Distance Calculation Research Articles

Towards a More Objective and High-throughput Spheroid Invasion Assay Quantification Method.

Multicellular spheroids embedded in 3D hydrogels are prominent in vitro models for 3D cell invasion. Yet, quantification methods for spheroid cell invasion that are high-throughput, objective and accessible are still lacking. Variations in spheroid sizes and the shapes of the cells within render it difficult to objectively assess invasion extent. The goal of this work is to develop a high-throughput quantification method of cell invasion into 3D matrices that minimizes sensitivity to initial spheroid size and cell spreading and provides precise integrative directionally-dependent metrics of invasion. By analyzing images of fluorescent cell nuclei, invasion metrics are automatically calculated at the pixel level. The initial spheroid boundary is segmented and automated calculations of the nuclear pixel distances from the initial boundary are used to compute common invasion metrics (i.e., the change in invasion area, mean distance) for the same spheroid at a later timepoint. We also introduce the area moment of inertia as an integrative metric of cell invasion that considers the invasion area as well as the pixel distances from the initial spheroid boundary. Further, we show that principal component analysis can be used to quantify the directional influence of a stimuli to invasion (e.g., due to a chemotactic gradient or contact guidance). To demonstrate the power of the analysis for cell types with different invasive potentials and the utility of this method for a variety of biological applications, the method is used to analyze the invasiveness of five different cell types. In all, implementation of this high-throughput quantification method results in consistent and objective analysis of 3D multicellular spheroid invasion. We provide the analysis code in both MATLAB and Python languages as well as a GUI for ease of use for researchers with a range of computer programming skills and for applications in a variety of biological research areas such as wound healing and cancer metastasis.

Research on the method of air gap clearance selection for bushing at high-altitude areas

Abstract As an important component of the core equipment of the UHV substation, the operation reliability of the bushing is directly related to the safe operation of the main equipment. There are some technical problems in the development of casing in the Sichuan-Chongqing project, such as technical problems at high altitudes and a lack of relevant experience in the correction of air gap and equipment external insulation altitude. Therefore, there is an urgent need to research the selection of gap distance for UHV AC substation bushing electrical characteristics test in high altitude areas. In this paper, based on the standard meteorological conditions and the rod-plate gap switching impulse discharge test data at an altitude of 4300 m, the minimum gap distance of UHV AC substation bushing withstanding 1800 kV and 1950 kV under different methods is obtained. The results show that by comparing the two calculation methods, the minimum distance calculation method of the true test combined with the gap coefficient method avoids the error of altitude correction, and the minimum gap distance is reduced by 7.84%-14.17% compared with the former. The research content can provide a reference for selecting the dry arc distance of the casing. The next step should be to carry out the discharge characteristic test of the true-size electrode at a high altitude, so as to simulate the field situation more realistically and provide more powerful technical support for the project.

TOURIST DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEM FOR HOT SPRINGS, THAILAND

This research aimed to: 1) gather the needs of Thai and foreign tourists in using the Decision Support System for Hot Springs Tourism in Surat Thani; 2) Design and develop the Decision Support System using the concept of an agile method; and 3) Evaluate the effectiveness of the Decision Support System implementation. The agile method enabled the System to be developed to support both the Android and IOS in Thai and English. The users’ requirement was collected by using questionnaires with 30 Thai and 30 foreign tourists. The users’ evaluation data was collected by using questionnaires with 400 Thai and 400 foreign tourists. The results found that: 1) Thai and foreign tourists need information in seven aspects. Mo st tourists use iPhones and need similar information. 2) The design of the Decision Support System consists of searching travel routes, distance calculation, nearby attractions, and evaluation assessment function. 3) Foreign tourists had a slightly high er average score of overall opinions than Thai tourists which is at the highest level in all aspects. The Thai and foreign tourists found no significant difference with the overall opinions in using the Decision Support System (p> .05). In conclusion, the DSS for Hot Springs Tourism in Surat Thani was successfully developed for both Thai and foreign tourists. The findings indicate the system's effectiveness in supporting tourists and its potential to enhance tourism experiences in Surat Thani.

