Cube Method Research Articles

Strategies for Enhancing Rural Vitality from the Perspective of Comprehensive Land Consolidation: Integrating Production, Living, Ecology, and Efficiency Enhancement

This study examines the relationship between the space vitality of rural production, living, and ecology (SVRPLE) and comprehensive land consolidation (CLC), establishing a theoretical foundation for improving SVRPLE in rural areas. Building on this theoretical framework, we employed double-constraint spatial clustering and the three-dimensional magic cube method to zone the study area at the village level, facilitating the determination of CLC objectives and scheduling. We then applied an obstacle diagnosis model to identify key challenges within each zone for enhancing rural space vitality. The results indicate the following: (1) Theoretical analysis reveals the mutually reinforcing relationship between CLC and rural vitality. Efficiency-driven CLC enhances the vitality of rural spaces by optimizing the synergistic interactions between production, living, and ecological spaces. Rural vitality is both the core objective of and the guiding principle for the implementation of CLC. (2) The case study validates the proposed framework—”Vitality Status Evaluation—Vitality Enhancement Zoning—Land Consolidation Guidelines”—as a feasible approach for CLC strategy development based on SVRPLE. The zoning outcomes accurately reflect the unique conditions of different rural villages within the study area, providing a scientific and logical methodology for constructing a context-specific CLC strategy. (3) The zoning results, which incorporate CLC objectives and scheduling, yield differentiated CLC sub-strategies aimed at enhancing SVRPLE, offering both theoretical and practical support for CLC implementation in China, particularly in the ecologically fragile Qinghai Plateau. Overall, our research deepens the understanding of rural vitality enhancement pathways, supplements existing studies on rural vitality, and provides practical guidance for CLC.

Validity and Reliability of 2 Cirrus Optical Coherence Tomography Procedures for Measuring Objective Ocular Torsion

Torsional eye position by the disc-fovea angle (DFA) is a relevant objective parameter in vertical strabismus. DFA measurement with optical coherence tomography (OCT) has proven to be a good alternative to the gold standard measurement in fundus photography. Our study aims to analyze the validity and reliability of 2 undescribed Cirrus high-definition OCT (HD-OCT; Carl Zeiss Meditec) methods that offer clinical advantages for measuring objective cycloposition in normal patients compared with Spectralis spectral-domain OCT (Heidelberg Engineering) and the reference method. Prospective validity and reliability analysis. Objective cycloposition by means of the DFA was measured in the right eyes of 59 binocularly normal individuals attending the ophthalmology service of a medical institution. DFA was obtained by fundus photography (gold standard), FoDi software of Spectralis spectral-domain OCT, HD 1 line scan of Cirrus HD-OCT, and macular cube of Cirrus HD-OCT (fundus, FoDi, line, and cube methods, respectively). Measurements were performed 3 times for each method and the patient was repositioned and realigned between captures. Posterior manual quantification was made by 2 observers with external protractor software for the fundus and cube methods. The 3 OCT methods showed and excellent agreement with fundus photography (ICC 0.83-0.84) with no significant differences comparing mean values (P = .36 for fundus-FoDi, P = .09 for fundus-line, and P = .09 for fundus-cube). Absolute differences between methods were 1.5°. All methods showed excellent reliability (ICC 0.92 for FoDi, 0.91 for line, 0.92 for cube, and 0.91 for fundus). The minimal detectable change was lower than 3° and the absolute difference between repeated measurements was 1° for all methods. Interrater reliability was excellent for methods requiring manual quantification (ICC 0.98 for cube, ICC 0.94 for fundus). Measurement of the DFA by Cirrus HD-OCT methods in normal patients was a valid and reliable alternative for the cycloposition assessment. Among the methods, the Cirrus OCT HD 1 line improved clinical performance due to the simplicity and speed of measurement, with no need to export the image for quantification.

