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Noise detection accuracy is crucial in suppressing random-valued impulse noise. Both false and miss detections determine the final estimation performance. Deterministic detection methods, which distinctly classify pixels into noisy or uncorrupted pixels, tend to increase the estimation error because some uncorrupted edge points are hard to discriminate from the random-valued impulse noise points. This paper proposes an iterative structure-adaptive fuzzy estimation (SAFE) for random-valued impulse noise suppression. This SAFE method is developed in the framework of Gaussian maximum likelihood estimation. The structure-adaptive fuzziness is reflected by two structure-adaptive metrics based on pixel reliability and patch similarity, respectively. The reliability metric for each pixel (as noise free) is estimated via a novel-minimal-path-based structure propagation to give full consideration of the spatially varying image structures. A robust iteration stopping strategy is also proposed by evaluating the reestimation error of the uncorrupted intensity information. The comparative experimental results show that the proposed structure-adaptive fuzziness can lead to effective restoration. An efficient implementation of this SAFE method is also realized via graphics-processing-unit-based parallelization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Controversies exist whether season of birth is associated with schizophrenia development later in life, and evidence has mainly come from studies done in developed countries. This study examines the association between season of birth and risk for schizophrenia in China, with special attention to geographical region, urbanity, and gender. Using data from China’s Second National Sampling Survey on Disability, a large-scale, nationally representative sample (N=2,052,694), this study employs discrete-time hazard models to compare the risk for schizophrenia development for people born in different seasons, and conducts subsample analyses by geographical region, urbanity, and gender. People born in the spring have the highest risk when compared to people born in the winter, summer or autumn. Furthermore, the relatively higher risk for people born in the spring is greater in the southern half of the country, in rural areas, and for women. The findings are consistent with results from a robustness check done among people who were conceived and born from 1955 to 1965, periods before, during, and after the 1959–1961 Chinese Famine. This study supports the presence of an association between season of birth and risk for schizophrenia development and of heterogeneity by geographical region, urbanity, and gender. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The β to α phase transformation of Ti alloys progresses in a displacive-diffusive mixed-mode. The associated transformation strain has important influence on the resultant microstructure. In this work, the microstructural features of α precipitates in a metastable β Ti alloy, Ti-7333, were thoroughly investigated. Special attention was paid to the intragranular α for the advantage of a stress-free transformation environment. Results show that the constituents of each α precipitate is not single. Two kinds of nano-sized α domains exist. One is situated on the broad face of the major α precipitate (named interface α), and the other goes through the major α (termed penetrating α). The interface α is related with the β matrix by the Burgers orientation relationship (BOR) and with the major α by a 60°/ 〈 11 2 ¯ 0 〉 α rotation. The nucleation of such α particles is induced by the largest shear strain generated by the formation of the major α. They act as stress-associated sympathetic nuclei of the neighboring α precipitates and eventually contribute to the formation of the triangular α cluster. The penetrating α does not obey the BOR with the β matrix but is related with the major α by a 60° rotation around another 〈 11 2 ¯ 0 〉 α axis. The nucleation of such α is induced by the largest normal strain generated by the formation of the main α plate. This work provides comprehensive information on the displacive characters of the β to α transformation and their impact on the microstructure of metastable β Ti alloys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Analyzing data from a large-scale, nationally representative sample, this study examines the association between prenatal exposure to the Chinese Famine (1959-1961) and schizophrenia risk in mid-adulthood and its urban/rural-specific and gender-specific patterns. The results showed that the cohort conceived and born during the famine had a higher risk of schizophrenia in mid-adulthood than cohorts conceived and born before or after the famine. In addition, schizophrenia risk was higher for urban residents than for rural residents and higher for females than for males. Drawing on the psychiatric features of late-onset schizophrenia in mid-adulthood, we then offer some theoretical mechanisms to explain the cohort, urban/rural, and gender differences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: We proposed a new automatic and rapid computer-aided diagnosis system to detect pathological brain images obtained in the scans of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).Methods: For simplification, we transformed the problem to a binary classification task (pathological or normal). It consisted of two steps: first, Hu moment invariants (HMI) were extracted from a specific MR brain image; then, seven HMI features were fed into two classifiers: twin support vector machine (TSVM) and generalised eigenvalue proximal SVM (GEPSVM).Results: Then, a 5 × 5-fold cross validation on a data set containing 90 MR brain images, demonstrated that the proposed methods “HMI + GEPSVM” and “HMI + TSVM” achieved classification accuracy of 98.89%, higher than eight state-of-the-art methods: “DWT + PCA + BP-NN”, “DWT + PCA + RBF-NN”, “DWT + PCA + PSO-KSVM”, “WE + BP-NN”, “WE + KSVM”, “DWT + PCA + GA-KSVM”, “WE + PSO-KSVM” and “WE + BBO-KSVM”.Conclusion: The proposed methods are superior to other methods on pathological brain detection (p < 0.05). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The kinetic modeling and simulation of reactive flows, especially for those with detonation, are further investigated. From the theoretical side, a new set of hydrodynamic equations are deduced, where the viscous stress tensor and heat flux are replaced by two non-equilibrium quantities that have been defined in our previous work. The two non-equilibrium quantities are referred to as Non-Organised Momentum Flux (NOMF) and Non-Organised Energy Flux (NOEF), respectively, here. The numerical results of viscous stress (heat flux) have a good agreement with those of NOMF (NOEF) near equilibrium state. Around sharp interfaces, the values of NOMF (NOEF) deviate reasonably from those of viscous stress (heat flux). Based on this hydrodynamic model, the relations between the two non-equilibrium quantities and entropy productions are established. Based on the discrete Boltzmann model, four kinds of detonation phenomena with different reaction rates, including Negative Temperature Coefficient (NTC) regime, are simulated and investigated. The differences of the four kinds of detonations are studied from three aspects: hydrodynamic quantities, non-equilibrium quantities and entropy productions. It is found that, the effects of NTC on hydrodynamic quantities are to lower the von-Neumann peaks of density, pressure, and velocity, to broaden the reaction zone, and to subdue the chemical reaction. It may also vanish the peak of temperature. Consequently, the effects of NTC are to widen the non-equilibrium regions and reduce the amplitude of the non-equilibrium effects in the reaction zone. Besides, it is also found that the (local) entropy production has three sources: the chemical reaction, NOEF and NOMF. As for the global entropy production in the system, the portion caused by reaction is much larger than the other two, and the portion caused