfectly modeled, the detectability and distinguishability of four failure types are investigated by means of analysis and simulations. Detection of failures is found satisfactory, but problems in identifying correctly the mode of a failure may arise. These issues are closely examined as well as the sensitivity of GLR to modeling errors. The advantages and disadvantages of this technique are discussed, and various modifications are suggested to reduce its limitations in performance and computational complexity.

  19. Detection of a random signal in a multi-channel environment: a performance study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Frenzel, K.Z.

    1986-01-01

    Performance of the optimal (likelihood ratio) test and suboptimal tests, including the normalized cross correlator and two energy detectors are compared for problems involving non-gaussian as well as gaussian statistics. Also, optimal one-channel processing is compared to optimal two-channel processing for equivalent total signal-to-noise ratios. Receiver operator characteristics (ROC) curves obtained by a combination of simulation and analytic methods are used to evaluate the performance of the processors. It was found that two-channel processing helps the detection performance the most when the noise levels are uncertain. This was true for all signal and noise densities studied. In cases where the noise levels and channel attenuations are known, or when only the attenuations are uncertain, the performance using optimal one-channel processing was close to that found using optimal two-channel processing. When comparing optimal processors to the three suboptimal processors, it was found that when the noise level in each channel is very uncertain, the performance of the normalized cross correlator is much closer to the optimal than that of either of the energy detectors. If, however, the noise levels are know with a fair degree of certainty, the performance of the energy detectors improves considerably, in some cases approaching the optimal performance

  20. Learning Change from Synthetic Aperture Radar Images: Performance Evaluation of a Support Vector Machine to Detect Earthquake and Tsunami-Induced Changes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marc Wieland

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available This study evaluates the performance of a Support Vector Machine (SVM classifier to learn and detect changes in single- and multi-temporal X- and L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR images under varying conditions. The purpose is to provide guidance on how to train a powerful learning machine for change detection in SAR images and to contribute to a better understanding of potentials and limitations of supervised change detection approaches. This becomes particularly important on the background of a rapidly growing demand for SAR change detection to support rapid situation awareness in case of natural disasters. The application environment of this study thus focuses on detecting changes caused by the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami disaster, where single polarized TerraSAR-X and ALOS PALSAR intensity images are used as input. An unprecedented reference dataset of more than 18,000 buildings that have been visually inspected by local authorities for damages after the disaster forms a solid statistical population for the performance experiments. Several critical choices commonly made during the training stage of a learning machine are being assessed for their influence on the change detection performance, including sampling approach, location and number of training samples, classification scheme, change feature space and the acquisition dates of the satellite images. Furthermore, the proposed machine learning approach is compared with the widely used change image thresholding. The study concludes that a well-trained and tuned SVM can provide highly accurate change detections that outperform change image thresholding. While good performance is achieved in the binary change detection case, a distinction between multiple change classes in terms of damage grades leads to poor performance in the tested experimental setting. The major drawback of a machine learning approach is related to the high costs of training. The outcomes of this study, however

  1. Final report of DOE project "Detection, Localization and Diagnosis of Performance Problems Using PerfSONAR"

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dovrolis, Konstantinos [Georgia Tech

    2014-04-15

    We present the development of a middleware service, called Pythia, that is able to detect, localize, and diagnose performance problems in the network paths that interconnect research sites that are of interest to DOE. The proposed service can analyze perfSONAR data collected from all participating sites.

  2. Simultaneous detection of six urinary pteridines and creatinine by high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry for clinical breast cancer detection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burton, Casey; Shi, Honglan; Ma, Yinfa

    2013-11-19

    Recent preliminary studies have implicated urinary pteridines as candidate biomarkers in a growing number of malignancies including breast cancer. While the developments of capillary electrophoresis-laser induced fluorescence (CE-LIF), high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), and liquid chromatography-mass spectroscopy (LC-MS) pteridine urinalyses among others have helped to enable these findings, limitations including poor pteridine specificity, asynchronous or nonexistent renal dilution normalization, and a lack of information regarding adduct formation in mass spectrometry techniques utilizing electrospray ionization (ESI) have prevented application of these techniques to a larger clinical setting. In this study, a simple, rapid, specific, and sensitive high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) method has been developed and optimized for simultaneous detection of six pteridines previously implicated in breast cancer and creatinine as a renal dilution factor in urine. In addition, this study reports cationic adduct formation of urinary pteridines under ESI-positive ionization for the first time. This newly developed technique separates and detects the following six urinary pteridines: 6-biopterin, 6-hydroxymethylpterin, d-neopterin, pterin, isoxanthopterin, and xanthopterin, as well as creatinine. The method detection limit for the pteridines is between 0.025 and 0.5 μg/L, and for creatinine, it is 0.15 μg/L. The method was also validated by spiked recoveries (81-105%), reproducibility (RSD: 1-6%), and application to 25 real urine samples from breast cancer positive and negative samples through a double-blind study. The proposed technique was finally compared directly with a previously reported CE-LIF technique, concluding that additional or alternative renal dilution factors are needed for proper investigation of urinary pteridines as breast cancer biomarkers.

  3. [Determination of emamectin benzoate residue in vegetables by high performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Yan; Wu, Yinliang; Hu, Jiye; Wang, Hongwei; Pan, Canping; Liu, Fengmao

    2008-01-01

    A method was developed for the determination of emamectin benzoate residue in cabbage and mushroom using solid-phase extraction (SPE) and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with fluorescence detection. The sample was extracted with ethyl acetate. Further cleanup was performed on a propylsulfonic acid solid phase extraction cartridge, followed by the derivatization with trifluoroacetic anhydride in the presence of N-methylimidazole. The amount of derivatized emamectin benzoate was determined by fluorescence detector after separation by HPLC. The detection limit was 0.10 microg/kg for cabbage and mushroom samples. The recoveries of emamectin benzoate in cabbage and mushroom samples were 78.6%-84.9%. The inter-day relative standard deviation (RSD) and intra-day RSD were 2.7%-6.0% and 3.1%-8.9%, respectively, at the fortified levels of 1.0-20.0 microg/kg. The calibration curve of emamectin benzoate in vegetables at the concentration range of 0.002 mg/L to 0.10 mg/L was linear (r = 0.9999).

  4. A Study of Mercury and Heavy Metal at Some Gold Minefield in Indonesia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lahtiani, S; Asiah; Darmaerius; Saladini, S; Manurung, H; Rita; Rodiana, Y

    2001-01-01

    A study on Mercury and heavy metals contents in soil, sediment and river water at several gold mining areas in Indonesia was conducted. The study areas are the gold mining areas at Rejang Lebong (Province Bengkulu), Rungan Hulu and Kahayan River (Province Central Kalimantan), Pekondoh river (Province Lampung) and Halimun mountain (Province West Java). Sampling points at each site were selected from upstream and to downstream. The parameters of interest in this study include T-Hg and Heavy Metals (Pb, Cd, Cu and Cr). The main purpose of this study is for determine the preliminary data of T-Hg and heavy metals contents at gold mining areas and around the rivers for strengthen the environmental management programs in Indonesia. Analytical method for water and sediment samples used in this experiment was wet method with strong acid on the temperature of 230-250 o C for 20 minute. The extract was they analyzed as total Hg concentration using Mercury Analyzer (cold valor AAS). For water sample, extracted with Dithizone-benzene 0.01 O was performed prior to acid digestion, them dried and the left residue was treated with strong acid and analyzed with Mercury Analyzer (cold vapor AAS) too. Mostly, T-Hg contents were detected at each sampling location where gold mining activities take place; gold ore was crushed and extracted by mercury as gold amalgam. The highest concentration of T-Hg for sediment sample from four study sites 14600 ng/g at gold mining area Lampung and 13630 ng/g of T-Hg was found in sediment samples collected in Halimun Mountain, West Java. While, the highest concentration of T-Hg in water sample is was 367 ng/L at gold mining of Halimun Mountain, West Java. Average concentration of T-Hg in water sample ranged from 0.02 to 202.47 ng/L, in sediment sample ranged from 24.00 to 8544.75 ng/g. Average concentration of Pb in water sample ranged from 0.002 to 4.86 mg/L, in sediment sample ranged from 0.056 to 171.65 μg/g. Average concentration of Cd in water

  5. Performance of blue-yellow screening test for antimicrobial detection in ovine milk.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Linage, B; Gonzalo, C; Carriedo, J A; Asensio, J A; Blanco, M A; De La Fuente, L F; San Primitivo, F

    2007-12-01

    Drug residues in milk are important because of public health and industrial implications. The detection limits of 25 antimicrobial agents were determined by the blue-yellow screening method in ovine milk. For each drug, 8 concentrations were tested on 20 ovine milk samples from individual ewes in midlactation. Detection limits determined by means of logistic regression were below European Union maximum residue limits (EU-MRL) for penicillin G (3 to 4 microg/kg), ceftiofur (96 to 107 microg/kg), framycetin (720 to 781 microg/kg), neomycin (915 to 1,084 microg/kg), and tylosin (44 to 51 microg/kg). Detection limits for ampicillin (5 to 6 microg/kg), cloxacillin (33 to 42 microg/kg), cefoperazone (73 to 82 microg/kg), cefalexin (160 to 202 microg/kg), gentamycin (355 to 382 microg/kg), streptomycin (3,063 to 3,593 microg/kg), tilmicosin (109 to 131 microg/kg), erythromycin (444 to 522 microg/kg), spyramicin (1,106 to 1,346 microg/kg), sulfadimethoxine (101 to 119 microg/kg), sulfathiazole (122 to 151 microg/kg), sulfamethazine (309 to 328 microg/kg), sulfanilamide (1,750 to 2,674 microg/kg), tetracycline (233 to 257 microg/kg), oxytetracycline (398 to 501 microg/kg), doxycycline (323 to 419 microg/kg), chlortetracycline (3,331 to 3,989 microg/kg), danofloxacin (4.7 to 5.5 mg/kg), enrofloxacin (41 to 46 mg/kg), and flumequin (63 to 71 mg/kg) were higher than the EU-MRL. Although the blue-yellow method showed improved sensitivity compared with other tests studied in ovine milk, the performance of screening methods for detecting antimicrobial agents in milk of this species should be improved.

  6. Performance effects of nicotine during selective attention, divided attention, and simple stimulus detection: an fMRI study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hahn, Britta; Ross, Thomas J; Wolkenberg, Frank A; Shakleya, Diaa M; Huestis, Marilyn A; Stein, Elliot A

    2009-09-01

    Attention-enhancing effects of nicotine appear to depend on the nature of the attentional function. Underlying neuroanatomical mechanisms, too, may vary depending on the function modulated. This functional magnetic resonance imaging study recorded blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) activity in minimally deprived smokers during tasks of simple stimulus detection, selective attention, or divided attention after single-blind application of a transdermal nicotine (21 mg) or placebo patch. Smokers' performance in the placebo condition was unimpaired as compared with matched nonsmokers. Nicotine reduced reaction time (RT) in the stimulus detection and selective attention but not divided attention condition. Across all task conditions, nicotine reduced activation in frontal, temporal, thalamic, and visual regions and enhanced deactivation in so-called "default" regions. Thalamic effects correlated with RT reduction selectively during stimulus detection. An interaction with task condition was observed in middle and superior frontal gyri, where nicotine reduced activation only during stimulus detection. A visuomotor control experiment provided evidence against nonspecific effects of nicotine. In conclusion, although prefrontal activity partly displayed differential modulation by nicotine, most BOLD effects were identical across tasks, despite differential performance effects, suggesting that common neuronal mechanisms can selectively benefit different attentional functions. Overall, the effects of nicotine may be explained by increased functional efficiency and downregulated task-independent "default" functions.

  7. Accurate Point-of-Care Detection of Ruptured Fetal Membranes: Improved Diagnostic Performance Characteristics with a Monoclonal/Polyclonal Immunoassay

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    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.

  8. High-Performance X-ray Detection in a New Analytical Electron Microscope

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lyman, C. E.; Goldstein, J. I.; Williams, D. B.; Ackland, D. W.; vonHarrach, S.; Nicholls, A. W.; Statham, P. J.

    1994-01-01

    X-ray detection by energy-dispersive spectrometry in the analytical electron microscope (AEM) is often limited by low collected X-ray intensity (P), modest peak-to-background (P/B) ratios, and limitations on total counting time (tau) due to specimen drift and contamination. A new AFM has been designed with maximization of P. P/B, and tau as the primary considerations. Maximization of P has been accomplished by employing a field-emission electron gun, X-ray detectors with high collection angles, high-speed beam blanking to allow only one photon into the detector at a time, and simultaneous collection from two detectors. P/B has been maximized by reducing extraneous background signals generated at the specimen holder, the polepieces and the detector collimator. The maximum practical tau has been increased by reducing specimen contamination and employing electronic drift correction. Performance improvments have been measured using the NIST standard Cr thin film. The 0-3 steradian solid angle of X-ray collection is the highest value available. The beam blanking scheme for X-ray detection provides 3-4 times greater throughput of X-rays at high count rates into a recorded spectrum than normal systems employing pulse-pileup rejection circuits. Simultaneous X-ray collection from two detectors allows the highest X-ray intensity yet recorded to be collected from the NIST Cr thin film. The measured P/B of 6300 is the highest level recorded for an AEM. In addition to collected X-ray intensity (cps/nA) and P/B measured on the standard Cr film, the product of these can be used as a figure-of-merit to evaluate instruments. Estimated minimum mass fraction (MMF) for Cr measured on the standard NIST Cr thin film is also proposed as a figure-of-merit for comparing X-ray detection in AEMs. Determinations here of the MMF of Cr detectable show at least a threefold improvement over previous instruments.

  9. Screening Performance Characteristic of Ultrasonography and Radiography in Detection of Pleural Effusion; a Meta-Analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yousefifard, Mahmoud; Baikpour, Masoud; Ghelichkhani, Parisa; Asady, Hadi; Shahsavari Nia, Kavous; Moghadas Jafari, Ali; Hosseini, Mostafa; Safari, Saeed

    2016-01-01

    The role of ultrasonography in detection of pleural effusion has long been a subject of interest but controversial results have been reported. Accordingly, this study aims to conduct a systematic review of the available literature on diagnostic value of ultrasonography and radiography in detection of pleural effusion through a meta-analytic approach. An extended search was done in databases of Medline, EMBASE, ISI Web of Knowledge, Scopus, Cochrane Library, and ProQuest. Two reviewers independently extracted the data and assessed the quality of the articles. Meta-analysis was performed using a mixed-effects binary regression model. Finally, subgroup analysis was carried out in order to find the sources of heterogeneity between the included studies. 12 studies were included in this meta-analysis (1554 subjects, 58.6% male). Pooled sensitivity of ultrasonography in detection of pleural effusion was 0.94 (95% CI: 0.88-0.97; I2= 84.23, pultrasonography was found to be higher when the procedure was carried out by an intensivist or a radiologist using 5-10 MHz transducers. Chest ultrasonography, as a screening tool, has a higher diagnostic accuracy in identification of plural effusion compared to radiography. The sensitivity of this imaging modality was found to be higher when performed by a radiologist or an intensivist and using 5-10MHz probes.

  10. Effect of the sequence data deluge on the performance of methods for detecting protein functional residues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garrido-Martín, Diego; Pazos, Florencio

    2018-02-27

    The exponential accumulation of new sequences in public databases is expected to improve the performance of all the approaches for predicting protein structural and functional features. Nevertheless, this was never assessed or quantified for some widely used methodologies, such as those aimed at detecting functional sites and functional subfamilies in protein multiple sequence alignments. Using raw protein sequences as only input, these approaches can detect fully conserved positions, as well as those with a family-dependent conservation pattern. Both types of residues are routinely used as predictors of functional sites and, consequently, understanding how the sequence content of the databases affects them is relevant and timely. In this work we evaluate how the growth and change with time in the content of sequence databases affect five sequence-based approaches for detecting functional sites and subfamilies. We do that by recreating historical versions of the multiple sequence alignments that would have been obtained in the past based on the database contents at different time points, covering a period of 20 years. Applying the methods to these historical alignments allows quantifying the temporal variation in their performance. Our results show that the number of families to which these methods can be applied sharply increases with time, while their ability to detect potentially functional residues remains almost constant. These results are informative for the methods' developers and final users, and may have implications in the design of new sequencing initiatives.

  11. Diagnostic performance of 3D standing CT imaging for detection of knee osteoarthritis features.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Segal, Neil A; Nevitt, Michael C; Lynch, John A; Niu, Jingbo; Torner, James C; Guermazi, Ali

    2015-07-01

    To determine the diagnostic performance of standing computerized tomography (SCT) of the knee for osteophytes and subchondral cysts compared with fixed-flexion radiography, using MRI as the reference standard. Twenty participants were recruited from the Multicenter Osteoarthritis Study. Participants' knees were imaged with SCT while standing in a knee-positioning frame, and with postero-anterior fixed-flexion radiography and 1T MRI. Medial and lateral marginal osteophytes and subchondral cysts were scored on bilateral radiographs and coronal SCT images using the OARSI grading system and on coronal MRI using Whole Organ MRI Scoring. Imaging modalities were read separately with images in random order. Sensitivity, specificity and accuracy for the detection of lesions were calculated and differences between modalities were tested using McNemar's test. Participants' mean age was 66.8 years, body mass index was 29.6 kg/m(2) and 50% were women. Of the 160 surfaces (medial and lateral femur and tibia for 40 knees), MRI revealed 84 osteophytes and 10 subchondral cysts. In comparison with osteophytes and subchondral cysts detected by MRI, SCT was significantly more sensitive (93 and 100%; p osteophytes) than plain radiographs (sensitivity 60 and 10% and accuracy 79 and 94%, respectively). For osteophytes, differences in sensitivity and accuracy were greatest at the medial femur (p = 0.002). In comparison with MRI, SCT imaging was more sensitive and accurate for detection of osteophytes and subchondral cysts than conventional fixed-flexion radiography. Additional study is warranted to assess diagnostic performance of SCT measures of joint space width, progression of OA features and the patellofemoral joint.

  12. Reader performance in detection of pneumothorax on conventional chest films versus computed radiographs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Elam, E.A.; Hillman, B.J.; Fajardo, L.L.

    1990-01-01

    This paper evaluates the suitability of digital radiography for the detection of pneumothoraces, we compared radiologist' performance in four interpretation settings: conventional film-screen (FS) chest radiographs; small-format (8 x 6.5-inch) computed radiography (CR) (Toshiba); large-format (14 x 17-inch) CR; and CR images viewed on a digital workstation. Twenty-three frontal-view chest radiographs with pneumothoraces and 22 other chest radiographs, either normal or showing miscellaneous abnormalities, were read by six board-certified radiologist in each interpretation setting. We compared the sensitivity, specificity, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) performances they achieved among the interpretation settings with the use of sequential paired t tests. To date, four readers have completed their reading of both the FS and the small-format CR films

  13. Supporting the Development and Adoption of Automatic Lameness Detection Systems in Dairy Cattle: Effect of System Cost and Performance on Potential Market Shares.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Van De Gucht, Tim; Van Weyenberg, Stephanie; Van Nuffel, Annelies; Lauwers, Ludwig; Vangeyte, Jürgen; Saeys, Wouter

    2017-10-08

    Most automatic lameness detection system prototypes have not yet been commercialized, and are hence not yet adopted in practice. Therefore, the objective of this study was to simulate the effect of detection performance (percentage missed lame cows and percentage false alarms) and system cost on the potential market share of three automatic lameness detection systems relative to visual detection: a system attached to the cow, a walkover system, and a camera system. Simulations were done using a utility model derived from survey responses obtained from dairy farmers in Flanders, Belgium. Overall, systems attached to the cow had the largest market potential, but were still not competitive with visual detection. Increasing the detection performance or lowering the system cost led to higher market shares for automatic systems at the expense of visual detection. The willingness to pay for extra performance was €2.57 per % less missed lame cows, €1.65 per % less false alerts, and €12.7 for lame leg indication, respectively. The presented results could be exploited by system designers to determine the effect of adjustments to the technology on a system's potential adoption rate.

  14. Performance of an iPad Application to Detect Moderate and Advanced Visual Field Loss in Nepal.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnson, Chris A; Thapa, Suman; George Kong, Yu Xiang; Robin, Alan L

    2017-10-01

    To evaluate the accuracy and efficiency of Visual Fields Easy (VFE), a free iPad app, for performing suprathreshold perimetric screening. Prospective, cross-sectional validation study. We performed screening visual fields using a calibrated iPad 2 with the VFE application on 206 subjects (411 eyes): 210 normal (NL), 183 glaucoma (GL), and 18 diabetic retinopathy (DR) at Tilganga Institute of Ophthalmology, Kathmandu, Nepal. We correlated the results with a Humphrey Field Analyzer using 24-2 SITA Standard tests on 373 of these eyes (198 NL, 160 GL, 15 DR). The number of missed locations on the VFE correlated with mean deviation (MD, r = 0.79), pattern standard deviation (PSD, r = 0.60), and number of locations that were worse than the 95% confidence limits for total deviation (r = 0.51) and pattern deviation (r = 0.68) using SITA Standard. iPad suprathreshold perimetry was able to detect most visual field deficits with moderate (MD of -6 to -12 dB) and advanced (MD worse than -12 dB) loss, but had greater difficulty in detecting early (MD better than -6 dB) loss, primarily owing to an elevated false-positive response rate. The average time to perform the Visual Fields Easy test was 3 minutes, 18 seconds (standard deviation = 16.88 seconds). The Visual Fields Easy test procedure is a portable, fast, effective procedure for detecting moderate and advanced visual field loss. Improvements are currently underway to monitor eye and head tracking during testing, reduce testing time, improve performance, and eliminate the need to touch the video screen surface. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  15. Performance of computer-aided detection of pulmonary nodules in low-dose CT: comparison with double reading by nodule volume

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhao, Yingru; Vliegenthart, Rozemarijn; Wang, Ying; Ooijen, Peter M.A. van; Oudkerk, Matthijs [University of Groningen/University Medical Center Groningen, Center for Medical Imaging - North East Netherlands, Department of Radiology, P.O. Box 30.001, Groningen (Netherlands); Bock, Geertruida H. de [University of Groningen/University Medical Center Groningen, Department of Epidemiology, P.O. Box 30.001, Groningen (Netherlands); Klaveren, Rob J. van [Lievensberg Hospital, Department of Pulmonology, P.O. Box 135, Bergen op Zoom (Netherlands); Bogoni, Luca [CAD Group, Siemens Medical Solutions USA, Inc., Malvern, PA (United States); Jong, Pim A. de; Mali, Willem P. [University of Utrecht, Department of Radiology, University Medical Center Utrecht, P.O. Box 85500, Utrecht (Netherlands)

    2012-10-15

    To evaluate performance of computer-aided detection (CAD) beyond double reading for pulmonary nodules on low-dose computed tomography (CT) by nodule volume. A total of 400 low-dose chest CT examinations were randomly selected from the NELSON lung cancer screening trial. CTs were evaluated by two independent readers and processed by CAD. A total of 1,667 findings marked by readers and/or CAD were evaluated by a consensus panel of expert chest radiologists. Performance was evaluated by calculating sensitivity of pulmonary nodule detection and number of false positives, by nodule characteristics and volume. According to the screening protocol, 90.9 % of the findings could be excluded from further evaluation, 49.2 % being small nodules (less than 50 mm{sup 3}). Excluding small nodules reduced false-positive detections by CAD from 3.7 to 1.9 per examination. Of 151 findings that needed further evaluation, 33 (21.9 %) were detected by CAD only, one of them being diagnosed as lung cancer the following year. The sensitivity of nodule detection was 78.1 % for double reading and 96.7 % for CAD. A total of 69.7 % of nodules undetected by readers were attached nodules of which 78.3 % were vessel-attached. CAD is valuable in lung cancer screening to improve sensitivity of pulmonary nodule detection beyond double reading, at a low false-positive rate when excluding small nodules. circle Computer-aided detection (CAD) has known advantages for computed tomography (CT). (orig.)

  16. Performance of computer-aided detection of pulmonary nodules in low-dose CT: comparison with double reading by nodule volume

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhao, Yingru; Vliegenthart, Rozemarijn; Wang, Ying; Ooijen, Peter M.A. van; Oudkerk, Matthijs; Bock, Geertruida H. de; Klaveren, Rob J. van; Bogoni, Luca; Jong, Pim A. de; Mali, Willem P.

    2012-01-01

    To evaluate performance of computer-aided detection (CAD) beyond double reading for pulmonary nodules on low-dose computed tomography (CT) by nodule volume. A total of 400 low-dose chest CT examinations were randomly selected from the NELSON lung cancer screening trial. CTs were evaluated by two independent readers and processed by CAD. A total of 1,667 findings marked by readers and/or CAD were evaluated by a consensus panel of expert chest radiologists. Performance was evaluated by calculating sensitivity of pulmonary nodule detection and number of false positives, by nodule characteristics and volume. According to the screening protocol, 90.9 % of the findings could be excluded from further evaluation, 49.2 % being small nodules (less than 50 mm 3 ). Excluding small nodules reduced false-positive detections by CAD from 3.7 to 1.9 per examination. Of 151 findings that needed further evaluation, 33 (21.9 %) were detected by CAD only, one of them being diagnosed as lung cancer the following year. The sensitivity of nodule detection was 78.1 % for double reading and 96.7 % for CAD. A total of 69.7 % of nodules undetected by readers were attached nodules of which 78.3 % were vessel-attached. CAD is valuable in lung cancer screening to improve sensitivity of pulmonary nodule detection beyond double reading, at a low false-positive rate when excluding small nodules. circle Computer-aided detection (CAD) has known advantages for computed tomography (CT). (orig.)

  17. Modic Type 1 Changes: Detection Performance of Fat-Suppressed Fluid-Sensitive MRI Sequences.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Finkenstaedt, Tim; Del Grande, Filippo; Bolog, Nicolae; Ulrich, Nils; Tok, Sina; Kolokythas, Orpheus; Steurer, Johann; Andreisek, Gustav; Winklhofer, Sebastian

    2018-02-01

     To assess the performance of fat-suppressed fluid-sensitive MRI sequences compared to T1-weighted (T1w) / T2w sequences for the detection of Modic 1 end-plate changes on lumbar spine MRI.  Sagittal T1w, T2w, and fat-suppressed fluid-sensitive MRI images of 100 consecutive patients (consequently 500 vertebral segments; 52 female, mean age 74 ± 7.4 years; 48 male, mean age 71 ± 6.3 years) were retrospectively evaluated. We recorded the presence (yes/no) and extension (i. e., Likert-scale of height, volume, and end-plate extension) of Modic I changes in T1w/T2w sequences and compared the results to fat-suppressed fluid-sensitive sequences (McNemar/Wilcoxon-signed-rank test).  Fat-suppressed fluid-sensitive sequences revealed significantly more Modic I changes compared to T1w/T2w sequences (156 vs. 93 segments, respectively; p definition of Modic I changes is not fully applicable anymore.. · Fat-suppressed fluid-sensitive MRI sequences revealed more/greater extent of Modic I changes.. · Finkenstaedt T, Del Grande F, Bolog N et al. Modic Type 1 Changes: Detection Performance of Fat-Suppressed Fluid-Sensitive MRI Sequences. Fortschr Röntgenstr 2018; 190: 152 - 160. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

  18. Performance of mitochondrial DNA mutations detecting early stage cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jakupciak, John P; Srivastava, Sudhir; Sidransky, David; O'Connell, Catherine D; Maragh, Samantha; Markowitz, Maura E; Greenberg, Alissa K; Hoque, Mohammad O; Maitra, Anirban; Barker, Peter E; Wagner, Paul D; Rom, William N

    2008-01-01

    Mutations in the mitochondrial genome (mtgenome) have been associated with cancer and many other disorders. These mutations can be point mutations or deletions, or admixtures (heteroplasmy). The detection of mtDNA mutations in body fluids using resequencing microarrays, which are more sensitive than other sequencing methods, could provide a strategy to measure mutation loads in remote anatomical sites. We determined the mtDNA mutation load in the entire mitochondrial genome of 26 individuals with different early stage cancers (lung, bladder, kidney) and 12 heavy smokers without cancer. MtDNA was sequenced from three matched specimens (blood, tumor and body fluid) from each cancer patient and two matched specimens (blood and sputum) from smokers without cancer. The inherited wildtype sequence in the blood was compared to the sequences present in the tumor and body fluid, detected using the Affymetrix Genechip ® Human Mitochondrial Resequencing Array 1.0 and supplemented by capillary sequencing for noncoding region. Using this high-throughput method, 75% of the tumors were found to contain mtDNA mutations, higher than in our previous studies, and 36% of the body fluids from these cancer patients contained mtDNA mutations. Most of the mutations detected were heteroplasmic. A statistically significantly higher heteroplasmy rate occurred in tumor specimens when compared to both body fluid of cancer patients and sputum of controls, and in patient blood compared to blood of controls. Only 2 of the 12 sputum specimens from heavy smokers without cancer (17%) contained mtDNA mutations. Although patient mutations were spread throughout the mtDNA genome in the lung, bladder and kidney series, a statistically significant elevation of tRNA and ND complex mutations was detected in tumors. Our findings indicate comprehensive mtDNA resequencing can be a high-throughput tool for detecting mutations in clinical samples with potential applications for cancer detection, but it is

  19. Simulation study on detection performance of eye-safe coherent Doppler wind lidar operating near 1.6 μm

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ma, Han; Wang, Qing; Na, Quanxin; Gao, Mingwei

    2018-01-01

    Coherent Doppler wind lidars (CDWL) are widely used in aerospace, atmospheric monitoring and other fields. The parameters of laser source such as the wavelength, pulse energy, pulse duration and pulse repetition rate (PRR) have significant influences on the detection performance of wind lidar. We established a simulation model which takes into account the effects of atmospheric transmission, backscatter, atmospheric turbulence and parameters of laser source. The maximum detection range is also calculated under the condition that the velocity estimation accuracy is 0.1 m/s by using this model. We analyzed the differences of the detection performance between two operation systems, which show the high pulse energy-low pulse repetition rate (HPE-LPRR) and low pulse energy-high repetition rate (LPE-HPRR), respectively. We proved our simulation model reliable by using the parameters of two commercial lidar products. This research has important theoretical and practical values for the design of eye-safe coherent Doppler wind lidar.

  20. Performance of the new automated Abbott RealTime MTB assay for rapid detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex in respiratory specimens.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, J H K; She, K K K; Kwong, T-C; Wong, O-Y; Siu, G K H; Leung, C-C; Chang, K-C; Tam, C-M; Ho, P-L; Cheng, V C C; Yuen, K-Y; Yam, W-C

    2015-09-01

    The automated high-throughput Abbott RealTime MTB real-time PCR assay has been recently launched for Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) clinical diagnosis. This study would like to evaluate its performance. We first compared its diagnostic performance with the Roche Cobas TaqMan MTB assay on 214 clinical respiratory specimens. Prospective analysis of a total 520 specimens was then performed to further evaluate the Abbott assay. The Abbott assay showed a lower limit of detection at 22.5 AFB/ml, which was more sensitive than the Cobas assay (167.5 AFB/ml). The two assays demonstrated a significant difference in diagnostic performance (McNemar's test; P = 0.0034), in which the Abbott assay presented significantly higher area under curve (AUC) than the Cobas assay (1.000 vs 0.880; P = 0.0002). The Abbott assay demonstrated extremely low PCR inhibition on clinical respiratory specimens. The automated Abbott assay required only very short manual handling time (0.5 h), which could help to improve the laboratory management. In the prospective analysis, the overall estimates for sensitivity and specificity of the Abbott assay were both 100 % among smear-positive specimens, whereas the smear-negative specimens were 96.7 and 96.1 %, respectively. No cross-reactivity with non-tuberculosis mycobacterial species was observed. The superiority in sensitivity of the Abbott assay for detecting MTBC in smear-negative specimens could further minimize the risk in MTBC false-negative detection. The new Abbott RealTime MTB assay has good diagnostic performance which can be a useful diagnostic tool for rapid MTBC detection in clinical laboratories.

  1. [Determination of atracurium and laudanosine in dog plasma during cardiopulmonary bypass by high performance liquid chromatography with fluorometric detection].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Yingying; Chen, Mei; Kuang, Yushan; Ye, Liming; Zhang, Wensheng

    2013-06-01

    A high performance liquid chromatographic method coupled with fluorometric detection has been developed for the determination of atracurium and its major metabolite laudanosine in dog plasma. The separation of atracurium and laudanosine was performed on an Agilent Eclipse Plus C18 column, and the mobile phase consisted of 0.03 mol/L dipotassium hydrogen phosphate and acetonitrile (72: 28, v/v) at a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min. Verapamil was used as the internal standard. The sample was extracted by dichloromethane, concentrated and dissolved in the mobile phase. The detection is performed at 240 nm for excitation and 320 nm for emission. The results showed that the linear concentration ranges of the calibration curve were 25 - 5 000 microg/L for atracurium (r = 0.999 0), and 25 - 6 000 microg/L for laudanosine (r = 0.9984). The recoveries were 92.1% - 109.5%. The limits of detection were 3 microg/L for atracurium and 1 microg/L for laudanosine. The RSDs of intra-day and inter-day were less than 10%. The stability tests under various conditions have been performed. The method is specific, sensitive and accurate in the determination of atracurium and laudanosine, and also can be used for the pharmacokinetic investigations of atracurium and laudanosine in plasma.

  2. Cooperative organic mine avoidance path planning

    Science.gov (United States)

    McCubbin, Christopher B.; Piatko, Christine D.; Peterson, Adam V.; Donnald, Creighton R.; Cohen, David

    2005-06-01

    The JHU/APL Path Planning team has developed path planning techniques to look for paths that balance the utility and risk associated with different routes through a minefield. Extending on previous years' efforts, we investigated real-world Naval mine avoidance requirements and developed a tactical decision aid (TDA) that satisfies those requirements. APL has developed new mine path planning techniques using graph based and genetic algorithms which quickly produce near-minimum risk paths for complicated fitness functions incorporating risk, path length, ship kinematics, and naval doctrine. The TDA user interface, a Java Swing application that obtains data via Corba interfaces to path planning databases, allows the operator to explore a fusion of historic and in situ mine field data, control the path planner, and display the planning results. To provide a context for the minefield data, the user interface also renders data from the Digital Nautical Chart database, a database created by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency containing charts of the world's ports and coastal regions. This TDA has been developed in conjunction with the COMID (Cooperative Organic Mine Defense) system. This paper presents a description of the algorithms, architecture, and application produced.

  3. Single reading with computer-aided detection performed by selected radiologists in a breast cancer screening program

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bargalló, Xavier, E-mail: xbarga@clinic.cat [Department of Radiology (CDIC), Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, C/ Villarroel, 170, 08036 Barcelona (Spain); Santamaría, Gorane; Amo, Montse del; Arguis, Pedro [Department of Radiology (CDIC), Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, C/ Villarroel, 170, 08036 Barcelona (Spain); Ríos, José [Biostatistics and Data Management Core Facility, IDIBAPS, (Hospital Clinic) C/ Mallorca, 183. Floor -1. Office #60. 08036 Barcelona (Spain); Grau, Jaume [Preventive Medicine and Epidemiology Unit, Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, C/ Villarroel, 170, 08036 Barcelona (Spain); Burrel, Marta; Cores, Enrique; Velasco, Martín [Department of Radiology (CDIC), Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, C/ Villarroel, 170, 08036 Barcelona (Spain)

    2014-11-15

    Highlights: • 1-The cancer detection rate of the screening program improved using a single reading protocol by experienced radiologists assisted by CAD. • 2-The cancer detection rate improved at the cost of increasing recall rate. • 3-CAD, used by breast radiologists, did not help to detect more cancers. - Abstract: Objectives: To assess the impact of shifting from a standard double reading plus arbitration protocol to a single reading by experienced radiologists assisted by computer-aided detection (CAD) in a breast cancer screening program. Methods: This was a prospective study approved by the ethics committee. Data from 21,321 consecutive screening mammograms in incident rounds (2010–2012) were read following a single reading plus CAD protocol and compared with data from 47,462 consecutive screening mammograms in incident rounds (2004–2010) that were interpreted following a double reading plus arbitration protocol. For the single reading, radiologists were selected on the basis of the appraisement of their previous performance. Results: Period 2010–2012 vs. period 2004–2010: Cancer detection rate (CDR): 6.1‰ (95% confidence interval: 5.1–7.2) vs. 5.25‰; Recall rate (RR): 7.02% (95% confidence interval: 6.7–7.4) vs. 7.24% (selected readers before arbitration) and vs. 3.94 (all readers after arbitration); Predictive positive value of recall: 8.69% vs. 13.32%. Average size of invasive cancers: 14.6 ± 9.5 mm vs. 14.3 ± 9.5 mm. Stage: 0 (22.3/26.1%); I (59.2/50.8%); II (19.2/17.1%); III (3.1/3.3%); IV (0/1.9%). Specialized breast radiologists performed better than general radiologists. Conclusions: The cancer detection rate of the screening program improved using a single reading protocol by experienced radiologists assisted by CAD, at the cost of a moderate increase of the recall rate mainly related to the lack of arbitration.

  4. Impact of tDCS on Performance and Learning of Target Detection: Interaction with Stimulus Characteristics and Experimental Design

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coffman, B. A.; Trumbo, M. C.; Flores, R. A.; Garcia, C. M.; van der Merwe, A. J.; Wassermann, E. M.; Weisend, M. P.; Clark, V. P.

    2012-01-01

    We have previously found that transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over right inferior frontal cortex (RIFC) enhances performance during learning of a difficult visual target detection task (Clark et al., 2012). In order to examine the cognitive mechanisms of tDCS that lead to enhanced performance, here we analyzed its differential…

  5. Performance Analysis of OCDMA Based on AND Detection in FTTH Access Network Using PIN & APD Photodiodes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aldouri, Muthana; Aljunid, S. A.; Ahmad, R. Badlishah; Fadhil, Hilal A.

    2011-06-01

    In order to comprise between PIN photo detector and avalanche photodiodes in a system used double weight (DW) code to be a performance of the optical spectrum CDMA in FTTH network with point-to-multi-point (P2MP) application. The performance of PIN against APD is compared through simulation by using opt system software version 7. In this paper we used two networks designed as follows one used PIN photo detector and the second using APD photo diode, both two system using with and without erbium doped fiber amplifier (EDFA). It is found that APD photo diode in this system is better than PIN photo detector for all simulation results. The conversion used a Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) wavelength converter. Also we are study, the proposing a detection scheme known as AND subtraction detection technique implemented with fiber Bragg Grating (FBG) act as encoder and decoder. This FBG is used to encode and decode the spectral amplitude coding namely double weight (DW) code in Optical Code Division Multiple Access (OCDMA). The performances are characterized through bit error rate (BER) and bit rate (BR) also the received power at various bit rate.

  6. Provide a model to improve the performance of intrusion detection systems in the cloud

    OpenAIRE

    Foroogh Sedighi

    2016-01-01

    High availability of tools and service providers in cloud computing and the fact that cloud computing services are provided by internet and deal with public, have caused important challenges for new computing model. Cloud computing faces problems and challenges such as user privacy, data security, data ownership, availability of services, and recovery after breaking down, performance, scalability, programmability. So far, many different methods are presented for detection of intrusion in clou...

  7. The Impact of Suggestive Maneuver Guidance on UAS Pilots Performing the Detect and Avoid Function

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rorie, Conrad; Fern, Lisa; Shively, Jay

    2016-01-01

    This presentation discusses the results of a recent UAS Integration into the NAS human-in-the-loop simulation. In the study, 16 active UAS pilots flew a UAS through civil airspace and were tasked with maintaining well clear from other aircraft in the area. Pilots performed the task with four different detect and avoid (DAA) traffic displays, each of which varied in the form of guidance it provided to pilots The present findings focus on how the different displays impacted pilots' measured response to scripted conflicts with their aircraft. Measured response is made up of several components, each of which help inform our understanding of the pilots' role in the overall detect and avoid task.

  8. The Petsamo-Kirkenes Operation: Soviet Breakthrough and Pursuit in the Arctic, October 1944 (Leavenworth Papers, Number 17)

    Science.gov (United States)

    1989-09-01

    A road also joined Salmiiarvi, Nikel , and Luostari. East of Petsamo and Luostari were three trunk roads that supported the three division-size...allowed for all-around observation and fire and was surrounded by barbed- wire obstacles and minefields, as needed. The size of each strongpoint...positions guarded the approaches to Petsamo and Luostari. Additional defensive positions protected the mines at Nikel , the port at Liinakhamari

  9. Performance evaluation of three automated identification systems in detecting carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae.

    Science.gov (United States)

    He, Qingwen; Chen, Weiyuan; Huang, Liya; Lin, Qili; Zhang, Jingling; Liu, Rui; Li, Bin

    2016-06-21

    Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) is prevalent around the world. Rapid and accurate detection of CRE is urgently needed to provide effective treatment. Automated identification systems have been widely used in clinical microbiology laboratories for rapid and high-efficient identification of pathogenic bacteria. However, critical evaluation and comparison are needed to determine the specificity and accuracy of different systems. The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of three commonly used automated identification systems on the detection of CRE. A total of 81 non-repetitive clinical CRE isolates were collected from August 2011 to August 2012 in a Chinese university hospital, and all the isolates were confirmed to be resistant to carbapenems by the agar dilution method. The potential presence of carbapenemase genotypes of the 81 isolates was detected by PCR and sequencing. Using 81 clinical CRE isolates, we evaluated and compared the performance of three automated identification systems, MicroScan WalkAway 96 Plus, Phoenix 100, and Vitek 2 Compact, which are commonly used in China. To identify CRE, the comparator methodology was agar dilution method, while the PCR and sequencing was the comparator one to identify CPE. PCR and sequencing analysis showed that 48 of the 81 CRE isolates carried carbapenemase genes, including 23 (28.4 %) IMP-4, 14 (17.3 %) IMP-8, 5 (6.2 %) NDM-1, and 8 (9.9 %) KPC-2. Notably, one Klebsiella pneumoniae isolate produced both IMP-4 and NDM-1. One Klebsiella oxytoca isolate produced both KPC-2 and IMP-8. Of the 81 clinical CRE isolates, 56 (69.1 %), 33 (40.7 %) and 77 (95.1 %) were identified as CRE by MicroScan WalkAway 96 Plus, Phoenix 100, and Vitek 2 Compact, respectively. The sensitivities/specificities of MicroScan WalkAway, Phoenix 100 and Vitek 2 were 93.8/42.4 %, 54.2/66.7 %, and 75.0/36.4 %, respectively. The MicroScan WalkAway and Viteck2 systems are more reliable in clinical identification of

  10. Performance of the AUDIT in Detecting DSM-5 Alcohol Use Disorders in College Students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hagman, Brett T

    2016-09-18

    It is critical that our alcohol screening instruments maintain their accuracy at detecting DSM-5 Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) symptomatology. The Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) is one of the most widely used alcohol screening instruments, despite no studies evaluating its performance for detecting DSM-5 AUDs. The present study evaluated the performance of the AUDIT in the screening of DSM-5 AUDs in non-treatment seeking college students. Participants (N = 251) were undergraduate students who had at least one binge drinking occasion in the past 90-days. The AUROC value for DSM-5 AUD status in the overall sample was.779 (SE =.029; 95% CIs =.721 to.837). The AUROC values for the reference groups of any DSM-IV AUD and any binge drinker were.798 (SE =.028; 95% CIs =.742 to.853) and.827 (SE =.03; 95% CIs.768 -.886), respectively. A similar pattern of findings emerged between males and females. Gender differences emerged in the identification of AUDIT cut-off scores. A score of ≥ 8 and ≥ 9 had the best balance of sensitivity and specificity for females and males in college, respectively. Findings indicate that the AUDIT has a reasonable degree of diagnostic proficiency in screening for DSM-5 AUDs in college students.

  11. Statistical performance of image cytometry for DNA, lipids, cytokeratin, & CD45 in a model system for circulation tumor cell detection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Futia, Gregory L; Schlaepfer, Isabel R; Qamar, Lubna; Behbakht, Kian; Gibson, Emily A

    2017-07-01

    Detection of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in a blood sample is limited by the sensitivity and specificity of the biomarker panel used to identify CTCs over other blood cells. In this work, we present Bayesian theory that shows how test sensitivity and specificity set the rarity of cell that a test can detect. We perform our calculation of sensitivity and specificity on our image cytometry biomarker panel by testing on pure disease positive (D + ) populations (MCF7 cells) and pure disease negative populations (D - ) (leukocytes). In this system, we performed multi-channel confocal fluorescence microscopy to image biomarkers of DNA, lipids, CD45, and Cytokeratin. Using custom software, we segmented our confocal images into regions of interest consisting of individual cells and computed the image metrics of total signal, second spatial moment, spatial frequency second moment, and the product of the spatial-spatial frequency moments. We present our analysis of these 16 features. The best performing of the 16 features produced an average separation of three standard deviations between D + and D - and an average detectable rarity of ∼1 in 200. We performed multivariable regression and feature selection to combine multiple features for increased performance and showed an average separation of seven standard deviations between the D + and D - populations making our average detectable rarity of ∼1 in 480. Histograms and receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curves for these features and regressions are presented. We conclude that simple regression analysis holds promise to further improve the separation of rare cells in cytometry applications. © 2017 International Society for Advancement of Cytometry. © 2017 International Society for Advancement of Cytometry.

  12. Is breast compression associated with breast cancer detection and other early performance measures in a population-based breast cancer screening program?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moshina, Nataliia; Sebuødegård, Sofie; Hofvind, Solveig

    2017-06-01

    We aimed to investigate early performance measures in a population-based breast cancer screening program stratified by compression force and pressure at the time of mammographic screening examination. Early performance measures included recall rate, rates of screen-detected and interval breast cancers, positive predictive value of recall (PPV), sensitivity, specificity, and histopathologic characteristics of screen-detected and interval breast cancers. Information on 261,641 mammographic examinations from 93,444 subsequently screened women was used for analyses. The study period was 2007-2015. Compression force and pressure were categorized using tertiles as low, medium, or high. χ 2 test, t tests, and test for trend were used to examine differences between early performance measures across categories of compression force and pressure. We applied generalized estimating equations to identify the odds ratios (OR) of screen-detected or interval breast cancer associated with compression force and pressure, adjusting for fibroglandular and/or breast volume and age. The recall rate decreased, while PPV and specificity increased with increasing compression force (p for trend screen-detected cancer, PPV, sensitivity, and specificity decreased with increasing compression pressure (p for trend breast cancer compared with low compression pressure (1.89; 95% CI 1.43-2.48). High compression force and low compression pressure were associated with more favorable early performance measures in the screening program.

