Image reconstruction using iterative transpose algorithm for optical tomography

This paper describes a transpose algorithm for use with an optical tomography system. The measurement system consisted of two orthogonal arrays, each having ten parallel views, resulting in a total of twenty sensors. The measurement section is divided into hundred equi-sized pixels. The forward problem is modelled by allocating an optical attenuation coefficient to each pixel. The attenuation of incident collimated light beams is then modelled using the Lambert-Beer law. The inverse problem is defined and the transpose of the sensitivity matrix is used to obtain an estimate of the attenuation coefficients in each pixel. The iterative method is investigated as a means of improving reconstructed image qualit

A Muslim Seletar family in Malaysia: Negotiating a liminal religious and ethnic identity

This article is drawn from ethnographic research undertaken in Johor state in Malaysia, referring also to related historical, theoretical and anthropological literature. I make some key observations about the modern practices and identity of a group of Muslims in Malaysia who can be seen to form a particular subset of their Seletar ethnic group. This is discussed in the context of the ongoing debate and contestation of Muslim / Malay and bumiputera identity and status. The article examines how these Muslim Orang Asli appear to negotiate their Muslim identity in relation to their Seletar identity and how they still subscribe to being Seletar in terms of language and specific aspects of culture which remain important to them. The research draws conclusions about how their agency in their chosen hybridity of cultural practice and religion provides a kind of emblematic model highlighting the potential multiplicity in Malaysian bumiputera indigineity (or Malayness)

An isoparametric approach to high-order curvilinear boundary-layer meshing

This is the final version of the article. Available from Elsevier via the DOI in this record.The generation of high-order curvilinear meshes for complex three-dimensional geometries is presently a challenging topic, particularly for meshes used in simulations at high Reynolds numbers where a thin boundary layer exists near walls and elements are highly stretched in the direction normal to flow. In this paper, we present a conceptually simple but very effective and modular method to address this issue. We propose an isoparametric approach, whereby a mesh containing a valid coarse discretization comprising of high-order triangular prisms near walls is refined to obtain a finer prismatic or tetrahedral boundary-layer mesh. The validity of the prismatic mesh provides a suitable mapping that allows one to obtain very fine mesh resolutions across the thickness of the boundary layer. We describe the method in detail for a high-order approximation using modal basis functions, discuss the requirements for the splitting method to produce valid prismatic and tetrahedral meshes and provide a sufficient criterion of validity in both cases. By considering two complex aeronautical configurations, we demonstrate how highly stretched meshes with sufficient resolution within the laminar sublayer can be generated to enable the simulation of flows with Reynolds numbers of 106 and above.This work was partly supported by EU Grant No. 265780 as part of the EU FP7 project “IDIHOM: Industrialization of High-Order Methods — A Top-Down Approach”. We would like to thank Dr. Tobias Leicht of DLR for asking a very pertinent question concerning the validity of the generated high-order mesh that we believe to have answered in this article. We also thank Jean-Eloi Lombard for his assistance in generating the mesh for Fig. 15

Motivational Interviewing for CPAP Adherence

Background: Continuous Positive Air Pressure (CPAP), is the gold standard for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) treatment. If left untreated, patients with OSA can experience serious and potentially life-threatening consequences. However, patient CPAP adherence is an ongoing problem, as compliance rates are historically low (typically 30-60%). Engaging patients in motivational interviewing (MI) by trained providers could promote increased CPAP adherence. Question/Purpose: Assess CPAP compliance in patients who receive motivational interviewing compared to a control attention intervention. Methods: A team of medical students were trained in MI interviewing techniques through a novel training protocol. The training protocol includes reading articles and watching training videos regarding MI, observing CPAP patient education visits, and a cumulative training assessment. MI delivered via 9 phone calls over 3 months will be used in a pilot study on ten patients newly prescribed CPAP for OSA. CPAP adherence rates will be measured compared to control. Results: Results are forthcoming for this study. However, the novel training protocol has been implemented successfully, with 11 medical students trained to provide MI to CPAP patients. We expect to see increased CPAP adherence rates in patients receiving MI compared to control. Discussion: Poor CPAP adherence can have severe and potentially life-threatening consequences on patient health. Adding MI to patient care could significantly improve long and short-term patient health outcomes for OSA patients. Another important benefit of the novel MI training protocol is that medical students participating in MI training can utilize the technique with future patients, potentially increasing compliance with recommended health interventions across multiple disease states

