A new approach for determination of a mean speckle size in simulated speckle pattern

In this paper one-dimensional correlation method for determination of a mean speckle size is used, while two various approaches are presented. It is shown, that accuracy of the measurement by the method depends on a number of speckles in an evaluated one-dimensional intensity profile of detected speckle pattern. It is also shown, that a significant optimization of the method by reduction of a number of intensity values representing detected speckle patterns can be performed. This study is carried out for several speckle patterns generated through a numerical simulation of the speckle fields after reflection of a Gaussian beam off a rough object’s surface. Results of the determination of the mean speckle size are compared with theoretical predictions.     

Exact formulae for the precision of systematic sampling

A formula is given for the variance of the intersection of two geometric objects, S and T, under uniform, i.e. translation invariant, randomness. It involves an integral of the product of the point-pair distance distributions of S and T. In systematic sampling S is the specimen and T is the test system, for example a system of planes, lines, or dots in ?³ or ?². The general n-dimensional integral (or sum) is difficult to use, but for systematic sectioning, i.e. for a test system of parallel hyperplanes (planes in ?³ or lines in ?²) it can be reduced to a one-dimensional expression: this leads to Matheron's treatment in terms of ‘covariograms’ of the specimens. Under the condition of isotropy analogous simplifications lead to equations involving the distributions of scalar point-pair distances and to the approach developed by Matérn for sampling with point grids. The equations apply to arbitrary test systems, but they include fluctuating functions that require high precision in the numerical evaluation and make it difficult to pradict undamped variance oscillations of the volume estimator which occur for some specimen shapes but not for others. A generalized Euler method of successive partial integrations removes this difficulty and shows that, for a convex specimen, the undamped oscillations result from discontinuities in its chord-length density. The periodicities equal the ratios of the critical chord-lengths to the periodicities of the test system. Analogous relations apply to the covariogram. The formulae for the variance are extended also to the covariance of the volume estimators of paired specimens.     

Characterization of squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck using methods of spatial statistics

In the present study, 53 cases of squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck were characterized by a quantitative histological texture analysis based on principles of spatial statistics. A planar tessellation of the epithelial tumour component was generated by a skeletonization algorithm. The size distribution of the virtual cells of this planar tessellation, and the size distribution of the profiles of the tumour cell nuclei were estimated in terms of area and boundary length. The intensity, the reduced second moment function (K‐function) and the pair correlation function of the point process of the centroids of the profiles of the tumour cell nuclei were also estimated. For both purposes, it is necessary to correct for edge effects, which we consider in this paper in some detail. Specifically, the point patterns of the tumour cell nuclei were considered as realizations of a point process, where the points exist only in the epithelial tumour component (the permitted phase) and not in the stroma (the forbidden phase). The methods allow to characterize each individual tumour by a series of summary statistics. The total set of cases was then partitioned into two groups: 19 cases without lymph node metastases (pN0), and 34 nodal positive cases (pN1 or pN2). Statistical analysis showed no significant differences between the intensities, the mean K‐functions and the mean pair correlation functions of the tumour cell nucleus profiles of the two groups. However, there were some significant differences between the sizes of the virtual cells and of the nucleus profiles of the nodal negative cases as compared to the nodal positive cases. In a logistic regression analysis, one of the quantitative nuclear size variables (mean nuclear area) was found to be a significant predictor of lymph node metastasis, in addition to tumour stage. The study shows the potential of methods of spatial statistics for objective quantitative grading of squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck, and provides an example for modelling histological point patterns as realizations of planar point processes occupying a reference phase which is only a partial component of the total tissue.     