  13. Two-stage Keypoint Detection Scheme for Region Duplication Forgery Detection in Digital Images.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Emam, Mahmoud; Han, Qi; Zhang, Hongli

    2018-01-01

    In digital image forensics, copy-move or region duplication forgery detection became a vital research topic recently. Most of the existing keypoint-based forgery detection methods fail to detect the forgery in the smooth regions, rather than its sensitivity to geometric changes. To solve these problems and detect points which cover all the regions, we proposed two steps for keypoint detection. First, we employed the scale-invariant feature operator to detect the spatially distributed keypoints from the textured regions. Second, the keypoints from the missing regions are detected using Harris corner detector with nonmaximal suppression to evenly distribute the detected keypoints. To improve the matching performance, local feature points are described using Multi-support Region Order-based Gradient Histogram descriptor. Based on precision-recall rates and commonly tested dataset, comprehensive performance evaluation is performed. The results demonstrated that the proposed scheme has better detection and robustness against some geometric transformation attacks compared with state-of-the-art methods. © 2017 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

  14. Comparison of parametric and linear mass detection in the presence of detection noise

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yie, Zi; Zielke, Mark A; Burgner, Christopher B; Turner, Kimberly L

    2011-01-01

    We experimentally investigate the performance of a nonlinear parametrically driven mass sensor in the presence of detection noise. Mass detection is achieved by measuring the amount of methanol vapor adsorption on the sensor. To demonstrate the advantage of parametric sensing in counteracting the influence of detection noise, we operate the sensor in both the parametric and harmonic resonance mode. Comparison of the results shows that in contrast to conventional linear harmonic sensing, the detection sensitivity does not deteriorate for the parametric case when a tenfold increase in detection noise is introduced. Furthermore, we demonstrate additional functionality of the parametric sensor by utilizing it as a threshold detector, whose performance remains the same despite the added detection noise. Taken together, these results suggest that for mass detection in the presence of detection noise, a parametrically operated sensor may offer better performance over one operated harmonically in the linear regime.

  15. Dependency of human target detection performance on clutter and quality of supporting image analysis algorithms in a video surveillance task

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huber, Samuel; Dunau, Patrick; Wellig, Peter; Stein, Karin

    2017-10-01

    Background: In target detection, the success rates depend strongly on human observer performances. Two prior studies tested the contributions of target detection algorithms and prior training sessions. The aim of this Swiss-German cooperation study was to evaluate the dependency of human observer performance on the quality of supporting image analysis algorithms. Methods: The participants were presented 15 different video sequences. Their task was to detect all targets in the shortest possible time. Each video sequence showed a heavily cluttered simulated public area from a different viewing angle. In each video sequence, the number of avatars in the area was altered to 100, 150 and 200 subjects. The number of targets appearing was kept at 10%. The number of marked targets varied from 0, 5, 10, 20 up to 40 marked subjects while keeping the positive predictive value of the detection algorithm at 20%. During the task, workload level was assessed by applying an acoustic secondary task. Detection rates and detection times for the targets were analyzed using inferential statistics. Results: The study found Target Detection Time to increase and Target Detection Rates to decrease with increasing numbers of avatars. The same is true for the Secondary Task Reaction Time while there was no effect on Secondary Task Hit Rate. Furthermore, we found a trend for a u-shaped correlation between the numbers of markings and RTST indicating increased workload. Conclusion: The trial results may indicate useful criteria for the design of training and support of observers in observational tasks.

  16. Performances of a HGCDTE APD based direct detection lidar at 2 μm. Application to dial measurements

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gibert, Fabien; Dumas, Arnaud; Rothman, Johan; Edouart, Dimitri; Cénac, Claire; Pellegrino, Jessica

    2018-04-01

    A lidar receiver with a direct detection chain adapted to a HgCdTe APD based detector with electric cooling is associated to a 2.05 μm Ho :YLF pulsed dual wavelength single mode transmitter to provide the first atmospheric lidar measurements using this technology. Experiments confirm the outstanding sensitivity of the detector and hightligth its huge potential for DIAL measurements of trace gas (CO2 and H2O) in this spectral domain. Performances of coherent vs direct detection at 2.05 μm is assessed.

  17. Performances of a HGCDTE APD based direct detection lidar at 2 μm. Application to dial measurements

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gibert Fabien

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available A lidar receiver with a direct detection chain adapted to a HgCdTe APD based detector with electric cooling is associated to a 2.05 μm Ho :YLF pulsed dual wavelength single mode transmitter to provide the first atmospheric lidar measurements using this technology. Experiments confirm the outstanding sensitivity of the detector and hightligth its huge potential for DIAL measurements of trace gas (CO2 and H2O in this spectral domain. Performances of coherent vs direct detection at 2.05 μm is assessed.

  18. Quantification of signal detection performance degradation induced by phase-retrieval in propagation-based x-ray phase-contrast imaging

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chou, Cheng-Ying; Anastasio, Mark A.

    2016-04-01

    In propagation-based X-ray phase-contrast (PB XPC) imaging, the measured image contains a mixture of absorption- and phase-contrast. To obtain separate images of the projected absorption and phase (i.e., refractive) properties of a sample, phase retrieval methods can be employed. It has been suggested that phase-retrieval can always improve image quality in PB XPC imaging. However, when objective (task-based) measures of image quality are employed, this is not necessarily true and phase retrieval can be detrimental. In this work, signal detection theory is utilized to quantify the performance of a Hotelling observer (HO) for detecting a known signal in a known background. Two cases are considered. In the first case, the HO acts directly on the measured intensity data. In the second case, the HO acts on either the retrieved phase or absorption image. We demonstrate that the performance of the HO is superior when acting on the measured intensity data. The loss of task-specific information induced by phase-retrieval is quantified by computing the efficiency of the HO as the ratio of the test statistic signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) for the two cases. The effect of the system geometry on this efficiency is systematically investigated. Our findings confirm that phase-retrieval can impair signal detection performance in XPC imaging.

  19. Performance of Molecular Approaches for Aspergillus Detection and Azole Resistance Surveillance in Cystic Fibrosis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hélène Guegan

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Aspergillus fumigatus triazole resistance is an emerging concern for treating chronically infected/colonized patients. This study sought to evaluate the performance of PCR assays to detect Aspergillus fungi together with azole resistance in sputum samples from cystic fibrosis (CF patients. In total, 119 sputum samples from 87 CF patients were prospectively processed for Aspergillus detection by means of mycological culture and four qPCR assays, 2 in-house methods and two commercial multiplex real-time PCR assays simultaneously detecting Aspergillus and the most relevant cyp51A gene mutations (MycoGENIE® and AsperGenius®. Azole susceptibility of A. fumigatus isolates was assessed using Etest® method and cyp51A gene mutation were characterized by sequencing. The overall rate of Aspergillus detection with the four qPCR assays ranged from 47.9 to 57.1%, contrasting with 42/119 (35.3% positive cultures with A. fumigatus. The high sensitivity of PCR on sputum could then contribute to more effective grading of Aspergillus disease in CF patients. Five out of 41 isolated strains (12.2% exhibited azole-resistant MIC patterns, three of which harbored cyp51A mutations and only 1/3 with the sequence TR34/L98H. Combined with culture, PCR assay achieved high sensitivity Aspergillus screening in CF samples. However, cyp51A targeting was only moderately effective for azole resistance monitoring, while Aspergillus resistance remains of great concern.

  20. Analytical Performance Characteristics of the Cepheid GeneXpert Ebola Assay for the Detection of Ebola Virus

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pinsky, Benjamin A.; Sahoo, Malaya K.; Sandlund, Johanna; Kleman, Marika; Kulkarni, Medha; Grufman, Per; Nygren, Malin; Kwiatkowski, Robert; Baron, Ellen Jo; Tenover, Fred; Denison, Blake; Higuchi, Russell; Van Atta, Reuel; Beer, Neil Reginald; Carrillo, Alda Celena; Naraghi-Arani, Pejman; Mire, Chad E.; Ranadheera, Charlene; Grolla, Allen; Lagerqvist, Nina; Persing, David H.

    2015-01-01

    Background The recently developed Xpert® Ebola Assay is a novel nucleic acid amplification test for simplified detection of Ebola virus (EBOV) in whole blood and buccal swab samples. The assay targets sequences in two EBOV genes, lowering the risk for new variants to escape detection in the test. The objective of this report is to present analytical characteristics of the Xpert® Ebola Assay on whole blood samples. Methods and Findings This study evaluated the assay’s analytical sensitivity, analytical specificity, inclusivity and exclusivity performance in whole blood specimens. EBOV RNA, inactivated EBOV, and infectious EBOV were used as targets. The dynamic range of the assay, the inactivation of virus, and specimen stability were also evaluated. The lower limit of detection (LoD) for the assay using inactivated virus was estimated to be 73 copies/mL (95% CI: 51–97 copies/mL). The LoD for infectious virus was estimated to be 1 plaque-forming unit/mL, and for RNA to be 232 copies/mL (95% CI 163–302 copies/mL). The assay correctly identified five different Ebola viruses, Yambuku-Mayinga, Makona-C07, Yambuku-Ecran, Gabon-Ilembe, and Kikwit-956210, and correctly excluded all non-EBOV isolates tested. The conditions used by Xpert® Ebola for inactivation of infectious virus reduced EBOV titer by ≥6 logs. Conclusion In summary, we found the Xpert® Ebola Assay to have high analytical sensitivity and specificity for the detection of EBOV in whole blood. It offers ease of use, fast turnaround time, and remote monitoring. The test has an efficient viral inactivation protocol, fulfills inclusivity and exclusivity criteria, and has specimen stability characteristics consistent with the need for decentralized testing. The simplicity of the assay should enable testing in a wide variety of laboratory settings, including remote laboratories that are not capable of performing highly complex nucleic acid amplification tests, and during outbreaks where time to detection

  1. Simultaneous determination of quinolones for veterinary use by high-performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodríguez Cáceres, M I; Guiberteau Cabanillas, A; Galeano Díaz, T; Martínez Cañas, M A

    2010-02-01

    A selective method based on high-performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection (HPLC-ECD) has been developed to enable simultaneous determination of three fluoroquinolones (FQs), namely danofloxacin (DANO), difloxacin (DIFLO) and sarafloxacin (SARA). The fluoroquinolones are separated on a Novapack C-18 column and detected in a high sensitivity amperometric cell at a potential of +0.8 V. Solid-phase extraction was used for the extraction of the analytes in real samples. The range of concentration examined varied from 10 to 150 ng g(-1) for danofloxacin, from 25 to 100 ng g(-1) for sarafloxacin and from 50 to 315 ng g(-1) for difloxacin, respectively. The method presents detection limits under 10 ng g(-1) and recoveries around 90% for the three analytes have been obtained in the experiments with fortified samples. This HPLC-ECD approach can be useful in the routine analysis of antibacterial residues being less expensive and less complicated than other more powerful tools as hyphenated techniques. 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  2. The impact of noisy and misaligned attenuation maps on human-observer performance at lesion detection in SPECT

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wells, R. G.; Gifford, H. C.; Pretorius, P. H.; Famcombe, T. H.; Narayanan, M. V.; King, M. A.

    2002-06-01

    We have demonstrated an improvement due to attenuation correction (AC) at the task of lesion detection in thoracic SPECT images. However, increased noise in the transmission data due to aging sources or very large patients, and misregistration of the emission and transmission maps, can reduce the accuracy of the AC and may result in a loss of lesion detectability. We investigated the impact of noise in and misregistration of transmission data, on the detection of simulated Ga-67 thoracic lesions. Human-observer localization-receiver-operating-characteristic (LROC) methodology was used to assess performance. Both emission and transmission data were simulated using the MCAT computer phantom. Emission data were reconstructed using OSEM incorporating AC and detector resolution compensation. Clinical noise levels were used in the emission data. The transmission-data noise levels ranged from zero (noise-free) to 32 times the measured clinical levels. Transaxial misregistrations of 0.32, 0.63, and 1.27 cm between emission and transmission data were also examined. Three different algorithms were considered for creating the attenuation maps: filtered backprojection (FBP), unbounded maximum-likelihood (ML), and block-iterative transmission AB (BITAB). Results indicate that a 16-fold increase in the noise was required to eliminate the benefit afforded by AC, when using FBP or ML to reconstruct the attenuation maps. When using BITAB, no significant loss in performance was observed for a 32-fold increase in noise. Misregistration errors are also a concern as even small errors here reduce the performance gains of AC.

  3. Comprehensive sample analysis using high performance liquid chromatography with multi-detection

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pravadali, Sercan; Bassanese, Danielle N.; Conlan, Xavier A.; Francis, Paul S.; Smith, Zoe M.; Terry, Jessica M.; Shalliker, R. Andrew

    2013-01-01

    Graphical abstract: -- Highlights: •Detection selectivity was assessed with 6 detection modes. •Natural samples show great diversity in detection selectivity. •Complex samples require evaluation using a multifaceted approach to detection. •23/30 known compounds (detected by MS) detected by chemiluminescence, DPPH and UV. -- Abstract: Herein we assess the separation space offered by a liquid chromatography system with an optimised uni-dimensional separation for the determination of the key chemical entities in the highly complex matrix of a tobacco leaf extract. Multiple modes of detection, including UV–visible absorbance, chemiluminescence (acidic potassium permanganate, manganese(IV), and tris(2,2′-bipyridine)ruthenium(III)), mass spectrometry and DPPH radical scavenging were used in an attempt to systematically reduce the data complexity of the sample whilst obtaining a greater degree of molecule-specific information. A large amount of chemical data was obtained, but several limitations in the ability to assign detector responses to particular compounds, even with the aid of complementary detection systems, were observed. Thirty-three compounds were detected via MS on the tobacco extract and 12 out of 32 compounds gave a peak height ratio (PHR) greater than 0.33 on one or more detectors. This paper serves as a case study of these limitations, illustrating why multidimensional chromatography is an important consideration when developing a comprehensive chemical detection system

  4. Comprehensive sample analysis using high performance liquid chromatography with multi-detection

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pravadali, Sercan [Australian Centre for Research on Separation Sciences (ACROSS), School of Science and Health, University of Western Sydney (Parramatta), NSW 1797 (Australia); Bassanese, Danielle N.; Conlan, Xavier A.; Francis, Paul S.; Smith, Zoe M.; Terry, Jessica M. [Centre for Chemistry and Biotechnology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Victoria 3216 (Australia); Shalliker, R. Andrew, E-mail: R.Shalliker@uws.edu.au [Australian Centre for Research on Separation Sciences (ACROSS), School of Science and Health, University of Western Sydney (Parramatta), NSW 1797 (Australia)

    2013-11-25

    Graphical abstract: -- Highlights: •Detection selectivity was assessed with 6 detection modes. •Natural samples show great diversity in detection selectivity. •Complex samples require evaluation using a multifaceted approach to detection. •23/30 known compounds (detected by MS) detected by chemiluminescence, DPPH and UV. -- Abstract: Herein we assess the separation space offered by a liquid chromatography system with an optimised uni-dimensional separation for the determination of the key chemical entities in the highly complex matrix of a tobacco leaf extract. Multiple modes of detection, including UV–visible absorbance, chemiluminescence (acidic potassium permanganate, manganese(IV), and tris(2,2′-bipyridine)ruthenium(III)), mass spectrometry and DPPH radical scavenging were used in an attempt to systematically reduce the data complexity of the sample whilst obtaining a greater degree of molecule-specific information. A large amount of chemical data was obtained, but several limitations in the ability to assign detector responses to particular compounds, even with the aid of complementary detection systems, were observed. Thirty-three compounds were detected via MS on the tobacco extract and 12 out of 32 compounds gave a peak height ratio (PHR) greater than 0.33 on one or more detectors. This paper serves as a case study of these limitations, illustrating why multidimensional chromatography is an important consideration when developing a comprehensive chemical detection system.

  5. Operation and performance of the EEE network array for the detection of cosmic rays

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Abbrescia, M. [Museo Storico della Fisica e Centro Studi e Ricerche “E. Fermi”, Roma (Italy); INFN and Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Bari, Bari (Italy); Avanzini, C.; Baldini, L. [Museo Storico della Fisica e Centro Studi e Ricerche “E. Fermi”, Roma (Italy); INFN and Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Pisa, Pisa (Italy); Baldini Ferroli, R. [Museo Storico della Fisica e Centro Studi e Ricerche “E. Fermi”, Roma (Italy); INFN Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati, Frascati (RM) (Italy); Batignani, G. [Museo Storico della Fisica e Centro Studi e Ricerche “E. Fermi”, Roma (Italy); INFN and Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Pisa, Pisa (Italy); Bencivenni, G. [INFN Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati, Frascati (RM) (Italy); Bossini, E. [Museo Storico della Fisica e Centro Studi e Ricerche “E. Fermi”, Roma (Italy); INFN Gruppo Collegato di Siena and Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Siena, Siena (Italy); Chiavassa, A. [INFN and Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Torino, Torino (Italy); Cicalò, C. [Museo Storico della Fisica e Centro Studi e Ricerche “E. Fermi”, Roma (Italy); INFN and Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Cagliari, Cagliari (Italy); Cifarelli, L. [Museo Storico della Fisica e Centro Studi e Ricerche “E. Fermi”, Roma (Italy); INFN and Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Università di Bologna, Bologna (Italy); and others

    2017-02-11

    The EEE (Extreme Energy Events) Project is an experiment for the detection of cosmic ray muons by means of a sparse array of telescopes, each made of three Multigap Resistive Plate Chambers (MRPC), distributed over all the Italian territory and at CERN. The main scientific goals of the Project are the investigation of the properties of the local muon flux, the detection of Extensive Air Showers (EAS) and the search for long-distance correlations between far telescopes. The Project is also characterized by a strong educational and outreach aspect since the telescopes are managed by teams of students and teachers who had previously constructed them at CERN. In this paper an overall description of the experiment is given, including the design, construction and performance of the telescopes. The operation of the whole array, which currently consists of more than 50 telescopes, is also presented by showing the most recent physics results.

  6. Operation and performance of the EEE network array for the detection of cosmic rays

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abbrescia, M.; Avanzini, C.; Baldini, L.; Baldini Ferroli, R.; Batignani, G.; Bencivenni, G.; Bossini, E.; Chiavassa, A.; Cicalò, C.; Cifarelli, L.

    2017-01-01

    The EEE (Extreme Energy Events) Project is an experiment for the detection of cosmic ray muons by means of a sparse array of telescopes, each made of three Multigap Resistive Plate Chambers (MRPC), distributed over all the Italian territory and at CERN. The main scientific goals of the Project are the investigation of the properties of the local muon flux, the detection of Extensive Air Showers (EAS) and the search for long-distance correlations between far telescopes. The Project is also characterized by a strong educational and outreach aspect since the telescopes are managed by teams of students and teachers who had previously constructed them at CERN. In this paper an overall description of the experiment is given, including the design, construction and performance of the telescopes. The operation of the whole array, which currently consists of more than 50 telescopes, is also presented by showing the most recent physics results.

  7. Nonnegative Matrix Factorizations Performing Object Detection and Localization

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    G. Casalino

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available We study the problem of detecting and localizing objects in still, gray-scale images making use of the part-based representation provided by nonnegative matrix factorizations. Nonnegative matrix factorization represents an emerging example of subspace methods, which is able to extract interpretable parts from a set of template image objects and then to additively use them for describing individual objects. In this paper, we present a prototype system based on some nonnegative factorization algorithms, which differ in the additional properties added to the nonnegative representation of data, in order to investigate if any additional constraint produces better results in general object detection via nonnegative matrix factorizations.

  8. Vehicle Detection with Occlusion Handling, Tracking, and OC-SVM Classification: A High Performance Vision-Based System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Velazquez-Pupo, Roxana; Sierra-Romero, Alberto; Torres-Roman, Deni; Shkvarko, Yuriy V.; Romero-Delgado, Misael

    2018-01-01

    This paper presents a high performance vision-based system with a single static camera for traffic surveillance, for moving vehicle detection with occlusion handling, tracking, counting, and One Class Support Vector Machine (OC-SVM) classification. In this approach, moving objects are first segmented from the background using the adaptive Gaussian Mixture Model (GMM). After that, several geometric features are extracted, such as vehicle area, height, width, centroid, and bounding box. As occlusion is present, an algorithm was implemented to reduce it. The tracking is performed with adaptive Kalman filter. Finally, the selected geometric features: estimated area, height, and width are used by different classifiers in order to sort vehicles into three classes: small, midsize, and large. Extensive experimental results in eight real traffic videos with more than 4000 ground truth vehicles have shown that the improved system can run in real time under an occlusion index of 0.312 and classify vehicles with a global detection rate or recall, precision, and F-measure of up to 98.190%, and an F-measure of up to 99.051% for midsize vehicles. PMID:29382078

  9. A United Framework for Solving Multiagent Task Assignment Problems

    Science.gov (United States)

    2007-12-01

    Presented to the Faculty Graduate School of Engineering and Management Air Force Institute of Technology Air University Air Education and Training Command in...Member Date Date Accepted: 170-e<.. 01 DateM.V.THOMAS Dean, Graduate School of E,ngineering and Management Air Force Institute of Technology AFIT...actions in two different problem groups: using shame [37] for autonomous robots navigating a minefield, and a waiter - refiller service environment [94

  10. Research of the absorbance detection and fluorescence detection for multifunctional nutrition analyzer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ni, Zhengyuan; Yan, Huimin; Ni, Xuxiang; Zhang, Xiuda

    2017-10-01

    The research of the multifunctional analyzer which integrates absorbance detection, fluorescence detection, time-resolved fluorescence detection, biochemical luminescence detection methods, can make efficient detection and analysis for a variety of human body nutrients. This article focuses on the absorbance detection and fluorescence detection system. The two systems are modular in design and controlled by embedded system, to achieve automatic measurement according to user settings. In the optical path design, the application of confocal design can improve the optical signal acquisition capability, and reduce the interference. A photon counter is used for detection, and a high performance counter module is designed to measure the output of photon counter. In the experiment, we use neutral density filters and potassium dichromate solution to test the absorbance detection system, and use fluorescein isothiocyanate FITC for fluorescence detection system performance test. The experimental results show that the absorbance detection system has a detection range of 0 4OD, and has good linearity in the detection range, while the fluorescence detection system has a high sensitivity of 1pmol/L concentration.

  11. Performance evaluation of the Aptima HSV-1 and 2 assay for the detection of HSV in cutaneous and mucocutaneous lesion specimens.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sam, Soya S; Caliendo, Angela M; Ingersoll, Jessica; Abdul-Ali, Deborah; Kraft, Colleen S

    Timely and precise laboratory diagnosis of Herpes simplex viruses (HSV) is required to guide clinical management. The study evaluated limit of detection (LOD) and performance characteristics of the Aptima HSV 1 & 2 assay in comparison to four assays. The multi-center study compared qualitative detection of HSV-1 and 2 by the Aptima HSV-1 and 2 assay (Hologic) to ELVIS culture, Lyra Direct (Quidel), AmpliVue (Quidel) and a laboratory developed test (LDT). LOD was performed using VTM and STM diluted viral concentrations and clinical performance was evaluated using 505 swab specimens. The Aptima LOD studies performed showed a lower detection limit for STM specimens as 1450 copies/mL and 430 copies/mL for HSV1 and HSV-2 respectively; the LOD for VTM specimens was 9370 copies/mL and 8045 copies/mL for HSV-1 and HSV-2 respectively. When the assays were analyzed based on the positive consensus result established the Aptima had 95% of percent positive agreement (PPA) and 100% negative percent agreement (NPA) for the HSV-1. For the HSV-2, the PPA and NPA for Aptima were 96% and 100% respectively. AmpliVue had 1.8% invalid rate, while Lyra had no invalid results but an inhibition rate of 0.8%. Aptima and LDT did not have any invalid or inhibited results. The results indicate that the Aptima HSV-1 & 2 assay is sensitive and the performance characteristics of the Aptima assay is comparable to the assays analyzed for the detection and differentiation of HSV-1 and 2 from cutaneous and mucocutaneous lesions. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  12. Detection of Local Cancer Recurrence After Stereotactic Ablative Radiation Therapy for Lung Cancer: Physician Performance Versus Radiomic Assessment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mattonen, Sarah A.; Palma, David A.; Johnson, Carol; Louie, Alexander V.; Landis, Mark; Rodrigues, George; Chan, Ian; Etemad-Rezai, Roya; Yeung, Timothy P.C.; Senan, Suresh; Ward, Aaron D.

    2016-01-01

    Purpose: Stereotactic ablative radiation therapy (SABR) is a guideline-specified treatment option for early-stage lung cancer. However, significant posttreatment fibrosis can occur and obfuscate the detection of local recurrence. The goal of this study was to assess physician ability to detect timely local recurrence and to compare physician performance with a radiomics tool. Methods and Materials: Posttreatment computed tomography (CT) scans (n=182) from 45 patients treated with SABR (15 with local recurrence matched to 30 with no local recurrence) were used to measure physician and radiomic performance in assessing response. Scans were individually scored by 3 thoracic radiation oncologists and 3 thoracic radiologists, all of whom were blinded to clinical outcomes. Radiomic features were extracted from the same images. Performances of the physician assessors and the radiomics signature were compared. Results: When taking into account all CT scans during the whole follow-up period, median sensitivity for physician assessment of local recurrence was 83% (range, 67%-100%), and specificity was 75% (range, 67%-87%), with only moderate interobserver agreement (κ = 0.54) and a median time to detection of recurrence of 15.5 months. When determining the early prediction of recurrence within <6 months after SABR, physicians assessed the majority of images as benign injury/no recurrence, with a mean error of 35%, false positive rate (FPR) of 1%, and false negative rate (FNR) of 99%. At the same time point, a radiomic signature consisting of 5 image-appearance features demonstrated excellent discrimination, with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.85, classification error of 24%, FPR of 24%, and FNR of 23%. Conclusions: These results suggest that radiomics can detect early changes associated with local recurrence that are not typically considered by physicians. This decision support system could potentially allow for early salvage therapy of

  13. Detection of Local Cancer Recurrence After Stereotactic Ablative Radiation Therapy for Lung Cancer: Physician Performance Versus Radiomic Assessment

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mattonen, Sarah A. [Department of Medical Biophysics, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario (Canada); Baines Imaging Research Laboratory, London Regional Cancer Program, London, Ontario (Canada); Palma, David A., E-mail: david.palma@lhsc.on.ca [Department of Medical Biophysics, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario (Canada); Baines Imaging Research Laboratory, London Regional Cancer Program, London, Ontario (Canada); Department of Oncology, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario (Canada); Johnson, Carol [Baines Imaging Research Laboratory, London Regional Cancer Program, London, Ontario (Canada); Louie, Alexander V. [Department of Oncology, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario (Canada); Landis, Mark [Department of Diagnostic Radiology, London Health Sciences Centre, London, Ontario (Canada); Rodrigues, George [Department of Oncology, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario (Canada); Chan, Ian; Etemad-Rezai, Roya [Department of Diagnostic Radiology, London Health Sciences Centre, London, Ontario (Canada); Yeung, Timothy P.C. [Department of Medical Biophysics, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario (Canada); Baines Imaging Research Laboratory, London Regional Cancer Program, London, Ontario (Canada); Senan, Suresh [Department of Radiation Oncology, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam (Netherlands); Ward, Aaron D. [Department of Medical Biophysics, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario (Canada); Baines Imaging Research Laboratory, London Regional Cancer Program, London, Ontario (Canada); Department of Oncology, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario (Canada)

    2016-04-01

    Purpose: Stereotactic ablative radiation therapy (SABR) is a guideline-specified treatment option for early-stage lung cancer. However, significant posttreatment fibrosis can occur and obfuscate the detection of local recurrence. The goal of this study was to assess physician ability to detect timely local recurrence and to compare physician performance with a radiomics tool. Methods and Materials: Posttreatment computed tomography (CT) scans (n=182) from 45 patients treated with SABR (15 with local recurrence matched to 30 with no local recurrence) were used to measure physician and radiomic performance in assessing response. Scans were individually scored by 3 thoracic radiation oncologists and 3 thoracic radiologists, all of whom were blinded to clinical outcomes. Radiomic features were extracted from the same images. Performances of the physician assessors and the radiomics signature were compared. Results: When taking into account all CT scans during the whole follow-up period, median sensitivity for physician assessment of local recurrence was 83% (range, 67%-100%), and specificity was 75% (range, 67%-87%), with only moderate interobserver agreement (κ = 0.54) and a median time to detection of recurrence of 15.5 months. When determining the early prediction of recurrence within <6 months after SABR, physicians assessed the majority of images as benign injury/no recurrence, with a mean error of 35%, false positive rate (FPR) of 1%, and false negative rate (FNR) of 99%. At the same time point, a radiomic signature consisting of 5 image-appearance features demonstrated excellent discrimination, with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.85, classification error of 24%, FPR of 24%, and FNR of 23%. Conclusions: These results suggest that radiomics can detect early changes associated with local recurrence that are not typically considered by physicians. This decision support system could potentially allow for early salvage therapy of

  14. Determination of aristolochic acids by high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Yinan; Chan, Wan

    2014-06-25

    Nephrotoxic and carcinogenic aristolochic acids (AAs) are naturally occurring nitrophenanthrene carboxylic acids in the herbal genus Aristolochia. The misuse of AA-containing herbs in preparing slimming drugs has caused hundred of cases of kidney disease in Belgium women in a slimming regime in the early 1990s. Accumulating evidence also suggested that prolong dietary intake of AA-contaminated food is one of the major causes to the Balkan endemic nephropathy that was first observed in the late 1950s. Therefore, analytical methods of high sensitivity are extremely important for safeguarding human exposure to AA-containing herbal medicines, herbal remedies, and food composites. In this paper, we describe the development of a new high-performance liquid chromatography coupled fluorescence detector (HPLC-FLD) method for the sensitive determination of AAs. The method makes use of a novel cysteine-induced denitration reaction that "turns on" the fluorescence of AAs for fluorometric detections. Our results showed that the combination of cysteine-induced denitration and HPLC-FLD analysis allows for sensitive quantification of AA-I and AA-II at detection limits of 27.1 and 25.4 ng/g, respectively. The method was validated and has been successfully applied in quantifying AAs in Chinese herbal medicines.

  15. The information minefield: access to clinical information

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Adele

    2004-02-17

    Feb 17, 2004 ... Mental health professionals have argued, unsuc- cessfully in many courts .... expose others to the risk of death or serious harm. • Where an Act of ... forensic assessments, or it is very likely that disclosure may be unavoidable. ..... Some patients who attempt suicide refuse treatment. These patients are ...

  16. [Performance and optimisation of a trigger tool for the detection of adverse events in hospitalised adult patients].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guzmán Ruiz, Óscar; Pérez Lázaro, Juan José; Ruiz López, Pedro

    To characterise the performance of the triggers used in the detection of adverse events (AE) of hospitalised adult patients and to define a simplified panel of triggers to facilitate the detection of AE. Cross-sectional study of charts of patients from a service of internal medicine to detect EA through systematic review of the charts and identification of triggers (clinical event often related to AE), determining if there was AE as the context in which it appeared the trigger. Once the EA was detected, we proceeded to the characterization of the triggers that detected it. Logistic regression was applied to select the triggers with greater AE detection capability. A total of 291 charts were reviewed, with a total of 562 triggers in 103 patients, of which 163 were involved in detecting an AE. The triggers that detected the most AE were "A.1. Pressure ulcer" (9.82%), "B.5. Laxative or enema" (8.59%), "A.8. Agitation" (8.59%), "A.9. Over-sedation" (7.98%), "A.7. Haemorrhage" (6.75%) and "B.4. Antipsychotic" (6.75%). A simplified model was obtained using logistic regression, and included the variable "Number of drugs" and the triggers "Over-sedation", "Urinary catheterisation", "Readmission in 30 days", "Laxative or enema" and "Abrupt medication stop". This model showed a probability of 81% to correctly classify charts with EA or without EA (p <0.001; 95% confidence interval: 0.763-0.871). A high number of triggers were associated with AE. The summary model is capable of detecting a large amount of AE, with a minimum of elements. Copyright © 2017 SESPAS. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

  17. Performance of T2 Maps in the Detection of Prostate Cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chatterjee, Aritrick; Devaraj, Ajit; Mathew, Melvy; Szasz, Teodora; Antic, Tatjana; Karczmar, Gregory S; Oto, Aytekin

    2018-05-03

    This study compares the performance of T2 maps in the detection of prostate cancer (PCa) in comparison to T2-weighted (T2W) magnetic resonance images. The prospective study was institutional review board approved. Consenting patients (n = 45) with histologic confirmed PCa underwent preoperative 3-T magnetic resonance imaging with or without endorectal coil. Two radiologists, working independently, marked regions of interests (ROIs) on PCa lesions separately on T2W images and T2 maps. Each ROI was assigned a score of 1-5 based on the confidence in accurately detecting cancer, with 5 being the highest confidence. Subsequently, the histologically confirmed PCa lesions (n = 112) on whole-mount sections were matched with ROIs to calculate sensitivity, positive predictive value (PPV), and radiologist confidence score. Quantitative T2 values of PCa and benign tissue ROIs were measured. Sensitivity and confidence score for PCa detection were similar for T2W images (51%, 4.5 ± 0.8) and T2 maps (52%, 4.5 ± 0.6). However, PPV was significantly higher (P = .001) for T2 maps (88%) compared to T2W (72%) images. The use of endorectal coils nominally improved sensitivity (T2W: 55 vs 47%, T2 map: 54% vs 48%) compared to the use of no endorectal coils, but not the PPV and the confidence score. Quantitative T2 values for PCa (105 ± 28 milliseconds) were significantly (P = 9.3 × 10 -14 ) lower than benign peripheral zone tissue (211 ± 71 milliseconds), with moderate significant correlation with Gleason score (ρ = -0.284). Our study shows that review of T2 maps by radiologists has similar sensitivity but higher PPV compared to T2W images. Additional quantitative information obtained from T2 maps is helpful in differentiating cancer from normal prostate tissue and determining its aggressiveness. Copyright © 2018 The Association of University Radiologists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. Real Time Supervisors and Monitors for Performing Health Monitoring and Fault Detection for Systems Operating in Multiple Regimes

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Jaw, Link

    2003-01-01

    In this Phase I STTR, SMI and ARL have developed a Real Time Supervisor for fault detection and system reconfiguration in a team of micro UAVs, that are tasked to perform a team mission like surveillance or rendezvous...

  19. CHARACTERIZATION OF THE EFFECTS OF INHALED PERCHLOROETHYLENE ON SUSTAINED ATTENTION IN RATS PERFORMING A VISUAL SIGNAL DETECTION TASK

    Science.gov (United States)

    The aliphatic hydrocarbon perchloroethyelene (PCE) has been associated with neurobehavioral dysfunction including reduced attention in humans. The current study sought to assess the effects of inhaled PCE on sustained attention in rats performing a visual signal detection task (S...

  20. Evaluation of the clinical performance of the Abbott RealTime High-Risk HPV for carcinogenic HPV detection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Halfon, Philippe; Benmoura, Dominique; Agostini, Aubert; Khiri, Hacene; Penaranda, Guillaume; Martineau, Agnes; Blanc, Bernard

    2010-08-01

    Abbott RealTime (RT) High-Risk (HR) HPV assay is a new qualitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) based assay for the detection of 14 HR HPV DNA. The assay can differentiate between the infection by HPV 16, HPV 18 and non-HPV 16/18 types through the distinct fluorescent labels on the type specific probes. To evaluate the clinical performance of the Abbott RT HR HPV test, in comparison with biopsy, Hybrid Capture II (HCII), and Linear Array (LA), for detection of high-grade disease (CIN2+). The study population consisted of 143 women who were included in three referral gynecology clinics in Marseilles (France) between March 2007 and June 2008. The clinical performance of the RT HR HPV assay, performed on the fully automated m2000 system, was compared with HCII and LA. HR HPV positivity rate was similar for all tests (Abbott RT HR HPV and HCII, 62%, and LA 63%). All tests had high sensitivities and negative predictive values for CIN2+ detection (>90%). The agreement between HCII and Abbott RT HR HPV, and between HCII and LA were 93% (k=0.85) and 96% (k=0.91) respectively. As expected, HPV16 or HPV18 positivity was greater in advanced grades of disease, especially in CIN2+ patients: 85% in CIN2+ vs. 33% in Abbott RT HR HPV assay is good and closely correlated with the two other assays. The automation and ability to identify type 16 and 18 make this a very attractive option for HPV testing in laboratories and potentially provides improved patient management. Copyright 2010. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  1. Lung nodule detection in pediatric chest CT: quantitative relationship between image quality and radiologist performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Xiang; Samei, Ehsan; Barnhart, Huiman X; Gaca, Ana Maria; Hollingsworth, Caroline L; Maxfield, Charles M; Carrico, Caroline W T; Colsher, James G; Frush, Donald P

    2011-05-01

    To determine the quantitative relationship between image quality and radiologist performance in detecting small lung nodules in pediatric CT. The study included clinical chest CT images of 30 pediatric patients (0-16 years) scanned at tube currents of 55-180 mA. Calibrated noise addition software was used to simulate cases at three nominal mA settings: 70, 35, and 17.5 mA, resulting in quantum noise of 7-32 Hounsfield Unit (HU). Using a validated nodule simulation technique, lung nodules with diameters of 3-5 mm and peak contrasts of 200-500 HU were inserted into the cases, which were then randomized and rated independently by four experienced pediatric radiologists for nodule presence on a continuous scale from 0 (definitely absent) to 100 (definitely present). The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) data were analyzed to quantify the relationship between diagnostic accuracy (area under the ROC curve, AUC) and image quality (the product of nodule peak contrast and displayed diameter to noise ratio, CDNR display). AUC increased rapidly from 0.70 to 0.87 when CDNR display increased from 60 to 130 mm, followed by a slow increase to 0.94 when CDNR display further increased to 257 mm. For the average nodule diameter (4 mm) and contrast (350 HU), AUC decreased from 0.93 to 0.71 with noise increased from 7 to 28 HU. We quantified the relationship between image quality and the performance of radiologists in detecting lung nodules in pediatric CT. The relationship can guide CT protocol design to achieve the desired diagnostic performance at the lowest radiation dose.

  2. Unsupervised machine-learning method for improving the performance of ambulatory fall-detection systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yuwono Mitchell

    2012-02-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Falls can cause trauma, disability and death among older people. Ambulatory accelerometer devices are currently capable of detecting falls in a controlled environment. However, research suggests that most current approaches can tend to have insufficient sensitivity and specificity in non-laboratory environments, in part because impacts can be experienced as part of ordinary daily living activities. Method We used a waist-worn wireless tri-axial accelerometer combined with digital signal processing, clustering and neural network classifiers. The method includes the application of Discrete Wavelet Transform, Regrouping Particle Swarm Optimization, Gaussian Distribution of Clustered Knowledge and an ensemble of classifiers including a multilayer perceptron and Augmented Radial Basis Function (ARBF neural networks. Results Preliminary testing with 8 healthy individuals in a home environment yields 98.6% sensitivity to falls and 99.6% specificity for routine Activities of Daily Living (ADL data. Single ARB and MLP classifiers were compared with a combined classifier. The combined classifier offers the greatest sensitivity, with a slight reduction in specificity for routine ADL and an increased specificity for exercise activities. In preliminary tests, the approach achieves 100% sensitivity on in-group falls, 97.65% on out-group falls, 99.33% specificity on routine ADL, and 96.59% specificity on exercise ADL. Conclusion The pre-processing and feature-extraction steps appear to simplify the signal while successfully extracting the essential features that are required to characterize a fall. The results suggest this combination of classifiers can perform better than MLP alone. Preliminary testing suggests these methods may be useful for researchers who are attempting to improve the performance of ambulatory fall-detection systems.

  3. Performance evaluation and modeling of a conformal filter (CF) based real-time standoff hazardous material detection sensor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nelson, Matthew P.; Tazik, Shawna K.; Bangalore, Arjun S.; Treado, Patrick J.; Klem, Ethan; Temple, Dorota

    2017-05-01

    Hyperspectral imaging (HSI) systems can provide detection and identification of a variety of targets in the presence of complex backgrounds. However, current generation sensors are typically large, costly to field, do not usually operate in real time and have limited sensitivity and specificity. Despite these shortcomings, HSI-based intelligence has proven to be a valuable tool, thus resulting in increased demand for this type of technology. By moving the next generation of HSI technology into a more adaptive configuration, and a smaller and more cost effective form factor, HSI technologies can help maintain a competitive advantage for the U.S. armed forces as well as local, state and federal law enforcement agencies. Operating near the physical limits of HSI system capability is often necessary and very challenging, but is often enabled by rigorous modeling of detection performance. Specific performance envelopes we consistently strive to improve include: operating under low signal to background conditions; at higher and higher frame rates; and under less than ideal motion control scenarios. An adaptable, low cost, low footprint, standoff sensor architecture we have been maturing includes the use of conformal liquid crystal tunable filters (LCTFs). These Conformal Filters (CFs) are electro-optically tunable, multivariate HSI spectrometers that, when combined with Dual Polarization (DP) optics, produce optimized spectral passbands on demand, which can readily be reconfigured, to discriminate targets from complex backgrounds in real-time. With DARPA support, ChemImage Sensor Systems (CISS™) in collaboration with Research Triangle Institute (RTI) International are developing a novel, real-time, adaptable, compressive sensing short-wave infrared (SWIR) hyperspectral imaging technology called the Reconfigurable Conformal Imaging Sensor (RCIS) based on DP-CF technology. RCIS will address many shortcomings of current generation systems and offer improvements in

  4. 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.)

  5. 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.)

  6. Comparison of Simulated PEC Probe Performance for Detecting Wall Thickness Reduction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shin, Young Kil; Choi, Dong Myung; Jung, Hee Sung

    2009-01-01

    In this paper, four different types of pulsed eddy current(PEC) probe are designed and their performance of detecting wall thickness reduction is compared. By using the backward difference method in time and the finite element method in space, PEC signals from various thickness and materials are numerically calculated and three features of the signal are selected. Since PEC signals and features are obtained by various types and sizes of probe, the comparison is made through the normalized features which reflect the sensitivity of the feature to thickness reduction. The normalized features indicate that the shielded reflection probe provides the best sensitivity to wall thickness reduction for all three signal features. Results show that the best sensitivity to thickness reduction can be achieved by the peak value, but also suggest that the time to peak can be a good candidate because of its linear relationship with the thickness variation.

  7. Vitamin E composition of some seed oils as determined by High Performance Liquid Chromatography with fluorometric detection

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Speek, A.J.; Schrijver, J.; Schreurs, W.H.P.

    1985-01-01

    A high‐performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method is described for the simultaneous analysis of E vitamers α‐, and β‐, γ‐ and δ‐tocopherol and α‐tocotrienol in seed oils. After diluting the oils with n‐hexane, E vitamers are separated by HPLC and detected fluorometrically. Standardization is

  8. Performance of experienced dentists in Switzerland after an e-learning program on ICDAS occlusal caries detection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodrigues, Jonas Almeida; de Oliveira, Renata Schlesner; Hug, Isabel; Neuhaus, Klaus; Lussi, Adrian

    2013-08-01

    This study aimed to evaluate the effect of an e-learning program on the validity and reproducibility of the International Caries Detection and Assessment System (ICDAS) in detecting occlusal caries. For the study, 170 permanent molars were selected. Four dentists in Switzerland who had no previous contact with ICDAS examined the teeth before and after the e-learning program and scored the sites according to ICDAS. Teeth were histologically prepared and assessed for caries extension. The significance level was set at 0.05. Sensitivity before and after the e-learning program was 0.80 and 0.77 (D1), 0.72 and 0.63 (D2), and 0.74 and 0.67 (D3,4), respectively. Specificity was 0.64 and 0.69 (D1), 0.70 and 0.81 (D2), and 0.81 and 0.87 (D3,4). A McNemar test did not show any difference between the values of sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, and area under the ROC curve (AUC) before and after the e-learning program. The averages of wK values for interexaminer reproducibility were 0.61 (before) and 0.66 (after). Correlation with histology presented wK values of 0.62 (before) and 0.63 (after). A Wilcoxon test showed a statistically significant difference between before and after the e-learning program. In conclusion, even though ICDAS performed well in detecting occlusal caries, the e-learning program did not have any statistically significant effect on its performance by these experienced dentists.

  9. Performances of diffusion kurtosis imaging and diffusion tensor imaging in detecting white matter abnormality in schizophrenia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jiajia Zhu

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI is an extension of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI, exhibiting improved sensitivity and specificity in detecting developmental and pathological changes in neural tissues. However, little attention was paid to the performances of DKI and DTI in detecting white matter abnormality in schizophrenia. In this study, DKI and DTI were performed in 94 schizophrenia patients and 91 sex- and age-matched healthy controls. White matter integrity was assessed by fractional anisotropy (FA, mean diffusivity (MD, axial diffusivity (AD, radial diffusivity (RD, mean kurtosis (MK, axial kurtosis (AK and radial kurtosis (RK of DKI and FA, MD, AD and RD of DTI. Group differences in these parameters were compared using tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS (P  AK (20% > RK (3% and RD (37% > FA (24% > MD (21% for DKI, and RD (43% > FA (30% > MD (21% for DTI. DKI-derived diffusion parameters (RD, FA and MD were sensitive to detect abnormality in white matter regions (the corpus callosum and anterior limb of internal capsule with coherent fiber arrangement; however, the kurtosis parameters (MK and AK were sensitive to reveal abnormality in white matter regions (the juxtacortical white matter and corona radiata with complex fiber arrangement. In schizophrenia, the decreased AK suggests axonal damage; however, the increased RD indicates myelin impairment. These findings suggest that diffusion and kurtosis parameters could provide complementary information and they should be jointly used to reveal pathological changes in schizophrenia.

  10. Screening Performance Characteristic of Ultrasonography and Radiography in Detection of Pleural Effusion; a Meta-Analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mahmoud Yousefifard

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: The role of ultrasonography in detection of pleural effusion has long been a subject of interest but controversial results have been reported. Accordingly, this study aims to conduct a systematic review of the available literature on diagnostic value of ultrasonography and radiography in detection of pleural effusion through a meta-analytic approach. Methods: An extended search was done in databases of Medline, EMBASE, ISI Web of Knowledge, Scopus, Cochrane Library, and ProQuest. Two reviewers independently extracted the data and assessed the quality of the articles. Meta-analysis was performed using a mixed-effects binary regression model. Finally, subgroup analysis was carried out in order to find the sources of heterogeneity between the included studies. Results: 12 studies were included in this meta-analysis (1554 subjects, 58.6% male. Pooled sensitivity of ultrasonography in detection of pleural effusion was 0.94 (95% CI: 0.88-0.97; I2= 84.23, p<0.001 and its pooled specificity was calculated to be 0.98 (95% CI: 0.92-1.0; I2= 88.65, p<0.001, while sensitivity and specificity of chest radiography were 0.51 (95% CI: 0.33-0.68; I2= 91.76, p<0.001 and 0.91 (95% CI: 0.68-0.98; I2= 92.86, p<0.001, respectively. Sensitivity of ultrasonography was found to be higher when the procedure was carried out by an intensivist or a radiologist using 5-10 MHz transducers. Conclusion: Chest ultrasonography, as a screening tool, has a higher diagnostic accuracy in identification of plural effusion compared to radiography. The sensitivity of this imaging modality was found to be higher when performed by a radiologist or an intensivist and using 5-10MHz probes.

