Hybrid Machine Learning-Enabled Potential Energy Model for Atomistic Simulation of Lithium Intercalation into Graphite from Plating to Overlithiation.

Graphite is one of the most widely used negative electrode materials for lithium ion batteries (LIBs). However, because of the rapid growth of demands pursuing higher energy density and charging rates, comprehensive insights into the lithium intercalation and plating processes are critical for further boosting the potential of graphite electrodes. Herein, by utilizing the dihedral-angle-corrected registry-dependent potential (DRIP) (Wen et al., Phys. Rev. B 2018, 98, 235404), the Ziegler-Biersack-Littmark (ZBL) potential (Ziegler and Biersack, Astrophysics, Chemistry, and Condensed Matter; 1985, pp 93-129), and the machine learning-based spectral neighbor analysis (SNAP) potential (Thompson et al., J. Comput, Phys. 2015, 285, 316-330), we have successfully trained a hybrid machine learning-enabled potential energy model capable of simulating a wide spectrum of lithium intercalation scenario from plating to overlithiation. Our extensive atomistic simulations reveal the trapping of intercalated lithium atoms close to the graphite edges due to high hopping barriers, resulting in lithium plating. Furthermore, we report a stable dense graphite intercalation compound (GIC) LiC4 with a theoretical capacity of 558 mAh/g, wherein lithium atoms occupy alternating upper/lower graphene hollow sites with a nearest Li-Li distance of 2.8 Å. Surprisingly, following the same lithium insertion manner would allow the nearest Li-Li distance to be retained until the capacity reaches 845.2 mAh/g, corresponding to a GIC of LiC2.6. Hence, the present study demonstrates that the hybrid machine learning approach could further extend the scope of machine learning energy models, allowing us to investigate the lithium intercalation into graphite over a wide range of intercalation capacity to unveil the underlying mechanisms of lithium plating, diffusion, and discovery of new dense GICs for advanced LIBs with high charging rates and high energy densities.

Interactive Somatosensory Games in Rehabilitation Training for Older Adults With Mild Cognitive Impairment: Usability Study.

BACKGROUND: In aging societies, dementia risk increases with advancing age, increasing the incidence of dementia-related degenerative diseases and other complications, especially fall risk. Dementia also escalates the care burden, impacting patients, their families, social welfare institutions, and the social structure and medical system. OBJECTIVE: In elderly dementia, traditional card recognition rehabilitation (TCRR) does not effectively increase one's autonomy. Therefore, from the usability perspective, we used the Tetris game as a reference to develop an interactive somatosensory game rehabilitation (ISGR) with nostalgic style for elders with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Through intuitive gesture-controlled interactive games, we evaluated subjective feelings concerning somatosensory game integration into rehabilitation to explore whether the ISGR could improve the willingness to use and motivation for rehabilitation among elders with MCI. METHODS: A total of 15 elders with MCI (7 males and 8 females with an average age of 78.4 years) underwent 2 experiments for 15 minutes. During experiment 1, TCRR was performed, followed by completing the questionnaire of the System Usability Scale (SUS). After 3-5 minutes, the second experiment (the ISGR) was conducted, followed by completing another SUS. We used SUS to explore differences in impacts of TCRR and ISGR on willingness to use among elders with MCI. In addition, we further investigated whether the factor of gender or prior rehabilitation experience would affect the rehabilitation willingness or not. RESULTS: The novel ISGR made the elderly feel interested and improved their willingness for continuous rehabilitation. According to the overall SUS score, the ISGR had better overall usability performance (73.7) than the TCRR (58.0) (t28=-4.62, P<.001). Furthermore, the ISGR individual item scores of "Willingness to Use" (t28=-8.27, P<.001), "Easy to Use" (t28=-3.17, P<.001), "System Integration" (t28=-5.07, P<.001), and "Easy to Learn" (t28=-2.81, P<.001) were better than TCRR. The somatosensory game was easier to learn and master for females than for males (t13=2.71, P=.02). Besides, the ISGR was easier to use (t12=-2.50, P=.02) and learn (t14=-3.33, P<.001) for those without prior rehabilitation experience. The result indicates that for elders with no rehabilitation experience ISGR was easier to use and simpler to learn than TCRR. CONCLUSIONS: Regardless of prior rehabilitation experience, the ISGR developed in this study was easy to learn and effective in continuously improving willingness to use. Furthermore, the adoption of a nostalgic game design style served the function of cognitive training and escalated interest in rehabilitation. The ISGR also improved user stickiness by introducing different game scenarios and difficulties, increasing long-term interest and motivation for rehabilitation. For future research on the adoption of interactive somatosensory games in rehabilitation, additional rehabilitation movements can be developed to benefit the elderly with MCI.

