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Lawrence E Armstrong,1,2 Evan C Johnson,3 William M Adams,4– 7 John F Jardine2 1Human Performance Laboratory, Department of Kinesiology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA; 2Korey Stringer Institute, Department of Kinesiology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA; 3Division of Kinesiology & Health, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, USA; 4Department of Sports Medicine, United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee, Colorado Springs, CO, USA; 5United States Coalition for the Prevention of Illness and Injury in Sport, Colorado Springs, CO, USA; 6Department of Kinesiology, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, NC, USA; 7School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences, Loughborough University, National Centre for Sport and Exercise Medicine (NCSEM), Loughborough, UKCorrespondence: Lawrence E Armstrong, University of Connecticut, Department of Kinesiology, Human Performance Laboratory, 2095 Hillside Road, Unit 1110, Storrs, CT, 06269, USA, Email lawrence.armstrong@uconn.eduAbstract: Few previous epidemiological studies, sports medicine position statements, and expert panel consensus reports have evaluated the similarities and differences of hyperthermia and exertional heatstroke (EHS) during endurance running, cycling, open water swimming, and triathlon competitions. Accordingly, we conducted manual online searches of the PubMed and Google Scholar databases using pre-defined inclusion criteria. The initial manual screenings of 1192 article titles and abstracts, and subsequent reviews of full-length pdf versions identified 80 articles that were acceptable for inclusion. These articles indicated that event medical teams recognized hyperthermia and EHS in the majority of running and triathlon field studies (range, 58.8 to 85.7%), whereas few reports of hyperthermia and EHS appeared in cycling and open water swimming field studies (range, 0 to 20%). Sports medicine position statements and consensus reports also exhibited these event-specific differences. Thus, we proposed mechanisms that involved physiological effector responses (sweating, increased skin blood flow) and biophysical heat transfer to the environment (evaporation, convection, radiation, and conduction). We anticipate that the above information will help race directors to distribute pre-race safety advice to athletes and will assist medical directors to better allocate medical resources (eg, staff number and skill sets, medical equipment) and optimize the management of hyperthermia and EHS.Keywords: heat illness, epidemiology, pathophysiology, thermoregulation, athlete

David C Klonoff,1 Brian L Levy,2 Michael J Jaasma,3 Manish Bharara,3 Deborah R Edgar,4 Christian Nasr,5 David L Caraway,3 Erika A Petersen,6 David G Armstrong7 1Diabetes Research Institute, Mills-Peninsula Medical Center, San Mateo, CA, USA; 2New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA; 3Nevro Corp, Redwood City, CA, USA; 4Commexus Ltd, Dunblane, Scotland, UK; 5Division of Endocrinology, Department of Internal Medicine, The University of Arizona College of Medicine - Phoenix, Phoenix, AZ, USA; 6Department of Neurosurgery, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, USA; 7Department of Surgery, Keck School of Medicine of University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USACorrespondence: David C Klonoff, Diabetes Research Institute, Mills-Peninsula Medical Center, 100 South San Mateo Drive, Room 1165, San Mateo, CA, 94401, USA, Tel +1650-218-1142, Email dklonoff@diabetestechnology.orgPurpose: The recent SENZA-PDN study showed that high-frequency (10kHz) spinal cord stimulation (SCS) provided significant, durable pain relief for individuals with painful diabetic neuropathy (PDN), along with secondary benefits, including improved sleep quality and HRQoL. Given that metabolic factors and chronic neuropathic pain are related, we evaluated potential secondary effects of 10kHz SCS on hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) and weight in SENZA-PDN participants with type 2 diabetes (T2D).Patients and Methods: This analysis included 144 participants with T2D and lower limb pain due to PDN who received 10kHz SCS during the SENZA-PDN study. Changes in HbA1c, weight, pain intensity, and sleep were evaluated over 24 months, with participants stratified according to preimplantation HbA1c (> 7% and > 8%) and body mass index (BMI; ≥ 30 and ≥ 35 kg/m2).Results: At 24 months, participants with preimplantation HbA1c > 7% and > 8% achieved clinically meaningful and statistically significant mean reductions in HbA1c of 0.5% (P = 0.031) and 1.1% (P = 0.004), respectively. Additionally, we observed a significant mean weight loss of 3.1 kg (P = 0.003) across all study participants. In subgroups with BMI ≥ 30 and ≥ 35 kg/m2, weight reductions at 24 months were 4.1 kg (P = 0.001) and 5.4 kg (P = 0.005), respectively. These reductions were accompanied by a mean pain reduction of 79.8% and a mean decrease in pain interference with sleep of 65.2% at 24 months across all cohorts.Conclusion: This is the first study of SCS to demonstrate long-term, significant, and clinically meaningful reductions in HbA1c and weight in study participants with PDN and T2D, particularly among those with elevated preimplantation HbA1c and BMI. Although the mechanism for these improvements has yet to be established, the results suggest possible direct and indirect metabolic benefits with 10kHz SCS in addition to durable pain relief.Trial Registration: ClincalTrials.gov Identifier, NCT03228420.Keywords: diabetic peripheral neuropathy, painful diabetic neuropathy, spinal cord stimulation, neuromodulation, neuropathic pain