Experimental and simulation investigation of jet characteristics during the accidental release of high-pressure CO2 with different diameter leakage orifice

Understanding the near-field characteristics of leakage is essential for safety distance calculations and risk assessment of emergency response to a pipeline leakage. This paper presents a small-scale experiment and computational fluid dynamics model designed to investigate the transient characteristics of near-field parameters. The study also analyzes the effects of leakage orifice diameter on the transient characteristics of the near-field. The results show that a pipeline leak starts with the formation of a compression wave, which causes the air at the front of the stream to be compressed, heated and pressurized. CO2 is then released at high pressure, creating a strong expansion wave that keeps the fluid pressure below local atmospheric levels. For full-hole and large-hole leaks, the temperature drop and rate show a negative linear correlation with the size of the leak hole. Conversely, for small hole leaks with the ratio of hole diameter to pipe diameter values below 0.2, the temperature drop shows an opposite trend. As the ratio of hole diameter to pipe diameter values increases, the maximum diameter of the barrel drum-shaped disk gradually increases, but the maximum expansion angle of the jet decreases. It is hoped that this work will contribute to the improvement of research models that assess the consequences of potential high-pressure pipeline rupture scenarios.

Low-complexity MLSE for coherent optical fiber transmission systems with symbol correlation

This study demonstrates the effectiveness of a simplified maximum likelihood sequence estimation (MLSE) approach in enhancing the performance of coherent optical fiber transmission systems, particularly under conditions of linear and nonlinear symbol correlation. To counter the high complexity of traditional MLSE in high-speed systems, we introduce what we believe to be a novel simplification method. This approach replaces the conventional channel impulse response (CIR) convolution with a look-up table (LUT) and simplifies the Euclidean distance (ED) calculations. Additionally, we provide a detailed analysis of algorithmic operations, complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) transistor count, and power consumption across various technology nodes. The proposed simplified MLSE scheme has the potential to reduce implementation complexity to approximately 5% of the conventional approach. The proposed low-complexity approach was verified with both simulations and experiments. The results show that the performance loss is less than 0.3 dB in Q-factors for both linear and nonlinear bandwidth-constrained transmission scenarios.

Online quality-based privacy-preserving task allocation in mobile crowdsensing

Aimed at the existing problems, such as the improving requirements on privacy, and the low quality of collected data in mobile crowd sensing, one online Quality-based Privacy-preserving Task Allocation (QPTA) mechanism is considered in this paper. First, a travel budget-related polynomial is designed to measure the influence of candidate tasks on the whole task quality, and an online task quality-based allocation model is designed to maximize the total task quality when both the budget and time constraints can be satisfied simultaneously. Second, when the perceived data of task participants and requesters are encrypted values, with the introduction of typical Paillier homomorphic encryption technology, the division, the square root, and the Euclidean distance calculations of the encrypted values are then designed. In this way, the encrypt calculations of the task allocation algorithm are solved, and the data privacy of the task allocation system is thus preserved. Finally, the bilateral privacy analysis of the proposed method is illustrated, and some simulations are carried out to show the effectiveness of the proposed method. Simulation results show that the proposed method can allocate tasks effectively while guaranteeing the privacy of both the participants and requesters. It outperforms the most related methods in terms of average perception quality.

Multiple object characterization of recyclable domestic waste using binocular stereo vision

Recycling and recovery of domestic waste pose significant challenges in terms of accurate object positioning and ranging, areas where conventional methods, heavily reliant on monocular image processing, often fail due to limited distance data and reduced precision. This study introduces an innovative strategy for the localization and ranging of recyclable waste objects, leveraging the NanoDet-Plus model within a binocular stereo vision context. A dataset, the Binocular Recyclable Domestic Waste Dataset (BRDWD), was constructed, with transfer learning executed via the pretrained MULTI-TRASH monocular dataset. Procedures encompassed stereo camera calibration and rectification to address geometric distortions, while the integration of the Semi-Global Block Matching (SGBM) algorithm supplied disparity details for triangulation-based distance computations. Enhancements to the NanoDet-Plus model led to improved target accuracy, evidenced by a mean average precision at a threshold of 0.5 (mAP@0.5) reaching 91.88% and a detection speed of 15 frames per second (FPS). Assessments verified a ranging error below 5% within the 0.5 to 1.2-meter span, aligning well with the requirements of typical recyclable waste sorting and recycling situations. Additionally, a human-machine interface was developed utilizing Pyside6, enabling image uploads, real-time result visualization, and interactive process control, thereby furnishing pivotal advancements for the automation and intellectualization of waste categorization and recycling.