by NOMF is larger than that by NOEF. Furthermore, the effect of NTC is to widen the region with entropy production caused by reaction and lower the global entropy productions caused by reaction, NOMF and NOEF, which means that NTC drives detonation closer to an isentropic process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to detect multiple sclerosis (MS) subjects from healthy controls (HCs) in magnetic resonance imaging, we developed a new system based on machine learning. The MS imaging data was downloaded from the eHealth laboratory at the University of Cyprus, and the HC imaging data was scanned in our local hospital with volunteers enrolled from community advertisement. Inter-scan normalization was employed to remove the gray-level difference. We adjust the misclassification costs to alleviate the effect of unbalanced class distribution to the classification performance. We utilized two-level stationary wavelet entropy (SWE) to extract features from brain images. Then, we compared three machine learning based classifiers: the decision tree, k-nearest neighbors (kNN), and support vector machine. The experimental results showed the kNN performed the best among all three classifiers. In addition, the proposed SWE+kNN approach is superior to four state-of-the-art approaches. Our proposed MS detection approach is effective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we proposed a smart detection method for abnormal breasts in digital mammography. Firstly, preprocessing was carried out to deaden noises, enhance images, and remove background and pectoral muscles. Secondly, fractional Fourier entropy was employed to extract global features. Thirdly, the Welch’s t-test was utilized to select important features. Fourthly, the multi-layer perceptron was used as the classifier. Finally, we proposed a novel chaotic adaptive real-coded biogeography-based optimization to train the classifier. We implemented 10-fold cross-validation for statistical analysis. The experimental results showed our method selected in total 23 distinguishing features, and yielded a sensitivity of 92.54%, a specificity of 92.50%, a precision of 92.50%, and an accuracy of 92.52%. This proposed system performs better than five state-of-the-art methods. It is effective in abnormal breast detection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work aims at developing a novel pathological brain detection system (PBDS) to assist neuroradiologists to interpret magnetic resonance (MR) brain images. We simplify this problem as recognizing pathological brains from healthy brains. First, 12 fractional Fourier entropy (FRFE) features were extracted from each brain image. Next, we submit those features to a multi-layer perceptron (MLP) classifier. Two improvements were proposed for MLP. One improvement is the pruning technique that determines the optimal hidden neuron number. We compared three pruning techniques: dynamic pruning (DP), Bayesian detection boundaries (BDB), and Kappa coefficient (KC). The other improvement is to use the adaptive real-coded biogeography-based optimization (ARCBBO) to train the biases and weights of MLP. The experiments showed that the proposed FRFE + KC-MLP + ARCBBO achieved an average accuracy of 99.53 % based on 10 repetitions of K-fold cross validation, which was better than 11 recent PBDS methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The morphologies of catalyst films with different catalyst loadings were studied. • A low catalyst loading induced the coffee ring effect. • The coffee ring effect resulted in an underestimation of the performance parameters. • Catalyst overloading caused a higher oxygen transfer resistance and a lower ORR performance. • An optimal catalyst loading for commercial Pt/C was recommended. During the performance evaluation of electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), the electrocatalysts are usually loaded on a rotation ring disk electrode (RRDE) to form a catalyst film (CF). To ensure accurate results, the CF must be as thin and even as possible to minimize the oxygen transport resistance within it. However, the catalyst loading used by recent publications varied significantly, preventing a direct comparison of the catalyst ORR performance between studies. In this study, a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) camera and a Dektak XT profile meter are used to investigate the effect of Pt/C loading on the surface morphology, electrode coverage and average thickness, and thus the ORR performance of the CF. The results illustrate that the CF failed to completely cover the electrode surface at low catalyst loadings, which caused an underestimation of the limiting current density (J L), onset potential (E o n) and half-wave potential (E 1 / 2) of the catalyst. It is also determined that the deeper the Pt nanoparticles are located in the CF, the more likely the ORR performance of CFs is to be underestimated due to the increased oxygen transfer resistance. As a result, as the catalyst loading increased, the high viscosity of the catalyst ink led to particle agglomeration and an over-thickness at the center of the CF, which increased the inner oxygen transport resistance of the CF. This may not only slow the ORR kinetics of the catalyst, but also cause the ORR performance of the catalyst to be underestimated. Based on these findings, this study revealed the optimal catalyst loading (16.2–24.2 μg Pt cm−2) and a guided accurate measurement of the ORR catalyst. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nickel-rich layered oxides are attracting extensive interest as cathode materials to build high-energy lithium-ion batteries, but their intrinsic structural instability and interfacial parasitic reactions deteriorate the cycling performance. Herein, we report concentration-gradient Mg and Al doped LiNi 0.95 Co 0.03 Al 0.01 Mg 0.01 O 2 (NCAMg) as a stable and high-capacity cathode material. The obtained NCAMg microparticles exhibit outstanding cyclability (capacity retention of 95.6% after 100 cycles) and remarkable rate capability (172.9 mAh g−1 at 10 C). The gradient Mg and Al doping boosts the electrochemical performance by restraining the undesirable H2–H3 phase conversion and the anisotropic volume change. Moreover, the enrichment of Mg and Al at particle shell enhances the Li-ion diffusivity, inhibits the growth of microcracks, and significantly improves the thermal stability over LiNiO 2. The results indicate that Mg and Al gradient co-doping is an efficient and practical route to upgrade Ni-rich layered oxide cathode materials for LIBs. [Display omitted] • A Mg, Al gradient co-doped LiNi 0.95 Co 0.03 Al 0.01 Mg 0.01 O 2 cathode is designed. • Gradient doping strengthens the shell of cathode particles. • Mg, Al co-doping inhibits harmful phase transition and growth of microcracks. • Mg gradient distribution results in faster kinetics and the formation of MgO coating layer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurate fruit classification is difficult to accomplish because of the similarities among the various categories. In this paper, we proposed a novel fruit-classification system, with the goal of recognizing fruits in a more efficient way. Our methodology included the following steps. First, a four-step pre-processing was employed. Second, the features (colour, shape, and texture) were extracted. Third, we utilized principal component analysis to remove excessive features. Fourth, a novel fruit-classification system based on biogeography-based optimization (BBO) and feedforward neural network (FNN) was proposed, with the short name of BBO-FNN. The experiment employed over 1653 chromatic fruit images (18 categories) by fivefold stratified cross-validation. The results showed that the proposed BBO-FNN yielded an overall accuracy of 89.11%, which was higher than the five state-of-the-art methods: genetic algorithm-FNN, artificial bee colony-FNN, particle swarm optimization-FNN, kernel support vector machine, and ant colony optimization-FNN. Also, the BBO-FNN achieved the same accuracy as fitness-scaling chaotic