Two-dimensional (2-D)/three-dimensional (3-D) registration techniques using single-plane fluoroscopy are highly important for analyzing 3-D kinematics in applications such as total knee arthroplasty ...(TKA) implants. The accuracy of single-plane fluoroscopy-based techniques in the determination of translation perpendicular to the image plane (depth position), however, is relatively poor because a change in the depth position causes only small changes in the 2-D silhouette. Accuracies achieved in depth position using conventional 2-D/3-D registration techniques are insufficient for clinical applications. Therefore, we propose a technique for improving the accuracy of depth position determination in order to develop a system for analyzing knee kinematics over the full six degrees of freedom (6 DOF) using single-plane fluoroscopy. In preliminary experiments, the behaviors of errors for each free variable were quantified as evaluation curves by examining changes in cost function with variations in the free variable. The evaluation curve for depth position was more jagged, and the curve peak less pointy, compared to the evaluation curves of the other five variables, and the curve was found to behave differently. Depth position is therefore optimized independently of the other variables, using an approximate evaluation curve of depth position prepared after initial registration. Accuracy of the proposed technique was evaluated by computer simulation and in vitro tests, with validation of absolute position and orientation performed for each knee component. In computer simulation tests, root-mean-square error (RMSE) in depth position was improved from 2.6 mm (conventional) to 0.9 mm (proposed), whereas for in vitro tests, RMSE improved from 3.2 mm to 1.4 mm. Accuracy of the estimation of the remaining two translational and three rotational variables was found to be almost the same as that obtained by conventional techniques. Results of in vivo tests are also described in which the possibility of full 6 DOF kinematic analysis of TKA implants is shown.
•We examined G × E effects for Holstein cow fertility among herd production levels.•Herd production level did not affect genetic correlations among fertility traits.•Nor did it affect the genetic ...correlations of fertility with lactation persistency.•G × E effects for fertility after the first lactation were relatively large.
Genotype by environment interaction (G × E) effects for lactating cows’ fertility traits may differ with lactation number when accounting for herd production level. Our objective here was to investigate the genetic correlations among three fertility traits in cows and lactation persistency within and across herds with different milk-production levels by using lactation records of Japanese Holstein cows (475,446 records for first lactation, 378,540 for second, and 265,560 for third). Herds with data were categorized into three groups (LOW, MID, and HIGH) based on the average herd-year effects in each herd for 305-day milk yield at the first lactation. The fertility traits evaluated were conception rate at first insemination (CR); number of inseminations (NI); and days open (DO). Lactation persistency (PER) was defined as the difference between milk yields at 240 and 60 days in milk. Genetic parameters were estimated within each lactation by using a multiple-trait model that considered the traits of different herd milk-production groups (HPGs) as separate traits. The genetic correlations among fertility traits were estimated by using a three HPG × three-trait animal model; for those between fertility traits and PER we used a three HPG × two-trait (each fertility trait and PER) animal model. The genetic correlations among fertility traits were strong, whereas those between fertility traits and PER were weak and undesirable; most of the values did not differ significantly among HPGs or lactations. Some of the genetic correlations of CR or NI among different HPGs for the second and third lactations were lower than those for the first lactation. These findings suggest that G × E effects on a cow's ability to conceive with respect to herd production level are larger in later lactations than in the first lactation.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
We present results for the nucleon axial charge g{A} at a fixed lattice spacing of 1/a=1.73(3) GeV using 2+1 flavors of domain wall fermions on size 16;{3} x 32 and 24;{3} x 64 lattices (L=1.8 and ...2.7 fm) with length 16 in the fifth dimension. The length of the Monte Carlo trajectory at the lightest m_{pi} is 7360 units, including 900 for thermalization. We find finite volume effects are larger than the pion mass dependence at m{pi}=330 MeV. We also find a scaling with the single variable m{pi}L which can also be seen in previous two-flavor domain wall and Wilson fermion calculations. Using this scaling to eliminate the finite-volume effect, we obtain g{A}=1.20(6)(4) at the physical pion mass, m_{pi}=135 MeV, where the first and second errors are statistical and systematic. The observed finite-volume scaling also appears in similar quenched simulations, but disappear when V>or=(2.4 fm);{3}. We argue this is a dynamical quark effect.
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CMK, CTK, FMFMET, IJS, NUK, PNG, UM
We report on new results of a search for a two-photon interaction with axionlike particles (ALPs). The experiment is carried out at a synchrotron radiation facility using a "light shining through a ...wall (LSW)" technique. For this purpose, we develop a novel pulsed-magnet system, composed of multiple racetrack magnets and a transportable power supply. It produces fields of about 10 T over 0.8 m with a high repetition rate of 0.2 Hz and yields a new method of probing a vacuum with high intensity fields. The data obtained with a total of 27 676 pulses provide a limit on the ALP-two-photon coupling constant that is more stringent by a factor of 5.2 compared to a previous x-ray LSW limit for the ALP mass ≲0.1 eV.
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We have measured the 3d→2p transition x rays of kaonic ^{3}He and ^{4}He atoms using superconducting transition-edge-sensor microcalorimeters with an energy resolution better than 6 eV (FWHM). We ...determined the energies to be 6224.5±0.4(stat)±0.2(syst) eV and 6463.7±0.3(stat)±0.1(syst) eV, and widths to be 2.5±1.0(stat)±0.4(syst) eV and 1.0±0.6(stat)±0.3(stat) eV, for kaonic ^{3}He and ^{4}He, respectively. These values are nearly 10 times more precise than in previous measurements. Our results exclude the large strong-interaction shifts and widths that are suggested by a coupled-channel approach and agree with calculations based on optical-potential models.