Testing local dependence of spatial structures on images

Associations between two spatial processes can be due to a real dependence between the two processes or to the dependence on common underlying variables. We propose to test the existence of a real dependence by use of local tests, leading to a global test of real dependence and a map of local interactions. We present first how classical interaction tests based on random rotations between completely observed processes such as those developed by Berman (Berman. Appl. Statist . (1986) 35 , 54–62), can be integrated in local analyses. For this purpose, tests are first performed locally, and the distribution of their p -values is then compared to the corresponding value under the null hypothesis. A similar approach is proposed to test non-stationarity of a point pattern by using distance statistics popularized by Diggle (Diggle. Statistical Analysis of Spatial Point Patterns . (1983) Academic Press, New York). The problem of testing the interaction between a random field and a censoring area pattern process is discussed and an approach similar to the preceding ones is then proposed. The methods are mainly applied to agricultural examples but they can be applied to any microscopical images for which one wishes to analyse the spatial structure.     

Statistical modelling of the geometry of planar sections of prostatic capillaries on the basis of stationary Strauss hard-core processes

In a recent study, the capillarization of normal prostatic tissue and prostatic carcinoma tissue was characterized by means of explorative methods of spatial statistics. In the present paper, an attempt was made to go beyond the explorative approach and to characterize the observed point patterns of the capillary profiles on sections by means of a parametric model. For this purpose, the flexible class of Gibbs processes was considered. Specifically, stationary Strauss hard-core processes were fitted to the observed point patterns. The goodness of fit achieved by the model was checked by simulations with the Markov chain Monte Carlo method using the Metropolis–Hastings algorithm. Model fitting and simulations were performed with the help of the spatstat package under R. The observed point patterns were in some cases compatible with realizations of stationary Strauss hard-core processes for all ranges of spatial interaction. However, deviations from the model were found for one or more domains of ranges in other cases. In the tumour tissue, a highly significant decrease of the interaction parameter of the Strauss hard-core process could be found as compared to the normal prostatic tissue. This finding is discussed in terms of a loss of the normal lobular architecture of the glands in the tumour tissue.     

Molecular dynamics study of pattern transfer in nanoimprint lithography

A molecular dynamics simulations model of nanoimprint lithography (NIL) is proposed in order to study the pattern transfer and its related phenomena. The proposed model is similar to a real NIL process imprinting an α-quartz stamp with a rectangular line pattern into an amorphous poly-(methylmethacrylate) (PMMA) film. The polymer deformation behavior and the adhesion and friction effects between the stamp and the polymer film are investigated and their dependency on the pattern aspect ratio is discussed. Force fields including bond, angle, torsion, van der Waals, and electrostatic potentials are used to describe intermolecular and intramolecular interacting forces. Nosé-Hoover thermostat is used to control the temperature of the polymer film and cell multipole method is adopted to treat long range interactions. The deformation of the polymer film is observed for two stamps having different aspect ratio patterns. The distributions of density and stress in the polymer film are calculated for the detail analysis of deformation behavior. For a high aspect ratio pattern (aspect ratio = 2.5, imprint depth = 8.0 nm), large amount of springback of the residual polymer film is observed, which is mainly due to the residual compressive stress left in the polymer film. However, for a low aspect ratio pattern (aspect ratio = 1.0, imprint depth = 3.0 nm), the springback is not observed. In addition, adhesion and friction forces are obtained by dividing the polymer film into subregions and calculating the interacting force between each subregion and the stamp. While the adhesion force is nearly constant regardless of the pattern aspect ratio, the friction force increases as the pattern aspect ratio grows, so the friction force becomes larger than the adhesion force when the pattern aspect ratio increases.     

高速列车制动片摩擦块尺寸对制动噪声特性的影响

同一工况下,在制动摩擦噪声试验机上使用3种不同尺寸的圆形摩擦块进行制动摩擦噪声对比试验,通过对不同摩擦块尺寸状态下的界面噪声信号进行等效声压级分析和频谱分析,研究摩擦块尺寸对制动噪声特性的影响;对界面磨损形貌采用光学显微镜和二维轮廓仪进行分析,并计算出摩擦界面上的摩擦弧长,以揭示摩擦块尺寸对制动噪声行为的影响机制。结果表明:在试验条件下,摩擦面积相同时,大圆形摩擦块能有效地抑制制动噪声,而中圆形和小圆形摩擦块的制动噪声强度较大;相较于大圆形摩擦块,中圆形和小圆形摩擦块表面出现明显犁沟和剥落等"不平顺"磨损因素会造成高强度的尖叫噪声;大圆形摩擦块相比于中圆形和小圆形摩擦块的摩擦弧长较短,这也是造成大圆形摩擦块状态下制动噪声强度减弱的一个重要因素。     

