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Die Leistungsfähigkeit der Aufbereitungseinheit für Medizinprodukte (AEMP) ist essenziell für die Gesundheitsversorgung. Herausforderungen wie Fachkräftemangel und zunehmend komplexere Medizinprodukte machen kontinuierliche Prozessverbesserungen in der AEMP erforderlich. Ein datenbasierter Vergleich zwischen AEMPs kann Schwachstellen aufdecken, durch Handlungsempfehlungen Zeit und Kosten bei der Prozessverbesserung sparen und somit die Patientenversorgung verbessern. Der Lehrstuhl für Medizintechnik der RWTH Aachen entwickelt mit der DGSV e.V. eine AEMP-Benchmark zur Erfassung und Analyse von AEMP-Prozessen in Deutschland. Aufbauend auf in Vorarbeiten erhobenen Anforderungen und potenziellen Vergleichsgrößen wurde 2023 mittels einer Online-Umfrage eine Pilot-Datenerhebung für das Benchmarking durchgeführt. Die 48 erhobenen Datensätze von unterschiedlichen AEMP wurden zunächst bereinigt. Die Vergleichsgrößen wurden in Schlüssel-Leistungsindikatoren (engl.: Key Performance Indicators, KPI) und Leistungsbestimmende Faktoren (engl.: Performance Shaping Factors, PSF) unterteilt. Anschließend wurde eine statistische Analyse des Einflusses der PSFs auf die KPIs mit einem Signifikanzniveau von 0,05 durchgeführt. Die KPIs zeigten eine weite Streuung bei Qualität und Sicherheit. Für die Qualität waren das Sterilisator-Nutzvolumen und die gemeinsame Auswertung von Reklamationen mit den Kunden besonders starke Einflüsse. Für die Sicherheit der Beschäftigten waren vorhandene Einarbeitungskonzepte und häufige externe Fortbildungen besonders positive Einflüsse. Weitere signifikante Faktoren wurden identifiziert und in den praktischen Kontext eingeordnet. Insgesamt wurde damit das Ziel des Benchmarkings erreicht, Unterschiede in der Leistungsfähigkeit aufzudecken und PSF mit einem besonders starken Einfluss zu identifizieren. Eine Weiterführung des Benchmarkings erscheint sinnvoll, da zeitliche Veränderungen sichtbar gemacht werden können und durch eine größere Datenbasis eine Verbesserung der statistischen Auswertung und die Identifikation weiterer signifikanter PSF möglich ist. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Anterior lumbar interbody fusion (ALIF) and posterior spinal fusion (PSF) play pivotal roles in restoring lumbar lordosis in spinal surgery. There is an ongoing debate between combined single-position surgery and traditional prone-position PSF for optimizing segmental lumbar lordosis. Methods: This retrospective study analyzed 59 patients who underwent ALIF in the supine position followed by PSF in the prone position at a single institution. Cobb angles were measured preoperatively, post-ALIF, and post-PSF using X-ray imaging. One-way repeated measures ANOVA and post-hoc analyses with Bonferroni adjustment were employed to compare mean Cobb angles at different time points. Cohen's d effect sizes were calculated to assess the magnitude of changes. Sample size calculations were performed to ensure statistical power. Results: The mean segmental Cobb angle significantly increased from preoperative (32.2 ± 13.8 degrees) to post-ALIF (42.2 ± 14.3 degrees, Cohen's d: −0.71, p < 0.0001) and post-PSF (43.6 ± 14.6 degrees, Cohen's d: −0.80, p < 0.0001). There was no significant difference between Cobb angles after ALIF and after PSF (Cohen's d: −0.10, p = 0.14). The findings remained consistent when Cobb angles were analyzed separately for single-screw and double-screw ALIF constructs. Conclusions: Both supine ALIF and prone PSF significantly increased segmental lumbar lordosis compared to preoperative measurements. The negligible difference between post-ALIF and post-PSF lordosis suggests that supine ALIF followed by prone PSF can be an effective approach, providing flexibility in surgical positioning without compromising lordosis improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Modern surgical techniques allow for the correction of spinal deformity, stopping its progression and improving pain relief and social and physical functioning. These instruments have different implant designs, screws, and rod diameters and can be composed of different metal alloys with different hardnesses, which can have a significant impact on the effect of correcting spinal deformities. We designed a retrospective cohort study based on the same surgical technique and spine system using different implant sizes, and compared the results across them. Methods: This is a retrospective review of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) patients who underwent posterior spinal fusion (PSF) between 2016 and 2022 with a minimum two-year follow-up (FU) using two spinal implant systems: 5.5 and 6.0 mm diameter screws with double 5.5 mm titanium rods (Group 1 (G1)), and 6.0 and 6.5 mm diameter pedicle screws with double 6.0 mm cobalt–chromium rods (Group 2 (G2)). The evaluated data were as follows: preoperative personal data, radiographic outcomes, complications, and health-related quality of life questionnaire (HRQoL). The parameters were reviewed preoperatively, after the final fusion, and during the FU. Results: The mean age of all 260 patients at surgery was 14.8 years. The average BMI was also similar in both groups and was noted as 21. The mean levels of fusion and screw density were similar in both groups. The mean preoperative major curves (MCs) were 57.6° and 62.5° in G1 and G2, respectively. The mean flexibility of the curves was noted as 35% in G1 and 33% in G2. After definitive surgery, the mean percentage correction of the MC was better in G2 vs. G1, with 74.5% vs. 69.8%, respectively (p < 0.001). At the final FU, the average loss of correction was 5.9° for G1 and 3.2° for G2 (p < 0.001). The mean preoperative (TK) thoracic kyphosis (T2–T5) was 12.2° in G1 and 10.8° in G2. It was corrected to 15.2° in G1 and to 13° in G2. At the FFU, we noted a significant difference in the TK (T2–T5) between the groups, with 16.7° vs. 9.6° for G1 vs. G2, respectively (p < 0.001). Statistical significance was observed between the preoperative sagittal balance and the final follow-up for both groups (p < 0.001). Conclusions: AIS patients surgically treated with screws with a larger diameter and thicker and stiffer rods showed greater correction and postoperative thoracic kyphosis without implant failure. The complication rates, implant density, and clinical outcomes remained similar. The radiographic benefits reported in this cohort study suggest that large-sized screws and stiffer rods for the correction of pediatric spinal deformities are safe and very effective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For bistatic detection, the desired target is always smeared by the direct blast, limited by the performance of direction-of-arrival (DOA) estimation algorithms. Thus, a deconvolved Multiple-Signal-Classification (D-MUSIC) DOA estimation algorithm is proposed. D-MUSIC