Potential applications of 7 Tesla magnetic resonance imaging in paediatric neuroimaging:Feasibility and challenges

The integration of 7 Tesla magnetic resonance imaging(7 T MRI)in adult patients has marked a revolutionary stride in radiology.In this article we explore the feasibility of 7 T MRI in paediatric practice,emphasizing its feasibility,applications,challenges,and safety considerations.The heightened resolution and tissue contrast of 7 T MRI offer unprecedented diagnostic accuracy,particularly in neuroimaging.Applications range from neuro-oncology to neonatal brain imaging,showcasing its efficacy in detecting subtle structural abnormalities and providing enhanced insights into neurological conditions.Despite the promise,challenges such as high cost,discomfort,and safety concerns necessitate careful consideration.Research suggests that,with precautions,7 T MRI is feasible in paediatrics,yet ongoing studies and safety assessments are imperative.

The contribution of steel wallposts to out-of-plane behavior of non-structural masonry walls

For years,non-structural masonry walls have received little attention by code developers and professional engineers.Recently,significant efforts have been made to shed more light on out-of-plane(OOP)behavior of non-structural masonry walls.In updated provisions of the Iranian seismic code,bed joint reinforcements(BJRs)and steel wallposts have been suggested for use.BJRs are horizontal reinforcements;steel wallposts are vertical truss-like elements intended to provide additional OOP restraints for a wall.The contribution of BJRs has previously been investigated by the authors.This study is devoted to investigating the contribution of steel wallposts to the OOP behavior of non-structural masonry walls.Using pre-validated 3D finite element(FE)models,the OOP behavior of 180 non-structural masonry walls with varying configurations and details are investigated.The OOP pressure-displacement curve,ultimate strength,the response modification factor,and the cracking pattern are among the results presented in this study.It is found that steel wallposts,especially those with higher rigidity,can improve the OOP strength of the walls.The contribution of wallposts in the case of shorter length walls and walls with an opening are more pronounced.Results also indicate that masonry walls with wallpost generally have smaller modification factors compared to similar walls without wallpost.

The mediating role of sleep qualityon the relationship between internet gaming disorder and perceived stress and suicidal behaviour among Indian medical students

Background In the recent digital era,individuals with internet gaming disorder(IGD)have reported a much higher prevalence of poor sleep quality,perceived stress and suicidal behaviour.However,the underlying mechanisms for these psychological problems remain unknown.Aims The primary aims of this study were to explore the mediating role of sleep quality on the relationship between IGD and the health outcomes of perceived stress and suicidal behaviour and to assess the prevalence and risk factors for IGD among medical students.Methods A cross-sectional study enrolling 795 medical students from two medical colleges in a rural area of North India was conducted from April to May 2022.The study participants were chosen using a stratified random sampling approach.A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data,including sociodemographic and personal information and gaming characteristics.The study also included the Gaming Disorder and Hazardous Gaming Scale,the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index,the Perceived Stress Scale-10 and the Suicide Behaviors Questionnaire-Revised to measure IGD,sleep quality,perceived stress and suicidal behaviour,respectively.Multiple logistic regression for the risk factors and Pearson's correlation test for the relationship between variables were used.Hayes'PROCESS macro for SPSS was employed to carry out mediation analysis.Results Among the 348 gamers with a mean age of 21.03(SD 3.27)years,the prevalence of IGD was 15.23%(95%confidence interval:11.6%to 19.4%).In the correlational analysis,small to large(r:0.32-0.72)significant relationships between scores of IGD and other health outcomes were established.The indirect effect(B=0.300)via sleep quality accounted for 30.55%of the total effect(B=0.982)of IGD on perceived stress(partially mediated),while sleep quality(B=0.174)accounted for 27.93%of the total effect(B=0.623)of IGD on suicidal behaviour(partially mediated).The factors of being male,living in a single-parent family,using the internet for other than academic purposes(1-3 hours and more than 3 hours/day),playing games for more than 3 hours/day and playing games with violent content were associated with IGD symptoms.

Simulation of dilatancy-controlled gas migration processes in saturated bentonite using a coupled multiphase flow and elastoplastic H2 M model

Dilatancy-controlled gas flow in preferential pathways plays a key role in the safety analysis of radioactive waste repositories.This is particularly the case for bentonite,an often-preferred barrier material.Gas flow in preferential pathways is characterized by localization and spontaneous behavior,which is challenging to simulate in numerical models due to strong hydro-mechanical coupling.To analyze a laboratory experiment in the framework of the DECOVALEX-2023 project,this study introduced a new approach of combining continuous modelling methods with spatial material properties derived from material heterogeneities and experimental observations.The proposed model utilized hydro-mechanical spatial distributions,namely Young’s modulus and gas entry pressure,and elastoplasticity combined with a linear swelling model.A conceptual strain-dependent permeability approach simulated dilatancycontrolled gas flow based on hydro-mechanical coupling.To test the effectiveness of the presented approach,a gas injection test in a compacted,saturated bentonite sample was simulated using the opensource code OpenGeoSys 5.8 and compared with experimental observations.The presented methodology is capable of simulating localized gas flow in preferential pathways.The spatial distributions of Young’s modulus and gas entry pressure affect the swelling pressure,relative permeability and,in combination with the strain-dependent permeability model,also the intrinsic permeability.

