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Background: Femoral shaft fractures tend to be rare among children; however, these injuries are the most common major paediatric injuries treated by orthopaedic surgeons. The purpose of this study is to characterise the demographics and mechanisms of femoral injury associated with consumer products in the age group treated with spica casting, children 6 months to 6 years, to identify areas for injury prevention., Methods: Data from 2012 to 2021 were obtained from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System maintained by the Consumer Products Safety Commission, documenting emergency department visits for unintentional injuries associated with consumer products. Narrative descriptions were analysed to identify common factors in the injury events such as location, products and mechanisms of action., Results: From 2012 to 2021, the estimated incidence of femur fractures was 23.5 cases per 100 000 children with no significant difference in yearly frequency. The most common mechanism of injury was a fall with the most frequent fracture sources being bed/bunk beds (16.1%), floor (slips/falls, 9.7%) and trampolines (9.7%). Most fractures occurred at the patient's home (58.4%). The incidence of injury outside of the home and frequency of fractures involving play structures/trampolines increased with age., Conclusions: The incidence and demographic characteristics of paediatric femur fractures associated with consumer products have remained consistent over the past 10 years. As home was the most common location of fracture, prevention of femur fractures should focus on caregiver education around high-risk sources of fracture (bed, stairs and trampolines) and manufacturers should consider design alternatives that discourage potential misuse., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2024. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Ensuring a safe nighttime environmental perception system relies on the early detection of vulnerable road users with minimal delay and high precision. This paper presents a sensor-fused nighttime environmental perception system by integrating data from thermal and RGB cameras. A new alignment algorithm is proposed to fuse the data from the two camera sensors. The proposed alignment procedure is crucial for effective sensor fusion. To develop a robust Deep Neural Network (DNN) system, nighttime thermal and RGB images were collected under various scenarios, creating a labeled dataset of 32,000 image pairs. Three fusion techniques were explored using transfer learning, alongside two single-sensor models using only RGB or thermal data. Five DNN models were developed and evaluated, with experimental results showing superior performance of fused models over non-fusion counterparts. The late-fusion system was selected for its optimal balance of accuracy and response time. For real-time inferencing, the best model was further optimized, achieving 33 fps on the embedded edge computing device, an 83.33% improvement in inference speed over the system without optimization. These findings are valuable for advancing Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADASs) and autonomous vehicle technologies, enhancing pedestrian detection during nighttime to improve road safety and reduce accidents.

Symmetry analysis is a cutting-edge research approach in physics, yet its application in macroscopic energy systems remains limited. This study demonstrates its potential to provide valuable insights for a deeper understanding and development of thermodynamic cycles. This article first studies the symmetry of the proposed C - P diagrams and finds rich symmetries including reflection symmetry, translation symmetry, and rotational symmetry within Carnot cycles. Then, it emphasizes that one can use symmetry alone to prove that the highest efficiency for any cycle operating in a certain temperature range is the Carnot efficiency, without relying on the entropy concept in the second law of thermodynamics. Lastly, it is found that this symmetry analysis framework can also be used for thermal cycles with phase transitions, as exemplified by applying in Rankine cycles. This research not only contributes groundbreaking insights into unraveling the symmetry inherent in thermodynamic cycles, but also promotes symmetry analysis to be an alternative analysis mean., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2024 The Authors.)

Developing patient-specific implants has an increasing interest in the application of emerging additive manufacturing (AM) technologies. On the other hand, despite advances in total knee replacement (TKR), studies suggest that up to 20% of patients with elective TKR are dissatisfied with the outcome. By creating 3D objects from digital models, AM enables the production of patient-specific implants with complex geometries, such as those required for knee replacements. Previous studies have highlighted concerns regarding the risk of residual stresses and shape distortions in AM parts, which could lead to structural failure or other complications. This article presents a computational framework that uses CT images to create patient-specific finite element models for optimizing AM knee replacements. The workflow includes image processing in the open-source software 3DSlicer and MeshLab and AM process simulations in the commercial platform 3DEXPERIENCE. The approach is demonstrated on a distal femur replacement for a 50-year-old male patient from the open-access Natural Knee Data. The results show that build orientations have a significant impact on both shape distortions and residual stresses. Support structures have a marginal effect on residual stresses but strongly influence shape distortions, whereas conical support exhibits a maximum distortion of 18.5 mm. Future research can explore how these factors affect the functionality of AM knee replacements under in-service loading., (© 2024. International Federation for Medical and Biological Engineering.)