Process for the determination of thickness of polymeric microchannels for microfluidic applications

We have developed a technique of fabricating device channels for microfludics system by using high performance epoxy polymeric based dry film resists (DFRs). We will use the fabrication method originated in silicon microelectronics fabrication industry. This is because the interest in this industry has made the current microfluidic devices fabricated not only from silicon substrate but also to a range of polymers and glasses. Our observations are made on the effect of the thickness before and after curing and bonding mechanism of DFR on glass substrate. Therefore the thickness of the channels is recorded. The outcomes of the bonding procedure are captured. These channels are patterned and sandwiched in between two glass substrates. They can be used for handling continuous fluid flow and particle. In our advance, the channel was formed for dielectrophoretic (DEP) colloidal particle separation systems

Yeast Features: Identifying Significant Features Shared Among Yeast Proteins for Functional Genomics

Background
High throughput yeast functional genomics experiments are revealing associations among tens to hundreds of genes using numerous experimental conditions. To fully understand how the identified genes might be involved in the observed system, it is essential to consider the widest range of biological annotation possible. Biologists often start their search by collating the annotation provided for each protein within databases such as the Saccharomyces Genome Database, manually comparing them for similar features, and empirically assessing their significance. Such tasks can be automated, and more precise calculations of the significance can be determined using established probability measures. 
Results
We developed Yeast Features, an intuitive online tool to help establish the significance of finding a diverse set of shared features among a collection of yeast proteins. A total of 18,786 features from the Saccharomyces Genome Database are considered, including annotation based on the Gene Ontology’s molecular function, biological process and cellular compartment, as well as conserved domains, protein-protein and genetic interactions, complexes, metabolic pathways, phenotypes and publications. The significance of shared features is estimated using a hypergeometric probability, but novel options exist to improve the significance by adding background knowledge of the experimental system. For instance, increased statistical significance is achieved in gene deletion experiments because interactions with essential genes will never be observed. We further demonstrate the utility by suggesting the functional roles of the indirect targets of an aminoglycoside with a known mechanism of action, and also the targets of an herbal extract with a previously unknown mode of action. The identification of shared functional features may also be used to propose novel roles for proteins of unknown function, including a role in protein synthesis for YKL075C.
Conclusions
Yeast Features (YF) is an easy to use web-based application (http://software.dumontierlab.com/yeastfeatures/) which can identify and prioritize features that are shared among a set of yeast proteins. This approach is shown to be valuable in the analysis of complex data sets, in which the extracted associations revealed significant functional relationships among the gene products.
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Experimental free-space quantum key distribution over a turbulent high-loss channel

Free-space quantum cryptography plays an integral role in realizing a global-scale quantum internet system. Compared to fiber-based communication networks, free-space networks experience significantly less decoherence and photon loss due to the absence of birefringent effects in the atmosphere. However, the atmospheric turbulence contributes to deviation in transmittance distribution, which introduces noise and channel loss. Several methods have been proposed to overcome the low signal-to-noise ratio. Active research is currently focused on establishing secure and practical quantum communication in a high-loss channel, and enhancing the secure key rate by implementing bit rejection strategies when the channel transmittance drops below a certain threshold. By simulating the atmospheric turbulence using an acousto-optical-modulator (AOM) and implementing the prefixed-threshold real-time selection (P-RTS) method, our group performed finite-size decoy-state Bennett-Brassard 1984 (BB84) quantum key distribution (QKD) protocol for 19 dB channel loss. With better optical calibration and efficient superconducting nano-wire single photon detector (SNSPD), we have extended our previous work to 40 dB channel loss characterizing the transmittance distribution of our system under upper moderate turbulence conditions.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figure

Analysis of dielectrophoresis AC electrokinetic in equilibrium using MATLAB

This paper presents an ideal case for dielectrophoretic (DEP) occurrence to separate a mixture of two sizes of particles in microchannel analysed with DEP 3D equation using Matlab. The analysis was done on the particles mobility changes when the medium conductivity varied. The analysis was also done when the particles suspended in different mediums conductivity. The effect of dielectrophoresis on the velocity of the particle when the frequency increased has been successfully discovered