475 research outputs found
Topo-Geometric Filtration Scheme for Geometric Active Contours and Level Sets: Application to Cerebrovascular Segmentation
One of the main problems of the existing methods for the
segmentation of cerebral vasculature is the appearance in the segmentation
result of wrong topological artefacts such as the kissing vessels.
In this paper, a new approach for the detection and correction of such
errors is presented. The proposed technique combines robust topological
information given by Persistent Homology with complementary geometrical
information of the vascular tree. The method was evaluated on 20
images depicting cerebral arteries. Detection and correction success rates
were 81.80% and 68.77%, respectively
Relativistic hydrodynamics for heavy-ion collisions
Relativistic hydrodynamics is essential to our current understanding of
nucleus-nucleus collisions at ultrarelativistic energies (current experiments
at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider, forthcoming experiments at the CERN
Large Hadron Collider). This is an introduction to relativistic hydrodynamics
for graduate students. It includes a detailed derivation of the equations, and
a description of the hydrodynamical evolution of a heavy-ion collisions. Some
knowledge of thermodynamics and special relativity is assumed.Comment: Lectures given at the Advanced School on Quark-Gluon Plasma, Indian
Institute of Technology, Bombay, 3-13 July, 200
Extraction of Airways with Probabilistic State-space Models and Bayesian Smoothing
Segmenting tree structures is common in several image processing
applications. In medical image analysis, reliable segmentations of airways,
vessels, neurons and other tree structures can enable important clinical
applications. We present a framework for tracking tree structures comprising of
elongated branches using probabilistic state-space models and Bayesian
smoothing. Unlike most existing methods that proceed with sequential tracking
of branches, we present an exploratory method, that is less sensitive to local
anomalies in the data due to acquisition noise and/or interfering structures.
The evolution of individual branches is modelled using a process model and the
observed data is incorporated into the update step of the Bayesian smoother
using a measurement model that is based on a multi-scale blob detector.
Bayesian smoothing is performed using the RTS (Rauch-Tung-Striebel) smoother,
which provides Gaussian density estimates of branch states at each tracking
step. We select likely branch seed points automatically based on the response
of the blob detection and track from all such seed points using the RTS
smoother. We use covariance of the marginal posterior density estimated for
each branch to discriminate false positive and true positive branches. The
method is evaluated on 3D chest CT scans to track airways. We show that the
presented method results in additional branches compared to a baseline method
based on region growing on probability images.Comment: 10 pages. Pre-print of the paper accepted at Workshop on Graphs in
Biomedical Image Analysis. MICCAI 2017. Quebec Cit
Meson - nucleon vertex form factors at finite temperature
In this paper the dependence of meson-nucleon-nucleon vertex form factors is
studied as a function of termperature. The results are obtained starting from a
zero temperature Bonn potential. The temperature dependence of the vertex form
factors and radii is studied in the thermofield dynamics, a real-time operator
formalism of finite temperature field theory. It is anticipated that these
results will have an impact on the study of relativistic heavy-ion collisions
as the critical temperature for the phase transition from hadronic to
quark-gluon system is approached.Comment: 19 pages, Revtex, 11 figures (Ps), 171k
Increasing compliance with wearing a medical device in children with autism
Health professionals often recommend the use of medical devices to assess the health, monitor
the well-being, or improve the quality of life of their patients. Children with autism may present
challenges in these situations as their sensory peculiarities may increase refusals to wear such
devices. To address this issue, we systematically replicated prior research by examining the
effects of differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO) to increase compliance with
wearing a heart rate monitor in 2 children with autism. The intervention increased compliance to
100% for both participants when an edible reinforcer was delivered every 90 s. The results
indicate that DRO does not require the implementation of extinction to increase compliance with
wearing a medical device. More research is needed to examine whether the reinforcement
schedule can be further thinned
Hydrodynamics near the QCD Phase Transition: Looking for the Longest-Lived Fireball
We propose a new strategy for the experimental search of the QCD phase
transition in heavy ion collisions: One may tune collision energy around the
point where the lifetime of the fireball is expected to be longest. We
demonstrate that the hydrodynamic evolution of excited nuclear matter does
change dramatically as the initial energy density goes through the "softest
point" (where the pressure to energy density ratio reaches its minimum). For
our choice of equation of state, this corresponds to epsilon_i approx. = 1.5
GeV/fm^3 and collision energy E_lab/A approx. = 30 GeV (for Au+Au). Various
observables seem to show distinct changes near the softest point.Comment: 7 pages, 3 Postscript figures (tar compressed and uuencoded)
submitte
Pion Cloud Contribution to K+ Nucleus Scattering
A careful reanalysis is done of the contribution to nucleus
scattering from the interaction of the kaon with the virtual pion cloud. The
usual approximations made in the evaluation of the related kaon selfenergy are
shown to fail badly. We also find new interaction mechanisms which provide
appreciable corrections to the kaon selfenergy. Some of these contribute to the
imaginary part below pion creation threshold. The inclusion of these new
mechanisms in the inelastic part of the optical potential produces a
significant improvement in the differential and total nuclear cross
sections. Uncertainties remain in the dispersive part of the optical potential.Comment: 27 pages, 17 figures (not all of them included, please request them),
report UG-DFM-2/9
Fluctuations as probe of the QCD phase transition and freeze-out in heavy ion collisions at LHC and RHIC
We discuss the relevance of higher order moments of net baryon number
fluctuations for the analysis of freeze-out and critical conditions in heavy
ion collisions at LHC and RHIC. Using properties of O(4) scaling functions, we
discuss the generic structure of these higher moments at vanishing baryon
chemical potential and apply chiral model calculations to explore their
properties at non-zero baryon chemical potential. We show that the ratios of
the sixth to second and eighth to second order moments of the net baryon number
fluctuations change rapidly in the transition region of the QCD phase diagram.
Already at vanishing baryon chemical potential they deviate considerably from
the predictions of the hadron resonance gas model which reproduce the second to
fourth order moments of the net proton number fluctuations at RHIC. We point
out that the sixth order moments of baryon number and electric charge
fluctuations remain negative at the chiral transition temperature. Thus, they
offer the possibility to probe the proximity of the thermal freeze-out to the
crossover line.Comment: 24 pages, 12 EPS files, revised version, to appear in EPJ
Selected nucleon form factors and a composite scalar diquark
A covariant, composite scalar diquark, Fadde'ev amplitude model for the
nucleon is used to calculate pseudoscalar, isoscalar- and isovector-vector,
axial-vector and scalar nucleon form factors. The last yields the nucleon
sigma-term and on-shell sigma-nucleon coupling. The calculated form factors are
soft, and the couplings are generally in good agreement with experiment and
other determinations. Elements in the dressed-quark-axial-vector vertex that
are not constrained by the Ward-Takahashi identity contribute ~20% to the
magnitude of g_A. The calculation of the nucleon sigma-term elucidates the only
unambiguous means of extrapolating meson-nucleon couplings off the meson
mass-shell.Comment: 12 pages, REVTEX, 5 figures, epsfi
Impact of resonance decays on critical point signals in net-proton fluctuations
The non-monotonic beam energy dependence of the higher cumulants of
net-proton fluctuations is a widely studied signature of the conjectured
presence of a critical point in the QCD phase diagram. In this work we study
the effect of resonance decays on critical fluctuations. We show that resonance
effects reduce the signatures of critical fluctuations, but that for reasonable
parameter choices critical effects in the net-proton cumulants survive. The
relative role of resonance decays has a weak dependence on the order of the
cumulants studied with a slightly stronger suppression of critical effects for
higher-order cumulants
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