Shape memory alloy reinforced 5 mm ultra-thin rigid link surgical instrument with force-feedback.

We report the development of a rigid link surgical instrument for surgical robotics. The device is only 5 mm in diameter and equipped with a shape memory alloy for better gripping, which avoids the use of mechanical gears. This ultra-thin instrument has a unique force sensor mount at the gripper to capture forces as low as 288 mN from the surgical site.

Speech-driven mobile games for speech therapy: User experiences and feasibility.

To assist in remote treatment, speech-language pathologists (SLPs) rely on mobile games, which though entertaining, lack feedback mechanisms. Games integrated with automatic speech recognition (ASR) offer a solution where speech productions control gameplay. We therefore performed a feasibility study to assess children's and SLPs' experiences towards speech-controlled games, game feature preferences and ASR accuracy.

Identification of two new species of Meliolinites associated with Lauraceae leaves from the middle Miocene of Fujian, China.

Several studies have investigated both the paleoclimate and the well-preserved fossil remains from the middle Miocene found in China's Fujian Province. This study describes two new species of Meliolinites, including their fungal hyphae, reproductive structures, and spores. The distribution of modern Meliolaceae indicates that they live in warm, humid, subtropical to tropical climates.

Cervical cancer histology image identification method based on texture and lesion area features.

The issue of an automated approach for detecting cervical cancer is proposed to improve the accuracy of recognition. Firstly, the cervical cancer histology source images are needed to use image preprocessing for reducing the impact brought by noise of images as well as the impact on subsequent precise feature extraction brought by irrelevant background. Secondly, the images are grouped into ten vertical images and the information of texture feature is extracted by Grey Level Co-occurrence Matrix (GLCM).

Epidemiological characteristics of Chinese paediatric traumatic brain injury inpatients.

Primary Objective: To investigate the epidemiological characteristics of paediatric inpatients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) in China.

Research Design: The Chinese Trauma Database (CTD), a nationwide register system based on hospital admission data, contains diagnosis and treatment information for trauma inpatients in over 200 military-managed public-service hospitals in China. Using the ICD-9 coding, the data for children with TBI aged 0-17 years between 2001 and 2007 were retrieved.

Multicomponent analysis of a digital Trail Making Test.

Objective: The purpose of the current study was to use a newly developed digital tablet-based variant of the TMT to isolate component cognitive processes underlying TMT performance.

Method: Similar to the paper-based trail making test, this digital variant consists of two conditions, Part A and Part B. However, this digital version automatically collects additional data to create component subtest scores to isolate cognitive abilities.