Integrin molecular tension required for focal adhesion maturation and YAP nuclear translocation.

Focal adhesions (FAs) provide the cells linkages to extracellular matrix (ECM) at sites of integrins binding and transmit mechanical forces between the ECM and the actin cytoskeleton. Cells sense and respond to physical stimuli from their surrounding environment through the activation of mechanosensitive signaling pathways, a process called mechanotransduction. In this study, we used RGD-peptide conjugated DNA tension gauge tethers (TGTs) with different tension tolerance (Ttol) to determine the molecular forces required for FA maturation in different sizes and YAP nuclear translocation. We found that the limitation of FA sizes in cells seeded on TGTs with different Ttol were less than 1 µm, 2 µm, 3 µm, and 6 µm for Ttol values of 43 pN, 50 pN, 54 pN, and 56 pN, respectively. This suggests that the molecular tension across integrins increases gradually as FA size increases throughout FA maturation. For YAP nuclear translocation, significant YAP nuclear localization was observed only in the cells seeded on the TGTs with Ttol ≥ 54 pN, but not on TGTs with Ttol ≤ 50 pN, suggesting a threshold of molecular force across integrins for YAP nuclear translocation lies in the range of 50 pN-54 pN.

Microstructure Maps of Complex Perovskite Materials from Extensive Monte Carlo Sampling Using Machine Learning Enabled Energy Model.

Revealing the process-structure-property (PSP) relationships of chemically complex mixed-ion perovskite requires comprehensive insights into correlations between microstructures and chemical compositions. However, experimentally determining the microstructural information about complex perovskites over the composition space is a challenging task. In this study, a machine learning enabled energy model was trained for MAyFA1-yPb(BrxI1-x)3 mixed-ion perovskite for fast and extensive sampling over the compositional/permutational spaces to map the ion-mixing energies, chemical ordering, and atomic strains. Correlation analysis indicated the strong lattice distortion in the high-MA/Br concentration regime is the primary reason for poor device performance-strong lattice distortion induces high mixing energy, resulting in phase segregation and defect formation. Hence, mitigating lattice distortion to retain the single-phase solid solution is one necessary condition of the optimal composition of mixed-ion perovskites. The present study therefore provides insights into the microstructures as well as the guidelines for determining the optimal composition of mixed-ion perovskite materials.

Blood Plasma Separation Using a Fidget-Spinner.

In this study, we present a simple, hand-powered, and electricity-free centrifuge platform based on a commercially available "fidget-spinner." The centrifugal force provided by this inexpensive and easy-to-use toy is sufficient to separate whole blood, producing a plasma yield rate and purity of 30% and 99%, respectively, separated in as little as 4-7 min. We verified the separated plasma by performing a paper-based HIV-1 p24 capsid protein enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, which achieved a recovery rate of up to 98%, indicating the plasma features extremely low matrix interference effects. These results demonstrate the reliability of the platform for practical use, in addition to greatly reducing the overall cost and time of analysis while retaining detection precision, making it suitable for medical applications in resource-limited regions of the world.

Instantaneous frequency as a new approach for evaluating the clinical severity of Duchenne muscular dystrophy through ultrasound imaging.

