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As a common by-product during the production of alcoholic beverages, such as Chinese liquor, ethyl carbamate (EC) poses potential genotoxicity and is associated with the risk of various cancers. Hence, rapidly and accurately measuring the content of EC in liquor is critical to assess the product quality and risks of mass samples during the production process. In this study, a feasible method based on fast gas chromatography photoionization-induced chemical ionization mass spectrometry (FastGC-PICI-TOFMS) was developed for the analysis of EC in Chinese liquor. The rapid separation of EC in Chinese liquor was conducted using FastGC based on a thermostatic column set at 150 °C to eliminate the interferences of matrix effects. The PICI-TOFMS could realize accurate quantification of EC without any sample pre-treatment due to the efficient ionization of EC by the PICI source. As a result, the total analysis time for EC in Chinese liquor was less than 4 min. The limit of detection (LOD) for EC was 4.4 μg L−1. And the intra-day and inter-day precision were 3.2%–3.7 % and 1.6 %, respectively. Finally, the ability of the proposed method was preliminarily proved by high-throughput and accurate measurement of EC in four different flavors of Chinese liquors. [Display omitted] • A FastGC-PICI-TOFMS was developed for rapidly measuring EC in Chinese liquor. • The high sensitivity of PICI-TOFMS eliminated the need for sample pre-treatment. • Matrix effects of samples were eliminated by a thermostatic column at 150 °C. • The total analytical time less than 4 min with LOD as low as 4.4 μg L−1. • The method was successfully applied to analyze EC in 4 types of Chinese liquor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the important role of cross-border e-commerce platforms in supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) has continuously attracted scholarly attention, existing research overlooks the perspective of value chain processes, which have become more crucial when facing a dual shock from resurgent protectionist policies and the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper deconstructs strategic flexibility from the perspective of value chain processes and further explores the mechanism of cross-border e-commerce platform empowerment on SME export performance. A total of 425 SMEs participating in cross-border e-commerce platforms were used as the research sample for this empirical study, subsequently analyzing the multiple mediating effects. The results show that strategic flexibility plays a partial mediating role between the empowerment of e-commerce platforms and SMEs' export performance. Specifically, market flexibility shows a relatively weak significance unlike delivery flexibility, which shows the strongest significance. Following the overall perspective of the platform ecosystem, this study expands and integrates traditional empowerment theory and value chain theory into one analytical framework. It investigates the mechanism through which e-commerce platform empowerment influences a firm's export performance. Managerial suggestions for collaborative innovation of cross-border e-commerce platforms and SMEs in China are proposed. SMEs should actively integrate into platforms according to their business characteristics, fully exploit the platform resources, and focus on improving their responsiveness to export markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Radiation-induced heart damage (RIHD) is now considered to be one of the causes of mortality in cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy. Cardiac function impairments are clinical manifestations of RIHD. L -carnitine shows protective effects against irradiation and heart disease. This study was aimed to investigate the cardioprotective effects and potential molecular mechanisms of L -carnitine against RIHD. Mouse hearts were exposed to γ-radiation to induce RIHD. L -carnitine at doses of 100 mg/Kg and 200 mg/Kg was used to treat animals intraperitoneally. Additionally, a specific inhibitor of p38 MAPK was used to treat animals by intraperitoneal injections. Cardiac systolic/diastolic functions were determined using invasive hemodynamic methods; myocyte apoptosis was assessed using the TUNEL assay; intracellular reactive oxygen species production was measured using DHE staining; and western blotting was used to evaluate the phosphorylation of p38MAPK, phosphorylation of Nrf2, and expression levels of HO1, NQO1, caspase3 and bax. L -carnitine treatments inhibited irradiation induced cardiac function impairments. Radiation exposure induced myocyte apoptosis and reactive oxygen species production, which were attenuated by L -carnitine treatments. However, administration of a p38 MAPK inhibitor (SB203580) dramatically impaired L -carnitine's effect on attenuating apoptosis, reactive oxygen species accumulation and cardiac functions in irradiated hearts. Our study showed that L -carnitine administration activated p38MAPK/Nrf2 signalling, initiating the expression of HO1 and NQO1, which have anti-apoptotic and anti-oxidative effects, respectively. In conclusion, L -carnitine attenuates cardiac function loss by inhibiting reactive oxygen species production and apoptosis in hearts exposed to radiation. The cardioprotective effects of L -carnitine were mediated by p38MAPK/Nrf2 signalling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Miniature ion trap mass spectrometry with the unique ability of tandem-in-time analysis is extensively used in public security and environmental pollution detection. In this study, a novel radial electric field driven collision-induced dissociation (REFD-CID) is presented with high fragmentation efficiency for different species by adjusting the float DC, the initial kinetic energy of ions, and the pressure in a miniature continuous atmospheric pressure interfaced ion trap mass spectrometer (CAPI-ITMS). It is noteworthy that multiple fragment ions ([M+H-nC2H4]+, where n = 1, 2, 3) of triethyl phosphate were observed with a single injection of ions. The underlying mechanism of the REFD-CID revealed that the enhanced radial electric field by modulation of the float DC drove ions toward regions of intense RF field where broadband heating and dissociation of ions took place through theoretical simulations. Finally, the REFD-CID was utilized to improve the instrument performances. The existence of reagent ions led to a severe space charge effect as the ion injection duration of the CAPI-ITMS was extended to enhance the sensitivity of aniline. Through selective fragmentation of reagent ions, peak broadening and mass shift were eliminated, and meanwhile, a 28-fold improvement of aniline in a signal-to-noise ratio was achieved with the ion injection duration varying from 50 to 2500 ms. Moreover, isomeric illicit drugs (JWH-018 and acetylcodeine) were distinguished by generating multiple characteristic fragment ions, demonstrating potential applications in the identification of synthetic illicit drugs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The variation of the phase transfer function with respect to defocus causes linear image shift and image artifacts on the restored images in wavefront coding imaging system with asymmetrical phase masks. To reduce the effect of the phase transfer function on the restored image according to the signal to noise ratio, in this paper, an optimization function based on the phase transfer function is proposed. By using this function with the signal to noise ratio equal to 30 dB, optimization and simulation result for the cubic phase mask and the tangent phase mask are presented. The simulation result shows that the tangent phase mask produces more benefit to reduce image artifacts on the restored image. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Photonic bandgaps (PBGs) of two-dimensional (2D) triangular-lattice and square-lattice and decagonal quasi-periodic photonic crystals (PCs) have been analyzed, with a given scatterer radius and dielectric relative permittivity changing from 1 to 30 within air-cylinders-in-dielectric and dielectric-cylinders-in-air constructions. The results have shown that 2D quasi-periodic PC is more likely to generate PBG and complete PBG than 2D periodic PC. For the given scatterer radius and two constructions, PBG widths of the two types of 2D PCs vary little, whereas the corresponding center frequencies decrease in smooth “hyperbola-like” curves with dielectric relative permittivity increasing monotonically. The present results will guide the design of PBG-type microstructure photonic devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In the basic structural unit of two-dimensional (2D) decagonal photonic quasicrystals (PQCs), the photonic band gaps (PBGs) of the four square unit cells in two constructions have been calculated as functions of relative permittivity. The different unit cells possess different PBG structures and different relative permittivity threshold values. For a given unit cell, the type of PBG and the variation in the center frequency of the PBG depend on the construction and the effective relative permittivity, respectively. We propose a qualitative relationship, , for the PBG impact factors, where the construction-dependent factor q determines the PBG type. Depending on the relative values of the relative permittivity of the scatterers (ε ra) and the background medium (ε rb), either the TM band gap dominates (ε ra>ε rb) or the TE band gap and complete band gap dominate (ε ra<ε rb). The variation in the center frequency of the PBG depends on the inverse square root of the effective relative permittivity ε reff, i.e., [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Photonic band gaps (PBGs) of germanium-based two-dimensional (2D) triangular-lattice and square-lattice and decagonal quasi-periodic photonic crystals (PCs) with the scatterer radius in the range of [0,0.3a] and within two cases of the construction (germanium cylinders being placed in air, air cylinders being placed in germanium) have been calculated by using the plane wave expansion (PWE) method. Germanium-based 2D triangular-lattice PC and 2D decagonal quasi-periodic PC are more easily to generate PBG than 2D square-lattice PC. 2D decagonal quasi-periodic PC is more easily to generate complete band gap than the other two kinds of PCs. The PBG properties of the three PCs are similar to the properties of silicon-based system as the radius of the scatterer cylinder increases. Nevertheless, the germanium-based system is more likely to generate PBG than silicon-based system. These findings will guide the design of PBG-type microstructure devices. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Dispersion is an inherent property of optical elements, and can be controlled via different kinds of optical glasses or binary optics conventionally. In this paper, we show that this property can be manipulated by the dielectric metasurfaces. In addition, we design the metalenses and beam deflectors with positive, zero, and negative dispersion in the mid-infrared. Unit cells of different sizes and different rotation angles have been introduced to facilitate simultaneous manipulation of phase and its dispersion characteristics. Simulation results show that, the designed metasurfaces demonstrate desired chromatic dispersion. This work paves the way to the practical application of metasurfaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A type of diagram is proposed as microstructure model of polycrystalline materials, Voronoi diagram in the Laguerre geometry based on random closed packing of spheres (RCP-LV diagram), and discussed in detail. The volumes of spheres are set to serve lognormal distribution, which is strongly inherited by distribution of cell volumes in the RCP-LV diagram. The geometrical and topological properties in the RCP-LV diagram and the Poisson–Voronoi diagram (PV diagram) are compared with those properties of real polycrystalline materials, and it is found that the lognormal distribution is a better approximation to the cell volume and face number distribution in the RCP-LV diagram than in the PV diagram. It is also shown clearly that coefficient of variance of cell volumes in the RCP-LV diagram is controlled by coefficient of variance of sphere volumes. This makes it easy to simulate polycrystalline microstructure with different dispersion of grain volumes. The RCP-LV diagram is probably superior to the PV diagram for the simulation of polycrystalline materials. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Sometimes image processing units inherit images in raster bitmap format only, so that processing is to be carried without knowledge of past operations that may compromise image quality (e.g., compression). To carry further processing, it is useful to not only know whether the image has been previously JPEG compressed, but to learn what quantization table was used. This is the case, for example, if one wants to remove JPEG artifacts or for JPEG re-compression. In this paper, a fast and efficient method is provided to determine whether an image has been previously JPEG compressed. After detecting a compression signature, we estimate compression parameters. Specifically, we developed a method for the maximum likelihood estimation of JPEG quantization steps. The quantizer estimation method is very robust so that only sporadically an estimated quantizer step size is off, and when so, it is by one value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In our previous published paper [Opt. Commun. 490, 126876 (2021)], we proposed a method to correct the optical dome's aero-optical aberration using wavefront coding (WFC). The simulation results were carried out under a fixed flight altitude. However, because the missile tracking the target is a dynamic process, the image quality deterioration of the aero-dynamically heated dome is diverse under different altitude. Therefore, it is of great significance to study the correction effect of WFC on dynamic aero-optical aberration of optical dome at different altitudes, which is performed in our new manuscript. The simulation results demonstrate that the WFC could effectively correct the dynamic aero-optical aberration and improve the accuracy of imaging guidance. These results confirm the possibility of the application of WFC imaging technology in missile-borne optical detection systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A dynamic aberration correction method is proposed based on the Haack dome which has never been studied before. • A method for solving aspheric surfaces applied to non-axisymmetric optical systems is proposed. • A non-rotationally symmetric corrector is designed. The problem that the initial structure of arch corrector is difficult to solve is worked out. The Haack curve has the lowest air drag under a given condition. However, the Haack conformal dome has the most difficult non-axisymmetric dynamic aberration to correct. There is almost no research on the aberration correction method of the Haack conformal dome. The traditional fixed corrector has low design freedom and limited correction ability. Therefore, a pair of aspheric equations for non-axisymmetric systems are derived in this paper. A non-rotationally symmetric corrector with high design freedom is calculated. The simulation results show that the design method in this paper can correct the aberrations of conformal optical systems well. The problem of difficulty in solving the initial structure of the arch corrector is solved. It provides an important method for aberration correction of ogive conformal dome. The research on the aberration correction method of the Haack conformal dome solves the contradictory needs of superior aerodynamic performance and high imaging quality, which is of great significance to developing conformal optical systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The escalating need for prompt and highly sensitive on-site detection of trace-level drugs is fueling the advancement of miniature, high-performance mass spectrometers and analytical methodologies. In this study, a miniature continuous atmospheric pressure interfaced ion trap mass spectrometer integrated with thermal desorption acetone-assisted photoionization (TD-CAPI-ITMS) was developed for highly sensitive detection of nonvolatile drugs in saliva and blood. By strategically extending the sampling time of the TD-CAPI-ITMS to cover the entire desorption process, a remarkable two-order-of-magnitude enhancement in the signal intensity of individual drugs was observed. Moreover, the simultaneous detection of drug mixtures with widely varying boiling points and saturation vapor pressures was accomplished. Optimization of the parameters yielded a limit of detection (LOD) for ketamine and 5F-EMB-PICA of 1 pg/μL accompanied by a robust stability, as evidenced by a relative standard deviation (RSD) of 5.30 %. Combined with straightforward liquid-liquid extraction, the sensitivity of drugs in saliva as low as 10 pg/μL was achieved, which met the requirements of Chinese national standard GA1333-2017. Owing to its exceptional sensitivity, the matrix effect present in blood samples was significantly alleviated through dilution, allowing for accurate monitoring of antibiotic concentrations. The results underscore the substantial potential of the TD-CAPI-ITMS for lab-free applications in drug-related forensic analysis, therapeutic drug monitoring, and pharmacokinetic studies. [Display omitted] • A miniature ion trap mass spectrometer with thermal desorption was developed for drug detection. • Two-order-of-magnitude enhancement was observed by extending the sampling time. • A limit of detection for ketamine and 5F-EMB-PICA of 1 pg/μL was achieved. • Detection of illicit drugs in saliva and antibiotics in blood was achieved in less than 2 min. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Taking advantage of labeled auxiliary training data whose distribution is similar to the distribution of the gallery, single sample face recognition (SSFR) has achieved encouraging performance. However, in many real-world applications, it is difficult to collect such an auxiliary training dataset, while it may be easier to collect an unlabeled target training dataset whose distribution is similar to the distribution of the gallery and a labeled source training dataset whose distribution may be different to the distribution of the gallery. How can these three datasets be effectively leveraged to handle SSFR? To address this issue, this paper proposes a new method of G allery- S ensitive Single Sample Face Recognition based on D omain A daptation (GS-DA). First, GS-DA employs the method of TSD (targetize the source domain) to construct a common subspace and a targetized source domain. Secondly, it projects each gallery image into the common subspace and obtains the sparse representation of each gallery image in the common subspace. Thirdly, it reconstructs each gallery image from the targetized source domain to estimate the within-class scatter matrix and the between-class scatter matrix of the gallery. Lastly, it learns a discriminant model by maximizing the sum of the traces of the between-class scatter matrix of the gallery and the between-class scatter matrix of the targetized source domain as well as minimizing the sum of the traces of the total scatter matrix of the gallery and the total scatter matrix of the target training data. The experimental results on five datasets illustrate the superiority of GS-DA in leveraging these three datasets for SSFR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conformal optics arose from the need for better aerodynamic performance. The Haack curve has the lowest air drag under given conditions. It has superior aerodynamic properties compared to hemispherical domes and quadric conformal domes. Most in line with the concept of conformal optics. But aberration correction is also the most difficult. At present, there is no research on this conformal dome with the best aerodynamic performance. Therefore, a new design method for the internal surface is proposed in this paper to reduce the fluctuation range of aberrations. This method can eliminate the position error on the detector, reduce the fluctuation range of coma and spherical aberration, and even suppress the sensitivity of the defocus-field curvature to the parameters change. A condition for eliminating astigmatism is also proposed for the conformal dome. The fluctuation range of astigmatism and the difficulty of corrector design are reduced by reasonably choosing the rotation center. The research of this paper is of great significance in improving the aerodynamic performance of conformal optical systems. • The aberration correction method for the Haack conformal dome is proposed, which has never been studied before. • An internal surface design method is proposed to eliminate the position error of the detector and reduce the aberration. • The rotation center of the smallest astigmatism fluctuation in the asymmetric conformal optical systems is derived. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highly sensitive and rapid detection of ethylene, the smallest alkene of great significance in human physiological metabolism remains a great challenge. In this study, we developed a new photoionization-induced substitution reaction chemical ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (PSCI-TOFMS) for trace exhaled ethylene detection. An intriguing ionization phenomenon involving a substitution reaction between the CH 2 Br 2 + reactant ion and ethylene molecule was discovered and studied for the first time. The formation of readily identifiable [CH 2 Br·C 2 H 4 ]+ product ion greatly enhanced the ionization efficiency of ethylene, which led to approximately 800-fold improvement of signal intensity over that in single photon ionization mode. The CH 2 Br 2 + reactant ion intensity and ion-molecule reaction time were optimized, and a Nafion tube was employed to eliminate the influence of humidity on the ionization of ethylene. Consequently, a limit of detection (LOD) as low as 0.1 ppbv for ethylene was attained within 30 s at 100 % relative humidity. The application of PSCI-TOFMS on the rapid detection of trace amounts of exhaled ethylene from healthy smoker and non-smoker volunteers demonstrated the satisfactory performance and potential of this system for trace ethylene measurement in clinical diagnosis, atmospheric measurement, and process monitoring. [Display omitted] • A new PSCI-TOFMS was developed for highly sensitive detection of trace exhaled ethylene. • Ethylene could be measured by [CH 2 Br·C 2 H 4 ]+ substituent ions with a distinct 1:1 abundance ratio. • 800-fold increase in signal intensity was obtained compared to SPI mode. • The LOD of ethylene was as low as 0.1 ppbv within 30 s at 100 % humidity. • The variations of 8 common VOCs, including ethylene, in the exhaled breath of healthy smokers were tracked. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study evaluated illness uncertainty, anxiety and depression among glaucoma patients and cataract patients in China. 263 patients with primary glaucoma and 100 patients with age-related cataract were recruited sequentially from Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center between October 2013 and March 2016. All the participants completed questionnaires for socio-demographic information, Mishel Uncertainty in Illness Scale (MUIS) and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). 25 of the 263 glaucoma patients and 21 of the100 cataract patients finished two copies of the same questionnaires before and after surgery. Statistics were analyzed using SPSS17.0 software. We observed that glaucoma patients had higher MUIS and HADS score than did cataract patients. Multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated risk factors for illness uncertainty, anxiety and depression for glaucoma patients were high HADS score, poor visual acuity (VA) in the better eye and education level respectively. Risk factors for the same parameters of cataract patients were high HADS-A score, poor VA in the better eye and high illness uncertainty respectively. Scores of MUIS and HADS both decreased after surgery, but the change in HADS score among glaucoma patients was not significant. Clinical workers should take these factors into account to improve therapy, especially for glaucoma patients who undergo surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To solve the drawbacks of thinning and poor thickness uniformity in tube hydroforming, a novel method known as axial hydro-forging sequence was developed. In this method, the deformation zones will be subjected to compression deformation throughout the hydro-forging stage to decrease the thinning and improve the thickness distribution compared with the traditional tube hydroforming. To verify the feasibility of this method, experiments and finite element simulations were designed and conducted. Subsequently, the effects of the internal pressure, friction, and reduction on thickness distribution were investigated. The results indicated that the thinning ratio can be decreased significantly by compression deformation. And the thickness of the deformation zone increases with increasing reduction. Furthermore, the thickness uniformity can be improved by a thickness "self-uniformity" in the hydro-forging stage, which was attributed to the von Mises stress distribution. It is demonstrated that the thickness distribution is related to the friction coefficient, but has little dependence on the internal pressure. Experimental and simulation results show that axial hydro-forging sequence is practicable to produce the variable-diameter tube. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Epilepsy is a type of refractory neurologic disorder mental disease, which is associated with cognitive impairments and memory dysfunction. However, the potential mechanisms of epilepsy are not well understood. Previous evidence has identified the voltage gated potassium channel complex (VGKC) as a target in various cohorts of patients with epilepsy. In the present study, the efficacy of an antibody against VGKC (anti-VGKC) for the treatment of epilepsy in mice was investigated. A mouse model of lithium-pilocarpine temporal lobe epilepsy was established and anti-VGKC treatment was administered for 30 days. Memory impairment, anxiety, visual attention, inhibitory control and neuronal loss were measured in the mouse model of lithium-pilocarpine temporal lobe epilepsy. The results revealed that epileptic mice treated with anti-VGKC were able to learn the task and presented attention impairment, even a tendency toward impulsivity and compulsivity. It was also exhibited that anti-VGKC treatment decreased neuronal loss in structures classically associated with attentional performance in hippocampus. Mice who received Anti-VGKC treatment had inhibited motor seizures and hippocampal damage as compared with control mice. In conclusion, these results indicated that anti-VGKC treatment may present benefits for improvements of the condition of motor attention impairment and cognitive competence, which suggests that VGKC may be a potential target for the treatment of epilepsy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The less invasive surfactant application (LISA) technology has been widely used to manage breathing in premature infants. Premature infants with respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) were retrospectively analyzed and divided into 2 groups according to the drug delivery methods used: LISA versus traditional pulmonary surfactant injection (INSURE). The decrease of transcutaneous saturation (TcSO2) and heart rate during surfactant delivery in the LISA group was higher than that in the INSURE group (P <.05). Between the 2 groups, there was no significant difference in the change in partial pressure of oxygen/fraction of inspired oxygen value before and after drug delivery; second-use pulmonary surfactant; noninvasive ventilation (NIV) failure rate; incidence of some complications; duration of NIV use; hospitalization time; and mortality (P >.05). However, the incidence of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) in the LISA group was lower than that in the INSURE group (P <.05). The clinical efficacy of LISA combined with the NIV treatment in premature infants with RDS was clear, and this treatment could reduce the incidence of BPD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

CO 2 methanation over supported nickel catalysts attracts an increasing attention. However, the mechanism with it is still in debate. It is confirmed here that the structure of Ni/TiO 2 catalyst has a significant effect on CO 2 methanation. The catalyst with Ni (111) as the principal exposing facet shows higher activity with higher methane selectivity. The maximum activity for CO 2 methanation is obtained at 350 °C with a CO 2 conversion of 73.2% and a CO 2 conversion rate of 1.56 mol CO 2 g cat − 1 h − 1 at a high GHSV of 60,000 h −1 . This rate is higher than those reported CO 2 conversion rates in the literature. According to the FTIR analysis, CO 2 methanation over catalyst with Ni (111) as the principal exposing facet follows the mechanism via CO intermediate, while the catalyst with multi-facets takes the pathway of the direct hydrogenation of formate, with which nickel is only functional for hydrogen dissociation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ray transmission models of optical domes were established, and the characteristics of the rays while passing through a hemispherical dome and a conformal dome were comparatively analysed. Acquiring the minimum deviated angles from the inner surface of the conformal dome was then determined to be the designing goal for reducing the dynamic aberrations. Based on this, the inner surface of the conformal dome was optimized and thus, the dynamic aberrations were reduced. Finally, a completely cooled conformal optical system was designed. The results show that the optical system have produced good imaging quality within all the fields of regard, which further illustrates that designing the inner surface of a conformal dome is an effective method for aberration correction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Imaging characteristics of germanium cylinder-based decagonal photonic quasicrystal flat lens have been analyzed with respect to width. The results show that the complex near-field scattering effects and the short-range interactions do not determine the occurrence of the imaging phenomenon but affect imaging characteristics. Changing the width will affect the imaging characteristics of the flat lens. As the width increases, the image power, the image quality, and the summed object–image distance change non-monotonically but stabilize gradually. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The capillary discharge 46.9 nm laser experiment was conducted using an alumina capillary of 35 cm in length and 2.5 mm in inner diameter. In terms of temporal characteristics, the duration (FWHM) of the laser pulse is 1.6 ns. The laser energy obtained with the 2.5 mm diameter capillary can be up to 1 mJ. For comparison, the laser energy achieved with the commonly used 3.2 mm diameter capillary is 305 μJ. With regard to spatial properties, the laser spot obtained at the optimal pressure using the 2.5 mm diameter capillary has a spatial distribution that is Gaussian-like, and the divergence's FWHM is 0.61 mrad. In order to investigate the effect of the capillary inner diameter on the 46.9 nm laser, we computed the plasma column characteristics near the lasing times observed with the 2.5 mm and 3.2 mm diameter capillaries. • Highlight 1: The 46.9 nm laser is obtained with a 2.5 mm inner diameter capillary at a low main current of ∼12 kA. • Highlight 2: The laser energy obtained with the 2.5 mm inner diameter capillary can be up to 1 mJ. • Highlight 3: The laser spot at the optimal pressure shows a Gaussian-like spatial distribution. • Highlight 4: The effect of the inner diameter of the capillary on the plasma state is analyzed by MHD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A detection performance improvement method is proposed for the MMF coupling laser transmitting single-photon LiDAR. • The theoretical detection model of speckle suppression with AAAD is built. • The speckle contrast can be decreased by 95.4% and the target recovery ratio can be improved by 239.2%. The flash array imaging LiDAR with the laser transmitted by the multimode fiber (MMF), will get a low detection performance which is caused by the severe transmitting light field's speckle and high-noise intensity in the daylight condition. In this paper, a scheme of the combination of speckle suppression with adaptive adjustment of aperture diameter (AAAD) and spatial correlation method is proposed to improve the detection performance. In which the speckle suppression by vibrating the MMF with the optimal vibration parameters can effectively suppress the speckle, and the AAAD can help to get the optimal triggering probability, besides, the spatial correlation method can increase the detection number and suppress the speckle in a further step. Firstly, the proposed scheme is built based on the speckle suppression and single-photon triggering probability model. Secondly, the proposed scheme is verified by the theoretical analysis, and it can effectively improve the detection performance under the low SNR condition. Finally, the experimental verification under the high-noise intensity condition is carried out, and the speckle contrast is reduced from 1.247 to 0.057, which is decreased by 95.4%; the target recovery ratio or signal detection probability is increased from 28.8% to 97.7%, which is improved by 239.2%. This work is useful for the effective detection of the laser MMF coupling transmitted single-photon LiDAR under daylight conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extend-the-depth-of-field imaging can be achieved by wavefront coding technique, which inserts an odd symmetrical phase mask into the pupil plane to generate the invariant imaging property over a wide range of defocus. Obtaining the low sensibility to