Comparative Study of Radiological Changes in Hands and Feet in Patients Suffering from Early Rheumatoid Arthritis by Power Doppler Ultrasound and Direct Digital Radiography

Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic multisystem disease of unknown cause. The characteristic feature of RA is persistent inflammatory synovitis. The natural history of disease is such that the early months of the disease are critical period during which reversible joint damage occurs. So early diagnosis of RA and appropriate drug application is the only way to save a patient from this crippling disease. In India, the cost of investigations is a significant factor for most of the patients. Ultrasonography or Power Doppler Ultra Sound (PDUS) has the advantage of being economic in spite of its sensitivity in assessing both inflammatory and destructive changes. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the diagnostic efficiency of PDUS in early rheumatoid arthritis. The study was performed with the patients attending Rheumatology Clinic. A total number of 106 patients of clinically suspected rheumatoid arthritis were studied as per selection criteria. Radiological examinations of hands were done by digital radiography and PDUS in a group of 53 patients, assessment of foot changes by PDUS and Digital Radiography were done in another similar group of 53 patients. Final diagnosis by ACR EULAR-2010 criteria is done for all the patients. The comparative study reveals that synovial vascularity as demonstrated by PDUS is much more effective in diagnosing early rheumatoid arthritis, both in hand and in feet than digital radiograph. PDUS of feet may yield earlier and better findings than hands, which is conventionally used in patients suffering from early rheumatoid arthritis.

Comparison via Digital Radiography of Radiopacity Levels of Composite Materials with Various Shades and Viscosities

Aim of the present in vitro study is to evaluate the radiopacity levels of composite resins with various shades and viscosity.10 mm×2 mm discs were prepared from 7 condensable and 4 flowable composites(n=10).An aluminum step wedge ranging from 2.0 to 10.0 mm in thickness was placed on the occlusal film.Digital radiographs were taken using a dental X-ray device and radiographic densities of each step of the aluminum wedge and the samples were recorded to the computer.Five readings were taken and means were calculated.One-Way Anova and Tamhane post hoc tests were performed.While G-eanial Posterior has the highest radiopacity value followed by Filtek Z550,Aelite Flo has the lowest radiopacity value.Posterior composites show higher radiopacity and flowable composites with higher filler loadings have superior radiopacity levels to condensable composites.Enamel and body shades of the composite brands have also statistically significant differences in radiopacity scores.Eventually,radiopacity level of a composite resin material is not affected by the size of fillers;however,the composition,shape and loading of the fillers can specify the radiodensity.

Research on the Modern Music Composition Development Direction under the Digital and Computer Background

In this paper, we conduct research on modem music composition development direction under the digital and computer background. We can hear the music work, at ordinary times is the musician and sound engineer through three different stages of product created by mutual cooperation. The development of computer music has impact to the music every aspect of life, including various music creation process, cause the changes of some design principles. This change may be denied the traditional, also may be denied the traditional that is on the development of traditional principles. We integrate the concepts and principles of the digital perspective to propose our methodology on issues of computer music develooment that holds vital siznificance and meaning.

Numerical simulation of direct shear tests on mechanical properties of talus deposits based on self-adaptive PCNN digital image processing

The macro mechanical properties of materials with characteristics of large scale and complicated structural composition can be analyzed through its reconstructed meso-structures.In this work,the meso-structures of talus deposits that widely exist in the hydro-power engineering in the southwest of China were first reconstructed by small particles according to the in-situ photographs based on the self-adaptive PCNN digital image processing,and then numerical direct shear tests were carried out for studying the mechanical properties of talus deposits.Results indicate that the reconstructed meso-structures of talus deposits are more consistent with the actual situation because the self-adaptive PCNN digital image processing has a higher discrimination in the details of soil-rock segmentation.The existence and random distribution of rock blocks make the initial shear stiffness,the peak strength and the residual strength higher than those of the "pure soil" with particle size less than 1.25 cm apparently,but reduce the displacements required for the talus deposits reaching its peak shear strength.The increase of rock proportion causes a significant improvement in the internal friction angle of talus deposit,which to a certain degree leads to the characteristics of shear stress-displacement curves having a changing trend from the plastic strain softening deformation to the nonlinear strain hardening deformation,while an unconspicuous increase in cohesion.The uncertainty and heterogeneity of rock distributions cause the differences of rock proportion within shear zone,leading to a relatively strong fluctuation in peak strengths during the shear process,while movement features of rock blocks,such as translation,rotation and crossing,expand the scope of shear zone,increase the required shear force,and also directly lead to the misjudgment that the lower shear strength is obtained from the samples with high rock proportion.That,however,just explains the reason why the shear strength gained from a small amount of indoor test data is not consistent with engineering practice.

