Real-time on-orbit image quality improvement for a wide-field imaging system with detector arrays.

Wide-field imaging systems are faced with the problem of massive image information processing and transmission. Due to the limitation of data bandwidth and other factors, it is difficult for the current technology to process and transmit massive images in real-time. With the requirement for fast response, the demand for real-time on-orbit image processing is increasing. In practice, nonuniformity correction is an important preprocessing step to improve the quality of surveillance images. This paper presents a new real-time on-orbit nonuniform background correction method, which only uses the local pixels of a single row output in real-time, breaking the dependence of the traditional algorithm on the whole image information. Combined with the FPGA pipeline design, when the local pixels of a single row are read out, the processing is completed, and no cache is required at all, which saves the resource overhead in hardware design. It achieves microsecond-level ultra-low latency. The experimental results show that under the influence of strong stray light and strong dark current, our real-time algorithm has a better image quality improvement effect compared with the traditional algorithm. It will greatly help the on-orbit real-time moving target recognition and tracking.

Self-supporting Atmosphere-Assisted Synthesis of 1D Mo2 C-based Catalyst for Efficient Hydrogen Evolution.

One-dimensional materials exhibit fascinating properties in electrocatalytic applications but their fabrication faces the challenge of tedious and complicated operations. We have developed a bottom-up strategy to construct a 1D metal carbide catalyst (Mo2 C@NC) consisting of ultrafine Mo2 C nanoparticles embedded within nitrogen-doped carbon layers by simply calcining a mixture of ammonium molybdate, urea and melamine. Experimental results and thermodynamic calculations demonstrate that the retainable pyrolysis-generated self-supporting atmosphere plays a crucial role in the crystalline phase and morphology of materials. When functioned as an electrocatalyst for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), the achieved Mo2 C@NC presents an excellent catalytic activity as well as outstanding stability. This work could shed fresh light onto the facile synthesis of effective HER catalysts with 1D nanostructure.

Ternary Ag2Se1-xTex: A Near-Room-Temperature Thermoelectric Material with a Potentially High Figure of Merit.

Discovering high-performance near-room-temperature thermoelectric materials is extremely imperative to widen the practical application in thermoelectric power generation and refrigeration. Here, ternary Ag2Se1-xTex (x = 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, and 0.5) materials are prepared via the wet-mechanical alloying and spark plasma sintering process to investigate their near-room-temperature thermoelectric properties. From density functional theory calculation and single-parabolic-band modeling study, we found that the reduced contribution of Se 4p orbitals to the total density of states decreases the carrier effective mass with increasing Te content, which should enhance the theoretically maximum zT. These calculation results are also verified by the experimental results. Meanwhile, complex microstructures including dislocations, nanograins, high-density boundaries, TeSe substitution, lattice distortions, and localized strain have been observed in ternary Ag2Se1-xTex. These complex microstructures strengthen phonon scattering and in turn lead to ultralow lattice thermal conductivity in the range of 0.21-0.31 W m-1 K-1 in ternary Ag2Se1-xTex at 300 K. Although the increased deformation potential suppresses the carrier mobility, benefiting from the engineered band structures and ultralow lattice thermal conductivity, a high zT of >1 can be potentially obtained in the ternary Ag2Se1-xTex with appropriate carrier concentration. This study indicates that ternary Ag2Se1-xTex is a promising candidate for near-room-temperature thermoelectric applications.

Estimation on conditional restricted mean survival time with counting process.

In a comparative longitudinal clinical study, multiple clinical events of interest are typically collected in timing and occurrence during the follow-up period. These clinical events are often indicative of disease burden over the study period and provide overall evidence of benefit/risk of one treatment relative to another. While these clinical events are usually used to form a composite endpoint, only the first occurrence of the composite endpoint event is considered in primary efficacy analysis. This type of analysis is commonly performed but it may not be ideal. Most of the existing methods for analyzing multiple event-time data were developed, relying on certain model assumptions. However, the assumptions may greatly affect the inferences for treatment effect. In this paper, we propose a simple, non-parametric estimator of conditional mean survival time for multiple events to quantify treatment effect which has clinically meaningful interpretation. We use simulation studies to evaluate the performance of the new method. Further, we apply this method to analyze the data from a cardiovascular clinical trial as an illustration.

