Search

Fatigue driving is a significant factor in traffic accidents, underscoring the importance of driver fatigue detection. Existing fatigue detection methods are susceptible to factors such as acquisition angle and face occlusion, and a large number of parameters make them unsuitable for deployment on embedded devices. To address these issues, this paper proposes a lightweight fatigue driving detection method based on facial features. Firstly, a lightweight face detection method is presented, which introduces a lightweight backbone network to extract effective features. Subsequently, a lightweight facial landmark detection method is proposed to enhance positioning accuracy by modifying the structure of the model and the loss function, obtaining 98 landmarks of the driver, and allowing for the calculation of fatigue characterization parameters for the eyes, mouth, and head. Finally, we combine the extracted fatigue characteristic parameters to comprehensively assess the driver's fatigue state. Experimental results demonstrate that our method exhibits low model complexity, fulfilling the real-time and accuracy requirements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Uniaxial compression tests were conducted on quartz mica schist in a laboratory to study the brittle failure modes of foliated rocks. By focusing on the crack evolution pattern, the failure mechanisms of foliated rocks were investigated by numerical tests based on particle discrete element theory. Furthermore, the effect of fabric on the mechanical anisotropy of foliated rocks was explored. The results indicated that the failure of foliated rocks subjected to uniaxial compression is heavily controlled by the rock fabric, exhibiting complex modes depending on the loading direction, including axial tensile fracture, oblique shear fracture, conical shear fracture, slip shear failure and splitting failure. Cracks initiated in the compressed rocks are induced from the contact surfaces of granular and flaky minerals and from the tips of flaky minerals. The crack initiation of foliated rocks, attributed to the concentration of tensile stress within the rock, responds to the loading direction in terms of the induced mechanism. When α = 90°, 45° and 0°, crack initiation depends on the differences in the mechanical properties of different minerals, the slipping of flaky minerals, and the kinking of flaky minerals, respectively. The formation of primary fracture planes results from tension crack coalescence + shear crack connection (α = 90°), shear crack or tension‒shear composite crack connection (α = 45°), and tension crack coalescence (α = 0°). As the orientation degree of flaky minerals decreases, the failure mode experiences a gradual decrease in sensitivity to the loading direction, and the curve of strength variation with orientation angle changes from U-shaped to shoulder-shaped or wave-shaped, accompanied by a decreasing anisotropy degree of rock strength. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social distancing is an important non-pharmaceutical intervention tool (NPIs) to prevent the spread of COVID-19. However, it also created negative impacts of economic activities. Understanding the emotions and public opinions about social distancing are important for the future policy making of COVID-19 mitigation and the assessment of public health impacts. This study collected 77,627 number of Twitter messages (tweets) between February 1, 2020 and April 30, 2020 from five English-speaking countries (United States, the United Kingdom, India, Canada, and Australia) using the social distancing keywords. We adopted a multi-module hybrid convolutional neural network model sentiment analysis on social distancing related tweets with 85.95% accuracy. This paper conducts a sentiment analysis of tweets from the public on social distancing measures in five countries. Our findings show similar sentiments in tweets from these five countries, which is more positives than negatives about social distancing measures in the public. Additionally, when the daily number of new cases changes, public sentiment fluctuates with it. We believe that social distancing is effective in preventing the spread of coronavirus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Renewable natural polymer: cellulose nanofibers (CNF), with the characteristics of one-dimensional nanowires structure and rich in functional groups, have shown a wide range of potential applications in lithium-sulfur batteries. However, the electrical insulating properties of CNF inhibit its application in host materials of lithium-sulfur batteries. In this work, the influence of the CNF with different charge states (positively or negatively charged CNF) and delaminated-MXene (d-MXene) composite materials on the electrochemical performance of lithium-sulfur batteries was investigated. Two different types of cellulose nanofibers (TEMPO-mediated oxidation cellulose nanofiber and cationic cellulose nanofiber) were combined with d-MXene through the directional assembly of ice templates to prepare d-MXene/TEMPO-mediated oxidation cellulose nanofiber (MT) and d-MXene/cationic cellulose nanofiber (MC) composite aerogels, respectively. As a result, MT-4 aerogel as the cathode for lithium-sulfur battery shows excellent rate performance (capacity of 848.1 mA h g−1 at the current density of 2 C), MC-6 aerogel cathode exhibits ultra-high capacity (1573.7 mA h g−1 at 0.1 C), and excellent long-term cycling performance (capacity retention rate of 96.3% after 200 