Description and evaluation of a new 3-D computerized treatment planning dose compensator system

Evaluation has been performed of compensators generated by means of a computerized three-dimensional treatment planning system that can utilize either digitized slice profiles or CT scans. Two methods of calculating compensator thickness are used: the modified Batho power law (dSAR) method for digitized profiles and the equivalent TAR (eqTAR) method for CT scans. This system not only compensates for patient surface contours but also compensates for internal inhomogeneities. In addition, any required wedging will be incorporated in the compensator generation. This system has been tested for a number of extreme cases with inhomogeneities and sloping contours. Good agreement was obtained between the measured and computer calculated dose profiles especially along the central axis of the beam. A "Profile Uniformity Index" was defined to quantify the goodness of dose compensation in three dimensions. Compensation using this system can achieve good dose uniformity within the target volume in all clinical cases and is definitely an improvement over systems based solely on tissue deficit.     

Object illumination angle measurement in speckle interferometry

Errors in measurement of the object illumination angle affect fringe interpretation accuracies in speckle interferometry. To measure the object illumination angle we propose a method based on the moiré effect. The technique is easy to implement and was found to yield fast and accurate measurements.     

White-light reconstruction setup for shearograms using optical-fiber waveguides

A white-light reconstruction setup for shearograms using optical-fiber waveguides is presented. The setup is compact, is not susceptible to dust and scratches, and enables the two-dimensional fringe pattern on shearograms to be viewed directly under uniform and enhanced illumination with minimal image distortion.     

Anatomically constrained electrical impedance tomography for anisotropic bodies via a two-step approach

Discusses the inclusion of anatomical constraints and anisotropy in static Electrical Impedance Tomography (EIT) using a two-step approach to EIT. In the first step, the boundaries between regions of different conductivities are anatomically constrained using Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) data. In the second step, the conductivity values in different regions are determined. Anisotropic conductivity regions are included to allow better modeling of the muscle regions (e.g., skeletal muscle) which exhibit a greater conductivity in the direction parallel to the muscle fiber. This two-step approach is used to reconstruct the conductivity profile of a canine torso, illustrating its potential application in extracting conductivity values for bioelectric modeling.     

A Single Sampling Plan Based on Exponentially Weighted Moving Average Model for Linear Profiles

The exponentially weighted moving average (EWMA) model has been successfully used in acceptance sampling plans. The EWMA model provides the quality information of the current lot and the preceding lots. In addition, a multiple dependent state (MDS) sampling plan considers the quality information of the preceding lots. In this study, we present two new sampling plans for linear profiles. One is based on EWMA model with yield index using the single sampling plan, and the other is based on EWMA model with yield index using the MDS sampling plans. The plan parameters are determined by a nonlinear optimization approach. As the smoothing parameter value equals to one, the first proposed plan becomes the traditional single sampling plan. In addition, we compare the proposed plans with the traditional single sampling plan. The results indicate that the MDS sampling plan based on EWMA model with yield index with smaller value of smoothing parameter performs better than the traditional single sampling plan and the single sampling plan based on EWMA model with yield index in terms of the sample size required. One real example is used to illustrate the proposed plan. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Multiple Comparisons with the Best for Process Selection for Linear Profiles with One‐sided Specifications

In this study, we propose the multiple comparisons with the best method based on the yield index to compare the process yields of K (K ≥ 2) suppliers for linear profiles with one‐sided specifications. The performance analysis of the proposed method is conducted. The numbers of profiles required for different power levels are also provided. A simulated data set from a leather dyeing process is presented to illustrate the applicability of the proposed method. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Multiple circular-harmonic-function correlation filter providing specified response to in-plane rotation

The circular-harmonic-function correlation filter originally proposed by Hsu and Arsenault [Appl. Opt. 21, 4016 (1982)] for in-plane rotation invariance uses only one harmonic, which results in poor discrimination capability of the filter. Various methods to use multiple harmonics were explored previously by different researchers. We present a new method to combine multiple circular harmonics into a single filter that can provide the desired correlation response to in-plane rotation while minimizing the correlation-plane energy. Since multiple harmonics are included, the filter can discriminate well, and since correlation-plane energy is minimized, correlation peaks tend to be sharp. Since the designer can specify the desired in-plane rotation response, a variety of filter behaviors (including complete invariance to input rotations) can be obtained. Underlying theory is discussed, and simulation results are presented.     

Online scheduling on two parallel-batching machines with limited restarts to minimize the makespan

We study online scheduling on two unbounded parallel-batching machines with limited restarts to minimize the makespan. In this system jobs arrive over time and a batch can be restarted if and only if all the jobs in it have never been restarted. To tackle this difficult problem, we make the second-restart assumption whereby we can only interrupt a running batch B at time t if both machines are busy at time t and batch B has a later starting time than the other running batch. For this case, we provide a best online algorithm with a competitive ratio . For the general problem, we show that no online algorithms can have a competitive ratio less than 1.298, leaving a gap from 1.298 to 1.366.     

Recognition of handwritten Chinese characters by critical region analysis

The problem of recognizing offline handwritten Chinese characters has been investigated extensively. One difficulty is due to the existence of characters with very similar shapes. In this paper, we propose a “critical region analysis” technique which highlights the critical regions that distinguish one character from another similar character. The critical regions are identified automatically based on the output of the Fisher's discriminant. Additional features are extracted from these regions and contribute to the recognition process. By incorporating this technique into the character recognition system, a record high recognition rate of 99.53% on the ETL-9B database is obtained.     

Scheduling jobs with equal processing times subject to machine eligibility constraints

We consider the problem of nonpreemptively scheduling a set of n jobs with equal processing times on m parallel machines so as to minimize the makespan. Each job has a prespecified set of machines on which it can be processed, called its eligible set. We consider the most general case of machine eligibility constraints as well as special cases of nested and inclusive eligible sets. Both online and offline models are considered. For offline problems we develop optimal algorithms that run in polynomial time, while for online problems we focus on the development of optimal algorithms of a new and more elaborate structure as well as approximation algorithms with good competitive ratios.