Adaptive image enhancement based on clustering of wavelet coefficients for infrared sea surveillance systems

Most of the techniques developed for infrared (IR) image enhancement (IE) depend heavily on the scene, environmental conditions, and the properties of the imaging system. So, with a set of predefined scenario properties, a content-based IR-IE technique can be developed for better situational awareness. This study proposes an adaptive IR-IE technique based on clustering of wavelet coefficients of an image for sea surveillance systems. Discrete wavelet transform (DWT) of an image is computed and feature vectors are constructed from subband images. Clustering operation is applied to group similar feature vectors that belong to different scene components such as target or background. Depending on the feature vectors, a weight is assigned to each cluster and these weights are used to compute gain matrices which are used to multiply wavelet coefficients for the enhancement of the original image. Enhancement results are presented and a comparison of the performance of the proposed algorithm is given through subjective tests with other well known frequency and histogram based enhancement techniques. The proposed algorithm outperforms previous ones in the truthfulness, detail visibility of the target, artificiality, and total quality criteria, while providing an acceptable computational load.     

Fluorescence properties of novel 6-butyl-2,3-dicyano-7-methyl-6H-1,4-diazepine styryl dyes containing ethyleneglycol units

The fluorescence properties of novel 6-butyl-2,3-dicyano-7-methyl-6H-1,4-diazepine styryl dyes having mono-, di-, tri-, and tetra(ethyleneglycol) units were examined. The mono(ethylenglycol) derivative was solid at room temperature, whereas the di-, tri-, and tetra(ethylenglycol) derivatives were oily. The monoethyleneglycol derivative showed weak aggregation-induced emission enhancement with fluorescence maximum at 649 nm, which comes from J-aggregates. The fluorescence of oily di-, tri-, and tetra(ethyleneglycol) derivatives in neat form was very weak. No aggregation-induced emission enhancement was observed for the oily derivatives.     

Principal component analysis of the main factors of line intensity enhancements observed in oscillating direct current plasma

Enhancement of emission line intensities by induced oscillations of direct current (DC) arc plasma with continuous aerosol sample supply was investigated using multivariate statistics. Principal component analysis (PCA) was employed to evaluate enhancements of 34 atomic spectral lines belonging to 33 elements and 35 ionic spectral lines belonging to 23 elements. Correlation and classification of the elements were done not only by a single property such as the first ionization energy, but also by considering other relevant parameters. Special attention was paid to the influence of the oxide bond strength in an attempt to clarify/predict the enhancement effect. Energies of vaporization, atomization, and excitation were also considered in the analysis. In the case of atomic lines, the best correlation between the enhancements and first ionization energies was obtained as a negative correlation, with weak consistency in grouping of elements in score plots. Conversely, in the case of ionic lines, the best correlation of the enhancements with the sum of the first ionization energies and oxide bond energies was obtained as a positive correlation, with four distinctive groups of elements. The role of the gas-phase atom-oxide bond energy in the entire enhancement effect is underlined.     

Comments on the effect of liquid layering on the thermal conductivity of nanofluids

This article provides critical examinations of two mathematical models that have been developed in recent years to describe the impact of nano-layering on the enhancement of the effective thermal conductivity of nanofluids. Discrepancy between the two models is found to be an artefact of an incorrect derivation used in one of the models. With correct formulation, both models predict effective thermal conductivity enhancements that are not significantly greater than those predicted by classical Maxwell theory. This study indicates that nano-layering by itself is unable to account for the effective thermal conductivity enhancements observed in nanofluids.     

Local field enhancement of pair arrays of silver nanospheres

Local field surface plasmon excitation of pair arrays of silver nanospheres was studied using three-dimensional finite-difference time-domain method. The near-field enhancement was associated with the radius of nanosphere and the incident wavelength, the highest of which always appeared in the penultimate gaps, regardless of the number of the pairs. The surface plasmon resonance could be controlled and tuned by radius of nanosphere and incident wavelength.     

Sensitivity enhancement and matrix effect evaluation during summation of multiple transition pairs—case studies of clopidogrel and ramiprilat

Sensitivity enhancement via summation of multiple MRM transition pairs is gaining popularity in tandem mass spectrometric assays. Numerous validation experiments describing the assays for two model substrates, clopidogrel and ramiprilat, were performed. The quantitation of clopidogrel was achieved by the summation of transition pairs m/z 322.2 to m/z 212.0 and m/z 322.2 to m/z 184.0, while that of ramiprilat was achieved by the summation of transition pairs m/z 389.2 to m/z 206.1 and m/z 389.2 to m/z156.1. The use of summation approach achieved sensitivities of >2 fold for both compounds as compared with the reported single MRM transition pair assays. The validation experiments addressed some important assay development issues, such as: (a) lack of impact of matrix effect; (b) unequivocal verification of the percentage contribution of each MRM transition pair towards sensitivity; (c) sensitivity enhancement factor achieved by summation approach of MRM transition pairs; and (d) accurate prediction of quality control samples using summation approach vs a single MRM transition pair. In summary, the appropriateness of using two MRM transition pairs for quantitation was demonstrated for both clopidogrel and ramiprilat. Additionally, pharmacokinetic application of the MRM transition pair assays using a summation approach was established for the two compounds. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Enhanced nonlinearity in photonic crystal fiber by germanium doping in the core region

Germanium doping in silica can be used as a method for nonlinearity enhancement.Properties of the enhanced nonlinearity in photonic crystal fiber(PCF)with a GeO2-doped core are investigated theoretically by using all-vector finite element method.Numerical result shows that the nonlinear coefficient of PCF is greatly enhanced with increasing doping concentration,furthermore,optimal radius of the doped region should be considered for the desired operating wavelength.     

Sensitivity enhancement in structural measurements by solid state NMR through pulsed spin locking

Free induction decay (FID) signals in solid state NMR measurements performed with magic angle spinning can often be extended in time by factors on the order of 10 by a simple pulsed spin locking technique. The sensitivity of a structural measurement in which the structural information is contained in the dependence of the integrated FID amplitude on a preceding evolution period can therefore be enhanced substantially by pulsed spin locking in the signal detection period. We demonstrate sensitivity enhancements in a variety of solid state NMR techniques that are applicable to selectively isotopically labeled samples, including 13C-15N rotational echo double resonance (REDOR), 13C-13C dipolar recoupling measurements using the constant-time finite-pulse radio-frequency-driven recoupling (fpRFDR-CT) and constant-time double-quantum-filtered dipolar recoupling (CTDQFD) techniques, and torsion angle measurements using the double quantum chemical shift anisotropy (DQCSA) technique. Further, we demonstrate that the structural information in the solid state NMR data is not distorted by pulsed spin locking in the detection period.     

193nm光刻曝光系统的现状及发展

投影曝光工艺是集成电路制造过程中的关键环节，曝光系统的工艺水平已成为衡量微电子制造技术的重要标志。重点介绍了目前193nm光刻设备曝光系统的发展现状和趋势，以及为提高曝光质量所采用的相关分辨率增强技术；通过分析曝光系统的构成和其中的关键技术，探讨了国内研制相关曝光设备所面临的挑战。