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The spinoglenoid notch (SGN) is the second most common location for suprascapular nerve (SN) entrapment; however, there are few relative morphological reports on this condition. Hence, the present morphological study mainly explored the anatomical structure and classification of the SGN and the relationship with entrapment of SN. Four hundred seventy-eight scapulae were analysed thoroughly and systematically in this study. Anatomical structure and classification of the SGN were observed and measured by a three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction of computed tomography (CT). The measurement results were then analysed and recorded. Chinese scapulae were classified into three types at the SGN, and it was found that left scapulae had deeper SGN than right ones. Then, significant differences were also noted between sexes. Men had thicker, wider and deeper SGN than women. Type II (small U, 46.04%) was the most common. Type I (large U) was the widest (15.67 ± 1.43 mm) and deepest (13.71 ± 2.39 mm) compared with other types. Lastly, no significant differences in the above criteria were found in other measurements. These morphological measurements of the SGN may help to improve the diagnosis and successful treatment rate of the surgery for the SN entrapment, but the relative clinical trial is necessary to support it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Syngas production via dry reforming of methane (DRM) was experimentally investigated using Ni-based catalyst. Ni/Al 2 O 3 modification with CeO 2 addition and O 2 addition in the reactant were employed in this study to suppress carbon deposition and to enhance catalyst activity. It was found that DRM performance can be enhanced using CeO 2 modified Ni/Al 2 O 3 catalyst due to CeAlO 3 formation. However, an optimum amount of CeO 2 loading exists to obtain the best DRM performance due to the decrease in specific surface area as the CeO 2 loading increases. Without O 2 addition, the reverse water-gas shift reaction plays an important role in DRM. It was found that CH 4 conversion and CO yield were enhanced while CO 2 conversion and H 2 yield are decreased as the CO 2 amount in feedstock increased in DRM. With O 2 addition in the fed reactant, it was found that the methane oxidation reaction plays an important role in DRM. CH 4 conversion can be enhanced by O 2 addition. However, decreases in CO 2 conversion and H 2 and CO yields occurred due to greater H 2 O and CO 2 productions from the methane oxidation reaction. The thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) results showed that CeO 2 modified Ni/Al 2 O 3 catalyst would have the lowest amount of carbon deposition when O 2 is introduced into the reaction. • Syngas production via dry reforming of methane (DRM) was experimentally studied. • CeO 2 modification on Ni/Al 2 O 3 catalyst was used to suppress the carbon deposition. • O 2 addition in the reactant was used to suppress the carbon deposition. • DRM performance depends on the CeO 2 loading in the Ni/Al 2 O 3 catalyst. • Methane oxidation is the key reaction in DRM with O 2 addition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • The consistency principle is proposed to estimate the model parameter on image noise removal problem. • A dual method is developed simultaneously to solve the optimization problem and to find the regularization parameter. • The gain can be as great as 2.23 dB in PSNR by the proposed method. Abstract Total variation regularized model is a powerful tool in image noise removal due to its edge-preserving property of an image. One important procedure in the model is to determine the regularization parameter which has an important role in balancing the data-fidelity and the regularity of the denoised image. Discrepancy principle is a classical method for selecting the regularization parameter, which provides an upper bound for the value of the data-fitting term. For the regularization parameter, it is easier to estimate its upper bound as the statistical property of the noise is known. The contribution of this paper is twofold. First, we propose an iterative algorithm to estimate an optimal upper bound by applying the consistency between the value of data-fitting term and the upper bound. Second, we develop a dual-based method to solve the constrained problem which can avoid the computation of the Lagrangian multiplier associated with the constraint. The new algorithm can simultaneously solve the solution of the constrained problem and the estimate of the regularization parameter. Numerical results are given to show that the proposed algorithm is better than some state-of-the-art methods in both efficiency and accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract In diffuse-interface (phase field) models of polycrystalline solids, the grain boundaries naturally possess a narrow region of finite thickness. A Ginzburg-Landau type kinetic equation for plastic deformation of a solid is derived that combines crystal plasticity and J 2 plasticity. Within such a framework for a polycrystal the grain interior can be defined by crystal plasticity, and the grain boundary region can be assigned J 2 type plasticity. The two are connected smoothly. This allows the modeling framework to accommodate grain boundary sliding (GBS), an important deformation mechanism for creep. The relaxation of elastic modulus of a polycrystalline solid and the power-law creep (both accommodated by GBS) are studied by 2D and 3D simulations, respectively, and the results are compared to the 2D finite-element simulations of Ghahremani and Crossman-Ashby. A strong grain shape dependence and orientation dependence (for non-equiaxed grains) of the GBS effect are predicted by this model. Highlights • Developed a diffuse-interface based model for crystal plasticity. • Grain boundary sliding (GBS) accommodated in the crystal plasticity model. • Simulated creep with GBS based on phase-field simulated 3D grain structures. • Revealed grain shape effect on the anelasticity of polycrystals due to GBS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we consider the problem of the multi-focus image fusion and propose a novel weighted gradient model with the total variation regularization. The existence and uniqueness of the solution for the proposed model is established. We employ the semi-proximal alternating direction method of multipliers (sPADMM) algorithm to find the minimizer of the proposed model. We also show the convergence and convergence rate of the sPADMM algorithm under suitable conditions. Numerical results are given to demonstrate the effectiveness and competitiveness of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives This study aimed to examine the role of falls efficacy in the relationship between the locomotive function and quality of life. Methods From March to May in 2016, we conducted a cross-sectional survey among 830 community residents aged ≥60 years from Jinzhou,China.GLFS-25 (25-question Geriatric Locomotive Function Scale), FES-I(International edition of Falls Efficacy Scale),and SF-12 (12-item Short Form Health Survey) were used to estimate locomotive function, falls efficacy and quality of life, respectively. The higher score of GLFS-25, the worse the locomotive function. Results Median age was 68.69 years (ranges 60–88). Locomotive function, falls efficacy and quality of life all presented a linear relationship within each other, locomotive function score was negatively correlated with falls efficacy score (−0.461, P < 0.01). locomotive function score was negatively correlated with quality of life score (−0.523, P < 0.01).Falls efficacy score was positively correlated with quality of life score (0.415, P < 0.01).Falls efficacy exerted both a mediating and moderating role between locomotive function and quality of life, and the mediation effect accounted for 45.5% of the total effect. Conclusions Poorer locomotive function was associated with poorer quality of life, and greater falls efficacy was associated with better quality of life. In addition, falls efficacy was demonstrated to be both a mediator and moderator variable in the linkage between locomotive function and quality of life. Aged care professional practitioners and our policy makers should strengthen the awareness of the psychological role of the elderly falls efficacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]