A validated femoral neck fracture model stabilized with three inverted cannulated screws was used to consider different intraoperative scenarios when the inferior screw hole is inadvertently started too inferiorly. These scenarios were to: (1) abandon the misplaced inferior screw hole and restart this hole more proximally, or (2) accept the mispositioned placement of the inferior screw and insert the remaining superior screws parallel or convergent to the inferior screw. Utilizing the second option and accepting the errant hole was associated with the greatest interfragmentary motion and stresses in the bone and hardware. In contrast, the first option created an improved mechanical environment for healing.

Advances in biomedical research require a robust physician scientist workforce. Despite being equally successful at securing early career awards from the NIH as men, women MD-PhD physician scientists are less likely to serve as principal investigators on mid- and later careers awards. Here, we discuss the causes of gender disparities in academic medicine, the implications of losing highly trained women physician scientists, and the institutional and systemic changes needed to sustain this pool of talented investigators., Competing Interests: Declaration of interests The authors declare no competing interests., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

With the recent advances in autonomous vehicles, there is an increasing need for sensors that can help monitor tire-road conditions and the forces that are applied to the tire. The footprint area of a tire that makes direct contact with the road surface, known as the contact patch, is a key parameter for determining a vehicle's effectiveness in accelerating, braking, and steering at various velocities. Road unevenness from features such as potholes and cracks results in large fluctuations in the contact patch surface area. Such conditions can eventually require the driver to perform driving maneuvers unorthodox to normal traffic patterns, such as excessive pedal depressions or large steering inputs, which can escalate to hazards such as the loss of control or impact. The integration of sensors into the inner liner of a tire has proven to be a promising method for extracting real-time tire-to-road contact patch interface data. In this research, a tire model is developed using Abaqus/CAE and analyzed using Abaqus/Explicit to study the nonlinear behavior of a rolling tire. Strain variations are investigated at the contact patch in three major longitudinal slip driving scenarios, including acceleration, braking, and free-rolling. Multiple vertical loading conditions on the tire are applied and studied. An intelligent tire prototype called KU-iTire is developed and tested to validate the strain results obtained from the simulations. Similar operating and loading conditions are applied to the physical prototype and the simulation model such that valid comparisons can be made. The experimental investigation focuses on the effectiveness of providing usable and reliable tire-to-road contact patch strain variation data under several longitudinal slip operating conditions. In this research, a correlation between FEA and experimental testing was observed between strain shape for free-rolling, acceleration, and braking conditions. A relationship between peak longitudinal strain and vertical load in free-rolling driving conditions was also observed and a correlation was observed between FEA and physical testing.

