MARKET SEGMENTATION: IDENTIFYING THE HIGH-GROWTH EXPORT MARKETS FOR U.S. AGRICULTURE

OpenAIRE

Reed, Michael R.; Salvacruz, Joseph C.

1994-01-01

A cluster analysis based on a five-year growth rate of agricultural imports from the United States was conducted on 86 countries and revealed two significant market segments for U.S. agriculture: the high-growth markets and the low-growth markets. Multiple discriminant analysis was then used to test the significance of the countries' trade-related and macroeconomic variables to their market growth classification. The discriminant function was used to predict the high-growth markets for U.S. a...

An objective evaluation framework for segmentation techniques of functional positron emission tomography studies

CERN Document Server

Kim, J; Eberl, S; Feng, D

2004-01-01

Segmentation of multi-dimensional functional positron emission tomography (PET) studies into regions of interest (ROI) exhibiting similar temporal behavior is useful in diagnosis and evaluation of neurological images. Quantitative evaluation plays a crucial role in measuring the segmentation algorithm's performance. Due to the lack of "ground truth" available for evaluating segmentation of clinical images, automated segmentation results are usually compared with manual delineation of structures which is, however, subjective, and is difficult to perform. Alternatively, segmentation of co-registered anatomical images such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can be used as the ground truth to the PET segmentation. However, this is limited to PET studies which have corresponding MRI. In this study, we introduce a framework for the objective and quantitative evaluation of functional PET study segmentation without the need for manual delineation or registration to anatomical images of the patient. The segmentation ...

Calculation of the total electron excitation cross section in the Born approximation using Slater wave functions for the Li (2s yields 2p), Li (2s yields 3p), Na (3s yields 4p), Mg (3p yields 4s), Ca (4s yields 4p) and K (4s yields 4p) excitations. M.S. Thesis

Science.gov (United States)

Simsic, P. L.

1974-01-01

Excitation of neutral atoms by inelastic scattering of incident electrons in gaseous nebulae were investigated using Slater Wave functions to describe the initial and final states of the atom. Total cross sections using the Born Approximation are calculated for: Li(2s yields 2p), Na(3s yields 4p), k(4s yields 4p). The intensity of emitted radiation from gaseous nebulae is also calculated, and Maxwell distribution is employed to average the kinetic energy of electrons.

Temporally coherent 4D video segmentation for teleconferencing

Science.gov (United States)

Ehmann, Jana; Guleryuz, Onur G.

2013-09-01

We develop an algorithm for 4-D (RGB+Depth) video segmentation targeting immersive teleconferencing ap- plications on emerging mobile devices. Our algorithm extracts users from their environments and places them onto virtual backgrounds similar to green-screening. The virtual backgrounds increase immersion and interac- tivity, relieving the users of the system from distractions caused by disparate environments. Commodity depth sensors, while providing useful information for segmentation, result in noisy depth maps with a large number of missing depth values. By combining depth and RGB information, our work signi¯cantly improves the other- wise very coarse segmentation. Further imposing temporal coherence yields compositions where the foregrounds seamlessly blend with the virtual backgrounds with minimal °icker and other artifacts. We achieve said improve- ments by correcting the missing information in depth maps before fast RGB-based segmentation, which operates in conjunction with temporal coherence. Simulation results indicate the e±cacy of the proposed system in video conferencing scenarios.

A hybrid segmentation method for partitioning the liver based on 4D DCE-MR images

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Tian; Wu, Zhiyi; Runge, Jurgen H.; Lavini, Cristina; Stoker, Jaap; van Gulik, Thomas; Cieslak, Kasia P.; van Vliet, Lucas J.; Vos, Frans M.

2018-03-01

The Couinaud classification of hepatic anatomy partitions the liver into eight functionally independent segments. Detection and segmentation of the hepatic vein (HV), portal vein (PV) and inferior vena cava (IVC) plays an important role in the subsequent delineation of the liver segments. To facilitate pharmacokinetic modeling of the liver based on the same data, a 4D DCE-MR scan protocol was selected. This yields images with high temporal resolution but low spatial resolution. Since the liver's vasculature consists of many tiny branches, segmentation of these images is challenging. The proposed framework starts with registration of the 4D DCE-MRI series followed by region growing from manually annotated seeds in the main branches of key blood vessels in the liver. It calculates the Pearson correlation between the time intensity curves (TICs) of a seed and all voxels. A maximum correlation map for each vessel is obtained by combining the correlation maps for all branches of the same vessel through a maximum selection per voxel. The maximum correlation map is incorporated in a level set scheme to individually delineate the main vessels. Subsequently, the eight liver segments are segmented based on three vertical intersecting planes fit through the three skeleton branches of HV and IVC's center of mass as well as a horizontal plane fit through the skeleton of PV. Our segmentation regarding delineation of the vessels is more accurate than the results of two state-of-the-art techniques on five subjects in terms of the average symmetric surface distance (ASSD) and modified Hausdorff distance (MHD). Furthermore, the proposed liver partitioning achieves large overlap with manual reference segmentations (expressed in Dice Coefficient) in all but a small minority of segments (mean values between 87% and 94% for segments 2-8). The lower mean overlap for segment 1 (72%) is due to the limited spatial resolution of our DCE-MR scan protocol.

Molecular Characterization of Bombyx mori Cytoplasmic Polyhedrosis Virus Genome Segment 4

Science.gov (United States)

Ikeda, Keiko; Nagaoka, Sumiharu; Winkler, Stefan; Kotani, Kumiko; Yagi, Hiroaki; Nakanishi, Kae; Miyajima, Shigetoshi; Kobayashi, Jun; Mori, Hajime

2001-01-01

The complete nucleotide sequence of the genome segment 4 (S4) of Bombyx mori cytoplasmic polyhedrosis virus (BmCPV) was determined. The 3,259-nucleotide sequence contains a single long open reading frame which spans nucleotides 14 to 3187 and which is predicted to encode a protein with a molecular mass of about 130 kDa. Western blot analysis showed that S4 encodes BmCPV protein VP3, which is one of the outer components of the BmCPV virion. Sequence analysis of the deduced amino acid sequence of BmCPV VP3 revealed possible sequence homology with proteins from rice ragged stunt virus (RRSV) S2, Nilaparvata lugens reovirus S4, and Fiji disease fijivirus S4. This may suggest that plant reoviruses originated from insect viruses and that RRSV emerged more recently than other plant reoviruses. A chimeric protein consisting of BmCPV VP3 and green fluorescent protein (GFP) was constructed and expressed with BmCPV polyhedrin using a baculovirus expression vector. The VP3-GFP chimera was incorporated into BmCPV polyhedra and released under alkaline conditions. The results indicate that specific interactions occur between BmCPV polyhedrin and VP3 which might facilitate BmCPV virion occlusion into the polyhedra. PMID:11134312

Data Transformation Functions for Expanded Search Spaces in Geographic Sample Supervised Segment Generation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christoff Fourie

2014-04-01

Full Text Available Sample supervised image analysis, in particular sample supervised segment generation, shows promise as a methodological avenue applicable within Geographic Object-Based Image Analysis (GEOBIA. Segmentation is acknowledged as a constituent component within typically expansive image analysis processes. A general extension to the basic formulation of an empirical discrepancy measure directed segmentation algorithm parameter tuning approach is proposed. An expanded search landscape is defined, consisting not only of the segmentation algorithm parameters, but also of low-level, parameterized image processing functions. Such higher dimensional search landscapes potentially allow for achieving better segmentation accuracies. The proposed method is tested with a range of low-level image transformation functions and two segmentation algorithms. The general effectiveness of such an approach is demonstrated compared to a variant only optimising segmentation algorithm parameters. Further, it is shown that the resultant search landscapes obtained from combining mid- and low-level image processing parameter domains, in our problem contexts, are sufficiently complex to warrant the use of population based stochastic search methods. Interdependencies of these two parameter domains are also demonstrated, necessitating simultaneous optimization.

Synthesis of Poly(vinyl ether) Thermoplastic Elastomers Having Functional Soft Segments

OpenAIRE

今枝, 嗣人; 漆崎, 美智遠; 阪口, 壽一; 橋本, 保; Tsuguto, IMAEDA; Michio, URUSHISAKI; Toshikazu, SAKAGUCHI; Tamotsu, HASHIMOTO

2013-01-01

The ABA-type triblock copolymers consisting of poly(2-adarnantyl vinyl ether) [poly(2-AdVE) as outer hard segments and poly(6-acetoxyhexyl vinyl ether) [poly(AcHVE)] poly(6-hydroxyhexyl vinyl ether) [poly(H HVE)], or poly(2-(2-methoxyethoxy)ethyl vinyl ether [poly(MOEOVE)] as inner soft segments were synthesized by sequential living cationic polymerization. Despite the presence of polar functional groups such as ester, hydroxy, and oxyethylene units in their soft segments, the two polymer seg...

U.S. Army Custom Segmentation System

Science.gov (United States)

2007-06-01

segmentation is individual or intergroup differences in response to marketing - mix variables. Presumptions about segments: •different demands in a...product or service category, •respond differently to changes in the marketing mix Criteria for segments: •The segments must exist in the environment

Functional significance of metastasis-inducing S100A4(Mts1) in tumor-stroma interplay

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schmidt-Hansen, Birgitte; Klingelhöfer, Jörg; Grum-Schwensen, Birgitte

2004-01-01

Causal implication of S100A4 in inducing metastases was convincingly shown previously. However, the mechanisms that associate S100A4 with tumor progression are not well understood. S100A4 protein, as a typical member of the S100 family, exhibits dual, intracellular and extracellular, functions. T...

Using piecewise sinusoidal basis functions to blanket multiple wire segments

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Lysko, AA

2009-06-01

Full Text Available This paper discusses application of the piecewise sinusoidal (PWS) basis function (BF) over a chain of several wire segments, for example as a multiple domain basis function. The usage of PWS BF is compared to results based on the piecewise linear...

Soybean-oil-based waterborne polyurethane dispersions: effects of polyol functionality and hard segment content on properties.

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, Yongshang; Larock, Richard C

2008-11-01

The environmentally friendly vegetable-oil-based waterborne polyurethane dispersions with very promising properties have been successfully synthesized without difficulty from a series of methoxylated soybean oil polyols (MSOLs) with different hydroxyl functionalities ranging from 2.4 to as high as 4.0. The resulting soybean-oil-based waterborne polyurethane (SPU) dispersions exhibit a uniform particle size, which increases from about 12 to 130 nm diameter with an increase in the OH functionality of the MSOL from 2.4 to 4.0 and decreases with increasing content of the hard segments. The structure and thermophysical and mechanical properties of the resulting SPU films, which contain 50-60 wt % MSOL as renewable resources, have been studied by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, dynamic mechanical analysis, thermogravimetric analysis, transmission electron microscopy, and mechanical testing. The experimental results reveal that the functionality of the MSOLs and the hard segment content play a key role in controlling the structure and the thermophysical and mechanical properties of the SPU films. These novel films exhibit tensile stress-strain behavior ranging from elastomeric polymers to rigid plastics and possess Young's moduli ranging from 8 to 720 MPa, ultimate tensile strengths ranging from 4.2 to 21.5 MPa, and percent elongation at break values ranging from 16 to 280%. This work has addressed concerns regarding gelation and higher cross-linking caused by the high functionality of vegetable-oil-based polyols. This article reports novel environmentally friendly biobased SPU materials with promising applications as decorative and protective coatings.

Expansion of the Kano model to identify relevant customer segments and functional requirements

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Atlason, Reynir Smari; Stefansson, Arnaldur Smari; Wietz, Miriam

2017-01-01

The Kano model of customer satisfaction has been widely used to analyse perceived needs of customers. The model provides product developers valuable information about if, and then how much a given functional requirement (FR) will impact customer satisfaction if implemented within a product, system...... or a service. A current limitation of the Kano model is that it does not allow developers to visualise which combined sets of FRs would provide the highest satisfaction between different customer segments. In this paper, a stepwise method to address this particular shortcoming is presented. First......, a traditional Kano analysis is conducted for the different segments of interest. Second, for each FR, relationship functions are integrated between x=0 and x=1. Third, integrals are inserted into a combination matrix crossing segments and FRs, where FRs with the highest sum across the chosen segments...

Identifying uniformly mutated segments within repeats.

Science.gov (United States)

Sahinalp, S Cenk; Eichler, Evan; Goldberg, Paul; Berenbrink, Petra; Friedetzky, Tom; Ergun, Funda

2004-12-01

Given a long string of characters from a constant size alphabet we present an algorithm to determine whether its characters have been generated by a single i.i.d. random source. More specifically, consider all possible n-coin models for generating a binary string S, where each bit of S is generated via an independent toss of one of the n coins in the model. The choice of which coin to toss is decided by a random walk on the set of coins where the probability of a coin change is much lower than the probability of using the same coin repeatedly. We present a procedure to evaluate the likelihood of a n-coin model for given S, subject a uniform prior distribution over the parameters of the model (that represent mutation rates and probabilities of copying events). In the absence of detailed prior knowledge of these parameters, the algorithm can be used to determine whether the a posteriori probability for n=1 is higher than for any other n>1. Our algorithm runs in time O(l4logl), where l is the length of S, through a dynamic programming approach which exploits the assumed convexity of the a posteriori probability for n. Our test can be used in the analysis of long alignments between pairs of genomic sequences in a number of ways. For example, functional regions in genome sequences exhibit much lower mutation rates than non-functional regions. Because our test provides means for determining variations in the mutation rate, it may be used to distinguish functional regions from non-functional ones. Another application is in determining whether two highly similar, thus evolutionarily related, genome segments are the result of a single copy event or of a complex series of copy events. This is particularly an issue in evolutionary studies of genome regions rich with repeat segments (especially tandemly repeated segments).

Lack of protein-tyrosine sulfation disrupts photoreceptor outer segment morphogenesis, retinal function and retinal anatomy.

Science.gov (United States)

Sherry, David M; Murray, Anne R; Kanan, Yogita; Arbogast, Kelsey L; Hamilton, Robert A; Fliesler, Steven J; Burns, Marie E; Moore, Kevin L; Al-Ubaidi, Muayyad R

2010-11-01

To investigate the role(s) of protein-tyrosine sulfation in the retina, we examined retinal function and structure in mice lacking tyrosylprotein sulfotransferases (TPST) 1 and 2. Tpst double knockout (DKO; Tpst1(-/-) /Tpst2 (-/-) ) retinas had drastically reduced electroretinographic responses, although their photoreceptors exhibited normal responses in single cell recordings. These retinas appeared normal histologically; however, the rod photoreceptors had ultrastructurally abnormal outer segments, with membrane evulsions into the extracellular space, irregular disc membrane spacing and expanded intradiscal space. Photoreceptor synaptic terminals were disorganized in Tpst DKO retinas, but established ultrastructurally normal synapses, as did bipolar and amacrine cells; however, the morphology and organization of neuronal processes in the inner retina were abnormal. These results indicate that protein-tyrosine sulfation is essential for proper outer segment morphogenesis and synaptic function, but is not critical for overall retinal structure or synapse formation, and may serve broader functions in neuronal development and maintenance. © 2010 The Authors. European Journal of Neuroscience © 2010 Federation of European Neuroscience Societies and Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Understanding heterogeneity among elderly consumers: an evaluation of segmentation approaches in the functional food market.

Science.gov (United States)

van der Zanden, Lotte D T; van Kleef, Ellen; de Wijk, René A; van Trijp, Hans C M

2014-06-01

It is beneficial for both the public health community and the food industry to meet nutritional needs of elderly consumers through product formats that they want. The heterogeneity of the elderly market poses a challenge, however, and calls for market segmentation. Although many researchers have proposed ways to segment the elderly consumer population, the elderly food market has received surprisingly little attention in this respect. Therefore, the present paper reviewed eight potential segmentation bases on their appropriateness in the context of functional foods aimed at the elderly: cognitive age, life course, time perspective, demographics, general food beliefs, food choice motives, product attributes and benefits sought, and past purchase. Each of the segmentation bases had strengths as well as weaknesses regarding seven evaluation criteria. Given that both product design and communication are useful tools to increase the appeal of functional foods, we argue that elderly consumers in this market may best be segmented using a preference-based segmentation base that is predictive of behaviour (for example, attributes and benefits sought), combined with a characteristics-based segmentation base that describes consumer characteristics (for example, demographics). In the end, the effectiveness of (combinations of) segmentation bases for elderly consumers in the functional food market remains an empirical matter. We hope that the present review stimulates further empirical research that substantiates the ideas presented in this paper.

4D segmentation of brain MR images with constrained cortical thickness variation.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Li Wang

Full Text Available Segmentation of brain MR images plays an important role in longitudinal investigation of developmental, aging, disease progression changes in the cerebral cortex. However, most existing brain segmentation methods consider multiple time-point images individually and thus cannot achieve longitudinal consistency. For example, cortical thickness measured from the segmented image will contain unnecessary temporal variations, which will affect the time related change pattern and eventually reduce the statistical power of analysis. In this paper, we propose a 4D segmentation framework for the adult brain MR images with the constraint of cortical thickness variations. Specifically, we utilize local intensity information to address the intensity inhomogeneity, spatial cortical thickness constraint to maintain the cortical thickness being within a reasonable range, and temporal cortical thickness variation constraint in neighboring time-points to suppress the artificial variations. The proposed method has been tested on BLSA dataset and ADNI dataset with promising results. Both qualitative and quantitative experimental results demonstrate the advantage of the proposed method, in comparison to other state-of-the-art 4D segmentation methods.

[Cardiac Synchronization Function Estimation Based on ASM Level Set Segmentation Method].

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Yaonan; Gao, Yuan; Tang, Liang; He, Ying; Zhang, Huie

At present, there is no accurate and quantitative methods for the determination of cardiac mechanical synchronism, and quantitative determination of the synchronization function of the four cardiac cavities with medical images has a great clinical value. This paper uses the whole heart ultrasound image sequence, and segments the left & right atriums and left & right ventricles of each frame. After the segmentation, the number of pixels in each cavity and in each frame is recorded, and the areas of the four cavities of the image sequence are therefore obtained. The area change curves of the four cavities are further extracted, and the synchronous information of the four cavities is obtained. Because of the low SNR of Ultrasound images, the boundary lines of cardiac cavities are vague, so the extraction of cardiac contours is still a challenging problem. Therefore, the ASM model information is added to the traditional level set method to force the curve evolution process. According to the experimental results, the improved method improves the accuracy of the segmentation. Furthermore, based on the ventricular segmentation, the right and left ventricular systolic functions are evaluated, mainly according to the area changes. The synchronization of the four cavities of the heart is estimated based on the area changes and the volume changes.

Unsupervised Image Segmentation

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Haindl, Michal; Mikeš, Stanislav

2014-01-01

Roč. 36, č. 4 (2014), s. 23-23 R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GA14-10911S Institutional support: RVO:67985556 Keywords : unsupervised image segmentation Subject RIV: BD - Theory of Information http://library.utia.cas.cz/separaty/2014/RO/haindl-0434412.pdf

The expression and genetic immunization of chimeric fragment of Hantaan virus M and S segments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Fanglin; Wu Xingan; Luo Wen; Bai Wentao; Liu Yong; Yan Yan; Wang Haitao; Xu Zhikai

2007-01-01

Hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS), which is characterized by severe symptoms and high mortality, is caused by hantavirus. There are still no effective prophylactic vaccines directed to HFRS until now. In this research, we fused expressed G2 fragment of M segment and 0.7 kb fragment of S segment. We expect it could be a candidate vaccine. Chimeric gene G2S0.7 was first expressed in prokaryotic expression system pGEX-4T. After inducing expressed fusion proteins, GST-G2S0.7 was induced and its molecular weight was about 100 kDa. Meanwhile, the fusion protein kept the activity of its parental proteins. Further, BALB/c mice were vaccinated by the chimeric gene. ELISA, cell microculture neutralization test in vitro were used to detect the humoral immune response in immunized BALB/c mice. Lymphocyte proliferation assay was used to detect the cellular immune response. The results showed that the chimeric gene could simultaneously evoke specific antibody against nucleocapsid protein (NP) and glycoprotein (GP). And the immunized mice of every group elicited neutralizing antibodies with different titers. But the titers were low. Lymphocyte proliferation assay results showed that the stimulation indexes of splenocytes of chimeric gene to NP and GP were significantly higher than that of control. It suggested that the chimeric gene of Hantaan virus containing G2 fragment of M segment and 0.7 kb fragment of S segment could directly elicit specific anti-Hantaan virus humoral and cellular immune response in BALB/c mice

Efficient globally optimal segmentation of cells in fluorescence microscopy images using level sets and convex energy functionals.

Science.gov (United States)

Bergeest, Jan-Philip; Rohr, Karl

2012-10-01

In high-throughput applications, accurate and efficient segmentation of cells in fluorescence microscopy images is of central importance for the quantification of protein expression and the understanding of cell function. We propose an approach for segmenting cell nuclei which is based on active contours using level sets and convex energy functionals. Compared to previous work, our approach determines the global solution. Thus, the approach does not suffer from local minima and the segmentation result does not depend on the initialization. We consider three different well-known energy functionals for active contour-based segmentation and introduce convex formulations of these functionals. We also suggest a numeric approach for efficiently computing the solution. The performance of our approach has been evaluated using fluorescence microscopy images from different experiments comprising different cell types. We have also performed a quantitative comparison with previous segmentation approaches. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

On Attribute Thresholding and Data Mapping Functions in a Supervised Connected Component Segmentation Framework

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christoff Fourie

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Search-centric, sample supervised image segmentation has been demonstrated as a viable general approach applicable within the context of remote sensing image analysis. Such an approach casts the controlling parameters of image processing—generating segments—as a multidimensional search problem resolvable via efficient search methods. In this work, this general approach is analyzed in the context of connected component segmentation. A specific formulation of connected component labeling, based on quasi-flat zones, allows for the addition of arbitrary segment attributes to contribute to the nature of the output. This is in addition to core tunable parameters controlling the basic nature of connected components. Additional tunable constituents may also be introduced into such a framework, allowing flexibility in the definition of connected component connectivity, either directly via defining connectivity differently or via additional processes such as data mapping functions. The relative merits of these two additional constituents, namely the addition of tunable attributes and data mapping functions, are contrasted in a general remote sensing image analysis setting. Interestingly, tunable attributes in such a context, conjectured to be safely useful in general settings, were found detrimental under cross-validated conditions. This is in addition to this constituent’s requiring substantially greater computing time. Casting connectivity definitions as a searchable component, here via the utilization of data mapping functions, proved more beneficial and robust in this context. The results suggest that further investigations into such a general framework could benefit more from focusing on the aspects of data mapping and modifiable connectivity as opposed to the utility of thresholding various geometric and spectral attributes.

Investigation of H2S separation from H2S/CH4 mixtures using functionalized and non-functionalized vertically aligned carbon nanotube membranes

Science.gov (United States)

Gilani, Neda; Towfighi, Jafar; Rashidi, Alimorad; Mohammadi, Toraj; Omidkhah, Mohammad Reza; Sadeghian, Ahmad

2013-04-01

Separation of H2S from binary mixtures of H2S/CH4 using vertically aligned carbon nanotube membranes fabricated in anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) template was studied experimentally. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were grown in five AAO templates with different pore diameters using chemical vapor deposition, and CNT/AAO membranes with tubular carbon nanotube structure and open caps were selected for separation of H2S. For this, two tubular CNT/AAO membranes were fabricated with the CNT inner diameters of 23 and 8 nm. It was found that permeability and selectivity of the membrane with inner diameter of 23 nm for CNT were independent of upstream feed pressure and H2S feed concentration unlike that of CNT having an inner diameter of 8 nm. Selectivity of these membranes for separation of H2S was obtained in the ranges of 1.36-1.58 and 2.11-2.86, for CNTs with internal diameters of 23 and 8 nm, respectively. In order to enhance the separation of H2S from H2S/CH4 mixtures, dodecylamine was used to functionalize the CNT/AAO membrane with higher selectivity. The results showed that for amido-functionalized membrane, both upstream feed pressure and H2S partial pressure in the feed significantly increased H2S permeability, and selectivity for H2S being in the range of 3.0-5.57 respectively.

Conversion of functionally undefined homopentameric protein PbaA into a proteasome activator by mutational modification of its C-terminal segment conformation.

Science.gov (United States)

Yagi-Utsumi, Maho; Sikdar, Arunima; Kozai, Toshiya; Inoue, Rintaro; Sugiyama, Masaaki; Uchihashi, Takayuki; Yagi, Hirokazu; Satoh, Tadashi; Kato, Koichi

2018-01-01

Recent bioinformatic analyses identified proteasome assembly chaperone-like proteins, PbaA and PbaB, in archaea. PbaB forms a homotetramer and functions as a proteasome activator, whereas PbaA does not interact with the proteasome despite the presence of an apparent C-terminal proteasome activation motif. We revealed that PbaA forms a homopentamer predominantly in the closed conformation with its C-terminal segments packed against the core domains, in contrast to the PbaB homotetramer with projecting C-terminal segments. This prompted us to create a novel proteasome activator based on a well-characterized structural framework. We constructed a panel of chimeric proteins comprising the homopentameric scaffold of PbaA and C-terminal segment of PbaB and subjected them to proteasome-activating assays as well as small-angle X-ray scattering and high-speed atomic force microscopy. The results indicated that the open conformation and consequent proteasome activation activity could be enhanced by replacement of the crystallographically disordered C-terminal segment of PbaA with the corresponding disordered segment of PbaB. Moreover, these effects can be produced just by incorporating two glutamate residues into the disordered C-terminal segment of PbaA, probably due to electrostatic repulsion among the negatively charged segments. Thus, we successfully endowed a functionally undefined protein with proteasome-activating activity by modifying its C-terminal segment. © The Author(s) 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Haploinsufficient Bmp4 ocular phenotypes include anterior segment dysgenesis with elevated intraocular pressure

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nusinowitz Steven

2001-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Glaucoma is a blinding disease usually associated with high intraocular pressure (IOP. In some families, abnormal anterior segment development contributes to glaucoma. The genes causing anterior segment dysgenesis and glaucoma in most of these families are not identified and the affected developmental processes are poorly understood. Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs participate in various developmental processes. We tested the importance of Bmp4 gene dosage for ocular development and developmental glaucoma. Results Bmp4+/- mice have anterior segment abnormalities including malformed, absent or blocked trabecular meshwork and Schlemm's canal drainage structures. Mice with severe drainage structure abnormalities, over 80% or more of their angle's extent, have elevated IOP. The penetrance and severity of abnormalities is strongly influenced by genetic background, being most severe on the C57BL/6J background and absent on some other backgrounds. On the C57BL/6J background there is also persistence of the hyaloid vasculature, diminished numbers of inner retinal cells, and absence of the optic nerve. Conclusions We demonstrate that heterozygous deficiency of BMP4 results in anterior segment dysgenesis and elevated IOP. The abnormalities are similar to those in human patients with developmental glaucoma. Thus, BMP4 is a strong candidate to contribute to Axenfeld-Rieger anomaly and other developmental conditions associated with human glaucoma. BMP4 also participates in posterior segment development and wild-type levels are usually critical for optic nerve development on the C57BL/6J background. Bmp4+/- mice are useful for studying various components of ocular development, and may allow identification of strain specific modifiers affecting a variety of ocular phenotypes.

Scan-rescan reproducibility of segmental aortic wall shear stress as assessed by phase-specific segmentation with 4D flow MRI in healthy volunteers.

Science.gov (United States)

van der Palen, Roel L F; Roest, Arno A W; van den Boogaard, Pieter J; de Roos, Albert; Blom, Nico A; Westenberg, Jos J M

2018-05-26

The aim was to investigate scan-rescan reproducibility and observer variability of segmental aortic 3D systolic wall shear stress (WSS) by phase-specific segmentation with 4D flow MRI in healthy volunteers. Ten healthy volunteers (age 26.5 ± 2.6 years) underwent aortic 4D flow MRI twice. Maximum 3D systolic WSS (WSSmax) and mean 3D systolic WSS (WSSmean) for five thoracic aortic segments over five systolic cardiac phases by phase-specific segmentations were calculated. Scan-rescan analysis and observer reproducibility analysis were performed. Scan-rescan data showed overall good reproducibility for WSSmean (coefficient of variation, COV 10-15%) with moderate-to-strong intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC 0.63-0.89). The variability in WSSmax was high (COV 16-31%) with moderate-to-good ICC (0.55-0.79) for different aortic segments. Intra- and interobserver reproducibility was good-to-excellent for regional aortic WSSmax (ICC ≥ 0.78; COV ≤ 17%) and strong-to-excellent for WSSmean (ICC ≥ 0.86; COV ≤ 11%). In general, ascending aortic segments showed more WSSmax/WSSmean variability compared to aortic arch or descending aortic segments for scan-rescan, intraobserver and interobserver comparison. Scan-rescan reproducibility was good for WSSmean and moderate for WSSmax for all thoracic aortic segments over multiple systolic phases in healthy volunteers. Intra/interobserver reproducibility for segmental WSS assessment was good-to-excellent. Variability of WSSmax is higher and should be taken into account in case of individual follow-up or in comparative rest-stress studies to avoid misinterpretation.

A competition in unsupervised color image segmentation

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Haindl, Michal; Mikeš, Stanislav

2016-01-01

Roč. 57, č. 9 (2016), s. 136-151 ISSN 0031-3203 R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GA14-10911S Institutional support: RVO:67985556 Keywords : Unsupervised image segmentation * Segmentation contest * Texture analysis Subject RIV: BD - Theory of Information Impact factor: 4.582, year: 2016 http://library.utia.cas.cz/separaty/2016/RO/haindl-0459179.pdf

Non-canonical ribosomal DNA segments in the human genome, and nucleoli functioning.

Science.gov (United States)

Kupriyanova, Natalia S; Netchvolodov, Kirill K; Sadova, Anastasia A; Cherepanova, Marina D; Ryskov, Alexei P

2015-11-10

Ribosomal DNA (rDNA) in the human genome is represented by tandem repeats of 43 kb nucleotide sequences that form nucleoli organizers (NORs) on each of five pairs of acrocentric chromosomes. RDNA-similar segments of different lengths are also present on (NOR)(-) chromosomes. Many of these segments contain nucleotide substitutions, supplementary microsatellite clusters, and extended deletions. Recently, it was shown that, in addition to ribosome biogenesis, nucleoli exhibit additional functions, such as cell-cycle regulation and response to stresses. In particular, several stress-inducible loci located in the ribosomal intergenic spacer (rIGS) produce stimuli-specific noncoding nucleolus RNAs. By mapping the 5'/3' ends of the rIGS segments scattered throughout (NOR)(-) chromosomes, we discovered that the bonds in the rIGS that were most often susceptible to disruption in the rIGS were adjacent to, or overlapped with stimuli-specific inducible loci. This suggests the interconnection of the two phenomena - nucleoli functioning and the scattering of rDNA-like sequences on (NOR)(-) chromosomes. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Functional measurements based on feature tracking of cine magnetic resonance images identify left ventricular segments with myocardial scar

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nylander Eva

2009-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The aim of the study was to perform a feature tracking analysis on cine magnetic resonance (MR images to elucidate if functional measurements of the motion of the left ventricular wall may detect scar defined with gadolinium enhanced MR. Myocardial contraction can be measured in terms of the velocity, displacement and local deformation (strain of a particular myocardial segment. Contraction of the myocardial wall will be reduced in the presence of scar and as a consequence of reduced myocardial blood flow. Methods Thirty patients (3 women and 27 men were selected based on the presence or absence of extensive scar in the anteroseptal area of the left ventricle. The patients were investigated in stable clinical condition, 4-8 weeks post ST-elevation myocardial infarction treated with percutaneous coronary intervention. Seventeen had a scar area >75% in at least one anteroseptal segment (scar and thirteen had scar area Results In the scar patients, segments with scar showed lower functional measurements than remote segments. Radial measurements of velocity, displacement and strain performed better in terms of receiver-operator-characteristic curves (ROC than the corresponding longitudinal measurements. The best area-under-curve was for radial strain, 0.89, where a cut-off value of 38.8% had 80% sensitivity and 86% specificity for the detection of a segment with scar area >50%. As a percentage of the mean, intraobserver variability was 16-14-26% for radial measurements of displacement-velocity-strain and corresponding interobserver variability was 13-12-18%. Conclusion Feature tracking analysis of cine-MR displays velocity, displacement and strain in the radial and longitudinal direction and may be used for the detection of transmural scar. The accuracy and repeatability of the radial functional measurements is satisfactory and global measures agree.

The topogenic function of S4 promotes membrane insertion of the voltage-sensor domain in the KvAP channel.

Science.gov (United States)

Mishima, Eriko; Sato, Yoko; Nanatani, Kei; Hoshi, Naomi; Lee, Jong-Kook; Schiller, Nina; von Heijne, Gunnar; Sakaguchi, Masao; Uozumi, Nobuyuki

2016-12-01

Voltage-dependent K + (K V ) channels control K + permeability in response to shifts in the membrane potential. Voltage sensing in K V channels is mediated by the positively charged transmembrane domain S4. The best-characterized K V channel, KvAP, lacks the distinct hydrophilic region corresponding to the S3-S4 extracellular loop that is found in other K + channels. In the present study, we evaluated the topogenic properties of the transmembrane regions within the voltage-sensing domain in KvAP. S3 had low membrane insertion activity, whereas S4 possessed a unique type-I signal anchor (SA-I) function, which enabled it to insert into the membrane by itself. S4 was also found to function as a stop-transfer signal for retention in the membrane. The length and structural nature of the extracellular S3-S4 loop affected the membrane insertion of S3 and S4, suggesting that S3 membrane insertion was dependent on S4. Replacement of charged residues within the transmembrane regions with residues of opposite charge revealed that Asp 72 in S2 and Glu 93 in S3 contributed to membrane insertion of S3 and S4, and increased the stability of S4 in the membrane. These results indicate that the SA-I function of S4, unique among K + channels studied to date, promotes the insertion of S3 into the membrane, and that the charged residues essential for voltage sensing contribute to the membrane-insertion of the voltage sensor domain in KvAP. © 2016 The Author(s); published by Portland Press Limited on behalf of the Biochemical Society.

A JOINT FRAMEWORK FOR 4D SEGMENTATION AND ESTIMATION OF SMOOTH TEMPORAL APPEARANCE CHANGES.

Science.gov (United States)

Gao, Yang; Prastawa, Marcel; Styner, Martin; Piven, Joseph; Gerig, Guido

2014-04-01

Medical imaging studies increasingly use longitudinal images of individual subjects in order to follow-up changes due to development, degeneration, disease progression or efficacy of therapeutic intervention. Repeated image data of individuals are highly correlated, and the strong causality of information over time lead to the development of procedures for joint segmentation of the series of scans, called 4D segmentation. A main aim was improved consistency of quantitative analysis, most often solved via patient-specific atlases. Challenging open problems are contrast changes and occurance of subclasses within tissue as observed in multimodal MRI of infant development, neurodegeneration and disease. This paper proposes a new 4D segmentation framework that enforces continuous dynamic changes of tissue contrast patterns over time as observed in such data. Moreover, our model includes the capability to segment different contrast patterns within a specific tissue class, for example as seen in myelinated and unmyelinated white matter regions in early brain development. Proof of concept is shown with validation on synthetic image data and with 4D segmentation of longitudinal, multimodal pediatric MRI taken at 6, 12 and 24 months of age, but the methodology is generic w.r.t. different application domains using serial imaging.

Relaxation on the Ismetpasa segment of the North Anatolian Fault after the Golcuk Mw = 7.4 and Duzce Mw = 7.2 shocks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

E. Koksal

2010-12-01

Full Text Available The Ismetpasa segment of the North Anatolian Fault (NAF is a rare place where aseismic fault slip (creep has been observed. Its creep behaviour has been monitored using different observation methods since the 1950s. The findings obtained from the studies until 1990s showed that the creep rate exponentially decreased before the major shocks in 1999, Golcuk (Mw = 7.4 and Duzce (Mw = 7.2. After these shocks, three GPS periods observation in 2002, 2007 and 2008 were carried out on the geodetic network established around the segment. The evaluations of these observations showed that the creep behaviour relaxed after the major earthquakes. This result demonstrates that the creep behaviour of the Ismetpasa segment might be a warning before future major earthquakes.

A proposed framework for consensus-based lung tumour volume auto-segmentation in 4D computed tomography imaging

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Martin, Spencer; Rodrigues, George; Gaede, Stewart; Brophy, Mark; Barron, John L; Beauchemin, Steven S; Palma, David; Louie, Alexander V; Yu, Edward; Yaremko, Brian; Ahmad, Belal

2015-01-01

This work aims to propose and validate a framework for tumour volume auto-segmentation based on ground-truth estimates derived from multi-physician input contours to expedite 4D-CT based lung tumour volume delineation. 4D-CT datasets of ten non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients were manually segmented by 6 physicians. Multi-expert ground truth (GT) estimates were constructed using the STAPLE algorithm for the gross tumour volume (GTV) on all respiratory phases. Next, using a deformable model-based method, multi-expert GT on each individual phase of the 4D-CT dataset was propagated to all other phases providing auto-segmented GTVs and motion encompassing internal gross target volumes (IGTVs) based on GT estimates (STAPLE) from each respiratory phase of the 4D-CT dataset. Accuracy assessment of auto-segmentation employed graph cuts for 3D-shape reconstruction and point-set registration-based analysis yielding volumetric and distance-based measures. STAPLE-based auto-segmented GTV accuracy ranged from (81.51  ±  1.92) to (97.27  ±  0.28)% volumetric overlap of the estimated ground truth. IGTV auto-segmentation showed significantly improved accuracies with reduced variance for all patients ranging from 90.87 to 98.57% volumetric overlap of the ground truth volume. Additional metrics supported these observations with statistical significance. Accuracy of auto-segmentation was shown to be largely independent of selection of the initial propagation phase. IGTV construction based on auto-segmented GTVs within the 4D-CT dataset provided accurate and reliable target volumes compared to manual segmentation-based GT estimates. While inter-/intra-observer effects were largely mitigated, the proposed segmentation workflow is more complex than that of current clinical practice and requires further development. (paper)

A proposed framework for consensus-based lung tumour volume auto-segmentation in 4D computed tomography imaging

Science.gov (United States)

Martin, Spencer; Brophy, Mark; Palma, David; Louie, Alexander V.; Yu, Edward; Yaremko, Brian; Ahmad, Belal; Barron, John L.; Beauchemin, Steven S.; Rodrigues, George; Gaede, Stewart

2015-02-01

This work aims to propose and validate a framework for tumour volume auto-segmentation based on ground-truth estimates derived from multi-physician input contours to expedite 4D-CT based lung tumour volume delineation. 4D-CT datasets of ten non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients were manually segmented by 6 physicians. Multi-expert ground truth (GT) estimates were constructed using the STAPLE algorithm for the gross tumour volume (GTV) on all respiratory phases. Next, using a deformable model-based method, multi-expert GT on each individual phase of the 4D-CT dataset was propagated to all other phases providing auto-segmented GTVs and motion encompassing internal gross target volumes (IGTVs) based on GT estimates (STAPLE) from each respiratory phase of the 4D-CT dataset. Accuracy assessment of auto-segmentation employed graph cuts for 3D-shape reconstruction and point-set registration-based analysis yielding volumetric and distance-based measures. STAPLE-based auto-segmented GTV accuracy ranged from (81.51  ±  1.92) to (97.27  ±  0.28)% volumetric overlap of the estimated ground truth. IGTV auto-segmentation showed significantly improved accuracies with reduced variance for all patients ranging from 90.87 to 98.57% volumetric overlap of the ground truth volume. Additional metrics supported these observations with statistical significance. Accuracy of auto-segmentation was shown to be largely independent of selection of the initial propagation phase. IGTV construction based on auto-segmented GTVs within the 4D-CT dataset provided accurate and reliable target volumes compared to manual segmentation-based GT estimates. While inter-/intra-observer effects were largely mitigated, the proposed segmentation workflow is more complex than that of current clinical practice and requires further development.

Differentiation of DctA and DcuS function in the DctA/DcuS sensor complex of Escherichia coli: function of DctA as an activity switch and of DcuS as the C4-dicarboxylate sensor.

Science.gov (United States)

Steinmetz, Philipp Aloysius; Wörner, Sebastian; Unden, Gottfried

2014-10-01

The C4-dicarboxylate responsiveness of the sensor kinase DcuS is only provided in concert with C4-dicarboxylate transporters DctA or DcuB. The individual roles of DctA and DcuS for the function of the DctA/DcuS sensor complex were analysed. (i) Variant DctA(S380D) in the C4-dicarboxylate site of DctA conferred C4-dicarboxylate sensitivity to DcuS in the DctA/DcuS complex, but was deficient for transport and for growth on C4-dicarboxylates. Consequently transport activity of DctA is not required for its function in the sensor complex. (ii) Effectors like fumarate induced expression of DctA/DcuS-dependent reporter genes (dcuB-lacZ) and served as substrates of DctA, whereas citrate served only as an inducer of dcuB-lacZ without affecting DctA function. (iii) Induction of dcuB-lacZ by fumarate required 33-fold higher concentrations than for transport by DctA (Km  = 30 μM), demonstrating the existence of different fumarate sites for both processes. (iv) In titration experiments with increasing dctA expression levels, the effect of DctA on the C4-dicarboxylate sensitivity of DcuS was concentration dependent. The data uniformly show that C4-dicarboxylate sensing by DctA/DcuS resides in DcuS, and that DctA serves as an activity switch. Shifting of DcuS from the constitutive ON to the C4-dicarboxylate responsive state, required presence of DctA but not transport by DctA. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Segmentation of consumer's markets and evaluation of market's segments

OpenAIRE

ŠVECOVÁ, Iveta

2013-01-01

The goal of this bachelor thesis was to explain a possibly segmentation of consumer´s markets for a chosen company, and to present a suitable goods offer, so it would be suitable to the needs of selected segments. The work is divided into theoretical and practical part. First part describes marketing, segmentation, segmentation of consumer's markets, consumer's market, market's segments a other terms. Second part describes an evaluation of questionnaire survey, discovering of market's segment...

Influence of chemical crosslinks on the elastic behavior of segmented block copolymers

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van der Schuur, J.M.; Gaymans, R.J.

2005-01-01

Polyether(ester–amide)s (PEEA) segmented block copolymers with di- and tri-functional poly(propylene oxide)s and amide segments were synthesized and the elastic properties studied. The difunctional polyether used had a molecular weight of 2300 g/mol end capped with 20 wt% ethylene oxide. The

AdS5/CFT4 four-point functions of chiral primary operators: Cubic vertices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Sangmin

1999-01-01

We study the exchange diagrams in the computation of four-point functions of all chiral primary operators in D=4, N=4 super Yang-Mills using AdS/CFT correspondence. We identify all supergravity fields that can be exchanged and compute the cubic couplings. As a byproduct, we also rederive the normalization of the quadratic action of the exchanged fields. The cubic couplings computed in this paper and the propagators studied extensively in the literature can be used to compute almost all the exchange diagrams explicitly. Some issues in computing the complete four-point function in the 'massless sector' are discussed

Rapid Automated Target Segmentation and Tracking on 4D Data without Initial Contours

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chebrolu, V.V.; Chebrolu, V.V.; Saenz, D.; Tewatia, D.; Paliwal, B.R.; Chebrolu, V.V.; Saenz, D.; Paliwal, B.R.; Sethares, W.A.; Cannon, G.

2014-01-01

To achieve rapid automated delineation of gross target volume (GTV) and to quantify changes in volume/position of the target for radiotherapy planning using four-dimensional (4D) CT. Methods and Materials. Novel morphological processing and successive localization (MPSL) algorithms were designed and implemented for achieving auto segmentation. Contours automatically generated using MPSL method were compared with contours generated using state-of-the-art deformable registration methods (using Elastix © and MIMV ista software). Metrics such as the Dice similarity coefficient, sensitivity, and positive predictive value (PPV) were analyzed. The target motion tracked using the centroid of the GTV estimated using MPSL method was compared with motion tracked using deformable registration methods. Results. MPSL algorithm segmented the GTV in 4DCT images in 27.0 ±11.1 seconds per phase ( 512 ×512 resolution) as compared to 142.3±11.3 seconds per phase for deformable registration based methods in 9 cases. Dice coefficients between MPSL generated GTV contours and manual contours (considered as ground-truth) were 0.865 ± 0.037. In comparison, the Dice coefficients between ground-truth and contours generated using deformable registration based methods were 0.909 ± 0.051. Conclusions. The MPSL method achieved similar segmentation accuracy as compared to state-of-the-art deformable registration based segmentation methods, but with significant reduction in time required for GTV segmentation.

S1 constrains S4 in the voltage sensor domain of Kv7.1 K+ channels.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yoni Haitin

Full Text Available Voltage-gated K(+ channels comprise a central pore enclosed by four voltage-sensing domains (VSDs. While movement of the S4 helix is known to couple to channel gate opening and closing, the nature of S4 motion is unclear. Here, we substituted S4 residues of Kv7.1 channels by cysteine and recorded whole-cell mutant channel currents in Xenopus oocytes using the two-electrode voltage-clamp technique. In the closed state, disulfide and metal bridges constrain residue S225 (S4 nearby C136 (S1 within the same VSD. In the open state, two neighboring I227 (S4 are constrained at proximity while residue R228 (S4 is confined close to C136 (S1 of an adjacent VSD. Structural modeling predicts that in the closed to open transition, an axial rotation (approximately 190 degrees and outward translation of S4 (approximately 12 A is accompanied by VSD rocking. This large sensor motion changes the intra-VSD S1-S4 interaction to an inter-VSD S1-S4 interaction. These constraints provide a ground for cooperative subunit interactions and suggest a key role of the S1 segment in steering S4 motion during Kv7.1 gating.

CT-based manual segmentation and evaluation of paranasal sinuses.

Science.gov (United States)

Pirner, S; Tingelhoff, K; Wagner, I; Westphal, R; Rilk, M; Wahl, F M; Bootz, F; Eichhorn, Klaus W G

2009-04-01

Manual segmentation of computed tomography (CT) datasets was performed for robot-assisted endoscope movement during functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS). Segmented 3D models are needed for the robots' workspace definition. A total of 50 preselected CT datasets were each segmented in 150-200 coronal slices with 24 landmarks being set. Three different colors for segmentation represent diverse risk areas. Extension and volumetric measurements were performed. Three-dimensional reconstruction was generated after segmentation. Manual segmentation took 8-10 h for each CT dataset. The mean volumes were: right maxillary sinus 17.4 cm(3), left side 17.9 cm(3), right frontal sinus 4.2 cm(3), left side 4.0 cm(3), total frontal sinuses 7.9 cm(3), sphenoid sinus right side 5.3 cm(3), left side 5.5 cm(3), total sphenoid sinus volume 11.2 cm(3). Our manually segmented 3D-models present the patient's individual anatomy with a special focus on structures in danger according to the diverse colored risk areas. For safe robot assistance, the high-accuracy models represent an average of the population for anatomical variations, extension and volumetric measurements. They can be used as a database for automatic model-based segmentation. None of the segmentation methods so far described provide risk segmentation. The robot's maximum distance to the segmented border can be adjusted according to the differently colored areas.

Status of the segment interconnect, cable segment ancillary logic, and the cable segment hybrid driver projects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Swoboda, C.; Barsotti, E.; Chappa, S.; Downing, R.; Goeransson, G.; Lensy, D.; Moore, G.; Rotolo, C.; Urish, J.

1985-01-01

The FASTBUS Segment Interconnect (SI) provides a communication path between two otherwise independent, asynchronous bus segments. In particular, the Segment Interconnect links a backplane crate segment to a cable segment. All standard FASTBUS address and data transactions can be passed through the SI or any number of SIs and segments in a path. Thus systems of arbitrary connection complexity can be formed, allowing simultaneous independent processing, yet still permitting devices associated with one segment to be accessed from others. The model S1 Segment Interconnect and the Cable Segment Ancillary Logic covered in this report comply with all the mandatory features stated in the FASTBUS specification document DOE/ER-0189. A block diagram of the SI is shown

Adler function, sum rules and Crewther relation of order O(αs4): The singlet case

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baikov, P.A.; Chetyrkin, K.G.; Kühn, J.H.; Rittinger, J.

2012-01-01

The analytic result for the singlet part of the Adler function of the vector current in a general gauge theory is presented in five-loop approximation. Comparing this result with the corresponding singlet part of the Gross-Llewellyn Smith sum rule (Baikov et al., 2010 ), we successfully demonstrate the validity of the generalized Crewther relation for the singlet part. This provides a non-trivial test of both our calculations and the generalized Crewther relation. Combining the result with the already available non-singlet part of the Adler function (Baikov et al., 2008 , Baikov et al., 2010 ) we arrive at the complete O(α s 4 ) expression for the Adler function and, as a direct consequence, at the complete O(α s 4 ) correction to the e + e - annihilation into hadrons in a general gauge theory.

Functional brain segmentation using inter-subject correlation in fMRI.

Science.gov (United States)

Kauppi, Jukka-Pekka; Pajula, Juha; Niemi, Jari; Hari, Riitta; Tohka, Jussi

2017-05-01

The human brain continuously processes massive amounts of rich sensory information. To better understand such highly complex brain processes, modern neuroimaging studies are increasingly utilizing experimental setups that better mimic daily-life situations. A new exploratory data-analysis approach, functional segmentation inter-subject correlation analysis (FuSeISC), was proposed to facilitate the analysis of functional magnetic resonance (fMRI) data sets collected in these experiments. The method provides a new type of functional segmentation of brain areas, not only characterizing areas that display similar processing across subjects but also areas in which processing across subjects is highly variable. FuSeISC was tested using fMRI data sets collected during traditional block-design stimuli (37 subjects) as well as naturalistic auditory narratives (19 subjects). The method identified spatially local and/or bilaterally symmetric clusters in several cortical areas, many of which are known to be processing the types of stimuli used in the experiments. The method is not only useful for spatial exploration of large fMRI data sets obtained using naturalistic stimuli, but also has other potential applications, such as generation of a functional brain atlases including both lower- and higher-order processing areas. Finally, as a part of FuSeISC, a criterion-based sparsification of the shared nearest-neighbor graph was proposed for detecting clusters in noisy data. In the tests with synthetic data, this technique was superior to well-known clustering methods, such as Ward's method, affinity propagation, and K-means ++. Hum Brain Mapp 38:2643-2665, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Partially-Functionalized Isotactic Polystyrene with Blocky Comonomer Segments

Science.gov (United States)

Siegel, Ariel; Powers, Wayne; Ryu, Chang Y.

2012-02-01

Isotactic polystyrenes (iPSs) have been functionalized in solution, while the accessibility of functionalizing agent is limited by the formation of crystalline domains at various temperatures. The chemical system used is the borylated isotactic polystyrene system, and we investigated the temperature effects on reaction kinetics to ultimately control the blockiness of borylated segments in the resulting copolymer. The chemical composition of partially borylated iPS reaches a steady state that is dependent on temperature. This synthesis has been performed at many different temperatures, with different steady states being reached at different temperatures. Further analysis by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) has shown that the higher temperature reactions have greater effect on breaking down the crystal lattice structure of the isotactic polystyrene. As a result, the lower temperature reactions affect the crystalline structure less, and the resulting copolymer has more blockiness.