beam power is obtained by deconvolving MUSIC beam power using the point-scattering-function (PSF) and Richardson-Lucy (R-L) iteration algorithm. Under low signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs), the background level of D-MUSIC beam power is much lower than that of MUSIC beam power. Besides, D-MUSIC can realize the weak target detection with an adjacent strong interferer in the mainlobe. Finally, via processing the actual data collected during the Sanya sea trial, we analyze the bearing time record (BTR) of MUSIC and D-MUSIC, verifying the superiority of D-MUSIC algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A computer simulation was conducted using Optics Software for Layout and Optimization (OSLO) to design a Cassegrain telescope system for on-axis rays. In order to establish such a telescope, the two mirrors of the optical system were designed as spherical surfaces: a concave mirror and a convex mirror. The obscuration ratios of the Cassegrain telescope's secondary mirror were examined using different values, which ranged between 0.1 and 0.3, to determine the best obscuration ratio. This work adopted three criteria to decide which obscuration ratio is the best for the Cassegrain telescope. The first criterion was the number of rays that reached the final image. The second criterion was calculating the modulation transfer function (MTF). The third criterion was calculating the point spread function (PSF) and Strehl ratio (SR). Finally, the result showed that the best obscuration ratio of the telescope’s secondary mirror was found at D2/D1=0.116-0.166, where D1=0.76 m for the primary mirror and D2=0.09 – 0.125m for the secondary mirror. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present work, the synthesized silicon dioxide (SiO2) nanoparticles and Pluronic F127 (PF127) were incorporated into polysulfone (PSF) to prepare PSF/PF127/SiO2 nanocomposite ultrafiltration (UF) membrane to enhance antifouling properties. The prepared antifouling UF membrane was used for removing the oil molecules from the synthetically produced oil–water solution. SiO2 nanoparticles are synthesized via sol–gel process and characterized by SEM, FTIR, XRD, and UV–visible. The modified membranes with different concentrations (0.2, 0.6, and 1 wt.%) of SiO2 and 1 wt.% of PF127 are fabricated via phase inversion technique. The prepared membranes are analyzed using SEM, AFM, contact angle, pore structure factor, and molecular weight cutoff (MWCO). The thermal and mechanical stability was characterized by TGA and mechanical strength analyzer. The performance of the membrane is measured by permeate flux, rejection, and antifouling properties. In filtration performance, PSF (16 wt.%), PF127 (1 wt.%), and SiO2 (1 wt.%) membrane resulted in enriched permeation of 301.2 L m−2 h−1 with better rejection of 94% and MWCO of 40 kDa and excellent recyclability with 90% flux recovery ratio. From the overall performance, the modification of the PSF membrane with SiO2 nanoparticles showed improved efficacy in the separation of oil wastewater. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The present study aims to assess the impact of various image reconstruction methods in 18F-FDG PET/CT imaging on the quantification performance of the proposed technique for joint compensation of respiratory motion and partial volume effects (PVEs) in patients with non-small cell lung cancer. Materials and Methods: An image-based deconvolution technique was proposed, incorporating wavelet-based denoising within the Lucy-Richardson algorithm to jointly compensate for PVEs and respiratory motion. The method was evaluated using data from 15 patients with 60 non-small cell lung cancer. In these patients, the lesions were classified by size, location and Signal-to-Background Ratios (SBR). In each study, PET images were reconstructed using four different methods: OSEM with time- of-flight (TOF) information, OSEM with point spread function modelling (PSF), OSEM with both TOF and PSF (TOFPSF), and OSEM without PSF or TOF (OSEM). The Contrast to Noise Ratio (CNR), Coefficient of Variation (COV) and Standardized Uptake Values (SUV) were measured within the lesions and compared to images that were not processed using the joint-compensation technique. Furthermore, variabilities arising due to the choice of the reconstruction methods were assessed. Results: Processing the images using the proposed technique yielded significantly higher CNR and SUV, particularly in small spheres, for all the reconstruction methods and all the SBRs (P

Abstract Background Positron emission tomography (PET) images are typically noisy especially in dynamic imaging where the PET data are divided into a number of short temporal frames often with a low number of counts. As a result, image features such as contrast and time–activity curves are highly variable. Noise reduction in PET is thus essential. Typical noise reduction methods tend to not preserve image features/patterns (e.g. contrast and size dependent) accurately. In this work, we report the first application of our HYPR4D kernel method on time-of-flight (TOF) PET data (i.e. PSF-HYPR4D-K-TOFOSEM). The proposed HYPR4D kernel method makes use of the mean 4D high frequency features and inconsistent noise patterns over OSEM subsets as well as the low noise property of the early reconstruction updates to achieve prior-free de-noising. The method was implemented and tested on the GE SIGNA PET/MR and was compared to the TOF reconstructions with PSF resolution modeling available on the system, namely PSF-TOFOSEM with and without standard post filter and PSF-TOFBSREM (TOF Q.Clear) with various beta values (regularization strengths). Results Results from experimental contrast phantom and human subject data with various PET tracers showed that the proposed method provides more robust and accurate image features compared to other regularization methods. The preservation of contrast for the PSF-HYPR4D-K-TOFOSEM was observed to be better and less dependent on the contrast and size of the target structures as compared to TOF Q.Clear and PSF-TOFOSEM with filter. At the same contrast level, PSF-HYPR4D-K-TOFOSEM achieved better 4D noise suppression than other methods (e.g. >2 times lower noise than TOF Q.Clear at the highest contrast). We also present a novel voxel search method to obtain an image-derived input function (IDIF) and demonstrate that the obtained IDIF is the most quantitative w.r.t. the measured blood samples when the acquired data are reconstructed with PSF-HYPR4D-K-TOFOSEM. Conclusions The overall results support superior performance of the PSF-HYPR4D-K-TOFOSEM for TOF PET data and demonstrate that the proposed method is likely suitable for all imaging tasks including the generation of IDIF without requiring any prior information as well as further improving the effective sensitivity of the imaging system.