Coastal flooding and erosion, caused by climate change-induced sea level rise, pose significant threats to low-lying coastal areas worldwide. The African continent, including Ghana, has experienced severe impacts from these hazards, affecting the socio-economic development of coastal communities. This research focuses on the Keta municipality in Ghana. The Keta municipality is highly vulnerable to coastal flooding and erosion due to its low elevation and the construction of the Akosombo hydroelectric dam. This research aims to predict the impact of coastal flooding on infrastructure in the Keta municipality using different flood scenarios. It also fills the existing knowledge gap in understanding how future flood risk can impact on critical infrastructure and consequently on other vital socio-economic sectors in the coastal community of Keta. The study utilizes a Geographic Information System (GIS)-based approach, combining various datasets, including topographic data, administrative shapefiles, field survey points, and infrastructure data. Two flood scenarios were considered to assess areas at risk: a 2.5-m sea level flood scenario representing potential climate change events and a worst-case 5-m sea level flood scenario. The findings reveal that 3.3 km2 (9 %) of coastal land area, 3.9 km of roads, and 69 structures are at risk under a 2.5m sea level rise scenario, increasing to 7.1 km2 (19.4 %), 13.6 km of roads, and 667 structures under a 5m scenario. The study highlights the urgency of addressing these risks to protect coastal communities' socio-economic development and livelihoods. Recommendations include implementing appropriate coastal management strategies, improving infrastructure resilience, and promoting sustainable land-use practices. By understanding and addressing the future impact of coastal flooding, decision-makers can mitigate climate change's adverse effects on coastal areas and ensure the region's long-term sustainability.

Background: Local municipalities are vital in providing residents, businesses and other stakeholders services. Adopting disruptive digital technologies like predictive analytics, social media analytics, intelligent chatbots, the Internet of Everything and self-serving kiosks in local municipalities promises citizens better and more efficient service. These technologies have the potential to eliminate operational silos and bureaucracy, resulting in cost savings and offering 24/7 service accessibility. However, citizen perceptions of the digital transformation agenda influence disruptive technology adoption in South Africa and deserve further scrutiny. Objectives: The study examined the effect of facilitating conditions, effort expectancy, price value, perceived privacy, perceived risk, perceived trust and optimism bias on citizens’ behavioural intention to adopt and use disruptive technologies in accessing local municipality services. Method: Underpinned by a quantitative research design and a deductive approach, data were collected from 288 citizens in local municipalities in South Africa to establish the model fit of the proposed model using structural equation modelling. Results: Effort expectancy, facilitating conditions, price value, perceived privacy, perceived risk and perceived trust positively influenced citizens’ intention to adopt e-government in local municipalities in South Africa. Meanwhile, optimism bias and intention to use positively influenced use behaviour in e-government. The structural equation model results confirmed the model’s fit. All eight hypotheses were confirmed. Conclusion: The results of this research offer guidance to policymakers and implementers involved in digital transformation in local government on factors affecting citizens’ intention to adopt e-government. Contribution: The study significantly contributes to digital transformation discourse in local government.

This study was designed to investigate how some important physical properties of Plaster of Paris (POP) ceilings are affected by the utilization of untreated oil palm mesocarp fiber (UOPMF) and treated oil palm mesocarp fiber (TOPMF) as a modifier. Both fibers were utilized separately at various weight proportions (0, 10, 20, 30, and 40%) to fabricate the ceiling samples. The samples were dried completely and then tested for water absorption, porosity, bulk density, thermal conductivity, specific heat capacity, thermal diffusivity, heat flow time, and flakiness. All the samples could improve thermal insulation performance better than conventional ceilings like asbestos and polyvinyl chloride (PVC). However, the UOPMF enhanced a greater potential than the TOPMF over the control sample. Loading up to 30% of the fiber was optimum for a good blend, considering the resistance to wear offered by the samples.