  11. Tomosynthesis for the early detection of pulmonary emphysema: diagnostic performance compared with chest radiography, using multidetector computed tomography as reference

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yamada, Yoshitake [Keio University School of Medicine, Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Tokyo (Japan); Nippon Koukan Hospital, Department of Radiology, Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa (Japan); Jinzaki, Masahiro; Hashimoto, Masahiro; Shiomi, Eisuke; Kuribayashi, Sachio [Keio University School of Medicine, Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Tokyo (Japan); Abe, Takayuki [Keio University School of Medicine, Center for Clinical Research, Tokyo (Japan); Ogawa, Kenji [Nippon Koukan Hospital, Department of Radiology, Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa (Japan)

    2013-08-15

    To compare the diagnostic performance of tomosynthesis with that of chest radiography for the detection of pulmonary emphysema, using multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) as reference. Forty-eight patients with and 63 without pulmonary emphysema underwent chest MDCT, tomosynthesis and radiography on the same day. Two blinded radiologists independently evaluated the tomosynthesis images and radiographs for the presence of pulmonary emphysema. Axial and coronal MDCT images served as the reference standard and the percentage lung volume with attenuation values of -950 HU or lower (LAA{sub -950}) was evaluated to determine the extent of emphysema. Receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) analysis and generalised estimating equations model were used. ROC analysis revealed significantly better performance (P < 0.0001) of tomosynthesis than radiography for the detection of pulmonary emphysema. The average sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of tomosynthesis were 0.875, 0.968, 0.955 and 0.910, respectively, whereas the values for radiography were 0.479, 0.913, 0.815 and 0.697, respectively. For both tomosynthesis and radiography, the sensitivity increased with increasing LAA{sub -950}. The diagnostic performance of tomosynthesis was significantly superior to that of radiography for the detection of pulmonary emphysema. In both tomosynthesis and radiography, the sensitivity was affected by the LAA{sub -950}. (orig.)

  12. Tomosynthesis for the early detection of pulmonary emphysema: diagnostic performance compared with chest radiography, using multidetector computed tomography as reference

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yamada, Yoshitake; Jinzaki, Masahiro; Hashimoto, Masahiro; Shiomi, Eisuke; Kuribayashi, Sachio; Abe, Takayuki; Ogawa, Kenji

    2013-01-01

    To compare the diagnostic performance of tomosynthesis with that of chest radiography for the detection of pulmonary emphysema, using multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) as reference. Forty-eight patients with and 63 without pulmonary emphysema underwent chest MDCT, tomosynthesis and radiography on the same day. Two blinded radiologists independently evaluated the tomosynthesis images and radiographs for the presence of pulmonary emphysema. Axial and coronal MDCT images served as the reference standard and the percentage lung volume with attenuation values of -950 HU or lower (LAA -950 ) was evaluated to determine the extent of emphysema. Receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) analysis and generalised estimating equations model were used. ROC analysis revealed significantly better performance (P -950 . The diagnostic performance of tomosynthesis was significantly superior to that of radiography for the detection of pulmonary emphysema. In both tomosynthesis and radiography, the sensitivity was affected by the LAA -950 . (orig.)

  13. Does the MRAP Meet the US Army’s Needs as the Primary Method of Protecting Troops from the IED Threat?

    Science.gov (United States)

    2009-06-12

    SGT Spencer patrols over a two weeks period. Two IED attacks killed six Afghans and wounded two Canadian soldiers. The route clearance team lives...minefield would be cleared using flail tanks, mine-clearing rollers, mine ploughs or other devices. The Cold War, with its defensive posture in...May 2008, eleven US troops were killed by IEDs, compared with 92 in May 2007. The article states several reasons for this drop. The first is the

  14. Ship Underwater Threat Response System (SUTRS): A Feasibility Study of Organic Mine Point-Defense

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-09-01

    Landing Zone ~0 ft Anti-Personnel Mines and Obstacle Surf Zone 0 - 10 ft Anti-Tank Mines, Anti-Invasion Mines and Obstacles Very-Shallow Water 10...Platform Reconnaissance and Analysis (COBRA) Associates localization of minefields & obstacles in the surf zone and beach zone prior to an...projectile that penetrates the mine casing to disable or destroy the mine. The system is deployed from a UH-60 helicopter, and because of the danger from

  15. Determination of benzimidazole residues and their metabolites in raw milk using high performance liquid chromatography-diode array detection

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marija Denžić Lugomer

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available A new analytical method using high performance liquid chromatography-diode array detector (HPLC-DAD was developed for the analysis of 18 benzimidazoles and their metabolites in milk. Samples were extracted with acetonitrile and n-hexane and purified by polymer cation exchange (PCX solid phase extraction cartridges. LC separation was performed on Xbridge C18 with gradient elution using acetonitrile and ammonium acetate buffer. The DAD detection was set at 298, 312, 254 and 290 nm. The method was validated according to the criteria of Commission Decision 2002/657/EC. The following validation parameters were set: accuracy (expressed as recovery 31.7-137.6 %, limit of decision (CCα 6.0-120.6 μg kg-1, detection capability (CCβ 6.1-120.8 μg kg-1, limit of detection (LOD 1-4 μg kg-1, limit of quantification (LOQ 4-18 μg kg-1, precision as CV 7.0-22.5 %, withinlaboratory reproducibility expressed as CV 8.8-30.6 %. Finally, the developed method was applied to the analysis of collected milk samples. A total of 50 milk samples was analysed for benzimidazole residues. All obtained concentrations for all compounds were below the LOQ values.

  16. Determination of phenolic compounds using high-performance liquid chromatography with Ce4+-Tween 20 chemiluminescence detection

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cui Hua; Zhou Jian; Xu Feng; Lai Chunze; Wan Guohui

    2004-01-01

    A novel method for the simultaneous determination of phenolic compounds such as salicylic acid, resorcinol, phloroglucinol, p-hydroxybenzoic acid, 2,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid, and m-nitrophenol by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled with chemiluminescence (CL) detection was developed. The procedure was based on the chemiluminescent enhancement by phenolic compounds of the cerium(IV)-Tween 20 system in a sulfuric acid medium. The separation was carried out with an isocratic elution or with a gradient elution using a mixture of methanol and 1.5% acetic acid. For six phenolic compounds, the detection limits (3σ) were in the range 1.40-5.02 ng/ml and the relative standard deviations (n=11) for the determination of 0.1 μg/ml compounds were in the range 1.9-2.9%. The CL reaction was well compatible with the mobile phase of HPLC, no baseline drift often occurred in HPLC-CL detection was observed with a gradient elution. The method has been successfully applied to the determination of salicylic acid and resorcinol in Dermatitis Clear Tincture and p-hydroxybenzoic acid in apple juices

  17. Design and application of a structured phantom for detection performance comparison between breast tomosynthesis and digital mammography

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cockmartin, L.; Marshall, N. W.; Zhang, G.; Lemmens, K.; Shaheen, E.; Van Ongeval, C.; Fredenberg, E.; Dance, D. R.; Salvagnini, E.; Michielsen, K.; Bosmans, H.

    2017-02-01

    This paper introduces and applies a structured phantom with inserted target objects for the comparison of detection performance of digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) against 2D full field digital mammography (FFDM). The phantom consists of a 48 mm thick breast-shaped polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) container filled with water and PMMA spheres of different diameters. Three-dimensionally (3D) printed spiculated masses (diameter range: 3.8-9.7 mm) and non-spiculated masses (1.6-6.2 mm) along with microcalcifications (90-250 µm) were inserted as targets. Reproducibility of the phantom application was studied on a single system using 30 acquisitions. Next, the phantom was evaluated on five different combined FFDM & DBT systems and target detection was compared for FFDM and DBT modes. Ten phantom images in both FFDM and DBT modes were acquired on these 5 systems using automatic exposure control. Five readers evaluated target detectability. Images were read with the four-alternative forced-choice (4-AFC) paradigm, with always one segment including a target and 3 normal background segments. The percentage of correct responses (PC) was assessed based on 10 trials of each reader for each object type, size and imaging modality. Additionally, detection threshold diameters at 62.5 PC were assessed via non-linear regression fitting of the psychometric curve. The reproducibility study showed no significant differences in PC values. Evaluation of target detection in FFDM showed that microcalcification detection thresholds ranged between 110 and 118 µm and were similar compared to the detection in DBT (range of 106-158 µm). In DBT, detection of both mass types increased significantly (p  =  0.0001 and p  =  0.0002 for non-spiculated and spiculated masses respectively) compared to FFDM, achieving almost 100% detection for all spiculated mass diameters. In conclusion, a structured phantom with inserted targets was able to show evidence for detectability

  18. High-performance liquid chromatographic assay of parabens in wash-off cosmetic products and foods using chemiluminescence detection

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang Qunlin; Lian Mei; Liu Lijuan; Cui Hua

    2005-01-01

    A new method for the simultaneous determination of parabens including methylparaben, ethylparaben, propylparaben, and butylparaben by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled with chemiluminescence detection was developed. The procedure was based on the chemiluminescent enhancement by parabens of the cerium(IV)-rhodamine 6G system in the strong sulfuric acid medium. The good separation of parabens was carried out with an isocratic elution using a mixture of methanol and water (60:40, v/v) within 8.5 min. Under the optimized conditions, a linear working range extends three orders of magnitude with the relative standard deviations of intra- and inter-day precision below 4.5%, and the detection limits were 1.9 x 10 -9 , 2.7 x 10 -9 , 3.9 x 10 -9 , and 5.3 x 10 -9 g ml -1 for methylparaben, ethylparaben, propylparaben, and butylparaben, respectively. The chemiluminescence reaction was well compatible with the mobile phase of high-performance liquid chromatography. The proposed method has been successfully applied to the assay of parabens in wash-off cosmetic products and foods with the minimal sample preparation

  19. Diagnostic performance of CT and MRI on the detection of symptomatic intracranial dural arteriovenous fistula: a meta-analysis with indirect comparison

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lin, Yen-Heng [National Taiwan University, Institute of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, Taipei (China); National Taiwan University Hospital in Taipei and Yuan-Lin Branch, Department of Medical Imaging and Radiology, Hospital and Medical College, Taipei (China); Lin, Hsien-Ho [National Taiwan University, Institute of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, Taipei (China); Liu, Hon-Man; Lee, Chung-Wei; Chen, Ya-Fang [National Taiwan University Hospital in Taipei and Yuan-Lin Branch, Department of Medical Imaging and Radiology, Hospital and Medical College, Taipei (China)

    2016-08-15

    This study aims to review the diagnostic performance of computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in symptomatic dural arteriovenous fistula (DAVF). EMBASE, PubMed, and Cochrane Library were searched until April 2015 for studies which compared CT, MRI, or both with angiography for the detection of DAVF. The diagnostic performances of MRI and CT were indirectly compared using modality as a covariate in the analysis. Thirteen studies met our inclusion criteria. MRI had a sensitivity of 0.90 (95 % confidence interval (CI) = 0.83-0.94) and specificity of 0.94 (95 % CI = 0.90-0.96). CT had a sensitivity of 0.80 (95 % CI = 0.62-0.90) and specificity of 0.87 (95 % CI = 0.74-0.94). MRI showed better diagnostic performance than CT (p = 0.02). Contrast medium use and time-resolved MR angiography did not improve MRI diagnostic performance (p = 0.31 and 0.44, respectively). Both CT and MRI had good diagnostic performance. MRI was better than CT on the detection of symptomatic intracranial dural arteriovenous fistula in the indirect comparison. (orig.)

  20. Structure and performance of a real-time algorithm to detect tsunami or tsunami-like alert conditions based on sea-level records analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    L. Bressan

    2011-05-01

    Full Text Available The goal of this paper is to present an original real-time algorithm devised for detection of tsunami or tsunami-like waves we call TEDA (Tsunami Early Detection Algorithm, and to introduce a methodology to evaluate its performance. TEDA works on the sea level records of a single station and implements two distinct modules running concurrently: one to assess the presence of tsunami waves ("tsunami detection" and the other to identify high-amplitude long waves ("secure detection". Both detection methods are based on continuously updated time functions depending on a number of parameters that can be varied according to the application. In order to select the most adequate parameter setting for a given station, a methodology to evaluate TEDA performance has been devised, that is based on a number of indicators and that is simple to use. In this paper an example of TEDA application is given by using data from a tide gauge located at the Adak Island in Alaska, USA, that resulted in being quite suitable since it recorded several tsunamis in the last years using the sampling rate of 1 min.

  1. Simulation-Based Evaluation of the Performances of an Algorithm for Detecting Abnormal Disease-Related Features in Cattle Mortality Records.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Perrin, Jean-Baptiste; Durand, Benoît; Gay, Emilie; Ducrot, Christian; Hendrikx, Pascal; Calavas, Didier; Hénaux, Viviane

    2015-01-01

    We performed a simulation study to evaluate the performances of an anomaly detection algorithm considered in the frame of an automated surveillance system of cattle mortality. The method consisted in a combination of temporal regression and spatial cluster detection which allows identifying, for a given week, clusters of spatial units showing an excess of deaths in comparison with their own historical fluctuations. First, we simulated 1,000 outbreaks of a disease causing extra deaths in the French cattle population (about 200,000 herds and 20 million cattle) according to a model mimicking the spreading patterns of an infectious disease and injected these disease-related extra deaths in an authentic mortality dataset, spanning from January 2005 to January 2010. Second, we applied our algorithm on each of the 1,000 semi-synthetic datasets to identify clusters of spatial units showing an excess of deaths considering their own historical fluctuations. Third, we verified if the clusters identified by the algorithm did contain simulated extra deaths in order to evaluate the ability of the algorithm to identify unusual mortality clusters caused by an outbreak. Among the 1,000 simulations, the median duration of simulated outbreaks was 8 weeks, with a median number of 5,627 simulated deaths and 441 infected herds. Within the 12-week trial period, 73% of the simulated outbreaks were detected, with a median timeliness of 1 week, and a mean of 1.4 weeks. The proportion of outbreak weeks flagged by an alarm was 61% (i.e. sensitivity) whereas one in three alarms was a true alarm (i.e. positive predictive value). The performances of the detection algorithm were evaluated for alternative combination of epidemiologic parameters. The results of our study confirmed that in certain conditions automated algorithms could help identifying abnormal cattle mortality increases possibly related to unidentified health events.

  2. Validation of a high-performance liquid chromatographic method with UV detection for the determination of ethopabate residues in poultry liver.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Granja, Rodrigo H M M; Niño, Alfredo M Montes; Zucchetti, Roberto A M; Niño, Rosario E Montes; Salerno, Alessandro G

    2008-01-01

    Ethopabate is frequently used in the prophylaxis and treatment of coccidiosis in poultry. Residues of this drug in food present a potential risk to consumers. A simple, rapid, and sensitive column high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method with UV detection for determination of ethopabate in poultry liver is presented. The drug is extracted with acetonitrile. After evaporation, the residue is dissolved with an acetone-hexane mixture and cleaned up by solid-phase extraction using Florisil columns. The analyte is then eluted with methanol. LC analysis is carried out on a C18 5 microm Gemini column, 15 cm x 4.6 mm. Ethopabate is quantified by means of UV detection at 270 nm. Parameters such as decision limit, detection capability, precision, recovery, ruggedness, and measurement uncertainty were calculated according to method validation guidelines provided in 2002/657/EC and ISO/IEC 17025:2005. Decision limit and detection capability were determined to be 2 and 3 microg/kg, respectively. Average recoveries from poultry samples fortified with 10, 15, and 20 microg/kg levels of ethopabate were 100-105%. A complete statistical analysis was performed on the results obtained, including an estimation of the method uncertainty. The method is to be implemented into Brazil's residue monitoring and control program for ethopabate.

  3. Performance of an artificial neural network for vertical root fracture detection: an ex vivo study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kositbowornchai, Suwadee; Plermkamon, Supattra; Tangkosol, Tawan

    2013-04-01

    To develop an artificial neural network for vertical root fracture detection. A probabilistic neural network design was used to clarify whether a tooth root was sound or had a vertical root fracture. Two hundred images (50 sound and 150 vertical root fractures) derived from digital radiography--used to train and test the artificial neural network--were divided into three groups according to the number of training and test data sets: 80/120,105/95 and 130/70, respectively. Either training or tested data were evaluated using grey-scale data per line passing through the root. These data were normalized to reduce the grey-scale variance and fed as input data of the neural network. The variance of function in recognition data was calculated between 0 and 1 to select the best performance of neural network. The performance of the neural network was evaluated using a diagnostic test. After testing data under several variances of function, we found the highest sensitivity (98%), specificity (90.5%) and accuracy (95.7%) occurred in Group three, for which the variance of function in recognition data was between 0.025 and 0.005. The neural network designed in this study has sufficient sensitivity, specificity and accuracy to be a model for vertical root fracture detection. © 2012 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

  4. Bit-error-rate performance analysis of self-heterodyne detected radio-over-fiber links using phase and intensity modulation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Yin, Xiaoli; Yu, Xianbin; Tafur Monroy, Idelfonso

    2010-01-01

    We theoretically and experimentally investigate the performance of two self-heterodyne detected radio-over-fiber (RoF) links employing phase modulation (PM) and quadrature biased intensity modulation (IM), in term of bit-error-rate (BER) and optical signal-to-noise-ratio (OSNR). In both links, self...

  5. Elevation profile influence at key contractual performance parameters for LDS (Leak Detection Systems) based on compensated volume balance

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Liebenberg, Lieb [TRANSNET Pipeline, Durban (South Africa); Bueno, David; Passos, Rafaela [KANOPUS Consulting, Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil)

    2009-07-01

    This paper describes and discusses procedures and correlations to estimate performance parameters for Leak Detection Systems based on Compensation Volume Balance, at the portions not usually covered by international standards (like, API RP 1130). These parameters include: minimum acceptable leakage to be detected, under steady state conditions, based on flow measurement uncertainty, observed for both pipeline head and tail; an actual flow rate uncertainty against the one informed by the flow meter manufacturer documentation; the reference flow rate for steady state conditions; and the sensitivity one may expect for the system against a given probability of false alarms (i.e., the ways to correlate reliability, the main performance parameter as per API RP 1130 and sensitivity, the second one). A question usually not considered is: how the elevation profile may affect some of these parameters. That is the second main objective addressed herein, with actual examples employed in a South African multi product pipeline. (author)

  6. Modification of the BAX System PCR assay for detecting Salmonella in beef, produce, and soy protein isolate. Performance Tested Method 100201.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peng, Linda X; Wallace, Morgan; Andaloro, Bridget; Fallon, Dawn; Fleck, Lois; Delduco, Dan; Tice, George

    2011-01-01

    The BAX System PCR assay for Salmonella detection in foods was previously validated as AOAC Research Institute (RI) Performance Tested Method (PTM) 100201. New studies were conducted on beef and produce using the same media and protocol currently approved for the BAX System PCR assay for E. coli O157:H7 multiplex (MP). Additionally, soy protein isolate was tested for matrix extension using the U.S. Food and Drug Administration-Bacteriological Analytical Manual (FDA-BAM) enrichment protocols. The studies compared the BAX System method to the U.S. Department of Agriculture culture method for detecting Salmonella in beef and the FDA-BAM culture method for detecting Salmonella in produce and soy protein isolate. Method comparison studies on low-level inoculates showed that the BAX System assay for Salmonella performed as well as or better than the reference method for detecting Salmonella in beef and produce in 8-24 h enrichment when the BAX System E. coli O157:H7 MP media was used, and soy protein isolate in 20 h enrichment with lactose broth followed by 3 h regrowth in brain heart infusion broth. An inclusivity panel of 104 Salmonella strains with diverse serotypes was tested by the BAX System using the proprietary BAX System media and returned all positive results. Ruggedness factors involved in the enrichment phase were also evaluated by testing outside the specified parameters, and none of the factors examined affected the performance of the assay.

  7. Performance evaluation of the European Committee Standardization Method EN1785 for the detection of irradiated processed food

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tsutsumi, Tomoaki; Adachi, Rika; Takatsuki, Satoshi; Matsuda, Rieko; Teshima, Reiko; Nei, Daisuke; Kameya, Hiromi; Todoriki, Setsuko; Kikuchi, Masahiro; Kobayashi, Yasuhiko

    2014-01-01

    2-dodecylcyclobutanone (DCB) and 2-tetradecylcyclobutanone (TCB) are specific radiolytic products in irradiated lipid-containing food and can be used to detect irradiated foods. We previously reported a performance evaluation test in a single laboratory for qualitative detection methods using DCB and TCB as markers for irradiated foods. EN1785, a European Committee Standardization Method, has been widely used for qualitative detection of DCB and TCB in irradiated foods. Here, we evaluated the applicability of EN1785 to camembert cheese, liquid whole egg, sausage and eel grilled without seasoning by using our evaluation test. In this test, extracted lipids from the food were used as negative samples. The lipids spiked with DCB and TCB were used as positive samples. For each food type, 4 negative and 16 positive samples were analyzed by EN1785. All of the negative samples were judged negative and all of the positive samples were judged positive. Thus, EN1785 should be able to detect irradiation in the tested food. Additionally, to confirm the ability of the validated method to detect irradiated food, the same type of food examined above, both unirradiated and irradiated at doses of 0.5-4 kGy, were analyzed by the method. All of the unirradiated samples were judged negative and all of the irradiated samples were judged positive. (author)

  8. Using a Regression Method for Estimating Performance in a Rapid Serial Visual Presentation Target-Detection Task

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-12-01

    Fig. 2 Simulation method; the process for one iteration of the simulation . It was repeated 250 times per combination of HR and FAR. Analysis was...distribution is unlimited. 8 Fig. 2 Simulation method; the process for one iteration of the simulation . It was repeated 250 times per combination of HR...stimuli. Simulations show that this regression method results in an unbiased and accurate estimate of target detection performance. The regression

  9. Performance of a Processor for On-Board RFI Detection and Mitigation in MetOpSG Radiometers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Skou, Niels; Kristensen, Steen Savstrup; Lahtinen, J.

    2016-01-01

    An RFI processor breadboard has been designed and developed for the second generation MetOp satellites. RFI detection is based on the anomalous amplitude, kurtosis, and cross-frequency algorithms. These are implemented in VHDL code in an FPGA. Thus algorithm performance can very well be assessed...... by proper code simulation. Such simulations show that the kurtosis algorithm as implemented works according to theory when subjected to pulsed sinusoidal and QPSK signals....

  10. Performance of an RPM based on Gd-lined plastic scintillator for neutron and gamma detection [ANIMMA--2015-IO-372

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fanchini, Erica [INFN/ANN and SCINTILLA groups, Isituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare - INFN (Italy)

    2015-07-01

    A Radiation Portal Monitor (RPM) was developed by the Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN) and Ansaldo Nucleare (ANN) within the FP7 SCINTILLA European project. The system was designed to detect both gamma and neutron radiation with a single technology. It is conceived to monitor vehicle and cargo containers in transits across borders or ports, to find radioactive elements and to avoid illegal trafficking of strategic nuclear materials. The system is based on a {sup 3}He-free neutron detection technology using plastic scintillators coupled to Gadolinium to detect and discriminate gamma from neutron signals. During the 3 years of the SCINTILLA project the construction and test of the first two prototypes drove the definition of the final layout of a full RPM system consisting of two twin pillars as a portal for vehicle and cargo container scan. A custom System Control Software (SCS) manages the electronics of the RPM, the ancillary devices and the data analysis. The combination of the detector layout and of the software functionalities enables both to distinguish neutrons and gammas and to identify the energy range of a detected gamma source. The system was initially characterized via static tests with gamma and neutron sources in the INFN laboratory. These measurements were used to calibrate the detector, evaluate the response of the single pillars as well as of the full system, and optimize the RPM configuration and discrimination algorithm. During this phase, specific tests were performed to study the stability over time of the system, monitoring the measured the neutron and gamma count rates over periods of several weeks. The results allow us to demonstrate the reliability and robustness of the RPM. In a second time the RPM performance was studied via dynamic tests performed during the SCINTILLA test and benchmark campaigns. These measurements took place in the JRC ITRAP+10 facility at Ispra (Varese-Italy). The laboratory is equipped with an experimental

  11. Performance of immunochromatographic and ELISA tests for detecting fallow deer infected with Mycobacterium bovis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boadella, M; Barasona, J A; Diaz-Sanchez, S; Lyashchenko, K P; Greenwald, R; Esfandiari, J; Gortazar, C

    2012-04-01

    Fallow deer (Dama dama) are widely distributed as natural or naturalised populations, as well as in game parks and deer farms. We used 157 fallow deer sampled in populations considered to be Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTC) free and 73 Mycobacterium bovis-infected fallow deer confirmed postmortem by culture to evaluate the diagnostic performance of two tests for the detection of anti-mycobacterial antibodies: the dual path platform (DPP) VetTB assay and the bovine purified protein derivative (bPPD) ELISA. We also compared their sensitivity with that of the skin test, analyzed the effect of haemolysis degree on the antibody detection and described the relationship between the test readings and presence/absence of gross tuberculosis (TB) compatible lesions. Sensitivity of bPPD ELISA was 51% at a specificity of 96%. Depending on the cut-off value selected, the sensitivity of DPP VetTB ranged from 62 to 71%, while its specificity was 88-95%. In the subgroup of M. bovis-infected deer for which the skin test data were available (33 of 73); this method detected 76% of culture-positive animals, although the specificity of the intradermal test was not determined in this study. When the DPP VetTB and skin test data were combined, the resulting sensitivity obtained in this sub-group of M. bovis-infected deer increased to 97%. Gross pathology identified TB compatible lesions (TBL) in 89% culture-confirmed fallow deer. The infected animals with visible lesions had significantly higher readings in the DPP VetTB, but not in the bPPD ELISA. Only high levels of haemolysis decreased antibody test sensitivity and this effect was more evident for the bPPD ELISA. The results allowed inferring a number of management recommendations for rapid detection of MTC infection in live fallow deer and in surveys on hunter-harvested cervids. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  12. Performance of computer-aided detection in false-negative screening mammograms of breast cancers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Han, Boo Kyung; Kim, Ji Young; Shin, Jung Hee; Choe, Yeon Hyeon

    2004-01-01

    To analyze retrospectively the abnormalities visible on the false-negative screening mammograms of patients with breast cancer and to determine the performance of computer-aided detection (CAD) in the detection of cancers. Of 108 consecutive cases of breast cancer diagnosed over a period of 6 years, of which previous screening mammograms were available, 32 retrospectively visible abnormalities (at which locations cancer later developed) were found in the previous mammograms, and which were originally reported as negative. These 32 patients ranged in age from 38 to 72 years (mean 52 years). We analyzed their previous mammographic findings, and assessed the ability of CAD to mark cancers in previous mammograms, according to the clinical presentation, the type of abnormalities and the mammographic parenchymal density. In these 32 previous mammograms of breast cancers (20 asymptomatic, 12 symptomatic), the retrospectively visible abnormalities were identified as densities in 22, calcifications in 8, and densities with calcifications in 2. CAD marked abnormalities in 20 (63%) of the 32 cancers with false-negative screening mammograms; 14 (70%) of the 20 subsequent screening-detected cancers, 5 (50%) of the 10 interval cancers, and 1 (50%) of the 2 cancers palpable after the screening interval. CAD marked 12 (50%) of the 24 densities and 9 (90%) of the 10 calcifications. CAD marked abnormalities in 7 (50%) of the 14 predominantly fatty breasts, and 13 (72%) of the 18 dense breasts. CAD-assisted diagnosis could potentially decrease the number of false-negative mammograms caused by the failure to recognize the cancer in the screening program, although its usefulness in the prevention of interval cancers appears to be limited

  13. High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC)-Based Detection and Quantitation of Cellular c-di-GMP.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Petrova, Olga E; Sauer, Karin

    2017-01-01

    The modulation of c-di-GMP levels plays a vital role in the regulation of various processes in a wide array of bacterial species. Thus, investigation of c-di-GMP regulation requires reliable methods for the assessment of c-di-GMP levels and turnover. Reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) analysis has become a commonly used approach to accomplish these goals. The following describes the extraction and HPLC-based detection and quantification of c-di-GMP from Pseudomonas aeruginosa samples, a procedure that is amenable to modifications for the analysis of c-di-GMP in other bacterial species.

  14. The time course of cancer detection performance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taylor-Phillips, Sian; Clarke, Aileen; Wallis, Matthew; Wheaton, Margot; Duncan, Alison; Gale, Alastair G.

    2011-03-01

    The purpose of this study was to measure how mammography readers' performance varies with time of day and time spent reading. This was investigated in screening practice and when reading an enriched case set. In screening practice records of time and date that each case was read, along with outcome (whether the woman was recalled for further tests, and biopsy results where performed) was extracted from records from one breast screening centre in UK (4 readers). Patterns of performance with time spent reading was also measured using an enriched test set (160 cases, 41% malignant, read three times by eight radiologists). Recall rates varied with time of day, with different patterns for each reader. Recall rates decreased as the reading session progressed both when reading the enriched test set and in screening practice. Further work is needed to expand this work to a greater number of breast screening centres, and to determine whether these patterns of performance over time can be used to optimize overall performance.

  15. 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.

  16. Anti-correlations in the degree distribution increase stimulus detection performance in noisy spiking neural networks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martens, Marijn B; Houweling, Arthur R; E Tiesinga, Paul H

    2017-02-01

    Neuronal circuits in the rodent barrel cortex are characterized by stable low firing rates. However, recent experiments show that short spike trains elicited by electrical stimulation in single neurons can induce behavioral responses. Hence, the underlying neural networks provide stability against internal fluctuations in the firing rate, while simultaneously making the circuits sensitive to small external perturbations. Here we studied whether stability and sensitivity are affected by the connectivity structure in recurrently connected spiking networks. We found that anti-correlation between the number of afferent (in-degree) and efferent (out-degree) synaptic connections of neurons increases stability against pathological bursting, relative to networks where the degrees were either positively correlated or uncorrelated. In the stable network state, stimulation of a few cells could lead to a detectable change in the firing rate. To quantify the ability of networks to detect the stimulation, we used a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. For a given level of background noise, networks with anti-correlated degrees displayed the lowest false positive rates, and consequently had the highest stimulus detection performance. We propose that anti-correlation in the degree distribution may be a computational strategy employed by sensory cortices to increase the detectability of external stimuli. We show that networks with anti-correlated degrees can in principle be formed by applying learning rules comprised of a combination of spike-timing dependent plasticity, homeostatic plasticity and pruning to networks with uncorrelated degrees. To test our prediction we suggest a novel experimental method to estimate correlations in the degree distribution.

  17. Performance analysis of cognitive multihop relaying with m-QAM detect-and-forward in Nakagami-m fading channels

    KAUST Repository

    Benjillali, Mustapha; Hyadi, Amal; Da Costa, Daniel Benevides Da; Alouini, Mohamed-Slim

    2013-01-01

    In this work, we investigate the performance of cognitive multihop regenerative relaying systems in the "underlay" spectrum sharing scenario. The multiple relays perform "detect-and-forward" relaying strategy to convey a message with an order m quadrature amplitude modulation (m-QAM) from the source to the destination over independent but not necessarily identical Nakagami-m fading channels. We adopt a closed-form analysis framework based on univariate and bivariate Meijer G-functions to derive the end-to-end error performance (in terms of bit and symbol error rates), the outage probability, and the ergodic capacity. Various numerical examples are presented to illustrate the results with a large combination of system and fading parameters, and simulation results confirm the accuracy of our closed-form analysis. © 2013 IEEE.

  18. Performance analysis of cognitive multihop relaying with m-QAM detect-and-forward in Nakagami-m fading channels

    KAUST Repository

    Benjillali, Mustapha

    2013-09-01

    In this work, we investigate the performance of cognitive multihop regenerative relaying systems in the "underlay" spectrum sharing scenario. The multiple relays perform "detect-and-forward" relaying strategy to convey a message with an order m quadrature amplitude modulation (m-QAM) from the source to the destination over independent but not necessarily identical Nakagami-m fading channels. We adopt a closed-form analysis framework based on univariate and bivariate Meijer G-functions to derive the end-to-end error performance (in terms of bit and symbol error rates), the outage probability, and the ergodic capacity. Various numerical examples are presented to illustrate the results with a large combination of system and fading parameters, and simulation results confirm the accuracy of our closed-form analysis. © 2013 IEEE.

  19. Phenobarbital reduces EEG amplitude and propagation of neonatal seizures but does not alter performance of automated seizure detection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mathieson, Sean R; Livingstone, Vicki; Low, Evonne; Pressler, Ronit; Rennie, Janet M; Boylan, Geraldine B

    2016-10-01

    Phenobarbital increases electroclinical uncoupling and our preliminary observations suggest it may also affect electrographic seizure morphology. This may alter the performance of a novel seizure detection algorithm (SDA) developed by our group. The objectives of this study were to compare the morphology of seizures before and after phenobarbital administration in neonates and to determine the effect of any changes on automated seizure detection rates. The EEGs of 18 term neonates with seizures both pre- and post-phenobarbital (524 seizures) administration were studied. Ten features of seizures were manually quantified and summary measures for each neonate were statistically compared between pre- and post-phenobarbital seizures. SDA seizure detection rates were also compared. Post-phenobarbital seizures showed significantly lower amplitude (pphenobarbital reduces both the amplitude and propagation of seizures which may help to explain electroclinical uncoupling of seizures. The seizure detection rate of the algorithm was unaffected by these changes. The results suggest that users should not need to adjust the SDA sensitivity threshold after phenobarbital administration. Copyright © 2016 International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Integrating qualitative and quantitative characterization of traditional Chinese medicine injection by high-performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection and tandem mass spectrometry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xie, Yuan-yuan; Xiao, Xue; Luo, Juan-min; Fu, Chan; Wang, Qiao-wei; Wang, Yi-ming; Liang, Qiong-lin; Luo, Guo-an

    2014-06-01

    The present study aims to describe and exemplify an integrated strategy of the combination of qualitative and quantitative characterization of a multicomponent mixture for the quality control of traditional Chinese medicine injections with the example of Danhong injection (DHI). The standardized chemical profile of DHI has been established based on liquid chromatography with diode array detection. High-performance liquid chromatography coupled with time-of-flight mass spectrometry and high-performance liquid chromatography with electrospray multistage tandem ion-trap mass spectrometry have been developed to identify the major constituents in DHI. The structures of 26 compounds including nucleotides, phenolic acids, and flavonoid glycosides were identified or tentatively characterized. Meanwhile, the simultaneous determination of seven marker constituents, including uridine, adenosine, danshensu, protocatechuic aldehyde, p-coumaric acid, rosmarinic acid, and salvianolic acid B, in DHI was performed by multiwavelength detection based on high-performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection. The integrated qualitative and quantitative characterization strategy provided an effective and reliable pattern for the comprehensive and systematic characterization of the complex traditional Chinese medicine system. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  1. A Novel High-Performance Beam-Supported Membrane Structure with Enhanced Design Flexibility for Partial Discharge Detection

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chenzhao Fu

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available A novel beam-supported membrane (BSM structure for the fiber optic extrinsic Fabry-Perot interferometer (EFPI sensors showing an enhanced performance and an improved resistance to the temperature change was proposed for detecting partial discharges (PDs. The fundamental frequency, sensitivity, linear range, and flatness of the BSM structure were investigated by employing the finite element simulations. Compared with the intact membrane (IM structure commonly used by EFPI sensors, BSM structure provides extra geometrical parameters to define the fundamental frequency when the diameter of the whole membrane and its thickness is determined, resulting in an enhanced design flexibility of the sensor structure. According to the simulation results, it is noted that BSM structure not only shows a much higher sensitivity (increased by almost four times for some cases, and a wider working range of fundamental frequency to choose, but also an improved linear range, making the system development much easier. In addition, BSM structure presents a better flatness than its IM counterpart, providing an increased signal-to-noise ratio (SNR. A further improvement of performance is thought to be possible with a step-forward structural optimization. The BSM structure shows a great potential to design the EFPI sensors, as well as others for detecting the acoustic signals.

  2. Damage Detection and Deteriorating Structural Systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Long, Lijia; Thöns, Sebastian; Döhler, Michael

    2017-01-01

    This paper addresses the quantification of the value of damage detection system and algorithm information on the basis of Value of Information (VoI) analysis to enhance the benefit of damage detection information by providing the basis for its optimization before it is performed and implemented....... The approach of the quantification the value of damage detection information builds upon the Bayesian decision theory facilitating the utilization of damage detection performance models, which describe the information and its precision on structural system level, facilitating actions to ensure the structural...... detection information is determined utilizing Bayesian updating. The damage detection performance is described with the probability of indication for different component and system damage states taking into account type 1 and type 2 errors. The value of damage detection information is then calculated...

  3. Simultaneous Detection of Sulfamethoxazole, Diclofenac, Carbamazepine, and Bezafibrate by Solid Phase Extraction and High Performance Liquid Chromatography with Diode Array Detection

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Z.; Jiang, J.-Q.

    2014-05-01

    A method of solid phase extraction (SPE) coupled with high performance liquid chromatography and diode array detection (HPLC-DAD) was studied for the simultaneous determination of sulfamethoxazole (SMX), diclofenac (DCF), carbamazepine (CBZ), and bezafi brate (BZF) in test solutions. The target compounds were extracted by SPE from samples, and the resulting elutes were analyzed using a HPLC-DAD system at wavelengths of 270, 280, 290, and 230 nm for SMX, DCF, CBZ, and BZF, respectively. This method shows good recoveries for SMX, DCF, CBZ, and BZF with mean recoveries of 89.7 ± 9.3%, 86.1 ± 7.6%, 95.0 ± 6.5%, and 94.0 ± 5.4%, respectively.

  4. A novel approach to describing and detecting performance anti-patterns

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sheng, Jinfang; Wang, Yihan; Hu, Peipei; Wang, Bin

    2017-08-01

    Anti-pattern, as an extension to pattern, describes a widely used poor solution which can bring negative influence to application systems. Aiming at the shortcomings of the existing anti-pattern descriptions, an anti-pattern description method based on first order predicate is proposed. This method synthesizes anti-pattern forms and symptoms, which makes the description more accurate and has good scalability and versatility as well. In order to improve the accuracy of anti-pattern detection, a Bayesian classification method is applied in validation for detection results, which can reduce false negatives and false positives of anti-pattern detection. Finally, the proposed approach in this paper is applied to a small e-commerce system, the feasibility and effectiveness of the approach is demonstrated further through experiments.

  5. Parallel microscope-based fluorescence, absorbance and time-of-flight mass spectrometry detection for high performance liquid chromatography and determination of glucosamine in urine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xiong, Bo; Wang, Ling-Ling; Li, Qiong; Nie, Yu-Ting; Cheng, Shuang-Shuang; Zhang, Hui; Sun, Ren-Qiang; Wang, Yu-Jiao; Zhou, Hong-Bin

    2015-11-01

    A parallel microscope-based laser-induced fluorescence (LIF), ultraviolet-visible absorbance (UV) and time-of-flight mass spectrometry (TOF-MS) detection for high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was achieved and used to determine glucosamine in urines. First, a reliable and convenient LIF detection was developed based on an inverted microscope and corresponding modulations. Parallel HPLC-LIF/UV/TOF-MS detection was developed by the combination of preceding Microscope-based LIF detection and HPLC coupled with UV and TOF-MS. The proposed setup, due to its parallel scheme, was free of the influence from photo bleaching in LIF detection. Rhodamine B, glutamic acid and glucosamine have been determined to evaluate its performance. Moreover, the proposed strategy was used to determine the glucosamine in urines, and subsequent results suggested that glucosamine, which was widely used in the prevention of the bone arthritis, was metabolized to urines within 4h. Furthermore, its concentration in urines decreased to 5.4mM at 12h. Efficient glucosamine detection was achieved based on a sensitive quantification (LIF), a universal detection (UV) and structural characterizations (TOF-MS). This application indicated that the proposed strategy was sensitive, universal and versatile, and it was capable of improved analysis, especially for analytes with low concentrations in complex samples, compared with conventional HPLC-UV/TOF-MS. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  6. Ligand Binding Site Detection by Local Structure Alignment and Its Performance Complementarity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Hui Sun; Im, Wonpil

    2013-01-01

    Accurate determination of potential ligand binding sites (BS) is a key step for protein function characterization and structure-based drug design. Despite promising results of template-based BS prediction methods using global structure alignment (GSA), there is a room to improve the performance by properly incorporating local structure alignment (LSA) because BS are local structures and often similar for proteins with dissimilar global folds. We present a template-based ligand BS prediction method using G-LoSA, our LSA tool. A large benchmark set validation shows that G-LoSA predicts drug-like ligands’ positions in single-chain protein targets more precisely than TM-align, a GSA-based method, while the overall success rate of TM-align is better. G-LoSA is particularly efficient for accurate detection of local structures conserved across proteins with diverse global topologies. Recognizing the performance complementarity of G-LoSA to TM-align and a non-template geometry-based method, fpocket, a robust consensus scoring method, CMCS-BSP (Complementary Methods and Consensus Scoring for ligand Binding Site Prediction), is developed and shows improvement on prediction accuracy. The G-LoSA source code is freely available at http://im.bioinformatics.ku.edu/GLoSA. PMID:23957286

  7. Joint Biological Standoff Detection System increment II: Field Demonstration - SINBAHD Performances

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Buteau, Sylvie; Simard, Jean-Robert; Lahaie, Pierre; Roy, Gilles; Mathieu, Pierre; McFee, John; Ho, Jim

    2007-01-01

    ... (Stand-off INtegrated Bioaerosol Active Hyperspectral Detection) aimed at evaluating the capability of using UV LIF with intensified range-gated spectrometry to detect and characterize bioaerosol from stand-off position...

  8. Fusion for Audio-Visual Laughter Detection

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Reuderink, B.

    2007-01-01

    Laughter is a highly variable signal, and can express a spectrum of emotions. This makes the automatic detection of laughter a challenging but interesting task. We perform automatic laughter detection using audio-visual data from the AMI Meeting Corpus. Audio-visual laughter detection is performed

  9. Diagnostic performance of direct wet mount microscopy in detecting intestinal helminths among pregnant women attending ante-natal care (ANC) in East Wollega, Oromia, Ethiopia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mengist, Hylemariam Mihiretie; Demeke, Gebreselassie; Zewdie, Olifan; Belew, Adugna

    2018-05-04

    The aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic performance of direct wet mount microscopy compared to formalin ether concentration (FEC) technique in detecting intestinal helminths in pregnant women. The total prevalence of intestinal helminths was 18.8% (70/372) by direct wet mount microscopy and 24.7% (92/372) by FEC technique (P  0.81) but they fairly agreed in detecting ova of Hymenolepis nana (Kappa = 0.39). Intestinal helminths were underdiagnosed and the total diagnostic performance of direct wet mount microscopy was significantly poor in detecting intestinal helminths as compared to FEC technique. Routine use of FEC method is recommended for the diagnosis of intestinal helminths in pregnant women.

  10. Diagnostic performance of whole-body MRI for the detection of persistent or relapsing disease in multiple myeloma after stem cell transplantation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bannas, Peter; Hentschel, Hannah B.; Bley, Thorsten A.; Derlin, Thorsten; Yamamura, Jin; Adam, Gerhard; Weber, Christoph [University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Hamburg (Germany); Treszl, Andras; Eulenburg, Christine [University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Department of Medical Biometry and Epidemiology, Hamburg (Germany); Stuebig, Thomas; Kroeger, Nicolaus [University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Department of Stem Cell Transplantation, Hamburg (Germany)

    2012-09-15

    To compare the diagnostic performance of whole-body MRI (WBMRI) with haematological parameters for detecting persistent or relapsing disease in patients with multiple myeloma after stem cell transplantation. Sixty-six WBMRI acquisitions were performed in 33 patients with multiple myeloma at two time points after stem cell transplantation. Extent of disease and inter-test dynamics of intra- and extramedullary myeloma manifestations were compared (kappa statistics) with Uniform Response Criteria, comprising haematological parameters. Using data from 66 sequential WBMRI acquisitions in 33 patients, 10 patients (30.3 %) were classified as having progressive disease and 23 (69.7 %) as being in remission. Eight (80 %) of the ten patients with progressive disease revealed intramedullary lesions, and two patients (20 %) had intra- and extramedullary lesions. WBMRI and laboratory tests were concordant in 26/33 (78.8 %) patients. We found an agreement of 51.2 %, 95 % confidence interval 19.8 %-82.6 %, between results from WBMRI and haematological parameters. WBMRI had a sensitivity of 63.6 %, specificity of 86.4 %, PPV of 70.0 %, NPV of 82.6 % and accuracy of 78.8 % for detection of remission. WBMRI allows the detection and exact localisation of intra- and extramedullary myeloma manifestations after stem cell transplantation, but shows only moderate agreement with routinely performed laboratory tests for determination of remission. (orig.)

  11. Determination of 2-alkylcyclobutanones by combining precolumn derivatization with 1-naphthalenyl hydrazine and ultra-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meng, Xiangpeng; Tong, Tong; Wang, Lianrong; Liu, Hanxia; Chan, Wan

    2016-05-01

    2-Alkylcyclobutanones (2-ACBs) are uniquely formed when triglycerides-containing food products are exposed to ionizing radiation. Thus, 2-ACBs have been used as marker molecules to identify irradiated food. Most methods to determine 2-ACBs involve mass spectrometric detection after chromatographic separation. The spectrofluorometer is rarely used to determine 2-ACBs because these molecules do not fluoresce. In this study, we developed an ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) method to determine 2-ACBs. 2-ACBs were converted into fluorophores after reacting with 1-naphthalenyl hydrazine to facilitate their sensitive and selective detection using a fluorescence detector (FLD). Analysis of 2-ACBs using our developed UPLC-FLD method allows sensitive determination of 2-ACBs at a detection limit of 2 ng 2-ACBs per g of fat (30 pg/injection), which is significantly lower than that of existing analytical methods. After validation for trueness and precision, the method was applied to γ-irradiated chicken samples to determine their 2-ACB content. Comparative studies employing liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometric method revealed no systematic difference between the two methods, thereby demonstrating that the proposed UPLC-FLD method can be suitably used to determine 2-ACBs in irradiated foodstuffs. Graphical Abstract Determination of radiation-induced food-borne 2-dodecylcyclobutanone and 2-tetradecylcyclobutanone by combining 1-naphthalenyl hydrazine derivatization and ultra-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection.