This paper introduces an innovative approach for elastic property characterization of soft tissues, having directional-dependent material behavior, via their vibration response measurement and interpretation. The full-field time-dependent surface displacements as a result of externally excited soft tissues are collected through digital image correlation (DIC). A developed analytical model, capturing the low-amplitude vibration behavior of anisotropic layered human skin with the incorporation of the influence of subcutaneous elasticity and inertia, is employed to accurately predict its resonant frequencies and pertaining displacement field images. An efficient solution approach for the model is implemented into an inverse algorithm to rapidly characterize the anisotropic elastic properties based on importing the vibration characteristics. To show the merit of the approach, a 3-D finite element (FE) simulation model was used to generate full-field data, detected and matched with a set of specific vibration modes via modal assurance criterion (MAC). The validity of the model implemented into the inverse characterization algorithm is demonstrated through a comparison of predicted vibration frequencies and mode-shapes simulated via the 3-D FE model for different cases with anisotropic elastic properties in different layers of the skin. It is shown that modes are influenced differently when anisotropic properties are introduced to the model. Thus, the established inverse characterization algorithm is capable of rapidly predicting the elastic material properties of anisotropic soft sheets with adequate accuracy., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Current research indicates that total joint arthroplasty patients who are discharged to skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) have higher complication rates as compared to home. Many factors like age, sex, race, Medicare status, and past medical history have been shown to influence discharge destination. The present study sought to gather patient-indicated reasons for SNF discharge and identify potentially modifiable factors influencing the decision., Methods: Primary total joint arthroplasty patients were asked to complete surveys at their presurgical and 2-week postsurgical follow-up appointments. The surveys included home access and social support questions as well as patient-reported outcome measures: Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement and Information System, Risk Assessment and Prediction Tool, Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score for Joint Replacement, or Hip dysfunction and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score for Joint Replacement., Results: Of 765 patients who met inclusion criteria, 3.9% were discharged to an SNF and these were more frequently post-THA, women, older, Black, and persons living alone. Regression analyses indicated that lower Risk Assessment and Prediction Tool score, higher age, no caregiver presence, and Black race were significantly associated with SNF discharge. Patients discharged to an SNF most commonly reported social concerns rather than medical or home access concerns as the main factor for SNF discharge., Conclusions: While age and sex are nonmodifiable factors, the availability of a caregiver and social support represents an important modifiable factor in regard to discharge destination. Dedicated attention during the preoperative planning period may help augment social support and avoid unnecessary discharges to SNFs., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The methodologies of asphaltenes-containing petroleum materials: saturated, aromatics, resins, asphaltenes group-type composition analysis are performed with the use of column adsorption-desorption or thin layer chromatography (TLC)-flame ionization detection under normal phase conditions with silica gel as the adsorbent. In a three-step procedure, the TLC chromatogram is developed within a decreasing distance by the mobile phase with increasing elution strength (polarity). The n-alkane used in the first step does not dissolve asphaltenes, which leads to the occlusion effect and an underestimation of the percentage of saturated hydrocarbons. In this article, the reverse order of the subsequent elution steps was proposed: the solvent polarity is simultaneously reduced and the chromatogram development distance is increased in the order dichloromethane:methanol 95:5 v/v, 3 cm; toluene, 6 cm; and n-hexane, 10 cm. It was also intentional to reduce the weight of the applied sample to 5 μg for bitumen and 2 μg for asphaltene purity testing. It should be the rule that in stepwise TLC chromatogram development, the first mobile phase is a good solvent for all testing components. The IP 469 procedure should be corrected., (© 2023 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

This paper proposes an innovative approach to identify elastic material properties and mass density of soft tissues based on interpreting their mechanical vibration response, externally excited by a mechanical indenter or acoustic waves. A vibration test is performed on soft sheets to measure their response to a continuous range of excitation frequencies. The frequency responses are collected with a pair of high-speed cameras in conjunction with 3-D digital image correlation (DIC). Two cases are considered, including suspended/fully-free rectangular neoprene sheets as artificial tissue cutout samples and continuous layered human skin vibrations. An efficient theoretical model is developed to analytically simulate the free vibrations of the neoprene artificial sheet samples as well as the continuous layered human skins. The high accuracy and validity of the presented analytical simulations are demonstrated through comparison with the DIC measurements and the conducted frequency tests, as well as a number of finite element (FE) modeling. The developed analytical approach is implemented into a numerical algorithm to perform an inverse calculation of the soft sheets' elastic properties using the imported experimental vibration results and the predicted system's mass via the system equivalent reduction/expansion process (SEREP) method. It is shown that the proposed frequency-dependent inverse approach is capable of rapidly predicting the material properties of the tested samples with high accuracy., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest All authors declare that they have no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 IPEM. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Lightweight materials, such as polymers and composites, are increasingly used in the automotive and aerospace industries. Recently, there has been an increase in the use of these materials, especially in electric vehicles. However, these materials cannot shield sensitive electronics from electromagnetic interference (EMI). The current work investigates the EMI performance of these lightweight materials using an experimental setup based on the ASTM D4935-99 standard and EMI simulation using the ANSYS HFSS. This work studies how metal coating from zinc and aluminum bronze can improve the shielding performance of polymer-based materials, such as polyphenylene sulfide (PPS), polyetheretherketone (PEEK), and polyphthalamide (PPA). Based on the findings of this study, a thin coating (50 μm) of Zn on the surface of PPS and a thin coating of 5 μm and 10 μm of Al-Bronze, respectively, on the surface of PEEK and PPA have indicated an increase in the shielding effectiveness (SE) when subjected to EMI. The shielding effectiveness significantly increased from 7 dB for the uncoated polymer to approximately 40 dB at low frequencies and up to approximately 60 dB at high frequencies for coated polymers. Finally, various approaches are recommended for improving the SE of polymeric materials under the influence of EMI.