artificial bee colony-FNN, but it performed much faster than the latter. The proposed BBO-FNN was effective in fruit-classification in terms of classification accuracy and computation time. This indicated that it can be applied in credible use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An accurate diagnosis is important for the medical treatment of patients suffering from brain diseases. Magnetic resonance (MR) images are commonly used by technicians to assist preclinical diagnosis. The classification of MR images of normal and pathological brains poses a challenge from the technological point of view, since MR imaging generates a large information set that reflects the conditions of the brain. In this paper, we present a computer-assisted diagnosis method based on wavelet entropy (WE) of the feature space approach and a feed-forward neural network (FNN) classification method for improving the brain diagnosis accuracy by means of MR images. The most relevant image feature is selected as the WE, which is used to train an FNN classifier. The results using tenfold cross validation of 64 images show that the average accuracy attainable is 100.00%. It can be easily seen from the data that the proposed classifier can detect abnormal brains from normal controls with excellent performance, which can compete with the latest methods. © 2016 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim. It can help improve the hospital throughput to accelerate magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanning. Patients will benefit from less waiting time. Task. In the last decade, various rapid MRI techniques on the basis of compressed sensing (CS) were proposed. However, both computation time and reconstruction quality of traditional CS-MRI did not meet the requirement of clinical use. Method. In this study, a novel method was proposed with the name of exponential wavelet iterative shrinkage-thresholding algorithm with random shift (abbreviated as EWISTARS). It is composed of three successful components: (i) exponential wavelet transform, (ii) iterative shrinkage-thresholding algorithm, and (iii) random shift. Results. Experimental results validated that, compared to state-of-the-art approaches, EWISTARS obtained the least mean absolute error, the least mean-squared error, and the highest peak signal-to-noise ratio. Conclusion. EWISTARS is superior to state-of-the-art approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Particle swarm optimization (PSO) is a heuristic global optimization method, proposed originally by Kennedy and Eberhart in 1995. It is now one of the most commonly used optimization techniques. This survey presented a comprehensive investigation of PSO. On one hand, we provided advances with PSO, including its modifications (including quantum-behaved PSO, bare-bones PSO, chaotic PSO, and fuzzy PSO), population topology (as fully connected, von Neumann, ring, star, random, etc.), hybridization (with genetic algorithm, simulated annealing, Tabu search, artificial immune system, ant colony algorithm, artificial bee colony, differential evolution, harmonic search, and biogeography-based optimization), extensions (to multiobjective, constrained, discrete, and binary optimization), theoretical analysis (parameter selection and tuning, and convergence analysis), and parallel implementation (in multicore, multiprocessor, GPU, and cloud computing forms). On the other hand, we offered a survey on applications of PSO to the following eight fields: electrical and electronic engineering, automation control systems, communication theory, operations research, mechanical engineering, fuel and energy, medicine, chemistry, and biology. It is hoped that this survey would be beneficial for the researchers studying PSO algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We aimed to explore the potential genes or pathways related to venous thromboembolism ( VTE) and expected our findings could contribute to the development of new target drugs for VTE. The gene expression profile of GSE19151 was downloaded from Gene Expression Omnibus ( GEO) database. The bioinformatics methods were applied to screen the feature genes and pathways related with VTE. A total of 115 DEGs were identified, including 25 downregulated genes and 90 upregulated genes. Function enrichment analysis showed that upregulated genes of VTE were mainly enriched in ribosome and translation-related pathways, while downregulated genes were mainly enriched in cytoskeletal protein binding and non-membrane-bounded organelle-related pathways. MCL1, TP53, and RERE were three outstanding genes involved in the interaction network. The most significant pathways enriched by module genes were ribosome and oxidative phosphorylation. Moreover, all the products of the 18 genes enriched in ribosome (hsa03010) were ribosomal proteins. Ribosome, translation, actin binding, and non-membrane-bounded organelle pathways were closely related to the development of VTE. Moreover, MCL1, TP53, and RERE might play key roles in the process of VTE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growth characteristics of eutectic Si in unmodified and Sr-modified Al–12.7%Si alloys were investigated by microstructure-correlated crystallographic analyses. For the unmodified alloys, the formation of repeated single-orientation twin variants enables rapid growth of eutectic Si according to the twin plane re-entrant edge (TPRE) mechanism. Microscopically, Si crystals are plate-like elongated in one 〈1 1 0〉 direction that is not in accordance with the 〈1 1 2〉 growth assumed by the TPRE model. The 〈1 1 0〉 growth direction is realized by paired 〈1 1 2〉 zigzag growth on parallel twinning planes, leading to alternate disappearance and creation of 141° re-entrants. As each twinning plane is associated with three re-entrants, Si crystals may extend in three co-planar 〈1 1 0〉 directions and cause the formation of equilateral plates. With the formation of α-Al around eutectic Si, the number of re-entrants is reduced. The planar isotropic growth of eutectic Si becomes anisotropic, leading to the formation of long plates. The reduction of the number of re-entrants also accounts for the width and thickness changes over the length of Si plates. This complex growth mode results in Si crystals exposing only their low-energy {1 1 1} planes to the melt. For the Sr-modified alloys, substantial changes appear in the eutectic Si morphology, attributable to the restricted TPRE growth and the impurity induced twinning (IIT) growth. The former enhances lateral growth by forming new twins with parallel twinning planes, while the latter leads to isotropic growth by forming differently oriented twins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A statistical analysis is conducted on sequential {1 0 −1 2}–{1 0 −1 2} double extension twinning in a Mg AZ31 alloy obtained after two mutually perpendicular successive compressions. Indeed, primary twins form during the first compression, which produce secondary twins during the second compression. Here, “sequential double twinning” is adopted to describe this twinning mechanism, which is different from classic double twinning obtained during monotonic loading. Double extension twins, no matter sequential or classic ones, can be classified into Groups I–IV according to their misorientations with respect to the parent grain. In the present study, the majority of the sequential double extension twins have relatively high Schmid factors (SFs) and a misorientation of <0, 14, −14, 1> 60° with respect to the parent grain (Group III). However, the classical SF based analysis fails to explain why secondary twin variants in Group III are preferred over their nearest orientated neighbors in Group IV, since their SF differences are negligible. Therefore, a static double inclusion model is developed to analytically compute the elastic energy in a final configuration of sequential double twinning. The model well explains the predominance of secondary twins in Group III by a noticeable greater decrease of free energy after secondary