Statistical analysis of labelling patterns of mammary carcinoma cell nuclei on histological sections

It is of central interest for tumour biology to explore the mechanisms of tumour cell proliferation. In this study, methods of spatial statistics were used to study the spatial distribution of proliferating cells within tumour tissue quantitatively and objectively. Mammary cancer tissue was studied as an example. It was attempted to clarify whether cell division occurs entirely at random (random labelling), i.e. the process of division occurs at random, independently from the state of the neighbouring nuclei, or whether the spatial distribution of proliferation is more complex, e.g. in the form of actively proliferating clusters alternating with relatively silent zones. In the case of random labelling, the reduced second moment functions K(r) of the labelled and the unlabelled nuclei would be identical. The same would hold for the pair correlation functions g(r) . The alternative hypothesis is that the second‐order properties of the processes of the labelled and the unlabelled nuclei are different. Twenty cases of invasive ductal mammary carcinomas were studied. The nuclei of proliferating cells were stained immunohistochemically with the monoclonal antibody MIB‐1, which detects specifically the proliferation‐associated nuclear antigen Ki 67. The planar coordinates of the tumor cell nucleus profiles from two rectangular visual fields per case were recorded. For each visual field, the following investigations were performed: estimation of the explorative summary characteristics K(r) and g(r) , fitting of the parameters of a stationary Strauss hard‐core model to the observed point patterns, estimation of two distance‐dependent Simpson indices and Monte Carlo tests of all individual patterns on the null hypothesis of random labelling. Significant differences between the mean K‐functions and the mean g‐functions of the labelled and the unlabelled nuclei were found. Moreover, the mean interaction parameter γ of the stationary Strauss hard‐core model was significantly higher for the labelled nuclei than for the unlabelled nuclei. The estimates of the two distance‐dependent Simpson indices showed a tendency of points with the same label towards a positive spatial correlation. In the Monte Carlo tests, the null hypothesis of random labelling was rejected for the majority of the visual fields. These four lines of investigation led to the concordant conclusion that the labelling of mammary carcinoma nuclei by MIB‐1 is not simply random. The data suggest that the second‐order properties of the point process of the labelled nuclei are significantly different from those of the unlabelled nuclei. In particular, the process of the labelled nuclei shows a higher degree of clustering (increased strength of interaction) than the process of the unlabelled points.     

Measurement of distance with the nanoscale precise imaging by rapid beam oscillation method

We discuss here the principles of a novel optical method in which the scanning of a laser spot around a fluorescent object is used to determine its shape, orientation, and fluorophore distribution. The scanning pattern is adapted to the shape of the object according to a feedback principle based on intensity modulation measurements. The modulation of the intensity with respect to the angular coordinate is used to keep the orbit centered on the object. The modulation induced by rapid oscillations of the orbit radius is used to measure the local distance from the surface with nanometer precision. We provide a model to describe the fundamental relationship between modulation and distance and discuss the range of validity of several approximate expressions. According to this model, the distance can be measured with a precision dependent on the steepness of the point spread function and the total number of detected photons. To test our findings, we performed experiments with one or two channels on fluorescent spheres of known size and characterized the modulation function of our microscope setup. We conclude that the method can be used to measure distances in the range 10–200 nm between two surfaces labeled with two different probes. Microsc. Res. Tech. 75:1253–1264, 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Subject-specific computational simulation of left ventricular flow based on magnetic resonance imaging