Awareness of eye complications and prevalence of retinopathy in the first visit to eye clinic among type 2 diabetic patients

AIM:To assess the awareness of eye complications and the prevalence of retinopathy,in the first visit to eye clinic,among type 2 diabetic patients attending a tertiary medical centre in Kuala Lumpur,Malaysia.METHODS:An investigator-administered questionnaire was given to 137 patients with diabetes undergoing first time eye screening in the eye clinic.This was followed by a detailed fundus examination by a senior ophthalmologist to assess for presence of retinopathy.RESULTS:Almost 86% of respondents were aware of diabetic eye complications,especially in patients who had achieved tertiary educational level(96.3%).The majority of the patients(78.8%) were referred by their physicians and only 20.4% came on their own initiative.Many of the patients(43.8%) did not know how frequent they should go for an eye check-up and 72.3% did not know what treatments were available.Lack of understanding on diabetic eye diseases(68.6%) was the main barrier for most patients for not coming for eye screening earlier.Despite a high level of awareness,only 21.9% had recorded HbA1c level of <6.5% while 31.4% were under the erroneous assumption of having a good blood sugar control.A total of 29.2% had diabetic retinopathy in their first visit eye testing.CONCLUSION:In the present study,29.2% of type 2 diabetic patients had retinopathy in their first time eye testing.Although the awareness of diabetic eye complications was high among first time eye screening patients,the appropriate eye care-seeking behavior was comparatively less and should be rectified to prevent the rise of this sight threatening eye disease.

THE RELATION BETWEEN SIGN-CHANGING SOLUTION AND POSITIVE-NEGATIVE SOLUTIONS FOR NONLINEAR OPERATOR EQUATIONS AND ITS APPLICATIONS

By fixed point index theory and a result obtained by Amann, existence of the solution for a class of nonlinear operator equations x = Ax is discussed. Under suitable conditions, a couple of positive and negative solutions are obtained. Finally, the abstract result is applied to nonlinear Sturm-Liouville boundary value problem, and at least four distinct solutions are obtained.

Mechanics Model to Determine Swelling Potential of Expansive Soils

The factors influencing on soil expansion are reviewed in the paper. A mechanics model to determine swelling potential of expansive soils is presented. The mechanics model is based on the softening of expansive soil following absorption of water. The constitutive relationships of the mechanics model include the relationship among swelling under free load, swelling under load, and vertical pressure, and the relationship of swelling under free loading and swelling pressure. A concept of additional compression modulus is introduced and the method determining the modulus is proposed. Finally, the predicted results of swelling potential using the mechanics model compare well with the measured data.

ZMP-based Gait Optimization of the Biped Robot

The gait of the biped robot is described using six parameters such as stature,velocity,length of the step,etc.The algorithm of the Newton-Euler is actualized by object-oriented idea,and then the zero moment point (ZMP) of the dynamically walking biped is calculated.Finally,the gait of biped is optimized using gene algorithm,and the optimized result prove the correctness of the algorithm.

Urban One-way Traffic Organization and Its Evaluation

One-way traffic organization is a direct, efficient and economic method to solve traffic congestion and expand traffie capacity. With its evolution, advantages and disadvantages introduced its setting conditions demonstrated. The general method and processes are summarized in planning for urban one-way streets project, viz. investigation, drawing out and evaluation of project, selecting of project and beneficial analysis. Fuzzy synthetical evaluation other fields is employed to evaluate the project. Its evaluation system and method is introduced and Delphi method is adopted to obtain evaluation index. Finally, taking Harbin city as an example, the application process of above-mentioned method is illuminated. Accordingly, it is proved that the method is exercisable.

Automatic Classification and Compression of GMS Cloud Imagery in Heavy Rainfall Monitoring Application

The Bayes Decision method (BD) has been implemented on GMS Stretched VISSR (S.VISSR) images. Several objects are identified. These are earth's surface, stratiform, convective and cirrus clouds. Overlaid 6-hour surface rainfall observations show that the rain area on the ground matches with precipitable cloud area identified by BD method. Finally the data of classified image are compressed to about one-eighth amount by use of Line-Run-Coding technique. It is helpful for data archive and remote transmission.

