Effective radiating area and beam non-uniformity ratio of ultrasound transducers at 5 MHz, according to IEC 61689:2007

This paper discloses results of measuring the effective radiating area (A_ER) and the beam non-uniformity ratio (R_BN) for US transducers at 5.0 MHz. Measurements were carried out at Laboratory of Ultrasound of the Brazilian National Institute of Metrology, Standardization, and Industrial Quality. As reliability proof of system’s adequacy, uncertainties were assessed. The calculation protocol was developed based on standard IEC 61689:2007. Type A uncertainty was estimated after four repetitions of the full procedure for the determination of A_ER and R_BN, and Type B uncertainty was estimated from the mathematical model for both calculations, obtained from IEC 61689:2007 and the guide to the expression of uncertainty in measurement. The procedure presented herein represents the state of the art regarding metrology for testing therapeutic ultrasound devices, and its application results in fundamental aspects to support their evaluation regarding quality assurance, for instance, for a certification process due safety and performance.     

Real-Time Tool Detection for Workflow Identification in Open Cranial Vault Remodeling

Deep learning is a recent technology that has shown excellent capabilities for recognition and identification tasks. This study applies these techniques in open cranial vault remodeling surgeries performed to correct craniosynostosis. The objective was to automatically recognize surgical tools in real-time and estimate the surgical phase based on those predictions. For this purpose, we implemented, trained, and tested three algorithms based on previously proposed Convolutional Neural Network architectures (VGG16, MobileNetV2, and InceptionV3) and one new architecture with fewer parameters (CranioNet). A novel 3D Slicer module was specifically developed to implement these networks and recognize surgical tools in real time via video streaming. The training and test data were acquired during a surgical simulation using a 3D printed patient-based realistic phantom of an infant’s head. The results showed that CranioNet presents the lowest accuracy for tool recognition (93.4%), while the highest accuracy is achieved by the MobileNetV2 model (99.6%), followed by VGG16 and InceptionV3 (98.8% and 97.2%, respectively). Regarding phase detection, InceptionV3 and VGG16 obtained the best results (94.5% and 94.4%), whereas MobileNetV2 and CranioNet presented worse values (91.1% and 89.8%). Our results prove the feasibility of applying deep learning architectures for real-time tool detection and phase estimation in craniosynostosis surgeries.     

Note on fundamental operations

A new type of generalization of fundamental calculating operations is attempted. Instead of generalizing the nature of the elements upon which operations are acting, the nature of the operations themselves is changed. By iterating the step which leads from addition to multiplication, new types of operations are generated. Some of these operations are discussed briefly.     

基于机器视觉的刀具轮廓在线检测方法的研究

超精密单点金刚石车削过程中需要对刀具参数进行检测。基于机器视觉原理,采用新型的机械结构设计了新型刀具在线检测系统。通过垂直放置的两组由同轴远心镜头和CMOS相机组成的光学系统来获取车刀刀尖正面及侧面的图像,再经图像处理系统来获取刀具的轮廓及位置信息,完成对刀具轮廓及位置的在线检测,实验验证可实现测量的重复性定位精度达1μm。在线检测的方式借助了超精密车床自身的高精度和运动机构,可以保证相机焦点和机床主轴之间的相对位置关系,弥补了目前刀具检测系统稳定性差和重复性精度低的不足,提高了加工的整体效率。     

A general mathematical model for continuous generating machining of screw rotors with worm-shaped tools

Screw rotors play a crucial role in the performance of compressors. For the large-batch production of small- or medium-sized rotors, continuously rotor hobbing or grinding may be more efficient than form machining. In this study, a general mathematical model was developed for the generating machining of screw rotors with a worm-shaped tool. A two-parameter enveloping theory was applied to simulate the cutting process as the tool conducts polynomial feed motion considering its cutting edge. The normal errors of the generated cutting lines were computed and presented on the rotor tooth surface topologies to show the correctness and practicability of the proposed model.     

Tutorial review on validation of liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry methods: Part II

This is the part II of a tutorial review intending to give an overview of the state of the art of method validation in liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC–MS) and discuss specific issues that arise with MS (and MS–MS) detection in LC (as opposed to the “conventional” detectors). The Part II starts with briefly introducing the main quantitation methods and then addresses the performance related to quantification: linearity of signal, sensitivity, precision, trueness, accuracy, stability and measurement uncertainty. The last section is devoted to practical considerations in validation. With every performance characteristic its essence and terminology are addressed, the current status of treating it is reviewed and recommendations are given, how to handle it, specifically in the case of LC–MS methods.     