Morphological and Phylogenetic Analyses Reveal Three New Species of Entomopathogenic Fungi Belonging to Clavicipitaceae (Hypocreales, Ascomycota).

This study aims to report three new species of Conoideocrella and Moelleriella from Yunnan Province, Southwestern China. Species of Conoideocrella and Moelleriella parasitize scale insects (Coccidae and Lecaniidae, Hemiptera) and whiteflies (Aleyrodidae, Hemiptera). Based on the phylogenetic analyses of the three-gene nrLSU, tef-1α, and rpb1, it showed one new record species (Conoideocrella tenuis) and one new species (Conoideocrella fenshuilingensis sp. nov.) in the genus Conoideocrella, and two new species, i.e., Moelleriella longzhuensis sp. nov. and Moelleriella jinuoana sp. nov. in the genus Moelleriella. The three new species were each clustered into separate clades that distinguished themselves from one another. All of them were distinguishable from their allied species based on their morphology. Morphological descriptions, illustrations, and comparisons of the allied taxa of the four species are provided in the present paper. In addition, calculations of intraspecific and interspecific genetic distances were performed for Moelleriella and Conoideocrella.

Privacy-preserving geo-tagged image search in edge–cloud computing for IoT

The Internet of Things (IoT) generates a significant volume of geo-tagged images via surveillance sensors in edge–cloud computing environments. Image search is essential to facilitate information sharing, data analysis, and strategic decision-making. However, outsourced images are typically encrypted for privacy protection, posing a challenge in simultaneously searching for visual and geographical relevance on encrypted images. To address this, this paper proposes an edge intelligence empowered privacy-preserving top-k geo-tagged image search scheme for IoT in edge–cloud computing. The scheme presents a novel single-to-multi searchable encryption method for geo-tagged images that enables multiple users to perform secure nearest neighbor queries on a data source. Additionally, an extended anchor-based position determination method and an inner product-based distance calculation method are designed to enable geo-tagged image similarity calculation on ciphertext. Finally, a secure pruning method is introduced to improve query performance. Experiments are conducted to verify the performance of the scheme in terms of high efficiency and accuracy of the search.

Ancient DNA study of Cervus canadensis unearthed from the Royal Sacrificial Site of the Northern Wei Dynasty in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China

The practice of animal sacrifice was widespread in ancient societies, and the study of sacrificial animals holds significant importance. In this study, three samples excavated from the Royal Sacrificial Site of the Northern Wei Dynasty in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China were initially identified as Cervinae subfamily animal based on their morphology. Through alignment analysis and principal component analysis, these samples were identified as belonging to the species Cervus canadensis. Meanwhile, through phylogenetic analyses and genetic distance calculations, it was determined that all three samples were of the Cervus canadensis alashanicus subspecies, proving the utility of ancient DNA technology in accurate subspecies identification. The analysis of the mitochondrial D-loop region revealed that the ancient Cervus canadensis alashanicus dated to 3800 BP and 5100 BP differed significantly from the modern ones in opposition to 1500 BP samples which were similar to them. The low genetic diversity of modern Cervus canadensis alashanicus was formed at least 1500 years ago and have lasted till today. In addition, as suggested by historical documents and archaeological studies, it is evident that the reverence for deer within the Tuoba Xianbei population had become a significant element of their culture and belief system. The identification of Cervus canadensis species in this study serves as evidence of the Northern Wei Emperor’s utilization of totem animals as sacrificial offerings to heaven.