Although plant–soil feedbacks (interactions between plants and soils, often mediated by soil microbes, abbreviated as PSFs) are widely known to influence patterns of plant diversity at local and landscape scales, these interactions are rarely examined in the context of important environmental factors. Resolving the roles of environmental factors is important because the environmental context may alter PSF patterns by modifying the strength or even direction of PSFs for certain species. One important environmental factor that is increasing in scale and frequency with climate change is fire, though the influence of fire on PSFs remains essentially unexamined. By changing microbial community composition, fire may alter the microbes available to colonize the roots of plants and thus seedling growth post‐fire. This has potential to change the strength and/or direction of PSFs, depending on how such changes in microbial community composition occur and the plant species with which the microbes interact. We examined how a recent fire altered PSFs of two leguminous, nitrogen‐fixing tree species in Hawaiʻi. For both species, growing in conspecific soil resulted in higher plant performance (as measured by biomass production) than growing in heterospecific soil. This pattern was mediated by nodule formation, an important process for growth for legume species. Fire weakened PSFs for these species and therefore pairwise PSFs, which were significant in unburned soils, but were nonsignificant in burned soils. Theory suggests that positive PSFs such as those found in unburned sites would reinforce the dominance of species where they are locally dominant. The change in pairwise PSFs with burn status shows PSF‐mediated dominance might diminish after fire. Our results demonstrate that fire can modify PSFs by weakening the legume‐rhizobia symbiosis, which may alter local competitive dynamics between two canopy dominant tree species. These findings illustrate the importance of considering environmental context when evaluating the role of PSFs for plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The quality of positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) images plays an important role in tumor detection. This imaging method often yields poor-quality images of overweight patients due to the high level of noise, originating from scattering and photon attenuation. Objectives: The point spread function (PSF) is mostly used to enhance the spatial resolution and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR); however, it is known to increase the edge artifacts. The time-of-flight (TOF) principle can reduce edge artifacts in PSF modeling and improve lesion detection, especially in the thorax. The present study aimed to assess these two new techniques by applying different reconstruction parameters. Materials and Methods: An in-house phantom with an inner diameter of 35cmwas used for the simulation of overweight patients. Lesion-to-background ratios (LBRs) of 2: 1 and 8: 1, as well as background activity concentrations of 3 and 5 kBq/cc, were considered in this study. The list-mode data were reconstructed with various reconstruction protocols, numbers of subsets, and filter sizes. Quantitative analyses, including the coefficient of variation (COV), SNR, and recovery coefficient (RC), were also carried out. Moreover, box-and-whisker plots were performed. Results: At LBR of 2: 1, by changing the protocol from ordered subset expectation maximization (OSEM) to OSEM + PSF + TOF, the median value of SNR for 13-mm lesions (37 mm) increased by 39.25% and 53.45% (42.22% and 56.21%), at background activity concentrations of 3 and 5 kBq/cc respectively. However, at LBR of 8: 1, the corresponding values were 33.22% and 48.94% (40.22% and 52.15%) at background activity concentrations of 3 and 5 kBq/cc respectively. Conclusion: The TOF protocols were strongly recommended for both background activity concentrations at LBR of 2: 1 and for the low background activity concentration at LBR of 8: 1, especially when using smaller filter sizes. Moreover, subset numbers of 18 and 24 were appropriate for all protocols. However, a smaller subset number was suitable when a low background activity concentration and a smaller filter size were applied, especially at a lower LBR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Positron emission tomography (PET) is a popular research topic. People are becoming more interested in PET images as they become more widely available. However, the partial volume effect (PVE) in PET images remains one of the most influential factors causing the resolution of PET images to degrade. It is possible to reduce this PVE and achieve better image quality by measuring and modeling the point spread function (PSF) and then accounting for it inside the reconstruction algorithm. In this work, we examined the response characteristics of the MetisTM PET/CT system by acquiring 22Na point source at different locations in the field of view (FOV) of the scanner and reconstructing with small pixel size for images to obtain their radial, tangential, and axial full-width half maximum (FWHM). An image-based model of the PSF model was then obtained by fitting asymmetric two-dimensional Gaussians on the 22Na images. This PSF model determined by FWHM in three directions was integrated into a three-dimensional ordered subsets expectation maximization (3D-OSEM) algorithm based on a list-mode format to form a new PSF-OSEM algorithm. We used both algorithms to reconstruct point source, Derenzo phantom, and mouse PET images and performed qualitative and quantitative analyses. In the point source study, the PSF-OSEM algorithm reduced the FWHM of the point source PET image in three directions to about 0.67 mm, and in the phantom study, the PET image reconstructed by the PSF-OSEM algorithm had better visual effects. At the same time, the quantitative analysis results of the Derenzo phantom were better than the original 3D-OSEM algorithm. In the mouse experiment, the results of qualitative and quantitative analyses showed that the imaging quality of PSF-OSEM algorithm was better than that of 3D-OSEM algorithm. Our results show that adding the PSF model to the 3D-OSEM algorithm in the MetisTM PET/CT system helps to improve the resolution of the image and satisfy the qualitative and quantitative analysis criteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate and compare the spatial (lateral) resolution, or more generally, the optical/instrumental transfer function (OTF/ITF) of surface slope measuring profilometers of two different types that are commonly used for high accuracy characterization of x-ray optics at the long-spatial-wavelength range. These are an autocollimator based profiler, Optical Surface Measuring System (OSMS), and a long trace profiler, LTP-II, both available at the Advanced Light Source (ALS) XË-Ray Optics Lab (XROL). In the OSMS, an ELCOMAT-3000 electronic auto-collimator, vertically mounted to the translation carriage and equipped with an aperture of 2.5 mm diameter, is scanned along the surface under test. The LTPË-II OTF has been measured for two different configurations, a classical two-beam pencil-beam-interferometry and a single-Gaussian-beam deflectometry. For the ITF calibration, we apply a recently developed method based on test surfaces with one-dimensional (1D) linear chirped height profiles of constant slope amplitude. Analytical expressions for the OTFs, empirically deduced based on the experimental results, are presented. We also discuss the application of the results of the ITF measurements and modeling to improve the surface slope metrology with state-of-The-Art x-ray mirrors. This work was supported by the U. S. Department of Energy under contract number DE-AC02-05CH11231.