  12. Financial due diligence in purchasing a dental practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wiederman, Arthur S

    2008-06-01

    Purchasing a dental practice can be a minefield. The office you are looking at could be the most beautiful office with all of the newest technology. But if it is not profitable, it will be a nightmare. This article will help navigate what the dentist and his or her CPA should be looking at when reviewing the books and records, based on the author's experience of reviewing more than 400 dental practices on behalf of buyers.

  13. Chaplaincy at a Crossroads: Fundamentalist Chaplains in a Pluralistic Army

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-03-03

    different light. The pluralistic nature of the military community, with its very broad base of faith and cultural backgrounds, makes it a virtual minefield...Buddhism, Hinduism —in the changing world.”13 Despite the broader use by some scholars today, in this paper the author‟s use of the term “fundamentalist...While there are points of agreement among members of all three groups, there are also many points of contention. These differences have been a source

  14. Diagnostic performance of digital breast tomosynthesis with a wide scan angle compared to full-field digital mammography for the detection and characterization of microcalcifications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Clauser, Paola; Nagl, Georg; Helbich, Thomas H.; Pinker-Domenig, Katja; Weber, Michael; Kapetas, Panagiotis; Bernathova, Maria; Baltzer, Pascal A.T.

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • Wide scan-angle DBT alone shows a high detection rate for microcalcifications. • DBT and FFDM can characterize microcalcifications at a comparable level. • Characterization is influenced by reader and by lesion type (benign vs malignant). • DBT might be used as a stand-alone technique for the assessment of microcalcifications. - Abstract: Objectives: To assess the diagnostic performance of digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT), with a wide scan-angle, compared to full-field digital mammography (FFDM), for the detection and characterization of microcalcifications. Methods: IRB approval was obtained for this retrospective study. We selected 150 FFDM and DBT (50 benign and 50 malignant histologically verified microcalcifications, 50 cases classified as BI-RADS 1). Four radiologists evaluated, in separate sessions and blinded to patients’ history and histology, the presence of microcalcifications. Cases with microcalcifications were assessed for visibility, characteristics, and grade of suspicion using BI-RADS categories. Detection rate and diagnostic performance were calculated. Visibility, lesions’ characteristics and reading time were analysed. Results: Detection rate and visibility were good for both FFDM and DBT, without intra-reader differences (P = 0.510). Inter-reader differences were detected (P < 0.018). Only two lesions were not detected by any reader on either FFDM or DBT. Diagnostic performance with DBT was as good as that of FFDM, but a significant inter-reader difference was found (P = 0.041). High inter-reader variability in the use of the descriptors was found. Reading time for DBT was almost twice that for FFDM (44 and 25 s, respectively). Conclusion: Wide scan-angle DBT enabled the detection and characterization of microcalcifications with no significant differences from FFDM. Inter-reader variability was seen.

  15. Diagnostic performance of digital breast tomosynthesis with a wide scan angle compared to full-field digital mammography for the detection and characterization of microcalcifications

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Clauser, Paola, E-mail: paola.clauser@meduniwien.ac.at [Department of Biomedical Imaging and Image-Guided Therapy, Division of Molecular and Gender Imaging, Medical University of Vienna, Waehringer Guertel 18-20, 1090 Vienna (Austria); Nagl, Georg [Department for Radiology and Interventional Radiology, Landesklinikum Horn, Spitalgasse 10, 3580 Horn (Austria); Helbich, Thomas H., E-mail: thomas.helbich@meduniwien.ac.at [Department of Biomedical Imaging and Image-Guided Therapy, Division of Molecular and Gender Imaging, Medical University of Vienna, Waehringer Guertel 18-20, 1090 Vienna (Austria); Pinker-Domenig, Katja [Department of Biomedical Imaging and Image-Guided Therapy, Division of Molecular and Gender Imaging, Medical University of Vienna, Waehringer Guertel 18-20, 1090 Vienna (Austria); Weber, Michael [Department of Biomedical Imaging and Image-Guided Therapy, Division of General and Pediatric Radiology, Medical University of Vienna, Waehringer Guertel 18-20, 1090 Vienna (Austria); Kapetas, Panagiotis; Bernathova, Maria; Baltzer, Pascal A.T. [Department of Biomedical Imaging and Image-Guided Therapy, Division of Molecular and Gender Imaging, Medical University of Vienna, Waehringer Guertel 18-20, 1090 Vienna (Austria)

    2016-12-15

    Highlights: • Wide scan-angle DBT alone shows a high detection rate for microcalcifications. • DBT and FFDM can characterize microcalcifications at a comparable level. • Characterization is influenced by reader and by lesion type (benign vs malignant). • DBT might be used as a stand-alone technique for the assessment of microcalcifications. - Abstract: Objectives: To assess the diagnostic performance of digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT), with a wide scan-angle, compared to full-field digital mammography (FFDM), for the detection and characterization of microcalcifications. Methods: IRB approval was obtained for this retrospective study. We selected 150 FFDM and DBT (50 benign and 50 malignant histologically verified microcalcifications, 50 cases classified as BI-RADS 1). Four radiologists evaluated, in separate sessions and blinded to patients’ history and histology, the presence of microcalcifications. Cases with microcalcifications were assessed for visibility, characteristics, and grade of suspicion using BI-RADS categories. Detection rate and diagnostic performance were calculated. Visibility, lesions’ characteristics and reading time were analysed. Results: Detection rate and visibility were good for both FFDM and DBT, without intra-reader differences (P = 0.510). Inter-reader differences were detected (P < 0.018). Only two lesions were not detected by any reader on either FFDM or DBT. Diagnostic performance with DBT was as good as that of FFDM, but a significant inter-reader difference was found (P = 0.041). High inter-reader variability in the use of the descriptors was found. Reading time for DBT was almost twice that for FFDM (44 and 25 s, respectively). Conclusion: Wide scan-angle DBT enabled the detection and characterization of microcalcifications with no significant differences from FFDM. Inter-reader variability was seen.

  16. Using the expected detection delay to assess the performance of different multivariate statistical process monitoring methods for multiplicative and drift faults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Kai; Shardt, Yuri A W; Chen, Zhiwen; Peng, Kaixiang

    2017-03-01

    Using the expected detection delay (EDD) index to measure the performance of multivariate statistical process monitoring (MSPM) methods for constant additive faults have been recently developed. This paper, based on a statistical investigation of the T 2 - and Q-test statistics, extends the EDD index to the multiplicative and drift fault cases. As well, it is used to assess the performance of common MSPM methods that adopt these two test statistics. Based on how to use the measurement space, these methods can be divided into two groups, those which consider the complete measurement space, for example, principal component analysis-based methods, and those which only consider some subspace that reflects changes in key performance indicators, such as partial least squares-based methods. Furthermore, a generic form for them to use T 2 - and Q-test statistics are given. With the extended EDD index, the performance of these methods to detect drift and multiplicative faults is assessed using both numerical simulations and the Tennessee Eastman process. Copyright © 2016 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. 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.

  18. Separation of human milk oligosaccharides using high-performance anion-exchange chromatography with pulsed amperometric detection

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lie, Aleksander; Pedersen, Lars Haastrup

    individual mothers is considerable, ranging from as few as 23 and up to 130 different oligosaccharides. HMOs are known as beneficial for infant health and development, and have received increasing attention in recent years (Bode & Jantscher-Krenn 2012). High-performance anion-exchange chromatography (HPAE......) with pulsed amperometric detection (PAD) is an analysis method highly suited for carbohydrates. HPAE with alkaline eluents results in retention of neutral carbohydrates depending on the number of charged groups in the molecule, pH and concentration of competing anions, while PAD has sensitivity...

  19. A longitudinal evaluation of performance of automated BCR-ABL1 quantitation using cartridge-based detection system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Enjeti, Anoop; Granter, Neil; Ashraf, Asma; Fletcher, Linda; Branford, Susan; Rowlings, Philip; Dooley, Susan

    2015-10-01

    An automated cartridge-based detection system (GeneXpert; Cepheid) is being widely adopted in low throughput laboratories for monitoring BCR-ABL1 transcript in chronic myelogenous leukaemia. This Australian study evaluated the longitudinal performance specific characteristics of the automated system.The automated cartridge-based system was compared prospectively with the manual qRT-PCR-based reference method at SA Pathology, Adelaide, over a period of 2.5 years. A conversion factor determination was followed by four re-validations. Peripheral blood samples (n = 129) with international scale (IS) values within detectable range were selected for assessment. The mean bias, proportion of results within specified fold difference (2-, 3- and 5-fold), the concordance rate of major molecular remission (MMR) and concordance across a range of IS values on paired samples were evaluated.The initial conversion factor for the automated system was determined as 0.43. Except for the second re-validation, where a negative bias of 1.9-fold was detected, all other biases fell within desirable limits. A cartridge-specific conversion factor and efficiency value was introduced and the conversion factor was confirmed to be stable in subsequent re-validation cycles. Concordance with the reference method/laboratory at >0.1-≤10 IS was 78.2% and at ≤0.001 was 80%, compared to 86.8% in the >0.01-≤0.1 IS range. The overall and MMR concordance were 85.7% and 94% respectively, for samples that fell within ± 5-fold of the reference laboratory value over the entire period of study.Conversion factor and performance specific characteristics for the automated system were longitudinally stable in the clinically relevant range, following introduction by the manufacturer of lot specific efficiency values.

  20. Assessing the performance of a differential evolution algorithm in structural damage detection by varying the objective function

    OpenAIRE

    Villalba-Morales, Jesús Daniel; Laier, José Elias

    2014-01-01

    Structural damage detection has become an important research topic in certain segments of the engineering community. These methodologies occasionally formulate an optimization problem by defining an objective function based on dynamic parameters, with metaheuristics used to find the solution. In this study, damage localization and quantification is performed by an Adaptive Differential Evolution algorithm, which solves the associated optimization problem. Furthermore, this paper looks at the ...

  1. Effects of night work, sleep loss and time on task on simulated threat detection performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Basner, Mathias; Rubinstein, Joshua; Fomberstein, Kenneth M; Coble, Matthew C; Ecker, Adrian; Avinash, Deepa; Dinges, David F

    2008-09-01

    To investigate the effects of night work and sleep loss on a simulated luggage screening task (SLST) that mimicked the x-ray system used by airport luggage screeners. We developed more than 5,800 unique simulated x-ray images of luggage organized into 31 stimulus sets of 200 bags each. 25% of each set contained either a gun or a knife with low or high target difficulty. The 200-bag stimuli sets were then run on software that simulates an x-ray screening system (SLST). Signal detection analysis was used to obtain measures of hit rate (HR), false alarm rate (FAR), threat detection accuracy (A'), and response bias (B"(D)). Experimental laboratory study 24 healthy nonprofessional volunteers (13 women, mean age +/- SD = 29.9 +/- 6.5 years). Subjects performed the SLST every 2 h during a 5-day period that included a 35 h period of wakefulness that extended to night work and then another day work period after the night without sleep. Threat detection accuracy A' decreased significantly (P work, while both A' (P = 0.001) and HR decreased (P = 0.008) during day work following sleep loss. There were prominent time-on-task effects on response bias B"(D) (P= 0.002) and response latency (P = 0.004), but accuracy A' was unaffected. Both HR and FAR increased significantly with increasing study duration (both P work and sleep loss adversely affect the accuracy of detecting complex real world objects among high levels of background clutter. If the results can be replicated in professional screeners and real work environments, fatigue in luggage screening personnel may pose a threat for air traffic safety unless countermeasures for fatigue are deployed.

  2. Fabrication of high performance microlenses for an integrated capillary channel electrochromatograph with fluorescence detection

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wendt, J. R.; Warren, M. E.; Sweatt, W. C.; Bailey, C. G.; Matzke, C. M.; Arnold, D. W.; Allerman, A. A.; Carter, T. R.; Asbill, R. E.; Samora, S.

    1999-01-01

    We describe the microfabrication of an extremely compact optical system as a key element in an integrated capillary channel electrochromatograph with fluorescence detection. The optical system consists of a vertical cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL), two high performance microlenses, and a commercial photodetector. The microlenses are multilevel diffractive optics patterned by electron beam lithography and etched by reactive ion etching in fused silica. The design uses substrate-mode propagation within the fused silica substrate. Two generations of optical subsystems are described. The first generation design has a 6 mm optical length and is integrated directly onto the capillary channel-containing substrate. The second generation design separates the optical system onto its own substrate module and the optical path length is further compressed to 3.5 mm. The first generation design has been tested using direct fluorescence detection with a 750 nm VCSEL pumping a 10 -4 M solution of CY-7 dye. The observed signal-to-noise ratio of better than 100:1 demonstrates that the background signal from scattered pump light is low despite the compact size of the optical system and is adequate for system sensitivity requirements. (c) 1999 American Vacuum Society

  3. Diagnostic Performance of CT Colonography for the Detection of Colorectal Polyps

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yun, Ji Young; Ro, Hee Jeong; Choi, Jung Bin; Chung, Ji Eun; Kim, Yong Jin; Suh, Won Hyuck; Lee, Jong Kyun; Park, Jong Beom

    2007-01-01

    To investigate the diagnostic value of CT colonography for the detection of colorectal polyps. From December 2004 to December 2005, 399 patients underwent CT colonography and follow-up conventional colonoscopy. We excluded cases of advanced colorectal cancer. We retrospectively analyzed the CT colonography findings and follow-up conventional colonoscopy findings of 113 patients who had polyps more than 6 mm in diameter. Radiologists using 3D and 2D computer generated displays interpreted the CT colonography images. The colonoscopists were aware of the CT colonography findings before the procedure. CT colonography detected 132 polyps in 107 of the 113 patients and conventional colonoscopy detected 114 colorectal polyps more than 6 mm in diameter in 87 of the 113 patients. The sensitivity of CT colonography analyzed per polyp was 91% (41/45) for polyps more than 10 mm in diameter and 89% (101/114) for polyps more than 6 mm in diameter. Thirteen polyps were missed by CT colonography and were detected on follow-up conventional colonoscopy. CT colonography is a sensitive diagnostic tool for the detection of colorectal polyps and adequate bowel preparation, optimal bowel distention and clinical experience are needed to reduce the rate of missing appropriate lesions

  4. Clinical application of S-Detect to breast masses on ultrasonography: A study evaluating the diagnostic performance and agreement with a dedicated breast radiologist

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Ki Wook; Kim, Eun Kyung; Yoon, Jung Hyun; Song, Mi Kyung

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic performance of S-Detect when applied to breast ultrasonography (US), and the agreement with an experienced radiologist specializing in breast imaging. From June to August 2015, 192 breast masses in 175 women were included. US features of the breast masses were retrospectively analyzed by a radiologist who specializes in breast imaging and S-Detect, according to the fourth edition of the American College of Radiology Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System lexicon and final assessment categories. Final assessments from S-Detect were in dichotomized form: possibly benign and possibly malignant. Kappa statistics were used to analyze the agreement between the radiologist and S-Detect. Diagnostic performance of the radiologist and S-Detect was calculated, including sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value, accuracy, and area under the receiving operator characteristics curve. Of the 192 breast masses, 72 (37.5%) were malignant, and 120 (62.5%) were benign. Benign masses among category 4a had higher rates of possibly benign assessment on S-Detect for the radiologist, 63.5% to 36.5%, respectively (P=0.797). When the cutoff was set at category 4a, the specificity, PPV, and accuracy was significantly higher in S-Detect compared to the radiologist (all P<0.05), with a higher area under the receiver operator characteristics curve of 0.725 compared to 0.653 (P=0.038). Moderate agreement (k=0.58) was seen in the final assessment between the radiologist and S-Detect. S-Detect may be used as an additional diagnostic tool to improve the specificity of breast US in clinical practice, and guide in decision making for breast masses detected on US

  5. Clinical performance of two visual scoring systems in detecting and assessing activity status of occlusal caries in primary teeth

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Braga, M M; Ekstrand, K R; Martignon, S

    2010-01-01

    This study aimed to compare the clinical performance of two sets of visual scoring criteria for detecting caries severity and assessing caries activity status in occlusal surfaces. Two visual scoring systems--the Nyvad criteria (NY) and the ICDAS-II including an adjunct system for lesion activity...

  6. The performance of spatially offset Raman spectroscopy for liquid explosive detection

    Science.gov (United States)

    Loeffen, Paul W.; Maskall, Guy; Bonthron, Stuart; Bloomfield, Matthew; Tombling, Craig; Matousek, Pavel

    2016-10-01

    Aviation security requirements adopted in 2014 require liquids to be screened at most airports throughout Europe, North America and Australia. Cobalt's unique Spatially Offset Raman Spectroscopy (SORS™) technology has proven extremely effective at screening liquids, aerosols and gels (LAGS) with extremely low false alarm rates. SORS is compatible with a wide range of containers, including coloured, opaque or clear plastics, glass and paper, as well as duty-free bottles in STEBs (secure tamper-evident bags). Our award-winning Insight range has been specially developed for table-top screening at security checkpoints. Insight systems use our patented SORS technology for rapid and accurate chemical analysis of substances in unopened non-metallic containers. Insight100M™ and the latest member of the range - Insight200M™ - also screen metallic containers. Our unique systems screen liquids, aerosols and gels with the highest detection capability and lowest false alarm rates of any ECAC-approved scanner, with several hundred units already in use at airports including eight of the top ten European hubs. This paper presents an analysis of real performance data for these systems.

  7. Ultrasound extracted flavonoids from four varieties of Portuguese red grape skins determined by reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Novak, Ivana; Janeiro, Patricia; Seruga, Marijan; Oliveira-Brett, Ana Maria

    2008-12-23

    Several flavonoids present in red grape skins from four varieties of Portuguese grapes were determined by reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) with electrochemical detection (ECD). Extraction of flavonoids from red grape skins was performed by ultrasonication, and hydrochloric acid in methanol was used as extraction solvent. The developed RP-HPLC method used combined isocratic and gradient elution with amperometric detection with a glassy carbon-working electrode. Good peak resolution was obtained following direct injection of a sample of red grape extract in a pH 2.20 mobile phase. Eleven different flavonoids: cyanidin-3-O-glucoside (kuromanin), delphinidin-3-O-glucoside (myrtillin), petunidin-3-O-glucoside, peonidin-3-O-glucoside, malvidin-3-O-glucoside (oenin), (+)-catechin, rutin, fisetin, myricetin, morin and quercetin, can be separated in a single run by direct injection of sample solution. The limit of detection obtained for these compounds by ECD was 20-90 pg/L, 1000 times lower when compared with photodiode array (PDA) limit of detection of 12-55 ng/L. RP-HPLC-ECD was characterized by an excellent sensitivity and selectivity, and appropriate for the simultaneous determination of these electroactive phenolic compounds present in red grape skins.

  8. The evaluation of phasemeter prototype performance for the space gravitational waves detection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, He-Shan; Dong, Yu-Hui; Li, Yu-Qiong; Luo, Zi-Ren; Jin, Gang

    2014-02-01

    Heterodyne laser interferometry is considered as the most promising readout scheme for future space gravitational wave detection missions, in which the gravitational wave signals disguise as small phase variances within the heterodyne beat note. This makes the phasemeter, which extracts the phase information from the beat note, the key device to this system. In this paper, a prototype of phasemeter based on digital phase-locked loop technology is developed, and the major noise sources which may contribute to the noise spectra density are analyzed in detail. Two experiments are also carried out to evaluate the performance of the phasemeter prototype. The results show that the sensitivity is achieved 2π μrad/√Hz in the frequency range of 0.04 Hz-10 Hz. Due to the effect of thermal drift, the noise obviously increases with the frequencies down to 0.1 mHz.

  9. A first approach on fault detection and isolation for cardiovascular anomalies detection

    KAUST Repository

    Ledezma, Fernando

    2015-07-01

    In this paper, we use an extended version of the cardiovascular system\\'s state space model presented by [1] and propose a fault detection and isolation methodology to study the problem of detecting cardiovascular anomalies that can originate from variations in physiological parameters and deviations in the performance of the heart\\'s mitral and aortic valves. An observer-based approach is discussed as the basis of the method. The approach contemplates a bank of Extended Kalman Filters to achieve joint estimation of the model\\'s states and parameters and to detect malfunctions in the valves\\' performance. © 2015 American Automatic Control Council.

  10. Operator performance in non-destructive testing: A study of operator performance in a performance test

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Enkvist, J.; Edland, A.; Svenson, Ola [Stockholm Univ. (Sweden). Dept. of Psychology

    2000-05-15

    In the process industries there is a need of inspecting the integrity of critical components without disrupting the process. Such in-service inspections are typically performed with non-destructive testing (NDT). In NDT the task of the operator is to (based on diagnostic information) decide if the component can remain in service or not. The present study looks at the performance in NDT. The aim is to improve performance, in the long run, by exploring the operators' decision strategies and other underlying factors and to this way find out what makes some operators more successful than others. Sixteen operators performed manual ultrasonic inspections of four test pieces with the aim to detect (implanted) cracks. In addition to these performance demonstration tests (PDT), the operators performed independent ability tests and filled out questionnaires. The results show that operators who trust their gut feeling more than the procedure (when the two come to different results) and that at the same time have a positive attitude towards the procedure have a higher PDT performance. These results indicate the need for operators to be motivated and confident when performing NDT. It was also found that the operators who performed better rated more decision criteria higher in the detection phase than the operators who performed worse. For characterizing it was the other way around. Also, the operators who performed better used more time, both detecting and characterizing, than the operators who performed worse.

  11. Operator performance in non-destructive testing: A study of operator performance in a performance test

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Enkvist, J.; Edland, A.; Svenson, Ola

    2000-05-01

    In the process industries there is a need of inspecting the integrity of critical components without disrupting the process. Such in-service inspections are typically performed with non-destructive testing (NDT). In NDT the task of the operator is to (based on diagnostic information) decide if the component can remain in service or not. The present study looks at the performance in NDT. The aim is to improve performance, in the long run, by exploring the operators' decision strategies and other underlying factors and to this way find out what makes some operators more successful than others. Sixteen operators performed manual ultrasonic inspections of four test pieces with the aim to detect (implanted) cracks. In addition to these performance demonstration tests (PDT), the operators performed independent ability tests and filled out questionnaires. The results show that operators who trust their gut feeling more than the procedure (when the two come to different results) and that at the same time have a positive attitude towards the procedure have a higher PDT performance. These results indicate the need for operators to be motivated and confident when performing NDT. It was also found that the operators who performed better rated more decision criteria higher in the detection phase than the operators who performed worse. For characterizing it was the other way around. Also, the operators who performed better used more time, both detecting and characterizing, than the operators who performed worse

  12. Distributed fiber optic sensor-enhanced detection and prediction of shrinkage-induced delamination of ultra-high-performance concrete overlay

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bao, Yi; Valipour, Mahdi; Meng, Weina; Khayat, Kamal H.; Chen, Genda

    2017-08-01

    This study develops a delamination detection system for smart ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC) overlays using a fully distributed fiber optic sensor. Three 450 mm (length) × 200 mm (width) × 25 mm (thickness) UHPC overlays were cast over an existing 200 mm thick concrete substrate. The initiation and propagation of delamination due to early-age shrinkage of the UHPC overlay were detected as sudden increases and their extension in spatial distribution of shrinkage-induced strains measured from the sensor based on pulse pre-pump Brillouin optical time domain analysis. The distributed sensor is demonstrated effective in detecting delamination openings from microns to hundreds of microns. A three-dimensional finite element model with experimental material properties is proposed to understand the complete delamination process measured from the distributed sensor. The model is validated using the distributed sensor data. The finite element model with cohesive elements for the overlay-substrate interface can predict the complete delamination process.

  13. Maintain and Regain Well Clear: Maneuver Guidance Designs for Pilots Performing the Detect-and-Avoid Task

    Science.gov (United States)

    Monk, Kevin J.; Roberts, Zachary

    2017-01-01

    In order to support the future expansion and integration of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), ongoing research efforts have sought to produce findings that inform the minimum display information elements required for acceptable UAS pilot response times and traffic avoidance. Previous simulations have revealed performance benefits associated with DAA displays containing predictive information and suggestive maneuver guidance tools in the form of banding. The present study investigated the impact of various maneuver guidance display configurations on detect-and-avoid (DAA) task performance in a simulated airspace environment. UAS pilots ability to maintain DAA well clear was compared between displays with either the presence or absence of green DAA bands, which indicated conflict-free flight regions. Additional display comparisons assessed pilots ability to regain DAA well clear with two different guidance presentations designed to aid in DAA well clear recovery during critical encounters. Performance implications and display considerations for future UAS DAA systems are discussed.

  14. Analogue MIMO Detection

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    McNamara Darren

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available In this contribution we propose an analogue receiver that can perform turbo detection in MIMO systems. We present the case for a receiver that is built from nonlinear analogue devices, which perform detection in a "free-flow" network (no notion of iterations. This contribution can be viewed as an extension of analogue turbo decoder concepts to include MIMO detection. These first analogue implementations report reductions of few orders of magnitude in the number of required transistors and in consumed energy, and the same order of improvement in processing speed. It is anticipated that such analogue MIMO decoder could bring about the same advantages, when compared to traditional digital implementations.

  15. Performances evaluation of the coincidence detection on a gamma-camera

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dreuille, O. de; Gaillard, J.F.; Brasse, D.; Bendriem, B.; Groiselle, C.; Rocchisani, J.M.; Moretti, J.L.

    2000-01-01

    The performance of the VERTEX gamma-camera (ADAC) working in coincidence mode are investigated using a protocol derived from the NEMA and IEC recommendations. With a field of view determined by two rectangular detectors (50.8 cm x 40 cm) composed of NaI crystal, this camera allows a 3-D acquisition with different energy window configurations: photopeak-photopeak only (PP) and photopeak-photopeak + photopeak-Compton (PC). An energy resolution of 11% and a scatter fraction of 27% and 33% for the 3D-PP and 3D-PC mode respectively are the main significant results of our study. The spatial resolution equals 5.9 mm and the limit of the detectability ranges from 16 mm to 13 mm for a contrast of 2.5: as a function of the random estimation, the maximum of the Noise Equivalent Count rate varies from 3 kcps to 4.5 kcps for the PP mode and from 3.85 kcps to 6.1 kcps for the PC mode. These maxima are reached for a concentration of 8 kBq/ml for the PP mode and 5 kBq/ml for the PC mode. These values are compared with the results obtained by other groups for the VERTEX gamma camera and several dedicated PET systems. (authors)

  16. SU-E-I-46: Sample-Size Dependence of Model Observers for Estimating Low-Contrast Detection Performance From CT Images

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Reiser, I; Lu, Z

    2014-01-01

    Purpose: Recently, task-based assessment of diagnostic CT systems has attracted much attention. Detection task performance can be estimated using human observers, or mathematical observer models. While most models are well established, considerable bias can be introduced when performance is estimated from a limited number of image samples. Thus, the purpose of this work was to assess the effect of sample size on bias and uncertainty of two channelized Hotelling observers and a template-matching observer. Methods: The image data used for this study consisted of 100 signal-present and 100 signal-absent regions-of-interest, which were extracted from CT slices. The experimental conditions included two signal sizes and five different x-ray beam current settings (mAs). Human observer performance for these images was determined in 2-alternative forced choice experiments. These data were provided by the Mayo clinic in Rochester, MN. Detection performance was estimated from three observer models, including channelized Hotelling observers (CHO) with Gabor or Laguerre-Gauss (LG) channels, and a template-matching observer (TM). Different sample sizes were generated by randomly selecting a subset of image pairs, (N=20,40,60,80). Observer performance was quantified as proportion of correct responses (PC). Bias was quantified as the relative difference of PC for 20 and 80 image pairs. Results: For n=100, all observer models predicted human performance across mAs and signal sizes. Bias was 23% for CHO (Gabor), 7% for CHO (LG), and 3% for TM. The relative standard deviation, σ(PC)/PC at N=20 was highest for the TM observer (11%) and lowest for the CHO (Gabor) observer (5%). Conclusion: In order to make image quality assessment feasible in the clinical practice, a statistically efficient observer model, that can predict performance from few samples, is needed. Our results identified two observer models that may be suited for this task

  17. Determination of undecylenic and sorbic acids in cosmetic preparations by high performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bousquet, Ennio; Spadaro, A; Santagati, N A; Scalia, S; Ronsisvalle, G

    2002-11-07

    A highly sensitive and selective method for the determination of sorbic (SA) and undecylenic acid (UA) in cosmetic formulations by a high performance liquid chromatography method with electrochemical detection (ECD) is described. The pre-column derivatizations of SA and UA and the internal standard (cyclohexanoic acid (cHA)) were carried out using 1-(2,5-dihydroxyphenyl)-2-bromoethanone (2,5-DBE) as an electroactive labeling reagent previously synthesized in our lab. The resulting electroactive esters were separated by isocratic elution of a 5 micrometer Hypersil CN column with acetonitrile-acetate buffer eluent. The compounds were detected by a porous graphite electrode set at an oxidation potential of +0.45 V. The analytical method developed in this study is suitable for quality control assays of complex cosmetic formulations containing sorbic and/or UA.

  18. Track-before-detect procedures for detection of extended object

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fan, Ling; Zhang, Xiaoling; Shi, Jun

    2011-12-01

    In this article, we present a particle filter (PF)-based track-before-detect (PF TBD) procedure for detection of extended objects whose shape is modeled by an ellipse. By incorporating of an existence variable and the target shape parameters into the state vector, the proposed algorithm performs joint estimation of the target presence/absence, trajectory and shape parameters under unknown nuisance parameters (target power and noise variance). Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm has good detection and tracking capabilities for extended objects.

  19. Method to improve reliability of a fuel cell system using low performance cell detection at low power operation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Choi, Tayoung; Ganapathy, Sriram; Jung, Jaehak; Savage, David R.; Lakshmanan, Balasubramanian; Vecasey, Pamela M.

    2013-04-16

    A system and method for detecting a low performing cell in a fuel cell stack using measured cell voltages. The method includes determining that the fuel cell stack is running, the stack coolant temperature is above a certain temperature and the stack current density is within a relatively low power range. The method further includes calculating the average cell voltage, and determining whether the difference between the average cell voltage and the minimum cell voltage is greater than a predetermined threshold. If the difference between the average cell voltage and the minimum cell voltage is greater than the predetermined threshold and the minimum cell voltage is less than another predetermined threshold, then the method increments a low performing cell timer. A ratio of the low performing cell timer and a system run timer is calculated to identify a low performing cell.

  20. Application of hight performance liquid chromatography with spectrofluorimetric detection for determination of human milk retinol

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Falahat Pisheh HR

    2001-11-01

    Full Text Available World health organization has introduced concentration of vitamin A in breast milk as a proper indicator for characterization of vitamin A deficiency in lactating mothers and their infants (<6 mo. A normal phase high performance liquid chromatography with spectrofluorometric detection as a specific and sensitive detector was used for characterization of all-trans retional from 13-Cis retinal. The method was sensitive (0.009 ppm and accurate (1±0.054 µ mol/l and had a good recovery percentage (99.36%. This method was more better than before methods and was compatible with the other useful methods. Effect of freezing and defreezing on all-trans retinol content of milk sample was investigated. The result was interesting, whatever all-trans retinol content was bigger, it’s destroying was bigger too. Because of that reseon, day today reproducibility wasn’t good. Standard of retinol was 95% all-trans and pure so we should use this method because two retinol isomers wasn’t separated from each other by reversed phase chromatography and UV detection.

  1. Biosensor-based microRNA detection: techniques, design, performance, and challenges.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnson, Blake N; Mutharasan, Raj

    2014-04-07

    The current state of biosensor-based techniques for amplification-free microRNA (miRNA) detection is critically reviewed. Comparison with non-sensor and amplification-based molecular techniques (MTs), such as polymerase-based methods, is made in terms of transduction mechanism, associated protocol, and sensitivity. Challenges associated with miRNA hybridization thermodynamics which affect assay selectivity and amplification bias are briefly discussed. Electrochemical, electromechanical, and optical classes of miRNA biosensors are reviewed in terms of transduction mechanism, limit of detection (LOD), time-to-results (TTR), multiplexing potential, and measurement robustness. Current trends suggest that biosensor-based techniques (BTs) for miRNA assay will complement MTs due to the advantages of amplification-free detection, LOD being femtomolar (fM)-attomolar (aM), short TTR, multiplexing capability, and minimal sample preparation requirement. Areas of future importance in miRNA BT development are presented which include focus on achieving high measurement confidence and multiplexing capabilities.

  2. A Pilot Evaluation of On-Road Detection Performance by Drivers with Hemianopia Using Oblique Peripheral Prisms

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alex R. Bowers

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Aims. Homonymous hemianopia (HH, a severe visual consequence of stroke, causes difficulties in detecting obstacles on the nonseeing (blind side. We conducted a pilot study to evaluate the effects of oblique peripheral prisms, a novel development in optical treatments for HH, on detection of unexpected hazards when driving. Methods. Twelve people with complete HH (median 49 years, range 29–68 completed road tests with sham oblique prism glasses (SP and real oblique prism glasses (RP. A masked evaluator rated driving performance along the 25 km routes on busy streets in Ghent, Belgium. Results. The proportion of satisfactory responses to unexpected hazards on the blind side was higher in the RP than the SP drive (80% versus 30%; P=0.001, but similar for unexpected hazards on the seeing side. Conclusions. These pilot data suggest that oblique peripheral prisms may improve responses of people with HH to blindside hazards when driving and provide the basis for a future, larger-sample clinical trial. Testing responses to unexpected hazards in areas of heavy vehicle and pedestrian traffic appears promising as a real-world outcome measure for future evaluations of HH rehabilitation interventions aimed at improving detection when driving.

  3. Learning to Detect Traffic Signs

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Møgelmose, Andreas; Trivedi, Mohan M.; Moeslund, Thomas B.

    2012-01-01

    This study compares the performance of sign detection based on synthetic training data to the performance of detection based on real-world training images. Viola-Jones detectors are created for 4 different traffic signs with both synthetic and real data, and varying numbers of training samples. T...

  4. Size ratio performance in detecting cerebral aneurysm rupture status is insensitive to small vessel removal.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lauric, Alexandra; Baharoglu, Merih I; Malek, Adel M

    2013-04-01

    The variable definition of size ratio (SR) for sidewall (SW) vs bifurcation (BIF) aneurysms raises confusion for lesions harboring small branches, such as carotid ophthalmic or posterior communicating locations. These aneurysms are considered SW by many clinicians, but SR methodology classifies them as BIF. To evaluate the effect of ignoring small vessels and SW vs stringent BIF labeling on SR ruptured aneurysm detection performance in borderline aneurysms with small branches, and to reconcile SR-based labeling with clinical SW/BIF classification. Catheter rotational angiographic datasets of 134 consecutive aneurysms (60 ruptured) were automatically measured in 3-dimensional. Stringent BIF labeling was applied to clinically labeled aneurysms, with 21 aneurysms switching label from SW to BIF. Parent vessel size was evaluated both taking into account, and ignoring, small vessels. SR was defined accordingly as the ratio between aneurysm and parent vessel sizes. Univariate and multivariate statistics identified significant features. The square of the correlation coefficient (R(2)) was reported for bivariate analysis of alternative SR calculations. Regardless of SW/BIF labeling method, SR was equally significant in discriminating aneurysm ruptured status (P analysis of alternative SR had a high correlation of R(2) = 0.94 on the whole dataset, and R = 0.98 on the 21 borderline aneurysms. Ignoring small branches from SR calculation maintains rupture status detection performance, while reducing postprocessing complexity and removing labeling ambiguity. Aneurysms adjacent to these vessels can be considered SW for morphometric analysis. It is reasonable to use the clinical SW/BIF labeling when using SR for rupture risk evaluation.

  5. Automated detection of lung nodules in multidetector CT: influence of different reconstruction protocols on performance of a software prototype

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gurung, J.; Maataoui, A.; Khan, M.; Wetter, A.; Harth, M.; Jacobi, V.; Vogl, T.J.

    2006-01-01

    Purpose: To evaluate the accuracy of software for computer-aided detection (CAD) of lung nodules using different reconstruction slice thickness protocols in multidetector CT. Materials and Methods: Raw image data sets for 15 patients who had undergone 16-row multidetector CT (MDCT) for known pulmonary nodules were reconstructed at a reconstruction thickness of 5.0, 2.0 and 1.0 mm with a reconstruction increment of 1.5, 1.0 and 0.5 mm, respectively. The ''Nodule Enhanced Viewing'' (NEV) tool of LungCare for computer-aided detection of lung nodules was applied to the reconstructed images. The reconstructed images were also blinded and then evaluated by 2 radiologists (A and B). Data from the evaluating radiologists and CAD was then compared to an independent reference standard established using the consensus of 2 independent experienced chest radiologists. The eligible nodules were grouped according to their size (diameter >10, 5 - 10, <5 mm) for assessment. Statistical analysis was performed using the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis, t-test and two-rater Cohen's Kappa co-efficient. Results: A total of 103 nodules were included in the reference standard by the consensus panel. The performance of CAD was marginally lower than that of readers at a 5.0-mm reconstruction thickness (AUC = 0.522, 0.517 and 0.497 for A, B and CAD, respectively). In the case of 2.0-mm reconstruction slices, the performance of CAD was better than that of the readers (AUC = 0.524, 0.524 and 0.614 for A, B and CAD, respectively). CAD was found to be significantly superior to radiologists in the case of 1.0-mm reconstruction slices (AUC = 0.537, 0.531 and 0.675 for A, B and CAD, respectively). The sensitivity at a reconstruction thickness of 1.0 mm was determined to be 66.99%, 68.93% and 80.58% for A, B and CAD, respectively. The time required for detection was shortest for CAD at reconstruction slices of 1.0 mm (mean t = 4 min). The performance of radiologists was greatly

  6. Roka Listeria detection method using transcription mediated amplification to detect Listeria species in select foods and surfaces. Performance Tested Method(SM) 011201.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hua, Yang; Kaplan, Shannon; Reshatoff, Michael; Hu, Ernie; Zukowski, Alexis; Schweis, Franz; Gin, Cristal; Maroni, Brett; Becker, Michael; Wisniewski, Michele

    2012-01-01

    The Roka Listeria Detection Assay was compared to the reference culture methods for nine select foods and three select surfaces. The Roka method used Half-Fraser Broth for enrichment at 35 +/- 2 degrees C for 24-28 h. Comparison of Roka's method to reference methods requires an unpaired approach. Each method had a total of 545 samples inoculated with a Listeria strain. Each food and surface was inoculated with a different strain of Listeria at two different levels per method. For the dairy products (Brie cheese, whole milk, and ice cream), our method was compared to AOAC Official Method(SM) 993.12. For the ready-to-eat meats (deli chicken, cured ham, chicken salad, and hot dogs) and environmental surfaces (sealed concrete, stainless steel, and plastic), these samples were compared to the U.S. Department of Agriculture/Food Safety and Inspection Service-Microbiology Laboratory Guidebook (USDA/FSIS-MLG) method MLG 8.07. Cold-smoked salmon and romaine lettuce were compared to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration/Bacteriological Analytical Manual, Chapter 10 (FDA/BAM) method. Roka's method had 358 positives out of 545 total inoculated samples compared to 332 positive for the reference methods. Overall the probability of detection analysis of the results showed better or equivalent performance compared to the reference methods.

  7. The Medialogy education - AAU Copenhagen:Where art and creativity meet technology. Special focus on interactive systems design, programming and evaluation in problem based learning.

    OpenAIRE

    Nordahl, Rolf; Serafin, Stefania

    2007-01-01

    In the Medialogy education we attempt to subject some of the common conventions of art to quantitative, scientific experiments to see if they work as intended. Several educational methods are used within the education of Medialogy in order to enable students to make their own connections, filling gaps and create awareness of the pros and cons of working with dogmas within the minefield where art and creativity meet technology. In this talk we will demonstrate our approach through concrete exa...

  8. Analysis of human milk oligosaccharides using high-performance anion-exchange chromatography with pulsed amperometric detection

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lie, Aleksander; Pedersen, Lars Haastrup

    ) and lacto-N-neotetraose (Galβ1-4GlcNAcβ1-3Galβ1-4Glc), among others. High-performance anion-exchange chromatography (HPAE) with pulsed amperometric detection (PAD) is an analysis method highly suited for carbohydrates. HPAE with alkaline eluents results in retention of neutral carbohydrates depending...... on the number of charged group in the molecule, pH and concentration of competing anions, while the PAD has sensitivity for carbohydrates in the pmol-range (Lee 1990). As a basis for the development and optimisation of HPAE elution methods, the parameter space was investigated in terms of eluent concentrations...

  9. Track-before-detect procedures for detection of extended object

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fan Ling

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract In this article, we present a particle filter (PF-based track-before-detect (PF TBD procedure for detection of extended objects whose shape is modeled by an ellipse. By incorporating of an existence variable and the target shape parameters into the state vector, the proposed algorithm performs joint estimation of the target presence/absence, trajectory and shape parameters under unknown nuisance parameters (target power and noise variance. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm has good detection and tracking capabilities for extended objects.

  10. Detection of rib fractures in minor chest injuries: a comparison between ultrasonography and radiography performed on the same day

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cho, Yong Soo; Back, Chang Hee; Lee, Kyung Rae; Shin, Yun Hack; Whang, Yeong Seop; Jeong, Ku Young [Yeosu Baek Hospital, Yeosu (Korea, Republic of); Chung, Soo Hyun [NamWon Medical Center, NamWon (Korea, Republic of); Whang, Cheol Mog [Konyang University Hospital, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

    2007-04-15

    We wished to compare the ability of ultrasonography and radiography performed on the same day to detect rib fractures in minor chest injuries. Two hundred and fifteen patients with minor chest injuries were selected. Radiography and ultrasonography were performed on the same day with these patients. Chest wall pain was the only presenting symptom. Two radiologists performed ultrasonography. Fractures were identified by a disruption of the anterior margin of the rib and costal cartilage. The incidence and location of fractures and complications revealed by radiography and ultrasonography were compared. Radiographs revealed the presence of 70 rib fractures in 50 (23%) of 215 patients and ultrasonography revealed the presence of 203 rib fractures in 133 (62%) of 215 patients. Ultrasonography uniquely identified 133 rib fractures in 83 patients. Ultrasonography identified a 2.9 fold increase in the number of fractures in a 2.6 fold number of subjects as compared to radiography. Of the 203 sonographically detected fractures, 201 were located in the rib, one was located at the costochondral junction, and one in the costal cartilage. There were no complications seen by either radiography or ultrasonography. Ultrasonography reveals more fractures than those that may be overlooked on radiography for minor chest injuries.

  11. Detection of rib fractures in minor chest injuries: a comparison between ultrasonography and radiography performed on the same day

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cho, Yong Soo; Back, Chang Hee; Lee, Kyung Rae; Shin, Yun Hack; Whang, Yeong Seop; Jeong, Ku Young; Chung, Soo Hyun; Whang, Cheol Mog

    2007-01-01

    We wished to compare the ability of ultrasonography and radiography performed on the same day to detect rib fractures in minor chest injuries. Two hundred and fifteen patients with minor chest injuries were selected. Radiography and ultrasonography were performed on the same day with these patients. Chest wall pain was the only presenting symptom. Two radiologists performed ultrasonography. Fractures were identified by a disruption of the anterior margin of the rib and costal cartilage. The incidence and location of fractures and complications revealed by radiography and ultrasonography were compared. Radiographs revealed the presence of 70 rib fractures in 50 (23%) of 215 patients and ultrasonography revealed the presence of 203 rib fractures in 133 (62%) of 215 patients. Ultrasonography uniquely identified 133 rib fractures in 83 patients. Ultrasonography identified a 2.9 fold increase in the number of fractures in a 2.6 fold number of subjects as compared to radiography. Of the 203 sonographically detected fractures, 201 were located in the rib, one was located at the costochondral junction, and one in the costal cartilage. There were no complications seen by either radiography or ultrasonography. Ultrasonography reveals more fractures than those that may be overlooked on radiography for minor chest injuries

  12. Navigating the Minefield of Self-Publishing E-Textbooks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schultz, Leah

    2017-01-01

    This paper examines the issues useful for faculty members that are considering electronically self-publishing their course textbook. A brief history of the use of electronic textbooks is presented as well as the advantages and disadvantages associated with self-publishing and electronic textbooks. A brief overview is provided on the process of…

  13. Performance Analysis of Long-Reach Coherent Detection OFDM-PON Downstream Transmission Using m-QAM-Mapped OFDM Signal

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pandey, Gaurav; Goel, Aditya

    2017-12-01

    In this paper, orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM)-passive optical network (PON) downstream transmission is demonstrated over different lengths of fiber at remote node (RN) for different m-QAM (quadrature amplitude modulation)-mapped OFDM signal (m=4, 16, 32 and 64) transmission from the central office (CO) for different data rates (10, 20 30 and 40 Gbps) using coherent detection at the user end or optical network unit (ONU). Investigation is performed with different number of subcarriers (32, 64, 128, 512 and 1,024), back-to-back optical signal-to-noise ratio (OSNR) along with transmitted and received constellation diagrams for m-QAM-mapped coherent OFDM downstream transmission at different speeds over different transmission distances. Received optical power is calculated for different bit error rates (BERs) at different speeds using m-QAM-mapped coherent detection OFDM downstream transmission. No dispersion compensation is utilized in between the fiber span. Simulation results suggest the different lengths and data rates that can be used for different m-QAM-mapped coherent detection OFDM downstream transmission, and the proposed system may be implemented in next-generation high-speed PONs (NG-PONs).

  14. Comprehensive sample analysis using high performance liquid chromatography with multi-detection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pravadali, Sercan; Bassanese, Danielle N; Conlan, Xavier A; Francis, Paul S; Smith, Zoe M; Terry, Jessica M; Shalliker, R Andrew

    2013-11-25

    Herein we assess the separation space offered by a liquid chromatography system with an optimised uni-dimensional separation for the determination of the key chemical entities in the highly complex matrix of a tobacco leaf extract. Multiple modes of detection, including UV-visible absorbance, chemiluminescence (acidic potassium permanganate, manganese(IV), and tris(2,2'-bipyridine)ruthenium(III)), mass spectrometry and DPPH radical scavenging were used in an attempt to systematically reduce the data complexity of the sample whilst obtaining a greater degree of molecule-specific information. A large amount of chemical data was obtained, but several limitations in the ability to assign detector responses to particular compounds, even with the aid of complementary detection systems, were observed. Thirty-three compounds were detected via MS on the tobacco extract and 12 out of 32 compounds gave a peak height ratio (PHR) greater than 0.33 on one or more detectors. This paper serves as a case study of these limitations, illustrating why multidimensional chromatography is an important consideration when developing a comprehensive chemical detection system. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. Incipient failure detection of space shuttle main engine turbopump bearings using vibration envelope detection

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hopson, Charles B.

    1987-01-01

    The results of an analysis performed on seven successive Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) static test firings, utilizing envelope detection of external accelerometer data are discussed. The results clearly show the great potential for using envelope detection techniques in SSME incipient failure detection.

