The aim of this study was to obtain the 3-D qualitative and quantitative nanoscale data of the surface topography and surface roughness of glazed and unglazed feldspathic ceramics. Twelve samples composed of Ni-Cr alloy (Wiron 99, Bego Germany) and feldspathic ceramics (IPS Classic, Ivoclar-Vivadent, Schaan, Liechtenstein) were prepared, and divided into two groups, dependent of the surface fin...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The automatic segmentation of MS lesions could reduce time required for image processing together with inter- and intraoperator variability for research and clinical trials. A multicenter validation of a proposed semiautomatic method for hyperintense MS lesion segmentation on dual-echo MR imaging is presented. MATERIALS AND METHODS The classification technique used is b...

Difference thresholds for seated subjects exposed to whole-body vertical sinusoidal vibration have been determined at two vibration magnitudes [0.1 and 0.5 ms(-2) root mean square (r.m.s.)] and at two frequencies (5 and 20 Hz). For 12 subjects, difference thresholds were determined using the up-and-down transformed response method based on two-interval forced-choice tracking. At both frequencie...

Used as a wavefront corrector, a liquid crystal spatial modulator (LC-SLM) has good repeatability and linearity, which are essential for open-loop adaptive optics, and the open-loop optical system can increase the light energy efficiency by a factor of two for the LC-SLM and improve the system bandwidth. In order to test the performance of the LC-SLM in open-loop correction, an indoor closed-lo...

This Letter presents a novel, computationally efficient interpolation method that has been optimised for use in electrocardiogram baseline drift removal. In the authors' previous Letter three isoelectric baseline points per heartbeat are detected, and here utilised as interpolation points. As an extension from linear interpolation, their algorithm segments the interpolation interval and utilise...

BACKGROUND The aim was to assess the agreement in the measurement of ocular aberrations between a new Adaptive Optics Vision Analyzer (AOVA, Voptica, Murcia, Spain) and a commercial aberrometer (KR-1 W, Topcon, Tokyo, Japan), both based on the Hartmann-Shack technique. METHODS One experienced examiner measured 29 healthy right eyes nine consecutive times with the two instruments. The individu...

The use of esophageal recordings of the diaphragm electromyogram (EMG) signal strength to evaluate diaphragm activation during voluntary contractions in humans has recently been criticized because of a possible artifact created by changes in lung volume. Therefore, the first aim of this study was to evaluate whether there is an artifactual influence of lung volume on the strength of the diaphra...

This paper studies the backward-forward linear-quadratic-Gaussian (LQG) games with major and minor agents (players). The state of major agent follows a linear backward stochastic differential equation (BSDE) and the states of minor agents are governed by linear forward stochastic differential equations (SDEs). The major agent is dominating as its state enters those of minor agents. On the other...

Background Balance impairments, falls, and spasticity are common after stroke, but the effect of spasticity on balance control after stroke is not well understood. Methods In this cross-sectional study, twenty-seven participants with stroke were divided into two groups, based on ankle plantar flexor spasticity level. Fifteen individuals with high spasticity (Modified Ashworth Scale (MAS) scor...

OBJECTIVES The purpose of this research was to determine the mass concentrations of ions eluted from dental ceramic after an exposure to hydrochloric acid and, drawing on those results, to develop a feedforward backpropagation neural network (NN). MATERIALS AND METHODS Four dental ceramics were selected for this study. The experimental measurement was conducted after 1, 2, 3, 6 and 12 months ...