Mounting evidence suggests that plant–soil feedbacks (PSF) may determine plant community structure. However, we still have a poor understanding of how predictions from short‐term PSF experiments compare with outcomes of long‐term field experiments involving competing plants. We conducted a reciprocal greenhouse experiment to examine how the growth of prairie grass species depended on the soil communities cultured by conspecific or heterospecific plant species in the field. The source soil came from monocultures in a long‐term competition experiment (LTCE; Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve, MN, USA). Within the LTCE, six species of perennial prairie grasses were grown in monocultures or in eight pairwise competition plots for 12 years under conditions of low or high soil nitrogen availability. In six cases, one species clearly excluded the other; in two cases, the pair appeared to coexist. In year 15, we gathered soil from all 12 soil types (monocultures of six species by two nitrogen levels) and grew seedlings of all six species in each soil type for 7 weeks. Using biomass estimates from this greenhouse experiment, we predicted coexistence or competitive exclusion using pairwise PSFs, as derived by Bever and colleagues, and compared model predictions to observed outcomes within the LTCE. Pairwise PSFs among the species pairs ranged from negative, which is predicted to promote coexistence, to positive, which is predicted to promote competitive exclusion. However, these short‐term PSF predictions bore no systematic resemblance to the actual outcomes of competition observed in the LTCE. Other forces may have more strongly influenced the competitive interactions or critical assumptions that underlie the PSF predictions may not have been met. Importantly, the pairwise PSF score derived by Bever et al. is only valid when the two species exhibit an internal equilibrium, corresponding to the Lotka–Volterra competition outcomes of stable coexistence and founder control. Predicting the other two scenarios, competitive exclusion by either species irrespective of initial conditions, requires measuring biomass in uncultured soil, which is methodologically challenging. Subject to several caveats that we discuss, our results call into question whether long‐term competitive outcomes in the field can be predicted from the results of short‐term PSF experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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• A dataset generation method in large depth of field is proposed. • A 3D displacement measuring device is applied to measure the expansion of boiler. • The MOGA can improve the efficiency and precision of ANN simultaneously. • The PSF can reduce pixel coordinate errors by half compared to one that does not include it. In this paper, an acronym for stereo vision calibration-point spread function (SVC-PSF), is designed to accurately represent image degradation in large-depth-of-field (LDOF). The error of the dataset generated by the SVC-PSF is 50 % lower than that of Stereo Vision Calibration (SVC) method in LDOF. A three-dimensional point coordinate reconstruction artificial neural network (ANN) is improved through a multi-objective genetic algorithm (MOGA) to satisfy both computational accuracy and real-time performance. The MOGA improved ANN can reconstruct 1250 points within 0.069 s on an embedded platform. Finally, SVC-PSF is used to generate a dataset, and the MOGA-ANN improved model is trained based on this dataset. An embedded device, stereo displacement measurement device (SDMD) is designed to run SVC-PSF-MOGA-ANN algorithm, and this device is applied in thermal power plant boiler expansion monitor. The real-time monitor results shows that when the boiler power increases, more working medium is needed to produce steam, so the boiler's own weight increases, and the boiler expands downward under the action of gravity. At low power, the required working medium is reduced, and the corresponding expansion amount is also reduced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Positron emission tomography (PET) images are typically noisy especially in dynamic imaging where the PET data are divided into a number of short temporal frames often with a low number of counts. As a result, image features such as contrast and time–activity curves are highly variable. Noise reduction in PET is thus essential. Typical noise reduction methods tend to not preserve image features/patterns (e.g. contrast and size dependent) accurately. In this work, we report the first application of our HYPR4D kernel method on time-of-flight (TOF) PET data (i.e. PSF-HYPR4D-K-TOFOSEM). The proposed HYPR4D kernel method makes use of the mean 4D high frequency features and inconsistent noise patterns over OSEM subsets as well as the low noise property of the early reconstruction updates to achieve prior-free de-noising. The method was implemented and tested on the GE SIGNA PET/MR and was compared to the TOF reconstructions with PSF resolution modeling available on the system, namely PSF-TOFOSEM with and without standard post filter and PSF-TOFBSREM (TOF Q.Clear) with various beta values (regularization strengths). Results: Results from experimental contrast phantom and human subject data with various PET tracers showed that the proposed method provides more robust and accurate image features compared to other regularization methods. The preservation of contrast for the PSF-HYPR4D-K-TOFOSEM was observed to be better and less dependent on the contrast and size of the target structures as compared to TOF Q.Clear and PSF-TOFOSEM with filter. At the same contrast level, PSF-HYPR4D-K-TOFOSEM achieved better 4D noise suppression than other methods (e.g. >2 times lower noise than TOF Q.Clear at the highest contrast). We also present a novel voxel search method to obtain an image-derived input function (IDIF) and demonstrate that the obtained IDIF is the most quantitative w.r.t. the measured blood samples when the acquired data are reconstructed with PSF-HYPR4D-K-TOFOSEM. Conclusions: The overall results support superior performance of the PSF-HYPR4D-K-TOFOSEM for TOF PET data and demonstrate that the proposed method is likely suitable for all imaging tasks including the generation of IDIF without requiring any prior information as well as further improving the effective sensitivity of the imaging system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Severe geometric distortions induced by tissue susceptibility, water–fat chemical shift, and eddy currents pose a substantial