Complementary Hybrid Semiconducting Superlattices with Multiple Channels and Mutual Stabilization.

An organic-inorganic hybrid superlattice with near perfect synergistic integration of organic and inorganic constituents was developed to produce properties vastly superior to those of either moiety alone. The complementary hybrid superlattice is composed of multiple quantum wells of 4-mercaptophenol organic monolayers and amorphous ZnO nanolayers. Within the superlattice, multichannel formation was demonstrated at the organic-inorganic interfaces to produce an excellent-performance field effect transistor exhibiting outstanding field-effect mobility with band-like transport and steep subthreshold swing.

Change of centrotemporal spikes from onset to remission in self-limited epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes (SLECTS).

Objective: To reveal the changes of centrotemporal spikes that occur during the disease course of self-limited epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes (SLECTS).

Method: We retrospectively reviewed the serial EEGs of 63 patients with SLECTS from initial diagnosis to remission. There were 32 patients who did not undergo treatment and 31 patients who underwent treatment with oxcarbazepine (OXC).

Novel method of boundary-free mesh parameterization.

Unless the targeted mesh is developable, metric distortion is inevitable during the process of surface mesh parameterization, thus one important objective of all involved parametric studies is to reduce the metric distortion. In order to further reduce area and angle distortion, a novel method of boundary-free mesh parameterization is presented in the paper. Firstly, the initial boundary-fixed conformal parameterization from 3D surface mesh patch to a plane is performed in the method.

Potentials of Smart dynamometer use for clinical and self-management of rehabilitation in breast cancer survivors: a feasibility study.

The aim of this study was to examine the feasibility of the Smart dynamometer as a rehabilitation exercise device in a daily care by comparing with the existing medical devices. We used and analyzed clinical and measurement data of breast cancer survivors who have used Smart dynamometer during their rehabilitation after breast cancer surgery. The Smart dynamometer was compared with the two existing devices of Takei dynamometer and surface electromyography (sEMG) that were used in routine care, respectively.

Further observations on a principal components analysis of head-related transfer functions.

Humans can externalise and localise sound-sources in three-dimensional (3D) space because approaching sound waves interact with the head and external ears, adding auditory cues by (de-)emphasising the level in different frequency bands depending on the direction of arrival. While virtual audio systems reproduce these acoustic filtering effects with signal processing, huge memory-storage capacity would be needed to cater for many listeners because the filters are as unique as the shape of each person's head and ears. Here we use a combination of physiological imaging and acoustic simulation methods to confirm and extend previous studies that represented these filters by a linear combination of a small number of eigenmodes.

ZnO composite nanolayer with mobility edge quantization for multi-value logic transistors.

A quantum confined transport based on a zinc oxide composite nanolayer that has conducting states with mobility edge quantization is proposed and was applied to develop multi-value logic transistors with stable intermediate states. A composite nanolayer with zinc oxide quantum dots embedded in amorphous zinc oxide domains generated quantized conducting states at the mobility edge, which we refer to as "mobility edge quantization". The unique quantized conducting state effectively restricted the occupied number of carriers due to its low density of states, which enable current saturation.

Electroencephalographic Resting-State Functional Connectivity of Benign Epilepsy with Centrotemporal Spikes.

Background And Purpose: We aimed to reveal resting-state functional connectivity characteristics based on the spike-free waking electroencephalogram (EEG) of benign epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes (BECTS) patients, which usually appears normal in routine visual inspection.

Methods: Thirty BECTS patients and 30 disease-free and age- and sex-matched controls were included. Eight-second EEG epochs without artifacts were sampled and then bandpass filtered into the delta, theta, lower alpha, upper alpha, and beta bands to construct the association matrix.

Validation of the mobile wireless digital automatic blood pressure monitor using the cuff pressure oscillometric method, for clinical use and self-management, according to international protocols.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of a mobile wireless digital automatic blood pressure monitor for clinical use and mobile health (mHealth). In this study, a manual sphygmomanometer and a digital blood pressure monitor were tested in 100 participants in a repetitive and sequential manner to measure blood pressure. The guidelines for measurement used the Korea Food & Drug Administration protocol, which reflects international standards, such as the American National Standard Institution/Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation SP 10: 1992 and the British Hypertension Society protocol.

A shape-based inter-layer contours correspondence method for ICT-based reverse engineering.

The correspondence of a stack of planar contours in ICT (industrial computed tomography)-based reverse engineering, a key step in surface reconstruction, is difficult when the contours or topology of the object are complex. Given the regularity of industrial parts and similarity of the inter-layer contours, a specialized shape-based inter-layer contours correspondence method for ICT-based reverse engineering was presented to solve the above problem based on the vectorized contours. In this paper, the vectorized contours extracted from the slices consist of three graphical primitives: circles, arcs and segments.

The gradual evolution of buyer-seller networks and their role in aggregate fluctuations.

Buyer-seller relationships among firms can be regarded as a longitudinal network in which the connectivity pattern evolves as each firm receives productivity shocks. Based on a data set describing the evolution of buyer-seller links among 55,608 firms over a decade and structural equation modeling, we find some evidence that interfirm networks evolve reflecting a firm's local decisions to mitigate adverse effects from neighbor firms through interfirm linkage, while enjoying positive effects from them. As a result, link renewal tends to have a positive impact on the growth rates of firms.

Study of the Microfocus X-Ray Tube Based on a Point-Like Target Used for Micro-Computed Tomography.

For a micro-Computed Tomography (Micro-CT) system, the microfocus X-ray tube is an essential component because the spatial resolution of CT images, in theory, is mainly determined by the size and stability of the X-ray focal spot of the microfocus X-ray tube. However, many factors, including voltage fluctuations, mechanical vibrations, and temperature changes, can cause the size and the stability of the X-ray focal spot to degrade. A new microfocus X-ray tube based on a point-like micro-target in which the X-ray target is irradiated with an unfocused electron beam was investigated.