This study addresses the critical challenge of limited annotated datasets for vehicle classification compliant with Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) guidelines. To overcome this challenge, we introduce a novel benchmark annotated dataset meticulously curated from diverse sources, capturing variations in time, resolution, camera position, and weather conditions, with images all aligned with FHWA standards. Building on this dataset, we conduct a comprehensive comparative analysis of several state-of-the-art object detection models including the YOLO series and Detection Transformers. Our analysis reveals the need for an enhanced YOLO model performance in detecting vehicle subcategories within the FHWA classification scheme. To achieve this, we propose improvements to YOLO models by incorporating the Convolutional Block Attention Module (CBAM). These enhancements lead to superior performance, with YOLOv9+CBAM achieving high precision (0.987), recall (0.973), mAP@50 (0.984), and mAP@50-95 (0.892). However, our comparative analysis yielded the Collaborative DEtection TRansformer (Co-DETR) as the best performing model with a precision of 0.993, the recall being 0.985, mAP@50 of 0.988 and an mAP@50-95 of 0.901. Our results underscore the effectiveness of integrating CBAM into YOLO architectures, significantly boosting feature representation and detection accuracy across multiple YOLO versions and the potential for using Detection Transformers in addressing vehicle classification problems.

In the age of information overload, recommender systems have emerged as essential tools, assisting users in decision-making processes by offering personalized suggestions. However, their effectiveness is contingent on the availability of large amounts of user data, raising significant privacy and security concerns. This review article presents an extended analysis of recommender systems, elucidating their importance and the growing apprehensions regarding privacy and data security. Federated Learning (FL), a privacy-preserving machine learning approach, is introduced as a potential solution to these challenges. Consequently, the potential benefits and implications of integrating FL with recommender systems are explored and an overview of FL, its types, and key components, are provided. Further, the privacy-preserving techniques inherent to FL are discussed, demonstrating how they contribute to secure recommender systems. By illustrating case studies and significant research contributions, the article showcases the practical feasibility and benefits of combining FL with recommender systems. Despite the promising benefits, challenges, and limitations exist in the practical deployment of FL in recommender systems. This review outlines these hurdles, bringing to light the security considerations crucial in this context and offering a balanced perspective. In conclusion, the article signifies the potential of FL in transforming recommender systems, paving the path for future research directions in this intersection of technologies.

The safe implementation and adoption of Autonomous Vehicle (AV) vision models on public roads requires not only an understanding of the natural environment comprising pedestrians and other vehicles but also the ability to reason about edge situations such as unpredictable maneuvers by other drivers, impending accidents, erratic movement of pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists, animal crossings, and cyclists using hand signals. Despite advances in complex tasks such as object tracking, human behavior modeling, activity recognition, and trajectory planning, the fundamental challenge of interpretable scene understanding, especially in out-of-distribution environments, remains evident. This is highlighted by the 84% of AV disengagements attributed to scene understanding errors in real-world AV tests. To address this limitation, we introduce the Diverse Naturalistic Edge Driving Scene Dataset (DivNEDS), a novel dataset comprising 11,084 edge scenes and 203,000 descriptive captions sourced from 12 distinct locations worldwide, captured under varying weather conditions and at different times of the day. Our approach includes a novel embedded hierarchical dense captioning strategy aimed at enabling few-shot learning and mitigating overfitting by excluding irrelevant scene elements. Additionally, we propose a Generative Region-to-Text Transformer, with a baseline embedded hierarchical dense captioning performance of 60.3mAP, a new benchmark for AV scene understanding models trained on dense captioned data sets. This work represents a significant step toward improving AVs’ ability to comprehend diverse, real-world edge and complex driving scenarios, thereby enhancing their safety and adaptability in dynamic environments. The dataset and instructions are available at https://github.com/johnowusuduah/DivNEDS.

Este artículo es un extracto/reformulación de una tesis doctoral defendida en julio de 2023 y tiene como objetivo discutir el choque lingüístico operado por mujeres y hombres esclavizados en la parte occidental de la isla Hispaniola en torno a los temas deigualdad, libertad y propiedad en el siglo XVIII. En el lenguaje de la resistencia a la esclavitud, estos sujetos reformularon teorías, resignificaron palabras y tejieron con sus cuerpos artes para liberarse, torciendo el verbo proveniente de la metrópolifrancesa, para organizar la primera república negra de las Américas, Haití. Se trata de un abordaje basado en una revisión bibliográfica y documental guiada por la perspectiva teórico-crítica de autores como James (2000), Hurbon (1987), Mbembe (2018), Orlandi (2007), Trouillot (2016), Protzel (2015) y Seguy (2009). Las conclusiones apuntan a un conjunto complejo de tácticas de lucha y supervivencia organizadas por los pueblos esclavizados desde el siglo XV, que impactaron directa o indirectamente en los circuitos políticos entre Europa y América en el siglo XVIII. La lucha en torno a la igualdad y la libertad sigue repercutiendo en las diásporas de afrocaribeñas noBrasil en la actualidad.

