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Adaptive alpha-trimmed mean filters under deviations from assumed noise model.

Alpha-trimmed mean filters are widely used for the restoration of signals and images corrupted by additive non-Gaussian noise. They are especially preferred if the underlying noise deviates from Gaussian with the impulsive noise components. The key design issue of these filters is to select its only parameter, alpha, optimally for a given noise type. In image restoration, adaptive filters utilize the flexibility of selecting alpha according to some local noise statistics. In the present paper, we first review the existing adaptive alpha-trimmed mean filter schemes. We then analyze the performance of these filters when the underlying noise distribution deviates from the Gaussian and does not satisfy the assumptions such as symmetry. Specifically, the clipping effect and the mixed noise cases are analyzed. We also present a new adaptive alpha-trimmed filter implementation that detects the nonsymmetry points locally and applies alpha-trimmed mean filter that trims out the outlier pixels such as edges or impulsive noise according to this local decision. Comparisons of the speed and filtering performances under deviations from symmetry and Gaussian assumptions show that the proposed filter is a very good alternative to the existing schemes.

Algorithms↗

The barberplaid illusion: plaid motion is biased by elongated apertures.

The perceived direction of motion of plaids windowed by elongated spatial Gaussians is biased toward the window's long axis. The bias increases as the relative angle between the plaid motion and the long axis of the window increases, peaks at a relative angle of approximately 45 deg, and then decreases. The bias increases as the window is made narrower (at fixed height) and decreases as the component spatial frequency increases (at fixed aperture size). We examine several models of human motion processing (cross-correlation, motion-energy, intersection-of-constraints, and vector-sum), and show that none of these standard models can predict our data. We conclude that spatial integration of motion signals plays a crucial role in plaid motion perception and that current models must be explicitly expanded to include such spatial interactions.

Adult↗

Multidimensional advection and fractional dispersion.

Extension of the fractional diffusion equation to two or three dimensions is not as simple as extension of the second-order equation. This is revealed by the solutions of the equations: unlike the Gaussian, the most general stable vector cannot be generated with an atomistic measure on the coordinate axes. A random combination of maximally skewed stable variables on the unit sphere generates a stable vector that is a general model of a diffusing particle. Subsets are symmetric stable vectors that have previously appeared in the literature and the well-known multidimensional Brownian motion. A multidimensional fractional differential operator is defined in the process.

Journal Article↗

Generalized approach to inverse problems in tomography: image reconstruction for spatially variant systems using natural pixels.

A major limitation in tomographic inverse problems is inadequate computation speed, which frequently impedes the application of engineering ideas and principles in medical science more than in the physical and engineering sciences. Medical problems are computationally taxing because a minimum description of the system often involves 5 dimensions (3 space, 1 energy, 1 time), with the range of each space coordinate requiring up to 512 samples. The computational tasks for this problem can be simply expressed by posing the problem as one in which the tomograph system response function is spatially invariant, and the noise is additive and Gaussian. Under these assumptions, a number of reconstruction methods have been implemented with generally satisfactory results for general medical imaging purposes. However, if the system response function of the tomograph is assumed more realistically to be spatially variant and the noise to be Poisson, the computational problem becomes much more difficult. Some of the algorithms being studied to compensate for position-dependent resolution and statistical fluctuations in the data acquisition process, when expressed in canonical form, are not practical for clinical applications because the number of computations necessary exceeds the capabilities of high-performance computer systems currently available. Reconstruction methods based on natural pixels, specifically orthonormal natural pixels, preserve symmetries in the data acquisition process. Fast implementations of orthonormal natural pixel algorithms can achieve orders of magnitude speedup relative to general implementations. Thus, specialized thought in algorithm development can lead to more significant increases in performance than can be achieved through hardware improvements alone.

Algorithms↗

[Regulation of RNA replication in RNA-containing bacteriphages. RNA synthesis in coat protein polar mutants].

The synthesis of RNA by polar coat protein mutants f2sus3 and Qbetaam12 under suppressor (Escherichia coli S26R1E, Su+-1; H12R8a Su+-3) and non-suppressor (E. coli AB259; S26) conditions was examined. It was demonstrated that the synthesis of viral RNA under non-suppressor conditions in the presence of rifamycin produced the same gaussian pattern of rates as the synthesis of RNA by wild type phage or non-polar coat protein mutants. However, the total amount of RNA was decreased approximately 10-fold and the peak of RNA synthesis was displaced 7--10 min later. The number of infective centers was reduced also 10-fold indicating that a certain time-lapse was required to overcome the polarity of the parental RNA, this process being of single occurrence, exclusively on the parental RNA, but not on the progeny strains. As a consequence, it was concluded that the initiation of translation at the replicase cistron starts on the nascent RNA chains within the replicative complexes and not on the fully-synthesized templates with their complete secondary structure. The data obtained are not in contradiction with the hypothesis concerning the role of the repressor complex II (replicase-RNA) to slow down the synthesis of replicase and RNA in the coat protein mutants. The polarity can not be responsible probably for the blocking of the replicase cistron on the nascent chain following the block of coat protein cistron. Therefore, it appears appropriate to assume the existence of two binding sites for the replicase as repressor which is in keeping with the conclusions of Weissmann and co-workers.