Internally-represented space and its mirror-reversed image of the visuospatial representation: A possible association.

The cognitive capacity for number representation is thought to be a functional isomorphism of space representation. Numbers are represented in a left-to-right-oriented mental number line and hemispatial neglect patients consistently demonstrate rightward midline shift of visuospace, the internal space and number representation. However, patients with pathologic pain in one limb showed a negative correlation between midline shift of the visuospace and number representation.

Identification of Plasmonic Modes in Parabolic Cylinder Geometry by Quasi-Separation of Variables.

This paper describes the plasmonic modes in the parabolic cylinder geometry as a theoretical complement to the previous paper (J Phys A 42:185401) that considered the modes in the circular paraboloidal geometry. In order to identify the plasmonic modes in the parabolic cylinder geometry, analytic solutions for surface plasmon polaritons are examined by solving the wave equation for the magnetic field in parabolic cylindrical coordinates using quasi-separation of variables in combination with perturbation methods. The examination of the zeroth-order perturbation equations showed that solutions cannot exist for the parabolic metal wedge but can be obtained for the parabolic metal groove as standing wave solutions indicated by the even and odd symmetries.

Stochastic process underlying emergent recognition of visual objects hidden in degraded images.

When a degraded two-tone image such as a "Mooney" image is seen for the first time, it is unrecognizable in the initial seconds. The recognition of such an image is facilitated by giving prior information on the object, which is known as top-down facilitation and has been intensively studied. Even in the absence of any prior information, however, we experience sudden perception of the emergence of a salient object after continued observation of the image, whose processes remain poorly understood.

Defect detection in slab surface: a novel dual Charge-coupled Device imaging-based fuzzy connectedness strategy.

To provide an accurate surface defects inspection system and make the automation of robust image segmentation method a reality in routine production line, a general approach is presented for continuous casting slab (CC-slab) surface defects extraction and delineation. The applicability of the system is not tied to CC-slab exclusively. We combined the line array CCD (Charge-coupled Device) traditional scanning imaging (LS-imaging) and area array CCD laser three-dimensional (3D) scanning imaging (AL-imaging) strategies in designing the system.

Dissociation in accessing space and number representations in pathologic pain patients.

Space is represented by integrating egocentric and allocentric reference frames; however, little is known about the role of these independent reference frames in number representation. Using patients with unilateral pathologic pain in one limb, we investigated whether number representation is closely linked to space representation by evaluating visual subjective body-midline judgments in dark and light conditions (egocentric and allocentric space, respectively). To evaluate the number representation, pairs of numbers were read aloud to the participant, who was then asked to state the midpoint number that they intuitively perceived to be at the middle of each interval.

Study of solid-conversion gaseous detector based on GEM for high energy X-ray industrial CT.

The general gaseous ionization detectors are not suitable for high energy X-ray industrial computed tomography (HEICT) because of their inherent limitations, especially low detective efficiency and large volume. The goal of this study was to investigate a new type of gaseous detector to solve these problems. The novel detector was made by a metal foil as X-ray convertor to improve the conversion efficiency, and the Gas Electron Multiplier (hereinafter "GEM") was used as electron amplifier to lessen its volume.

The X-ray transform projection of 3D mother wavelet function.

As we all know, any practical computed tomography (CT) projection data more or less contains noises. Hence, it will be inconvenient for the postprocessing of a reconstructed 3D image even when the noise in the projection data is white. The reason is that the noise in the reconstructed image may be nonwhite.

3D defect segmentation on CT volume data using morphology and resample techniques.

Segmentation of CT volume data is important and useful in non-destructive testing and evaluating. To eliminate the artifacts influence, we propose a new approach of 3D defect segmentation using two steps. First of all, an initial segmentation using 3D morphological method is performed.

Segmentation of computer tomography image using local robust statistics and region-scalable fitting.

Intensity inhomogeneity may cause considerable difficulties in segmentation of CT image. In order to overcome the difficulties caused by intensity inhomogeneity, the region-scalable fitting (RSF) model was put forward. RSF model draws upon intensity information in local regions with a controllable scale.

An improved half-covered helical cone-beam CT reconstruction algorithm based on localized reconstruction filter.

Traditional helical cone-beam Computed Tomography (CT) is based on the assumption that the entire cross-section of the scanned object is covered by x-rays at each view angle. Because of the size limitation of planar detector, the traditional helical cone-beam CT scanning is restricted when the cross-section of the object is larger than the field of view (FOV) of the CT system. The helical cone-beam CT scanning based on FOV half-covered can almost double the FOV, whose mechanism is simple and the scanning efficiency is the same as that of traditional helical cone-beam CT.

Crack surface extraction of industrial CT volume data using FPIT and planelet.

As an advanced nondestructive testing (NDT) technology, industrial computed tomography (ICT) has been widely applied to diversified areas. In modern industry, ICT is especially useful for analyzing inner defects of complex and close work pieces. The common defects of work pieces include gas cavities, slag inclusions, cracks and shrinking cavities.

Fabrication of two-dimensional Ta2O5 photonic crystal slabs with ultra-low background emission toward highly sensitive fluorescence spectroscopy.

A two-dimensional tantalum pentoxide (Ta2O5) photonic crystal (PC) slab with low-background emission was fabricated and a 12-fold enhancement of fluorescence from the organic dyes of perylene diimide adsorbed on the surface of the PCs was observed. The background emissions of the Ta2O5 substrates with and without the PCs after thermal annealing at 600°C with oxygen gas were comparable to that of a well-cleaned cover glass. This is to date the lowest level of background emissions of two-dimensional PCs using materials with a high refractive index (>2).