Repetitions of CT acquisitions and scouts with radiation field dimensions larger than the region of interest were found in 25% of chest examinations, resulting in higher absorbed doses. The results of this work show a mapping of the chest CT procedures, which enable to establish strategic plans for the country. In addition, each institution will be able to implement an appropriate optimization program and establish institutional reference levels.
  This paper aims to investigate the feasibility and the validity of applying deep convolutional neural networks (CNN) to identify motor unit (MU) spike trains and estimate the neural drive to muscles from high-density electromyography (HD-EMG) signals in real time. Two distinct deep CNNs are compared with the convolution kernel compensation (CKC) algorithm using simulated and experimentally recorded signals. The effects of window size and step size of the input HD-EMG signals are also investigated.
 
  The MU spike trains were first identified with the CKC algorithm. The HD-EMG signals and spike trains were used to train the deep CNN. Then, the deep CNN decomposed the HD-EMG signals into MU discharge times in real time. Two CNN approaches are compared with the CKC 1) multiple single-output deep CNN (SO-DCNN) with one MU decomposed per network, and 2) one multiple-output deep CNN (MO-DCNN) to decompose all MUs (up to 23) with one network.
 
  The MO-DCNN outperformed the SO-DCNN in terms of training time (3.2 to nical delay. This method opens many opportunities for using the neural drive to interface humans with assistive devices.We examine some leading-order flow and stability properties of smectic A (SmA) liquid crystals (LCs) in two spatial dimensions by analysing a fully nonlinear continuum theory of these materials. We derive a system of equations for the dynamic variables describing the flow velocity and orientation of the material under suitable assumptions upon these quantities. This system can provide insight into the leading-order behaviour under quite general circumstances, and we provide an example of utilising this system to determine the flow induced by a constant pressure gradient applied normally to the smectic layers. We then consider the effect of oscillatory perturbations on a relaxed, stationary sample of SmA, and provide criteria under which one would expect to see the onset of instability in the form of inequalities between the material parameters and perturbative wave number. We find that instability occurs for physically realisable values of these quantities, and, in particular, that certain viscosities characterising the SmA phase can act as 'destabilising agents' such that one could, for a given sample with known parameter values, manipulate the behaviour of that sample.An effective method for realizing ultra-low-frequency single-mode band gap in pentamode metamaterials is proposed based on constituent materials. Results show that the decreasing ratioE/ρ(stiffness/mass density) of constituent material can significantly lower the frequency range of single-mode band gap. By merely replacing the constituent material from Al to rubber, the center frequencyfcof single-mode band gap can be reduced nearly 600 times (from 3621 Hz to 6.5 Hz), while the normalized bandwidth Δf/fcand the ratio of bulk modulusBto shear modulusGof pentamode structure keep substantially stable. The nonlinear fitting demonstrates that the relation betweenfcandE/ρsatisfies the logarithmic function. The two-component pentamode structure is designed to further explore the ultra-low-frequency single-mode band gap. The effects of thick-end diameterDof double-cone, diameterD0and material type of additional sphere, on single-mode band gap of two-component system are analyzed. This work is attractive for several ∼Hz acoustic/elastic wave regulations using pentamode metamaterials.In this work, one-dimensional nitrogen doped porous carbon nano-arrays arranged by carbon nanotube (1D CNTs@NPC) were first constructed, using a coating technology at room temperature and followed by high temperature carbonization. It was expected that the resulting glassy carbon electrodes modified by 1D CNTs@NPC (CNTs@NPC/GCE) could express different electrochemical responses to ascorbic acid (AA), dopamine (DA), uric acid (UA), by virtue of the synergistic-improved effect between CNTs and NPC. Under the optimized conditions, there were excellent analytical parameters for CNTs@NPC/GCE to detect AA, DA and UA, i.e., a wide linear range of 40~2100 μM for AA, 0.5~49 μM for DA and 3~50 μM for AA with low detection limits of 0.36 μM, 0.02 μmol/L and 0.57 μM respectively. Importantly, the proposed CNTs@NPC/GCE was efficiently applied to determine AA, DA and UA in some real samples with high stability, reproducibility and selectivity. This work will offer an efficient potential for diagnosing ascorbic acid, dopamine or uric acid-related diseases on clinical testing in future.Acridinium 9-carboxylic acid derivatives have been extensively used as chemiluminescent labels in diagnostic assays. Triggering acridinium with basic hydrogen peroxide produces a highly strained dioxetanone intermediate, which converts into an acridone in an electronically excited state and emits light at 420-440 nm. Here, we introduce a novel acridinium-fluorescein construct emitting at 530 nm, in which fluorescein is covalently attached to the acridinium N-10 nitrogen via a propyl sulfonamide linker. To characterize the spectral properties of the acridinium-fluorescein chemiluminophores, we synthesized the analogous acridone-fluorescein constructs. Both acridinium and acridone were linked to either 5- or 6-carboxyfluorescein and independently synthesized as individual structural isomers. Using fluorescent acridone-fluorophore tandems, we investigated and optimized the diluent composition to prevent dye aggregation. As monomolecular species, the acridone isomers demonstrated similar absorption, excitation, and emission spectra, as well as the expected fluorescence lifetimes and molecular brightness. Chemical triggering of acridinium-fluorescein tandems, as well as direct excitation of their acridone-fluorescein analogs, resulted in a nearly complete energy transfer from acridone to fluorescein.  https://www.selleckchem.com/ferroptosis.html  Acridone-based dyes can be studied with steady-state spectroscopy. Thus, they will serve as useful tools for structure and solvent optimizations, as well as for studying chemiluminescent energy transfer mechanisms in related acridinium-fluorophore tandems. Direct investigations of the light-emitting molecules generated in the acridinium chemiluminescent reaction empower further development of chemiluminescent labels with red-shifted emission. As illustrated by the two-color HIV model immunoassay, such labels can find immediate applications for multicolor detection in clinical diagnostic assays.