Coliphages↗

Quantitative and molecular analysis of buspirone hydrochloride polymorphs.

Quantitative and molecular analysis have been performed on two main polymorphs of buspirone hydrochloride (BUS-HCl). Quantitative analysis of solid-state composition of pharmaceutical powders is necessary to ensure safety and efficacy of drug substance and to validate the production processes. In this study, X-ray powder diffraction and differential scanning calorimetry have been used for the quantitative analysis of two polymorphic forms of BUS-HCl. In addition, single crystal X-ray study of Form 1 revealed its crystal structure, however, a similar study on Form 2 was not possible due to the difficulties encountered in producing it. Molecular analysis including partial charge analysis has been performed by using Gaussian simulation package to find the electro-negativity pattern in molecule. 1H and 13C solid-state NMR spectra of polymorphs were recorded and also regression equations and QM theory were developed to predict the 1H and 13C NMR spectra through the use of atomic environmental descriptors. The NMR differences between the two polymorphs were discussed by using prediction and experimental results and description of each NMR shift for carbon and hydrogen atoms.

Buspirone↗

Energy-dispersive, bulk specimen X-ray microanalytical measurement of the intracellular Na+/K+ ratio in human laryngeal tumors.

Energy-dispersive X-ray microanalysis was performed on human biopsy materials taken during laryngoscopic intervention in 18 cases. The removed tissue pieces were divided into two parts. One of them was used for pathohistological studies, the other was processed for X-ray microanalysis by the freeze-fracture freeze-drying method. Of the cases investigated 4 proved to be of benign character, whereas the rest contained carcinoma planocellulare keratoides or non-keratoides. Bulk specimen energy-dispersive X-ray microanalysis of 135 cells from the benign tissue samples revealed an average Na+/K+ molar ratio of 0.13 +/- 0.01 (SEM) in the intracellular space, with a regular Gaussian distribution. In the cases of carcinomas 641 cells were measured, the average of the same ratio was 0.67 +/- 0.03 (SEM) due mostly to an increase in the Na+ content. The distribution of data was apparently not normal in the cancerous samples. These observations and some theoretical considerations support the notion that the intracellular Na+/K+ ratio correlates with the proliferative capacity of tissues. The relevance of some recent biochemical results is also discussed in this respect.

Adult↗

A method for three-dimensional prostate imaging using transrectal ultrasound.

This paper describes a method for forming three-dimensional images of the prostate using transrectal ultrasound. This method extracts three-dimensional images of the prostate from sets of two-dimensional ultrasound images obtained via a special-purpose transrectal ultrasound probe. Each two-dimensional image is segmented and the results used to form a three-dimensional image of the prostate. A method for segmenting two-dimensional images of the prostate based on the Laplacian-of-Gaussian edge operator is described. The three-dimensional imaging method described provides a new, noninvasive method for monitoring gland pathology during radiation therapy.

Adult↗

Optokinetic potential and the perception of head-centred speed.

Extra-retinal information about eye velocity is thought to play an important role in compensating the retinal motion experienced during an eye movement. Evidently this compensation process is prone to error, since stimulus properties such as contrast and spatial frequency have marked effect on perceived motion with respect to the head. Here we investigate the suggestion, that 'optokinetic potential' [Perception 14 (1985) 631] may contribute to an explanation of these errors. First, we measured the optokinetic nystagmus induced by each stimulus so as to determine the optokinetic potential. Second, we determined the speed match between two patches of Gaussian blobs presented sequentially. Observers pursued the first pattern and kept their eyes stationary when viewing the second. For stimuli with identical contrast or spatial frequency, the pursued pattern was perceived to move slower than the non-pursued pattern (the Aubert-Fleischl phenomenon). Lowering the contrast or the spatial frequency of the non-pursued pattern resulted in a systematic decrease of its perceived speed. A further condition in which the contrast or spatial frequency of the pursued pattern was varied, resulted in no change to its perceived speed. Pursuit eye movements were recorded and found to be independent of stimulus properties. The results cast doubt on the idea that changing contrast or spatial frequency affects perceived head-centred speed by altering optokinetic potential.

Eye Movements↗

Finding related functional neuroimaging volumes.

