Edge Detection in UAV Remote Sensing Images Using the Method Integrating Zernike Moments with Clustering Algorithms

Due to the unmanned aerial vehicle remote sensing images (UAVRSI) within rich texture details of ground objects and obvious phenomenon, the same objects with different spectra, it is difficult to effectively acquire the edge information using traditional edge detection operator. To solve this problem, an edge detection method of UAVRSI by combining Zernike moments with clustering algorithms is proposed in this study. To begin with, two typical clustering algorithms, namely, fuzzy c-means (FCM) and K-means algorithms, are used to cluster the original remote sensing images so as to form homogeneous regions in ground objects. Then, Zernike moments are applied to carry out edge detection on the remote sensing images clustered. Finally, visual comparison and sensitivity methods are adopted to evaluate the accuracy of the edge information detected. Afterwards, two groups of experimental data are selected to verify the proposed method. Results show that the proposed method effectively improves the accuracy of edge information extracted from remote sensing images

Analysis of Walking-Edge Effect in Train Station Evacuation Scenarios: A Sustainable Transportation Perspective

Due to the highly developed rail transit over the past decades, the phenomena of complex individual self-organized behaviors and mass crowd dynamics have become a great concern in the train station. In order to understand passengers&rsquo walking-edge effect and analyze the relationship between the layout and sustainable service abilities of the train station, a heuristics-based social force model is proposed to elaborate the crowd dynamics. Several evacuation scenarios are implemented to describe the walking-edge effect in a train station with the evacuation efficiency, pedestrian flow, and crowd density map. The results show that decentralizing crowd flow can significantly increase the evacuation efficiency in different scenarios. When the exits are far away from the central axis of the railway station, the walking-edge effect has little influence on the evacuation efficiency. Obstacles can guide the movement of passengers by channelizing pedestrian flows. In addition, a wider side exit of the funnel-shaped corridors can promote walking-edge effect and decrease the pressure among a congested crowd. Besides providing a modified social force model with considering walking-edge effect, several suggestions are put forward for managers and architects of the train station in designing sustainable layouts. Document type: Articl

Cancer burden in China: a Bayesian approach

BACKGROUND Cancer is a serious health issue in China, but accurate national counts for cancer incidence are not currently available. Knowledge of the cancer burden is necessary for national cancer control planning. In this study, national death survey data and cancer registration data were used to calculate the cancer burden in China using a Bayesian approach. METHODS Cancer mortality and incidence rates for 2004-2005 were obtained from the National Cancer Registration database. The third National Death Survey (NDS), 2004-2005 database provided nationally representative cancer mortality rates. Bayesian modeling methods were used to estimate mortality to incidence (MI) ratios from the registry data and national incidence from the NDS for specific cancer types by age, sex and urban or rural location. RESULTS The total estimated incident cancer cases in 2005 were 2,956,300 (1,762,000 males, 1,194,300 females). World age standardized incidence rates were 236.2 per 100,000 in males and 168.9 per 100,000 in females in urban areas and 203.7 per 100,000 and 121.8 per 100,000 in rural areas. CONCLUSIONS MI ratios are useful for estimating national cancer incidence in the absence of representative incidence or survival data. Bayesian methods provide a flexible framework for smoothing rates and representing statistical uncertainty in the MI ratios. Expansion of China's cancer registration network to be more representative of the country would improve the accuracy of cancer burden estimates.This study used the data from National Central Cancer Registry database. The authors acknowledge the contributions of local cancer registries providing registration data and working group of the Third National Death Survey

Insulin Resistance and Oxidative Stress: In Relation to Cognitive Function and Psychopathology in Drug-Naive, First-Episode Drug-Free Schizophrenia

Objective: The present study aimed to examine whether insulin resistance and oxidative stress are associated with cognitive impairment in first-episode drug-free schizophrenia (SZ) patients. Methods: Ninety first-episode SZ patients and 70 healthy controls were enrolled. Fasting insulin (FINS) and markers of oxidative stress [oxidized glutathione (GSSG), superoxide dismutase (SOD), nitric oxide (NO) and uric acid (UA) levels] were measured in serum before pharmacological treatment was initiated. Psychiatric symptoms and cognitive function were assessed with the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) and MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery (MCCB), respectively. In addition, the homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) was also studied. Results: HOMA-IR and serum levels of GSSG and NO were significantly higher in SZ patients than in healthy controls (P \u3c 0.001), while the serum levels of SOD were significantly lower than in healthy controls (P \u3c 0.001). HOMA-IR, GSSG and NO levels were significantly correlated to the total cognitive function scores of the patient group (r = -0.345,-0.369,-0.444, respectively, P \u3c 0.05). But these factors were not co-related to the cognitive functions in the healthy control group. And, levels of SOD, UA were not associated with the total cognitive function scores in both the patient and the healthy control groups. NO was positively correlated with general pathological and the total score in the PANSS, and was negatively correlated with six cognitive domains (r = -0.316 to -0.553, P \u3c 0.05). Conclusions: The levels of insulin resistance and oxidative stress are elevated, and correlated with the severity of cognitive impairment in drug-naive, first-episode SZ patients. Treatment approaches targeting on reducing insulin resistance and oxidative stress may improve cognitive function in SZ patients

MRI-based radiomics features uncover the micro-change of dorsal root ganglia lesion for patients with post-herpetic neuralgia