  16. A High Performance Impedance-based Platform for Evaporation Rate Detection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chou, Wei-Lung; Lee, Pee-Yew; Chen, Cheng-You; Lin, Yu-Hsin; Lin, Yung-Sheng

    2016-10-17

    This paper describes the method of a novel impedance-based platform for the detection of the evaporation rate. The model compound hyaluronic acid was employed here for demonstration purposes. Multiple evaporation tests on the model compound as a humectant with various concentrations in solutions were conducted for comparison purposes. A conventional weight loss approach is known as the most straightforward, but time-consuming, measurement technique for evaporation rate detection. Yet, a clear disadvantage is that a large volume of sample is required and multiple sample tests cannot be conducted at the same time. For the first time in literature, an electrical impedance sensing chip is successfully applied to a real-time evaporation investigation in a time sharing, continuous and automatic manner. Moreover, as little as 0.5 ml of test samples is required in this impedance-based apparatus, and a large impedance variation is demonstrated among various dilute solutions. The proposed high-sensitivity and fast-response impedance sensing system is found to outperform a conventional weight loss approach in terms of evaporation rate detection.

  17. Performance of serum biomarkers for the early detection of invasive aspergillosis in febrile, neutropenic patients: a multi-state model.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michaël Schwarzinger

    Full Text Available The performance of serum biomarkers for the early detection of invasive aspergillosis expectedly depends on the timing of test results relative to the empirical administration of antifungal therapy during neutropenia, although a dynamic evaluation framework is lacking.We developed a multi-state model describing simultaneously the likelihood of empirical antifungal therapy and the risk of invasive aspergillosis during neutropenia. We evaluated whether the first positive test result with a biomarker is an independent predictor of invasive aspergillosis when both diagnostic information used to treat and risk factors of developing invasive aspergillosis are taken into account over time. We applied the multi-state model to a homogeneous cohort of 185 high-risk patients with acute myeloid leukemia. Patients were prospectively screened for galactomannan antigenemia twice a week for immediate treatment decision; 2,214 serum samples were collected on the same days and blindly assessed for (1->3- β-D-glucan antigenemia and a quantitative PCR assay targeting a mitochondrial locus.The usual evaluation framework of biomarker performance was unable to distinguish clinical benefits of β-glucan or PCR assays. The multi-state model evidenced that the risk of invasive aspergillosis is a complex time function of neutropenia duration and risk management. The quantitative PCR assay accelerated the early detection of invasive aspergillosis (P = .010, independently of other diagnostic information used to treat, while β-glucan assay did not (P = .53.The performance of serum biomarkers for the early detection of invasive aspergillosis is better apprehended by the evaluation of time-varying predictors in a multi-state model. Our results provide strong rationale for prospective studies testing a preemptive antifungal therapy, guided by clinical, radiological, and bi-weekly blood screening with galactomannan antigenemia and a standardized quantitative PCR assay.

  18. Fusion and normalization to enhance anomaly detection

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mayer, R.; Atkinson, G.; Antoniades, J.; Baumback, M.; Chester, D.; Edwards, J.; Goldstein, A.; Haas, D.; Henderson, S.; Liu, L.

    2009-05-01

    This study examines normalizing the imagery and the optimization metrics to enhance anomaly and change detection, respectively. The RX algorithm, the standard anomaly detector for hyperspectral imagery, more successfully extracts bright rather than dark man-made objects when applied to visible hyperspectral imagery. However, normalizing the imagery prior to applying the anomaly detector can help detect some of the problematic dark objects, but can also miss some bright objects. This study jointly fuses images of RX applied to normalized and unnormalized imagery and has a single decision surface. The technique was tested using imagery of commercial vehicles in urban environment gathered by a hyperspectral visible/near IR sensor mounted in an airborne platform. Combining detections first requires converting the detector output to a target probability. The observed anomaly detections were fitted with a linear combination of chi square distributions and these weights were used to help compute the target probability. Receiver Operator Characteristic (ROC) quantitatively assessed the target detection performance. The target detection performance is highly variable depending on the relative number of candidate bright and dark targets and false alarms and controlled in this study by using vegetation and street line masks. The joint Boolean OR and AND operations also generate variable performance depending on the scene. The joint SUM operation provides a reasonable compromise between OR and AND operations and has good target detection performance. In addition, new transforms based on normalizing correlation coefficient and least squares generate new transforms related to canonical correlation analysis (CCA) and a normalized image regression (NIR). Transforms based on CCA and NIR performed better than the standard approaches. Only RX detection of the unnormalized of the difference imagery in change detection provides adequate change detection performance.

  19. Determination of vitamin K homologues by high-performance liquid chromatography with on-line photoreactor and peroxyoxalate chemiluminescence detection

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ahmed, Sameh; Kishikawa, Naoya; Nakashima, Kenichiro; Kuroda, Naotaka

    2007-01-01

    A sensitive and highly selective high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method was developed for the determination of vitamin K homologues including phylloquinone (PK), menaquinone-4 (MK-4) and menaquinone-7 (MK-7) in human plasma using post-column peroxyoxalate chemiluminescence (PO-CL) detection following on-line ultraviolet (UV) irradiation. The method was based on ultraviolet irradiation (254 nm, 15 W) of vitamin K to produce hydrogen peroxide and a fluorescent product at the same time, which can be determined with PO-CL detection. The separation of vitamin K by HPLC was accomplished isocratically on an ODS column within 35 min. The method involves the use of 2-methyl-3-pentadecyl-1,4-naphthoquinone as an internal standard. The detection limits (signal-to-noise ratio = 3) were 32, 38 and 85 fmol for PK, MK-4 and MK-7, respectively. The recoveries of PK, MK-4 and MK-7 were greater than 82% and the inter- and intra-assay R.S.D. values were 1.9-5.4%. The sensitivity and selectivity of this method were sufficient for clinical and nutritional applications

  20. Determination of rifampicin in human plasma by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with ultraviolet detection after automatized solid-liquid extraction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Louveau, B; Fernandez, C; Zahr, N; Sauvageon-Martre, H; Maslanka, P; Faure, P; Mourah, S; Goldwirt, L

    2016-12-01

    A precise and accurate high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) quantification method of rifampicin in human plasma was developed and validated using ultraviolet detection after an automatized solid-phase extraction. The method was validated with respect to selectivity, extraction recovery, linearity, intra- and inter-day precision, accuracy, lower limit of quantification and stability. Chromatographic separation was performed on a Chromolith RP 8 column using a mixture of 0.05 m acetate buffer pH 5.7-acetonitrile (35:65, v/v) as mobile phase. The compounds were detected at a wavelength of 335 nm with a lower limit of quantification of 0.05 mg/L in human plasma. Retention times for rifampicin and 6,7-dimethyl-2,3-di(2-pyridyl) quinoxaline used as internal standard were respectively 3.77 and 4.81 min. This robust and exact method was successfully applied in routine for therapeutic drug monitoring in patients treated with rifampicin. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  1. Performance evaluation of differential detection of MSK

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crozier, S.; Mazur, B.; Matyas, R.

    Various predetection bandpass filters for use in a differential MSK detector are compared. Filter types include 2- and 4-pole Butterworth, Gaussian and ideal brickwall. It is found that the 4-pole Butterworth provides the least E sub b/N sub 0 degradation: with BT = 1.1, the degradation relative to coherent PSK detection at Pe = 5 x 10 to the -4th is 2.9 dB. This can be reduced to approximately 1.9 dB with the addition of a single error correction circuit which does not require the addition of redundancy bits. The additional degradations due to transmit and post-demodulation filters, carrier frequency offset, and bit timing errors are also presented.

  2. Simulation and performance evaluation of fiber optic sensor for detection of hepatic malignancies in human liver tissues

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sharma, Anuj K.; Gupta, Jyoti; Basu, Rikmantra

    2018-01-01

    A fiber optic sensor is proposed for the identification of healthy and cancerous liver tissues through determination of their corresponding refractive index values. Existing experimental results describing variation of complex refractive index of liver tissues in near infrared (NIR) spectral region are considered for theoretical calculations. The intensity interrogation method with chalcogenide fiber is considered. The sensor's performance is closely analyzed in terms of its sensitivity at multiple operating wavelengths falling in NIR region. Operating at shorter NIR wavelengths leads to greater sensitivity. The effect of design parameters (sensing region length and fiber core diameter), different launching conditions, and fiber glass materials on sensor's performance is examined. The proposed sensor has the potential to provide high sensitivity of liver tissue detection.

  3. Determination of autoinducer-2 in biological samples by high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection using pre-column derivatization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Song, Xiang-Ning; Qiu, Hai-Bin; Xiao, Xiang; Cheng, Yuan-Yuan; Li, Wen-Wei; Sheng, Guo-Ping; Li, Xiao-Yan; Yu, Han-Qing

    2014-09-26

    Autoinducer-2 (AI-2), as a small-molecular-weight organic molecule secreted and perceived by various bacteria, enables intra- and inter-species communications. Quantitative determination of AI-2 is essential for exploring the bacterial AI-2-related physiological and biochemical processes. However, current strategies for sensitive detection of AI-2 require sophisticated instruments and complicated procedures. In this work, on the basis of the derivatization of AI-2 with 2,3-diaminonaphthalene, a simple, sensitive and cost-effective high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detector (HPLC-FLD) method is developed for the quantitative detection of AI-2. Under the optimized conditions, this method had a broad linear range of 10-14,000 ng/ml (R(2)=0.9999), and a low detection limit of 1.0 ng/ml. Furthermore, the effectiveness of this approach was further validated through measuring the AI-2 concentrations in the cell-free culture supernatants of both Escherichia coli and Vibrio harveyi. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. Detection of Toxoplasma gondii DNA in horse meat from supermarkets in France and performance evaluation of two serological tests

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aroussi Abdelkrim

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available In France, some cases of severe toxoplasmosis have been linked to the consumption of horse meat that had been imported from the American continent where atypical strains of Toxoplasma gondii are more common than in Europe. Many seroprevalence studies are presented in the literature but risk assessment of T. gondii infection after horse meat consumption is not possible in the absence of validated serological tests and the unknown correlation between detection of antibodies against T. gondii and presence of tissue cysts. We performed magnetic-capture polymerase chain reaction (MC-PCR to detect T. gondii DNA in 231 horse meat samples purchased in supermarkets in France and evaluated the performance and level of agreement of the modified agglutination test (MAT and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA in the meat juices. The serological tests lacked sensitivity, specificity, and agreement between them, and there was no correlation with the presence of T. gondii DNA in horse meat, raising concerns about the reliability of T. gondii seroprevalence data in horses from the literature. T. gondii DNA was detected in 43% of horse meat samples but the absence of strain isolation in mice following inoculation of more than 100 horse meat samples suggests a low distribution of cysts in skeletal muscles and a low risk of T. gondii infection associated with horse meat consumption. However, to avoid any risk of toxoplasmosis, thorough cooking of horse meat is recommended.

  5. Detection of Toxoplasma gondii DNA in horse meat from supermarkets in France and performance evaluation of two serological tests.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aroussi, Abdelkrim; Vignoles, Philippe; Dalmay, François; Wimel, Laurence; Dardé, Marie-Laure; Mercier, Aurélien; Ajzenberg, Daniel

    2015-01-01

    In France, some cases of severe toxoplasmosis have been linked to the consumption of horse meat that had been imported from the American continent where atypical strains of Toxoplasma gondii are more common than in Europe. Many seroprevalence studies are presented in the literature but risk assessment of T. gondii infection after horse meat consumption is not possible in the absence of validated serological tests and the unknown correlation between detection of antibodies against T. gondii and presence of tissue cysts. We performed magnetic-capture polymerase chain reaction (MC-PCR) to detect T. gondii DNA in 231 horse meat samples purchased in supermarkets in France and evaluated the performance and level of agreement of the modified agglutination test (MAT) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in the meat juices. The serological tests lacked sensitivity, specificity, and agreement between them, and there was no correlation with the presence of T. gondii DNA in horse meat, raising concerns about the reliability of T. gondii seroprevalence data in horses from the literature. T. gondii DNA was detected in 43% of horse meat samples but the absence of strain isolation in mice following inoculation of more than 100 horse meat samples suggests a low distribution of cysts in skeletal muscles and a low risk of T. gondii infection associated with horse meat consumption. However, to avoid any risk of toxoplasmosis, thorough cooking of horse meat is recommended. © A. Aroussi et al., published by EDP Sciences, 2015.

  6. The diagnostic performance of radiography for detection of osteoarthritis-associated features compared with MRI in hip joints with chronic pain

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Xu, Li [Boston University School of Medicine, Quantitative Imaging Center, Department of Radiology, Boston, MA (United States); Beijing Jishuitan Hospital, Department of Radiology, Beijing (China); Hayashi, Daichi; Guermazi, Ali [Boston University School of Medicine, Quantitative Imaging Center, Department of Radiology, Boston, MA (United States); Hunter, David J. [University of Sydney, Department of Medicine, Sydney (Australia); Li, Ling [New England Baptist Hospital, Division of Research, Boston, MA (United States); Winterstein, Anton; Bohndorf, Klaus [Klinikum Augsburg, Department of Radiology, Augsburg (Germany); Roemer, Frank W. [Boston University School of Medicine, Quantitative Imaging Center, Department of Radiology, Boston, MA (United States); Klinikum Augsburg, Department of Radiology, Augsburg (Germany); University of Erlangen, Department of Radiology, Erlangen (Germany)

    2013-10-15

    To evaluate the diagnostic performance of radiography for the detection of MRI-detected osteoarthritis-associated features in various articular subregions of the hip joint. Forty-four patients with chronic hip pain (mean age, 63.3 {+-} 9.5 years), who were part of the Hip Osteoarthritis MRI Scoring (HOAMS) cohort, underwent both weight-bearing anteroposterior pelvic radiography and 1.5 T MRI. The HOAMS study was a prospective observational study involving 52 subjects, conducted to develop a semiquantitative MRI scoring system for hip osteoarthritis features. In the present study, eight subjects were excluded because of a lack of radiographic assessment. On radiography, the presence of superior and medial joint space narrowing, superior and inferior acetabular/femoral osteophytes, acetabular subchondral cysts, and bone attrition of femoral head was noted. On MRI, cartilage, osteophytes, subchondral cysts, and bone attrition were evaluated in the corresponding locations. Diagnostic performance of radiography was compared with that of MRI, and the area under curve (AUC) was calculated for each pathological feature. Compared with MRI, radiography provided high specificity (0.76-0.90) but variable sensitivity (0.44-0.78) for diffuse cartilage damage (using JSN as an indirect marker), femoral osteophytes, acetabular subchondral cysts and bone attrition of the femoral head, and a low specificity (0.42 and 0.58) for acetabular osteophytes. The AUC of radiography for detecting overall diffuse cartilage damage, marginal osteophytes, subchondral cysts and bone attrition was 0.76, 0.78, 0.67, and 0.82, respectively. Diagnostic performance of radiography is good for bone attrition, fair for marginal osteophytes and cartilage damage, but poor for subchondral cysts. (orig.)

  7. The diagnostic performance of radiography for detection of osteoarthritis-associated features compared with MRI in hip joints with chronic pain

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Xu, Li; Hayashi, Daichi; Guermazi, Ali; Hunter, David J.; Li, Ling; Winterstein, Anton; Bohndorf, Klaus; Roemer, Frank W.

    2013-01-01

    To evaluate the diagnostic performance of radiography for the detection of MRI-detected osteoarthritis-associated features in various articular subregions of the hip joint. Forty-four patients with chronic hip pain (mean age, 63.3 ± 9.5 years), who were part of the Hip Osteoarthritis MRI Scoring (HOAMS) cohort, underwent both weight-bearing anteroposterior pelvic radiography and 1.5 T MRI. The HOAMS study was a prospective observational study involving 52 subjects, conducted to develop a semiquantitative MRI scoring system for hip osteoarthritis features. In the present study, eight subjects were excluded because of a lack of radiographic assessment. On radiography, the presence of superior and medial joint space narrowing, superior and inferior acetabular/femoral osteophytes, acetabular subchondral cysts, and bone attrition of femoral head was noted. On MRI, cartilage, osteophytes, subchondral cysts, and bone attrition were evaluated in the corresponding locations. Diagnostic performance of radiography was compared with that of MRI, and the area under curve (AUC) was calculated for each pathological feature. Compared with MRI, radiography provided high specificity (0.76-0.90) but variable sensitivity (0.44-0.78) for diffuse cartilage damage (using JSN as an indirect marker), femoral osteophytes, acetabular subchondral cysts and bone attrition of the femoral head, and a low specificity (0.42 and 0.58) for acetabular osteophytes. The AUC of radiography for detecting overall diffuse cartilage damage, marginal osteophytes, subchondral cysts and bone attrition was 0.76, 0.78, 0.67, and 0.82, respectively. Diagnostic performance of radiography is good for bone attrition, fair for marginal osteophytes and cartilage damage, but poor for subchondral cysts. (orig.)

  8. GLRT Based Anomaly Detection for Sensor Network Monitoring

    KAUST Repository

    Harrou, Fouzi

    2015-12-07

    Proper operation of antenna arrays requires continuously monitoring their performances. When a fault occurs in an antenna array, the radiation pattern changes and can significantly deviate from the desired design performance specifications. In this paper, the problem of fault detection in linear antenna arrays is addressed within a statistical framework. Specifically, a statistical fault detection method based on the generalized likelihood ratio (GLR) principle is utilized for detecting potential faults in linear antenna arrays. The proposed method relies on detecting deviations in the radiation pattern of the monitored array with respect to a reference (fault-free) one. To assess the abilities of the GLR based fault detection method, three case studies involving different types of faults have been performed. The simulation results clearly illustrate the effectiveness of the GLR-based fault detection method in monitoring the performance of linear antenna arrays.

  9. GLRT Based Anomaly Detection for Sensor Network Monitoring

    KAUST Repository

    Harrou, Fouzi; Sun, Ying

    2015-01-01

    Proper operation of antenna arrays requires continuously monitoring their performances. When a fault occurs in an antenna array, the radiation pattern changes and can significantly deviate from the desired design performance specifications. In this paper, the problem of fault detection in linear antenna arrays is addressed within a statistical framework. Specifically, a statistical fault detection method based on the generalized likelihood ratio (GLR) principle is utilized for detecting potential faults in linear antenna arrays. The proposed method relies on detecting deviations in the radiation pattern of the monitored array with respect to a reference (fault-free) one. To assess the abilities of the GLR based fault detection method, three case studies involving different types of faults have been performed. The simulation results clearly illustrate the effectiveness of the GLR-based fault detection method in monitoring the performance of linear antenna arrays.

  10. Performance evaluation and optimization of multiband phase-modulated radio over IsOWC link with balanced coherent homodyne detection

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zong, Kang; Zhu, Jiang

    2018-04-01

    In this paper, we present a multiband phase-modulated (PM) radio over intersatellite optical wireless communication (IsOWC) link with balanced coherent homodyne detection. The proposed system can provide the transparent transport of multiband radio frequency (RF) signals with higher linearity and better receiver sensitivity than intensity modulated with direct detection (IM/DD) system. The expressions of RF gain, noise figure (NF) and third-order spurious-free dynamic range (SFDR) are derived considering the third-order intermodulation product and amplifier spontaneous emission (ASE) noise. The optimal power of local oscillator (LO) optical signal is also derived theoretically. Numerical results for RF gain, NF and third-order SFDR are given for demonstration. Results indicate that the gain of the optical preamplifier and the power of LO optical signal should be optimized to obtain the satisfactory performance.

  11. Aiding the Detection of QRS Complex in ECG Signals by Detecting S Peaks Independently.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sabherwal, Pooja; Singh, Latika; Agrawal, Monika

    2018-03-30

    In this paper, a novel algorithm for the accurate detection of QRS complex by combining the independent detection of R and S peaks, using fusion algorithm is proposed. R peak detection has been extensively studied and is being used to detect the QRS complex. Whereas, S peaks, which is also part of QRS complex can be independently detected to aid the detection of QRS complex. In this paper, we suggest a method to first estimate S peak from raw ECG signal and then use them to aid the detection of QRS complex. The amplitude of S peak in ECG signal is relatively weak than corresponding R peak, which is traditionally used for the detection of QRS complex, therefore, an appropriate digital filter is designed to enhance the S peaks. These enhanced S peaks are then detected by adaptive thresholding. The algorithm is validated on all the signals of MIT-BIH arrhythmia database and noise stress database taken from physionet.org. The algorithm performs reasonably well even for the signals highly corrupted by noise. The algorithm performance is confirmed by sensitivity and positive predictivity of 99.99% and the detection accuracy of 99.98% for QRS complex detection. The number of false positives and false negatives resulted while analysis has been drastically reduced to 80 and 42 against the 98 and 84 the best results reported so far.

  12. Appraisal of Army Training Battle Simulation System (ARTBASS) Training Test Validation Phase

    Science.gov (United States)

    1987-07-01

    DISTRIBUTION: Primary di>i#*w«*QQof this report has betnmtUJn ARI. Please address corre- spondend^^ncerning dimfcution of re& tmj ^o: U.S...c. A penetration d. A breakout 41. A commander organizes his force into a rupture force, main body, reserves and rear guard in order to conduct...occupied by Tm A, 1st Bn (MECH), 77th Inf prior to an attack. B-18 26. It la best to’ conduct a minefield breaching operation a. At night . b. At dann

  13. Mine and Countermine Operations in the Battle of Kursk

    Science.gov (United States)

    2000-04-25

    60 guns could stop a panzer division, although it might lose most of its guns in the process if the Germans used Tiger tanks against the guns.43...Central Front, put it in his inimitable style, "Every soldier must know the vulnerable points of the Tiger tank as well as we used to know the Lord’s...Corps, decided to wait until daylight to breach the minefields. The Tiger tanks provided suppressing fire. With their 88mm guns, they could do this from

  14. Investigation of the Behavioral Characteristics of Dogs Purpose-Bred and Prepared to Perform Vapor Wake® Detection of Person-Borne Explosives

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lucia Lazarowski

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Specialized detector dogs are increasingly being utilized for the detection of modern threats. The Vapor Wake® (VW dog was developed to create a dog phenotype ideally suited for detecting hand-carried and body-worn explosives. VW dogs (VWDs are trained to sample and alert to target odors in the aerodynamic wakes of moving persons, which entrains vapor and small particles from the person. The behavioral characteristics necessary for dogs to be successfully trained and employed for the application of VW are a distinct subset of the desired general characteristics of dogs used for detection tasks due to the dynamic nature of moving targets. The purpose of this study was to examine the behavioral characteristics of candidate detector dogs to determine the particular qualities that set apart VW-capable dogs from others. We assessed 146 candidate detector dogs from a VW breeding and training program. Dogs received identical puppy development and foundational odor training and underwent performance evaluations at 3, 6, 10, and 12 months old, after which they were sold for service. Dogs were categorized based on their final outcome of the training program, independently determined by private vendors, corresponding to three groups: dogs successfully sold for VW, dogs sold for standard explosives detection, and dogs that failed to be placed in any type of detector dog service (Washouts. Comparisons of behavioral evaluations between the groups were made across domains pertaining to search-related behaviors (Performance, reactions to novel stimuli (Environmental, and overall ease of learning new tasks (Trainability. Comparisons were also made at each evaluation to determine any early emergence of differences. VWDs scored significantly higher on Performance characteristics compared to standard explosives detection dogs (EDDs and Washouts. However, Environmental characteristics did not differentiate VWDs from EDDs, though scores on these measures were

  15. Investigation of the Behavioral Characteristics of Dogs Purpose-Bred and Prepared to Perform Vapor Wake® Detection of Person-Borne Explosives.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lazarowski, Lucia; Haney, Pamela Sue; Brock, Jeanne; Fischer, Terry; Rogers, Bart; Angle, Craig; Katz, Jeffrey S; Waggoner, L Paul

    2018-01-01

    Specialized detector dogs are increasingly being utilized for the detection of modern threats. The Vapor Wake ® (VW) dog was developed to create a dog phenotype ideally suited for detecting hand-carried and body-worn explosives. VW dogs (VWDs) are trained to sample and alert to target odors in the aerodynamic wakes of moving persons, which entrains vapor and small particles from the person. The behavioral characteristics necessary for dogs to be successfully trained and employed for the application of VW are a distinct subset of the desired general characteristics of dogs used for detection tasks due to the dynamic nature of moving targets. The purpose of this study was to examine the behavioral characteristics of candidate detector dogs to determine the particular qualities that set apart VW-capable dogs from others. We assessed 146 candidate detector dogs from a VW breeding and training program. Dogs received identical puppy development and foundational odor training and underwent performance evaluations at 3, 6, 10, and 12 months old, after which they were sold for service. Dogs were categorized based on their final outcome of the training program, independently determined by private vendors, corresponding to three groups: dogs successfully sold for VW, dogs sold for standard explosives detection, and dogs that failed to be placed in any type of detector dog service (Washouts). Comparisons of behavioral evaluations between the groups were made across domains pertaining to search-related behaviors (Performance), reactions to novel stimuli (Environmental), and overall ease of learning new tasks (Trainability). Comparisons were also made at each evaluation to determine any early emergence of differences. VWDs scored significantly higher on Performance characteristics compared to standard explosives detection dogs (EDDs) and Washouts. However, Environmental characteristics did not differentiate VWDs from EDDs, though scores on these measures were significantly

  16. Benchmark for Peak Detection Algorithms in Fiber Bragg Grating Interrogation and a New Neural Network for its Performance Improvement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Negri, Lucas; Nied, Ademir; Kalinowski, Hypolito; Paterno, Aleksander

    2011-01-01

    This paper presents a benchmark for peak detection algorithms employed in fiber Bragg grating spectrometric interrogation systems. The accuracy, precision, and computational performance of currently used algorithms and those of a new proposed artificial neural network algorithm are compared. Centroid and gaussian fitting algorithms are shown to have the highest precision but produce systematic errors that depend on the FBG refractive index modulation profile. The proposed neural network displays relatively good precision with reduced systematic errors and improved computational performance when compared to other networks. Additionally, suitable algorithms may be chosen with the general guidelines presented. PMID:22163806

  17. Error rate performance of narrowband multilevel CPFSK signals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ekanayake, N.; Fonseka, K. J. P.

    1987-04-01

    The paper presents a relatively simple method for analyzing the effect of IF filtering on the performance of multilevel FM signals. Using this method, the error rate performance of narrowband FM signals is analyzed for three different detection techniques, namely limiter-discriminator detection, differential detection and coherent detection followed by differential decoding. The symbol error probabilities are computed for a Gaussian IF filter and a second-order Butterworth IF filter. It is shown that coherent detection and differential decoding yields better performance than limiter-discriminator detection and differential detection, whereas two noncoherent detectors yield approximately identical performance.

  18. Energy detection based on undecimated discrete wavelet transform and its application in magnetic anomaly detection.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xinhua Nie

    Full Text Available Magnetic anomaly detection (MAD is a passive approach for detection of a ferromagnetic target, and its performance is often limited by external noises. In consideration of one major noise source is the fractal noise (or called 1/f noise with a power spectral density of 1/fa (0detection method based on undecimated discrete wavelet transform (UDWT is proposed in this paper. Firstly, the foundations of magnetic anomaly detection and UDWT are introduced in brief, while a possible detection system based on giant magneto-impedance (GMI magnetic sensor is also given out. Then our proposed energy detection based on UDWT is described in detail, and the probabilities of false alarm and detection for given the detection threshold in theory are presented. It is noticeable that no a priori assumptions regarding the ferromagnetic target or the magnetic noise probability are necessary for our method, and different from the discrete wavelet transform (DWT, the UDWT is shift invariant. Finally, some simulations are performed and the results show that the detection performance of our proposed detector is better than that of the conventional energy detector even utilized in the Gaussian white noise, especially when the spectral parameter α is less than 1.0. In addition, a real-world experiment was done to demonstrate the advantages of the proposed method.

  19. Decision criterion dynamics in animals performing an auditory detection task.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Robert W Mill

    Full Text Available Classical signal detection theory attributes bias in perceptual decisions to a threshold criterion, against which sensory excitation is compared. The optimal criterion setting depends on the signal level, which may vary over time, and about which the subject is naïve. Consequently, the subject must optimise its threshold by responding appropriately to feedback. Here a series of experiments was conducted, and a computational model applied, to determine how the decision bias of the ferret in an auditory signal detection task tracks changes in the stimulus level. The time scales of criterion dynamics were investigated by means of a yes-no signal-in-noise detection task, in which trials were grouped into blocks that alternately contained easy- and hard-to-detect signals. The responses of the ferrets implied both long- and short-term criterion dynamics. The animals exhibited a bias in favour of responding "yes" during blocks of harder trials, and vice versa. Moreover, the outcome of each single trial had a strong influence on the decision at the next trial. We demonstrate that the single-trial and block-level changes in bias are a manifestation of the same criterion update policy by fitting a model, in which the criterion is shifted by fixed amounts according to the outcome of the previous trial and decays strongly towards a resting value. The apparent block-level stabilisation of bias arises as the probabilities of outcomes and shifts on single trials mutually interact to establish equilibrium. To gain an intuition into how stable criterion distributions arise from specific parameter sets we develop a Markov model which accounts for the dynamic effects of criterion shifts. Our approach provides a framework for investigating the dynamics of decisions at different timescales in other species (e.g., humans and in other psychological domains (e.g., vision, memory.

  20. Evaluation and performance analysis of hydrocarbon detection methods using hyperspectral data

    OpenAIRE

    Lenz, Andreas; Schilling, Hendrik; Gross, Wolfgang; Middelmann, Wolfgang

    2015-01-01

    Different methods for the detection for hydrocarbons in aerial hyperspectral images are analyzed in this study. The scope is to find a practical method for airborne oil spill mapping on land. Examined are Hydrocarbon index and Hydrocarbon detection index. As well as spectral reidentification algorithms, like Spectral angle mapper, in comparison to the indices. The influence of different ground coverage and different hydrocarbons was tested and evaluated. A ground measurement campaign was cond...

  1. Optimizing Case-based detection performance in a multiview CAD system for mammography

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Samulski, M.; Karssemeijer, N.

    2011-01-01

    When reading mammograms, radiologists combine information from multiple views to detect abnormalities. Most computer-aided detection (CAD) systems, however, use primitive methods for inclusion of multiview context or analyze each view independently. In previous research it was found that in

  2. Facilitated auditory detection for speech sounds

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carine eSignoret

    2011-07-01

    Full Text Available If it is well known that knowledge facilitates higher cognitive functions, such as visual and auditory word recognition, little is known about the influence of knowledge on detection, particularly in the auditory modality. Our study tested the influence of phonological and lexical knowledge on auditory detection. Words, pseudo words and complex non phonological sounds, energetically matched as closely as possible, were presented at a range of presentation levels from sub threshold to clearly audible. The participants performed a detection task (Experiments 1 and 2 that was followed by a two alternative forced choice recognition task in Experiment 2. The results of this second task in Experiment 2 suggest a correct recognition of words in the absence of detection with a subjective threshold approach. In the detection task of both experiments, phonological stimuli (words and pseudo words were better detected than non phonological stimuli (complex sounds, presented close to the auditory threshold. This finding suggests an advantage of speech for signal detection. An additional advantage of words over pseudo words was observed in Experiment 2, suggesting that lexical knowledge could also improve auditory detection when listeners had to recognize the stimulus in a subsequent task. Two simulations of detection performance performed on the sound signals confirmed that the advantage of speech over non speech processing could not be attributed to energetic differences in the stimuli.

  3. Detection of lung cancer on the chest radiograph: a study on observer performance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Quekel, Lorentz G.B.A.; Kessels, Alphons G.H.; Goei, Reginald; Engelshoven, Joseph M.A. van

    2001-01-01

    Study objectives: to study the validity and observers consistency in the detection of lung cancer on the chest radiograph. Materials and methods: the chest radiographs of 100 clinical cases were interpreted by 14 observers. The radiographs were obtained from 30 patients with initially missed but histopathologically proven non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), 35 patients with other cardiopulmonary diseases and 35 patients with no abnormalities. The observers consisted of ten experienced radiologists, two-experienced chest physicians and two residents in radiology. All observers were unaware of the study design. The validity and observer consistency was determined for each observer. Results: the mean sensitivity and specificity of the ten radiologists were 0.36 and 0.90. For the two chest physicians, the mean sensitivity and specificity were 0.29 and 0.96. For the two residents in radiology, mean sensitivity and specificity were 0.25 and 0.94. The mean interobserver kappa and mean intraobserver kappa for the radiologists were 0.38 and 0.54. For the two chest physicians, the mean interobserver kappa was 0.43, while the intraobserver kappa was 0.59. For the two residents in radiology, mean interobserver kappa was 0.35 and the intraobserver kappa was 0.42. There was no significant relation between the consistency parameters and validity parameters. The interobserver and intraobserver kappa values showed good correlation. Conclusion: the validity of the chest radiograph and observers consistency in the detection of nodular lung cancer varies widely. The level of experience is likely to influence the diagnostic performance

  4. Early detection of degraded A14-125I-insulin in human fibroblasts by the use of high performance liquid chromatography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stentz, F.B.; Harris, H.L.; Kitabchi, A.E.

    1983-01-01

    We studied the metabolism of A14-125I-insulin in intact human fibroblasts using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) to detect and separate its early degradation products. The high resolving power of HPLC enabled us to separate what has been considered ''intact insulin'' by Sephadex G-50 chromatography or TCA precipitability into two additional peaks that had decreased biochemical properties with respect to immunoprecipitability and receptor binding but not decreased TCA precipitability. We conclude that human fibroblast is capable of metabolizing insulin within 2 min at 37 degrees C into intermediate molecules that can be detected by HPLC but not by TCA precipitability or molecular sieve chromatography

  5. A validated high-performance liquid chromatography method with diode array detection for simultaneous determination of nine flavonoids in Senecio cannabifolius Less.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Niu, Tian-Zeng; Zhang, Yu-Wei; Bao, Yong-Li; Wu, Yin; Yu, Chun-Lei; Sun, Lu-Guo; Yi, Jing-Wen; Huang, Yan-Xin; Li, Yu-Xin

    2013-03-25

    A reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography method coupled with a diode array detector (HPLC-DAD) was developed for the first time for the simultaneous determination of 9 flavonoids in Senecio cannabifolius, a traditional Chinese medicinal herb. Agilent Zorbax SB-C18 column was used at room temperature and the mobile phase was a mixture of acetonitrile and 0.5% formic acid (v/v) in water in the gradient elution mode at a flow-rate of 1.0mlmin(-1), detected at 360nm. Validation of this method was performed to verify the linearity, precision, limits of detection and quantification, intra- and inter-day variabilities, reproducibility and recovery. The calibration curves showed good linearities (R(2)>0.9995) within the test ranges. The relative standard deviation (RSD) of the method was less than 3.0% for intra- and inter-day assays. The samples were stable for at least 96h, and the average recoveries were between 90.6% and 102.5%. High sensitivity was demonstrated with detection limits of 0.028-0.085μg/ml for flavonoids. The newly established HPLC method represents a powerful technique for the quality assurance of S. cannabifolius. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  6. Interior intrusion detection systems

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rodriguez, J.R.; Matter, J.C. (Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (United States)); Dry, B. (BE, Inc., Barnwell, SC (United States))

    1991-10-01

    The purpose of this NUREG is to present technical information that should be useful to NRC licensees in designing interior intrusion detection systems. Interior intrusion sensors are discussed according to their primary application: boundary-penetration detection, volumetric detection, and point protection. Information necessary for implementation of an effective interior intrusion detection system is presented, including principles of operation, performance characteristics and guidelines for design, procurement, installation, testing, and maintenance. A glossary of sensor data terms is included. 36 figs., 6 tabs.

  7. Interior intrusion detection systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rodriguez, J.R.; Matter, J.C.; Dry, B.

    1991-10-01

    The purpose of this NUREG is to present technical information that should be useful to NRC licensees in designing interior intrusion detection systems. Interior intrusion sensors are discussed according to their primary application: boundary-penetration detection, volumetric detection, and point protection. Information necessary for implementation of an effective interior intrusion detection system is presented, including principles of operation, performance characteristics and guidelines for design, procurement, installation, testing, and maintenance. A glossary of sensor data terms is included. 36 figs., 6 tabs

  8. Computer simulation of probability of detection

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fertig, K.W.; Richardson, J.M.

    1983-01-01

    This paper describes an integrated model for assessing the performance of a given ultrasonic inspection system for detecting internal flaws, where the performance of such a system is measured by probability of detection. The effects of real part geometries on sound propagations are accounted for and the noise spectra due to various noise mechanisms are measured. An ultrasonic inspection simulation computer code has been developed to be able to detect flaws with attributes ranging over an extensive class. The detection decision is considered to be a binary decision based on one received waveform obtained in a pulse-echo or pitch-catch setup. This study focuses on the detectability of flaws using an amplitude thresholding type. Some preliminary results on the detectability of radially oriented cracks in IN-100 for bore-like geometries are given

  9. Performance of a Cyanobacteria Whole Cell-Based Fluorescence Biosensor for Heavy Metal and Pesticide Detection

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Salmijah Surif

    2013-05-01

    Full Text Available Whole cell biosensors always face the challenge of low stability of biological components and short storage life. This paper reports the effects of poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (pHEMA immobilization on a whole cell fluorescence biosensor for the detection of heavy metals (Cu, Pb, Cd, and pesticides (dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D, and chlorpyrifos. The biosensor was produced by entrapping the cyanobacterium Anabaena torulosa on a cellulose membrane, followed by applying a layer of pHEMA, and attaching it to a well. The well was then fixed to an optical probe which was connected to a fluorescence spectrophotometer and an electronic reader. The optimization of the biosensor using several factors such as amount of HEMA and drying temperature were undertaken. The detection limits of biosensor without pHEMA for Cu, Cd, Pb, 2,4-D and chlorpyrifos were 1.195, 0.027, 0.0100, 0.025 and 0.025 µg/L respectively. The presence of pHEMA increased the limits of detection to 1.410, 0.250, 0.500, 0.235 and 0.117 µg/L respectively. pHEMA is known to enhance the reproducibility of the biosensor with average relative standard deviation (RSD of ±1.76% for all the pollutants tested, 48% better than the biosensor without pHEMA (RSD = ±3.73%. In storability test with Cu 5 µg/L, the biosensor with pHEMA performed 11.5% better than the test without pHEMA on day-10 and 5.2% better on day-25. pHEMA is therefore a good candidate to be used in whole cell biosensors as it increases reproducibility and enhances biosensor storability.

  10. Performance of “VIKIA Malaria Ag Pf/Pan” (IMACCESS®, a new malaria rapid diagnostic test for detection of symptomatic malaria infections

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chou Monidarin

    2012-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Recently, IMACCESS® developed a new malaria test (VIKIA Malaria Ag Pf/Pan™, based on the detection of falciparum malaria (HRP-2 and non-falciparum malaria (aldolase. Methods The performance of this new malaria rapid diagnostic test (RDT was assessed using 1,000 febrile patients seeking malaria treatment in four health centres in Cambodia from August to December 2011. The results of the VIKIA Malaria Ag Pf/Pan were compared with those obtained by microscopy, the CareStart Malaria™ RDT (AccessBio® which is currently used in Cambodia, and real-time PCR (as “gold standard”. Results The best performances of the VIKIA Malaria Ag Pf/Pan™ test for detection of both Plasmodium falciparum and non-P. falciparum were with 20–30 min reading times (sensitivity of 93.4% for P. falciparum and 82.8% for non-P. falciparum and specificity of 98.6% for P. falciparum and 98.9% for non-P. falciparum and were similar to those for the CareStart Malaria™ test. Conclusions This new RDT performs similarly well as other commercially available tests (especially the CareStart Malaria™ test, used as comparator, and conforms to the World Health Organization’s recommendations for RDT performance. It is a good alternative tool for the diagnosis of malaria in endemic areas.

  11. Clinical and analytical performance of the BD Onclarity™ HPV assay for detection of CIN2+ lesions on SurePath samples

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ejegod, Ditte Møller; Junge, Jette; Franzmann, Maria

    2016-01-01

    BACKGROUND: The novel BD Onclarity(TM) HPV assay (Onclarity) on the BD Viper™ LT system (BD Diagnostics, Sparks, MD), detects E6/E7 DNA from 13 high-risk HPV genotypes and HPV66. We compared the analytical and clinical performance of the Onclarity Assay to that of Hybrid Capture 2 and LINEAR ARRAY...

  12. Detection Range of Airborne Magnetometers in Magnetic Anomaly Detection

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chengjing Li

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available Airborne magnetometers are utilized for the small-range search, precise positioning, and identification of the ferromagnetic properties of underwater targets. As an important performance parameter of sensors, the detection range of airborne magnetometers is commonly set as a fixed value in references regardless of the influences of environment noise, target magnetic properties, and platform features in a classical model to detect airborne magnetic anomalies. As a consequence, deviation in detection ability analysis is observed. In this study, a novel detection range model is proposed on the basis of classic detection range models of airborne magnetometers. In this model, probability distribution is applied, and the magnetic properties of targets and the environment noise properties of a moving submarine are considered. The detection range model is also constructed by considering the distribution of the moving submarine during detection. A cell-averaging greatest-of-constant false alarm rate test method is also used to calculate the detection range of the model at a desired false alarm rate. The detection range model is then used to establish typical submarine search probabilistic models. Results show that the model can be used to evaluate not only the effects of ambient magnetic noise but also the moving and geomagnetic features of the target and airborne detection platform. The model can also be utilized to display the actual operating range of sensor systems.

  13. Improved detection of drugs of abuse using high-performance ion mobility spectrometry with electrospray ionization (ESI-HPIMS) for urine matrices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Midey, Anthony J; Patel, Aesha; Moraff, Carol; Krueger, Clinton A; Wu, Ching

    2013-11-15

    High-performance ion mobility spectrometry (HPIMS) with electrospray ionization (ESI) has been used to separate drugs of abuse compounds as a function of drift time (ion mobility), which is based on their size, structural shape, and mass-to-charge. HPIMS has also been used to directly detect and identify a variety of the most commonly encountered illegal drugs, as well as a mixture of opiates in a urine matrix without extra sample pretreatment. HPIMS has shown resolving power greater than 65 comparable to that of high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with only 1 mL of solvent and sample required using air as the IMS separation medium. The HPIMS method can achieve two-order of magnitude linear response, precise drift times, and high peak area precision with percent relative standard deviations (%RSD) less than 3% for sample quantitation. The reduced mobilities measured agree very well with other IMS measurements, allowing a simple "dilute-and-shoot" method to be used to detect a mixture of codeine and morphine in urine matrix. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  14. Some methods for the detection of fissionable matter; Quelques methodes de detection des corps fissiles

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

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

    1967-03-01

    A number of equipments or processes allowing to detect uranium or plutonium in industrial plants, and in particular to measure solution concentrations, are studied here. Each method has its own field of applications and has its own performances, which we have tried to define by calculations and by experiments. The following topics have been treated: {gamma} absorptiometer with an Am source, detection test by neutron multiplication, apparatus for the measurement of the {alpha} activity of a solution, fissionable matter detection by {gamma} emission, fissionable matter detection by neutron emission. (author) [French] On examine ici plusieurs appareils ou procedes qui permettent de detecter l'uranium ou le plutonium dans les installations industrielles, et en particulier de mesurer les concentrations de solutions. Chacune des methodes a son domaine d'application et ses performances, qu'on a tente de definir par le calcul et par des experiences. Les sujets traites sont les suivants: absorptiometre {gamma} a source d'americium, essais de detection par multiplication neutronique, appareil de mesure de l'activite {alpha} d'une solution, detection des matieres fissiles par leur emission {gamma}, detection des matieres fissiles par leur emission neutronique. (auteur)

  15. The benefits of SCADA integrated pipeline leak detection

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pichler, Ruprecht M.J. [Pichler Engineering GmbH, Munich (Germany)

    2003-07-01

    Software based leak detection and locating for pipelines based upon evaluation of hydraulic parameters is a widely used approach to online pipeline integrity monitoring. Typically, these software packages are installed in a stand-alone configuration with a narrow bandwidth interface to the pipeline SCADA system. However, the performance characteristics of the SCADA system and interface do have a substantial impact on the performance of the leak detection system. By a tight integration of leak detection software into the SCADA system, a source of false alarms typically experienced with leak detection systems can be eliminated, the overall performance of the leak detection system can be improved, and the project costs can be reduced. (author)

  16. Signal Detection Theory-Based Information Processing for the Detection of Breast Cancer at Microwave Frequencies

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Nolte, Loren

    2002-01-01

    The hypothesis is that one can use signal detection theory to improve the performance in detecting tumors in the breast by using this theory to develop task-oriented information processing techniques...

  17. Performance Evaluation of an Automated ELISA System for Alzheimer's Disease Detection in Clinical Routine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chiasserini, Davide; Biscetti, Leonardo; Farotti, Lucia; Eusebi, Paolo; Salvadori, Nicola; Lisetti, Viviana; Baschieri, Francesca; Chipi, Elena; Frattini, Giulia; Stoops, Erik; Vanderstichele, Hugo; Calabresi, Paolo; Parnetti, Lucilla

    2016-07-22

    The variability of Alzheimer's disease (AD) cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers undermines their full-fledged introduction into routine diagnostics and clinical trials. Automation may help to increase precision and decrease operator errors, eventually improving the diagnostic performance. Here we evaluated three new CSF immunoassays, EUROIMMUNtrademark amyloid-β 1-40 (Aβ1-40), amyloid-β 1-42 (Aβ1-42), and total tau (t-tau), in combination with automated analysis of the samples. The CSF biomarkers were measured in a cohort consisting of AD patients (n = 28), mild cognitive impairment (MCI, n = 77), and neurological controls (OND, n = 35). MCI patients were evaluated yearly and cognitive functions were assessed by Mini-Mental State Examination. The patients clinically diagnosed with AD and MCI were classified according to the CSF biomarkers profile following NIA-AA criteria and the Erlangen score. Technical evaluation of the immunoassays was performed together with the calculation of their diagnostic performance. Furthermore, the results for EUROIMMUN Aβ1-42 and t-tau were compared to standard immunoassay methods (INNOTESTtrademark). EUROIMMUN assays for Aβ1-42 and t-tau correlated with INNOTEST (r = 0.83, p ratio measured with EUROIMMUN was the best parameter for AD detection and improved the diagnostic accuracy of Aβ1-42 (area under the curve = 0.93). In MCI patients, the Aβ1-42/Aβ1-40 ratio was associated with cognitive decline and clinical progression to AD.The diagnostic performance of the EUROIMMUN assays with automation is comparable to other currently used methods. The variability of the method and the value of the Aβ1-42/Aβ1-40 ratio in AD diagnosis need to be validated in large multi-center studies.

  18. Static Decoupling in fault detection

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Niemann, Hans Henrik

    1998-01-01

    An algebraic approach is given for a design of a static residual weighting factor in connection with fault detection. A complete parameterization is given of the weighting factor which will minimize a given performance index......An algebraic approach is given for a design of a static residual weighting factor in connection with fault detection. A complete parameterization is given of the weighting factor which will minimize a given performance index...

