A low-cost invasive microwave ablation antenna with a directional heating pattern

Microwave ablation(MWA) is a cancer treatment method. The tumor tissue absorbs electromagnetic energy, which heats and kills it. A microwave ablation antenna plays a critical role in this process. Its radiation field must completely cover the tumor but not the healthy tissue. At present, the radiation pattern of most invasive ablation antennas is spherical.However, in the clinic, the shape of some tumors may be asymmetrical or the antenna cannot be inserted into the center of the tumor for some other reason. In order to solve these problems, a directional heating antenna for microwave ablation is proposed in this paper. The proposed antenna, operating at 2.45 GHz, consists of a monopole and a reflector. The feed is given by a substrate integrated coaxial line(SICL) and coplanar waveguide(CPW). The omnidirectional radiation field of the monopole is reflected by a reflector that is extended from the outer conductors of the SICL to form a directional radiation field. The impedance matching network is designed on SICL to match the antenna to 50 Ω. The antenna is fabricated using a mature printed circuit board(PCB). The reflection coefficient of the antenna in porcine liver tissue measured by a vector network analyzer shows good agreement with the simulations. Then, an ablation experiment in porcine liver is conducted with power of 10 W for 10 min, and the experimental results confirm the validity of the design.

Local Binary Patterns and Its Variants for Finger Knuckle Print Recognition in Multi-Resolution Domain

Finger Knuckle Print biometric plays a vital role in establishing security for real-time environments. The success of human authentication depends on high speed and accuracy. This paper proposed an integrated approach of personal authentication using texture based Finger Knuckle Print (FKP) recognition in multiresolution domain. FKP images are rich in texture patterns. Recently, many texture patterns are proposed for biometric feature extraction. Hence, it is essential to review whether Local Binary Patterns or its variants perform well for FKP recognition. In this paper, Local Directional Pattern (LDP), Local Derivative Ternary Pattern (LDTP) and Local Texture Description Framework based Modified Local Directional Pattern (LTDF_MLDN) based feature extraction in multiresolution domain are experimented with Nearest Neighbor and Extreme Learning Machine (ELM) Classifier for FKP recognition. Experiments were conducted on PolYU database. The result shows that LDTP in Contourlet domain achieves a promising performance. It also proves that Soft classifier performs better than the hard classifier.

PO Analysis for RCS of Nonorthogonal Dihedral Corner Reflectors Coated by RAM

The backscattering radar cross section (RCS) of nonorthogonal dihedral corner reflectors coated by RAM (radar absorbing materials) is formulated by the method of PO (physical optics), where singly, doubly, and triply reflected contributions are considered. The final expressions are analytical and allow for the incidence nonperpendicular to the fold axis of the reflector. The results are compared with ones of MoM (method of moment), which shows that the trend of backscatter pattern of the dihedral corner reflector can be well predicted by this method.

Multi-Step Amplitude Quantization for Ultralow Sidelobe Phased Arrays by Direct Optimization Synthesis

In this paper, a new amplitude quantization synthesis method for ultralow sidelobe phased arrays is proposed, which is based on the constrained nonlinear optimization algorithm. By introducing a set of critical constraint conditions into the optimization model, we can directly quantize the amplitude distribution instead of replacing it with a continuous equivalent aperture antenna. The mutual coupling and the element patterns are also considered in the quantization synthesis. Finally, some array simulation results are given to show the effectiveness of the method.

Mathematical Simulating Model of Phased-Array Antenna in Multifunction Array Radar

A mathematical simulating model of phased-array antenna in multifunction array radar has been approached in this paper, including the mathematical simulating model of plane phased-array pattern, the mathematical simulating model of directionality factor, the mathematical simulating model of array factor, the mathematical simulating model of array element factor and the mathematical simulating model of beam steering.

Ultrashort pulsed laser induced complex surface structures generated by tailoring the melt hydrodynamics

We present a novel approach for tailoring the laser induced surface topography upon femtosecond(fs)pulsed laser irradiation.The method employs spatially controlled double fs laser pulses to actively regulate the hydrodynamic microfluidic motion of the melted layer that gives rise to the structures formation.The pulse train used,in particular,consists of a previously unexplored spatiotemporal intensity combination including one pulse with Gaussian and another with periodically modulated intensity distribution created by Direct Laser Interference Patterning(DLIP).The interpulse delay is appropriately chosen to reveal the contribution of the microfluidic melt flow,while it is found that the sequence of the Gaussian and DLIP pulses remarkably influences the surface profile attained.Results also demonstrate that both the spatial intensity of the double pulse and the effective number of pulses per irradiation spot can further be modulated to control the formation of complex surface morphologies.The underlying physical processes behind the complex patterns’generation were interpreted in terms of a multiscale model combining electron excitation with melt hydrodynamics.We believe that this work can constitute a significant step forward towards producing laser induced surface structures on demand by tailoring the melt microfluidic phenomena.

