646 research outputs found
GPU-based Iterative Cone Beam CT Reconstruction Using Tight Frame Regularization
X-ray imaging dose from serial cone-beam CT (CBCT) scans raises a clinical
concern in most image guided radiation therapy procedures. It is the goal of
this paper to develop a fast GPU-based algorithm to reconstruct high quality
CBCT images from undersampled and noisy projection data so as to lower the
imaging dose. For this purpose, we have developed an iterative tight frame (TF)
based CBCT reconstruction algorithm. A condition that a real CBCT image has a
sparse representation under a TF basis is imposed in the iteration process as
regularization to the solution. To speed up the computation, a multi-grid
method is employed. Our GPU implementation has achieved high computational
efficiency and a CBCT image of resolution 512\times512\times70 can be
reconstructed in ~5 min. We have tested our algorithm on a digital NCAT phantom
and a physical Catphan phantom. It is found that our TF-based algorithm is able
to reconstrct CBCT in the context of undersampling and low mAs levels. We have
also quantitatively analyzed the reconstructed CBCT image quality in terms of
modulation-transfer-function and contrast-to-noise ratio under various scanning
conditions. The results confirm the high CBCT image quality obtained from our
TF algorithm. Moreover, our algorithm has also been validated in a real
clinical context using a head-and-neck patient case. Comparisons of the
developed TF algorithm and the current state-of-the-art TV algorithm have also
been made in various cases studied in terms of reconstructed image quality and
computation efficiency.Comment: 24 pages, 8 figures, accepted by Phys. Med. Bio
Continuous twin screw rheo-extrusion of an AZ91D magnesium alloy
© The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society and ASM International 2012The twin screw rheo-extrusion (TSRE) is designed to take advantage of the nondendritc microstructure and thixotropic characterization of semisolid-metal slurries and produce simple metal profiles directly from melts. The extrusion equipment consists of a rotor-stator high shear slurry maker, a twin screw extruder, and a die assembly. The process is continuous and has a potential for significantly saving energy, manufacturing cost, and enhancing efficiency. The present investigation was carried out to study the process performance for processing rods of an AZ91D magnesium alloy and the microstructure evolution during processing. The semisolid slurry prepared by the process was characterized by uniformly distributed nondendritic granular primary phase particles. AZ91D rods with uniform and fine microstructures and moderate mechanical properties were produced. For the given slurry making parameters, decreasing extrusion temperature was found to improve microstructures and properties. The mechanisms of particle granulation and refinement and the effect of processing parameters on process performance and thermal management are discussed. © 2012 The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society and ASM International.EPSRC (UK) and Rautomead Lt
Resonant Interaction Between a Weak Gravitational Wave and a Microwave Beam in the Double Polarized States Through a Static Magnetic Field
We investigate the resonant interaction to the weak gravitational waves in a
coupling electromagnetic system, which consists of a Gaussian beam with the
double polarized transverse electric modes, a static magnetic field and the
fractal membranes. We find that under the syncroresonance condition a
high-frequency GW (HFGW) of h=10^-30,v_g=3GHz may produce the perturbative
photon flux (PPF) of 2.15*10/s in a surface of 0.01m^2. The PPF can be pumped
out from the background photon fluxes and one might obtain the amplified signal
photon flux of 2.15*10^4s^-1 by cascade fractal membranes. It appears to be
worthwhile to study this effect for the detection of the high-frequency relic
GWs in quintessential inflationary models and the HFGWs expected by possible
laboratory schemes.Comment: 10page
Tensile Deformation of Oriented Poly(ε-caprolactone) and Its Miscible Blends with Poly(vinyl methyl ether)
The structural evolution of micromolded poly(ε-caprolactone)
(PCL) and its miscible blends with noncrystallizable poly(vinyl
methyl ether) (PVME) at the nanoscale was investigated as a function of
deformation ratio and blend composition using in situ synchrotron smallangle
X-ray scattering (SAXS) and scanning SAXS techniques. It was
found that the deformation mechanism of the oriented samples shows a
general scheme for the process of tensile deformation: crystal block slips
within the lamellae occur at small deformations followed by a stressinduced
fragmentation and recrystallization process along the drawing
direction at a critical strain where the average thickness of the crystalline
lamellae remains essentially constant during stretching. The value of the
critical strain depends on the amount of the amorphous component
incorporated in the blends, which could be traced back to the lower
modulus of the entangled amorphous phase and, therefore, the reduced network stress acting on the crystallites upon addition of