cycles). The design strategy of renewable cellulose nanofiber composite materials offers a new angle for the design of low-cost and high-performance lithium-sulfur batteries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A brief overview of the research history of the early stages of Polyphaga evolution is given. Reasons for the unparalleled evolutionary success of Polyphaga, which allowed them to become the dominant suborder from the Early Cretaceous to the present time, is analyzed on the basis of published data. Morphology of early findings of crown group beetles (family Ademosynidae, genera Archosyne Ponomarenko et al., 2014 and Ponomarenkium Yan et al., 2018) from the Middle and Late Permian and Triassic (family Peltosynidae) are evaluated morphologically, and their key apomorphies are highlighted. Phylogenetic hypotheses based on molecular analysis, which aimed at reconstructing the appearance and lifestyle of the earliest Polyphaga, are evaluated. Basal branching is shown in Polyphaga, which produced a wide spectrum of forms, no less than in other infraorder-level taxa of Holometabola, and helped them to survive three out of the five mass extinctions of Phanerozoic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Underground water-sealed storage cavern is an important way for petroleum strategic reserve in China, which owns lots of outstanding advantages, such as low operating costs, high safety, and land resource conservation. As the major structure in underground water-sealed storage cavern, its layout parameters and excavation scheme will have significant impact on rock stability and overall project quality. A method is put forward to optimize layout and excavation scheme of main caverns. In this method, the Q system and Hoek–Brown strength criterion is utilized to estimate equivalent mechanical parameters of rock mass based on field survey data. Numerical test analysis is carried out by 3 Dimensions Distinct Element Code (3DEC). Displacement, maximum displacement and plastic zone volume are selected as three indicators for quantitative assessment. Besides, it is applied into a proposed large-scale underground water-sealed storage cavern project in China. Results show that axial direction should adopt NW325°, buried depth of cavern crown should locate at − 100 m, and spacing should be 1.5 times the span (36 m). Scheme two and "jump excavation" mode is recommended in construction, which can effectively reduce the interaction effect between adjacent caverns. This method has the characteristics of easy data acquisition, strong operability and common applicability. The achieved results can not only provide reference for related projects, but also further enrich the research content in this field, which has a certain engineering value and theoretical significance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the leg-lowering process, the offshore jack-up platform is in a floating state, and the spudcan may collide with the seabed due to the platform motion in waves, thereby threatening the safety and stability of the platform. This paper first analyzed the hydrodynamic response of a jack-up platform under different sea states. Then a finite-element model was established which considered the material and geometrical nonlinearity in the structure and the nonlinear interaction between soil and structure to investigate the collision response between the spudcan and seabed during lowering jack-up legs. The results show that the dynamic response of the platform decreases and gradually tends to be stable as the wave period increases. The motion response of the platform reach the largest value when the wave period is 8 s and the wave direction is 0°. The collision angle between the spudcan and seabed has a large influence on the collision response, while the velocity of leg-lowering has little influence on the collision response. The collision response is also significantly affected by soil conditions. For clay, the increase in undrained shear strength and Young's modulus will increase the impact force. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discontinuities have huge impact on civil and mining engineering. To understand the spatial features of discontinuities, it is common to group them into different sets based on orientation. In this paper, a new algorithm is introduced for the identification of discontinuity sets. The new algorithm is developed by combined fuzzy C-means algorithm with variable length string genetic algorithm. In the new method, the number of discontinuity sets is not the necessary input parameter any more. This method is robust, global optimal and totally automatic. To verify its validity, the new method was firstly applied to an artificial data as well as a published data. For artificial data set, the assignment error rate is only 7.4%. For published data set, only 2 discontinuities are assigned to wrong sets. The results indicate that the new algorithm is better than fuzzy C-means algorithm and comparable with other common methods. Afterwards, the new method was utilized to analyze the orientation data sampled at an underground storage cavern site. The new method determines that the ideal number of sets is 3. The new method provided satisfactory results, which confirm its effectiveness and convenience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The first fossil monotypic genus of the subfamily Necrophilinae (Coleoptera, Agyrtidae), Palaeonecrophilus buryaticus gen. et sp. nov., is described from a positive