On grouping individual wire segments into equivalent wires or chains, and introduction of multiple domain basis functions

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Lysko, AA

2009-06-01

Full Text Available The paper introduces a method to cover several wire segments with a single basis function, describes related practical algorithms, and gives some results. The process involves three steps: identifying chains of wire segments, splitting the chains...

Small amounts of tissue preserve pancreatic function: Long-term follow-up study of middle-segment preserving pancreatectomy.

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, Zipeng; Yin, Jie; Wei, Jishu; Dai, Cuncai; Wu, Junli; Gao, Wentao; Xu, Qing; Dai, Hao; Li, Qiang; Guo, Feng; Chen, Jianmin; Xi, Chunhua; Wu, Pengfei; Zhang, Kai; Jiang, Kuirong; Miao, Yi

2016-11-01

Middle-segment preserving pancreatectomy (MPP) is a novel procedure for treating multifocal lesions of the pancreas while preserving pancreatic function. However, long-term pancreatic function after this procedure remains unclear.The aims of this current study are to investigate short- and long-term outcomes, especially long-term pancreatic endocrine function, after MPP.From September 2011 to December 2015, 7 patients underwent MPP in our institution, and 5 cases with long-term outcomes were further analyzed in a retrospective manner. Percentage of tissue preservation was calculated using computed tomography volumetry. Serum insulin and C-peptide levels after oral glucose challenge were evaluated in 5 patients. Beta-cell secreting function including modified homeostasis model assessment of beta-cell function (HOMA2-beta), area under the curve (AUC) for C-peptide, and C-peptide index were evaluated and compared with those after pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) and total pancreatectomy. Exocrine function was assessed based on questionnaires.Our case series included 3 women and 2 men, with median age of 50 (37-81) years. Four patients underwent pylorus-preserving PD together with distal pancreatectomy (DP), including 1 with spleen preserved. The remaining patient underwent Beger procedure and spleen-preserving DP. Median operation time and estimated intraoperative blood loss were 330 (250-615) min and 800 (400-5500) mL, respectively. Histological examination revealed 3 cases of metastatic lesion to the pancreas, 1 case of chronic pancreatitis, and 1 neuroendocrine tumor. Major postoperative complications included 3 cases of delayed gastric emptying and 2 cases of postoperative pancreatic fistula. Imaging studies showed that segments representing 18.2% to 39.5% of the pancreas with good blood supply had been preserved. With a median 35.0 months of follow-ups on pancreatic functions, only 1 patient developed new-onset diabetes mellitus of the 4 preoperatively euglycemic

Vessel Enhancement and Segmentation of 4D CT Lung Image Using Stick Tensor Voting

Science.gov (United States)

Cong, Tan; Hao, Yang; Jingli, Shi; Xuan, Yang

2016-12-01

Vessel enhancement and segmentation plays a significant role in medical image analysis. This paper proposes a novel vessel enhancement and segmentation method for 4D CT lung image using stick tensor voting algorithm, which focuses on addressing the vessel distortion issue of vessel enhancement diffusion (VED) method. Furthermore, the enhanced results are easily segmented using level-set segmentation. In our method, firstly, vessels are filtered using Frangi's filter to reduce intrapulmonary noises and extract rough blood vessels. Secondly, stick tensor voting algorithm is employed to estimate the correct direction along the vessel. Then the estimated direction along the vessel is used as the anisotropic diffusion direction of vessel in VED algorithm, which makes the intensity diffusion of points locating at the vessel wall be consistent with the directions of vessels and enhance the tubular features of vessels. Finally, vessels can be extracted from the enhanced image by applying level-set segmentation method. A number of experiments results show that our method outperforms traditional VED method in vessel enhancement and results in satisfied segmented vessels.

Segmentized Clear Channel Assessment for IEEE 802.15.4 Networks.

Science.gov (United States)

Son, Kyou Jung; Hong, Sung Hyeuck; Moon, Seong-Pil; Chang, Tae Gyu; Cho, Hanjin

2016-06-03

This paper proposed segmentized clear channel assessment (CCA) which increases the performance of IEEE 802.15.4 networks by improving carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance (CSMA/CA). Improving CSMA/CA is important because the low-power consumption feature and throughput performance of IEEE 802.15.4 are greatly affected by CSMA/CA behavior. To improve the performance of CSMA/CA, this paper focused on increasing the chance to transmit a packet by assessing precise channel status. The previous method used in CCA, which is employed by CSMA/CA, assesses the channel by measuring the energy level of the channel. However, this method shows limited channel assessing behavior, which comes from simple threshold dependent channel busy evaluation. The proposed method solves this limited channel decision problem by dividing CCA into two groups. Two groups of CCA compare their energy levels to get precise channel status. To evaluate the performance of the segmentized CCA method, a Markov chain model has been developed. The validation of analytic results is confirmed by comparing them with simulation results. Additionally, simulation results show the proposed method is improving a maximum 8.76% of throughput and decreasing a maximum 3.9% of the average number of CCAs per packet transmission than the IEEE 802.15.4 CCA method.

Intercalary bone segment transport in treatment of segmental tibial defects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Iqbal, A.; Amin, M.S.

2002-01-01

Objective: To evaluate the results and complications of intercalary bone segment transport in the treatment of segmental tibial defects. Design: This is a retrospective analysis of patients with segmental tibial defects who were treated with intercalary bone segment transport method. Place and Duration of Study: The study was carried out at Combined Military Hospital, Rawalpindi from September 1997 to April 2001. Subjects and methods: Thirteen patients were included in the study who had developed tibial defects either due to open fractures with bone loss or subsequent to bone debridement of infected non unions. The mean bone defect was 6.4 cms and there were eight associated soft tissue defects. Locally made unilateral 'Naseer-Awais' (NA) fixator was used for bone segment transport. The distraction was done at the rate of 1mm/day after 7-10 days of osteotomy. The patients were followed-up fortnightly during distraction and monthly thereafter. The mean follow-up duration was 18 months. Results: The mean time in external fixation was 9.4 months. The m ean healing index' was 1.47 months/cm. Satisfactory union was achieved in all cases. Six cases (46.2%) required bone grafting at target site and in one of them grafting was required at the level of regeneration as well. All the wounds healed well with no residual infection. There was no residual leg length discrepancy of more than 20 mm nd one angular deformity of more than 5 degrees. The commonest complication encountered was pin track infection seen in 38% of Shanz Screws applied. Loosening occurred in 6.8% of Shanz screws, requiring re-adjustment. Ankle joint contracture with equinus deformity and peroneal nerve paresis occurred in one case each. The functional results were graded as 'good' in seven, 'fair' in four, and 'poor' in two patients. Overall, thirteen patients had 31 (minor/major) complications with a ratio of 2.38 complications per patient. To treat the bone defects and associated complications, a mean of

Applying mealtime functionality to tailor protein-enriched meals to older consumer segments

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Uijl, den Louise C.; Jager, Gerry; Zandstra, Elizabeth H.; Graaf, de Kees; Kremer, Stefanie

2017-01-01

The older adults group is highly heterogeneous, and its members do not always meet their recommended protein intake. We explored mealtime functionality as a basis for tailoring protein-enriched (PE) meal concepts to two senior consumer segments: 1) cosy socialisers, who eat mainly for cosiness

Structural constraints in the packaging of bluetongue virus genomic segments.

Science.gov (United States)

Burkhardt, Christiane; Sung, Po-Yu; Celma, Cristina C; Roy, Polly

2014-10-01

The mechanism used by bluetongue virus (BTV) to ensure the sorting and packaging of its 10 genomic segments is still poorly understood. In this study, we investigated the packaging constraints for two BTV genomic segments from two different serotypes. Segment 4 (S4) of BTV serotype 9 was mutated sequentially and packaging of mutant ssRNAs was investigated by two newly developed RNA packaging assay systems, one in vivo and the other in vitro. Modelling of the mutated ssRNA followed by biochemical data analysis suggested that a conformational motif formed by interaction of the 5' and 3' ends of the molecule was necessary and sufficient for packaging. A similar structural signal was also identified in S8 of BTV serotype 1. Furthermore, the same conformational analysis of secondary structures for positive-sense ssRNAs was used to generate a chimeric segment that maintained the putative packaging motif but contained unrelated internal sequences. This chimeric segment was packaged successfully, confirming that the motif identified directs the correct packaging of the segment. © 2014 The Authors.

The utility of segmental analysis in cardiac I-123 MIBG SPECT in Parkinson's disease

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kwon, Soo Hyun; Yoon, Joon Kee; Yoon, Jung Han; Lee, Su Jin; Jo, Kyung Soo; Lee, Dong Hyun; An, Young Sil [Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon (Korea, Republic of)

2015-12-15

Cardiac images using I-123 metaiodobenzylguanidine (MIBG) are widely used to evaluate cardiac sympathetic denervation in Parkinson’s disease (PD). The aim of this study was to evaluate the utility of segmental analysis on cardiac MIBG SPECT in PD patients. In total, 36 patients with PD (n = 26) or essential tremor (ET, n = 10) who underwent MIBG cardiac SPECT were enrolled. The heart-to-mediastinum (H/M) ratios of MIBG uptake were acquired on planar images. For the segmental analysis of SPECT images, we evaluated the summed defect score (SDS) using a 17-segment model. The diagnostic abilities of H/M ratios and segmental parameters on MIBG SPECT were assessed by ROC curve analysis. The H/M ratios were significantly lower in PD than in ET patients (p < 0.05). On segmental analysis, SDS was significantly higher in PD patients than in the ET group (7.04 ± 4.09 vs. 2.90 ± 2.80; p = 0.006). The defect score of the anteroseptal region showed a significant difference between the groups (p = 0.002). The ROC analysis suggested only SDS (AUC = 0.785, p = 0.0003) and defect scores in the anteroseptal (AUC = 0.800, p < 0.0001) and inferior (AUC = 0.667, p = 0.013) regions showed significant diagnostic ability to differentiate PD from ET. Segmental parameters from cardiac MIBG SPECT images can provide additional information to differentiate PD from ET patients. Beyond H/M ratios from planar images, we recommend an MIBG SPECT study to evaluate sympathetic denervation in PD.

Segmental stiff skin syndrome (SSS): A distinct clinical entity.

Science.gov (United States)

Myers, Kathryn L; Mir, Adnan; Schaffer, Julie V; Meehan, Shane A; Orlow, Seth J; Brinster, Nooshin K

2016-07-01

Stiff skin syndrome (SSS) is a noninflammatory, fibrosing condition of the skin, often affecting the limb girdles. We present 4 new patients with SSS with largely unilateral, segmental distribution. To date, reported cases of SSS have been grouped based on generally accepted clinical and histopathologic findings. The purpose of this study was to analyze differences in clinical and histopathologic findings between previously reported SSS cases. This is a retrospective review of 4 new cases and 48 previously published cases of SSS obtained from PubMed search. Of 52 total cases, 18 (35%) were segmentally distributed and 34 (65%) were widespread. The average age of onset was 4.1 years versus 1.6 years for segmental versus widespread SSS, respectively. Limitation in joint mobility affected 44% of patients with segmental SSS and 97% of patients with widespread SSS. Histopathologic findings were common between the 2 groups. This was a retrospective study of previously published cases limited by the completeness and accuracy of the reviewed cases. We propose a distinct clinical entity, segmental SSS, characterized by a segmental distribution, later age of onset, and less severe functional limitation. Both segmental SSS and widespread SSS share common diagnostic histopathologic features. Copyright © 2016 American Academy of Dermatology, Inc. All rights reserved.

The space of harmonic maps of S2 into S4

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Loo, B.

1989-05-01

Every branched superminimal surface of area 4πd in S 4 is shown to arise from a pair of meromorphic functions (f 1 ,f 2 ) of bidegree (d,d) such that f 1 and f 2 have the same ramification divisor. Conditions under which branched superminimal surfaces can be generated from such pairs of functions are derived. For each d ≥ 1 the space of harmonic maps (i.e branched superminimal immersions) of S 2 into S 4 of harmonic degree d is shown to be a connected space of complex dimension 2d+4. (author). 18 refs

Structural constraints in the packaging of bluetongue virus genomic segments

OpenAIRE

Burkhardt, Christiane; Sung, Po-Yu; Celma, Cristina C.; Roy, Polly

2014-01-01

: The mechanism used by bluetongue virus (BTV) to ensure the sorting and packaging of its 10 genomic segments is still poorly understood. In this study, we investigated the packaging constraints for two BTV genomic segments from two different serotypes. Segment 4 (S4) of BTV serotype 9 was mutated sequentially and packaging of mutant ssRNAs was investigated by two newly developed RNA packaging assay systems, one in vivo and the other in vitro. Modelling of the mutated ssRNA followed by bioche...

Rapid Automated Target Segmentation and Tracking on 4D Data without Initial Contours

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Venkata V. Chebrolu

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Purpose. To achieve rapid automated delineation of gross target volume (GTV and to quantify changes in volume/position of the target for radiotherapy planning using four-dimensional (4D CT. Methods and Materials. Novel morphological processing and successive localization (MPSL algorithms were designed and implemented for achieving autosegmentation. Contours automatically generated using MPSL method were compared with contours generated using state-of-the-art deformable registration methods (using Elastix© and MIMVista software. Metrics such as the Dice similarity coefficient, sensitivity, and positive predictive value (PPV were analyzed. The target motion tracked using the centroid of the GTV estimated using MPSL method was compared with motion tracked using deformable registration methods. Results. MPSL algorithm segmented the GTV in 4DCT images in 27.0±11.1 seconds per phase (512×512 resolution as compared to 142.3±11.3 seconds per phase for deformable registration based methods in 9 cases. Dice coefficients between MPSL generated GTV contours and manual contours (considered as ground-truth were 0.865±0.037. In comparison, the Dice coefficients between ground-truth and contours generated using deformable registration based methods were 0.909 ± 0.051. Conclusions. The MPSL method achieved similar segmentation accuracy as compared to state-of-the-art deformable registration based segmentation methods, but with significant reduction in time required for GTV segmentation.

Rapid Automated Target Segmentation and Tracking on 4D Data without Initial Contours.

Science.gov (United States)

Chebrolu, Venkata V; Saenz, Daniel; Tewatia, Dinesh; Sethares, William A; Cannon, George; Paliwal, Bhudatt R

2014-01-01

Purpose. To achieve rapid automated delineation of gross target volume (GTV) and to quantify changes in volume/position of the target for radiotherapy planning using four-dimensional (4D) CT. Methods and Materials. Novel morphological processing and successive localization (MPSL) algorithms were designed and implemented for achieving autosegmentation. Contours automatically generated using MPSL method were compared with contours generated using state-of-the-art deformable registration methods (using Elastix© and MIMVista software). Metrics such as the Dice similarity coefficient, sensitivity, and positive predictive value (PPV) were analyzed. The target motion tracked using the centroid of the GTV estimated using MPSL method was compared with motion tracked using deformable registration methods. Results. MPSL algorithm segmented the GTV in 4DCT images in 27.0 ± 11.1 seconds per phase (512 × 512 resolution) as compared to 142.3 ± 11.3 seconds per phase for deformable registration based methods in 9 cases. Dice coefficients between MPSL generated GTV contours and manual contours (considered as ground-truth) were 0.865 ± 0.037. In comparison, the Dice coefficients between ground-truth and contours generated using deformable registration based methods were 0.909 ± 0.051. Conclusions. The MPSL method achieved similar segmentation accuracy as compared to state-of-the-art deformable registration based segmentation methods, but with significant reduction in time required for GTV segmentation.

The excitation functions of 4s-4p and 3d-4p transitions in Ni atoms sputtered from metallic targets by Ar+ ions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dabrowski, P.; Gabla, L.; Pedrys, R.

1981-01-01

The intensities of spectral lines corresponding to 4s-4p and 3d-4p transitions in Ni atoms sputtered from metallic targets by Ar + ions were measured. The energy of primary ions was varied from 4 keV to 10 keV. Both single crystal and polycrystalline targets were used at various temperatures including ferromagnetic and paramagnetic phases. The excitation functions calculated from experimental data can be explained only by the assumption that the promotion of the electrons occurs during energetic binary collisions of atomic particles in the solid. (orig.)

Thalamus segmentation from MP2RAGE: a comparative study

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Eskildsen, Simon Fristed; Næss-Schmidt, Erhard; Blicher, Jakob

RAGE sequence on a Siemens Magnetom Skyra 3T MRI system with a 32 channel head coil. Parameters were TR=5 s, TI1=0.7 s, TI2=2.5 s, α1=4°, α2=5° and acquired at a nominal, isotropic, resolution of 1mm (acquisition matrix: 240x256, 176 sagittal slices). An experienced neuro-radiologist manually traced......, increasing the number of training images in the library of SNIPE improves segmentation accuracy (Figure 4). Even though the DSI seems to plateau around a library size of 10-11 images, increasing the library may improve the accuracy even further. Conclusions: Widely used atlas based segmentation methods...

TRPV4 is associated with central rather than nephrogenic osmoregulation.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Janas, S.; Seghers, F.; Schakman, O.; Alsady, M.; Deen, P.M.; Vriens, J.; Tissir, F.; Nilius, B.; Loffing, J.; Gailly, P.; Devuyst, O.

2016-01-01

TRPV4 is a polymodal cation channel expressed in osmosensitive neurons of the hypothalamus and in the mammalian nephron. The segmental distribution and role(s) of TRPV4 in osmoregulation remain debated. We investigated the renal distribution pattern of TRPV4 and the functional consequences of its

STUDY OF OUTCOME AND COMPLICATIONS OF ANORECTAL MYECTOMY IN CHILDREN WITH ULTRASHORT SEGMENT HIRSCHSPRUNG’S DISEASE

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J. Ahmadi

2006-08-01

Full Text Available The term ultra short is not clearly defined in ultrashort-segment Hirschsprung’s disease. The limited extent of the ultrashort-segment Hirschsprung’s disease allows for treatment with extended sphincteromyectomy. In anal sphincter achalasia, anal sphincter dilatation under general anesthesia may be sufficient to treat the condition; in cases with persistent constipation, sphincteromyectomy is indicated. Some investigators believe that the term ultrashort-segment Hirschsprung’s disease and anorectal achalasia are the same. Our study was performed to define the efficacy of transanal anorectal ‎myectomy and digital dilation under general anesthesia in children with ultra short-segment Hirschsprung’s disease and internal anal sphincter achalasia. A total of 87 patients were included in our study. Among these, 15 cases (17.24% were female and 72 (82.76% were male. In 12 patients (13.79%, the muscle strip had normal ganglion cells in both distal and proximal ends (group A. In 10 patients (11.49%, there was not any ganglion cell in both distal and proximal ends of muscle strip (group B. In 65 patients (74.71%, there were normal ganglion cells in proximal end with no ganglion cell in distal end of the muscle strip (group C. ‎There was no meaningful differences between group A, B and C in their outcome and partially or complete response to anorectal myectomy. We recommend the term “sluggish rectum” for these patients instead of ultrashort-segment Hirschsprung’s disease or internal anal sphincter achalasia that causes ambiguity in diagnosis and treatment of these cases.

Why segmentation matters: experience-driven segmentation errors impair “morpheme” learning

Science.gov (United States)

Finn, Amy S.; Hudson Kam, Carla L.

2015-01-01

We ask whether an adult learner’s knowledge of their native language impedes statistical learning in a new language beyond just word segmentation (as previously shown). In particular, we examine the impact of native-language word-form phonotactics on learners’ ability to segment words into their component morphemes and learn phonologically triggered variation of morphemes. We find that learning is impaired when words and component morphemes are structured to conflict with a learner’s native-language phonotactic system, but not when native-language phonotactics do not conflict with morpheme boundaries in the artificial language. A learner’s native-language knowledge can therefore have a cascading impact affecting word segmentation and the morphological variation that relies upon proper segmentation. These results show that getting word segmentation right early in learning is deeply important for learning other aspects of language, even those (morphology) that are known to pose a great difficulty for adult language learners. PMID:25730305

Multiple functional units in the preattentive segmentation of speech in Japanese: evidence from word illusions.

Science.gov (United States)

Nakamura, Miyoko; Kolinsky, Régine

2014-12-01

We explored the functional units of speech segmentation in Japanese using dichotic presentation and a detection task requiring no intentional sublexical analysis. Indeed, illusory perception of a target word might result from preattentive migration of phonemes, morae, or syllables from one ear to the other. In Experiment I, Japanese listeners detected targets presented in hiragana and/or kanji. Phoneme migrations did occur, suggesting that orthography-independent sublexical constituents play some role in segmentation. However, syllable and especially mora migrations were more numerous. This pattern of results was not observed in French speakers (Experiment 2), suggesting that it reflects native segmentation in Japanese. To control for the intervention of kanji representations (many words are written in kanji, and one kanji often corresponds to one syllable), in Experiment 3, Japanese listeners were presented with target loanwords that can be written only in katakana. Again, phoneme migrations occurred, while the first mora and syllable led to similar rates of illusory percepts. No migration occurred for the second, "special" mora (/J/ or/N/), probably because this constitutes the latter part of a heavy syllable. Overall, these findings suggest that multiple units, such as morae, syllables, and even phonemes, function independently of orthographic knowledge in Japanese preattentive speech segmentation.

Limitations and pitfalls of Couinaud's segmentation of the liver in transaxial Imaging

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Strunk, H.; Textor, J.; Willinek, W. [Department of Radiology, University of Bonn, Sigmund Freud-Strasse 25, 53105, Bonn (Germany); Stuckmann, G. [Department of Radiology, Kantonsspital Winterthur (Switzerland)

2003-11-01

The segmental anatomy of the human liver has become a matter of increasing interest to the radiologist, especially in view of the need for an accurate preoperative localization of focal hepatic lesions. In this review article first an overview of the different classical concepts for delineating segmental and subsegmental anatomy on US, transaxial CT, and MR images is given. Essentially, these procedures are based on Couinaud's concept of three vertical planes that divide the liver into four segments and of a transverse scissura that further subdivides the segments into two subsegments each. In a second part, the limitations of these methods are delineated and discussed with the conclusion that if exact preoperative localization of hepatic lesions is needed, tumor must be located relative to the avascular planes between the different portal territories. (orig.)

Effects of Adding Segmental Traction Therapy to Routine Physiotherapy on Pain and Functional Ability of Patients with Acute Low Back Pain

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Parvin Akberov

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Background: Low back pain (LBP is one of the most common musculoskeletal complications of today’s societies which, poses a big portion of health expenses and work absentees. Lumbar disc herniation is claimed to be one of the several causes of LBP. Conservative therapies like physiotherapy are found to be beneficial for treatment in such a kind of LBP. However, there is low evidence proving traction therapy can be effective. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate effects of a 7-day physiotherapy protocol along with segmental traction therapy on pain and range of motion in patients with acute LBP Methods: A total of 9 patients with acute LBP voluntarily participated in this study. They undertook a 7-day conventional physiotherapy along with segmental traction therapy. Pain, functional ability and lumbar flexion range of motion (ROM were measured before and after the therapeutic intervention. Results: A significant reduction in pain was observed after the intervention (P=0.006. In addition, patients’ functional ability increased significantly (P=0.03.However, there were no significant changes in lumbar in flexion ROM. Conclusion: According to results of the present study segmental traction therapy along with a physiotherapy protocol consisting of TENS, Ultrasound and Hot pack reduces pain and improves functional ability in patient with acute LBP. Although no effect on lumbar ROM is expected.

Segmenting wine markets with diverse price functions: Evidence from California red and white wines sold in British Columbia

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Richard Carew

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Previous hedonic price studies on wine market segments, exploring diverse price functions, are constrained by pre-determined price breakpoints, the total number of segments, or both. Using British Columbia Liquor Distribution Branch (BCLDB retail price data of California red and white wines, this study adopts an endogenous approach to explore the total number of market segments and identify breakpoints in price dispersion simultaneously. Results show that red and white California wines are grouped into two (breaking at Can$14 per bottle and three (breaking at Can$16 and $30 per bottle price segments, respectively. Also, implicit prices of wine attributes such as grape variety and geographic origin differ for red and white wines across market segments.

Adler Function, Bjorken Sum Rule, and the Crewther Relation to Order αs4 in a General Gauge Theory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baikov, P. A.; Chetyrkin, K. G.; Kuehn, J. H.

2010-01-01

We compute, for the first time, the order α s 4 contributions to the Bjorken sum rule for polarized electron-nucleon scattering and to the (nonsinglet) Adler function for the case of a generic color gauge group. We confirm at the same order a (generalized) Crewther relation which provides a strong test of the correctness of our previously obtained results: the QCD Adler function and the five-loop β function in quenched QED. In particular, the appearance of an irrational contribution proportional to ζ 3 in the latter quantity is confirmed. We obtain the commensurate scale equation relating the effective strong coupling constants as inferred from the Bjorken sum rule and from the Adler function at order α s 4 .

The Enhanced Segment Interconnect for FASTBUS data communications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Machen, D.R.; Downing, R.W.; Kirsten, F.A.; Nelson, R.O.

1987-01-01

The Enhanced Segment Interconnect concept (ESI) for improved FASTBUS data communications is a development supported by the U.S. Department of Energy under the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. The ESI will contain both the Segment Interconnect (SI) Tyhpe S-1 and an optional buffered interconnect for store-and-forward data communications; fiber-optic-coupled serial ports will provide optional data paths. The ESI can be applied in large FASTBUS-implemented physics experiments whose data-set or data-transmission distance requirements dictate alternate approaches to data communications. This paper describes the functions of the ESI and the status of its development, now 25% complete

SEGMENTING THE U.S.A. NON-TRAVEL MARKET

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Wayne W. Smith

2011-12-01

Full Text Available Tourism marketers focus on understanding the many different segments that comprise their visitors. Understanding these segments’ motivations for travel is important in order to motivate repeat visitation and to attract like-minded consumers to visit. But how about those who do not travel? This surprisingly large percentage of the population is a lost opportunity for the industry. The research that follows, based upon a very significant USA-based sample of non-travelers, suggests that non-travelers can be effectively segmented and targeted. Understanding these segments will better allow vacation marketers to craft their product and their message, hopefully bringing more travelers to the mix.

Influence of ST-segment recovery on infarct size and ejection fraction in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction receiving primary percutaneous coronary intervention

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hallén, Jonas; Ripa, Maria Sejersten; Johanson, Per

2010-01-01

percutaneous coronary intervention. Three methods for calculating and categorizing ST-segment recovery were used: (1) summed ST-segment deviation (STD) resolution analyzed in 3 categories (> or = 70%, > or = 30% to or = 2 mm). Infarct size and ejection fraction were assessed at 4 months by cardiac magnetic...... resonance imaging. All 3 ST-segment recovery algorithms predicted the final infarct size and cardiac function. Worst-lead residual STD performed the same as, or better than, the more complex methods and identified large subgroups at either end of the risk spectrum (median infarct size from the lowest...

Word segmentation in children’s literacy: a study about word awareness

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Débora Mattos Marques

2016-10-01

Full Text Available The present research aimed to investigate how linguistic awareness regarding the concept of “word” may influence some mistakes on segmenting words in children’s writing in the Elementary School. The observed data comprised those of hyper and hyposegmentation which were then related to word awareness. For the analysis of linguistic awareness data, the Representational Redescription, proposed by Karmillof-Smith (1986-1992, has been used. It postulates four levels where knowledge is redescribed in the human mind, becoming accessible for awareness and verbalization along with the time. The research methodology consisted of six tests, out of which four were applied in order to verify word awareness, and, the other two tests, to obtain samples of writing data. Thus, it was noticed that a great part of the segmentation mistakes identified in the collected writings are related to the informants' ability to distinguish between different words until the moment they were observed. As a result, the uncommon segmentation mistakes found in the analyzed data evidenced that not only are they motivated by prosodic or phonological matters, but they are also influenced by linguistic awareness issues involving the informants’ understanding of word.

Comparison of pedicle screw-based dynamic stabilization and fusion surgery in the treatment of radiographic adjacent-segment degeneration: a retrospective analysis of single L5-S1 degenerative spondylosis covering 4 years.

Science.gov (United States)

Han, Yu; Sun, Jianguang; Luo, Chenghan; Huang, Shilei; Li, Liren; Ji, Xiang; Duan, Xiaozong; Wang, Zhenqing; Pi, Guofu

2016-12-01

OBJECTIVE Pedicle screw-based dynamic spinal stabilization systems (PDSs) were devised to decrease, theoretically, the risk of long-term complications such as adjacent-segment degeneration (ASD) after lumbar fusion surgery. However, to date, there have been few studies that fully proved that a PDS can reduce the risk of ASD. The purpose of this study was to examine whether a PDS can influence the incidence of ASD and to discuss the surgical coping strategy for L5-S1 segmental spondylosis with preexisting L4-5 degeneration with no related symptoms or signs. METHODS This study retrospectively compared 62 cases of L5-S1 segmental spondylosis in patients who underwent posterior lumbar interbody fusion (n = 31) or K-Rod dynamic stabilization (n = 31) with a minimum of 4 years' follow-up. The authors measured the intervertebral heights and spinopelvic parameters on standing lateral radiographs and evaluated preexisting ASD on preoperative MR images using the modified Pfirrmann grading system. Radiographic ASD was evaluated according to the results of radiography during follow-up. RESULTS All 62 patients achieved remission of their neurological symptoms without surgical complications. The Kaplan-Meier curve and Cox proportional-hazards model showed no statistically significant differences between the 2 surgical groups in the incidence of radiographic ASD (p > 0.05). In contrast, the incidence of radiographic ASD was 8.75 times (95% CI 1.955-39.140; p = 0.005) higher in the patients with a preoperative modified Pfirrmann grade higher than 3 than it was in patients with a modified Pfirrmann grade of 3 or lower. In addition, no statistical significance was found for other risk factors such as age, sex, and spinopelvic parameters. CONCLUSIONS Pedicle screw-based dynamic spinal stabilization systems were not found to be superior to posterior lumbar interbody fusion in preventing radiographic ASD (L4-5) during the midterm follow-up. Preexisting ASD with a modified Pfirrmann

Minimum monitor unit per segment IMRT planning and over-shoot-ratio

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Grigorov, G.; Barnett, R.; Chow, J.

2004-01-01

The aim of this work is to describe the modulation quality for dose delivery of small Multi-Leaf Collimator (MLC) fields and MU/segment. The results were obtained with Pinnacle (V6) and a Varian Clinac 2100 EX (Varis 6.2) linear accelerator. The over-shoot effect was investigated by comparing integrated multiple segmented exposures to a single exposure with the same number of total MU (1, 2, 3,4, 5 and 6 MU). To present the OS effect the Over-Shoot-Ratio (OSR) was defined as the ratio of the segmented dose for a 1 cm 2 field at depth to the static dose for the same field size and depth. OSR was measured as a function of MU/segment and dose rate. Measured results can be used to optimise IMRT planning and also to calculate the surface dose. The dependence of the dose in depth with 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 MU/segments for 6 MV photon beam, dose rate of 100 MU/min and 1 cm 2 beam field at the central axis is presented, where the argument of the function is the depth and parameter of the function is the number of minimum MU/segment. The dependence of the overshoot ratio on the MU/segment with a parameter of the dose rates (100, 400 and 600 MU/min) is also shown. The effect increases with the dose rate and decreases with the increasing of the minimum number of MU/segment. Having measured OSR for the 2100 EX linac it is possible to do correction and calibration of the dose of the first segment of IMRT beam, where the dose to the target and on the surface can increase over the planed dose of 1 MU by 40% and 70% for dose rate of 400 and 600 MU/min respectively. The Over-Shoot-Ratio is an important parameter to be determined as part of the routine quality assurance for IMRT and can be used to significantly improve the agreement between planned and delivered doses to the patient

Quantitative hepatic CT perfusion measurement: Comparison of Couinaud's hepatic segments with dual-source 128-slice CT

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang, Xuan [The Department of Radiology, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Dongcheng District, Beijing, 100730 (China); Xue, Hua-dan, E-mail: bjdanna95@hotmail.com [The Department of Radiology, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Dongcheng District, Beijing, 100730 (China); Jin, Zheng-yu, E-mail: jin_zhengyu@163.com [The Department of Radiology, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Dongcheng District, Beijing, 100730 (China); Su, Bai-yan; Li, Zhuo; Sun, Hao; Chen, Yu; Liu, Wei [The Department of Radiology, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Dongcheng District, Beijing, 100730 (China)

2013-02-15

Purpose: To compare the quantitative liver computed tomography perfusion (CTP) differences among eight hepatic segments. Materials and methods: This retrospective study was based on 72 acquired upper abdomen CTP scans for detecting suspected pancreas tumor. Patients with primary or metastatic liver tumor, any focal liver lesions except simple cyst (<3 cm in diameter), history of liver operation or splenectomy, evidence of liver cirrhosis or invasion of portal vein were excluded. The final analysis included 50 patients (M:F = 21:29, mean age = 43.2 years, 15–76 years). Arterial liver perfusion (ALP), portal-venous perfusion (PVP), total hepatic perfusion (THP = ALP + PVP), and hepatic perfusion index (HPI) of each hepatic segment were calculated and compared by means of one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and the Bonferonni correction method. Results: Compared to hepatic segments 5, 6, 7 and 8, segments 2 and 3 showed a tendency of higher ALPs, lower PVPs, and higher HPIs, most of which were statistically significant (p < 0.05). Hepatic segments 1 and 4 had higher mean values of ALP and HPI and lower mean values of PVP than segments 5, 6, 7 and 8 as well, although no significant differences were detected except for ALP and HPI for liver segments 1 and 7 (p = 0.001 and 0.035 respectively), and ALP for liver segments 1 and 5 (p = 0.039). Higher ALP and HPI were showed in hepatic segment 3 compared to segment 4 (p = 0.000 and 0.000 respectively). No significant differences were found for THP among eight segments. Conclusions: Intra-hepatic perfusion differences exist in normal hepatic parenchyma especially between lateral sector (segments 2 and 3) and right lobe (segments 5, 6, 7 and 8). This might have potential clinical significance in liver-perfusion-related protocol design and result analysis.

A facile approach to fabricate of photothermal functional Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4}@CuS microspheres

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhang, Baolong; Shan, Yan, E-mail: shanyan@qust.edu.cn; Chen, Kezheng, E-mail: kchen@qust.edu.cn

2017-06-01

Photothermal functional Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4}@CuS microspheres have been prepared successfully by a simple chemical deposition method. The adsorption of cetyltrimethyl-ammonium bromide (CTAB) on the magnetic microspheres plays an important role in forming the structure of the composites. The present materials are characterized with XRD, TEM, SEM, FTIR, and UV-VIS-NIR spectrophotometer. The results show that Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4} microspheres are coated by CuS layer with thickness of 10 nm. The saturation magnetization value of Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4}@CuS core-shell microspheres is 27 emu/g at room temperature and the sample possesses excellent magnetic response in the presence of applied magnetic field. Moreover, these microspheres exhibit good dispersion, suitable size and significant photothermal conversion efficiency up to 20.7% at 808 nm laser irradiation. Fluctuation value of the highest temperature of Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4}@CuS dispersion over four times LASER ON/OFF indicates that photothermal stability of Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4}@CuS microspheres is good. - Highlights: • The Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4} microspheres have been coated with CuS and the thickness of CuS layer is about 10 nm. • The Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4}@CuS microspheres are ferromagnetism, and possess good photothermal conversion efficiency and photostability. • The materials have great potential application for photothermal therapy.

Validating PET segmentation of thoracic lesions-is 4D PET necessary?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, M. S.; Carl, J.

2017-01-01

Respiratory-induced motions are prone to degrade the positron emission tomography (PET) signal with the consequent loss of image information and unreliable segmentations. This phantom study aims to assess the discrepancies relative to stationary PET segmentations, of widely used semiautomatic PET...... segmentation methods on heterogeneous target lesions influenced by motion during image acquisition. Three target lesions included dual F-18 Fluoro-deoxy-glucose (FDG) tracer concentrations as high-and low tracer activities relative to the background. Four different tracer concentration arrangements were...... segmented using three SUV threshold methods (Max40%, SUV40% and 2.5SUV) and a gradient based method (GradientSeg). Segmentations in static 3D-PET scans (PETsta) specified the reference conditions for the individual segmentation methods, target lesions and tracer concentrations. The motion included PET...

Phylogenetic Analysis, Lineage-Specific Expansion and Functional Divergence of seed dormancy 4-Like Genes in Plants.

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Saminathan Subburaj

Full Text Available The rice gene seed dormancy 4 (OsSdr4 functions in seed dormancy and is a major factor associated with pre-harvest sprouting (PHS. Although previous studies of this protein family were reported for rice and other species, knowledge of the evolution of genes homologous to OsSdr4 in plants remains inadequate. Fifty four Sdr4-like (hereafter designated Sdr4L genes were identified in nine plant lineages including 36 species. Phylogenetic analysis placed these genes in eight subfamilies (I-VIII. Genes from the same lineage clustered together, supported by analysis of conserved motifs and exon-intron patterns. Segmental duplications were present in both dicot and monocot clusters, while tandemly duplicated genes occurred only in monocot clusters indicating that both tandem and segmental duplications contributed to expansion of the grass I and II subfamilies. Estimation of the approximate ages of the duplication events indicated that ancestral Sdr4 genes evolved from a common angiosperm ancestor, about 160 million years ago (MYA. Moreover, diversification of Sdr4L genes in mono and dicot plants was mainly associated with genome-wide duplication and speciation events. Functional divergence was observed in all subfamily pairs, except IV/VIIIa. Further analysis indicated that functional constraints between subfamily pairs I/II, I/VIIIb, II/VI, II/VIIIb, II/IV, and VI/VIIIb were statistically significant. Site and branch-site model analyses of positive selection suggested that these genes were under strong adaptive selection pressure. Critical amino acids detected for both functional divergence and positive selection were mostly located in the loops, pointing to functional importance of these regions in this protein family. In addition, differential expression studies by transcriptome atlas of 11 Sdr4L genes showed that the duplicated genes may have undergone divergence in expression between plant species. Our findings showed that Sdr4L genes are

A dorsolateral prefrontal cortex semi-automatic segmenter

Science.gov (United States)

Al-Hakim, Ramsey; Fallon, James; Nain, Delphine; Melonakos, John; Tannenbaum, Allen

2006-03-01

Structural, functional, and clinical studies in schizophrenia have, for several decades, consistently implicated dysfunction of the prefrontal cortex in the etiology of the disease. Functional and structural imaging studies, combined with clinical, psychometric, and genetic analyses in schizophrenia have confirmed the key roles played by the prefrontal cortex and closely linked "prefrontal system" structures such as the striatum, amygdala, mediodorsal thalamus, substantia nigra-ventral tegmental area, and anterior cingulate cortices. The nodal structure of the prefrontal system circuit is the dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), or Brodmann area 46, which also appears to be the most commonly studied and cited brain area with respect to schizophrenia. 1, 2, 3, 4 In 1986, Weinberger et. al. tied cerebral blood flow in the DLPFC to schizophrenia.1 In 2001, Perlstein et. al. demonstrated that DLPFC activation is essential for working memory tasks commonly deficient in schizophrenia. 2 More recently, groups have linked morphological changes due to gene deletion and increased DLPFC glutamate concentration to schizophrenia. 3, 4 Despite the experimental and clinical focus on the DLPFC in structural and functional imaging, the variability of the location of this area, differences in opinion on exactly what constitutes DLPFC, and inherent difficulties in segmenting this highly convoluted cortical region have contributed to a lack of widely used standards for manual or semi-automated segmentation programs. Given these implications, we developed a semi-automatic tool to segment the DLPFC from brain MRI scans in a reproducible way to conduct further morphological and statistical studies. The segmenter is based on expert neuroanatomist rules (Fallon-Kindermann rules), inspired by cytoarchitectonic data and reconstructions presented by Rajkowska and Goldman-Rakic. 5 It is semi-automated to provide essential user interactivity. We present our results and provide details on

Effects of fog, driver experience and gender on driving behavior on S-curved road segments.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Xiaomeng; Yan, Xuedong; Wong, S C

2015-04-01

Driving on curved roads has been recognized as a significant safety issue for many years. However, driver behavior and the interactions among variables that affect driver performance on curves is complicated and not well understood. Previous studies have investigated various factors that influence driver performance on right- or left-turn curves, but have paid little attention to the effects of foggy weather, driver experience and gender on driver performance on complex curves. A driving simulator experiment was conducted in this study to evaluate the relationships between driving behavior on a continuous S-curve and foggy weather, driver experience and gender. The process of negotiating a curve was divided into three stages consisting of a straight segment, the transition from the straight segment to the S-curve and the S-curve. The experimental results indicated that drivers tended to drive more cautiously in heavy fog, but the driving risk was still increased, especially in the transition stage from the straight segment to the S-curve. The non-professional (NP) drivers were less sensitive to the impending change in the road geometry, and less skilled in both longitudinal and lateral vehicle control than the professional drivers. The NP female drivers in particular were found to be the most vulnerable group in S-curve driving. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Open segmental fracture of both bone forearm and dislocation of ipsilateral elbow with extruded middle segment radius

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pawan Kumar

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Extruded middle segment of radius with open segmental fracture both bone forearm and dislocation of ipsilateral elbow is a rare injury. A 12-year-old child presented to us within 4 hours following fall from tree. The child′s mother was carrying a 12-cm-long extruded soiled segment of radius. The extruded bone was thoroughly washed. The medullary cavity was properly syringed with antiseptic solution. The bone was autoclaved and put in the muscle plane of the distal forearm after debridement of the wound. After 5 days, a 2.5-mm K-wire was introduced by retrograde method into the proximal radius by passing through the extruded segment. Another 2.5-mm K-wire was passed in ulna. The limb was evaluated clinicoradiologically every 2 weeks. The wound was healed by primary intention. At 4 months, the reposed bone appeared less dense radiologically and K-wire seemed to be out of the bone. In the subsequent months, the roentgenograms show remodeling of the extruded fragment. After 20 weeks, the K-wires were removed (first ulnar and then radial. Complete union was achieved with full range of movement except loss of few degrees of extension of elbow and thumb. This case is reported to show a good outcome following successful incorporation of an extruded segment of radius in an open fracture.

Point based interactive image segmentation using multiquadrics splines

Science.gov (United States)

Meena, Sachin; Duraisamy, Prakash; Palniappan, Kannappan; Seetharaman, Guna

2017-05-01

Multiquadrics (MQ) are radial basis spline function that can provide an efficient interpolation of data points located in a high dimensional space. MQ were developed by Hardy to approximate geographical surfaces and terrain modelling. In this paper we frame the task of interactive image segmentation as a semi-supervised interpolation where an interpolating function learned from the user provided seed points is used to predict the labels of unlabeled pixel and the spline function used in the semi-supervised interpolation is MQ. This semi-supervised interpolation framework has a nice closed form solution which along with the fact that MQ is a radial basis spline function lead to a very fast interactive image segmentation process. Quantitative and qualitative results on the standard datasets show that MQ outperforms other regression based methods, GEBS, Ridge Regression and Logistic Regression, and popular methods like Graph Cut,4 Random Walk and Random Forest.6

Herpes zoster on segmental vitiligo: Wolf’s isotopic response?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mankesh Lal Gambhir

2014-04-01

Full Text Available “Wolf’s isotopic response” describes the occurrence of a new skin disorder at the site of another, unrelated and already healed skin disease. In most cases of isotopic response, the initial dermatosis is herpes zoster, herpes simplex, varicella, thrombophlebitis, scrofuloderma and striae distense. The most frequent second dermatoses are granulomatous reactions, particularly granuloma annulare, and lichenoid diseases. Various etiological reasons including viral, immunologic, neural and vascular have been put forth. We report here a case in which the second disease was herpes zoster that appeared over the same dermatomes of pre-existing segmental vitiligo. The occurrence of vitiligo as first and herpes zoster as second disease in the “Wolf’s isotopic response” has not, to the best of our knowledge, been reported previously.

Plant-based milk alternatives an emerging segment of functional beverages: a review.

Science.gov (United States)

Sethi, Swati; Tyagi, S K; Anurag, Rahul K

2016-09-01

Plant-based or non-dairy milk alternative is the fast growing segment in newer food product development category of functional and specialty beverage across the globe. Nowadays, cow milk allergy, lactose intolerance, calorie concern and prevalence of hypercholesterolemia, more preference to vegan diets has influenced consumers towards choosing cow milk alternatives. Plant-based milk alternatives are a rising trend, which can serve as an inexpensive alternate to poor economic group of developing countries and in places, where cow's milk supply is insufficient. Though numerous types of innovative food beverages from plant sources are being exploited for cow milk alternative, many of these faces some/any type of technological issues; either related to processing or preservation. Majority of these milk alternatives lack nutritional balance when compared to bovine milk, however they contain functionally active components with health promoting properties which attracts health conscious consumers. In case of legume based milk alternatives, sensory acceptability is a major limiting factor for its wide popularity. New and advanced non-thermal processing technologies such as ultra high temperature treatment, ultra high pressure homogenization, pulsed electric field processing are being researched for tackling the problems related to increase of shelf life, emulsion stability, nutritional completeness and sensory acceptability of the final product. Concerted research efforts are required in coming years in functional beverages segment to prepare tailor-made newer products which are palatable as well as nutritionally adequate.

Segmentation and volumetric analysis of the caudate nucleus in Alzheimer's disease

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jiji, Sudevan; Smitha, Karavallil Achuthan; Gupta, Arun Kumar; Pillai, Vellara Pappukutty Mahadevan; Jayasree, Ramapurath S.

2013-01-01

Objectives: A quantitative volumetric analysis of caudate nucleus can provide valuable information in early diagnosis and prognosis of patients with Alzheimer's diseases (AD). Purpose of the study is to estimate the volume of segmented caudate nucleus from MR images and to correlate the variation in the segmented volume with respect to the total brain volume. We have also tried to evaluate the caudate nucleus atrophy with the age related atrophy of white matter (WM), gray matter (GM) and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in a group of Alzheimer's disease patients. Methods: 3D fast low angle shot (3D FLASH) brain MR images of 15 AD patients, 15 normal volunteers and 15 patients who had normally diagnosed MR images were included in the study. Brain tissue and caudate nuclei were segmented using the statistical parametric mapping package and a semi-automatic tool, respectively and the volumes were estimated. Volume of segmented caudate nucleus is correlated with respect to the total brain volume. Further, the caudate nucleus atrophy is estimated with the age related atrophy of WM, GM and CSF in a group of AD patients. Results: Significant reduction in the caudate volume of AD patients was observed compared to that of the normal volunteers. Statistical analysis also showed significant variation in the volume of GM and CSF of AD patients. Among the patients who had normal appearing brain, 33% showed significant changes in the caudate volume. We hypothesize that these changes can be considered as an indication of early AD. Conclusion: The method of volumetric analysis of brain structures is simple and effective way of early diagnosis of neurological disorders like Alzheimer's disease. We have illustrated this with the observed changes in the volume of caudate nucleus in a group of patients. A detailed study with more subjects will be useful in correlating these results for early diagnosis of AD

On Line Segment Length and Mapping 4-regular Grid Structures in Network Infrastructures

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Riaz, Muhammad Tahir; Nielsen, Rasmus Hjorth; Pedersen, Jens Myrup

2006-01-01

The paper focuses on mapping the road network into 4-regular grid structures. A mapping algorithm is proposed. To model the road network GIS data have been used. The Geographic Information System (GIS) data for the road network are composed with different size of line segment lengths...

Automatic abdominal multi-organ segmentation using deep convolutional neural network and time-implicit level sets.

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Peijun; Wu, Fa; Peng, Jialin; Bao, Yuanyuan; Chen, Feng; Kong, Dexing

2017-03-01

Multi-organ segmentation from CT images is an essential step for computer-aided diagnosis and surgery planning. However, manual delineation of the organs by radiologists is tedious, time-consuming and poorly reproducible. Therefore, we propose a fully automatic method for the segmentation of multiple organs from three-dimensional abdominal CT images. The proposed method employs deep fully convolutional neural networks (CNNs) for organ detection and segmentation, which is further refined by a time-implicit multi-phase evolution method. Firstly, a 3D CNN is trained to automatically localize and delineate the organs of interest with a probability prediction map. The learned probability map provides both subject-specific spatial priors and initialization for subsequent fine segmentation. Then, for the refinement of the multi-organ segmentation, image intensity models, probability priors as well as a disjoint region constraint are incorporated into an unified energy functional. Finally, a novel time-implicit multi-phase level-set algorithm is utilized to efficiently optimize the proposed energy functional model. Our method has been evaluated on 140 abdominal CT scans for the segmentation of four organs (liver, spleen and both kidneys). With respect to the ground truth, average Dice overlap ratios for the liver, spleen and both kidneys are 96.0, 94.2 and 95.4%, respectively, and average symmetric surface distance is less than 1.3 mm for all the segmented organs. The computation time for a CT volume is 125 s in average. The achieved accuracy compares well to state-of-the-art methods with much higher efficiency. A fully automatic method for multi-organ segmentation from abdominal CT images was developed and evaluated. The results demonstrated its potential in clinical usage with high effectiveness, robustness and efficiency.

4s24p3--4s4p4 and 4s24p3--4s2fp25s transitions in Y VII, Zr VIII, Nb IX, and MoX

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reader, J.; Acquista, N.

1981-01-01

Spectra of ionized Y, Zr, Nb, and Mo have been observed in sliding-spark and triggered-spark discharges on 10.7-m normal- and grazing-incidence spectrographs at the National Bureau of Standards in Washington, D. C. From these observations the 4s 2 4p 3 --4s4p 4 transitions in Y VII, Zr VIII, Nb IX, and Mo X have been identified. The 4s 2 4p 3 --4s 2 4p 2 5s transitions in Y VII-Mo X, previously identified by Rahimullah et al. [Phys. Scr. 14, 221--223 (1976); 18, 96--106 (1978)], have been confirmed. In Y VII the 4s 2 4p 3 --4s 2 4p 2 6s and 4s4p 4 --4p 5 transition also have been found. The parameters obtained from least-squares fits to the energy levels are compared with Hartree--Fock calculations. Preliminary values of the ionization energies have been determined as 110.02 +- 0.15 eV for Y VII, 133.7 +- 0.5 eV for Zr VIII, 159.2 +- 0.7 eV for Nb IX, and 186.4 +- 1.2 eV for Mo X

Plant-based milk alternatives an emerging segment of functional beverages: a review

OpenAIRE

Sethi, Swati; Tyagi, S. K.; Anurag, Rahul K.

2016-01-01

Plant-based or non-dairy milk alternative is the fast growing segment in newer food product development category of functional and specialty beverage across the globe. Nowadays, cow milk allergy, lactose intolerance, calorie concern and prevalence of hypercholesterolemia, more preference to vegan diets has influenced consumers towards choosing cow milk alternatives. Plant-based milk alternatives are a rising trend, which can serve as an inexpensive alternate to poor economic group of developi...

Computational Chemistry of Modified [MFe3S4] and [M2Fe2S4] Clusters: Assessment of Trends in Electronic Structure and Properties

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kepp, Kasper Planeta; Ooi, Bee Lean; Christensen, Hans Erik Mølager

2008-01-01

The aim of this work is to understand the molecular evolution of iron−sulfur clusters in terms of electronic structure and function. Metal-substituted models of biological [Fe4S4] clusters in oxidation states [MxFe4−xS4]3+/2+/1+ have been studied by density functional theory (M = Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, ...