Este artículo espartede una tesis doctoral defendida en julio de 2023 y tiene como objetivo discutir formas de narrar y, simultáneamente, ocultar la historia haitiana, especialmente en lo que se refiere a las luchas de resistencia a la esclavitud vividas por las poblaciones negras en la parte occidental de la isla de Hispaniola, en el Caribe y el proceso de independencia de Haití a fines del siglo XVIII y principios del XIX. Estas luchas y la constitucióndel país caribeño cuestionaron la Ilustración francesa y los ideales revolucionarios (1789-1899) y, por ello, han sido silenciadas por la historiografía, además de la imposición de una serie de embargos que impidieron que Haití se convirtiera en un país efectivamente libre. Presentamos un enfoque que promueve el análisis de las narrativas producidas sobre Haití y sus habitantes, así como las prácticas de resistencia elaboradas por sujetos inscritos en estos procesos de diálogo, tensión y redireccionamiento de esas mismas narrativas, con el objetivo de transformarlas en instrumentos de supervivencia y lucha, como en los casos diásporas y la práctica del vudú. Se trata de un estudio basado en una revisión bibliográfica y documental sostenida por intelectuales como Protzel (2015), Haesbaert y Limonad (2007), Orlandi (2007) y Trouillot (2016); Édouard Glissant (2005) y James (2000). Los análisis indican que estas limitaciones (de los ideales ilustrados), sumadas a las prácticas de resistencia elaboradas por los subalternizados, operan como una interpelación al tiempo presente, exigiendo la inserción de los desplazados en el ámbito de los derechos, cuidados y protecciones prometidos por la modernidad que, contradictoriamente, se asentó sobre cuerpos racializados en territorios narrados como espacios de “salvajismo” y “barbarie”.

To determine the forces applied by coil springs used to open spaces for blocked out lateral incisors, and to compare the actual forces used with clinicans’ concepts of an ‘ideal’ force.

Orthodontic treatment can result in root resorption.

Well-finished orthodontic treatment begins with accurate positioning of the brackets on the teeth.

This study explored the growth parameters and nutritional composition of Black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) reared on some selected alternative organic waste materials. The substrates comprised wheat bran (WB) as the control, millet waste (MW), restaurant leftovers (RL) and fruits waste (FW) and were replicated 8 times in a mini-insectary set-up. Proximate nutrient and mineral composition of the larvae were analyzed. RL had the highest (p

William A Millar, Landon R Armstrong, Robert M Becker, Adam N Musick, David B Ryan, Thomas E Kwasigroch Department of Medical Education, James H. Quillen College of Medicine, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN, USACorrespondence: Thomas E Kwasigroch, Department of Medical Education, James H. Quillen College of Medicine, PO Box 70582, Johnson City, TN, 37614, USA, Tel +1 (423) 239-2006, Email kwasigro@mail.etsu.eduIntroduction: Soft-embalmed cadavers have been used in medical education with a variety of success in different curriculum objectives. In the United States, the ACL is the most commonly injured ligament. Yet, there has been little focus on the stability of the knee in the sagittal plane provided by the anterior cruciate ligament within the soft-embalmed cadaver model. If the soft-embalmed cadaver ligaments contain similar elastic properties as an in-vivo knees, this will offer yet another means for further advancements in medical education to detect and assess musculoskeletal injuries.Purpose: Evaluate how similarly the anterior tibial translation of soft-embalmed cadaver anterior cruciate ligaments compares to in-vivo tissue.Methods: The KT-1000 arthrometer was used to assess the laxity of the anterior cruciate ligament of thirteen soft-embalmed cadavers consisting of five females and eight males with a mean age of 79.3 years and duration of time since embalming ranging from 250 to 1156 days. Anterior displacement of the tibia in relation to the femur was registered at 67N and 89N. The soft-embalmed cadaver measurements were compared against twenty-one healthy uninjured individuals whose anterior tibial translation was measured using the same process. Data sets were analyzed using a welch two-sample t-test to determine the similarity between the means of the data sets.Results: The t-tests proved a significant difference between live and soft-embalmed cadaver knees. The anterior tibial translation in the set of healthy live knees directly compared to the soft-embalmed cadaver group for 67N depicts an average difference of 1.76mm. The same comparison at 89N depicts an average difference of 2.12mm.Conclusion: While soft-embalmed cadavers may not directly replicate ATT to an exact number to that of in vivo tissue, they still allow the perception of the tibial translation against a stationary femur. The difference is less than 2.5 mm in both data sets when compared to an in-vivo knee, equivalent to one-tenth of an inch. Suggesting the viability of soft-embalmed cadavers ATT and should not exclude their use in medical education.Keywords: medical education, anatomy, anterior cruciate ligament, soft-embalmed cadaver