and negative imprint found at the Early Cretaceous Khasurty locality in Western Transbaikalia. The beetle is similar to modern Necrophilinae in the presence of notches on the apical antennomeres and the wide and flattened edges of the pronotum. It is distinguished from the modern species by the strong anterior protrusion of the anterior pronotal angles and the oblique orientation of the metanepisterna. Widely spaced anterior coxae with a process between them distinguish the new species from the representatives of the genus Necrophilus. Palaeonecrophilus presumably fed on carrion, like modern Necrophilus and Zeanecrophilus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, comprehensive laboratory experiments, such as thin-section and optical section analyses and P wave velocity and uniaxial compression tests, are performed on three types of quartz mica schist samples. The thin-section analysis reveals that the schist predominately consists of flaky mica and granular minerals, including quartz, feldspar, and calcite. The two types of minerals, both presenting a certain degree of orientation, are arranged to form a quasi-bedded structure as a whole, which essentially leads to macroscopic physicomechanic anisotropy. By means of optical section observation, directional microfissures are found to mainly be distributed alongside the edge of the oriented mica layer, while defects in other parts exhibit irregular orientation. Moreover, quantitative information is extracted from gray images by Image-Pro Plus (IPP), and then, relevant indicators are proposed to quantitatively analyze the differences in the content, morphology, and distribution characteristics of minerals and defects among the three types of samples. P wave velocity measurements of dry cylindrical specimens with different schistosity angles α show that the minimum value lies in the direction of the transverse schistosity planes (α = 90°) and that the P wave velocity increases with the decrease of the schistosity angle. There is an obvious linear positive correlation between the orientation coefficient of mica, which is adopted to indirectly reflect the orientation degree of microfissure, and the 0.5 power of the velocity anisotropy coefficient. The uniaxial compression test of specimens reveals the anisotropic characteristics of the peak strength, failure mode, and crack initiation and propagation for the schist samples. In particular, with the change of the schistosity angle, the peak strength and crack initiation strength have a U shape, characterized by a minimum value at α = 30° and maximum value at α = 0° or 90°. Directional microfissures and irregular defects with a dominant angle control the crack initiation of the specimens with 0° ≤ α ≤ 45° and 45° < α ≤ 90°, respectively. The weak edge of the directional mica layers has a more or less guiding effect on crack propagation when compressive loading is applied obliquely to the schistosity planes, while crack propagation is independent of weak edges when perpendicular to the planes. Three failure modes occur in the specimens with the change of the schistosity angle: tension-splitting failure, shear-slip failure, and shear failure. It is found that the mechanical anisotropy properties of the schist samples are closely associated with the content, morphology, and distribution characteristics of minerals and defects based on the analyses of the macro- and microquantitative data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the cluster analysis (CA), probabilistic methods, and artificial neural networks (ANNs) are used to predict landslide susceptibility. The Geographic Information System (GIS) is used as the basic tool for spatial data management. CA is applied to select non-landslide dataset for later analysis. A probabilistic method is suggested to calculate the rating of the relative importance of each class belonging to each conditional factor. ANN is applied to calculate the weight (i.e., relative importance) of each factor. Using the ratings and the weights, it is proposed to calculate the landslide susceptibility index (LSI) for each pixel in the study area. The obtained LSI values can then be used to construct the landslide susceptibility map. The aforementioned proposed method was applied to the Longfeng town, a landslide-prone area in Hubei province, China. The following eight conditional factors were selected: lithology, slope angle, distance to stream/reservoir, distance to road, stream power index (SPI), altitude, curvature, and slope aspect. To assess the conditional factor effects, the weights were calculated for four cases, using 8 factors, 6 factors, 5 factors, and 4 factors, respectively. Then, the results of the landslide susceptibility analysis for these four cases, with and without weighting, were obtained. To validate the process, the receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve and the area under the curve (AUC) were applied. In addition, the results were compared with the existing landslide locations. The validation results showed good agreement between the existing landslides and the computed susceptibility maps. The results with weighting were found to be better than that without weighting. The best accuracy was obtained for the case with 5 conditional factors with weighting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The anisotropy of schist usually has a complex influence on stability of tunnel surrounding rock. In this study, the schist anisotropy and its variation with the confining pressure are