Effects of organ motion on IMRT treatments with segments of few monitor units

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Seco, J.; Sharp, G. C.; Turcotte, J.; Gierga, D.; Bortfeld, T.; Paganetti, H.

2007-01-01

Interplay between organ (breathing) motion and leaf motion has been shown in the literature to have a small dosimetric impact for clinical conditions (over a 30 fraction treatment). However, previous studies did not consider the case of treatment beams made up of many few-monitor-unit (MU) segments, where the segment delivery time (1-2 s) is of the order of the breathing period (3-5 s). In this study we assess if breathing compromises the radiotherapy treatment with IMRT segments of low number of MUs. We assess (i) how delivered dose varies, from patient to patient, with the number of MU per segment, (ii) if this delivered dose is identical to the average dose calculated without motion over the path of the motion, and (iii) the impact of the daily variation of the delivered dose as a function of MU per segment. The organ motion was studied along two orthogonal directions, representing the left-right and cranial-caudal directions of organ movement for a patient setup in the supine position. Breathing motion was modeled as sin(x), sin 4 (x), and sin 6 (x), based on functions used in the literature to represent organ motion. Measurements were performed with an ionization chamber and films. For a systematic study of motion effects, a MATLAB simulation was written to model organ movement and dose delivery. In the case of a single beam made up of one single segment, the dose delivered to point in a moving target over 30 fractions can vary up to 20% and 10% for segments of 10 MU and 20 MU, respectively. This dose error occurs because the tumor spends most of the time near the edges of the radiation beam. In the case of a single beam made of multiple segments with low MU, we observed 2.4%, 3.3%, and 4.3% differences, respectively, for sin(x), sin 4 (x), and sin 6 (x) motion, between delivered dose and motion-averaged dose for points in the penumbra region of the beam and over 30 fractions. In approximately 5-10% of the cases, differences between the motion-averaged dose

Assessment of Myocardial Contractile Function Using Global and Segmental Circumferential Strain following Intracoronary Stem Cell Infusion after Myocardial Infarction: MRI Feature Tracking Feasibility Study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bhatti, Sabha; Al-Khalidi, Hussein; Hor, Kan; Hakeem, Abdul; Taylor, Michael; Quyyumi, Arshed A.; Oshinski, John; Pecora, Andrew L.; Kereiakes, Dean; Chung, Eugene; Pedrizzetti, Gianni; Miszalski-Jamka, Tomasz; Mazur, Wojciech

2012-01-01

Background. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) strain analysis is a sensitive method to assess myocardial function. Our objective was to define the feasibility of MRI circumferential strain (ε cc ) analysis in assessing subtle changes in myocardial function following stem cell therapy. Methods and Results. Patients in the Amorcyte Phase I trial were randomly assigned to treatment with either autologous bone-marrow-derived stem cells infused into the infarct-related artery 5 to 11 days following primary PCI or control. MRI studies were obtained at baseline, 3, and 6 months. ε cc was measured in the short axis views at the base, mid and apical slices of the left ventricle (LV) for each patient (13 treatments and 10 controls). Mid-anterior LV ε cc improved between baseline −18.5 ± 8.6 and 3 months −22.6 ± 7.0, P = 0.03. There were no significant changes in ε cc at 3 months and 6 months compared to baseline for other segments. There was excellent intraobserver and interobserver agreement for basal and mid circumferential strain. Conclusion. MRI segmental strain analysis is feasible in assessment of regional myocardial function following cell therapy with excellent intra- and inter-observer variability's. Using this method, a modest interval change in segmental ε cc was detected in treatment group

Edge preserving smoothing and segmentation of 4-D images via transversely isotropic scale-space processing and fingerprint analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reutter, Bryan W.; Algazi, V. Ralph; Gullberg, Grant T; Huesman, Ronald H.

2004-01-01

Enhancements are described for an approach that unifies edge preserving smoothing with segmentation of time sequences of volumetric images, based on differential edge detection at multiple spatial and temporal scales. Potential applications of these 4-D methods include segmentation of respiratory gated positron emission tomography (PET) transmission images to improve accuracy of attenuation correction for imaging heart and lung lesions, and segmentation of dynamic cardiac single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) images to facilitate unbiased estimation of time-activity curves and kinetic parameters for left ventricular volumes of interest. Improved segmentation of lung surfaces in simulated respiratory gated cardiac PET transmission images is achieved with a 4-D edge detection operator composed of edge preserving 1-D operators applied in various spatial and temporal directions. Smoothing along the axis of a 1-D operator is driven by structure separation seen in the scale-space fingerprint, rather than by image contrast. Spurious noise structures are reduced with use of small-scale isotropic smoothing in directions transverse to the 1-D operator axis. Analytic expressions are obtained for directional derivatives of the smoothed, edge preserved image, and the expressions are used to compose a 4-D operator that detects edges as zero-crossings in the second derivative in the direction of the image intensity gradient. Additional improvement in segmentation is anticipated with use of multiscale transversely isotropic smoothing and a novel interpolation method that improves the behavior of the directional derivatives. The interpolation method is demonstrated on a simulated 1-D edge and incorporation of the method into the 4-D algorithm is described

SparCLeS: dynamic l₁ sparse classifiers with level sets for robust beard/moustache detection and segmentation.

Science.gov (United States)

Le, T Hoang Ngan; Luu, Khoa; Savvides, Marios

2013-08-01

Robust facial hair detection and segmentation is a highly valued soft biometric attribute for carrying out forensic facial analysis. In this paper, we propose a novel and fully automatic system, called SparCLeS, for beard/moustache detection and segmentation in challenging facial images. SparCLeS uses the multiscale self-quotient (MSQ) algorithm to preprocess facial images and deal with illumination variation. Histogram of oriented gradients (HOG) features are extracted from the preprocessed images and a dynamic sparse classifier is built using these features to classify a facial region as either containing skin or facial hair. A level set based approach, which makes use of the advantages of both global and local information, is then used to segment the regions of a face containing facial hair. Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed system in detecting and segmenting facial hair regions in images drawn from three databases, i.e., the NIST Multiple Biometric Grand Challenge (MBGC) still face database, the NIST Color Facial Recognition Technology FERET database, and the Labeled Faces in the Wild (LFW) database.

Functional Validation of an Alpha-Actinin-4 Mutation as a Potential Cause of an Aggressive Presentation of Adolescent Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis: Implications for Genetic Testing.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Di Feng

Full Text Available Genetic testing in the clinic and research lab is becoming more routinely used to identify rare genetic variants. However, attributing these rare variants as the cause of disease in an individual patient remains challenging. Here, we report a patient who presented with nephrotic syndrome and focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS with collapsing features at age 14. Despite treatment, her kidney disease progressed to end-stage within a year of diagnosis. Through genetic testing, an Y265H variant with unknown clinical significance in alpha-actinin-4 gene (ACTN4 was identified. This variant has not been seen previously in FSGS patients nor is it present in genetic databases. Her clinical presentation is different from previous descriptions of ACTN4 mediated FSGS, which is characterized by sub-nephrotic proteinuria and slow progression to end stage kidney disease. We performed in vitro and cellular assays to characterize this novel ACTN4 variant before attributing causation. We found that ACTN4 with either Y265H or K255E (a known disease-causing mutation increased the actin bundling activity of ACTN4 in vitro, was associated with the formation of intracellular aggregates, and increased podocyte contractile force. Despite the absence of a familial pattern of inheritance, these similar biological changes caused by the Y265H and K255E amino acid substitutions suggest that this new variant is potentially the cause of FSGS in this patient. Our studies highlight that functional validation in complement with genetic testing may be required to confirm the etiology of rare disease, especially in the setting of unusual clinical presentations.

Alport’s syndrome with focal segmental glomerulosclerosis lesion – Pattern to recognize

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Afnan A Alsahli

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The association between Alport’s syndrome (AS and focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS in the same patient is complex and rarely reported. We report a case of a 42-year-old male presenting with proteinuria, microscopic hematuria, elevated serum creatinine and hypertension with unremarkable physical examination apart from obesity. The renal biopsy showed well-established FSGS pattern of injury with mild interstitial fibrosis and tubular atrophy, while the electron microscopic examination demonstrated glomerular basement membranes (GBM changes compatible with AS. AS can be complicated by segmental glomerular scarring, which can mimic primary FSGS, while familial FSGS can result from mutations in collagen IV network of the GBM. This overlap can complicate histopathological interpretation of renal biopsy, which should be accompanied by mutational analysis for accurate diagnosis and proper therapeutic intervention.

Adaptive segmentation of nuclei in H&S stained tendon microscopy

Science.gov (United States)

Chuang, Bo-I.; Wu, Po-Ting; Hsu, Jian-Han; Jou, I.-Ming; Su, Fong-Chin; Sun, Yung-Nien

2015-12-01

Tendiopathy is a popular clinical issue in recent years. In most cases like trigger finger or tennis elbow, the pathology change can be observed under H and E stained tendon microscopy. However, the qualitative analysis is too subjective and thus the results heavily depend on the observers. We develop an automatic segmentation procedure which segments and counts the nuclei in H and E stained tendon microscopy fast and precisely. This procedure first determines the complexity of images and then segments the nuclei from the image. For the complex images, the proposed method adopts sampling-based thresholding to segment the nuclei. While for the simple images, the Laplacian-based thresholding is employed to re-segment the nuclei more accurately. In the experiments, the proposed method is compared with the experts outlined results. The nuclei number of proposed method is closed to the experts counted, and the processing time of proposed method is much faster than the experts'.

The brain’s cutting-room floor: segmentation of narrative cinema

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jeffrey M. Zacks

2010-10-01

Full Text Available Observers segment ongoing activity into meaningful events. Segmentation is a core component of perception that helps determine memory and guide planning. The current study tested the hypotheses that event segmentation is an automatic component of the perception of extended naturalistic activity, and that the identification of event boundaries in such activities results in part from processing changes in the perceived situation. Observers may identify boundaries between events as a result of processing changes in the observed situation. To test this hypothesis and study this potential mechanism, we measured brain activity while participants viewed an extended narrative film. Large transient responses were observed when the activity was segmented, and these responses were mediated by changes in the observed activity, including characters and their interactions, interactions with objects, spatial location, goals, and causes. These results support accounts that propose event segmentation is automatic and depends on processing meaningful changes in the perceived situation; they are the first to show such effects for extended naturalistic human activity.

Improved dynamic-programming-based algorithms for segmentation of masses in mammograms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dominguez, Alfonso Rojas; Nandi, Asoke K.

2007-01-01

In this paper, two new boundary tracing algorithms for segmentation of breast masses are presented. These new algorithms are based on the dynamic programming-based boundary tracing (DPBT) algorithm proposed in Timp and Karssemeijer, [S. Timp and N. Karssemeijer, Med. Phys. 31, 958-971 (2004)] The DPBT algorithm contains two main steps: (1) construction of a local cost function, and (2) application of dynamic programming to the selection of the optimal boundary based on the local cost function. The validity of some assumptions used in the design of the DPBT algorithm is tested in this paper using a set of 349 mammographic images. Based on the results of the tests, modifications to the computation of the local cost function have been designed and have resulted in the Improved-DPBT (IDPBT) algorithm. A procedure for the dynamic selection of the strength of the components of the local cost function is presented that makes these parameters independent of the image dataset. Incorporation of this dynamic selection procedure has produced another new algorithm which we have called ID 2 PBT. Methods for the determination of some other parameters of the DPBT algorithm that were not covered in the original paper are presented as well. The merits of the new IDPBT and ID 2 PBT algorithms are demonstrated experimentally by comparison against the DPBT algorithm. The segmentation results are evaluated with base on the area overlap measure and other segmentation metrics. Both of the new algorithms outperform the original DPBT; the improvements in the algorithms performance are more noticeable around the values of the segmentation metrics corresponding to the highest segmentation accuracy, i.e., the new algorithms produce more optimally segmented regions, rather than a pronounced increase in the average quality of all the segmented regions

Benchmarking of Remote Sensing Segmentation Methods

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Mikeš, Stanislav; Haindl, Michal; Scarpa, G.; Gaetano, R.

2015-01-01

Roč. 8, č. 5 (2015), s. 2240-2248 ISSN 1939-1404 R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GA14-10911S Institutional support: RVO:67985556 Keywords : benchmark * remote sensing segmentation * unsupervised segmentation * supervised segmentation Subject RIV: BD - Theory of Information Impact factor: 2.145, year: 2015 http://library.utia.cas.cz/separaty/2015/RO/haindl-0445995.pdf

Word segmentation in children’s literacy: a study about word awareness

OpenAIRE

Débora Mattos Marques; Aline Lorandi

2016-01-01

The present research aimed to investigate how linguistic awareness regarding the concept of “word” may influence some mistakes on segmenting words in children’s writing in the Elementary School. The observed data comprised those of hyper and hyposegmentation which were then related to word awareness. For the analysis of linguistic awareness data, the Representational Redescription, proposed by Karmillof-Smith (1986-1992), has been used. It postulates four levels where knowledge is redescri...

17 CFR 232.501 - Modular submissions and segmented filings.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

..., EDGAR will suspend the modular submission and notify the electronic filer by electronic mail. After six... COMMISSION REGULATION S-T-GENERAL RULES AND REGULATIONS FOR ELECTRONIC FILINGS Edgar Functions § 232.501 Modular submissions and segmented filings. An electronic filer may use the following procedures to submit...

Segmental Adenomyomatosis of Gallbladder: CT Assessment of the Patterns of Cholecystolithiasis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yoo, Yeon Hwa; Yu, Jeong Sik; Chung, Jae Joon; Kim, Joo Hee; Cho, Eun Suk; Kim, Dae Jung; Ahn, Jhii Hyun; Kim, Ki Whang

2011-01-01

To clarify the relationship between the pattern of cholecystolithiasis and the gross features of segmental adenomyomatosis of the gallbladder. Fifty-five consecutive patients with segmental adenomyomatosis with calcified gallbladder stones defined on CT were retrospectively analyzed in terms of (i) stone location (fundal vs. neck compartment) and (ii) size of the largest stone as a function of the extent of segmental mural thickening (type A, limited at the narrow segment; type B, partially extended in the fundal direction; type C, involving the entire fundal compartment). The extent of segmental mural thickening in patients with cholecystolithiasis was compared with a control group (n = 48) lacking stones. Stones were found more frequently in the fundal compartment in 48 patients compared to the neck compartment in 12 patients (p<0.001). The mean size of the largest stone in type C (5.4 ± 4.9 mm) was larger than in type A (2.3 ± 2.2 mm) (p=0.033). In patients with cholecystolithiasis, type C segmental thickening was predominant (69%) compared to the control group (42%) (p=0.012). In addition to a higher prevalence of stones, a wide extent of mural thickening combined with large stone size in the fundal compartment suggests the contribution of segmental adenomyomatosis to stone formation and chronic inflammation.

Recommendations for the Use of Automated Gray Matter Segmentation Tools: Evidence from Huntington’s Disease

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Eileanoir B.; Gregory, Sarah; Johnson, Hans J.; Durr, Alexandra; Leavitt, Blair R.; Roos, Raymund A.; Rees, Geraint; Tabrizi, Sarah J.; Scahill, Rachael I.

2017-01-01

The selection of an appropriate segmentation tool is a challenge facing any researcher aiming to measure gray matter (GM) volume. Many tools have been compared, yet there is currently no method that can be recommended above all others; in particular, there is a lack of validation in disease cohorts. This work utilizes a clinical dataset to conduct an extensive comparison of segmentation tools. Our results confirm that all tools have advantages and disadvantages, and we present a series of considerations that may be of use when selecting a GM segmentation method, rather than a ranking of these tools. Seven segmentation tools were compared using 3 T MRI data from 20 controls, 40 premanifest Huntington’s disease (HD), and 40 early HD participants. Segmented volumes underwent detailed visual quality control. Reliability and repeatability of total, cortical, and lobular GM were investigated in repeated baseline scans. The relationship between each tool was also examined. Longitudinal within-group change over 3 years was assessed via generalized least squares regression to determine sensitivity of each tool to disease effects. Visual quality control and raw volumes highlighted large variability between tools, especially in occipital and temporal regions. Most tools showed reliable performance and the volumes were generally correlated. Results for longitudinal within-group change varied between tools, especially within lobular regions. These differences highlight the need for careful selection of segmentation methods in clinical neuroimaging studies. This guide acts as a primer aimed at the novice or non-technical imaging scientist providing recommendations for the selection of cohort-appropriate GM segmentation software. PMID:29066997

Recommendations for the Use of Automated Gray Matter Segmentation Tools: Evidence from Huntington’s Disease

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eileanoir B. Johnson

2017-10-01

Full Text Available The selection of an appropriate segmentation tool is a challenge facing any researcher aiming to measure gray matter (GM volume. Many tools have been compared, yet there is currently no method that can be recommended above all others; in particular, there is a lack of validation in disease cohorts. This work utilizes a clinical dataset to conduct an extensive comparison of segmentation tools. Our results confirm that all tools have advantages and disadvantages, and we present a series of considerations that may be of use when selecting a GM segmentation method, rather than a ranking of these tools. Seven segmentation tools were compared using 3 T MRI data from 20 controls, 40 premanifest Huntington’s disease (HD, and 40 early HD participants. Segmented volumes underwent detailed visual quality control. Reliability and repeatability of total, cortical, and lobular GM were investigated in repeated baseline scans. The relationship between each tool was also examined. Longitudinal within-group change over 3 years was assessed via generalized least squares regression to determine sensitivity of each tool to disease effects. Visual quality control and raw volumes highlighted large variability between tools, especially in occipital and temporal regions. Most tools showed reliable performance and the volumes were generally correlated. Results for longitudinal within-group change varied between tools, especially within lobular regions. These differences highlight the need for careful selection of segmentation methods in clinical neuroimaging studies. This guide acts as a primer aimed at the novice or non-technical imaging scientist providing recommendations for the selection of cohort-appropriate GM segmentation software.

Poly(ether amide) segmented block copolymers with adipicacid based tetra amide segments

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Biemond, G.J.E.; Feijen, Jan; Gaymans, R.J.

2007-01-01

Poly(tetramethylene oxide)-based poly(ether ester amide)s with monodisperse tetraamide segments were synthesized. The tetraamide segment was based on adipic acid, terephthalic acid, and hexamethylenediamine. The synthesis method of the copolymers and the influence of the tetraamide concentration,

Performance Analysis of Segmentation of Hyperspectral Images Based on Color Image Segmentation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Praveen Agarwal

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Image segmentation is a fundamental approach in the field of image processing and based on user’s application .This paper propose an original and simple segmentation strategy based on the EM approach that resolves many informatics problems about hyperspectral images which are observed by airborne sensors. In a first step, to simplify the input color textured image into a color image without texture. The final segmentation is simply achieved by a spatially color segmentation using feature vector with the set of color values contained around the pixel to be classified with some mathematical equations. The spatial constraint allows taking into account the inherent spatial relationships of any image and its color. This approach provides effective PSNR for the segmented image. These results have the better performance as the segmented images are compared with Watershed & Region Growing Algorithm and provide effective segmentation for the Spectral Images & Medical Images.

A cyclic nucleotide-gated channel mutation associated with canine daylight blindness provides insight into a role for the S2 segment tri-Asp motif in channel biogenesis.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Naoto Tanaka

Full Text Available Cone cyclic nucleotide-gated channels are tetramers formed by CNGA3 and CNGB3 subunits; CNGA3 subunits function as homotetrameric channels but CNGB3 exhibits channel function only when co-expressed with CNGA3. An aspartatic acid (Asp to asparagine (Asn missense mutation at position 262 in the canine CNGB3 (D262N subunit results in loss of cone function (daylight blindness, suggesting an important role for this aspartic acid residue in channel biogenesis and/or function. Asp 262 is located in a conserved region of the second transmembrane segment containing three Asp residues designated the Tri-Asp motif. This motif is conserved in all CNG channels. Here we examine mutations in canine CNGA3 homomeric channels using a combination of experimental and computational approaches. Mutations of these conserved Asp residues result in the absence of nucleotide-activated currents in heterologous expression. A fluorescent tag on CNGA3 shows mislocalization of mutant channels. Co-expressing CNGB3 Tri-Asp mutants with wild type CNGA3 results in some functional channels, however, their electrophysiological characterization matches the properties of homomeric CNGA3 channels. This failure to record heteromeric currents suggests that Asp/Asn mutations affect heteromeric subunit assembly. A homology model of S1-S6 of the CNGA3 channel was generated and relaxed in a membrane using molecular dynamics simulations. The model predicts that the Tri-Asp motif is involved in non-specific salt bridge pairings with positive residues of S3/S4. We propose that the D262N mutation in dogs with CNGB3-day blindness results in the loss of these inter-helical interactions altering the electrostatic equilibrium within in the S1-S4 bundle. Because residues analogous to Tri-Asp in the voltage-gated Shaker potassium channel family were implicated in monomer folding, we hypothesize that destabilizing these electrostatic interactions impairs the monomer folding state in D262N mutant CNG

Structural interactions between lipids, water and S1-S4 voltage-sensing domains.

Science.gov (United States)

Krepkiy, Dmitriy; Gawrisch, Klaus; Swartz, Kenton J

2012-11-02

Membrane proteins serve crucial signaling and transport functions, yet relatively little is known about their structures in membrane environments or how lipids interact with these proteins. For voltage-activated ion channels, X-ray structures suggest that the mobile voltage-sensing S4 helix would be exposed to the membrane, and functional studies reveal that lipid modification can profoundly alter channel activity. Here, we use solid-state NMR to investigate structural interactions of lipids and water with S1-S4 voltage-sensing domains and to explore whether lipids influence the structure of the protein. Our results demonstrate that S1-S4 domains exhibit extensive interactions with lipids and that these domains are heavily hydrated when embedded in a membrane. We also find evidence for preferential interactions of anionic lipids with S1-S4 domains and that these interactions have lifetimes on the timescale of ≤ 10(-3)s. Arg residues within S1-S4 domains are well hydrated and are positioned in close proximity to lipids, exhibiting local interactions with both lipid headgroups and acyl chains. Comparative studies with a positively charged lipid lacking a phosphodiester group reveal that this lipid modification has only modest effects on the structure and hydration of S1-S4 domains. Taken together, our results demonstrate that Arg residues in S1-S4 voltage-sensing domains reside in close proximity to the hydrophobic interior of the membrane yet are well hydrated, a requirement for carrying charge and driving protein motions in response to changes in membrane voltage. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Quantitative right and left ventricular functional analysis during gated whole-chest MDCT: A feasibility study comparing automatic segmentation to semi-manual contouring

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Coche, Emmanuel; Walker, Matthew J.; Zech, Francis; Crombrugghe, Rodolphe de; Vlassenbroek, Alain

2010-01-01

Purpose: To evaluate the feasibility of an automatic, whole-heart segmentation algorithm for measuring global heart function from gated, whole-chest MDCT images. Material and methods: 15 patients with suspicion of PE underwent whole-chest contrast-enhanced MDCT with retrospective ECG synchronization. Two observers computed right and left ventricular functional indices using a semi-manual and an automatic whole-heart segmentation algorithm. The two techniques were compared using Bland-Altman analysis and paired Student's t-test. Measurement reproducibility was calculated using intraclass correlation coefficient. Results: Ventricular analysis with automatic segmentation was successful in 13/15 (86%) and in 15/15 (100%) patients for the right ventricle and left ventricle, respectively. Reproducibility of measurements for both ventricles was perfect (ICC: 1.00) and very good for automatic and semi-manual measurements, respectively. Ventricular volumes and functional indices except right ventricular ejection fraction obtained from the automatic method were significantly higher for the RV compared to the semi-manual methods. Conclusions: The automatic, whole-heart segmentation algorithm enabled highly reproducible global heart function to be rapidly obtained in patients undergoing gated whole-chest MDCT for assessment of acute chest pain with suspicion of pulmonary embolism.

SU-E-J-168: Automated Pancreas Segmentation Based On Dynamic MRI

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gou, S; Rapacchi, S; Hu, P; Sheng, K

2014-01-01

Purpose: MRI guided radiotherapy is particularly attractive for abdominal targets with low CT contrast. To fully utilize this modality for pancreas tracking, automated segmentation tools are needed. A hybrid gradient, region growth and shape constraint (hGReS) method to segment 2D upper abdominal dynamic MRI is developed for this purpose. Methods: 2D coronal dynamic MR images of 2 healthy volunteers were acquired with a frame rate of 5 f/second. The regions of interest (ROIs) included the liver, pancreas and stomach. The first frame was used as the source where the centers of the ROIs were annotated. These center locations were propagated to the next dynamic MRI frame. 4-neighborhood region transfer growth was performed from these initial seeds for rough segmentation. To improve the results, gradient, edge and shape constraints were applied to the ROIs before final refinement using morphological operations. Results from hGReS and 3 other automated segmentation methods using edge detection, region growth and level set were compared to manual contouring. Results: For the first patient, hGReS resulted in the organ segmentation accuracy as measure by the Dices index (0.77) for the pancreas. The accuracy was slightly superior to the level set method (0.72), and both are significantly more accurate than the edge detection (0.53) and region growth methods (0.42). For the second healthy volunteer, hGReS reliably segmented the pancreatic region, achieving a Dices index of 0.82, 0.92 and 0.93 for the pancreas, stomach and liver, respectively, comparing to manual segmentation. Motion trajectories derived from the hGReS, level set and manual segmentation methods showed high correlation to respiratory motion calculated using a lung blood vessel as the reference while the other two methods showed substantial motion tracking errors. hGReS was 10 times faster than level set. Conclusion: We have shown the feasibility of automated segmentation of the pancreas anatomy based on

Green's function Monte Carlo calculations of /sup 4/He

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Carlson, J.A.

1988-01-01

Green's Function Monte Carlo methods have been developed to study the ground state properties of light nuclei. These methods are shown to reproduce results of Faddeev calculations for A = 3, and are then used to calculate ground state energies, one- and two-body distribution functions, and the D-state probability for the alpha particle. Results are compared to variational Monte Carlo calculations for several nuclear interaction models. 31 refs.

Lumbar segmental nerve blocks with local anesthetics, pain relief, and motor function: a prospective double-blind study between lidocaine and ropivacaine.

Science.gov (United States)

Wolff, André P; Wilder Smith, Oliver H G; Crul, Ben J P; van de Heijden, Marc P; Groen, Gerbrand J

2004-08-01

Selective segmental nerve blocks with local anesthetics are applied for diagnostic purposes in patients with chronic back pain to determine the segmental level of the pain. We performed this study to establish myotomal motor effects after L4 spinal nerve blocks by lidocaine and ropivacaine and to evaluate the relationship with pain. Therefore, 20 patients, of which 19 finished the complete protocol, with chronic lumbosacral radicular pain without neurological deficits underwent segmental nerve blocks at L4 with both lidocaine and ropivacaine. Pain intensity scores (verbal numeric rating scale; VNRS) and the maximum voluntary muscle force (MVMF; using a dynamometer expressed in newtons) of the tibialis anterior and quadriceps femoris muscles were measured on the painful side and on the control side. The median VNRS decrease was 4.0 (P segmental nerve (L4) block is associated with increased quadriceps femoris and tibialis anterior MVMF, without differences for lidocaine and ropivacaine.

Novel dehydrins lacking complete K-segments in Pinaceae. The exception rather than the rule

Science.gov (United States)

Perdiguero, Pedro; Collada, Carmen; Soto, Álvaro

2014-01-01

Dehydrins are thought to play an essential role in the plant response, acclimation and tolerance to different abiotic stresses, such as cold and drought. These proteins contain conserved and repeated segments in their amino acid sequence, used for their classification. Thus, dehydrins from angiosperms present different repetitions of the segments Y, S, and K, while gymnosperm dehydrins show A, E, S, and K segments. The only fragment present in all the dehydrins described to date is the K-segment. Different works suggest the K-segment is involved in key protective functions during dehydration stress, mainly stabilizing membranes. In this work, we describe for the first time two Pinus pinaster proteins with truncated K-segments and a third one completely lacking K-segments, but whose sequence homology leads us to consider them still as dehydrins. qRT-PCR expression analysis show a significant induction of these dehydrins during a severe and prolonged drought stress. By in silico analysis we confirmed the presence of these dehydrins in other Pinaceae species, breaking the convention regarding the compulsory presence of K-segments in these proteins. The way of action of these unusual dehydrins remains unrevealed. PMID:25520734

Novel dehydrins lacking complete K-segments in Pinaceae. The exception rather than the rule

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pedro ePerdiguero

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Dehydrins are thought to play an essential role in the plant response, acclimation and tolerance to different abiotic stresses, such as cold and drought. These proteins contain conserved and repeated segments in their amino acid sequence, used for their classification. Thus, dehydrins from angiosperms present different repetitions of the segments Y, S and K, while gymnosperm dehydrins show A, E, S and K segments. The only fragment present in all the dehydrins described to date is the K-segment. Different works suggest the K-segment is involved in key protective functions during dehydration stress, mainly stabilizing membranes. In this work, we describe for the first time two Pinus pinaster proteins with truncated K-segments and a third one completely lacking K-segments, but whose sequence homology leads us to consider them still as dehydrins. qRT-PCR expression analysis show a significant induction of these dehydrins during a severe and prolonged drought stress. By in silico analysis we confirmed the presence of these dehydrins in other Pinaceae species, breaking the convention regarding the compulsory presence of K-segments in these proteins. The way of action of these unusual dehydrins remains unrevealed.

The Abrasive Wear Resistance of the Segmented Linear Polyurethane Elastomers Based on a Variety of Polyols as Soft Segments

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Konrad Kwiatkowski

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The presented results make an original contribution to the development of knowledge on the prediction and/or modeling of the abrasive wear properties of polyurethanes. A series of segmented linear polyurethane elastomers (PUR—In which the hard segments consist of 4,4′-methylene bis(phenylisocyanate and 1,4-butanodiol, whilst polyether, polycarbonate, or polyester polyols constitute the soft segments—Were synthesized and characterized. The hardness and wear performance as functions of the variable chemical composition of polyurethane elastomers were evaluated in order to define the relationship between studied factors. The microstructure was characterized in detail, including analysis of the hydrogen bonding by Fourier transformed infrared (FT-IR spectroscopy and the phase structure by X-ray scattering (WAXS and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC methods. The presented studies provide the key features of the polymer composition affecting the abrasive resistance as well as attempts to explain the origin of the differences in the polyurethane elastomers’ performance.

Higher spin gauge theory on fuzzy \\boldsymbol {S^4_N}

Science.gov (United States)

Sperling, Marcus; Steinacker, Harold C.

2018-02-01

We examine in detail the higher spin fields which arise on the basic fuzzy sphere S^4N in the semi-classical limit. The space of functions can be identified with functions on classical S 4 taking values in a higher spin algebra associated to \

Segmentation Scheme for Safety Enhancement of Engineered Safety Features Component Control System

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Sangseok; Sohn, Kwangyoung; Lee, Junku; Park, Geunok

2013-01-01

Common Caused Failure (CCF) or undetectable failure would adversely impact safety functions of ESF-CCS in the existing nuclear power plants. We propose the segmentation scheme to solve these problems. Main function assignment to segments in the proposed segmentation scheme is based on functional dependency and critical function success path by using the dependency depth matrix. The segment has functional independence and physical isolation. The segmentation structure is that prohibit failure propagation to others from undetectable failures. Therefore, the segmentation system structure has robustness to undetectable failures. The segmentation system structure has functional diversity. The specific function in the segment defected by CCF, the specific function could be maintained by diverse control function that assigned to other segments. Device level control signals and system level control signals are separated and also control signal and status signals are separated due to signal transmission paths are allocated independently based on signal type. In this kind of design, single device failure or failures on signal path in the channel couldn't result in the loss of all segmented functions simultaneously. Thus the proposed segmentation function is the design scheme that improves availability of safety functions. In conventional ESF-CCS, the single controller generates the signal to control the multiple safety functions, and the reliability is achieved by multiplication within the channel. This design has a drawback causing the loss of multiple functions due to the CCF (Common Cause Failure) and single failure Heterogeneous controller guarantees the diversity ensuring the execution of safety functions against the CCF and single failure, but requiring a lot of resources like manpower and cost. The segmentation technology based on the compartmentalization and functional diversification decreases the CCF and single failure nonetheless the identical types of controllers

Segmentation Scheme for Safety Enhancement of Engineered Safety Features Component Control System

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Sangseok; Sohn, Kwangyoung [Korea Reliability Technology and System, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Lee, Junku; Park, Geunok [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2013-05-15

Common Caused Failure (CCF) or undetectable failure would adversely impact safety functions of ESF-CCS in the existing nuclear power plants. We propose the segmentation scheme to solve these problems. Main function assignment to segments in the proposed segmentation scheme is based on functional dependency and critical function success path by using the dependency depth matrix. The segment has functional independence and physical isolation. The segmentation structure is that prohibit failure propagation to others from undetectable failures. Therefore, the segmentation system structure has robustness to undetectable failures. The segmentation system structure has functional diversity. The specific function in the segment defected by CCF, the specific function could be maintained by diverse control function that assigned to other segments. Device level control signals and system level control signals are separated and also control signal and status signals are separated due to signal transmission paths are allocated independently based on signal type. In this kind of design, single device failure or failures on signal path in the channel couldn't result in the loss of all segmented functions simultaneously. Thus the proposed segmentation function is the design scheme that improves availability of safety functions. In conventional ESF-CCS, the single controller generates the signal to control the multiple safety functions, and the reliability is achieved by multiplication within the channel. This design has a drawback causing the loss of multiple functions due to the CCF (Common Cause Failure) and single failure Heterogeneous controller guarantees the diversity ensuring the execution of safety functions against the CCF and single failure, but requiring a lot of resources like manpower and cost. The segmentation technology based on the compartmentalization and functional diversification decreases the CCF and single failure nonetheless the identical types of

Interactions between charged residues in the transmembrane segments of the voltage-sensing domain in the hERG channel.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, M; Liu, J; Jiang, M; Wu, D-M; Sonawane, K; Guy, H R; Tseng, G-N

2005-10-01

Studies on voltage-gated K channels such as Shaker have shown that positive charges in the voltage-sensor (S4) can form salt bridges with negative charges in the surrounding transmembrane segments in a state-dependent manner, and different charge pairings can stabilize the channels in closed or open states. The goal of this study is to identify such charge interactions in the hERG channel. This knowledge can provide constraints on the spatial relationship among transmembrane segments in the channel's voltage-sensing domain, which are necessary for modeling its structure. We first study the effects of reversing S4's positive charges on channel activation. Reversing positive charges at the outer (K525D) and inner (K538D) ends of S4 markedly accelerates hERG activation, whereas reversing the 4 positive charges in between either has no effect or slows activation. We then use the 'mutant cycle analysis' to test whether D456 (outer end of S2) and D411 (inner end of S1) can pair with K525 and K538, respectively. Other positive charges predicted to be able, or unable, to interact with D456 or D411 are also included in the analysis. The results are consistent with predictions based on the distribution of these charged residues, and confirm that there is functional coupling between D456 and K525 and between D411 and K538.

Investigation on the Weighted RANSAC Approaches for Building Roof Plane Segmentation from LiDAR Point Clouds

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Bo Xu

2015-12-01

Full Text Available RANdom SAmple Consensus (RANSAC is a widely adopted method for LiDAR point cloud segmentation because of its robustness to noise and outliers. However, RANSAC has a tendency to generate false segments consisting of points from several nearly coplanar surfaces. To address this problem, we formulate the weighted RANSAC approach for the purpose of point cloud segmentation. In our proposed solution, the hard threshold voting function which considers both the point-plane distance and the normal vector consistency is transformed into a soft threshold voting function based on two weight functions. To improve weighted RANSAC’s ability to distinguish planes, we designed the weight functions according to the difference in the error distribution between the proper and improper plane hypotheses, based on which an outlier suppression ratio was also defined. Using the ratio, a thorough comparison was conducted between these different weight functions to determine the best performing function. The selected weight function was then compared to the existing weighted RANSAC methods, the original RANSAC, and a representative region growing (RG method. Experiments with two airborne LiDAR datasets of varying densities show that the various weighted methods can improve the segmentation quality differently, but the dedicated designed weight functions can significantly improve the segmentation accuracy and the topology correctness. Moreover, its robustness is much better when compared to the RG method.

Simultaneous two-view epipolar geometry estimation and motion segmentation by 4D tensor voting.

Science.gov (United States)

Tong, Wai-Shun; Tang, Chi-Keung; Medioni, Gérard

2004-09-01

We address the problem of simultaneous two-view epipolar geometry estimation and motion segmentation from nonstatic scenes. Given a set of noisy image pairs containing matches of n objects, we propose an unconventional, efficient, and robust method, 4D tensor voting, for estimating the unknown n epipolar geometries, and segmenting the static and motion matching pairs into n independent motions. By considering the 4D isotropic and orthogonal joint image space, only two tensor voting passes are needed, and a very high noise to signal ratio (up to five) can be tolerated. Epipolar geometries corresponding to multiple, rigid motions are extracted in succession. Only two uncalibrated frames are needed, and no simplifying assumption (such as affine camera model or homographic model between images) other than the pin-hole camera model is made. Our novel approach consists of propagating a local geometric smoothness constraint in the 4D joint image space, followed by global consistency enforcement for extracting the fundamental matrices corresponding to independent motions. We have performed extensive experiments to compare our method with some representative algorithms to show that better performance on nonstatic scenes are achieved. Results on challenging data sets are presented.

The functional effect of segmental trunk and head control training in moderate-to-severe cerebral palsy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Curtis, Derek John; Woollacott, Marjorie; Bencke, Jesper

2018-01-01

. Outcomes were Gross Motor Function Measure (GMFM), Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory (PEDI), Segmental Assessment of Trunk Control (SATCo), and postural sway at baseline, at primary endpoint (6 months), and at follow-up (12 months). RESULTS: There were no significant differences in either GMFM...

Market Segmentation in Business Technology Base: The Case of Segmentation of Sparkling

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Valéria Riscarolli

2014-08-01

Full Text Available A common market segmentation premise for products and services rules consumer behavior as the segmentation center piece. Would this be the logic for segmentation used by small technology based companies? In this article we target at determining the principles of market segmentation used by a vitiwinery company, as research object. This company is recognized by its products excellence, either in domestic as well as in the foreign market, among 13 distinct countries. The research method used is a case study, through information from the company’s CEOs and crossed by primary information from observation and formal registries and documents of the company. In this research we look at sparkling wines market segmentation. Main results indicate that the winery studied considers only technological elements as the basis to build a market segment. One may conclude that a market segmentation for this company is based upon technological dominion of sparkling wines production, aligned with a premium-price policy. In the company, directorship believes that as sparkling wines market is still incipient in the country, sparkling wine market segments will form and consolidate after the evolution of consumers tasting preferences, depending on technologies that boost sparkling wines quality. 

Efficient Algorithms for Segmentation of Item-Set Time Series

Science.gov (United States)

Chundi, Parvathi; Rosenkrantz, Daniel J.

We propose a special type of time series, which we call an item-set time series, to facilitate the temporal analysis of software version histories, email logs, stock market data, etc. In an item-set time series, each observed data value is a set of discrete items. We formalize the concept of an item-set time series and present efficient algorithms for segmenting a given item-set time series. Segmentation of a time series partitions the time series into a sequence of segments where each segment is constructed by combining consecutive time points of the time series. Each segment is associated with an item set that is computed from the item sets of the time points in that segment, using a function which we call a measure function. We then define a concept called the segment difference, which measures the difference between the item set of a segment and the item sets of the time points in that segment. The segment difference values are required to construct an optimal segmentation of the time series. We describe novel and efficient algorithms to compute segment difference values for each of the measure functions described in the paper. We outline a dynamic programming based scheme to construct an optimal segmentation of the given item-set time series. We use the item-set time series segmentation techniques to analyze the temporal content of three different data sets—Enron email, stock market data, and a synthetic data set. The experimental results show that an optimal segmentation of item-set time series data captures much more temporal content than a segmentation constructed based on the number of time points in each segment, without examining the item set data at the time points, and can be used to analyze different types of temporal data.

Global left ventricular function in cardiac CT. Evaluation of an automated 3D region-growing segmentation algorithm

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Muehlenbruch, Georg; Das, Marco; Hohl, Christian; Wildberger, Joachim E.; Guenther, Rolf W.; Mahnken, Andreas H.; Rinck, Daniel; Flohr, Thomas G.; Koos, Ralf; Knackstedt, Christian

2006-01-01

The purpose was to evaluate a new semi-automated 3D region-growing segmentation algorithm for functional analysis of the left ventricle in multislice CT (MSCT) of the heart. Twenty patients underwent contrast-enhanced MSCT of the heart (collimation 16 x 0.75 mm; 120 kV; 550 mAseff). Multiphase image reconstructions with 1-mm axial slices and 8-mm short-axis slices were performed. Left ventricular volume measurements (end-diastolic volume, end-systolic volume, ejection fraction and stroke volume) from manually drawn endocardial contours in the short axis slices were compared to semi-automated region-growing segmentation of the left ventricle from the 1-mm axial slices. The post-processing-time for both methods was recorded. Applying the new region-growing algorithm in 13/20 patients (65%), proper segmentation of the left ventricle was feasible. In these patients, the signal-to-noise ratio was higher than in the remaining patients (3.2±1.0 vs. 2.6±0.6). Volume measurements of both segmentation algorithms showed an excellent correlation (all P≤0.0001); the limits of agreement for the ejection fraction were 2.3±8.3 ml. In the patients with proper segmentation the mean post-processing time using the region-growing algorithm was diminished by 44.2%. On the basis of a good contrast-enhanced data set, a left ventricular volume analysis using the new semi-automated region-growing segmentation algorithm is technically feasible, accurate and more time-effective. (orig.)

Integrated readout of organic scintillator and ZnS:Ag/6LiF for segmented antineutrino detectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kiff, Scott D.; Reyna, David; Monahan, James; Bowden, Nathaniel S.

2010-01-01

Antineutrino detection using inverse beta decay conversion has demonstrated the capability to measure nuclear reactor power and fissile material content for nuclear safeguards. Current efforts focus on aboveground deployment scenarios, for which highly efficient capture and identification of neutrons is needed to measure the anticipated antineutrino event rates in an elevated background environment. In this submission, we report on initial characterization of a new scintillation-based segmented design that uses layers of ZnS:Ag/ 6 LiF and an integrated readout technique to capture and identify neutrons created in the inverse beta decay reaction. Laboratory studies with multiple organic scintillator and ZnS:Ag/ 6 LiF configurations reliably identify 6 Li neutron captures in 60 cm-long segments using pulse shape discrimination.

Voltage dependence of a stochastic model of activation of an alpha helical S4 sensor in a K channel membrane

Science.gov (United States)

Vaccaro, S. R.

2011-09-01

The voltage dependence of the ionic and gating currents of a K channel is dependent on the activation barriers of a voltage sensor with a potential function which may be derived from the principal electrostatic forces on an S4 segment in an inhomogeneous dielectric medium. By variation of the parameters of a voltage-sensing domain model, consistent with x-ray structures and biophysical data, the lowest frequency of the survival probability of each stationary state derived from a solution of the Smoluchowski equation provides a good fit to the voltage dependence of the slowest time constant of the ionic current in a depolarized membrane, and the gating current exhibits a rising phase that precedes an exponential relaxation. For each depolarizing potential, the calculated time dependence of the survival probabilities of the closed states of an alpha helical S4 sensor are in accord with an empirical model of the ionic and gating currents recorded during the activation process.

Structure-properties relationships of novel poly(carbonate-co-amide) segmented copolymers with polyamide-6 as hard segments and polycarbonate as soft segments

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Yunyun; Kong, Weibo; Yuan, Ye; Zhou, Changlin; Cai, Xufu

2018-04-01

Novel poly(carbonate-co-amide) (PCA) block copolymers are prepared with polycarbonate diol (PCD) as soft segments, polyamide-6 (PA6) as hard segments and 4,4'-diphenylmethane diisocyanate (MDI) as coupling agent through reactive processing. The reactive processing strategy is eco-friendly and resolve the incompatibility between polyamide segments and PCD segments in preparation processing. The chemical structure, crystalline properties, thermal properties, mechanical properties and water resistance were extensively studied by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), Thermal gravity analysis (TGA), Dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), tensile testing, water contact angle and water absorption, respectively. The as-prepared PCAs exhibit obvious microphase separation between the crystalline hard PA6 phase and amorphous PCD soft segments. Meanwhile, PCAs showed outstanding mechanical with the maximum tensile strength of 46.3 MPa and elongation at break of 909%. The contact angle and water absorption results indicate that PCAs demonstrate outstanding water resistance even though possess the hydrophilic surfaces. The TGA measurements prove that the thermal stability of PCA can satisfy the requirement of multiple-processing without decomposition.

Polyether based segmented copolymers with uniform aramid units

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Niesten, M.C.E.J.

2000-01-01

Segmented copolymers with short, glassy or crystalline hard segments and long, amorphous soft segments (multi-block copolymers) are thermoplastic elastomers (TPE’s). The hard segments form physical crosslinks for the amorphous (rubbery) soft segments. As a result, this type of materials combines

Pancreas and cyst segmentation

Science.gov (United States)

Dmitriev, Konstantin; Gutenko, Ievgeniia; Nadeem, Saad; Kaufman, Arie

2016-03-01

Accurate segmentation of abdominal organs from medical images is an essential part of surgical planning and computer-aided disease diagnosis. Many existing algorithms are specialized for the segmentation of healthy organs. Cystic pancreas segmentation is especially challenging due to its low contrast boundaries, variability in shape, location and the stage of the pancreatic cancer. We present a semi-automatic segmentation algorithm for pancreata with cysts. In contrast to existing automatic segmentation approaches for healthy pancreas segmentation which are amenable to atlas/statistical shape approaches, a pancreas with cysts can have even higher variability with respect to the shape of the pancreas due to the size and shape of the cyst(s). Hence, fine results are better attained with semi-automatic steerable approaches. We use a novel combination of random walker and region growing approaches to delineate the boundaries of the pancreas and cysts with respective best Dice coefficients of 85.1% and 86.7%, and respective best volumetric overlap errors of 26.0% and 23.5%. Results show that the proposed algorithm for pancreas and pancreatic cyst segmentation is accurate and stable.

Variational mesh segmentation via quadric surface fitting

KAUST Repository

Yan, Dongming; Wang, Wen Ping; Liu, Yang; Yang, Zhouwang

2012-01-01

We present a new variational method for mesh segmentation by fitting quadric surfaces. Each component of the resulting segmentation is represented by a general quadric surface (including plane as a special case). A novel energy function is defined to evaluate the quality of the segmentation, which combines both L2 and L2 ,1 metrics from a triangle to a quadric surface. The Lloyd iteration is used to minimize the energy function, which repeatedly interleaves between mesh partition and quadric surface fitting. We also integrate feature-based and simplification-based techniques in the segmentation framework, which greatly improve the performance. The advantages of our algorithm are demonstrated by comparing with the state-of-the-art methods. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Variational mesh segmentation via quadric surface fitting

KAUST Repository

Yan, Dongming

2012-11-01

We present a new variational method for mesh segmentation by fitting quadric surfaces. Each component of the resulting segmentation is represented by a general quadric surface (including plane as a special case). A novel energy function is defined to evaluate the quality of the segmentation, which combines both L2 and L2 ,1 metrics from a triangle to a quadric surface. The Lloyd iteration is used to minimize the energy function, which repeatedly interleaves between mesh partition and quadric surface fitting. We also integrate feature-based and simplification-based techniques in the segmentation framework, which greatly improve the performance. The advantages of our algorithm are demonstrated by comparing with the state-of-the-art methods. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The speech signal segmentation algorithm using pitch synchronous analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amirgaliyev Yedilkhan

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Parameterization of the speech signal using the algorithms of analysis synchronized with the pitch frequency is discussed. Speech parameterization is performed by the average number of zero transitions function and the signal energy function. Parameterization results are used to segment the speech signal and to isolate the segments with stable spectral characteristics. Segmentation results can be used to generate a digital voice pattern of a person or be applied in the automatic speech recognition. Stages needed for continuous speech segmentation are described.

Comparison of the Resistance to Bending Forces of the 4.5 LCP Plate-rod Construct and of 4.5 LCP Alone Applied to Segmental Femoral Defects in Miniature Pigs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lucie Urbanová

2010-01-01

Full Text Available The study deals with the determination of mechanical properties, namely resistance to bending forces, of flexible buttress osteosynthesis using two different bone-implant constructs stabilizing experimental segmental femoral bone defects (segmental ostectomy in a miniature pig ex vivo model using 4.5 mm titanium LCP and a 3 mm intramedullary pin (“plate and rod” construct (PR-LCP, versus the 4.5 mm titanium LCP alone (A-LCP. The “plate and rod” fixation (PR-LCP of the segmental femoral defect is significantly more resistant (p in vivo experiments in the miniature pig to investigate bone defect healing after transplantation of mesenchymal stem cells in combination with biocompatible scaffolds.

Deep reactive ion etching of 4H-SiC via cyclic SF6/O2 segments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Luna, Lunet E; Tadjer, Marko J; Anderson, Travis J; Imhoff, Eugene A; Hobart, Karl D; Kub, Fritz J

2017-01-01

Cycles of inductively coupled SF 6 /O 2 plasma with low (9%) and high (90%) oxygen content etch segments are used to produce up to 46.6 µ m-deep trenches with 5.5 µ m-wide openings in single-crystalline 4H-SiC substrates. The low oxygen content segment serves to etch deep in SiC whereas the high oxygen content segment serves to etch SiC at a slower rate, targeting carbon-rich residues on the surface as the combination of carbon-rich and fluorinated residues impact sidewall profile. The cycles work in concert to etch past 30 µ m at an etch rate of ∼0.26 µ m min −1 near room temperature, while maintaining close to vertical sidewalls, high aspect ratio, and high mask selectivity. In addition, power ramps during the low oxygen content segment is used to produce a 1:1 ratio of mask opening to trench bottom width. The effect of process parameters such as cycle time and backside substrate cooling on etch depth and micromasking of the electroplated nickel etch mask are investigated. (paper)

Color image Segmentation using automatic thresholding techniques

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Harrabi, R.; Ben Braiek, E.

2011-01-01

In this paper, entropy and between-class variance based thresholding methods for color images segmentation are studied. The maximization of the between-class variance (MVI) and the entropy (ME) have been used as a criterion functions to determine an optimal threshold to segment images into nearly homogenous regions. Segmentation results from the two methods are validated and the segmentation sensitivity for the test data available is evaluated, and a comparative study between these methods in different color spaces is presented. The experimental results demonstrate the superiority of the MVI method for color image segmentation.

Functional segmentation of dynamic PET studies: Open source implementation and validation of a leader-follower-based algorithm.