PVME. When stretching beyond the critical strain the slippage of the fibrils (stacks of newly formed lamellae) past each other
takes place resulting in a relaxation of stretched interlamellar amorphous chains. Because of deformation-induced introduction of
the amorphous PVME into the interfibrillar regions in the highly oriented blends, the interactions between fibrils becomes
stronger upon further deformation and thus impeding sliding of the fibrils to some extent leading finally to less contraction of the
interlamellar amorphous layers compared to the pure PCLNational Natural Science Foundation of China (21204088 and 21134006). This
work is within the framework of the RCUK/EPSRC Science Bridges China project of UK−China Advanced Materials Research Institute (AMRI)
TRAPUM discovery of thirteen new pulsars in NGC 1851 using MeerKAT
We report the discovery of 13 new pulsars in the globular cluster NGC 1851 by the TRAPUM Large Survey Project using the MeerKAT radio telescope. The discoveries consist of six isolated millisecond pulsars (MSPs) and seven binary pulsars, of which six are MSPs and one is mildly recycled. For all the pulsars, we present the basic kinematic, astrometric, and orbital parameters, where applicable, as well as their polarimetric properties, when these are measurable. Two of the binary MSPs (PSR J0514-4002D and PSR J0514-4002E) are in wide and extremely eccentric (e > 0.7) orbits with a heavy white dwarf and a neutron star as their companion, respectively. With these discoveries, NGC 1851 is now tied with M28 as the cluster with the third largest number of known pulsars (14). Its pulsar population shows remarkable similarities with that of M28, Terzan 5 and other clusters with comparable structural parameters. The newly-found pulsars are all located in the innermost regions of NGC 1851 and will likely enable, among other things, detailed studies of the cluster structure and dynamics
Four pulsar discoveries in NGC 6624 by TRAPUM using MeerKAT
We report 4 new pulsars discovered in the core-collapsed globular cluster
(GC) NGC 6624 by the TRAPUM Large Survey Project with the MeerKAT telescope.
All of the new pulsars found are isolated. PSR J18233021I and PSR
J18233021K are millisecond pulsars with period of respectively 4.319 ms and
2.768 ms. PSR J18233021J is mildly recycled with a period of 20.899 ms, and
PSR J18233022 is a long period pulsar with a period of 2.497 s. The pulsars
J18233021I, J18233021J, and J18233021K have position and dispersion
measure (DM) compatible with being members of the GC and are therefore
associated with NGC 6624. Pulsar J18233022 is the only pulsar bright enough
to be re-detected in archival observations of the cluster. This allowed the
determination of a timing solution that spans over two decades. It is not
possible at the moment to claim the association of pulsar J18233022 with the
GC given the long period and large offset in position ( arcminutes) and
DM (with a fractional difference of 11 percent compared the average of the
pulsars in NGC 6624). The discoveries made use of the beamforming capability of
the TRAPUM backend to generate multiple beams in the same field of view which
allows sensitive searches to be performed over a few half-light radii from the
cluster center and can simultaneously localise the discoveries. The discoveries
reflect the properties expected for pulsars in core-collapsed GCs.Comment: Accepted for publication on Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical
Society. 11 pages, 6 figure
Orbital effects of a monochromatic plane gravitational wave with ultra-low frequency incident on a gravitationally bound two-body system
We analytically compute the long-term orbital variations of a test particle
orbiting a central body acted upon by an incident monochromatic plane
gravitational wave. We assume that the characteristic size of the perturbed
two-body system is much smaller than the wavelength of the wave. Moreover, we
also suppose that the wave's frequency is much smaller than the particle's
orbital one. We make neither a priori assumptions about the direction of the
wavevector nor on the orbital geometry of the planet. We find that, while the
semi-major axis is left unaffected, the eccentricity, the inclination, the
longitude of the ascending node, the longitude of pericenter and the mean
anomaly undergo non-vanishing long-term changes. They are not secular trends
because of the slow modulation introduced by the tidal matrix coefficients and
by the orbital elements themselves. They could be useful to indepenedently
constrain the ultra-low frequency waves which may have been indirectly detected
in the BICEP2 experiment. Our calculation holds, in general, for any
gravitationally bound two-body system whose characteristic frequency is much
larger than the frequency of the external wave. It is also valid for a generic
perturbation of tidal type with constant coefficients over timescales of the
order of the orbital period of the perturbed particle.Comment: LaTex2e, 24 pages, no figures, no tables. Changes suggested by the
referees include
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