Determining the Drucker-Prager Cap model constants using experimental, numerical and optimization for compacted Mg powders at different strain rates

This article investigates an inverse approach to determine the coefficients of the Drucker-Prager model for magnesium powder. The approach involves conducting finite element simulations of the powder compression process within LS-DYNA software, employing the Drucker-Prager material model. The goal is to minimize the disparity between force-displacement outcomes derived from simulations and experimental data using a surrogate optimization method. Experimental data were obtained through a uniaxial compression test and served as a basis for adjusting the Cap model coefficients. A random selection of coefficients was made using the Latin cube method and simulations were performed based on the initial coefficients. The optimization was then performed using the particle swarm algorithm over 20 iterations. The optimized coefficients were validated against experimental data, demonstrating close agreement. By utilizing the extracted coefficients, the relative density of the samples was calculated at three different compaction speeds, i.e., 15.5 m s−1 (using a Hopkinson bar), 8 m s−1 (using a drop weight), and 1 mm min−1 (using an Instron machine). The analysis revealed the highest relative density and stress in the densified sample via the Hopkinson bar method, reaching 99.83% and 1.1 GPa, respectively.

A combined technique of implantable sensors and probabilistic localization method for monitoring acoustic events on concrete slab

Continuous monitoring of acoustic events in concrete such as cracking and impacting, and providing their location information is a significant topic in structural health monitoring (SHM). This paper develops a combined technique of concrete implantable cube (CIC) and probabilistic localization method to monitor acoustic sources on concrete slabs. The CIC that integrates an octahedron-shaped piezoelectric sensor array can be implanted in concrete structures in long term and supply an omni-dimensional sensing capacity. Aiming at the designed sensor array and the impacts of randomness and heterogeneity of concrete material on the localization accuracy, a probabilistic localization method was proposed. To demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed technique, an experiment including 48 impact tests was conducted on a concrete slab specimen. The acoustic signals received by the implanted CIC were used to reconstruct localization maps to predict the impact areas. The results were quantified using three matrixes including accuracy, precision, and recall; consequently, the accuracy obtained the highest average score close to 0.98 and performed most steadily. In addition, to optimize the proposed technique furtherly, the sensitivity of two key parameters associated with this method were discussed. Overall, the experimental study showed a great potential of this developed technique for long-term monitoring acoustic events on concrete structures.

A general design-oriented resilience measurement and evaluation method for engineering systems: Resilience cube

Resilience is an important property in many engineering systems that may be exposed to shocks. Existing resilience measures primarily focus on changes in system performance during the process of disturbance and recovery. These measures, however, do not directly relate to the composition of a system, which limits the improvement of resilience design. Furthermore, they are also still inadequate in the face of many special situation, such as multi-mode/wave shocks. Therefore, this paper proposes a novel resilience measurement that can be applied to various stage and complex scenarios. First, the concept of the path set is extended to extended path set space (EPSS) to establish the relationship between system design attributes and resilience. Then, resilience cube is defined to measure the system resilience based on EPSS. The measurement represents the properties of the system state itself, including the structure and composition, regardless of the shocks to which the system is exposed. The generality characteristics of the resilience cube are analyzed through different system composition and scenarios. A simulation method of resilience cubes is given for system design with random factors. Finally, the resilience of a maritime unmanned combat system (MUCS) is studied and the superiority of the proposed measurement is proven.

Segmentation and Vascular Vectorization for Coronary Artery by Geometry-based Cascaded Neural Network.

Segmentation of the coronary artery is an important task for the quantitative analysis of coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) images and is being stimulated by the field of deep learning. However, the complex structures with tiny and narrow branches of the coronary artery bring it a great challenge. Coupled with the medical image limitations of low resolution and poor contrast, fragmentations of segmented vessels frequently occur in the prediction. Therefore, a geometry-based cascaded segmentation method is proposed for the coronary artery, which has the following innovations: 1) Integrating geometric deformation networks, we design a cascaded network for segmenting the coronary artery and vectorizing results. The generated meshes of the coronary artery are continuous and accurate for twisted and sophisticated coronary artery structures, without fragmentations. 2) Different from mesh annotations generated by the traditional marching cube method from voxel-based labels, a finer vectorized mesh of the coronary artery is reconstructed with the regularized morphology. The novel mesh annotation benefits the geometry-based segmentation network, avoiding bifurcation adhesion and point cloud dispersion in intricate branches. 3) A dataset named CCA-200 is collected, consisting of 200 CCTA images with coronary artery disease. The ground truths of 200 cases are coronary internal diameter annotations by professional radiologists. Extensive experiments verify our method on our collected dataset CCA-200 and public ASOCA dataset, with a Dice of 0.778 on CCA-200 and 0.895 on ASOCA, showing superior results. Especially, our geometry-based model generates an accurate, intact and smooth coronary artery, devoid of any fragmentations of segmented vessels.