Science.gov (United States)

Mateos-Pérez, José María; Soto-Montenegro, María Luisa; Peña-Zalbidea, Santiago; Desco, Manuel; Vaquero, Juan José

2016-02-01

We present a novel segmentation algorithm for dynamic PET studies that groups pixels according to the similarity of their time-activity curves. Sixteen mice bearing a human tumor cell line xenograft (CH-157MN) were imaged with three different (68)Ga-DOTA-peptides (DOTANOC, DOTATATE, DOTATOC) using a small animal PET-CT scanner. Regional activities (input function and tumor) were obtained after manual delineation of regions of interest over the image. The algorithm was implemented under the jClustering framework and used to extract the same regional activities as in the manual approach. The volume of distribution in the tumor was computed using the Logan linear method. A Kruskal-Wallis test was used to investigate significant differences between the manually and automatically obtained volumes of distribution. The algorithm successfully segmented all the studies. No significant differences were found for the same tracer across different segmentation methods. Manual delineation revealed significant differences between DOTANOC and the other two tracers (DOTANOC - DOTATATE, p=0.020; DOTANOC - DOTATOC, p=0.033). Similar differences were found using the leader-follower algorithm. An open implementation of a novel segmentation method for dynamic PET studies is presented and validated in rodent studies. It successfully replicated the manual results obtained in small-animal studies, thus making it a reliable substitute for this task and, potentially, for other dynamic segmentation procedures. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Exploratory analysis of genomic segmentations with Segtools

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Buske Orion J

2011-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background As genome-wide experiments and annotations become more prevalent, researchers increasingly require tools to help interpret data at this scale. Many functional genomics experiments involve partitioning the genome into labeled segments, such that segments sharing the same label exhibit one or more biochemical or functional traits. For example, a collection of ChlP-seq experiments yields a compendium of peaks, each labeled with one or more associated DNA-binding proteins. Similarly, manually or automatically generated annotations of functional genomic elements, including cis-regulatory modules and protein-coding or RNA genes, can also be summarized as genomic segmentations. Results We present a software toolkit called Segtools that simplifies and automates the exploration of genomic segmentations. The software operates as a series of interacting tools, each of which provides one mode of summarization. These various tools can be pipelined and summarized in a single HTML page. We describe the Segtools toolkit and demonstrate its use in interpreting a collection of human histone modification data sets and Plasmodium falciparum local chromatin structure data sets. Conclusions Segtools provides a convenient, powerful means of interpreting a genomic segmentation.

Reliability of a Seven-Segment Foot Model with Medial and Lateral Midfoot and Forefoot Segments During Walking Gait.

Science.gov (United States)

Cobb, Stephen C; Joshi, Mukta N; Pomeroy, Robin L

2016-12-01

In-vitro and invasive in-vivo studies have reported relatively independent motion in the medial and lateral forefoot segments during gait. However, most current surface-based models have not defined medial and lateral forefoot or midfoot segments. The purpose of the current study was to determine the reliability of a 7-segment foot model that includes medial and lateral midfoot and forefoot segments during walking gait. Three-dimensional positions of marker clusters located on the leg and 6 foot segments were tracked as 10 participants completed 5 walking trials. To examine the reliability of the foot model, coefficients of multiple correlation (CMC) were calculated across the trials for each participant. Three-dimensional stance time series and range of motion (ROM) during stance were also calculated for each functional articulation. CMCs for all of the functional articulations were ≥ 0.80. Overall, the rearfoot complex (leg-calcaneus segments) was the most reliable articulation and the medial midfoot complex (calcaneus-navicular segments) was the least reliable. With respect to ROM, reliability was greatest for plantarflexion/dorsiflexion and least for abduction/adduction. Further, the stance ROM and time-series patterns results between the current study and previous invasive in-vivo studies that have assessed actual bone motion were generally consistent.

Best practices for preparing vessel internals segmentation projects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boucau, Joseph; Segerud, Per; Sanchez, Moises

2016-01-01

Westinghouse has been involved in reactor internals segmentation activities in the U.S. and Europe for 30 years. Westinghouse completed in 2015 the segmentation of the reactor vessel and reactor vessel internals at the Jose Cabrera nuclear power plant in Spain and a similar project is on-going at Chooz A in France. For all reactor dismantling projects, it is essential that all activities are thoroughly planned and discussed up-front together with the customer. Detailed planning is crucial for achieving a successful project. One key activity in the preparation phase is the 'Segmentation and Packaging Plan' that documents the sequential steps required to segment, separate, and package each individual component, based on an activation analysis and component characterization study. Detailed procedures and specialized rigging equipment have to be developed to provide safeguards for preventing certain identified risks. The preparatory work can include some plant civil structure modifications for making the segmentation work easier and safer. Some original plant equipment is sometimes not suitable enough and need to be replaced. Before going to the site, testing and qualification are performed on full scale mock-ups in a specially designed pool for segmentation purposes. The mockup testing is an important step in order to verify the function of the equipment and minimize risk on site. This paper is describing the typical activities needed for preparing the reactor internals segmentation activities using under water mechanical cutting techniques. It provides experiences and lessons learned that Westinghouse has collected from its recent projects and that will be applied for the new awarded projects. (authors)

Recessive loss-of-function mutations in AP4S1 cause mild fever-sensitive seizures, developmental delay and spastic paraplegia through loss of AP-4 complex assembly

Science.gov (United States)

Hardies, Katia; May, Patrick; Djémié, Tania; Tarta-Arsene, Oana; Deconinck, Tine; Craiu, Dana; Helbig, Ingo; Suls, Arvid; Balling, Rudy; Weckhuysen, Sarah; De Jonghe, Peter; Hirst, Jennifer; Afawi, Zaid; Barisic, Nina; Baulac, Stéphanie; Caglayan, Hande; Depienne, Christel; De Kovel, Carolien G.F.; Dimova, Petia; Guerrero-López, Rosa; Guerrini, Renzo; Hjalgrim, Helle; Hoffman-Zacharska, Dorota; Jahn, Johanna; Klein, Karl Martin; Koeleman, Bobby P.C.; Leguern, Eric; Lehesjoki, Anna-Elina; Lemke, Johannes; Lerche, Holger; Marini, Carla; Muhle, Hiltrud; Rosenow, Felix; Serratosa, Jose M.; Møller, Rikke S.; Stephani, Ulrich; Striano, Pasquale; Talvik, Tiina; Von Spiczak, Sarah; Weber, Yvonne; Zara, Federico

2015-01-01

We report two siblings with infantile onset seizures, severe developmental delay and spastic paraplegia, in whom whole-genome sequencing revealed compound heterozygous mutations in the AP4S1 gene, encoding the σ subunit of the adaptor protein complex 4 (AP-4). The effect of the predicted loss-of-function variants (p.Gln46Profs*9 and p.Arg97*) was further investigated in a patient's fibroblast cell line. We show that the premature stop mutations in AP4S1 result in a reduction of all AP-4 subunits and loss of AP-4 complex assembly. Recruitment of the AP-4 accessory protein tepsin, to the membrane was also abolished. In retrospect, the clinical phenotype in the family is consistent with previous reports of the AP-4 deficiency syndrome. Our study reports the second family with mutations in AP4S1 and describes the first two patients with loss of AP4S1 and seizures. We further discuss seizure phenotypes in reported patients, highlighting that seizures are part of the clinical manifestation of the AP-4 deficiency syndrome. We also hypothesize that endosomal trafficking is a common theme between heritable spastic paraplegia and some inherited epilepsies. PMID:25552650

Segmentation and Visualisation of Human Brain Structures

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hult, Roger

2003-10-01

In this thesis the focus is mainly on the development of segmentation techniques for human brain structures and of the visualisation of such structures. The images of the brain are both anatomical images (magnet resonance imaging (MRI) and autoradiography) and functional images that show blood flow (functional magnetic imaging (fMRI), positron emission tomography (PET), and single photon emission tomography (SPECT)). When working with anatomical images, the structures segmented are visible as different parts of the brain, e.g. the brain cortex, the hippocampus, or the amygdala. In functional images, the activity or the blood flow that be seen. Grey-level morphology methods are used in the segmentations to make tissue types in the images more homogenous and minimise difficulties with connections to outside tissue. A method for automatic histogram thresholding is also used. Furthermore, there are binary operations such as logic operation between masks and binary morphology operations. The visualisation of the segmented structures uses either surface rendering or volume rendering. For the visualisation of thin structures, surface rendering is the better choice since otherwise some voxels might be missed. It is possible to display activation from a functional image on the surface of a segmented cortex. A new method for autoradiographic images has been developed, which integrates registration, background compensation, and automatic thresholding to get faster and more reliable results than the standard techniques give.

Segmentation and Visualisation of Human Brain Structures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hult, Roger

2003-01-01

In this thesis the focus is mainly on the development of segmentation techniques for human brain structures and of the visualisation of such structures. The images of the brain are both anatomical images (magnet resonance imaging (MRI) and autoradiography) and functional images that show blood flow (functional magnetic imaging (fMRI), positron emission tomography (PET), and single photon emission tomography (SPECT)). When working with anatomical images, the structures segmented are visible as different parts of the brain, e.g. the brain cortex, the hippocampus, or the amygdala. In functional images, the activity or the blood flow that be seen. Grey-level morphology methods are used in the segmentations to make tissue types in the images more homogenous and minimise difficulties with connections to outside tissue. A method for automatic histogram thresholding is also used. Furthermore, there are binary operations such as logic operation between masks and binary morphology operations. The visualisation of the segmented structures uses either surface rendering or volume rendering. For the visualisation of thin structures, surface rendering is the better choice since otherwise some voxels might be missed. It is possible to display activation from a functional image on the surface of a segmented cortex. A new method for autoradiographic images has been developed, which integrates registration, background compensation, and automatic thresholding to get faster and more reliable results than the standard techniques give

Process Segmentation Typology in Czech Companies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tucek David

2016-03-01

Full Text Available This article describes process segmentation typology during business process management implementation in Czech companies. Process typology is important for a manager’s overview of process orientation as well as for a manager’s general understanding of business process management. This article provides insight into a process-oriented organizational structure. The first part analyzes process segmentation typology itself as well as some original results of quantitative research evaluating process segmentation typology in the specific context of Czech company strategies. Widespread data collection was carried out in 2006 and 2013. The analysis of this data showed that managers have more options regarding process segmentation and its selection. In terms of practicality and ease of use, the most frequently used method of process segmentation (managerial, main, and supportive stems directly from the requirements of ISO 9001. Because of ISO 9001:2015, managers must now apply risk planning in relation to the selection of processes that are subjected to process management activities. It is for this fundamental reason that this article focuses on process segmentation typology.

Role of loop L5-6 connecting transmembrane segments M5 and M6 in biogenesis and functioning of yeast Pma1 H+-ATPase.

Science.gov (United States)

Petrov, V V

2015-01-01

The L5-6 loop is a short extracytoplasmic stretch (714-DNSLDID) connecting transmembrane segments M5 and M6 and forming along with segments M4 and M8 the core through which cations are transported by H+-, Ca2+-, K+,Na+-, H+,K+-, and other P2-ATPases. To study structure-function relationships within this loop of the yeast plasma membrane Pma1 H+-ATPase, alanine- and cysteine-scanning mutagenesis has been employed. Ala and Cys substitutions for the most conserved residue (Leu717) led to complete block in biogenesis preventing the enzyme from reaching secretory vesicles. The Ala replacement at Asp714 led to five-fold decrease in the mutant expression and loss of its activity, while the Cys substitution blocked biogenesis completely. Replacements of other residues did not lead to loss of enzymatic activity. Additional replacements were made for Asp714 and Asp720 (Asp®Asn/Glu). Of the substitutions made at Asp714, only D714N partially restored the mutant enzyme biogenesis and functioning. However, all mutant enzymes with substituted Asp720 were active. The expressed mutants (34-95% of the wild-type level) showed activity high enough (35-108%) to be analyzed in detail. One of the mutants (I719A) had three-fold reduced coupling ratio between ATP hydrolysis and H+ transport; however, the I719C mutation was rather indistinguishable from the wild-type enzyme. Thus, substitutions at two of the seven positions seriously affected biogenesis and/or functioning of the enzyme. Taken together, these results suggest that the M5-M6 loop residues play an important role in protein stability and function, and they are probably responsible for proper arrangement of transmembrane segments M5 and M6 and other domains of the enzyme. This might also be important for the regulation of the enzyme.

Lung tumor segmentation in PET images using graph cuts.

Science.gov (United States)

Ballangan, Cherry; Wang, Xiuying; Fulham, Michael; Eberl, Stefan; Feng, David Dagan

2013-03-01

The aim of segmentation of tumor regions in positron emission tomography (PET) is to provide more accurate measurements of tumor size and extension into adjacent structures, than is possible with visual assessment alone and hence improve patient management decisions. We propose a segmentation energy function for the graph cuts technique to improve lung tumor segmentation with PET. Our segmentation energy is based on an analysis of the tumor voxels in PET images combined with a standardized uptake value (SUV) cost function and a monotonic downhill SUV feature. The monotonic downhill feature avoids segmentation leakage into surrounding tissues with similar or higher PET tracer uptake than the tumor and the SUV cost function improves the boundary definition and also addresses situations where the lung tumor is heterogeneous. We evaluated the method in 42 clinical PET volumes from patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Our method improves segmentation and performs better than region growing approaches, the watershed technique, fuzzy-c-means, region-based active contour and tumor customized downhill. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Clinical benefit of drugs targeting mitochondrial function as an adjunct to reperfusion in ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Campo, Gianluca; Pavasini, Rita; Morciano, Giampaolo

2017-01-01

AIMS: To perform a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials (RCT) comparing the effectiveness of drugs targeting mitochondrial function vs. placebo in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) undergoing mechanical coronary reperfusion. METHODS...

International EUREKA: Initialization Segment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1982-02-01

The Initialization Segment creates the starting description of the uranium market. The starting description includes the international boundaries of trade, the geologic provinces, resources, reserves, production, uranium demand forecasts, and existing market transactions. The Initialization Segment is designed to accept information of various degrees of detail, depending on what is known about each region. It must transform this information into a specific data structure required by the Market Segment of the model, filling in gaps in the information through a predetermined sequence of defaults and built in assumptions. A principal function of the Initialization Segment is to create diagnostic messages indicating any inconsistencies in data and explaining which assumptions were used to organize the data base. This permits the user to manipulate the data base until such time the user is satisfied that all the assumptions used are reasonable and that any inconsistencies are resolved in a satisfactory manner

New Region-Scalable Discriminant and Fitting Energy Functional for Driving Geometric Active Contours in Medical Image Segmentation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xuchu Wang

2014-01-01

that uses region-scalable discriminant and fitting energy functional for handling the intensity inhomogeneity and weak boundary problems in medical image segmentation. The region-scalable discriminant and fitting energy functional is defined to capture the image intensity characteristics in local and global regions for driving the evolution of active contour. The discriminant term in the model aims at separating background and foreground in scalable regions while the fitting term tends to fit the intensity in these regions. This model is then transformed into a variational level set formulation with a level set regularization term for accurate computation. The new model utilizes intensity information in the local and global regions as much as possible; so it not only handles better intensity inhomogeneity, but also allows more robustness to noise and more flexible initialization in comparison to the original global region and regional-scalable based models. Experimental results for synthetic and real medical image segmentation show the advantages of the proposed method in terms of accuracy and robustness.

Avian reovirus L2 genome segment sequences and predicted structure/function of the encoded RNA-dependent RNA polymerase protein

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xu Wanhong

2008-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The orthoreoviruses are infectious agents that possess a genome comprised of 10 double-stranded RNA segments encased in two concentric protein capsids. Like virtually all RNA viruses, an RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp enzyme is required for viral propagation. RdRp sequences have been determined for the prototype mammalian orthoreoviruses and for several other closely-related reoviruses, including aquareoviruses, but have not yet been reported for any avian orthoreoviruses. Results We determined the L2 genome segment nucleotide sequences, which encode the RdRp proteins, of two different avian reoviruses, strains ARV138 and ARV176 in order to define conserved and variable regions within reovirus RdRp proteins and to better delineate structure/function of this important enzyme. The ARV138 L2 genome segment was 3829 base pairs long, whereas the ARV176 L2 segment was 3830 nucleotides long. Both segments were predicted to encode λB RdRp proteins 1259 amino acids in length. Alignments of these newly-determined ARV genome segments, and their corresponding proteins, were performed with all currently available homologous mammalian reovirus (MRV and aquareovirus (AqRV genome segment and protein sequences. There was ~55% amino acid identity between ARV λB and MRV λ3 proteins, making the RdRp protein the most highly conserved of currently known orthoreovirus proteins, and there was ~28% identity between ARV λB and homologous MRV and AqRV RdRp proteins. Predictive structure/function mapping of identical and conserved residues within the known MRV λ3 atomic structure indicated most identical amino acids and conservative substitutions were located near and within predicted catalytic domains and lining RdRp channels, whereas non-identical amino acids were generally located on the molecule's surfaces. Conclusion The ARV λB and MRV λ3 proteins showed the highest ARV:MRV identity values (~55% amongst all currently known ARV and MRV

Gamifying Video Object Segmentation.

Science.gov (United States)

Spampinato, Concetto; Palazzo, Simone; Giordano, Daniela

2017-10-01

Video object segmentation can be considered as one of the most challenging computer vision problems. Indeed, so far, no existing solution is able to effectively deal with the peculiarities of real-world videos, especially in cases of articulated motion and object occlusions; limitations that appear more evident when we compare the performance of automated methods with the human one. However, manually segmenting objects in videos is largely impractical as it requires a lot of time and concentration. To address this problem, in this paper we propose an interactive video object segmentation method, which exploits, on one hand, the capability of humans to identify correctly objects in visual scenes, and on the other hand, the collective human brainpower to solve challenging and large-scale tasks. In particular, our method relies on a game with a purpose to collect human inputs on object locations, followed by an accurate segmentation phase achieved by optimizing an energy function encoding spatial and temporal constraints between object regions as well as human-provided location priors. Performance analysis carried out on complex video benchmarks, and exploiting data provided by over 60 users, demonstrated that our method shows a better trade-off between annotation times and segmentation accuracy than interactive video annotation and automated video object segmentation approaches.

Kinetic magnetic resonance imaging analysis of lumbar segmental mobility in patients without significant spondylosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Tan, Yanlin; Aghdasi, Bayan G; Montgomery, Scott R; Inoue, Hirokazu; Lu, Chang; Wang, Jeffrey C

2012-12-01

The purpose of this study was to examine lumbar segmental mobility using kinetic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in patients with minimal lumbar spondylosis. Mid-sagittal images of patients who underwent weight-bearing, multi-position kinetic MRI for symptomatic low back pain or radiculopathy were reviewed. Only patients with a Pfirrmann grade of I or II, indicating minimal disc disease, in all lumbar discs from L1-2 to L5-S1 were included for further analysis. Translational and angular motion was measured at each motion segment. The mean translational motion of the lumbar spine at each level was 1.38 mm at L1-L2, 1.41 mm at L2-L3, 1.14 mm at L3-L4, 1.10 mm at L4-L5 and 1.01 mm at L5-S1. Translational motion at L1-L2 and L2-L3 was significantly greater than L3-4, L4-L5 and L5-S1 levels (P lumbar spine was highest at L2-L3 (22.45 %) and least at L5/S1 (14.71 %) (P lumbar segmental mobility in patients without significant degenerative disc disease and found that translational motion was greatest in the proximal lumbar levels whereas angular motion was similar in the mid-lumbar levels but decreased at L1-L2 and L5-S1.

The Effects of Various Running Inclines on Three-Segment Foot Mechanics and Plantar Fascia Strain

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sinclair Jonathan

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Purpose. There has yet to be a combined analysis of three-dimensional multi-segment foot kinematics and plantar fascia strain in running gait at various degrees of inclination. The aim of the current study was therefore to investigate the above during treadmill running at different inclines (0°, 5°, 10° and 15°. Methods. Twelve male participants ran at 4.0 m · s-1 in the four different inclinations. Three-dimensional kinematics of the foot segments and plantar fascia strain were quantified for each incline and contrasted using one-way repeated measures ANOVA. Results and conclusions. The results showed that plantar fascia strain increased significantly as a function of running incline. Given the projected association between plantar fascia strain and the aetiology of injury, inclined running may be associated with a greater incidence of injury to the plantar fascia.

The 4s24p3-4s4p4 transition in AsI-like AgXV

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dong Chenzhong; Zhao Jinbao

1992-01-01

Some terms of the 4s 4p 4 configuration in RuXII, RhXIII and PdXIV ions can be improved and all the energy values of the configuration in AgXV can be predicted theoretically by means of a configuration-interaction ab initio analysis for the level structure of the 4s 4p 4 configuration along the AsI sequence of KrIV-AgXV ions. Calculations of the wavelengths and oscillator strenghts are presented for the 4s 2 4p 3 -4s 4p 4 transition in AgXV. (orig.)

Segmentation precedes face categorization under suboptimal conditions

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Van Den Boomen, Carlijn; Fahrenfort, Johannes J; Snijders, Tineke M; Kemner, Chantal

2015-01-01

Both categorization and segmentation processes play a crucial role in face perception. However, the functional relation between these subprocesses is currently unclear. The present study investigates the temporal relation between segmentation-related and category-selective responses in the brain,

Leisure market segmentation : an integrated preferences/constraints-based approach

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Stemerding, M.P.; Oppewal, H.; Beckers, T.A.M.; Timmermans, H.J.P.

1996-01-01

Traditional segmentation schemes are often based on a grouping of consumers with similar preference functions. The research steps, ultimately leading to such segmentation schemes, are typically independent. In the present article, a new integrated approach to segmentation is introduced, which

Fetal endoscopic myelomeningocele closure preserves segmental neurological function

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Verbeek, Renate J.; Heep, Axel; Maurits, Natalia M.; Cremer, Reinhold; Hoving, Eelco W.; Brouwer, Oebele F.; Van der Hoeven, Johannes H.; Sival, Deborah A.

AIM:   Our aim was to compare the effect of prenatal endoscopic with postnatal myelomeningocele closure (fetally operated spina bifida aperta [fSBA]) versus neonatally operated spina bifida aperta [nSBA]) on segmental neurological leg condition. METHOD:   Between 2003 and 2009, the fetal surgical

Automatic lung segmentation in functional SPECT images using active shape models trained on reference lung shapes from CT.

Science.gov (United States)

Cheimariotis, Grigorios-Aris; Al-Mashat, Mariam; Haris, Kostas; Aletras, Anthony H; Jögi, Jonas; Bajc, Marika; Maglaveras, Nicolaos; Heiberg, Einar

2018-02-01

Image segmentation is an essential step in quantifying the extent of reduced or absent lung function. The aim of this study is to develop and validate a new tool for automatic segmentation of lungs in ventilation and perfusion SPECT images and compare automatic and manual SPECT lung segmentations with reference computed tomography (CT) volumes. A total of 77 subjects (69 patients with obstructive lung disease, and 8 subjects without apparent perfusion of ventilation loss) performed low-dose CT followed by ventilation/perfusion (V/P) SPECT examination in a hybrid gamma camera system. In the training phase, lung shapes from the 57 anatomical low-dose CT images were used to construct two active shape models (right lung and left lung) which were then used for image segmentation. The algorithm was validated in 20 patients, comparing its results to reference delineation of corresponding CT images, and by comparing automatic segmentation to manual delineations in SPECT images. The Dice coefficient between automatic SPECT delineations and manual SPECT delineations were 0.83 ± 0.04% for the right and 0.82 ± 0.05% for the left lung. There was statistically significant difference between reference volumes from CT and automatic delineations for the right (R = 0.53, p = 0.02) and left lung (R = 0.69, p automatic quantification of wide range of measurements.

Multi-organ segmentation from multi-phase abdominal CT via 4D graphs using enhancement, shape and location optimization.

Science.gov (United States)

Linguraru, Marius George; Pura, John A; Chowdhury, Ananda S; Summers, Ronald M

2010-01-01

The interpretation of medical images benefits from anatomical and physiological priors to optimize computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) applications. Diagnosis also relies on the comprehensive analysis of multiple organs and quantitative measures of soft tissue. An automated method optimized for medical image data is presented for the simultaneous segmentation of four abdominal organs from 4D CT data using graph cuts. Contrast-enhanced CT scans were obtained at two phases: non-contrast and portal venous. Intra-patient data were spatially normalized by non-linear registration. Then 4D erosion using population historic information of contrast-enhanced liver, spleen, and kidneys was applied to multi-phase data to initialize the 4D graph and adapt to patient specific data. CT enhancement information and constraints on shape, from Parzen windows, and location, from a probabilistic atlas, were input into a new formulation of a 4D graph. Comparative results demonstrate the effects of appearance and enhancement, and shape and location on organ segmentation.

Feedforward and recurrent processing in scene segmentation: electroencephalography and functional magnetic resonance imaging.

Science.gov (United States)

Scholte, H Steven; Jolij, Jacob; Fahrenfort, Johannes J; Lamme, Victor A F

2008-11-01

In texture segregation, an example of scene segmentation, we can discern two different processes: texture boundary detection and subsequent surface segregation [Lamme, V. A. F., Rodriguez-Rodriguez, V., & Spekreijse, H. Separate processing dynamics for texture elements, boundaries and surfaces in primary visual cortex of the macaque monkey. Cerebral Cortex, 9, 406-413, 1999]. Neural correlates of texture boundary detection have been found in monkey V1 [Sillito, A. M., Grieve, K. L., Jones, H. E., Cudeiro, J., & Davis, J. Visual cortical mechanisms detecting focal orientation discontinuities. Nature, 378, 492-496, 1995; Grosof, D. H., Shapley, R. M., & Hawken, M. J. Macaque-V1 neurons can signal illusory contours. Nature, 365, 550-552, 1993], but whether surface segregation occurs in monkey V1 [Rossi, A. F., Desimone, R., & Ungerleider, L. G. Contextual modulation in primary visual cortex of macaques. Journal of Neuroscience, 21, 1698-1709, 2001; Lamme, V. A. F. The neurophysiology of figure ground segregation in primary visual-cortex. Journal of Neuroscience, 15, 1605-1615, 1995], and whether boundary detection or surface segregation signals can also be measured in human V1, is more controversial [Kastner, S., De Weerd, P., & Ungerleider, L. G. Texture segregation in the human visual cortex: A functional MRI study. Journal of Neurophysiology, 83, 2453-2457, 2000]. Here we present electroencephalography (EEG) and functional magnetic resonance imaging data that have been recorded with a paradigm that makes it possible to differentiate between boundary detection and scene segmentation in humans. In this way, we were able to show with EEG that neural correlates of texture boundary detection are first present in the early visual cortex around 92 msec and then spread toward the parietal and temporal lobes. Correlates of surface segregation first appear in temporal areas (around 112 msec) and from there appear to spread to parietal, and back to occipital areas. After 208

Is Preventative Long-Segment Surgery for Multi-Level Spondylolysis Necessary? A Finite Element Analysis Study.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jianqiang Mo

Full Text Available For multi-level spondylolysis patients, surgeons commonly choose to fix all the segments with pars interarticularis defect even those without slippage and not responsible for clinical symptoms. In this study, we tried to study the necessity of the preventative long-segment surgery for the defected segment without slippage in treatment of multi-level spondylolysis patients from a biomechanical perspective.We established a bi-level spondylolysis model with pars defects at L4 and L5 segments, and simulated posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF and pedicle screw fixation at L5-S1 level. Then we compared the biomechanical changes at L4 segment before and after surgery in neutral, flexion, extension, lateral bending and axial rotation position.The stress on L4 pars interarticularis was very similar before and after surgery, and reached the highest in axial rotation. The L3-L4 intradiscal pressure was almost the same, while L4-L5 intradiscal pressure changed a little in lateral bending (increase from 1.993 to 2.160 MPa and axial rotation (decrease from 1.639 to 1.307 MPa after surgery. The PLIF surgery caused a little increase of range of motion at adjacent L4-L5 and L3-L4 levels, but the change is very tiny (1 degree.The PLIF surgery will not cause significant biomechanical change at adjacent segment with pars defect in multi-level spondylolysis. On the contrary, excessive long-segment surgery will damage surrounding soft tissues which are important for maintaining the stability of spine. So a preventative long-segment surgery is not necessary for multi-level spondylolysis as long as there are no soft tissue degeneration signs at adjacent level.

Is Preventative Long-Segment Surgery for Multi-Level Spondylolysis Necessary? A Finite Element Analysis Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Mo, Jianqiang; Zhang, Wen; Zhong, Dongyan; Xu, Hao; Wang, Lan; Yu, Jia; Luo, Zongping

2016-01-01

For multi-level spondylolysis patients, surgeons commonly choose to fix all the segments with pars interarticularis defect even those without slippage and not responsible for clinical symptoms. In this study, we tried to study the necessity of the preventative long-segment surgery for the defected segment without slippage in treatment of multi-level spondylolysis patients from a biomechanical perspective. We established a bi-level spondylolysis model with pars defects at L4 and L5 segments, and simulated posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF) and pedicle screw fixation at L5-S1 level. Then we compared the biomechanical changes at L4 segment before and after surgery in neutral, flexion, extension, lateral bending and axial rotation position. The stress on L4 pars interarticularis was very similar before and after surgery, and reached the highest in axial rotation. The L3-L4 intradiscal pressure was almost the same, while L4-L5 intradiscal pressure changed a little in lateral bending (increase from 1.993 to 2.160 MPa) and axial rotation (decrease from 1.639 to 1.307 MPa) after surgery. The PLIF surgery caused a little increase of range of motion at adjacent L4-L5 and L3-L4 levels, but the change is very tiny (1 degree). The PLIF surgery will not cause significant biomechanical change at adjacent segment with pars defect in multi-level spondylolysis. On the contrary, excessive long-segment surgery will damage surrounding soft tissues which are important for maintaining the stability of spine. So a preventative long-segment surgery is not necessary for multi-level spondylolysis as long as there are no soft tissue degeneration signs at adjacent level.

Parallel fuzzy connected image segmentation on GPU.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhuge, Ying; Cao, Yong; Udupa, Jayaram K; Miller, Robert W

2011-07-01

Image segmentation techniques using fuzzy connectedness (FC) principles have shown their effectiveness in segmenting a variety of objects in several large applications. However, one challenge in these algorithms has been their excessive computational requirements when processing large image datasets. Nowadays, commodity graphics hardware provides a highly parallel computing environment. In this paper, the authors present a parallel fuzzy connected image segmentation algorithm implementation on NVIDIA's compute unified device Architecture (CUDA) platform for segmenting medical image data sets. In the FC algorithm, there are two major computational tasks: (i) computing the fuzzy affinity relations and (ii) computing the fuzzy connectedness relations. These two tasks are implemented as CUDA kernels and executed on GPU. A dramatic improvement in speed for both tasks is achieved as a result. Our experiments based on three data sets of small, medium, and large data size demonstrate the efficiency of the parallel algorithm, which achieves a speed-up factor of 24.4x, 18.1x, and 10.3x, correspondingly, for the three data sets on the NVIDIA Tesla C1060 over the implementation of the algorithm on CPU, and takes 0.25, 0.72, and 15.04 s, correspondingly, for the three data sets. The authors developed a parallel algorithm of the widely used fuzzy connected image segmentation method on the NVIDIA GPUs, which are far more cost- and speed-effective than both cluster of workstations and multiprocessing systems. A near-interactive speed of segmentation has been achieved, even for the large data set.

Alongamento muscular segmentar melhora função e alinhamento do joelho de indivíduos com síndrome femoropatelar: estudo preliminar Segmental muscular stretching improves knee function and alignment in subjects with patellofemoral syndrome: preliminary study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gisela Cristiane Miyamoto

2010-08-01

Full Text Available INTRODUÇÃO: A síndrome femoropatelar (SFP é uma desordem dolorosa comum do joelho e para seu tratamento normalmente são utilizados exercícios de fortalecimento do músculo quadríceps femoral, sendo que poucos trabalhos encontrados na literatura investigaram os efeitos diretos do alongamento muscular. OBJETIVO: O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar os efeitos do alongamento muscular segmentar no tratamento de pacientes com SFP. MÉTODOS: Participaram do estudo 12 voluntários com SFP, dominância de membro inferior direito e idade média de 20 anos. As variáveis funcionais avaliadas antes e depois do tratamento foram: ângulo Q, intensidade da dor, capacidade funcional pela escala de contagem de Lysholm, sensação de posição articular (SPA a 40 e 50 graus de flexão do joelho, trabalho total e momento de força concêntrico dos músculos quadríceps femoral e isquiotibiais a 60 e 180º/s. Após a avaliação inicial, foi realizado o tratamento que consistiu em alongamento muscular segmentar bilateral dos músculos isquiotibiais, tríceps sural e quadríceps femoral, com duração de 30 segundos e 10 repetições para cada músculo. As variáveis avaliadas antes e após o tratamento foram analisadas pelo teste t para amostras dependentes (α INTRODUCTION: Patellofemoral syndrome (PFS is a common painful knee disorder and for its treatment, quadriceps femoris strengthening exercises are normally used; however, few studies in the literature investigate the direct effects of stretching exercises. OBJECTIVE: In order to fill this gap, the objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of segmental stretching exercises on the treatment of patients with PFS. METHODS: Twelve PFS patients with right foot dominance and mean age of 20 years were evaluated. The following functional variables were assessed, before and after treatment: Q angle, pain intensity, knee functional injury level (Lysholm scale, joint position sense (JPS at 40 and 50

Soft segmented inchworm robot with dielectric elastomer muscles

Science.gov (United States)

Conn, Andrew T.; Hinitt, Andrew D.; Wang, Pengchuan

2014-03-01

Robotic devices typically utilize rigid components in order to produce precise and robust operation. Rigidity becomes a significant impediment, however, when navigating confined or constricted environments e.g. search-and-rescue, industrial pipe inspection. In such cases adaptively conformable soft structures become optimal. Dielectric elastomers (DEs) are well suited for developing such soft robots since they are inherently compliant and can produce large musclelike actuation strains. In this paper, a soft segmented inchworm robot is presented that utilizes pneumatically-coupled DE membranes to produce inchworm-like locomotion. The robot is constructed from repeated body segments, each with a simple control architecture, so that the total length can be readily adapted by adding or removing segments. Each segment consists of a soft inflatable shell (internal pressure in range of 1.0-15.9 mBar) and a pair of antagonistic DE membranes (VHB 4905). Experimental testing of a single body segment is presented and the relationship between drive voltage, pneumatic pressure and active displacement is characterized. This demonstrates that pneumatic coupling of DE membranes induces complex non-linear electro-mechanical behaviour as drive voltage and pneumatic pressure are altered. Locomotion of a two-segment inchworm robot prototype with a passive length of 80 mm is presented. Artificial setae are included on the body shell to generate anisotropic friction for locomotion. A maximum locomotion speed of 4.1 mm/s was recorded at a drive frequency of 1.5 Hz, which compares favourably to biological counterparts. Future development of the soft inchworm robot are discussed including reflexive low-level control of individual segments.

Using solution- and solid-state S K-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy with density functional theory to evaluate M-S bonding for MS4(2-) (M = Cr, Mo, W) dianions.

Science.gov (United States)

Olson, Angela C; Keith, Jason M; Batista, Enrique R; Boland, Kevin S; Daly, Scott R; Kozimor, Stosh A; MacInnes, Molly M; Martin, Richard L; Scott, Brian L

2014-12-14

Herein, we have evaluated relative changes in M-S electronic structure and orbital mixing in Group 6 MS4(2-) dianions using solid- and solution-phase S K-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS; M = Mo, W), as well as density functional theory (DFT; M = Cr, Mo, W) and time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) calculations. To facilitate comparison with solution measurements (conducted in acetonitrile), theoretical models included gas-phase calculations as well as those that incorporated an acetonitrile dielectric, the latter of which provided better agreement with experiment. Two pre-edge features arising from S 1s → e* and t electron excitations were observed in the S K-edge XAS spectra and were reasonably assigned as (1)A1 → (1)T2 transitions. For MoS4(2-), both solution-phase pre-edge peak intensities were consistent with results from the solid-state spectra. For WS4(2-), solution- and solid-state pre-edge peak intensities for transitions involving e* were equivalent, while transitions involving the t orbitals were less intense in solution. Experimental and computational results have been presented in comparison to recent analyses of MO4(2-) dianions, which allowed M-S and M-O orbital mixing to be evaluated as the principle quantum number (n) for the metal valence d orbitals increased (3d, 4d, 5d). Overall, the M-E (E = O, S) analyses revealed distinct trends in orbital mixing. For example, as the Group 6 triad was descended, e* (π*) orbital mixing remained constant in the M-S bonds, but increased appreciably for M-O interactions. For the t orbitals (σ* + π*), mixing decreased slightly for M-S bonding and increased only slightly for the M-O interactions. These results suggested that the metal and ligand valence orbital energies and radial extensions delicately influenced the orbital compositions for isoelectronic ME4(2-) (E = O, S) dianions.

Structure of bacteriophage T4 fibritin: a segmented coiled coil and the role of the C-terminal domain.

Science.gov (United States)

Tao, Y; Strelkov, S V; Mesyanzhinov, V V; Rossmann, M G

1997-06-15

Oligomeric coiled-coil motifs are found in numerous protein structures; among them is fibritin, a structural protein of bacteriophage T4, which belongs to a class of chaperones that catalyze a specific phage-assembly process. Fibritin promotes the assembly of the long tail fibers and their subsequent attachment to the tail baseplate; it is also a sensing device that controls the retraction of the long tail fibers in adverse environments and, thus, prevents infection. The structure of fibritin had been predicted from sequence and biochemical analyses to be mainly a triple-helical coiled coil. The determination of its structure at atomic resolution was expected to give insights into the assembly process and biological function of fibritin, and the properties of modified coiled-coil structures in general. The three-dimensional structure of fibritin E, a deletion mutant of wild-type fibritin, was determined to 2.2 A resolution by X-ray crystallography. Three identical subunits of 119 amino acid residues form a trimeric parallel coiled-coil domain and a small globular C-terminal domain about a crystallographic threefold axis. The coiled-coil domain is divided into three segments that are separated by insertion loops. The C-terminal domain, which consists of 30 residues from each subunit, contains a beta-propeller-like structure with a hydrophobic interior. The residues within the C-terminal domain make extensive hydrophobic and some polar intersubunit interactions. This is consistent with the C-terminal domain being important for the correct assembly of fibritin, as shown earlier by mutational studies. Tight interactions between the C-terminal residues of adjacent subunits counteract the latent instability that is suggested by the structural properties of the coiled-coil segments. Trimerization is likely to begin with the formation of the C-terminal domain which subsequently initiates the assembly of the coiled coil. The interplay between the stabilizing effect of the C

Outdoor recreation activity trends by volume segments: U.S. and Northeast market analyses, 1982-1989

Science.gov (United States)

Rodney B. Warnick

1992-01-01

The purpose of this review was to examine volume segmentation within three selected outdoor recreational activities -- swimming, hunting and downhill skiing over an eight-year period, from 1982 through 1989 at the national level and within the Northeast Region of the U.S.; and to determine if trend patterns existed within any of these activities when the market size...

RFA-cut: Semi-automatic segmentation of radiofrequency ablation zones with and without needles via optimal s-t-cuts.

Science.gov (United States)

Egger, Jan; Busse, Harald; Brandmaier, Philipp; Seider, Daniel; Gawlitza, Matthias; Strocka, Steffen; Voglreiter, Philip; Dokter, Mark; Hofmann, Michael; Kainz, Bernhard; Chen, Xiaojun; Hann, Alexander; Boechat, Pedro; Yu, Wei; Freisleben, Bernd; Alhonnoro, Tuomas; Pollari, Mika; Moche, Michael; Schmalstieg, Dieter

2015-01-01

In this contribution, we present a semi-automatic segmentation algorithm for radiofrequency ablation (RFA) zones via optimal s-t-cuts. Our interactive graph-based approach builds upon a polyhedron to construct the graph and was specifically designed for computed tomography (CT) acquisitions from patients that had RFA treatments of Hepatocellular Carcinomas (HCC). For evaluation, we used twelve post-interventional CT datasets from the clinical routine and as evaluation metric we utilized the Dice Similarity Coefficient (DSC), which is commonly accepted for judging computer aided medical segmentation tasks. Compared with pure manual slice-by-slice expert segmentations from interventional radiologists, we were able to achieve a DSC of about eighty percent, which is sufficient for our clinical needs. Moreover, our approach was able to handle images containing (DSC=75.9%) and not containing (78.1%) the RFA needles still in place. Additionally, we found no statistically significant difference (p<;0.423) between the segmentation results of the subgroups for a Mann-Whitney test. Finally, to the best of our knowledge, this is the first time a segmentation approach for CT scans including the RFA needles is reported and we show why another state-of-the-art segmentation method fails for these cases. Intraoperative scans including an RFA probe are very critical in the clinical practice and need a very careful segmentation and inspection to avoid under-treatment, which may result in tumor recurrence (up to 40%). If the decision can be made during the intervention, an additional ablation can be performed without removing the entire needle. This decreases the patient stress and associated risks and costs of a separate intervention at a later date. Ultimately, the segmented ablation zone containing the RFA needle can be used for a precise ablation simulation as the real needle position is known.

The Consequences of Reconfiguring the Ambisense S Genome Segment of Rift Valley Fever Virus on Viral Replication in Mammalian and Mosquito Cells and for Genome Packaging

Science.gov (United States)

Elliott, Richard M.

2014-01-01

Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV, family Bunyaviridae) is a mosquito-borne pathogen of both livestock and humans, found primarily in Sub-Saharan Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. The viral genome comprises two negative-sense (L and M segments) and one ambisense (S segment) RNAs that encode seven proteins. The S segment encodes the nucleocapsid (N) protein in the negative-sense and a nonstructural (NSs) protein in the positive-sense, though NSs cannot be translated directly from the S segment but rather from a specific subgenomic mRNA. Using reverse genetics we generated a virus, designated rMP12:S-Swap, in which the N protein is expressed from the NSs locus and NSs from the N locus within the genomic S RNA. In cells infected with rMP12:S-Swap NSs is expressed at higher levels with respect to N than in cells infected with the parental rMP12 virus. Despite NSs being the main interferon antagonist and determinant of virulence, growth of rMP12:S-Swap was attenuated in mammalian cells and gave a small plaque phenotype. The increased abundance of the NSs protein did not lead to faster inhibition of host cell protein synthesis or host cell transcription in infected mammalian cells. In cultured mosquito cells, however, infection with rMP12:S-Swap resulted in cell death rather than establishment of persistence as seen with rMP12. Finally, altering the composition of the S segment led to a differential packaging ratio of genomic to antigenomic RNA into rMP12:S-Swap virions. Our results highlight the plasticity of the RVFV genome and provide a useful experimental tool to investigate further the packaging mechanism of the segmented genome. PMID:24550727

Achromatic shearing phase sensor for generating images indicative of measure(s) of alignment between segments of a segmented telescope's mirrors

Science.gov (United States)

Stahl, H. Philip (Inventor); Walker, Chanda Bartlett (Inventor)

2006-01-01

An achromatic shearing phase sensor generates an image indicative of at least one measure of alignment between two segments of a segmented telescope's mirrors. An optical grating receives at least a portion of irradiance originating at the segmented telescope in the form of a collimated beam and the collimated beam into a plurality of diffraction orders. Focusing optics separate and focus the diffraction orders. Filtering optics then filter the diffraction orders to generate a resultant set of diffraction orders that are modified. Imaging optics combine portions of the resultant set of diffraction orders to generate an interference pattern that is ultimately imaged by an imager.

New developments in segment ancillary logic for FASTBUS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Walz, H.V.; Bertolucci, B.

1983-01-01

Segment Ancillary Logic hardware for FASTBUS systems provides logical functions required in common by all devices attached to a segment. It controls the execution of arbitration cycles, and geographical address cycles, and generates the system handshake responses for broadcast operations. The mandatory requirements for Segment Ancillary Logic in the FASTBUS specifications are reviewed. A detailed implementation based on ECL logic is described, and the hardware to be used on an ECL cable segment for an experimental FASTBUS system at SLAC is shown

Resection of Segments 4, 5 and 8 for a Cystic Liver Tumor Using the Double Liver Hanging Maneuver

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Atsushi Nanashima

2008-03-01

Full Text Available To achieve complete anatomic central hepatectomy for a large tumor compressing surrounding vessels, transection by an anterior approach is preferred but a skillful technique is necessary. We propose the modified technique of Belghiti’s liver hanging maneuver (LHM. The case was a 77-year-old female with a 6-cm liver cystic tumor in the central liver compressing hilar vessels and the right hepatic vein. At the hepatic hilum, the spaces between Glisson’s pedicle and hepatic parenchyma were dissected, which were (1 the space between the right anterior and posterior Glisson pedicles and (2 the space adjacent to the umbilical Glisson pedicle. Two tubes were repositioned in each space and ‘double LHM’ was possible at the two resected planes of segments 4, 5 and 8. Cut planes were easily and adequately obtained and the compressed vessels were secured. Double LHM is a useful surgical technique for hepatectomy for a large tumor located in the central liver.

Segmentation: Identification of consumer segments

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Høg, Esben

2005-01-01

It is very common to categorise people, especially in the advertising business. Also traditional marketing theory has taken in consumer segments as a favorite topic. Segmentation is closely related to the broader concept of classification. From a historical point of view, classification has its...... origin in other sciences as for example biology, anthropology etc. From an economic point of view, it is called segmentation when specific scientific techniques are used to classify consumers to different characteristic groupings. What is the purpose of segmentation? For example, to be able to obtain...... a basic understanding of grouping people. Advertising agencies may use segmentation totarget advertisements, while food companies may usesegmentation to develop products to various groups of consumers. MAPP has for example investigated the positioning of fish in relation to other food products...

Modified GrabCut for human face segmentation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dina Khattab

2014-12-01

Full Text Available GrabCut is a segmentation technique for 2D still color images, which is mainly based on an iterative energy minimization. The energy function of the GrabCut optimization algorithm is based mainly on a probabilistic model for pixel color distribution. Therefore, GrabCut may introduce unacceptable results in the cases of low contrast between foreground and background colors. In this manner, this paper presents a modified GrabCut technique for the segmentation of human faces from images of full humans. The modified technique introduces a new face location model for the energy minimization function of the GrabCut, in addition to the existing color one. This location model considers the distance distribution of the pixels from the silhouette boundary of a fitted head, of a 3D morphable model, to the image. The experimental results of the modified GrabCut have demonstrated better segmentation robustness and accuracy compared to the original GrabCut for human face segmentation.

Spinal cord blood flow and ischemic injury after experimental sacrifice of thoracic and abdominal segmental arteries.

Science.gov (United States)

Etz, Christian D; Homann, Tobias M; Luehr, Maximilian; Kari, Fabian A; Weisz, Donald J; Kleinman, George; Plestis, Konstadinos A; Griepp, Randall B

2008-06-01

Spinal cord blood flow (SCBF) after sacrifice of thoracoabdominal aortic segmental arteries (TAASA) during thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm (TAAA) repair remains poorly understood. This study explored SCBF for 72 h after sacrifice of all TAASA. Fourteen juvenile Yorkshire pigs underwent complete serial TAASA sacrifice (T4-L5). Six control pigs underwent anesthesia and cooling to 32 degrees C with no TAASA sacrifice. In the experimental animals, spinal cord function was continuously monitored using motor evoked potentials (MEPs) until 1h after clamping the last TAASA. Fluorescent microspheres enabled segmental measurement of SCBF along the entire spinal cord before, and 5 min, 1 h, 5 h, 24 h and 72 h after complete TAASA sacrifice. A modified Tarlov score was obtained for 3 days after surgery. All the pigs with complete TAASA sacrifice retained normal cord function (MEP) until 1h after TAASA ligation. Seven pigs (50%) with complete TAASA sacrifice recovered after 72 h; seven pigs suffered paraparesis or paraplegia. Intraoperatively, and until 1h postoperatively, SCBF was similar among the three groups along the entire cord. Postoperatively, SCBF did not decrease in any group, but significant hyperemia occurred at 5h in controls and recovery animals, but did not occur in pigs that developed paraparesis or paraplegia in the T8-L2 segments (p=0.0002) and L3-S segments (p=0.0007). At 24h, SCBF remained marginally lower from T8 caudally; at 72h, SCBF was similar among all groups along the entire cord. SCBF in the segments T8-L2 at 5h predicted functional recovery (p=0.003). This study suggests that critical spinal cord ischemia after complete TAASA sacrifice does not occur immediately (intraoperatively), but is delayed 1-5h or longer after clamping, and represents failure to mount a hyperemic response to rewarming and awakening. The short duration of low SCBF associated with spinal cord injury suggests that hemodynamic and metabolic manipulation lasting only 24-72 h may

Individual Building Rooftop and Tree Crown Segmentation from High-Resolution Urban Aerial Optical Images

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jichao Jiao

2016-01-01

Full Text Available We segment buildings and trees from aerial photographs by using superpixels, and we estimate the tree’s parameters by using a cost function proposed in this paper. A method based on image complexity is proposed to refine superpixels boundaries. In order to classify buildings from ground and classify trees from grass, the salient feature vectors that include colors, Features from Accelerated Segment Test (FAST corners, and Gabor edges are extracted from refined superpixels. The vectors are used to train the classifier based on Naive Bayes classifier. The trained classifier is used to classify refined superpixels as object or nonobject. The properties of a tree, including its locations and radius, are estimated by minimizing the cost function. The shadow is used to calculate the tree height using sun angle and the time when the image was taken. Our segmentation algorithm is compared with other two state-of-the-art segmentation algorithms, and the tree parameters obtained in this paper are compared to the ground truth data. Experiments show that the proposed method can segment trees and buildings appropriately, yielding higher precision and better recall rates, and the tree parameters are in good agreement with the ground truth data.

WE-AB-303-05: Breathing Motion of Liver Segments From Fiducial Tracking During Robotic Radiosurgery and Comparison with 4D-CT-Derived Fiducial Motion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sutherland, J; Pantarotto, J; Nair, V; Cook, G; Plourde, M; Vandervoort, E

2015-01-01

Purpose: To quantify respiratory-induced motion of liver segments using the positions of implanted fiducials during robotic radiosurgery. This study also compared fiducial motion derived from four-dimensional computed tomography (4D-CT) maximum intensity projections (MIP) with motion derived from imaging during treatment. Methods: Forty-two consecutive liver patients treated with liver ablative radiotherapy were accrued to an ethics approved retrospective study. The liver segment in which each fiducial resided was identified. Fiducial positions throughout each treatment fraction were determined using orthogonal kilovoltage images. Any data due to patient repositioning or motion was removed. Mean fiducial positions were calculated. Fiducial positions beyond two standard deviations of the mean were discarded and remaining positions were fit to a line segment using least squares minimization (LSM). For eight patients, fiducial motion was derived from 4D-CT MIPs by calculating the CT number weighted mean position of the fiducial on each slice and fitting a line segment to these points using LSM. Treatment derived fiducial trajectories were corrected for patient rotation and compared to MIP derived trajectories. Results: The mean total magnitude of fiducial motion across all liver segments in left-right, anteroposterior, and superoinferior (SI) directions were 3.0 ± 0.2 mm, 9.3 ± 0.4 mm, and 20.5 ± 0.5 mm, respectively. Differences in per-segment mean fiducial motion were found with SI motion ranging from 12.6 ± 0.8 mm to 22.6 ± 0.9 mm for segments 3 and 8, respectively. Large, varied differences between treatment and MIP derived motion at simulation were found with the mean difference for SI motion being 2.6 mm (10.8 mm standard deviation). Conclusion: The magnitude of liver fiducial motion was found to differ by liver segment. MIP derived liver fiducial motion differed from motion observed during treatment, implying that 4D-CTs may not accurately capture the

WE-AB-303-05: Breathing Motion of Liver Segments From Fiducial Tracking During Robotic Radiosurgery and Comparison with 4D-CT-Derived Fiducial Motion

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sutherland, J; Pantarotto, J; Nair, V; Cook, G; Plourde, M; Vandervoort, E [The Ottawa Hospital Cancer Centre, Ottawa, Ontario (Canada)

2015-06-15

Purpose: To quantify respiratory-induced motion of liver segments using the positions of implanted fiducials during robotic radiosurgery. This study also compared fiducial motion derived from four-dimensional computed tomography (4D-CT) maximum intensity projections (MIP) with motion derived from imaging during treatment. Methods: Forty-two consecutive liver patients treated with liver ablative radiotherapy were accrued to an ethics approved retrospective study. The liver segment in which each fiducial resided was identified. Fiducial positions throughout each treatment fraction were determined using orthogonal kilovoltage images. Any data due to patient repositioning or motion was removed. Mean fiducial positions were calculated. Fiducial positions beyond two standard deviations of the mean were discarded and remaining positions were fit to a line segment using least squares minimization (LSM). For eight patients, fiducial motion was derived from 4D-CT MIPs by calculating the CT number weighted mean position of the fiducial on each slice and fitting a line segment to these points using LSM. Treatment derived fiducial trajectories were corrected for patient rotation and compared to MIP derived trajectories. Results: The mean total magnitude of fiducial motion across all liver segments in left-right, anteroposterior, and superoinferior (SI) directions were 3.0 ± 0.2 mm, 9.3 ± 0.4 mm, and 20.5 ± 0.5 mm, respectively. Differences in per-segment mean fiducial motion were found with SI motion ranging from 12.6 ± 0.8 mm to 22.6 ± 0.9 mm for segments 3 and 8, respectively. Large, varied differences between treatment and MIP derived motion at simulation were found with the mean difference for SI motion being 2.6 mm (10.8 mm standard deviation). Conclusion: The magnitude of liver fiducial motion was found to differ by liver segment. MIP derived liver fiducial motion differed from motion observed during treatment, implying that 4D-CTs may not accurately capture the

Active surface model improvement by energy function optimization for 3D segmentation.

