An MPEG-7 scheme for semantic content modelling and filtering of digital video

Abstract Part 5 of the MPEG-7 standard specifies Multimedia Description Schemes (MDS); that is, the format multimedia content models should conform to in order to ensure interoperability across multiple platforms and applications. However, the standard does not specify how the content or the associated model may be filtered. This paper proposes an MPEG-7 scheme which can be deployed for digital video content modelling and filtering. The proposed scheme, COSMOS-7, produces rich and multi-faceted semantic content models and supports a content-based filtering approach that only analyses content relating directly to the preferred content requirements of the user. We present details of the scheme, front-end systems used for content modelling and filtering and experiences with a number of users

A study of genetic variations, population size, and population dynamics of the catadromous Japanese eel Anguilla japonica (Pisces) in northern Taiwan

Japanese eels are widely distributed in northeast Asian countries, and they have a catadromous life history. In this article, we explored whether Japanese elvers have temporal genetic structure and whether the population went through population expansion during the Pleistocene. In total, 273 specimens were collected from the Tanshui River estuary, northern Taiwan, in 1989-2008. The highly variable region of the mitochondrial DNA D-loop was cloned and sequenced. A genealogy was reconstructed based on the Neighbor-joining method, and results showed an unobvious yearly clade and a high level of haplotype diversity, but low mean nucleotide diversity among samples. Most of the pairwise F (ST) appeared statistically insignificant. These genetic parameters suggested a lack of temporal population structure combined with a sustainable high effective population size of Japanese eels. Negative values of Tajima's D and Fu's F (s) appeared in all samples with high significance. The mismatch distribution, skyline plot, and minimum spanning network indicated that historical population expansion of the Japanese eel could be traced back to the Pleistocene. Results of this study imply the Japanese eel has a complex life history, and the temporal structure of Japanese eels should be continually monitored in the future

Study of Interfacial Reactions Between Sn(Cu) Solders and Ni-Co Alloy Layers

The interfacial reactions between electroplated Ni-yCo alloy layers and Sn(Cu) solders at 250 degrees C are studied. For pure Co layers, CoSn(3) is the only interfacial compound phase formed at the Sn(Cu)/Co interfaces regardless of the Cu concentration. Also, the addition of Cu to Sn(Cu) solders has no obvious influence on the CoSn(3) compound growth at the Sn(Cu)/Co interfaces. For Ni-63Co layers, (Co,Ni,Cu)Sn(3) is the only interfacial compound phase formed at the Sn(Cu)/Ni-63Co interfaces. Unlike in the pure Co layer cases, the Cu additives in the Sn(Cu) solders clearly suppress the growth rate of the interfacial (Co,Ni,Cu)Sn(3) compound layer. For Ni-20Co layers, the interfacial compound formation at the Sn(Cu)/Ni-20Co interfaces depends on the Cu content in the Sn(Cu) solders and the reflow time. In the case of high Cu content in the Sn(Cu) solders (Sn-0.7Cu and Sn-1.2Cu), an additional needle-like interfacial (Ni(x),Co(y),Cu(1-x-y))(3)Sn(4) phase forms above the continuous (Ni(x),Cu(y),Co(1-x-y))Sn(2) compound layer. The Ni content in the Ni-yCo layer can indeed reduce the interfacial compound formation at the Sn(Cu)/Ni-yCo interfaces. With pure Sn solders, the thickness of the compound layer monotonically decreases with the Ni content in the Ni-yCo layer. As for reactions with the Sn(Cu) solders, as the compound thickness decreases, the Ni content in the Ni-yCo layers increases

Study of W boson production in pPb collisions at √sNN = 5.02 TeV

The first study of W boson production in pPb collisions is presented, for bosons decaying to a muon or electron, and a neutrino. The measurements are based on a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 34.6 nb-1 at a nucleon-nucleon centre-of-mass energy of √sNN = 5.02 TeV, collected by the CMS experiment. The W boson differential cross sections, lepton charge asymmetry, and forward-backward asymmetries are measured for leptons of transverse momentum exceeding 25 GeV/c, and as a function of the lepton pseudorapidity in the |ηlab|<2.4 range. Deviations from the expectations based on currently available parton distribution functions are observed, showing the need for including W boson data in nuclear parton distribution global fits. © 2015 CERN for the benefit of the CMS Collaboration

Study of Z boson production in pPb collisions at √sNN=5.02 TeV

The production of Z bosons in pPb collisions at √sNN=5.02 TeV is studied by the CMS experiment via the electron and muon decay channels. The inclusive cross section is compared to pp collision predictions, and found to scale with the number of elementary nucleon–nucleon collisions. The differential cross sections as a function of the Z boson rapidity and transverse momentum are measured. Though they are found to be consistent within uncertainty with theoretical predictions both with and without nuclear effects, the forward–backward asymmetry suggests the presence of nuclear effects at large rapidities. These results provide new data for constraining nuclear parton distribution functions

