The Design of Fingerprint Identification System based on Improved Binarization Algorithm

Zhu Heng-jun,Guo Ying,Zhang nan-nan,Liang Hong 보안공학연구지원센터 2014 International Journal of Security and Its Applicat Vol.8 No.6

Gender Differences Associated with Pain Characteristics and Treatment in Taiwanese Oncology Outpatients

Liang, Shu-Yuan,Wang, Tsae-Jyy,Wu, Shu-Fang,Chao, Ta-Chung,Chuang, Yeu-Hui,Tsay, Shiow-Luan,Tung, Heng-Hsin,Lee, Ming-Der Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2013 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.14 No.7

The purpose of this descriptive and comparative study was to examine gender differences relevant to pain intensity, opioid prescription patterns and opioid consumption in Taiwanese oncology outpatients. The 92 participants had been prescribed opioid analgesics for cancer-related pain at least once in the past week and were asked to complete the Brief Pain Inventory - Chinese questionnaire and to recall the dosage of each opioid analgesic that they had ingested within the previous 24 hours. For opioid prescriptions and consumption, all analgesics were converted to morphine equivalents. The results revealed a significant difference between males and female minimum pain thresholds (t = 2.38, p = 0.02) and current pain thresholds (t = 2.12, p = 0.04), with males reporting a higher intensity of pain than females. In addition, this study found that males tended to use prescribed opioid analgesics more frequently than females on the bases of both around the clock (ATC) (t = 1.90, p = 0.06) and ATC plus as needed (ATC + PRN) (t = 2.33, p = 0.02). However, there was no difference between males and females in opioid prescriptions on an ATC basis (t = 0.52, p = 0.60) or at an ATC + PRN basis (t = 0.40, p = 0.69). The results suggest that there may be a gender bias in the treatment of cancer pain, supporting the proposal of routine examination of the effect of gender on cancer pain management. These findings suggest that clinicians should be particularly aware of potential gender differences during pain monitoring and the consumption of prescribed opioid analgesics.

Relationship Between Belief about Analgesics, Analgesic Adherence and Pain Experience in Taiwanese Cancer Outpatients

Liang, Shu-Yuan,Chen, Kang-Pan,Tsay, Shiow-Luan,Wu, Shu-Fang,Chuang, Yeu-Hui,Wang, Tsae-Jyy,Tung, Heng-Hsin,Cheng, Su-Fen Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2013 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.14 No.2

Social and behavioral scientists have proposed that a person's belief system crucially influences his or her behaviour, and therefore may affect outcomes of pain management. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between analgesic beliefs, analgesic adherence and pain experience amongst Taiwanese cancer outpatients. The cross-sectional study included 92 oncology outpatients in two teaching hospitals in the Taipei area of Taiwan. The research instruments included the Pain Opioid Analgesic Beliefs Scale-Cancer (POABS-CA), opioid adherence, and the Brief Pain Inventory-Chinese (BPI-Chinese). Beliefs about pain and opioids demonstrated a significant relationship with patients' opioid adherence (r = -0.30, p < 0.01). The more negative beliefs regarding opioids and pain the patient had, the worse their adherence to around the clock (ATC) analgesic regimen. However, there was no significant correlation between opioid belief and pain experience. As well, there were no significant relationships between adherence to opioid regimen and any of the measures of pain experience. The study highlights the potential importance of a patient's pain and opioid beliefs in adherence to pain medication.