Science.gov (United States)

Azimifar, Zohreh; Mohaddesi, Mahsa

2015-04-01

This paper proposes an optimized and efficient active surface model by improving the energy functions, searching method, neighborhood definition and resampling criterion. Extracting an accurate surface of the desired object from a number of 3D images using active surface and deformable models plays an important role in computer vision especially medical image processing. Different powerful segmentation algorithms have been suggested to address the limitations associated with the model initialization, poor convergence to surface concavities and slow convergence rate. This paper proposes a method to improve one of the strongest and recent segmentation algorithms, namely the Decoupled Active Surface (DAS) method. We consider a gradient of wavelet edge extracted image and local phase coherence as external energy to extract more information from images and we use curvature integral as internal energy to focus on high curvature region extraction. Similarly, we use resampling of points and a line search for point selection to improve the accuracy of the algorithm. We further employ an estimation of the desired object as an initialization for the active surface model. A number of tests and experiments have been done and the results show the improvements with regards to the extracted surface accuracy and computational time of the presented algorithm compared with the best and recent active surface models. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Data Transformation Functions for Expanded Search Spaces in Geographic Sample Supervised Segment Generation

OpenAIRE

Christoff Fourie; Elisabeth Schoepfer

2014-01-01

Sample supervised image analysis, in particular sample supervised segment generation, shows promise as a methodological avenue applicable within Geographic Object-Based Image Analysis (GEOBIA). Segmentation is acknowledged as a constituent component within typically expansive image analysis processes. A general extension to the basic formulation of an empirical discrepancy measure directed segmentation algorithm parameter tuning approach is proposed. An expanded search landscape is defined, c...

A Laminin-2, Dystroglycan, Utrophin Axis is Required for Compartmentalization and Elongation of Myelin Segments

OpenAIRE

Court, Felipe A.; Hewitt, Jane E.; Davies, Kay; Patton, Bruce L.; Uncini, Antonino; Wrabetz, Lawrence; Feltri, M. Laura

2009-01-01

Animal and plant cells compartmentalize to perform morphogenetic functions. Compartmentalization of myelin-forming Schwann cells may favor elongation of myelin segments to the size required for efficient conduction of nerve impulses. Compartments in myelinated fibers were described by Ramon-y-Cajal and depend on periaxin, mutated in the hereditary neuropathy Charcot-Marie-Tooth 4F. Lack of periaxin in mice causes loss of compartments, formation of short myelin segments (internodes) and reduce...

Partial monosomy Xq(Xq23 --> qter) and trisomy 4p(4p15.33 --> pter) in a woman with intractable focal epilepsy, borderline intellectual functioning, and dysmorphic features.

Science.gov (United States)

Bartocci, Arnaldo; Striano, Pasquale; Mancardi, Maria Margherita; Fichera, Marco; Castiglia, Lucia; Galesi, Ornella; Michelucci, Roberto; Elia, Maurizio

2008-06-01

Studies of epilepsy associated with chromosomal abnormalities may provide information about clinical and EEG phenotypes and possibly to identify new epilepsy genes. We describe a female patient with intractable focal epilepsy, borderline intellectual functioning, and facial dysmorphisms, in whom genetic study (i.e., karyotype and array-CGH analysis) revealed a distal trisomy 4p and distal monosomy Xq. Although any genetic hypothesis remains speculative, several genes are located in the 4p chromosome segment involved in the rearrangement, some of which may be related to epilepsy.

Consumer segmentation based on food-related lifestyles and analysis of rabbit meat consumption

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. Buitrago-Vera

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Market segmentation divides the market into small groups of consumers who share similar characteristics. As all consumers within the same group have a common profile, marketing strategies can be adapted to target a specific type of consumer. Owing to the rapid changes in today’s society, consumer lifestyle has become the ideal criterion for market segmentation. In this study, we employed the food-related lifestyle model, which scholars have shown to be suitable and valid in several countries. Using data from a survey (with 3.53% error, we segmented the Spanish food market based on consumers’ food-related lifestyles. For each segment, we identified the consumer profile and analysed consumers’ consumption of rabbit meat. Factor analysis and cluster analysis yielded 4 segments: (i ‘Unconcerned’ (36.8% of the sample mainly consists of male consumers. Consumers in this segment value neither the freshness nor the price/quality ratio of their food items and consume rabbit meat rarely (39.4% or sporadically (29.3%. (ii ‘Cooks’ (18.4% predominantly consists of middle-aged women. Consumers in this segment are highly demanding and critical of the quality of food products. They like cooking and are regular consumers of rabbit meat (40.6%. (iii ‘Out-of-home consumers and convenience shoppers’ (28.6% mostly consists of consumers aged between 25 and 34 y old and contains a large proportion of upper-class consumers. Consumers in this segment prefer to eat out and consume convenience products. This segment has the second highest percentage of regular consumers of rabbit meat (36.9%. The segment also has the second highest percentage of consumers who rarely or never eat rabbit meat (43.9%. (iv ‘Rational purchaser with little interest in cooking’ (16.2% has the highest proportion of consumers aged 55 to 74 y old. Consumers in this segment have the least interest in cooking, the most interest in the purchasing process, and the lowest

Treatment of segmental tibial fractures with supercutaneous plating.

Science.gov (United States)

He, Xianfeng; Zhang, Jingwei; Li, Ming; Yu, Yihui; Zhu, Limei

2014-08-01

Segmental tibial fractures usually follow a high-energy trauma and are often associated with many complications. The purpose of this report is to describe the authors' results in the treatment of segmental tibial fractures with supercutaneous locking plates used as external fixators. Between January 2009 and March 2012, a total of 20 patients underwent external plating (supercutaneous plating) of the segmental tibial fractures using a less-invasive stabilization system locking plate (Synthes, Paoli, Pennsylvania). Six fractures were closed and 14 were open (6 grade IIIa, 2 grade IIIb, 4 grade II, and 2 grade I, according to the Gustilo classification). When imaging studies confirmed bone union, the plates and screws were removed in the outpatient clinic. Average time of follow-up was 23 months (range, 12-47 months). All fractures achieved union. Median time to union was 19 weeks (range, 12-40 weeks) for the proximal fractures and 22 weeks (range, 12-42 weeks) for the distal fractures. Functional results were excellent in 17 patients and good in 3. Delayed union of the fracture occurred in 2 patients. All patients' radiographs showed normal alignment. No rotational deformities and leg shortening were seen. No incidences of deep infection or implant failures occurred. Minor screw tract infection occurred in 2 patients. A new 1-stage protocol using supercutaneous plating as a definitive fixator for segmental tibial fractures is less invasive, has a lower cost, and has a shorter hospitalization time. Surgeons can achieve good reduction, soft tissue reconstruction, stable fixation, and high union rates using supercutaneous plating. The current patients obtained excellent knee and ankle joint motion and good functional outcomes and had a comfortable clinical course. Copyright 2014, SLACK Incorporated.

Automatic segmentation of 4D cardiac MR images for extraction of ventricular chambers using a spatio-temporal approach

Science.gov (United States)

Atehortúa, Angélica; Zuluaga, Maria A.; Ourselin, Sébastien; Giraldo, Diana; Romero, Eduardo

2016-03-01

An accurate ventricular function quantification is important to support evaluation, diagnosis and prognosis of several cardiac pathologies. However, expert heart delineation, specifically for the right ventricle, is a time consuming task with high inter-and-intra observer variability. A fully automatic 3D+time heart segmentation framework is herein proposed for short-axis-cardiac MRI sequences. This approach estimates the heart using exclusively information from the sequence itself without tuning any parameters. The proposed framework uses a coarse-to-fine approach, which starts by localizing the heart via spatio-temporal analysis, followed by a segmentation of the basal heart that is then propagated to the apex by using a non-rigid-registration strategy. The obtained volume is then refined by estimating the ventricular muscle by locally searching a prior endocardium- pericardium intensity pattern. The proposed framework was applied to 48 patients datasets supplied by the organizers of the MICCAI 2012 Right Ventricle segmentation challenge. Results show the robustness, efficiency and competitiveness of the proposed method both in terms of accuracy and computational load.

Investigating the role of (2S,4R)-4-hydroxyproline in elastin model peptides

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bochicchio, Brigida; Laurita, Alessandro; Heinz, Andrea

2013-01-01

Post-translational modifications play a key role in defining the biological functions of proteins. Among them, the hydroxylation of proline producing the (2S,4R)-4-hydroxyproline (Hyp) is one of the most frequent modifications observed in vertebrates, being particularly abundant in the proteins o...

Segmental colonic dilation is associated with premature termination of high-amplitude propagating contractions in children with intractable functional constipation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Koppen, I. J. N.; Thompson, B. P.; Ambeba, E. J.; Lane, V. A.; Bates, D. G.; Minneci, P. C.; Deans, K. J.; Levitt, M. A.; Wood, R. J.; Benninga, M. A.; Di Lorenzo, C.; Yacob, D.

2017-01-01

Background: Colonic dilation is common in children with intractable functional constipation (FC). Our aim was to describe the association between segmental colonic dilation and colonic dysmotility in children with FC. Methods: We performed a retrospective study on 30 children with intractable FC

The small angle neutron scattering study on the segmented polyurethane

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sudirman; Gunawan; Prasetyo, S.M.; Karo Karo, A.; Lahagu, I.M.; Darwinto, Tri

1999-01-01

The distance between hard segment (HS) and soft segment (SS) of segmented polyurethane have been determined using the Small Angle Neutron Scattering (SANS) technique. The segmented Polyurethanes (SPU) are linear multiblock copolymers, which include elastomer thermoplastic. SPU consist of hard segment and soft segment, each has tendency to make a group with similar type to form a domain. The soft segments used were polypropylene glycol (PPG) and 4,4 diphenylmethane diisocyanate (MDI), while l,4 butanediol (BD) was used as hard segment. The characteristic of SPU depends on its phase structure which is affected by several factors, such as type of chemical formula and the composition of the HS and SS, solvent as well as the synthesizing process. The samples used in this study were SPU56 and SPU68. Based on the appearance of SANS profile, it was obtained that domain distances are 12.32 nm for the SPU56 and 19 nm for the SPU68. (author)

Automatic segmentation for brain MR images via a convex optimized segmentation and bias field correction coupled model.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Yunjie; Zhao, Bo; Zhang, Jianwei; Zheng, Yuhui

2014-09-01

Accurate segmentation of magnetic resonance (MR) images remains challenging mainly due to the intensity inhomogeneity, which is also commonly known as bias field. Recently active contour models with geometric information constraint have been applied, however, most of them deal with the bias field by using a necessary pre-processing step before segmentation of MR data. This paper presents a novel automatic variational method, which can segment brain MR images meanwhile correcting the bias field when segmenting images with high intensity inhomogeneities. We first define a function for clustering the image pixels in a smaller neighborhood. The cluster centers in this objective function have a multiplicative factor that estimates the bias within the neighborhood. In order to reduce the effect of the noise, the local intensity variations are described by the Gaussian distributions with different means and variances. Then, the objective functions are integrated over the entire domain. In order to obtain the global optimal and make the results independent of the initialization of the algorithm, we reconstructed the energy function to be convex and calculated it by using the Split Bregman theory. A salient advantage of our method is that its result is independent of initialization, which allows robust and fully automated application. Our method is able to estimate the bias of quite general profiles, even in 7T MR images. Moreover, our model can also distinguish regions with similar intensity distribution with different variances. The proposed method has been rigorously validated with images acquired on variety of imaging modalities with promising results. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A Variational Level Set Model Combined with FCMS for Image Clustering Segmentation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Liming Tang

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The fuzzy C means clustering algorithm with spatial constraint (FCMS is effective for image segmentation. However, it lacks essential smoothing constraints to the cluster boundaries and enough robustness to the noise. Samson et al. proposed a variational level set model for image clustering segmentation, which can get the smooth cluster boundaries and closed cluster regions due to the use of level set scheme. However it is very sensitive to the noise since it is actually a hard C means clustering model. In this paper, based on Samson’s work, we propose a new variational level set model combined with FCMS for image clustering segmentation. Compared with FCMS clustering, the proposed model can get smooth cluster boundaries and closed cluster regions due to the use of level set scheme. In addition, a block-based energy is incorporated into the energy functional, which enables the proposed model to be more robust to the noise than FCMS clustering and Samson’s model. Some experiments on the synthetic and real images are performed to assess the performance of the proposed model. Compared with some classical image segmentation models, the proposed model has a better performance for the images contaminated by different noise levels.

Segmental and global lordosis changes with two-level axial lumbar interbody fusion and posterior instrumentation

Science.gov (United States)

Melgar, Miguel A; Tobler, William D; Ernst, Robert J; Raley, Thomas J; Anand, Neel; Miller, Larry E; Nasca, Richard J

2014-01-01

Background Loss of lumbar lordosis has been reported after lumbar interbody fusion surgery and may portend poor clinical and radiographic outcome. The objective of this research was to measure changes in segmental and global lumbar lordosis in patients treated with presacral axial L4-S1 interbody fusion and posterior instrumentation and to determine if these changes influenced patient outcomes. Methods We performed a retrospective, multi-center review of prospectively collected data in 58 consecutive patients with disabling lumbar pain and radiculopathy unresponsive to nonsurgical treatment who underwent L4-S1 interbody fusion with the AxiaLIF two-level system (Baxano Surgical, Raleigh NC). Main outcomes included back pain severity, Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), Odom's outcome criteria, and fusion status using flexion and extension radiographs and computed tomography scans. Segmental (L4-S1) and global (L1-S1) lumbar lordosis measurements were made using standing lateral radiographs. All patients were followed for at least 24 months (mean: 29 months, range 24-56 months). Results There was no bowel injury, vascular injury, deep infection, neurologic complication or implant failure. Mean back pain severity improved from 7.8±1.7 at baseline to 3.3±2.6 at 2 years (p lordosis, defined as a change in Cobb angle ≤ 5°, was identified in 84% of patients at L4-S1 and 81% of patients at L1-S1. Patients with loss or gain in segmental or global lordosis experienced similar 2-year outcomes versus those with less than a 5° change. Conclusions/Clinical Relevance Two-level axial interbody fusion supplemented with posterior fixation does not alter segmental or global lordosis in most patients. Patients with postoperative change in lordosis greater than 5° have similarly favorable long-term clinical outcomes and fusion rates compared to patients with less than 5° lordosis change. PMID:25694920

Toward combining thematic information with hierarchical multiscale segmentations using tree Markov random field model

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Xueliang; Xiao, Pengfeng; Feng, Xuezhi

2017-09-01

It has been a common idea to produce multiscale segmentations to represent the various geographic objects in high-spatial resolution remote sensing (HR) images. However, it remains a great challenge to automatically select the proper segmentation scale(s) just according to the image information. In this study, we propose a novel way of information fusion at object level by combining hierarchical multiscale segmentations with existed thematic information produced by classification or recognition. The tree Markov random field (T-MRF) model is designed for the multiscale combination framework, through which the object type is determined as close as the existed thematic information. At the same time, the object boundary is jointly determined by the thematic labels and the multiscale segments through the minimization of the energy function. The benefits of the proposed T-MRF combination model include: (1) reducing the dependence of segmentation scale selection when utilizing multiscale segmentations; (2) exploring the hierarchical context naturally imbedded in the multiscale segmentations. The HR images in both urban and rural areas are used in the experiments to show the effectiveness of the proposed combination framework on these two aspects.

Automatic segmentation and disease classification using cardiac cine MR images

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wolterink, Jelmer M.; Leiner, Tim; Viergever, Max A.; Išgum, Ivana

2018-01-01

Segmentation of the heart in cardiac cine MR is clinically used to quantify cardiac function. We propose a fully automatic method for segmentation and disease classification using cardiac cine MR images. A convolutional neural network (CNN) was designed to simultaneously segment the left ventricle

A new framework for interactive images segmentation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ashraf, M.; Sarim, M.; Shaikh, A.B.

2017-01-01

Image segmentation has become a widely studied research problem in image processing. There exist different graph based solutions for interactive image segmentation but the domain of image segmentation still needs persistent improvements. The segmentation quality of existing techniques generally depends on the manual input provided in beginning, therefore, these algorithms may not produce quality segmentation with initial seed labels provided by a novice user. In this work we investigated the use of cellular automata in image segmentation and proposed a new algorithm that follows a cellular automaton in label propagation. It incorporates both the pixel's local and global information in the segmentation process. We introduced the novel global constraints in automata evolution rules; hence proposed scheme of automata evolution is more effective than the automata based earlier evolution schemes. Global constraints are also effective in deceasing the sensitivity towards small changes made in manual input; therefore proposed approach is less dependent on label seed marks. It can produce the quality segmentation with modest user efforts. Segmentation results indicate that the proposed algorithm performs better than the earlier segmentation techniques. (author)

Beyond Dualism: Multi-Segmented Labor Markets in Ghana

OpenAIRE

James Heintz; Fabián Slonimczy

2007-01-01

Using estimates of earnings functions in Ghana, this paper examines patterns of labor market segmentation with regard to formal and informal employment. Persistent earnings differentials are used as indicators of limited mobility across segments of the employed labor force. We find evidence of labor market segmentation between formal and informal employment and between different categories of informal employment which cannot be fully explained by human capital, physical asset, or credit marke...

The one-loop partition function of N=4 super-Yang-Mills theory on RxS3

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Spradlin, Marcus; Volovich, Anastasia

2005-01-01

We study weakly coupled SU(N)N=4 super-Yang-Mills theory on RxS 3 at infinite N, which has interesting thermodynamics, including a Hagedorn transition, even at zero Yang-Mills coupling. We calculate the exact one-loop partition function below the Hagedorn temperature. Our calculation employs the representation of the one-loop dilatation operator as a spin chain Hamiltonian acting on neighboring sites and a generalization of Polya's counting of necklaces (gauge-invariant operators) to include necklaces with a 'pendant' (an operator which acts on neighboring beads). We find that the one-loop correction to the Hagedorn temperature is δlnT H =+λ/8π 2

Repair of segmental load-bearing bone defect by autologous mesenchymal stem cells and plasma-derived fibrin impregnated ceramic block results in early recovery of limb function.

Science.gov (United States)

Ng, Min Hwei; Duski, Suryasmi; Tan, Kok Keong; Yusof, Mohd Reusmaazran; Low, Kiat Cheong; Rose, Isa Mohamed; Mohamed, Zahiah; Bin Saim, Aminuddin; Idrus, Ruszymah Bt Hj

2014-01-01

Calcium phosphate-based bone substitutes have not been used to repair load-bearing bone defects due to their weak mechanical property. In this study, we reevaluated the functional outcomes of combining ceramic block with osteogenic-induced mesenchymal stem cells and platelet-rich plasma (TEB) to repair critical-sized segmental tibial defect. Comparisons were made with fresh marrow-impregnated ceramic block (MIC) and partially demineralized allogeneic bone block (ALLO). Six New Zealand White female rabbits were used in each study group and three rabbits with no implants were used as negative controls. By Day 90, 4/6 rabbits in TEB group and 2/6 in ALLO and MIC groups resumed normal gait pattern. Union was achieved significantly faster in TEB group with a radiological score of 4.50 ± 0.78 versus ALLO (1.06 ± 0.32), MIC (1.28 ± 0.24), and negative controls (0). Histologically, TEB group scored the highest percentage of new bone (82% ± 5.1%) compared to ALLO (5% ± 2.5%) and MIC (26% ± 5.2%). Biomechanically, TEB-treated tibiae achieved the highest compressive strength (43.50 ± 12.72 MPa) compared to those treated with ALLO (15.15 ± 3.57 MPa) and MIC (23.28 ± 6.14 MPa). In conclusion, TEB can repair critical-sized segmental load-bearing bone defects and restore limb function.

Repair of Segmental Load-Bearing Bone Defect by Autologous Mesenchymal Stem Cells and Plasma-Derived Fibrin Impregnated Ceramic Block Results in Early Recovery of Limb Function

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Min Hwei Ng

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Calcium phosphate-based bone substitutes have not been used to repair load-bearing bone defects due to their weak mechanical property. In this study, we reevaluated the functional outcomes of combining ceramic block with osteogenic-induced mesenchymal stem cells and platelet-rich plasma (TEB to repair critical-sized segmental tibial defect. Comparisons were made with fresh marrow-impregnated ceramic block (MIC and partially demineralized allogeneic bone block (ALLO. Six New Zealand White female rabbits were used in each study group and three rabbits with no implants were used as negative controls. By Day 90, 4/6 rabbits in TEB group and 2/6 in ALLO and MIC groups resumed normal gait pattern. Union was achieved significantly faster in TEB group with a radiological score of 4.50 ± 0.78 versus ALLO (1.06 ± 0.32, MIC (1.28 ± 0.24, and negative controls (0. Histologically, TEB group scored the highest percentage of new bone (82% ± 5.1% compared to ALLO (5% ± 2.5% and MIC (26% ± 5.2%. Biomechanically, TEB-treated tibiae achieved the highest compressive strength (43.50 ± 12.72 MPa compared to those treated with ALLO (15.15 ± 3.57 MPa and MIC (23.28 ± 6.14 MPa. In conclusion, TEB can repair critical-sized segmental load-bearing bone defects and restore limb function.

Multi-segment foot kinematics and plantar fascia strain during treadmill and overground running

OpenAIRE

Sinclair, Jonathan Kenneth; Taylor, Paul John; Vincent, Hayley

2014-01-01

Although physiologically beneficial, running is known to be associated with a high incidence of chronic injuries. Excessive coronal and transverse plane motions of the foot segments and strain experienced by the plantar fascia are linked to the development of a number of chronic injuries. This study examined differences in multi-segment foot kinematics and plantar fascia strain during treadmill and overground running. Twelve male recreational runners ran at 4.0 m.s-1 in both treadmill and ove...

Loss-of-function and gain-of-function phenotypes of stomatocytosis mutant RhAG F65S

Science.gov (United States)

Stewart, Andrew K.; Shmukler, Boris E.; Vandorpe, David H.; Rivera, Alicia; Heneghan, John F.; Li, Xiaojin; Hsu, Ann; Karpatkin, Margaret; O'Neill, Allison F.; Bauer, Daniel E.; Heeney, Matthew M.; John, Kathryn; Kuypers, Frans A.; Gallagher, Patrick G.; Lux, Samuel E.; Brugnara, Carlo; Westhoff, Connie M.

2011-01-01

Four patients with overhydrated cation leak stomatocytosis (OHSt) exhibited the heterozygous RhAG missense mutation F65S. OHSt erythrocytes were osmotically fragile, with elevated Na and decreased K contents and increased cation channel-like activity. Xenopus oocytes expressing wild-type RhAG and RhAG F65S exhibited increased ouabain and bumetanide-resistant uptake of Li+ and 86Rb+, with secondarily increased 86Rb+ influx sensitive to ouabain and to bumetanide. Increased RhAG-associated 14C-methylammonium (MA) influx was severely reduced in RhAG F65S-expressing oocytes. RhAG-associated influxes of Li+, 86Rb+, and 14C-MA were pharmacologically distinct, and Li+ uptakes associated with RhAG and RhAG F65S were differentially inhibited by NH4+ and Gd3+. RhAG-expressing oocytes were acidified and depolarized by 5 mM bath NH3/NH4+, but alkalinized and depolarized by subsequent bath exposure to 5 mM methylammonium chloride (MA/MA+). RhAG F65S-expressing oocytes exhibited near-wild-type responses to NH4Cl, but MA/MA+ elicited attenuated alkalinization and strong hyperpolarization. Expression of RhAG or RhAG F65S increased steady-state cation currents unaltered by bath Li+ substitution or bath addition of 5 mM NH4Cl or MA/MA+. These oocyte studies suggest that 1) RhAG expression increases oocyte transport of NH3/NH4+ and MA/MA+; 2) RhAG F65S exhibits gain-of-function phenotypes of increased cation conductance/permeability, and loss-of-function phenotypes of decreased and modified MA/MA+ transport, and decreased NH3/NH4+-associated depolarization; and 3) RhAG transports NH3/NH4+ and MA/MA+ by distinct mechanisms, and/or the substrates elicit distinct cellular responses. Thus, RhAG F65S is a loss-of-function mutation for amine transport. The altered oocyte intracellular pH, membrane potential, and currents associated with RhAG or RhAG F65S expression may reflect distinct transport mechanisms. PMID:21849667

A contrast enhancement method for improving the segmentation of breast lesions on ultrasonography.

Science.gov (United States)

Flores, Wilfrido Gómez; Pereira, Wagner Coelho de Albuquerque

2017-01-01

This paper presents an adaptive contrast enhancement method based on sigmoidal mapping function (SACE) used for improving the computerized segmentation of breast lesions on ultrasound. First, from the original ultrasound image an intensity variation map is obtained, which is used to generate local sigmoidal mapping functions related to distinct contextual regions. Then, a bilinear interpolation scheme is used to transform every original pixel to a new gray level value. Also, four contrast enhancement techniques widely used in breast ultrasound enhancement are implemented: histogram equalization (HEQ), contrast limited adaptive histogram equalization (CLAHE), fuzzy enhancement (FEN), and sigmoid based enhancement (SEN). In addition, these contrast enhancement techniques are considered in a computerized lesion segmentation scheme based on watershed transformation. The performance comparison among techniques is assessed in terms of both the quality of contrast enhancement and the segmentation accuracy. The former is quantified by the measure, where the greater the value, the better the contrast enhancement, whereas the latter is calculated by the Jaccard index, which should tend towards unity to indicate adequate segmentation. The experiments consider a data set with 500 breast ultrasound images. The results show that SACE outperforms its counterparts, where the median values for the measure are: SACE: 139.4, SEN: 68.2, HEQ: 64.1, CLAHE: 62.8, and FEN: 7.9. Considering the segmentation performance results, the SACE method presents the largest accuracy, where the median values for the Jaccard index are: SACE: 0.81, FEN: 0.80, CLAHE: 0.79, HEQ: 77, and SEN: 0.63. The SACE method performs well due to the combination of three elements: (1) the intensity variation map reduces intensity variations that could distort the real response of the mapping function, (2) the sigmoidal mapping function enhances the gray level range where the transition between lesion and background

Dual effect of local anesthetics on the function of excitable rod outer segment disk membrane

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mashimo, T.; Abe, K.; Yoshiya, I.

1986-04-01

The effects of local anesthetics and a divalent cation, Ca2+, on the function of rhodopsin were estimated from the measurements of light-induced proton uptake. The light-induced proton uptake by rhodopsin in the rod outer segment disk membrane was enhanced at lower pH (4) but depressed at higher pHs (6 to 8) by the tertiary amine local anesthetics lidocaine, bupivacaine, tetracaine, and dibucaine. The order of local anesthetic-induced depression of the proton uptake followed that of their clinical anesthetic potencies. The depression of the proton uptake versus the concentration of the uncharged form of local anesthetic nearly describes the same curve for small and large dose of added anesthetic. Furthermore, a neutral local anesthetic, benzocaine, depressed the proton uptake at all pHs between 4 and 7. These results indicate that the depression of the proton uptake is due to the effect of only the uncharged form. It is hypothesized that the uncharged form of local anesthetics interacts hydrophobically with the rhodopsin in the disk membrane. The dual effect of local anesthetics on the proton uptake, on the other hand, suggests that the activation of the function of rhodopsin may be caused by the charged form. There was no significant change in the light-induced proton uptake by rhodopsin when 1 mM of Ca2+ was introduced into the disk membrane at varying pHs in the absence or presence of local anesthetics. This fact indicates that Ca2+ ion does not influence the diprotonating process of metarhodopsin; neither does it interfere with the local anesthetic-induced changes in the rhodopsin molecule.

Thermophysical properties of Na2Th (MoO4)3 (s) and Na4Th (MoO4)4 (s)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dash, Smruti; Rakshit, S.K.; Singh, Ziley; Keskar, Meera; Dahale, N.D.

2009-01-01

The heat capacity of Na 2 Th (MoO 4 ) 3 (s) and Na 4 Th (MoO 4 ) 4 (s) have been measured by differential scanning calorimeter in the temperature range 318 to 845 K. The corresponding values are: C p,m (Na 2 Th (MoO 4 ) 3 ,s,T) (JK-1 mol-1) 368.710+ 1.0 10-1 (T/K) - 4950267 (K/T)2 (318 ≤ T (K) ≤ 845). C p,m (Na 4 Th (MoO 4 ) 4 ,s,T) (JK-1 mol-1) = 638.761+ 5.12 10-3 (T/K) - 12691691 (K/T)-2 (318 ≤ T (K) ≤ 845). Experimental heat capacity values for Na 2 Th (MoO 4 ) 3 (s) match reasonably well with that of additive oxide values. But C p,m (T) values of Na 4 Th (MoO 4 ) 4 (s) deviates substantially from the additive oxide values above 700 K. The uncertainty of the measurements reported in this study is calculated to be within 1 to 3 % . (author)

Dutch-Cantonese Bilinguals Show Segmental Processing during Sinitic Language Production

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kalinka Timmer

2017-07-01

Full Text Available This study addressed the debate on the primacy of syllable vs. segment (i.e., phoneme as a functional unit of phonological encoding in syllabic languages by investigating both behavioral and neural responses of Dutch-Cantonese (DC bilinguals in a color-object picture naming task. Specifically, we investigated whether DC bilinguals exhibit the phonemic processing strategy, evident in monolingual Dutch speakers, during planning of their Cantonese speech production. Participants named the color of colored line-drawings in Cantonese faster when color and object matched in the first segment than when they were mismatched (e.g., 藍駱駝, /laam4/ /lok3to4/, “blue camel;” 紅饑駝, /hung4/ /lok3to4/, “red camel”. This is in contrast to previous studies in Sinitic languages that did not reveal such phoneme-only facilitation. Phonemic overlap also modulated the event-related potentials (ERPs in the 125–175, 200–300, and 300–400 ms time windows, suggesting earlier ERP modulations than in previous studies with monolingual Sinitic speakers or unbalanced Sinitic-Germanic bilinguals. Conjointly, our results suggest that, while the syllable may be considered the primary unit of phonological encoding in Sinitic languages, the phoneme can serve as the primary unit of phonological encoding, both behaviorally and neurally, for DC bilinguals. The presence/absence of a segment onset effect in Sinitic languages may be related to the proficiency in the Germanic language of bilinguals.

Morphological and molecular evidence for functional organization along the rostrocaudal axis of the adult zebrafish intestine

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Lam Siew

2010-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The zebrafish intestine is a simple tapered tube that is folded into three sections. However, whether the intestine is functionally similar along its length remains unknown. Thus, a systematic structural and functional characterization of the zebrafish intestine is desirable for future studies of the digestive tract and the intestinal biology and development. Results To characterize the structure and function of the adult zebrafish intestine, we divided the intestine into seven roughly equal-length segments, S1-S7, and systematically examined the morphology of the mucosal lining, histology of the epithelium, and molecular signatures from transcriptome analysis. Prominent morphological features are circumferentially-oriented villar ridges in segments S1-S6 and the absence of crypts. Molecular characterization of the transcriptome from each segment shows that segments S1-S5 are very similar while S6 and S7 unique. Gene ontology analyses reveal that S1-S5 express genes whose functions involve metabolism of carbohydrates, transport of lipids and energy generation, while the last two segments display relatively limited function. Based on comparative Gene Set Enrichment Analysis, the first five segments share strong similarity with human and mouse small intestine while S6 shows similarity with human cecum and rectum, and S7 with human rectum. The intestinal tract does not display the anatomical, morphological, and molecular signatures of a stomach and thus we conclude that this organ is absent from the zebrafish digestive system. Conclusions Our genome-wide gene expression data indicate that, despite the lack of crypts, the rostral, mid, and caudal portions of the zebrafish intestine have distinct functions analogous to the mammalian small and large intestine, respectively. Organization of ridge structures represents a unique feature of zebrafish intestine, though they produce similar cross sections to mammalian intestines

Attenuation of pathogenic Rift Valley fever virus strain through the chimeric S-segment encoding sandfly fever phlebovirus NSs or a dominant-negative PKR.

Science.gov (United States)

Nishiyama, Shoko; Slack, Olga A L; Lokugamage, Nandadeva; Hill, Terence E; Juelich, Terry L; Zhang, Lihong; Smith, Jennifer K; Perez, David; Gong, Bin; Freiberg, Alexander N; Ikegami, Tetsuro

2016-11-16

Rift Valley fever is a mosquito-borne zoonotic disease affecting ruminants and humans. Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV: family Bunyaviridae, genus Phlebovirus) causes abortions and fetal malformations in ruminants, and hemorrhagic fever, encephalitis, or retinitis in humans. The live-attenuated MP-12 vaccine is conditionally licensed for veterinary use in the US. However, this vaccine lacks a marker for the differentiation of vaccinated from infected animals (DIVA). NSs gene is dispensable for RVFV replication, and thus, rMP-12 strains lacking NSs gene is applicable to monitor vaccinated animals. However, the immunogenicity of MP-12 lacking NSs was not as high as parental MP-12. Thus, chimeric MP-12 strains encoding NSs from either Toscana virus (TOSV), sandfly fever Sicilian virus (SFSV) or Punta Toro virus Adames strain (PTA) were characterized previously. Although chimeric MP-12 strains are highly immunogenic, the attenuation through the S-segment remains unknown. Using pathogenic ZH501 strain, we aimed to demonstrate the attenuation of ZH501 strain through chimeric S-segment encoding either the NSs of TOSV, SFSV, PTA, or Punta Toro virus Balliet strain (PTB). In addition, we characterized rZH501 encoding a human dominant-negative PKR (PKRΔE7), which also enhances the immunogenicity of MP-12. Study done on mice revealed that attenuation of rZH501 occurred through the S-segment encoding either PKRΔE7 or SFSV NSs. However, rZH501 encoding either TOSV, PTA, or PTB NSs in the S-segment uniformly caused lethal encephalitis. Our results indicated that the S-segments encoding PKRΔE7 or SFSV NSs are attenuated and thus applicable toward next generation MP-12 vaccine candidates that encode a DIVA marker.

Crosstalk corrections for improved energy resolution with highly segmented HPGe-detectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bruyneel, Bart; Reiter, Peter; Wiens, Andreas; Eberth, Juergen; Hess, Herbert; Pascovici, Gheorghe; Warr, Nigel; Aydin, Sezgin; Bazzacco, Dino; Recchia, Francesco

2009-01-01

Crosstalk effects of 36-fold segmented, large volume AGATA HPGe detectors cause shifts in the γ-ray energy measured by the inner core and outer segments as function of segment multiplicity. The positions of the segment sum energy peaks vary approximately linearly with increasing segment multiplicity. The resolution of these peaks deteriorates also linearly as a function of segment multiplicity. Based on single event treatment, two methods were developed in the AGATA Collaboration to correct for the crosstalk induced effects by employing a linear transformation. The matrix elements are deduced from coincidence measurements of γ-rays of various energies as recorded with digital electronics. A very efficient way to determine the matrix elements is obtained by measuring the base line shifts of untriggered segments using γ-ray detection events in which energy is deposited in a single segment. A second approach is based on measuring segment energy values for γ-ray interaction events in which energy is deposited in only two segments. After performing crosstalk corrections, the investigated detector shows a good fit between the core energy and the segment sum energy at all multiplicities and an improved energy resolution of the segment sum energy peaks. The corrected core energy resolution equals the segment sum energy resolution which is superior at all folds compared to the individual uncorrected energy resolutions. This is achieved by combining the two independent energy measurements with the core contact on the one hand and the segment contacts on the other hand.

Cell Identity Switching Regulated by Retinoic Acid Signaling Maintains Homogeneous Segments in the Hindbrain.

Science.gov (United States)

Addison, Megan; Xu, Qiling; Cayuso, Jordi; Wilkinson, David G

2018-06-04

The patterning of tissues to form subdivisions with distinct and homogeneous regional identity is potentially disrupted by cell intermingling. Transplantation studies suggest that homogeneous segmental identity in the hindbrain is maintained by identity switching of cells that intermingle into another segment. We show that switching occurs during normal development and is mediated by feedback between segment identity and the retinoic acid degrading enzymes, cyp26b1 and cyp26c1. egr2, which specifies the segmental identity of rhombomeres r3 and r5, underlies the lower expression level of cyp26b1 and cyp26c1 in r3 and r5 compared with r2, r4, and r6. Consequently, r3 or r5 cells that intermingle into adjacent segments encounter cells with higher cyp26b1/c1 expression, which we find is required for downregulation of egr2b expression. Furthermore, egr2b expression is regulated in r2, r4, and r6 by non-autonomous mechanisms that depend upon the number of neighbors that express egr2b. These findings reveal that a community regulation of retinoid signaling maintains homogeneous segmental identity. Copyright © 2018 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Stereoselective synthesis of (2S,3S,4Z-4-fluoro-1,3-dihydroxy-2-(octadecanoylaminooctadec-4-ene, [(Z-4-fluoroceramide], and its phase behavior at the air/water interface

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

2008-04-01

Full Text Available BackgroundSphingolipids belong to the most important constituents of the membranes of eukaryotic cells. As intermediates in sphingolipid metabolism, sphingosine and its N-octadecanoyl-derivative, ceramide, exhibit a variety of biological functions. These compounds play a crucial role in many essential biological processes such as cell growth, cell differentiation, cell recognition and apoptosis. More specifically, sphingolipids are crucial e.g. for the function of the skin because they contribute to the formation of the water permeability barrier consisting of a highly organized multilaminar lipid matrix of free fatty acids, cholesterol and ceramides containing additional hydroxyl groups in the sphingosin part and longer fatty acid amide functions.ResultsIn a short synthetic route (2S,3S-4-fluorosphingosine and 4-fluoroceramide, the fluorinated analogues of the natural products, D-erythro-sphingosine and ceramide, have been prepared. The key step of the synthetic sequence is an asymmetric aldol reaction of (Z-2-fluorohexadec-2-enal, prepared in three steps from tetradecanal, with an enantiopure N-protected iminoglycinate. Deprotection of the imino function and reduction of the ester group led to the 4-fluorosphingosine, which on acetylation with stearoyl chloride gave 4-fluoroceramide. After careful HPLC purification of the latter compound its phase behavior was investigated by Langmuir film balance technique and compared to that of natural ceramide. While the isotherms are quite similar in shape, they differ significantly in the starting point of increasing film pressure (56 or 67 Å2/molecule and in the film collapse pressure (38 or 56 mN/m for ceramide and 4-fluoroceramide, respectively. Moreover, the hysteresis curves are very different. While consecutive isothermic compression – expansion cycles are reversible for the 4-fluoro derivative, substantial substance loss into the subphase or irreversible formation of multi-layers was observed

Optimally segmented permanent magnet structures

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Insinga, Andrea Roberto; Bjørk, Rasmus; Smith, Anders

2016-01-01

We present an optimization approach which can be employed to calculate the globally optimal segmentation of a two-dimensional magnetic system into uniformly magnetized pieces. For each segment the algorithm calculates the optimal shape and the optimal direction of the remanent flux density vector......, with respect to a linear objective functional. We illustrate the approach with results for magnet design problems from different areas, such as a permanent magnet electric motor, a beam focusing quadrupole magnet for particle accelerators and a rotary device for magnetic refrigeration....

Brain Tumor Image Segmentation in MRI Image

Science.gov (United States)

Peni Agustin Tjahyaningtijas, Hapsari

2018-04-01

Brain tumor segmentation plays an important role in medical image processing. Treatment of patients with brain tumors is highly dependent on early detection of these tumors. Early detection of brain tumors will improve the patient’s life chances. Diagnosis of brain tumors by experts usually use a manual segmentation that is difficult and time consuming because of the necessary automatic segmentation. Nowadays automatic segmentation is very populer and can be a solution to the problem of tumor brain segmentation with better performance. The purpose of this paper is to provide a review of MRI-based brain tumor segmentation methods. There are number of existing review papers, focusing on traditional methods for MRI-based brain tumor image segmentation. this paper, we focus on the recent trend of automatic segmentation in this field. First, an introduction to brain tumors and methods for brain tumor segmentation is given. Then, the state-of-the-art algorithms with a focus on recent trend of full automatic segmentaion are discussed. Finally, an assessment of the current state is presented and future developments to standardize MRI-based brain tumor segmentation methods into daily clinical routine are addressed.

A fast 4D IMRT/VMAT planning method based on segment aperture morphing.

Science.gov (United States)

Klawikowski, Slade; Tai, An; Ates, Ozgur; Ahunbay, Ergun; Li, X Allen

2018-04-01

Four-dimensional volumetric modulated arc therapy (4D VMAT) and four-dimensional intensity-modulated radiotherapy (4D IMRT) are developing radiation therapy treatment strategies designed to maximize dose conformality, minimize normal tissue dose, and deliver the treatment as efficiently as possible. The patient's entire breathing cycle is captured through 4D imaging modalities and then separated into individual breathing phases for planning purposes. Optimizing multiphase VMAT and IMRT plans is computationally demanding and currently impractical for clinical application. The purpose of this study is to assess a new planning process decreasing the upfront computational time required to optimize multiphased treatment plans while maintaining good plan quality. Optimized VMAT and IMRT plans were created on the end-of-exhale (EOE) breathing phase of 10-phase 4D CT scans with planning tumor volume (PTV)-based targets. These single-phase optimized plans are analogous to single-phase gated treatment plans. The simulated tracked plans were created by deformably registering EOE contours to the remaining breathing phases, recalculating the optimized EOE plan onto the other individual phases and realigning the MLC's relative positions to the PTV border in each of the individual breathing phases using a segment aperture morphing (SAM) algorithm. Doses for each of the 10 phases were calculated with the treatment planning system and deformably transferred back onto the EOE phase and averaged with equal weighting simulating the actual delivered dose a patient would potentially receive in a tracked treatment plan. Plan DVH quality for the 10-phase 4D SAM plans were comparable with the individual EOE optimized treatment plans for the PTV structures as well as the organ at risk structures. SAM-based algorithms out performed simpler isocenter-shifted only approaches. SAM-based 4D planning greatly reduced plan computation time vs individually optimizing all 10 phases. In addition

Trajectory Based Optimal Segment Computation in Road Network Databases

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Li, Xiaohui; Ceikute, Vaida; Jensen, Christian S.

2013-01-01

Finding a location for a new facility such that the facility attracts the maximal number of customers is a challenging problem. Existing studies either model customers as static sites and thus do not consider customer movement, or they focus on theoretical aspects and do not provide solutions...... that are shown empirically to be scalable. Given a road network, a set of existing facilities, and a collection of customer route traversals, an optimal segment query returns the optimal road network segment(s) for a new facility. We propose a practical framework for computing this query, where each route...... traversal is assigned a score that is distributed among the road segments covered by the route according to a score distribution model. The query returns the road segment(s) with the highest score. To achieve low latency, it is essential to prune the very large search space. We propose two algorithms...

Trajectory Based Optimal Segment Computation in Road Network Databases

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Li, Xiaohui; Ceikute, Vaida; Jensen, Christian S.

Finding a location for a new facility such that the facility attracts the maximal number of customers is a challenging problem. Existing studies either model customers as static sites and thus do not consider customer movement, or they focus on theoretical aspects and do not provide solutions...... that are shown empirically to be scalable. Given a road network, a set of existing facilities, and a collection of customer route traversals, an optimal segment query returns the optimal road network segment(s) for a new facility. We propose a practical framework for computing this query, where each route...... traversal is assigned a score that is distributed among the road segments covered by the route according to a score distribution model. The query returns the road segment(s) with the highest score. To achieve low latency, it is essential to prune the very large search space. We propose two algorithms...

How many segments are necessary to characterize delayed colonic transit time?

Science.gov (United States)

Bouchoucha, Michel; Devroede, Ghislain; Bon, Cyriaque; Raynaud, Jean-Jacques; Bejou, Bakhtiar; Benamouzig, Robert

2015-10-01

Measuring colonic transit time with radiopaque markers is simple, inexpensive, and very useful in constipated patients. Yet, the algorithm used to identify colonic segments is subjective, rather than founded on prior experimentation. The aim of the present study is to describe a rational way to determine the colonic partition in the measurement of colonic transit time. Colonic transit time was measured in seven segments: ascending colon, hepatic flexure, right and left transverse colon, splenic flexure, descending colon, and rectosigmoid in 852 patients with functional bowel and anorectal disorders. An unsupervised algorithm for modeling Gaussian mixtures served to estimate the number of subgroups from this oversegmented colonic transit time. After that, we performed a k-means clustering that separated the observations into homogenous groups of patients according to their oversegmented colonic transit time. The Gaussian mixture followed by the k-means clustering defined 4 populations of patients: "normal and fast transit" (n = 548) and three groups of patients with delayed colonic transit time "right delay" (n = 82) in which transit is delayed in the right part of the colon, "left delay" (n = 87) with transit delayed in the left part of colon and "outlet constipation" (n = 135) for patients with transit delayed in the terminal intestine. Only 3.7 % of patients were "erroneously" classified in the 4 groups recognized by clustering. This unsupervised analysis of segmental colonic transit time shows that the classical division of the colon and the rectum into three segments is sufficient to characterize delayed segmental colonic transit time.

SU-F-I-11: Software Development for 4D-CBCT Research of Real-Time-Image Gated Spot Scanning Proton Therapy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fujii, T; Fujii, Y; Shimizu, S; Shirato, H [Graduate School of Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Hokkaido (Japan); Matsuura, T; Umegaki, K [Faculty of Engineering, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Hokkaido (Japan); Takao, S; Miyamoto, N; Matsuzaki, Y [Proton Beam Therapy Center, Hokkaido University Hospital, Sapporo, Hokkaido (Japan)

2016-06-15

Purpose: To acquire correct information for inside the body in patient positioning of Real-time-image Gated spot scanning Proton Therapy (RGPT), utilization of tomographic image at exhale phase of patient respiration obtained from 4-dimensional Cone beam CT (4D-CBCT) has been desired. We developed software named “Image Analysis Platform” for 4D-CBCT researches which has technique to segment projection-images based on 3D marker position in the body. The 3D marker position can be obtained by using two axes CBCT system at Hokkaido University Hospital Proton Therapy Center. Performance verification of the software was implemented. Methods: The software calculates 3D marker position retrospectively by using matching positions on pair projection-images obtained by two axes fluoroscopy mode of CBCT system. Log data of 3D marker tracking are outputted after the tracking. By linking the Log data and gantry-angle file of projection-image, all projection-images are equally segmented to spatial five-phases according to marker 3D position of SI direction and saved to specified phase folder. Segmented projection-images are used for CBCT reconstruction of each phase. As performance verification of the software, test of segmented projection-images was implemented for sample CT phantom (Catphan) image acquired by two axes fluoroscopy mode of CBCT. Dummy marker was added on the images. Motion of the marker was modeled to move in 3D space. Motion type of marker is sin4 wave function has amplitude 10.0 mm/5.0 mm/0 mm, cycle 4 s/4 s/0 s for SI/AP/RL direction. Results: The marker was tracked within 0.58 mm accuracy in 3D for all images, and it was confirmed that all projection-images were segmented and saved to each phase folder correctly. Conclusion: We developed software for 4D-CBCT research which can segment projection-image based on 3D marker position. It will be helpful to create high quality of 4D-CBCT reconstruction image for RGPT.

Graph-based surface reconstruction from stereo pairs using image segmentation

Science.gov (United States)

Bleyer, Michael; Gelautz, Margrit

2005-01-01

This paper describes a novel stereo matching algorithm for epipolar rectified images. The method applies colour segmentation on the reference image. The use of segmentation makes the algorithm capable of handling large untextured regions, estimating precise depth boundaries and propagating disparity information to occluded regions, which are challenging tasks for conventional stereo methods. We model disparity inside a segment by a planar equation. Initial disparity segments are clustered to form a set of disparity layers, which are planar surfaces that are likely to occur in the scene. Assignments of segments to disparity layers are then derived by minimization of a global cost function via a robust optimization technique that employs graph cuts. The cost function is defined on the pixel level, as well as on the segment level. While the pixel level measures the data similarity based on the current disparity map and detects occlusions symmetrically in both views, the segment level propagates the segmentation information and incorporates a smoothness term. New planar models are then generated based on the disparity layers' spatial extents. Results obtained for benchmark and self-recorded image pairs indicate that the proposed method is able to compete with the best-performing state-of-the-art algorithms.

Activator Gcn4 employs multiple segments of Med15/Gal11, including the KIX domain, to recruit mediator to target genes in vivo.

Science.gov (United States)

Jedidi, Iness; Zhang, Fan; Qiu, Hongfang; Stahl, Stephen J; Palmer, Ira; Kaufman, Joshua D; Nadaud, Philippe S; Mukherjee, Sujoy; Wingfield, Paul T; Jaroniec, Christopher P; Hinnebusch, Alan G

2010-01-22

Mediator is a multisubunit coactivator required for initiation by RNA polymerase II. The Mediator tail subdomain, containing Med15/Gal11, is a target of the activator Gcn4 in vivo, critical for recruitment of native Mediator or the Mediator tail subdomain present in sin4Delta cells. Although several Gal11 segments were previously shown to bind Gcn4 in vitro, the importance of these interactions for recruitment of Mediator and transcriptional activation by Gcn4 in cells was unknown. We show that interaction of Gcn4 with the Mediator tail in vitro and recruitment of this subcomplex and intact Mediator to the ARG1 promoter in vivo involve additive contributions from three different segments in the N terminus of Gal11. These include the KIX domain, which is a critical target of other activators, and a region that shares a conserved motif (B-box) with mammalian coactivator SRC-1, and we establish that B-box is a critical determinant of Mediator recruitment by Gcn4. We further demonstrate that Gcn4 binds to the Gal11 KIX domain directly and, by NMR chemical shift analysis combined with mutational studies, we identify the likely binding site for Gcn4 on the KIX surface. Gcn4 is distinctive in relying on comparable contributions from multiple segments of Gal11 for efficient recruitment of Mediator in vivo.