Analisis Pengujian Website Desa Ketapanrame Berdasarkan Model FURPS Menggunakan Metode Euclidean Distance

The importance of software testing is very prominent in the software development stage. Software testing is an important aspect that cannot be ignored to ensure the quality of an application. One example is testing dynamic web pages such as the one that will be the main focus of the research, namely the Ketapanrame Village Website. Testing of the Ketapanrame Village Website was carried out thoroughly on various aspects, including feature functionality and web appearance aesthetics, to ensure compliance with the specified specifications. In order to achieve satisfactory results from testing, there are feature elements on the web page that will be tested using the FURPS model standard. Each indicator from the FURPS model has a special role in ensuring the overall quality of the software by involving the participation of respondents to find the average value. The challenge arises in finding an appropriate average value for testing such web pages. To overcome this problem, this research is distributing questionnaires to find values from respondents and will calculate the average value using the Euclidean Distance method. This concept was chosen because it has been proven to provide optimal average values. The test results show that the combination of the FURPS model and the Euclidean Distance calculation method provides satisfactory results. Combination suitability is not easy to do, especially in the part of finding the average value which must involve many parties to achieve optimal results.

Optimization study of pruning strategy based on KNN trajectory similarity query

With the development of GPS positioning technology, a large amount of spatiotemporal trajectory data has been generated. Due to the complex structure of trajectory data, which has irregular spatial shapes and continuous temporal sequence attributes, querying massive trajectory data poses certain challenges. The pruning strategy of existing trajectory similarity query methods is not very effective. Even after pruning operations, there are still a large number of trajectories that need to undergo distance calculations to confirm whether they are similar trajectories. This paper proposes multiple local pruning optimization schemes, which maximally reduce the number of trajectories in the candidate set. Specifically, it starts with region pruning in the index space, eliminating index spaces with distances greater than the maximum similarity distance from the query trajectory. Then, it performs distance pruning between trajectories, removing trajectories that do not meet the distance conditions. Finally, it adds a termination condition: when the distance between the current index space and the query trajectory is greater than the maximum similarity distance and the number of trajectories in the result set is K, the loop is exited, and the query process ends. Tests on real datasets demonstrate that the KTSS method outperforms current algorithms of the same type.

Method for Delineating the Formula Limit of the Continental Shelf under the Maximum Area Principle Constraint

In current practices of determining continental shelf area, the measured sediment thickness data do not effectively reflect the distribution of sediments across the area due to its dispersed nature. This issue raises potential limitations in unknown optimal survey line layout strategies for maximizing the posterior determination area. This paper adopts the binary search algorithm, relies on existing sediment thickness grid data, and uses geodetic formulas to build an ellipsoidal surface grid distance calculation model. This model quickly screens potential areas for the 1% sediment thickness line candidate points set. By constraining the azimuth parameter values during the construction process of the ellipsoidal point feature buffer zones, efficiently select the candidate points set for the 1% sediment thickness line. Furthermore, by elucidating the essential meanings of points on the formula limit and combining the candidate points set of the foot of the continental slope (FOS)+60 n mile line, the polygon minimal convex hull construction technique and a baseline points optimization algorithm with a length threshold are used to efficiently select points on formula limit. Experimental results demonstrate that this method can effectively assist coastal states in optimizing the determination of continental shelf area to the fullest extent under the length threshold requirements of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Experiments have proven that compared to the traditional intersection method, the method presented in this paper can help coastal countries delineate a larger continental shelf area. In typical application scenarios, the gain in area can reach 77,278,427 m2 accounting for 0.51% of the total area.

