Acquisition Components Research Articles

Advances in automatic detection technology for images of thin blood film of malaria parasite

This paper reviews the computer vision and image analysis studies aiming at automated diagnosis or screening of malaria in microscope images of thin blood film smears. On the basis of introducing the background and significance of automatic detection technology, the existing detection technologies are summarized and divided into several steps, including image acquisition, pre-processing, morphological analysis, segmentation, count, and pattern classification components. Then, the principles and implementation methods of each step are given in detail. In addition, the promotion and application in automatic detection technology of thick blood film smears are put forwarded as questions worthy of study, and a perspective of the future work for realization of automated microscopy diagnosis of malaria is provided.

The influence of healthy aging on the different components of motor skill acquisition and its modulation by non-invasive brain stimulation

The influence of healthy aging on the different components of motor skill acquisition and its modulation by non-invasive brain stimulation

Food Seeking in a Risky Environment: A Method for Evaluating Risk and Reward Value in Food Seeking and Consumption in Mice.

Most studies that measure food intake in mice do so in the home cage environment. This necessarily means that mice do not engage in food seeking before consumption, a behavior that is ubiquitous in free-living animals. We modified and validated several commonly used anxiety tests to include a palatable food reward within the anxiogenic zone. This allowed us to assess risk-taking behavior in food seeking in mice in response to different metabolic stimuli. We modified the open field test and the light/dark box by placing palatable peanut butter chips within a designated food zone inside the anxiogenic zone of each apparatus. We then assessed parameters of the interaction with the food reward. Fasted mice or mice treated with ghrelin showed increased consumption and increased time spent in the food zone immediately around the food reward compared to ad libitum fed mice or mice treated with saline. However, fasted mice treated with IP glucose before exposure to the behavioral arena showed reduced time in the food zone compared to fasted controls, indicating that acute metabolic signals can modify the assessment of safety in food seeking in a risky environment. The tests described in this study will be useful in assessing risk processing and incentive salience of food reward, which are intrinsic components of food acquisition outside of the laboratory environment, in a range of genetic and pharmacological models.

A rapid automatic analyzer and its methodology for effective bentonite content based on image recognition technology

Fast and accurate determination of effective bentonite content in used clay bonded sand is very important for selecting the correct mixing ratio and mixing process to obtain high-performance molding sand. Currently, the effective bentonite content is determined by testing the ethylene blue absorbed in used clay bonded sand, which is usually a manual operation with some disadvantages including complicated process, long testing time and low accuracy. A rapid automatic analyzer of the effective bentonite content in used clay bonded sand was developed based on image recognition technology. The instrument consists of auto stirring, auto liquid removal, auto titration, step-rotation and image acquisition components, and processor. The principle of the image recognition method is first to decompose the color images into three-channel gray images based on the photosensitive degree difference of the light blue and dark blue in the three channels of red, green and blue, then to make the gray values subtraction calculation and gray level transformation of the gray images, and finally, to extract the outer circle light blue halo and the inner circle blue spot and calculate their area ratio. The titration process can be judged to reach the end-point while the area ratio is higher than the setting value.

Development of data acquisition components for simultaneous recording of 3D epicardial and surface ECG signals in the langendorff perfusion apparatus.

Sudden Cardiac Death (SCD) claims 7 million lives per year. The importance of myocardial electrogram (EGM) repolarization alternans and surface electrocardiogram (ECG) T-wave alternans is gaining traction for understanding the underlying SCD mechanisms. However, the relationship between the 3D spatial distribution of myocardial EGMs and surface ECG with respect to SCD has yet to be investigated. To make this happen, a modified data acquisition system has been developed and fabricated in conjunction with the Langendorff perfusion system to enable simultaneous recording and analysis of the 3D spatial distribution of myocardial EGMs and the surface ECG. Two devices have been fabricated: a basket catheter, which obtains 3D EGM data; and an ECG chamber, capable of keeping the constraints of the Langendorff system. Noise analysis confirmed, for all devices, a signal to noise ratio (SNR) of median (μ) >= 51.7dB and standard deviation (σ) <;= 2.1dB. A Langendorff rat heart experiment further confirmed successful recording of 3D EGM and surface ECG data with an acceptable SNR. The developed system can be used to study the relationship between 3D EGM and surface ECG data, which can be utilized to understand the mechanisms of SCD.