For many automotive functionalities in Advanced Driver Assist Systems (ADAS) and Autonomous Driving (AD), target objects are detected using state-of-the-art Deep Neural Network (DNN) technologies. However, the main challenge of recent DNN-based object detection is that it requires high computational costs. This requirement makes it challenging to deploy the DNN-based system on a vehicle for real-time inferencing. The low response time and high accuracy of automotive applications are critical factors when the system is deployed in real time. In this paper, the authors focus on deploying the computer-vision-based object detection system on the real-time service for automotive applications. First, five different vehicle detection systems are developed using transfer learning technology, which utilizes the pre-trained DNN model. The best performing DNN model showed improvements of 7.1% in Precision, 10.8% in Recall, and 8.93% in F1 score compared to the original YOLOv3 model. The developed DNN model was optimized by fusing layers horizontally and vertically to deploy it in the in-vehicle computing device. Finally, the optimized DNN model is deployed on the embedded in-vehicle computing device to run the program in real-time. Through optimization, the optimized DNN model can run 35.082 fps (frames per second) on the NVIDIA Jetson AGA, 19.385 times faster than the unoptimized DNN model. The experimental results demonstrate that the optimized transferred DNN model achieved higher accuracy and faster processing time for vehicle detection, which is vital for deploying the ADAS system.

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is characterized by chronic deterioration of the nervous system, mainly the brain and the spinal cord. An individual with MS develops the condition when the immune system begins attacking nerve fibers and the myelin sheathing that covers them, affecting the communication between the brain and the rest of the body and eventually causing permanent damage to the nerve. Patients with MS (pwMS) might experience different symptoms depending on which nerve was damaged and how much damage it has sustained. Currently, there is no cure for MS; however, there are clinical guidelines that help control the disease and its accompanying symptoms. Additionally, no specific laboratory biomarker can precisely identify the presence of MS, leaving specialists with a differential diagnosis that relies on ruling out other possible diseases with similar symptoms. Since the emergence of Machine Learning (ML) in the healthcare industry, it has become an effective tool for uncovering hidden patterns that aid in diagnosing several ailments. Several studies have been conducted to diagnose MS using ML and Deep Learning (DL) models trained using MRI images, achieving promising results. However, complex and expensive diagnostic tools are needed to collect and examine imaging data. Thus, the intention of this study is to implement a cost-effective, clinical data-driven model that is capable of diagnosing pwMS. The dataset was obtained from King Fahad Specialty Hospital (KFSH) in Dammam, Saudi Arabia. Several ML algorithms were compared, namely Support Vector Machine (SVM), Decision Tree (DT), Logistic Regression (LR), Random Forest (RF), Extreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost), Adaptive Boosting (AdaBoost), and Extra Trees (ET). The results indicated that the ET model outpaced the rest with an accuracy of 94.74%, recall of 97.26%, and precision of 94.67%.

Background: Flint is a site of resistance to neoliberalism specifically because of the actions of Flint residents. The impacts of this organizing are due, in part, to sustained efforts to reimagine how communities can contribute to scientific knowledge production. We argue that Flint residents' efforts to advance a community-driven research (CDR) agenda represent an important and successful resistance to neoliberal scientific regulatory practices., Methods: We present Flint as a case study in CDR as a form of resistance. This article uses participatory observation within community-based research and draws from the personal experiences of the research team as long-term and lifelong residents of Flint who were actively involved in different aspects of community mobilizing during the water crisis., Case Study: We highlight Flint's rich and sustained community-based participatory research history, resident-led data collection efforts to assess the environmental and health conditions, a resident-led effort to tell the story of the water crisis from the residents' perspective, and recent efforts to develop and advance a CDR model., Discussion: Community-led research efforts in Flint follow Leitner et al. 's typology of contesting neoliberalism through opting in to neoliberal science to advance community needs, collecting data to support direct opposition through protest and mobilization, creating alternative knowledge frames, and using CDR to disengage from the traditional scientific model., Conclusions: Through CDR, Flint residents work in direct resistance to the tacit integration of neoliberal values into science and alternatively advance community organizing as a key aspect of science toward environmental justice., Competing Interests: No competing financial interests exist., (Copyright 2023, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers.)

