225 research outputs found
Exposure Fusion for Hand-held Camera Inputs with Optical Flow and PatchMatch
This paper proposes a hybrid synthesis method for multi-exposure image fusion
taken by hand-held cameras. Motions either due to the shaky camera or caused by
dynamic scenes should be compensated before any content fusion. Any
misalignment can easily cause blurring/ghosting artifacts in the fused result.
Our hybrid method can deal with such motions and maintain the exposure
information of each input effectively. In particular, the proposed method first
applies optical flow for a coarse registration, which performs well with
complex non-rigid motion but produces deformations at regions with missing
correspondences. The absence of correspondences is due to the occlusions of
scene parallax or the moving contents. To correct such error registration, we
segment images into superpixels and identify problematic alignments based on
each superpixel, which is further aligned by PatchMatch. The method combines
the efficiency of optical flow and the accuracy of PatchMatch. After PatchMatch
correction, we obtain a fully aligned image stack that facilitates a
high-quality fusion that is free from blurring/ghosting artifacts. We compare
our method with existing fusion algorithms on various challenging examples,
including the static/dynamic, the indoor/outdoor and the daytime/nighttime
scenes. Experiment results demonstrate the effectiveness and robustness of our
method
Glycerol/Glucose Co-Fermentation: One More Proficient Process to Produce Propionic Acid by Propionibacterium acidipropionici
Cosubstrates fermentation is such an effective strategy for increasing subject metabolic products that it could be available and studied in propionic acid production, using glycerol and glucose as carbon resources. The effects of glycerol, glucose, and their mixtures on the propionic acid production by Propionibacterium acidipropionici CGMCC1.2225 (ATCC4965) were studied, with the aim of improving the efficiency of propionic acid production. The propionic acid yield from substrate was improved from 0.475 and 0.303Ā gĀ gā1 with glycerol and glucose alone, respectively, to 0.572Ā gĀ gā1 with co-fermentation of a glycerol/glucose mixture of 4/1 (mol/mol). The maximal propionic acid and substrate conversion rate were 21.9Ā gĀ lā1 and 57.2% (w/w), respectively, both significantly higher than for a sole carbon source. Under optimized conditions of fed-batch fermentation, the maximal propionic acid yield and substrate conversion efficiency were 29.2Ā gĀ lā1 and 54.4% (w/w), respectively. These results showed that glycerol/glucose co-fermentation could serve as an excellent alternative to conventional propionic acid fermentation
Chinese herbal injections in combination with radiotherapy for advanced pancreatic cancer: A systematic review and network meta-analysis.
Advanced pancreatic cancer (APC) is a fatal disease with limited treatment options. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of different Chinese herbal injections (CHIs) as adjuvants for radiotherapy (RT) in APC and compare their treatment potentials using network meta-analysis. We systematically searched three English and four Chinese databases for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) from inception to July 25, 2023. The primary outcome was the objective response rate (ORR). Secondary outcomes included Karnofsky performance status (KPS) score, overall survival (OS), and adverse events (AEs). The treatment potentials of different CHIs were ranked using the surface under the cumulative ranking curve (SUCRA). The Cochrane RoB 2 tool and CINeMA were used for quality assessment and evidence grading. Eighteen RCTs involving 1199 patients were included. Five CHIs were evaluated. Compound Kushen injection (CKI) combined with RT significantly improved ORR compared to RT alone (RR 1.49, 95Ā % CrI 1.21-1.86). Kanglaite (KLT) plus RT (RR 1.58, 95Ā % CrI 1.20-2.16) and CKI plus RT (RR 1.49, 95Ā % CrI 1.16-1.95) were associated with improved KPS score compared to radiation monotherapy, with KLT+RT being the highest rank (SUCRA 72.28Ā %). Regarding AEs, CKI plus RT was the most favorable in reducing the incidence of leukopenia (SUCRA 90.37Ā %) and nausea/vomiting (SUCRA 85.79Ā %). CKI may be the optimal choice of CHIs to combine with RT for APC as it may improve clinical response, quality of life, and reduce AEs. High-quality trials are necessary to establish a robust body of evidence. PROSPERO, CRD42023396828. [Abstract copyright: Ā© 2023 Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine. Published by Elsevier B.V.
