Graphics processing unit accelerating compressed sensing photoacoustic computed tomography with total variation

Photoacoustic computed tomography with compressed sensing (CS-PACT) is a commonly used imaging strategy for sparse-sampling PACT. However, it is very time-consuming because of the iterative process involved in the image reconstruction. In this paper, we present a graphics processing unit (GPU)-based parallel computation framework for total-variation-based CS-PACT and adapted into a custom-made PACT system. Specifically, five compute-intensive operators are extracted from the iteration algorithm and are redesigned for parallel performance on a GPU. We achieved an image reconstruction speed 24–31 times faster than the CPU performance. We performed in vivo experiments on human hands to verify the feasibility of our developed method

Defining Next Generation Supply Chain Sustainability

The importance of understanding supply chain sustainability is being realized by increasingly more people, including corporate managers, investors, policy makers, customers and other stakeholders. A lot of practitioners and academic researchers have addressed this issue in past few years. However, most of their studies lack systematic thinking and are not quantifiable. Thus, a systematic and quantifiable model which incorporates economic, environmental and social factors is needed. In our study, a systematic and quantifiable risk assessment model based on the concept of “Triple Bottom Line” is developed in order to solve supply chain sustainability problem from risk assessment perspectiveMaster of ScienceNatural Resources and EnvironmentUniversity of Michiganhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/110983/1/276-Defining Next Generation Supply Chain Sustainability_2015.pd

On the K-th power mean of one kind generalized cubic Gauss sums

The main purpose of this paper is using the elementary methods and properties of the recurrence sequence to study the calculating problem of the $k$-th power mean of one kind generalized cubic Gauss sums, and give an exact calculating formula for it

Generalized polynomial exponential sums and their fourth power mean

The study of the power mean of the generalized polynomial exponential sums plays a very important role in analytic number theory, and many classical number theory problems are closely related to it. In this article, we use the elementary methods and the properties of the exponential sums to study the calculating problem of one kind of fourth power mean of some special generalized polynomial exponential sums, and we give some exact calculating formulae for them

Effects of Danqidihuang Granules on glucolipid metabolism in insulin-resistant rats

AbstractObjectiveTo explore whether the insulin resistance (IR) model could be established through feeding Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats high-sugar and high-fat diets and to further observe the preventive and treatment effects of different doses of Danqidihuang Granules in rats.MethodsThirty-two SD rats were divided randomly into control group A (given regular feed), model group B (food high in sugar and fat), intervention group C (food high in sugar and fat as well as regular doses of Danqidihuang Granules), and intervention group D (food high in sugar and fat as well as double doses of Danqidihuang Granules). The interventions were for 8 weeks. Motion, change in color, body weight, and food intake, as well as plasma lipids (including low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C), total cholesterol (TC) and triglyceride (TG), fasting blood glucose (FBG), fasting insulin (FINs) levels, insulin sensitivity index (ISI), and insulin resistance index (HOMO-IR) were observed.ResultsAt the end of the second week of the experiment, the appetite and activities of rats in groups B, C and D decreased significantly compared with group A. The fur of the rats in those three groups was curly. After the fourth week, the activities, food intake and color of rats in group B were worse than those in groups C and D, but there were no significant differences in weight (P>0.05). Compared with group A, LDL-C, TC, FBG and HOMO-IR in model group B were increased significantly (P<0.05), whereas the FINs and ISI increased obviously (P<0.05). The levels of LDL-C and TC in group D was decreased obviously compared with those in group C, and HOMO-IR in group D was less than that in group B (P<0.05).ConclusionsDanqidihuang Granules helped to prevent and improved the insulin resistance of rats

Interfacial Properties of Monolayer and Bilayer MoS2 Contacts with Metals: Beyond the Energy Band Calculations

Although many prototype devices based on two-dimensional (2D) MoS2 have been fabricated and wafer scale growth of 2D MoS2 has been realized, the fundamental nature of 2D MoS2-metal contacts has not been well understood yet. We provide a comprehensive ab initio study of the interfacial properties of a series of monolayer (ML) and bilayer (BL) MoS2-metal contacts (metal = Sc, Ti, Ag, Pt, Ni, and Au). A comparison between the calculated and observed Schottky barrier heights (SBHs) suggests that many-electron effects are strongly suppressed in channel 2D MoS2 due to a charge transfer. The extensively adopted energy band calculation scheme fails to reproduce the observed SBHs in 2D MoS2-Sc interface. By contrast, an ab initio quantum transport device simulation better reproduces the observed SBH in the two types of contacts and highlights the importance of a higher level theoretical approach beyond the energy band calculation in the interface study. BL MoS2-metal contacts have a reduced SBH than ML MoS2-metal contacts due to the interlayer coupling and thus have a higher electron injection efficiency.Comment: 36 pages, 13 figures, 3 table