Fractal Dimension Calculation Methods and Their Use in the Textile Industry

From the methods of calculating the fractal dimension, the prism method, the cube method, the method of counting cells, instructions on the methods of calculating the fractal dimension using set theory and the block diagrams of algorithms were developed. A software tool was created based on the Hausdorff method of calculating the fractal dimension. Fractal measurement determined by this software can be used in medicine for changes in the vascular system, in the accurate diagnosis of tumors in the brain, in the textile industry, in the textural analysis of the permeability and roughness of fabrics.

Text security by using a combination of the vigenere cipher and the rubik's cube method of size 4×4×4

Background: In the current era of technology, information security is increasingly important. The growth of technology leads to a higher level of threat to the security of data and information dissemination, and cryptography is a valuable protective tool.Aim: The primary objective of this research is to enhance text security through the fusion of the Vigenere cipher and the Rubik's cube algorithm. By leveraging this novel approach, we aim to fortify the confidentiality of textual data against potential eavesdroppers and adversaries. To demonstrate the practicality of this method, we perform a simulation using the Python programming language within the Google Colab environment. Method: This study employs a qualitative research methodology supplemented by empirical simulation. The combination of the Vigenere Cipher and the Rubik's Cube algorithm in a 4×4×4 configuration is implemented to encrypt and decrypt text. The simulation is executed using the Google Colab platform, enabling a practical illustration of the encryption process.Result: The results of our research indicate the feasibility of generating ciphertext through the amalgamation of the Vigenere Cipher and the Rubik's Cube algorithm in the specified 4×4×4 configuration. The simulation conducted in Google Colab serves as concrete evidence of the effectiveness and practicality of this combined encryption method.Conclusion: In conclusion, this research offers a compelling approach to bolstering text security in the modern era of information technology. By combining the Vigenere Cipher with the Rubik's Cube algorithm in a 4×4×4 configuration, we have demonstrated the potential to significantly enhance the confidentiality of sensitive textual data. The empirical simulation conducted in Google Colab reaffirms the practicality and viability of this innovative encryption technique, highlighting its potential as a valuable tool in the realm of information security.

Efficient boundary surface reconstruction from multi-label volumetric data with mathematical morphology

This paper proposes a new, fully automatic and robust approach to generating triangular meshes directly from volumetric data (scanned images), particularly when these images contain multiple adjacent labels. Current meshing techniques produce a number of mesh elements directly related to the number of components (voxels) in the image. This number can be considerable if the image is large. The proposed methodology is significantly less dense in terms of the number of elements compared to marching cube methods. The proposed method presents no configuration ambiguity and is faithful to the original morphology of the images regardless of the thinness of the topologies or the presence of possible erratic morphological configurations that may lead to geometric interpretation indecisions.

ArthroNavi framework: stereo endoscope-guided instrument localization for arthroscopic minimally invasive surgeries.

