Deep Learning Image Processing Enables 40% Faster Spinal MR Scans Which Match or Exceed Quality of Standard of Care

Objective This prospective multicenter multireader study evaluated the performance of 40% scan-time reduced spinal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) reconstructed with deep learning (DL). Methods A total of 61 patients underwent standard of care (SOC) and accelerated (FAST) spine MRI. DL was used to enhance the accelerated set (FAST-DL). Three neuroradiologists were presented with paired side-by-side datasets (666 series). Datasets were blinded and randomized in sequence and left-right display order. Image features were preference rated. Structural similarity index (SSIM) and per pixel L1 was assessed for the image sets pre and post DL-enhancement as a quantitative assessment of image integrity impact. Results FAST-DL was qualitatively better than SOC for perceived signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and artifacts and equivalent for other features. Quantitative SSIM was high, supporting the absence of image corruption by DL processing. Conclusion DL enables 40% spine MRI scan time reduction while maintaining diagnostic integrity and image quality with perceived benefits in SNR and artifact reduction, suggesting potential for clinical practice utility.

DECODING THE AUTHOR'S IDEA OF A SPEECH UTTERANCE USING THE METHOD OF DENOTATIVE TEXT ANALYSIS

Данная статья посвящена описанию проведенного исследования, целью которого является изучение замысла или предмета речевой деятельности путем последовательного анализа каждого этапа порождения речевого высказывания от внешней формы текста до замысла автора по модели А.А. Леонтьева. Для проведения данного исследования были поставлены и решены задачи визуализации операции определения основных смысловых единиц предметного содержания речевого высказывания, визуализации операции определения «иерархии» смысловых единиц в «контексте» речевого сообщения и визуализации операции определения последовательности отображения смысловых элементов в речевом высказывании. Для анализа результатов, полученных на каждом этапе исследования, используются различные средства, такие как существующие программы семантического анализа текста и методика построения денотатного графа А.И. Новикова. Данная работа проведена для определения замысла автора на материале текстов англоязычных блогов, так как данные тексты могут быть рассмотрены как речевое высказывание, представленное в письменной форме, имеющее свою интенцию и направленное на адресата. The present paper is devoted to the investigation of the intention of a speaker or decoding the author's idea of a speech utterance. The purpose of this research is to study the idea or subject of speech activity by analyzing each stage of speech utterance generation from the external form of the text to the author's idea according to the model of A.A. Leontiev. To conduct this study some tasks were set and solved such as the task of visualizing of the operation of determining the basic semantic units of the subject content of speech, rendering of the operation of the definition of "hierarchy" semantic units in the "context" of a voice message, and visualizing of the operation of determining the display order of semantic elements in speech utterance. To analyze the results obtained at each stage of the study, various tools are used, such as existing programs for semantic text analysis and the method of constructing a denotative graph by A.I. Novikov. This work is carried out to determine the author's intention based on the material of texts of English-language blogs, since these texts can be considered as speech utterances presented in writing, having its own intention and directed at the addressee.

Polytypism of Compounds with the General Formula Cs{Al2[TP6O20]} (T = B, Al): OD (Order-Disorder) Description, Topological Features, and DFT-Calculations

The crystal structures of compounds with the general formula Cs{[6]Al2[[4]TP6O20]} (where T = Al, B) display order−disorder (OD) character and can be described using the same OD groupoid family. Their structures are built up by two kinds of nonpolar layers, with the layer symmetries Pc(n)2 (L2n+1-type) and Pc(a)m (L2n-type) (category IV). Layers of both types (L2n and L2n+1) alternate along the b direction and have common translation vectors a and c (a ~ 10.0 Å, c ~ 12.0 Å). All ordered polytypes as well as disordered structures can be obtained using the following partial symmetry operators that may be active in the L2n type layer: the 21 screw axis parallel to c [– – 21] or inversion centers and the 21 screw axis parallel to a [21 – –]. Different sequences of operators active in the L2n type layer ([– – 21] screw axes or inversion centers and [21 – –] screw axes) define the formation of multilayered structures with the increased b parameter, which are considered as non-MDO polytypes. The microporous heteropolyhedral MT-frameworks are suitable for the migration of small cations such as Li+, Na+ Ag+. Compounds with the general formula Rb{[6]M3+[[4]T3+P6O20]} (M = Al, Ga; T = Al, Ga) are based on heteropolyhedral MT-frameworks with the same stoichiometry as in Cs{[6]Al2[[4]TP6O20]} (where T = Al, B). It was found that all the frameworks have common natural tilings, which indicate the close relationships of the two families of compounds. The conclusions are supported by the DFT calculation data.