twinning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The microstructural and crystallographic features of seven-layer modulated (7M) martensite in Ni 50 Mn 30 Ga 20 thin films grown on MgO(0 0 1) substrate were revealed by electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) and secondary electron imaging (SEI). Locally, each group of martensite plates consisted of four orientation variants that are twin-related to one another. The Type-I and Type-II twin relationships were most prevalent in individual plate groups with low or high relative SEI contrast, respectively. A general procedure was developed to quantitatively assess the accommodation capacities of twin variant pairs constrained by the rigid substrate. It is understood that the configuration of either Type-I twin variant pairs in low relative contrast zones or Type-II twin variant pairs in high relative contrast zones can effectively accommodate the shear deformation in the film normal direction – a deformation that tends to “peel” the film surface off the substrate. As a consequence, it brings about the preferential formation of Type-I and Type-II twins during the martensitic transformation. This finding is of significance as it highlights the role of external constraint on microstructure control toward property modification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid development of mobile intelligence and wearable computing promotes the rise of quantified-self. Users quantify themselves and realize self-tracking and self-cognition through the connection between mobile phone terminals and wearable computing devices. The characteristics of immersive quantified information design in the convergence mode of mobile intelligence and wearable computing attract many users to immerse into it. Based on the stimulus-body-response (S-O-R) model, this paper constructs an influence mechanism model that affects the immersive experience of quantified-self and adopts empirical research methods. This paper analyzes the influence of the information platform and content characteristics (interaction, ease of use, usefulness, entertainment) of the convergence of mobile intelligence and wearable computing on users' immersive experience of quantified-self and the moderating effect of privacy concern and potential affordance on immersive experience and continuous participation. The results show that interaction, ease of use, usefulness, and entertainment all have a significant impact on users' quantified-self immersive experience, and the influence is in the order of usefulness>ease of use>entertainment>interaction. Potential affordance and privacy concerns play a significant role in regulating the state of immersion and continuous participation. The conclusion of this study not only analyzes the influencing factors of users' immersive experience of quantified-self from the characteristics of the convergence of mobile intelligence and wearable computing but also analyzes the relationship between users' immersive experience of quantified-self and continuous participation from the perspective of potential affordance and privacy concerns. It provides opinions and suggestions for the interaction design and user information management of the convergence of mobile intelligence and wearable computing and has practical reference significance for related enterprises to improve user stickiness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reversible data hiding (RDH), a promising data-hiding technique, is widely examined in domains such as medical image transmission, satellite image transmission, crime investigation, cloud computing, etc. None of the existing RDH schemes addresses a solution from a real-time aspect. A good compromise between the information embedding rate and computational time makes the scheme suitable for real-time applications. As a solution, we propose a novel RDH scheme that recovers the original image by retaining its quality and extracting the hidden data. Here, the cover image gets encrypted using a stream cipher and is partitioned into non-overlapping blocks. Secret information is inserted into the encrypted blocks of the cover image via a controlled local pixel-swapping approach to achieve a comparatively good payload. The new scheme M P S A allows the data hider to hide two bits in every encrypted block. The existing reversible data-hiding schemes modify the encrypted image pixels leading to a compromise in image security. However, the proposed work complements the support of encrypted image security by maintaining the same entropy of the encrypted image in spite of hiding the data. Experimental results illustrate the competency of the proposed work accounting for various parameters, including embedding rate and computational time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Tiered intervention models may address barriers to parent participation. • Integrated programs may be beneficial for attendance across components. • Support for tiered implementation to increase impacts for children and families. This study examined whether a two-tiered parenting program, which provides universal primary prevention along with targeted secondary prevention only for families with increased needs, would have mutually beneficial impacts on attendance across two program components. A secondary analysis of the Smart Beginnings (SB) randomized controlled trial was conducted. SB takes place from birth to age 3 and combines universal delivery of the Video Interaction Project (VIP) with targeted delivery of the Family Check-Up (FCU) for families identified as having increased risks following yearly screening. The current study analyzed whether attendance in VIP in the first six months was associated with FCU attendance for eligible families at six months, and whether FCU attendance at six and 18 months was associated with subsequent VIP attendance. Analyses included logistic and mixed-effects Poisson regression, as well as group-based trajectory analysis. VIP attendance predicted later FCU attendance (AOR = 5.43, p <.01), and FCU attendance predicted later VIP attendance (IRR = 1.35, p <.01) and a high-stable VIP attendance trajectory (AOR =14.98, p <.01). Findings provide strong support for the ability of tiered models to engage parents, to promote effective and efficient service delivery to reduce disparities in school readiness, and their potential to overcome common barriers to attendance and scaling by addressing the heterogeneity of risk among low-income families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this Reply we demonstrate that the nano domains reported in our paper commented by D. Banerjee cannot be the artifacts induced by hydrogen absorption from electropolishing, as assumed by D. Banerjee. The effects of two different TEM sample preparation methods (ion milling and electropholishing) were verified and compared with some results in the literature. The formation of the interface α domains in Ti-7333 in our published work has the same origin as the secondary α domains formed on the existing α in Ti-6Al-4V predicted by the 3D phase field simulations by R. Shi and Y. Z. Wang. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Luminescent solar concentrators (LSCs) have important application in building integrated photovoltaic. CsPbX 3 (X = Cl, Br, I) perovskite nanocrystals possessing tunable band gap energies, large absorption coefficients, narrow band photoluminescence (PL), and high photoluminescence quantum yield (PL QY), have great potential application in LSCs. However, instability of perovskite nanocrystals in ambient environment still limits their practical application. Herein, as a proof-of-concept experiment, CsPbBr 3 nanocrystal-embedded glass sheets with various geometric factors are investigated as LSCs. Due to the wide absorption spectral range, high PL QY, and narrow PL, optical efficiency of 6.17% (2 × 2 cm2) is achieved from LSCs based on CsPbBr 3 nanocrystal-embedded glass sheets. Importantly, the stability tests show that the glass matrix can effectively protect CsPbBr 3 nanocrystals from eroding of ambient environment. These results show that CsPbBr 3 nanocrystal-embedded glasses are promising materials for LSCs. [Display omitted] • CsPbBr 3 nanocrystal-embedded glasses with PL QY exceeding 80% was prepared. • The glass matrix shows extraordinary stability. • Luminescent solar concentrators based on CsPbBr 3 nanocrystal-embedded glasses are reported. • Optical efficiency of 6.17% (2 × 2 cm2) is realized from LSC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, local crystallographic orientation of seven-layer modulated (7M) martensite correlated with microstructure in Ni–Mn–Ga thin films was revealed by electron backscatter diffraction. The microstructure of 7M martensite can be classified into two distinct groups, i.e. the low and high relative contrast zones. There are four crystallographically orientated martensite plates in each variant group. Each martensite plate is composed of one 7M martensite variant. In the low relative contrast zone, all the four variants are with their (2 0 20) mono plane nearly parallel to the substrate surface. In the high relative contrast zone, there are two variants with their (2 0 20 ¯ ) mono plane nearly parallel to the substrate surface and two variants with their (0 4 0) mono plane nearly parallel to the substrate surface. Crystallographic calculation indicates that the four 7M martensite variants are twin related. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Automated and accurate classification of MR brain images is of crucially importance for medical analysis and interpretation. We proposed a novel automatic classification system based on particle swarm optimization (PSO) and artificial bee colony (ABC), with the aim of distinguishing abnormal brains from normal brains in MRI scanning. The proposed method used stationary wavelet transform (SWT) to extract features from MR brain images. SWT is translation-invariant and performed well even the image suffered from slight translation. Next, principal component analysis (PCA) was harnessed to reduce the SWT coefficients. Based on three different hybridization methods of PSO and ABC, we proposed three new variants of feed-forward neural network (FNN), consisting of IABAP-FNN, ABC-SPSO-FNN, and HPA-FNN. The 10 runs of K-fold cross validation result showed the proposed HPA-FNN was superior to not only other two proposed classifiers but also existing state-of-the-art methods in terms of classification accuracy. In addition, the method achieved perfect classification on Dataset-66 and Dataset-160. For Dataset-255, the 10 repetition achieved average sensitivity of 99.37%, average specificity of 100.00%, average precision of 100.00%, and average accuracy of 99.45%. The offline learning cost 219.077 s for Dataset-255, and merely 0.016 s for online prediction. Thus, the proposed SWT + PCA + HPA-FNN method excelled existing methods. It can be applied to practical use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The crystal structure of modulated martensite in Mn-rich off-stoichiometric Ni 2 Mn 1.44 In 0.56 alloy was determined with high-resolution powder neutron diffraction and synchrotron X-ray diffraction in the frame of (3 + 1)-dimensional superspace theory. The average crystal structure and the modulation wave vector were firstly derived by analyzing the reflection separations induced by the martensitic transformation on the basis of the transformation orientation inheritance. This treatment could be applied to predetermine the modulated structures of materials with displacive structural transformation. The crystal structure of modulated martensite was finally refined by the Rietveld method. Results show that the martensite possesses an incommensurate 6M modulated structure of superspace group I2/m ( α0γ ) 00 , with lattice parameters a = 4.3919(4) Å, b = 5.6202(1) Å, c = 4.3315(7) Å, and β = 93.044(1)°, and the modulation wave vector q = 0.343(7) c *. The detailed site occupations for extra-Mn atoms with respect to the stoichiometric case were investigated by ab initio calculations. The extra-Mn atoms have a preference to be uniformly dispersed. A threefold layered superstructure in the 3-dimensional space was proposed to approximately describe the incommensurate modulated structure. This 6M superstructure model is considered to be representative for off-stoichiometric Ni–(Co)–Mn–In modulated martensite with martensitic transformation around room temperature. The present study is expected to offer an important basis for reliable crystallographic and microstructural characterizations on Ni–Mn–In alloys, so as to understand the underlying mechanisms of their multifunctional magneto-responsive properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A statistical analysis is conducted on the formation of {1 0 -1 2} extension twin variants with low Schmid factors (SFs), based on large data sets acquired by electron backscatter diffraction on a deformed Mg AZ31 alloy. Two physical conditions of the analyzed low SF twins are characterized: those solely at grain boundaries (group 1) and those in a pair of cross-boundary twins (group 2). The presence of a majority of them can be explained by strain compatibility arguments. The twins in group 1 require not only the most or more accommodation through basal slip with very low critical resolved shear stress (CRSS), but also the least or less accommodation through pyramidal slip with very high CRSS, in their neighboring grains. Those in group 2 also require the least or less accommodations through pyramidal slip and/or contraction twinning with very high CRSSs, but in their neighboring twins. However, they require the most or more accommodation through prismatic slip and/or extension twinning with low CRSSs. This is due to the texture of the material with respect to the loading geometry that renders different low CRSS accommodation systems available to the two different groups of low SF twins. The shears induced by low SF twins can be accommodated by several different deformation systems. In such cases, twin variant selection criteria depending on only one deformation system are limited in the prediction of twin variants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three new metal–organic complexes Cu[Hbpdc] 2 ( 1 ), [Ni(bpdc)(H 2 O)]·H 2 O ( 2 ) and [Ni(H 2 bpdc)(H 2 O) 2 ]SO 4 ( 3 ) (H 2 bpdc=2,2′-bipyridyl-5,5′-dicarboxylic acid) have been hydrothermally prepared and structurally characterized by elemental analyses, IR spectra, powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) and single-crystal X-ray diffraction. 1 is a 3-D supramolecular architecture formed by hydrogen bonding interactions between carboxyl O atoms and strong face-to-face π ⋯ π stacking interactions between bipyridyl rings of Hbpdc − ligands, 2 exhibits an intriguing 2-D sheet constructed from [Ni(bpdc)(H 2 O)] units and 3 displays an infinite 1-D chain built by {[Ni(H 2 bpdc)(H 2 O) 2 ] 2+ } fragments through SO 4 2− . Moreover, thermogravimetric (TG) and derivative thermogravimetric (DTG) analyses of 3 have been conducted and the TG curve shows two-stage weight loss between 300 and 950 K and the corresponding apparent activation energies are calculated by Ozawa–Flynn–Wall (OFW) method and Friedman method. The most probable kinetic model function of the dehydration reaction of 3 has been estimated by Coats–Redfern integral method and Achar–Bridly–Sharp differential method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper Ti (T40) is deformed by interrupted in situ tensile tests. Twinning activation and evolution are evidenced by scanning electron microscopy/electron backscatter diffraction and analyzed by examining their strain accommodation in the frame of all the potential accommodative systems in their neighborhoods. It is revealed that the formation of twins results from the local incompatible strains produced by dislocation slips in grain boundary areas. Either high positive Schmid factor and low positive Schmid factor twins or even negative Schmid factor twins could be activated. Twins are always accompanied by certain accommodative deformation (twinning and slip) in