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To ensure the effective preservation and evolution of traditional painting art, it is imperative to integrate contemporary art design concepts and methodologies. This paper focuses on the reconstruction of traditional Chinese painting elements, distilling and adapting its pattern, ink, and calligraphy components into a modern design framework. Specifically, the features of the pattern elements are identified and transformed using a feature point extraction algorithm combined with K-Means clustering. For ink and calligraphy elements, a fusion of self-attention mechanisms and Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) facilitates the stylistic migration and conversion of these elements through the construction of distinct discriminators. Subsequent evaluation of the transformed painting elements utilized Importance-Performance Analysis (IPA) within a contemporary design context, aiming to assess the practical value of traditional painting elements in modern design. The findings indicate that the clarity of information (C1) and its accuracy and efficacy (C3) in the context of contemporary design achieved importance scores exceeding 3.6. Furthermore, the satisfaction scores for modeling (C10), color (C11), and imagery (C12) each surpassed 3.5, denoting a high level of satisfaction in the IPA of their conversion. The study enriches traditional artistic methods and conceptualizations, thereby enhancing their cultural depth and significance.

SiC direct bonding using O2 plasma activation is investigated in this work. SiC substrate and n− SiC epitaxy growth layer are activated with an optimized duration of 60s and power of the oxygen ion beam source at 20 W. After O2 plasma activation, both the SiC substrate and n− SiC epitaxy growth layer present a sufficient hydrophilic surface for bonding. The two 4-inch wafers are prebonded at room temperature followed by an annealing process in an atmospheric N2 ambient for 3 h at 300 °C. The scanning results obtained by C-mode scanning acoustic microscopy (C-SAM) shows a high bonding uniformity. The bonding strength of 1473 mJ/m2 is achieved. The bonding mechanisms are investigated through interface analysis by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). Oxygen is found between the two interfaces, which indicates Si–O and C–O are formed at the bonding interface. However, a C-rich area is also detected at the bonding interface, which reveals the formation of C-C bonds in the activated SiC surface layer. These results show the potential of low cost and efficient surface activation method for SiC direct bonding for ultrahigh-voltage devices applications.

Computer vision-based action recognition of basketball players in basketball training and competition has gradually become a research hotspot. However, owing to the complex technical action, diverse background, and limb occlusion, it remains a challenging task without effective solutions or public dataset benchmarks. In this study, we defined 32 kinds of atomic actions covering most of the complex actions for basketball players and built the dataset NPU RGB+D (a large scale dataset of basketball action recognition with RGB image data and Depth data captured in Northwestern Polytechnical University) for 12 kinds of actions of 10 professional basketball players with 2169 RGB+D videos and 75 thousand frames, including RGB frame sequences, depth maps, and skeleton coordinates. Through extracting the spatial features of the distances and angles between the joint points of basketball players, we created a new feature-enhanced skeleton-based method called LSTM-DGCN for basketball player action recognition based on the deep graph convolutional network (DGCN) and long short-term memory (LSTM) methods. Many advanced action recognition methods were evaluated on our dataset and compared with our proposed method. The experimental results show that the NPU RGB+D dataset is very competitive with the current action recognition algorithms and that our LSTM-DGCN outperforms the state-of-the-art action recognition methods in various evaluation criteria on our dataset. Our action classifications and this NPU RGB+D dataset are valuable for basketball player action recognition techniques. The feature-enhanced LSTM-DGCN has a more accurate action recognition effect, which improves the motion expression ability of the skeleton data.

Portal vein thrombosis (PVT) is a potential complication of cirrhosis and can worsen outcomes after liver transplant (LT). Portal vein reconstruction–transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (PVR-TIPS) can restore flow through the portal vein (PV) and facilitate LT by avoiding complex vascular conduits. We present a case of transsplenic PVR-TIPS in the setting of complete PVT and splenic vein (SV) thrombosis. The patient had a 3-year history of PVT complicated by abdominal pain, ascites, and paraesophageal varices. A SV tributary provided access to the main SV and was punctured percutaneously under ultrasound scan guidance. PV access, PV and SV venoplasty, and TIPS placement were successfully performed without complex techniques. The patient underwent LT with successful end-to-end anastomosis of the PVs. Our case suggests transsplenic PVR-TIPS to be a safe and effective alternative to conventional PVR-TIPS in patients with PVT and SV thrombosis.