High-speed MRF-based segmentation algorithm using pixonal images

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nadernejad, Ehsan; Hassanpour, H.; Naimi, H. M.

2013-01-01

Segmentation is one of the most complicated procedures in the image processing that has important role in the image analysis. In this paper, an improved pixon-based method for image segmentation is proposed. In proposed algorithm, complex partial differential equations (PDEs) is used as a kernel...... function to make pixonal image. Using this kernel function causes noise on images to reduce and an image not to be over-segment when the pixon-based method is used. Utilising the PDE-based method leads to elimination of some unnecessary details and results in a fewer pixon number, faster performance...... and more robustness against unwanted environmental noises. As the next step, the appropriate pixons are extracted and eventually, we segment the image with the use of a Markov random field. The experimental results indicate that the proposed pixon-based approach has a reduced computational load...

Exploring a new S U (4 ) symmetry of meson interpolators

Science.gov (United States)

Glozman, L. Ya.; Pak, M.

2015-07-01

In recent lattice calculations it has been discovered that mesons upon truncation of the quasizero modes of the Dirac operator obey a symmetry larger than the S U (2 )L×S U (2 )R×U (1 )A symmetry of the QCD Lagrangian. This symmetry has been suggested to be S U (4 )⊃S U (2 )L×S U (2 )R×U (1 )A that mixes not only the u- and d-quarks of a given chirality, but also the left- and right-handed components. Here it is demonstrated that bilinear q ¯q interpolating fields of a given spin J ≥1 transform into each other according to irreducible representations of S U (4 ) or, in general, S U (2 NF). This fact together with the coincidence of the correlation functions establishes S U (4 ) as a symmetry of the J ≥1 mesons upon quasizero mode reduction. It is shown that this symmetry is a symmetry of the confining instantaneous charge-charge interaction in QCD. Different subgroups of S U (4 ) as well as the S U (4 ) algebra are explored.

Retinal Vessel Segmentation via Structure Tensor Coloring and Anisotropy Enhancement

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mehmet Nergiz

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Retinal vessel segmentation is one of the preliminary tasks for developing diagnosis software systems related to various retinal diseases. In this study, a fully automated vessel segmentation system is proposed. Firstly, the vessels are enhanced using a Frangi Filter. Afterwards, Structure Tensor is applied to the response of the Frangi Filter and a 4-D tensor field is obtained. After decomposing the Eigenvalues of the tensor field, the anisotropy between the principal Eigenvalues are enhanced exponentially. Furthermore, this 4-D tensor field is converted to the 3-D space which is composed of energy, anisotropy and orientation and then a Contrast Limited Adaptive Histogram Equalization algorithm is applied to the energy space. Later, the obtained energy space is multiplied by the enhanced mean surface curvature of itself and the modified 3-D space is converted back to the 4-D tensor field. Lastly, the vessel segmentation is performed by using Otsu algorithm and tensor coloring method which is inspired by the ellipsoid tensor visualization technique. Finally, some post-processing techniques are applied to the segmentation result. In this study, the proposed method achieved mean sensitivity of 0.8123, 0.8126, 0.7246 and mean specificity of 0.9342, 0.9442, 0.9453 as well as mean accuracy of 0.9183, 0.9442, 0.9236 for DRIVE, STARE and CHASE_DB1 datasets, respectively. The mean execution time of this study is 6.104, 6.4525 and 18.8370 s for the aforementioned three datasets respectively.

Isotope shift of 40,42,44,48Ca in the 4s 2S1/2 → 4p 2P3/2 transition

Science.gov (United States)

Gorges, C.; Blaum, K.; Frömmgen, N.; Geppert, Ch; Hammen, M.; Kaufmann, S.; Krämer, J.; Krieger, A.; Neugart, R.; Sánchez, R.; Nörtershäuser, W.

2015-12-01

We report on improved isotope shift measurements of the isotopes {}{40,42,{44,48}}Ca in the 4{{s}}{ }2{{{S}}}1/2\\to 4{{p}}{ }2{{{P}}}3/2 (D2) transition using collinear laser spectroscopy. Accurately known isotope shifts in the 4{{s}}{ }2{{{S}}}1/2\\to 4{{p}}{ }2{{{P}}}1/2(D1) transition were used to calibrate the ion beam energy with an uncertainty of {{Δ }}U≈ +/- 0.25 {{V}}. The accuracy in the D2 transition was improved by a factor of 5-10. A King-plot analysis of the two transitions revealed that the field shift factor in the D2 line is about 1.8(13)% larger than in the D1 transition which is ascribed to relativistic contributions of the 4{{{p}}}1/2 wave function.

Segmented block copolymers with monodisperse aramide end-segments

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Araichimani, A.; Gaymans, R.J.

2008-01-01

Segmented block copolymers were synthesized using monodisperse diaramide (TT) as hard segments and PTMO with a molecular weight of 2 900 g · mol-1 as soft segments. The aramide: PTMO segment ratio was increased from 1:1 to 2:1 thereby changing the structure from a high molecular weight multi-block

A new model for the determination of limb segment mass in children.

Science.gov (United States)

Kuemmerle-Deschner, J B; Hansmann, S; Rapp, H; Dannecker, G E

2007-04-01

The knowledge of limb segment masses is critical for the calculation of joint torques. Several methods for segment mass estimation have been described in the literature. They are either inaccurate or not applicable to the limb segments of children. Therefore, we developed a new cylinder brick model (CBM) to estimate segment mass in children. The aim of this study was to compare CBM and a model based on a polynomial regression equation (PRE) to volume measurement obtained by the water displacement method (WDM). We examined forearms, hands, lower legs, and feet of 121 children using CBM, PRE, and WDM. The differences between CBM and WDM or PRE and WDM were calculated and compared using a Bland-Altman plot of differences. Absolute limb segment mass measured by WDM ranged from 0.16+/-0.04 kg for hands in girls 5-6 years old, up to 2.72+/-1.03 kg for legs in girls 11-12 years old. The differences of normalised segment masses ranged from 0.0002+/-0.0021 to 0.0011+/-0.0036 for CBM-WDM and from 0.0023+/-0.0041 to 0.0127+/-0.036 for PRE-WDM (values are mean+/-2 S.D.). The CBM showed better agreement with WDM than PRE for all limb segments in girls and boys. CBM is accurate and superior to PRE for the estimation of individual limb segment mass of children. Therefore, CBM is a practical and useful tool for the analysis of kinetic parameters and the calculation of resulting forces to assess joint functionality in children.

Skip segment Hirschsprung's disease: a systematic review.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

O'Donnell, Anne-Marie

2012-02-01

PURPOSE: Hirschsprung\\'s disease is characterised by the congenital absence of ganglion cells beginning in the distal rectum and extending proximally for varying distances. \\'Zonal aganglionosis\\' is a phenomenon involving a zone of aganglionosis occurring within normally innervated intestine. \\'Skip segment\\' Hirschsprung\\'s disease (SSHD) involves a \\'skip area\\' of normally ganglionated intestine, surrounded proximally and distally by aganglionosis. While Hirschsprung\\'s disease is believed to be the result of incomplete craniocaudal migration of neural crest-derived cells, the occurrence of SSHD has no clear embryological explanation. The aim of this study was to perform a systematic review of SSHD, reported in the literature between 1954 and 2009, in order to determine the clinical characteristics of this rare entity and its significance. METHODS: The first reported case of SSHD was published in 1954. A systematic review of SSHD cases in the literature, from 1954 to 2009, was carried out using the electronic database \\'Pubmed\\'. Detailed information was recorded regarding the age, gender, presenting symptoms and location of the skip segment in each patient. RESULTS: 24 cases of SSHD have been reported in the literature to date. 18\\/24 (75%) of these cases were males and 6\\/24 (25%) were females. Of these, 22\\/24 (92%) were cases of total colonic aganglionosis (TCA), and 2\\/24 (8%) were rectosigmoid Hirschsprung\\'s disease. Of the 22 TCA cases, 9 (41%) had a skip segment in the transverse colon, 6 (27%) in the ascending colon, 2 (9%) in the caecum and 5 (23%) had multiple skip segments. In both rectosigmoid Hirschsprung\\'s disease cases, the skip segment was in the sigmoid colon. Overall, the length of the skip segment was variable, with the entire transverse colon ganglionated in some cases. CONCLUSION: SSHD occurs predominantly in patients with TCA. The existence of a skip area of normally innervated colon in TCA may influence surgical

Dominant Drop mutants are gain-of-function alleles of the muscle segment homeobox gene (msh) whose overexpression leads to the arrest of eye development.

Science.gov (United States)

Mozer, B A

2001-05-15

Dominant Drop (Dr) mutations are nearly eyeless and have additional recessive phenotypes including lethality and patterning defects in eye and sensory bristles due to cis-regulatory lesions in the cell cycle regulator string (stg). Genetic analysis demonstrates that the dominant small eye phenotype is the result of separate gain-of-function mutations in the closely linked muscle segment homeobox (msh) gene, encoding a homeodomain transcription factor required for patterning of muscle and nervous system. Reversion of the Dr(Mio) allele was coincident with the generation of lethal loss-of-function mutations in msh in cis, suggesting that the dominant eye phenotype is the result of ectopic expression. Molecular genetic analysis revealed that two dominant Dr alleles contain lesions upstream of the msh transcription start site. In the Dr(Mio) mutant, a 3S18 retrotransposon insertion is the target of second-site mutations (P-element insertions or deletions) which suppress the dominant eye phenotype following reversion. The pattern of 3S18 expression and the absence of msh in eye imaginal discs suggest that transcriptional activation of the msh promoter accounts for ectopic expression. Dr dominant mutations arrest eye development by blocking the progression of the morphogenetic furrow leading to photoreceptor cell loss via apoptosis. Gal4-mediated ubiquitous expression of msh in third-instar larvae was sufficient to arrest the morphogenetic furrow in the eye imaginal disc and resulted in lethality prior to eclosion. Dominant mutations in the human msx2 gene, one of the vertebrate homologs of msh, are associated with craniosynostosis, a disease affecting cranial development. The Dr mutations are the first example of gain-of-function mutations in the msh/msx gene family identified in a genetically tractible model organism and may serve as a useful tool to identify additional genes that regulate this class of homeodomain proteins. Copyright 2001 Academic Press.

A Study of Segment Reporting Practices: Empirical Evidence from Romania�s Banks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mariana Vlad

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Banking and capital market liberalization has substantially increased the level of information required to achieve financial stability, while providing useful information, appropriate to participants and their transactions has become essential for maintaining orderly and efficient markets. This requires banks to provide appropriate and timely information that will satisfy the requirements of every user of the banking and financial information. Disclosure provided by banks has gradually improved on the one hand by Basel Agreement, and on the other hand by the International Financial Reporting Standards. This paper investigates the adoption of IFRS 8 by the Romanian banks, providing a detailed image of the segment of information in accordance with this standard. The study shows that the primary format for segment reporting in banks is represented by the segmentation activities. At certain banks, because some operations carried out were not a subject to similar risks and benefits, both in terms of the economic environment and in terms of the type of activity, there has been no identification of segments which should be reported separately under the provisions of IAS 14 neither nor since applying IFRS 8.

Speaker Segmentation and Clustering Using Gender Information

Science.gov (United States)

2006-02-01

used in the first stages of segmentation forder information in the clustering of the opposite-gender speaker diarization of news broadcasts. files, the...AFRL-HE-WP-TP-2006-0026 AIR FORCE RESEARCH LABORATORY Speaker Segmentation and Clustering Using Gender Information Brian M. Ore General Dynamics...COVERED (From - To) February 2006 ProceedinLgs 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER Speaker Segmentation and Clustering Using Gender Information 5b

Coronary artery analysis: Computer-assisted selection of best-quality segments in multiple-phase coronary CT angiography

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhou, Chuan, E-mail: chuan@umich.edu; Chan, Heang-Ping; Hadjiyski, Lubomir M.; Chughtai, Aamer; Wei, Jun; Kazerooni, Ella A. [Department of Radiology, The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-0904 (United States)

2016-10-15

quality. The performance of our automated method was evaluated by comparing the automatically identified best-quality segments identified by the computer to those selected by the observers. Results: For the 20 test cases, 254 groups of corresponding vessel segments were identified after multiple phase registration and recursive matching. The AI-BQ segments agreed with the radiologist’s top 2 ranked segments in 78.3% of the 254 groups (Cohen’s kappa 0.60), and with the 4 nonradiologist observers in 76.8%, 84.3%, 83.9%, and 85.8% of the 254 groups. In addition, 89.4% of the AI-BQ segments agreed with at least two observers’ top 2 rankings, and 96.5% agreed with at least one observer’s top 2 rankings. In comparison, agreement between the four observers’ top ranked segment and the radiologist’s top 2 ranked segments were 79.9%, 80.7%, 82.3%, and 76.8%, respectively, with kappa values ranging from 0.56 to 0.68. Conclusions: The performance of our automated method for selecting the best-quality coronary segments from a multiple-phase cCTA acquisition was comparable to the selection made by human observers. This study demonstrates the potential usefulness of the automated method in clinical practice, enabling interpreting physicians to fully utilize the best available information in cCTA for diagnosis of coronary disease, without requiring manual search through the multiple phases and minimizing the variability in image phase selection for evaluation of coronary artery segments across the diversity of human readers with variations in expertise.

Coronary artery analysis: Computer-assisted selection of best-quality segments in multiple-phase coronary CT angiography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhou, Chuan; Chan, Heang-Ping; Hadjiyski, Lubomir M.; Chughtai, Aamer; Wei, Jun; Kazerooni, Ella A.

2016-01-01

quality. The performance of our automated method was evaluated by comparing the automatically identified best-quality segments identified by the computer to those selected by the observers. Results: For the 20 test cases, 254 groups of corresponding vessel segments were identified after multiple phase registration and recursive matching. The AI-BQ segments agreed with the radiologist’s top 2 ranked segments in 78.3% of the 254 groups (Cohen’s kappa 0.60), and with the 4 nonradiologist observers in 76.8%, 84.3%, 83.9%, and 85.8% of the 254 groups. In addition, 89.4% of the AI-BQ segments agreed with at least two observers’ top 2 rankings, and 96.5% agreed with at least one observer’s top 2 rankings. In comparison, agreement between the four observers’ top ranked segment and the radiologist’s top 2 ranked segments were 79.9%, 80.7%, 82.3%, and 76.8%, respectively, with kappa values ranging from 0.56 to 0.68. Conclusions: The performance of our automated method for selecting the best-quality coronary segments from a multiple-phase cCTA acquisition was comparable to the selection made by human observers. This study demonstrates the potential usefulness of the automated method in clinical practice, enabling interpreting physicians to fully utilize the best available information in cCTA for diagnosis of coronary disease, without requiring manual search through the multiple phases and minimizing the variability in image phase selection for evaluation of coronary artery segments across the diversity of human readers with variations in expertise.

Evaluation of Descemet’s Membrane Detachment Using Anterior Segment Optical Coherence Tomography

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Halil Hüseyin Çağatay

2014-10-01

Full Text Available We report the use of anterior segment optical coherence tomography (ASOCT in Descemet’s membrane detachment (DMD. A patient who developed DMD after uneventful cataract surgery with posterior chamber lens implantation is presented in this case report. At the follow-up examination after cataract surgery, slit-lamp evaluation showed stromal striae, but it was impossible to diagnose the DMD due to the corneal edema. ASOCT imaging of the cornea revealed a DMD, and the patient underwent intracameral air injection to the anterior chamber through the site which was identified as intact by ASOCT. Follow-up ASOCT imaging revealed the reattachment of the Descemet’s membrane and reduced corneal thickness. If DMD is suspected in any cases, ASOCT can be useful to document and follow the postsurgical detachment of DMD and also to determine the site, configuration, and extent of the DMD, thus guiding the treatment method and monitoring the treatment outcome. (Turk J Ophthalmol 2014; 44: 407-9

Fast iterative segmentation of high resolution medical images

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hebert, T.J.

1996-01-01

Various applications in positron emission tomography (PET), single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) require segmentation of 20 to 60 high resolution images of size 256x256 pixels in 3-9 seconds per image. This places particular constraints on the design of image segmentation algorithms. This paper examines the trade-offs in segmenting images based on fitting a density function to the pixel intensities using curve-fitting versus the maximum likelihood method. A quantized data representation is proposed and the EM algorithm for fitting a finite mixture density function to the quantized representation for an image is derived. A Monte Carlo evaluation of mean estimation error and classification error showed that the resulting quantized EM algorithm dramatically reduces the required computation time without loss of accuracy

Transport of salicylate in proximal tubule (S2 segment) isolated from rabbit kidney

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schild, L.; Roch-Ramel, F.

1988-01-01

The secretory and the reabsorptive transport of salicylate was studied in the isolated and perfused rabbit proximal tubule (S 2 segment). Salicylate secretion (J sal b→l ) fulfilled the criteria for a carrier-mediated transport system: J sal b→l was saturable, was reversibly inhibited by probenecid, and occurred against a concentration gradient. The K m and V max for this secretory transport were 80 μM and 3,200 fmol·min -1 ·mm -1 , respectively. At luminal pH of 7.4 and 6.6, salicylate reabsorption (J sal l→b ) was low. J sal l→b was stimulated by increasing the bath Pco 2 or by removing basolateral HCO 3 - ; J sal l→b was inhibited by ethoxyzolamide and by SITS in the bath. The results indicate that salicylate reabsorption depends on H + secretion, consistent with reabsorption by simple nonionic diffusion. When salicylate was present in the lumen only, J sal l→b increased after inhibition of the secretory transport by adding ouabain or probenecid in the bath or by lowering the bath temperature. These results are compatible with luminal recycling of salicylate, and suggest the presence of a mediated secretory transporter located at the luminal membrane

Hand-Assisted Laparoscopic (HAL) Multiple Segmental Colorectal Resections: Are They Feasible and Safe?

Science.gov (United States)

Taggarshe, Deepa; Attuwaybi, Bashir O; Matier, Brian; Visco, Jeffrey J; Butler, Bryan N

2015-04-01

The objective of this study was to evaluate the short-term outcomes of synchronous hand-assisted laparoscopic (HAL) segmental colorectal resections. The surgical options for synchronous colonic pathology include extensive colonic resection with single anastomosis, multiple synchronous segmental resections with multiple anastomoses, or staged resections. Traditionally, multiple open, synchronous, segmental resections have been performed. There is a lack of data on HAL multiple segmental colorectal resections. A retrospective chart review was compiled on all patients who underwent HAL synchronous segmental colorectal resections by all the colorectal surgeons from our Group during the period of 1999 to 2014. Demographics, operative details, and short-term outcomes are reported. During the period, 9 patients underwent HAL synchronous multiple segmental colorectal resections. There were 5 women and 4 men, with median age of 54 (24-83) years and median BMI of 24 (19.8-38.7) kg/m(2). Two patients were on long-term corticosteroid therapy. The median operative time was 210 (120-330) minutes and median operative blood loss was 200 (75-300) mLs. The median duration for return of bowel function was 2 days and the median length of stay was 3.5 days. We had 2 minor wound infections. There were no deaths. Synchronous segmental colorectal resections with anastomoses using the hand-assisted laparoscopic technique are safe. Early conversion to open and use of stomas are advisable in challenging cases.

Divide and Conquer: Applying the Marketing Concept of "Segmentation" to the Placement Function.

Science.gov (United States)

Cowles, Deborah; Franzak, Frank

1991-01-01

Describes concept of market segmentation, then use of segmentation approach used by a college career planning and placement office which had the objectives of gaining a better understanding of the needs of employers looking to fill entry-level positions with marketing major graduates and collaborating more effectively with academic faculty in…

Genetic selection and DNA sequences of 4.5S RNA homologs

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Brown, S; Thon, G; Tolentino, E

1989-01-01

A general strategy for cloning the functional homologs of an Escherichia coli gene was used to clone homologs of 4.5S RNA from other bacteria. The genes encoding these homologs were selected by their ability to complement a deletion of the gene for 4.5S RNA. DNA sequences of the regions encoding...

S100A4 amplifies TGF-β-induced fibroblast activation in systemic sclerosis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tomcik, Michal; Palumbo-Zerr, Katrin; Zerr, Pawel

2015-01-01

(SSc). METHODS: The expression of S100A4 was analysed in human samples, murine models of SSc and in cultured fibroblasts by real-time PCR, immunohistochemistry and western blot. The functional role of S100A4 was evaluated using siRNA, overexpression, recombinant protein and S100A4 knockout (S100A4...... or stimulation with recombinant S100A4 induced an activated phenotype in resting normal fibroblasts. In contrast, knockdown of S100A4 reduced the pro-fibrotic effects of TGF-β and decreased the release of collagen. S100A4(-/-) mice were protected from bleomycin-induced skin fibrosis with reduced dermal...

The perturbative construction of Symanzik's improved action for [Phi][sup 4][sub 4] and QED[sub 4

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Keller, G. (Max-Planck-Inst. fuer Physik, Werner-Heisenberg-Inst., Muenchen (Germany))

1993-08-01

For the perturbative Euclidean massive [Phi][sup 4][sub 4] and QED[sub 4] (with a small photon mass) an explicit construction of Symanzik's improved action is presented. It is established rigorously that all the Green functions exhibit improved convergence as the momentum space UV cutoff is sent to infinity. These results are obtained by an application of the powerful yet technically simple flow equation method. (orig.)

Automatic moment segmentation and peak detection analysis of heart sound pattern via short-time modified Hilbert transform.

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Shuping; Jiang, Zhongwei; Wang, Haibin; Fang, Yu

2014-05-01

This paper proposes a novel automatic method for the moment segmentation and peak detection analysis of heart sound (HS) pattern, with special attention to the characteristics of the envelopes of HS and considering the properties of the Hilbert transform (HT). The moment segmentation and peak location are accomplished in two steps. First, by applying the Viola integral waveform method in the time domain, the envelope (E(T)) of the HS signal is obtained with an emphasis on the first heart sound (S1) and the second heart sound (S2). Then, based on the characteristics of the E(T) and the properties of the HT of the convex and concave functions, a novel method, the short-time modified Hilbert transform (STMHT), is proposed to automatically locate the moment segmentation and peak points for the HS by the zero crossing points of the STMHT. A fast algorithm for calculating the STMHT of E(T) can be expressed by multiplying the E(T) by an equivalent window (W(E)). According to the range of heart beats and based on the numerical experiments and the important parameters of the STMHT, a moving window width of N=1s is validated for locating the moment segmentation and peak points for HS. The proposed moment segmentation and peak location procedure method is validated by sounds from Michigan HS database and sounds from clinical heart diseases, such as a ventricular septal defect (VSD), an aortic septal defect (ASD), Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF), rheumatic heart disease (RHD), and so on. As a result, for the sounds where S2 can be separated from S1, the average accuracies achieved for the peak of S1 (AP₁), the peak of S2 (AP₂), the moment segmentation points from S1 to S2 (AT₁₂) and the cardiac cycle (ACC) are 98.53%, 98.31% and 98.36% and 97.37%, respectively. For the sounds where S1 cannot be separated from S2, the average accuracies achieved for the peak of S1 and S2 (AP₁₂) and the cardiac cycle ACC are 100% and 96.69%. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All

Microsurgical replantation of a small segment of thumb volar skin.

Science.gov (United States)

Akyürek, Mustafa; Safak, Tunç

2004-06-01

This report presents a case of microsurgical replantation of a volar skin segment of the thumb. In a 24-year-old patient, a heavy object falling over the dominant thumb resulted in a crush-avulsion injury of a pure skin segment measuring 4 x 2 cm. Examination revealed that the distal fingertip as well as the bone-tendon structures remained intact. Exploration demonstrated that both neurovascular bundles were included in the avulsed skin segment. Microsurgical replantation was achieved successfully, repairing the radial digital artery at both ends with vein grafts as well as anastomosing a palmar vein. Both digital nerves were coapted proximally and distally. An excellent functional and cosmetic result was accomplished with a good sensory recovery. The authors conclude that microsurgical replantation should be attempted in cases of more proximal pure skin avulsions, even if the injury spares distal fingertip tissue or bone-tendon units. In such cases, replantation is superior to any other method of reconstruction. Liberal use of vein grafts is crucial to achieve success.

10-bit segmented current steering DAC in 90nm CMOS technology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bringas, R Jr; Dy, F; Gerasta, O J

2015-01-01

This special project presents a 10-Bit 1Gs/s 1.2V/3.3V Digital-to-Analog Converter using1 Poly 9 Metal SAED 90-nm CMOS Technology intended for mixed-signal and power IC applications. To achieve maximum performance with minimum area, the DAC has been implemented in 6+4 Segmentation. The simulation results show a static performance of ±0.56 LSB INL and ±0.79 LSB DNL with a total layout chip area of 0.683 mm 2 .The segmented architecture is implemented using two sub DAC's, which are the LSB and MSB section with certain number bits. The DAC is designed using 4-BitBinary Weighted DAC for the LSB section and 6-BitThermometer-coded DAC for the MSB section. The thermometer-coded architecture provides the most optimized results in terms of linearity through reducing the clock feed-through effect especially in hot switching between multiple transistors. The binary- weighted architecture gives better linearity output in higher frequencies with better saturation in current sources. (paper)

Segmental trisomy of mouse chromosome 17: introducing an alternative model of Down syndrome

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Forejt, Jiří; Vacík, Tomáš; Gregorová, Soňa

2003-01-01

Roč. 4, - (2003), s. 647-652 ISSN 1531-6912 R&D Projects: GA MŠk LN00A079; GA ČR GV204/98/K015 Grant - others:HHMI(US) 555000306 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z5052915 Keywords : segmental aneuploidy * Down ´s syndrome * gene dosage Subject RIV: EB - Genetics ; Molecular Biology Impact factor: 1.297, year: 2003

Segmentation of urinary bladder in CT Urography (CTU) using CLASS

Science.gov (United States)

Hadjiiski, Lubomir; Chan, Heang-Ping; Law, Yuen; Cohan, Richard H.; Caoili, Elaine M.; Cho, Hyun-Chong; Zhou, Chuan; Wei, Jun

2012-03-01

We are developing a computerized system for bladder segmentation on CTU, as a critical component for computer aided diagnosis of bladder cancer. A challenge for bladder segmentation is the presence of regions without contrast (NC) and filled with IV contrast (C). We are developing a Conjoint Level set Analysis and Segmentation System (CLASS) specifically for this application. CLASS performs a series of image processing tasks: preprocessing, initial segmentation, and 3D and 2D level set segmentation and post-processing, designed according to the characteristics of the bladder in CTU. The NC and the C regions of the bladder were segmented separately in CLASS. The final contour is obtained in the post-processing stage by the union of the NC and C contours. Seventy bladders (31 containing lesions, 24 containing wall thickening, and 15 normal) were segmented. The performance of CLASS was assessed by rating the quality of the contours on a 5-point scale (1= "very poor", 3= "fair", 5 = "excellent"). For the 53 partially contrast-filled bladders, the average quality ratings for the 53 NC and 53 C regions were 4.0+/-0.7 and 4.0+/-1.0, respectively. 46 NC and 41 C regions were given quality ratings of 4 or above. Only 2 NC and 5 C regions had ratings under 3. The average quality ratings for the remaining 12 completely no contrast (NC) and 5 completely contrast-filled (C) bladder contours were 3.3+/-1.0 and 3.4+/-0.5, respectively. After combining the NC and C contours for each of the 70 bladders, 46 had quality ratings of 4 or above. Only 4 had ratings under 3. The average quality rating was 3.8+/-0.7. The results demonstrate the potential of CLASS for automated segmentation of the bladder.

LANDSAT-D ground segment operations plan, revision A

Science.gov (United States)

Evans, B.

1982-01-01

The basic concept for the utilization of LANDSAT ground processing resources is described. Only the steady state activities that support normal ground processing are addressed. This ground segment operations plan covers all processing of the multispectral scanner and the processing of thematic mapper through data acquisition and payload correction data generation for the LANDSAT 4 mission. The capabilities embedded in the hardware and software elements are presented from an operations viewpoint. The personnel assignments associated with each functional process and the mechanisms available for controlling the overall data flow are identified.

One-pot tandem Ugi-4CR/S(N)Ar approach to highly functionalized quino[2,3-b][1,5]benzoxazepines.

Science.gov (United States)

Ghandi, Mehdi; Zarezadeh, Nahid; Abbasi, Alireza

2016-05-01

We have developed a convenient and facile method for the synthesis of functionalized diverse quino[2,3-b][1,5]benzoxazepines. These new compounds were synthesized through a one-pot sequential Ugi-4CR/base-free intramolecular aromatic nucleophilic substitution (S(N)Ar) reaction in moderate to good yields from readily available starting materials. Structural confirmation of the products is confirmed by analytical data and X-ray crystallography.

Biodegradable block poly(ester-urethane)s based on poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-4-hydroxybutyrate) copolymers.

Science.gov (United States)

Ou, Wenfeng; Qiu, Handi; Chen, Zhifei; Xu, Kaitian

2011-04-01

A series of block poly(ester-urethane)s (abbreviated as PU3/4HB) based on biodegradable poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-4-hydroxybutyrate) (P3/4HB) segments were synthesized by a facile way of melting polymerization using 1,6-hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI) as the coupling agent and stannous octanoate (Sn(Oct)(2)) as catalyst, with different 4HB contents and segment lengths. The chemical structure, molecular weight and distribution were systematically characterized by (1)H nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum (NMR), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and gel permeation chromatography (GPC). The thermal property was studied by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The hydrophilicity was investigated by static contact angle of deionized water and CH(2)I(2). DSC curves revealed that the PU3/4HB polyurethanes have their T(g) from -25.6 °C to -4.3 °C, and crystallinity from 2.5% to 25.3%, being almost amorphous to semi-crystalline. The obtained PU3/4HBs are hydrophobic (water contact angle 77.4°-95.9°), and their surface free energy (SFE) were studied. The morphology of platelets adhered on the polyurethane film observed by scanning electron microscope (SEM) showed that platelets were activated on the PU3/4HB films which would lead to blood coagulation. The lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) assay revealed that the PU3/4HBs displayed higher platelet adhesion property than raw materials and biodegradable polymer polylactic acid (PLA) and would be potential hemostatic materials. Crystallinity degree, hydrophobicity, surface free energy and urethane linkage content play important roles in affecting the LDH activity and hence the platelet adhesion. CCK-8 assay showed that the PU3/4HB is non-toxic and well for cell growth and proliferation of mouse fibroblast L929. It showed that the hydrophobicity is an important factor for cell growth while 3HB content of the PU3/4HB is important for the cell proliferation. Through changing the

Wigner functions of s waves

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dahl, J. P.; Varro, S.; Wolf, A.; Schleich, W. P.

2007-01-01

We derive explicit expressions for the Wigner function of wave functions in D dimensions which depend on the hyperradius--that is, of s waves. They are based either on the position or the momentum representation of the s wave. The corresponding Wigner function depends on three variables: the absolute value of the D-dimensional position and momentum vectors and the angle between them. We illustrate these expressions by calculating and discussing the Wigner functions of an elementary s wave and the energy eigenfunction of a free particle

Wigner functions of s waves

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dahl, Jens Peder; Varro, S.; Wolf, A.

2007-01-01

We derive explicit expressions for the Wigner function of wave functions in D dimensions which depend on the hyperradius-that is, of s waves. They are based either on the position or the momentum representation of the s wave. The corresponding Wigner function depends on three variables......: the absolute value of the D-dimensional position and momentum vectors and the angle between them. We illustrate these expressions by calculating and discussing the Wigner functions of an elementary s wave and the energy eigenfunction of a free particle....

A combined segmenting and non-segmenting approach to signal quality estimation for ambulatory photoplethysmography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wander, J D; Morris, D

2014-01-01

Continuous cardiac monitoring of healthy and unhealthy patients can help us understand the progression of heart disease and enable early treatment. Optical pulse sensing is an excellent candidate for continuous mobile monitoring of cardiovascular health indicators, but optical pulse signals are susceptible to corruption from a number of noise sources, including motion artifact. Therefore, before higher-level health indicators can be reliably computed, corrupted data must be separated from valid data. This is an especially difficult task in the presence of artifact caused by ambulation (e.g. walking or jogging), which shares significant spectral energy with the true pulsatile signal. In this manuscript, we present a machine-learning-based system for automated estimation of signal quality of optical pulse signals that performs well in the presence of periodic artifact. We hypothesized that signal processing methods that identified individual heart beats (segmenting approaches) would be more error-prone than methods that did not (non-segmenting approaches) when applied to data contaminated by periodic artifact. We further hypothesized that a fusion of segmenting and non-segmenting approaches would outperform either approach alone. Therefore, we developed a novel non-segmenting approach to signal quality estimation that we then utilized in combination with a traditional segmenting approach. Using this system we were able to robustly detect differences in signal quality as labeled by expert human raters (Pearson’s r = 0.9263). We then validated our original hypotheses by demonstrating that our non-segmenting approach outperformed the segmenting approach in the presence of contaminated signal, and that the combined system outperformed either individually. Lastly, as an example, we demonstrated the utility of our signal quality estimation system in evaluating the trustworthiness of heart rate measurements derived from optical pulse signals. (paper)

Relaxation of magnetization in spinel CuCrZrS4

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ito, Masakazu; Furuta, Tatsuya; Terada, Norio; Ebisu, Shuji; Nagata, Shoichi

2012-01-01

We studied time t dependence of magnetization M(t) of thiospinel CuCrZrS 4 which has a spin-glass freezing. The relaxation of M is observed below T f ≃6K and shows a logarithmic time dependence. This means that a relaxation time τ of CuCrZrS 4 is distributed in a wide time range. Randomness of an arrangement of the Cr and Zr ions in CuCrZrS 4 probably gives rise to a distribution of τ. Temperature T dependence of magnetic viscosity β(T) is understood by a conventional after-effect model with a box-type distribution function of τ.

Segmentation precedes face categorization under suboptimal conditions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carlijn eVan Den Boomen

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Both categorization and segmentation processes play a crucial role in face perception. However, the functional relation between these subprocesses is currently unclear. The present study investigates the temporal relation between segmentation-related and category-selective responses in the brain, using electroencephalography (EEG. Surface segmentation and category content were both manipulated using texture-defined objects, including faces. This allowed us to study brain activity related to segmentation and to categorization. In the main experiment, participants viewed texture-defined objects for a duration of 800 ms. EEG results revealed that segmentation-related responses precede category-selective responses. Three additional experiments revealed that the presence and timing of categorization depends on stimulus properties and presentation duration. Photographic objects were presented for a long and short (92 ms duration and evoked fast category-selective responses in both cases. On the other hand, presentation of texture-defined objects for a short duration only evoked segmentation-related but no category-selective responses. Category-selective responses were much slower when evoked by texture-defined than by photographic objects. We suggest that in case of categorization of objects under suboptimal conditions, such as when low-level stimulus properties are not sufficient for fast object categorization, segmentation facilitates the slower categorization process.

Segmentation precedes face categorization under suboptimal conditions.

Science.gov (United States)

Van Den Boomen, Carlijn; Fahrenfort, Johannes J; Snijders, Tineke M; Kemner, Chantal

2015-01-01

Both categorization and segmentation processes play a crucial role in face perception. However, the functional relation between these subprocesses is currently unclear. The present study investigates the temporal relation between segmentation-related and category-selective responses in the brain, using electroencephalography (EEG). Surface segmentation and category content were both manipulated using texture-defined objects, including faces. This allowed us to study brain activity related to segmentation and to categorization. In the main experiment, participants viewed texture-defined objects for a duration of 800 ms. EEG results revealed that segmentation-related responses precede category-selective responses. Three additional experiments revealed that the presence and timing of categorization depends on stimulus properties and presentation duration. Photographic objects were presented for a long and short (92 ms) duration and evoked fast category-selective responses in both cases. On the other hand, presentation of texture-defined objects for a short duration only evoked segmentation-related but no category-selective responses. Category-selective responses were much slower when evoked by texture-defined than by photographic objects. We suggest that in case of categorization of objects under suboptimal conditions, such as when low-level stimulus properties are not sufficient for fast object categorization, segmentation facilitates the slower categorization process.

Lung segmentation from HRCT using united geometric active contours

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Junwei; Li, Chuanfu; Xiong, Jin; Feng, Huanqing

2007-12-01

Accurate lung segmentation from high resolution CT images is a challenging task due to various detail tracheal structures, missing boundary segments and complex lung anatomy. One popular method is based on gray-level threshold, however its results are usually rough. A united geometric active contours model based on level set is proposed for lung segmentation in this paper. Particularly, this method combines local boundary information and region statistical-based model synchronously: 1) Boundary term ensures the integrality of lung tissue.2) Region term makes the level set function evolve with global characteristic and independent on initial settings. A penalizing energy term is introduced into the model, which forces the level set function evolving without re-initialization. The method is found to be much more efficient in lung segmentation than other methods that are only based on boundary or region. Results are shown by 3D lung surface reconstruction, which indicates that the method will play an important role in the design of computer-aided diagnostic (CAD) system.

Automatic Multi-Level Thresholding Segmentation Based on Multi-Objective Optimization

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

L. DJEROU,

2012-01-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we present a new multi-level image thresholding technique, called Automatic Threshold based on Multi-objective Optimization "ATMO" that combines the flexibility of multi-objective fitness functions with the power of a Binary Particle Swarm Optimization algorithm "BPSO", for searching the "optimum" number of the thresholds and simultaneously the optimal thresholds of three criteria: the between-class variances criterion, the minimum error criterion and the entropy criterion. Some examples of test images are presented to compare our segmentation method, based on the multi-objective optimization approach with Otsu’s, Kapur’s and Kittler’s methods. Our experimental results show that the thresholding method based on multi-objective optimization is more efficient than the classical Otsu’s, Kapur’s and Kittler’s methods.

Name segmentation using hidden Markov models and its application in record linkage

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rita de Cassia Braga Gonçalves

2014-10-01

Full Text Available This study aimed to evaluate the use of hidden Markov models (HMM for the segmentation of person names and its influence on record linkage. A HMM was applied to the segmentation of patient’s and mother’s names in the databases of the Mortality Information System (SIM, Information Subsystem for High Complexity Procedures (APAC, and Hospital Information System (AIH. A sample of 200 patients from each database was segmented via HMM, and the results were compared to those from segmentation by the authors. The APAC-SIM and APAC-AIH databases were linked using three different segmentation strategies, one of which used HMM. Conformity of segmentation via HMM varied from 90.5% to 92.5%. The different segmentation strategies yielded similar results in the record linkage process. This study suggests that segmentation of Brazilian names via HMM is no more effective than traditional segmentation approaches in the linkage process.

Evaluation of left atrial function by multidetector computed tomography before left atrial radiofrequency-catheter ablation: Comparison of a manual and automated 3D volume segmentation method

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wolf, Florian, E-mail: florian.wolf@meduniwien.ac.a [Department of Radiology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna (Austria); Ourednicek, Petr [Philips Medical Systems, Prague (Czech Republic); Loewe, Christian [Department of Radiology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna (Austria); Richter, Bernhard; Goessinger, Heinz David; Gwechenberger, Marianne [Department of Cardiology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna (Austria); Plank, Christina; Schernthaner, Ruediger Egbert; Toepker, Michael; Lammer, Johannes [Department of Radiology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna (Austria); Feuchtner, Gudrun M. [Department of Radiology, Innsbruck Medical University, Innsbruck (Austria); Institute of Diagnostic Radiology, University Hospital Zurich (Switzerland)

2010-08-15

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to compare a manual and automated 3D volume segmentation tool for evaluation of left atrial (LA) function by 64-slice multidetector-CT (MDCT). Methods and materials: In 33 patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation a MDCT scan was performed before radiofrequency-catheter ablation. Atrial function (minimal volume (LAmin), maximal volume (LAmax), stroke volume (SV), ejection fraction (EF)) was evaluated by two readers using a manual and an automatic tool and measurement time was evaluated. Results: Automated LA volume segmentation failed in one patient due to low LA enhancement (103HU). Mean LAmax, LAmin, SV and EF were 127.7 ml, 93 ml, 34.7 ml, 27.1% by the automated, and 122.7 ml, 89.9 ml, 32.8 ml, 26.3% by the manual method with no significant difference (p > 0.05) and high Pearsons correlation coefficients (r = 0.94, r = 0.94, r = 0.82 and r = 0.85, p < 0.0001), respectively. The automated method was significantly faster (p < 0.001). Interobserver variability was low for both methods with Pearson's correlation coefficients between 0.98 and 0.99 (p < 0.0001). Conclusions: Evaluation of LA volume and function with 64-slice MDCT is feasible with a very low interobserver variability. The automatic method is as accurate as the manual method but significantly less time consuming permitting a routine use in clinical practice before RF-catheter ablation.

THE COMMUNICATION MIX ADRESSED TO THE FEMININE SEGMENT. CASE STUDY ON THE ROMANIAN MARKET OF COSMETIC PRODUCTS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

CLAUDIA ELENA PAICU

2015-04-01

Full Text Available Currently, the female segment represents a genuine power in terms of consumer behavior. We can certainly argue that the feminine segment is no longer just a market niche. We can relate to this segment as the majority. To support this idea, we consider the data provided by the National Institute of Statistics. According to these statistics, the female segment sums up 51.4% of the total population, an increase being recorded in the last 10 years, from just over 50% to more than 51%. Therefore, it is not wrong to claim that feminine segment holds the majority in terms of consumer behavior. In this context, the female consumer’s preferences and needs should be integrated into all the communication strategies of organizations. The present study aims to see to what extent, at present, an attention is paid to this segment, proposing as an example a study in an area addressed in a high percentage to the feminine segment, the market of cosmetic products.

Electrocardiogram ST-Segment Morphology Delineation Method Using Orthogonal Transformations.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Miha Amon

Full Text Available Differentiation between ischaemic and non-ischaemic transient ST segment events of long term ambulatory electrocardiograms is a persisting weakness in present ischaemia detection systems. Traditional ST segment level measuring is not a sufficiently precise technique due to the single point of measurement and severe noise which is often present. We developed a robust noise resistant orthogonal-transformation based delineation method, which allows tracing the shape of transient ST segment morphology changes from the entire ST segment in terms of diagnostic and morphologic feature-vector time series, and also allows further analysis. For these purposes, we developed a new Legendre Polynomials based Transformation (LPT of ST segment. Its basis functions have similar shapes to typical transient changes of ST segment morphology categories during myocardial ischaemia (level, slope and scooping, thus providing direct insight into the types of time domain morphology changes through the LPT feature-vector space. We also generated new Karhunen and Lo ève Transformation (KLT ST segment basis functions using a robust covariance matrix constructed from the ST segment pattern vectors derived from the Long Term ST Database (LTST DB. As for the delineation of significant transient ischaemic and non-ischaemic ST segment episodes, we present a study on the representation of transient ST segment morphology categories, and an evaluation study on the classification power of the KLT- and LPT-based feature vectors to classify between ischaemic and non-ischaemic ST segment episodes of the LTST DB. Classification accuracy using the KLT and LPT feature vectors was 90% and 82%, respectively, when using the k-Nearest Neighbors (k = 3 classifier and 10-fold cross-validation. New sets of feature-vector time series for both transformations were derived for the records of the LTST DB which is freely available on the PhysioNet website and were contributed to the LTST DB. The

Segment-specific terminal sequences of Bunyamwera bunyavirus regulate genome replication

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barr, John N.; Elliott, Richard M.; Dunn, Ewan F.; Wertz, Gail W.

2003-01-01

Bunyamwera virus (BUNV) is the prototype of both the Orthobunyavirus genus and the Bunyaviridae family of segmented negative sense RNA viruses. The tripartite BUNV genome consists of small (S), medium (M), and large (L) segments that are transcribed to give a single mRNA and replicated to generate an antigenome that is the template for synthesis of further genomic RNA strands. We modified an existing cDNA-derived RNA synthesis system to allow identification of BUNV RNA replication and transcription products by direct metabolic labeling. Direct RNA analysis allowed us to distinguish between template activities that affected either RNA replication or mRNA transcription, an ability that was not possible using previous reporter gene expression assays. We generated genome analogs containing the entire nontranslated terminal sequences of the S, M, and L BUNV segments surrounding a common sequence. Analysis of RNAs synthesized from these templates revealed that the relative abilities of BUNV segments to perform RNA replication was M > L > S. Exchange of segment-specific terminal nucleotides identified a 12-nt region located within both the 3' and 5' termini of the M segment that correlated with its high replication ability

Evaluation of drug incorporation into hair segments and nails by enantiomeric analysis following controlled single MDMA intakes.

Science.gov (United States)

Madry, Milena M; Steuer, Andrea E; Hysek, Cédric M; Liechti, Matthias E; Baumgartner, Markus R; Kraemer, Thomas

2016-01-01

Incorporation rates of the enantiomers of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) and its metabolite 3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDA) into hair and nails were investigated after controlled administration. Fifteen subjects without MDMA use received two doses of 125 mg of MDMA. Hair, nail scrapings, and nail clippings were collected 9-77 days after the last administration (median 20 days). Hair samples were analyzed in segments of 1- to 2-cm length. After chiral derivatization with N-(2,4-dinitro-5-fluorophenyl)-L-valinamide, MDMA and MDA diastereomers were analyzed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Highest concentrations in hair segments corresponded to the time of MDMA intake. They ranged from 101 to 3200 pg/mg and 71 to 860 pg/mg for R- and S-MDMA, and from 3.2 to 116 pg/mg and 4.4 to 108 pg/mg for R- and S-MDA, respectively. MDMA and MDA concentrations in nail scrapings and clippings were significantly lower than in hair samples. There was no significant difference between enantiomeric ratios of R/S-MDMA and R/S-MDA in hair and nail samples (medians 2.2-2.4 for MDMA and 0.85-0.95 for MDA). Metabolite ratios of MDA to MDMA were in the same range in hair and nail samples (medians 0.044-0.055). Our study demonstrates that administration of two representative doses of MDMA was detected in the hair segments corresponding to the time of intake based on average hair growth rates. MDMA was detected in all nail samples regardless of time passed after intake. Comparable R/S ratios in hair and nail samples may indicate that incorporation mechanisms into both matrices are comparable.

Holography for N=1{sup ∗} on S{sup 4}

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bobev, Nikolay [Instituut voor Theoretische Fysica, K.University Leuven,Celestijnenlaan 200D, B-3001 Leuven (Belgium); Elvang, Henriette; Kol, Uri; Olson, Timothy [Michigan Center for Theoretical Physics, Randall Laboratory of Physics,Department of Physics, University of Michigan,Ann Arbor, MI 48109 (United States); Pufu, Silviu S. [Joseph Henry Laboratories, Princeton University,Princeton, NJ 08544 (United States)

2016-10-18

We construct the five-dimensional supergravity dual of the N=1{sup ∗} mass deformation of the N=4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory on S{sup 4} and use it to calculate the universal contribution to the corresponding S{sup 4} free energy at large ’t Hooft coupling in the planar limit. The holographic RG flow solutions are smooth and preserve four supercharges. As a novel feature compared to the holographic duals of N=1{sup ∗} on ℝ{sup 4}, in our backgrounds the five-dimensional dilaton has a non-trivial profile, and the gaugino condensate is fixed in terms of the mass-deformation parameters. Important aspects of the analysis involve characterizing the ambiguities in the partition function of non-conformal N=1 supersymmetric theories on S{sup 4} as well as the action of S-duality on the N=1{sup ∗} theory.

Multi-scale Gaussian representation and outline-learning based cell image segmentation

Science.gov (United States)

2013-01-01

Background High-throughput genome-wide screening to study gene-specific functions, e.g. for drug discovery, demands fast automated image analysis methods to assist in unraveling the full potential of such studies. Image segmentation is typically at the forefront of such analysis as the performance of the subsequent steps, for example, cell classification, cell tracking etc., often relies on the results of segmentation. Methods We present a cell cytoplasm segmentation framework which first separates cell cytoplasm from image background using novel approach of image enhancement and coefficient of variation of multi-scale Gaussian scale-space representation. A novel outline-learning based classification method is developed using regularized logistic regression with embedded feature selection which classifies image pixels as outline/non-outline to give cytoplasm outlines. Refinement of the detected outlines to separate cells from each other is performed in a post-processing step where the nuclei segmentation is used as contextual information. Results and conclusions We evaluate the proposed segmentation methodology using two challenging test cases, presenting images with completely different characteristics, with cells of varying size, shape, texture and degrees of overlap. The feature selection and classification framework for outline detection produces very simple sparse models which use only a small subset of the large, generic feature set, that is, only 7 and 5 features for the two cases. Quantitative comparison of the results for the two test cases against state-of-the-art methods show that our methodology outperforms them with an increase of 4-9% in segmentation accuracy with maximum accuracy of 93%. Finally, the results obtained for diverse datasets demonstrate that our framework not only produces accurate segmentation but also generalizes well to different segmentation tasks. PMID:24267488

Magnetic properties of multisegmented cylindrical nanoparticles with alternating magnetic wire and tube segments

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Salazar-Aravena, D.; Corona, R.M. [Departamento de Física, Universidad de Santiago de Chile (USACH), Avda. Ecuador 3493, 917-0124 Santiago (Chile); Goerlitz, D.; Nielsch, K. [Institute of Applied Physics, University of Hamburg, Jungiusstrasse 11, D-20355 Hamburg (Germany); Escrig, J., E-mail: jescrigm@gmail.com [Departamento de Física, Universidad de Santiago de Chile (USACH), Avda. Ecuador 3493, 917-0124 Santiago (Chile); Center for the Development of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (CEDENNA), Avda. Ecuador 3493, 917-0124 Santiago (Chile)

2013-11-15

The magnetic properties in multisegmented cylindrical nanostructures comprised of nanowire and nanotube segments are investigated numerically as a function of their geometry. In this work we report systematic changes in the coercivity and remanence in these systems. Besides, we have found the ideal conditions for a magnetic configuration with two antiparallel domains that could be used to help to stabilize magnetic nanoparticles inside ferromagnetic multisegmented cylindrical nanoparticles. This magnetic behavior is due to the fact that the tube segment reverses its magnetization before the wire segment, allowing the control of the magnetic domain walls motion between two segments. In this way, these magnetic nanoobjects can be an alternative to store information or even perform logic functions. - Highlights: • Magnetic states of wire/tube were investigated as a function of their geometry. • Multisegmented systems present two well-defined jumps in the hysteresis curve. • It is possible to prepare an antiparallel magnetic configuration. • The step width for the optimum condition reaches 60 mT. • The tube segments reverse their magnetization first than the wire segments.