  19. Determination of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Automobile Exhaust by Means of High-Performance Liquid Chromatography with Fluorescence Detection

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Tom

    1979-01-01

    A chromatographic method has been developed and applied to the determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in particulate matter in automobile exhaust, in petrols, and in crankcase oils. The PAHs were purified from other organic compounds by thin-layer chromatography, separated by high......-performance liquid chromatography, and measured by means of on-line fluorescence detection. The identities of the PAHs were verified by comparing the emission spectra obtained by a stop-flow technique with those of standard PAHs...

  20. Human performance in radiological survey scanning

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brown, W.S.; Abelquist, E.W.

    1998-03-01

    The probability of detecting residual contamination in the field using portable radiological survey instruments depends not only on the sensitivity of the instrumentation used in scanning, but also on the surveyor's performance. This report provides a basis for taking human performance into account in determining the minimum level of activity detectable by scanning. A theoretical framework was developed (based on signal detection theory) which allows influences on surveyors to be anticipated and understood, and supports a quantitative assessment of performance. The performance of surveyors under controlled yet realistic field conditions was examined to gain insight into the task and to develop means of quantifying performance. Then, their performance was assessed under laboratory conditions to quantify more precisely their ability to make the required discriminations. The information was used to characterize surveyors' performance in the scanning task and to provide a basis for predicting levels of radioactivity that are likely to be detectable under various conditions by surveyors using portable survey instruments

  1. Human performance in radiological survey scanning

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Brown, W.S. [Brookhaven National Lab., Upton, NY (United States); Abelquist, E.W. [Oak Ridge Inst. for Science and Education, TN (United States)

    1998-03-01

    The probability of detecting residual contamination in the field using portable radiological survey instruments depends not only on the sensitivity of the instrumentation used in scanning, but also on the surveyor`s performance. This report provides a basis for taking human performance into account in determining the minimum level of activity detectable by scanning. A theoretical framework was developed (based on signal detection theory) which allows influences on surveyors to be anticipated and understood, and supports a quantitative assessment of performance. The performance of surveyors under controlled yet realistic field conditions was examined to gain insight into the task and to develop means of quantifying performance. Then, their performance was assessed under laboratory conditions to quantify more precisely their ability to make the required discriminations. The information was used to characterize surveyors` performance in the scanning task and to provide a basis for predicting levels of radioactivity that are likely to be detectable under various conditions by surveyors using portable survey instruments.

  2. Detective quantum efficiency: a standard test to ensure optimal detector performance and low patient exposures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Escartin, Terenz R.; Nano, Tomi F.; Cunningham, Ian A.

    2016-03-01

    The detective quantum efficiency (DQE), expressed as a function of spatial frequency, describes the ability of an x-ray detector to produce high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) images. While regulatory and scientific communities have used the DQE as a primary metric for optimizing detector design, the DQE is rarely used by end users to ensure high system performance is maintained. Of concern is that image quality varies across different systems for the same exposures with no current measures available to describe system performance. Therefore, here we conducted an initial DQE measurement survey of clinical x-ray systems using a DQE-testing instrument to identify their range of performance. Following laboratory validation, experiments revealed that the DQE of five different systems under the same exposure level (8.0 μGy) ranged from 0.36 to 0.75 at low spatial frequencies, and 0.02 to 0.4 at high spatial frequencies (3.5 cycles/mm). Furthermore, the DQE dropped substantially with decreasing detector exposure by a factor of up to 1.5x in the lowest spatial frequency, and a factor of 10x at 3.5 cycles/mm due to the effect of detector readout noise. It is concluded that DQE specifications in purchasing decisions, combined with periodic DQE testing, are important factors to ensure patients receive the health benefits of high-quality images for low x-ray exposures.

  3. Radiation portal monitor with {sup 10}B+ZnS(Ag) neutron detector performance for the detection of special nuclear materials

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Guzman G, K. A.; Gallego, E.; Lorente, A.; Ibanez F, S. [Universidad Politecnica de Madrid, Departamento de Ingenieria Energetica, ETSI Industriales, C. Jose Gutierrez Abascal 2, 28006 Madrid (Spain); Vega C, H. R. [Universidad Autonoma de Zacatecas, Unidad Academica de Estudios Nucleares, Cipres No. 10, Fracc. La Penuela, 98068 Zacatecas, Zac. (Mexico); Gonzalez, J. A. [Universidad Politecnica de Madrid, Laboratorio de Ingenieria Nuclear, ETSI Caminos, Canales y Puertos, C. Prof. Aranguren 3, 28040 Madrid (Spain); Mendez, R., E-mail: ingkarenguzman@gmail.com [Centro de Investigaciones Energeticas, Medioambientales y Tecnologicas, Laboratorio de Patrones Neutronicos, Av. Complutense 40, 28040 Madrid (Spain)

    2016-10-15

    In homeland security, neutron detection is used to prevent the smuggling of special nuclear materials. Thermal neutrons are normally detected with {sup 3}He proportional counters, in the radiation portal monitors, Rpms, however due to the {sup 3}He shortage new procedures are being studied. In this work Monte Carlo methods, using the MCNP6 code, have been used to study the neutron detection features of a {sup 10}B+ZnS(Ag) under real conditions inside of a Rpm. The performance for neutron detection was carried out for {sup 252}Cf, {sup 238}U and {sup 239}Pu under different conditions. In order to mimic an actual situation occurring at border areas, a sample of SNM sited inside a vehicle was simulated and the Rpm with {sup 10}B+ZnS(Ag) response was calculated. At 200 cm the {sup 10}B+ZnS(Ag) on Rpm response is close to 2.5 cps-ng {sup 252}Cf, when the {sup 252}Cf neutron source is shielded with 0.5 cm-thick lead and 2.5 cm-thick polyethylene fulfilling the ANSI recommendations. Three different geometries of neutron detectors of {sup 10}B+ZnS(Ag) in a neutron detection system in Rpm were modeled. Therefore, the {sup 10}B+ZnS(Ag) detectors are an innovative and viable replacement for the {sup 3}He detectors in the Rpm. (Author)

  4. Simultaneous determination of ethyl carbamate and urea in Korean rice wine by ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometric detection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Gyeong-Hweon; Bang, Dae-Young; Lim, Jung-Hoon; Yoon, Seok-Min; Yea, Myeong-Jai; Chi, Young-Min

    2017-10-15

    In this study, a rapid method for simultaneous detection of ethyl carbamate (EC) and urea in Korean rice wine was developed. To achieve quantitative analysis of EC and urea, the conditions for Ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) separation and atmospheric-pressure chemical ionization tandem mass spectrometry (APCI-MS/MS) detection were first optimized. Under the established conditions, the detection limit, relative standard deviation and linear range were 2.83μg/L, 3.75-5.96%, and 0.01-10.0mg/L, respectively, for urea; the corresponding values were 0.17μg/L, 1.06-4.01%, and 1.0-50.0μg/L, respectively, for EC. The correlation between the contents of EC and its precursor urea was determined under specific pH (3.5 and 4.5) and temperature (4, 25, and 50°C) conditions using the developed method. As a result, EC content was increased with greater temperature and lower pH. In Korean rice wine, urea was detected 0.19-1.37mg/L and EC was detected 2.0-7.7μg/L. The method developed in this study, which has the advantages of simplified sample preparation, low detection limits, and good selectivity, was successfully applied for the rapid analysis of EC and urea. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. Evaluation of outbreak detection performance using multi-stream syndromic surveillance for influenza-like illness in rural Hubei Province, China: a temporal simulation model based on healthcare-seeking behaviors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fan, Yunzhou; Wang, Ying; Jiang, Hongbo; Yang, Wenwen; Yu, Miao; Yan, Weirong; Diwan, Vinod K; Xu, Biao; Dong, Hengjin; Palm, Lars; Nie, Shaofa

    2014-01-01

    Syndromic surveillance promotes the early detection of diseases outbreaks. Although syndromic surveillance has increased in developing countries, performance on outbreak detection, particularly in cases of multi-stream surveillance, has scarcely been evaluated in rural areas. This study introduces a temporal simulation model based on healthcare-seeking behaviors to evaluate the performance of multi-stream syndromic surveillance for influenza-like illness. Data were obtained in six towns of rural Hubei Province, China, from April 2012 to June 2013. A Susceptible-Exposed-Infectious-Recovered model generated 27 scenarios of simulated influenza A (H1N1) outbreaks, which were converted into corresponding simulated syndromic datasets through the healthcare-behaviors model. We then superimposed converted syndromic datasets onto the baselines obtained to create the testing datasets. Outbreak performance of single-stream surveillance of clinic visit, frequency of over the counter drug purchases, school absenteeism, and multi-stream surveillance of their combinations were evaluated using receiver operating characteristic curves and activity monitoring operation curves. In the six towns examined, clinic visit surveillance and school absenteeism surveillance exhibited superior performances of outbreak detection than over the counter drug purchase frequency surveillance; the performance of multi-stream surveillance was preferable to signal-stream surveillance, particularly at low specificity (Sp performance of multi-stream surveillance.

  6. Scintillating-Glass-Fiber neutron sensors, their application and performance for plutonium detection and monitoring

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Seymour, R.S.; Richardson, B.; Morichi, M.; Bliss, M.; Craig, R.A.; Sunberg, D.S.

    1998-01-01

    Most neutron detection sensors presently employ 3 He gas-filled detectors. Despite their excellent performance and widespread use, there are significant limitations to this technology. A significant alternative neutron sensor utilizing neutron-active material incorporated into a glass scintillator is presented that offers novel commercial sensors not possible or practical with gas tube technology. The scintillating optical fiber permits sensors with a multitude of sizes ranging from devices of a single fiber of 150μm to sensors with tens of thousands of fibers with areas as large as 5m 2 depending on the neutron flux to be measured. A second significant advantage is the use of high-speed electronics that allow a greater dynamic range, not possible with gas detectors. These sensors are flexible, conformable and less sensitive to vibration that optimizes the source-to-detector geometry and provides robust performance in field applications. The glass-fibers are sensitive to both gamma rays and neutrons. However the coincidence electronics are optimized for neutron to gamma ray discrimination allowing very sensitive measurements with a low false-alarm rate. Applications include SNM surveillance, material control and accountability (MC and A), safeguard inspections, Pu health physics / bioassay and environmental characterization. (author)

  7. Subband Energy Detection in Passive Array Processing

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Bono, Michael

    2000-01-01

    ...), which includes both Subband Peak Energy Detection (SPED) and Subband Extrema Energy Detection (SEED). It will be shown that SED has several performance advantages over Conventional Energy Detection...

  8. Sky Detection in Hazy Image.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Song, Yingchao; Luo, Haibo; Ma, Junkai; Hui, Bin; Chang, Zheng

    2018-04-01

    Sky detection plays an essential role in various computer vision applications. Most existing sky detection approaches, being trained on ideal dataset, may lose efficacy when facing unfavorable conditions like the effects of weather and lighting conditions. In this paper, a novel algorithm for sky detection in hazy images is proposed from the perspective of probing the density of haze. We address the problem by an image segmentation and a region-level classification. To characterize the sky of hazy scenes, we unprecedentedly introduce several haze-relevant features that reflect the perceptual hazy density and the scene depth. Based on these features, the sky is separated by two imbalance SVM classifiers and a similarity measurement. Moreover, a sky dataset (named HazySky) with 500 annotated hazy images is built for model training and performance evaluation. To evaluate the performance of our method, we conducted extensive experiments both on our HazySky dataset and the SkyFinder dataset. The results demonstrate that our method performs better on the detection accuracy than previous methods, not only under hazy scenes, but also under other weather conditions.

  9. Tomosynthesis for the early detection of pulmonary emphysema: diagnostic performance compared with chest radiography, using multidetector computed tomography as reference.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yamada, Yoshitake; Jinzaki, Masahiro; Hashimoto, Masahiro; Shiomi, Eisuke; Abe, Takayuki; Kuribayashi, Sachio; Ogawa, Kenji

    2013-08-01

    To compare the diagnostic performance of tomosynthesis with that of chest radiography for the detection of pulmonary emphysema, using multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) as reference. Forty-eight patients with and 63 without pulmonary emphysema underwent chest MDCT, tomosynthesis and radiography on the same day. Two blinded radiologists independently evaluated the tomosynthesis images and radiographs for the presence of pulmonary emphysema. Axial and coronal MDCT images served as the reference standard and the percentage lung volume with attenuation values of -950 HU or lower (LAA-950) was evaluated to determine the extent of emphysema. Receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) analysis and generalised estimating equations model were used. ROC analysis revealed significantly better performance (P pulmonary emphysema. The average sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of tomosynthesis were 0.875, 0.968, 0.955 and 0.910, respectively, whereas the values for radiography were 0.479, 0.913, 0.815 and 0.697, respectively. For both tomosynthesis and radiography, the sensitivity increased with increasing LAA-950. The diagnostic performance of tomosynthesis was significantly superior to that of radiography for the detection of pulmonary emphysema. In both tomosynthesis and radiography, the sensitivity was affected by the LAA-950. • Tomosynthesis showed significantly better diagnostic performance for pulmonary emphysema than radiography. • Interobserver agreement for tomosynthesis was significantly higher than that for radiography. • Sensitivity increased with increasing LAA -950 in both tomosynthesis and radiography. • Tomosynthesis imparts a similar radiation dose to two projection chest radiography. • Radiation dose and cost of tomosynthesis are lower than those of MDCT.

  10. Anomaly detection in wide area network mesh using two machine learning anomaly detection algorithms

    OpenAIRE

    Zhang, James; Vukotic, Ilija; Gardner, Robert

    2018-01-01

    Anomaly detection is the practice of identifying items or events that do not conform to an expected behavior or do not correlate with other items in a dataset. It has previously been applied to areas such as intrusion detection, system health monitoring, and fraud detection in credit card transactions. In this paper, we describe a new method for detecting anomalous behavior over network performance data, gathered by perfSONAR, using two machine learning algorithms: Boosted Decision Trees (BDT...

  11. Assessing Miniaturized Sensor Performance using Supervised Learning, with Application to Drug and Explosive Detection

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Alstrøm, Tommy Sonne

    of sensors, as the sensors are designed to provide robust and reliable measurements. That means, the sensors are designed to have repeated measurement clusters. Sensor fusion is presented for the sensor based on chemoselective compounds. An array of color changing compounds are handled and in unity they make......This Ph.D. thesis titled “Assessing Miniaturized Sensor Performance using Supervised Learning, with Application to Drug and Explosive Detection” is a part of the strategic research project “Miniaturized sensors for explosives detection in air” funded by the Danish Agency for Science and Technology...... emanated by explosives and drugs, similar to an electronic nose. To evaluate sensor responses a data processing and evaluation pipeline is required. The work presented herein focuses on the feature extraction, feature representation and sensor accuracy. Thus the primary aim of this thesis is twofold...

  12. Food safety evaluation: Detection and confirmation of chloramphenicol in milk by high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nicolich, Rebecca S.; Werneck-Barroso, Eduardo; Marques, Marlice A. Sipoli

    2006-01-01

    A simple and rapid procedure for extraction of chloramphenicol (CAP) in milk and analysis by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole mass spectrometry in tandem was developed. The method consisted of one step of liquid-liquid extraction using ethyl acetate and acidified water (10 mmol L -1 formic acid) and HPLC-MS/MS detection. CAP-D5 was used as internal standard. The method was validated according to Commission Decision 2002/657/EC. The calibration curves were linear, with typical r 2 values higher than 0.98. Absolute recovery of CAP from milk proved to be more than 95%, however CAP-D5 absolute recovery was 75%. The method was accurate and reproducible, being successfully applied to the monitoring of CAP in milk samples obtained from the Brazilian market. Decision limit (CCα) was 0.05 ng mL -1 and detection capability (CCβ) was 0.09 ng mL -1

  13. Elemental speciation via high-performance liquid chromatography combined with inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopic detection: application of a direct injection nebulizer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    LaFreniere, K.E; Fassel, V.A.; Eckels, D.E.

    1987-01-01

    An evaluation is presented of a direct injection nebulizer (DIN) interfaced to a high-performance liquid chromatograph (HPLC) with inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopic (ICP-AES) detection for simultaneous multielement speciation. The limits of detection (LODs) obtained with the DIN interface in the HPLC mode were found to be comparable to those obtained by continuous-flow sample introduction into the ICP, or inferior by up to only a factor of 4. In addition, the DIN allowed for the direct injection into the ICP of a variety of common HPLC solvents (up to 100% methanol, acetonitrile, methyl isobutyl ketone, pyridine, and water). The HPLC-DIN-ICP-AES system was compared to other HPLC-atomic spectroscopic detection techniques and was found to offer substantial improvement over the alternative on-line, detection methods in terms of LODs. Representative applications of the HPLC-DIN-ICP-AES system to the elemental speciation of coal process streams, shale oil, solvent refined coal, and crude oil are presented

  14. Intrusion detection sensors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Williams, J.D.

    1978-07-01

    Intrusion detection sensors are an integral part of most physical security systems. Under the sponsorship of the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Safeguards and Security, Sandia Laboratories has conducted a survey of available intrusion detection sensors and has tested a number of different sensors. An overview of these sensors is provided. This overview includes (1) the operating principles of each type of sensor, (2) unique sensor characteristics, (3) desired sensor improvements which must be considered in planning an intrusion detection system, and (4) the site characteristics which affect the performance of both exterior and interior sensors. Techniques which have been developed to evaluate various intrusion detection sensors are also discussed

  15. Does Computer-aided Detection Assist in the Early Detection of Breast Cancer?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hukkinen, K.; Pamilo, M.

    2005-01-01

    Purpose: To evaluate whether breast cancers detected at screening are visible in previous mammograms, and to assess the performance of a computer-aided detection (CAD) system in detecting lesions in preoperative and previous mammograms. Material and Methods: Initial screening detected 67 women with 69 surgically verified breast cancers (Group A). An experienced screening radiologist retrospectively analyzed previous mammograms for visible lesions (Group B), noting in particular their size and morphology. Preoperative and previous mammograms were analyzed with CAD; a relatively inexperienced resident also analyzed previous mammograms. The performances of CAD and resident were then compared. Results: Of the 69 lesions identified, 36 were visible in previous mammograms. Of these 36 'missed' lesions, 14 were under 10 mm in diameter and 29 were mass lesions. The sensitivity of CAD was 81% in Group A and 64% in Group B. Small mass lesions were harder for CAD to detect. The specificity of CAD was 3% in Group A and 9% in Group B. Together, CAD and the resident found more 'missed' lesions than separately. Conclusion: Of the 69 breast cancers, 36 were visible in previous mammograms. CAD's sensitivity in detecting cancer lesions ranged from 64% to 81%, while specificity ranged from 9% to as low as 3%. CAD may be helpful if the radiologist is less subspecialized in mammography

  16. Detection of dopamine neurotransmission in 'real time'

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rajendra D Badgaiyan

    2013-07-01

    Full Text Available Current imaging techniques have limited ability to detect neurotransmitters released during brain processing. It is a critical limitation because neurotransmitters have significant control over the brain activity. In this context, recent development of single-scan dynamic molecular imaging technique is important because it allows detection, mapping, and measurement of dopamine released in the brain during task performance. The technique exploits the competition between endogenously released dopamine and its receptor ligand for occupancy of receptor sites. Dopamine released during task performance is detected by dynamically measuring concentration of intravenously injected radiolabeled ligand using a positron emission tomography camera. Based on the ligand concentration, values of receptor kinetic parameters are estimated. These estimates allow detection of dopamine released in the human brain during task performance.

  17. Quantitative performance of E-Scribe warehouse in detecting quality issues with digital annotated ECG data from healthy subjects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sarapa, Nenad; Mortara, Justin L; Brown, Barry D; Isola, Lamberto; Badilini, Fabio

    2008-05-01

    The US Food and Drug Administration recommends submission of digital electrocardiograms in the standard HL7 XML format into the electrocardiogram warehouse to support preapproval review of new drug applications. The Food and Drug Administration scrutinizes electrocardiogram quality by viewing the annotated waveforms and scoring electrocardiogram quality by the warehouse algorithms. Part of the Food and Drug Administration warehouse is commercially available to sponsors as the E-Scribe Warehouse. The authors tested the performance of E-Scribe Warehouse algorithms by quantifying electrocardiogram acquisition quality, adherence to QT annotation protocol, and T-wave signal strength in 2 data sets: "reference" (104 digital electrocardiograms from a phase I study with sotalol in 26 healthy subjects with QT annotations by computer-assisted manual adjustment) and "test" (the same electrocardiograms with an intentionally introduced predefined number of quality issues). The E-Scribe Warehouse correctly detected differences between the 2 sets expected from the number and pattern of errors in the "test" set (except for 1 subject with QT misannotated in different leads of serial electrocardiograms) and confirmed the absence of differences where none was expected. E-Scribe Warehouse scores below the threshold value identified individual electrocardiograms with questionable T-wave signal strength. The E-Scribe Warehouse showed satisfactory performance in detecting electrocardiogram quality issues that may impair reliability of QTc assessment in clinical trials in healthy subjects.

  18. [Detection of monoamine neurotransmitters and its metabolites by high performance liquid chromatograph after pre-column derivatization of dansyl chloride column].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Xiao; Chen, Jia-wen; He, Li-ping; Kang, Xue-jun

    2012-12-01

    To develop a high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) for detection of monoamine neurotransmitters and its metabolites after pre-column derivatization with dansyl chloride. The C(18) chromatograph column (150 mm×4.6 mm×5 µm) was selected for detection, and derived by dansyl chloride (10 mg/ml) under the condition of 50°C water bath by pH11 buffer solution. 20 µl acetic acid acetone solution (1.0 mol/L) was then mixed in for termination of the reaction. Then the solution was cooling to room temperature, 0.1 mol/L acetic acid zinc-acetonitrile-tetrahydrofuran solution was adopted for mobile phrase, with the volume ratio at 62:35:3. The flow rate was 1.0 ml/min between 0-10 min, 2.0 ml/min between 10-35 min. The ultraviolet detection wavelength was 286 nm. The above method separately detected monoamine neurotransmitters and its metabolites and evaluated the limit of detection, accurate degree and accuracy degree. The linear relations between each component was good in the range of 1 - 20 µg/ml (r = 0.999). The lowest detection limit of norepinephrine, dopamine, 5-hydroxytryptamine and the metabolites 3-methoxy-4-benzoglycols, homovanillic acid and 5-heteroauxin were separately 0.60, 0.80, 0.41, 0.21, 0.19 and 0.1 µg/ml; while the average recovery rates were between 78.5% - 95.9%, and the relative standard deviation (RSD) was 6.62%, 7.64%, 2.98%, 3.60%, 5.09% and 3.09%, respectively. In the process of selection and optimization of the chromatographic conditions, we observed the importance of metal ions to discretion, and discussed the temperature, pH of the buffer solution and dosage of dansyl chloride in derivation. Under the above conditions, the reaction was perfect, and the baseline of the detected materials thoroughly separated. The method to detect monoamine neurotransmitters and its metabolites by HPLC and pre-column derivatization with dansyl chloride was established; and this method could provide reference for the detection of polyamine by HPLC.

  19. Materials science for nuclear detection

    OpenAIRE

    Peurrung, Anthony

    2008-01-01

    The increasing importance of nuclear detection technology has led to a variety of research efforts that seek to accelerate the discovery and development of useful new radiation detection materials. These efforts aim to improve our understanding of how these materials perform, develop formalized discovery tools, and enable rapid and effective performance characterization. We provide an overview of these efforts along with an introduction to the history, physics, and taxonomy of radiation detec...

  20. Performance metrics for state-of-the-art airborne magnetic and electromagnetic systems for mapping and detection of unexploded ordnance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Doll, William E.; Bell, David T.; Gamey, T. Jeffrey; Beard, Les P.; Sheehan, Jacob R.; Norton, Jeannemarie

    2010-04-01

    Over the past decade, notable progress has been made in the performance of airborne geophysical systems for mapping and detection of unexploded ordnance in terrestrial and shallow marine environments. For magnetometer systems, the most significant improvements include development of denser magnetometer arrays and vertical gradiometer configurations. In prototype analyses and recent Environmental Security Technology Certification Program (ESTCP) assessments using new production systems the greatest sensitivity has been achieved with a vertical gradiometer configuration, despite model-based survey design results which suggest that dense total-field arrays would be superior. As effective as magnetometer systems have proven to be at many sites, they are inadequate at sites where basalts and other ferrous geologic formations or soils produce anomalies that approach or exceed those of target ordnance items. Additionally, magnetometer systems are ineffective where detection of non-ferrous ordnance items is of primary concern. Recent completion of the Battelle TEM-8 airborne time-domain electromagnetic system represents the culmination of nearly nine years of assessment and development of airborne electromagnetic systems for UXO mapping and detection. A recent ESTCP demonstration of this system in New Mexico showed that it was able to detect 99% of blind-seeded ordnance items, 81mm and larger, and that it could be used to map in detail a bombing target on a basalt flow where previous airborne magnetometer surveys had failed. The probability of detection for the TEM-8 in the blind-seeded study area was better than that reported for a dense-array total-field magnetometer demonstration of the same blind-seeded site, and the TEM-8 system successfully detected these items with less than half as many anomaly picks as the dense-array total-field magnetometer system.

  1. Spectrotemporal Modulation Detection and Speech Perception by Cochlear Implant Users.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Won, Jong Ho; Moon, Il Joon; Jin, Sunhwa; Park, Heesung; Woo, Jihwan; Cho, Yang-Sun; Chung, Won-Ho; Hong, Sung Hwa

    2015-01-01

    Spectrotemporal modulation (STM) detection performance was examined for cochlear implant (CI) users. The test involved discriminating between an unmodulated steady noise and a modulated stimulus. The modulated stimulus presents frequency modulation patterns that change in frequency over time. In order to examine STM detection performance for different modulation conditions, two different temporal modulation rates (5 and 10 Hz) and three different spectral modulation densities (0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 cycles/octave) were employed, producing a total 6 different STM stimulus conditions. In order to explore how electric hearing constrains STM sensitivity for CI users differently from acoustic hearing, normal-hearing (NH) and hearing-impaired (HI) listeners were also tested on the same tasks. STM detection performance was best in NH subjects, followed by HI subjects. On average, CI subjects showed poorest performance, but some CI subjects showed high levels of STM detection performance that was comparable to acoustic hearing. Significant correlations were found between STM detection performance and speech identification performance in quiet and in noise. In order to understand the relative contribution of spectral and temporal modulation cues to speech perception abilities for CI users, spectral and temporal modulation detection was performed separately and related to STM detection and speech perception performance. The results suggest that that slow spectral modulation rather than slow temporal modulation may be important for determining speech perception capabilities for CI users. Lastly, test-retest reliability for STM detection was good with no learning. The present study demonstrates that STM detection may be a useful tool to evaluate the ability of CI sound processing strategies to deliver clinically pertinent acoustic modulation information.

  2. Analysis of 6-mercaptopurine in human plasma with a high-performance liquid chromatographic method including post-column derivatization and fluorimetric detection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jonkers, R E; Oosterhuis, B; ten Berge, R J; van Boxtel, C J

    1982-12-10

    A relatively simple assay with improved reliability and sensitivity for measuring levels of 6-mercaptopurine in human plasma is presented. After extraction of the compound and the added internal standard with phenyl mercury acetate, samples were separated by ion-pair reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography. On-line the analytes were oxidized to fluorescent products and detected in a flow-fluorimeter. The within-day coefficient of variation was 3.8% at a concentration of 25 ng/ml. The lower detection limit was 2 ng/ml when 1.0 ml of plasma was used. Mercaptopurine concentration versus time curves of two subjects after a single oral dose of azathioprine are shown.

  3. Characterisation of acid dyes in forensic fibre analysis by high-performance liquid chromatography using narrow-bore columns and diode array detection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Laing, D K; Gill, R; Blacklaws, C; Bickley, H M

    1988-06-17

    A gradient elution high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) system with a diode array detector and a short narrow-bore (40 x 1 mm I.D.) column has been used to characterise a number of acid dyes. The resolution and reproducibility of the HPLC system have been evaluated and the detection limits for various dyes have been estimated. Comparisons are made with current methods of fibre dyestuff examination used in forensic science. The system has been applied to the analysis of dye extracted from single fibres. Using diode array detection, both chromatographic and spectral data can be produced in a single operation from casework sized samples.

  4. Selective on-line detection of boronic acids and derivatives in high-performance liquid chromatography eluates by post-column reaction with alizarin

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Duval, F.L.; Wardani, P.A.; Zuilhof, H.; Beek, van T.A.

    2015-01-01

    An on-line high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method for the rapid and selective detection of boronic acids in complex mixtures was developed. After optimization experiments at an HPLC flow rate of 0.40 mL/min, the HPLC-separated analytes were mixed post-column with a solution of 75 µM

  5. A High-Performance Portable Transient Electro-Magnetic Sensor for Unexploded Ordnance Detection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Haofeng; Chen, Shudong; Zhang, Shuang; Yuan, Zhiwen; Zhang, Haiyang; Fang, Dong; Zhu, Jun

    2017-11-17

    Portable transient electromagnetic (TEM) systems can be well adapted to various terrains, including mountainous, woodland, and other complex terrains. They are widely used for the detection of unexploded ordnance (UXO). As the core component of the portable TEM system, the sensor is constructed with a transmitting coil and a receiving coil. Based on the primary field of the transmitting coil and internal noise of the receiving coil, the design and testing of such a sensor is described in detail. Results indicate that the primary field of the transmitting coil depends on the diameter, mass, and power of the coil. A higher mass-power product and a larger diameter causes a stronger primary field. Reducing the number of turns and increasing the clamp voltage reduces the switch-off time of the transmitting current effectively. Increasing the cross-section of the wire reduces the power consumption, but greatly increases the coil's weight. The study of the receiving coil shows that the internal noise of the sensor is dominated by the thermal noise of the damping resistor. Reducing the bandwidth of the system and increasing the size of the coil reduces the internal noise effectively. The cross-sectional area and the distance between the sections of the coil have little effect on the internal noise. A less damped state can effectively reduce signal distortion. Finally, a portable TEM sensor with both a transmitting coil (constructed with a diameter, number of turns, and transmitting current of 0.5 m, 30, and 5 A, respectively) and a receiving coil (constructed with a length and resonant frequency of 5.6 cm and 50 kHz, respectively) was built. The agreement between experimental and calculated results confirms the theory used in the sensor design. The responses of an 82 mm mortar shell at different distances were measured and inverted by the differential evolution (DE) algorithm to verify system performance. Results show that the sensor designed in this study can not only

  6. Determination of chloroacetanilide herbicide metabolites in water using high-performance liquid chromatography-diode array detection and high-performance liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hostetler, K.A.; Thurman, E.M.

    2000-01-01

    Analytical methods using high-performance liquid chromatography-diode array detection (HPLC-DAD) and high-performance liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (HPLC/MS) were developed for the analysis of the following chloroacetanilide herbicide metabolites in water: alachlor ethanesulfonic acid (ESA); alachlor oxanilic acid; acetochlor ESA; acetochlor oxanilic acid; metolachlor ESA; and metolachlor oxanilic acid. Good precision and accuracy were demonstrated for both the HPLC-DAD and HPLC/MS methods in reagent water, surface water, and ground water. The average HPLC-DAD recoveries of the chloroacetanilide herbicide metabolites from water samples spiked at 0.25, 0.5 and 2.0 ??g/l ranged from 84 to 112%, with relative standard deviations of 18% or less. The average HPLC/MS recoveries of the metabolites from water samples spiked at 0.05, 0.2 and 2.0 ??g/l ranged from 81 to 118%, with relative standard deviations of 20% or less. The limit of quantitation (LOQ) for all metabolites using the HPLC-DAD method was 0.20 ??g/l, whereas the LOQ using the HPLC/MS method was at 0.05 ??g/l. These metabolite-determination methods are valuable for acquiring information about water quality and the fate and transport of the parent chloroacetanilide herbicides in water. Copyright (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V.

  7. Interaction with Deoxyribonucleic Acid and Determination of Orientin in Lophatherum gracile Brongn by High-Performance Liquid Chromatography with Amperometric Detection

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, Fang; Yan, Fangfang; Long, Yuling; Wang, Lili; Chen, Zilin

    2015-01-01

    The mechanisms of the electrochemical oxidation of orientin and its interaction with deoxyribonucleic acid have been investigated using glassy carbon electrode. The electrochemical response of orientin is due to oxidation of phenolic hydroxyl groups on orientin. The whole process is controlled by the adsorption step and concerned 4 electrons and 4 protons. Negative shift of potential and decrease of peak current for electrochemical oxidation of orientin can be observed at bare glassy carbon electrode and deoxyribonucleic acid modified electrode in 0.05 M Na_2HPO_4-KH_2PO_4 (pH 7.48), confirming the dominant electrostatic interaction between orientin and deoxyribonucleic acid. Moreover, a reliable and sensitive method of reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography-electrochemical detection has been developed for simultaneous determination of the isomer pair orientin/isoorientin. Chromatographic separation was carried out on a reversed-phase C_1_8 column and a mobile phase comprised of acetonitrile and acetate (0.5%, pH 2.97) by amperometric detection with a glassy carbon electrode at the working potential of +1.00 V. The method was validated for linearity, accuracy, precision, and limit of detection. Under the optimized conditions, linear regression analysis for the calibration curve showed a good linear relationship between peak area and their concentrations in the linear range of 89.2 nM to 59.5 μM for orientin with detection limit of 14.9 nM and 78.0 nM to 52.0 μM for isoorientin with a detection limit of 13.0 nM, respectively. Compared to the method using ultraviolet detection, the detection limits are greatly lowered. Finally, the proposed method has been successfully applied to the determination of orientin and isoorientin in Lophatherum gracile Brongn.

  8. Anomalous human behavior detection: An Adaptive approach

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Leeuwen, C. van; Halma, A.; Schutte, K.

    2013-01-01

    Detection of anomalies (outliers or abnormal instances) is an important element in a range of applications such as fault, fraud, suspicious behavior detection and knowledge discovery. In this article we propose a new method for anomaly detection and performed tested its ability to detect anomalous

  9. Receiver Operating Characteristic Analysis for Detecting Explosives-related Threats

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Oxley, Mark E; Venzin, Alexander M

    2012-11-14

    The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) are interested in developing a standardized testing procedure for determining the performance of candidate detection systems. This document outlines a potential method for judging detection system performance as well as determining if combining the information from a legacy system with a new system can signicantly improve performance. In this document, performance corresponds to the Neyman-Pearson criterion applied to the Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curves of the detection systems in question. A simulation was developed to investigate how the amount of data provided by the vendor in the form of the ROC curve eects the performance of the combined detection system. Furthermore, the simulation also takes into account the potential eects of correlation and how this information can also impact the performance of the combined system.

  10. 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.)

  11. Detection of recurrences of colorectal cancer using [F-18]FDG scintigraphy performed on a dual-head coincidence gamma-camera (CDET)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Montravers, F.; Grahek, D.; Kerrou, K.; Beco, V. de; Younsi, N.; Talbot, J.N.; Beco, V. de; Tofighi, M.; Moretti, J.L.

    2001-01-01

    The aim of this study was to assess the clinical performances of FDG-CDET for the detection of recurrences of colorectal cancer. One hundred and ninety five examinations (ex) were analyzed, performed for suspicion of recurrence of colorectal cancer (148 ex) or in search of unknown foci prior to surgical resection of known recurrence(s) (47 ex). Recurrence was suspected because of rising CEA levels (50 ex) or isolated pain (8 ex) or equivocal conventional imaging (62 ex) or rising CEA levels and equivocal conventional imaging (28 ex). The results were analyzed according to histology (98 ex) or according to the one year follow-up (97 ex). On an examination basis, the results were the following: Sensitivity -143/164 = 87 %, Specificity = 28/31= 90%, Accuracy -171 /195 = 88 %. Histology was obtained in 98 patients who underwent surgery leading to the analysis of 169 sites. On a site basis, the results were the following: Sensitivity =104/152 = 68 %, Specificity =12/17 = 75 %, Accuracy -116/169 = 69 %. These results were not different from those reported with dedicated PET and show that FDG-CDET is a powerful tool for the detection of recurrent colorectal cancer. (authors)

  12. Detection of compound heterozygous of hb constant spring and hb q-Thailand by capillary electrophoresis and high performance liquid chromatography.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pornprasert, Sakorn; Punyamung, Manoo

    2015-06-01

    A capillary electrophoresis (CE) has proven to be superior to a high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) in the detection of hemoglobin Constant Spring (Hb CS). Thus the aim of this study was to analyze the efficacy of CE and HPLC for the detection of Hb CS in samples with compound heterozygous of Hb CS and Hb Q-Thailand. Hemoglobin analysis was performed in blood samples of 2 patients with compound heterozygous of Hb CS and Hb Q-Thailand by using HPLC and CE. The HPLC chromatogram and CE electrophoregram of the two techniques were compared. Hb CS was not found on HPLC chromatogram while Hb QA2 (α2 (QT)δ2), a derivative of Hb Q-Thailand, was presented at the retention time of 4.70-4.80 min and it was close to the retention time of Hb CS. On CE electrophoregram, Hb CS was presented at zone 2 (Z2) and it was distinctly separated from Hb QA2 which was presented at Z1. Therefore, CE was more efficient to the HPLC for diagnosis of compound heterozygous of Hb CS and Hb Q-Thailand.

  13. Multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging of the prostate with computer-aided detection: experienced observer performance study

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Giannini, Valentina; Mazzetti, Simone; Armando, Enrico; Carabalona, Silvia; Russo, Filippo [FPO, IRCCS, Department of Radiology at the Candiolo Cancer Institute, Candiolo, Turin (Italy); Giacobbe, Alessandro [San Giovanni Bosco Hospital, Department of Urology, Turin (Italy); Muto, Giovanni [University Campus Biomedico, Department of Urology, Rome (Italy); Regge, Daniele [FPO, IRCCS, Department of Radiology at the Candiolo Cancer Institute, Candiolo, Turin (Italy); University of Torino, A.O.U. Citta della Salute e della Scienza, Department of Surgical Sciences, Turin (Italy)

    2017-10-15

    To compare the performance of experienced readers in detecting prostate cancer (PCa) using likelihood maps generated by a CAD system with that of unassisted interpretation of multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (mp-MRI). Three experienced radiologists reviewed mp-MRI prostate cases twice. First, readers observed CAD marks on a likelihood map and classified as positive those suspicious for cancer. After 6 weeks, radiologists interpreted mp-MRI examinations unassisted, using their favourite protocol. Sensitivity, specificity, reading time and interobserver variability were compared for the two reading paradigms. The dataset comprised 89 subjects of whom 35 with at least one significant PCa. Sensitivity was 80.9% (95% CI 72.1-88.0%) and 87.6% (95% CI 79.8-93.2; p = 0.105) for unassisted and CAD paradigm respectively. Sensitivity was higher with CAD for lesions with GS > 6 (91.3% vs 81.2%; p = 0.046) or diameter ≥10 mm (95.0% vs 80.0%; p = 0.006). Specificity was not affected by CAD. The average reading time with CAD was significantly lower (220 s vs 60 s; p < 0.001). Experienced readers using likelihood maps generated by a CAD scheme can detect more patients with ≥10 mm PCa lesions than unassisted MRI interpretation; overall reporting time is shorter. To gain more insight into CAD-human interaction, different reading paradigms should be investigated. (orig.)

  14. Multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging of the prostate with computer-aided detection: experienced observer performance study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Giannini, Valentina; Mazzetti, Simone; Armando, Enrico; Carabalona, Silvia; Russo, Filippo; Giacobbe, Alessandro; Muto, Giovanni; Regge, Daniele

    2017-01-01

    To compare the performance of experienced readers in detecting prostate cancer (PCa) using likelihood maps generated by a CAD system with that of unassisted interpretation of multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (mp-MRI). Three experienced radiologists reviewed mp-MRI prostate cases twice. First, readers observed CAD marks on a likelihood map and classified as positive those suspicious for cancer. After 6 weeks, radiologists interpreted mp-MRI examinations unassisted, using their favourite protocol. Sensitivity, specificity, reading time and interobserver variability were compared for the two reading paradigms. The dataset comprised 89 subjects of whom 35 with at least one significant PCa. Sensitivity was 80.9% (95% CI 72.1-88.0%) and 87.6% (95% CI 79.8-93.2; p = 0.105) for unassisted and CAD paradigm respectively. Sensitivity was higher with CAD for lesions with GS > 6 (91.3% vs 81.2%; p = 0.046) or diameter ≥10 mm (95.0% vs 80.0%; p = 0.006). Specificity was not affected by CAD. The average reading time with CAD was significantly lower (220 s vs 60 s; p < 0.001). Experienced readers using likelihood maps generated by a CAD scheme can detect more patients with ≥10 mm PCa lesions than unassisted MRI interpretation; overall reporting time is shorter. To gain more insight into CAD-human interaction, different reading paradigms should be investigated. (orig.)

  15. Diagnostic performance of an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to detect bovine leukemia virus antibodies in bulk-tank milk samples

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nekouei, Omid; Durocher, Jean; Keefe, Greg

    2016-01-01

    This study assessed the diagnostic performance of a commercial ELISA for detecting bovine leukemia virus antibodies in bulk-tank milk samples from eastern Canada. Sensitivity and specificity of the test were estimated at 97.2% and 100%, respectively. The test was recommended as a cost-efficient tool for large-scale screening programs. PMID:27429469

  16. Radiation portal monitor with "1"0B+ZnS(Ag) neutron detector performance for the detection of special nuclear materials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guzman G, K. A.; Gallego, E.; Lorente, A.; Ibanez F, S.; Vega C, H. R.; Gonzalez, J. A.; Mendez, R.

    2016-10-01

    In homeland security, neutron detection is used to prevent the smuggling of special nuclear materials. Thermal neutrons are normally detected with "3He proportional counters, in the radiation portal monitors, Rpms, however due to the "3He shortage new procedures are being studied. In this work Monte Carlo methods, using the MCNP6 code, have been used to study the neutron detection features of a "1"0B+ZnS(Ag) under real conditions inside of a Rpm. The performance for neutron detection was carried out for "2"5"2Cf, "2"3"8U and "2"3"9Pu under different conditions. In order to mimic an actual situation occurring at border areas, a sample of SNM sited inside a vehicle was simulated and the Rpm with "1"0B+ZnS(Ag) response was calculated. At 200 cm the "1"0B+ZnS(Ag) on Rpm response is close to 2.5 cps-ng "2"5"2Cf, when the "2"5"2Cf neutron source is shielded with 0.5 cm-thick lead and 2.5 cm-thick polyethylene fulfilling the ANSI recommendations. Three different geometries of neutron detectors of "1"0B+ZnS(Ag) in a neutron detection system in Rpm were modeled. Therefore, the "1"0B+ZnS(Ag) detectors are an innovative and viable replacement for the "3He detectors in the Rpm. (Author)

  17. Parallel segmented outlet flow high performance liquid chromatography with multiplexed detection

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Camenzuli, Michelle; Terry, Jessica M.; Shalliker, R. Andrew; Conlan, Xavier A.; Barnett, Neil W.; Francis, Paul S.

    2013-01-01

    Graphical abstract: -- Highlights: •Multiplexed detection for liquid chromatography. •‘Parallel segmented outlet flow’ distributes inner and outer portions of the analyte zone. •Three detectors were used simultaneously for the determination of opiate alkaloids. -- Abstract: We describe a new approach to multiplex detection for HPLC, exploiting parallel segmented outlet flow – a new column technology that provides pressure-regulated control of eluate flow through multiple outlet channels, which minimises the additional dead volume associated with conventional post-column flow splitting. Using three detectors: one UV-absorbance and two chemiluminescence systems (tris(2,2′-bipyridine)ruthenium(III) and permanganate), we examine the relative responses for six opium poppy (Papaver somniferum) alkaloids under conventional and multiplexed conditions, where approximately 30% of the eluate was distributed to each detector and the remaining solution directed to a collection vessel. The parallel segmented outlet flow mode of operation offers advantages in terms of solvent consumption, waste generation, total analysis time and solute band volume when applying multiple detectors to HPLC, but the manner in which each detection system is influenced by changes in solute concentration and solution flow rates must be carefully considered

  18. Parallel segmented outlet flow high performance liquid chromatography with multiplexed detection

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Camenzuli, Michelle [Australian Centre for Research on Separation Science (ACROSS), School of Science and Health, University of Western Sydney (Parramatta), Sydney, NSW (Australia); Terry, Jessica M. [Centre for Chemistry and Biotechnology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria 3216 (Australia); Shalliker, R. Andrew, E-mail: r.shalliker@uws.edu.au [Australian Centre for Research on Separation Science (ACROSS), School of Science and Health, University of Western Sydney (Parramatta), Sydney, NSW (Australia); Conlan, Xavier A.; Barnett, Neil W. [Centre for Chemistry and Biotechnology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria 3216 (Australia); Francis, Paul S., E-mail: paul.francis@deakin.edu.au [Centre for Chemistry and Biotechnology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria 3216 (Australia)

    2013-11-25

    Graphical abstract: -- Highlights: •Multiplexed detection for liquid chromatography. •‘Parallel segmented outlet flow’ distributes inner and outer portions of the analyte zone. •Three detectors were used simultaneously for the determination of opiate alkaloids. -- Abstract: We describe a new approach to multiplex detection for HPLC, exploiting parallel segmented outlet flow – a new column technology that provides pressure-regulated control of eluate flow through multiple outlet channels, which minimises the additional dead volume associated with conventional post-column flow splitting. Using three detectors: one UV-absorbance and two chemiluminescence systems (tris(2,2′-bipyridine)ruthenium(III) and permanganate), we examine the relative responses for six opium poppy (Papaver somniferum) alkaloids under conventional and multiplexed conditions, where approximately 30% of the eluate was distributed to each detector and the remaining solution directed to a collection vessel. The parallel segmented outlet flow mode of operation offers advantages in terms of solvent consumption, waste generation, total analysis time and solute band volume when applying multiple detectors to HPLC, but the manner in which each detection system is influenced by changes in solute concentration and solution flow rates must be carefully considered.