Damage detection of shear buildings using frequency-change-ratio and model updating algorithm

Yabin Liang,Qian Feng,Heng Li,Jian Jiang 국제구조공학회 2019 Smart Structures and Systems, An International Jou Vol.23 No.2

As one of the most important parameters in structural health monitoring, structural frequency has many advantages, such as convenient to be measured, high precision, and insensitive to noise. In addition, frequency-change-ratio based method had been validated to have the ability to identify the damage occurrence and location. However, building a precise enough finite elemental model (FEM) for the test structure is still a huge challenge for this frequency-change-ratio based damage detection technique. In order to overcome this disadvantage and extend the application for frequencies in structural health monitoring area, a novel method was developed in this paper by combining the cross-model cross-mode (CMCM) model updating algorithm with the frequency-change-ratio based method. At first, assuming the physical parameters, including the element mass and stiffness, of the test structure had been known with a certain value, then an initial to-be-updated model with these assumed parameters was constructed according to the typical mass and stiffness distribution characteristic of shear buildings. After that, this to-be-updated model was updated using CMCM algorithm by combining with the measured frequencies of the actual structure when no damage was introduced. Thus, this updated model was regarded as a representation of the FEM model of actual structure, because their modal information were almost the same. Finally, based on this updated model, the frequency-change-ratio based method can be further proceed to realize the damage detection and localization. In order to verify the effectiveness of the developed method, a four-level shear building was numerically simulated and two actual shear structures, including a three-level shear model and an eight-story frame, were experimentally test in laboratory, and all the test results demonstrate that the developed method can identify the structural damage occurrence and location effectively, even only very limited modal frequencies of the test structure were provided.

An Innovative Approach to Track Moving Object based on RFID and Laser Ranging Information

( Gaoli Liang ),( Ran Liu ),( Yulu Fu ),( Hua Zhang ),( Heng Wang ),( Shafiq Ur Rehman ),( Mingming Guo ) 한국인터넷정보학회 2020 KSII Transactions on Internet and Information Syst Vol.14 No.1

RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) identifies a specific object by radio signals. As the tag provides a unique ID for the purpose of identification, RFID technology effectively solves the ambiguity and occlusion problem that challenges the laser or camera-based approach. This paper proposes an approach to track a moving object based on the integration of RFID and laser ranging information using a particle filter. To be precise, we split laser scan points into different clusters which contain the potential moving objects and calculate the radial velocity of each cluster. The velocity information is compared with the radial velocity estimated from RFID phase difference. In order to achieve the positioning of the moving object, we select a number of best matching clusters to update the weights of the particle filter. To further improve the positioning accuracy, we incorporate RFID signal strength information into the particle filter using a pre-trained sensor model. The proposed approach is tested on a SCITOS service robot under different types of tags and various human velocities. The results show that fusion of signal strength and laser ranging information has significantly increased the positioning accuracy when compared to radial velocity matching-based or signal strength-based approaches. The proposed approach provides a solution for human machine interaction and object tracking, which has potential applications in many fields for example supermarkets, libraries, shopping malls, and exhibitions.

A Study of the Mechanism of Solid-Particle Enhanced Nucleate Boiling Heat Transfer at a Flat Heating Surface

Zhong Liang Liu,Ming Heng Shi,Guo Sheng Dai 대한기계학회 1998 Heat transter conference Vol.5 No.1

A Monocular Structured Light Vision Method for Pose Determination of Large Non-cooperative Satellites

Bin Liang,Xue-Hai Gao,Le Pan,Zhi-Heng Li,Ying-Chun Zhang 제어·로봇·시스템학회 2016 International Journal of Control, Automation, and Vol.14 No.6

A space robotic system is expected to perform on-orbit servicing missions to rescue malfunctionedsatellites in geostationary orbit (GEO). In final berthing and capture, it is difficult for a space robot to determine therelative pose (attitude and position) of a non-cooperative malfunctioned satellite that is usually huge and withoutartificial recognition devices. In this paper, a space robot with a monocular structured light vision subsystem isintroduced to solve the problem. Firstly, the monocular structured light vision subsystem composed of a singlecamera and a point light source is designed. Secondly, a partial rectangular shaped framework, which is verycommon on a non-cooperative malfunctioned satellite, is chosen as the recognition object for non-cooperative posemeasurement. Using projection constraints on rectangle and circular points, a rectangle feature reconstructionalgorithm is proposed. Thirdly, according to the reconstructed rectangle feature, a least square method of posedetermination is presented. Lastly, using a semi-physical vision simulation system, several experiments of typicalcases are simulated to verify the pose determination method of large non-cooperative target. The results show thevalidity and flexibility of the proposed method.