defocus for wavefront coding systems depends on designing a proper phase profile. Here we proposed a phase mask combining the power function with the square-root function to maximize the invariant imaging property to defocus. Judging by defocused modulation transfer function (MTF) and Hilbert space angle, numerical comparisons with the cubic mask, exponential mask and improved logarithmic mask prove the superiority of proposed square-root phase mask in extending the depth of field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Polarization detection with AAAD and spatial correlation method is implemented in the GM-APD LiDAR. • AAAD polarization GM-APD LiDAR ranging equation is proposed. • The proposed detection method can efficiently enhance the GM-APD's detection performance in the daytime. The triggering probability of GM-APD (Geiger-mode avalanche photodiode) is affected by the absolute signal intensity and the SNR (Signal-to-Noise Ratio). Through investigation, the polarization detection can effectively enhance the signal's triggering probability by increasing the signal's SNR; however, the triggering probability cannot reach the highest value at a certain SNR. In this paper, the polarization detection with the adaptive adjustment of aperture diameter (AAAD) and spatial correlation method was proposed to enhance the detection results, which could help to get the highest triggering probability, and the signal detection performance was obviously improved. Firstly, the theoretical model of the polarization detection with AAAD was built. Secondly, the effects of factors such as noise intensity, range, SNR, etc. on the triggering probabilities of the non-polarization detection, the polarization detection and the polarization detection with AAAD were analyzed; the theoretical analysis showed that the polarization detection with AAAD could effectively increase the triggering probability and the detection probability; besides, by introducing the spatial correlation method, the detection probability could be improved in a further step. Finally, the experimental verifications were carried out in the low SNR surroundings, the results showed that the combination of the polarization detection with AAAD and spatial correlation could enhance the signal detection probability by 80.8% of the initial detection probability, and the target restoration ratio could reach 96.9%. The research in this paper improves the daytime detection performance to a large extent, and it is very useful for the actual application of GM-APD LiDAR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study of water-conducting fracture zone development height is key to the scientific prevention and control of water damage in mines. Based on the geological conditions of the Wenjiapo coal mine in Binchang, China, this paper investigates the development of water-conducting fracture zone in overlying bedrock during mining under large buried depth and huge thick aquifer by combining on-site well-location microseismic monitoring and laboratory similar material simulation. To overcome the limitation of the " limited outlook " of water-conducting fracture zone investigation, the spatial development characteristics of roof fissures in coal seam mining were determined by on-site " the underground - ground" combined microseismic monitoring and follow-up monitoring, and the development of overlying rock fracture under the large depth of burial was concluded. The fractures were mainly distributed in the upper part of the protective coal pillar on both sides of the working face, but less in the upper part of the working face, and primarily distributed in the protective coal pillar on the side of the working face and the adjacent mining area. To verify the accuracy of the conclusion, the overlying bedrock movement and deformation characteristics and the development process of the hydraulic fracture zone during coal seam mining were analyzed by simulating similar materials in the laboratory, using the monitored area as a prototype. The results show that the development height of the mining fracture zone obtained from microseismic monitoring is basically consistent with the simulation results of similar materials. The research finding have significant implications for the study of fracture distribution characteristics and the evolution law of mining overburden, and provide a foundation for scientific prevention and control of water damage on the roof. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Pre-T-cell receptor (pre-TCR) and TCR signals govern the development of T-lymphocytes. RhoH, a hematopoietic-specific and GTPase-deficient member of the RhoGTPase family, is required in the development of T-lymphocytes. Here we found that RhoH binds and modulates LCK, the non-receptor tyrosine kinase crucial in initiating pre-TCR and TCR signallings. In both pre-TCR and TCR signalling transduction, LCK is phosphorylated by CSK to maintain the inactive state of LCK at rest. Upon being activated, CSK phosphorylation is removed and LCK autophosphorylation leads to LCK activation and further phosphorylates ZAP70 to initiate further downstream signalling. At rest, LCK may be recruited to the plasma membrane by RhoH, which also binds CSK, resulting in LCK inactivation. Additionally, the presence of RhoH enhances the inactivation phosphorylation of LCK by CSK. RhoH was found to bind preferentially inactive LCK, indicating that, upon ligand-mediated TCR activation, LCK is dephosphorylated resulting in LCK autoactivation and its release from RhoH. Thus RhoH is a critical part of the microenvironment for maintaining the inactive state of LCK. Furthermore, we found that the reduction of RhoH levels results in LCK autoactivation and constitutive activation of the TCR pathway. Our findings indicate that RhoH is a key adapter protein that maintains LCK in the inactive state, contributing to the regulation of both pre-TCR and TCR signalling during T-cell development. The data also supports a model for ligand-independent signal transduction by pre-TCR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Hematopoietic-specific RhoGTPase RhoH displays an important role in regulating T-cell development, a process that is accompanied by ordered and directed migration of progenitors through thymus. While RhoGTPases are key regulators of cytokinesis, the precise role of RhoH in T-cell migration is unknown. Here, by using Jurkat cell migration as a model, we found that RhoH is required for cell migration in response to the high concentration of SDF1α but displays inhibitory roles in regulating migration in the absence of SDF1α or in the range of low concentrations. We further found that RhoH-mediated migration requires PAK1 but not ITK. Indeed, both the low and high concentrations of SDF1α activate PAK1 but only the high concentration-induced activation of PAK1 requires RhoH. Further study of the RhoH–PAK interaction revealed that RhoH is able to bind and activate PAK1, indicating that RhoH plays a positive role in response to the high concentration of SDF1α. In contrast, at rest, RhoH indirectly inhibits Slp76/ITK activity through its modulation on TCR signaling, supporting a negative regulatory role for RhoH when SDF1α is insufficient to activate the RhoH–PAK1 pathway. Together, our study uncovered a dual role for RhoH in SDF1α signaling in T-cell responses. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