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) results in loss of ambulation for the patients. Ultrasound attenuation correlates with fat content in muscles, resulting in changes in signal frequency. The Hilbert-Huang transform (HHT) allows time-frequency analysis with high time-frequency resolution. This study explored the feasibility of using the instantaneous frequency (IF) obtained from the HHT to diagnose the walking function of patients with DMD. Eighty-five participants (12 control and 73 patients with DMD) underwent a standard-care ultrasound examination of the gastrocnemius to acquire raw image data for ultrasound B-mode and IF calculations, which were compared with the DMD stage using Pearson correlation and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses. With increasing DMD stage, the median IF decreased from 7.25 to 7.01 MHz (the correlation coefficient r = -0.73; the probability value p < 0.0001). The area under the ROC curve was 0.97 when using ultrasound IF to discriminate between ambulatory and nonambulatory patients (accuracy: 91.76%; sensitivity: 93.75%; and specificity: 90.57%). The study reveals that ultrasound IF has great potential in DMD evaluation and management.

Modified Separator Performing Dual Physical/Chemical Roles to Inhibit Polysulfide Shuttle Resulting in Ultrastable Li-S Batteries.

In this paper we describe a modified (AEG/CH) coated separator for Li-S batteries in which the shuttling phenomenon of the lithium polysulfides is restrained through two types of interactions: activated expanded graphite (AEG) flakes interacted physically with the lithium polysulfides, while chitosan (CH), used to bind the AEG flakes on the separator, interacted chemically through its abundance of amino and hydroxyl functional groups. Moreover, the AEG flakes facilitated ionic and electronic transfer during the redox reaction. Live H-cell discharging experiments revealed that the modified separator was effective at curbing polysulfide shuttling; moreover, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis of the cycled separator confirmed the presence of lithium polysulfides in the AEG/CH matrix. Using this dual functional interaction approach, the lifetime of the pure sulfur-based cathode was extended to 3000 cycles at 1C-rate (1C = 1670 mA/g), decreasing the decay rate to 0.021% per cycle, a value that is among the best reported to date. A flexible battery based on this modified separator exhibited stable performance and could turn on multiple light-emitting diodes. Such modified membranes with good mechanical strength, high electronic conductivity, and anti-self-discharging shield appear to be a scalable solution for future high-energy battery systems.

Adaptive ultrasound temperature imaging for monitoring radiofrequency ablation.

Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) has been widely used as an alternative treatment modality for liver tumors. Monitoring the temperature distribution in the tissue during RFA is required to assess the thermal dosage. Ultrasound temperature imaging based on the detection of echo time shifts has received the most attention in the past decade. The coefficient k, connecting the temperature change and the echo time shift, is a medium-dependent parameter used to describe the confounding effects of changes in the speed of sound and thermal expansion as temperature increases. The current algorithm of temperature estimate based on echo time shift detection typically uses a constant k, resulting in estimation errors when ablation temperatures are higher than 50°C. This study proposes an adaptive-k algorithm that enables the automatic adjustment of the coefficient k during ultrasound temperature monitoring of RFA. To verify the proposed algorithm, RFA experiments on in vitro porcine liver samples (total n = 15) were performed using ablation powers of 10, 15, and 20 W. During RFA, a clinical ultrasound system equipped with a 7.5-MHz linear transducer was used to collect backscattered signals for ultrasound temperature imaging using the constant- and adaptive-k algorithms. Concurrently, an infrared imaging system and thermocouples were used to measure surface temperature distribution of the sample and internal ablation temperatures for comparisons with ultrasound estimates. Experimental results demonstrated that the proposed adaptive-k method improved the performance in visualizing the temperature distribution. In particular, the estimation errors were also reduced even when the temperature of the tissue is higher than 50°C. The proposed adaptive-k ultrasound temperature imaging strategy has potential to serve as a thermal dosage evaluation tool for monitoring high-temperature RFA.

Anisotropic thermal transport in phosphorene: effects of crystal orientation.