Introduction: Older vehicles, commonly referred to as "classic," "vintage," or "historic" vehicles (CVH), share the roadways with newer vehicles. Older vehicles lacking safety systems likely come with an increased risk of fatality, however there is no study examining the typical conditions for crashes involving CVH., Method: This study utilized information from crashes occurring in 2012 to 2019 to estimate fatal crash rates for vehicles grouped by model year deciles. Data from crashes documented in the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA) FARS and GES/CRSS data sets were utilized to examine roadway, temporal, and crash types for passenger vehicles produced in 1970 or earlier (CVH)., Results: These data show CVH crashes are rare (<1% of crashes), but carry a relative risk of fatality from 6.70 (95th CI: 5.44-8.26) for impacts with other vehicles, which was the most common crash, to 9.53 (7.28-12.47) for rollovers. Most crashes occurred in dry weather, typically during summer, in rural areas, most frequently on two lane roads, and in areas with speed limits between 30 and 55 mph. Factors associated with fatality for occupants in CVH included alcohol use, lack of seat belt use, and older age., Conclusions and Practical Applications: Crashes involving a CVH are a rare event but have catastrophic consequences when they do occur. Regulations that limit driving to daylight hours may lower the risk of crash involvement, and safety messaging to promote belt use and sober driving may also help. Additionally, as new "smart" vehicles are developed, engineers should keep in mind that older vehicles remain on the roadway. New driving technologies will need to safely interact with these older, less safe vehicles., (Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Changes in the properties of bitumen binders that occur as a result of aging have a huge impact on the durability of products produced from them. In particular, asphalt pavements, which constitute the most common use of petroleum bitumen, are susceptible to damage resulting from the increasing stiffness of the bitumen during its life cycle. Increased stiffness of asphalt pavements reduces the pavement resistance to low-temperature cracks and fatigue cracks, ultimately leading to the loss of their functional properties and the need for road repair. The rate of changes in bitumen properties is influenced by many factors, the most important of which are environmental conditions, technological parameters of binder processing, and physicochemical properties. The greatest impact on minimizing the adverse effect of aging is the use of bitumen suitably resistant to aging, and changing the technological parameters of its application. This article reviews the literature and standardized test methods of bitumen aging, with a focus on the methods that are most often used in practice, to evaluate the suitability of bitumen for use in road construction. The presented methods are limited to aging simulation. This mini-review presents the most important stages of aging procedures, their advantages and limitations, as identified by the authors of this publication for different types of bitumen. Moreover, the most important directions of developments in the field of new laboratory aging tests are highlighted. The suggestions are based on the industrial practice of the authors of this review, taking into account identified demands for quality control in the industry.

Background: Knee injuries induce swelling and resolution of swelling may be a useful factor in identifying states of healing and time to return to sports activities. Recent work has suggested that bioimpedance can provide an objective measure of swelling following total knee arthroplasty (TKA) and therefore may also provide guidance for clinical decision-making following knee injury. This study measures knee bioimpedance in young, active people to help define baseline variability and factors that influence limb to limb differences., Methods: Bioimpedance was measured via sensors placed at the foot/ankle and thigh, in positions similar to those suggested for monitoring post-TKA swelling. Initial tests were performed to verify method repeatability, then bioimpedance was measured in a convenience sample of 78 subjects (median age 21yrs). The influence of age, BMI, thigh circumference, and knee function (KOOS-JR) on the impedance measures and difference in impedance between the subject's knees were examined using a generalized multivariable linear regression., Results: The repeatability study measurements were highly consistent with a COV of 1.5% for resistance and an ICC of 97.9%. Women exhibited significantly larger dominant limb impedance and larger limb to limb difference in impedance than men. Regression analysis indicated that subject sex and BMI significantly influenced bioimpedance but joint score and age did not. The limb to limb differences in impedance were small on average (<5%), with larger magnitudes of difference associated with female sex, lower knee function scores, and larger limb to limb differences in thigh circumference., Conclusion: Bioimpedance measurements across right and left knees of healthy young people were similar, supporting use of bioimpedance measures from a patient's uninjured knee as a benchmark to monitor healing of a contralateral injured knee. Future work should focus on understanding how knee function scores and bioimpedance are related, and further explore how sex and side to side anatomic differences impact the measurement. Level of Evidence: IV ., (Copyright © The Iowa Orthopaedic Journal 2023.)