A nonequilibrium force can stabilize 2D active nematics

Suspensions of actively driven anisotropic objects exhibit distinctively nonequilibrium behaviors, and current theories predict that they are incapable of sustaining orientational order at high activity. By contrast, here we show that nematic suspensions on a substrate can display order at arbitrarily high activity due to a previously unreported, potentially stabilizing active force. This force moreover emerges inevitably in theories of active orientable fluids under geometric confinement. The resulting nonequilibrium ordered phase displays robust giant number fluctuations that cannot be suppressed even by an incompressible solvent. Our results apply to virtually all experimental assays used to investigate the active nematic ordering of self-propelled colloids, bacterial suspensions, and the cytoskeleton and have testable implications in interpreting their nonequilibrium behaviors.

Product order affects consumer preferences for variety bundles

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of a variety bundle's product display order on consumer preferences. When forming a variety bundle, manufacturers, retailers and advertisers need to decide on the order in which their products are displayed. The authors provide empirical evidence that this apparently trivial display decision can systematically affect consumer preferences. Design/methodology/approach Four experiments were performed with over a total of 1,000 participants. Logistic regressions were conducted on the collected data sets to provide support for the hypothesis and its underlying psychological mechanism. Findings Results showed that product attitudes systematically affect choices among variety bundles that differ only in the order in which their products are displayed. When choosing among flat and horizontal variety bundles, Western consumers preferred the one that had the product they like the most to the left. This phenomenon was observed in different product categories, among left-to-right readers from different Western countries and languages, and with both hypothetical and consequential decisions. The incremental weight given to the first piece of information (i.e. “first” product in the bundle) explains this product order effect. Originality/value Although a significant amount of research has been conducted to understand the factors that affect consumer preferences for product bundles, little attention has been devoted to the role of visual aesthetics. The research addresses this gap, and in so doing contributes both to the marketing and to the visual aesthetics literature. One simple yet key implication of the product order effect documented here is that the value consumers assign to a variety bundle depends on the order in which its products are displayed.

AUDIO VIDEO SYNCHRONIZATION USING BITSTREAM SYNTAX

This paper has proposal to develop audio-video synchronization in the bit-stream syntax using the Slice type and Macro-Block usage. The Media file like MP4, MOV and M4Vcontainer formats consists of both Audio and Video packed as tracks. The Video is encoded in H.264 format while Audio is encoded in AAC formats. There is a common way to achieve synchronization by looking into the type of Slice and the type of MB. This can be achieved by scanning across all the atoms present within the Media data. Time synchronization can be achieved by taking input from the Sample to Time atoms and feeding the data into Auxiliary units. The Slice type plays important role for synchronization as the decode order and display order for Video are different and sufficient time is taken to decode the video based on Profile, Level, type and number of Macroblocks for High profile. So the synchronization can be achieved for a Program stream or a Digital storage medium playback by synchronizing the formats based on type of slice information.

Thermal and Optical Characterization of Polymer-Dispersed Liquid Crystals

Liquid crystals are compounds that display order in the liquid state above the melting temperature and below the mesogenic isotropic temperature. Polymer-dispersed liquid crystals (PDLCs) are composite materials in which liquid crystalline material is dispersed within a polymer matrix to form micron-sized droplets. The aim was to prepare several cholesteryl esters or alkoxybenzoic acid PDLCs and characterise thermal and optical properties. Differential scanning calorimetry and polarized optical microscopy were employed. The matrix polymer was a one-component UV-curable epoxy-acrylate resin. PDLCs were formed through entropy controlled phase separation resulting from UV-initiated crosslinking. The liquid crystals, both as mesogenic moieties and as dispersed droplets, exhibited various textures according to their molecular order and orientation. These textures formed in constrained regions separated by phase boundaries that occurred at temperatures characteristic of each liquid crystal used. The PDLC phase transitions occurred at temperatures lower than those exhibited by the mesogenic components in the neat state.