A detailed investigation of left ventricle (LV) flow patterns could improve our understanding of the function of the heart and provide further insight into the mechanisms of heart failure. This study presents patient-specific modelling with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to investigate LV blood flow patterns in normal subjects. In the study, the prescribed LV wall movements based on the MRI measurements drove the blood flow in and out of the LV in computational fluid dynamics simulation. For the six subjects studied, the simulated LV flow swirls towards the aortic valve and is ejected into the ascending aorta with a vertical flow pattern that follows the left-hand rule. In diastole, the inflow adopts a reasonably straight route (with no significant secondary flow) towards the apex in the rapid filling phase with slight variations in the jet direction between different cases. When the jet reaches about two thirds of the distance from the inflow plane to the apex, the blood flow starts to change direction and swirls towards the apex. In the more slowly filling phase, a centrally located jet is evident with vortices located on both sides of the jet on an anterior-posterior plane that passes through the mitral and aortic valves. In the inferior-superior plane, a main vortex appears for most of the cases in which an anticlockwise vortex appears for three cases and a clockwise vortex occurs for one case. The simulated flow patterns agree well qualitatively with MRI-measured flow fields.     

磁场分布对多磨头磁流变抛光材料去除的影响

为研究磁场分布对材料去除的影响,设计轴向充磁异向排布、轴向充磁同向排布、径向充磁异向排布、径向充磁同向排布4种磁铁充磁和排布方式,利用有限元软件Maxwell仿真不同磁场的磁力线分布及抛光轮表面的磁感应强度分布,并采用数字特斯拉计测量实际磁感应强度。对单晶硅基片进行定点抛光试验,检测抛光斑沿抛光轮轴向的去除轮廓及峰值点的表面形貌。仿真和实际磁感应强度检测结果表明,不同磁场分布方式对抛光区的磁场分布有很大影响,磁铁轴向充磁同向排布与径向充磁异向排布时,具有较高的磁场强度和较好的多磨头效果。定点抛光试验表明,采用轴向充磁同向排布与径向充磁异向排布这两种方式时,能实现多点加工,其中轴向充磁同向排布时加工效率较高;但采用径向充磁同向排布时,由于抛光区磁感应强度较低,磁流变微磨头无法对工件进行有效地抛光。峰值点表面形貌检测结果表明,采用不同磁场分布方式时,对工件表面均是以塑性去除方式去除。研究表明,通过优化磁铁充磁和排布方式,可实现多磨头磁流变抛光的加工原理。     

多模式机构研究进展

多模式机构作为可重构机构的一个重要分支具备运动模式转换时间短、所需驱动器少等优点,在各个领域都极具应用前景。经过20年的发展,虽然涌现出一系列多模式机构的设计、分析方法,但是多模式机构的研究仍面临诸多挑战。根据不同运动模式下的几何、结构特征,概括并详述了多模式机构利用关节轴线、杆件和多模式单元进行运动模式切换的三种形式;从方法和技术的角度,综述了多模式机构在构型设计、运动模式分析以及应用方面的国内外研究现状,并对多模式机构面临的挑战与发展趋势进行了展望。     

Explorative statistical analysis of planar point processes in microscopy

Basic methods of explorative statistical analysis for stationary and isotropic planar point processes are briefly and informally reviewed. At the explorative level, planar point patterns may be characterized in terms of the intensity, the K-function and the pair correlation function. These second-order functions enable one to classify a given point process as completely random, clustering or repulsive. The repulsive behaviour may be quantified by an estimate of the hard-core distance. In the exploratory approach, the statistics are essentially free from model assumptions. Second-order spatial functions have been estimated to characterize genuine planar point processes in the macroscopic domain, for example in forestry, geography and epidemiology. For light microscopy and transmission electron microscopy, two situations are distinguished, which may be summarized as the genuine planar case and the stereological case. In the genuine planar case, a direct interpretation of the results of spatial statistics is feasible. Here, monolayers in cell culture, intramembranous particles on freeze fracture specimens and amacrine cells of the retina are mentioned as examples. In the stereological case, point patterns are generated by sections through 3D structures. Here the observed point patterns may arise as the centres of sectional profiles of particles, or as centres of sectional profiles of spatial fibre processes. In both situations, exploratory spatial point process statistics allow a quantitative characterization of sectional images for the purposes of group comparisons and classification. Moreover, for spatial fibre processes it has recently been shown that the observed pair correlation function of the centres of the fibre profiles is an estimate of the reduced pair correlation function of the fibre process in 3D. Hence for fibre processes a stereological interpretation of point process statistics obtained from sections is an additional option.     