obstacle in single‐shot EPI, especially for high‐resolution imaging at ultrahigh field. View angle tilting (VAT)‐EPI can mitigate in‐plane distortion. However, the accompanied strong image blurring prevented its widespread applications. On the other hand, point‐spread function mapping (PSF)‐EPI can correct distortion and blurring accurately but requires prolonged scan time. We present fused VAT‐PSF‐EPI and possibilities for acceleration. Methods: MR signal equations were explicitly derived to quantify image blurring in VAT‐EPI and the maximum acceleration capacity in VAT‐PSF‐EPI. To validate the theoretical prediction, phantom measurements with varying in‐plane parallel imaging factors, slice thicknesses, and RF pulses were conducted at 7 Tesla. In addition, in vivo human brain scans were acquired with T2 and diffusion weighting to assess distortion and blurring correction. Results: VAT can effectively suppress distortion, and the introduced image blurring is corrected through PSF encoding. Up to fourfold acceleration (only 5 shots) in VAT‐PSF‐EPI was achieved compared with standard PSF‐EPI without VAT. VAT‐induced signal loss was mitigated by adjusting the sequence parameters and EPI resolution. In vivo T2‐weighted EPI data with 1.4 mm3 resolution demonstrate immunity to water–fat chemical shift‐induced distortion. Very high‐spatial resolution diffusion‐weighted EPI (0.7 × 0.7 × 2.8 mm3 and 1.2 mm3) demonstrates the immunity to eddy current‐induced distortion. Conclusion: VAT‐PSF‐EPI is a novel spin‐echo EPI‐based sequence for fast high‐resolution diffusion imaging at ultrahigh field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The performance of a Central Sterile Supply Department (CSSD) is crucial for patient care. However, there is currently no standardized, data-based way to compare the performance assessment and evaluation of CSSDs. Best practices as well as any deficiencies and any needs for novel solutions could be identified by comparing performance indicators and their determining factors. A proven method for comparing processes is benchmarking. In preparation for the development of a CSSD benchmark, the question is what requirements for a CSSD benchmark can be derived based on the literature on existing benchmarks. Thirty-six journals and six databases were searched for publications on the creation of benchmarks, as well as existing benchmarks for CSSDs, hospitals or manufacturing processes. The 375 matches found were filtered by evaluating abstracts, with the remaining 71 publications examined and categorized by content. The literature review documented numerous requirements in the categories of organization, field of participants, data and criteria for comparison. The derivation of action plans was identified as a critical step. The list of requirements thus obtained allows users to evaluate CSSD benchmarks but can also be used as a basis for developing one. Building on this work, the next steps will be to compile a glossary with uniform definitions of terms, to develop tools for the implementation of CSSD benchmarks and to develop practical units of reference as an alternative to the established “sterilization unit” (StU) to capture the complexity and effort of processing per tray. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To provide another modality for three-dimensional (3D) medical imaging, new techniques were developed to reconstruct a 3D structure in a turbid medium from a single blurred 2D image obtained using near-infrared transillumination imaging. One technique uses 1D information of a curvilinear absorber, or the intensity profile across the absorber image. Profiles in different conditions are calculated by convolution with the depth-dependent point spread function (PSF) of the transillumination image. In databanks, profiles are stored as lookup tables to connect the contrast and spread of the profile to the absorber depth. One-to-one correspondence from the contrast and spread to the absorber depth and thickness were newly found. Another technique uses 2D information of the transillumination image of a volumetric absorber. A blurred 2D image is deconvolved with the depth-dependent PSF, thereby producing many images with points of focus on different parts. The depth of the image part can be estimated by searching the deconvolved images for the image part in the best focus. To suppress difficulties of high-spatial-frequency noise, we applied a noise-robust focus stacking method. Experimentation verified the feasibility of the proposed techniques, and suggested their applicability to curvilinear and volumetric absorbers such as blood vessel networks and cancerous lesions in tissues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change has contributed substantially to the weather and land characteristic phenomena. Accurate time series forecasting for climate and land parameters is highly essential in the modern era for climatologists. This paper provides a brief introduction to the algorithm and its implementation in Python. The pattern-sequence-based forecasting (PSF) algorithm aims to forecast future values of a univariate time series. The algorithm is divided into two major processes: the clustering of data and prediction. The clustering part includes the selection of an optimum value for the number of clusters and labeling the time series data. The prediction part consists of the selection of a window size and the prediction of future values with reference to past patterns. The package aims to ease the use and implementation of PSF for python users. It provides results similar to the PSF package available in R. Finally, the results of the proposed Python package are compared with results of the PSF and ARIMA methods in R. One of the issues with PSF is that the performance of forecasting result degrades if the time series has positive or negative trends. To overcome this problem difference pattern-sequence-based forecasting (DPSF) was proposed. The Python package also implements the DPSF method. In this method, the time series data are first differenced. Then, the PSF algorithm is applied to this differenced time series. Finally, the original and predicted values are restored by applying the reverse method of the differencing process. The proposed methodology is tested on several complex climate and land processes and its potential is evidenced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The northern Wuyi area, which is located in the northern Wuyi metallogenic belt, has superior mineralization conditions. The Pingxiang–Guangfeng–Jiangshan–Shaoxing