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CMK, CTK, FMFMET, IJS, NUK, PNG, UM
Abstract
Abstract
An antimuscarinic therapy may increase the risk of voiding dysfunction. However, it is unclear whether the relative risk of voiding dysfunction is different among antimuscarinics. ...Therefore we determined the potencies both in enhancing the bladder capacity (BC), effectiveness, and in decreasing the maximum urinary flow rate (Qmax), voiding dysfunction, to compare their therapeutic indices.
Under urethane anesthesia, urinary flow rate was measured at distal urethra using an ultrasonic flow meter in female Sprague-Dawley rats with functional urethral obstruction induced by a continuous i. v. infusion of α
1
-adrenoceptor agonist A-61603 (0.03 μg/kg/min). In a separate group of urethane-anesthetized rats without urethral obstruction, an intermittent cystometry was performed to determine BC.
Intravenous imidafenacin and oxybutynin produced a significant dose-dependent decrease in Qmax with the minimum doses of 0.03 and 1 mg/kg, respectively. Imidafenacin and oxybutynin markedly increased BC, with minimum doses of 0.01 and 3 mg/kg, respectively. At the minimum dose to increase BC, oxybutynin caused a significant increase in residual urine volume with a significant decrease in voiding efficiency, whereas imidafenacin had no influence on these values. The relative influence index, which is the ratio of the minimum influence dose between in decreasing of Qmax and in increasing of BC, of imidafenacin was 10 fold higher than that of oxybutynin.
This study suggests that imidafenacin has a lower relative risk of voiding difficulty compared with oxybutynin in rats. These results provide new information that antimuscarinics may have varying degrees of impact on voiding difficulty.
A buncher cavity has been developed for the muons accelerated by a radio-frequency quadrupole linac (RFQ). The buncher cavity is designed for β=v∕c=0.04 at an operational frequency of 324 MHz. It ...employs a double-gap structure operated in the TEM mode for the required effective voltage with compact dimensions, in order to account for the limited space of the experiment. The measured resonant frequency and unloaded quality factor are 323.95 MHz and 3.06×103, respectively. The buncher cavity was successfully operated for longitudinal bunch size measurement of the muons accelerated by the RFQ.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
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► A method has been developed to synthesize metal and metal oxide nanostructures in high yields on the surface of SiO2/Si substrate. The capability for growth of nanomaterials by ...simple manner makes the present method attractive for a creation of new nanostructures for various nanoscale device applications. ► Spherical gold nanoparticles with a size of 15
nm and nanowires with a diameter of 70
nm were synthesized. SnO
2 rough microwires, smooth nanowires, and nanoknives were synthesized by using Sn granules, SnO powder, and SnO
2 powder as source materials, respectively. ► Nanocomposite gas sensors on the base of noble metal (Au) and metal oxide were fabricated. The results demonstrated that gold doping improved the sensor response to NO
2 gas.
A method has been developed to synthesize metal and metal oxide nanostructures in high yields on the surface of SiO
2/Si substrate. In this method, starting materials in a covered alumina crucible are thermally evaporated under a high vacuum or a low pressure of ambient air. Spherical gold nanoparticles with a size of 15
nm and nanowires with a diameter of 70
nm were synthesized. SnO
2 rough microwires, smooth nanowires, and nanoknives were synthesized by using Sn granules, SnO powder, and SnO
2 powder as source materials, respectively. The microwires showed a quadrangular cross section and a length of several microns, while the nanowires showed a circular cross section and approximately the same length. The effects of source temperature and deposition time on nanostructure growth were studied. X-ray diffraction patterns suggested that the as-synthesized products consisted of crystalline nanostructure. Nanocomposite gas sensors on the base of noble metal and metal oxide were fabricated. These SnO
2 nanowire gas sensors showed a reversible response to dilute NO
2 gas at operating temperatures ranging between room temperature and 300
°C even at high concentrations. The results demonstrated that gold doping improved the sensor response.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK
Tin dioxide nanowires were formed by using thermal evaporation and functionalized by Pd nanodots for investigating the effect of nano-additives on NO2 sensing properties. SnO2 nanowires are uniformly ...functionalized with Pd nanodots by plain micro-drop process of PdCl2. The NO2 sensing characteristics of the Pd-functionalized SnO2 nanowires are compared with those of bare SnO2 nanowires. The results indicate that the concentration of catalytic Pd nanodots plays an important role in the enhancement of NO2 sensing properties. The low concentration of Pd nanodots greatly enhances the sensor response and response time in SnO2 nanowire-based gas sensors. However, extensive addition of Pd into the sensing layer resulted in the degradation of sensing characteristics. Moreover, the SnO2 nanowires functionalized with excessively high concentration of Pd nanodots shows an anomalous behavior in its output.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Checkweighers, that can measure the mass of a target object continuously while conveying the object on a belt conveyor, are affected by environmental vibration. As a result, accuracy of the mass ...measurement gets worse. To solve this problem, we have proposed a method that can eliminate the effect of the environmental vibration. This paper enhances the proposed method and improves the performance of the proposed method.
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