Controlling the light wavefront through a scattering medium based on direct digital frequency synthesis technology

Phase modulation is a crucial step when the frequency-based wavefront optimization technique is exploited to measure the optical transmission matrix(TM) of a scattering medium. We report a simple but powerful method, direct digital frequency synthesis(DDS) technology to modulate the phase front of the laser and measure the TM. By judiciously modulating the phase front of a He–Ne laser beam, we experimentally generate a high quality focus at any targeted location through a 2 mm thick 120 grit ground glass diffuser, which is commercially used in laser display and laser holographic display for improving brightness uniformity and reducing speckle. The signal to noise ratio(SNR) of the clear round focus is 50 and the size is about 44 μm. Our study will open up new avenues for enhancing light energy delivery to the optical engine in laser TV to lower the power consumption, phase compensation to reduce the speckle noise, and controlling the lasing threshold in random lasers.

A Direct Droplet Digital PCR Method for <i>E. coli</i>Host Residual DNA Quantification

Injectable drugs manufactured in E. coli must be tested for host residual DNA (hr DNA) impurity in ensuring drug purity and safety. Because of low allowable hr DNA as impurity, highly sensitive methods are needed. Droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) is a new method where the reaction is partitioned into about 20,000 nanoliter-sized droplets and each droplet acts as individual PCR reaction. After completion of end-point PCR, droplets are analyzed for fluorescence and categorized as positive or negative and DNA quantified using Poisson statistics. Here we describe development of a direct E. coli hr DNA dd PCR method where the drug is directly added to the ddPCR reaction. We show that the ddPCR method has acceptable precision and high accuracy, works with different biologic drugs, and compared to qPCR shows higher tolerance of drug matrices. The method does not require DNA extraction or standard curves for quantification of hr DNA in unknown samples.

Manipulation of superconducting qubit with direct digital synthesis

We investigate the XY control and manipulation of the superconducting qubit state using direct digital synthesis(DDS)for the microwave pulse signal generation.The decoherence time, gate fidelity, and other qubit properties are measured and carefully characterized, and compared with the results obtained by using the traditional mixing technique for the microwave pulse generation.In particular, the qubit performance in the state manipulation with respect to the sampling rate of DDS is studied.Our results demonstrate that the present technique provides a simple and effective method for the XY control and manipulation of the superconducting qubit state.Realistic applications of the technique for the possible future scalable superconducting quantum computation are discussed.

Influence of immobilization and sensory re-education on the sensory recovery after reconstruction of digital nerves with direct suture or muscle-in-vein conduits

The influence of duration of immobilization and postoperative sensory re-education on the final outcome after reconstruction of digital nerves with direct suture or muscle-in-vein conduits was investigated. The final sensory outcome of 35 patients with 41 digital nerve injuries, who either underwent a direct suture（DS） or a nerve reconstruction with muscle-in-vein conduits（MVC）, was assessed the earliest 12 months postoperatively using static and moving two-point discrimination as well as Semmes-Weinstein monofilaments. There was no significant difference in sensory recovery in cases with an immobilization of 3–7 days versus 10 days in the DS or MVC group. Moreover, no statistically significant difference in sensory recovery was found in cases receiving postoperative sensory re-education versus those not receiving in the DS or MVC group. An early mobilization does not seem to have a negative impact on the final outcome after digital nerve reconstruction. The effect of sensory re-education after digital nerve reconstruction should be reconsidered.

