•High aromatics and low asphaltenes could improve dispersion of SBS.•Particle size distribution curve S/B ratio at 30/70 was narrower than others.•As SBS contents increasing the particle size ...distribution curve became wide.•With the range of SBS distribution becoming narrow the viscosity was increased.
Styrene–butadiene–styrene (SBS) modified asphalt (PMA) was prepared by high shear method. Four asphalts with different components and four types of SBS copolymers with different S/B ratio and types were selected in this study. The influences of the asphalt components and SBS structure as well as SBS contents on the particle size distribution of SBS and properties of the SBS modified asphalt were investigated. Fluorescence microscope and the Image-Pro Plus program were chosen to characterize the microstructure and count the particle size distribution of SBS. The results show that the asphalt components, SBS structure and content had significant impacts on the particle size distribution of SBS polymer in asphalt and the performance of SBS modified asphalt. The high aromatics content and the low asphaltenes content could improve the dispersion of SBS in asphalt. When the S/B ratio is 30/70, the particle size distribution curve was the narrowest and the performance of modified asphalt was improved. With the content of SBS increasing, the particle size distribution curve became wide and the softening point of the modified asphalt was increased, while the penetration and the ductility were decreased. The viscosity at 135°C of modified asphalt was increased with the range of the particle size distribution curves becoming narrow.
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•The difference in attachment between particles and air/oily bubbles was quantified.•The wetting film between hydrophobic particles and oily bubbles was more susceptible to ...rupture.•The formed TPCL when the hydrophobic particles adhered to oily bubbles was larger than that when they adhere to air bubbles.•The oily bubble had both strong collecting power and excellent selectivity for hydrophobic particles.
The attachment between particles and bubbles is a very important basic unit for mineral flotation. In the present study, methylation processing for glass spheres with trimethylchlorosilane was used to prepare particles with different surface hydrophobicity, and a visualization setup was assembled based on high-speed camera technology to investigate the dynamic attachment process of particles onto air/oily bubbles. More importantly, the difference in the attachment process between particles and air/oily bubbles was successfully quantified with the software Image Pro Plus 6.0. It was found that the wetting film ruptured at about 36 ms during the attachment between the hydrophobic glass sphere M2 and air bubbles, while it occurred at about 28 ms during the attachment between M2 and oily bubbles. Moreover, the formed three-phase contact line between hydrophobic particles and oily bubbles was larger than that between hydrophobic particles and air bubbles, suggesting a more stable attachment of the former. In contrast, no successful attachment of the hydrophilic glass sphere M0 onto air or oily bubbles was observed. These findings strongly demonstrated that oily bubbles had both strong collecting power and excellent selectivity for hydrophobic particles in flotation. This study improved the understanding of the difference between oily-bubble and conventional flotations.
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•EVA modified epoxy asphalt binders have been developed.•Morphology evolution of EVA modified epoxy asphalt has been investigated.•Epoxy resin is a continuous phase and EVA-modified ...asphalt is a disperse phase in EA/EVA blends.•The addition of EVA improves both thermal stability and mechanical properties of the neat EA.
As one of polymer modified asphalts (PMAs), epoxy asphalt (EA) has been extensively used in the pavement of steel bridge deck due to its excellent performances. Ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA) is one of most used polymer modifiers in PMAs. EA/EVA blends were prepared with the addition of EVA in asphalts. The effects of EVA on the morphology evolution of EA were investigated by laser scanning confocal microscopy (LSCM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Furthermore, the rotational viscosity, thermal stability and mechanical properties of EA/EVA blends were studied. LSCM observed that epoxy resin was the continuous phase and EVA-asphalt was the disperse phase in EA/EVA blends. The presence of epoxy crosslinking network destroyed the physical interaction between EVA and asphalts. Both LSCM and SEM observations found that smaller and well-distributed EVA-asphalt particles formed in EA/EVA blends with lower EVA loadings. However, EVA-asphalt particles distributed inhomogeneously in the blends with higher EVA loadings. The addition of EVA increased the viscosity of the neat EA. Moreover, the presence of EVA improved both thermal stability and mechanical properties of the neat EA.
Purpose
A well-defined and reliable patient-reported outcome instrument for COVID-19 is important for assessing symptom severity and supporting research studies. The InFLUenza Patient-Reported ...Outcome (FLU-PRO) instrument has been expanded to include loss of taste and smell in the FLU-PRO Plus, to comprehensively cover COVID-19 symptoms. Our studies were designed to evaluate and validate the FLU-PRO Plus among patients with COVID-19.
