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Accurate localization of a low-activity moving radiation source plays an important role in nuclear security and safety. The coded-aperture gamma camera is generally applied to detect a radiation source, but its reconstruction methods may have some limitations when the radiation source is motional and weak. The purpose of this paper is to improve the quality of the reconstruction images and the localization accuracy when detecting a low-activity moving radiation source with a gamma camera. The CLSTM-KF method consists of the CLSTM network and the Kalman filter. The CLSTM network is applied to improve the CNR of reconstruction images by making an adaptive superposition for sequential reconstruction images decoded by the correlation analysis method. After the CLSTM network, a series of sequential positions would be filtered by the Kalman filter. By comparing with the traditional methods of the gamma camera, the CLSTM-KF method performs well in improving both the CNR of reconstruction images and the localization accuracy. Moreover, the computation time of the CLSTM-KF method can also meet the application requirements. In summary, the CLSTM-KF method provides a better choice than the traditional methods in locating and tracking a low-activity moving radiation source.

Robotic CTs can achieve customized trajectory scanning with x-ray tube and detector held by flexible robotic arms rather than fixed rails or gantry. However, the motion errors of the robotic arms cannot be neglected. Hence, the reconstruction method of Robotic CTs should be suitable for arbitrary trajectory and should take motion errors into full consideration. In this paper, we present an iterative reconstruction method for robotic CT systems. Unlike the analytical algorithms, such as FDK, this method makes no assumption about the scan trajectory. The projection and backprojection operations are modeled by 3D distance-driven algorithm using the coordinates of x-ray source and detector center fed back from the robotic arm’s positioning system directly. Both numerical simulations and practical experiments are conducted to verify the effectiveness of this method in arbitrary trajectory reconstruction and motion errors correction for robotic CT systems. For our non-circular and non-planar trajectory scan, this proposed method could easily handle the reconstruction and obtain a result comparable to reference. In addition, for 0.1% motion errors, using the proposed method could improve the reconstruction quality, and the RMSE could be reduced by 30%. This iterative reconstruction method is suitable for arbitrary trajectory scans and can decrease the degradation of image quality caused by motion errors of robotic arm.

A low dose of sufentanil was insufficient to suppress endotracheal intubation (ETI) induced cardiovascular response. This study investigated the effects of combined sufentanil and remifentanil on hemodynamic changes during anesthetic induction and ETI.

During past few years, some lightweight block ciphers have been proposed. These lightweight block ciphers take single encryption method that either uses Substitution-Permutation (SP) network structure or Feistel network structure to encrypt. In this paper, we have designed a different encryption method that takes both SP network structure and Feistel network structure to encrypt. Current SP network has a limitation that the encryption and decryption processes are dissimilar. To solve this problem, we have employed involution related properties of the nonlinear and linear components to modify SP network structure. The modified one enables the encryption and decryption program or circuit to work as the Feistel network structure. Additionally, we have implemented a MixRows in SP network structure. Then we instantiate these three novel ideas into the lightweight block cipher called SFN. We have carried out the security evaluation and the hardware and software experiments to it. The result shows that compared to other lightweight block ciphers, SFN has more advantages in terms of being immune to attacks. Also, SFN is not only compact in hardware environment but also efficient in software platforms.

Enormous enormous subgaleal hematoma with epidural extension, accompanying occipital bone's absorption is an uncommon complication of hemophilia A. A 30 years old man presenting scalp lump was found enormous enormous subgaleal hematoma with epidural extension, accompanying occipital bone's destruction by computed tomography (CT) scan, and laboratory examination indicated that the concentration of his factor VII was 2% of normal level. Further inquiring his medical history found that this patient has been suffering from hemophilia A diagnosed when he was 6 years old. He recovered well after receiving the therapertic methods of factor VII replacement and surgical decompression. This case tells us that patient suffering from enormous enormous subgaleal hematoma with epidural extension, accompanying occipital bone's destruction and hemophilia A could recover well as long as he is well treated. Keywords: Neurosurgery, Factor VII, Enormous subgaleal hematoma with epidural extension, occipital bone's destruction, Hemophilia A