Knee Movement Characteristics of Basketball Players in Landing Tasks Before Onset of Patellar Tendinopathy: A Prospective Study
Background Patellar tendinopathy is one of the most common injuries for basketball players. Jumping and landing movement patterns are potential risk factors for patellar tendinopathy. Hypothesis Male college basketball players who developed patellar tendinopathy would demonstrate greater peak vertical ground reaction force and knee flexion angular velocity, and smaller knee flexion range of motion and knee flexion angles at initial contact compared to players who did not develop the injury when performing a stop-jump task within a year prior to the onset of the injury. Study Design Prospective study. Methods Freshmen college basketball male players (n = 181) were recruited for three consecutive years and followed to the end of the third year of the study. Three-dimensional kinematic and kinetic data during a stop-jump task were collected for all participants at the beginning of each school year. Peak vertical ground reaction force, knee flexion angle at initial foot contact with the ground, range of motion for knee flexion and maximal knee flexion angular velocity during the landing phases of the stop-jump task were collected and calculated. Development of patellar tendinopathy was monitored in follow-up. Independent t-tests and Cohen's d effect sizes (ES) were used to compare movement patterns between injury and no injury groups for each school year. Results A total of 60 knees developed patellar tendinopathy. The injury groups had a significantly greater peak vertical ground reaction force in freshmen and junior years (P = 0.020, ES = 0.13; P = 0.046, ES = 0.17), smaller knee flexion ROM in freshmen year (P = 0.002, ES = 0.10), and greater maximum knee flexion angular velocity in freshmen and junior year (P = 0.012, ES = 0.10; P = 0.001, ES = 0.35) during the horizontal landing phase before the takeoff of the jump compared to the no injury groups. The injury groups also had a significantly smaller knee flexion angle at initial contact during vertical landing phase after the takeoff of the jump in freshmen and junior years (P = 0.001, ES = 0.36; P = 0.001; ES = 0.37) during vertical landing phase. Conclusion Peak vertical ground reaction force, knee flexion angle at initial foot contact, knee flexion range of motion, and maximum knee flexion angular velocity are associated with patellar tendinopathy among male college basketball players in different school years
Immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome of Kaposiās sarcoma in an HIV-infected patient
We present a case of Kaposiās sarcoma-related immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome in an HIV-infected patient who developed fever, worsening pulmonary infiltrates with respiratory distress, and progression of skin tumors at the popliteal region and thigh that resulted in limitation on movement of the right knee joint at 3.5 months following a significant increase of CD4 count after combination antiretroviral therapy
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Transcutaneous Vagus Nerve Stimulation for the Treatment of Depression: A Study Protocol for a Double Blinded Randomized Clinical Trial
Background: Depressive disorders are the most common form of mental disorders in community and health care settings. Unfortunately, the treatment of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is far from satisfactory. Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) is a relatively new and promising physical treatment for depressive disorders. One particularly appealing element of VNS is the long-term benefit in mood regulation. However, because this intervention involves surgery, perioperative risks, and potentially significant side effects, this treatment has been limited to those patients with treatment-resistant depression who have failed medication trials and exhausted established somatic treatments for major depression, due to intolerance or lack of response. This double-blinded randomized clinical trial aims to overcome these limitations by introducing a novel method of stimulating superficial branches of the vagus nerve on the ear to treat MDD. The rationale is that direct stimulation of the afferent nerve fibers on the ear area with afferent vagus nerve distribution should produce a similar effect as classic VNS in reducing depressive symptoms without the burden of surgical intervention. Design: One hundred twenty cases (60 males) of volunteer patients with mild and moderate depression will be randomly divided into transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation group (tVNS) and sham tVNS group. The treatment period lasts 4 months and all clinical and physiological measurements are acquired at the beginning and the end of the treatment period. Discussion: This study has the potential to significantly extend the application of VNS treatment for MDD and other disorders (including epilepsy, bipolar disorder, and morbid obesity), resulting in direct benefit to the patients suffering from these highly prevalent disorders. In addition, the results of this double-blinded clinical trial will shed new light on our understanding of acupuncture point specificity, and development of methodologies in clinical trials of acupuncture treatment
TMRT observations of 26 pulsars at 8.6 GHz
Integrated pulse profiles at 8.6~GHz obtained with the Shanghai Tian Ma Radio
Telescope (TMRT) are presented for a sample of 26 pulsars. Mean flux densities
and pulse width parameters of these pulsars are estimated. For eleven pulsars
these are the first high-frequency observations and for a further four, our
observations have a better signal-to-noise ratio than previous observations.
