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Background: To review the current clinical evidence on advantages and risks of early weight bearing (EWB) after internal fixation for tibial plateau fracture. Methods: Data source: PubMed and Google Scholar from inception of database to 20 August 2021, using PRISMA guidelines. The included studies were randomized controlled trials, prospective and retrospective observational studies, case reports. Data extraction was performed independently by 2 reviewers. Collected data were compared to verify agreement. Statistical analysis was not performed in this study. Results: The literature search produced 174 papers from PubMed and 186 from Google Scholar, with a total amount of 360 papers. The two reviewers excluded 301 papers by title or duplicates. Of the 59 remaining, 33 were excluded after reading the abstract, and 17 by reading the full text. Thus, 9 papers were finally included in the review. Conclusions: EWB can be considered safe and effective in selected cases after internal fixation for tibial plateau fractures. Level of evidence Therapeutic Level III. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In rural communities throughout the developing world, lack of access to electricity can have far-reaching impacts. Students are often unable to study after sunset for want of adequate lighting; access to technology is limited or nonexistent for lack of power to charge devices. For one off-grid community in rural Peru, this was not a satisfactory situation, and they approached Engineers Without Borders-USA (EWB-USA) to work on a solution. Ultimately, after careful assessment and an enlightening false start, the Walla Walla University chapter of EWB-USA (EWB-WWU), in partnership with the community of Japura, designed and implemented standalone solar photovoltaic systems to electrify the community. The outline of this process is discussed in this article. A monitoring trip over a year after implementation allowed insight into the project's health and sustainability and also taught the team lessons about training, communication, socioeconomic impact, and community empowerment. This assessment and the resulting lessons are the focus of this article. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Engineers Without Borders USA has been operating and evolving since 2002. As an organization with many student and professional chapters working around the world, EWBUSA has put in place structures to review proposed community programs as well as specific engineering projects. The Application Review Committee, or ARC, considers new program proposals put forward by communities, while Technical Advisory Committees, or TACs, evaluate implementation plans for infrastructure projects. ARC and TAC members are volunteers with relevant technical knowledge and experience, many of whom are also EWBUSA chapter members. EWB-USA technical and chapter relations staff review progress at key points in the project cycle; however, this paper reviews the mainly volunteer efforts at two important moments in the project process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the automotive industry is shifting towards electrification, brake-by-wire technologies are becoming more prevalent. However, there has been little research comparing and optimizing brake-by-wire actuators in terms of their energy expenditure and response time. This paper investigates the comparison of three different smart brake-by-wire actuators, Electro-Hydraulic Brakes (EHB), Electro-Mechanical Brakes (EMB), and Electronic Wedge Brakes (EWB), first by defining an objective metric and then using both linear and nonlinear optimization techniques. Modeling of the actuators is performed using the bond graph method. Then, the controllers are designed using a robust control strategy, Youla parameterization. After designing the controllers, two types of optimization are performed on the actuators. Optimizations are performed in two ways: 1. by linearizing the plants and optimizing using their transfer functions and 2. by nonlinear optimization of the plants in the closed-loop following a specific clamp force target. The objective metrics or the cost functions for these optimizations are chosen to be the energy usage of the plants during the closed-loop operation, maximum power requirement, and their dynamic responsiveness. Using this optimization framework, we can show a significant improvement in the energy usage of the actuators and slight improvements in their responsiveness. In the end, the actuators are compared in terms of their energy usage for sets of initial and optimized physical parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]