Novel analysis method for the spurious spectrum of direct digitalfrequency synthesizer in the presence of phase truncation

Based on the analysis of the spurious introduced by phase accumulation truncation which was made by Nicholas, a new simplified algorithm for spurious spectrum in the presence of phase truncation is presented by using the mapping mathematics and number theoretic method, it is possible to precisely analyze the spurious location and the spurious amplitude introduced by phase truncation in practical applications by computer.

Evaluation of Entrance Skin Radiation Exposure Dose for Pediatrics Examined by Digital Radiography at Asser Central Hospital-KSA

Assessment of entrance skin doses for patients in Digital radiography examinations should be made as a means for the optimization of the radiation protection of the patients. We measured the entrance skin dose (ESD) received by 50 pediatrics undergoing 12 types of diagnostic X-ray examination at Radiology Department of Asser Central Hospital-KSA. The entrance skin dose ESD was determined via measurements parameters: focus to skin distance (FSD), tube current (mAs) and tube voltage (kV) in arithmetical equation. The mean ± SD for ESDs were found to be 0.16 ± 0.03, 0.21 ± 0.01, 0.63 ± 0.26, 0.55 ± 0.09, 0.15 ± 0.05, 0.27 ± 0.06, 0.41 ± 0.19, 0.46 ± 0.18, 0.46 ± 0.12, 0.20 ± 0.02, 0.39 ± 0.01, 0.29 ± 0.03, for PA chest, foot, AP pelvis, PA skull, PA hand, AP arm, ankle, AP shoulder, abdomen, forearm, AP femur, AP elbow consequently. Our study is considered as an attempt to evaluate the ESDs received by digital radiographic x-ray machine for children aged between 2 - 15 years old, taking in our considerations number of other variables. The mean ESD values obtained are found to be within the standard reference. The data obtained may add to the available information in national records for general use. It may provide guidance on where efforts on dose reduction will need to be directed to fulfill the requirements of the optimization process and serve as a reference for future researches.

Tensile strength and failure behavior of rock-mortar interfaces: Direct and indirect measurements

The tensile strength at the rock-concrete interface is one of the crucial factors controlling the failure mechanisms of structures,such as concrete gravity dams.Despite the critical importance of the failure mechanism and tensile strength of rock-concrete interfaces,understanding of these factors remains very limited.This study investigated the tensile strength and fracturing processes at rock-mortar interfaces subjected to direct and indirect tensile loadings.Digital image correlation(DIC)and acoustic emission(AE)techniques were used to monitor the failure mechanisms of specimens subjected to direct tension and indirect loading(Brazilian tests).The results indicated that the direct tensile strength of the rock-mortar specimens was lower than their indirect tensile strength,with a direct/indirect tensile strength ratio of 65%.DIC strain field data and moment tensor inversions(MTI)of AE events indicated that a significant number of shear microcracks occurred in the specimens subjected to the Brazilian test.The presence of these shear microcracks,which require more energy to break,resulted in a higher tensile strength during the Brazilian tests.In contrast,microcracks were predominantly tensile in specimens subjected to direct tension,leading to a lower tensile strength.Spatiotemporal monitoring of the cracking processes in the rock-mortar interfaces revealed that they show AE precursors before failure under the Brazilian test,whereas they show a minimal number of AE events before failure under direct tension.Due to different microcracking mechanisms,specimens tested under Brazilian tests showed lower roughness with flatter fracture surfaces than those tested under direct tension with jagged and rough fracture surfaces.The results of this study shed light on better understanding the micromechanics of damage in the rock-concrete interfaces for a safer design of engineering structures.