We routinely encounter digital color images that were previously compressed using the Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) standard. En route to the image's current representation, the previous JPEG compression's various settings-termed its JPEG compression history (CH)-are often discarded after the JPEG decompression step. Given a JPEG-decompressed color image, this paper aims to estimate its lost JPEG CH. We observe that the previous JPEG compression's quantization step introduces a lattice structure in the discrete cosine transform (DCT) domain. This paper proposes two approaches that exploit this structure to solve the JPEG Compression History Estimation (CHEst) problem. First, we design a statistical dictionary-based CHEst algorithm that tests the various CHs in a dictionary and selects the maximum a posteriori estimate. Second, for cases where the DCT coefficients closely conform to a 3-D parallelepiped lattice, we design a blind lattice-based CHEst algorithm. The blind algorithm exploits the fact that the JPEG CII is encoded in the nearly orthogonal bases for the 3-D lattice and employs novel lattice algorithms and recent results on nearly orthogonal lattice bases to estimate the CH. Both algorithms provide robust JPEG CHEst performance in practice. Simulations demonstrate that JPEG CHEst can be useful in JPEG recompression; the estimated CH allows us to recompress a JPEG-decompressed image with minimal distortion (large signal-to-noise-ratio) and simultaneously achieve a small file-size. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The Voronoi diagram in the Laguerre geometry based on random close packing of spheres (RCP-LV diagram) has been found to be a better representation of polycrystalline structure than the conventional Poisson–Voronoi diagram. Stereology of the RCP-LV diagram with lognormal-like volume distribution has been investigated by the classical intercept count method. An improved five-parameter gamma distribution function is proposed to integrate the fact that probability density of the chord length remains non-zero as the chord length approaches zero. The proportional coefficient between the average grain size and the average chord length varies from 1.60 to 1.14 as the coefficient of variation of grain volume increases from 0.4 to 2.2. It is shown that there exists the possibility that not only the average grain size but also the grain size distribution can be estimated if the chord distribution characterization is fully explored with the aid of RCP-LV diagram simulation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• An excellent BRDF which fits a wide variety of building materials best is developed. • Dual-wavelength LiDAR is used to acquire the dual-wavelength scattering properties. • A Gm-APD LiDAR system parameters evaluation method is built. Light scattering property is an important indicator for the laser remote sensing applications. Targets surface features can be extracted from the intensity data through the light scattering property and the exploitation of laser intensity for a more effective target characterization has become a topic of interest. However, there isn't an universal scattering model i. e. bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) to describe the multiple targets' scattering properties and the surface features cannot be represented by the same types of parameters of a particular BRDF. In this paper, a modified Li-Liang BRDF model is proposed by adding the directional diffuse reflection to the Li-Liang BRDF model, to our best knowledge, it is the most suitable for describing a series of materials' scattering properties with dual-wavelength (532 nm and 1064 nm) than other BRDF models. Based on which, a theoretical evaluation method of Gm-APD detection performance is proposed which can be used to find the optimal LiDAR system parameters. Through evaluation, to effectively detect 3 km building target, the transmitting energy is at least 10.29 μJ for 1064 nm laser, it is at least 80.7 μJ for 532 nm laser. The incident angle is a significant factor affecting the detection probability, and 1064 nm wavelength is a better choice for single-wavelength detection; however, the intensity of 532 nm transmitted laser should be relatively higher for the dual-wavelength detection. This paper offered a typical method for choosing LiDAR system parameter based on the accurate scattering properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A Myrf mutant mouse strain was generated to systemically investigate the role of Myrf in mice eyes. • Inflammation associated signaling pathways were enriched in Myrf mut/+ mice ocular tissues using RNA-Sequence. • After intravitreally injected with LPS, the inflammatory responses in Myrf mut/+ mice were more serious than that in Myrf +/+ mice and the inflammatory injury was ameliorated with DEX pretreatment. Patients with nanophthalmos might be prone to developing intraocular inflammation following an acute glaucoma attack. Here, we aimed to investigate the role of MYRF in intraocular inflammation by modeling the mutation in mice. Nanophthalmos frameshift mutation of Myrf was introduced into the mouse genome with the CRISPR-Cas9 system. Signaling pathways in eye tissues were delineated using RNA sequencing and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis. Intraocular inflammation was induced by a lipopolysaccharide (LPS) intravitreal injection. Dexamethasone (DEX) was administered systemically and locally a week before the LPS injection. The anterior segment clinical scores of the mice were examined 24 h after the LPS injection. Infiltrating inflammatory cells were evaluated with histopathology and immunofluorescence. The mRNA levels of inflammatory cytokines were quantified with reverse transcription-quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) and the corresponding protein concentrations using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Many inflammation-associated signaling pathways were enriched in Myrf mut/+ mice ocular tissues. Clinical scores of Myrf mut/+ mice were significantly higher than those of Myrf +/+ mice 24 h after LPS administration. Histological examination demonstrated high inflammatory cell infiltration in the anterior and vitreous chambers in Myrf mut/+ mice, with numerous CD45+ and CD11b+ inflammatory cells. Moreover, enhanced expression of inflammatory cytokines MCP-1, TGF-β, and IL-1β in eyes and aqueous humor of Myrf mut/+ mice was detected. Remarkably, pretreating Myrf mut/+ mice with DEX relieved the intraocular inflammation. Nanophthalmos-associated MYRF mutation renders mouse eyes more susceptible to inflammation. Dexamethasone treatment ameliorates the inflammatory response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To overcome the problems in forming the variable-diameter tubes by tube hydroforming, such as excessive thinning and high internal pressure, a new approach named axial hydro-forging sequence was proposed. In this approach, the tube was expanded to fill the die cavity firstly and then the thinning ratio was reduced by axial compression deformation produced in axial hydro-forging sequence. To demonstrate the feasibility of this approach, two mechanical conditions were theoretically analyzed in this study include axial hydro-forging condition and deformation sequence. Based on the plastic energy method, a critical wrinkling model for axial hydro-forging sequence was established to calculate the critical wrinkling internal pressure. It was observed that there was a critical wrinkling internal pressure in the axial hydro-forging sequence, and the critical wrinkling internal pressure increased with increasing the tube axial shortening and material strength coefficient, but decreased with the increase of strain hardening coefficient. At the same time, an analytical model based on mechanical analysis was developed to discuss the deformation sequence for different deformation zones. The results showed that the deformation sequence of the three characteristic zones in the process was as follow: maximum diameter zone > transition zone > guide zone, which satisfied the requirement of reducing the thinning ratio. Finally, experiments along with the finite element simulation were performed to validate the analytical model, and effects of key process parameters on tube forming were revealed. As a result, variable-diameter tubes were successfully produced by this approach, which indicated that the axial hydro-forging sequence is a feasible forming approach for the fabrication of tubes with variable diameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. To develop an effective surgical procedure for cellular scaffold epiretinal implantation in rhesus, facilitating subsequent epiretinal stem cell transplantation. Methods. Retinal progenitors were seeded onto a poly(lactic-co-glycolic) acid (PLGA) scaffold. First, the cellular scaffolds were delivered by 18G catheter or retinal forceps into rabbit epiretinal space (n=50). Then, the cell survival rate was evaluated by Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8). Second, three methods of scaffold fixation, including adhesion after gas-liquid exchange (n=1), tamponade by hydrogel (n=1), and fixation by retinal tacks (n=4), were performed in rhesus monkeys. After one month, fundus photography and SD-OCT were performed to assess the outcomes, and histological examination was performed to evaluate proliferation. Results. The cell survival rate was significantly higher in the catheter group. Follow-up examination showed that retinal tack fixation was the only method to maintain the scaffolds attached to host retina for at least 3 weeks, which is the minimal time required for cell integration. Histological staining