Early all-zero blocks detecting method for video coding based on novel threshold

In order to decrease both computational complexity and coding time, an improved algorithm for the early detection of all-zero blocks （AZBs） in H. 264/AVC is proposed. The previous AZBs detection algorithms are reviewed. Three types of transformed frequency-domain coefficients, which are quantized to zeros, are analyzed. Based on the three types of frequencydomain scaling factors, the corresponding spatial coefficients are derived. Then the Schwarz inequality is applied to the derivation of the three thresholds based on spatial coefficients. Another threshold is set on the basis of the probability distribution of zero coefficients in a block. As a result, an adaptive AZBs detection algorithm is proposed based on the minimum of the former three thresholds and the threshold of zero blocks distribution. The simulation results show that, compared with the existing AZBs detection algorithms, the proposed algorithm achieves a 5% higher detection ratio in AZBs and 4% to 10% computation saving with only 0. 1 dB video quality degradation.

Correction to:Production and test of sPHENIX W/SciFiber electromagnetic calorimeter blocks in China

Correction to:Nuclear Science and Techniques(2024)35:145 https://doi.org/10.1007/s41365-024-01517-y In this article the author’s name Wan-Bing He was incorrectly written as Wan-Bin He.The original article has been corrected.

Ultrasound-guided peripheral nerve blocks for anterior cutaneous nerve entrapment syndrome after robot-assisted gastrectomy: A case report

BACKGROUND Anterior cutaneous nerve entrapment syndrome(ACNES)is a condition mani-festing with pain caused by strangulation of the anterior cutaneous branch of the lower intercostal nerves.This case report aims to provide new insight into the selection of peripheral nerve blocks for the ACNES treatment.CASE SUMMARY A 66-year-old woman manifested ACNES after a robot-assisted distal gastrec-tomy.An ultrasound-guided rectal sheath block was effective for pain triggered by the port scar.However,the sudden severe pain,which radiated laterally from the previous site,remained.A transversus abdominis plane block was performed for the remaining pain and effectively relieved it.CONCLUSION In this case,the trocar port was inserted between the rectus and transverse abdominis muscles.The intercostal nerves might have been entrapped on both sides of the rectus and transversus abdominis muscles.Hence,rectus sheath and transverse abdominis plane blocks were required to achieve complete pain relief.To the best of our knowledge,this is the first report on use of a combination of rectus sheath and transverse abdominis plane blocks for pain relief in ACNES.

Secure Transmission Scheme for Blocks in Blockchain-Based Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Communication Systems

In blockchain-based unmanned aerial vehicle(UAV)communication systems,the length of a block affects the performance of the blockchain.The transmission performance of blocks in the form of finite character segments is also affected by the block length.Therefore,it is crucial to balance the transmission performance and blockchain performance of blockchain communication systems,especially in wireless environments involving UAVs.This paper investigates a secure transmission scheme for blocks in blockchain-based UAV communication systems to prevent the information contained in blocks from being completely eavesdropped during transmission.In our scheme,using a friendly jamming UAV to emit jamming signals diminishes the quality of the eavesdropping channel,thus enhancing the communication security performance of the source UAV.Under the constraints of maneuverability and transmission power of the UAV,the joint design of UAV trajectories,transmission power,and block length are proposed to maximize the average minimum secrecy rate(AMSR).Since the optimization problem is non-convex and difficult to solve directly,we first decompose the optimization problem into subproblems of trajectory optimization,transmission power optimization,and block length optimization.Then,based on firstorder approximation techniques,these subproblems are reformulated as convex optimization problems.Finally,we utilize an alternating iteration algorithm based on the successive convex approximation(SCA)technique to solve these subproblems iteratively.The simulation results demonstrate that our proposed scheme can achieve secure transmission for blocks while maintaining the performance of the blockchain.

Databases of 2D material-substrate interfaces and 2D charged building blocks

Discovery of materials using“bottom-up”or“top-down”approach is of great interest in materials science.Layered materials consisting of two-dimensional(2D)building blocks provide a good platform to explore new materials in this respect.In van der Waals(vdW)layered materials,these building blocks are charge neutral and can be isolated from their bulk phase(top-down),but usually grow on substrate.In ionic layered materials,they are charged and usually cannot exist independently but can serve as motifs to construct new materials(bottom-up).In this paper,we introduce our recently constructed databases for 2D material-substrate interface(2DMSI),and 2D charged building blocks.For 2DMSI database,we systematically build a workflow to predict appropriate substrates and their geometries at substrates,and construct the 2DMSI database.For the 2D charged building block database,1208 entries from bulk material database are identified.Information of crystal structure,valence state,source,dimension and so on is provided for each entry with a json format.We also show its application in designing and searching for new functional layered materials.The 2DMSI database,building block database,and designed layered materials are available in Science Data Bank at https://doi.org/10.57760/sciencedb.j00113.00188.