ABSTRACTAccording to many previous studies, application of remote sensing for the complex and heterogeneous urban environments in Sub-Saharan African countries is challenging due to the spectral confusion among features caused by diversity of construction materials. Resorting to classification based on spectral indices that are expected to better highlight features of interest and to be prone to unsupervised classification, this study aims (1) to evaluate the effectiveness of index-based classification for Land Use Land Cover (LULC) using an unsupervised machine learning algorithm Product Quantized K-means (PQk-means); and (2) to monitor the urban expansion of Luanda, the capital city of Angola in a Logistic Regression Model (LRM). Comparison with state-of-the-art algorithms shows that unsupervised classification by means of spectral indices is effective for the study area and can be used for further studies. The built-up area of Luanda has increased from 94.5 km2 in 2000 to 198.3 km2 in 2008 and to 468.4 km2 in 2018, mainly driven by the proximity to the already established residential areas and to the main roads as confirmed by the logistic regression analysis. The generated probability maps show high probability of urban growth in the areas where government had defined housing programs.

In this study, we report the use of a radiofrequency plasma-assisted chemical vapor deposition (RF-CVD) system with a hollow cathode geometry to hydrogenate anatase TiO2 thin films. The goal was to create black TiO2 films with improved light absorption capabilities. The initial TiO2 was developed through magnetron sputtering, and this study specifically investigated the impact of hollow cathode hydrogen plasma (HCHP) treatment duration on the crucial characteristics of the resulting black TiO2 films. The HCHP treatment effectively created in-bandgap states in the TiO2 structure, leading to enhanced light absorption and improved conductivity. Morphological analysis showed a 24% surface area increase after 15 min of treatment. Wettability and surface energy results displayed nonlinear behavior, highlighting the influence of morphology on hydrophilicity improvement. The anatase TiO2 phase remained consistent, as confirmed by diffractograms. Raman analysis revealed structural alterations and induced lattice defects. Treated samples exhibited outstanding photodegradation performance, removing over 45% of methylene blue dye compared to ~25% by the pristine TiO2 film. The study emphasized the significant impact of 15-min hydrogenation on the HCHP treatment. The research provided valuable insights into the role of hydrogenation time using the HCHP treatment route on anatase TiO2 thin films and demonstrated the potential of the produced black TiO2 thin films for photocatalytic applications.

Abstract Background The emergence and rapid spread of new severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-COV-2) variants have challenged the control of the COVID-19 pandemic globally. Burundi was not spared by that pandemic, but the genetic diversity, evolution, and epidemiology of those variants in the country remained poorly understood. The present study sought to investigate the role of different SARS-COV-2 variants in the successive COVID-19 waves experienced in Burundi and the impact of their evolution on the course of that pandemic. We conducted a cross-sectional descriptive study using positive SARS-COV-2 samples for genomic sequencing. Subsequently, we performed statistical and bioinformatics analyses of the genome sequences in light of available metadata. Results In total, we documented 27 PANGO lineages of which BA.1, B.1.617.2, AY.46, AY.122, and BA.1.1, all VOCs, accounted for 83.15% of all the genomes isolated in Burundi from May 2021 to January 2022. Delta (B.1.617.2) and its descendants predominated the peak observed in July–October 2021. It replaced the previously predominant B.1.351 lineage. It was itself subsequently replaced by Omicron (B.1.1.529, BA.1, and BA.1.1). Furthermore, we identified amino acid mutations including E484K, D614G, and L452R known to increase infectivity and immune escape in the spike proteins of Delta and Omicron variants isolated in Burundi. The SARS-COV-2 genomes from imported and community-detected cases were genetically closely related. Conclusion The global emergence of SARS-COV-2 VOCs and their subsequent introductions in Burundi was accompanied by new peaks (waves) of COVID-19. The relaxation of travel restrictions and the mutations occurring in the virus genome played an important role in the introduction and the spread of new SARS-COV-2 variants in the country. It is of utmost importance to strengthen the genomic surveillance of SARS-COV-2, enhance the protection by increasing the SARS-COV-2 vaccine coverage, and adjust the public health and social measures ahead of the emergence or introduction of new SARS-COV-2 VOCs in the country.