As an intrinsic thermally anisotropic material, the thermal properties of phosphorene must vary with respect to the crystal chirality. Nevertheless, previous studies of heat transfer in phosphorene have been limited to the 0.0° (zigzag, ZZ) and 90.0° (armchair, AC) chiralities. In this study, we investigate the orientation-dependent thermal transport in phosphorene sheets with a complete set of crystal chirality ranging from 0.0° to 90.0° using the Boltzmann transport equation (BTE) associated with the first-principles calculations. It was found that in the phosphorene sheets, the intrinsic thermal conductivity is a smooth monotonic decreasing function of the crystal chirality, which exhibits sinusoidal behavior bounded by the two terminated values 48.9 (0.0°) and 27.8 (90.0°) W m(-1) K(-1). The optical modes have unusually large contributions to heat transfer, which account for almost 30% of the total thermal conductivity of phosphorene sheets. This is because the optical phonons have comparable group velocities and relaxation times to the acoustic phonons.

Optical coherence tomography: a new strategy to image planarian regeneration.

The planarian is widely used as a model for studying tissue regeneration. In this study, we used optical coherence tomography (OCT) for the real-time, high-resolution imaging of planarian tissue regeneration. Five planaria were sliced transversely to produce 5 head and 5 tail fragments. During a 2-week regeneration period, OCT images of the planaria were acquired to analyze the signal attenuation rates, intensity ratios, and image texture features (including contrast, correlation, homogeneity, energy, and entropy) to compare the primitive and regenerated tissues. In the head and tail fragments, the signal attenuation rates of the regenerated fragments decreased from -0.2 dB/µm to -0.05 dB/µm, between Day 1 and Day 6, and then increased to -0.2 dB/µm on Day 14. The intensity ratios decreased to approximately 0.8 on Day 6, and increased to between 0.8 and 0.9 on Day 14. The texture parameters of contrast, correlation, and homogeneity exhibited trends similar to the signal attenuation rates and intensity ratios during the planarian regeneration. The proposed OCT parameters might provide biological information regarding cell apoptosis and the formation of a mass of new cells during planarian regeneration. Therefore, OCT imaging is a potentially effective method for planarian studies.

Early detection of liver fibrosis in rats using 3-D ultrasound Nakagami imaging: a feasibility evaluation.

We investigated the feasibility of using 3-D ultrasound Nakagami imaging to detect the early stages of liver fibrosis in rats. Fibrosis was induced in livers of rats (n = 60) by intraperitoneal injection of 0.5% dimethylnitrosamine (DMN). Group 1 was the control group, and rats in groups 2-6 received DMN injections for 1-5 weeks, respectively. Each rat was sacrificed to perform 3-D ultrasound scanning of the liver in vitro using a single-element transducer of 6.5 MHz. The 3-D raw data acquired at a sampling rate of 50 MHz were used to construct 3-D Nakagami images. The liver specimen was further used for histologic analysis with hematoxylin and eosin and Masson staining to score the degree of liver fibrosis. The results indicate that the Metavir scores of the hematoxylin and eosin-stained sections in Groups 1-4 were 0 (defined as early liver fibrosis in this study), and those in groups 5 and 6 ranged from 1 to 2 and 2 to 3, respectively. To quantify the degree of early liver fibrosis, the histologic sections with Masson stain were analyzed to calculate the number of fiber-related blue pixels. The number of blue pixels increased from (2.36 ± 0.79) × 10(4) (group 1) to (7.68 ± 2.62) × 10(4) (group 4) after DMN injections for 3 weeks, indicating that early stages of liver fibrosis were successfully induced in rats. The Nakagami parameter increased from 0.36 ± 0.02 (group 1) to 0.55 ± 0.03 (group 4), with increasing numbers of blue pixels in the Masson-stained sections (p-value < 0.05, t-test). We concluded that 3-D Nakagami imaging has potential in the early detection of liver fibrosis in rats and may serve as an image-based pathologic model to visually track fibrosis formation and growth.

Discrimination of breast microcalcifications using a strain-compounding technique with ultrasound speckle factor imaging.