Similar weight loss and maintenance in African American and White women in the Improving Weight Loss (ImWeL) trial.

Objective: African Americans (AA) are often underrepresented and tend to lose less weight than White participants during the intensive phase of behavioral obesity treatment. Some evidence suggests that AA women experience better maintenance of lost weight than White women, however, additional research on the efficacy of extended care programs (i.e. continued contacts to support the maintenance of lost weight) is necessary to better understand these differences.Methods: The influence of race on initial weight loss, the likelihood of achieving ≥5% weight reduction (i.e. extended care eligibility), the maintenance of lost weight and extended care program efficacy was examined in 269 AA and White women (62.1% AA) participating in a 16-month group-based weight management program. Participants achieving ≥5% weight reduction during the intensive phase (16 weekly sessions) were randomized to a clustered campaign extended care program (12 sessions delivered in three, 4-week clusters) or self-directed control.Results: In adjusted models, race was not associated with initial weight loss (p = 0.22) or the likelihood of achieving extended care eligibility (odds ratio 0.64, 95% CI [0.29, 1.38]). AA and White women lost -7.13 ± 0.39 kg and -7.62 ± 0.43 kg, respectively, during initial treatment. There were no significant differences in weight regain between AA and White women (p = 0.64) after adjusting for covariates. Clustered campaign program participants (AA: -6.74 ± 0.99 kg, White: -6.89 ± 1.10 kg) regained less weight than control (AA: -5.15 ± 0.99 kg, White: -4.37 ± 1.04 kg), equating to a 2.12 kg (p = 0.03) between-group difference after covariate adjustments.Conclusions: Weight changes and extended care eligibility were comparable among all participants. The clustered campaign program was efficacious for AA and White women. The high representation and retention of AA participants may have contributed to these findings.

Estimation on conditional restricted mean survival time with counting process.

In traditional survival analyses, hazard ratio (HR) is commonly used to evaluate treatment effects. However, HR may not be easy to interpret. Restricted mean survival time is a viable alternative to HR, particularly when the proportional hazards assumption is not satisfied. We developed a conditional restricted mean survival time (CRMST) estimator for a time interval of interest using counting process. The variance of CRMST was estimated using a perturbation re-sampling method for asymptotic normality. The utility of our CRMST seems promising based on comprehensive simulation studies and a real data case study.

Comparison of an alternative schedule of extended care contacts to a self-directed control: a randomized trial of weight loss maintenance.

BACKGROUND: Behavioral interventions for obesity produce clinically meaningful weight loss, but weight regain following treatment is common. Extended care programs attenuate weight regain and improve weight loss maintenance. However, less is known about the most effective ways to deliver extended care, including contact schedules. METHODS: We compared the 12-month weight regain of an extended care program utilizing a non-conventional, clustered campaign treatment schedule and a self-directed program among individuals who previously achieved ≥5% weight reductions. Participants (N = 108; mean age = 51.6 years; mean weight = 92.6 kg; 52% African American; 95% female) who achieved ≥5% weight loss during an initial 16-week behavioral obesity treatment were randomized into a 2-arm, 12-month extended care trial. A clustered campaign condition included 12 group-based visits delivered in three, 4-week clusters. A self-directed condition included provision of the same printed intervention materials but no additional treatment visits. The study was conducted in a U.S. academic medical center from 2011 to 2015. RESULTS: Prior to randomization, participants lost an average of -7.55 ± 3.04 kg. Participants randomized to the 12-month clustered campaign program regained significantly less weight (0.35 ± 4.62 kg) than self-directed participants (2.40 ± 3.99 kg), which represented a significant between-group difference of 2.28 kg (p = 0.0154) after covariate adjustments. This corresponded to maintaining 87% and 64% of lost weight in the clustered campaign and self-directed conditions, respectively, which was a significant between-group difference of 29% maintenance of lost weight after covariate adjustments, p = 0.0396. CONCLUSIONS: In this initial test of a clustered campaign treatment schedule, this novel approach effectively promoted 12-month maintenance of lost weight. Future trials should directly compare the clustered campaigns with conventional (e.g., monthly) extended care schedules. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinicaltrials.gov NCT02487121 . Registered 06/26/2015 (retrospectively registered).