As an example of a minimally invasive arthroscopic surgical procedure, arthroscopic osteochondral autograft transplantation (OAT) is a common option for repairing focal cartilage defects in the knee joints. Arthroscopic OAT offers considerable benefits to patients, such as less post-operative pain and shorter hospital stays. However, performing OAT arthroscopically is an extremely demanding task because the osteochondral graft harvester must remain perpendicular to the cartilage surface to avoid differences in angulation. We present a practical ArthroNavi framework for instrument pose localization by combining a self-developed stereo endoscopy with electromagnetic computation, which equips surgeons with surgical navigation assistance that eases the operational constraints of arthroscopic OAT surgery. A prototype of a stereo endoscope specifically fit for a texture-less scene is introduced extensively. Then, the proposed framework employs the semi-global matching algorithm integrating the matching cubes method for real-time processing of the 3D point cloud. To address issues regarding initialization and occlusion, a displaying method based on patient tracking coordinates is proposed for intra-operative robust navigation. A geometrical constraint method that utilizes the 3D point cloud is used to compute a pose for the instrument. Finally, a hemisphere tabulation method is presented for pose accuracy evaluation. Experimental results show that our endoscope achieves 3D shape measurement with an accuracy of . The mean error of pose localization is 15.4deg (range of 10.3deg to 21.3deg; standard deviation of 3.08deg) in our ArthroNavi method, which is within the same order of magnitude as that achieved by experienced surgeons using a freehand technique. The effectiveness of the proposed ArthroNavi has been validated on a phantom femur. The potential contribution of this framework may provide a new computer-aided option for arthroscopic OAT surgery.

Protocol for Temperature Toxicity Investigation on Whitefly <i>Bemisia tabaci</i> (Gennadius)

A cost-effective laboratory protocol was perfected for investigating temperature toxicity against whitefly Bemisia tabaci (Genn.) on tomato. Understanding temperature toxicity relationship will aid in strategization of pest management. The experiments conducted to develop the current protocol used B. tabaci Asia II-1 as test insect. Essentially this protocol consist of three steps which are: (1) Temperature incubation of test insects: includes three hour starvation period and temperature treatment of B. tabaci; (2) Preparatory steps of leaf-dip bioassay: suggests use of agar cube method (reduces agar usage by 70%) to maintain green and turgid test leaves during post-exposure period of bioassay; (3) Release of temperature treated insects and mortality counting: test insect release, securing petri plates, recording observations, etc. all are deliberated in detail. This protocol facilitates economical, convenient and easy-to-handle experimentation to study temperature toxicity relationship in B. tabaci.

Impact of Structure, Coupling Scheme, and State of Interest on the Energy Transfer in CP29.

The Qy and Bx excitation energy transfer (EET) in the minor light-harvesting complex CP29 (LHCII B4.1) antenna complex of Pisum sativum was characterized using a computational approach. We applied Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) and the transition density cube (TDC) method to estimate the Coulombic coupling, based on a combination of classical molecular dynamics and quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics calculations. Employing TDC instead of FRET mostly affects the EET between chlorophylls (Chls) and carotenoids (Crts), as expected due to the Crts being spatially more challenging for FRET. Only between Chls, effects are found to be small (about only 0.1 EET efficiency change when introducing TDC instead of FRET). Effects of structural sampling were found to be small, illustrated by a small average standard deviation for the Qy state coupling elements (FRET/TDC: 0.97/0.94 cm-1). Due to the higher flexibility of the Bx state, the corresponding deviations are larger (FRET/TDC between Chl-Chl pairs: 17.58/22.67 cm-1, between Crt-Chl pairs: 62.58/31.63 cm-1). In summary, it was found for the Q band that the coupling between Chls varies only slightly depending on FRET or TDC, resulting in a minute effect on EET acceptor preference. In contrast, the coupling in the B band spectral region is found to be more affected. Here, the S2 (1Bu) states of the spatially challenging Crts may act as acceptors in addition to the B states of the Chls. Depending on FRET or TDC, several Chls show different Chl-to-Crt couplings. Interestingly, the EET between Chls or Crts in the B band is found to often outcompete the corresponding decay processes. The individual efficiencies for B band EET to Crts vary however strongly with the chosen coupling scheme (e.g., up to 0.29/0.99 FRET/TDC efficiency for the Chl a604/neoxanthin pair). Thus, the choice of the coupling scheme must involve a consideration of the state of interest.

