Dual-Energy Technique at Low Tube Voltages for Small Animal Imaging

We investigate the feasibility of dual-energy method for image contrast enhancement in small animal studies using a low kV X-ray radiographic system.A robust method for X-ray spectrum estimation from transmission measurements,based on expectation-maximization(EM) method,is applied to an X-ray specimen radiographic system for dual energy imaging of a mouse.From transmission measurements of two known attenuators at two different X-ray tube voltages,the X-ray energy spectra are reconstructed using the EM-based...     

Biomimetic self-templating supramolecular structures

In nature, helical macromolecules such as collagen, chitin and cellulose are critical to the morphogenesis and functionality of various hierarchically structured materials. During tissue formation, these chiral macromolecules are secreted and undergo self-templating assembly, a process whereby multiple kinetic factors influence the assembly of the incoming building blocks to produce non-equilibrium structures. A single macromolecule can form diverse functional structures when self-templated under different conditions. Collagen type I, for instance, forms transparent corneal tissues from orthogonally aligned nematic fibres, distinctively coloured skin tissues from cholesteric phase fibre bundles, and mineralized tissues from hierarchically organized fibres. Nature's self-templated materials surpass the functional and structural complexity achievable by current top-down and bottom-up fabrication methods. However, self-templating has not been thoroughly explored for engineering synthetic materials. Here we demonstrate the biomimetic, self-templating assembly of chiral colloidal particles (M13 phage) into functional materials. A single-step process produces long-range-ordered, supramolecular films showing multiple levels of hierarchical organization and helical twist. Three distinct supramolecular structures are created by this approach: nematic orthogonal twists, cholesteric helical ribbons and smectic helicolidal nanofilaments. Both chiral liquid crystalline phase transitions and competing interfacial forces at the interface are found to be critical factors in determining the morphology of the templated structures during assembly. The resulting materials show distinctive optical and photonic properties, functioning as chiral reflector/filters and structural colour matrices. In addition, M13 phages with genetically incorporated bioactive peptide ligands direct both soft and hard tissue growth in a hierarchically organized manner. Our assembly approach provides insight into the complexities of hierarchical assembly in nature and could be expanded to other chiral molecules to engineer sophisticated functional helical-twisted structures.     

Exploitation of shape memory alloy actuator using resistance feedback control and its development

The relationship between phase transformation and electric re sistivity of Ti-42.6Ni-7Cu SMA was investigated. In the isothermal tensile tests, stress—strain curve shows large hysteresis and nonlinearity, whereas the resistivity—strain curve can be fitted by linearity. The resistivity of SMAs can be determined from the volume fractions of the martensitic and austenitic phas es. This characteristics leads to that the resistance of the SMAs is used as a parameter of strain of SMAs. A SMA actuator using resistance feedback control system was proposed, which can control and retain positioning at any positions without using sensor devices, and the deviation of position of this system was less than 3 μm.     

DEVELOPMENT OF REALISTIC QUALITY LOSS FUNCTIONS FOR INDUSTRIAL APPLICATIONS

1. Introduction A manufactured item usually has some characteristics, which are required to have some values for the proper functioning of the item. These characteristics are referred to as quality characteristics and the ideal value for each quality characteristic is called a target value. Usually, a range of values containing the target value are specified for each quality characteristic of the item, within which the item is classified as non-defective. Otherwise, the item is defective. A s…     

模糊可靠性分析改进的一次二阶矩法

给出了模糊变量变换为当量随机变量时,其当量概率密度函数、当量均值和当量标准差的一般表达式,得到了采用几种常用隶属函数模糊变量的当量均值和当量标准差的具体计算式.根据极限状态方程,用传统可靠性理论中改进的一次二阶矩法计算复杂情况下的模糊可靠性,获得了衡量模糊可靠性的可靠性指数.算例验证了方法的有效性和实用性.     

Exome sequencing identifies recurrent somatic RAC1 mutations in melanoma

We characterized the mutational landscape of melanoma, the form of skin cancer with the highest mortality rate, by sequencing the exomes of 147 melanomas. Sun-exposed melanomas had markedly more ultraviolet (UV)-like C>T somatic mutations compared to sun-shielded acral, mucosal and uveal melanomas. Among the newly identified cancer genes was PPP6C, encoding a serine/threonine phosphatase, which harbored mutations that clustered in the active site in 12% of sun-exposed melanomas, exclusively in tumors with mutations in BRAF or NRAS. Notably, we identified a recurrent UV-signature, an activating mutation in RAC1 in 9.2% of sun-exposed melanomas. This activating mutation, the third most frequent in our cohort of sun-exposed melanoma after those of BRAF and NRAS, changes Pro29 to serine (RAC1(P29S)) in the highly conserved switch I domain. Crystal structures, and biochemical and functional studies of RAC1(P29S) showed that the alteration releases the conformational restraint conferred by the conserved proline, causes an increased binding of the protein to downstream effectors, and promotes melanocyte proliferation and migration. These findings raise the possibility that pharmacological inhibition of downstream effectors of RAC1 signaling could be of therapeutic benefit.     

DESIGNING THE OPTIMUM CONFIGURATIONS OF CIRCULAR AND SPHERICAL PRODUCT SPECIFICATIONS FOR MULTIPLE QUALITY CHARACTERISTICS

1. Introduction The problem of determining an optimal tolerance is equivalent to the problem of determining optimal specification limits, since the term tolerance refers to the distance between its lower and upper specification limits. Functional performance and economic considerations are the two primary factors affecting the design of tolerances. A tighttolerance usually implies high manufacturing cost due to additional manufacturing operations, slow processing rates, additional care on part…     

A MARKOVIAN APPROACH TO DETERMINING PROCESS MEANS WITH DUAL QUALITY CHARACTERISTICS

This paper studies a production system where products are produced continuously and whose specification limits are specified for screening inspection. In this paper, we consider dual quality characteristics and different costs associated with each quality characteristic that falls below a lower specification limit or above an upper specification limit. Due to these different costs, the expected total profit will greatly depend on the process parameters, especially a process mean. This paper develops a Markovian-based model for determining the optimum process means with the consideration of dual quality characteristics in a single-stage system. The proposed model is then illustrated through a numerical example and sensitivity analysis is performed to validate the model. The results showed that the optimum process mean for both quality characteristics have a significant effect on the performance of the system. Since the literature survey shows that dealing with multi-quality characteristics is extremely limited, the proposed model, coupled with the Markovian approach, provides a unique contribution to this field.     

Effect of Cu seed on the synthesis and characterization of FeCo alloy nano-particles by using polyol method

Fine metal particles with uniform shape,narrow size distribution and high purity are increasingly needed for specific uses in high tech industrial application.We report the direct chemical synthesis of FeCo alloy particles using the mixture of FeCl2·4H2O,Co(Ac) 2·4H2O(Ac:acetate) and NaOH in ethylene glycol,and then obtained FeCo alloy particles better dispersed by adding the polyvinylpyrrolidone(PVP) and also the size could be controlled by adding copper.The prepared nano-particles were characterized using FESEM,XRD and VSM.The mean diameter of these particles was varied in the range of submicrometer to nanometer with metal-ion concentration.FeCo particles showed the typical soft magnetic properties.