RNA-clique: a method for computing genetic distances from RNA-seq data

BackgroundAlthough RNA-seq data are traditionally used for quantifying gene expression levels, the same data could be useful in an integrated approach to compute genetic distances as well. Challenges to using mRNA sequences for computing genetic distances include the relatively high conservation of coding sequences and the presence of paralogous and, in some species, homeologous genes.ResultsWe developed a new computational method, RNA-clique, for calculating genetic distances using assembled RNA-seq data and assessed the efficacy of the method using biological and simulated data. The method employs reciprocal BLASTn followed by graph-based filtering to ensure that only orthologous genes are compared. Each vertex in the graph constructed for filtering represents a gene in a specific sample under comparison, and an edge connects a pair of vertices if the genes they represent are best matches for each other in their respective samples. The distance computation is a function of the BLAST alignment statistics and the constructed graph and incorporates only those genes that are present in some complete connected component of this graph. As a biological testbed we used RNA-seq data of tall fescue (Lolium arundinaceum), an allohexaploid plant (2n=14Gb\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$2n = 14\ ext { Gb}$$\\end{document}), and bluehead wrasse (Thalassoma bifasciatum), a teleost fish. RNA-clique reliably distinguished individual tall fescue plants by genotype and distinguished bluehead wrasse RNA-seq samples by individual. In tests with simulated RNA-seq data, the ground truth phylogeny was accurately recovered from the computed distances. Moreover, tests of the algorithm parameters indicated that, even with stringent filtering for orthologs, sufficient sequence data were retained for the distance computations. Although comparisons with an alternative method revealed that RNA-clique has relatively high time and memory requirements, the comparisons also showed that RNA-clique’s results were at least as reliable as the alternative’s for tall fescue data and were much more reliable for the bluehead wrasse data.ConclusionResults of this work indicate that RNA-clique works well as a way of deriving genetic distances from RNA-seq data, thus providing a methodological integration of functional and genetic diversity studies.

Analysis of Distance and Travel Time Calculations in the Implementation of Non-Directional Beacon Courses

Analysis of Distance and Travel Time Calculations in the Implementation of Non-Directional Beacon Courses

Draft genome sequences of two biocontrol agents isolated from the maize phyllosphere: Bacillus subtilis strain EM-A7 and Bacillus velezensis strain EM-A8

In the present study, the genomes of B. subtilis EM-A7 and B. velezensis EM-A8 were sequenced and annotated. The Illumina sequencing platform (NovaSeq PE150) was used to sequence the genomic DNA. There were 6 277 054 raw reads for EM-A7, with a Q20 of 97.52 % and 43.78 % GC, and 8 030 262 raw reads for EM-A8, with a Q20 of 97.53 % and 46.21 % GC. Annotation was carried out by the NCBI Prokaryotic Genome Annotation Pipeline (PGAP). The strains were classified taxonomically on the basis of an average nucleotide identity analysis (ANI), as well as through a dDDh analysis on the Genome-to-Genome Distance Calculator (GGDC v3.0). The pipeline predicted 4062 protein-coding sequences (CDSs) and 73 RNA genes (62 tRNA and 6 rRNA) for EM-A7, and 3797 protein-coding sequences (CDSs) and 80 RNA genes for EM-A8. These findings enhance our understanding of the two strains’ potential as biocontrol agents to manage disease in maize.

Dengue NS1 interaction with lipids alters its pathogenic effects on monocyte derived macrophages.

While dengue NS1 antigen has been shown to be associated with disease pathogenesis in some studies, it has not been linked in other studies, with the reasons remaining unclear. NS1 antigen levels in acute dengue are often associated with increased disease severity, but there have been a wide variation in results based on past dengue infection and infecting dengue virus (DENV) serotype. As NS1 engages with many host lipids, we hypothesize that the type of NS1-lipid interactions alters its pathogenicity. Primary human monocyte derived macrophages (MDMs) were co-cultured with NS1 alone or with HDL, LDL, LPS and/or platelet activating factor (PAF) from individuals with a history of past dengue fever (DF=8) or dengue haemorrhagic fever (DHF=8). IL-1β levels were measured in culture supernatants, and gene expression analysis carried out in MDMs. Monocyte subpopulations were assessed by flow cytometry. Hierarchical cluster analysis with Euclidean distance calculations were used to differentiate clusters. Differentially expressed variables were extracted and a classifier model was developed to differentiate between past DF and DHF. Significantly higher levels of IL-1β were seen in culture supernatants when NS1 was co-cultured with LDL (p=0.01), but with lower levels with HDL (p=0.05). MDMs of those past DHF produced more IL-1β when NS1 with PAF (p=0.02). MDMs of individuals with past DHF, were significantly more likely to down-regulate RPLP2 gene expression when macrophages were co-cultured with either PAF alone, or NS1 combined with PAF, or NS1 combined with LDL. When NS1 was co-cultured with PAF, HDL or LDL two clusters were detected based on IL10 expression, but these did not differentiate those with past DF or DHF. As RPLP2 is important in DENV replication and in regulating cellular stress responses and immune responses and IL-10 is associated with severe disease, it would be important to further explore how differential expression of RPLP2 and IL-10 could lead to disease pathogenesis based on NS1 and lipid interactions.

