Energy Consumption Minimization for Autonomous Mobile Robot: A Convex Approximation Approach

In this paper, we consider a trajectory design problem of an autonomous mobile robot working in industrial environments. In particular, we formulate an optimization problem that jointly determines the trajectory of the robot and the time step duration to minimize the energy consumption without obstacle collisions. We consider both static and moving obstacles scenarios. The optimization problems are nonconvex, and the main contribution of this work proposing successive convex approximation (SCA) algorithms to solve the nonconvex problems with the presence of both static and moving obstacles. In particular, we first consider the optimization problem in the scenario with static obstacles and then consider the optimization problem in the scenario with static and moving obstacles. Then, we propose two SCA algorithms to solve the nonconvex optimization problems in both the scenarios. Simulation results clearly show that the proposed algorithms outperform the A* algorithm, in terms of energy consumption. This shows the effectiveness of the proposed algorithms

Contrast-Enhanced CT Texture Analysis in Colon Cancer: Correlation with Genetic Markers

Background: The purpose of the study was to determine whether contrast-enhanced CT texture features relate to, and can predict, the presence of specific genetic mutations involved in CRC carcinogenesis. Materials and methods: This retrospective study analyzed the pre-operative CT in the venous phase of patients with CRC, who underwent testing for mutations in the KRAS, NRAS, BRAF, and MSI genes. Using a specific software based on CT images of each patient, for each slice including the tumor a region of interest was manually drawn along the margin, obtaining the volume of interest. A total of 56 texture parameters were extracted that were compared between the wild-type gene group and the mutated gene group. A p-value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The study included 47 patients with stage III-IV CRC. Statistically significant differences between the MSS group and the MSI group were found in four parameters: GLRLM RLNU (area under the curve (AUC) 0.72, sensitivity (SE) 77.8%, specificity (SP) 65.8%), GLZLM SZHGE (AUC 0.79, SE 88.9%, SP 65.8%), GLZLM GLNU (AUC 0.74, SE 88.9%, SP 60.5%), and GLZLM ZLNU (AUC 0.77, SE 88.9%, SP 65.8%). Conclusions: The findings support the potential role of the CT texture analysis in detecting MSI in CRC based on pre-treatment CT scans