ObjectiveTo create and authenticate MRI-based radiomic signatures to identify dorsal root ganglia (DRG) lesions in post-herpetic neuralgia (PHN) patients generalizable and interpretable.MethodThis prospective diagnostic study was conducted between January 2021 and February 2022. Lesioned DRG in patients with PHN and normal DRG in age-, sex-, height-, and weight-matched healthy controls were selected for assessment and divided into two groups (8:2) randomly: training and testing sets. The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator algorithm was employed to generate feature signatures and construct a model, followed by the assessment of model efficacy using the area under the curve (AUC) of the receiver operating characteristic (ROC), as well as sensitivity and specificity metrics.ResultsThe present investigation involved 30 patients diagnosed with postherpetic neuralgia (PHN), consisting of 18 males and 12 females (mean age 60.70 ± 10.18 years), as well as 30 healthy controls, comprising 18 males and 12 females (mean age 58.13 ± 10.54 years). A total of 98 DRG were randomly divided into two groups (8:2), namely a training set (n = 78) and a testing set (n = 20). Five radiomic features were chosen to construct the models. In the training dataset, the area under the curve (AUC) was 0.847, while the sensitivity and specificity were 71.79 and 97.44%, respectively. In the test dataset, the AUC was 0.87, and the sensitivity and specificity were 80.00 and 100.00%, respectively.ConclusionAn MRI-based radiomic signatures model has the capacity to uncover the micro-change of damaged DRG in individuals afflicted with postherpetic neuralgia

A flexible dual-mode pressure sensor with ultra-high sensitivity based on BTO@MWCNTs core-shell nanofibers

Wearable flexible sensors have developed rapidly in recent years because of their improved capacity to detect human motion in wide-ranging situations. In order to meet the requirements of flexibility and low detection limits, a new pressure sensor was fabricated based on electrospun barium titanate/multi-wall carbon nanotubes (BTO@MWCNTs) core-shell nanofibers coated with styrene-ethylene-butene-styrene block copolymer (SEBS). The sensor material (BTO@MWCNTs/SEBS) had a SEBS to BTO/MWCNTs mass ratio of 20:1 and exhibited an excellent piezoelectricity over a wide range of workable pressures from 1 to 50 kPa, higher output current of 56.37 nA and a superior piezoresistivity over a broad working range of 20 to 110 kPa in compression. The sensor also exhibited good durability and repeatability under different pressures and under long-term cyclic loading. These properties make the composite ideal for applications requiring monitoring subtle pressure changes (exhalation, pulse rate) and finger movements. The pressure sensor developed based on BTO@MWCNTs core-shell nanofibers has demonstrated great potential to be assembled into intelligent wearable devices

The blood parameters and liver function changed inconsistently among children between burns and traumatic injuries

Objective Burn and traumatic injury are two kinds of injury by modality. They cause acute phase response and lead to a series of pathological and physiological changes. In this study, we explored whether there are differences in routine blood parameters and liver enzyme levels between burned and traumatically injured children. Methods Patients under 18 years old with injuries were recruited. Their demographic and clinical data were recorded. Collected clinical data included routine blood parameters (white blood cell count (WBC), red blood cell count (RBC), platelets (PLT), hemoglobin (HB)), serological enzyme levels (alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate transaminase (AST), glutamyltransferase (GGT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), cholinesterase (CHE)), and total protein (TP) levels (albumin (ALB), globulin (GLB)). A generalized linear model and multivariate analysis of variance were used to conduct comparisons. Results A total of 162 children (109 with burns and 53 with traumatic injuries) with a mean age of 4.36 ± 4.29 years were enrolled in the study. Burned children had higher levels of RBC, HB, WBC, AST and lower levels of TP, CHE, ALB than traumatically injured children (P < 0.05). Moreover, the concentration of WBC and HB was higher in males compared to females (P < 0.001). Conversely, the level of AST and TP in males was lower, AST levels were significantly lower in males (P = 0.005). Age positively correlated with the levels of HB, AST and TP (P < 0.001), and negatively correlated with WBC (P < 0.001). With decreasing body mass index (BMI), the levels of WBC, HB, AST and TP significantly increased in both groups of injured children (P < 0.001). In addition, ISS was positively correlated with WBC and HB levels (P < 0.001), but negatively correlated with AST and TP levels (P < 0.001). Conclusions Children with burn injuries suffered a greater acute response and liver damage than traumatically injured children. This may in part underlie clinical observations of differences in children morbidity and mortality in response to different injury types

Exogenous brassinosteroids alleviate calcium deficiency-induced tip-burn by maintaining cell wall structural stability and higher photosynthesis in mini Chinese Cabbage

Tip-burn has seriously affected the yield, quality and commodity value of mini Chinese cabbage. Calcium (Ca2+) deficiency is the main cause of tip-burn. In order to investigate whether exogenous brassinosteroids (BRs) can alleviate tip-burn induced by calcium (Ca2+) deficiency and its mechanism, in this study, Ca2+ deficiency in nutrient solution was used to induced tip-burn, and then distilled water and BRs were sprayed on leaves to observe the tip-burn incidence of mini Chinese cabbage. The tip-burn incidence and disease index, leaf area, fluorescence parameters (Fv/Fm, NPQ, qP andφPSII) and gas exchange parameters (Tr, Pn, Gs and Ci), pigment contents, cell wall components, mesophyll cell ultrastructure and the expression of genes related to chlorophyll degradation were measured. The results showed that exogenous BRs reduced the tip-burn incidence rate and disease index of mini Chinese cabbage, and the tip-burn incidence rate reached the highest on the ninth day after treatment. Exogenous BRs increased the contents of cellulose, hemifiber, water-soluble pectin in Ca2+ deficiency treated leaves, maintaining the stability of cell wall structure. In addition, BRs increased photosynthetic rate by increasing the activities of Ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco) and fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase (FBPase) related to Calvin cycle, maintaining relatively complete chloroplast structure and higher chlorophyll content via down-regulating the expression of BrPPH1 and BrPAO1 genes related to chlorophyll degradation. In conclusion, exogenous BRs alleviated calcium deficiency-induced tip-burn by maintaining cell wall structural stability and higher photosynthesis