Background: Most biopharmaceuticals are developed in liquid dosage forms that are less stable than solid forms. To ensure the stability of biopharmaceuticals, it is critical to use an effective drying technique in the presence of an appropriate stabilizing excipient. Various drying techniques are available for this purpose, such as freeze drying or lyophilization, spray drying, spray freeze-drying, supercritical fluid drying, particle replication in nonwetting templates, and fluidized bed drying., Area Covered: In this review, we discuss drying technologies and their applications in the production of stable solid-state biopharmaceuticals, providing examples of commercially available products or clinical trial formulations. Alongside this, we also review how different analytical methods may be utilized in the evaluation of aerosol performance and powder characteristics of dried protein powders. Finally, we assess the protein integrity in terms of conformational and physicochemical stability and biological activity., Expert Opinion: With the aim of treating either infectious respiratory diseases or systemic disorders, inhaled biopharmaceuticals reduce both therapeutic dose and cost of therapy. Drying methods in the presence of optimized protein/stabilizer combinations, produce solid dosage forms of proteins with greater stability. A suitable drying method was chosen, and the process parameters were optimized based on the route of protein administration. With the ongoing trend of addressing deficiencies in biopharmaceutical production, developing new methods to replace conventional drying methods, and investigating novel excipients for more efficient stabilizing effects, these products have the potential to dominate the pharmaceutical industry in the future., Competing Interests: Conflict of interestAll authors (F. Emami, M. Keihan Shokooh, and S.J. Mostafavi Yazdi) declare that they have no conflict of interest., (© The Author(s) under exclusive licence to The Korean Society of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technology 2022, Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.)

Tissue-mimicking materials and phantoms have an important role in quantitative ultrasound. These materials allow for investigation of new techniques with the ability to design materials with properties that are stable over time and available for repeated measurements to refine techniques and analysis algorithms. This chapter presents an overview of the history of phantoms, methods of creation of materials with a variety of acoustic properties, and methods of measurement of those properties. It includes a section addressing the measurement of variance in those techniques using interlaboratory comparisons. There is a wide range of existing tissue-mimicking materials that exhibit properties similar to those of most soft tissues. Ongoing work is part of the expansion of QUS as materials are developed to better mimic specific tissues, geometries, or pathologies., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.)

Excessive liver fat (steatosis) is now the most common cause of chronic liver disease worldwide and is an independent risk factor for cirrhosis and associated complications. Accurate and clinically useful diagnosis, risk stratification, prognostication, and therapy monitoring require accurate and reliable biomarker measurement at acceptable cost. This article describes a joint effort by the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine (AIUM) and the RSNA Quantitative Imaging Biomarkers Alliance (QIBA) to develop standards for clinical and technical validation of quantitative biomarkers for liver steatosis. The AIUM Liver Fat Quantification Task Force provides clinical guidance, while the RSNA QIBA Pulse-Echo Quantitative Ultrasound Biomarker Committee develops methods to measure biomarkers and reduce biomarker variability. In this article, the authors present the clinical need for quantitative imaging biomarkers of liver steatosis, review the current state of various imaging modalities, and describe the technical state of the art for three key liver steatosis pulse-echo quantitative US biomarkers: attenuation coefficient, backscatter coefficient, and speed of sound. Lastly, a perspective on current challenges and recommendations for clinical translation for each biomarker is offered., (© RSNA, 2022.)

In recent years, the demand for environmental sustainability has caused a great interest in finding novel polymer materials from natural resources that are both biodegradable and eco-friendly. Natural biodegradable polymers can displace the usage of petroleum-based synthetic polymers due to their renewability, low toxicity, low costs, biocompatibility, and biodegradability. The development of novel starch-based bionanocomposites with improved properties has drawn specific attention recently in many applications, including food, agriculture, packaging, environmental remediation, textile, cosmetic, pharmaceutical, and biomedical fields. This paper discusses starch-based nanocomposites, mainly with nanocellulose, chitin nanoparticles, nanoclay, and carbon-based materials, and their applications in the agriculture, packaging, biomedical, and environment fields. This paper also focused on the lifecycle analysis and degradation of various starch-based nanocomposites.

