Relationship between traditional Chinese medicine syndrome differentiation and imaging characterization to the radiosensitivity of nasopharyngeal carcinoma

Background and Objective: Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is a well established and time-honored practice in China, employing syndrome differentiation as a basis for the treatment of disease. According to different TCM syndrome typing findings, combining modern medical methods with TCM approaches can improve the quality of life and comprehensive effect on patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). This study investigated the relationship between TCM syndrome typing and imaging characterization to radiosensitivity as to provide objective evidence for the integration of Chinese and modern medical approaches in the treatment of NPC. Methods: Prior to treatment, TCM syndrome typing, computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were performed on 147 patients pathologically classified with NPC. The status of tumor remission was radiologically evaluated at accumulated doses of 20 Gy, 40 Gy and 60 Gy, and at 3 months after completion of radiotherapy. Statistical results were analyzed by the Friedman and K-W test procedures. Results: Prior to treatment, TCM syndrome typing of NPC included Lung Heat, Blood Stasis, Phlegm Congealment and Blood Stasis-Phlegm Congealment. Lung Heat typing accounted for the highest proportion at 34.7% (51/147), followed by Phlegm Congealment at 32.7% (48/147), Blood Stasis at 17.0% (25/147) and Blood Stasis-Phlegm Congealment at 15.7% (23/147). Radiological imaging demonstrated a higher incidence of cervical lymph node metastases in Phlegm Congealment and Blood Stasis-Phlegm Congealment types (P < 0.05), while Blood Stasis and Blood Stasis-Phlegm Congealment types were more prone to skull base invasion (P < 0.05). Residual tumor size was larger in Blood Stasis and Blood Stasis-Phlegm Congealment types than in Lung Heat and Phlegm Congealment types after 3 months of treatment (P < 0.05). Conclusions: Different radiological manifestations were observed in TCM syndrome typed NPC patients, with lesser radiosensitivity demonstrated in the Blood Stasis and the Blood Stasis-Phlegm Congealment types relative to the Lung Heat and Phlegm Congealment types.

An adjustment method for active reflector of large high-frequency antennas considering gain and boresight

The design of the Qitai 110 m Radio Telescope(QTT) with large aperture and very high working frequency(115 GHz) was investigated in Xinjiang, China. The results lead to a main reflector with high surface precision and high pointing precision. In this paper, the properties of active surface adjustment in a deformed parabolic reflector antenna are analyzed. To assure the performance of large reflector antennas such as gain and boresight, which can be obtained by utilizing an electromechanical coupling model, and satisfy them simultaneously, research on active surface adjustment applied to a new parabolic reflector as target surface has been done. Based on the initial position of actuators and the relationship between adjustment points and target points, a novel mathematical model and a program thatdirectly calculates the movements of actuators have been developed for guiding the active surface adjustment of large reflector antennas. This adjustment method is applied to an 8 m reflector antenna,in which we only consider gravity deformation. The results show that this method is more efficient in adjusting the surface and improving the working performance.

Experimental study for treatment of low-intensity laser on neuropathic pain in diabetic rats

Objective:To systematically identify the therapeutic effects of low-intensity laser with 830 nm on diabetic neuropathic pain.Methods:Thirty male SPF Wistar rats were equally assigned to the blank control(Control),diabetic neuropathic pain(DNP)and diabetic neuropathic pain exposed to the laser treatment(DNP+Laser)groups.The rats in the DNP group and DNP+Laser group were subjected to intraperitoneal injection with streptozotocin(STZ)to establish the diabetic animal model.The rats in the DNP+Laser group were exposed to laser stimulation(700 Hz,60 mW)with 3 sessions per day and 50 s per session for overall 8 weeks.The paw mechanical pain threshold levels and thermal pain threshold levels were measured at 0,2,4,6 and 8 weeks post the STZ administration,and the motor nerve conduction velocity and sensory nerve conduction velocity were also determined.Results:The rats in the DNP+EMF group showed significantly higher paw mechanical pain threshold levels and thermal pain threshold levels than the rats in the DNP group(P<0.05).Moreover,the motor nerve conduction velocity and sensory nerve conduction velocity in the DNP+Laser group were also significantly higher than those in the DNP group(P<0.05).Conclusion:Low-intensity laser stimulation displayed positive effects on the attenuation of the progression of neuropathic pain in diabetic rats,implying that low-intensity laser treatment has the potential to be an effective biophysical approach for diabetic neuropathic pain in clinics.