Unveiling the binding interaction of zinc (II) complexes of homologous Schiff-base ligands on the surface of BSA protein: A combined experimental and theoretical approach

Four new zinc (II) complexes [Zn (HL¹H)Br₂] (1), [Zn (HL¹H)Cl₂] (2), [Zn₂(HL²)Br₃] (3), and [Zn (HL²)Cl] (4) have been synthesized by adopting template synthetic strategy and utilizing two homologous Schiff base ligands (H₂L¹ = 4-bromo-2-{[2-(2-hydroxyethylamino)-ethylimino]-methyl}-6-methoxyphenol, H₂L² = 4-bromo-2-{[3-(2-hydroxyethylamino)propylimino]methyl}-6-methoxyphenol), differing in one -CH₂- unit in the ligating backbone, by adopting template synthetic strategy. All the complexes have been characterized by single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis as well as by other routine physicochemical techniques. Ligand mediated structural variations have been observed and rationalized by density functional theoretical (DFT) calculations. Interaction of the complexes 1–4 with Bovine Serum Albumin protein (BSA) has been studied by different spectroscopic techniques. A complete thermodynamic profile (ΔH^o, ΔS^o and ΔG^o) was evaluated initially from the change in absorption and fluorescence spectra upon addition of BSA to the complexes. Appreciable binding constant values in the range ~ 0.94–4.51 × 10⁴ M⁻¹ indicate efficient binding tendency of the complexes to BSA with the sequence 1 ≅ 2 > 3 ≅ 4. Circular dichroism (CD), isothermal calorimetric titration experiments, molecular docking and molecular dynamics have been performed to gain deep insight into the binding regions of complex 1 to BSA. Experimental evidences suggest an interaction of zinc complexes at the surface of BSA protein and this particular binding has been exploited to determine unknown concentration of BSA protein. For this purpose complex 1 was explored as a BSA protein quantification tool.     

Determination of Polysaccharide Hydrolyzates in Chinese Herbal Medicine by UltraHigh-Performance Liquid Chromatography-Quadrupole Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry and Evaporative Light Scattering Detection

Ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography coupled with evaporative light scattering detector was used to optimize acid hydrolysis conditions of polysaccharides from Dendrobium candidum. The optimized conditions were the concentration of H₂SO₄, 0.4?M, hydrolysis temperature, 90°C, and hydrolysis time, 1?h. Ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry was used to obtain the total ion current chromatograms and determine the hydrolyzates of polysaccharides, such as monosaccharides, oligosaccharides, and some low-molecular weight polysaccharides from D. candidum, Cordyceps sinensis, and Ganoderma atrum. The accurate mass data were analyzed by chemometric tools, including an unsupervised analytical method, principal component analysis (one-way ANOVA, p?D. candidum polysaccharides from different locations and grades can be discriminated effectively by the principal component analysis scores. The quality predictive models showed a high value with a low prediction error calculated from both validation and training sets.     

Precision removal of ITO layer using plate-form tool design

An ITO layer is produced using semiconductor techniques, although the defect rate during production is easily seen. Current work presents a new modus of electrochemical machining using a ‘design recycle’ system offering faster performance in removing the color filter surface’s ITO layer. Higher electrical current is not required when an effective feeding electrode is used to reduce the response area. Through establishing an ultra-precise recycling process to remove the thin film microstructure, this helps the semiconductor optoelectronic industry to reduce both production costs and pollution. The design features of the removal processes for a thin film and the tool design of plate-form electrode are of major interest. In the current experiment, the author utilizes a 5th Generation TFT-LCD. The design of tool electrodes is used with continuous and pulsed direct current in the electrochemical machining experiment. High rotational speed of the tool electrodes and high flow velocity of the electrolyte elevates the discharge mobility and improves the removal effect. Pulsed direct current can improve the effect of dregs discharge and is advantageous to associate with the fast feed rate of the workpiece. A color filter with a fast feed rate is combined with enough electric power to provide highly effective removal. A smaller end radius and a thin plate-form positive-electrode provide a larger discharge space and better removal effect. A precision recycling process is presented using an effective plate-form positive-electrode in electrochemical machining. It only needs a short period of time to remove the ITO layer easily and cleanly.     

BS-RNA: An efficient mapping and annotation tool for RNA bisulfite sequencing data

Cytosine methylation is one of the most important RNA epigenetic modifications. With the development of experimental technology, scientists attach more importance to RNA cytosine methylation and find bisulfite sequencing is an effective experimental method for RNA cytosine methylation study. However, there are only a few tools can directly deal with RNA bisulfite sequencing data efficiently. Herein, we developed a specialized tool BS-RNA, which can analyze cytosine methylation of RNA based on bisulfite sequencing data and support both paired-end and single-end sequencing reads from directional bisulfite libraries. For paired-end reads, simply removing the biased positions from the 5′ end may result in “dovetailing” reads, where one or both reads seem to extend past the start of the mate read. BS-RNA could map “dovetailing” reads successfully. The annotation result of BS-RNA is exported in BED (.bed) format, including locations, sequence context types (CG/CHG/CHH, H = A, T, or C), reference sequencing depths, cytosine sequencing depths, and methylation levels of covered cytosine sites on both Watson and Crick strands. BS-RNA is an efficient, specialized and highly automated mapping and annotation tool for RNA bisulfite sequencing data. It performs better than the existing program in terms of accuracy and efficiency. BS-RNA is developed by Perl language and the source code of this tool is freely available from the website: http://bs-rna.big.ac.cn.