We describe a content-based image retrieval technique for finding related functional neuroimaging experiments by voxelization of sets of stereotactic coordinates in Talairach space, comparing the volumes and reporting related volumes in a sorted list. Voxelization is accomplished by convolving each coordinate with a Gaussian kernel. The scheme allows us to compare experiments represented as either lists of coordinates or volumes, and we introduce alternative entrances to databases by image-based indices constructed via novelty measures and singular value decomposition.

Brain↗

Moisture and temperature requirements in faeces for the development of free-living stages of gastrointestinal nematodes of sheep, cattle and deer.

Isolates from eight gastrointestinal nematode species parasitic in sheep, cattle and deer were maintained in sheep, to provide eggs in similar faecal environments and to compare temperature and moisture requirements for their development. Faecal cultures were processed at different temperatures (for four species) and moisture contents (for the eight species). At 60% of faecal moisture content (FMC), maximal rates of development (expressed as L3/100 hatchable eggs estimated by an extraction technique from the faeces) were observed at 20, 23 and 28 degrees C respectively for Ostertagia leptospicularis, O. ostertagi, Teladorsagia circumcincta and Trichostrongylus colubriformis. For the eight species, the curves of development rates as functions of FMC were Gaussian, without modification between 18 and 28 degrees C. Optimal developments were when the FMC ranged from 57 to 68%; low developments of 1L3/100eggs were observed when the FMC ranged from 85 to 95% and from 25 to 55%. The main differences between species were in the ability of the eggs of Teladorsagia circumcincta, Trichostrongylus colubriformis, T. vitrinus and Chabertia ovina to develop at lower FMC than Haemonchus contortus, O. ostertagi, O. leptospicularis and Cooperia oncophora.

Animals↗

Non-Gaussian statistics of amide I mode frequency fluctuation of N-methylacetamide in methanol solution: linear and nonlinear vibrational spectra.

By carrying out molecular dynamics simulations of an N-methylacetamide (NMA) in methanol solution, the amide I mode frequency fluctuation and hydrogen bonding dynamics were theoretically investigated. Combining an extrapolation formula developed from systematic ab initio calculation studies of NMA-(CH3OH)n clusters with a classical molecular dynamics simulation method, we were able to quantitatively describe the solvatochromic vibrational frequency shift induced by the hydrogen-bonding interaction between NMA and solvent methanol. It was found that the fluctuating amide I mode frequency distribution is notably non-Gaussian and it can be decomposed into two Gaussian peaks that are associated with two distinctively different solvation structures. The ensemble-average-calculated linear response function associated with the IR absorption is found to be oscillating, which is in turn related to the doublet amide I band shape. Numerically calculated infrared absorption spectra are directly compared with experiment and the agreement was found to be excellent. By using the Onsager's regression hypothesis, the rate constants of the interconversion process between the two solvation structures were obtained. Then, the nonlinear response functions associated with two-dimensional infrared pump-probe spectroscopy were simulated. The physics behind the two-dimensional line shape and origin of the cross peaks in the time-resolved pump-probe spectra is explained and the result is compared with 2D spectra experimentally measured recently by Woutersen et al.

Acetamides↗

Exact numerical simulation of power-law noises.

Many simulations of stochastic processes require colored noises: I describe here an exact numerical method to simulate power-law noises: the method can be extended to more general colored noises, and is exact for all time steps, even when they are unevenly spaced [as may often happen for astronomical data; see, e.g., N. R. Lomb, Astrophys. Space Sci. 39, 447 (1976)]. The algorithm has a well-behaved computational complexity, it produces a nearly perfect Gaussian noise, and its computational efficiency depends on the required degree of noise Gaussianity.

Journal Article↗

Skin segmentation using color pixel classification: analysis and comparison.

This paper presents a study of three important issues of the color pixel classification approach to skin segmentation: color representation, color quantization, and classification algorithm. Our analysis of several representative color spaces using the Bayesian classifier with the histogram technique shows that skin segmentation based on color pixel classification is largely unaffected by the choice of the color space. However, segmentation performance degrades when only chrominance channels are used in classification. Furthermore, we find that color quantization can be as low as 64 bins per channel, although higher histogram sizes give better segmentation performance. The Bayesian classifier with the histogram technique and the multilayer perceptron classifier are found to perform better compared to other tested classifiers, including three piecewise linear classifiers, three unimodal Gaussian classifiers, and a Gaussian mixture classifier.

Algorithms↗

Constrained reconstruction: a superresolution, optimal signal-to-noise alternative to the Fourier transform in magnetic resonance imaging.