Chylous ascites (CA) is the extravasation of lipid-rich lymphatic fluid into the peritoneal space following trauma or obstruction of the lymphatic system. Refractory cases of cirrhosis-related CA may be amendable to transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunting (TIPS). We present a case of TIPS in the setting of refractory CA secondary to cirrhosis of a transplanted liver graft. Following TIPS, the patient reported immediate improvement in abdominal pain and no longer requires paracentesis. Our case suggests TIPS to be a safe and effective treatment option for CA in liver transplant patients with cirrhosis.

Capacitive MEMS accelerometers with area-variable periodic-electrode displacement transducers found wide applications in disaster monitoring, resource exploration and inertial navigation. The bonding-induced warpage, due to the difference in the coefficients of thermal expansion of the bonded slices, has a negative influence on the precise control of the interelectrode spacing that is essential to the sensitivity of accelerometers. In this work, we propose the theory, simulation and experiment of a method that can alleviate both the stress and the warpage by applying different bonding temperature on the bonded slices. A quasi-zero warpage is achieved experimentally, proving the feasibility of the method. As a benefit of the flat surface, the spacing of the capacitive displacement transducer can be precisely controlled, improving the self-noise of the accelerometer to 6 ng/√Hz @0.07 Hz, which is about two times lower than that of the accelerometer using a uniform-temperature bonding process.

Capacitive sensing is a key technique to measure the test mass movement with a high resolution for space-borne gravitational wave detectors, such as Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) and TianQin. The capacitance resolution requirement of TianQin is higher than that of LISA, as the arm length of TianQin is about 15 times shorter. In this paper, the transfer function and capacitance measurement noise of the circuit are modeled and analyzed. Figure-of-merits, including the product of the inductance L and the quality factor Q of the transformer, are proposed to optimize the transformer and the capacitance measurement resolution of the circuit. The LQ product improvement and the resonant frequency augmentation are the key factors to enhance the capacitance measurement resolution. We fabricated a transformer with a high LQ product over a wide frequency band. The evaluation showed that the transformer can generate a capacitance resolution of 0.11 aF/Hz1/2 at a resonant frequency of 200 kHz, and the amplitude of the injection wave would be 0.6 V. This result supports the potential application of the proposed transformer in space-borne gravitational wave detection and demonstrates that it could relieve the stringent requirements for other parameters in the TianQin mission.

BACKGROUND:T-cell depleting strategies have become an integral part of immunosuppressive regimens in organ transplantation. Alemtuzumab is a humanized monoclonal antibody against CD52, a cell-surface antigen on several immune cells. It has been suggested that lymphocyte depletion increases the risk of serious infections. However, this has not been observed with short-term alemtuzumab treatment in an organ transplant setting. For induction therapy using alemtuzumab following liver transplantation, we found that T- and B-cell numbers declined rapidly after alemtuzumab therapy; however, the natural killer (NK) cell number was sustained. NK cells are important effectors of innate immunity. Since the effects of alemtuzumab on NK cell functions, especially those of liver NK cells, are unknown, this study aimed to investigate this in detail. METHODS:To assess the effect of alemtuzumab on NK cells, samples were obtained from 7 organ donors and examined by flow cytometry using Annexin V and propidium iodide. Phenotypical and functional differences within subsets of NK cells with different levels of CD52 expression were determined by flow cytometry and in vitro cytotoxicity assays. RESULTS:CD52 expression on NK cells was lower than that on other lymphocyte subsets. The liver contained a large number of CD52- NK cells compared with the peripheral blood. In vitro treatment of liver-derived NK cells with alemtuzumab did not result in cell death. In contrast, co-incubation with alemtuzumab induced cell death in peripheral blood mononuclear cells and non-NK cells in the liver. Furthermore, CD52- liver NK cells were more cytotoxic and produced more IFN-γ than CD52+ NK cells after cytokine activation. CONCLUSION:The liver contains a large number of CD52- NK cells. These cells are refractory to alemtuzumab and have robust activity. These findings indicate that CD52- NK cells persist and could protect against infection after alemtuzumab-based lymphocyte depletion.

A new and simple method to adjust the scale factor of a magnetic force feedback accelerometer is presented, which could be used in developing a rotating accelerometer gravity gradient instrument (GGI). Adjusting and matching the acceleration-to-current transfer function of the four accelerometers automatically is one of the basic and necessary technologies for rejecting the common mode accelerations in the development of GGI. In order to adjust the scale factor of the magnetic force rebalance accelerometer, an external current is injected and combined with the normal feedback current; they are then applied together to the torque coil of the magnetic actuator. The injected current could be varied proportionally according to the external adjustment needs, and the change in the acceleration-to-current transfer function then realized dynamically. The new adjustment method has the advantages of no extra assembly and ease of operation. Changes in the scale factors range from 33% smaller to 100% larger are verified experimentally by adjusting the different external coefficients. The static noise of the used accelerometer is compared under conditions with and without the injecting current, and the experimental results find no change at the current noise level, which further confirms the validity of the presented method.