Methods
Two studies were conducted: (1) a qualitative, non-interventional, cross-sectional study of patients with COVID-19 involving hybrid concept elicitation and cognitive debriefing interviews; (2) a psychometric evaluation of the measurement properties of FLU-PRO Plus, using data from COMET-ICE (COVID-19 Monoclonal antibody Efficacy Trial—Intent to Care Early).
Results
In the qualitative interviews (
n
= 30), all 34 items of the FLU-PRO Plus were considered relevant to COVID-19, and participants determined the questionnaire was easily understood, well written, and comprehensive. In the psychometric evaluation (
n
= 845), the internal consistency reliability of FLU-PRO Plus total score was 0.94, ranging from 0.71 to 0.90 for domain scores. Reproducibility (Day 20–21) was 0.83 for total score, with domain scores of 0.67–0.89. Confirmatory factor analysis with the novel smell/taste domain demonstrated an acceptable fit to the data.
Conclusion
The content, reliability, validity, and responsiveness of the FLU-PRO Plus in the COVID-19 population were supported. Our results suggest that FLU-PRO Plus is a content- and psychometrically-valid, fit-for-purpose measure which is easily understood by patients. FLU-PRO Plus is a suitable PRO measure for evaluating symptoms of COVID-19 and treatment benefit directly from the patient perspective.
Trial Registration:
ClinicalTrials.Gov: NCT04545060, September 10, 2020; retrospectively registered.
At present, there are many methods to measure the diameters of filaments in E-glass yarn, but only the average diameter is reported, which cannot reflect all the filaments in the yarn. The methods ...based on physical principle are not intuitive, the data based on the longitudinal fiber diameter image measurement method are not comprehensive, the observation on the cross-section image of yarn based on slice-making is time-consuming and labor-intensive, and requires manual measurement or self-developed software application. In this article, Keyence VK-X110 3D laser morphometry microscope was used to quickly obtain the cross-section image of glass filament yarn without making a slice of E-glass yarn, and Image-Pro Plus was used to measure all the filaments' diameters in the yarn automatically. The measurement data and analysis show that under the condition of completely processing all the filaments' image, minor axis of filament cross-section is approximate to the filament diameter. This method is not only able to verify whether glass filament yarn meets the quality criteria of ASTM D578-00, but also provides the diameter distribution of all the filaments in an E-glass yarn. In addition, the data support more comprehensive evaluation standard for the quality of glass filament spinning.
A estimativa da área foliar é um componente fundamental para os modelos de desenvolvimento das plantas, pois permite compreender as adaptações ecofisiológicas perante estímulos do meio ambiente ou de ...práticas de manejo. Nesse sentido, objetivamos avaliar a acurácia de três softwares de análise de imagem que mensuram a área (AF), comprimento (C) e largura (L) foliar, respectivamente, suprindo a falta de direcionamento quanto à validação e comparação destes softwares em estudos biológicos alométricos. Foram selecionadas aleatoriamente 176 folhas elípticas, as quais depois de digitalizadas, foram mensuradas com os softwares ImageJ, Image-Pro PLUS® e AFSoft. A AF, C e L foliar mensurados por cada software foram submetidos aos testes de Kolmovorov-Smirnov e Bartlett para confirmação da normalidade e homocedasticidade, respectivamente. A ANOVA foi realizada considerando os três softwares para a área foliar. Para o comprimento e largura foliar foi utilizado o teste t-Student entre ImageJ e Image Pro PLUS®. Nestes últimos, adicionalmente por meio de um modelo exponencial AF= β0*(C*L)β1, foram comparados os resíduos. Nossos resultados evidenciaram que os softwares ImageJ, Image Pro PLUS® e AFSoft não demonstraram diferenças significativas na mensuração da área foliar na ANOVA (F=1,581; p-valor=0,267). Comparando a mensuração da largura e comprimento foliar, os softwares ImageJ e Image Pro PLUS® não apresentaram diferenças significativas com o teste t-Student (t = -0,248; p-valor= 0,804 e t = -0,812; p-valor= 0,417, respectivamente). Da mesma forma, os resíduos do modelo exponencial tampouco apresentaram diferenças significativas entre si (t = -0,027; p-valor= 0,979). Portanto, concluímos que é possível determinar com a mesma exatidão a área foliar e dimensões foliares fazendo uso de softwares livres como ImageJ e AFSoft, de modo que os estudantes e pesquisadores não deveriam se limitar à utilização de softwares pagos por receio de perder acurácia.