demonstrated slight glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) accumulation in the retinal tack insertion area. Conclusions. The established surgical procedure offers a new insight into research of epiretinal cell replacement therapy in rhesus eyes. The successful delivery and long-term fixation provide a prerequisite for cell migration and integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• 3D deformation monitoring of surface subsidence caused by underground mining in mining areas. • Local Flat Point Extraction (LFPE) algorithm based on point cloud features to calculate accurate subsidence. • DCT transform subsidence model denoising. • Sub-pixel correlation; horizontal displacement acquisition. • Determining the potential of UAV LiDAR technology for monitoring 3D deformation. Western China is the world's major coal-producing area, accounting for 1/3 of global coal production. Large-scale underground coal mining has led to serious ground deformation that has unique spatial and temporal characteristics. However, there are obvious engineering limitations to using GNSS, InSAR, and other common measurement techniques for monitoring mining subsidence. In recent years, researchers have attempted to use UAV LiDAR to monitor subsidence in mining areas. Point clouds are obtained through periodic ground scanning. Surface subsidence information is extracted through the filtering, modeling, and superposition processes. Conventional point cloud processing usually produces subsidence models that are too noisy and only provide information on surface subsidence. This means that it is unable to capture the horizontal ground displacement accompanying subsidence in mining areas, which hinders the practical application of this technology. A local flat point extraction (LFPE) algorithm based on geomorphic features is proposed. The algorithm extracts flat surface point clouds from the scan data and calculates the precise subsidence value of the ground by superposition to facilitate deformation monitoring. The obtained subsidence volume is spatially interpolated based on the unique spatial distribution characteristics of the mining subsidence basin to generate the initial surface subsidence model. By denoising this model, we can obtain a fine surface subsidence model that avoids significant noise caused by non-ground point clouds participating in modeling and superposition in common processing methods. On this basis, we successfully extracted the horizontal displacement information accompanying subsidence by employing sub-pixel correlation using the surface feature images before and after subsidence. The proposed technical pathway was validated by applying it to a coal mining subsidence area in the Yushen mining area in western China. Results demonstrate that, compared to conventional treatments, the proposed subsidence modeling method using laser scanning point clouds improves monitoring accuracy by over 50% while also obtaining the necessary horizontal displacement information for engineering requirements. These findings confirm the efficiency and accuracy of the proposed method for acquiring 3D surface deformation in mining areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Imaging characteristics of wavefront coding systems in the presence of spherical aberration are analyzed by using ray aberration approach. The analytical expressions for ray aberration, the boundary of ray map and the size of spot diagram of a wavefront coding system in the presence of defocus and spherical aberration are obtained by wave aberration theory. The effect of spherical aberration on imaging performance of wavefront coding systems with a cubic phase mask is presented by ray aberration and spot diagram. The results show that the wavefront coding systems have a high tolerance to spherical aberration through a given defocus range. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Images captured in dense fog are always severely degraded. For luminous objects, the luminance and contrast of the image are severely reduced due to the strong absorption of suspended particles. In this case, owing to the influence of forward scattered light and detector noise, the signal-to-noise ratio of the image is greatly reduced. Traditional image dehazing algorithms will enhance the noise while improving the image contrast. Here a dynamic equation-based filter is proposed, which can strongly suppress speckle and noise while improving target contrast. Based on this filter, we design an image restoration method for luminous targets in dense fog. The effectiveness of the proposed method is verified by experiments. The experimental results show that the proposed method has a good recovery effect on the luminous targets in dense fog with an optical thickness of 4.51. The proposed method has better performance than the traditional dehazing algorithms and conventional filtering method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Nanoparticles induced by extreme ultraviolet laser are formed with the assist of graphene. • The formation of the particles is supposed to be the nucleation process. • The graphene plays a role of "nucleus" in the formation of nanoparticles. • The absorption distinction of just 3% laser energy could cause the nanoparticle formation. In this paper, dense nanoparticles are firstly reported to be formed in the ablation area of glass substrate irradiated by nanosecond extreme ultraviolet laser (EUV) with the assist of sing-layer graphene. The nanoparticles could be located on certain morphology which is controlled by the energy distribution of the focused EUV laser. The size of the nanoparticles is measured and analyzed by atomic force microscope (AFM). Raman spectroscopy is used to detect the variation of the graphene layer from the unablated area to the ablated area. The formation of the nanoparticles is discussed based on the nucleation process. According to the analysis, during the interaction, the absorption distinction of just 3% laser energy could cause this peculiar surface behavior. The results indicate that the nanosecond EUV laser is able to create self-formed nano-scale features under specific condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most conformal optical system designs concentrate on the researches of ellipdoidal domes. However, ellipsoidal domes are not the best ones which possess excellent aerodynamic performance among conicoidal conformal domes. This paper investigates the aberration characteristics of conicoidal conformal domes. For the purpose of the study, different types of infrared conformal domes, including ellipsoidal domes, parabolic domes and hyperbolic domes, with the common fineness ratio of 1.0 and an index of refraction of 2.25 are modeled by mathematical computation. To investigate the dynamic characteristics of the on-axis aberrations, the curves of third order fringe Zernike polynomials of the domes across field of regard are obtained by decomposing the incident wavefront at the exit pupil. The Zernike aberrations across field of view are also achieved to investigate the varying characteristics of off-axis aberrations. To find the similarities and difference between spherical domes and conformal domes at both field of regard and field of view, also make the foundation for optical design, spherical domes and defocused spherical domes are modeled for reference researches. The changing rules and the features of the aberrations among different types of conicoidal conformal domes are drawn as conclusions at the end of the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated the influence exerted by the aerodynamic heating of the faceted dome on imaging quality degradation of an airborne optical system. Optical transmission through the faceted dome was simulated using the ray-tracing program based on a recursive algorithm. To validate the ray-tracing program, a ray trace through the homogeneous faceted dome was performed. The program was shown to possess great accuracy. Three kinds of imaging quality evaluation parameters were presented, wave aberration of the exit pupil, point spread function and modulation transfer function. The results show that the aerodynamic heating of the faceted dome significantly affects the airborne optical system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aerodynamic flow field surrounding the conformal dome was calculated. The thermal response of the aerodynamically heated conformal dome was analyzed. Gradient refractive index method was used to rebuild the non-uniform refractive index field of the conformal dome. Zernike