Statistical power considerations in the use of win ratio in cardiovascular outcome trials.

BACKGROUND: In cardiovascular outcome trials, the win ratio (WR) method models the composite endpoint under a hierarchical structure to account for clinical priorities. It also can be applied to both survival and nonsurvival outcomes. METHODS: In this article, we assess the performance of the WR method via extensive simulation studies and real data analyses and discuss power considerations of the method with respect to hierarchical order, variable type, magnitude of treatment effect, and event rates when applied to clinical studies. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: In the hierarchy of the WR method, the first-ordered component (e.g., death) plays a dominant role in statistical power, especially when that component has a large treatment effect and a high event rate. This is in contrast with the score test of the Cox proportional hazards model in which the power is more likely affected by the nonfatal events that are usually observed earlier. Furthermore, when adding an additional component to the composite endpoint, the performance of the WR method varies depending on the treatment effect, event rate, and hierarchical position of the component. If the additional component has a relatively smaller or no treatment effect, the statistical power will decrease; if the additional component has a relatively larger treatment effect and higher event rate, the statistical power will increase. When adding a nonsurvival continuous outcome (e.g., 6-min walk distance) with even a tiny treatment effect, the statistical power could dramatically increase.

Defect-Modified nano-BaTiO3 as a Sonosensitizer for Rapid and High-Efficiency Sonodynamic Sterilization.

Multidrug-resistant bacteria caused by the unlimited overuse of antibiotics pose a great challenge to global health. An antibacterial method based on reactive oxygen species (ROS) is one of the effective strategies without inducing bacterial resistance. Owing to the ability of generating ROS, piezocatalytic material-mediated sonodynamic therapy (SDT) has drawn much attention. However, its major challenge is the low ROS generation efficiency in the piezocatalytic process due to the poor charge carrier concentration of piezoelectric materials. Vacancy engineering can regulate the charge density and largely promote ROS generation under ultrasound (US) irradiation. Herein, a US-responsive self-doped barium titanate with controlled oxygen vacancy (Vo) concentrations was successfully synthesized through a facile thermal reduction treatment at different temperatures (i.e., 350, 400, and 450 °C), and the corresponding samples were named as BTO-350, BTO-400, and BTO-450, respectively. Then, the effect of Vo concentrations on ROS generation efficiency during the piezocatalytic process was systematically studied. And BTO-400 was found to possess the highest piezocatalytic activity and excellent sonodynamic antibacterial performance against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. Furthermore, its antibacterial mechanism was confirmed that the ROS generated under US could damage bacterial cell membrane and cause considerable leakage of cytoplasmic components and irreversible death of bacteria. Notably, the in vivo results illustrated that the BTO-400 could serve as an effective antibacterial agent and accelerate skin healing via SDT therapy. In all, the Vo defect-modified nano-BaTiO3 has a noticeable potential to induce a rapid and efficient sterilization as well as skin tissue repair by SDT.

[Effect of bivalent alkaline earth fluorides introduction on thermal stability and spectroscopic properties of Er3+/Tm3+ /Yb3+ co-doped oxyfluorogermanate glasses].