The usefulness of breast ultrasound could be extended by improving the detection of microcalcifications by being able to detect and enhance microcalcifications while simultaneously eliminating hyperechoic spots (e.g., speckle noise and fibrocystic changes) that can be mistaken for microcalcifications (i.e., false microcalcifications). This study investigated the use of a strain-compounding technique with speckle factor (SF) imaging to analyze the degree of scatterer redistributions in breast tissues under strain conditions for identifying microcalcifications and false microcalcifications. The efficacy of the proposed method was tested by collecting raw data of ultrasound backscattered signals from 26 lesions at BI-RADS category 4 or 5 with suspicious microcalcifications. The different strain conditions were created by applying manual compression to deform the breast lesion. For each region in which microcalcifications were suspected, estimates of the SNR of the strain-compounding B-scan images and estimates of the mean SF (SFavg) in the strain-compounding SF images were calculated. Compared with microcalcifications, the severity of speckle of the false microcalcifications would be easily degraded under compressive strain conditions. The results demonstrated that the SNR estimates in the strain-compounding B-scan images for microcalcifications and false microcalcifications were 5.22 ± 1.04 (mean ± standard deviation) and 4.62 ± 1.09, respectively; the corresponding SFavg estimates in the strain-compounding SF images were 0.47 ± 0.10 and 0.22 ± 0.10 (p < 0.01). The mean area under the receiver operating characteristic curve using the SNR estimate was 0.71, whereas that using the SFavg estimate was 0.94. These findings indicate that the strain-compounding SF imaging method is more effective at discriminating between microcalcifications and false microcalcifications.

A periodic array of nano-scale parallel slats for high-efficiency electroosmotic pumping.

It is known that the eletroosmotic (EO) flow rate through a nano-scale channel is extremely small. A channel made of a periodic array of slats is proposed to effectively promote the EO pumping, and thus greatly improve the EO flow rate. The geometrically simple array is complicated enough that four length scales are involved: the vertical period 2L, lateral period 2aL, width of the slat 2cL as well as the Debye length λD. The EO pumping rate is determined by the normalized lengths: a, c, or the perforation fraction of slats η=1-(c/a) and the dimensionless electrokinetic width K=L/λD. In a nano-scale channel, K is of order unity or less. EO pumping in both longitudinal and transverse directions (denoted as longitudinal EO pumping (LEOP) and transverse EO pumping (TEOP), respectively) is investigated by solving the Debye-Hückel approximation and viscous electro-kinetic equation. The main findings include that (i) the EO pumping rates of LEOP for small K are remarkably improved (by one order of magnitude) when we have longer slats (a≫1) and a large perforation fraction of slats (η > 0.7); (ii) the EO pumping rates of TEOP for small K can also be much improved but less significantly with longer slats and a large perforation fraction of slats. Nevertheless, it must be noted that in practice K cannot be made arbitrarily small as the criterion of φc≈0 for the reference potential at the channel center put lower bounds on K; in other words, there are geometrical limits for the use of the Poisson-Boltzmann equation.

Evaluation of zebrafish brain development using optical coherence tomography.

The zebrafish is a well-established model system used to study and understand various human biological processes. The present study used OCT to investigate growth of the adult zebrafish brain. Twenty zebrafish were studied, using their standard lengths as indicators of their age. Zebrafish brain aging was evaluated by analyzing signal attenuation rates and texture features in regions of interest (ROIs). Optical scattering originates from light interaction with biological structures. During development, the zebrafish brain gains cells. Signal attenuation rate, therefore, increases with increasing zebrafish brain age. This study's analyses of texture features could not identify aging in zebrafish brain. These results, therefore, indicated that the OCT signal attenuation rate can indicate zebrafish brain aging, and its analysis provides a more effective means of observing zebrafish brain aging than texture features analysis. Using OCT system could further increase the technique's potential for recognition and monitoring of zebrafish brain development.

The curvature index and synchronization of dynamical systems.

We develop a quantity, named the curvature index, for dynamical systems. This index is defined as the limit of the average curvature of the trajectory during evolution, which measures the bending of the curve on an attractor. The curvature index has the ability to differentiate the topological change of an attractor, as its alterations exhibit the structural changes of a dynamical system. Thus, the curvature index may indicate thresholds of some synchronization regimes. The Rössler system and a time-delay system are simulated to demonstrate the effectiveness of the index, respectively.