Multi-Band Antenna with Three Folded Monopoles for Mobile Communication Systems

This paper presents the design and the experimental characterization of a new multi-band antenna consisting of three folded monopoles dedicated to mobile communication systems. The originality of this paper is to get the PMR (Professional or Private Mobile Radio) band with the GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications), DCS (Digital Cellular System) and UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) bands. The main lobe of the antenna radiates in the zenith direction with a linear polarization over all bands. It is interesting to design the proposed antenna in order to obtain better performances in terms of directive radiation pattern (especially in the PMR band) in comparison with the already existing antenna systems in the wireless market for similar purposes. The prototype was studied with the software CST-MWS (Micro wave studio 2012). The antenna has been designed and successfully measured.

Influence of structural depth of laser-patterned steel surfaces on the solid lubricity of carbon nanoparticle coatings

Carbon nanoparticle coatings on laser-patterned stainless-steel surfaces present a solid lubrication system where the pattern's recessions act as lubricant-retaining reservoirs.This study investigates the influence of the structural depth of line patterns coated with multi-walled carbon nanotubes(CNTs)and carbon onions(COs)on their respective potential to reduce friction and wear.Direct laser interference patterning(DLIP)with a pulse duration of 12 ps is used to create line patterns with three different structural depths at a periodicity of 3.5μm on AISI 304 steel platelets.Subsequently,electrophoretic deposition(EPD)is applied to form homogeneous carbon nanoparticle coatings on the patterned platelets.Tribological ball-on-disc experiments are conducted on the as-described surfaces with an alumina counter body at a load of 100 mN.The results show that the shallower the coated structure,the lower its coefficient of friction(COF),regardless of the particle type.Thereby,with a minimum of just below 0.20,CNTs reach lower COF values than COs over most of the testing period.The resulting wear tracks are characterized by scanning electron microscopy,transmission electron microscopy,and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy.During friction testing,the CNTs remain in contact,and the immediate proximity,whereas the CO coating is largely removed.Regardless of structural depth,no oxidation occurs on CNT-coated surfaces,whereas minor oxidation is detected on CO-coated wear tracks.

Defocus blur detection using novel local directional mean patterns(LDMP)and segmentation via KNN matting

Detection and segmentation of defocus blur is a challenging task in digital imaging applications as the blurry images comprise of blur and sharp regions that wrap significant information and require effective methods for information extraction.Existing defocus blur detection and segmentation methods have several limitations i.e.,discriminating sharp smooth and blurred smooth regions,low recognition rate in noisy images,and high computational cost without having any prior knowledge of images i.e.,blur degree and camera configuration.Hence,there exists a dire need to develop an effective method for defocus blur detection,and segmentation robust to the above-mentioned limitations.This paper presents a novel features descriptor local directional mean patterns(LDMP)for defocus blur detection and employ KNN matting over the detected LDMP-Trimap for the robust segmentation of sharp and blur regions.We argue/hypothesize that most of the image fields located in blurry regions have significantly less specific local patterns than those in the sharp regions,therefore,proposed LDMP features descriptor should reliably detect the defocus blurred regions.The fusion of LDMP features with KNN matting provides superior performance in terms of obtaining high-quality segmented regions in the image.Additionally,the proposed LDMP features descriptor is robust to noise and successfully detects defocus blur in high-dense noisy images.Experimental results on Shi and Zhao datasets demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method in terms of defocus blur detection.Evaluation and comparative analysis signify that our method achieves superior segmentation performance and low computational cost of 15 seconds.

Laser direct writing pattern structures on AgInSbTe phase change thin film

Different pattern structures are obtained on the AglnSbTe （AIST） phase change film as induced by laser beam. Atomic force microscopy （AFM） was used to observe and analyze the different pattern structures. The AFM photos clearly show the gradually changing process of pattern structures induced by different threshold effects, such as crystallization threshold, microbump threshold, melting threshold, and ablation threshold. The analysis indicates that the AIST material is very effective in the fabrication of pattern structures and can offer relevant guidance for application of the material in the future.