Clearance Analysis of CTC2 (on ELC4) to S-TRRJ HRS Radiator Rotation Envelope

Science.gov (United States)

Liddle, Donn

2014-01-01

In response to the planned retirement of the Space Shuttle Program, International Space Station (ISS) management began stockpiling spare parts on the ISS. Many of the larger orbital replacement units were stored on the Expedite the Processing of Experiments to Space Station (EXPRESS) Logistics Carriers (ELCs) mounted on the end of the S3 and P3 truss segments, immediately outboard of the Thermal Radiator Rotary Joints (TRRJs) and their attached radiators. In an August 2009 computer-aided design (CAD) assessment, it was determined that mounting the Cargo Transport Container (CTC) 2 on the inboard face of ELC4 as planned would create insufficient clearance between the CTC2 and the rotational envelope of the radiators when the TRRJs were rotated to a gamma angle of 35.0 degrees. The true clearance would depend on how the Unpressurized Cargo Carrier Attachment System (UCCAS) was mounted to the S3 truss and how the ELC4 was attached to it. If the plane of the UCCAS attachment points were tilted even slightly inboard, it would significantly change the clearance between CTC2 and the Starboard TRRJ (S-TRRJ) radiators. Additionally, since CTC2 would be covered in multilayer insulation (MLI), the true outer profile of CTC2 was not captured in the CAD models used for the clearance assessment. It was possible that, even if the S-TRRJ radiators cleared CTC2, they could snag the MLI covering. In the fall of 2010, the Image Science and Analysis Group (ISAG) was asked to perform an on-orbit clearance analysis to determine the location of CTC2 on ELC4 and the S-TRRJ radiators at the angle of closest approach so that a positive clearance could be assured. To provide the measurements as quickly as possible to aid in the assessment, it was decided that the clearance analysis would be broken into two phases. Phase I: The location and orientation of the UCCAS fittings, which support and hold the ELC4 in place, would be measured relative to the ISS Analytical Coordinate System (ISSACS

4,4-Dimethyl- and diastereomeric 4-hydroxy-4-methyl-(2S)-glutamate analogues display distinct pharmacological profiles at ionotropic glutamate receptors and excitatory amino acid transporters

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bunch, Lennart; Pickering, Darryl S; Gefflaut, Thierry

2009-01-01

this approach has provided important insight into the structure-activity relationships (SAR) for ionotropic and metabotropic glutamate receptors (iGluRs and mGluRs), as well as the excitatory amino acid transporters (EAATs). In this work, three 4,4-disubstituted Glu analogues 1-3, which are hybrid structures......Subtype-selective ligands are of great interest to the scientific community, as they provide a tool for investigating the function of one receptor or transporter subtype when functioning in its native environment. Several 4-substituted (S)-glutamate (Glu) analogues were synthesized, and altogether...

Figure-ground segmentation based on class-independent shape priors

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Yang; Liu, Yang; Liu, Guojun; Guo, Maozu

2018-01-01

We propose a method to generate figure-ground segmentation by incorporating shape priors into the graph-cuts algorithm. Given an image, we first obtain a linear representation of an image and then apply directional chamfer matching to generate class-independent, nonparametric shape priors, which provide shape clues for the graph-cuts algorithm. We then enforce shape priors in a graph-cuts energy function to produce object segmentation. In contrast to previous segmentation methods, the proposed method shares shape knowledge for different semantic classes and does not require class-specific model training. Therefore, the approach obtains high-quality segmentation for objects. We experimentally validate that the proposed method outperforms previous approaches using the challenging PASCAL VOC 2010/2012 and Berkeley (BSD300) segmentation datasets.

Multilevel segmentation of intracranial aneurysms in CT angiography images

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang, Yan [Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California 94122 and University of Lyon, CREATIS, CNRS UMR 5220, INSERM U1206, UCB Lyon1, INSA Lyon, Lyon 69100 (France); Zhang, Yue, E-mail: y.zhang525@gmail.com [Veterans Affairs Medical Center, San Francisco, California 94121 and University of Lyon, CREATIS, CNRS UMR 5220, INSERM U1206, UCB Lyon1, INSA Lyon, Lyon 69100 (France); Navarro, Laurent [Ecole Nationale Superieure des Mines de Saint-Etienne, Saint-Etienne 42015 (France); Eker, Omer Faruk [CHU Montpellier, Neuroradiologie, Montpellier 34000 (France); Corredor Jerez, Ricardo A. [Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne, Lausanne 1015 (Switzerland); Chen, Yu; Zhu, Yuemin; Courbebaisse, Guy [University of Lyon, CREATIS, CNRS UMR 5220, INSERM U1206, UCB Lyon1, INSA Lyon, Lyon 69100 (France)

2016-04-15

Purpose: Segmentation of aneurysms plays an important role in interventional planning. Yet, the segmentation of both the lumen and the thrombus of an intracranial aneurysm in computed tomography angiography (CTA) remains a challenge. This paper proposes a multilevel segmentation methodology for efficiently segmenting intracranial aneurysms in CTA images. Methods: The proposed methodology first uses the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) to extract the lumen part directly from the original image. Then, the LBM is applied again on an intermediate image whose lumen part is filled by the mean gray-level value outside the lumen, to yield an image region containing part of the aneurysm boundary. After that, an expanding disk is introduced to estimate the complete contour of the aneurysm. Finally, the contour detected is used as the initial contour of the level set with ellipse to refine the aneurysm. Results: The results obtained on 11 patients from different hospitals showed that the proposed segmentation was comparable with manual segmentation, and that quantitatively, the average segmentation matching factor (SMF) reached 86.99%, demonstrating good segmentation accuracy. Chan–Vese method, Sen’s model, and Luca’s model were used to compare the proposed method and their average SMF values were 39.98%, 40.76%, and 77.11%, respectively. Conclusions: The authors have presented a multilevel segmentation method based on the LBM and level set with ellipse for accurate segmentation of intracranial aneurysms. Compared to three existing methods, for all eleven patients, the proposed method can successfully segment the lumen with the highest SMF values for nine patients and second highest SMF values for the two. It also segments the entire aneurysm with the highest SMF values for ten patients and second highest SMF value for the one. This makes it potential for clinical assessment of the volume and aspect ratio of the intracranial aneurysms.

Chemically functionalized ZnS quantum dots as new optical nanosensor of herbicides

Science.gov (United States)

Masteri-Farahani, M.; Mahdavi, S.; Khanmohammadi, H.

2018-03-01

Surface chemical functionalization of ZnS quantum dots (ZnS-QDs) with cysteamine hydrochloride resulted in the preparation of an optical nanosensor for detection of herbicides. Characterization of the functionalized ZnS-QDs was performed with physicochemical methods such as x-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, energy dispersive x-ray (EDX) analysis, ultraviolet-visible (UV–vis) and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopies. The optical band gap of the functionalized ZnS-QDs was determined by using Tauc plot as 4.1 eV. Addition of various herbicides resulted in the linearly fluorescence quenching of the functionalized ZnS-QDs according to the Stern-Volmer equation. The functionalized ZnS-QDs can be used as simple, rapid, and inexpensive nanosensor for practical detection and measurement of various herbicides.

Bi-functional Au/FeS (Au/Co{sub 3}O{sub 4}) composite for in situ SERS monitoring and degradation of organic pollutants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ma, Shuzhen; Cai, Qian; Lu, Kailing; Liao, Fan, E-mail: fliao@suda.edu.cn; Shao, Mingwang, E-mail: mwshao@suda.edu.cn [Institute of Functional Nano & Soft Materials (FUNSOM), Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Carbon-Based Functional Materials and Devices & Collaborative Innovation Center of Suzhou Nano Science and Technology, Soochow University (China)

2016-01-15

The bi-functional Au/FeS (Au/Co{sub 3}O{sub 4}) composite was fabricated by in situ reducing Au nanoparticles onto the surface of FeS (Co{sub 3}O{sub 4}). The as-prepared FeS possessed a multi-structure composed of plenty of nanoplates, which were coated by Au nanoparticles with an average size of ∼47.5 nm. While the Co{sub 3}O{sub 4} showed a thin hexagonal sheet containing Au nanoparticles on its surface with an average size of ∼79.0 nm. Both the as-prepared Au/FeS and Au/Co{sub 3}O{sub 4} composites exhibited excellent SERS performance, capable of enhancing the Raman signals of R6G molecules with the enhancement factor up to 1.81 × 10{sup 6} and 7.60 × 10{sup 4}, respectively. Moreover, Au/FeS (Au/Co{sub 3}O{sub 4}) composite also has been verified to have intrinsic peroxidase-like activity, which could decompose H{sub 2}O{sub 2} into hydroxyl radicals and then degrade organic pollutants into small molecules. Therefore, SERS can be used to real-time and in situ monitoring the degradation process of R6G molecules, employing the Au/FeS (Au/Co{sub 3}O{sub 4}) composite both as SERS substrate and catalyst. Graphical abstract: SERS was used to real-time and in situ monitoring the degradation of R6G, employing the Au/FeS and Au/Co{sub 3}O{sub 4} composites both as SERS substrates and catalysts.

Segmentation of isolated MR images: development and comparison of neuronal networks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Paredes, R.; Robles, M.; Marti-Bonmati, L.; Masia, L.

1998-01-01

Segmentation defines the capacity to differentiate among types of tissues. In MR. it is frequently applied to volumetric determinations. Digital images can be segmented in a number of ways; neuronal networks (NN) can be employed for this purpose. Our objective was to develop algorithms for automatic segmentation using NN and apply them to central nervous system MR images. The segmentation obtained with NN was compared with that resulting from other procedures (region-growing and K means). Each NN consisted of two layers: one based on unsupervised training, which was utilized for image segmentation in sets of K, and a second layer associating each set obtained by the preceding layer with the real set corresponding to the previously segmented objective image. This NN was trained with previously segmented images with supervised regions-growing algorithms and automatic K means. Thus, 4 different segmentation were obtained: region-growing, K means, NN with region-growing and NN with K means. The tissue volumes corresponding to cerebrospinal fluid, gray matter and white matter obtained with the 4 techniques were compared and the most representative segmented image was selected qualitatively by averaging the visual perception of 3 radiologists. The segmentation that best corresponded to the visual perception of the radiologists was that consisting of trained NN with region-growing. In comparison, the other 3 algorithms presented low percentage differences (mean, 3.44%). The mean percentage error for the 3 tissues from these algorithms was lower for region-growing segmentation (2.34%) than for trained NN with K means (3.31%) and for automatic K-means segmentation (4.66%). Thus, NN are reliable in the automation of isolated MR image segmentation. (Author) 12 refs

Multilevel Thresholding Segmentation Based on Harmony Search Optimization

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Diego Oliva

2013-01-01

Full Text Available In this paper, a multilevel thresholding (MT algorithm based on the harmony search algorithm (HSA is introduced. HSA is an evolutionary method which is inspired in musicians improvising new harmonies while playing. Different to other evolutionary algorithms, HSA exhibits interesting search capabilities still keeping a low computational overhead. The proposed algorithm encodes random samples from a feasible search space inside the image histogram as candidate solutions, whereas their quality is evaluated considering the objective functions that are employed by the Otsu’s or Kapur’s methods. Guided by these objective values, the set of candidate solutions are evolved through the HSA operators until an optimal solution is found. Experimental results demonstrate the high performance of the proposed method for the segmentation of digital images.

Neonatal Brain Tissue Classification with Morphological Adaptation and Unified Segmentation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Richard eBeare

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Measuring the distribution of brain tissue types (tissue classification in neonates is necessary for studying typical and atypical brain development, such as that associated with preterm birth, and may provide biomarkers for neurodevelopmental outcomes. Compared with magnetic resonance images of adults, neonatal images present specific challenges that require the development of specialized, population-specific methods. This paper introduces MANTiS (Morphologically Adaptive Neonatal Tissue Segmentation, which extends the unified segmentation approach to tissue classification implemented in Statistical Parametric Mapping (SPM software to neonates. MANTiS utilizes a combination of unified segmentation, template adaptation via morphological segmentation tools and topological filtering, to segment the neonatal brain into eight tissue classes: cortical gray matter, white matter, deep nuclear gray matter, cerebellum, brainstem, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF, hippocampus and amygdala. We evaluated the performance of MANTiS using two independent datasets. The first dataset, provided by the NeoBrainS12 challenge, consisted of coronal T2-weighted images of preterm infants (born ≤30 weeks’ gestation acquired at 30 weeks’ corrected gestational age (n= 5, coronal T2-weighted images of preterm infants acquired at 40 weeks’ corrected gestational age (n= 5 and axial T2-weighted images of preterm infants acquired at 40 weeks’ corrected gestational age (n= 5. The second dataset, provided by the Washington University NeuroDevelopmental Research (WUNDeR group, consisted of T2-weighted images of preterm infants (born <30 weeks’ gestation acquired shortly after birth (n= 12, preterm infants acquired at term-equivalent age (n= 12, and healthy term-born infants (born ≥38 weeks’ gestation acquired within the first nine days of life (n= 12. For the NeoBrainS12 dataset, mean Dice scores comparing MANTiS with manual segmentations were all above 0.7, except for

Physical activity patterns across time-segmented youth sport flag football practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Schlechter, Chelsey R; Guagliano, Justin M; Rosenkranz, Richard R; Milliken, George A; Dzewaltowski, David A

2018-02-08

Youth sport (YS) reaches a large number of children world-wide and contributes substantially to children's daily physical activity (PA), yet less than half of YS time has been shown to be spent in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA). Physical activity during practice is likely to vary depending on practice structure that changes across YS time, therefore the purpose of this study was 1) to describe the type and frequency of segments of time, defined by contextual characteristics of practice structure, during YS practices and 2) determine the influence of these segments on PA. Research assistants video-recorded the full duration of 28 practices from 14 boys' flag football teams (2 practices/team) while children concurrently (N = 111, aged 5-11 years, mean 7.9 ± 1.2 years) wore ActiGraph GT1M accelerometers to measure PA. Observers divided videos of each practice into continuous context time segments (N = 204; mean-segments-per-practice = 7.3, SD = 2.5) using start/stop points defined by change in context characteristics, and assigned a value for task (e.g., management, gameplay, etc.), member arrangement (e.g., small group, whole group, etc.), and setting demand (i.e., fosters participation, fosters exclusion). Segments were then paired with accelerometer data. Data were analyzed using a multilevel model with segment as unit of analysis. Whole practices averaged 34 ± 2.4% of time spent in MVPA. Free-play (51.5 ± 5.5%), gameplay (53.6 ± 3.7%), and warm-up (53.9 ± 3.6%) segments had greater percentage of time (%time) in MVPA compared to fitness (36.8 ± 4.4%) segments (p ≤ .01). Greater %time was spent in MVPA during free-play segments compared to scrimmage (30.2 ± 4.6%), strategy (30.6 ± 3.2%), and sport-skill (31.6 ± 3.1%) segments (p ≤ .01), and in segments that fostered participation (36.1 ± 2.7%) than segments that fostered exclusion (29.1 ± 3.0%; p ≤ .01

EVOLUTION OF CUSTOMERS’ SEGMENTATION TECHNIQUES IN RETAIL BANKING

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

PASCU ADRIAN IONUT

2017-11-01

Full Text Available In the context of a highly competitive market influenced by legislative changes, the technology evolution and the changes of customer’s behavior, traditional banks must be able to provide the services and products expected by customers. The most important method in retail banking by which a bank can interact with as many customers as possible to ensure satisfaction and loyalty is the notion of customers’ segmentation. The current situation from the perspective of customers’ expectations will be brought to your attention, as well as the future situation from the perspective of legislative changes and which are the main variables and techniques that allow us a relevant customers’ segmentation in this context. The challenges and opportunities of the Directive PDS2 (Payment Service Directive [7] will be analyzed, which together with the results of a study carried out by Ernst & Young "The relevance of the challenge: what retail banks must do to remain in the game" [5], make me say that now, more than ever, commercial banks must pay special attention to customer‘ segmentation. The objective of this paper is to present the evolution of the customers’ segmentation process starting from the 50’s – 60’s, when the first segmentation techniques appeared, until now, when because of the large quantities of data, there are used increasingly advanced techniques for extracting and interpreting data.

Segmented Mirror Image Degradation Due to Surface Dust, Alignment and Figure

Science.gov (United States)

Schreur, Julian J.

1999-01-01

In 1996 an algorithm was developed to include the effects of surface roughness in the calculation of the point spread function of a telescope mirror. This algorithm has been extended to include the effects of alignment errors and figure errors for the individual elements, and an overall contamination by surface dust. The final algorithm builds an array for a guard-banded pupil function of a mirror that may or may not have a central hole, a central reflecting segment, or an outer ring of segments. The central hole, central reflecting segment, and outer ring may be circular or polygonal, and the outer segments may have trimmed comers. The modeled point spread functions show that x-tilt and y-tilt, or the corresponding R-tilt and theta-tilt for a segment in an outer ring, is readily apparent for maximum wavefront errors of 0.1 lambda. A similar sized piston error is also apparent, but integral wavelength piston errors are not. Severe piston error introduces a focus error of the opposite sign, so piston could be adjusted to compensate for segments with varying focal lengths. Dust affects the image principally by decreasing the Strehl ratio, or peak intensity of the image. For an eight-meter telescope a 25% coverage by dust produced a scattered light intensity of 10(exp -9) of the peak intensity, a level well below detectability.

Segmental pancreatic autotransplantation for chronic pancreatitis. A preliminary report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rossi, R.L.; Braasch, J.W.; O' Bryan, E.M.; Watkins, E. Jr.

1983-03-01

A patient who underwent 95% pancreatectomy with autotransplantation of the body and tail of the gland to the femoral area for chronic pancreatitis is presented. The pain resolved, and the patient's blood glucose level remained within normal limits. High levels of insulin were found in the iliac vein on the transplanted side. Patency of the graft was demonstrated by technetium scan and arteriography and followed by a color-coded Doppler imaging system. Segmental pancreatic autotransplantation offers a method of relieving pain with preservation of endocrine function in selected patients with chronic pancreatitis.

Segmented Thermoelectric Oxide-based Module

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Le, Thanh Hung; Linderoth, Søren

for a more stable high temperature material. In this study, thermoelectric properties from 300 to 1200 K of Ca0.9Y0.1Mn1-xFexO3 for 0 ≤ x ≤ 0.25 were systematically investigated in term of Y and Fe co-doping at the Ca- and Mn-sites, respectively. It was found that with increasing the content of Fe doping......-performance segmented oxide-based module comprising of 4-unicouples using segmentation of the half-Heusler Ti0.3Zr0.35Hf0.35CoSb0.8Sn0.2 and the misfit-layered cobaltite Ca3Co4O9+δ as the p-leg and 2% Al-doped ZnO as the n-leg was successfully fabricated and characterized. The results (presented in Chapter 5) show...... result, although a slight degradation tendency could be observed after 48 hours of operating in air. Nevertheless, the total conversion efficiency of this segmented module is still low less than 2%, and needs to be further improved. A degradation mechanism was observed, which attributed to the increase...

Completing the Heterocubane Family [Cp*AlE]4 (E = O, S, Se, and Te) by Selective Oxygenation and Sulfuration of [Cp*Al]4: Density Functional Theory Calculations of [Cp*AlE]4 and Reactivity of [Cp*AlO]4 toward Hydrolysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Stelzer, Adrian C; Hrobárik, Peter; Braun, Thomas; Kaupp, Martin; Braun-Cula, Beatrice

2016-05-16

The subvalent aluminum compound [Cp*Al]4 (1) reacts with dioxygen, N2O, or sulfur to yield the heterocubane complexes [Cp*AlX]4 [X = O (2) and S (3)]. Treatment of [Cp*AlO]4 (2) with (tBuO)3SiOH gave [(tBuO)3SiOAlO]4 (6) and Cp*H. The structures and spectroscopic data of the Al clusters are supported by density functional theory (DFT) calculations, which also demonstrate the importance of noncovalent interactions (NCI) in oligomeric Al(I) complexes as well as in [Cp*AlS]4 and the heavier homologues of Se and Te. The computed (27)Al NMR shifts indicate a deshielding at the Al centers with increasing electronegativity of the chalcogen atom as well as significant spin-orbit shielding effects within the heavier heterocubane [Al4E4] cores. Further hydrolysis of 6 with an additional amount of silanol in the presence of water resulted in the formation of [Al4(OH)6(OH2)2(OSiOtBu3)6] (7), which shows a structural motif found in boehmite and diaspore.

Composite cervical skin and cartilage flap provides a novel large airway substitute after long-segment tracheal resection.

Science.gov (United States)

Fabre, Dominique; Singhal, Sunil; De Montpreville, Vincent; Decante, Benoit; Mussot, Sacha; Chataigner, Olivier; Mercier, Olaf; Kolb, Frederic; Dartevelle, Philippe G; Fadel, Elie

2009-07-01

Airway replacement after long-segment tracheal resection for benign and malignant disease remains a challenging problem because of the lack of a substitute conduit. Ideally, an airway substitute should be well vascularized, rigid, and autologous to avoid infections, airway stenosis, and the need for immunosuppression. We report the development of an autologous tracheal substitute for long-segment tracheal resection that satisfies these criteria and demonstrates excellent short-term functional results in a large-animal study. Twelve adult pigs underwent long-segment (6 cm, 60% of total length) tracheal resection. Autologous costal cartilage strips measuring 6 cm x 2 mm were harvested from the chest wall and inserted at regular 0.5-cm intervals between dermal layers of a cervical skin flap. The neotrachea was then scaffolded by rotating the composite cartilage skin flap around a silicone stent measuring 6 cm in length and 1.4 cm in diameter. The neotrachea replaced the long segment of tracheal resection, and the donor flap site was closed with a double-Z plasty. Animals were killed at 1 week (group I, n = 4), 2 weeks (group II, n = 4), and 5 weeks (group III, n = 4). In group III the stent was removed 1 week before death. Viability of the neotrachea was monitored by means of daily flexible bronchoscopy and histologic examination at autopsy. Long-term morbidity and mortality were determined by monitoring weight gain, respiratory distress, and survival. There was no mortality during the study period. Weight gain was appropriate in all animals. Daily bronchoscopy and postmortem histologic evaluation confirmed excellent viability of the neotrachea. There was no evidence of suture-line dehiscence. Five animals had distal granulomas that were removed by using rigid bronchoscopy. In group III 1 animal had tracheomalacia, which was successfully managed by means of insertion of a silicon stent. Airway reconstruction with autologous cervical skin flaps scaffolded with costal

The deformation behavior of the cervical spine segment

Science.gov (United States)

Kolmakova, T. V.; Rikun, Yu. A.

2017-09-01

The paper describes the model of the cervical spine segment (C3-C4) and the calculation results of its deformation behavior at flexion. The segment model was built based on the experimental literature data taking into account the presence of the cortical and cancellous bone tissue of vertebral bodies. Degenerative changes of the intervertebral disk (IVD) were simulated through a reduction of the disc height and an increase of Young's modulus. The construction of the geometric model of the cervical spine segment and the calculations of the stress-strain state were carried out in the ANSYS software complex. The calculation results show that the biggest protrusion of the IVD in bending direction of segment is observed when IVD height is reduced. The disc protrusion is reduced with an increase of Young's modulus. The largest protrusion in the direction of flexion of the segment is the intervertebral disk with height of 4.3 mm and elastic modulus of 2.5 MPa. The results of the study can be useful to specialists in the field of biomechanics, medical materials science and prosthetics.

Structural, elastic and thermodynamic properties under pressure and temperature effects of MgIn{sub 2}S{sub 4} and CdIn{sub 2}S{sub 4}

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bouhemadou, A., E-mail: a_bouhemadou@yahoo.fr [Laboratory for Developing New Materials and their Characterization, Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, University of Setif, 19000 Setif (Algeria); Haddadi, K. [Laboratory for Developing New Materials and their Characterization, Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, University of Setif, 19000 Setif (Algeria); Khenata, R. [Laboratoire de Physique Quantique et de Modelisation Mathematique (LPQ3M), Departement de Technologie, Universite de Mascara, 29000 Mascara (Algeria); Rached, D. [Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, University of Sidi-Bel-Abbes, 22000 (Algeria); Bin-Omran, S. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, College of Science, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2455, Riyadh 11451 (Saudi Arabia)

2012-06-15

A density functional-based method is used to investigate the structural, elastic and thermodynamic properties of the cubic spinel semiconductors MgIn{sub 2}S{sub 4} and CdIn{sub 2}S{sub 4} at different pressures and temperatures. Computed ground structural parameters are in good agreement with the available experimental data. Single-crystal elastic parameters are calculated for pressure up to 10 GPa and temperature up to 1200 K. The obtained elastic constants values satisfy the requirement of mechanical stability, indicating that MgIn{sub 2}S{sub 4} and CdIn{sub 2}S{sub 4} compounds could be stable in the investigated pressure range. Isotropic elastic parameters for ideal polycrystalline MgIn{sub 2}S{sub 4} and CdIn{sub 2}S{sub 4} aggregates are computed in the framework of the Voigt-Reuss-Hill approximation. Pressure and thermal effects on some macroscopic properties such as lattice constant, volume expansion coefficient and heat capacities are predicted using the quasi-harmonic Debye model in which the lattice vibrations are taken into account.

Migration and spatial assimilation among U.S. Latinos: classical versus segmented trajectories.

Science.gov (United States)

South, Scott J; Crowder, Kyle; Chavez, Erick

2005-08-01

We used merged data from the Latino National Political Survey, the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, and the U.S. census to examine patterns and determinants of interneighborhood residential mobility between 1990 and 1995 for 2,074 U.S. residents of Mexican, Puerto Rican, and Cuban ethnicity. In several respects, our findings confirm the central tenets of spatial assimilation theory: Latino residential mobility into neighborhoods that are inhabited by greater percentages of non-Hispanic whites (i.e., Anglos) increases with human and financial capital and English-language use. However, these results also point to variations in the residential mobility process among Latinos that are broadly consistent with the segmented assimilation perspective on ethnic and immigrant incorporation. Net of controls, Puerto Ricans are less likely than Mexicans to move to neighborhoods with relatively large Anglo populations, and the generational and socioeconomic differences that are anticipated by the classical assimilation model emerge more strongly for Mexicans than for Puerto Ricans or Cubans. Among Puerto Ricans and Cubans, darker skin color inhibits mobility into Anglo neighborhoods.

Context-Dependent Functional Divergence of the Notch Ligands DLL1 and DLL4 In Vivo.

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Kristina Preuße

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Notch signalling is a fundamental pathway that shapes the developing embryo and sustains adult tissues by direct communication between ligand and receptor molecules on adjacent cells. Among the ligands are two Delta paralogues, DLL1 and DLL4, that are conserved in mammals and share a similar structure and sequence. They activate the Notch receptor partly in overlapping expression domains where they fulfil redundant functions in some processes (e.g. maintenance of the crypt cell progenitor pool. In other processes, however, they appear to act differently (e.g. maintenance of foetal arterial identity raising the questions of how similar DLL1 and DLL4 really are and which mechanism causes the apparent context-dependent divergence. By analysing mice that conditionally overexpress DLL1 or DLL4 from the same genomic locus (Hprt and mice that express DLL4 instead of DLL1 from the endogenous Dll1 locus (Dll1Dll4ki, we found functional differences that are tissue-specific: while DLL1 and DLL4 act redundantly during the maintenance of retinal progenitors, their function varies in the presomitic mesoderm (PSM where somites form in a Notch-dependent process. In the anterior PSM, every cell expresses both Notch receptors and ligands, and DLL1 is the only activator of Notch while DLL4 is not endogenously expressed. Transgenic DLL4 cannot replace DLL1 during somitogenesis and in heterozygous Dll1Dll4ki/+ mice, the Dll1Dll4ki allele causes a dominant segmentation phenotype. Testing several aspects of the complex Notch signalling system in vitro, we found that both ligands have a similar trans-activation potential but that only DLL4 is an efficient cis-inhibitor of Notch signalling, causing a reduced net activation of Notch. These differential cis-inhibitory properties are likely to contribute to the functional divergence of DLL1 and DLL4.

Main Battle Tank Flexible Gun Tube Disturbance Model: Three-Segment Model

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Sneck, Henry

2002-01-01

... them. It was found that, contrary to the previously analyzed two degree-of-freedom segment model, the muzzle-end segment could be stabilized by the proper choice of transfer functions and elevation driveline response...

Z4-symmetric factorized S-matrix in two space-time dimensions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zamolodchikov, A.B.

1979-01-01

The factorized S-matrix with internal symmetry Z 4 is constructed in two space-time dimensions. The two-particle amplitudes are obtained by means of solving the factorization, unitarity and analyticity equations. The solution of factorization equations can be expressed in terms of elliptic functions. The S-matrix cotains the resonance poles naturally. The simple formal relation between the general factorized S-matrices and the Baxter-type lattice transfer matrices is found. In the sense of this relation the Z 4 -symmetric S-matrix corresponds to the Baxter transfer matrix itself. (orig.)

Quantification of Right and Left Ventricular Function in Cardiac MR Imaging: Comparison of Semiautomatic and Manual Segmentation Algorithms

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Jose Martin Carreira

2013-04-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to evaluate the performance of a semiautomatic segmentation method for the anatomical and functional assessment of both ventricles from cardiac cine magnetic resonance (MR examinations, reducing user interaction to a “mouse-click”. Fifty-two patients with cardiovascular diseases were examined using a 1.5-T MR imaging unit. Several parameters of both ventricles, such as end-diastolic volume (EDV, end-systolic volume (ESV and ejection fraction (EF, were quantified by an experienced operator using the conventional method based on manually-defined contours, as the standard of reference; and a novel semiautomatic segmentation method based on edge detection, iterative thresholding and region growing techniques, for evaluation purposes. No statistically significant differences were found between the two measurement values obtained for each parameter (p > 0.05. Correlation to estimate right ventricular function was good (r > 0.8 and turned out to be excellent (r > 0.9 for the left ventricle (LV. Bland-Altman plots revealed acceptable limits of agreement between the two methods (95%. Our study findings indicate that the proposed technique allows a fast and accurate assessment of both ventricles. However, further improvements are needed to equal results achieved for the right ventricle (RV using the conventional methodology.

Dishevelled 2 is essential for cardiac outflow tract development, somite segmentation and neural tube closure.

Science.gov (United States)

Hamblet, Natasha S; Lijam, Nardos; Ruiz-Lozano, Pilar; Wang, Jianbo; Yang, Yasheng; Luo, Zhenge; Mei, Lin; Chien, Kenneth R; Sussman, Daniel J; Wynshaw-Boris, Anthony

2002-12-01

The murine dishevelled 2 (Dvl2) gene is an ortholog of the Drosophila segment polarity gene Dishevelled, a member of the highly conserved Wingless/Wnt developmental pathway. Dvl2-deficient mice were produced to determine the role of Dvl2 in mammalian development. Mice containing null mutations in Dvl2 present with 50% lethality in both inbred 129S6 and in a hybrid 129S6-NIH Black Swiss background because of severe cardiovascular outflow tract defects, including double outlet right ventricle, transposition of the great arteries and persistent truncus arteriosis. The majority of the surviving Dvl2(-/-) mice were female, suggesting that penetrance was influenced by sex. Expression of Pitx2 and plexin A2 was attenuated in Dvl2 null mutants, suggesting a defect in cardiac neural crest development during outflow tract formation. In addition, approximately 90% of Dvl2(-/-) mice have vertebral and rib malformations that affect the proximal as well as the distal parts of the ribs. These skeletal abnormalities were more pronounced in mice deficient for both Dvl1 and Dvl2. Somite differentiation markers used to analyze Dvl2(-/-) and Dvl1(-/-);Dvl2(-/-) mutant embryos revealed mildly aberrant expression of Uncx4.1, delta 1 and myogenin, suggesting defects in somite segmentation. Finally, 2-3% of Dvl2(-/-) embryos displayed thoracic spina bifida, while virtually all Dvl1/2 double mutant embryos displayed craniorachishisis, a completely open neural tube from the midbrain to the tail. Thus, Dvl2 is essential for normal cardiac morphogenesis, somite segmentation and neural tube closure, and there is functional redundancy between Dvl1 and Dvl2 in some phenotypes.

Quasirelativistic calculation of 4s24p5, 4s24p44d and 4s4p6 configuration spectroscopic parameters for the W39+ ion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bogdanovich, P; Karpuškienė, R; Kisielius, R

2015-01-01

The ab initio quasirelativistic Hartree–Fock method developed specifically for the calculation of spectral parameters of heavy atoms and highly charged ions is used to derive spectral data for the 4s 2 4p 5 , 4s 2 4p 4 4d and 4s4p 6 configurations of the multicharged tungsten ion W 39+ . The relativistic effects are taken into account in the Breit–Pauli approximation for the quasirelativistic Hartree–Fock radial orbitals. The configuration interaction method is applied to include the electron correlation effects. Produced data are compared with existing experimental measurements and theoretical calculations. (paper)

The hyperfine structure constants for the 4s24p and 4s25s states of Ga

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Qingmin; Dong Chenzhong

2012-01-01

The hyperfine structure (hfs) constants for the states 4s 2 4p 2 P 1/2,3/2 and 4s 2 5s 2 S 1/2 of 71 Ga were calculated using the GRASP2K package based on the multiconfiguration Dirac-Fock (MCDF) method. The results indicated that the core polarization effect was important for the hyperfine structure constants. (authors)

A Decision-Tree-Based Algorithm for Speech/Music Classification and Segmentation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lavner Yizhar

2009-01-01

Full Text Available We present an efficient algorithm for segmentation of audio signals into speech or music. The central motivation to our study is consumer audio applications, where various real-time enhancements are often applied. The algorithm consists of a learning phase and a classification phase. In the learning phase, predefined training data is used for computing various time-domain and frequency-domain features, for speech and music signals separately, and estimating the optimal speech/music thresholds, based on the probability density functions of the features. An automatic procedure is employed to select the best features for separation. In the test phase, initial classification is performed for each segment of the audio signal, using a three-stage sieve-like approach, applying both Bayesian and rule-based methods. To avoid erroneous rapid alternations in the classification, a smoothing technique is applied, averaging the decision on each segment with past segment decisions. Extensive evaluation of the algorithm, on a database of more than 12 hours of speech and more than 22 hours of music showed correct identification rates of 99.4% and 97.8%, respectively, and quick adjustment to alternating speech/music sections. In addition to its accuracy and robustness, the algorithm can be easily adapted to different audio types, and is suitable for real-time operation.

REPERFUSION THERAPY IN ACUTE CORONARY SYNDROME WITH ST SEGMENT ELEVATION

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A. L. Alyavi

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Aim. To compare effect of percutaneous balloon angioplasty (PCA and a systemic thrombolysis (STL on the central and intracardiac hemodynamics in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS with ST segment elevation.Material and methods. 80 patients with ACS with ST segment elevation were included in the study. Patients were split into 2 groups depending on reperfusion strategy. PCA was performed in 55 patients (first group. 25 patients of the second group had STL with Streptokinase, i/v, 1 500 000 units per hour. Echocardiography was performed in all patients at admission and after 3 and 7 days of treatment to evaluate intracardiac hemodynamics.Results. Both reperfusion methods significantly increase of ejection fraction (EF and maximal output speed of left ventricle (LV. Increase of LV EF in patients after PCA was higher than this in patients after STL. PCA improved LV diastolic function; STL did not change this characteristic. After PCA working diagnosis of ACS was transformed to the following final diagnosis: acute myocardial infarction (AMI with Q, AMI without Q and unstable angina in 37,5, 30,4 and 32,1% of patients, respectively. After STL diagnosis of AMI with Q was defined in all patients.Conclusion. PCA in patients with ACS with ST segment elevation results in fast improvement of global systolic and diastolic LV function. Besides, PCA prevents AMI with Q in a half of these patients.

Improved primer sequences for the mitochondrial ND1, ND3/4 and ND5/6 segments in salmonid fishes : application to RFLP analysis of Atlantic salmon

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Eg Nielsen, Einar; Hansen, Michael Møller; Mensberg, Karen-Lise Dons

1998-01-01

New specific primers for the mtDNA segments ND1, ND3/4 and ND5/6 designed from the rainbow trout sequence, improved PCR amplification for salmonid fishes. RFLP analysis revealed restriction site variation for all three segments in Atlantic salmon. Eleven haplotypes were detected in a screening...

Multidimensional segmentation of coronary intravascular ultrasound images using knowledge-based methods

Science.gov (United States)

Olszewski, Mark E.; Wahle, Andreas; Vigmostad, Sarah C.; Sonka, Milan

2005-04-01

In vivo studies of the relationships that exist among vascular geometry, plaque morphology, and hemodynamics have recently been made possible through the development of a system that accurately reconstructs coronary arteries imaged by x-ray angiography and intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) in three dimensions. Currently, the bottleneck of the system is the segmentation of the IVUS images. It is well known that IVUS images contain numerous artifacts from various sources. Previous attempts to create automated IVUS segmentation systems have suffered from either a cost function that does not include enough information, or from a non-optimal segmentation algorithm. The approach presented in this paper seeks to strengthen both of those weaknesses -- first by building a robust, knowledge-based cost function, and then by using a fully optimal, three-dimensional segmentation algorithm. The cost function contains three categories of information: a compendium of learned border patterns, information theoretic and statistical properties related to the imaging physics, and local image features. By combining these criteria in an optimal way, weaknesses associated with cost functions that only try to optimize a single criterion are minimized. This cost function is then used as the input to a fully optimal, three-dimensional, graph search-based segmentation algorithm. The resulting system has been validated against a set of manually traced IVUS image sets. Results did not show any bias, with a mean unsigned luminal border positioning error of 0.180 +/- 0.027 mm and an adventitial border positioning error of 0.200 +/- 0.069 mm.

A Nash-game approach to joint image restoration and segmentation

OpenAIRE

Kallel , Moez; Aboulaich , Rajae; Habbal , Abderrahmane; Moakher , Maher

2014-01-01

International audience; We propose a game theory approach to simultaneously restore and segment noisy images. We define two players: one is restoration, with the image intensity as strategy, and the other is segmentation with contours as strategy. Cost functions are the classical relevant ones for restoration and segmentation, respectively. The two players play a static game with complete information, and we consider as solution to the game the so-called Nash Equilibrium. For the computation ...

Automatic lithofacies segmentation from well-logs data. A comparative study between the Self-Organizing Map (SOM) and Walsh transform

Science.gov (United States)

Aliouane, Leila; Ouadfeul, Sid-Ali; Rabhi, Abdessalem; Rouina, Fouzi; Benaissa, Zahia; Boudella, Amar

2013-04-01

The main goal of this work is to realize a comparison between two lithofacies segmentation techniques of reservoir interval. The first one is based on the Kohonen's Self-Organizing Map neural network machine. The second technique is based on the Walsh transform decomposition. Application to real well-logs data of two boreholes located in the Algerian Sahara shows that the Self-organizing map is able to provide more lithological details that the obtained lithofacies model given by the Walsh decomposition. Keywords: Comparison, Lithofacies, SOM, Walsh References: 1)Aliouane, L., Ouadfeul, S., Boudella, A., 2011, Fractal analysis based on the continuous wavelet transform and lithofacies classification from well-logs data using the self-organizing map neural network, Arabian Journal of geosciences, doi: 10.1007/s12517-011-0459-4 2) Aliouane, L., Ouadfeul, S., Djarfour, N., Boudella, A., 2012, Petrophysical Parameters Estimation from Well-Logs Data Using Multilayer Perceptron and Radial Basis Function Neural Networks, Lecture Notes in Computer Science Volume 7667, 2012, pp 730-736, doi : 10.1007/978-3-642-34500-5_86 3)Ouadfeul, S. and Aliouane., L., 2011, Multifractal analysis revisited by the continuous wavelet transform applied in lithofacies segmentation from well-logs data, International journal of applied physics and mathematics, Vol01 N01. 4) Ouadfeul, S., Aliouane, L., 2012, Lithofacies Classification Using the Multilayer Perceptron and the Self-organizing Neural Networks, Lecture Notes in Computer Science Volume 7667, 2012, pp 737-744, doi : 10.1007/978-3-642-34500-5_87 5) Weisstein, Eric W. "Fast Walsh Transform." From MathWorld--A Wolfram Web Resource. http://mathworld.wolfram.com/FastWalshTransform.html

False Positive Stress Testing: Does Endothelial Vascular Dysfunction Contribute to ST-Segment Depression in Women? A Pilot Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Sharma, Shilpa; Mehta, Puja K; Arsanjani, Reza; Sedlak, Tara; Hobel, Zachary; Shufelt, Chrisandra; Jones, Erika; Kligfield, Paul; Mortara, David; Laks, Michael; Diniz, Marcio; Bairey Merz, C Noel

2018-06-19

The utility of exercise-induced ST-segment depression for diagnosing ischemic heart disease (IHD) in women is unclear. Based on evidence that IHD pathophysiology in women involves coronary vascular dysfunction, we hypothesized that coronary vascular dysfunction contributes to exercise electrocardiography (Ex-ECG) ST-depression in the absence of obstructive CAD, so-called "false positive" results. We tested our hypothesis in a pilot study evaluating the relationship between peripheral vascular endothelial function and Ex-ECG. Twenty-nine asymptomatic women without cardiac risk factors underwent maximal Bruce protocol exercise treadmill testing and peripheral endothelial function assessment using peripheral arterial tonometry (Itamar EndoPAT 2000) to measure reactive hyperemia index (RHI). The relationship between RHI and Ex-ECG ST-segment depression was evaluated using logistic regression and differences in subgroups using two-tailed t-tests. Mean age was 54 ± 7 years, body mass index 25 ± 4 kg/m 2 , and RHI 2.51 ± 0.66. Three women (10%) had RHI less than 1.68, consistent with abnormal peripheral endothelial function, while 18 women (62%) met criteria for a positive Ex-ECG based on ST-segment depression in contiguous leads. Women with and without ST-segment depression had similar baseline and exercise vital signs, metabolic equivalents (METS) achieved, and RHI (all p>0.05). RHI did not predict ST-segment depression. Our pilot study demonstrates a high prevalence of exercise-induced ST-segment depression in asymptomatic, middle-aged, overweight women. Peripheral vascular endothelial dysfunction did not predict Ex-ECG ST-segment depression. Further work is needed to investigate the utility of vascular endothelial testing and Ex-ECG for IHD diagnostic and management purposes in women. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Segmentation and classification of cell cycle phases in fluorescence imaging.

Science.gov (United States)

Ersoy, Ilker; Bunyak, Filiz; Chagin, Vadim; Cardoso, M Christina; Palaniappan, Kannappan

2009-01-01

Current chemical biology methods for studying spatiotemporal correlation between biochemical networks and cell cycle phase progression in live-cells typically use fluorescence-based imaging of fusion proteins. Stable cell lines expressing fluorescently tagged protein GFP-PCNA produce rich, dynamically varying sub-cellular foci patterns characterizing the cell cycle phases, including the progress during the S-phase. Variable fluorescence patterns, drastic changes in SNR, shape and position changes and abundance of touching cells require sophisticated algorithms for reliable automatic segmentation and cell cycle classification. We extend the recently proposed graph partitioning active contours (GPAC) for fluorescence-based nucleus segmentation using regional density functions and dramatically improve its efficiency, making it scalable for high content microscopy imaging. We utilize surface shape properties of GFP-PCNA intensity field to obtain descriptors of foci patterns and perform automated cell cycle phase classification, and give quantitative performance by comparing our results to manually labeled data.

Functionally induced changes in water transport in the proximal tubule segment of rat kidneys

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Faarup, Poul; von Holstein-Rathlou, Niels-Henrik; Nørgaard, Tove

2011-01-01

To eliminate freezing artifacts in the proximal tubule cells, two cryotechniques were applied to normal rat kidneys, ie, freeze substitution and special freeze drying. In addition, salt depletion and salt loading were applied to groups of rats to evaluate whether the segmental structure of the pr......To eliminate freezing artifacts in the proximal tubule cells, two cryotechniques were applied to normal rat kidneys, ie, freeze substitution and special freeze drying. In addition, salt depletion and salt loading were applied to groups of rats to evaluate whether the segmental structure...... segment, representing a structural background for the essential transport of water from the proximal tubules to the peritubular capillaries....

MIN-CUT BASED SEGMENTATION OF AIRBORNE LIDAR POINT CLOUDS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Ural

2012-07-01

Full Text Available Introducing an organization to the unstructured point cloud before extracting information from airborne lidar data is common in many applications. Aggregating the points with similar features into segments in 3-D which comply with the nature of actual objects is affected by the neighborhood, scale, features and noise among other aspects. In this study, we present a min-cut based method for segmenting the point cloud. We first assess the neighborhood of each point in 3-D by investigating the local geometric and statistical properties of the candidates. Neighborhood selection is essential since point features are calculated within their local neighborhood. Following neighborhood determination, we calculate point features and determine the clusters in the feature space. We adapt a graph representation from image processing which is especially used in pixel labeling problems and establish it for the unstructured 3-D point clouds. The edges of the graph that are connecting the points with each other and nodes representing feature clusters hold the smoothness costs in the spatial domain and data costs in the feature domain. Smoothness costs ensure spatial coherence, while data costs control the consistency with the representative feature clusters. This graph representation formalizes the segmentation task as an energy minimization problem. It allows the implementation of an approximate solution by min-cuts for a global minimum of this NP hard minimization problem in low order polynomial time. We test our method with airborne lidar point cloud acquired with maximum planned post spacing of 1.4 m and a vertical accuracy 10.5 cm as RMSE. We present the effects of neighborhood and feature determination in the segmentation results and assess the accuracy and efficiency of the implemented min-cut algorithm as well as its sensitivity to the parameters of the smoothness and data cost functions. We find that smoothness cost that only considers simple distance

Segmentation of Gait Sequences in Sensor-Based Movement Analysis: A Comparison of Methods in Parkinson’s Disease

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nooshin Haji Ghassemi

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Robust gait segmentation is the basis for mobile gait analysis. A range of methods have been applied and evaluated for gait segmentation of healthy and pathological gait bouts. However, a unified evaluation of gait segmentation methods in Parkinson’s disease (PD is missing. In this paper, we compare four prevalent gait segmentation methods in order to reveal their strengths and drawbacks in gait processing. We considered peak detection from event-based methods, two variations of dynamic time warping from template matching methods, and hierarchical hidden Markov models (hHMMs from machine learning methods. To evaluate the methods, we included two supervised and instrumented gait tests that are widely used in the examination of Parkinsonian gait. In the first experiment, a sequence of strides from instructed straight walks was measured from 10 PD patients. In the second experiment, a more heterogeneous assessment paradigm was used from an additional 34 PD patients, including straight walks and turning strides as well as non-stride movements. The goal of the latter experiment was to evaluate the methods in challenging situations including turning strides and non-stride movements. Results showed no significant difference between the methods for the first scenario, in which all methods achieved an almost 100% accuracy in terms of F-score. Hence, we concluded that in the case of a predefined and homogeneous sequence of strides, all methods can be applied equally. However, in the second experiment the difference between methods became evident, with the hHMM obtaining a 96% F-score and significantly outperforming the other methods. The hHMM also proved promising in distinguishing between strides and non-stride movements, which is critical for clinical gait analysis. Our results indicate that both the instrumented test procedure and the required stride segmentation algorithm have to be selected adequately in order to support and complement classical

Functional plasticity in the respiratory drive to thoracic motoneurons in the segment above a chronic lateral spinal cord lesion

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ford, T W; Anissimova, Natalia P; Meehan, Claire Francesca

2016-01-01

A previous neurophysiological investigation demonstrated an increase in functional projections of expiratory bulbospinal neurons (EBSNs) in the segment above a chronic lateral thoracic spinal cord lesion that severed their axons. We have now investigated how this plasticity might be manifested...... in thoracic motoneurons by measuring their respiratory drive and the connections to them from individual EBSNs. In anesthetized cats, simultaneous recordings were made intracellularly from motoneurons in the segment above a left-side chronic (16 wk) lesion of the spinal cord in the rostral part of T8, T9......, or T10 and extracellularly from EBSNs in the right caudal medulla, antidromically excited from just above the lesion but not from below. Spike-triggered averaging was used to measure the connections between pairs of EBSNs and motoneurons. Connections were found to have a very similar distribution...

Acute Effects of Hemodialysis on Left and Right Ventricular Function: A Doppler Tissue Imaging Study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tansel Erol

2012-08-01

Full Text Available Purpose: Doppler tissue imaging (DTI allows noninvasive assessment of both left ventricular (LV and right ventricular (RV function. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of hemodialysis (HD on LV and RV function using DTI. Method: Our study group included 30 patients on chronic HD program (mean age 45 15 years. Myocardial (Sm, Em, Am and annular velocities (Ea, Aa were measured in several cardiac territories before and after HD. Results: After HD, Ea significantly reduced from 10.8 3.4 cm/s to 9.6 2.4 cm/s (p = 0.029. Patients exhibited a lower Em following HD in all measured territories. Em/Am ratio was also reduced for each LV wall investigated after HD in all measured territories. At the RV segments, Sm, Em, and Am decreased significantly in all measured territories. Em of the anterior wall was positively related to ultrafiltration volume (r = 0.25, p = 0.006, whereas the decrease of Sm of RV basal segment correlated with a decrease of diastolic blood pressure (r = 0.23, p < 0.01. Conclusion: Our data indicate that a single HD session is associated with acute changes of systolic and diastolic parameters of LV and RV. [Cukurova Med J 2012; 37(4.000: 215-222

Impact of consensus contours from multiple PET segmentation methods on the accuracy of functional volume delineation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schaefer, A. [Saarland University Medical Centre, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Homburg (Germany); Vermandel, M. [U1189 - ONCO-THAI - Image Assisted Laser Therapy for Oncology, University of Lille, Inserm, CHU Lille, Lille (France); CHU Lille, Nuclear Medicine Department, Lille (France); Baillet, C. [CHU Lille, Nuclear Medicine Department, Lille (France); Dewalle-Vignion, A.S. [U1189 - ONCO-THAI - Image Assisted Laser Therapy for Oncology, University of Lille, Inserm, CHU Lille, Lille (France); Modzelewski, R.; Vera, P.; Gardin, I. [Centre Henri-Becquerel and LITIS EA4108, Rouen (France); Massoptier, L.; Parcq, C.; Gibon, D. [AQUILAB, Research and Innovation Department, Loos Les Lille (France); Fechter, T.; Nestle, U. [University Medical Center Freiburg, Department for Radiation Oncology, Freiburg (Germany); German Cancer Consortium (DKTK) Freiburg and German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg (Germany); Nemer, U. [University Medical Center Freiburg, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Freiburg (Germany)

2016-05-15

The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of consensus algorithms on segmentation results when applied to clinical PET images. In particular, whether the use of the majority vote or STAPLE algorithm could improve the accuracy and reproducibility of the segmentation provided by the combination of three semiautomatic segmentation algorithms was investigated. Three published segmentation methods (contrast-oriented, possibility theory and adaptive thresholding) and two consensus algorithms (majority vote and STAPLE) were implemented in a single software platform (Artiview registered). Four clinical datasets including different locations (thorax, breast, abdomen) or pathologies (primary NSCLC tumours, metastasis, lymphoma) were used to evaluate accuracy and reproducibility of the consensus approach in comparison with pathology as the ground truth or CT as a ground truth surrogate. Variability in the performance of the individual segmentation algorithms for lesions of different tumour entities reflected the variability in PET images in terms of resolution, contrast and noise. Independent of location and pathology of the lesion, however, the consensus method resulted in improved accuracy in volume segmentation compared with the worst-performing individual method in the majority of cases and was close to the best-performing method in many cases. In addition, the implementation revealed high reproducibility in the segmentation results with small changes in the respective starting conditions. There were no significant differences in the results with the STAPLE algorithm and the majority vote algorithm. This study showed that combining different PET segmentation methods by the use of a consensus algorithm offers robustness against the variable performance of individual segmentation methods and this approach would therefore be useful in radiation oncology. It might also be relevant for other scenarios such as the merging of expert recommendations in clinical routine and

Non-commutative algebra of functions of 4-dimensional quantum Hall droplet

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen Yixin; Hou Boyu; Hou Boyuan

2002-01-01

We develop the description of non-commutative geometry of the 4-dimensional quantum Hall fluid's theory proposed recently by Zhang and Hu. The non-commutative structure of fuzzy S 4 , which is the base of the bundle S 7 obtained by the second Hopf fibration, i.e., S 7 /S 3 =S 4 , appears naturally in this theory. The fuzzy monopole harmonics, which are the essential elements in the non-commutative algebra of functions on S 4 , are explicitly constructed and their obeying the matrix algebra is obtained. This matrix algebra is associative. We also propose a fusion scheme of the fuzzy monopole harmonics of the coupling system from those of the subsystems, and determine the fusion rule in such fusion scheme. By products, we provide some essential ingredients of the theory of SO(5) angular momentum. In particular, the explicit expression of the coupling coefficients, in the theory of SO(5) angular momentum, are given. We also discuss some possible applications of our results to the 4-dimensional quantum Hall system and the matrix brane construction in M-theory

Brookhaven segment interconnect

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Morse, W.M.; Benenson, G.; Leipuner, L.B.