Bilateral pericapsular end nerve blocks for steroid-induced avascular necrosis following COVID-19 infection requiring bilateral total hip replacement

BACKGROUND Osteonecrosis or avascular necrosis(AVN)of the hip was one of the dreaded complications of coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19),which emerged in patients who received steroid therapy.Corticosteroids have been a mainstay in the treatment protocol of COVID-19 patients.Popular corticosteroid drugs used in patients suffering from COVID-19 were intravenous(IV)or oral dexamethasone,methylprednisolone or hydrocortisone.The use of such high doses of corticost-eroids has shown very positive results and has been lifesaving in many cases.Still,long-term consequences were drug-induced diabetes,osteoporosis,Cushing syndrome,muscle wasting,peripheral fat mobilization,AVN,hirsutism,sleep disturbances and poor wound healing.A significant number of young patients were admitted for bilateral total hip replacements(THR)secondary to AVN following steroid use for COVID-19 treatment.AIM To assess the efficacy of bilateral pericapsular end nerve group(PENG)blocks in patients posted for bilateral THR post-steroid therapy after COVID-19 infection and assess the time taken to first ambulate after surgery.METHODS This prospective observational study was conducted between January 2023 and August 2023 at Care Hospitals,Hyderabad,India.Twenty young patients 30-35 years of age who underwent bilateral THR were studied after due consent over 8 months.All the patients received spinal anaesthesia for surgery and bilateral PENG blocks for postoperative analgesia.RESULTS The duration of surgery was 2.5 h on average.Seventeen out of twenty patients(85%)had a Visual Analog Score(VAS)of less than 2 and did not require any supplementation.One patient was removed from the study,as he required re-exploration.The remaining two patients had a VAS of more than 8 and received IV morphine post-operatively as a rescue analgesic drug.Fifteen out of seventeen patients(88.2%)could be mobilized 12 h after the procedure.CONCLUSION Osteonecrosis or AVN of the hip was one of the dreaded complications of COVID-19,which surfaced in patients who received steroid therapy requiring surgical intervention.Bilateral PENG block is an effective technique to provide post-operative analgesia resulting in early mobilization and enhanced recovery after surgery.

安氏Ⅱ类错[牙合]畸形佩戴Twin-block矫治器时上颌骨的应力分布

背景:Twin-block矫治器常用于安氏Ⅱ类错[牙合]畸形的矫治,其刺激下颌骨生长的作用机制已得到许多研究证实,但对上颌骨生长的影响尚不清楚。目的:通过有限元法分析安氏Ⅱ类错[牙合]畸形患者佩戴Twin-block矫治器时上颌骨复合体、周围骨缝及上颌牙列的应力分布。方法:选择在山东省康复大学青岛医院/青岛市市立医院口腔正畸科进行正畸治疗的安氏Ⅱ类错[牙合]畸形患者1例,测量患者佩戴Twin-block矫治器时的咬合力数据,采集其锥形束CT数据,建立包含上颌骨复合体、周边各骨缝、Twin-block矫治器及上颌牙列在内的有限元模型,通过ABAQUS软件模拟患者戴入Twin-block时上颌骨、骨缝及上颌牙列的应力分布与位移。结果与结论:①上颌前牙受到的等效应力明显小于后牙,两侧牙齿的最大等效应力分别为4.7975 MPa和8.7161 MPa,均位于第一前磨牙处;最大位移呈现在两侧上颌切牙处,分别为0.0805 mm和0.0810 mm;②骨缝的最大等效应力为1.284 MPa,主要集中在两侧翼腭缝及额颌缝,其余骨缝受力情况几乎无差异;骨缝的最大位移为0.07 mm,其中翼腭缝的位移量最大,其次是额颌缝;③上颌骨复合体受到的最大等效应力为27.18 MPa,主要集中在上颌骨前面梨状孔两侧、鼻额缝周边及颚骨后部翼腭缝附近;上颌骨的最大位移值为0.07 mm,主要集中于上颌牙槽骨;④结果显示,咬合力通过Twin-block矫治器作用于上颌骨复合体,导致上颌骨顺时针旋转、牙合平面变陡,应采取相应措施补偿这种趋势,例如建牙合过程中考虑上颌磨牙伸长、下颌磨牙压低,不仅能够将牙合平面整平,同时有利于下颌前伸,这将进一步提高Ⅱ类错[牙合]正畸治疗效果。

P-block基金属原子在TiO_(2)(110)表面的吸附及扩散性质研究

基于密度泛函理论的第一性原理计算方法,我们系统研究了p-block金属原子(Sn,Sb,Bi和Te)在TiO_(2)(110)表面上的吸附及扩散行为.计算结果表明Sn,Sb及Bi金属原子在TiO_(2)(110)表面上具有较大的吸附能和较高的扩散势垒,倾向于形成分散的p-block单原子,然而对于Te金属原子,由于其与衬底结合能相对较弱且扩散势垒较低而更倾向于形成团簇,该研究结果有助于为实验上构建基于p-block的金属单原子催化剂提供理论依据.