analyzed by the triaxial compression test. Then, geological models of tunnel under typical schistose angles α are established based on the highway tunnel project from Shiyan City to Fangxian County in China. Furthermore, the anisotropic failure mechanism, plastic zone distribution and displacement distribution of surrounding rock are investigated to understand its deformation and failure response pattern to the buried depth of tunnel and variable anisotropy. The results show that increased confining pressure weakens deformation anisotropy and weakly strengthens strength anisotropy of the schist. As the buried depth of tunnel changes from 60 to 140 m, the plastic morphology of surrounding rock with α = 0° presents a similar oval and it has a horizontal development trend. When α = 45°, it shows a spiral sector which has oblique extension as well as the increased angle θ between the long and short axis. While a cap shape with vertical development trend when α = 90°. With the weakening deformation anisotropy of surrounding rock, the anisotropic influence coefficient γ 1 decreases gradually, indicating that schistose plane engenders a diminishing effect on the anisotropic deformation of surrounding rock as buried depth of tunnel increases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An adaptive sampling approach is proposed, which can sample spatially varying shear strength parameters efficiently to reduce uncertainty in the slope stability analysis. This approach employs a limit equilibrium model and stochastic conditional methodology to determine the likely sampling locations. Karhunen-Loève expansion is used to conduct the conditional Monte Carlo simulation. A first-order analysis is also proposed to ease the computational burden associated with Monte Carlo simulation. These approaches are then tested using borehole data from a field site. Results indicate that the proposed adaptive sampling approach is an effective and efficient sampling scheme for reducing uncertainty in slope stability analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Persistent economic growth in Chinese southwestern Yunnan Province is setting aquatic ecosystems in its plateau lakes under enormous pressure. While several different systems have previously been used to study these lakes, no existing methodology adequately measures both the chemical and biotic parameters of these water bodies. Here, we present a novel Biotic Monitoring Yunnan Lakes (BMYL) index that provides a general assessment tool for ecological deterioration that is caused by organic pollution. Principal Component Analysis is used to analyze the occurrence of families of macroinvertebrates and chemical properties of the lakes. In brief, families of macroinvertebrates were given a score from 10 to 1 based on sensitivity to organic enrichment and eutrophication. Sampling at each lake yielded an Average Score per Lake (ASPL) which is calculated by dividing the total BMYL by the total number of scoring families. High ASPL values characterize a biologically intact lake containing relatively large numbers of high scoring taxa, while lower ASPL values denote a polluted lake that does not support many high scoring taxa. The results of the BMYL show a notably more accurate characterization of the long-term health of concerned aquatic ecosystems than studies that use abundance levels of species or a simple analysis of chemical parameter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The study aimed to compare the diagnostic efficiency of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) with that of contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CECT) in the evaluation of benign and malignant small renal masses (SRMs) (<4 cm) confirmed by pathology. Methods: A total of 118 patients with 118 renal masses smaller than 4 cm diagnosed by both CEUS and CECT were enrolled in this study, including 25 benign lesions and 93 malignant lesions. All lesions were confirmed by histopathologic diagnosis after surgical resection. The diagnostic imaging studies of the patients were retrospectively reviewed by two independent ultrasonologists and two independent radiologists blinded to the CT or ultrasound findings and final histological results. All lesions on both CEUS and CECT were independently scored on a 3-point scale (1: benign, 2: equivocal, and 3: malignant). The concordance between interobserver agreement was interpreted using a weighted kappa statistic. The diagnostic efficiency of the evaluation of benign and malignant lesions was compared between CEUS and CECT. Results: All the 118 included lesions were detected by both CEUS and CECT. In CEUS and CECT imaging evaluation of the 118 lesions, the weighted kappa value interpreting the concordance between interobserver agreement was 0.89 (95% CI 0.79-0.98) and 0.93 (95% CI 0.87-0.99), respectively. Both CEUS and CECT demonstrated good diagnostic performance in differential diagnosis of benign and malignant SRMs with sensitivity of 93.5% and 89.2%, specificity of 68% and 76%, PPV of 91.6% and 93.3%, NPV of 73.9% and 65.5%, and AUC of 0.808 and 0.826, respectively. There was no statistically significant difference in any of the diagnostic performance indices between these two methods ( P > 0.05). However, the qualitative diagnosis of small papillary renal cell carcinoma (RCC) by CEUS was significantly better than that by CECT ( P < 0.05), while there was no significant difference in qualitative diagnostic accuracy on other histotypes of SRMs between CEUS and CECT ( P > 0.05). Conclusions: Both CEUS and CECT imaging modalities are effective for the differential diagnosis of benign and malignant SRMs. Furthermore, CEUS may be more effective than CECT for the qualitative diagnosis of small papillary RCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Zhejiang University: Science B is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Objectives: To evaluate the use of dual-energy CT imaging of the lung perfused blood volume (PBV) for the detection of pulmonary fat embolism (PFE).Methods: Dual-energy CT was performed in 24 rabbits before and 1 hour, 1 day, 4 days and 7 days after artificial induction of PFE via the right ear vein. CT pulmonary angiography (CTPA) and lung PBV images were evaluated by two radiologists, who recorded the presence, number, and location of PFE on a per-lobe basis. Sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of CTPA and lung PBV for detecting PFE were calculated using histopathological evaluation as the reference standard.Results: A total of 144 lung lobes in 24 rabbits were evaluated and 70 fat emboli were detected on histopathological analysis. The overall sensitivity, specificity and accuracy were 25.4 %, 98.6 %, and 62.5 % for CTPA, and 82.6 %, 76.0 %, and 79.2 % for lung PBV. Higher sensitivity (p < 0.001) and accuracy (p < 0.01), but lower specificity (p < 0.001), were found for lung PBV compared with CTPA. Dual-energy CT can detect PFE earlier than CTPA (all p < 0.01).Conclusion: Dual-energy CT provided higher sensitivity and accuracy in the detection of PFE as well as earlier detection compared with conventional CTPA in this animal model study.Key Points: • Fat embolism occurs commonly in patients with traumatic bone injury. • Dual-energy CT improves diagnostic performance for pulmonary fat embolism detection. • Dual-energy CT can detect pulmonary fat embolism earlier than CTPA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of macroporous CuO-ZnO-ZrO (CZZ) catalysts with different Zn/Zr ratios were successfully prepared by template method and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), N adsorption, reactive NO adsorption, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), H temperature-programmed reduction (H-TPR), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The activity of the catalysts was tested for methanol synthesis from CO hydrogenation. It is found that the increase in the Zn/Zr ratio could lead to the sintering of the catalysts, destroying the macroporous structure integrity. The macroporous CZZ catalysts own lower Zn/Zr ratio, exhibiting a better morphology and activity. For comparison, the conventional nonporous CZZ catalysts were also investigated. The results show that the CZZ catalysts with macroporous structure own smaller particles, higher CO conversion, and CHOH yield. It reveals that the macroporous structure could inhibit the growth of the particle size, and the special porous structure is favorable for diffusion and penetration of CO, which could improve the catalytic activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The threshold value used in receiver autonomous integrity monitoring algorithms to identify faults has a significant impact on positioning integrity and GPS/GNSS availability. The value is usually selected empirically or under certain distribution assumptions; its calculation for a non-Gaussian test statistic has not been solved. For fault detection methods using a particle filter, a new heuristic method is proposed to select an appropriate fault detection threshold value using an optimization model. In this method, a non-Gaussian cumulative log likelihood ratio (LLR) value is used as the test statistic. Its threshold is determined using an integrity risk minimization problem with an availability constraint. Since there is no closed form for this optimization model, a genetic algorithm with a local search strategy is adopted to find a near-optimal solution. Experimental results show that this method can be used to compute the non-Gaussian fault detection threshold value subject to different availability constraints. Comparisons with empirical and distribution-based methods indicate that while meeting the same probability for false-alert constraint, the probability of missed detection in the optimized approach is much lower than for other methods, especially for small numbers of errors. Since the cumulative LLR value does not exhibit obvious statistical features for any distribution, the performance of our optimized approach is stable for different test cases and satellite data sets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Knowledge of the fracture hydraulic aperture and its relation to the mechanical aperture and normal stress is urgently needed in engineering construction and analytical research at the engineering field scale. A new method based on the in situ borehole camera measurement and borehole water-pressure test is proposed for the calculation of the fracture hydraulic aperture. This method comprises six steps. The first step is to obtain the equivalent hydraulic conductivity of the test section from borehole water-pressure tests. The second step is a tentative calculation to obtain the qualitative relation between the reduction coefficient and the mechanical aperture obtained from borehole camera measurements. The third step is to choose the preliminary reduction coefficient for obtaining the initial hydraulic aperture. The remaining three steps are to optimize, using the genetic algorithm, the