Some Analyses and Numerical Simulations of Meiyu in East Asia in 1983

In this paper the differences between Meiyu and Baiu front in 1983 have firstly been analysed, the trajectories of air on and to the north side of Meiyu and Baiu fronts during the Meiyu period have then been traced, and the forecasting and simulating of 4 sets of Meiyu onset of the year have finally been run utilizing the global model at UK Me-leorological Office. The results show: 1) Meiyu fronts are different from Baiu ones in temperature, humidity and stratification fields in lower atmosphere; and the possibly reasons for it are explained. 2) The Bay of Bengal is the main moisture source for Meiyu front, the South China Sea and the Pacific, for Baiu ones; and some existed arguments on it are also discussed. 3) The onset of Meiyu and its rainfall and rain belts are sensitive to the Tibetan Plateau, and the water vapour conditions over the Bay of Bengal and the South China Sea, but not sensitive to the SST over the equatorial area or to the East of Japan.

Autonomous determination of orbit for probe around asteroids using unscented Kalman filter

The observed images of the asteroid and the asteroid reference images are used to obtain the probe-to-asteroid direction and the location of the limb features of the asteroid in the inertial coordinate. These informa-tion in combination with the shape model of the asteroid and attitude information of the probe are utilized to ob-tain the position of the probe. The position information is then input to the UKF which determines the real-timeorbit of the probe. Finally, the autonomous orbit determination algorithm is validated using digital simulation.The determination of orbit using UKF is compared with that using extended Kalman filter (EKF), and the resultshows that UKF is superior to EKF.

Recent Advances in Dynamical Extra-Seasonal to Annual Climate Prediction at IAP/CAS

Recent advances in dynamical climate prediction at the Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (IAP/CAS) during the last five years have been briefly described in this paper. Firstly, the second generation of the IAP dynamical climate prediction system (IAP DCP-Ⅱ) has been described, and two sets of hindcast experiments of the summer rainfall anomalies over China for the periods of 1980-1994 with different versions of the IAP AGCM have been conducted. The comparison results show that the predictive skill of summer rainfall anomalies over China is improved with the improved IAP AGCM in which the surface albedo parameterization is modified. Furthermore, IAP DCP-II has been applied to the real-time prediction of summer rainfall anomalies over China since 1998, and the verification results show that IAP DCP-II can quite well capture the large scale patterns of the summer flood/drought situations over China during the last five years (1998-2002). Meanwhile, an investigation has demonstrated the importance of the atmospheric initial conditions on the seasonal climate prediction, along with studies on the influences from surface boundary conditions (e.g., land surface characteristics, sea surface temperature). Certain conclusions have been reached, such as, the initial atmospheric anomalies in spring may play an important role in the summer climate anomalies, and soil moisture anomalies in spring can also have a significant impact on the summer climate anomalies over East Asia. Finally, several practical techniques (e.g., ensemble technique, correction method, etc.), which lead to the increase of the prediction skill for summer rainfall anomalies over China, have also been illustrated. The paper concludes with a list of critical requirements needed for the further improvement of dynamical seasonal climate prediction.

Effects of Heat Treatment on Properties of Polyester Filaments

Many properties of polyester filaments such as heat shrinkage, tenacity, elongation at break and etc. are greatly influenced by drawing, so post-drawing is important in downstream processing. As more and more profile fibers and multi-variance fibers used in textile industry, the properties of above two kinds of differential polyester filaments after drawing in different heat conditions were studied. Finally following conclusions were obtained: Firstly, the tenacity and elongation at break decreases with the rise of Tp. Secondly, the tenacity rises but the elongation at break decreases with the increase of Tb. Then, when the Tb is low, both the shrinkage in boiling water and hi hot air decreases with the rise of Tp, while, when the Tb is high, both the shrinkage rises with the rise of Tp. The last, both the shrinkage decreases with the rise of Tb.

Embedding Sign Representation in Mobile Phones to Assist Disabled

Sign Writing, a writing system for sign language, is becoming a useful and convenient communication aid for people who are deaf. Principally, people who are deaf find it difficult to communicate with the hearing community and due to recent technological advancement they communicate amongst themselves and with the hearing community via text messaging on mobile phones. Existing messaging function is limited to writing based on the Roman alphabets or pictographic languages like Mandarin; writing in signs is deemed to be deficient in a mobile context. Hence, the aim of this paper is to examine the feasibility of writing and reading text messages in signs as an alternative communication mean besides Short Messaging Service （SMS）. Initial experimental results have significantly exemplified that sign writing gains well acceptance and is preferred among the hearing-impaired community to communicate within or between the hearing communities.