Many problems in physics involve imaging objects with high spatial frequency content in a limited amount of time. The limitation of available experimental data leads to the infamous problem of diffraction limited data which manifests itself by causing ringing in the image. This ringing is due to the interference phenomena in optics and is known as the Gibbs phenomenon in engineering. Present techniques to cope with this problem include filtering and regularization schemes based on minimum norm or maximum entropy constraints. In this paper, a new technique based on object modeling and estimation is developed to achieve superresolution reconstruction from partial Fourier transform data. The nonlinear parameters of the object model are obtained using the singular value decomposition (SVD)-based all-pole model framework, and the linear parameters are determined using a standard least squares estimation method. This technique is capable, in principle, of unlimited resolution and is robust with respect to Gaussian white noise perturbation to the measured data and with respect to systematic modeling errors. Reconstruction results from simulated data and real magnetic resonance data are presented to illustrate the performance of the proposed method.

Fourier Analysis↗

The influence of later-arriving sounds on the ability of listeners to judge the lateral position of a source.

This study examined the deleterious effects of a later-arriving sound on the processing of interaural differences of time (IDTs) from a preceding sound. A correlational analysis assessed the relative weight given to IDTs of source and echo clicks for echo delays of 1-64 ms when the echo click was attenuated relative to the source click (0-36 dB). Also measured were proportion correct and the proportion of responses predicted from the weights. The IDTs of source and echo clicks were selected independently from Gaussian distributions (mu=0 s, sigma = 100/s). Listeners were instructed to indicate the laterality of the source click. Equal weight was given to the source and echo clicks for echo delays of 64 ms with no echo attenuation. For echo delays of 16-64 ms, attenuating the echo had no substantial effect on source weight or proportion correct until the echo was attenuated by 18-30 dB. At echo delays < or =4 ms, source weights and proportions correct remained high regardless of echo attenuation. The proportions of responses predicted from the weights were lower at echo delays > or =16 ms. Results were discussed in terms of backward recognition masking and binaural sluggishness and compared to measurements of echo disturbance.

Humans↗

The effects of spatial frequency on binocular fusion: from elementary to complex images.

Factors limiting binocular fusion were studied using 2-dimensional difference of Gaussian (2D-DOG) stimuli. The proportion of fused stimuli and observer's response time were determined for stimuli that varied in spatial frequency composition between 0.22 and 4.8 cycles per degree. At small disparities, mean fusion response times were short and relatively stable but increased rapidly once the disparity reached a certain critical value. This 2-phase function implies the existence of 2 separate fusional mechanisms: a rapid neurally based fusional process, which operates at small disparities, and a second mechanism involving reflexive vergence movements operating at disparities 2 to 3 times larger. Both mechanisms are highly influenced by spatial frequency, being 4 to 5 times more effective at low spatial frequencies. Additional experiments demonstrated that with compound stimuli, the fusion limit is not determined by the highest spatial frequency components (as had been reported previously) but, rather, can take advantage of the additional fusional range associated with low spatial frequencies. Such cooperation may be obvious only in the case of 2-dimensional stimuli.

Depth Perception↗

Usefulness of noise adaptive non-linear gaussian filter in FDG-PET study.

OBJECTIVE: In positron emission tomography (PET) studies, shortening transmission (TR) scan time can improve patient comfort and increase scanner throughput. However, PET images from short TR scans may be degraded due to the statistical noise included in the TR image. The purpose of this study was to apply non-linear Gaussian (NLG) and noise adaptive NLG (ANLG) filters to TR images, and to evaluate the extent of noise reduction by the ANLG filter in comparison with that by the NLG filter using phantom and clinical studies. METHODS: In phantom studies, pool phantoms of various diameters and injected doses of 2-deoxy-2-[18F]fluoro-D-glucose (FDG) were used and the coefficients of variation (CVs) of the counts in the TR images processed with the NLG and ANLG filters were compared. In clinical studies, two normal volunteers and 13 patients with tumors were studied. In volunteer studies, the CV values in the liver were compared. In patient studies, the standardized uptake values (SUVs) of tumors in the emission images were obtained after processing the TR images using the NLG and ANLG filters. RESULTS: In phantom studies, the CV values in the TR images processed with the ANLG filter were smaller than those in the images processed with the NLG filter. When using the ANLG filter, their dependency on the phantom size, injected dose of FDG and TR scan time was smaller than when using the NLG filter. In volunteer studies, the CV values in the images processed with the ANLG filter were smaller than those in the images processed with the NLG filter, and were almost constant regardless of the TR scan time. In patient studies, there was an excellent correlation between the SUVs obtained from the images with a TR scan time of 7 min processed with the NLG filter (x) and those obtained from the images with a TR scan time of 4 min processed with the ANLG filter (y) (r = 0.995, y = 1.034x - 0.075). CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that the ANLG filter is effective and useful for noise reduction in TR images and shortening TR scan time while maintaining the quantitative accuracy of FDG-PET studies.

Adult↗