fault (PSF) extends across the whole region regardless of whether or how the PSF relates to the near‐surface mineralization. We carried out an MT survey in the region and obtained a reliable 2D model of the crustal electrical structure to a depth of 30 km. In the resistivity model, we inferred that a continuous high conductivity belt that ranges from the shallow to deep crust is a part of the PSF. Then, we estimated the fluid content and pressure gradient to identify the deep sources of fluid as well as its pattern of motion pattern. Finally, we proposed a model for the deep metallogenic migration processes that combines geological data, fluid content data, pressure gradient data, and the subsurface resistivity model. The model analysis showed that the Jiangnan orogenic belt and the Cathaysia block formed the PSF during the process of com. The deep fluid migrated upward through the PSF to the shallow crust. Therefore, we believe that the PSF is an ore‐forming fluid migration channel and that it laid the material basis for large‐scale mineralization in the shallow crust. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Full display with camera (FDC),which puts the camera under display, leads the way of smart phone. In this paper, we establish a simulation model with which OLED design can be evaluated and optimized to improve the imaging quality of FDC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, with the rapid development of new energy vehicles, the demand for lithium resources has been increasing sharply. Positively charged nanofiltration (NF) membranes can accurately separate magnesium ions (Mg2+) and lithium ions (Li+), which have become an important technology for extracting lithium resources from salt lakes. The introduction of intermediate layer in thin-film composite (TFC) NF membranes could improve the permeability and selectivity for Mg2+/Li+ separation. However, there is a problem of poor bonding between the intermediate layer and the supporting membranes through the simple physical combination on the membrane surface. Inspired by the controlled growth of succulent plants, the positively charged PA/ZIF-8/PSF composite NF membranes with "multilayer interlocking" structure were prepared successfully based on ZIF-8 layer anchored constrained growth and further interfacial polymerization. The zinc ion ligands of ZIF-8 were pre-anchored on the PSFsolution to provide reaction sites, and the grown ZIF-8 nanoparticles were embedded in the PSFsupporting membrane surface layer. The embedded ZIF-8 nanoparticles can enhance the interface bonding between the PSFsupporting membranes and the ZIF-8 layer. Additionally, the confined growth method can solve the problems of ZIF-8 particle aggregation and poor dispersion. Compared with membranes without ZIF-8 layer, the prepared PA/M − 6 membrane had a high flux of 47.2 L m−2h−1, which was 1.82 times that of PA/M-0. Meanwhile, the Mg2+/Li+ separation factor of the PA/ZIF-8/PSF composite NF membranes could reach 47.6. In particular, the prepared NF membranes exhibited good long-term stability for Mg2+/Li+ separation. [Display omitted] • The ZIF-8 intermediate layer was constructed by anchored constrained growth strategy. • The prepared NF membranes obtained the "multilayer interlocking" structure. • The prepared NF membranes showed high flux and Mg2+/Li+ separation factor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a novel terahertz (THz) image recovery algorithm and a new THz image dataset is publicly available. Because of transmission noise, artificial errors and problems with diffraction phenomena are among the main problems that cause degradation of THz images. The point spread function (PSF) in real transmission is first obtained using a terahertz imaging system. Experiments can generate degraded images and clean image datasets for supervised training of neural networks via terahertz PSF. A Depthwise Dense Instantiation Normalization Block (DwDIN Block) has been proposed to recover the datasets. We constructed a powerful multi-stage network (DwDINet) at each scale by utilizing the DwDIN module. For input and output, the results of each stage of the network and the original images are taken as input into the next layer in order to enhance the background information. DwDINet achieves state-of-the-art (SOTA) results on the two main THz datasets. To verify the generality of the model, we performed experiments on various image recovery tasks. According to the experimental results, the proposed model is of great potential for the field of low-level image clarification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• New formula between FWHM and detector energy threshold was proposed at 100 kVp X-ray. • Cut-off frequency and sum of point spread function S(PSF) were computed. • Distinct and separate energy thresholds were considered to evaluate the PSF. • By detailed energy range and above 20 keV, FWHM converged to 220 mm and S(PSF) to 3026. • The suggested FWHM function may be used in structuring parameters of imaging devices. The response function of imaging systems is regularly considered to improve the qualified maps in various fields. More the accuracy of this function, the higher the quality of the images. In this study, a distinct analytical relationship between full-width at half-maximum (FWHM) value and detector energy thresholds at distinct tube peak voltage of 100 kV has been addressed in X-ray imaging. The outcomes indicate that the behavior of the function is exponential. The relevant cut-off frequency and summation of point spread function S(PSF) were assessed at large and detailed energy ranges. A compromise must be made between cut-off frequency and FWHM to determine the optimal model. By detailed energy range, the minimum and maximum of S(PSF) values were revealed at 20 keV and 48 keV, respectively, by 2979 and 3073. Although the maximum value of FWHM occurred at the energy of 48 keV by 224 mm, its minimum value was revealed at 62 keV by 217 mm. Generally, FWHM value converged to 220 mm and S(PSF) to 3026 with small fluctuations. Consequently, there is no need to increase the voltage of the X-ray tube after the energy threshold of 20 keV. The proposed FWHM function may be used in designing the setup of the imaging parameters in order to reduce the absorbed dose and obtain the final accurate maps using the related mathematical suggestions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Scoliosis causes changes in the thorax, but it is unclear what type of changes occur in the thoracic profile after scoliosis