Strain-compounding technique with ultrasound Nakagami imaging for distinguishing between benign and malignant breast tumors.

PURPOSE: The scatterer properties of breast tissues are related to the presence of collagen structures, while the elasticity properties of breast tissues depend on their structural organization; these two characteristics are functionally complementary in ultrasound-based tissue characterizations. This study investigated the use of a strain-compounding technique with Nakagami imaging to provide information associated with the scatterer and elasticity characteristics of tissues when attempting to identify benign and malignant breast tumors. METHODS: The efficacy of the proposed method was tested by collecting raw data of ultrasound backscattered signals from 50 clinical cases (25 benign tumors and 25 malignant tumors, as verified by histology biopsies). The different strain conditions were created by applying manual compression. For each region in which breast tumors were suspected, estimates of the full width at half maximum (FWHM) from the Gaussian fitting curve for the Nakagami-parameter histogram in the strain-compounding Nakagami images were divided by those of the corresponding reference Nakagami images (uncompressed images); this parameter was denoted as the FWHM ratio. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was adopted to assess the diagnostic performance. RESULTS: The results demonstrated that the difference in scatterer distributions between before and after compounding was greater for benign tumors than for malignant tumors. The FWHM ratio estimates for benign and malignant tumors were 0.76 ± 0.14 and 0.96 ± 0.06 (mean ± standard deviation), respectively (p < 0.01). The mean area under the ROC curve using the FWHM ratio estimates was 0.92, with a 95% confidence interval of 0.83-1.00. CONCLUSIONS: These findings indicate that the strain-compounding Nakagami imaging method based on the acquisition of multiple frames under different strain states could provide objective information that would improve the ability to classify benign and malignant breast tumors.

Using ultrasound Nakagami imaging to assess liver fibrosis in rats.

This study explored the feasibility of using the ultrasound Nakagami image to assess the degree of liver fibrosis in rats. The rat has been widely used as a model in investigations of liver fibrosis. Ultrasound grayscale imaging makes it possible to observe fibrotic rat livers in real time. Statistical analysis of the envelopes of signals backscattered from rat livers may provide useful clues about the degree of liver fibrosis. The Nakagami-model-based image has been shown to be useful for characterizing scatterers in tissues by reflecting the echo statistics, and hence the Nakagami image may serve as a functional imaging tool for quantifying rat liver fibrosis. To validate this idea, fibrosis was induced in each rat liver (n=21) by an intraperitoneal injection of 0.5% dimethylnitrosamine. Livers were excised from rats for in vitro ultrasound scanning using a single-element transducer. The backscattered-signal envelopes of the acquired raw ultrasound signals were used for Nakagami imaging. The Metavir score determined by a pathologist was used to histologically quantify the degree of liver fibrosis. It was found that the Nakagami image could be used to distinguish different degrees of liver fibrosis in rats, since the average Nakagami parameter increased from 0.55 to 0.83 as the fibrosis score increased from 0 (i.e., normal) to 4. This correlation may be due to liver fibrosis in rats involving an increase in the concentration of local scatterers and the appearance of the periodic structures or clustering of scatterers that would change the backscattering statistics. The current findings indicate that the ultrasound Nakagami image has great potential as a functional imaging tool to complement the use of the conventional B-scan in animal studies of liver fibrosis.

Rotating electro-osmotic flow over a plate or between two plates.