  19. Blurred digital mammography images: an analysis of technical recall and observer detection performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ma, Wang Kei; Borgen, Rita; Kelly, Judith; Millington, Sara; Hilton, Beverley; Aspin, Rob; Lança, Carla; Hogg, Peter

    2017-03-01

    Blurred images in full-field digital mammography are a problem in the UK Breast Screening Programme. Technical recalls may be due to blurring not being seen on lower resolution monitors used for review. This study assesses the visual detection of blurring on a 2.3-MP monitor and a 5-MP report grade monitor and proposes an observer standard for the visual detection of blurring on a 5-MP reporting grade monitor. 28 observers assessed 120 images for blurring; 20 images had no blurring present, whereas 100 images had blurring imposed through mathematical simulation at 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8 and 1.0 mm levels of motion. Technical recall rate for both monitors and angular size at each level of motion were calculated. χ 2 tests were used to test whether significant differences in blurring detection existed between 2.3- and 5-MP monitors. The technical recall rate for 2.3- and 5-MP monitors are 20.3% and 9.1%, respectively. The angular size for 0.2- to 1-mm motion varied from 55 to 275 arc s. The minimum amount of motion for visual detection of blurring in this study is 0.4 mm. For 0.2-mm simulated motion, there was no significant difference [χ 2 (1, N = 1095) = 1.61, p = 0.20] in blurring detection between the 2.3- and 5-MP monitors. According to this study, monitors ≤2.3 MP are not suitable for technical review of full-field digital mammography images for the detection of blur. Advances in knowledge: This research proposes the first observer standard for the visual detection of blurring.

  20. Determination of bisphenol A in human serum by high-performance liquid chromatography with multi-electrode electrochemical detection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Inoue, K; Kato, K; Yoshimura, Y; Makino, T; Nakazawa, H

    2000-11-10

    A simple and sensitive method using high-performance liquid chromatography with multi-electrode electrochemical detection (HPLC-ED) including a coulometric array of four electrochemical sensors has been developed for the determination of bisphenol A in water and human serum. For good separation and detection of bisphenol A, a CAPCELL PAK UG 120 C18 reversed-phase column and a mobile phase consisting of 0.3% phosphoric acid-acetonitrile (60:40) were used. The detection limit obtained by the HPLC-ED method was 0.01 ng/ml (0.5 pg), which was more than 3000-times higher than the detection limit obtained by the ultraviolet (UV) method, and more than 200-times higher than the detection limit obtained by the fluorescence (FL) method. Bisphenol A in water and serum samples was pretreated by solid-phase extraction (SPE) after removing possible contamination derived from a plastic SPE cartridges and water used for the pretreatment. A trace amount (ND approximately 0.013 ng/ml) of bisphenol A was detected from the parts of cartridges (filtration column, sorbent bed and frits) by extraction with methanol, and it was completely removed by washing with at least 15 ml of methanol in the operation process. The concentrations of bisphenol A in tap water and Milli-Q-purified water were found to be 0.01 and 0.02 ng/ml, respectively. For that reason, bisphenol A-free water was made to trap bisphenol A in water using an Empore disk. In every pretreatment, SPE methods using bisphenol A-free water and washing with 15 ml of methanol were done in water and serum samples. The yields obtained from the recovery tests using water to which 0.5 or 0.05 ng/ml of bisphenol A was added were 83.8 to 98.2%, and the RSDs were 3.4 to 6.1%, respectively. The yields obtained from the recovery tests by OASIS HLB using serum to which 1.0 ng/ml or 0.1 ng/ml of bisphenol A was added were 79.0% and 87.3%, and the RSDs were 5.1% and 13.5%, respectively. The limits of quantification in water and serum sample

  1. Advances in ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry for sensitive detection of several food allergens in complex and processed foodstuffs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Planque, M; Arnould, T; Dieu, M; Delahaut, P; Renard, P; Gillard, N

    2016-09-16

    Sensitive detection of food allergens is affected by food processing and foodstuff complexity. It is therefore a challenge to detect cross-contamination in food production that could endanger an allergic customer's life. Here we used ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry for simultaneous detection of traces of milk (casein, whey protein), egg (yolk, white), soybean, and peanut allergens in different complex and/or heat-processed foodstuffs. The method is based on a single protocol (extraction, trypsin digestion, and purification) applicable to the different tested foodstuffs: chocolate, ice cream, tomato sauce, and processed cookies. The determined limits of quantitation, expressed in total milk, egg, peanut, or soy proteins (and not soluble proteins) per kilogram of food, are: 0.5mg/kg for milk (detection of caseins), 5mg/kg for milk (detection of whey), 2.5mg/kg for peanut, 5mg/kg for soy, 3.4mg/kg for egg (detection of egg white), and 30.8mg/kg for egg (detection of egg yolk). The main advantage is the ability of the method to detect four major food allergens simultaneously in processed and complex matrices with very high sensitivity and specificity. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  2. Doppler method leak detection for LMFBR steam generators. Pt. 3. Investigation of detection sensitivity and method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kumagai, Hiromichi; Kinoshita, Izumi

    2001-01-01

    To prevent the expansion of tube damage and to maintain structural integrity in the steam generators (SGs) of a fast breeder reactor (FBR), it is necessary to detect precisely and immediately any leakage of water from heat transfer tubes. Therefore, the Doppler method was developed. Previous studies have revealed that, in the SG full-sector model that simulates actual SGs, the Doppler method can detect bubbles of 0.4 l/s within a few seconds. However in consideration of the dissolution rate of hydrogen generated by a sodium-water reaction even from a small water leak, it is necessary to detect smaller leakages of water from the heat transfer tubes. The detection sensitivity of the Doppler method and the influence of background noise were experimentally investigated. In-water experiments were performed using the SG model. The results show that the Doppler method can detect bubbles of 0.01 l/s (equivalent to a water leak rate of about 0.01 g/s) within a few seconds and that the background noise has little effect on water leak detection performance. The Doppler method thus has great potential for the detection of water leakage in SGs. (author)

  3. High performance liquid chromatography-charged aerosol detection applying an inverse gradient for quantification of rhamnolipid biosurfactants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Behrens, Beate; Baune, Matthias; Jungkeit, Janek; Tiso, Till; Blank, Lars M; Hayen, Heiko

    2016-07-15

    A method using high performance liquid chromatography coupled to charged-aerosol detection (HPLC-CAD) was developed for the quantification of rhamnolipid biosurfactants. Qualitative sample composition was determined by liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). The relative quantification of different derivatives of rhamnolipids including di-rhamnolipids, mono-rhamnolipids, and their precursors 3-(3-hydroxyalkanoyloxy)alkanoic acids (HAAs) differed for two compared LC-MS instruments and revealed instrument dependent responses. Our here reported HPLC-CAD method provides uniform response. An inverse gradient was applied for the absolute quantification of rhamnolipid congeners to account for the detector's dependency on the solvent composition. The CAD produces a uniform response not only for the analytes but also for structurally different (nonvolatile) compounds. It was demonstrated that n-dodecyl-β-d-maltoside or deoxycholic acid can be used as alternative standards. The method of HPLC-ultra violet (UV) detection after a derivatization of rhamnolipids and HAAs to their corresponding phenacyl esters confirmed the obtained results but required additional, laborious sample preparation steps. Sensitivity determined as limit of detection and limit of quantification for four mono-rhamnolipids was in the range of 0.3-1.0 and 1.2-2.0μg/mL, respectively, for HPLC-CAD and 0.4 and 1.5μg/mL, respectively, for HPLC-UV. Linearity for HPLC-CAD was at least 0.996 (R(2)) in the calibrated range of about 1-200μg/mL. Hence, the here presented HPLC-CAD method allows absolute quantification of rhamnolipids and derivatives. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. Microconductometric Detection of Bacterial Contamination

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sarra EL ICHI

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available Several approaches can be used for the electrochemical detection of bacterial contamination. Their performance can be assessed by the ability to detect bacteria at very low concentrations within a short-time response. We have already demonstrated that a conductometric biosensor based on interdigitated thin-film electrodes is adapted to detect bacteria in clinical samples like serum and compatible with microfluidic fabrication. The type of interdigitated microelectrodes influences the performance of the biosensor. This was shown by the results obtained in this work. A magnetic-nanoparticles based immunosensor was designed using gold screen-printed electrodes. The immunosensor was able to specifically detect E. coli in the range of 1-103 CFU mL-1. The new transducer offered a larger active sensing surface with a lower cost and a robust material. Accuracy of the conductance value was enhanced by differential measurements. The immunosensor is compatible with a microfluidic system.

  5. Detecting and Analyzing I/O Performance Regressions

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bezemer, C.P.; Milon, E.; Zaidman, A.; Pouwelse, J.

    2014-01-01

    Regression testing can be done by re-executing a test suite on different software versions and comparing the outcome. For functional testing, the outcome of such tests is either pass (correct behaviour) or fail (incorrect behaviour). For non-functional testing, such as performance testing, this is

  6. On the frontline against money-laundering: the regulatory minefield

    OpenAIRE

    Gelemerova , Liliya

    2008-01-01

    Abstract Intelligence gathering plays a vital role in the `war? against money laundering. Particularly important in this intelligence gathering process is the global network of Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs) fed by a host of auxiliary (primarily financial) institutions required to report suspicious transactions. This paper briefly reviews the history of the international system of anti-money laundering measures imposed on the financial industry and other regulated businesses, ...

  7. THE ART OF DATA MINING THE MINEFIELDS OF TOXICITY ...

    Science.gov (United States)

    Toxicity databases have a special role in predictive toxicology, providing ready access to historical information throughout the workflow of discovery, development, and product safety processes in drug development as well as in review by regulatory agencies. To provide accurate information within a hypothesesbuilding environment, the content of the databases needs to be rigorously modeled using standards and controlled vocabulary. The utilitarian purposes of databases widely vary, ranging from a source for (Q)SAR datasets for modelers to a basis for

  8. Performance of short ECG recordings twice daily to detect paroxysmal atrial fibrillation in stroke and transient ischemic attack patients

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Poulsen, Mai Bang; Binici, Zeynep; Domínguez, Helena

    2017-01-01

    Aims Prolonged cardiac monitoring after stroke is recommended though there is no consensus on optimal methods. Short-term ECG recordings with a "thumb-ECG" device have shown promising preliminary results regarding effectiveness and cost benefit. We aimed to examine the performance of thumb...... methods was poor and the trial was not powered to detect a minor difference between the devices. The inter-observer agreement for the thumb-ECG was substantial. www.clinicalTrials.gov UI: NCT02261766....

  9. DDOS ATTACK DETECTION SIMULATION AND HANDLING MECHANISM

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ahmad Sanmorino

    2013-11-01

    Full Text Available In this study we discuss how to handle DDoS attack that coming from the attacker by using detection method and handling mechanism. Detection perform by comparing number of packets and number of flow. Whereas handling mechanism perform by limiting or drop the packets that detected as a DDoS attack. The study begins with simulation on real network, which aims to get the real traffic data. Then, dump traffic data obtained from the simulation used for detection method on our prototype system called DASHM (DDoS Attack Simulation and Handling Mechanism. From the result of experiment that has been conducted, the proposed method successfully detect DDoS attack and handle the incoming packet sent by attacker.

  10. Separation and quantitation of colour pigments of chili powder (Capsicum frutescens) by high-performance liquid chromatography-diode array detection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cserháti, T; Forgács, E; Morais, M H; Mota, T; Ramos, A

    2000-10-27

    The performance of reversed-phase thin-layer (RP-TLC) and reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) was compared for the separation and determination of the colour pigments of chili (Capsicum frutescens) powder using a wide variety of eluent systems. No separation of pigments was achieved in RP-TLC, however, it was established that tetrahydrofuran shows an unusually high solvent strength. RP-HPLC using water-methanol-acetonitrile gradient elution separated the chili pigments in many fractions. Diode array detection (DAD) indicated that yellow pigments are eluted earlier than the red ones and chili powder contains more yellow pigments than common paprika powders. It was established that the very different absorption spectra of pigments make the use of DAD necessary.

  11. Characterisation of brewpub beer carbohydrates using high performance anion exchange chromatography coupled with pulsed amperometric detection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arfelli, Giuseppe; Sartini, Elisa

    2014-01-01

    High performance anion exchange chromatography (HPAEC) coupled with pulsed amperometric detection (PAD) was optimised in order to quantify mannose, maltose, maltotriose, maltotetraose, maltopentaose, maltohexaose and maltoheptaose content of beer. The method allows the determination of above mentioned oligosaccharides, in a single chromatographic run, without any pre-treatment. Limit of detection and limit of quantification were suitable for beer. Accuracy and repeatability were good for the entire amount considered. Once optimised HPAEC PAD for the specific matrix, the second goal of this research was to verify the possibility to discriminate beers, depending on their style. The carbohydrates content of brewpub commercial beers was very variable, ranging from 19.3 to 1469mg/L (mannose), 34.5 to 2882mg/L (maltose), 141.9 to 20731mg/L (maltotriose), 168.5 to 7650mg/L (maltotetraose), 20.1 to 2537mg/L (maltopentaose), 22.9 to 3295mg/L (maltohexaose), 8.5 to 2492mg/L (maltoeptaose), even in the same style of beer. However, the carbohydrates content was useful, jointed with other compounds amount, to discriminate different styles of beer. As a matter of fact, principal component analysis put in evidence beer differences considering some fermentation conditions and colour. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Simultaneous determination of amiodarone and its metabolite desethylamiodarone by high-performance liquid chromatography with chemiluminescent detection

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Perez-Ruiz, Tomas; Martinez-Lozano, Carmen; Garcia-Martinez, Maria Dolores

    2008-01-01

    A novel method was developed for the determination of amiodarone and desethylamiodarone by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled with chemiluminescent (CL) detection. The procedure is based on the post-column photolysis of the analytes into photoproducts which are active in the tris(2,2'-bipyridyl)ruthenium(III) [Ru(bpy) 3 3+ ] CL system. Ru(bpy) 3 3+ was on-line generated by photo-oxidation of the Ru(II) complex in the presence of peroxydisulfate. The separation was carried out on a Mediterranea C 18 column with isocratic elution using a mixture of methanol and 0.017 mol L -1 ammonium sulfate buffer of pH 6.8. Under the optimum conditions, analytical curves, based on standard solutions, were linear over the range 0.1-50 μg mL -1 for amiodarone and 0.5-25 μg mL -1 for desethylamiodarone. The detection limits of amiodarone and desethylamiodarone were 0.02 and 0.11 μg mL -1 , respectively. Intra- and inter-day precision values of 0.9% relative standard deviation (R.S.D.) (n = 10) and 1.6% R.S.D. (n = 15), respectively, were obtained. The method was applied successfully to the determination of these compounds in serum and pharmaceutical formulations

  13. Pilot simulation study using meat inspection data for syndromic surveillance: use of whole carcass condemnation of adult cattle to assess the performance of several algorithms for outbreak detection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dupuy, C; Morignat, E; Dorea, F; Ducrot, C; Calavas, D; Gay, E

    2015-09-01

    The objective of this study was to assess the performance of several algorithms for outbreak detection based on weekly proportions of whole carcass condemnations. Data from one French slaughterhouse over the 2005-2009 period were used (177 098 slaughtered cattle, 0.97% of whole carcass condemnations). The method involved three steps: (i) preparation of an outbreak-free historical baseline over 5 years, (ii) simulation of over 100 years of baseline time series with injection of artificial outbreak signals with several shapes, durations and magnitudes, and (iii) assessment of the performance (sensitivity, specificity, outbreak detection precocity) of several algorithms to detect these artificial outbreak signals. The algorithms tested included the Shewart p chart, confidence interval of the negative binomial model, the exponentially weighted moving average (EWMA); and cumulative sum (CUSUM). The highest sensitivity was obtained using a negative binomial algorithm and the highest specificity with CUSUM or EWMA. EWMA sensitivity was too low to select this algorithm for efficient outbreak detection. CUSUM's performance was complementary to the negative binomial algorithm. The use of both algorithms on real data for a prospective investigation of the whole carcass condemnation rate as a syndromic surveillance indicator could be relevant. Shewart could also be a good option considering its high sensitivity and simplicity of implementation.

  14. Salience Is Only Briefly Represented: Evidence from Probe-Detection Performance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Donk, Mieke; Soesman, Leroy

    2010-01-01

    Salient objects in the visual field tend to capture attention. The present study aimed to examine the time-course of salience effects using a probe-detection task. Eight experiments investigated how the salience of different orientation singletons affected probe reaction time as a function of stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) between the…

  15. Vision-based vehicle detection and tracking algorithm design

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hwang, Junyeon; Huh, Kunsoo; Lee, Donghwi

    2009-12-01

    The vision-based vehicle detection in front of an ego-vehicle is regarded as promising for driver assistance as well as for autonomous vehicle guidance. The feasibility of vehicle detection in a passenger car requires accurate and robust sensing performance. A multivehicle detection system based on stereo vision has been developed for better accuracy and robustness. This system utilizes morphological filter, feature detector, template matching, and epipolar constraint techniques in order to detect the corresponding pairs of vehicles. After the initial detection, the system executes the tracking algorithm for the vehicles. The proposed system can detect front vehicles such as the leading vehicle and side-lane vehicles. The position parameters of the vehicles located in front are obtained based on the detection information. The proposed vehicle detection system is implemented on a passenger car, and its performance is verified experimentally.

  16. Evaluation of Earthquake Detection Performance in Terms of Quality and Speed in SEISCOMP3 Using New Modules Qceval, Npeval and Sceval

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roessler, D.; Weber, B.; Ellguth, E.; Spazier, J.

    2017-12-01

    The geometry of seismic monitoring networks, site conditions and data availability as well as monitoring targets and strategies typically impose trade-offs between data quality, earthquake detection sensitivity, false detections and alert times. Network detection capabilities typically change with alteration of the seismic noise level by human activity or by varying weather and sea conditions. To give helpful information to operators and maintenance coordinators, gempa developed a range of tools to evaluate earthquake detection and network performance including qceval, npeval and sceval. qceval is a module which analyzes waveform quality parameters in real-time and deactivates and reactivates data streams based on waveform quality thresholds for automatic processing. For example, thresholds can be defined for latency, delay, timing quality, spikes and gaps count and rms. As changes in the automatic processing have a direct influence on detection quality and speed, another tool called "npeval" was designed to calculate in real-time the expected time needed to detect and locate earthquakes by evaluating the effective network geometry. The effective network geometry is derived from the configuration of stations participating in the detection. The detection times are shown as an additional layer on the map and updated in real-time as soon as the effective network geometry changes. Yet another new tool, "sceval", is an automatic module which classifies located seismic events (Origins) in real-time. sceval evaluates the spatial distribution of the stations contributing to an Origin. It confirms or rejects the status of Origins, adds comments or leaves the Origin unclassified. The comments are passed to an additional sceval plug-in where the end user can customize event types. This unique identification of real and fake events in earthquake catalogues allows to lower network detection thresholds. In real-time monitoring situations operators can limit the processing to

  17. Performance of Spot Photoscreener in Detecting Amblyopia Risk Factors in Chinese Pre-school and School Age Children Attending an Eye Clinic.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yajun Mu

    Full Text Available To evaluate the effectiveness of Spot photoscreener in detecting amblyopia risk factors meeting 2013 the American Association of Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus (AAPOS criteria in Chinese preschool and school-age children.One hundred and fifty-five children (310 eyes, aged between 4 to 7 years (5.74 ± 1.2 years underwent complete ophthalmologic examination, photoscreening, and cycloplegic retinoscopy refraction. The agreement of the results obtained with the photoscreening and retinoscopy was evaluated by linear regression and Bland-Altman plots. The sensitivity and specificity of detecting amblyopia risk factors were calculated based on the AAPOS 2013 guidelines. The overall effectiveness of detecting amblyopia risk factors was analyzed with Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC curves.The mean refractive errors measured with the Spot were: spherical equivalent (SE = 0.70 ± 1.99 D, J0 = 0.87 ± 1.01 D, J45 = 0.09 ± 0.60 D. The mean results from retinoscopy were: SE = 1.19 ± 2.22 D, J0 = 0.77 ± 1.00 D, J45 = -0.02 ± 0.45 D. There was a strong linear agreement between results obtained from those two methods (R2 = 0.88, P<0.01. Bland-Altman plot indicated a moderate agreement of cylinder values between the two methods. Based on the criteria specified by the AAPOS 2013 guidelines, the sensitivity and specificity (in respective order for detecting hyperopia were 98.31% and 97.14%; for detecting myopia were 78.50% and 88.64%; for detecting astigmatism were 90.91% and 80.37%; for detecting anisometropia were 93.10% and 85.25%; and for detection of strabismus was 77.55% and 88.18%.The refractive values measured from Spot photoscreener showed a moderate agreement with the results from cycloplegic retinoscopy refraction, however there was an overall myopic shift of -0.49D. The performance in detecting individual amblyopia risk factors was satisfactory, but could be further improved by optimizing criteria based on ROC curves.

  18. Visual Inspection for Caries Detection

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gimenez, T; Piovesan, C; Braga, M M

    2015-01-01

    July 2014 to identify published and nonpublished studies in English. Studies of visual inspection were included that 1) assessed accuracy of the method in detecting caries lesions; 2) were performed on occlusal, proximal, or free smooth surfaces in primary or permanent teeth; 3) had a reference...... (from 5,808 articles initially identified) and 1 abstract (from 168) met the inclusion criteria. In general, the analysis demonstrated that the visual method had good accuracy for detecting caries lesions. Although laboratory and clinical studies have presented similar accuracy, clinically obtained...... caries detection method has good overall performance. Furthermore, although the identified studies had high heterogeneity and risk of bias, the use of detailed and validated indices seems to improve the accuracy of the method....

  19. Rapid quantitative analysis of individual anthocyanin content based on high-performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection with the pH differential method.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Huayin

    2014-09-01

    A new quantitative technique for the simultaneous quantification of the individual anthocyanins based on the pH differential method and high-performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection is proposed in this paper. The six individual anthocyanins (cyanidin 3-glucoside, cyanidin 3-rutinoside, petunidin 3-glucoside, petunidin 3-rutinoside, and malvidin 3-rutinoside) from mulberry (Morus rubra) and Liriope platyphylla were used for demonstration and validation. The elution of anthocyanins was performed using a C18 column with stepwise gradient elution and individual anthocyanins were identified by high-performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry. Based on the pH differential method, the high-performance liquid chromatography peak areas of maximum and reference absorption wavelengths of anthocyanin extracts were conducted to quantify individual anthocyanins. The calibration curves for these anthocyanins were linear within the range of 10-5500 mg/L. The correlation coefficients (r(2)) all exceeded 0.9972, and the limits of detection were in the range of 1-4 mg/L at a signal-to-noise ratio ≥5 for these anthocyanins. The proposed quantitative analysis was reproducible with good accuracy of all individual anthocyanins ranging from 96.3 to 104.2% and relative recoveries were in the range 98.4-103.2%. The proposed technique is performed without anthocyanin standards and is a simple, rapid, accurate, and economical method to determine individual anthocyanin contents. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  20. Performance Evaluation of Wireless Sensor Networks for Event-Detection with Shadowing-Induced Radio Irregularities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Giuseppe De Marco

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, we study a particular application of wireless sensor networks for event-detection and tracking. In this kind of application, the transport of data is simplified, and guaranteeing a minimum number of packets at the monitoring node is the only constraint on the performance of the sensor network. This minimum number of packets is called event-reliability. Contrary to other studies on the subject, here we consider the behavior of such a network in presence of a realistic radio model, such as the shadowing of the radio signal. With this setting, we extend our previous analysis of the event-reliability approach for the transport of data. In particular, both regular and random networks are considered. The contribute of this work is to show via simulations that, in the presence of randomness or irregularities in the radio channel, the event-reliability can be jeopardized, that is the constraint on the minimum number of packets at the sink node could not be satisfied.

  1. Liquid metal-to-gas leak-detection instruments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Matlin, E.; Witherspoon, J.E.; Johnson, J.L.

    1982-01-01

    It is desirable for liquid-metal-cooled reactors that small liquid metal-to-gas leaks be reliably detected. Testing has been performed on a number of detection systems to evaluate their sensitivity, response time, and performance characteristics. This testing has been scheduled in three phases. The first phase was aimed at screening out the least suitable detectors and optimizing the performance of the most promising. In the second phase, candidates were tested in a 1500 ft 3 walk-in type enclosure in which leaks were simulated on 24-in. and 3-in. piping. In the third phase of testing, selected type detectors were tested in the 1500-ft 3 enclosure with Clinch River Breeder Reactor Plant (CRBRP) pipe insulation configurations and detector tubing configuration with cell gas recirculation simulated. Endurance testing of detection equipment was also performed as part of this effort. Test results have been shown that aerosol-type detectors will reliably detect leaks as small as a few grams per hour when sampling pipe insulation annuli

  2. Detection of a coronary artery vessel wall: performance of 0.3 mm fine-cell detector computed tomography-a phantom study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yamada, Minoru; Jinzaki, Masahiro; Tanami, Yutaka; Matsumoto, Kazuhiro; Ueno, Akihisa; Kuribayashi, Sachio; Nukui, Masatake; Imai, Yasuhiro; Ishihara, Yotaro; Nishide, Akihiko; Sasaki, Kosuke

    2011-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether experimental fine-cell detector computed tomography with a 0.3125 mm cell (0.3 mm cell CT) can improve the detection of coronary vessel walls compared with conventional 64-slice computed tomography with a 0.625 mm cell (0.6 mm cell CT). A coronary vessel wall phantom was scanned using 0.6 mm cell CT and 0.3 mm cell CT. The data for 0.3 mm cell CT were obtained using four protocols: a radiation dose equal, double, triple or quadruple that were used in the 0.6 mm cell CT protocol. The detectable size of the vessel wall was assessed based on the first and second derivative functions, and the minimum measurable values were compared using a paired t-test. As a result, the minimum detectable wall thickness of 0.6 mm cell CT (1.5 mm) was significantly larger than that of 0.3 mm cell CT performed using the triple- and quadruple-dose protocols (0.9 mm) and the double-dose protocol (1.1 mm). The difference in the minimum detectable vessel wall thickness measured using 0.6 mm cell CT (1.5 ± 0.1 mm) and 0.3 mm cell CT (0.9 ± 0.1 mm, 1.1 ± 0.2 mm) was significant (p < 0.01). We concluded that 0.3 mm cell CT improved the detection of coronary vessel walls when a more than double-dose protocol was used compared with 0.6 mm cell CT.

  3. Evaluation of outbreak detection performance using multi-stream syndromic surveillance for influenza-like illness in rural Hubei Province, China: a temporal simulation model based on healthcare-seeking behaviors.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yunzhou Fan

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Syndromic surveillance promotes the early detection of diseases outbreaks. Although syndromic surveillance has increased in developing countries, performance on outbreak detection, particularly in cases of multi-stream surveillance, has scarcely been evaluated in rural areas. OBJECTIVE: This study introduces a temporal simulation model based on healthcare-seeking behaviors to evaluate the performance of multi-stream syndromic surveillance for influenza-like illness. METHODS: Data were obtained in six towns of rural Hubei Province, China, from April 2012 to June 2013. A Susceptible-Exposed-Infectious-Recovered model generated 27 scenarios of simulated influenza A (H1N1 outbreaks, which were converted into corresponding simulated syndromic datasets through the healthcare-behaviors model. We then superimposed converted syndromic datasets onto the baselines obtained to create the testing datasets. Outbreak performance of single-stream surveillance of clinic visit, frequency of over the counter drug purchases, school absenteeism, and multi-stream surveillance of their combinations were evaluated using receiver operating characteristic curves and activity monitoring operation curves. RESULTS: In the six towns examined, clinic visit surveillance and school absenteeism surveillance exhibited superior performances of outbreak detection than over the counter drug purchase frequency surveillance; the performance of multi-stream surveillance was preferable to signal-stream surveillance, particularly at low specificity (Sp <90%. CONCLUSIONS: The temporal simulation model based on healthcare-seeking behaviors offers an accessible method for evaluating the performance of multi-stream surveillance.

  4. A stereo vision-based obstacle detection system in vehicles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huh, Kunsoo; Park, Jaehak; Hwang, Junyeon; Hong, Daegun

    2008-02-01

    Obstacle detection is a crucial issue for driver assistance systems as well as for autonomous vehicle guidance function and it has to be performed with high reliability to avoid any potential collision with the front vehicle. The vision-based obstacle detection systems are regarded promising for this purpose because they require little infrastructure on a highway. However, the feasibility of these systems in passenger car requires accurate and robust sensing performance. In this paper, an obstacle detection system using stereo vision sensors is developed. This system utilizes feature matching, epipoplar constraint and feature aggregation in order to robustly detect the initial corresponding pairs. After the initial detection, the system executes the tracking algorithm for the obstacles. The proposed system can detect a front obstacle, a leading vehicle and a vehicle cutting into the lane. Then, the position parameters of the obstacles and leading vehicles can be obtained. The proposed obstacle detection system is implemented on a passenger car and its performance is verified experimentally.

  5. [Qualitative and quantitative diagnostic performance of 320-slice computed tomography for detecting coronary artery disease with respect to atherosclerotic plaque characteristics].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Suhua; Liu, Jinlai; Peng, Long; Dong, Ruimin; Wu, Huilan; Wang, Chenlin; Ni, Qiongqiong; Luo, Yanting; Zhu, Jieming; Chen, Lin

    2014-10-28

    To investigate qualitatively and quantitatively the diagnostic performance of 320-slice CT for detection of coronary artery disease with respect to different atherosclerotic plaque characteristics. A retrospective search was performed for inpatients underwent both coronary CT and further coronary angiography (CAG) from December 1, 2008 to December 31, 2012. The diagnostic performance of 320-slice CTA for detecting significant stenosis ( ≥ 50% diameter) with respect to atherosclerotic plaque characteristics were analyzed by calculating sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), accuracy, kappa index (κ), and area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). Chi-square test was used to evaluate whether there were significant differences of the true-case frequency (true positive + true negative) and false-case frequency (false positive + false negative) among groups. Bland-Altman analysis was used to determine limits of agreement between CTA and CAG. A total of 454 patients and 6 779 segments were analyzed. Diagnostic accuracy was higher in non-calcified segments; whereas they decreased in the presence of both mild-moderately and heavily calcified plaques. Excellent agreement (κ = 0.810) between CT and CAG was observed for non-calcified segments, while good agreement was observed for both mild-moderately (κ = 0.701) and heavily calcified segments (κ = 0.750). Both mild-moderate (P = 0.000) and heavy (P = 0.000) calcification decreased the true-case frequency and increased the false-case frequency when compared to non-calcification. There were no significant underestimation or overestimation for non-calcified (P = 0.087) and mild-moderately calcified (P = 0.704) segments, while there was significant overestimation for heavily calcified segments (P = 0.001). Great qualitative and quantitative diagnostic performances of 320-slice CT were observed in non-calcified coronary segments. However, qualitative

  6. Detection of toxoplasma-specific immunoglobulin G in human sera: performance comparison of in house Dot-ELISA with ECLIA and ELISA.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Teimouri, Aref; Modarressi, Mohammad Hossein; Shojaee, Saeedeh; Mohebali, Mehdi; Zouei, Nima; Rezaian, Mostafa; Keshavarz, Hossein

    2018-05-08

    In the current study, performance of electrochemiluminescence immunoassay (ECLIA) in detection of anti-toxoplasma IgG in human sera was compared with that of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Furthermore, performance of an in house Dot-ELISA in detection of anti-toxoplasma IgG was compared with that of ECLIA and ELISA. In total, 219 human sera were tested to detect anti-toxoplasma IgG using Dynex DS2® and Roche Cobas® e411 Automated Analyzers. Discordant results rechecked using immunofluorescence assay (IFA). Then, sera were used in an in house Dot-ELISA to assess toxoplasma-specific IgG. Of the 219 samples, two samples were found undetermined using ECLIA but reactive using ELISA. Using IFA, the two sera were reported unreactive. Furthermore, two samples were found reactive using ECLIA and unreactive using ELISA. These samples were reported reactive using IFA. The overall agreement for the two former methods was 98% (rZ0.98.1; P house Dot-ELISA included sensitivity of 79.5, specificity of 78.2, and accuracy of 78.9%, compared to ECLIA and ELISA. Positive and negative predictive values included 82.9 and 74.2%, respectively. A 100% sensitivity was found in in house Dot-ELISA for highly reactive sera in ECLIA and ELISA. ECLIA is appropriate for the first-line serological screening tests and can replace ELISA due to high speed, sensitivity, and specificity, particularly in large laboratories. Dot-ELISA is a rapid, sensitive, specific, cost-effective, user-friendly, and field-portable technique and hence can be used for screening toxoplasmosis, especially in rural fields or less equipped laboratories.

  7. [Detection of rifampicin concentration in cerebrospinal fluid by online enrichment and restricted-access media coupled with high-performance liquid chromatography].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Xiaoping; Zhang, Xiaohui; Huang, Yanping; Wang, Rong; Xia, Hua; Li, Wenbin; Guo, YouMin

    2015-11-01

    To establish a method for detecting rifampicin in human cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) with restricted access media coupled with high-performance liquid chromatography that allows online direct sample injection and enrichment. We used the column of restricted access media as the pre-treatment column and a C18 column as the analytical column. The mobile phase of pre-treatment column was water-methanol (95:5,V/V) and the flow rate was 1 mL/min; the mobile phase of the analytical column was methanol-acetonitrile-10 mmol/L ammonuium acetate (volume ratio of 60:5:35). The detection wavelength was 254 nm and the column temperature was set at 25 degrees celsius;. For an injection volume of 100 µL, the peak area of rifampicin was 5.33 times that for an injection volume of 20 µL, and the limit of detection was effectively improved. The calibration curve showed an excellent linear relationship (r=0.9997) between rifampicin concentrations and peak areas within the concentration range of 0.25 to 8 µg/mL in CSF. The limits of detection and quantification was 0.07 µg/mL and 0.25 µg/mL, respecetively, with intra-day and inter-day assay precisions and relative standard deviation (RSD%) all below 5%. The recoveries of rifampicin at 3 blank spiked levels (low, medium, and high) ranged from 87.69% to 102.11%. In patients taking oral rifampicin at the dose of 10 mg/kg, the average rifampicin concentration was 0.29 in the CSF at 2 h after medication. The method we established is simple and fast for detecting rifampicin in CSF and allows direct online injection and enrichment with good detection precisions and accuracies.

  8. Multi-probe-based resonance-frequency electrical impedance spectroscopy for detection of suspicious breast lesions: improving performance using partial ROC optimization

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lederman, Dror; Zheng, Bin; Wang, Xingwei; Wang, Xiao Hui; Gur, David

    2011-03-01

    We have developed a multi-probe resonance-frequency electrical impedance spectroscope (REIS) system to detect breast abnormalities. Based on assessing asymmetry in REIS signals acquired between left and right breasts, we developed several machine learning classifiers to classify younger women (i.e., under 50YO) into two groups of having high and low risk for developing breast cancer. In this study, we investigated a new method to optimize performance based on the area under a selected partial receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve when optimizing an artificial neural network (ANN), and tested whether it could improve classification performance. From an ongoing prospective study, we selected a dataset of 174 cases for whom we have both REIS signals and diagnostic status verification. The dataset includes 66 "positive" cases recommended for biopsy due to detection of highly suspicious breast lesions and 108 "negative" cases determined by imaging based examinations. A set of REIS-based feature differences, extracted from the two breasts using a mirror-matched approach, was computed and constituted an initial feature pool. Using a leave-one-case-out cross-validation method, we applied a genetic algorithm (GA) to train the ANN with an optimal subset of features. Two optimization criteria were separately used in GA optimization, namely the area under the entire ROC curve (AUC) and the partial area under the ROC curve, up to a predetermined threshold (i.e., 90% specificity). The results showed that although the ANN optimized using the entire AUC yielded higher overall performance (AUC = 0.83 versus 0.76), the ANN optimized using the partial ROC area criterion achieved substantially higher operational performance (i.e., increasing sensitivity level from 28% to 48% at 95% specificity and/ or from 48% to 58% at 90% specificity).

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grossman, S.

    2015-05-01

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

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burke, Christopher J.; Catanzarite, Joseph

    2017-01-01

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

  11. Incremental Diagnostic Performance of Combined Parameters in the Detection of Severe Coronary Artery Disease Using Exercise Gated Myocardial Perfusion Imaging.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chia-Ju Liu

    Full Text Available Myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI using gated single-photon emission tomography (gSPECT may underestimate the severity of coronary artery disease (CAD. This study aimed to evaluate the significance of combined parameters derived from gSPECT, as well as treadmill stress test parameters, in the detection of severe CAD.A total of 211 consecutive patients referred for exercise MPI between June 2011 and June 2013 (who received invasive coronary angiography within six months after MPI were retrospectively reviewed. Exercise MPI was performed with Bruce protocol and 201Tl injected at peak exercise. Gated SPECT was performed using a cadmium-zinc-telluride camera and processed by QPS/QGS software. Perfusion defect abnormalities such as sum stress score (SSS; sum difference score, algorithm-derived total perfusion deficits, transient ischemic dilatation ratios of end-diastolic volumes and end-systolic volumes, post-stress changes in ejection fraction, and lung/heart ratio (LHR were calculated. Treadmill parameters, including ST depression (STD at the 1st and 3rd minutes of recovery stage (1'STD and 3'STD, maximal STD corrected by heart rate increment (ST/HR, heart rate decline in 1st and 3rd minutes of recovery stage, recovery heart rate ratio (HR ratio, systolic and mean blood pressure ratios (SBP ratio and MAP ratio during recovery phase were recorded. Diagnostic performances of these parameters were analyzed with receiver operating characteristic (ROC analysis and logistic regression for detection of left main (≥ 50% or 3-vessel disease (all ≥ 70% luminal stenosis on invasive angiography.Among various MPI and treadmill parameters used for detection of severe CAD, SSS and ST/HR had the highest AUC (0.78, 0.73, p = NS and best cut-off values (SSS > 6, ST/HR > 17.39 10-2mV/bpm, respectively. By univariate logistic regression, all parameters except 1'HRR, 3'HRR, SBP and MAP ratios increased the odds ratio of severe CAD. Only increased L/H ratio, 3'STD

  12. Performance Evaluation of Commercial Dengue Diagnostic Tests for Early Detection of Dengue in Clinical Samples

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tuan Nur Akmalina Mat Jusoh

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The shattering rise in dengue virus infections globally has created a need for an accurate and validated rapid diagnostic test for this virus. Rapid diagnostic test (RDT and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR diagnostic detection are useful tools for diagnosis of early dengue infection. We prospectively evaluated the diagnostic performance of nonstructural 1 (NS1 RDT and real-time RT-PCR diagnostic kits in 86 patient serum samples. Thirty-six samples were positive for dengue NS1 antigen while the remaining 50 were negative when tested with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA. Commercially available RDTs for NS1 detection, RTK ProDetect™, and SD Bioline showed high sensitivity of 94% and 89%, respectively, compared with ELISA. GenoAmp® Trioplex Real-Time RT-PCR and RealStar® Dengue RT-PCR tests presented a comparable kappa agreement with 0.722. The result obtained from GenoAmp® Real-Time RT-PCR Dengue test showed that 14 samples harbored dengue virus type 1 (DENV-1, 8 samples harbored DENV-2, 2 samples harbored DENV-3, and 1 sample harbored DENV-4. 1 sample had a double infection with DENV-1 and DENV-2. The NS1 RDTs and real-time RT-PCR tests were found to be a useful diagnostic for early and rapid diagnosis of acute dengue and an excellent surveillance tool in our battle against dengue.

  13. Lysergic acid amide as chemical marker for the total ergot alkaloids in rye flour - Determination by high-performance thin-layer chromatography-fluorescence detection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oellig, Claudia

    2017-07-21

    Ergot alkaloids are generally determined by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled to fluorescence detection (FLD) or mass selective detection, analyzing the individual compounds. However, fast and easy screening methods for the determination of the total ergot alkaloid content are more suitable, since for monitoring only the sum of the alkaloids is relevant. The herein presented screening uses lysergic acid amide (LSA) as chemical marker, formed from ergopeptine alkaloids, and ergometrine for the determination of the total ergot alkaloids in rye with high-performance thin-layer chromatography-fluorescence detection (HPTLC-FLD). An ammonium acetate buffered extraction step was followed by liquid-liquid partition for clean-up before the ergopeptine alkaloids were selectively transformed to LSA and analyzed by HPTLC-FLD on silica gel with isopropyl acetate/methanol/water/25% ammonium hydroxide solution (80:10:3.8:1.1, v/v/v/v) as the mobile phase. The enhanced native fluorescence of LSA and unaffected ergometrine was used for quantitation without any interfering matrix. Limits of detection and quantitation were 8 and 26μg LSA/kg rye, which enables the determination of the total ergot alkaloids far below the applied quality criterion limit for rye. Close to 100% recoveries for different rye flours at relevant spiking levels were obtained. Thus, reliable results were guaranteed, and the fast and efficient screening for the total ergot alkaloids in rye offers a rapid alternative to the HPLC analysis of the individual compounds. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  14. Adaptive filtering and change detection

    CERN Document Server

    Gustafsson, Fredrik

    2003-01-01

    Adaptive filtering is a classical branch of digital signal processing (DSP). Industrial interest in adaptive filtering grows continuously with the increase in computer performance that allows ever more conplex algorithms to be run in real-time. Change detection is a type of adaptive filtering for non-stationary signals and is also the basic tool in fault detection and diagnosis. Often considered as separate subjects Adaptive Filtering and Change Detection bridges a gap in the literature with a unified treatment of these areas, emphasizing that change detection is a natural extensi

  15. Diagnostic performance of direct traction MR arthrography of the hip: detection of chondral and labral lesions with arthroscopic comparison

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schmaranzer, Florian; Klauser, Andrea; Henninger, Benjamin; Kogler, Michael; Schmaranzer, Ehrenfried; Forstner, Thomas; Reichkendler, Markus

    2015-01-01

    To assess diagnostic performance of traction MR arthrography of the hip in detection and grading of chondral and labral lesions with arthroscopic comparison. Seventy-five MR arthrograms obtained ± traction of 73 consecutive patients (mean age, 34.5 years; range, 14-54 years) who underwent arthroscopy were included. Traction technique included weight-adapted traction (15-23 kg), a supporting plate for the contralateral leg, and intra-articular injection of 18-27 ml (local anaesthetic and contrast agent). Patients reported on neuropraxia and on pain. Two blinded readers independently assessed femoroacetabular cartilage and labrum lesions which were correlated with arthroscopy. Interobserver agreement was calculated using κ values. Joint distraction ± traction was evaluated in consensus. No procedure had to be stopped. There were no cases of neuropraxia. Accuracy for detection of labral lesions was 92 %/93 %, 91 %/83 % for acetabular lesions, and 92 %/88 % for femoral cartilage lesions for reader 1/reader 2, respectively. Interobserver agreement was moderate (κ = 0.58) for grading of labrum lesions and substantial (κ = 0.7, κ = 0.68) for grading of acetabular and femoral cartilage lesions. Joint distraction was achieved in 72/75 and 14/75 hips with/without traction, respectively. Traction MR arthrography safely enabled accurate detection and grading of labral and chondral lesions. (orig.)

  16. Diagnostic performance of direct traction MR arthrography of the hip: detection of chondral and labral lesions with arthroscopic comparison

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schmaranzer, Florian; Klauser, Andrea; Henninger, Benjamin [Medical University Innsbruck, Department of Radiology, Innsbruck (Austria); Kogler, Michael; Schmaranzer, Ehrenfried [District Hospital St. Johann in Tyrol, Department of Radiology, St. Johann in Tyrol (Austria); Forstner, Thomas [Johannes Keppler University, Department for Applied Systems Research and Statistics, Linz (Austria); Reichkendler, Markus [District Hospital St. Johann in Tyrol, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, St. Johann in Tyrol (Austria)

    2015-06-01

    To assess diagnostic performance of traction MR arthrography of the hip in detection and grading of chondral and labral lesions with arthroscopic comparison. Seventy-five MR arthrograms obtained ± traction of 73 consecutive patients (mean age, 34.5 years; range, 14-54 years) who underwent arthroscopy were included. Traction technique included weight-adapted traction (15-23 kg), a supporting plate for the contralateral leg, and intra-articular injection of 18-27 ml (local anaesthetic and contrast agent). Patients reported on neuropraxia and on pain. Two blinded readers independently assessed femoroacetabular cartilage and labrum lesions which were correlated with arthroscopy. Interobserver agreement was calculated using κ values. Joint distraction ± traction was evaluated in consensus. No procedure had to be stopped. There were no cases of neuropraxia. Accuracy for detection of labral lesions was 92 %/93 %, 91 %/83 % for acetabular lesions, and 92 %/88 % for femoral cartilage lesions for reader 1/reader 2, respectively. Interobserver agreement was moderate (κ = 0.58) for grading of labrum lesions and substantial (κ = 0.7, κ = 0.68) for grading of acetabular and femoral cartilage lesions. Joint distraction was achieved in 72/75 and 14/75 hips with/without traction, respectively. Traction MR arthrography safely enabled accurate detection and grading of labral and chondral lesions. (orig.)

  17. Annex 2: performance audit tool PAT

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kaldorf, S.; Gruber, P.

    2000-10-15

    This annex to the report takes a look at experience gained with one of two expert systems used for error-detection and diagnosis in existing buildings. The Performance Audit Tool PAT is based on an expert system for the detection and diagnosis of under-performance. Its aim is to assist the system's operator. It was developed as a stand-alone system which periodically runs a remote detection and diagnosis check. The various types of under-performance that the system can detect are discussed. The first objective of this study was to present the structure of the tool and describe its application to two types of system: a central air-handling unit and individual zones. The second objective was to discuss experience gained with this type of tool.

  18. Determination of diacylhydrazines-type insect growth regulator JS-118 residues in cabbage and soil by high performance liquid chromatography with DAD detection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, J-Y; Deng, Z-B; Qin, D-M

    2009-12-01

    JS-118 is a diacylhydrazines-type insect growth regulator used extensively in China now. An analytical method for residues determination of JS-118 in cabbage and soil samples by high performance liquid chromatography with DAD detection was established and optimized. Primary secondary amine solid phase extraction cartridge was used for sample preparation. Mean recoveries for the analyte ranged from 96.6% to 107.0% with CV value less than 4.7%. The limit of quantification is 0.01 mg/kg. Direct confirmation of JS-118 residues in samples was realized by high performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. The proposed method is simple, rapid and reliable to perform and could be utilized for monitoring of pesticides residues.