EXACT ANALYSIS OF SPURIOUS SIGNALS IN DIRECT DIGITAL FREQUENCY SYNTHESIZERS DUE TO AMPLITUDE QUANTIZATION

Amplitude quantization is one of the main sources of spurious noise frequencies in Direct Digital Frequency Synthesizers (DDFSs), which affect their application to many wireless telecommu- nication systems. In this paper, two different kinds of spurious signals due to amplitude quantization in DDFSs are exactly formulated in the time domain and detailedly compared in the frequency do- main, and the effects of the DDFS parameter variations on the spurious performance are thoroughly studied. Then the spectral properties and power levels of the amplitude-quantization spurs in the absence of phase-accumulator truncation are emphatically analyzed by waveform estimation and computer simulation, and several important conclusions are derived which can provide theoretical support for parameter choice and spurious performance evaluation in the application of DDFSs.

Distributed modeling of direct solar radiation on rugged terrain of the Yellow River Basin

Due to the influences of local topographical factors and terrain inter-shielding, calculation of direct solar radiation （DSR） quantity of rugged terrain is very complex. Based on digital elevation model （DEM） data and meteorological observations, a distributed model for calculating DSR over rugged terrain is developed. This model gives an all-sided consideration on factors influencing th a resolution of 1 km × 1 km for thDSR. Using the developed model, normals of annual DSR quantity wie Yellow River Basin was generated, with DEM data as the general characterization of terrain. Characteristics of DSR quantity influenced by geographic and topographic factors over rugged terrain were analyzed thoroughly. Results suggest that： influenced by local topographic factors, i.e. azimuth, slope and so on, and annual DSR quantity over mountainous area has a clear spatial difference; annual DSR quantity of sunny slope （or southern slope） of mountains is obviously larger than that of shady slope （or northern slope）. The calculated DSR quantity of the Yellow River Basin is provided in the same way as other kinds of spatial information and can be employed as basic geographic data for relevant studies as well.

Provably Secure Convertible Directed Partially Blind Signatures

Combining the concept of partially blind signature with the concept of directed signature, we introduce a new concept of convertible directed partially blind signature （CDPBS）, in which only the signer and the user can verify, confirm and disavow the validity of given signatures and convert given signatures into universally verifiable ones, to meet the need of signing personally or commercially sensitive messages. We give a formal definition of CDPBS and propose a concrete provably secure CDPBS scheme. The proposed scheme is efficient and secure, in which its unforgeability is the same as that of the Schnorr＇s signature scheme and its untransferability relies on the hardness of the decisional Diffie-Hellman problem. Furthermore, by letting the user＇s private key be a common constant, the proposed scheme can be used as a normal partially blind signature scheme.

In-situ observations of dendritic fragmentation during directional solidification of Sn-10wt.% Bi alloy

The stray crystals seriously affect the properties of metals which fabricated by directional solidification(DS). In order to observe the formation of the stray crystals, the growth behavior of Sn-10 wt.%Bi alloy was observed by synchrotron X-ray imaging technique using self-developed directional solidification(DS) apparatus. The experimental results show that Sn–10 wt.%Bi alloy is oriented with the form of dendrites to grow into the liquid phase during the DS process, and dendrites are arranged neatly to form columnar crystal microstructures. It is also found that parts of the dendrite arms begin to crack. These cracked dendrites drift upward to grow up in front of the solid-liquid interface and form stray crystals.

Development and application of a high energy X-ray digital radiography nondestructive testing system for a driving mechanism

A high energy X-ray digital radiography(DR)nondestructive testing(NDT)system has been developed to detect the operating state of a driving mechanism.The system consists of five main subsystems,namely,X-ray generator,image intensifier,image processor,mechanical platform and control subsystem.Owning to the mechanical platform,the X-ray generator and image intensifier are able to rotate around the vertical axis from 0°to 360°in 35 s and move along vertical axis within the range of 500 mm in 20 s.The 450 kV X-ray generator provides a maximum 100 mm penetration depth and a coverage angle of 40°,and the resolution of the scanned image is 66 lp/cm.As is indicated by its applications,the system is featured with fast scanning speed,wide detection range and high imaging quality.It can be applied to inspect the defects in the driving mechanism as well.