hydraulic apertures of fractures with high uncertainty. The method is then applied to a fractured granite engineering area whose purpose is the construction of an underground water-sealed storage cavern for liquefied petroleum gas. The probability distribution characteristics of the hydraulic aperture, the relationship between the hydraulic aperture and the mechanical aperture, the hydraulic aperture and the normal stress, and the differences between altered fractures and fresh fractures are all analyzed. Based on the effects of the engineering applications, the method is proved to be feasible and reliable. More importantly, the results of the hydraulic aperture obtained in this paper are different from those results elicited from laboratory tests, and the reasons are discussed in the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The nuclear localization of Drosha is critical for its function as a microRNA maturation regulator. Dephosphorylation of Drosha at serine 300 and serine 302 disrupts its nuclear localization, and aberrant distribution of Drosha has been detected in some tumors.Aims: The purpose of the present study was to assess cytoplasmic/nuclear Drosha expression in gastric cancer carcinogenesis and progression.Methods: Drosha expression and its subcellular location was investigated by immunohistochemical staining of a set of tissue microarrays composed of normal adjacent tissues (374), chronic gastritis (137), precancerous lesions (94), and gastric adenocarcinoma (829) samples, and in gastric cancer cell lines with varying differentiation by immunofluorescence and western blot assay.Results: Gradual loss of cytoplasmic Drosha was accompanied by tumor progression in both gastric cancer tissues and cell lines, and was inversely associated with tumor volume (P = 0.002), tumor grade (P < 0.001), tumor stage (P = 0.018), and distant metastasis (P = 0.026). Aberrant high levels of cytoplasmic Drosha were apparent in intestinal metaplasia and dysplasia tissues. The levels of nuclear Drosha were sharply decreased in chronic gastritis and maintained through precancerous lesions to gastric cancer. High levels of cytoplasmic Drosha predicted longer survival (LR = 7.088, P = 0.008) in gastric cancer patients.Conclusions: Our data provide novel insights into gastric cancer that cytoplasmic Drosha potentially plays a role in preventing carcinogenesis and tumor progression, and may be an independent predictor of patient outcome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To investigate image quality, radiation dose, and diagnostic performance of prospectively ECG-triggered high-pitch coronary CT angiography (CCTA) at 70 kVp compared to invasive coronary angiography (ICA) as reference standard.Materials and Methods: Forty-three patients underwent prospectively ECG-triggered high-pitch CCTA at 70 kVp using 30 cc (11 g iodine) contrast medium and ICA. Subjective and objective image quality was evaluated for each CCTA study. CCTA performance for diagnosing ≥50% stenosis was assessed. Results were stratified according to heart rate (HR), body mass index (BMI), Agatston score, and image quality.Results: At CCTA, 94.3% (500/530) of coronary segments were of diagnostic quality. Using ICA as reference standard, sensitivity and accuracy were 100% and 93.0% on a per-patient basis. Per-vessel and per-segment performances were 92.2% and 89.5%; 79.5% and 88.3%, respectively. No differences were found in diagnostic accuracy between different HR, BMI, and calcification subgroups (all P > 0.05) on a per-patient basis. However, low image quality reduced diagnostic accuracy on a per-patient, per-vessel and per-segment basis (all P < 0.05). The mean effective radiation dose was 0.2 ± 0.0 mSv.Conclusion: Our presented protocol results in an effective radiation dose of 0.2 mSv and high diagnostic accuracy for stenosis detection in a selected, non-obese population.Key Points: Prospectively ECG-triggered high-pitch CCTA at 70 kVp is feasible. This protocol has a high diagnostic accuracy for stenosis detection. The mean effective radiation dose was 0.2 ± 0.0 mSv. Only 30 cc of contrast material is used in this protocol. Low image quality reduced diagnostic accuracy of CCTA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The calculation method of sliding ratios for conjugate-curve gear pair, generated based on the theory of conjugate curves, is proposed. The theoretical model of conjugate-curve gear drive is briefly introduced. The general calculation formulas of sliding ratios are developed according to the conjugate curves. The applications to the circular arc gears based on conjugate curves and the novel involute-helix gears are studied. A comparison on the sliding coefficient with the conventional corresponding gear drive is also carried out. The influences of gear parameters such as spiral parameter, gear ratio and modulus on the sliding ratios of gear drive are discussed. Brief description of manufacturing method for conjugate-curve gear pair is given. The research results show that the sliding ratios of gear pair become smaller with the increase of spiral parameter and gear ratio, respectively. And it will be greater with the increase of modulus for the tooth profiles. The meshing characteristics of conjugate-curve gears are further reflected and the optimization design of tooth profiles with high performance may be obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the most interesting Mesozoic Lagerstätten, Shar Teg in southwestern Mongolia, is reviewed. The geological structure and oryctocoenoses of Shar Teg are described. Shar Teg is one of the most diverse Jurassic Lagerstätten in terms of fossils represented. Fossils from Shar Teg include aquatic and terrestrial plants, mollusks, crustaceans, insects, fishes, amphibians, reptiles, and mammals. Insects are the most diverse group. To date, a total of 297 species of 161 families and 22 orders have been described or recorded in Shar Teg, making it possible to reconstruct comprehensively the Jurassic biota of the locality. The oryctocoenosis composition is peculiar; it includes only six species described from other localities. The oryctocoenosis appears to link the faunas of eastern Asia, Central Asia, and Europe. A total of 31 new species are described. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two new monotypic genera of the family Lasiosynidae, Microsyne gen. nov. and Crassisyne gen. nov., are described from two Early Cretaceous localities: Baisa (Eastern Siberia, Zaza Formation) and Sharyn-Gol (Mongolia, Sharyn-Gol Formation): Peculiar morphological features of different lasiosynid genera and general trends of their morphological evolution are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New beetles are described from the Middle Permian (Upper Capitanian) locality Yinping (Anhui Province, China): Linicupes yinpinensis gen. et sp. nov. (Permocupedidae), Taldycupes pingi sp. nov. (Taldycupedidae), Archosyne permiana gen. et sp. nov., Chaocoleus limnebius gen. et sp. nov. (Ademosynidae) and Asiocoleopsis hongi sp. nov. (Asiocoleidae); the type material of Dikerocoleus divisus Lin, 1982 from the same type locality is redescribed. Comparison with beetles from the Permian of European Russia shows that Yinping beetles are similar to Late Severodvinian beetles rather than to Early Severodvinian and Urzhumian ones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Six new species of the genus Lasiosyne Tan et al., 2007, the type genus of the family Lasiosynidae Kirejtshuk et al., 2010, are described from Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous deposits of Mongolia and East Siberia: L. shartegiensis sp. nov., L. insculpta sp. nov., L. longitarsa sp. nov., L. cataphracta sp. nov., L. punctata sp. nov., and L. decora sp. nov. A modified diagnosis of the genus is proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BackgroundTo evaluate the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, and dose-limiting toxicities of a single intravitreal (IVT) injection of PF-04523655, a 19-nucleotide, O-methyl stabilized, double-stranded small interfering ribonucleic acid targeting the RTP801 gene in patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD).MethodsProspective, phase 1, clinical multicentre trial, enrolled 27 patients with neovascular AMD unresponsive to prior treatment and best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) ≤20/200 in the study eye in stratum 1: (dose-escalating, open-label: 50 to 3000 μg of PF-04523655) and 27 patients who had potential to benefit from therapy and BCVA of ≤20/100 and ≥20/800 in stratum 2 (parallel, masked study of 1000, 1500, 2250, and 3000 μg of PF-04523655). The primary outcome was safety and tolerability assessment as well as pharmacokinetic profiling following a single IVT injection of PF-04523655.ResultsDoses of PF-04523655 ≥400 μg were generally detectable in the plasma at 1, 4, and 24 h post-injection. And all doses were below the lowest level of quantification by day 14. A single IVT injection of 50 to 3000 μg of PF-045237655 was generally safe and well tolerated over 24 months. There were no dose-limiting toxicities.ConclusionA single IVT injection of PF-0523655 ≤3000 μg seems safe and well tolerated in eyes with neovascular AMD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three new beetle species of the formal genus Artematopoides, i.e., A. maximus sp. nov., A. crispulus sp. nov., and A. lepidus sp. nov., from the Mongolian Shar-Teg locality are described. Early Jurassic Ovivagina propinqua Zhang, 1997, O. prolixa Zhang, 1997, and O. insculpta Zhang, 1997 from the Junggar Basin (Xinjiang, China) and Middle Jurassic Sinonitidulina longa Hong, 1983 from the Zhouyingzi locality (Hebei, China) are transferred to Artematopoides, and the three species from Xinjiang are redescribed. Ovivagina immediata Zhang, 1997 is synonymized with O. insculpta Zhang, 1997. A new name, Artematopodites leskoviensis Yan, nom. nov., is proposed for A. longus Ponomarenko, 1990, which proved to be a junior secondary homonym of A. longa (Hong, 1983). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new coleopteran genus, Parelateriformius, gen. nov., comprising the species P. communis, sp. nov., P. villosus, sp. nov., P. capitifossus, sp. nov., and P. mirabdominis, sp. nov., is described from Daohugou deposits, Inner Mongolia, China, and is assigned to the infraorder Elateriformia. The systematic position of the new genus within the suborder Polyphaga is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the study was to compare the ability of dual energy CT (DECT) and perfusion scintigraphy (PS) to detect pulmonary embolism (PE) in a rabbit model. Gelfoam (n = 20) or saline (n = 4) was injected into the femoral vein of rabbits. After 2 h, DECT pulmonary angiography (CTPA) was used to create blood flow imaging (BFI) and fusion images. The rabbits then underwent PS. Pathological determination of locations and numbers of lung lobes with PE was recorded. The sensitivity and specificity for