polynomial fitting method was employed to establish the deformed surfaces of the conformal dome. Zernike aberration theory and modulation transfer function were adopted to evaluate the imaging quality of the conformal optical system. The results show that the aerodynamic heating of the dome severely affects the imaging quality of the conformal optical system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Video anomaly detection can be used in the transportation domain to identify unusual patterns such as traffic violations, accidents, unsafe driver behavior, street crime, and other suspicious activities. A common class of approaches relies on object tracking and trajectory analysis. Very recently, sparse reconstruction techniques have been employed in video anomaly detection. The fundamental underlying assumption of these methods is that any new feature representation of a normal/anomalous event can be approximately modeled as a (sparse) linear combination prelabeled feature representations (of previously observed events) in a training dictionary. Sparsity can be a powerful prior on model coefficients but challenges remain in the detection of anomalies involving multiple objects and the ability of the linear sparsity model to effectively allow for class separation. The proposed research addresses both these issues. First, we develop a new joint sparsity model for anomaly detection that enables the detection of joint anomalies involving multiple objects. This extension is highly nontrivial since it leads to a new simultaneous sparsity problem that we solve using a greedy pursuit technique. Second, we introduce nonlinearity into, that is, kernelize. The linear sparsity model to enable superior class separability and hence anomaly detection. We extensively test on several real world video datasets involving both single and multiple object anomalies. Results show marked improvements in detection of anomalies in both supervised and unsupervised scenarios when using the proposed sparsity models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Multitarget compounding technique is a vital one in hardware-in-the-loop simulation system. In this study, we constructed ray tracing model and presented systematical data of design, simulation and characterization for multitarget compounding system based on dimpled mirror. Simulation results of beamwidth and targets compounding were sound agreed with theoretical results. Beamwidth dependence properties on main parameters were achieved and diameter of small mirror on the dimpled mirror had highest sensitivity to beamwidth. We modified beam broadening theory by concerning sphere aberration. Targets compounding results were not perfect any more when abaxial distance was over 400mm. Proposed model and the properties investigated are important for the design, optimization and fabrication of multitarget compounding system based on dimpled mirror. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background: Previously, we have demonstrated that short-term treatment of new onset diabetic Non-obese diabetic (NOD) mice, mice that are afflicted with both type 1 (T1D) and type 2 (T2D) diabetes with either Power Mix (PM) regimen or alpha1 antitrypsin (AAT) permanently restores euglycemia, immune tolerance to self-islets and normal insulin signaling. Methodology and Principal Findings: To search for relevant therapeutic targets, we have applied genome wide transcriptional profiling and systems biology oriented bioinformatics analysis to examine the impact of the PM and AAT regimens upon pancreatic lymph node (PLN) and fat, a crucial tissue for insulin dependent glucose disposal, in new onset diabetic non-obese diabetic (NOD) mice. Systems biology analysis identified tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) as the top focus gene hub, as determined by the highest degree of connectivity, in both tissues. In PLNs and fat, TNF-α interacted with 53% and 32% of genes, respectively, associated with reversal of diabetes by previous treatments and was thereby selected as a therapeutic target. Short-term anti-TNF-α treatment ablated a T cell-rich islet-invasive and beta cell-destructive process, thereby enhancing beta cell viability. Indeed anti-TNF-α treatment induces immune tolerance selective to syngeneic beta cells. In addition to these curative effects on T1D anti-TNF-α treatment restored in vivo insulin signaling resulting in restoration of insulin sensitivity. Conclusions: In short, our molecular analysis suggested that PM and AAT both may act in part by quenching a detrimental TNF-α dependent effect in both fat and PLNs. Indeed, short-term anti-TNF-α mAb treatment restored enduring euglycemia, self-tolerance, and normal insulin signaling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In order to analyze the Fraunhofer diffractive characteristics and modulation transfer function (MTF) of a tilted ring metallic mesh, an optical intensity distribution model of Fraunhofer diffraction is built using Huygens–Fresnel diffraction theory and the diffraction integral is carried out directly in the tilted mesh plane. The diffraction characteristics of the tilted ring metallic mesh are in good agreement with experimental results, which proves the correctness of the model established. MTF of an optical system with metallic mesh is calculated based on the model established and Fourier transform. Analysis shows that the degradation of MTF caused by diffraction of a ring mesh is much less than that of a square mesh whether they are vertical or tilted to the optical axis. Therefore, ring mesh can provide higher imaging quality than square mesh when they are used as high-pass filters in optical windows. A tilted array diffraction modulating factor is abstracted and believed useful in the analysis of diffractive characteristics of tilted square mesh and ring mesh, and it can be extended to Fraunhofer diffractive characteristics analysis of other tilted diffraction arrays. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The JPEG standard is one of the most prevalent image compression schemes in use today. While JPEG was designed for use with natural images, it is also widely used for the encoding of raster documents. Unfortunately, JPEG's characteristic blocking and ringing artifacts can severely degrade the quality of text and graphics in complex documents. We propose a JPEG decompression algorithm which is designed to produce substantially higher quality images from the same standard JPEG encodings. The method works by incorporating a document image model into the decoding process which accounts for the wide variety of content in modern complex color documents. The method works by first segmenting the JPEG encoded document into regions corresponding to background, text, and picture content. The regions corresponding to text and background are then decoded using maximum a posteriori (MAP) estimation. Most importantly, the MAP reconstruction of the text regions uses a model which accounts for the spatial characteristics of text and graphics. Our experimental comparisons to the baseline JPEG decoding as well as to three other decoding schemes, demonstrate that our method substantially improves the quality of decoded images, both visually and as measured by PSNR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the geometry and aberration characteristics of von Karman conformal domes have been investigated. Based on the theory of differential geometry, the uniform formulas of curvature, which are suitable for von Karman surface, were deduced in the meridian plane and sagittal plane, respectively. According to the formula, the geometry characteristics were analyzed. By using ray tracing, the geometric aberrations and wave aberrations of the von Karman dome were obtained. Further, the aberration characteristics of the von Karman dome with different design parameters were analyzed in depth. The results showed that for the viewing angle changing from 0° to 15°, numerous aberrations, namely, defocus, astigmatism, coma, spherical, trefoil, and tetrafoil were introduced by the von Karman, whose law is similar to its geometric characteristics. The factors with a high impact on aberrations were the aspect ratio, material, and diameter of the entrance pupil. • Apply the von Karman surface to the conformal dome configuration design. • Clarify the geometric characteristics of the von Karman conformal dome. • Comprehensive study the various primary and high-order aberrations introduced by the von Karman conformal dome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]