Increased Serotonin Signaling Contributes to the Warburg Effect in Pancreatic Tumor Cells Under Metabolic Stress and Promotes Growth of Pancreatic Tumors in Mice

Jiang, Shu-Heng,Li, Jun,Dong, Fang-Yuan,Yang, Jian-Yu,Liu, De-Jun,Yang, Xiao-Mei,Wang, Ya-Hui,Yang, Min-Wei,Fu, Xue-Liang,Zhang, Xiao-Xin,Li, Qing,Pang, Xiu-Feng,Huo, Yan-Miao,Li, Jiao,Zhang, Jun-Feng Elsevier 2017 Gastroenterology Vol.153 No.1

<P><B>Background & Aims</B></P> <P>Desmoplasia and poor vascularity cause severe metabolic stress in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas (PDACs). Serotonin (5-HT) is a neuromodulator with neurotransmitter and neuroendocrine functions that contributes to tumorigenesis. We investigated the role of 5-HT signaling in the growth of pancreatic tumors.</P> <P><B>Methods</B></P> <P>We measured the levels of proteins that regulate 5-HT synthesis, packaging, and degradation in pancreata from Kras<SUP>G12D/+</SUP>/Trp53<SUP>R172H/+</SUP>/Pdx1-Cre (KPC) mice, which develop pancreatic tumors, as well as in PDAC cell lines and a tissue microarray containing 81 human PDAC samples. We also analyzed expression levels of proteins involved in 5-HT synthesis and degradation by immunohistochemical analysis of a tissue microarray containing 311 PDAC specimens, and associated expression levels with patient survival times. 5-HT level in 14 matched PDAC tumor and non-tumor tissues were analyzed by ELISA. PDAC cell lines were incubated with 5-HT and cell survival and apoptosis were measured. We analyzed expression of the 5-HT receptor HTR2B in PDAC cells and effects of receptor agonists and antagonists, as well as HTR2B knockdown with small hairpin RNAs. We determined the effects of 5-HT stimulation on gene expression profiles of BxPC-3 cells. Regulation of glycolysis by 5-HT signaling via HTR2B was assessed by immunofluorescence and immunoprecipitation analyses, as well as by determination of the extracellular acid ratio, glucose consumption, and lactate production. Primary PDACs, with or without exposure to SB204741 (a selective antagonist of HTR2B), were grown as xenograft tumors in mice, and SB204741 was administered to tumor-bearing KPC mice; tumor growth and metabolism were measured by imaging analyses.</P> <P><B>Results</B></P> <P>In immunohistochemical analysis of a tissue microarray of PDAC specimens, increased levels of TPH1 and decreased level of MAOA, which regulate 5-HT synthesis and degradation, correlated with stage and size of PDACs and shorter patient survival time. We found levels of 5-HT to be increased in human PDAC tissues compared with non-tumor pancreatic tissues, and PDAC cell lines compared with non-transformed pancreatic cells. Incubation of PDAC cell lines with 5-HT increased proliferation and prevented apoptosis. Agonists of HTR2B, but not other 5-HT receptors, promoted proliferation and prevented apoptosis of PDAC cells. Knockdown of HTR2B in PDAC cells, or incubation of cells with HTR2B inhibitors, reduced their growth as xenograft tumors in mice. We observed a correlation between 5-HT and glycolytic flux in PDAC cells; levels of metabolic enzymes involved in glycolysis, the phosphate pentose pathway, and hexosamine biosynthesis pathway increased significantly in PDAC cells following 5-HT stimulation. 5-HT stimulation led to formation of the HTR2B–LYN–p85 complex, which increased PI3K–Akt–mTOR signaling and the Warburg effect by increasing protein levels of MYC and HIF1A. Administration of SB204741 to KPC mice slowed growth and metabolism of established pancreatic tumors and prolonged survival of the mice.</P> <P><B>Conclusions</B></P> <P>Human PDACs have increased levels of 5-HT, and PDAC cells increase expression of its receptor, HTR2B. These increases allow for tumor glycolysis under metabolic stress and promote growth of pancreatic tumors and PDAC xenograft tumors in mice.</P>