Encoder-like micro area-changed capacitive transducers are advantageous in terms of their better linearity and larger dynamic range compared to gap-changed capacitive transducers. Such transducers have been widely applied in rectilinear and rotational position sensors, lab-on-a-chip applications and bio-sensors. However, a complete model accounting for both the parasitic capacitance and fringe effect in area-changed capacitive transducers has not yet been developed. This paper presents a complete model for this type of transducer applied to a high-resolution micro accelerometer that was verified by both simulations and experiments. A novel optimization method involving the insertion of photosensitive polyimide was used to reduce the parasitic capacitance, and the capacitor spacing was decreased to overcome the fringe effect. The sensitivity of the optimized transducer was approximately 46 pF/mm, which was nearly 40 times higher than that of our previous transducer. The displacement detection resolution was measured as 50 pm/√Hz at 0.1 Hz using a precise capacitance detection circuit. Then, the transducer was applied to a sandwich in-plane micro accelerometer, and the measured level of the accelerometer was approximately 30 ng/√Hz at 1Hz. The earthquake that occurred in Taiwan was also detected during a continuous gravity measurement.

This paper presents an in-plane sandwich nano-g microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) accelerometer. The proof-mass fabrication is based on silicon etching through technology using inductive coupled plasma (ICP) etching. The capacitive detection system, which employs the area-changing sensing method, combines elementary capacitive pickup electrodes with periodic-sensing-array transducers. In order to achieve a large dynamic range with an ultrahigh resolution, the capacitive detection system employs two periodic-sensing-array transducers. Each of them can provide numbers for the signal period in the entire operating range. The suspended proof-mass is encapsulated between two glass caps, which results in a three dimensional structure. The measured resonant frequency and quality factor (Q) are 13.2 Hz and 47, respectively. The calibration response of a ±0.7 g input acceleration is presented, and the accelerometer system presents a sensitivity of 122 V/g and a noise floor of 30 ng/√Hz (at 1 Hz, and 1 atm). The bias stability for a period of 10 h is 30 μg. The device has endured a shock up to ±2.6 g, and the full scale output appears to be approximately ±1.4 g presently. This work presents a new opportunity for highly sensitive MEMS fabrication to enable future high-precision measurement applications, such as for gravity measurements.

The cytoskeleton, a dynamic network of structural proteins within cells, is essential for cellular deformation and responds to external mechanical cues. Here, based on the structure of the cytoskeleton, combined with the biochemical reactions of the activator RhoA and the inhibitor F-actin, we develop a novel mechanochemical cytoskeleton model to investigate the mechanical behavior of cells. Interestingly, we find that active stress fibers exhibit diverse dynamical modes at specific inhibitor concentration thresholds. The existence of concentration differences and sustained mechanochemical feedback in activators and inhibitors trigger a global oscillation of isolated cells. In addition, under uniaxial and biaxial stretches, activators and inhibitors preferentially diffuse toward the more significantly deformed cytoskeletal elements, and their dynamic interactions regulate the cell to align with the main stretching direction. Our findings, consistent with many experimental results, provide fundamental insights into cytoskeletal remodeling and cellular mechanosensing mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Molecular diagnostics for crop diseases can guide the precise application of pesticides, thereby reducing pesticide usage while improving crop yield, but tools are lacking. Here, we report an in-field molecular diagnostic tool that uses a cheap colorimetric paper and a smartphone, allowing multiplexed, low-cost, rapid detection of crop pathogens. Rapid nucleic acid amplification-free detection of pathogenic RNA is achieved by combining toehold-mediated strand displacement with a metal ion-mediated urease catalysis reaction. We demonstrate multiplexed detection of six wheat pathogenic fungi and an early detection of wheat stripe rust. When coupled with a microneedle for rapid nucleic acid extraction and a smartphone app for results analysis, the sample-to-result test can be completed in ~10 min in the field. Importantly, by detecting fungal RNA and mutations, the approach allows to distinguish viable and dead pathogens and to sensitively identify mutation-carrying fungicide-resistant isolates, providing fundamental information for precision crop disease management. On-site crop disease diagnostics is critical for precise application of pesticides. Here, the authors report an in-field molecular diagnostic tool for wheat pathogens using a nucleic acid amplification-free, gene mutation-resolved and smartphone-integrated genetic assay. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]