生物信息学Blocks和Motifs方法在病毒研究中的应用

评述了生物信息学分析方法及几种主要分析软件的基本原理 ;提出了蛋白质、核酸序列分析、搜索Blocks和 Motifs的基本方法 。

Correlation between movement of tectonicblocks and earthquakes in groups

The Chinese mainland is divided into some tectonic blocks by nearly NE- and EW-orientated faults. Meanwhile strong earthquakes in the Chinese mainland usually cluster in time and space. We call earthquakes in groups. Tectonic blocks separated by faults and earthquakes in groups are prominent features of the tectonics of the Chi-nese mainland. Correlation between movement of tectonic blocks and groups of earthquakes is discussed in this paper. The results show that earthquakes in groups often occurred at one or several block boundary faults. The released elastic strain energy is built up in the same periods and around blocks. It means that strong earthquakes in groups are mainly caused by movement of blocks. Four types of block movement are identified based ongroup earthquakes: movement along a single boundary of a block (or a combined blocks), movement of a single block, movement of multi-blocks, and movement in block interiors. If we consider distribution of all strong earthquakes occurred in the Chinese mainland, the movement along a single boundary of a block is more popular one inducing strong earthquakes. But if we only consider earthquakes in groups rather than single earthquakesthe movement of a block dominates among four modes. Statistics with respect to group earthquakes show that the Taihangshan mountain and the North China block are much active in the eastern part of Chinese mainland, and in western part of Chinese mainland the active blocks are Sichuan-Yunnan and the Kunlun-Songpan ones.

Study on Renovation of the Landscapes of Historical Blocks

On the description of the landscapes of historical blocks in China,this paper proposes the approaches to renovating the historical blocks,including their repairing and reconstruction. It aims at presenting suggestions for the protection and development of historical blocks through analyzing the methods and procedures for repairing and rebuilding the infrastructures and green landscapes in the blocks.

Twin-blocks矫正器对生长发育期安氏Ⅱ类下颌后缩患者上气道的影响

目的探讨Twin-blocks矫正器对生长发育期安氏Ⅱ类下颌后缩患者上气道变化的影响。方法选择生长发育期骨性安氏Ⅱ类错牙合下颌后缩患者26例,戴用Twin-blocks功能矫正器6-9个月。戴用前后拍摄测量相关指标变化。结果患者戴用功能矫治器前后U-MPW矢状径和横径、P-T横径、V-LPW横径和矢状径均有增加（P〈0.05）。结论 Twin-block功能矫治器能使生长发育期安氏Ⅱ类下颌后缩患者的上气道增大,改善呼吸功能。

A new all-zero 4×4 block determination rule for integer transform and quantization in AVS-M encoder

A new all-zero block determination rule was used to reduce the complexity of the AVS-M encoder. It reuses the sum of absolute difference of 4x4 block obtained from motion estimation or intra prediction as parameters so that the determination threshold need to be computed only once when quantization parameter (QP) is invariable for given video sequence. This method avoids a lot of computation for transform, quantization, inverse transform, inverse quantization and block reconstruction. Simulation results showed that it can save about 20%～50% computation without any video quality degradation.

分组密码算法uBlock积分攻击的改进

积分攻击是由Daemen等人(doi:10.1007/BFb0052343)于1997年提出的一种密码分析方法,是继差分分析和线性分析之后最有效的密码分析方法之一。作为2018年全国密码算法设计竞赛分组算法的获胜算法,uB-lock抵抗积分攻击的能力受到较多的关注。为了重新评估uBlock家族密码算法抵抗积分攻击的安全性,该文利用单项式传播技术,结合混合整数线性规划(MILP)工具搜索积分区分器,并利用部分和技术进行密钥恢复攻击。对于uBlock-128/128和uBlock-128/256,基于搜索到的9轮积分区分器分别进行了首个11轮和12轮攻击,数据复杂度为2~(127)选择明文,时间复杂度分别为2~(127.06)和2~(224)次加密,存储复杂度分别为2~(44.58)和2~(138)字节;对于uBlock-256/256,基于搜索到的10轮积分区分器进行了首个12轮攻击,数据复杂度为2~(253)选择明文,时间复杂度为2~(253.06)次加密,存储复杂度为2~(44.46)字节。与之前uBlock的最优积分攻击结果相比,uBlock-128/128和uBlock-256/256的攻击轮数分别提高2轮,uBlock-128/256的攻击轮数提高3轮。本文的攻击说明,uBlock针对积分攻击依然有足够的安全冗余。

