499 research outputs found
Subharmonic solutions with prescribed minimal period for a class of second order impulsive systems
Based on variational methods and critical point theory, the existence of subharmonic solutions with prescribed minimal period for a class of second-order impulsive systems is derived by estimating the energy of the solution. And an example is presented to illustrate the result
Ocular fundus manifestation of two patients following long-term chloroquine therapy: a case report
This report describes the typical manifestations of chloroquine retinopathy with some advanced new technology. A series of examinations were performed on the patients, including the fundus fluorescein angiography, optical coherence tomography, GDxVCC Nerve Fiber Analyzer, full-field electroretinography, multifocal electroretinography and visual field examinations, to provide a better understanding of chloroquine retinopathy
Graph Neural Network for spatiotemporal data: methods and applications
In the era of big data, there has been a surge in the availability of data
containing rich spatial and temporal information, offering valuable insights
into dynamic systems and processes for applications such as weather
forecasting, natural disaster management, intelligent transport systems, and
precision agriculture. Graph neural networks (GNNs) have emerged as a powerful
tool for modeling and understanding data with dependencies to each other such
as spatial and temporal dependencies. There is a large amount of existing work
that focuses on addressing the complex spatial and temporal dependencies in
spatiotemporal data using GNNs. However, the strong interdisciplinary nature of
spatiotemporal data has created numerous GNNs variants specifically designed
for distinct application domains. Although the techniques are generally
applicable across various domains, cross-referencing these methods remains
essential yet challenging due to the absence of a comprehensive literature
review on GNNs for spatiotemporal data. This article aims to provide a
systematic and comprehensive overview of the technologies and applications of
GNNs in the spatiotemporal domain. First, the ways of constructing graphs from
spatiotemporal data are summarized to help domain experts understand how to
generate graphs from various types of spatiotemporal data. Then, a systematic
categorization and summary of existing spatiotemporal GNNs are presented to
enable domain experts to identify suitable techniques and to support model
developers in advancing their research. Moreover, a comprehensive overview of
significant applications in the spatiotemporal domain is offered to introduce a
broader range of applications to model developers and domain experts, assisting
them in exploring potential research topics and enhancing the impact of their
work. Finally, open challenges and future directions are discussed
Phase- and GVF-Based Level Set Segmentation of Ultrasonic Breast Tumors
Automatically extracting breast tumor boundaries in ultrasound images is a difficult task due to the speckle noise, the low image contrast, the variance in shapes, and the local changes of image intensity. In this paper, an improved edge-based active contour model in a variational level set formulation is proposed for semi-automatically capturing ultrasonic breast tumor boundaries. First, we apply the phase asymmetry approach to enhance the edges, and then we define a new edge stopping function, which can increase the robustness to the intensity inhomogeneities. To extend the capture range of the method and provide good convergence to boundary concavities, we use the phase information to obtain an improved edge map, which can be used to calculate the gradient vector flow (GVF). Combining the edge stopping term and the improved GVF in the level set framework, the proposed method can robustly cope with noise, and it can extract the low contrast and/or concave boundaries well. Experiments on breast ultrasound images show that the proposed method outperforms the state-of-art methods
Neurologic Abnormalities in Workers of a 1-Bromopropane Factory
We reported recently that 1-bromopropane (1-BP; n-propylbromide, CAS Registry no. 106-94-5), an alternative to ozone-depleting solvents, is neurotoxic and exhibits reproductive toxicity in rats. The four most recent case reports suggested possible neurotoxicity of 1-BP in workers. The aim of the present study was to establish the neurologic effects of 1-BP in workers and examine the relationship with exposure levels. We surveyed 27 female workers in a 1-BP production factory and compared 23 of them with 23 age-matched workers in a beer factory as controls. The workers were interviewed and examined by neurologic, electrophysiologic, hematologic, biochemical, neurobehavioral, and postural sway tests. 1-BP exposure levels were estimated with passive samplers. Tests with a tuning fork showed diminished vibration sensation of the foot in 15 workers exposed to 1-BP but in none of the controls. 1-BP factory workers showed significantly longer distal latency in the tibial nerve than did the controls but no significant changes in motor nerve conduction velocity. Workers also displayed lower values in sensory nerve conduction velocity in the sural nerve, backward recalled digits, Benton visual memory test scores, pursuit aiming test scores, and five items of the Profile of Mood States (POMS) test (tension, depression, anxiety, fatigue, and confusion) compared with controls matched for age and education. Workers hired after May 1999, who were exposed to 1-BP only (workers hired before 1999 could have also been exposed to 2-BP), showed similar changes in vibration sense, distal latency, Benton test scores, and depression and fatigue in the POMS test. Time-weighted average exposure levels in the workers were 0.34–49.19 ppm. Exposure to 1-BP could adversely affect peripheral nerves or/and the central nervous system
Study of Peeling of Single Crystal Silicon by Intense Pulsed Ion Beam
The surface peeling process induced by intense
pulsed ion beam (IPIB) irradiation was studied.
Single crystal silicon specimens were treated by
IPIB with accelerating voltage of 350 kV current
density of 130 A/cm2. It is observed that
under smaller numbers of IPIB shots, the surface
may undergo obvious melting and evaporation..
Study of Peeling of Single Crystal Silicon by Intense Pulsed Ion Beam
The surface peeling process induced by intense
pulsed ion beam (IPIB) irradiation was studied.
Single crystal silicon specimens were treated by
IPIB with accelerating voltage of 350 kV current
density of 130 A/cm2. It is observed that
under smaller numbers of IPIB shots, the surface
may undergo obvious melting and evaporation..
Study on Ablation Products of Zinc by Intense Pulsed Ion Beam Irradiation
As a kind of flash heat source, intense pulse ion
beam can be used for material surface modification.
The ablation effect has important influence
on interaction between IPIB and material. Therefore,
the understanding of ablation mechanism is
of great significance to IPIB application..
Molecular characterization of cathepsin B from Clonorchis sinensis excretory/secretory products and assessment of its potential for serodiagnosis of clonorchiasis
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Cathepsin cysteine proteases play multiple roles in the life cycle of parasites such as food uptake, immune invasion and pathogenesis, making them valuable targets for diagnostic assays, vaccines and drugs. The purpose of this study was to identify a cathepsin B of <it>Clonorchis sinensis </it>(<it>Cs</it>CB) and to investigate its diagnostic value for human helminthiases.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The predicted amino acid sequence of the cathepsin B of <it>C. sinensis </it>shared 63%, 52%, 50% identity with that of <it>Schistosoma japonicum</it>, <it>Homo sapiens </it>and <it>Fasciola hepatica</it>, respectively. Sequence encoding proenzyme of <it>Cs</it>CB was overexpressed in <it>Escherichia coli</it>. Reverse transcription PCR experiments revealed that <it>Cs</it>CB transcribed in both adult worm and metacercaria of <it>C. sinensis</it>. <it>Cs</it>CB was identified as a <it>C. sinensis </it>excretory/secretory product by immunoblot assay, which was consistent with immunohistochemical localization showing that <it>Cs</it>CB was especially expressed in the intestine of <it>C. sinensis </it>adults. Both ELISA and western blotting analysis showed recombinant <it>Cs</it>CB could react with human sera from clonorchiasis and other helminthiases.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our findings revealed that secreted CsCB may play an important role in the biology of C. sinensis and could be a diagnostic candidate for helminthiases.</p
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