Low-Dose CT Image Denoising using Image Decomposition and Sparse Representation

X-ray computed tomography (CT) is now a widely used imaging modality for numerous medical purposes. The risk of high X-ray radiation may induce genetic, cancerous and other diseases, demanding the development of new image processing methods that are able to enhance the quality of low-dose CT images. However, lowering the radiation dose increases the noise in acquired images and hence affects important diagnostic information. This paper contributes an efficient denoising method for low-dose CT images. A noisy image is decomposed into three component images of low, medium and high frequency bands; noise is mainly presented in the medium and high component images. Then, by exploiting the fact that a small image patch of the noisy image can be approximated by a linear combination of several elements in a given dictionary of noise-free image patches generated from noise-free images taken at nearly the same position with the noisy image, noise in these medium and high component images are effectively eliminated.Specifically, we give new solutions for image decomposition to easily control the filter parameters, for dictionary construction to improve the effectiveness and reduce the running-time. Instead of using a large dataset of patches, only a structured small part of patches extracted from the raw data is used to form a dictionary, to be used in sparse coding. In addition, we illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed method in preserving image details which are subtle but clinically important. Experimental results conducted on both synthetic and real noise data demonstrate that the proposed method is competitive with the state-of-the-art methods

Impacts of Microfinance Activities on Social Capital Development Regarding the Relationships between Members of Village Savings and Loans Associations

The study indicated impact of microfinance activities with Village Savings and Loans Associations (VSLAs) to community’s social capital development. Based on the responds of 356 members have been participating in the VSLAs (questionnaire and in-depth interviews), there has been a progression in social capital regarding members’ relationships proving the changes in members and their social relationship as well as the trust among them after joining the VSLAs. One of the unique and significant findings was the different ways and levels of trust among the members. The important of this finding is it emphasized how the social impact can effectively benefit the subjects of social welfare policies. The study also proposed solutions to promote the activities of VSLAs and develop social toward sustainable community developmen

Factors affecting intention to purchase organic agriculture products among Vietnamese

Globally, customer intention to purchase has become the essential part of the product and organization's success in the market. More recently, the idea has captured the attention of academic and policymakers alike. Therefore, the current article analyses product quality features such as agreeableness, emotional stability conscientiousness, openness to experience and extroversion on the intention to purchase organic agricultural products in the context of Vietnam. The study also analyses the mediating role of customer satisfaction between the association of product quality features and intention to purchase organic products in Vietnam. The present study uses questionnaires to collect data pertaining to the health sector of Vietnam. The current study employs the smart-PLS to analyze the constructs and items' reliability as well as the association among constructs. The results show that product quality features except extroversion have a positive and significant association with intention to purchase organic products in Vietnam. The results also reveal that customer satisfaction significantly and positively mediates among the associations of product quality features and intention to purchase organic products in Vietnam. This study is suitable for policymakers while formulating policies that may directly or indirectly affect customers' intention to purchase organic agricultural products.Luong Thu Thuy (Faculty of Economics, Academy of Finance, Vietnam), Tran Thi Phuong Diu (Faculty of Economics, Academy of Finance, Vietnam), Nguyen Dinh Hoan (Faculty of Economics, Academy of Finance, Vietnam), Vu Viet Ninh (Faculty of Economics, Academy of Finance, Vietnam), Nguyen Thi Thuy Nga (Faculty of Economics, Academy of Finance, Vietnam)Includes bibliographical reference

Kinematic and dynamic modelling for a class of hybrid robots composed of m local closed-loop linkages appended to an n-link serial manipulator

Recently, more and more hybrid robots have been designed to meet the increasing demand for a wide spectrum of applications. However, development of a general and systematic method for kinematic design and dynamic analysis for hybrid robots is rare. Most publications deal with the kinematic and dynamic issues for individual hybrid robots rather than any generalization. Hence, in this paper, we present a novel method for kinematic and dynamic modelling for a class of hybrid robots. First, a generic scheme for the kinematic design of a general hybrid robot mechanism is proposed. In this manner, the kinematic equation and the constraint equations for the robot class are derived in a generalized case. Second, in order to simplify the dynamic modelling and analysis of the complex hybrid robots, a Lemma about the analytical relationship among the generalized velocities of a hybrid robot system is proven in a generalized case as well. Last, examples of the kinematic and dynamic modelling of a newly designed hybrid robot are presented to demonstrate and validate the proposed method

SOME METEO - HYDRO - DYNAMICAL FEATURES IN MEKONG RIVER MOUTH AREA

This paper provides some meteo-hydro-dynamical features in Mekong River Mouth area which were based on statistical results from longtime measurement data such as wind, wave, sea water level, and river discharge. Study results show that distribution features of wind and wave characteristics are corresponding to seasonal variation. Predominant wind and wave directions during NE Monsoon period is NE, and in W, SW directions during SW Monsoon period. NE Monsoon period is from November to April (strongest in December and January), SW Monsoon period is from June to September (strongest in August). During NE Monsoon period the wind velocity and wave height were higher than that of SW Monsoon period. Variation of SWL at Vungtau Station shows that the tide is semi-diurnal with maximum value occurred during NE monsoon period (highest in November), and minimum value occurred during SW Monsoon period (lowest in June). Variation of river discharge is similarly at two stations (Mythuan and Cantho). During flood season (from July to December) average monthly discharge was ranged from 4,000 to 15,800 m3/s. During dry season (from January to May) average monthly discharge at both stations was less than 4,000 m3/s. Statistical data show that Mekong River Mouth area is a region of strong and complicated hydro-dynamical interaction processes between river and sea. Key words: Monsoon, North-East (NE), South-West (SW), Sea Water Level (SWL), River discharge, Mekong River