Apertureless scanning near-field optical microscopy for ion exchange channel waveguide characterization

We report the characterization of an integrated Ag⁺/Na⁺ ion exchange waveguide realized in a silicate glass substrate using apertureless scanning near‐field optical microscopy. Our experimental set‐up is based on the combination of a commercial atomic force microscope with an optical confocal detection system. Thanks to this system, the topography and evanescent optical field at the waveguide top surface are mapped simultaneously. Also, the process of apertureless scanning near‐field optical microscopy image formation is analysed. In particular, fringe patterns appearing in the image reveal the intrinsic interferometric nature of the collected signal, due to interference between the field scattered by the tip end and background fields related to guide losses. We give a quantitative interpretation of these fringes. Evanescent intensity mapping on the sample surface allowed us to extract physical waveguide parameters. In particular, it shows an unambiguous multimode beat along the waveguide propagation axis. Furthermore, we show that analysis of this intensity profile reveals back‐reflection effects from the waveguide exit facet. The resulting standing waves pattern allows us to evaluate the eigenmode propagation constants.     

一种十字交叉六边形块运动估计搜索算法

在快速块匹配运动估计中,搜索模式对搜索速度和搜索质量有着很大的影响。基于现实视频序列中运动向量的分布特征,本文提出了一种十字交叉六边形搜索算法（NHEXS）：首先用小十字模式进行预搜索,找到最小块匹配失真点（MBD）;以MBD为中心构造大十字搜索模式,找到MBD;然后以大十字模式的MBD为中心,开始六边形搜索：首先搜索大六边形,如果MBD在中心,以小六边形方式搜索,找到的MBD点即为最终的块匹配失真点;否则继续大六边形搜索。十字交叉六边形搜索算法还采用了中途停止技术,对静止和半静止块的搜索速度有显著的提高。改进的部分块失真准则在不影响失真度的情况下大大降低了计算复杂度。实验结果表明：十字交叉六边形搜索算法比六边形搜索算法和新型十字菱形搜索算法在信噪比降低很少甚至不降低的情况下,分别节省32%和16%的搜索点,和其它流行的块匹配运动估计算法相比,本文算法有更快的搜索速度和更小的失真度。     

采用纹理近邻模式的掌静脉生物特征识别研究

针对传统局部二值模式(LBP)只以固定的中心像素为阈值的编码方式进行了改进,从纹理分析角度,提出一种基于近邻模式的掌脉身份识别方法,主要利用局部区域相邻像素之间的灰度大小关系,对掌脉图像进行近邻二值模式(NBP)编码。首先将手掌静脉图像分成若干大小一致的区块,然后计算每一区块的灰度平均值,形成多块均值图像,进一步使用NBP对多块均值图像进行编码,最后利用汉明距离进行匹配。采用CCD图像传感器设计了光学仪器,在实际应用环境下获取掌脉图像建立图库,并在香港理工大学(Poly U)接触式公用图库和自建非接触图库上与目前典型和流行方法进行了对比实验,结果显示该方法在8×8区块划分情况下在2个图库上获得了最低等误率(EER)分别为0.698 3%和1.603 6%,识别时间为0.122 7 s和0.124 2s,显示出方法的可行性和有效性,具有应用前景。     

Experimental investigation of inception cavitating flows around axisymmetric bodies with different headforms