Improving effect size estimation and statistical power with multi-echo fMRI and its impact on understanding the neural systems supporting mentalizing

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) research is routinely criticized for being statistically underpowered due to characteristically small sample sizes and much larger sample sizes are being increasingly recommended. Additionally, various sources of artifact inherent in fMRI data can have detrimental impact on effect size estimates and statistical power. Here we show how specific removal of non-BOLD artifacts can improve effect size estimation and statistical power in task-fMRI contexts, with particular application to the social-cognitive domain of mentalizing/theory of mind. Non-BOLD variability identification and removal is achieved in a biophysical and statistically principled manner by combining multi-echo fMRI acquisition and independent components analysis (ME-ICA). Without smoothing, group-level effect size estimates on two different mentalizing tasks were enhanced by ME-ICA at a median rate of 24% in regions canonically associated with mentalizing, while much more substantial boosts (40–149%) were observed in non-canonical cerebellar areas. Effect size boosting occurs via reduction of non-BOLD noise at the subject-level and consequent reductions in between-subject variance at the group-level. Smoothing can attenuate ME-ICA-related effect size improvements in certain circumstances. Power simulations demonstrate that ME-ICA-related effect size enhancements enable much higher-powered studies at traditional sample sizes. Cerebellar effects observed after applying ME-ICA may be unobservable with conventional imaging at traditional sample sizes. Thus, ME-ICA allows for principled design-agnostic non-BOLD artifact removal that can substantially improve effect size estimates and statistical power in task-fMRI contexts. ME-ICA could mitigate some issues regarding statistical power in fMRI studies and enable novel discovery of aspects of brain organization that are currently under-appreciated and not well understood.

Ontology-based representation of meteorological disaster system and its application in emergency management

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to make research on causing mechanism of meteorological disaster as well as the components of meteorological disaster system and their semantic relationships. It has important practical significance due to the urgent need of further providing support for pre-assessment of influences of disastrous weather/climate events and promoting the level of emergency management. Design/methodology/approach – This paper analyses the occurrence regulations and components of meteorological disasters and proposes the concept of meta-action. Ontology modelling method is adopted to describe the components and relationships among different parts comprising meteorological disaster system, and semantic web rule language is selected to identify the implicit relationships among the domain knowledge explicitly defined in ontology model. Besides, a case is studied to elaborate how to provide logic and semantic information support for comprehensive risk assessment of disastrous weather/climate events based on rule-based ontology reasoning method. It proves that ontology modelling and reasoning method is effective in providing decision makings. Findings – This paper provides deep analyses about causing mechanisms of meteorological disasters, and implements information fusion of the components of meteorological disaster system and acquisition of potential semantic relations among ontology components and their individuals. Originality/value – In this paper, on the basis of analysing the disaster-causing mechanisms, the meteorological disaster ontology (MDO) model is proposed by using the ontology modelling and reasoning method. MDO can be applied to provide decision makings for meteorological departments.

The influence of bilingualism on statistical word learning

Statistical learning is a fundamental component of language acquisition, yet to date, relatively few studies have examined whether these abilities differ in bilinguals. In the present study, we examine this issue by comparing English monolinguals with Chinese–English and English–Spanish bilinguals in a cross-situational statistical learning (CSSL) task. In Experiment 1, we assessed the ability of both monolinguals and bilinguals on a basic CSSL task that contained only one-to-one mappings. In Experiment 2, learners were asked to form both one-to-one and two-to-one mappings, and were tested at three points during familiarization. Overall, monolinguals and bilinguals did not differ in their learning of one-to-one mappings. However, bilinguals more quickly acquired two-to-one mappings, while also exhibiting greater proficiency than monolinguals. We conclude that the fundamental SL mechanism may not be affected by language experience, in accord with previous studies. However, when the input contains greater variability, bilinguals may be more prone to detecting the presence of multiple structures.