An attenuation field network for dedicated cone beam breast CT with short scan and offset detector geometry

The feasibility of full-scan, offset-detector geometry cone-beam CT has been demonstrated for several clinical applications. For full-scan acquisition with offset-detector geometry, data redundancy from complementary views can be exploited during image reconstruction. Envisioning an upright breast CT system, we propose to acquire short-scan data in conjunction with offset-detector geometry. To tackle the resulting incomplete data, we have developed a self-supervised attenuation field network (AFN). AFN leverages the inherent redundancy of cone-beam CT data through coordinate-based representation and known imaging physics. A trained AFN can query attenuation coefficients using their respective coordinates or synthesize projection data including the missing projections. The AFN was evaluated using clinical cone-beam breast CT datasets (n = 50). While conventional analytical and iterative reconstruction methods failed to reconstruct the incomplete data, AFN reconstruction was not statistically different from the reference reconstruction obtained using full-scan, full-detector data in terms of image noise, image contrast, and the full width at half maximum of calcifications. This study indicates the feasibility of a simultaneous short-scan and offset-detector geometry for dedicated breast CT imaging. The proposed AFN technique can potentially be expanded to other cone-beam CT applications. © 2024, The Author(s).Open access journalThis item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected]

Dedicated Cone-Beam Breast CT: Reproducibility of Volumetric Glandular Fraction with Advanced Image Reconstruction Methods

Dedicated cone-beam breast computed tomography (CBBCT) is an emerging modality and provides fully three-dimensional (3D) images of the uncompressed breast at an isotropic voxel resolution. In an effort to translate this modality to breast cancer screening, advanced image reconstruction methods are being pursued. Since radiographic breast density is an established risk factor for breast cancer and CBBCT provides volumetric data, this study investigates the reproducibility of the volumetric glandular fraction (VGF), defined as the proportion of fibroglandular tissue volume relative to the total breast volume excluding the skin. Four image reconstruction methods were investigated: the analytical Feldkamp-Davis-Kress (FDK), a compressed sensing-based fast, regularized, iterative statistical technique (FRIST), a fully supervised deep learning approach using a multi-scale residual dense network (MS-RDN), and a self-supervised approach based on Noise-to-Noise (N2N) learning. Projection datasets from 106 women who participated in a prior clinical trial were reconstructed using each of these algorithms at a fixed isotropic voxel size of (0.273 mm3). Each reconstructed breast volume was segmented into skin, adipose, and fibroglandular tissues, and the VGF was computed. The VGF did not differ among the four reconstruction methods (p = 0.167), and none of the three advanced image reconstruction algorithms differed from the standard FDK reconstruction (p > 0.862). Advanced reconstruction algorithms developed for low-dose CBBCT reproduce the VGF to provide quantitative breast density, which can be used for risk estimation.Open access journalThis item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected]

Crosshole EM for oil field characterization and EOR monitoring: Field examples from Lost Hills, California

A steamflood recently initiated by Mobil Development and Production U.S. at the Lost Hills No 3 oil field in California is notable for its shallow depth and the application of electromagnetic (EM) geophysical techniques to monitor the subsurface steam flow. Steam was injected into three stacked eastward-dipping unconsolidated oil sands at depths from 60 to 120 m; the plume is expected to develop as an ellipsoid aligned with the regional northwest-southeast strike. Because of the shallow depth of the sands and the high viscosity of the heavy oil, it is important to track the steam in the unconsolidated sediments for both economic and safety reasons. Crosshole and surface-to-borehole electromagnetic imaging were applied for reservoir characterization and steamflood monitoring. The crosshole EM data were collected to map the interwell distribution of the high-resistivity oil sands and to track the injected steam and hot water. Measurements were made in two fiberglass-cased observation wells straddling the steam injector on a northeast-southwest profile. Field data were collected before the steam drive, to map the distribution of the oil sands, and then 6 and 10 months after steam was injected, to monitor the expansion of the steam chest. Resistivity images derived from the collected data clearly delineated the distribution and dipping structure of the target oil sands. Difference images from data collected before and during steamflooding indicate that the steam chest has developed only in the middle and lower oil sands, and it has preferentially migrated westward in the middle oil sand and eastward in the deeper sand. Surface-to-borehole field data sets at Lost Hills were responsive to the large-scale subsurface structure but insufficiently sensitive to model steam chest development in the middle and lower oil sands. As the steam chest develops further, these data will be of more use for process monitoring