COMPARISON OF TWO METHODS IN SATELLITE FORMATION FLYING

Recently, the research of dynamics and control of the satellite formation flying has been attracting a great deal of attentions of the researchers. The theory of the research was mainly based on Clohessy-Wiltshire' s (C-W's) equations, which describe the relative motion between two satellites. But according to some special examples and qualitative analysis , neither the initial parameters nor the period of the solution of C-W' s equations accord with the actual situation, and the conservation of energy is no longer held. A new method developed from orbital element description of single satellite , named relative orbital element method ( ROEM) , was introduced. This new method, with clear physics conception and wide application range, overcomes the limitation of C-W s equation , and the periodic solution is a natural conclusion. The simplified equation of the relative motion is obtained when the eccentricity of the main satellite is small. Finally, the results of the two methods (C-W' s equation and ROEM) are compared and the limitations of C-W s equations are pointed out and explained.

Recent Advances in Predictability Studies in China (1999-2002)

Since the last International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG) General Assembly (1999), the predictability studies in China have made further progress during the period of 1999-2002. Firstly, three predictability sub-problems in numerical weather and climate prediction are classified, which are concerned with the maximum predictability time, the maximum prediction error, and the maximum allowable initial error, and then they are reduced into three nonlinear optimization problems. Secondly, the concepts of the nonlinear singular vector (NSV) and conditional nonlinear optimal perturbation (CNOP) are proposed, which have been utilized to study the predictability of numerical weather and climate prediction. The results suggest that the nonlinear characteristics of the motions of atmosphere and oceans can be revealed by NSV and CNOP. Thirdly, attention has also been paid to the relations between the predictability and spatial-temporal scale, and between the modei predictability and the machine precision, of which the investigations disclose the importance of the spatial-temporal scale and machine precision in the study of predictability. Also the cell-to-cell mapping is adopted to analyze globally the predictability of climate, which could provide a new subject to the research workers. Furthermore, the predictability of the summer rainfall in China is investigated by using the method of correlation coefficients. The results demonstrate that the predictability of summer rainfall is different in different areas of China. Analysis of variance, which is one of the statistical methods applicable to the study of predictability, is also used to study the potential predictability of monthly mean temperature in China, of which the conclusion is that the monthly mean temperature over China is potentially predictable at a statistical significance Ievel of 0.10. In addition, in the analysis of the predictability of the T106 objective analysis/forecasting field, the variance and the correlation coemcient are calculated to explore the distribution characteristics of the mean-square errors. Finally, the predictability of short-term climate prediction is investigated by using statistical methods or numerical simulation methods. It is demonstrated that the predictability of short-terrn climate in China depends not only on the region of China being investigated, but also on the time scale and the atmospheric internai dynamical process.

DC Arc Plasma Disposal of Printed Circuit Board

A new solid waste disposal technology setup with DC are plasma is presented. Being different from conventional combustion or burning such as incineration, it is based on a process called controlled high-temperature pyrolysis, the thermal destruction and recovery process. The results of vitrification of the circuit board is presented. The properties of vitrified product including hardness and leaching test results are presented. The final product (vitrified material) and air emission from the plasma treatment is environmentally acceptable.

Catalytic Dechlorination and Kinetics of o-Dichlorobenzene by Pd/Fe

o-Dichlorobenzene (o-DCB) was dechlorinated by Pd/Fe powder in water throughcatalytic reduction. The dechlorination reaction is believed to take place on the surface site ofthe catalyst via a pseuclo-first-order reaction. The final reduction product of o-DCB is benzene.The dechlorination rate increases with the increase of bulk loading of palladium due to the increaseof both the surface loading of palladium and the total surface area. Dechlorination efficiencyaccounts for 90% at Pd/Fe mass ratio 0.02% and metal to solution ratio about 53.3g · L^(-1) in 120minutes. Dechlorination is affected by the reaction temperature, pH, Pd/Fe ratio and the addition ofPd/Fe. E_a is found to be 102.5 kJ · mol^(-1) in the temperature range of 287—313 K.

An Application of Kalman Filtering and Artificial Neural Network with K-NN Position Detection Technique

RFID technology is one of the important technologies to determine the object locations. Distances are calculated with respect to calibration curves of RSSI amplitudes. The aim of this study is to determine the 2D position of mobile objects in the indoor environment. The importance of the work is to show that localization by using Artificial Neural Network plus Kalman Filtering is more accurate than using classical KNN method. An indoor wireless sensing network is established with strategically stationed RFID transmitter nodes and a mobile object with a RFID receiver node. A fingerprint map is generated and K-Nearest Neighbourhood algorithm (KNN) is deployed to calculate the object locations. Fingerprint coordinates and RSS values received at these coordinates are deployed to set up an Artificial Neural Network (ANN). This network is used to determine the unknown object locations by using RSS values received at these locations. The accuracy of object localization is found to be better with ANN technique than KNN technique. Object coordinates, determined with ANN technique, are subjected to Kalman filtering. The results show that localization accuracies are improved and localization error distances are reduced by 46% with the deployment of ANN + Kalman Filtering.