Reference percentile curves represent the covariate-dependent distribution of a quantitative measurement and are often used to summarize and monitor dynamic processes such as human growth. We propose a new nonparametric method based on a radial smoothing (RS) technique to estimate age-specific reference percentile curves assuming the underlying distribution is relatively close to normal. We com...

BACKGROUND Upper limb disorders (ULDs) are common, and so are the difficulties with regard to their specific diagnoses. According to diagnostic consensus criteria, specific diagnoses include neuropathy and muscular- and connective-tissue disorders (MCDs). There is a need for valid objective diagnostic tools to reveal underlying mechanisms for specific diagnoses. OBJECTIVE To investigate the p...

A framework with a combination of the radial basis functions (RBFs) method and the least-squares integration method is proposed to improve the integration process from gradient to shape. The principle of the framework is described, and the performance of the proposed method is investigated by simulation. Improvement in accuracy is verified by comparing the result with the usual RBFs-based subse...

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE We present a method for calibrating low-cost digital dermoscopes that corrects for color and inconsistent lighting and also corrects for chromatic aberration. Chromatic aberration is a form of radial distortion that often occurs in inexpensive digital dermoscopes and creates red and blue halo-like effects on edges. Being radial in nature, distortions due to chromatic aberrati...

PURPOSE To describe various types of anterior capsular tears and an early diagnostic, flap motility, as a sign of posterior capsular rupture following posterior extension of radial tears. DESIGN This was a prospective study carried out in 4,331 eyes that underwent phacoemulsification in a private practice setting from April 2015 to February 2016. Twenty six consecutive cases of anterior capsu...

Young children's strategies were evaluated as they grasped and used objects. Spoons containing food and toys mounted on handles were presented to 9-, 14-, and 19-month-old children with the handle alternately oriented to the left and right. The alternating orientations revealed strategies that the children used for grasping items. Younger children usually reached with their preferred hand, disr...

The objective of the present study was to determine contrast sensitivity curves of concentric circular patterns with radial frequencies of 0.25, 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, and 4.0 cycles per degree in young and older adult volunteers. These parameters were also compared with sensitivity contrasts for sine-wave gratings. All participants had normal acuity vision and were free of identifiable ocular illness....

The thiols in the morning urine of 224 employees of a chemical plant were determined after alkaline hydrolysis of all urinary thioethers. The highest thioether excretion was found in rubber workers and radial tyre builders in comparison with clerks, plastic monomer mixers and footwear preparers. Smoking and medication tended to increase thioether excretion. Urinary thioether determination may p...

We propose a method to construct numerical solutions of parabolic equations on the unit sphere. The time discretisation uses Laplace transforms and quadrature. The spatial approximation employs radial basis functions (RBFs) restricted to the sphere. The method allows us to construct high accuracy numerical solutions in parallel.