Geographic Information System Mapping of Location Distribution Homestay Area Waingapu City Sumba Web-Based East Sumba

Based on the results of the identification of the needs of tourists looking for lodging in the city of Waingapu, there is a lack of spatial information (latitude and longitude), non-spatial (owner's name, price, facilities, address, contact) with the nearest route. Although available on google maps, it is still lacking because it is still incorporated with hotels, boarding houses and other housing. Therefore, a Web-based Geographic Information System for Mapping the Distribution of Homestay Locations in the Waingapu City Area of East Sumba is made to provide recommendations to tourists who need lodging in accessing Homestayinformation by determining the user's location point and the nearest Homestay will appear. Maps will direct to the location of the selected lodging house accompanied by the desired information. This system was built using the PHP programming language with the MySQL Database. The method used in this research is the Waterfall model for system development and Euclidean Distance for the calculation of the closest distance.

Validation of Step Detection and Distance Calculation Algorithms for Soccer Performance Monitoring.

This study focused on developing and evaluating a gyroscope-based step counter algorithm using inertial measurement unit (IMU) readings for precise athletic performance monitoring in soccer. The research aimed to provide reliable step detection and distance estimation tailored to soccer-specific movements, including various running speeds and directional changes. Real-time algorithms utilizing shank angular data from gyroscopes were created. Experiments were conducted on a specially designed soccer-specific testing circuit performed by 15 athletes, simulating a range of locomotion activities such as walking, jogging, and high-intensity actions. The algorithm outcome was compared with manually tagged data from a high-quality video camera-based system for validation, by assessing the agreement between the paired values using limits of agreement, concordance correlation coefficient, and further metrics. Results returned a step detection accuracy of 95.8% and a distance estimation Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) of 17.6 m over about 202 m of track. A sub-sample (N = 6) also wore two pairs of devices concurrently to evaluate inter-unit reliability. The performance analysis suggested that the algorithm was effective and reliable in tracking diverse soccer-specific movements. The proposed algorithm offered a robust and efficient solution for tracking step count and distance covered in soccer, particularly beneficial in indoor environments where global navigation satellite systems are not feasible. This advancement in sports technology widens the spectrum of tools for coaches and athletes in monitoring soccer performance.

Kinematic Age of the β-Pictoris Moving Group

Accurate age estimation of nearby young moving groups (NYMGs) is important as they serve as crucial testbeds in various fields of astrophysics, including the formation and evolution of stars and planets, as well as loose stellar associations. The β-Pictoris moving group (BPMG), being one of the closest and youngest NYMGs, has been extensively investigated, and its estimated ages have a wide range from ∼10–25 Myr, depending on the age estimation methods and data used. Unlike other age dating methods, kinematic traceback analysis offers a model-independent age assessment hence the merit in comparing many seemingly discordant age estimates. In this study, we determine the kinematic ages of the BPMG using three methods: probabilistic volume calculation, mean pairwise distance calculation, and covariance matrix analysis. These methods yield consistent results, with estimated ages in the range of 14–20 Myr. Implementing corrections to radial velocities due to gravitational redshift and convectional blueshift increases the ages by ∼2–4 Myr. Conversely, considering data uncertainties decreases the estimated ages by 1–2 Myr. Taken together, our analysis determined the kinematic age of the BPMG to be 16.3−2.1+3.4 Myr. This age is significantly younger than the commonly accepted age of the BPMG (∼24 Myr) determined primarily from the lithium depletion boundary analysis. This younger kinematic age may point to the discrepancy between the luminosity evolution and lithium depletion models or the presence of unaccounted systematic error in the method. This result underscores the necessity for systematic reevaluations of age-dating methods for nearby, young moving groups.