Facial expression recognition based on fusion of extended LDP and Gabor features

The local directional pattern （LDP） is unsusceptible to random noise which is widely used in texture extraction of face region. LDP cannot encode the central pixel thus the important information will be lost. Thus a new feature descriptor called extended local directional pattern （ELDP） is proposed for face extraction. First, the mean value of the eight directional edge response values and the gray value of center pixel are calculated. Second, the mean value is taken as the threshold. Then, the expression image is encoded using nine encoded values. In order to reduce redundant information and get more effective information, the Gabor filter is used to obtain the multi- direction Gabor magnitude maps （GMMs） , and then the ELDP is used to encode the GMMs. Finally, support vector machine （SVM） is applied to classify and recognize facial expression. The experimental results show that the feature dimensions is greatly reduced and the rate of facial expression recognition is improved.

Does laser surface texturing really have a negative impact on the fatigue lifetime of mechanical components?

Laser surface texturing(LST)has been proven to improve the tribological performance of machine elements.The micro-scale patterns manufactured by LST may act as lubricant reservoirs,thus supplying oil when encountering insufficient lubrication.However,not many studies have investigated the use of LST in the boundary lubrication regime,likely due to concerns of higher contact stresses that can occur with the increasing surface roughness.This study aims to examine the influence of LST on the fatigue lifetime of thrust rolling bearings under boundary lubrication.A series of periodic patterns were produced on the thrust rolling bearings,using two geometrically different designs,namely cross and dimple patterns.Base oil ISO VG 100 mixed with 0.05 wt%P of zinc dialkyldithiophosphate(ZDDP)was supplied.The bearings with cross patterns reduce the wear loss by two orders of magnitude.The patterns not only retain lubricant in the textured pockets but also enhance the formation of an anti-wear tribofilm.The tribofilm generation may be improved by the higher contact stresses that occur when using the textured surface.Therefore,in contrast to the negative concerns,the ball bearings with cross patterns were instead found to increase the fatigue life by a factor of three.

Micro- and Nanostripes of Self-Assembled Au Nanocrystal Superlattices by Direct Micromolding

A simple,inexpensive direct micromolding method for patterning Au nanocrystal superlattices using a polydimethylsiloxane(PDMS)stamp has been developed.The method involves in situ synthesis of Au(I)dodecanethiolate and its decomposition leading to Au nanocrystals in the microchannels of the stamp which order themselves to form patterned superlattice stripes,in conformity with the stamp geometry.Owing to its insolubility in common solvents,the dodecanethiolate was made by reacting Au(PPh3)Cl and dodecanethiol in situ inside the microchannels,by injecting first the former solution in toluene at room temperature followed by the thiol solution at 120°C.Annealing the reaction mixture at 250°C,resulted in formation of nanocrystals(with a mean diameter of 7.5 nm)and hexagonal ordering.By using an external pressure while molding,parallel stripes with sub-100 nm widths were obtained.The choice of parameters such as injection temperature of the thiol and concentrations is shown to be important if an ordered superlattice is to be obtained.In addition,these parameters can be varied as a means to control the nanocrystal size.

Effect of Ink Molecular Weights and Annealing Conditions on Molecular Transfer Printing

The molecular transfer printing（MTP） technique has been invented to fabricate chemical patterns with high fidelity using homopolymer inks. In this work, we systematically studied the effects of the molecular weights of homopolymer inks and transfer conditions on the MTP process. We explored a large range of molecular weights（~3.5-56 kg·mol^（-1）） of hydroxyl-terminated polystyrene（PS-OH） and hydroxyl-terminated poly（methyl methacrylate）（PMMA-OH） in the MTP process, and found that the resulting chemical patterns on replicas from all five blends were functional and able to direct the assembly of films of the same blends. The transfer temperature and the film annealing sequences had an impact on the MTP process. MTP was sensitive to the transfer temperature and could only be performed within a certain temperature range, i.e. higher than the glass transition temperature（T_g） of copolymers and lower than the rearrangement temperature of the assembled domains. Pre-organization of the blend films was also necessary for MTP since the preferential wetting of PMMA domains at the replica surface might result in the formation of a PMMA wetting layer to prevent the presentation of underlying chemical patterns to the replica surface.

Chinese Semantic Parsing Based on Feature Structure with Recursive Directed Graph

It is difficult to analyze semantic relations automatically, especially the semantic relations of Chinese special sentence patterns. In this paper, we apply a novel model feature structure to represent Chinese semantic relations, which is formalized as ＂recursive directed graph＂. We focus on Chinese special sentence patterns, including the complex noun phrase, verb-complement structure, pivotal sentences, serial verb sentence and subject-predicate predicate sentence. Feature structure facilitates a richer Chinese semantic information extraction when compared with dependency structure. The results show that using recursive directed graph is more suitable for extracting Chinese complex semantic relations.