In this paper, we investigate rotating electro-osmotic (EO) flow over an infinite plate or in a channel formed by two parallel plates. The analysis is based on the Debye-Hückel approximation for charge distributions and the Navier-Stokes equation for a transport electrolyte in the rotating frame. It is shown that, for the single plate, the nondimensional speed of system rotation ω is the singly most important parameter, while for the channel, in addition to ω, the nondimensional electrokinetic width K also plays an important role. However, the parameter ω≡η(2) has different natural appearances in the respective cases of a single plate (SP) and two plates (TPs). More precisely, η(SP) measures the ratio λ(D)/L(K) of the Debye length to the Ekman depth, while η(TP) measures the ratio L/L(K) of the channel width to the Ekman depth. The effect of rotation is always to reduce the axial flow rate along the direction of the applied electric field, accompanied by a (secondary) transverse flow. In the SP case, the plot on the velocity plane for each ω shows an interesting closed EO Ekman spiral. The size of the spiral shrinks with increasing ω. The transverse flow is so significant that the volume transport associated with the EO Ekman spiral turns clockwise 45° to the applied field near ω=0 and gradually turns at a right angle to the applied field as ω is increased. In contrast, in the TP case, the transverse flow rate is smaller than the axial flow rate when ω is small. The transverse flow rates at all K are observed to reach their maxima at ω of order 1. The volume transport is nearly at a zero angle to the applied field near ω=0 and gradually turns to 45° to the applied field as ω is increased. In the limit of ω→∞, for both SP and TP cases, the entire system forms a rigid body rotation-there is neither axial nor transverse flow.

Effects of laminin-coated carbon nanotube/chitosan fibers on guided neurite growth.

This study assesses the ability and potential of carbon nanotube (CNT)/chitosan to guide axon re-growth after nerve injuries. The CNT/chitosan fibers were produced via the coagulation and hydrodynamic focusing method. Fiber width and morphology were adjusted using such parameters as syringe pumping rate and the coagulant used. The CNT/chitosan fiber diameters were 50-300 µm for syringe pumping rates of 6-48 mL/h. Polyethylene glycol/NaOH (25%, w/w) solution was a suitable coagulant for forming fibers with small diameters. Physical property tests demonstrate that the CNT/chitosan composites had superior tensile strength and electrical conductivity compared with those of chitosan alone. The MTT and LDH tests reveal that CNT/chitosan composites were not cytotoxic. To improve the neural cell affinity of CNT/chitosan fibers, laminin was incorporated onto fiber surfaces via the oxygen plasma technique; cell adhesion ratio increased significantly from 3.5% to 72.2% with this surface modification. Immunofluorescence staining and SEM imaging indicate that PC12 cells adhered successfully and grew on the laminin (LN)-coated CNT/chitosan films and fibers. Experimental results show that PC12 grown on LN-coated CNT/chitosan fibers in vitro extend longitudinally oriented neurites in a manner similar to that of native peripheral nerves. With the inherent electrical properties of CNTs, oriented CNT/chitosan fibers have a potential for use as nerve conduits in nerve tissue engineering.

Classification of scattering media within benign and malignant breast tumors based on ultrasound texture-feature-based and Nakagami-parameter images.

PURPOSE: Benign and malignant tumors can be classified by using texture analysis of the ultrasound B-scan image to describe the variation in the echogenicity of scatterers. The recently proposed ultrasonic Nakagami parametric image has also been used to detect the concentrations and arrangements of scatterers for tumor characterization applications. B-scan-based texture analysis and the Nakagami parametric image are functionally complementary in ultrasonic tissue characterizations and this study aimed to combine these methods in order to improve the ability to characterize breast tumors. METHODS: To validate this concept, radio-frequency data obtained from 130 clinical cases were used to construct the texture-feature parametric image and the Nakagami parametric image. Four texture-feature parameters based on a gray-level co-occurrence matrix (homogeneity, contrast, energy, and variance) and the Nakagami parameters of the benign and malignant tumors were calculated. The usefulness of an individual parameter was determined and scatter graphs indicated the relationship between two selected texture-feature parameters. Fisher's linear discriminant analysis was used to combine the selected texture-feature parameters with the Nakagami parameter. The performance in classifying tumors was evaluated based on the receiver operating characteristic curve. RESULTS: The results indicated that there is a trade-off between sensitivity and specificity when using an individual texture-feature parameter or when combining two such correlated parameters to discriminate benign and malignant cases. However, the best performance was obtained when combining selected texture-feature parameters with the Nakagami parameter. CONCLUSIONS: The study findings suggest that combining B-scan-based texture analysis and the Nakagami parametric image could improve the ability to classify benign and malignant breast tumors.