The Use of Teaching Aids in the Teaching and Learning of Arabic Language Vocabulary

Vocabulary is an important component in acquisition of a language. The use of teaching aids can improve students’ mastery of vocabulary learning. This study aims to identify the use of teaching aids in the teaching and learning of Arabic Language Vocabulary at National Religious Secondary Schools and Government-aided Religious Schools from the perspective of teachers and students. This study uses a survey based on a set of questionnaire as instrument of data collection method which involves 31 teachers and 324 Form Four students who are randomly selected from secondary schools in Malaysia. The results show that the usage of teaching aids in teaching and learning of Arabic vocabulary is at a moderate level. Pedagogical implications of study show that teachers need to constantly improve the use of textbooks and dictionaries as the main teaching aids and try to enhance students’ mastery of vocabulary learning by diversifying the other types of teaching aids.

Modulation of Host Endocycle During Plant-Biotroph Interactions.

Recent studies have revealed that several mutualistic and parasitic biotrophic microbes induce a cell cycle variant termed the endocycle in host cells to support their growth and reproduction. Endoreduplication is a process in which cells successively replicate their genomes without mitosis resulting in an increase in nuclear DNA ploidy. Depending on the interaction, endoreduplication can support biotroph colonization and feeding structure initiation/development, and/or serve as a mechanism to support enhanced metabolic demands of the microbe. When endoreduplication is inhibited in these interactions, biotroph growth or development is compromised. In this review, we summarize the molecular machinery known to mediate endocycle control in plants and highlight the role of these core components in feeding site establishment and/or nutrient acquisition for a diverse set of plant biotrophs.

The relationships between triarchic psychopathic traits and value orientations in men and women

This study was aimed to explore the relationship between triarchically conceptualized psychopathic traits and different value orientations. Participants were 180 male and 216 female Croatian university students. Self-report data were collected by using the Triarchic Psychopathy Measure (TriPM) and Value Orientation Scale. As predicted, meanness was negatively related to conventional and self-realization value orientation, and positively to hedonistic value orientation in both men and women, thus suggesting that meanness is the central component of psychopathy operating similarly across gender. Additionally, the results revealed some gender differences in the role of triarchic psychopathy components in value acquisition. In women's sample only, hedonistic value orientation was related to higher boldness and higher disinhibition. Only in men's sample, several interactions were found between psychopathic components predicting value orientations. The negative effect of disinhibition on self-realization and conventional values was more pronounced when associated with high boldness. In addition, the negative effect of disinhibition on the acquisition of self-realization values emerged only under the high meanness conditions, while the opposite trend was demonstrated for low meanness condition. Thus, gender moderated some of the psychopathy-values relationship, although this effect was small.

Assessment of a Cultural Competency Program in Podiatric Medical Education.

Des Moines University College of Podiatric Medicine and Surgery (CPMS) is implementing a cultural competency program for third-year podiatric medical students. This study assessed the effectiveness of the new educational program on cultural competency at CPMS by comparing pretest and posttest scores of students from the CPMS graduating classes of 2013 and 2014. Students from the class of 2013 completed a 10-week online course on cultural competency, and the class of 2014 students did not. A pretest and posttest survey was used to assess cultural competency. The questions were categorized to assess either knowledge acquisition or attitudinal change. The 2013 students completed the pretest before the course and a posttest after completing the course. Without taking the course, 2014 students completed the same pretest and posttest separated by 10 weeks. A repeated-measures analysis of variance was used to compare the knowledge acquisition scores and attitudinal change scores. The repeated-measures analysis of variance revealed a significant interaction effect of taking the attitudinal change course (F(1,77) = 15.2; P < .001). The course did not show a significant interaction on knowledge acquisition (F(1,77) = 0.72; P > .05). The analysis showed a statistically significant improvement in attitudinal change scores. The study suggests that there needs to be a greater knowledge acquisition component to the cultural competency course at CPMS.