Thermal Distortion Compensation for Improving Electrical Performance of Reflector Antennas

Aiming at the problem of the surface accuracy and electrical performance of the antenna in space environment are reduced due to thermal deformation caused by temperature load. This paper presents a method to compensate the thermally induced shape distortion of antenna reflector by actively adjusting actuators in order to improve the electrical performance. The adjustment of each actuator is related to the local deformation of the panel. Then, taking a space deployable antenna with a diameter of 5 meters as an example, the finite element model is established. According to the range of the temperature variation in space (−180°C - 200°C), different temperature loads are applied to the antenna. The variation of electrical properties and surface accuracy is analyzed and the worst working condition is determined, and the antenna is compensated based on this condition. Then, four different electrical performance parameters are used as the optimization objectives, and the electromechanical coupling optimization model is established, and the PSO algorithm is used to optimize the actuators adjustments. The results show that the method can effectively improve the electrical performance of the deformed reflector antenna.

基于应变梯度理论和逆有限元法的Timoshenko梁形状传感建模

大型结构的几何非线性变形严重威胁着结构体系的安全.因此,对在役结构变形进行实时监测具有重要意义.然而,目前基于线弹性理论提出的逆有限元法(iFEM)并不适用于非线性变形,为此,提出了一种非线性逆有限元法来建立结构形状感知模型.首先给出了应变梯度Timoshenko梁模型的运动学和动力学变量,并建立了其几何非线性变形控制方程.然后,推导出了转角函数的解析解,并建立了非线性形状感知模型.其中,采用等几何分析(IGA)方法构造插值形状函数.由于位移函数以旋转形式表示,所以可以有效地避免“剪切锁定”问题.随后,利用离散表面应变测量值推导出了实际转角函数,并建立了转角自由度在直角坐标系与曲线坐标系之间转换关系.最后,以一悬臂梁为例,将重构位移与理论位移进行了比较.数值结果表明,不论是集中荷载还是分布荷载,所提的非线性逆有限元法均具有良好的重构性能,重构误差都小于2.5%.

Derivation and analysis on the analytical structure of interval type-2 fuzzy controller with two nonlinear fuzzy sets for each input variable

Type-2 fuzzy controllers have been mostly viewed as black-box function generators. Revealing the analytical structure of any type-2 fuzzy controller is important as it will deepen our understanding of how and why a type-2 fuzzy controller functions and lay a foundation for more rigorous system analysis and design. In this study, we derive and analyze the analytical structure of an interval type-2 fuzzy controller that uses the following identical elements: two nonlinear interval type-2 input fuzzy sets for each variable, four interval type-2 singleton output fuzzy sets, a Zadeh AND operator, and the Karnik-Mendel type reducer. Through dividing the input space of the interval type-2 fuzzy controller into 15 partitions, the input-output relationship for each local region is derived. Our derivation shows explicitly that the controller is approximately equivalent to a nonlinear proportional integral or proportional differential controller with variable gains. Furthermore, by comparing with the analytical structure of its type-1 counterpart, potential advantages of the interval type-2 fuzzy controller are analyzed. Finally, the reliability of the analysis results and the effectiveness of the interval type-2 fuzzy controller are verified by a simulation and an experiment.

Accuracy assessment of GPS navigation augmented by SAR and LiDAR-derived Digital Elevation Models

Remotely sensed Digital Elevation Models(DEM)can be used to augment a standalone Global Positioning System(GPS)by adding an extra range observation which measures the distance to the Earth centre.This method so called height aiding can reduce the number of GPS satellites required to get a 3D position fix from four to three and hence improve the performance of the GPS navigation algorithm in terms of accuracy,reliability and availability.Up until now,the accuracy of height aided GPS navigation using higher resolution Synthetic Aperture Radar(SAR)and Light Detection and Ranging(LiDAR)-derived elevation data has not been fully evaluated in a broad spectrum of navigation scenarios.This article provides a robust and accurate analysis on how much range error is introduced by height aiding using 5 m spacing SAR and 1 m spacing LiDAR-derived DEMs under in-car and personal navigation situations.Based on the experimental results obtained from both dynamic and static tests,suggestions have been made on what level of vertical and positional accuracy can be achieved as well as the related DEM quality issues for navigation purposes.