BFI, CTPA, fused images and PS were calculated using the pathological results as reference standards. Compared with pathological evaluation, CTPA correctly identified PE in 40 lobes and absence of emboli in 80 lobes, corresponding to a sensitivity and specificity of 100%. BFI and fused images correctly identified PE in 40 lobes and the absence of emboli in 78 lobes, corresponding to a sensitivity and specificity of 100% and 98%, respectively. PS correctly detected 27 lobes with PE and 65 lobes without PE, corresponding to a sensitivity and specificity of 68% and 81%, respectively. BFI, CTPA and fused images derived from a single contrast-enhanced DECT provide a higher diagnostic accuracy of detecting PE than PS in a rabbit model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new coleopteran genus, Anacapitis gen. nov., comprising A. karataviensis sp. nov., A. incertus sp. nov., and A. oblongus sp. nov., is described from the Karabastau Formation of the Karatau locality (southern Kazakhstan, Middle-Late Jurassic) in the infraorder Elateriformia. The systematic position of the new genus within the suborder Polyphaga is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new species of genus Microrasbora Annandale (1918), M. microphthalma, is described from the Nanwan River, a tributary of the Ruili River, Irrawaddy drainage, in southwest Yunnan province, China. This new species is the first record of the genus Microrasbora in China. Microrasbora microphthalma can be distinguished from the other species of Microrasbora by the following combination of characters: 15–16 predorsal scales, eye diameter/head length 27–38%, eye diameter/interorbital width 70–93%, predorsal length/ standard length 60–68%, the preanal length/ standard length 65–71% and the origin of dorsal fin is posterior of that of the ventral fin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metabolic flux distributions of recombinant Escherichia coli BL21 expressing human-like collagen were determined by means of a stoichiometric network and metabolic balancing. At the batch growth stage, the fluxes of the pentose phosphate pathway were higher than the fluxes of the fed-batch growth phase and the production stage. After the temperature was increased, there was a substantially elevated energy demand for synthesizing human-like collagen and heat-shock proteins, which resulted in changes in metabolic fluxes. The activities of the Embden-Meyerhof-Parnas pathway and the tricarboxylic acid cycle were significantly enhanced, leading to a reduction in the fluxes of the pentose phosphate pathway and other anabolic pathways. The temperature upshift also caused an increase in NADPH production by isocitrate dehydrogenase in the tricarboxylic acid cycle. The metabolic model predicted the involvement of a transhydrogenase that generates additional NADH from NADPH, thereby increasing ATP regeneration in the respiratory chain. These data indicated that the maintenance energy for cellular activity increased with the increase in biomass in fed-batch culture, and that cell growth and synthesis of human-like collagen could clearly represent the changes in metabolic fluxes. At the production stage, more NADPH was used to synthesize human-like collagen than for maintaining cellular activity, cell growth, and cell propagation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Herlitz subtype of junctional epidermolysis bullosa (JEB-H) is a lethal genetic disorder characterized by recurrent and persistent erosions of the epithelial surfaces that heal with exuberant granulation tissue. In addition, respiratory distress, refractory anemia and failure to thrive are often seen. Mortality in the first year of life approaches 90%. JEB-H is caused by mutations in the genes that encode the protein laminin 5, a structural molecule involved in the adhesion of epidermis to dermis. There is currently no cure for JEB-H. Medical interventions treat complications but do not ultimately limit mortality. Ethical principles contend that offering comfort and company to the patient and family, not aggressive therapies, should comprise the mainstay of care for affected infants.Journal of Perinatology (2007) 27, 307–311. doi:10.1038/sj.jp.7211694; published online 15 March 2007 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three chemical vapor deposited diamond films were studied by dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP)-enhanced high-resolution solid-state13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Enhanced13C direct-polarization spectra of diamond films were obtained by irradiating the samples with microwaves at or near electron spin resonance Larmor frequency of carbon center free radicals. No NMR signal for sp2 hybridized carbons could be observed. From the curve of the DNP enhancement as a function of frequency, it is found that the dominant DNP mechanism is the solid-state effect. The13C cross-polarization spectrum, which is an evidence for existence of the proton defect in the lattice of diamond films, is much broader than the13C single pulse spectrum. The reason is discussed shortly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents information on the fish species Yunnanilus Discoloris. The fish is an endangered variety with a common name Yi se yun nan qiu. The fish has a naked body, with dorsal fin originating at middle of the body and branched caudal rays. It is one of the endangered fish in Lake Dianchi and White Dragon spring, China. Sexual dimorphism is also displayed in the species.