Evaluating the Hardness Characteristics of Hail through Compressive Strength Measurements

AbstractThroughout historical literature anecdotal or visual observations have been used to describe the hardness property of hailstones (e.g., hard, soft, slushy). A unique field measurement device was designed and built to apply a compressive force to the point of fracture on hailstones in the field. The device uses a pistol-grip clamp to apply a compressive load to a hailstone and integrates a fast-response load cell and associated data acquisition components to measure the applied force through the point of fracture. The strain rate applied to the stone is fast enough to produce a brittle failure, and the peak compressive force is appropriately scaled by the cross-sectional area to produce a compressive stress value. When compared to an Instron universal testing machine (UTM), the field measurement device exhibited a low bias induced by measurement hardware sampling limits. When a low-pass filter was applied to the Instron data to replicate the hardware properties of the field measurement device, good agreement was found for compressive force tests performed on laboratory ice spheres, and it was clear the device was capturing a relative measure of strength. The mean compressive stress for natural hail was similar to that of pure ice spheres, but individual thunderstorm events exhibited variability. Laboratory ice spheres also showed significant variability, which argues for large sample sizes when testing any material for impact resistance.

A New Method of Active Power Measurement Based on Power Load Wiener-G Functionals Models

For the problem of electrical energy measurement could not be united under the condition of non-stationary distortion signals, in the paper, the functionals series was used to modeling the signals. Firstly, the Wiener kernel of nonlinear load was acquired; the output signal of nonlinear load was expressed using functionals series under the condition of sinusoidal excitation; and then, we used the wavelet transform to processed and acquired component of fundamental and distortion; and though the acquisition component of voltage and current, we analyzed the power flow of nonlinear load, and according the result of power flow, we proposed a new method of active power measurement. The simulation result shows that the result of theoretical analysis is the same as the new method, and the new method of electric energy measurement based on the functional series can achieve the reasonable electrical energy measurement.

Sleep-based memory processing facilitates grammatical generalization: Evidence from targeted memory reactivation

Generalization—the ability to abstract regularities from specific examples and apply them to novel instances—is an essential component of language acquisition. Generalization not only depends on exposure to input during wake, but may also improve offline during sleep. Here we examined whether targeted memory reactivation during sleep can influence grammatical generalization. Participants gradually acquired the grammatical rules of an artificial language through an interactive learning procedure. Then, phrases from the language (experimental group) or stimuli from an unrelated task (control group) were covertly presented during an afternoon nap. Compared to control participants, participants re-exposed to the language during sleep showed larger gains in grammatical generalization. Sleep cues produced a bias, not necessarily a pure gain, suggesting that the capacity for memory replay during sleep is limited. We conclude that grammatical generalization was biased by auditory cueing during sleep, and by extension, that sleep likely influences grammatical generalization in general.

Interaction in the Concept of Autonomous Language Learning

The study focuses on the role of interactive activities in the process of developing students' autonomy in language learning. The research into the problem of interaction in learner's autonomy involves two aspects: the elaboration of the theoretical grounds for encouraging interaction in autonomous language learning and some practical evidence of exploring those perspectives by empirical means within the communicative and cognitive approach. The article outlines the structure and the constituents of autonomy in language learning, reveals both the universal and the individual components of language acquisition and shows how important these components are for the modern understanding of communicative competence in language learning. The study emphasizes the idea that communicative and cognitive skills that constitute a student's autonomy in language learning are triggered in real communication only through their use in the interaction and cooperation with partners. The concept of interactive autonomous learning is based on the theoretical consequences of a social-interactive view of cognition, learning and language and the idea that autonomy and independence in learning must always be supported by interdependence and collaboration with other learners.

The Techniques Used for Reading Comprehension Instruction, Case Study Albania.

Reading Comprehension is a crucial component of second language acquisition. As a core part of language learning it is, obviously, not an effortless process. Students often complain of not understanding a text, therefore they fail in answering to the comprehensive questions. Unfortunately, this is a reality evidenced and proven from unsatisfactory results of students in English Language Matura Exam in Albanian high schools, as these students have been the objective of this study. In this context, one certainly may ask for kinds of techniques used to teach Reading Comprehension. Thus the research questions used in this study are: 1. Are there used the right techniques to teach Reading Comprehension in Albanian high schools? 2. Which are the theories and best techniques of Reading Comprehension recommended for every teacher to use in his classroom? Concerning the first questions we can give an answer with the help of the questionnaires. Actually there a lot of theories and studies related to this topic which will be used as an important source. It is necessary to mention some of them like: Manyak and Bayer,Mckeown others from National Reading Pannel, because their studies will serve as a very important mean to answer the second question.The last but not the least focus is the questionnaires as their results are good detectors of techniques and way used in Reading Comprehension classes, in Albania. This would direct us to a proper strategy for problem solving and improving the situation. In this way the methodology used is in the form of questionnaires which were submitted to students from three different high schools in Albania and filled by around 200 students.