Transparent Er3+/Tm3+ /Yb3+ co-doped oxyfluorogermanate glasses alone containing MgF2, CaF2, SrF2 or BaF2 and nano-glass-ceramics only containing BaF2 were prepared. The thermal stabilities and the up-conversion emission properties of the samples were investigated. Analyses of absorbance spectra reveal that the UV cutoff band moves slightly to shortwave band with the doping bivalent cation mass increasing. The results show that the emission color can be adjusted by changing the alkaline earth cation species in the glass matrixes, especially as Mg2+ is concerned, and the emission intensity can increase notably by heating the glass containing alkaline-earth fluoride into glass ceramic containing alkaline-earth fluoride nanocrystals or increasing the content of bivalent alkaline earth fluorides.

[Preparation of alpha-tricalcium phosphate/HA whisker/carboxymethyl chitosan-gelatin composite porous bone cement].

In order to investigate the effects of HA whisker and carboxymethyl chitosan-gelatin(CMC-Gel) on the mechanical properties of porous calcium phosphate cement, a series of alpha-tricalcium phosphate (alpha-TCP), HA whisker and L-sodium glutamate porogen with different mass fractions were mixed, and setting liquid was added to them to prepare alpha-TCP/HA whisker composite porous bone cement. Then, the cement was immersed in a series of CMC-Gel solutions which had different weight ratios of CMC to Gel to prepare alpha-TCP/HA whisker/CMC-Gel composite porous bone cement. The compressive strengths and microstructure of cement were characterized by mechanical testing machine and SEM. The results showed that when the mass fraction of HA whisker is 4%, the compressive strength of alpha-TCP/HA whisker composite porous bone cement reaches 2.57MPa, which is 1.81 times that of alpha-TCP bone cement. When the weight ratio of CMC to Gel is 50:50, the compressive strength of alpha-TCP/HA whisker/CMC-Gel composite porous bone cement is 3. 34MPa, which is 2.35 times that of alpha-TCP bone cement, and the toughness of the composite cement is greatly improved as well.

Magnetic bioactive glass ceramic in the system CaO-P2O5-SiO2-MgO-CaF2-MnO2-Fe2O3 for hyperthermia treatment of bone tumor.

Magnetic bioactive glass ceramic (MG) in the system CaO-SiO(2)-P(2)O(5)-MgO-CaF(2)-MnO(2)-Fe(2)O(3) for hyperthermia treatment of bone tumor was synthesized. The phase composition was investigated by XRD. The magnetic property was measured by VSM. The in vitro bioactivity was investigated by simulated body fluid (SBF) soaking experiment. Cell growth on the surface of the material was evaluated by co-culturing osteoblast-like ROS17/2.8 cells with materials for 7 days. The results showed that MG contained CaSiO(3) and Ca(5)(PO(4))(3)F as the main phases, and MnFe(2)O(4) and Fe(3)O(4) as the magnetic phases. Under a magnetic field of 10,000 Oe, the saturation magnetization and coercive force of MG were 6.4 emu/g and 198 Oe, respectively. After soaking in SBF for 14 days, hydroxyapatite containing CO(3)(2-) was observed on the surface of MG. The experiment of co-culturing cells with material showed that cells could successfully attach and well proliferate on MG.

Enhanced Thermoelectric Performance of SnTe-Based Materials via Interface Engineering.

Interface engineering has been regarded as an effective strategy to improve thermoelectric (TE) performance by modulating electrical transport and enhancing phonon scattering. Herein, we develop a new interface engineering strategy in SnTe-based TE materials. We first use a one-step solvothermal method to synthesize SnTe powders decorated by Sb2Te3 nanoplates. After subsequent spark plasma sintering, we found that an ion-exchange reaction between the Sb2Te3 and SnTe matrixes happens to result in Sb doping and the formation of SnSb nanoparticles and the recrystallization of the nanograined SnTe at the grain boundaries of the SnTe matrix. Benefitting from this unique engineering, a significantly reduced lattice thermal conductivity of ∼0.64 W m-1 K-1 and a high zT of ∼1.08 (∼100% enhanced) at 873 K are achieved in SnTe-Sb0.06. Such improved TE properties are attributed to the optimized carrier concentration and valence band convergence due to the Sb doping and enhanced phonon scattering by interface engineering at the grain boundaries. This work has demonstrated a facile and effective method to realize high-TE-performance SnTe via interface engineering.