  19. A High-Performance Portable Transient Electro-Magnetic Sensor for Unexploded Ordnance Detection

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Haofeng Wang

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Portable transient electromagnetic (TEM systems can be well adapted to various terrains, including mountainous, woodland, and other complex terrains. They are widely used for the detection of unexploded ordnance (UXO. As the core component of the portable TEM system, the sensor is constructed with a transmitting coil and a receiving coil. Based on the primary field of the transmitting coil and internal noise of the receiving coil, the design and testing of such a sensor is described in detail. Results indicate that the primary field of the transmitting coil depends on the diameter, mass, and power of the coil. A higher mass–power product and a larger diameter causes a stronger primary field. Reducing the number of turns and increasing the clamp voltage reduces the switch-off time of the transmitting current effectively. Increasing the cross-section of the wire reduces the power consumption, but greatly increases the coil’s weight. The study of the receiving coil shows that the internal noise of the sensor is dominated by the thermal noise of the damping resistor. Reducing the bandwidth of the system and increasing the size of the coil reduces the internal noise effectively. The cross-sectional area and the distance between the sections of the coil have little effect on the internal noise. A less damped state can effectively reduce signal distortion. Finally, a portable TEM sensor with both a transmitting coil (constructed with a diameter, number of turns, and transmitting current of 0.5 m, 30, and 5 A, respectively and a receiving coil (constructed with a length and resonant frequency of 5.6 cm and 50 kHz, respectively was built. The agreement between experimental and calculated results confirms the theory used in the sensor design. The responses of an 82 mm mortar shell at different distances were measured and inverted by the differential evolution (DE algorithm to verify system performance. Results show that the sensor designed in this

  20. Performance of the Directigen EZ Flu A+B rapid influenza diagnostic test to detect pandemic influenza A/H1N1 2009.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boyanton, Bobby L; Almradi, Amro; Mehta, Tejal; Robinson-Dunn, Barbara

    2014-04-01

    The Directigen EZ Flu A+B rapid influenza diagnostic test, as compared to real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction, demonstrated suboptimal performance to detect pandemic influenza A/H1N1 2009. Age- and viral load-stratified test sensitivity ranged from 33.3 to 84.6% and 0 to 100%, respectively. © 2013.

  1. Computer-aided detection in computed tomography colonography. Current status and problems with detection of early colorectal cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Morimoto, Tsuyoshi; Nakijima, Yasuo; Iinuma, Gen; Arai, Yasuaki; Shiraishi, Junji; Moriyama, Noriyuki; Beddoe, G.

    2008-01-01

    The aim of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of computer-aided detection (CAD) in diagnosing early colorectal cancer using computed tomography colonography (CTC). A total of 30 CTC data sets for 30 early colorectal cancers in 30 patients were retrospectively reviewed by three radiologists. After primary evaluation, a second reading was performed using CAD findings. The readers evaluated each colorectal segment for the presence or absence of colorectal cancer using five confidence rating levels. To compare the assessment results, the sensitivity and specificity with and without CAD were calculated on the basis of the confidence rating, and differences in these variables were analyzed by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. The average sensitivities for the detection without and with CAD for the three readers were 81.6% and 75.6%, respectively. Among the three readers, only one reader improved sensitivity with CAD compared to that without. CAD decreased specificity in all three readers. CAD detected 100% of protruding lesions but only 69.2% of flat lesions. On ROC analysis, the diagnostic performance of all three readers was decreased by use of CAD. Currently available CAD with CTC does not improve diagnostic performance for detecting early colorectal cancer. An improved CAD algorithm is required for detecting fiat lesions and reducing the false-positive rate. (author)

  2. Rapid modified QuEChERS method for pesticides detection in honey by high-performance liquid chromatography UV-visible

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elisabetta Bonerba

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available The extensive use of pesticides in agriculture plays an important role in bees die-off and allows the presence of residues in hive products, particularly in honey. An accurate and reliable analytical method, based on QuEChERS extractive technique, has been developed for the quantitative determination by high-performance liquid chromatography UV-visible detector of 5 pesticides (Deltamethrin, Dimethoate, Imidacloprid, Acetamiprid, Chlorfenvinphos in honey. The method, according to Commission Directive 2002/63/EC and Regulation 882/2004/EC, provided excellent results with respect to linearity (correlation coefficient up to 0.993, limits of detection and quantification (0.005 and 0.01 μg/mL for Dimethoate, Deltamethrin and Chlorfenvinphos; 0.02 and 0.05 μg/mL for Acetamiprid and Imidacloprid, recovery values (86.4 to 96.3%, precision and relative expanded uncertainty of a measurement, demonstrating the conformity of the this method with the European directives. The proposed method was applied to 23 samples of Apulian honey. None of the investigated pesticides was detected in these samples.

  3. 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....

  4. Diagnostic Performance of Ultra-Low-Dose Computed Tomography for Detecting Asbestos-Related Pleuropulmonary Diseases: Prospective Study in a Screening Setting

    OpenAIRE

    Schaal, Marysa; Severac, Fran?ois; Labani, Aissam; Jeung, Mi-Young; Roy, Catherine; Ohana, Micka?l

    2016-01-01

    Objective To evaluate the diagnostic performance of Ultra-Low-Dose Chest CT (ULD CT) for the detection of any asbestos-related lesions (primary endpoint) and specific asbestos-related abnormalities, i.e. non-calcified and calcified pleural plaques, diffuse pleural thickening, asbestosis and significant lung nodules (secondary endpoints). Material and Methods 55 male patients (55.7?8.1 years old) with occupational asbestos exposure for at least 15 years and where CT screening was indicated wer...

  5. From Pacemaker to Wearable: Techniques for ECG Detection Systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kumar, Ashish; Komaragiri, Rama; Kumar, Manjeet

    2018-01-11

    With the alarming rise in the deaths due to cardiovascular diseases (CVD), present medical research scenario places notable importance on techniques and methods to detect CVDs. As adduced by world health organization, technological proceeds in the field of cardiac function assessment have become the nucleus and heart of all leading research studies in CVDs in which electrocardiogram (ECG) analysis is the most functional and convenient tool used to test the range of heart-related irregularities. Most of the approaches present in the literature of ECG signal analysis consider noise removal, rhythm-based analysis, and heartbeat detection to improve the performance of a cardiac pacemaker. Advancements achieved in the field of ECG segments detection and beat classification have a limited evaluation and still require clinical approvals. In this paper, approaches on techniques to implement on-chip ECG detector for a cardiac pacemaker system are discussed. Moreover, different challenges regarding the ECG signal morphology analysis deriving from medical literature is extensively reviewed. It is found that robustness to noise, wavelet parameter choice, numerical efficiency, and detection performance are essential performance indicators required by a state-of-the-art ECG detector. Furthermore, many algorithms described in the existing literature are not verified using ECG data from the standard databases. Some ECG detection algorithms show very high detection performance with the total number of detected QRS complexes. However, the high detection performance of the algorithm is verified using only a few datasets. Finally, gaps in current advancements and testing are identified, and the primary challenge remains to be implementing bullseye test for morphology analysis evaluation.

  6. The Performance of the Four Anaerobic Blood Culture Bottles BacT/ALERT-FN, -FN Plus, BACTEC-Plus and -Lytic in Detection of Anaerobic Bacteria and Identification by Direct MALDI-TOF MS.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Almuhayawi, Mohammed; Altun, Osman; Abdulmajeed, Adam Dilshad; Ullberg, Måns; Özenci, Volkan

    2015-01-01

    Detection and identification of anaerobic bacteria in blood cultures (BC) is a well-recognized challenge in clinical microbiology. We studied 100 clinical anaerobic BC isolates to evaluate the performance of BacT/ALERT-FN, -FN Plus (BioMérieux), BACTEC-Plus and -Lytic (Becton Dickinson BioSciences) BC bottles in detection and time to detection (TTD) of anaerobic bacteria. BACTEC Lytic had higher detection rate (94/100, 94%) than BacT/ALERT FN Plus (80/100, 80%) (panaerobic bacteria among the remaining bottle types. The 67 anaerobic bacteria that signalled positive in all four bottle types were analyzed to compare the time to detection (TTD) and isolates were directly identified by MALDI-TOF MS. There was a significant difference in TTD among the four bottle types (panaerobic BC bottles are equally suitable for direct MALDI-TOF MS for rapid and reliable identification of common anaerobic bacteria. Further clinical studies are warranted to investigate the performance of anaerobic BC bottles in detection of anaerobic bacteria and identification by direct MALDI-TOF MS.

  7. Performance evaluation of an automated single-channel sleep–wake detection algorithm

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kaplan RF

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available Richard F Kaplan,1 Ying Wang,1 Kenneth A Loparo,1,2 Monica R Kelly,3 Richard R Bootzin3 1General Sleep Corporation, Euclid, OH, USA; 2Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA; 3Department of Psychology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA Background: A need exists, from both a clinical and a research standpoint, for objective sleep measurement systems that are both easy to use and can accurately assess sleep and wake. This study evaluates the output of an automated sleep–wake detection algorithm (Z-ALG used in the Zmachine (a portable, single-channel, electroencephalographic [EEG] acquisition and analysis system against laboratory polysomnography (PSG using a consensus of expert visual scorers. Methods: Overnight laboratory PSG studies from 99 subjects (52 females/47 males, 18–60 years, median age 32.7 years, including both normal sleepers and those with a variety of sleep disorders, were assessed. PSG data obtained from the differential mastoids (A1–A2 were assessed by Z-ALG, which determines sleep versus wake every 30 seconds using low-frequency, intermediate-frequency, and high-frequency and time domain EEG features. PSG data were independently scored by two to four certified PSG technologists, using standard Rechtschaffen and Kales guidelines, and these score files were combined on an epoch-by-epoch basis, using a majority voting rule, to generate a single score file per subject to compare against the Z-ALG output. Both epoch-by-epoch and standard sleep indices (eg, total sleep time, sleep efficiency, latency to persistent sleep, and wake after sleep onset were compared between the Z-ALG output and the technologist consensus score files. Results: Overall, the sensitivity and specificity for detecting sleep using the Z-ALG as compared to the technologist consensus are 95.5% and 92.5%, respectively, across all subjects, and the positive predictive value and the

  8. Computer-assisted detection of pulmonary embolism: evaluation of pulmonary CT angiograms performed in an on-call setting

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wittenberg, Rianne; Peters, Joost F.; Sonnemans, Jeroen J.; Prokop, Mathias; Schaefer-Prokop, Cornelia M.

    2010-01-01

    The purpose of the study was to assess the stand-alone performance of computer-assisted detection (CAD) for evaluation of pulmonary CT angiograms (CTPA) performed in an on-call setting. In this institutional review board-approved study, we retrospectively included 292 consecutive CTPA performed during night shifts and weekends over a period of 16 months. Original reports were compared with a dedicated CAD system for pulmonary emboli (PE). A reference standard for the presence of PE was established using independent evaluation by two readers and consultation of a third experienced radiologist in discordant cases. Original reports had described 225 negative studies and 67 positive studies for PE. CAD found PE in seven patients originally reported as negative but identified by independent evaluation: emboli were located in segmental (n = 2) and subsegmental arteries (n = 5). The negative predictive value (NPV) of the CAD algorithm was 92% (44/48). On average there were 4.7 false positives (FP) per examination (median 2, range 0-42). In 72% of studies ≤5 FP were found, 13% of studies had ≥10 FP. CAD identified small emboli originally missed under clinical conditions and found 93% of the isolated subsegmental emboli. On average there were 4.7 FP per examination. (orig.)

  9. Inpatient iron deficiency detection and management: how do general physicians and gastroenterologists perform in a tertiary care hospital?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fazal, Muhammad W; Andrews, Jane M; Thomas, Josephine; Saffouri, Eliana

    2017-08-01

    Iron deficiency (ID) is often an indicator of underlying pathology. Early detection and treatment avoids long-term morbidity and allows for prompt iron repletion, avoiding ID anaemia (IDA) and the need for blood transfusion. To evaluate the management of ID in two internal medicine units (general medical (GM) and gastroenterology (GE)) in a large metropolitan hospital and compare it to international guidelines. All consecutive inpatient admissions in the GM and GE units were retrospectively reviewed until 40 patients in each service were identified with anaemia and/or microcytic hypochromic blood counts. Patient records and electronic discharge summaries were then reviewed to assess the recognition, investigation and management of these abnormalities. Overall, only 60% (48/80) of the cases of microcytic hypochromic picture and/or anaemia were recognised. Cases were more likely to be detected under the GE unit, 77.5% (31/40) versus 42% (17/40) in GM (P < 0.002). Of the 31 recognised GE cases, 28 (90%) were investigated further with iron studies and/or endoscopic procedures. ID was confirmed in nearly half (5/11) of those tested; however, only 2 of 5 received iron replacement. Among GM patients, only 11 of the 17 recognised cases (64%) were investigated further. Iron studies were performed in all 11, confirming IDA in 4 (36%), all of whom received intravenous iron. A faecal human haemoglobin test was performed in two GM patients and one GE patient. There remains significant room for improvement in the recognition, investigation and management of ID in hospital practice in Australia. © 2017 Royal Australasian College of Physicians.

  10. Partially hydrolyzed guar gum characterization and sensitive quantification in food matrices by high performance anion exchange chromatography with pulsed amperometric detection--validation using accuracy profile.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mercier, G; Campargue, C

    2012-11-02

    Interest concerning functional ingredients and especially dietary fibres has been growing in recent years. At the same time, the variety of ingredient accepted as dietary fibres and their mixing at low level in complex matrices have considerably complicated their quantitative analysis by approved AOAC methods. These reasons have led to the specific development of an innovative analytical method performed by high-performance anion-exchange chromatography (HPAEC) with pulsed amperometric detection (PAD) to detect and quantify partially hydrolyzed guar gum (PHGG) in fruit preparation and dairy matrices. The analytical methodology was divided in two steps which could be deployed separately or in conjunction. The first, consists in a complete characterization of PHGG by size exclusion chromatography (SEC) with multi-angle light scattering and refractive index detection and HPAEC-PAD to determine its physico-chemical properties and galactomannans content, and the second step is the development of a new HPAEC-PAD method for PHGG direct quantification in complex matrices (dairy product). Validation in terms of detection and quantification limits, linearity of the analytical range, average accuracy (recovery, trueness) and average uncertainty were statistically carried out with accuracy profile. Overall, this new chromatographic method has considerably improved the possibility to quantify without fractionation treatment, low level of dietary fibres emerging from specific galactomannans, in complex matrices and many foodstuffs. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  11. A support vector machine approach for detection of microcalcifications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    El-Naqa, Issam; Yang, Yongyi; Wernick, Miles N; Galatsanos, Nikolas P; Nishikawa, Robert M

    2002-12-01

    In this paper, we investigate an approach based on support vector machines (SVMs) for detection of microcalcification (MC) clusters in digital mammograms, and propose a successive enhancement learning scheme for improved performance. SVM is a machine-learning method, based on the principle of structural risk minimization, which performs well when applied to data outside the training set. We formulate MC detection as a supervised-learning problem and apply SVM to develop the detection algorithm. We use the SVM to detect at each location in the image whether an MC is present or not. We tested the proposed method using a database of 76 clinical mammograms containing 1120 MCs. We use free-response receiver operating characteristic curves to evaluate detection performance, and compare the proposed algorithm with several existing methods. In our experiments, the proposed SVM framework outperformed all the other methods tested. In particular, a sensitivity as high as 94% was achieved by the SVM method at an error rate of one false-positive cluster per image. The ability of SVM to out perform several well-known methods developed for the widely studied problem of MC detection suggests that SVM is a promising technique for object detection in a medical imaging application.

  12. Correlation between human observer performance and model observer performance in differential phase contrast CT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li, Ke; Garrett, John; Chen, Guang-Hong

    2013-01-01

    Purpose: With the recently expanding interest and developments in x-ray differential phase contrast CT (DPC-CT), the evaluation of its task-specific detection performance and comparison with the corresponding absorption CT under a given radiation dose constraint become increasingly important. Mathematical model observers are often used to quantify the performance of imaging systems, but their correlations with actual human observers need to be confirmed for each new imaging method. This work is an investigation of the effects of stochastic DPC-CT noise on the correlation of detection performance between model and human observers with signal-known-exactly (SKE) detection tasks.Methods: The detectabilities of different objects (five disks with different diameters and two breast lesion masses) embedded in an experimental DPC-CT noise background were assessed using both model and human observers. The detectability of the disk and lesion signals was then measured using five types of model observers including the prewhitening ideal observer, the nonprewhitening (NPW) observer, the nonprewhitening observer with eye filter and internal noise (NPWEi), the prewhitening observer with eye filter and internal noise (PWEi), and the channelized Hotelling observer (CHO). The same objects were also evaluated by four human observers using the two-alternative forced choice method. The results from the model observer experiment were quantitatively compared to the human observer results to assess the correlation between the two techniques.Results: The contrast-to-detail (CD) curve generated by the human observers for the disk-detection experiments shows that the required contrast to detect a disk is inversely proportional to the square root of the disk size. Based on the CD curves, the ideal and NPW observers tend to systematically overestimate the performance of the human observers. The NPWEi and PWEi observers did not predict human performance well either, as the slopes of their CD

  13. Effects of sample injection amount and time-of-flight mass spectrometric detection dynamic range on metabolome analysis by high-performance chemical isotope labeling LC-MS.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Ruokun; Li, Liang

    2015-04-06

    The effect of sample injection amount on metabolome analysis in a chemical isotope labeling (CIL) liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) platform was investigated. The performance of time-of-flight (TOF) mass spectrometers with and without a high-dynamic-range (HD) detection system was compared in the analysis of (12)C2/(13)C2-dansyl labeled human urine samples. An average of 1635 ± 21 (n = 3) peak pairs or putative metabolites was detected using the HD-TOF-MS, compared to 1429 ± 37 peak pairs from a conventional or non-HD TOF-MS. In both instruments, signal saturation was observed. However, in the HD-TOF-MS, signal saturation was mainly caused by the ionization process, while in the non-HD TOF-MS, it was caused by the detection process. To extend the MS detection range in the non-HD TOF-MS, an automated switching from using (12)C to (13)C-natural abundance peaks for peak ratio calculation when the (12)C peaks are saturated has been implemented in IsoMS, a software tool for processing CIL LC-MS data. This work illustrates that injecting an optimal sample amount is important to maximize the metabolome coverage while avoiding the sample carryover problem often associated with over-injection. A TOF mass spectrometer with an enhanced detection dynamic range can also significantly increase the number of peak pairs detected. In chemical isotope labeling (CIL) LC-MS, relative metabolite quantification is done by measuring the peak ratio of a (13)C2-/(12)C2-labeled peak pair for a given metabolite present in two comparative samples. The dynamic range of peak ratio measurement does not need to be very large, as only subtle changes of metabolite concentrations are encountered in most metabolomic studies where relative metabolome quantification of different groups of samples is performed. However, the absolute concentrations of different metabolites can be very different, requiring a technique to provide a wide detection dynamic range to allow the detection of as

  14. Channel selection for automatic seizure detection

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Duun-Henriksen, Jonas; Kjaer, Troels Wesenberg; Madsen, Rasmus Elsborg

    2012-01-01

    Objective: To investigate the performance of epileptic seizure detection using only a few of the recorded EEG channels and the ability of software to select these channels compared with a neurophysiologist. Methods: Fifty-nine seizures and 1419 h of interictal EEG are used for training and testing...... of an automatic channel selection method. The characteristics of the seizures are extracted by the use of a wavelet analysis and classified by a support vector machine. The best channel selection method is based upon maximum variance during the seizure. Results: Using only three channels, a seizure detection...... sensitivity of 96% and a false detection rate of 0.14/h were obtained. This corresponds to the performance obtained when channels are selected through visual inspection by a clinical neurophysiologist, and constitutes a 4% improvement in sensitivity compared to seizure detection using channels recorded...

  15. Piloted "Well Clear" Performance Evaluation of Detect-and-Avoid Systems with Suggestive Guidance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mueller, Eric R.; Santiago, Confesor; Watza, Spencer

    2016-01-01

    This study evaluated the performance of four prototype unmanned aircraft detect-and-avoid (DAA) display configurations, each with different informational elements driven by alerting and guidance algorithms. Sixteen unmanned aircraft pilots flew each combination of the display configurations, with half being given zero DAA surveillance sensor uncertainty and the other half experiencing errors that were comparable, and in some cases slightly better than, errors that were measured in DAA system flight tests. The displays that showed intruder alert information in altitude and heading bands had significantly fewer losses of well clear compared with alternative displays that lacked that information. This difference was significant from a statistical and practical perspective: those losses that did occur lasted for shorter periods and did not penetrate as far into the geometric "separation cylinder" as those in the non-banded displays. A modest level of DAA surveillance sensor uncertainty did not affect the proportion of losses of well clear or their severity. It is recommended that DAA traffic displays implement a band-type display in order to improve the safety of UAS operations in the National Airspace System. Finally, this report provides pilot response time distributions for responding to DAA alerts.

  16. Performance evaluation of 3-D enhancement filters for detection of lung cancer from 3-D chest X-ray CT images

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shimizu, Akinobu; Hagai, Makoto; Toriwaki, Jun-ichiro; Hasegawa, Jun-ichi.

    1995-01-01

    This paper evaluates the performance of several three dimensional enhancement filters used in procedures for detecting lung cancer shadows from three dimensional (3D) chest X-ray CT images. Two dimensional enhancement filters such as Min-DD filter, Contrast filter and N-Quoit filter have been proposed for enhancing cancer shadows in conventional 2D X-ray images. In this paper, we extend each of these 2D filters to a 3D filter and evaluate its performance experimentally by using CT images with artificial and true lung cancer shadows. As a result, we find that these 3D filters are effective for determining the position of a lung cancer shadow in a 3D chest CT image, as compared with the simple procedure such as smoothing filter, and that the performance of these filters become lower in the hilar area due to the influence of the vessel shadows. (author)

  17. Audiovisual synchrony enhances BOLD responses in a brain network including multisensory STS while also enhancing target-detection performance for both modalities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marchant, Jennifer L; Ruff, Christian C; Driver, Jon

    2012-01-01

    The brain seeks to combine related inputs from different senses (e.g., hearing and vision), via multisensory integration. Temporal information can indicate whether stimuli in different senses are related or not. A recent human fMRI study (Noesselt et al. [2007]: J Neurosci 27:11431–11441) used auditory and visual trains of beeps and flashes with erratic timing, manipulating whether auditory and visual trains were synchronous or unrelated in temporal pattern. A region of superior temporal sulcus (STS) showed higher BOLD signal for the synchronous condition. But this could not be related to performance, and it remained unclear if the erratic, unpredictable nature of the stimulus trains was important. Here we compared synchronous audiovisual trains to asynchronous trains, while using a behavioral task requiring detection of higher-intensity target events in either modality. We further varied whether the stimulus trains had predictable temporal pattern or not. Synchrony (versus lag) between auditory and visual trains enhanced behavioral sensitivity (d') to intensity targets in either modality, regardless of predictable versus unpredictable patterning. The analogous contrast in fMRI revealed BOLD increases in several brain areas, including the left STS region reported by Noesselt et al. [2007: J Neurosci 27:11431–11441]. The synchrony effect on BOLD here correlated with the subject-by-subject impact on performance. Predictability of temporal pattern did not affect target detection performance or STS activity, but did lead to an interaction with audiovisual synchrony for BOLD in inferior parietal cortex. PMID:21953980

  18. Development Of Signal Detection For Radar Navigation System

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Theingi Win Hlaing

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available This paper aims to evaluate the performance of target detection in the presence of sea clutter. Radar detection of a background of unwanted clutter due to echoes from sea clutter or land is a problem of interest in the radar field. Radar detector has been developed by assuming the radar clutter is Gaussian distributed. However as technology emerges the radar distribution is seen to deviates from the Gaussian assumption. Thus detectors designs based on Gaussian assumption are no longer optimum for detection in non-Gaussian nature. The theory of target detection in Gaussian distributed clutter has been well established and the closed form of the detection performances can be easily obtained. However that is not the case in non-Gaussian clutter distributions. The operation of radar detection is determined by radar detection theory with different types of Swerling target models such as Swerling I II III IV and V. By using MATLAB these signal detection techniques are developed.

  19. Energy detection for spectrum sensing in cognitive radio

    CERN Document Server

    Atapattu, Saman; Jiang, Hai

    2014-01-01

    This Springer Brief focuses on the current state-of-the-art research on spectrum sensing by using energy detection, a low-complexity and low-cost technique. It includes a comprehensive summary of recent research, fundamental theories, possible architectures, useful performance measurements of energy detection and applications of energy detection. Concise, practical chapters explore conventional energy detectors, alternative forms of energy detectors, performance measurements, diversity techniques and cooperative networks. The careful analysis enables reader to identify the most efficient techn

  20. Performance acceptance test of a portable instrument to detect uranium in water at the DOE Advanced Waste Water Treatment Plant, Fernald, Ohio

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anderson, M.S.; Weeks, S.J.

    1997-01-01

    The Eppendorf-Biotronik Model IC 2001-2, a portable field ruggedized ion chromatography instrument, was rigorously tested at the DOE Advanced Waste Water Treatment Plant, Fernald, Ohio. This instrument rapidly detected the uranium concentration in water, and has a detection limit in the low ppb range without using the sample concentrating feature. The test set of samples analyzed included: ''Real World'' water samples from the AWWT containing uranium concentrations in the 9--110 ppb range, a sample blank, and a performance evaluation sample. The AWWT samples contained sets of both raw water and acid-preserved water samples. Selected samples were analyzed in quadruplicate to asses the instrument's precision, and these results were compared with the results from an off-site confirmatory laboratory to assess the instrument's accuracy. Additional comparisons with on-site laboratory instruments, Chemcheck KPA-11 and Scintrex UA-3 are reported. Overall, the Eppendorf-Biotronik IC 2001-2 performed exceptionally well providing a detection limit in the low ppb region (< 10 ppb) and giving rapid (< 5 minutes) accurate and reproducible analytical results for the AWWT, ''real world'', water samples with uranium concentrations in the region of interest (10--40 ppb). The per sample operating cost for this instrument is equivalent to the per sample cost for the currently used KPA. The time required to analyze a sample and provide a result is approximately the same for the CI 2001-2, KPA, and Scintrex instruments

  1. Fast separation and quantification of three anti-glaucoma drugs by high-performance liquid chromatography UV detection

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohamed Walash

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available In this study, a simple and accurate high-performance liquid chromatography method was developed and validated for fast separation of three anti-glaucoma drugs: timolol maleate (TM, brimonidine tartrate (BM, and latanoprost (LP. Separation of the three drugs was achieved in < 6 minutes using a BDS Hypersil phenyl column and a mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile: 25mM phosphate buffer, pH 4.0 (50: 50, v/v at 1.2 mL/min with UV detection at 210 nm. The method was linear over the concentration ranges of 5.0–200.0 μg/mL, 2.0–80.0 μg/mL and 1.0–25.0 μg/mL with lower detection limits of 0.21 μg/mL, 0.10 μg/mL and 0.11 μg/mL for TM, BM and LP, respectively. The method was applied for the determination of two fixed-dose combination eye drops for the treatment of glaucoma, containing TM together with either BM or LP. Commercial samples of single-ingredient ophthalmic solutions containing the studied drugs were also successfully analyzed. The results obtained by the proposed method were favorably compared with those obtained by the comparison methods using Student's t test and the variance ratio F test.

  2. From SED HI concept to Pleiades FM detection unit measurements

    Science.gov (United States)

    Renard, Christophe; Dantes, Didier; Neveu, Claude; Lamard, Jean-Luc; Oudinot, Matthieu; Materne, Alex

    2017-11-01

    The first flight model PLEIADES high resolution instrument under Thales Alenia Space development, on behalf of CNES, is currently in integration and test phases. Based on the SED HI detection unit concept, PLEIADES detection unit has been fully qualified before the integration at telescope level. The main radiometric performances have been measured on engineering and first flight models. This paper presents the results of performances obtained on the both models. After a recall of the SED HI concept, the design and performances of the main elements (charge coupled detectors, focal plane and video processing unit), detection unit radiometric performances are presented and compared to the instrument specifications for the panchromatic and multispectral bands. The performances treated are the following: - video signal characteristics, - dark signal level and dark signal non uniformity, - photo-response non uniformity, - non linearity and differential non linearity, - temporal and spatial noises regarding system definitions PLEIADES detection unit allows tuning of different functions: reference and sampling time positioning, anti-blooming level, gain value, TDI line number. These parameters are presented with their associated criteria of optimisation to achieve system radiometric performances and their sensitivities on radiometric performances. All the results of the measurements performed by Thales Alenia Space on the PLEIADES detection units demonstrate the high potential of the SED HI concept for Earth high resolution observation system allowing optimised performances at instrument and satellite levels.

  3. An evaluation of clinical performance of FTA cards for HPV 16/18 detection using cobas 4800 HPV Test compared to dry swab and liquid medium.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dong, Li; Lin, Chunqing; Li, Li; Wang, Margaret; Cui, Jianfeng; Feng, Ruimei; Liu, Bin; Wu, Zeni; Lian, Jia; Liao, Guangdong; Chen, Wen; Qiao, Youlin

    2017-09-01

    Effective dry storage and transport media as an alternative to conventional liquid-based medium would facilitate the accessibility of women in the low-resource settings to human papillomavirus (HPV)- based cervical cancer screening. To evaluate analytical and clinical performance of indicating FTA™ Elute Cartridge (FTA card) for the detection of HPV16/18 and cervical precancerous lesions and cancer compared to dry swab and liquid medium. Ninety patients with abnormal cytology and/or HPV infection were included for analysis. Three specimens of cervical exfoliated cells from each woman were randomly collected by FTA card, dry swab or liquid-based medium prior to colposcopy examination. The subsequent HPV DNA tests were performed on cobas 4800 HPV platform. High-risk HPV (hrHPV) positivity rate was 63.3%, 62.2% and 65.6% for samples collected by FTA card, dry swab and liquid medium, respectively. The overall agreements and kappa values for the detection of hrHPV, HPV 16 and HPV 18 between FTA card and liquid-based medium were 88.9% (κ=0.76), 97.8% (κ=0.94) and 100% (κ=1.0),respectively; between FTA card and dry swab were 92.1% (κ=0.83), 94.5% (κ=0.87) and 100% (κ=1.0), respectively. The performances of hrHPV tested by FTA card, dry swab, and liquid-based medium for detecting CIN2+ were comparable in terms of the sensitivity and specificity. The specificity of detection of CIN2+ by HPV16/18 increased by approximately 40% compared to hrHPV for any medium albeit at cost of a moderate loss of sensitivity. Dry medium might offer an alternative to conventional liquid-based medium in the HPV-based cervical cancer screening program especially in low-resource settings but still needs further evaluation. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  4. Matched Filter Processing for Asteroid Detection

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gural, Peter S.; Larsen, Jeffrey A.; Gleason, Arianna E.

    2005-10-01

    Matched filter (MF) processing has been shown to provide significant performance gains when processing stellar imagery used for asteroid detection, recovery, and tracking. This includes extending detection ranges to fainter magnitudes at the noise limit of the imagery and operating in dense cluttered star fields as encountered at low Galactic latitudes. The MF software has been shown to detect 40% more asteroids in high-quality Spacewatch imagery relative to the currently implemented approaches, which are based on moving target indicator (MTI) algorithms. In addition, MF detections were made in dense star fields and in situations in which the asteroid was collocated with a star in an image frame, cases in which the MTI algorithms failed. Thus, using legacy sensors and optics, improved detection sensitivity is achievable by simply upgrading the image-processing stream. This in turn permits surveys of the near-Earth asteroid (NEA) population farther from opposition, for smaller sizes, and in directions previously inaccessible to current NEA search programs. A software package has been developed and made available on the NASA data services Web site that can be used for asteroid detection and recovery operations utilizing the enhanced performance capabilities of MF processing.

  5. Integrated Performance Testing Workshop, Modules 6 - 11

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Leach, Janice; Torres, Teresa M.

    2012-10-01

    These modules cover performance testing of: Interior Detection Systems; Access Controls; Exterior Detection Systems; Video Assessment Systems; SNM / Contraband Detection Systems; Access Delay Elements

  6. Nutrition and Mental Performance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stein, Zena; And Others

    1972-01-01

    Prenatal exposure to the Dutch famine of 1944-45 had no detectable effects on the adult mental performance of surviving male offspring; birth weight was not related to mental performance; and the association of social class with mental performance was strong. (AL)

  7. REMOTE LAND MINE(FIELD) DETECTION. An Overview of Techniques (DETECTIE VAN LANDMIJNEN EN MIJNENVELDEN OP AFSTAND. Een Overzicht van de technieken),

    Science.gov (United States)

    1994-09-01

    titel DETECTIE VAN LANDMIJNEN EN MIJNENVELDEN OP AFSTAND, een overzicht van de technieken auteur (s) Drs. J.S. Groot, Ir. Y.H.L. Janssen datum september...functions based on set theory . The fundamental theory is developed in the sixties. This theory was applicable to binary images (black-and-white images...held at TNO-FEL. Various subjects related to fusion techniques: Dempster Shafer theory , Bayesian inference, Kalman filtering, fuzzy logic. [A15], [B4

  8. Performance and diagnostic usefulness of commercially available enzyme linked immunosorbent assay and rapid kits for detection of HIV, HBV and HCV in India

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maity Susmita

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background HIV, HBV and HCV pose a major public health problem throughout the world. Detection of infection markers for these agents is a major challenge for testing laboratories in a resource poor setting. As blood transfusion is an important activity saving millions of live every year, it also carries a risk of transfusion transmissible infections caused by these fatal blood borne pathogens if the quality of testing is compromised. Conventional ELISA is regarded as the mostly used screening technique but due to limitations like high cost, unavailability in many blood banks and testing sites, involvement of costly instruments, time taking nature and requirement of highly skilled personnel for interpretation, rapid tests are gaining more importance and warrants comparison of performance. Results A comparative study between these two techniques has been performed using commercially available diagnostic kits to assess their efficacy for detection of HIV, HBV and HCV infections. Rapid kits were more efficient in specificity with synthetic antigens along with high PPV than ELISA in most cases. Comparison between different ELISA kits revealed that Microlisa HIV and Hepalisa (J. Mitra & Co. Pvt. Ltd.; ERBA LISA HIV1 + 2, ERBA LISA Hepatitis B and ERBA LISA HCV (Transasia Bio-medicals Ltd. gives uniform result with good performance in terms of sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV and efficiency, whereas, Microlisa HCV (J. Mitra & Co. Pvt. Ltd., Microscreen HBsAg ELISA and INNOVA HCV (Span Diagnostics Ltd. did not perform well. Rapid kits were also having high degree of sensitivity and specificity (100% except in HIV Comb and HCV Comb (J. Mitra & Co. Pvt. Ltd.. The kit efficiency didn’t vary significantly among different companies and lots in all the cases except for HCV ELISA showing statistically significant variation (p  Conclusions ELISA is a good screening assay for markers of HIV, HBV and HCV infections. Rapid tests are useful for

  9. Determination of patulin in apple juice by high-performance liquid chromatography with diode-array detection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bartolomé, B; Bengoechea, M L; Pérez-Ilzarbe, F J; Hernández, T; Estrella, I; Gómez-Cordovés, C

    1994-03-25

    A method is described for the detection of patulin in apple juice and the simultaneous determination of the phenolic composition. Spectral data obtained with diode-array detection showed that patulin can be easily distinguished from compounds eluting under the same conditions. The detection limit for patulin was 8.96 micrograms/l.

  10. The performance of the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT) in detecting alcohol abuse and dependence in a population of depressed or anxious persons

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Boschloo, Lynn; Vogelzangs, Nicole; Smit, Johannes H.; van den Brink, Wim; Veltman, Dick J.; Beekman, Aartjan T. F.; Penninx, Brenda W. J. H.

    2010-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Alcohol use disorders are highly prevalent but often remain unrecognized among depressed and/or anxious persons. This study examines the performance of the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT) in detecting alcohol abuse and dependence in this high-risk group and compares it

  11. Evaluation of video detection systems, volume 1 : effects of configuration changes in the performance of video detection systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2009-10-01

    The effects of modifying the configuration of three video detection (VD) systems (Iteris, Autoscope, and Peek) : are evaluated in daytime and nighttime conditions. Four types of errors were used: false, missed, stuck-on, and : dropped calls. The thre...

  12. Early detection of poor adherers to statins: applying individualized surveillance to pay for performance.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrew J Zimolzak

    Full Text Available Medication nonadherence costs $300 billion annually in the US. Medicare Advantage plans have a financial incentive to increase medication adherence among members because the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS now awards substantive bonus payments to such plans, based in part on population adherence to chronic medications. We sought to build an individualized surveillance model that detects early which beneficiaries will fall below the CMS adherence threshold.This was a retrospective study of over 210,000 beneficiaries initiating statins, in a database of private insurance claims, from 2008-2011. A logistic regression model was constructed to use statin adherence from initiation to day 90 to predict beneficiaries who would not meet the CMS measure of proportion of days covered 0.8 or above, from day 91 to 365. The model controlled for 15 additional characteristics. In a sensitivity analysis, we varied the number of days of adherence data used for prediction.Lower adherence in the first 90 days was the strongest predictor of one-year nonadherence, with an odds ratio of 25.0 (95% confidence interval 23.7-26.5 for poor adherence at one year. The model had an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.80. Sensitivity analysis revealed that predictions of comparable accuracy could be made only 40 days after statin initiation. When members with 30-day supplies for their first statin fill had predictions made at 40 days, and members with 90-day supplies for their first fill had predictions made at 100 days, poor adherence could be predicted with 86% positive predictive value.To preserve their Medicare Star ratings, plan managers should identify or develop effective programs to improve adherence. An individualized surveillance approach can be used to target members who would most benefit, recognizing the tradeoff between improved model performance over time and the advantage of earlier detection.

  13. Multiple symbol differential detection of uncoded and trellis coded MPSK

    Science.gov (United States)

    Divsalar, Dariush; Simon, Marvin K.; Shahshahani, Mehrdad

    1989-01-01

    A differential detection for MPSK, which uses a multiple symbol observation interval, is presented and its performance analyzed and simulated. The technique makes use of maximum-likelihood sequence estimation of the transmitted phases rather than symbol-by-symbol detection as in conventional differential detection. As such the performance of this multiple symbol detection scheme fills the gap between conventional (two-symbol observation) differentially coherent detection of MPSK and ideal coherent of MPSK with differential encoding. The amount of improvement gained over conventional differential detection depends on the number of phases, M, and the number of additional symbol intervals added to the observation. What is particularly interesting is that substantial performance improvement can be obtained for only one or two additional symbol intervals of observation. The analysis and simulation results presented are for uncoded and trellis coded MPSK.

  14. The Performance of the Four Anaerobic Blood Culture Bottles BacT/ALERT-FN, -FN Plus, BACTEC-Plus and -Lytic in Detection of Anaerobic Bacteria and Identification by Direct MALDI-TOF MS.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohammed Almuhayawi

    Full Text Available Detection and identification of anaerobic bacteria in blood cultures (BC is a well-recognized challenge in clinical microbiology. We studied 100 clinical anaerobic BC isolates to evaluate the performance of BacT/ALERT-FN, -FN Plus (BioMérieux, BACTEC-Plus and -Lytic (Becton Dickinson BioSciences BC bottles in detection and time to detection (TTD of anaerobic bacteria. BACTEC Lytic had higher detection rate (94/100, 94% than BacT/ALERT FN Plus (80/100, 80% (p<0.01 in the studied material. There was no significant difference in detection of anaerobic bacteria among the remaining bottle types. The 67 anaerobic bacteria that signalled positive in all four bottle types were analyzed to compare the time to detection (TTD and isolates were directly identified by MALDI-TOF MS. There was a significant difference in TTD among the four bottle types (p<0.0001. The shortest median TTD was 18 h in BACTEC Lytic followed by BacT/ALERT FN (23.5 h, BACTEC Plus (27 h and finally BacT/ALERT FN Plus (38 h bottles. In contrast, MALDI-TOF MS performed similarly in all bottle types with accurate identification in 51/67 (76% BacT/ALERT FN, 51/67 (76% BacT/ALERT FN Plus, 53/67 (79% BACTEC Plus and 50/67 (75% BACTEC Lytic bottles. In conclusion, BACTEC Lytic bottles have significantly better detection rates and shorter TTD compared to the three other bottle types. The anaerobic BC bottles are equally suitable for direct MALDI-TOF MS for rapid and reliable identification of common anaerobic bacteria. Further clinical studies are warranted to investigate the performance of anaerobic BC bottles in detection of anaerobic bacteria and identification by direct MALDI-TOF MS.

  15. Probability of Detection Study to Assess the Performance of Nondestructive Inspection Methods for Wind Turbine Blades.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Roach, Dennis P. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Rice, Thomas M. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Paquette, Joshua [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

    2017-07-01

    Wind turbine blades pose a unique set of inspection challenges that span from very thick and attentive spar cap structures to porous bond lines, varying core material and a multitude of manufacturing defects of interest. The need for viable, accurate nondestructive inspection (NDI) technology becomes more important as the cost per blade, and lost revenue from downtime, grows. NDI methods must not only be able to contend with the challenges associated with inspecting extremely thick composite laminates and subsurface bond lines, but must also address new inspection requirements stemming from the growing understanding of blade structural aging phenomena. Under its Blade Reliability Collaborative program, Sandia Labs quantitatively assessed the performance of a wide range of NDI methods that are candidates for wind blade inspections. Custom wind turbine blade test specimens, containing engineered defects, were used to determine critical aspects of NDI performance including sensitivity, accuracy, repeatability, speed of inspection coverage, and ease of equipment deployment. The detection of fabrication defects helps enhance plant reliability and increase blade life while improved inspection of operating blades can result in efficient blade maintenance, facilitate repairs before critical damage levels are reached and minimize turbine downtime. The Sandia Wind Blade Flaw Detection Experiment was completed to evaluate different NDI methods that have demonstrated promise for interrogating wind blades for manufacturing flaws or in-service damage. These tests provided the Probability of Detection information needed to generate industry-wide performance curves that quantify: 1) how well current inspection techniques are able to reliably find flaws in wind turbine blades (industry baseline) and 2) the degree of improvements possible through integrating more advanced NDI techniques and procedures. _____________ S a n d i a N a t i o n a l L a b o r a t o r i e s i s a m u l t i

  16. Simulated and measured performance of a real-time processor for RFI detection and mitigation on-board spaceborne microwave radiometers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Skou, Niels; Kristensen, Steen Savstrup; Søbjærg, Sten Schmidl

    2017-01-01

    An RFI processor breadboard has been designed and developed for future spaceborne microwave radiometer systems. RFI detection is based on the anomalous amplitude, kurtosis, and cross-frequency algorithms. These are implemented in VHDL code in an FPGA. Thus algorithm performance can be assessed...... by proper code simulation. The breadboard has been integrated with a Ku band radiometer subjected to RFI-like signals from a laboratory generator. Simulations show that the algorithms as implemented work according to theory when subjected to pulsed sinusoidal and QPSK signals. The laboratory measurements...

  17. Optimized method for the determination of itopride in human plasma by high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorimetric detection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ptácek, Pavel; Klíma, Josef; Macek, Jan

    2009-03-15

    A high-performance liquid chromatographic method with fluorescence detection for the determination of itopride in human plasma is reported. The sample preparation was based on liquid-liquid extraction of itopride from plasma with t-butylmethylether and dichloromethane (70:30, v/v) mixture followed by a back extraction of the analyte to the phosphate buffer (pH 3.2). Liquid chromatography was performed on an octadecylsilica column (55 mm x 4 mm, 3 microm particles), the mobile phase consisted of acetonitrile-triethylamine-15 mM dihydrogenpotassium phosphate (14.5:0.5:85, v/v/v), pH of the mobile phase was adjusted to 4.8. The run time was 3 min. The fluorimetric detector was operated at 250/342 nm (excitation/emission wavelength). Naratriptan was used as the internal standard. The limit of quantitation was 9.5 ng/ml using 0.5 ml of plasma. The method precision and inaccuracy were less than 8%. The assay was applied to the analysis of samples from a bioequivalence study.

  18. Compressive Detection Using Sub-Nyquist Radars for Sparse Signals

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ying Sun

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper investigates the compression detection problem using sub-Nyquist radars, which is well suited to the scenario of high bandwidths in real-time processing because it would significantly reduce the computational burden and save power consumption and computation time. A compressive generalized likelihood ratio test (GLRT detector for sparse signals is proposed for sub-Nyquist radars without ever reconstructing the signal involved. The performance of the compressive GLRT detector is analyzed and the theoretical bounds are presented. The compressive GLRT detection performance of sub-Nyquist radars is also compared to the traditional GLRT detection performance of conventional radars, which employ traditional analog-to-digital conversion (ADC at Nyquist sampling rates. Simulation results demonstrate that the former can perform almost as well as the latter with a very small fraction of the number of measurements required by traditional detection in relatively high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR cases.

  19. [Determination of formaldehyde and acetaldehyde in packaging paper by dansylhydrazine derivatization-high performance liquid chromatography-fluorescence detection].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gong, Shuguo; Liang, Yong; Tang, Liyun; Huang, Ping; Dai, Yunhui

    2017-07-08

    A high performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection (HPLC-FLD) method was developed for the simultaneous determination of formaldehyde and acetaldehyde in packaging paper by dansylhydrazine (DNSH) derivatization. The samples were extracted by derivatization reagent for 30 min, and derived for 24 h. After purifying treatment with a PSA/C18 cartridge, a Diamonsil ® C18 column (150 mm×4.6 mm, 5 μ m) was used as stationary phase for separation, the mixtures of acetic acid aqueous solution (pH 2.55)-acetonitrile were used as mobile phases by gradient elution, and the excitation and emission wavelengths were 330 nm and 484 nm, respectively. The results showed that the recoveries of formaldehyde and acetaldehyde spiked in the samples were 81.64%-106.78%, and the relative standard deviations (RSDs) were 2.02%-5.53% ( n =5). The limits of detection of formaldehyde and acetaldehyde were 19.2 μ g/kg and 20.7 μ g/kg, respectively. The limits of quantification of formaldehyde and acetaldehyde were 63.9 μ g/kg and 69.1 μ g/kg, respectively. The method is simple, sensitive and reproducible. It provides a basic approach for the determination of trace formaldehyde and acetaldehyde.

  20. Effect of Computer-Aided Detection on Mammographic Performance: Experimental Study on Readers with Different Levels of Experience

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hukkinen, K.; Vehmas, T.; Pamilo, M.; Kivisaari, L.

    2006-01-01

    Purpose: To evaluate the effect of computer-aided detection (CAD) on the reader's performance. Material and Methods: Four screening radiologists, two novice radiologists, and two residents with no prior experience in CAD read films of 200 women without and with CAD. The films, including 16 screen-detected cancers and 35 cancers 'missed' on prior screening, were divided into two rollers: A (free time schedule) and B (prompted time schedule). Reading times were noted. Individual readings without and with CAD were compared, sensitivities and specificities were calculated. Results: The sensitivity of CAD was 70.6% and specificity 15.8%. In 408 cancer readings, the screeners found 10 and other readers 7 new cancers with the aid of CAD. The screeners changed their opinion four times and others six times from true positive to false negative when CAD was negative. CAD output produced 12 versus 13 new false-positive findings respectively after 2352 readings. CAD did not significantly affect the reader's sensitivities/specificities regardless of the time limit (P = not significant). The use of CAD increased mean time for roller reading from 56 to 63 min (P = 0.053). Conclusion: Screening radiologists benefited slightly more from CAD than other readers did, but no statistical significant difference was found in personal readings without and with CAD