Synthesis of Quadruply Carbon-13 Labeled Tetramethyltetrathiaful Valene

A short synthesis of tetramethyltetrathiafulvalene quadruply labeled with carbon-13 is described.     

Quantitative assessment of motion correction for high angular resolution diffusion imaging

Several methods have been proposed for motion correction of high angular resolution diffusion imaging (HARDI) data. There have been few comparisons of these methods, partly due to a lack of quantitative metrics of performance. We compare two motion correction strategies using two figures of merit: displacement introduced by the motion correction and the 95% confidence interval of the cone of uncertainty of voxels with prolate tensors. What follows is a general approach for assessing motion correction of HARDI data that may have broad application for quality assurance and optimization of postprocessing protocols. Our analysis demonstrates two important issues related to motion correction of HARDI data: (1) although neither method we tested was dramatically superior in performance, both were dramatically better than performing no motion correction, and (2) iteration of motion correction can improve the final results. Based on the results demonstrated here, iterative motion correction is strongly recommended for HARDI acquisitions.     

Cyclization reaction of polyacrylonitrile and poly(styrene-co-acrylonitrile) studied by PVT measurements

Pressure, volume, temperature (PVT) measurements reveal that during the intramolecular cyclization reaction of poly(acrylonitrile) (PAN) and poly(styrene-co-acrylonitrile) (SAN) the volume decreases. This volume contraction becomes smaller with increasing styrene content in the random copolymers and should be related to the simultaneous decrease of longer acrylonitrile homo-sequences. The onset temperature of the cyclization reaction is raised with higher styrene contents in the random copolymers. Thus, it can be excluded that the cyclization reaction has a major influence on the discoloration process of SAN samples having relatively small acrylonitrile contents (less than 50 mol-%) during thermal annealing below 300°C.     

Cu-DNAzyme facilitates highly sensitive immunoassay

A simple Cu-DNAzyme system is used for signal transduction of a CuO nanoparticle-labeled immunoassay, which makes the immunoassay fast, simple, cost-effective, and sensitive, thus promising for biomedical applications and point-of-care testing.     

一种基于新型小波包阈值的图像去噪方法

提出了一种基于小波包理论去除图像噪声的方法,用小波包把图像分解为高频分量和低频分量,根据高频分量估计噪声的标准差,并利用该标准差以及Birge-Massart惩罚函数计算阈值.鉴于传统软硬阈值的缺陷,采用一种新型阈值量化方法,用三次多项式在硬阈值的基础上插值,使新的阈值函数保持了连续性和可导性.通过这种方法既消除了图像的振铃现象,又保留了细节成分.实验表明：与传统方法相比,新方法使图像视觉效果和峰值信噪比均获得提高.     

规格化对高斯消元法计算速度的影响

从计算原理和计算速度两个方面详细地分析比较规格化对求解线性方程组的高斯消元法在消元和回代过程中的影响,其中包括计算公式的变化、计算元素的计算次数、规格化元素的计算次数、计算所有元素所需的元素总数、对复数矩阵和实数矩阵的计算速度的影响等内容的比较,并对IEEE-57、-118、-300节点系统进行编程比较计算。计算结果表明,高斯消元法中规格化的计算虽极为简单,且对回代环节的影响不大,但可以大大提高前代环节的计算速度,从而大大提高求解线性方程组的计算速度,尤其是对复数矩阵。该结论同样适用于电力系统等各个工程领域用高斯消元方法求解线性方程组。更多还原     

Robust optimization and portfolio selection: The cost of robustness

Robust optimization is a tractable alternative to stochastic programming particularly suited for problems in which parameter values are unknown, variable and their distributions are uncertain. We evaluate the cost of robustness for the robust counterpart to the maximum return portfolio optimization problem. The uncertainty of asset returns is modelled by polyhedral uncertainty sets as opposed to the earlier proposed ellipsoidal sets. We derive the robust model from a min-regret perspective and examine the properties of robust models with respect to portfolio composition. We investigate the effect of different definitions of the bounds on the uncertainty sets and show that robust models yield well diversified portfolios, in terms of the number of assets and asset weights.     

Can a Circulating Light Beam Produce a Time Machine

In a recent paper, Mallett found a solution of the Einstein equations in which closed timelike curves (CTC’s) are present in the empty space outside an infinitely long cylinder of light moving in circular paths around an axis. Here we show that, for physically realistic energy densities, the CTC’s occur at distances from the axis greater than the radius of the visible universe by an immense factor. We then show that Mallett’s solution has a curvature singularity on the axis, even in the case where the intensity of the light vanishes. Thus it is not the solution one would get by starting with Minkowski space and establishing a cylinder of light.