Experiments have been performed to study the inception cavitation phenomena in the separated flows adjacent to two axisymmetric bodies whose forebodies are blunt and conical, respectively. A high-speed video camera was used to visualize the dynamic process of incipient cavitation, and the PIV (Particle imaging velocimetry) technology was applied to measure the velocity field, the vorticity and turbulence fluctuations under non-cavitation and inception cavitation conditions. Observations suggest that incipient cavities around the two axisymmetric bodies have the similar onset appearance but different development patterns and cycles with different inception cavitation index. Also, it is found that incipient cavities are always located within the separated vortex upstream the reattachment point during the whole dynamic process, and the scale of separation vortex greatly influences the positions where incipient cavities generate and collapse. Measures of the turbulence fields show that the distribution of vorticity can be changed by unsteady incipient cavities, and inception cavitation causes slight uniformity of velocity in shear layer and conspicuous increase of turbulent fluctuations. Compared to that of the conical headform, inception cavitation around the blunt headform presents more vortical traits and turbulence fluctuations.

     

Plastic deformation of 25CrMo4 steel during wear: Effect of the temperature,the normal force,the sliding velocity and the structural state

This article follows a previous study on friction and wear of 25CrMo4 steel [N. Khanafi-Benghalem, K. Loucif, E. Felder, F. Delamare, Influence de la température sur les mécanismes de frottement et d’usure des aciers X12NiCrMoSi25-20 et 25CrMo4 glissant sur du carbure de tungstène, Matériaux et techniques 93 (2005) 347–362]. The aim of our work is to study in more details the process of plastic deformation and the wear rate of this steel in lubricated sliding against cemented tungsten carbide, process observed in the previous work. The considered parameters are the temperature T (from 20 to 200 °C), the normal force P (from 500 to 1500 N), the steel structure (normalised HV 220 and quenched/tempered HV 480 states) and the sliding velocity v (from 0.05 to 0.3 m/s). We measured the friction coefficient and the sample total volume loss. A displacement sensor follows the volume loss evolution during the test; this follow-up is approximate because of the sample plastic flow which leads to the formation of peripheral burrs. All the tests conditions generate a significant plastic deformation of the sample steel, even in the quenched/tempered state: it produces a marked increase of the surface hardness, the work hardened layer being much finer for the quenched/tempered state (15 μm) than for the normalised state (40 μm at 20 °C). For temperatures T ≤ 100 °C in normalised state, the wear follows the Archard's law with an increasing rate with temperature. For T ≥ 120 °C, the wear rate decreases during the test, the global volume of wear being a decreasing function of T. For the quenched/tempered state, the wear rate decreases with the increase of the normal force, this decrease is less than 30% of the normalised state value. The material heating during the wear tests is well correlated with the friction dissipated power, but remains small, except in extreme cases (v maximum, great friction at high temperatures). These results suggest the existence of two wear mechanisms: abrasion by sample debris and burrs emission by plastic flow. The abrasion is probably the dominating mechanism for the tests carried out at the lowest temperatures. The plastic flow becomes a significant component at the highest temperatures. Using a contact model, we discuss to what extent the influence of the temperature and the strain rate on the steel hardness and ductility could explain the temperature and the sliding velocity effect on wear. Other phenomena are probably present: the influence of the steel microstructure and the lubricant on the size and/or the number of particles responsible for abrasion.     

A global collision-free path planning using parametric parabola through Geometry Mapping of obstacles in robot work space

In this paper, a new algorithm for palnning collision-free path connecting from start to target point is developed using Bézier curve of order two. The control point, i. e. the mid-point of quadratic Bézier curve, determines the shape of parabola and constitutes the Control Point Space, and this process is difined a Geometry Mapping. After Geometry Mapping of all obstacles, the clear area of CPS, an area not occupied by obstacle images, identifies collision-free path. The path planning algorithm, heance, transform path planning problem in Euclidian Space to point selection problem in CPS. The calculations involved in the algorithm do not require iterative procedures and all the formulas of the solution are derived in closed form. A CPS completely filled with obstacle images indicates that path planning based on parabola is not possible and requires higher order curve with more than one control point.