Tannins: Extraction from Plants

The chapter presents mainly on different extraction methods of tannin. Some technical means required for effective extraction are also presented, for example, collection and treatment of plant and drying and storage of plant. Opportunity and challenges in application of extraction methods are also exhibited in the chapter

ĐẶC ĐIỂM DÒNG CHẢY VEN BỜ BẮC TRUNG BỘ (HÀ TĨNH - THỪA THIÊN-HUẾ) THỜI KỲ 4/2016

This paper presents the modeled results of general current pattern (daily average value) in Northern Central Vietnam Coast (Ha Tinh - Thua Thien-Hue) during April 2016. Study results show that in general, current flowed from the North to the South with small and instable velocity (V ≈ 0.1 - 0.2 m/s). From 2nd to 6th April current flowed from the South to the North. From 7th to 29th April current flowed from the North to the South. During 13rd to 16th April current velocity was weak (V ≤ 0.1 m/s). In the southern region of Thua Thien-Hue province, the direction of current was instable (from 6th to 9th and from 20th to 22nd April current flowed from the South to the North). Current distribution pattern from modeled results was in accordance with the propagation characteristics of surface water temperatures in the studied area through data analysis of satellite images.Bài báo trình bày kết quả tính toán trường dòng chảy tổng hợp trung bình ngày cho khu vực ven bờ Bắc Trung Bộ (Hà Tĩnh - Thừa Thiên-Huế) thời kỳ 4/2016. Kết quả nghiên cứu cho thấy trong thời gian nghiên cứu nhìn chung dòng chảy tổng hợp trung bình ngày có hướng từ bắc xuống nam, tốc độ tương đối nhỏ V ≈ 0,1 - 0,2 m/s và không ổn định. Từ 2-6/4/2016 dòng chảy tổng hợp trung bình ngày ven bờ có hướng từ nam lên bắc. Từ 7-29/4/2016 dòng chảy ven bờ có hướng từ bắc xuống nam. Các ngày 13-16/4/2016 dòng chảy tổng hợp trung bình ngày có tốc độ nhỏ (V ≤ 0,1 m/s). Khu vực phía nam Thừa Thiên-Huế dòng chảy tổng hợp trung bình ngày có hướng bị biến động mạnh nhất (các ngày 6-9/4 và 20-22/4 hướng dòng từ nam lên bắc). Đặc điểm phân bố dòng chảy tính toán tương đối phù hợp với đặc điểm lan truyền nhiệt độ nước tầng mặt tại khu vực nghiên cứu qua số liệu phân tích ảnh vệ tinh

Red light emission of Mn doped beta-tricalcium phosphate -Ca3(PO4)2

This paper is the first report on the red light emission of manganese (Mn) doped beta-tricalcium phosphate (b-Ca3(PO4)2, TCP) synthesis by co-precipitation method followed by thermal annealing. The annealed Mn doped TCP phosphor showed dominant spheres with a diameter of about 500 nm. The influences of the Mn concentration, annealing temperature, and atmospheres on the photoluminescence intensities of the phosphors were investigated and the results indicate that the annealing temperatures and Mn concentrations are the main factors. The phosphor showed visible emission peaks appeared at about 660 nm and 580 nm results in from the 4T1-6A1 transitions within Mn2+ ion. The Mn-TCP phosphor may serve as a candidate for light-emitting diode application in agriculture lighting. Keywords. Hydroxyapatite; manganese; luminescence; tricalcium phosphate

Functional-Antioxidant Food

Nowadays, people face many different dangers, such as stress, unsafety food, and environmental pollution, but not everyone suffers. Meanwhile, free radicals are the biggest threat for humans because they lead to over 80 different diseases composed of aging. Free radicals can only be eliminated or minimized with antioxidant foods or antioxidants. The chapter on the functional-antioxidant food presents the antioxidant functional food concept, the classification, the structure, and the extraction process of antioxidant ingredients. Various antioxidant substances such as protein (collagen), polysaccharides (fucoidans, alginates, glucosamines, inulins, laminarins, ulvans, and pectins), and secondary metabolites (polyphenols (phlorotannins, lignins, polyphenols), alkaloids, and flavonoids) also present. The production technology, the mechanism, the opportunity, and the challenge of antioxidants functional food also present in the current chapter. The current chapter also gives the production process of functional-antioxidant food composed of the capsule, the tablet, tube, the pills, the powder, and the effervescent tablet

An Update on Anti-CD137 Antibodies in Immunotherapies for Cancer

The selective expression of CD137 on cells of the immune system (e.g., T and DC cells) and oncogenic cells in several types of cancer leads this molecule to be an attractive target to discover cancer immunotherapy. Therefore, specific antibodies against CD137 are being studied and developed aiming to activate and enhance anti-cancer immune responses as well as suppress oncogenic cells. Accumulating evidence suggests that anti-CD137 antibodies can be used separately to prevent tumor in some cases, while in other cases, these antibodies need to be co-administered with other antibodies or drugs/vaccines/regents for a better performance. Thus, in this work, we aim to update and discuss current knowledge about anti-cancer effects of anti-CD137 antibodies as mono- and combined-immunotherapies