For one (PSR J0742-2822) the 8.6~GHz profiles differs from previously observed
profiles. A comparison of 19 profiles with those at other frequencies shows
that in nine cases the separation between the outmost leading and trailing
components decreases with frequency, roughly in agreement with
radius-to-frequency mapping, whereas in the other ten the separation is nearly
constant. Different spectral indices of profile components lead to the
variation of integrated pulse profile shapes with frequency. In seven pulsars
with multi-component profiles, the spectral indices of the central components
are steeper than those of the outer components. For the 12 pulsars with
multi-component profiles in the high-frequency sample, we estimate the core
width using gaussian fitting and discuss the width-period relationship.Comment: 33 pages, 49 figures, 5 Tables; accepted by Ap
A superconducting nanowire photon number resolving four-quadrant detector-based Gigabit deep-space laser communication receiver prototype
Deep space explorations require transferring huge amounts of data quickly
from very distant targets. Laser communication is a promising technology that
can offer a data rate of magnitude faster than conventional microwave
communication due to the fundamentally narrow divergence of light. This study
demonstrated a photon-sensitive receiver prototype with over Gigabit data rate,
immunity to strong background photon noise, and simultaneous tracking ability.
The advantages are inherited from a joint-optimized superconducting nanowire
single-photon detector (SNSPD) array, designed into a four-quadrant structure
with each quadrant capable of resolving six photons. Installed in a free-space
coupled and low-vibration cryostat, the system detection efficiency reached
72.7%, the detector efficiency was 97.5%, and the total photon counting rate
was 1.6 Gcps. Additionally, communication performance was tested for pulse
position modulation (PPM) format. A series of signal processing methods were
introduced to maximize the performance of the forward error correction (FEC)
code. Consequently, the receiver exhibits a faster data rate and better
sensitivity by about twofold (1.76 photons/bit at 800 Mbps and 3.40 photons/bit
at 1.2 Gbps) compared to previously reported results (3.18 photon/bit at 622
Mbps for the Lunar Laser Communication Demonstration). Furthermore,
communications in strong background noise and with simultaneous tracking
ability were demonstrated aimed at the challenges of daylight operation and
accurate tracking of dim beacon light in deep space scenarios
The LAMOST Survey of Background Quasars in the Vicinity of the Andromeda and Triangulum Galaxies -- II. Results from the Commissioning Observations and the Pilot Surveys
We present new quasars discovered in the vicinity of the Andromeda and
Triangulum galaxies with the LAMOST during the 2010 and 2011 observational
seasons. Quasar candidates are selected based on the available SDSS, KPNO 4 m
telescope, XSTPS optical, and WISE near infrared photometric data. We present
509 new quasars discovered in a stripe of ~135 sq. deg from M31 to M33 along
the Giant Stellar Stream in the 2011 pilot survey datasets, and also 17 new
quasars discovered in an area of ~100 sq. deg that covers the central region
and the southeastern halo of M31 in the 2010 commissioning datasets. These 526
new quasars have i magnitudes ranging from 15.5 to 20.0, redshifts from 0.1 to
3.2. They represent a significant increase of the number of identified quasars
in the vicinity of M31 and M33. There are now 26, 62 and 139 known quasars in
this region of the sky with i magnitudes brighter than 17.0, 17.5 and 18.0
respectively, of which 5, 20 and 75 are newly-discovered. These bright quasars
provide an invaluable collection with which to probe the kinematics and
chemistry of the ISM/IGM in the Local Group of galaxies. A total of 93 quasars
are now known with locations within 2.5 deg of M31, of which 73 are newly
discovered. Tens of quasars are now known to be located behind the Giant
Stellar Stream, and hundreds behind the extended halo and its associated
substructures of M31. The much enlarged sample of known quasars in the vicinity
of M31 and M33 can potentially be utilized to construct a perfect astrometric
reference frame to measure the minute PMs of M31 and M33, along with the PMs of
substructures associated with the Local Group of galaxies. Those PMs are some
of the most fundamental properties of the Local Group.Comment: 26 pages, 6 figures, AJ accepte
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