surgery. OBJECTIVE: To investigate changes in rib cage deviation in the postoperative period after adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) surgery. METHODS: Forty-four patients with AIS with a main right thoracic curvature underwent posterior surgical fusion (PSF), and radiological parameters of the spine and thorax were evaluated. RESULTS: The correction rates of main thoracic curve (MT)-Cobb angle at immediate after surgery and postoperative follow-up (2 years) were 64% and 66%, respectively. At these two postoperative time points, the correction rates of height of thoracic vertebrae 1 to 12 (T1T12) were 10% and 12%; the correction rates of Rib-vertebra angle difference (RVAD) were 59% and 52%; the correction rates of Apical rib hump prominence (RH) were 58% and 76%; while the correction rates of Apical vertebral body-rib ratio (AVB-R) were 23% and 25%, respectively. Statistical analysis showed that all these radiological parameters at the two postoperative time points were significantly different from the preoperative values (p < 0.001). There were significant correlations between MT-Cobb angle and T1-T12 height (p < 0.001), RVAD (p < 0.001), RH (p < 0.001), and AVB-R (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Posterior spinal fusion appears to be effective at correcting scoliosis, and the correction of rib cage deviation also plays an important role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND Natural gas is essential for the world's supply of energy due to its economic viability and environmental sustainability in producing adequate amounts of clean energy. However, the removal of CO2 as an undesirable impurity remains challenging in natural gas purification. In this work, high performance dense mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) containing a low loading (<2 wt%) of zeolitic imidazolate framework 8 (ZIF‐8) and polysulfone (PSF) were prepared via simple solvent evaporation method and single solvent for the removal of CO2 from CH4. RESULTS: Significant enhancements in CO2 permeability and CO2/CH4 ideal selectivity were obtained for the resultant MMMs as compared to the neat PSF membrane. The highest CO2 permeability of 33.57 Barrer and CO2/CH4 ideal selectivity of 39.03 were achieved for a PSF membrane loaded with 1 wt% of ZIF‐8; these values were 514% and 161% higher than those obtained for the neat PSF membrane, respectively. Furthermore, MMM embedded with 1 wt% of ZIF‐8 demonstrated CO2 plasticization pressure up to 16 bar, which is equivalent to an 100% increment of the value obtained for the neat PSF membrane. CONCLUSION: Overall, MMMs fabricated in this work demonstrated a significant improvement of CO2 separation from CH4 compared to the PSF‐based MMMs reported in the literature, where most of the reported MMMs contain high loading of fillers up to 30 wt%. Therefore, the MMMs fabricated in this work are ready to be further exploited for application in gas separation industries. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry (SCI). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This current research focuses on optimizing the welding process parameters and penetration of 5052 alloys using a TIG welding process based on the Taguchi methods. Process parameters such as current, voltage, and speed with three different levels were taken to form the L27 orthogonal array using the design of experiments. Analysis of variance, signal-to-noise ratio analysis, and regression analysis were performed. The regression analysis indicated that the developed model has greater adequacy in predicting the reinforcement form factor (RFF), penetration shape factor (PSF) and hardness of the weld specimens. In addition, the optimized parametric condition for the welded specimen was found to be current, voltage, and speed of 140 A, 18 V, and 300 mm/min, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Abnormal neovascularization is the most common cause of blindness, and hypoxia alters tissue metabolism, function, and morphology. HIF-1α, the transcriptional activator of VEGF, has intricate mechanisms of nuclear translocation and activation, but its signal termination mechanisms remain unclear. Methods We investigated the role of polypyrimidine tract-binding protein-associated splicing factor (PSF) in cellular energy production, migration, and proliferation by targeting HIF-1α in vivo and in vitro PSF plasmids were transfected with liposome 2000 transfection reagent. Young C57/BL6J mice were kept in a hyperoxia environment, followed by indoor air, resulting in oxygen-induced retinopathy. Oxygen-induced retinopathy (OIR) animals were randomly divided into three groups: OIR group, OIR + vector group (OIR cubs treated with rAAV vector) and OIR + PSF group (OIR cubs treated with rAAV-PSF). Age-matched C57/BL6J mice were used as controls and exposed to constant normoxic conditions. The animals were executed and their pupils were subjected to subsequent experiments. The metabolic spectrum was analyzed by Seahorse XFe96 flux analyzer, and OCR and extracellular acidification rate were quantified at the same time. Results PSF ameliorated retinal neovascularization and corrected abnormal VEGF expression in mice with oxygen-induced retinopathy and reduced intra-retinal neovascularization in Vldlr − / − mice. PSF reprogrammed mitochondrial bioenergetics and inhibited the transition of endothelial cells after hypoxia, suggesting its involvement in pathological angiogenesis.Ectopic PSF expression inhibited hypoxia-induced HIF-1α activation in the nucleus by recruiting Hakai to the PSF/HIF-1α complex, causing HIF-1α inhibition. PSF knockdown increased hypoxia-stimulated HIF-1α reactions. These hypoxia-dependent processes may play a vital role in cell metabolism, migration, and proliferation. Thus, PSF is a potential treatment target in neovascularization-associated ophthalmopathy. Conclusion This is the first study showing that PSF inhibits HIF-1α via recruitment of Hakai, modulates mitochondrial oxidation and glycolysis, and downregulates VEGF expression under hypoxia. We propose a new HIF-1 α/Hakai regulatory mechanism that may play a vital role in the pathogenesis of neovascularization in ophthalmopathy. PSF-Hakai–HIF-1α signaling pathway under hypoxia condition. Schematic diagram showing that the PSF-Hakai–HIF-1α signaling pathway. Under hypoxia condition, PSF-Hakai complex regulate HIF-1α signaling, thus inhibiting downstream target gene VEGF, cell metabolism and angiogenesis eventually. Video Abstract: Detailed information of Materials and Methods.