Nanostructured monoclinic Cu2Se as a near-room-temperature thermoelectric material.

Searching for new-type, eco-friendly, and Earth-abundant thermoelectric materials, which can be used as an alternative to the high-cost bismuth telluride, is important for near-room-temperature applications. In this work, nanostructured monoclinic Cu2Se with a low carrier concentration has been synthesized by a wet mechanical alloying process combined with spark plasma sintering. Such a low carrier concentration, which originates from the effectively suppressed Cu deficiencies during the fabrication process, induces a relatively low electrical conductivity and carrier thermal conductivity. Besides, the nanostructured grains combined with point defects and phonon resonance enhance the phonon scattering to induce a low lattice thermal conductivity without sacrificing the electrical transport properties. As a result, our nanostructured monoclinic Cu2Se obtains a figure of merit of 0.72 at 380 K with good thermal stability. This work indicates that nanostructured monoclinic Cu2Se is a promising near-room-temperature thermoelectric material.

Hierarchical Structures Advance Thermoelectric Properties of Porous n-type ß-Ag2Se.

Owing to the intrinsically good near-room-temperature thermoelectric performance, ß-Ag2Se has been considered as a promising alternative to n-type Bi2Te3 thermoelectric materials. Herein, we develop an energy- and time-efficient wet mechanical alloying and spark plasma sintering method to prepare porous ß-Ag2Se with hierarchical structures including high-density pores, a metastable phase, nanosized grains, semi-coherent grain boundaries, high-density dislocations, and localized strains, leading to an ultralow lattice thermal conductivity of ∼0.35 W m-1 K-1 at 300 K. A relatively high carrier mobility is obtained by adjusting the sintering temperature to obtain pores with an average size of ∼260 nm, therefore resulting in a figure of merit, zT, of ∼0.7 at 300 K and ∼0.9 at 390 K. The single parabolic band model predicts that zT of such porous ß-Ag2Se can reach ∼1.1 at 300 K if the carrier concentration can be tuned to ∼1 × 1018 cm-3, suggesting that ß-Ag2Se can be a competitive candidate for room-temperature thermoelectric applications.

[A novel europium doped apatite/wollastonite porous magnetic bioactive glass ceramic].

A new biocompatible apatite-wollastonite magnetic glass ceramic has been synthesized via sol-gel process. Characteristics of the materials were determined with differential thermal analysis (DTA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scan electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectrum (EDS), inductively couple plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES), vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) and so on. Results showed that the main crystalline phases of the material were hydroxyapatite/fluoroapatite [Ca10(PO4)6(OH, F)), beta-wollastonite[beta-CaSiO3] and calcium europium oxide silicate Ca2Eu8[(SiO4)6O2]. The magnetization of the sample contanining 2% Eu2O3 in weight reached 2.18 emu/g for an applied field of 10 000Oe. Hydroxyapatite layer could form on the surface of the sample while soaking for 14 days in simulated body fluid. Good bioactivity was demonstrated. So it is a potential bone repairing material as well as a hyperthemia treatment material for pateints with cancer.

[A study on alpha-tricalcium phosphate bone cement carbon fiber-reinforced].

In order to improve the mechanical properties of alpha-tricalcium phosphate (alpha-TCP), we prepared surface-modified carbon fibers (CF) reinforced alpha-TCP composite bone cement. Bone cement was soaked in Ringer's body solution to test its capacity of fast formation of hydroxyapatite crystals and self-solidification. Scan electronic microscope (SEM) observation and compressive strength measurement were taken to analyze the mechanical properties and the micro- morphological structure of CF reinforced alpha-TCP bone cement. The results showed that the bone cement was transferred into hydroxyapatite plates after being soaked in Ringer's simulated body fluid for 5 days. Suitable amount of carbon fibers could well spread in and bond with the matrix of the bone cement. The mechanical properties of the bone cement have been improved by CF reinforcing; the compressive strength reaches 46.7 MPa when the amount of carbon fibers is 0.5% in weight percent, which is 22% higher than that of the non-reinforced alpha-TCP bone cement.