In spinning, sizing agent makes originally rigid glass filament yarn soft, smooth, reduces mechanical wear, and alleviates static electricity. In order to produce “stronger, thinner, and more ...uniform” E(Electronic) fiberglass cloth, the sized filament yarn is required to have good strand integrity and uniform belt-like shape. Currently, the sizing effect can only be evaluated artificially according to the image of cross section or longitudinal section of yarns. The goal of the paper is to find an objective evaluation method for sizing effects on strand integrity and performance of belt-forming of E-glass filament yarn. The image of cross section of yarn is captured by Keyence VK-X110 and analyzed by Image-Pro Plus to obtain the central position and diameter of each filament. The threshold of fiber spacing is set to determine whether filaments are clustered in group. The area of outer enveloping convex polygon containing all the clustered filaments is calculated and fiber-filling rate is calculated accordingly. By using the least square method, the minimum rectangle containing all groups of filaments is obtained to describe the basic contour of yarn cross section. The outer envelope polygon is divided into several equal parts to calculate the coefficient variation of thickness distribution and yarn distribution. These objective values well reflect the strand integrity and feature of belt-forming of yarn, and are consistent with the subjective evaluation. Rank order method is used to compare the sizing morphology of the yarns based on the values. A standard is also suggested for objective grade assessment of sized E-Glass yarns.
In recent decades, the prevalence of obesity has been rising. One of the major characteristics of obesity is fat accumulation, including hyperplasia (increase in number) and hypertrophy (increase in ...size). After histological staining, it is critical to accurately measure the number and size of adipocytes for assessing the severity of obesity in a timely fashion. Manual measurement is accurate but time-consuming. Although commercially available adipocyte counting tools, including AdipoCount, Image-Pro Plus, and ImageJ were helpful, limitations still exist in accuracy and time consuming. In the present study, we introduced the protocol of combined usage of these tools and illustrated the process with histological staining slides from adipose tissues of lean and obese mice. We found that the adipocyte sizes quantified by the tool combination were comparable as manual measurement, whereas the combined methods were more efficient. Besides, the recognition effect of monochrome segmentation image is better than that of color segmentation image. Overall, we developed a combination method to measure adipocyte sizes accurately and efficiently, which may be helpful for experimental process in laboratory and also for clinic diagnosis.
The aim was to validate the correlation between corneal shape parameters and axial length growth (ALG) during orthokeratology using Image-Pro Plus (IPP) 6.0 software.
This retrospective study used ...medical records of myopic children aged 8-13 years (n = 104) undergoing orthokeratology. Their corneal topography and axial length were measured at baseline and subsequent follow-ups after lens wear. Corneal shape parameters, including the treatment zone (TZ) area, TZ diameter, TZ fractal dimension, TZ radius ratio, eccentric distance, pupil area, and pupillary peripheral steepened zone(PSZ) area, were measured using IPP software. The impact of corneal shape parameters at 3 months post-orthokeratology visit on 1.5-year ALG was evaluated using multivariate linear regression analysis.
ALG exhibited significant associations with age, TZ area, TZ diameter, TZ fractal dimension, and eccentric distance on univariate linear regression analysis. Multivariate regression analysis identified age, TZ area, and eccentric distance as significantly correlated with ALG (all P < 0.01), with eccentric distance showing the strongest correlation (β = -0.370). The regressive equation was y = 1.870 - 0.235a + 0.276b - 0.370c, where y represents ALG, a represents age, b represents TZ area, and c represents eccentric distance; R
= 0.27). No significant relationships were observed between the TZ radius ratio, pupillary PSZ area, and ALG.
IPP software proves effective in capturing precise corneal shape parameters after orthokeratology. Eccentric distance, rather than age or the TZ area, significantly influences ALG retardation.
The value of virtual touch tissue imaging (VTI) with support of Image-Pro Plus (IPP) for diagnosing malignant thyroid tumors was assessed in the present study.
In this retrospective study, we ...enrolled 160 patients with 198 thyroid nodules. TI-RADS, VTI grade, and VTI with support of IPP (VTI-IPP) were underwent for each nodule. With the pathological diagnosis as the gold standard, the receiver-operating characteristic curve (ROC) was drawn to evaluate the diagnostic performance of VTI-IPP, VTI, TI-RADS, VTI-IPP combinate with TI-RADS in thyroid carcinoma.
VTI-IPP score >2, VTI score >3, TI-RADS score >1, and VTI-IPP combine with TI-RADS score >4 expressed the highest diagnostic value for malignant thyroid nodules, the areas under the curve (AUC) were 0.939, 0.905, 0.925, and 0.967, respectively. The combination indicated the largest AUC, compared with VTI-IPP and TI-RADS, respectively (P = 0.0054 and 0.0009). The performance of VTI-IPP in diagnosing thyroid carcinomas was better than VTI (P = 0.0321).
Compare with VTI, VTI-IPP exhibited more excellent value in distinguishing between benign and malignant thyroid nodules. The value of malignant thyroid nodules diagnosis can be improved when VTI-IPP combines with TI-RADS.
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