Direct measurement of the three-dimensional distribution of leaf area density and light conditions in a mature oak stand by the cube method

Direct measurement of the three-dimensional distribution of leaf area density and light conditions in a mature oak stand by the cube method

Billion-design-variable-scale topology optimization of vehicle frame structure in multiple-load case

In topology optimization, sufficient resolution and a constraint volume of less than 1% are required to obtain a practical vehicle body structure without solid circular-section frames. To meet the requirement for sufficient resolution, the authors are developing voxel topology optimization software, including a finite element solver that utilizes the building cube method framework available in massively parallel environments. The authors have performed a topology optimization of billions of elements intended for a vehicle frame using 35,000–66,000 processors and measured its parallel performance. In addition, four different methods to treat multiple-load cases required for vehicle performance into single objective functions are examined. As a result, normalizing compliance with the appropriate target energy obtained by the original body-in-white frame balances the optimization performance across cases. In the single-load case, thick solid beams are generated through optimization. In contrast, such solid frames are suppressed in multiple-load cases, resulting in a structure similar to a practical body-in-white frame.

Polariton-assisted resonance energy transfer beyond resonant dipole-dipole interaction: A transition-current-density approach

Using electric dipoles to describe light-matter interactions between two entities is a conventional approximation in physics, chemistry, and material sciences. However, the lack of material structures makes the approximation inadequate when the size of an entity is comparable to the spatial extent of electromagnetic fields or the distance between two entities. In this study, we develop a unified theory of radiative and non-radiative resonance energy transfer based on transition current density in a theoretical framework of macroscopic quantum electrodynamics. The proposed theory allows us to describe polariton-assisted resonance energy transfer between two entities with arbitrary material structures in spatially dependent vacuum electric fields. To demonstrate the generality of the proposed theory, we rigorously prove that our theory can cover the main results of the transition density cube method and the plasmon-coupled resonance energy transfer. We believe that this study opens a promising direction for exploring light-matter interactions beyond the scope of electric dipoles and provides new insights into material physics.

A New Method for Searching Cubes and Its Application to 815-Round Trivium

A New Method for Searching Cubes and Its Application to 815-Round Trivium

Representative Elementary Volume as a Function of Land Uses and Soil Processes Based on 3D Pore System Analysis

Representative elementary volume (REV) is required for representative measurements of soil physical properties. However, questions may arise whether REV depends on how the soil structure is modified or whether processes in the soil affect REV. Here, we explore REV dependence for contrasting land uses (conventional tillage, no-tillage, and minimum tillage) and applying wetting and drying (W-D) cycles. The effect of different subvolume selection schemes (cube and core) on REV was also investigated. For this study, high-resolution three-dimensional images obtained using the X-ray Computed Tomography (XCT) technique were analyzed. The micromorphological properties measured were porosity (P), fractal dimension (FD), degree of anisotropy (DA), and pore connectivity (C). The results show that REV depends mainly on the land uses for P and C (both selection schemes). The core method showed lower REV due to the larger volume analyzed than that in the cube method. It was not possible to define a REV for DA. The REV obtained using the cube method was more sensitive to changes in the scale of analysis, showing an increasing trend with applied W-D cycles for P and FD. Our results indicate that REV cannot be considered static since land uses and processes influence it.

Two-dimensional echocardiographic estimates of left atrial volumes obtained from two different views in dogs are similar but not interchangeable

Left atrial (LA) volumes using a monoplane Simpson’s Method of Discs (SMOD) can be obtained from the right parasternal long axis four-chamber (RPLA) or from the left apical four-chamber (LA4C) views in dogs; however, little information exists regarding the agreement of LA volume estimates using a SMOD on images obtained from LA4C and RPLA views. Therefore, we sought to examine the agreement between the two methods of obtaining LA volumes in a heterogenous population of healthy and diseased dogs. Additionally, we compared the LA volumes obtained by SMOD with estimates obtained from simple cube or sphere volume formulae. Archived echocardiographic examinations were retrieved and, where both RPLA and LA4C views were adequately recorded, included in the study. We obtained measurements from 194 dogs that were either apparently healthy (n = 80) or had various cardiac diseases (n = 114). The LA volumes of each dog was measured using a SMOD, from both views, in systole and diastole. Estimates of LA volumes obtained from simple cube or sphere volume formulae from RPLA-derived LA diameters were also calculated. We then used Limits of Agreement analysis to determine agreement between the estimates obtained with each view, and those calculated from linear dimensions.The two methods obtained by SMOD provided similar estimates for both systolic and diastolic volumes but did not agree sufficiently to be interchangeable. The LA4C view often slightly underestimated the LA volumes at small LA sizes and overestimated the LA volumes at large LA sizes compared to RPLA method, with increasing disagreement as the LA size increased. Estimates based on cube method overestimated volumes compared to both SMOD methods, whereas those based on sphere method performed reasonably. Our study suggests that monoplane volume estimates from the RPLA and LA4C views are similar but not interchangeable. Clinicians can also perform a rough estimate of LA volumes using RPLA-derived LA diameters to calculate the sphere volume.