1983-01-01

We have performed a high energy physics experiment using a multisegment Brookhaven FASTBUS system. The system was composed of three crate segments and two cable segments. We discuss the segment interconnect module which permits communication between the various segments

The Simulation of Energy Distribution of Electrons Detected by Segmental Ionization Detector in High Pressure Conditions of ESEM

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Neděla, Vilém; Konvalina, Ivo; Oral, Martin; Hudec, Jiří

2015-01-01

Roč. 21, S4 (2015), s. 264-269 ISSN 1431-9276 R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GA14-22777S Institutional support: RVO:68081731 Keywords : electron-gas interactions * Monte Carlo simulation * signal amplification * segmented ionization detector Subject RIV: JA - Electronics ; Optoelectronics, Electrical Engineering Impact factor: 1.730, year: 2015

Failed back surgery syndrome: the role of symptomatic segmental single-level instability after lumbar microdiscectomy.

Science.gov (United States)

Schaller, B

2004-05-01

Segmental instability represents one of several different factors that may cause or contribute to the failed back surgery syndrome after lumbar microdiscectomy. As segmental lumbar instability poses diagnostic problems by lack of clear radiological and clinical criteria, only little is known about the occurrence of this phenomenon following primary microdiscectomy. Retrospectively, the records of 2,353 patients were reviewed according to postoperative symptomatic segmental single-level instability after lumbar microdiscectomy between 1989 and 1997. Progressive neurological deficits increased (mean of 24 months; SD: 12, range 1-70) after the initial surgical procedure in 12 patients. The mean age of the four men and eight women was 43 years (SD: 6, range 40-77). The main symptoms and signs of secondary neurological deterioration were radicular pain in 9 of 12 patients, increased motor weakness in 6 of 12 patients and sensory deficits in 4 of 12 patients. All 12 symptomatic patients had radiological evidence of segmental changes correlating with the clinical symptoms and signs. All but one patient showed a decrease in the disc height greater than 30% at the time of posterior spondylodesis compared with the preoperative images before lumbar microdiscectomy. All patients underwent secondary laminectomy and posterior lumbar sponylodesis. Postoperatively, pain improved in 8 of 9 patients, motor weakness in 3 of 6 patients, and sensory deficits in 2 of 4 patients. During the follow-up period of 72+/-7 months, one patient required a third operation to alleviate spinal stenosis at the upper end of the laminectomy. Patients with secondary segmental instability following microdiscectomy were mainly in their 40s. Postoperative narrowing of the intervertebral space following lumbar microdiscectomy is correlated to the degree of intervertebral disc resection. It can therefore be concluded that (1) patients in their 40s are prone to postoperative narrowing of the intervertebral

Scintillation counter, segmented shield

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Olson, R.E.; Thumim, A.D.

1975-01-01

A scintillation counter, particularly for counting gamma ray photons, includes a massive lead radiation shield surrounding a sample-receiving zone. The shield is disassembleable into a plurality of segments to allow facile installation and removal of a photomultiplier tube assembly, the segments being so constructed as to prevent straight-line access of external radiation through the shield into radiation-responsive areas. Provisions are made for accurately aligning the photomultiplier tube with respect to one or more sample-transmitting bores extending through the shield to the sample receiving zone. A sample elevator, used in transporting samples into the zone, is designed to provide a maximum gamma-receiving aspect to maximize the gamma detecting efficiency. (U.S.)

AB286. SPR-13 Sex differences and participation of Toll-like receptor 4 to rat bladder contractile function

Science.gov (United States)

Szasz, Theodora; Burgess, Beth; Webb, R. Clinton

2016-01-01

Objective Innate immune mechanisms have been implicated in the pathophysiology of chronic sterile conditions such as hypertension and diabetes. We have recently demonstrated that Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) activation by endogenous molecules such as high mobility group box-1 (HMGB1) contributes to hypertrophy and hypercontractility in diabetic bladder dysfunction. It has been reported that women have a higher frequency of overactive bladder symptoms, while men have higher detrusor overactivity. We hypothesized that sex differences in the contribution of TLR4 to bladder contraction may underlie the sex differences observed clinically. Methods Female and male rat bladder contractile responses to carbacholine (CCh) and electrical field stimulation (EFS) were measured in the presence and absence of TLR4 inhibitor CLI-095 and in the presence and absence of urothelium. Results We observed that contractile responses to both CCh and EFS were higher in the male than the female bladder segments in both the presence and absence of urothelium [CCh Emax (mN): male + urothelium =84.3±1.2, male – urothelium =83.7±1.2, female + urothelium =49.8±0.8, female – urothelium =59.2±1.1; EFS 32 Hz (mN): male + urothelium= 84.9±7.1, male – urothelium =66.8±5.2, female + urothelium =57.8±5.9, female – urothelium =54.5±3.5]. Incubation of bladder segments with the TLR4 inhibitor CLI-095 significantly decreased contractile responses to both CCh and EFS in both sexes, irrespective of the presence of urothelium [CCh Emax (mN): male + urothelium =91.1±0.8, male – urothelium =75.4±1.8, female + urothelium =42.9±1.1, female – urothelium =52.5±1.1; EFS 32 Hz (mN): male + urothelium =80.8±7.9, male – urothelium =59.6±10.6, female + urothelium =43.3±2.6, female – urothelium =46.4±1.9]. Conclusions Our data suggest that although there are sex differences in the contractile function of the rat bladder in basal conditions, the participation of TLR4 to bladder contraction

Short-range order parameters in amorphous YBaS4X7(X-S, SE, TE) films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hajiyev, E.S.

2005-01-01

Full text : Electron scattering intensity curves from amorphous YbAs 4 X 7 (X-S, SE, TE) films have ben obtained by the transmission electron diffraction (TED) method with rotation sector before screen up. The energy of electrons was 100 keV. Amorphous samples were crystallized and the composition of the products were measured by TED. The atomic radial distribution function has been calculated by the Fourier synthesis of intensities in the TED of amorphous YbAs 4 X 7 (X-S, SE, TE) films. The interatomic average distances of As - S (Se, Te) and As-Yb + 2 and partial coordination numbers have been estimated in these thilms. Based on these numbers, chemical orders in these films differ. This difference is due to differing topological order in the amorphous YbAs 4 X 7 (X-S, SE, TE) films

Active Segmentation.

Science.gov (United States)

Mishra, Ajay; Aloimonos, Yiannis

2009-01-01

The human visual system observes and understands a scene/image by making a series of fixations. Every fixation point lies inside a particular region of arbitrary shape and size in the scene which can either be an object or just a part of it. We define as a basic segmentation problem the task of segmenting that region containing the fixation point. Segmenting the region containing the fixation is equivalent to finding the enclosing contour- a connected set of boundary edge fragments in the edge map of the scene - around the fixation. This enclosing contour should be a depth boundary.We present here a novel algorithm that finds this bounding contour and achieves the segmentation of one object, given the fixation. The proposed segmentation framework combines monocular cues (color/intensity/texture) with stereo and/or motion, in a cue independent manner. The semantic robots of the immediate future will be able to use this algorithm to automatically find objects in any environment. The capability of automatically segmenting objects in their visual field can bring the visual processing to the next level. Our approach is different from current approaches. While existing work attempts to segment the whole scene at once into many areas, we segment only one image region, specifically the one containing the fixation point. Experiments with real imagery collected by our active robot and from the known databases 1 demonstrate the promise of the approach.

Conceptual model of consumer’s willingness to eat functional foods

Science.gov (United States)

Babicz-Zielinska, Ewa; Jezewska-Zychowicz, Maria

The functional foods constitute the important segment of the food market. Among factors that determine the intentions to eat functional foods, the psychological factors play very important roles. Motives, attitudes and personality are key factors. The relationships between socio-demographic characteristics, attitudes and willingness to purchase functional foods were not fully confirmed. Consumers’ beliefs about health benefits from eaten foods seem to be a strong determinant of a choice of functional foods. The objective of this study was to determine relations between familiarity, attitudes, and beliefs in benefits and risks about functional foods and develop some conceptual models of willingness to eat. The sample of Polish consumers counted 1002 subjects at age 15+. The foods enriched with vitamins or minerals, and cholesterol-lowering margarine or drinks were considered. The questionnaire focused on familiarity with foods, attitudes, beliefs about benefits and risks of their consumption was constructed. The Pearson’s correlations and linear regression equations were calculated. The strongest relations appeared between attitudes, high health value and high benefits, (r = 0.722 and 0.712 for enriched foods, and 0.664 and 0.693 for cholesterol-lowering foods), and between high health value and high benefits (0.814 for enriched foods and 0.758 for cholesterol-lowering foods). The conceptual models based on linear regression of relations between attitudes and all other variables, considering or not the familiarity with the foods, were developed. The positive attitudes and declared consumption are more important for enriched foods. The beliefs on high health value and high benefits play the most important role in the purchase. The interrelations between different variables may be described by new linear regression models, with the beliefs in high benefits, positive attitudes and familiarity being most significant predictors. Health expectations and trust to

High performance p-type segmented leg of misfit-layered cobaltite and half-Heusler alloy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hung, Le Thanh; Van Nong, Ngo; Snyder, G. Jeffrey; Viet, Man Hoang; Balke, Benjamin; Han, Li; Stamate, Eugen; Linderoth, Søren; Pryds, Nini

2015-01-01

Highlights: • p-type segmented leg of oxide and half-Heusler was for the first time demonstrated. • The maximum conversion efficiency reached a value of about 5%. • The results are among the highest reported values so far for oxide-based legs. • Oxide-based segmented leg is very promising for generating electricity. - Abstract: In this study, a segmented p-type leg of doped misfit-layered cobaltite Ca 2.8 Lu 0.15 Ag 0.05 Co 4 O 9+δ and half-Heusler Ti 0.3 Zr 0.35 Hf 0.35 CoSb 0.8 Sn 0.2 alloy was fabricated and characterized. The thermoelectric properties of single components, segmented leg, and the electrical contact resistance of the joint part were measured as a function of temperature. The output power generation characteristics of segmented legs were characterized in air under various temperature gradients, ΔT, with the hot side temperature up to 1153 K. At ΔT ≈ 756 K, the maximum conversion efficiency reached a value of ∼5%, which is about 65% of that expected from the materials without parasitic losses. The long-term stability investigation for two weeks at the hot and cold side temperatures of 1153/397 K shows that the segmented leg has good durability as a result of stable and low electrical resistance contacts

Semi-automatic breast ultrasound image segmentation based on mean shift and graph cuts.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Zhuhuang; Wu, Weiwei; Wu, Shuicai; Tsui, Po-Hsiang; Lin, Chung-Chih; Zhang, Ling; Wang, Tianfu

2014-10-01

Computerized tumor segmentation on breast ultrasound (BUS) images remains a challenging task. In this paper, we proposed a new method for semi-automatic tumor segmentation on BUS images using Gaussian filtering, histogram equalization, mean shift, and graph cuts. The only interaction required was to select two diagonal points to determine a region of interest (ROI) on an input image. The ROI image was shrunken by a factor of 2 using bicubic interpolation to reduce computation time. The shrunken image was smoothed by a Gaussian filter and then contrast-enhanced by histogram equalization. Next, the enhanced image was filtered by pyramid mean shift to improve homogeneity. The object and background seeds for graph cuts were automatically generated on the filtered image. Using these seeds, the filtered image was then segmented by graph cuts into a binary image containing the object and background. Finally, the binary image was expanded by a factor of 2 using bicubic interpolation, and the expanded image was processed by morphological opening and closing to refine the tumor contour. The method was implemented with OpenCV 2.4.3 and Visual Studio 2010 and tested for 38 BUS images with benign tumors and 31 BUS images with malignant tumors from different ultrasound scanners. Experimental results showed that our method had a true positive rate (TP) of 91.7%, a false positive (FP) rate of 11.9%, and a similarity (SI) rate of 85.6%. The mean run time on Intel Core 2.66 GHz CPU and 4 GB RAM was 0.49 ± 0.36 s. The experimental results indicate that the proposed method may be useful in BUS image segmentation. © The Author(s) 2014.

A region-based segmentation method for ultrasound images in HIFU therapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Dong; Liu, Yu; Yang, Yan; Xu, Menglong; Yan, Yu; Qin, Qianqing

2016-01-01

information about the tumor position, shape, and size. Additionally, an appropriate cluster number for spectral clustering can be determined by the same algorithm, thus the automatic segmentation of the tumor region is achieved. Results: To evaluate the performance of the proposed method, 50 uterine fibroid ultrasound images from different patients receiving HIFU therapy were segmented, and the obtained tumor contours were compared with those delineated by an experienced radiologist. For area-based evaluation results, the mean values of the true positive ratio, the false positive ratio, and the similarity were 94.42%, 4.71%, and 90.21%, respectively, and the corresponding standard deviations were 2.54%, 3.12%, and 3.50%, respectively. For distance-based evaluation results, the mean values of the normalized Hausdorff distance and the normalized mean absolute distance were 4.93% and 0.90%, respectively, and the corresponding standard deviations were 2.22% and 0.34%, respectively. The running time of the segmentation process was 12.9 s for a 318 × 333 (pixels) image. Conclusions: Experiments show that the proposed method can segment the tumor region accurately and efficiently with less manual intervention, which provides for the possibility of automatic segmentation and real-time guidance in HIFU therapy.

A region-based segmentation method for ultrasound images in HIFU therapy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhang, Dong, E-mail: dongz@whu.edu.cn; Liu, Yu; Yang, Yan; Xu, Menglong; Yan, Yu [School of Physics and Technology, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072 (China); Qin, Qianqing [State Key Laboratory of Information Engineering in Surveying, Mapping and Remote Sensing, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072 (China)

2016-06-15

information about the tumor position, shape, and size. Additionally, an appropriate cluster number for spectral clustering can be determined by the same algorithm, thus the automatic segmentation of the tumor region is achieved. Results: To evaluate the performance of the proposed method, 50 uterine fibroid ultrasound images from different patients receiving HIFU therapy were segmented, and the obtained tumor contours were compared with those delineated by an experienced radiologist. For area-based evaluation results, the mean values of the true positive ratio, the false positive ratio, and the similarity were 94.42%, 4.71%, and 90.21%, respectively, and the corresponding standard deviations were 2.54%, 3.12%, and 3.50%, respectively. For distance-based evaluation results, the mean values of the normalized Hausdorff distance and the normalized mean absolute distance were 4.93% and 0.90%, respectively, and the corresponding standard deviations were 2.22% and 0.34%, respectively. The running time of the segmentation process was 12.9 s for a 318 × 333 (pixels) image. Conclusions: Experiments show that the proposed method can segment the tumor region accurately and efficiently with less manual intervention, which provides for the possibility of automatic segmentation and real-time guidance in HIFU therapy.

Isotropic 3D cardiac cine MRI allows efficient sparse segmentation strategies based on 3D surface reconstruction.

Science.gov (United States)

Odille, Freddy; Bustin, Aurélien; Liu, Shufang; Chen, Bailiang; Vuissoz, Pierre-André; Felblinger, Jacques; Bonnemains, Laurent

2018-05-01

Segmentation of cardiac cine MRI data is routinely used for the volumetric analysis of cardiac function. Conventionally, 2D contours are drawn on short-axis (SAX) image stacks with relatively thick slices (typically 8 mm). Here, an acquisition/reconstruction strategy is used for obtaining isotropic 3D cine datasets; reformatted slices are then used to optimize the manual segmentation workflow. Isotropic 3D cine datasets were obtained from multiple 2D cine stacks (acquired during free-breathing in SAX and long-axis (LAX) orientations) using nonrigid motion correction (cine-GRICS method) and super-resolution. Several manual segmentation strategies were then compared, including conventional SAX segmentation, LAX segmentation in three views only, and combinations of SAX and LAX slices. An implicit B-spline surface reconstruction algorithm is proposed to reconstruct the left ventricular cavity surface from the sparse set of 2D contours. All tested sparse segmentation strategies were in good agreement, with Dice scores above 0.9 despite using fewer slices (3-6 sparse slices instead of 8-10 contiguous SAX slices). When compared to independent phase-contrast flow measurements, stroke volumes computed from four or six sparse slices had slightly higher precision than conventional SAX segmentation (error standard deviation of 5.4 mL against 6.1 mL) at the cost of slightly lower accuracy (bias of -1.2 mL against 0.2 mL). Functional parameters also showed a trend to improved precision, including end-diastolic volumes, end-systolic volumes, and ejection fractions). The postprocessing workflow of 3D isotropic cardiac imaging strategies can be optimized using sparse segmentation and 3D surface reconstruction. Magn Reson Med 79:2665-2675, 2018. © 2017 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine. © 2017 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.

Utilising Tree-Based Ensemble Learning for Speaker Segmentation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Abou-Zleikha, Mohamed; Tan, Zheng-Hua; Christensen, Mads Græsbøll

2014-01-01

In audio and speech processing, accurate detection of the changing points between multiple speakers in speech segments is an important stage for several applications such as speaker identification and tracking. Bayesian Information Criteria (BIC)-based approaches are the most traditionally used...... for a certain condition, the model becomes biased to the data used for training limiting the model’s generalisation ability. In this paper, we propose a BIC-based tuning-free approach for speaker segmentation through the use of ensemble-based learning. A forest of segmentation trees is constructed in which each...... tree is trained using a sampled version of the speech segment. During the tree construction process, a set of randomly selected points in the input sequence is examined as potential segmentation points. The point that yields the highest ΔBIC is chosen and the same process is repeated for the resultant...

Intrathoracic Airway Tree Segmentation from CT Images Using a Fuzzy Connectivity Method

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fereshteh Yousefi Rizi

2009-03-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Virtual bronchoscopy is a reliable and efficient diagnostic method for primary symptoms of lung cancer. The segmentation of airways from CT images is a critical step for numerous virtual bronchoscopy applications. Materials and Methods: To overcome the limitations of the fuzzy connectedness method, the proposed technique, called fuzzy connectivity - fuzzy C-mean (FC-FCM, utilized the FCM algorithm. Then, hanging-togetherness of pixels was handled by employing a spatial membership function. Another problem in airway segmentation that had to be overcome was the leakage into the extra-luminal regions due to the thinness of the airway walls during the process of segmentation. Results:   The result shows an accuracy of 92.92% obtained for segmentation of the airway tree up to the fourth generation. Conclusion:  We have presented a new segmentation method that is not only robust regarding the leakage problem but also functions more efficiently than the traditional FC method.

GeoSegmenter: A statistically learned Chinese word segmenter for the geoscience domain

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Lan; Du, Youfu; Chen, Gongyang

2015-03-01

Unlike English, the Chinese language has no space between words. Segmenting texts into words, known as the Chinese word segmentation (CWS) problem, thus becomes a fundamental issue for processing Chinese documents and the first step in many text mining applications, including information retrieval, machine translation and knowledge acquisition. However, for the geoscience subject domain, the CWS problem remains unsolved. Although a generic segmenter can be applied to process geoscience documents, they lack the domain specific knowledge and consequently their segmentation accuracy drops dramatically. This motivated us to develop a segmenter specifically for the geoscience subject domain: the GeoSegmenter. We first proposed a generic two-step framework for domain specific CWS. Following this framework, we built GeoSegmenter using conditional random fields, a principled statistical framework for sequence learning. Specifically, GeoSegmenter first identifies general terms by using a generic baseline segmenter. Then it recognises geoscience terms by learning and applying a model that can transform the initial segmentation into the goal segmentation. Empirical experimental results on geoscience documents and benchmark datasets showed that GeoSegmenter could effectively recognise both geoscience terms and general terms.

Oral rehabilitation of segmental mandibulectomy patient with osseointegrated dental implant

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Archana Singh

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Surgical management of oral cancer lesions results in explicit aesthetic and functional disfigurement, including facial deformity, loss of hard and soft tissue, impaired speech, swallowing and mastication, which modify the patient′s self-image and quality-of-life. Recent advances in head and neck reconstruction techniques and dental implant based prosthetic rehabilitation may significantly improve the quality-of-life and self-esteem for such post-surgery patients. This clinical report describes rehabilitation of oral cancer patient having segmental mandibulectomy with implant-supported fixed partial denture.

38 CFR 4.78 - Muscle function.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 38 Pensions, Bonuses, and Veterans' Relief 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Muscle function. 4.78... DISABILITIES Disability Ratings The Organs of Special Sense § 4.78 Muscle function. (a) Examination of muscle function. The examiner must use a Goldmann perimeter chart that identifies the four major quadrants (upward...

Green close-quote s function method with energy-independent vertex functions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tsay Tzeng, S.Y.; Kuo, T.T.; Tzeng, Y.; Geyer, H.B.; Navratil, P.

1996-01-01

In conventional Green close-quote s function methods the vertex function Γ is generally energy dependent. However, a model-space Green close-quote s function method where the vertex function is manifestly energy independent can be formulated using energy-independent effective interaction theories based on folded diagrams and/or similarity transformations. This is discussed in general and then illustrated for a 1p1h model-space Green close-quote s function applied to a solvable Lipkin many-fermion model. The poles of the conventional Green close-quote s function are obtained by solving a self-consistent Dyson equation and model space calculations may lead to unphysical poles. For the energy-independent model-space Green close-quote s function only the physical poles of the model problem are reproduced and are in satisfactory agreement with the exact excitation energies. copyright 1996 The American Physical Society

Superiority Of Graph-Based Visual Saliency GVS Over Other Image Segmentation Methods

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Umu Lamboi

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Although inherently tedious the segmentation of images and the evaluation of segmented images are critical in computer vision processes. One of the main challenges in image segmentation evaluation arises from the basic conflict between generality and objectivity. For general segmentation purposes the lack of well-defined ground-truth and segmentation accuracy limits the evaluation of specific applications. Subjectivity is the most common method of evaluation of segmentation quality where segmented images are visually compared. This is daunting task however limits the scope of segmentation evaluation to a few predetermined sets of images. As an alternative supervised evaluation compares segmented images against manually-segmented or pre-processed benchmark images. Not only good evaluation methods allow for different comparisons but also for integration with target recognition systems for adaptive selection of appropriate segmentation granularity with improved recognition accuracy. Most of the current segmentation methods still lack satisfactory measures of effectiveness. Thus this study proposed a supervised framework which uses visual saliency detection to quantitatively evaluate image segmentation quality. The new benchmark evaluator uses Graph-based Visual Saliency GVS to compare boundary outputs for manually segmented images. Using the Berkeley Segmentation Database the proposed algorithm was tested against 4 other quantitative evaluation methods Probabilistic Rand Index PRI Variation of Information VOI Global Consistency Error GSE and Boundary Detection Error BDE. Based on the results the GVS approach outperformed any of the other 4 independent standard methods in terms of visual saliency detection of images.

38 CFR 4.10 - Functional impairment.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 38 Pensions, Bonuses, and Veterans' Relief 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Functional impairment. 4.10 Section 4.10 Pensions, Bonuses, and Veterans' Relief DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS SCHEDULE FOR RATING DISABILITIES General Policy in Rating § 4.10 Functional impairment. The basis of disability...

Fast globally optimal segmentation of cells in fluorescence microscopy images.

Science.gov (United States)

Bergeest, Jan-Philip; Rohr, Karl

2011-01-01

Accurate and efficient segmentation of cells in fluorescence microscopy images is of central importance for the quantification of protein expression in high-throughput screening applications. We propose a new approach for segmenting cell nuclei which is based on active contours and convex energy functionals. Compared to previous work, our approach determines the global solution. Thus, the approach does not suffer from local minima and the segmentation result does not depend on the initialization. We also suggest a numeric approach for efficiently computing the solution. The performance of our approach has been evaluated using fluorescence microscopy images of different cell types. We have also performed a quantitative comparison with previous segmentation approaches.

Multi-granularity synthesis segmentation for high spatial resolution Remote sensing images

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yi, Lina; Liu, Pengfei; Qiao, Xiaojun; Zhang, Xiaoning; Gao, Yuan; Feng, Boyan

2014-01-01

Traditional segmentation method can only partition an image in a single granularity space, with segmentation accuracy limited to the single granularity space. This paper proposes a multi-granularity synthesis segmentation method for high spatial resolution remote sensing images based on a quotient space model. Firstly, we divide the whole image area into multiple granules (regions), each region is consisted of ground objects that have similar optimal segmentation scale, and then select and synthesize the sub-optimal segmentations of each region to get the final segmentation result. To validate this method, the land cover category map is used to guide the scale synthesis of multi-scale image segmentations for Quickbird image land use classification. Firstly, the image is coarsely divided into multiple regions, each region belongs to a certain land cover category. Then multi-scale segmentation results are generated by the Mumford-Shah function based region merging method. For each land cover category, the optimal segmentation scale is selected by the supervised segmentation accuracy assessment method. Finally, the optimal scales of segmentation results are synthesized under the guide of land cover category. Experiments show that the multi-granularity synthesis segmentation can produce more accurate segmentation than that of a single granularity space and benefit the classification

The pinwheel pupil discovery: exoplanet science & improved processing with segmented telescopes

Science.gov (United States)

Breckinridge, James Bernard

2018-01-01

In this paper, we show that by using a “pinwheel” architecture for the segmented primary mirror and curved supports for the secondary mirror, we can achieve a near uniform diffraction background in ground and space large telescope systems needed for high SNR exoplanet science. Also, the point spread function will be nearly rotationally symmetric, enabling improved digital image reconstruction. Large (>4-m) aperture space telescopes are needed to characterize terrestrial exoplanets by direct imaging coronagraphy. Launch vehicle volume constrains these apertures are segmented and deployed in space to form a large mirror aperture that is masked by the gaps between the hexagonal segments and the shadows of the secondary support system. These gaps and shadows over the pupil result in an image plane point spread function that has bright spikes, which may mask or obscure exoplanets.These telescope artifact mask faint exoplanets, making it necessary for the spacecraft to make a roll about the boresight and integrate again to make sure no planets are missed. This increases integration time, and requires expensive space-craft resources to do bore-sight roll.Currently the LUVOIR and HabEx studies have several significant efforts to develop special purpose A/O technology and to place complex absorbing apodizers over their Hex pupils to shape the unwanted diffracted light. These strong apodizers absorb light, decreasing system transmittance and reducing SNR. Implementing curved pupil obscurations will eliminate the need for the highly absorbing apodizers and thus result in higher SNR.Quantitative analysis of diffraction patterns that use the pinwheel architecture are compared to straight hex-segment edges with a straight-line secondary shadow mask to show a gain of over a factor of 100 by reducing the background. For the first-time astronomers are able to control and minimize image plane diffraction background “noise”. This technology will enable 10-m segmented

The significance of early post-exercise ST segment normalization.

Science.gov (United States)

Chow, Rudy; Fordyce, Christopher B; Gao, Min; Chan, Sammy; Gin, Kenneth; Bennett, Matthew

2015-01-01

The persistence of ST segment depression in recovery signifies a strongly positive exercise treadmill test (ETT). However, it is unclear if early recovery of ST segments portends a similar prognosis. We sought to determine if persistence of ST depression into recovery correlates with ischemic burden based on myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI). This was a retrospective analysis of 853 consecutive patients referred for exercise MPI at a tertiary academic center over a 24-month period. Patients were stratified into three groups based on the results of the ETT: normal (negative ETT), persistence (positive ETT with >1mm ST segment depression at 1minute in recovery) and early normalization (positive ETT with normalization, while 105 patients met criteria for persistence. The persistence group had a significantly greater SSS (8.48±7.77) than both the early normalization (4.34±4.98, pnormal (4.47±5.31, pnormalization and normal groups were not statistically different and met the prespecified non-inferiority margin (mean difference 0.12, -0.66=lower 95% CI, pnormal and 7.4% of early normalization groups. Among patients with an electrically positive ETT, recovery of ST segment depression within 1minute was associated with a lower SSS than patients with persistence of ST depression beyond 1minute. Furthermore, early ST segment recovery conferred a similar SSS to patients with a negative ETT. These results suggest that among patients evaluated for chest pain with a positive ETT, early recovery of the ST segment during recovery is associated with a significantly less ischemic burden on subsequent MPI and thus may represent a false positive finding in exercise treadmill testing. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Experience with mechanical segmentation of reactor internals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carlson, R.; Hedin, G.

2003-01-01

Operating experience from BWE:s world-wide has shown that many plants experience initial cracking of the reactor internals after approximately 20 to 25 years of service life. This ''mid-life crisis'', considering a plant design life of 40 years, is now being addressed by many utilities. Successful resolution of these issues should give many more years of trouble-free operation. Replacement of reactor internals could be, in many cases, the most favourable option to achieve this. The proactive strategy of many utilities to replace internals in a planned way is a market-driven effort to minimize the overall costs for power generation, including time spent for handling contingencies and unplanned outages. Based on technical analyses, knowledge about component market prices and in-house costs, a cost-effective, optimized strategy for inspection, mitigation and replacements can be implemented. Also decommissioning of nuclear plants has become a reality for many utilities as numerous plants worldwide are closed due to age and/or other reasons. These facts address a need for safe, fast and cost-effective methods for segmentation of internals. Westinghouse has over the last years developed methods for segmentation of internals and has also carried out successful segmentation projects. Our experience from the segmentation business for Nordic BWR:s is that the most important parameters to consider when choosing a method and equipment for a segmentation project are: - Safety, - Cost-effectiveness, - Cleanliness, - Reliability. (orig.)

Infants generalize representations of statistically segmented words

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Katharine eGraf Estes

2012-10-01

Full Text Available The acoustic variation in language presents learners with a substantial challenge. To learn by tracking statistical regularities in speech, infants must recognize words across tokens that differ based on characteristics such as the speaker’s voice, affect, or the sentence context. Previous statistical learning studies have not investigated how these types of surface form variation affect learning. The present experiments used tasks tailored to two distinct developmental levels to investigate the robustness of statistical learning to variation. Experiment 1 examined statistical word segmentation in 11-month-olds and found that infants can recognize statistically segmented words across a change in the speaker’s voice from segmentation to testing. The direction of infants’ preferences suggests that recognizing words across a voice change is more difficult than recognizing them in a consistent voice. Experiment 2 tested whether 17-month-olds can generalize the output of statistical learning across variation to support word learning. The infants were successful in their generalization; they associated referents with statistically defined words despite a change in voice from segmentation to label learning. Infants’ learning patterns also indicate that they formed representations of across-word syllable sequences during segmentation. Thus, low probability sequences can act as object labels in some conditions. The findings of these experiments suggest that the units that emerge during statistical learning are not perceptually constrained, but rather are robust to naturalistic acoustic variation.

Single-segment and double-segment INTACS for post-LASIK ectasia.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hassan Hashemi

2014-09-01

Full Text Available The objective of the present study was to compare single segment and double segment INTACS rings in the treatment of post-LASIK ectasia. In this interventional study, 26 eyes with post-LASIK ectasia were assessed. Ectasia was defined as progressive myopia regardless of astigmatism, along with topographic evidence of inferior steepening of the cornea after LASIK. We excluded those with a history of intraocular surgery, certain eye conditions, and immune disorders, as well as monocular, pregnant and lactating patients. A total of 11 eyes had double ring and 15 eyes had single ring implantation. Visual and refractive outcomes were compared with preoperative values based on the number of implanted INTACS rings. Pre and postoperative spherical equivalent were -3.92 and -2.29 diopter (P=0.007. The spherical equivalent decreased by 1 ± 3.2 diopter in the single-segment group and 2.56 ± 1.58 diopter in the double-segment group (P=0.165. Mean preoperative astigmatism was 2.38 ± 1.93 diopter which decreased to 2.14 ± 1.1 diopter after surgery (P=0.508; 0.87 ± 1.98 diopter decrease in the single-segment group and 0.67 ± 1.2 diopter increase in the double-segment group (P=0.025. Nineteen patients (75% gained one or two lines, and only three, who were all in the double-segment group, lost one or two lines of best corrected visual acuity. The spherical equivalent and vision significantly decreased in all patients. In these post-LASIK ectasia patients, the spherical equivalent was corrected better with two segments compared to single segment implantation; nonetheless, the level of astigmatism in the single-segment group was significantly better than that in the double-segment group.

Automatic blood vessel based-liver segmentation using the portal phase abdominal CT

Science.gov (United States)

Maklad, Ahmed S.; Matsuhiro, Mikio; Suzuki, Hidenobu; Kawata, Yoshiki; Niki, Noboru; Shimada, Mitsuo; Iinuma, Gen

2018-02-01

Liver segmentation is the basis for computer-based planning of hepatic surgical interventions. In diagnosis and analysis of hepatic diseases and surgery planning, automatic segmentation of liver has high importance. Blood vessel (BV) has showed high performance at liver segmentation. In our previous work, we developed a semi-automatic method that segments the liver through the portal phase abdominal CT images in two stages. First stage was interactive segmentation of abdominal blood vessels (ABVs) and subsequent classification into hepatic (HBVs) and non-hepatic (non-HBVs). This stage had 5 interactions that include selective threshold for bone segmentation, selecting two seed points for kidneys segmentation, selection of inferior vena cava (IVC) entrance for starting ABVs segmentation, identification of the portal vein (PV) entrance to the liver and the IVC-exit for classifying HBVs from other ABVs (non-HBVs). Second stage is automatic segmentation of the liver based on segmented ABVs as described in [4]. For full automation of our method we developed a method [5] that segments ABVs automatically tackling the first three interactions. In this paper, we propose full automation of classifying ABVs into HBVs and non- HBVs and consequently full automation of liver segmentation that we proposed in [4]. Results illustrate that the method is effective at segmentation of the liver through the portal abdominal CT images.

4-Chloro-N-(3,4-dichlorophenyl-2-methylbenzenesulfonamide

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vinola Z. Rodrigues

2011-11-01

Full Text Available In the title compound, C13H10Cl3NO2S, the N—C bond in the C—SO2—NH—C segment forms trans and gauche torsion angles with respect to the S=O bonds. Further, the N—H bond in the C—SO2—NH—C segment is anti to the meta-Cl atom in the anilino benzene ring and nearly syn with respect to the ortho-methyl group in the sulfonyl benzene ring. The C—SO2—NH—C torsion angle is −49.4 (2°. The sulfonyl and aniline benzene rings are tilted relative to each other by 54.6 (1°. In the crystal, molecules are linked into chains along the c-axis direction by intermolecular N—H...O hydrogen bonds.

Clinical evaluation of segmental wall motion by radionuclide cardioangiography in the patients with myocardial infarction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nishimura, Tsunehiko; Uehara, Toshiisa; Kozuka, Takahiro

1980-01-01

To detect segmental wall motion of left ventricle is useful to identify the size and location of infarcted area in coronary arteries diseases. In this study, segmental wall motion by radionuclide cardioangiography were evaluated to compare with contrast left ventriculography in fifty patients of myocardial infarction. Segmental wall motion in RAO position by first pass method, in LAO position by multi-gated method were evaluated using an Anger camera and on-line minicomputer system by following methods; ED, ES images, sequential images, edge display, regional ejection fraction and movie imaging system (MIS). The percent agreements of segmental wall motion by RI and LVG were 84% in 350 segments of 50 cases. In all segments, segments 4, 6, 7 were better agreements than other segments. For the degree of wall motion, skinesis and dyskinesis were good agreements in both methods, while hypokinesia was slightly poor agreement (62%). On the other hand, the size of infarction, that is, percent thallium defect area was good correlated with radionuclide left ventricular ejection fraction (r = -0.855 in anterior infarction, r = -0.646 in inferior infarction). From these data, wall motion was thought to be closely related with left ventricular function, therefore, regional ejection fraction in seven areas in left ventricular image was developed and compared with segmental wall motion in left ventriculogram according to the classification of A.H.A. Comittee Report. The value of regional ejection fraction is 0.29, 0.40, 0.60 in akinesis, hypokinesis and normal. In conclusion, radionuclide cardioangiography is useful in the detection of abnormal segmental wall motion as noninvasive methods. (author)

The three-dimensional assessment of dynamic changes of the proximal segments after intraoral vertical ramus osteotomy.

Science.gov (United States)

Ohba, Seigo; Nakao, Noriko; Awara, Kousuke; Tobita, Takayoshi; Minamizato, Tokutarou; Kawasaki, Takako; Koga, Takamitsu; Nakatani, Yuya; Yoshida, Noriaki; Asahina, Izumi

2015-10-01

The aim of this study was to assess the positional changes of the proximal segments after intraoral vertical ramus osteotomy (IVRO). Fifteen patients underwent IVRO and were followed according to the authors' unique postoperative management regimen. The analyses of the positions and angles of the proximal segments were performed on frontal and lateral cephalograms, which were taken before surgery (T1) and within 3 days (T2), at 4 weeks (T3), and later than 6 months after surgery (T4). The three-dimensional positions of the condylar heads were also assessed by CT images, which were taken before and 1 year after surgery. The proximal segments temporarily swung posteriorly and laterally with a center on the condylar head as a fulcrum point at T2 and T3, compared with T1, and they repositioned at T4. The condylar heads moved inferior approximately 2 mm with lateral rotation one year after surgery, as seen in the CT. The condylar heads changed their positions physiologically for newly established jaw movement after IVRO with the authors' post-operative management regimen because the post-operative skeletal stability and the jaw function were good and stable using this method.

Uncertainties in segmentation and their visualisation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lucieer, Arko

2004-01-01

This thesis focuses on uncertainties in remotely sensed image segmentation and their visualisation. The first part describes a visualisation tool, allowing interaction with the parameters of a fuzzy classification algorithm by visually adjusting fuzzy membership functions of classes in a 3D feature

Site-specific deletions of chromosomally located DNA segments with the multimer resolution system of broad-host-range plasmid RP4

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sternberg, Claus; Eberl, Leo; Sanchezromero, Juan M.

1995-01-01

The multimer resolution system (mrs) of the broad-host-range plasmid RP4 has been exploited to develop a general method that permits the precise excision of chromosomal segments in a variety of gram-negative bacteria. The procedure is based on the site-specific recombination between two directly ...

An Improved FCM Medical Image Segmentation Algorithm Based on MMTD

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ningning Zhou

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Image segmentation plays an important role in medical image processing. Fuzzy c-means (FCM is one of the popular clustering algorithms for medical image segmentation. But FCM is highly vulnerable to noise due to not considering the spatial information in image segmentation. This paper introduces medium mathematics system which is employed to process fuzzy information for image segmentation. It establishes the medium similarity measure based on the measure of medium truth degree (MMTD and uses the correlation of the pixel and its neighbors to define the medium membership function. An improved FCM medical image segmentation algorithm based on MMTD which takes some spatial features into account is proposed in this paper. The experimental results show that the proposed algorithm is more antinoise than the standard FCM, with more certainty and less fuzziness. This will lead to its practicable and effective applications in medical image segmentation.

A Hybrid 3D Colon Segmentation Method Using Modified Geometric Deformable Models

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Falahieh Hamidpour

2007-06-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Nowadays virtual colonoscopy has become a reliable and efficient method of detecting primary stages of colon cancer such as polyp detection. One of the most important and crucial stages of virtual colonoscopy is colon segmentation because an incorrect segmentation may lead to a misdiagnosis.  Materials and Methods: In this work, a hybrid method based on Geometric Deformable Models (GDM in combination with an advanced region growing and thresholding methods is proposed. GDM are found to be an attractive tool for structural based image segmentation particularly for extracting the objects with complicated topology. There are two main parameters influencing the overall performance of GDM algorithm; the distance between the initial contour and the actual object’s contours and secondly the stopping term which controls the deformation. To overcome these limitations, a two stage hybrid based segmentation method is suggested to extract the rough but precise initial contours at the first stage of the segmentation. The extracted boundaries are smoothed and improved using a modified GDM algorithm by improving the stopping terms of the algorithm based on the gradient value of image voxels. Results: The proposed algorithm was implemented on forty data sets each containing 400-480 slices. The results show an improvement in the accuracy and smoothness of the extracted boundaries. The improvement obtained for the accuracy of segmentation is about 6% in comparison to the one achieved by the methods based on thresholding and region growing only. Discussion and Conclusion: The extracted contours using modified GDM are smoother and finer. The improvement achieved in this work on the performance of stopping function of GDM model together with applying two stage segmentation of boundaries have resulted in a great improvement on the computational efficiency of GDM algorithm while making smoother and finer colon borders.

NMR relaxation of the orientation of single segments in semiflexible dendrimers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Markelov, Denis A.; Gotlib, Yuli Ya.; Dolgushev, Maxim; Blumen, Alexander

2014-01-01

We study the orientational properties of labeled segments in semiflexible dendrimers making use of the viscoelastic approach of Dolgushev and Blumen [J. Chem. Phys. 131, 044905 (2009)]. We focus on the segmental orientational autocorrelation functions (ACFs), which are fundamental for the frequency-dependent spin-lattice relaxation times T 1 (ω). We show that semiflexibility leads to an increase of the contribution of large-scale motions to the ACF. This fact influences the position of the maxima of the [1/T 1 ]-functions. Thus, going from outer to inner segments, the maxima shift to lower frequencies. Remarkably, this feature is not obtained in the classical bead-spring model of flexible dendrimers, although many experiments on dendrimers manifest such a behavior

D = 4 Yang-Mills correlators from NSR strings on AdS5 x S5

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Polyakov, D.

1999-07-01

In our previous work (hep-th/9812044) we have proposed the sigma-model action, conjectured to be the NSR analogue of superstring theory on AdS 5 x S 5 . This sigma-model is the NSR superstring action with potential term corresponding to the exotic 5-form vertex operator (branelike state). This 5-form potential plays the role of cosmological term, effectively curving the flat space-time geometry to that of AdS 5 x S 5 . In this paper we study this ansatz in more detail and provide the derivation of the correlators of the four-dimensional super Yang-Mills theory from the above mentioned sigma-model. In particular, we show that the correlation function of two dilaton vertex operators in such a model reproduces the well-known result for the two-point function in N = 4 four-dimensional super Yang-Mills theory. (author)

[Segmental cut-off bridge and local floating technology for the treatment of ossification of ligamentum flavum in thoracic spine].

Science.gov (United States)

Liang, Wei-dong; Zhang, Jian; Sheng, Wei-bin

2013-10-08

To explore the efficacy and safety of segmental cut-off bridge and local floating technology for the treatment of ossification of ligamentum flavum (OLF) in thoracic spine. Retrospective study was performed in 98 patients with thoracic OLF who under went operation. There was 56 males and 42 females with an average age of 45.8 (35-73) years. The average duration of onset was 17 (3-51) months. The main clinical symptoms were numbness and paraesthesia (n = 90), lower limb weakness and walking trouble (n = 46), positive pyramidal tract signs (n = 33) and sphincter function obstacle (n = 9). OLF was screened and diagnosed by radiology, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography (CT) or CT myelography (CTM). A total of 142 OLF nidus were spotted. The lesions involved single segment (n = 32), double segments (n = 56), three segments (n = 6) and ≥ four segments (n = 4). And the locations were at upper thoracic segment (T1-4) (n = 34), middle thoracic segment (T5-8) (n = 23) and lower thoracic segment (T9-12) (n = 42). The OLF nidus were removed by local floating technology oft windowing at cephalic and caudal ends and a cut-off bridge at both sides of involved segments. Pre- and post-operative Japanese Orthopedic Association (JOA) scores and Epstein grades were recorded to evaluate the outcomes. The mean loss volume of blood was 320 ml and operative duration 155 min. All cases recovered independent activities. The mean follow-up period was 28 (13-48) months. The mean preoperative JOA score was 4.3 (1-8) points and the mean postoperative JOA score 9.7 (5-11) points. The recovery rate was 78.8%. According to Epstein grade, the excellent and good rate was 86.7%. As a common cause of thoracic spinal cord compression, OLF should be operated as early as possible. Based upon clinical and imaging findings, the application of segmental cut-off bridge and local floating technology is both safe and efficacious in the treatment of OLF in thoracic spine.

A systematic review of definitions and classification systems of adjacent segment pathology.

Science.gov (United States)

Kraemer, Paul; Fehlings, Michael G; Hashimoto, Robin; Lee, Michael J; Anderson, Paul A; Chapman, Jens R; Raich, Annie; Norvell, Daniel C

2012-10-15

Systematic review. To undertake a systematic review to determine how "adjacent segment degeneration," "adjacent segment disease," or clinical pathological processes that serve as surrogates for adjacent segment pathology are classified and defined in the peer-reviewed literature. Adjacent segment degeneration and adjacent segment disease are terms referring to degenerative changes known to occur after reconstructive spine surgery, most commonly at an immediately adjacent functional spinal unit. These can include disc degeneration, instability, spinal stenosis, facet degeneration, and deformity. The true incidence and clinical impact of degenerative changes at the adjacent segment is unclear because there is lack of a universally accepted classification system that rigorously addresses clinical and radiological issues. A systematic review of the English language literature was undertaken and articles were classified using the Grades of Recommendation Assessment, Development, and Evaluation criteria. RESULTS.: Seven classification systems of spinal degeneration, including degeneration at the adjacent segment, were identified. None have been evaluated for reliability or validity specific to patients with degeneration at the adjacent segment. The ways in which terms related to adjacent segment "degeneration" or "disease" are defined in the peer-reviewed literature are highly variable. On the basis of the systematic review presented in this article, no formal classification system for either cervical or thoracolumbar adjacent segment disorders currently exists. No recommendations regarding the use of current classification of degeneration at any segments can be made based on the available literature. A new comprehensive definition for adjacent segment pathology (ASP, the now preferred terminology) has been proposed in this Focus Issue, which reflects the diverse pathology observed at functional spinal units adjacent to previous spinal reconstruction and balances

Electron excitation cross sections for the 2s(2)2p(3)4S(O) -- 2s(2)2p(3)2D(O) (forbidden) and 4S(O) -- 2s2p(4) 4P (resonance) transitions in O II

Science.gov (United States)

Zuo, M.; Smith, Steven J.; Chutjian, A.; Williams, I. D.; Tayal, S. S.; Mclaughlin, Brendan M.

1995-01-01

Experimental and theoretical excitation cross sections are reported for the first forbidden transition 4S(O) -- 2S(2)2p(3) 2D(O) (lambda-lambda 3726, 3729) and the first allowed (resonance) transition 4S(O) -- 2s2p(4) 4P(lambda-833) in O II. Use is made of electron energy loss and merged-beams methods. The electron energy range covered is 3.33 (threshold) to 15 eV for the S -- D transition, and 14.9 (threshold) to 40 eV for the S -- P transition. Care was taken to assess and minimize the metastable fraction of the O II beam. An electron mirror was designed and tested to reflect inelastically backscattered electrons into the forward direction to account for the full range of polar scattering angles. Comparisons are made between present experiments and 11-state R-matrix calculations. Calculations are also presented for the 4S(O) -- 2s(2)2p(3)2P(O) (lambda-2470) transition.

Variational segmentation problems using prior knowledge in imaging and vision

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fundana, Ketut

This dissertation addresses variational formulation of segmentation problems using prior knowledge. Variational models are among the most successful approaches for solving many Computer Vision and Image Processing problems. The models aim at finding the solution to a given energy functional defined......, prior knowledge is needed to obtain the desired solution. The introduction of shape priors in particular, has proven to be an effective way to segment objects of interests. Firstly, we propose a prior-based variational segmentation model to segment objects of interest in image sequences, that can deal....... Many objects have high variability in shape and orientation. This often leads to unsatisfactory results, when using a segmentation model with single shape template. One way to solve this is by using more sophisticated shape models. We propose to incorporate shape priors from a shape sub...

PWR internals segmentation and packaging experience in the U.S

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kreitman, P.J.

2008-01-01

Seven commercial nuclear power plants of the Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) design have been permanently shut down in the US to date. Six of these plants have been decommissioned using dismantling methods. The remaining plant, Indian Point 1, located in Buchanan, NY, has been placed in Safe Storage. Of the six dismantled plants, five underwent extensive segmentation, separation, and packaging of their internal components to allow removal and disposal of the reactor vessel assembly. Only the Trojan Plant in Portland, Oregon, was able to ship the reactor vessel assembly with its internals intact to the final disposal site near Richland, Washington. An important part of the planning for the upcoming decommissioning of similar plants in Europe such as Chooz A in France and Zorita in Spain will be to study the lessons learned from the US efforts and apply the best practices to future projects. This paper will chronicle the evolution of the reactor internals segmentation and packaging process to date, including the planning, methodology, equipment, waste management, and packaging strategy. (author)

Vagal innervation is required for pulmonary function phenotype in Htr4-/- mice.

Science.gov (United States)

House, John S; Nichols, Cody E; Li, Huiling; Brandenberger, Christina; Virgincar, Rohan S; DeGraff, Laura M; Driehuys, Bastiaan; Zeldin, Darryl C; London, Stephanie J

2017-04-01

Human genome-wide association studies have identified over 50 loci associated with pulmonary function and related phenotypes, yet follow-up studies to determine causal genes or variants are rare. Single nucleotide polymorphisms in serotonin receptor 4 ( HTR4 ) are associated with human pulmonary function in genome-wide association studies and follow-up animal work has demonstrated that Htr4 is causally associated with pulmonary function in mice, although the precise mechanisms were not identified. We sought to elucidate the role of neural innervation and pulmonary architecture in the lung phenotype of Htr4 -/- animals. We report here that the Htr4 -/- phenotype in mouse is dependent on vagal innervation to the lung. Both ex vivo tracheal ring reactivity and in vivo flexiVent pulmonary functional analyses demonstrate that vagotomy abrogates the Htr4 -/- airway hyperresponsiveness phenotype. Hyperpolarized 3 He gas magnetic resonance imaging and stereological assessment of wild-type and Htr4 -/- mice reveal no observable differences in lung volume, inflation characteristics, or pulmonary microarchitecture. Finally, control of breathing experiments reveal substantive differences in baseline breathing characteristics between mice with/without functional HTR4 in breathing frequency, relaxation time, flow rate, minute volume, time of inspiration and expiration and breathing pauses. These results suggest that HTR4's role in pulmonary function likely relates to neural innervation and control of breathing. Copyright © 2017 the American Physiological Society.

Joint statistics and conditional mean strain rates of streamline segments