their immediate neighborhoods. Accommodative slips and twins have different impacts on the further development of the initiating twins. Twins accommodated by twins and possessing high Schmid factors have a higher capacity to propagate and repeatedly nucleate; whereas twins accommodated by slips and possessing low Schmid factors have less power and are static. Twins can be permanent or transient depending on their Schmid factors. For those with positive Schmid factors, their strain contributions are consistent with the macroscopic strains, thus they are stable, whereas those with negative Schmid factors are unstable. The formation of such twins is due to the unbalanced local constraints induced by high Schmid factor deformation that generate the so-called back-stress. These twins make opposite contributions to the macroscopic strains. With deformation, the back-stress could be accommodated by local high Schmid factor compatible deformation. The crystal of the twinned part has to make a positive contribution in accordance with the macroscopic strains to be compatible with its surroundings, which may give rise to the activation of detwinning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we propose a novel sparse transform dubbed exponential wavelet transform (EWT), which provides sparser coefficients than the conventional wavelet transform. We also propose a reconstruction algorithm EWT–ISTA that takes advantages of both EWT and ISTA. Experiments compare the proposed EWT–ISTA with conventional ISTA method that takes wavelet transform as sparsity domain. We employ five different kinds of MR images, i.e. the phantom, the brain, the leg, the arm, and the uterus images. The results demonstrate that: (1) EWT is more efficient than wavelet transform in terms of sparsity representation, and (2) the proposed EWT–ISTA can obtain less MAE & MSE, and higher PSNR than ISTA, with comparable computation time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To establish a simple two-compartment model for glomerular filtration rate (GFR) and renal plasma flow (RPF) estimations by dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI). Materials and Methods: A total of eight New Zealand white rabbits were included in DCE-MRI. The two-compartment model was modified with the impulse residue function in this study. First, the reliability of GFR measurement of the proposed model was compared with other published models in Monte Carlo simulation at different noise levels. Then, functional parameters were estimated in six healthy rabbits to test the feasibility of the new model. Moreover, in order to investigate its validity of GFR estimation, two rabbits underwent acute ischemia surgical procedure in unilateral kidney before DCE-MRI, and pixel-wise measurements were implemented to detect the cortical GFR alterations between normal and abnormal kidneys. Results: The lowest variability of GFR and RPF measurements were found in the proposed model in the comparison. Mean GFR was 3.03±1.1 ml/min and mean RPF was 2.64±0.5 ml/g/min in normal animals, which were in good agreement with the published values. Moreover, large GFR decline was found in dysfunction kidneys comparing to the contralateral control group. Conclusion: Results in our study demonstrate that measurement of renal kinetic parameters based on the proposed model is feasible and it has the ability to discriminate GFR changes in healthy and diseased kidneys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In this paper, we proposed a novel spam detection method that focused on reducing the false positive error of mislabeling nonspam as spam. First, we used the wrapper-based feature selection method to extract crucial features. Second, the decision tree was chosen as the classifier model with C4.5 as the training algorithm. Third, the cost matrix was introduced to give different weights to two error types, i.e., the false positive and the false negative errors. We define the weight parameter as α to adjust the relative importance of the two error types. Fourth, K-fold cross validation was employed to reduce out-of-sample error. Finally, the binary PSO with mutation operator (MBPSO) was used as the subset search strategy. Our experimental dataset contains 6000 emails, which were collected during the year of 2012. We conducted a Kolmogorov–Smirnov hypothesis test on the capital-run-length related features and found that all the p values were less than 0.001. Afterwards, we found α =7 was the most appropriate in our model. Among seven meta-heuristic algorithms, we demonstrated the MBPSO is superior to GA, RSA, PSO, and BPSO in terms of classification performance. The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of the decision tree with feature selection by MBPSO were 91.02%, 97.51%, and 94.27%, respectively. We also compared the MBPSO with conventional feature selection methods such as SFS and SBS. The results showed that the MBPSO performs better than SFS and SBS. We also demonstrated that wrappers are more effective than filters with regard to classification performance indexes. It was clearly shown that the proposed method is effective, and it can reduce the false positive error without compromising the sensitivity and accuracy values. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Aim We aimed in this study to identify the significant latent pathways and precise molecular mechanisms underlying the syndrome of vasculitis. Methods Agilent dual-channel data of peripheral blood mononuclear cells ( PBMCs) from healthy controls and vasculitis patients were downloaded from EBI Array Express database. Differentially expressed genes ( DEGs) between normal and vasculitis PBMCs samples were selected. Gene Ontology ( GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes ( KEGG) pathway analyses were carried out to identify significant biological processes and pathways. DEGs were matched to NetBox software database to obtain LINKER genes with statistical significance. Protein-protein interaction ( PPI) network was constructed with LINKER genes and DEGs according to STRING database. Latent pathway identification analysis ( LPIA) was used to identify the most significant interactions among different pathways involved by DEGs. Results A total of 266 DEGs were selected. GO and KEGG pathway analysis showed that the up-regulated genes were significantly enriched in defense and wounding response; the down-regulated genes were enriched in immune response. The modules analysis of PPI network suggested that ISG15 and IFIT3 were the potential biomarkers for vasculitis. The results of LPIA showed that NOD-like receptor signaling pathway and shigellosis related pathway were the two most significant latent pathway interactions for vasculitis. ISG15 and IFIT3 were the potential biomarkers for vasculitis identification. Conclusion NOD-like receptor signaling pathway and shigellosis related pathway were the most significant latent pathway interactions for vasculitis. Moreover, LPIA was a useful method for revealing systemic biological pathways and cellular mechanisms of diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Two kinds of hexagonal structures are identified in the β precipitates of a Cu-40Zn alloy to be formed through a two-stepped atomic displacement. • The concomitant formation of the two hexagonal structures minimize the lattice distortion of each single formation. • The new information on the formation mechanism of the two hexagonal structures in a Body Centre Cubic matrix are provided, which is a common feature of many alloys systems. Two nano-scaled hexagonal distortions in high temperature BCC phase during cooling is commonly observed in many alloys systems. Although efforts have been made on studying the lattice softening of the BCC structure during cooling, the distortion mechanisms are less addressed. Thus, the formation of two hexagonal structures in the β precipitates in a Cu-40Zn alloy treated by ECP was thoroughly investigated. Results show that the β precipitates contain two kinds of nano-sized and diffuse atomic clusters one with a η structure obeying the Burgers OR and the other a ω structure obeying the Blackburn OR. They were each formed through a two-stepped atomic displacement. For the η structure, the first step is the atomic shuffle of each second 110 β plane in the < 1 1 ¯ 0 > β direction and the second is a structure change mainly by a {1 1 ¯ 2} < 1 ¯ 11> β shear. For the ω structure, the first is an atomic shuffle on each second and third { 11 2 ¯ } β plane in the ± [1 1 1] β directions and then normal strains in three mutually perpendicular directions. The concomitant formation of the two structures minimizes the lattice distortion of single formation. The present results provide new information on the formation mechanism of the two hexagonal structures in a BCC matrix. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A high‐performance binary blazed grating coupler with a mixed germanium and zinc selenide structure on a Ge‐on‐Si platform is proposed for a perfectly vertical coupling. To obtain high coupling efficiency, grating parameters are repeatedly and carefully optimized. For the perfectly vertical coupler with transverse‐magnetic polarized incident light, the coupling efficiency is 49.5% at the wavelength of 8 μm with a 1‐dB bandwidth of 110 nm. Thus, the coupling efficiency‐bandwidth product is beyond 54.5 nm. Furthermore, the manufacturing route of the grating is discussed, which adopts the combination of electron‐beam lithography and three‐dimensional nanoprinting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The association between prenatal stress and children's socioemotional development is well established. The COVID‐19 pandemic has been a particularly stressful period, which may impact the gestational environment. However, most studies to‐date have examined prenatal stress at a single time point, potentially masking the natural variation in stress that occurs over time, especially during a time as uncertain as the pandemic. This study leveraged dense ecological momentary assessments from a prenatal randomized control trial to examine patterns of prenatal stress over a 14‐week period (up to four assessments/day) in a U.S. sample of 72 mothers and infants. We first examined whether varied features of stress exposure (lability, mean, and baseline stress) differed depending on whether mothers reported on their stress before or during the pandemic. We next examined which features of stress were associated with 3‐month‐old infants' negative affect. We did not find differences in stress patterns before and during the pandemic. However, greater stress lability, accounting for baseline and mean stress, was associated with higher infant negative affect. These findings suggest that pathways from prenatal stress exposure to infant socioemotional development are complex, and close attention to stress patterns over time will be important for explicating these pathways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Commercial pure titanium (T40) was deformed in channel die compression by means of the split-sample technique in order to study multiple twinning. Particular attention was paid to the twin variant presentation and selection during multiple twinning. All possible misorientations, corresponding to the multiple twins arising from the combination of the {} compression (C) twin, the {} tension twin (T1) and the {} tension twin (T2), were calculated with respect to the crystal basis of the matrix grain. All the multiple twin variants are partitioned into ten classes with the same crystallographically equivalent misorientation angle and axis. However, when the influence of twinning order is taken into account, the multiple twin variants are partitioned into 15 classes. Experimental results prove that the selection of twin variants (primary and secondary) is mainly governed by their macroscopic Schmid factor (SF). The normalized SF is more efficient at predicting variant selection. A twin formed in one grain can activate another twin in a neighbouring grain, provided that the angle between the two twinning planes does not exceed 20°. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The coupling chemo-mechanical behavior of smart structured electrode is obtained. • Smart structured design can provide more space for electrode lithiated expansion. • Mechanical stress can affect electrode electrochemical performance greatly. • Smart structured electrode has long life and great electrochemical performance. In battery cyclic operation, the diffusion of lithium atoms and its induced electrochemical reactions can result in the huge mechanical stress and electrode volume expansion, which may influence the electrode stability and lead to the electrode polarization. The smart structured material in a shape of hollow re-entrant honeycomb is reported to have great mechanical fracture resistance and shows perfect mechanical property. In this paper, a new analytical model is developed to study the coupling chemo-mechanical behavior of the smart structured electrode in battery cyclic operation. Our study reveals the smart structured design can help to lower the electrode mechanical stress level, provide more space for electrode lithiated expansion and realize the mechanical long life of electrode. Furthermore, smart structured electrode can solve the inconformity problem of electrode potential to some degree. It may generate less overpotential and voltage gap than thin film electrode in cyclic operation, which shows great electrochemical performance. This work indicates that smart structured electrode has great mechanical long life and electrochemical performance in battery operation. The developed analytical model may help for the electrode design and provide a theoretical way to understand the chemo-mechanical performance of the battery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gesture recognition has been studied for decades and still remains an open problem. One important reason is that the features representing those gestures are not sufficient, which may lead to poor performance and weak robustness. Therefore, this work aims at a comprehensive and discriminative feature for hand gesture recognition. Here, a distinctive Fingertip Gradient orientation with Finger Fourier (FGFF) descriptor and modified Hu moments are suggested on the platform of a Kinect sensor. Firstly, two algorithms are designed to extract the fingertip-emphasized features, including palm center, fingertips, and their gradient orientations, followed by the finger-emphasized Fourier descriptor to construct the FGFF descriptors. Then, the modified Hu moment invariants with much lower exponents are discussed to encode contour-emphasized structure in the hand region. Finally, a weighted AdaBoost classifier is built based on finger-earth mover's distance and SVM models to realize the hand gesture recognition. Extensive experiments on a ten-gesture dataset were carried out and compared the proposed algorithm with three benchmark methods to validate its performance. Encouraging results were obtained considering recognition accuracy and efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: PZT/PVDF composites (0–3 type) doped with carbon nanotubes were prepared by flowing. The effect of the carbon nanotubes on the performance of the PVDF matrix and PZT/PVDF composites was examined. The results show that mixing a moderate amount of carbon nanotubes into the PVDF matrix not only enhances the dielectric constant of the matrix but also induces the transformation of the PVDF crystal from α-phase into β-phase. These effects can improve the piezoelectric performance of the PZT/PVDF composites. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The effects of a high magnetic field on the precipitation behaviour of the primary Al3Zr phase are investigated. With and without the field, the primary Al3Zr crystals possess three morphologies - small tabular crystals in the deposit layer, long bars and dendritic crystals. The dendritic crystals are probably those surviving from the initial material. The tabular crystals in the deposit layer are those surviving from the heating stage, whereas the long bars are those formed during cooling. With the field, the tabular crystals in the deposit layer and the long bars tend to orient with the 〈110〉 direction parallel to the field direction, but the orientation of the dendritic crystals is less affected. The orientation of the crystals in the deposit layer arises from their magnetocrystalline anisotropy, but that of the long bars and dendritic crystals is disturbed by gravity and the formation of compound twins, respectively. Increased Zr content raises the precipitation amount of the primary Al3Zr crystals but weakens the alignment tendency of the tabular ones in the deposit layer. The weakness of the alignment arises from interaction between the crystals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Structural modulation of martensitic phases is regarded as a prerequisite for magnetically or electrically induced reversible strains in shape-memory alloys. Controversy surrounds the crystal structure of modulated martensite. Here, we explore this critical issue through combined spatially resolved microstructural and crystallographic characterizations of a polycrystalline Ni53Mn22Ga25 alloy, by comparing the high-resolution Kikuchi patterns with those predicted according to various hypotheses—7M(IC) or nanotwin combination structure—on the modulated martensite. Detailed analysis has demonstrated that the modulated martensite plates may possess a monoclinic incommensurate superstructure, other than the nanotwinned tetragonal non-modulated structure. Such an incommensurate superstructure can generate a more favorable plate interface configuration for field-driven twinning/detwinning, capable of producing large reversible actuation strain. Moreover, the thermodynamically metastable modulated martensite may transform into the non-modulated martensite by further local lattice distortion, which would degrade the magnetic shape-memory effect. By taking into account the microstructure–property correlation, the ambiguity concerning the modulated martensitic structure could be clarified, which is essential to the understanding of the stability of modulated martensitic phases and their functionality as shape-memory materials. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In this work, a high purity, high carbon steel was heat treated without and with a 12-T magnetic field. The microstructural features induced by magnetic field during its diffusion-controlled austenite decomposition were investigated by means of optical microscopy and SEM/EBSD. It is found that the magnetic field increases the amount of the abnormal structure, which is composed of proeutectoid cementite along the prior austenite boundaries and ferrite around it, because magnetic field increases the austenite grain size and promotes the transformation of carbon-depleted austenite to ferrite. No specific orientation relationship between abnormal ferrite and cementite has been found in the non-field- or the field-treated specimens. Magnetic field evidently promotes the spheroidization of pearlite, due to its effect of enhancing carbon diffusion through raising the transformation temperature and its effect of increasing the relative ferrite/cementite interface energy. As magnetic field favors the nucleation of the high magnetization phase-pearlitic ferrite, the occurrence of the P-P2 OR that corresponds to the situation that ferrite nucleates prior to cementite during pearlitic transformation is enhanced by the magnetic field. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Objectives: To study whether the individual radiological findings can help predict diagnosis of pelvic lipomatosis (PL) or, specifically appreciate its progression. Methods: Data from 32 clinically proven cases of PL and 25 controls were collected. Two reviewers were recruited for a blinded evaluation, image features were recorded in terms of: (1) bladder shape; (2) bladder-rectosigmoid morphological indexes including ratio of superior–inferior to anterior–posterior length of bladder (SI/AP), angle between anterior and posterior wall (AAP), relative length of posterior urethra (rLPU), angle between bladder and seminal vesicle (ABS) and rectosigmoid morphological index (RMI); (3) secondary complications. Results were evaluated by an unpaired t test and ROC analysis. Results: The sensitivity and specificity were 40.6% and 100% for pear and banana-shaped bladder, 62.5% and 100% for SI/AP, 40.6% and 100% for AAP, 62.5% and 100% for ABS, 78.1% and 72% for rLPU, 59.4% and 96% for RMI, respectively. These radiological findings partially correlated with the severity of disease weighted by hydronephrosis and treatment grade. Image analysis demonstrated high prevalence of glandular cystitis (100%) and hydronephrosis (73.4%). Conclusion: We conclude that PL is a progressive disease involving multiple pelvic organs with high prevalence of intractable cystitis and hydronephrosis. The imaging characteristics can help predict diagnosis and, specifically appreciate progression. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

High-N Ni-free stainless steels are used for their excellent mechanical properties combined with their high corrosion resistance, especially for biomedical applications. Even though it is well-known that secondary hardening during annealing after cold working has been observed in many materials, this phenomenon was not reported for these materials, one of the best known being Biodur108©, although numerous efforts have been made to increase its hardness. In this work, thermomechanical treatments at low temperature of cold-deformed Biodur108© were conducted to increase the hardness. Hardness as high as 830 Hv was obtained. For this material, the annealing of a deformed sample at intermediate temperature leads to a secondary hardening phenomenon. The mechanisms responsible for this secondary hardening were analyzed. It was found that for deformed samples, annealing at 575 °C leads to the formation of small Cr2N precipitates along grain boundaries and sub-grain boundaries, and simultaneously with a new body-centered cubic (BCC) phase that possesses a super structure. The newly formed phases have sub-micrometric grain sizes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Neurocognitive deficits have been proposed as endophenotypes for schizophrenia. Although neurocognitive functioning has been studied extensively in first-degree relatives of schizophrenia patients at single time points, little is known about the change or continuity in deficits across development.Method: The longitudinal sample was composed of 86 nonpsychotic participants who had a parent with schizophrenia (n = 28), a parent with a nonschizophrenia mental disorder (n = 31) or parents without mental illness (n = 27). Executive functioning (EF) was assessed during adolescence (M = 18 years) and adulthood (M = 32 years); attention and memory were assessed at adulthood.Results: The schizophrenia group, as adults, showed deficits in attention and memory relative to the no mental illness group. Only on one memory task did the schizophrenia group perform more poorly than the other mental illness group. Executive functioning improved with age for all three groups on Wisconsin Card Sorting Test perseverative errors; the rate of improvement was significantly slower for the schizophrenia and the other mental illness groups, compared to the no mental illness group. Stability in EF functioning over the 16-year period, measured by intraclass correlations, was low.Conclusions: Adults at familial risk for schizophrenia showed deficits in neurocognitive functioning. The similarity of performance between those whose parents had schizophrenia and those whose parents had other mental illness, in all but the measures of memory, raises the question as to whether the neurocognitive functions examined are endophenotypes of vulnerability to schizophrenia specifically. Modest stability of EF and improved performance with age may reflect cortical maturation during early adulthood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]