Down syndrome patients with normal hearts: are they really normal?

Even though congenital heart disease is a common finding in down syndrome (DS) patients, some of them have anatomically normal hearts. However, the term "normal" might not be suitable, as these patients usually suffer from functional cardiac dysfunction. Several research highlighted that despite the absence of anatomical heart defects, subtle cardiac function derangements are present in DS patients. We aim to assess cardiac functions by Two-dimensional echocardiography and tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) in pediatric DS patients who have anatomically normal hearts. One hundred seventy-two patients with karyotyping confirmed DS with anatomically normal hearts and 165 healthy normal control children were enrolled in the current study. Their cardiac functions were assessed using both 2-dimensional echocardiography and TDI. Both patients and controls had structurally and anatomically normal hearts. In DS patients, the right side of the heart showed a significant reduction in both systolic and diastolic functions. Systolic dysfunction was evident by significantly decreased levels of Tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion and systolic wave by TDI. Diastolic dysfunction of the right ventricle was evident by prolonged deceleration time by conventional echocardiography and a significant decrease in annular tissue doppler velocity during early diastole/late diastole ratio by TDI. The E/De ratio was significantly increased. Even with anatomically normal hearts, DS patients should undergo cardiac function assessment by echocardiography & TDI. TDI is superior to conventional echocardiography in detecting subtle cardiac dysfunction especially left ventricular diastolic dysfunction in DS patients. TDI showed a significant decrease in the early/atrial ratio of mitral valve annulus and prolongation of left ventricle isometric relaxation time in DS children. Also, the left ventricle E/De ratio was prolonged denoting elevated filling pressures and diastolic dysfunction. This indicates that the TDI has higher sensitivity to detect diastolic dysfunction than conventional Echocardiography. Biventricular TDI-derived myocardial performance index was found to be significantly increased in DS children.

3D uniformity measurement of stirring system based on dual-camera positioning

This investigation proposes a dual-camera positioning method and the average distance in the cube (AD-Cube) method to explore the effect of three-dimensional (3D) spatial multiphase stirring. The 3D trajectories of the tracer ball were reconstructed in the stirring system using a dual-camera positioning method. The AD-Cube method for calculating the mixing uniformity within the cube region was proposed and verified by rigorous and valid numerical validation (the standard reference value was approximately 0.6617). The negative correlation coefficient between conductometry and the AD-Cube method for the evaluation of the mixing effect was −0.9118. The stirring region was equally divided into several 3D blocks, and the relationship between the whole and local was elaborated to provide more accurate information for the 3D uniformity metric. Moreover, the volume of the stirring dead zone was estimated by discrete blocking, and the influence of the stirring paddle height from the bottom and agitating motor speed on the stirring effect was studied. This study provides a theoretical basis for optimizing the parameters of a 3D stirring system, designing chemical reactors, and measuring and evaluating the 3D uniformity of stirring systems. • The proposed method is based on dual-camera positioning and computational geometry. • The 3D uniformity of stirring system is characterized by the novel method. • Effectiveness of the novel method is verified on both numerical and experimental. • Evaluation indicator is established to evaluate the 3D stirring efficiency. • The method can be used in engineering fields of evaluation of 3D uniformity.