[Growth and osteogenesis characteristics of cultured canine mesenchymal stem cells under osteogenic induction].

To investigate the growth and osteogenesis characteristics of cultured canine mesenchymal stem cells (cMSCs) under osteogenic induction. We found the cMSCs were isolated from adult canine using density gradient separation method. The cMSCs attachment formed soon after seeding and grew into colonies with the appearance of fibroblastic cells. The osteogenic induction compound of Dexamethasone (Dex), beta-sodium glycerphosphate (beta-GP), ascorbic acid (AA) was added to passaged cMSCs and the proliferation and osteogenic differentiation of them was studied. The morphology of cells was observed by light micrograph and transmission electron microscope. The proliferation and growth characteristics of cMSCs were observed during primary and passage cultures through MTT. The differentiation were assayed by alkaline phophatase (ALP) and osteocalcin (OCN). We found the cMSCs have an active proliferative ability in primary and passage culture, and cMSCs under osteogenic induction have the typical characteristic of a secretory cell; the osteogenic induction compound may induce cMSCs to differentiate to osteoblasts. There are higher expression of ALP and OCN in passage 3 cMSCs under osteogenic induction than that of the osteoblasts osteogenic induction condition. Our research suggest the cMSCs in our culture system are mainly undifferentiated osteoprogenitors and can differentiate to osteoblast under osteogenic induction.

Ectopic osteoinduction and early degradation of recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein-2-loaded porous beta-tricalcium phosphate in mice.

The present study investigated the ectopic osteoinduction and early degradation of recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein-2 (rhBMP-2)-loaded porous beta-tricalcium phosphate (beta-TCP) in mice. The porous beta-TCP with 50 microg of rhBMP-2 (n = 25) and porous beta-TCP (control group, n = 25) were implanted into muscle pouches in the right and left thigh of 28-day-old mice (n = 25), respectively. At every time point (3, 7, 14, 21 and 28 days after implantation), five mice were euthanized and the histological examinations of implantation sites were performed. In addition, the alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity was also quantitatively analyzed. For the rhBMP-2-loaded group, blood vessel formation and immature cartilage was observed within the porous beta-TCP 3 days after implantation. Mature cartilage was observed 7 days after implantation of rhBMP-2-loaded porous beta-TCP. Newly formed woven bone, lamellar bone as well as marrow were observed 14 and 21 days after implantation of the rhBMP-2-loaded porous beta-TCP. Lamellar bone and marrow were observed 28 days after implantation of the rhBMP-2-loaded porous beta-TCP. For the control group, no bone or cartilage was observed at all time points. However, multinucleated giant cells and fibrous tissues were observed in the control group at 7 and 28 days after implantation, respectively. At 21 and 28 days after implantation, porous beta-TCP was observed to fragment indicating early degradation of the porous beta-TCP in both groups. In addition, ALP was observed to be significantly higher in the rhBMP-2-loaded beta-TCP as compared to the control beta-TCP. It was concluded from this study that the rhBMP-2-loaded porous beta-TCP induced blood vessel and ectopic bone formation.

[Component distribution in gradient biomaterial prepared with multi grades energy PIII].

During the preparation of functional gradient materials (FGM) with plasma immersion ion implantation-ion beam enhanced deposition (PIII-IBED), the combination strength between the coating and the substrate would be greatly affected by the implantation dose and the distribution of implanted ions in substrate. According to the requirements of FGM, an idea of multi grades energy implantation had been suggested, with which the Gauss peak could be moved toward the surface, and the concentration of implanted ions could be maximized at the surface. In this study, the distribution of carbon ions implanted into titanic alloy substrate have been simulated theoretically, and the tentative idea have been confirmed experimentally.