The Malaysian and global shrimp aquaculture production has been significantly impacted by acute hepatopancreatic necrosis disease (AHPND) typically caused byVibrio parahaemolyticusharboring the pVA plasmid containing thepirAVpandpirBVpgenes which code forPhotorhabdusinsect-related (Pir) toxin. The limited genomic resource forV. parahaemolyticusstrains from Malaysian aquaculture farms precludes an in-depth understanding of their diversity and evolutionary relationships. In this study, we isolated shrimp-associated and environmental (rearing water)V. parahaemolyticusfrom three aquaculture farms located in Northern and Central Malaysia followed by whole-genome sequencing of 40 randomly selected isolates on the Illumina MiSeq. Phylogenomic analysis and multilocus sequence typing (MLST) reveal distinct lineages ofV. parahaemolyticusthat harbor thepirABVpgenes. The recovery of pVA plasmid backbone devoid ofpirAVporpirABVpin someV. parahaemolyticusisolates suggests that the toxin genes are prone to deletion. The new insight gained from phylogenomic analysis of AsianV. parahaemolyticus, in addition to the observed genomic instability of pVa plasmid, will have implications for improvements in aquaculture practices to diagnose, treat or limit the impacts of this disease.

To ensure reliable and secure communication in heterogeneous cellular network (HCN) with imperfect channel state information (CSI), we proposed a coordinated multipoint (CoMP) transmission scheme based on dual-threshold optimization, in which only base stations (BSs) with good channel conditions are selected for transmission. First, we present a candidate BSs formation policy to increase access efficiency, which provides a candidate region of serving BSs. Then, we design a CoMP networking strategy to select serving BSs from the set of candidate BSs, which degrades the influence of channel estimation errors and guarantees qualities of communication links. Finally, we analyze the performance of the proposed scheme, and present a dual-threshold optimization model to further support the performance. Numerical results are presented to verify our theoretical analysis, which draw a conclusion that the CoMP transmission scheme can ensure reliable and secure communication in dense HCNs with imperfect CSI.

Crowded scene analysis is currently a hot and challenging topic in computer vision field. The ability to analyze motion patterns from videos is a difficult, but critical part of this problem. In this paper, we propose a novel approach for the analysis of motion patterns by clustering the tracklets using an unsupervised hierarchical clustering algorithm, where the similarity between tracklets is measured by the Longest Common Subsequences. The tracklets are obtained by tracking dense points under three effective rules, therefore enabling it to capture the motion patterns in crowded scenes. The analysis of motion patterns is implemented in a completely unsupervised way, and the tracklets are clustered automatically through hierarchical clustering algorithm based on a graphic model. To validate the performance of our approach, we conducted experimental evaluations on two datasets. The results reveal the precise distributions of motion patterns in current crowded videos and demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach.

Objective To report use of the Vibrant Soundbridge (VSB) in patients with congenital deformation of the middle and outer ears and investigate its utility in this patient population. Method Four patients with congenital deformation of middle and outer ears underwent VSB implantation. All were male (aged 3-18 years, average 13.5 years) and operated on the left side. Malformation was bilateral in 3 patients and unilateral in 1 patient. Surgical techniques were modified to accommodate each patient's unique conditions and needs. The implant site was approached via the facial recess in 3 patients and through a retro-facial nerve route in 1 patient. The VSB implant was connected to either the stapes (2 cases) or the round window (2 cases). Pure tone and speech audiometry results and daily communication capabilities before and after VSB activation were compared. Results The operations were successful in all patients, with no complications. The patient communication level improved significantly after VSB activation. Average air conduction pure tone threshold or conditioned reflex audiometry threshold improved by 35 dB in the 0.25-4 kHz range, from 69 dB HL before VSB activation to 34 dB HL after. The sentence recognition rate in quiet at 65 dB SPL went up to 86% from 0% without VSB for patients with bilateral deformation and remained at 100% for the patient with unilateral deformity. However, for the latter patient, the rate improved to 20% from 0% without VSB in noise (-8 dB SNR). Conclusion VSB is an excellent solution for improving hearing in patients with congenital deformation of middle and outer ears. Operation can be completed and good results can be achieved even in patients with unique conditions and needs.

This paper presents a three-dimensional ultrasonic wind speed and direction measurement method based on the space vector analysis. It realizes the wind speed measurement indirectly by using the phase difference to measure the time difference. By using regular tetrahedron sensor configuration, it establishes a mathematical model of the relationship between the phase difference and the wind speed as well as the direction, which solves the problems of traditional methods that always need large structure and high costs. The design presents a viable method for low-cost, small structures and fast three-dimensional wind speed measurement study, which has a broad application prospect in the field of meteorological application and wind energy utilization.