The aim of this study was the development of mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) based on silica MCM-41 dispersed in polysulfone (PSf) for the separation of carbon dioxide from methane. For this purpose, MCM-41 was synthesized by a hydrothermal method and was modified with 3-aminopropyltrietoxysilane (APTES). SEM, FTIR, BET and XRD analyses were used for characterization of the modified and unmodified particles. Then, various MMMs containing PSf at different weight percents (5, 10, 15 and 20) of modified and unmodified particles were prepared and the morphology and structure of the prepared membranes were studied using SEM and XRD analyses. Regardless of the particle type, the addition of MCM-41 to PSf caused an increase in gas permeability compared to a neat PSf membrane. Adding unmodified particles to PSf matrix resulted in undesirable effects, including particle agglomeration and/or the formation of interfacial voids. The MMMs with modified MCM-41 showed relatively better separation performance compared to MMMs with unmodified MCM-41. As a result, the MMM of PSf with 20 wt. % modified MCM-41 showed a significant increase in selectivity of carbon dioxide/methane and the value of selectivity reached 25.24.

Retrospective review of data from a multicenter spine registry showed that in idiopathic 8- to 11-year-old early onset scoliosis patients, posterior spinal fusion (PSF), vertebral body tethers (VBT), and magnetically controlled growing rods control scoliosis effectively and lead to similar spinal height gain. PSF and VBT patients reduced the hazard of unplanned surgeries and showed improvements in quality of life. Study Design.: Retrospective review of prospective data from multicenter registry. Objective.: Compare outcomes of posterior spinal fusion (PSF) versus magnetically controlled growing rods (MCGR) versus vertebral body tethers (VBT) in 8- to 11-year-old idiopathic early onset scoliosis (EOS) patients. Summary of Background Data.: In EOS, it is unclear at what age the benefit of growth-sparing strategies outweighs increased risks of surgical complications, compared with PSF. Methods.: One hundred thirty idiopathic EOS patients, 81% female, aged 8–11 at index surgery (mean 10.5 yrs), underwent PSF, MCGR, or VBT. Scoliosis curve, kyphosis, thoracic and spinal height, complications, and Quality of Life (QoL) were assessed preoperatively and at most recent follow-up (prior to final fusion for VBT/MCGR). Results.: Of 130 patients, 28.5% received VBT, 39.2% MCGR, and 32.3% PSF. The VBT cohort included more females (P  < 0.0005), was older (P  < 0.0005), more skeletally mature (P  < 0.0005), and had smaller major curves (P  < 0.0005). At follow-up, scoliosis curve corrected 41.1 ± 22.4% in VBT, 52.2 ± 19.9% in PSF, and 27.4 ± 23.9% in MCGR (P  < 0.0005), however, not all VBT/MCGR patients finished treatment. Fifteen complications occurred in 10 VBTs, 6 requiring unplanned surgeries; 45 complications occurred in 31 MCGRs, 11 requiring unplanned surgeries, and 9 complications occurred in 6 PSFs, 3 requiring unplanned revisions. Cox proportional hazards regression adjusted for age, gender, and preoperative scoliosis curve revealed that MCGR (hazard ratio [HR] = 21.0, 95% C.I. 4.8–92.5; P  < 0.001) and VBT (HR = 7.1, 95% C.I. 1.4–36.4; P  = 0.019) patients were at increased hazard of requiring revision, but only MCGR patients (HR = 5.6, 95% C.I. 1.1–28.4; P  = 0.038) were at an increased hazard for unplanned revisions compared with PSF. Thoracic and spinal height increased in all groups. QoL improved in VBT and PSF patients, but not in MCGR patients. Conclusion.: In older idiopathic EOS patients, MCGR, PSF, and VBT controlled curves effectively and increased spinal height. However, VBT and PSF have a lower hazard for an unplanned revision and improved QoL. Level of Evidence: 3 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Existing works for depth estimation and image deblurring in the presence of depth-dependent blur work with the assumption of a multi-layered scene wherein each layer is modeled in the form of a fronto-parallel plane. In this work, we attempt to relax these constraints by considering more generalized settings of a 3D scene with piecewise planar structure, i.e., a scene that can be modeled as a combination of multiple planes with arbitrary orientations. To this end, we first propose a novel approach to estimate the normal of a planar surface from a single motion-blurred image. We then extend this idea and develop an algorithm for automatic recovery of the number of planes, the parameters corresponding to each plane, and camera motion from a single motion-blurred image of a multi-planar 3D scene. Finally, we propose a first-of-its-kind approach to recover the planar geometry and latent image of the scene by adopting an alternating minimization framework built on our findings. Experiments on synthetic and real data reveal that our proposed method achieves state-of-the-art results on the dual problem of depth recovery and image deblurring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: In this manuscript, a methodology of pulse shape modification is used for the directivity enhancement of ultra‐wideband (UWB) beam formation, to suppress the interference due to co‐existing narrowband communications with UWB signals. We propose that the modified pulse shaping produces more direct beam patterns for the tapped delay line antenna arrangements. These direct beam patterns are obtained for the smaller values of inter‐element spacing. This reduction of inter‐element spacing can provide more space for other development and compact the size of the any UWB antenna unit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many researchers presented the theoretical analysis of the doubly fed induction generator (DFIG) based wind turbines, while the experimental setup is more valid but remains a big challenge. Besides, wind power systems' most significant problem is how to get the most valuable energy with different wind speeds. Using wind speed sensors is a challenging operation in wind turbines due to the complicated maintenance and high cost. Therefore, This paper proposes an efficient and usable control system based on the WSE method to achieve the MPPT from DFIG under variable wind speed in different conditions. This paper also presents a DFIG based wind turbine as simulation and experimental investigation models. The simulation model of DFIG with their control schemes is implemented in MATLAB/SIMULINK software. While the experimental model is performed on a real prototype scale. Finally, a comparison of the simulation and experimental results was carried out to prove the practicability and validity of the proposed WSE method. Also, the simulation results show that the performance of the proposed WSE method is better than the traditional power signal feedback method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]