Clinical evaluation of timing of endovascular embolization treatment for intracranial aneurysm

Objective To evaluate the effects of endovascular embolization treatment for intracranial aneurysms in different time. Methods The clinical data of 165 cases of ruptured intracranial aneurysm treated by endovascular treatment were analysed retrospectively. The patients were divided into 3 groups accrodding to

On the validity of the Boltzmann–BGK model through relaxation evaluation

The Boltzmann-Bhatnagar-Gross-Krook（BGK）model is investigated for its validity regarding the collision term approximation through relaxation evaluation. The evaluation is based on theoretical analysis and numerical comparison between the BGK and direct simulation Monte Carlo（DSMC） results for three specifically designed relaxation problems. In these problems, one or half component of the velocity distribution is characterized by another Maxwellian distribution with a different temperature. It is analyzed that the relaxation time in the BGK model is unequal to the molecular mean collision time. Relaxation of component distribution fails to involve enough contribution from other component distributions, which makes the BGK model unable to capture details of velocity distribution, especially when discontinuity exists in distribution. The BGK model,however, predicts satisfactory results including fluxes during relaxation when the temperature difference is small. Particularly, the model-induced error in the BGK model increases with the temperature difference, thus the model is more reliable for low-speed rarefied flows than for hypersonic flows.

^(18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography in the diagnosis of small pancreatic cancer

AIM:To investigate the role of 18 F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography(FDG-PET) in the diagnosis of small pancreatic cancer. METHODS:This study involved 31 patients with proven invasive ductal cancer of the pancreas.The patients were divided into 3 groups according to the maximum diameter of the tumor:TS1(maximum tumor size≤2.0 cm) ,TS2(>2.0 cm and≤4.0 cm) or TS3-4(>4.0 cm) .The relationships between the TS and various diagnostic tools,including FDG-PET with dual time point evaluation,were analyzed. RESULTS:The tumors ranged from 1.3 to 11.0 cm in diameter.Thirty of the 31 patients(97%) had a positive FDG-PET study.There were 5 patients classified as TS1,15 as TS2 and 11 as TS3-4.The sensitivity of FDG-PET,computed tomography(CT) and magnetic resonanceimaging(MRI) were 100%,40%,0%in TS1,93%,93%,89%in TS2 and 100%,100%,100%in TS3-4. The sensitivity of FDG-PET was significantly higher in comparison to CT and MRI in patients with TS1(P< 0.032) .The mean standardized uptake values(SUVs) did not show a significant difference in relation to the TS(TS1:5.8±4.5,TS2:5.7±2.2,TS3-4:8.2±3.9) ,respectively.All the TS1 tumors(from 13 to 20 mm) showed higher SUVs in FDG-PET with dual time point evaluation in the delayed phase compared with the early phase,which suggested the lesions were malignant. CONCLUSION:These results indicate that FDG-PET with dual time point evaluation is a useful modality for the detection of small pancreatic cancers with a diameter of less than 20 mm.

Digital image processing-based automatic detection algorithm of cross joint trace and its application in mining roadway excavation practice

This paper proposes a digital image processing-based detection algorithm for cross joint traces of coal roadway heading face.Initially,the acquired images were preprocessed,i.e.,adaptive correction was conducted for non-uniform illumination images based on the 2D gamma function.The edge detection algorithm was then applied to extract the edges of the structural plane,followed by the filtration of the non-structural plane noises.Moreover,the Hough transform algorithm was applied to extract the linear edges;finally,the edges were locally connected in accordance with the angle and distance criteria.The experimental results show that this algorithm can be used to reduce the noise caused by non-uniform illumination and avoid the mutual interference of multi-scale edges,so as to effectively extract the traces of the cross joint.Furthermore,Q-system and rock mass rating(RMR),were applied to conduct a quantitative evaluation on the stand-up time of unsupported roof in the four test images.The Q-system quality scores are 26.7,43.3,3.1,and 6.7,and the RMR quality scores are 56.84,58.73,48.42,and 51.42,respectively.The stand-up time of unsupported roofs with a span of 4.6 m are 30,36,7.7 and 14 d,respectively.

Approach Evaluating an Investment Project under Uncertainty by Risky Index of Time

The effectiveness of evaluating an investment project based on predicting cash flows depends on the uncertainty of its future cash flows. The remoter the cash flows are, the higher the uncertainty is. Because of this, this paper suggests to discount cash flows by applying risky index of time （RIT）. Thus, the discount rate used to discount the distant cash flows is higher that the discount rate used to discount the near cash flows. By this systematic method, the risk caused by the uncertainty of future cash flows can be hedged in making investment decision. To a certain degree, this approach is reasonable in evaluating investment alternatives under uncertainty. Furthermore, the paper puts forward a practical approach on determining RIT in practice.

Evaluation of dimension of fractal time series with the least square method

Properties of fractional Brownian motions （fBms） have been investigated by researchers in different fields, e.g. statistics, hydrology, biology, finance, and public transportation, which has helped us better understand many complex time series observed in nature [1-4]. The Hurst exponent H （0 〈 H 〈 1） is the most important parameter characterizing any given time series F（t）, where t represents the time steps, and the fractal dimension D is determined via the relation D = 2 - H.

Diverging effects of subjective prospect values of uncertain time and money

Studies from behavioral economics show that the subjective prospect value of money has diminishing sensitivity to losses/gains,represented by an S-shape,and this has been applied in representing the subjective prospect value of time in many transportation studies such as travel behavior modeling and network equilibrium.In this study,we demonstrate that the prospect value of time has an increasing sensitivity to losses/gains and can be represented by anϨ-shape,which contrasts that of money.We further explain the rationality of this surprising finding based on psychological and behavioral theories and discuss extensive practical implications.The correlations between sensitivities to gains and losses in terms of magnitude are revealed as well to shed light on potential underlying correlated behavioral principles.Substantial loss-aversion features are observed in the empirical analysis,supporting endowment effects.Implications of the findings on decision-making and other areas that utilize time as a key indicator have been discussed.The findings may revolutionize many research areas that utilize time as a key indicator such as transportation engineering.