Objective To report experiences with use of otoendoscopy in cerebellopontine angle (CPA) surgeries. Methods Twenty five cases of CPA surgeries performed between November 2002 and December 2008 in which microscope enabled otoendoscopy was used were reviewed.The 25 cases included 19 cases of acoustic neuroma, 3 cases of CPA facial nerve tumors, 1 case of trigeminal neurinoma, a case of glossopharyngeal neuralgia and 1 case of hemifacial spasm. Endoscopy was used in all cases together with monitoring of brainstem auditory responses and facial electromyography. Postoperative hearing and facial nerve function were evaluated and compared to pre-operative levels. Results Endoscopy provided improved visualization of local anatomy, revealed hidden lesions and reduced unnecessary anatomical distortions. Total resection was achieved in 18 of the 19 acoustic neuroma cases, Facial nerve anatomical integrity was preserved in all 19 cases. One week postoperative House-Brackmann grading was I in 3 cases, II in 10 cases and III in 6 cases. Facial nerve function continued to improve in some cases at 3 months. Total tumor resection was achieved in all 3 patients with facial neurinoma. The facial nerve was sacrificed in 2 of the 3 cases with primary faciohypoglossal nerve anastomosis. Facial nerve function was Grade II and Grade III one year after surgery, respectively. In the case with anatomically preserved facial nerve, postoperative facial nerve function was initially Grade III and improved to II at 3 months. The tumor was completely resected in the trigeminal neurinoma patient with a Grade III postoperative facial nerve function which improved Grade II three months later. Seventeen of the 19 patients with acoustic neuroma retained hearing postoperatively, of these 12 maintained preoperative levels of hearing. Preoperative hearing capacity was preserved in 2 of the 3 patients with facial nerve tumors, but lost in patients with other tumor types. Glossopharyngeal neurotomy (n=1) and microvascular decompression (n=1) resulted in satisfactory symptom relief and no recurrence at 5- and 3-year follow up, respectively Conclusions Otoendos aope-aided technique greatly helps surgical management of CPA and internal auditory canal lesions and other disorders. This minimally invasive technique overcomes many shortcomings inherent to the traditional retrosigmoid approach.

ObjectiveTo report tympanoplasty cases completed with Sheehy Partial Ossicular Replacement Prostheses (PORP).MethodsSeventy eight(83 ears) of 89 cases who received Sheehy PORP for ossicular chain reconstructionwere reviewed. These cases were followed for more than 6 months(mean: 21.3 months). The pre- and post-operative average air conduction thresholds and Air-Bone Gap(ABG) at 0.5, 1 and 2kHz were compared.ResultsAll 83 ears showed uneventful healing at 1 month postoperatively. PORPs in 2 ears without cartilage reinforcement were found dislocated at 3 months. Preoperative hearing thresholds were from 35.75 to 68.5 dB HL (mean: 59.13 ± 15.23 dB HL). Postoperative mean hearing threshold improved to 32.23± 13.21 dB HL (P

To observe therapeutic results of acupuncture combining with behavior medicine therapy in treating repetitive strain injury (RSI), 150 patients were randomly divided into two groups with 90 cases in the treatment group and 60 cases in the control group. Statistic analysis and comprehensive therapeutic evaluation were given on pain severity, functional condition, course of treatment and recurrent rate before and after treatment. The differences were significant in course of treatment and the recurrent rate in the two groups (P

In this paper, the 3-D wavelet-fractal coding was used to compress the hyperspectral remote sensing image. The classical eight kinds of affine transformations in 2-D fractal image compression were generalized to nineteen for the 3-D fractal image compression. Hyperspectral image date cube was first translated by 3-D wavelet and then the 3-D fractal compression coding was applied to lowest frequency subband. The remaining coefficients of higher frequency subbands were encoding by 3-D SPIHT. We use eight-fork tree division algorithm to improve the matching accuracy and reduce the time of fractal coding. The new compression method had been tested by MATLAB. The experiment results indicate that we can gain high compression ratios and the information loss is acceptable.

This paper focuses on the study of multi-person location and tracking in a complex scene created by 3ds max. To establish the complicated relationship between the 2D-image information that is obtained through the three-camera system and the 3D information of the target, an artificial neural network is proposed. In order to overcome the shortcomings of traditional BP algorithm as being slow to converge and easy to reach extreme minimum value, the model adopts LM (Levenberg-Marquardt) algorithm to achieve a higher speed and a lower error rate. Experiment results verify that the BP neural network improves the efficiency, accuracy and robustness of the method comparing with traditional binocular location (TBL) methods.