CT Findings of Persistent Pure Ground Glass Opacity: Can We Predict the Invasiveness?

Liu, Li-Heng,Liu, Ming,Wei, Ran,Jin, Er-Hu,Liu, Yu-Hui,Xu, Liang,Li, Wen-Wu,Huang, Yong Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2015 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.16 No.5

Background: To investigate whether CT findings can predict the invasiveness of persistent cancerous pure ground glass opacity (pGGO) by correlating the CT imaging features of persistent pGGO with pathological changes. Materials and Methods: Ninety five patients with persistent pGGOs were included. Three radiologists evaluated the morphologic features of these pGGOs at high resolution CT (HRCT). Binary logistic regression was used to assess the association between CT findings and histopathological classification (pre-invasive and invasive groups). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was performed to evaluate the diagnostic performance of diameters. Results: A total of 105 pGGOs were identified. Between pre-invasive (atypical adenomatous hyperplasia, AAH, and adenocarcinoma in situ, AIS) and invasive group (minimally invasive adenocarcinoma, MIA and invasive lung adenocarcinomas, ILA), there were significant differences in diameter, spiculation and vessel dilatation (p<0.05). No difference was found in air-bronchogram, bubble-lucency, lobulated-margin, pleural indentation or vascular convergence (p>0.05). The optimal threshold value of the diameters to predict the invasiveness of pGGO was 12.50mm. Conclusions: HRCT features can predict the invasiveness of persistent pGGO. The pGGO with a diameter more than 12.50mm, presences of spiculation and vessel dilatation are important factors to differentiate invasive adenocarcinoma from pre-invasive cancerous lesions.

Learning Curve of ROSA ONE Spine System for Transpedicular Screw Placement

Bing-Hung Hsu,Heng-Wei Liu,Kha-Liang Lee,Ming-Chin Lin,Gao Chen,Jang Yu,Chiao-Ling Chen,I-Chang Su,Chien-Min Lin 대한척추신경외과학회 2022 Neurospine Vol.19 No.2

Objective: The study investigated our institutional learning curve for the ROSA ONE spine system (ROSA) based on ROSA usage time. Methods: ROSA was designed to provide high accuracy for spinal pedicle screw placement through a built-in tracking technique. This study was conducted from November 2018 to January 2021. The time taken to complete each step of the robotic workflow was recorded. Patient demographics, comorbidities, surgical indications, and number of screw placements were examined in subgroup analysis. The Curve Fitting-General package (a part of NCSS 2021 software) was used to fit a mathematical model to the learning curve. Patient demographics, imaging data, and surgical time were reviewed retrospectively. Results: A total of 167 patients who had undergone surgery were included. The mean total ROSA usage time was 107.1 ± 27.3 minutes. The estimated learning rate was 90.4%, and the largest slope change occurred close to the time of the 20th surgery. The observed overall learning trend in the 4-screw group could be attributed to screw planning. The presence of scoliosis (p = 0.73) or spondylolisthesis (p = 0.70) did not significantly influence the mean total time (TT) for all patients; however, the mean TT differed significantly (p < 0.01) among subgroups stratified by body mass index, screw number placement, and thoracic spine involvement. Conclusion: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to examine the learning curve for the various crucial steps of ROSA-guided pedicle screw placement. The indicative learning curve involved 20 patients who had undergone surgery.