BACKGROUND The objective of this study was to assess three methods of computer-aided thermal pattern analysis for a) examiner reliability, b) inter-method differences, and c) determine which method yields the highest percent-similarity between paired test-retest scans. METHODS Three examiners compared two sets of thermal scans from the same 30 subjects using three different methods of scan al...

Patrick K. Schelling, Simon R. Phillpot, and Pawel Keblinski Forschungszentrum, 76021 Karlsruhe, Germany Materials Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, Illinois 60439 Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Rennselaer Polytechnic Institute, 110 8th Street, MRC 115, Troy, New York 12180-3590 ~Received 9 July 2001; revised manuscript received 26 October 2001; published...

High-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) is a minimally invasive medical procedure which has shown considerable potential for a variety of therapeu­ tic applications. Some of the medical applications of HIFU include thermal ablation of tumors and uterine fibroids, vessel cauterization, thrombolysis, drug delivery, and gene activation (Curra and Crum [1]). HIFU ablation, unlike other minimally i...

Hardy plants can maintain their normal physiological metabolism in cold winter and against the cold weather by regulating themselves. Around this natural phenomenon, a large number of researchers conducted researches on cold resistance of hardy plants and the mechanism of cold resistance respectively from the point of cell membrane structure and characteristics, physiological metabolism, growth...

Several optical methods for in-situ displacement measurement are presented as a tool to characterize thermomechanical behavior of microelectronics subassemblies. Features and recent developments of the methods are reviewed and applications to diverse problems are illustrated to demonstrate wide applicability of the methods. The whole-field displacement information, with various sensitivity and ...

Energy is the lifeblood of the modern world. Because of the negative environmental impacts and limited sources of fossil fuels, researchers are increasingly focusing on renewable energy sources, particularly solar energy due to its cleanliness and natural availability. Along with photovoltaic systems, solar thermal energy has been used over the last few decades to meet the refrigeration needs f...

A typical problem in Thermal Nondestructive Testing/Evaluation (TNDT/E) is that of unsupervised feature extraction from the experimental data. Matrix factorization methods (MFMs) are mathematical techniques well suited for this task. In this paper we present the application of three MFMs: Principal Component Analysis (PCA), Non-negative Matrix Factorization (NMF), and Archetypal Analysis (AA). ...

Insulation board is being fabricated and tested for use in developing countries. It is made at a low density, in the area of 5 to 10 pounds per cubic foot (80 to 160 kilograms per cubic meter), and has good thermal properties for an air based insulation, meaning R3 to R4 per inch (Btuin/hr-ft2-oF)-, or a conductivity of .048 to .036 W/m-K. The initial effort is to produce a straw insulation boa...

Clipping, shaving, and depilation methods of hair removal were evaluated on porcine .skin in preparation for its use as a bioassay substrate for thermal injury. Each method provides distinct advantages and disadvantages. Criteria for selecting the proper methodology are identified for a bioassay substrate for thermal injury studies. APPROVED: ~~~ Commanding A COMPARISON OF METHODS OF PREPARING ...