DIRECT DIGITAL DESIGN AND SIMULATION OF MESHING IN WORM-GEAR DRIVE

A direct digital design method （DDDM） of worm-gear drive is proposed. It is directly based on the simulation of manufacturing process and completely different from the conventional modeling method. The loaded tooth contact analysis （LTCA） method is analyzed, in which the advanced surface to surface searching technique is included. The influence of misalignment errors and contact deformations on contact zone and transmission error （TE） is discussed. Combined modification approach on worm tooth surface is presented. By means of DDDM and LTCA, it is very conven- ient to verify the effect of worm-gear drive＇s modification approach. The analysis results show that, the modification in profile direction reduces the sensitivity of worm-gear drive to misalignment errors and the modification in longitudinal direction decreases the TE. Thus the optimization design of worm-gear drive can be achieved prior to the actual manufacturing process.

Measurement of soil electrical conductivity based on direct digital synthesizer(DDS)and digital oscilloscope

A soil electrical conductivity(EC)measurement system based on direct digital synthesizer(DDS)and digital oscilloscope was developed.The system took the“current-voltage four-electrode method”as the design principal and adopted a six-pin structure of the probe,two center pins to measure the soil EC in shallow layer,two outside pins to measure the soil EC in deep layer,and two middle pins for inputting the driving current.A signal generating circuit using DDS technology was adopted to generate sine signals,which was connected with the two middle pins.A digital oscilloscope was used to record and store the two soil output signals with noises in microseconds,which were from the two center pins and two outside pins,respectively.Then a digital bandpass filter was used to filter the soil output signals recorded by the digital oscilloscope.Compared with the traditional analog filter circuit,the digital filter could filter out the noises of all frequency except for the frequency of the excitation source.It could improve the effect of filtering and the accuracy of the soil EC measurement system.The DDS circuit could provide more stable sine signals with larger amplitudes.The use of digital oscilloscope enables us to analyze the soil output signals in microseconds and measure the soil EC more accurately.The new soil EC measurement system based on DDS and digital oscilloscope can provide a new effective tool for soil sensing in precision agriculture.

A programmable gain amplifier with digitally assisted DC offset calibration for a direct-conversion WLAN receiver

This paper presents a programmable gain amplifier（PGA） circuit with a digitally assisted DC offset cancellation（DCOC） scheme for a direct conversion WLAN receiver.Implemented in a standard 0.13-μm CMOS process,the PGA occupies 0.39 mm2 die area and dissipates 6.5 mW power from a 1.2 V power supply.By using a single loop single digital-to-analog converter（DAC） mixed signal DC offset cancellation topology,the minimum DCOC settling time achieved is as short as 1.6μs with the PGA gain ranging from -8 to 54 dB in a 2 dB step.The DCOC loop utilizes a segmented DAC structure to lower the design complexity without sacrificing accuracy and a digital control algorithm to dynamically set the DCOC loop to fast or normal response mode,making the PGA circuit in compliance with the targeted WLAN specifications.

The pilot experimental study of 14 MeV fast neutron digital radiography

14 MeV Fast neutrons has good penetrability and the 14 MeV fast neutron radiography can meet the need of Non-Destructive Test of the structure and lacuna of heavy-massive sample, whose shell is made of heavy metal and in which there are some hydrogen materials, and the study of fast neutron digital radiography just begins in China. By the use of a D-T accelerator, a digital imaging system made up of a fast neutron scintillation screen made of ZnS(Ag) and polypropylene, lens and a scientific grade CCD, the experimental study of fast neutron radiography has been done between 4.3×1010-6.8×1010 n/s of neutron yield. Some 14 MeV fast neutron digital radiographs have been gotten. According to experimental radiographs and their data, the performance of the fast neutron scintillation screen and the basic characters of 14 MeV fast neutron radiography are analyzed, and it is helpful for the further research.