Characterizing the Impact of Off-Axis Scan Acquisition on the Reproducibility of Total Retinal Thickness Measurements in SDOCT Volumes.

Off-axis acquisition of spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SDOCT) images has been shown to increase total retinal thickness (TRT) measurements. We analyzed the reproducibility of TRT measurements obtained using either the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) or Bruch's membrane as reference surfaces in off-axis scans intentionally acquired through multiple pupil positions. Five volumetric SDOCT scans of the macula were obtained from one eye of 25 normal subjects. One scan was acquired through a central pupil position, while subsequent scans were acquired through four peripheral pupil positions. The internal limiting membrane, the RPE, and Bruch's membrane were segmented using automated approaches. These volumes were registered to each other and the TRT was evaluated in 9 Early Treatment of Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) regions. The reproducibility of the TRT obtained using the RPE was computed using the mean difference, coefficient of variation (CV), and the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), and compared to those obtained using Bruch's membrane as the reference surface. A secondary set of 1545 SDOCT scans was also analyzed in order to gauge the incidence of off-axis scans in a typical acquisition environment. The photoreceptor tips were dimmer in off-axis images, which affected the RPE segmentation. The overall mean TRT difference and CV obtained using the RPE were 7.04 ± 4.31 μm and 1.46%, respectively, whereas Bruch's membrane was 1.16 ± 1.00 μm and 0.32%, respectively. The ICCs at the subfoveal TRT were 0.982 and 0.999, respectively. Forty-one percent of the scans in the secondary set showed large tilts (> 6%). RPE segmentation is confounded by its proximity to the interdigitation zone, a structure strongly affected by the optical Stiles-Crawford effect. Bruch's membrane, however, is unaffected leading to a more robust segmentation that is less dependent upon pupil position. The way in which OCT images are acquired can independently affect the accuracy of automated retinal thickness measurements. Assessment of scan angle in a clinical dataset demonstrates that off-axis scans are common, which emphasizes the need for caution when relying on automated thickness parameters when this component of scan acquisition is not controlled for.

Usability of Three Electroencephalogram Headsets for Brain–Computer Interfaces: A Within Subject Comparison

Currently the field of brain–computer interfacing is increasingly focused on developing usable brain–computer interfaces (BCIs) to better ensure technology transfer and acceptance. Many studies have investigated the usability of BCI applications as a whole. Here we aim to investigate one specific component of an electroencephalogram (EEG)-based BCI system: the acquisition component. This study compares on the usability of three different EEG headsets in the context of a P300-based BCI application for communication. Thirteen participants took part in a within-subject experiment. Participants were randomly given a Biosemi, Emotiv EPOC or g.Sahara headset. After every session offline classification accuracy (efficacy) was calculated and usability factors (perceived efficiency and user satisfaction) were measured using questionnaires. The 32-channel Biosemi headset offered the highest accuracy (88.5%) compared with the 8-channel g.Sahara (62.7%) and the 14-channel Emotiv (61.7%). There was no difference in accuracy between the Biosemi and the g.Sahara when comparing the same 8 channels. The Biosemi and g.Sahara were rated as more comfortable than the Emotiv. The Emotiv was rated as best for aesthetics. System setup time was highest for the Biosemi headset when compared with the g.Sahara and the Emotiv. Without information about the effectiveness, participants preferred the Emotiv. We recommend the use of a gelled headset for applications which require high accuracy and efficiency and water-based or dry headsets when aesthetics, easy setup and fun are important.

An improved model for the oPtImal Measurement Probes Allocation tool

The oPtImal Measurement Probes Allocation (PIMPA) tool has been recently proposed in [1] to maximize the reliability of a tokamak diagnostic system against the failure of one or more of the processing nodes. PIMPA is based on the solution of integer linear programming (ILP) problems, and it minimizes the effect of the failure of a data acquisition component. The first formulation of the PIMPA model did not support the concept of individual slots. This work presents an improved ILP model that addresses the above mentioned problem, by taking into account all the individual probes.