Reconstruction of Conductivity Changes Using an Advanced Compensation Method in Electrical Impedance Tomography

Element displacement and contact impedance changes are compensated in the reconstruction approach. Images have been reconstructed using the proposed method with the data from numerical simulation, saline phantom and in vivo human measurement

Thermo-coupled Temperature Sensors By Seven-core MCF Structures

In this paper, we present an enhanced sensitivity of temperature sensors based on thermo-coupled Multicore Fiber (MCF) structures. The sensors are all fabricated using a controlled arc power of a splicing device. Two different principles of a Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) and Michelson interferometer (MI) have been observed experimentally. The MZI and MI structures exhibit temperature sensitivity as 136.67 pm/°C and 70.61 pm/°C, respectively, and found insensitive to the refractive index (RI). Also, its RI response can readily resolve the issues of cross-sensitivity

3-D Electrical Impedance Tomography Reconstruction Using ℓ1 Norms Regularization

An ℓ1 norm reconstruction algorithm which has the merits of reducing the sensitivity to data outliers and avoiding edge blurring is applied in this paper to solve a 3- D EIT problem. The iterative imaging method allows flexible choice of norms by simply choosing different norm value. A cluster analysis is implemented for labelling targets using the morphology technique

Gynostemma pentaphyllum for dyslipidemia: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials

Objective: To evaluate the lipid-lowering effect and safety of Gynostemma pentaphyllum (GP) used alone or as adjunctive therapy for dyslipidemia. Methods: Eight databases and three clinical trial registries were searched until January 2022. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) assessing the effectiveness of GP for dyslipidemia were included. Trial quality was assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool 2.0. Data were analyzed by RevMan 5.4 with effects estimated as risk ratio (RR) or mean difference (MD) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). Results: Twenty-two RCTs involving 2,407 dyslipidemia participants were included. Regarding the risk of bias, 14 RCTs had some concerns, seven RCTs were high, and one trial was low. GP was comparable to n-3 fatty acids (RR 0.89, 95% CI 0.62–1.28) and red yeast rice (RR 0.33, 95% CI 0.1–1.12) on normalization of serum lipids. GP plus n-3 fatty acid was superior in normalization of triglycerides (TG) and total cholesterol (TC) than n-3 fatty acids (RR 1.34, 95% CI 1.01–1.77). GP was similar to lipid-lowering agents (statins, fibrates, and n-3 fatty acids) in regulating TG, TC, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C). GP plus lipid-lowering agents were superior to lipid-lowering agents in TG (MD −0.65 mmol/L, 95% CI −1.03 to −0.28), LDL-C (MD −0.57 mmol/L, 95% CI −1.07 to −0.08), and HDL-C (MD 0.15 mmol/L, 95% CI 0.11–0.20). GP was inferior to red yeast rice in TC (MD 0.64 mmol/L, 95% CI 0.15–1.13), TG (MD 0.43 mmol/L, 95% CI 0.15–0.71), and HDL-C (MD −0.25 mmol/L, 95% CI −0.47 to −0.04). GP had fewer adverse events than lipid-lowering drugs. Conclusion: Very low certainty evidence showed that GP’s effects on TC, TG, and HDL-C were comparable to that of lipid-lowering agents. Low certainty evidence showed that red yeast rice was superior to GP in TC, TG, and HDL-C. Low to moderate certainty evidence showed that the effects of GP plus lipid-lowering agents were superior to that of lipid-lowering agents on TG, LDL-C, and HDL-C. GP use for more than 8 weeks appears safe

A Design Of Taper-Like Etched Multicore Fiber Refractive Index-Insensitive A Temperature Highly Sensitive Mach-Zehnder Interferometer

We propose and demonstrate Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI), which is the refractive index (RI) insensitive and temperature highly sensitive based on etched multi-core fiber (MCF) structure. The MCF and Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG) are used as hybrid sensing elements. The fabrication of the interferometer is provided a new taper-like structure by etching the MCF to further expose the side cores to the surroundings. The interferometer has produced a sensitivity of 103.2pm/°C within the ambient temperature up-to 70°C. Moreover, the superior temperature sensitivity is 89.19pm/°C, 66.64pm/°C, 56.42pm/°C in the range of 24°C to 130°C, and RI-insensitive in the range of 1.34 to 1.38, for different waists of etched seven-core fiber interferometers (E7CFIs) \sim ~84.70\mu \text{m} , 93.10\mu \text{m} , 108.67\mu \text{m} , respectively. Compared with the conventional FBGs, the sensitivity of the interferometer is significantly improved by 8 times. E7CFI\u27s novel and advantageous features can easily be distinguished other devices. Besides, the proposed sensing architecture is compact, easy to fabricate, highly sensitive, easy to reproduce, and makes it an inexpensive fiber optic device

A new method of lower extremity immobilization in radiotherapy

We developed a new method for immobilization of the fix lower extremities by using a thermoplastic mask, a carbon fiber base plate, a customized headrest, and an adjustable angle holder. The lower extremities of 11 patients with lower extremity tumors were immobilized by this method. CT simulation was performed for each patient. For all 11 patients, the device fit was suitable and comfortable and had good reproducibility, which was proven in daily radiotherapy

Cancer Identification during Breast Surgery Using Electrical Impedance Spectroscopy Analysis

In this paper, electrical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) analysis was employed to evaluate the dielectric property of breast tissues. The complex impedance was recorded by a bio-impedance meter in the frequency range of 3 kHz to 1000 kHz. Non-linear Least squares regression was implemented to fit the measured data into Cole-Cole model. It was observed that significant differences existed between breast cancer and benign tissues