Model of rigid and elastic-plastic motion in intraplate blocks and strain status of principal blocks in Chinese mainland

The model of rigid and elastic-plastic motion and strain in intraplate blocks is established in the paper. The unique of strain parameters and minimum root-mean-square error of velocity residual of blocks are tested in the model. Based on the velocity fields in Chinese mainland and its peripheral areas, the strain parameters of 8 blocks are estimated and their strain status analyzed. The estimated strain status of each block is well consistent with those derived by the methods of geology and geophysics. The principal direction of collision force from India plate to Eurasia plate estimated from the azimuth of principal compressive strain of Himalaya block might be N7.1°E.

Experimental investigation on friction and squeezing of roof structure key blocks corner upon long-wall face

The coefficients of friction and squeezing of the key blocks comer in the roof structure of underground coalface are key factors to roof structure stability quantitative analysis. In this paper, through the special test of three-type corner friction and squeez- ing of real rock specimens, and physical simulation test on the roof key blocks of roof structure as well as the finite element calcula- tion of the corner stress distribution and failure mechanism, the characteristics of friction and squeezing of the roof key blocks comer are revealed. It is found that the friction angle of the roof key blocks corner is the residual friction angle, and the frictional angle of the roof key blocks is 22-32° (average 27°), so the friction coefficient is determined as 0.5. It also found the squeezing strength is less than the uniaxial strength, and the squeezing coefficient of the roof blocks corner is determined as 0.4. Based on the results, the ground control theory can be updated from qualitative analysis to quantitative analysis.

OPTIMIZATION DESIGN OF HYDRAULIC MANIFOLD BLOCKS BASED ON HUMAN-COMPUTER COOPERATIVE GENETIC ALGORITHM

Optimization design of hydraulic manifold blocks (HMB) is studied as acomplex solid spatial layout problem. Based on comprehensive research into structure features anddesign rules of HMB, an optimal mathematical model for this problem is presented. Usinghuman-computer cooperative genetic algorithm (GA) and its hybrid optitation strategies, integratedlayout and connection design schemes of HMB can be automatically optimized. An example is given totestify it.

A PREDICTION BASED ALL-ZERO BLOCK DETECTION METHOD FOR H.2G3

In this letter, a novel method based on Temporal and Spatial Prediction (TSP) to detecl all-zero DC.'T coefficients based on temporal and .spatial prediction between neighboring blocks is proposed. The presented algorithm uses the knowledge of all-zero block distribution in the previous frame combined with the Sum of Absolute Difference (S.AD) of the corresponding macroblock as a. criterion. The algorithm almost needs no additional computation, and it. shows an excellent overall detection performance in simulations.

Die design and process optimization of die cast V6 engine blocks

The use of aluminum, particularly for engine blocks, has grown considerably in the past ten years, and continues to rise in the automotive industry. In order to enhance the quality and engineering functionality of die cast engine blocks, die design and processes have to be optimized. In this study, a computer simulation software, MAGMAsoft, as an advanced tool for optimizing die design and casting process, was employed to virtually visualize cavity filling and patterns of a V6 engine block. The original die design and process was simulated first to establish a baseline. A reality check was used to verify the predicted results. Then, the die modification with a different runner system was made by using a CAD software, Unigraphics (UG). The simulation on combinations of the modified die design and revised process was performed to examine the effect of die modification and process change on flow filling of V6 engine blocks. The simulated prediction indicates that the enhancement of cavity filling due to the die and process modification minimizes the occurrence of defects during casting, and consequently improves the quality of blocks. The results of mechanical testing show a significant increase in fatigue strengths, and a moderately improvement on tensile properties for the blocks die cast with the new die design and process in comparison with those produced by the original ones.

3D Identification and Stability Analysis of Key Surface Blocks of Rock Slope

Complicated geological structures make it difficult to analyze the stability of rock slopes, such as faults, weak intercalated layers or joint fissures. Based on 3D geological modeling and surface block identifying methods, an integrated methodology framework was proposed and realized to analyze the stability of surface blocks in rock slopes. The surface blocks cut by geological structures, fissures or free faces could be identified subjected to the four principles of closure, completeness, uniqueness and validity. The factor of safety(FOS)of single key block was calculated by the limit equilibrium method. If there were two or more connected blocks, they were defined as a block-group. The FOS of a block-group was computed by the Sarma method. The proposed approach was applied to an actual rock slope of a hydropower project, and some possible instable blocks were demonstrated and analyzed visually. The obtained results on the key blocks or block-groups provide essential information for determining potential instable region of rock slopes and designing effective support scheme in advance.