In order to achieve a high compression ratio on hyperspectrum image, in this paper, an algorithm about 3-D fractal coding is proposed. This algorithm is based on fractal theory and eight fork tree division. We expand the eight kinds of fractal transform to nineteen in the 3-D space, which improves the matching accuracy, and accelerate the encoding process by using the eight-fork tree division and the cube block classification. A simulation was done on MATLAB 7.1, the experimental results demonstrate this algorithm has some practical sense.

One of the key tasks in Hardware-Software Co-design is to optimally allocate, assign, and schedule resources to achieve a good balance among performance, cost, power consumption, etc. So it's a typical multi-objective optimization problem. In this paper, a Multi-objective Q-bit coding genetic algorithm (MoQGA) is proposed to solve HW-SW co-synthesis problem in HW-SW co-design of embedded systems. The algorithm utilizes the Q-bit probability representation to model the promising area of solution space, uses multiple Q-bit models to perform search in a parallel manner, uses modified Q-bit updating strategy and quantum crossover operator to implement the efficient global search, uses an archive to preserve and select pareto optima, uses Timed Task Graph to describe the system functions, introduces multi-PRI scheduling strategy and PE slot-filling strategy to improve the time performance of system. Experimental results show that the proposed algorithm can solve the multi-objective co-synthesis problem effectively and efficiently.

In view of the properties of multi-product batch scheduling problem with major and minor setup times that a practical steel pipe plant of iron and steel industry usually has, a 0-1 mixed integer-programming model to the problem is developed with minimizing the job maximum lateness (L/sub max/) as the optimal objective function. A tabu search-based heuristic (TSH) algorithm is proposed by analyzing the optimal properties of the problem. The simulation results have confirmed its feasibility and effectiveness.

To learn the environment using multisensory information, we need both an accurate sensor model and a reasonable sensor fusion methodology. Ultrasonic sensors provide good range information. However, uncertainties in ultrasonic sensors caused by the specular reflection from environments make them less attractive. We have used the Dempster-Shafer evidence method in sensor fusion with the specially designed sensor model. By applying a filtering factor to the sensor model, uncertainties in sonar responses can be successfully reduced. In this paper, we introduce a novel way of using the conflict value in Dempster-Shafer evidence theory in the sensor model. Through this new method, our robot would be able to modify its sensor model dynamically during its navigation. Experimental results have shown that the new method has improved the performance of the modified ultrasonic sensor model in dealing with specular reflections.

This paper presents a localization procedure for mobile robot operating in an indoor cluttered environment. The proposed approach is based on the recognition of natural landmarks identified through laser scanner data. By detecting the break points in data set, the localization is experimented to correct position and orientation errors of robot and a simple estimator is used to do the updating. Experimental results have shown that the localization by breakpoints works well.

Specular reflections from environments cause uncertainties to ultrasonic sensor range data. In this paper, we examine the application of evidential method for data integration using the specially designed sensor model to overcome the problem. Dempster's rule of combination is used to fuse the sensor data to obtain the map defined on a 2D evidence grid. The sensor model tries to reduce the uncertainties caused by specular reflections with a filtering factor. Experimental results have shown the usefulness of this method.

We propose and theoretically examine a novel mid-infrared (mid-IR) photothermal spectroscopic sensing technique capable of detecting a single small molecule. Our conceptual design attains such high sensitivity by leveraging dramatically amplified photothermal effects in an optical nanocavity doubly resonant at both mid-IR pump and near-IR probe wavelengths. Unlike conventional mid-IR spectroscopy, the technique eliminates the need for cryogenically cooled mid-IR photodetectors, as optical detection is performed solely at the near-IR probe wavelength. A device design based on nested one-dimensional nanobeam photonic crystal cavities is numerically analyzed to demonstrate the technique's potential for single small gas molecule detection.

Terrestrial arthropods are extremely important ecosystem components. The choice of best approaches to collect the wide range of terrestrial arthropods has been a topic of long-lasting debates. This article provides a brief overview of common sampling methods for terrestrial arthropod assemblages. We divide sampling methods into three main categories: passive sampling methods without any “activity density” bias, passive sampling methods with an “activity density” bias, and active sampling methods with inherent “activity density” and often further species-dependent biases, discussing their individual advantages and shortcomings as basis for biodiversity studies and pest control management. The selection of the optimal sampling methods depends strongly on the purpose of individual studies and the ecology and behavior of the arthropod groups targeted. A combination of different suitable methods is highly recommended in many cases.