Cognitive control operates via two distinct mechanisms, proactive and reactive control. These control states are engaged differentially, depending on a number of within-subject factors, but also between-group variables. While research has begun to explore if shifts in control can be experimentally modulated, little is known about whether context impacts which control state is utilized. Thus, we test if contextual factors temporarily bias the use of a particular control state long enough to impact performance on a subsequent task. Our methodology involves two parts: first participants are exposed to a context manipulation designed to promote proactive or reactive processing through amount or availability of advanced preparation within a task-switching paradigm. Then, they complete an AX-CPT task, where we assess immediate transfer on preferential adoption of one control mode over another. We present results from a Pilot Study that revealed anecdotal evidence of proactive versus reactive processing for a context manipulation using long and short preparation times. We also present data from a follow-up Registered Experiment that implements a context manipulation using long or no preparation times to assess if a more extreme context leads to pronounced differences on AX-CPT performance. Together, the results suggest that contextual representations do not impact the engagement of a particular control state, but rather, there is a general preference for the engagement of proactive control., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Alzheimer's Disease (AD) is a silent disease that causes the brain cells to die progressively, influencing consciousness, behavior, planning ability, and language to name a few. AD increases exponentially with aging, where it doubles every 5-6 years, causing profound implications, such as swallowing difficulties and losing the ability to speak before death. According to the Ministry of Health in Saudi Arabia, AD patients will triple by 2060 to reach 14 million patients worldwide. The rapid rise of patients is caused by the silent progress of the disease, leading to late diagnosis as the symptoms will not be distinguished from normal aging affect. Moreover, with the current medical capabilities, it is impossible to confirm AD with 100% certainty via specific medical examinations. The literature review revealed that most recent publications used images to diagnose AD, which is insufficient for local hospitals with limited imaging capabilities. Other studies that used clinical and demographical data failed to achieve adequate results. Consequently, this study aims to preemptively predict AD in Saudi Arabia by employing machine learning (ML) techniques. The dataset was acquired from King Fahad Specialist Hospital (KFSH) in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, containing standard clinical tests for 152 patients. Four ML algorithms, namely, support vector machine (SVM), k-nearest neighbors (k-NN), Adaptive Boosting (AdaBoost), and eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost), were employed to preemptively diagnose the disease. The empirical results demonstrated the robustness of SVM in the pre-emptive diagnosis of AD with accuracy, precision, recall, and area under the receiver operating characteristics (AUROC) of 95.56%, 94.70%, 97.78%, and 0.97, respectively, with 13 features after applying the sequential forward feature selection technique. This model can assist the medical staff in controlling the progression of the disease at low costs., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Sunday O. Olatunji et al.)

The paper presents a new kind of stationary phase for gas chromatography based on deep eutectic solvents (DES) in the form of a mixture of L-proline (protonated with hydrochloric acid) as a hydrogen bond acceptor (HBA) and xylitol as a hydrogen bond donor (HBD) in a molar ratio of HBA:HBD 5:1. DES immobilized on a silanized chromatographic support was tested by gas chromatography (GC) in order to determine its resolving power for volatile organic compounds. Studies have demonstrated the suitability of this type of DES as a stationary phase for GC. The Rohrschneider-McReynolds constants were determined for the synthesized DES, revealing that it is a polar stationary phase (Σ(ΔI) = 1717). The selectivity of DES is influenced by the presence of hydroxyl groups in the xylitol structure capable of forming hydrogen bonds of a donor nature and the proton acceptor properties of the protonated L-proline structure. The presence of additional interactions is brought about by the presence of the carboxyl group. As a result, the retention of alcohols is several times higher (200-670%) than the expected value based on their boiling points. A significant increase in retention (400-970%) was also found for pyridine derivatives. The developed DES stationary phase is characterized by very good repeatability of retention and stability (up to 140°C). The efficiency of the prepared columns (6300-11300 theoretical plates/m) and the selectivity of the DES stationary phase are competitive with the commercial products., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

This paper describes ongoing developments to an advanced laboratory course at Kettering University, which is targeted to students in engineering and engineering physics and emphasizes theoretical, computational, and experimental components in the context of airborne acoustics and modal testing [cf. D. A. Russell and D. O. Ludwigsen, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 131, 2515-2524 (2012)]. These developments have included a transition to electronic laboratory notebooks and cloud-based computing resources, incorporation of updated hardware and software, and creation and testing of a multiple-choice assessment instrument for the course. When Kettering University suddenly shifted to exclusively remote teaching in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many of these changes proved to be essential for enabling rapid adaptation to a situation in which a laboratory was not available for the course. Laboratory activities were rewritten by crowdsourcing archived data, videos were incorporated to illustrate dynamic phenomena, and computer simulations were used to retain student interactivity. The comparison of multiple measures, including the assessment instrument, team-based grades on project papers, and individual grades on final exams, indicates that most students were successful at learning the course material and adapting to work on team-based projects in the midst of challenging remote learning conditions.

The paper presents a new method for evaluating the polarity and hydrophobicity of deep eutectic solvents (DESs) based on the measurement of the DES contact angle on glass. DESs consisting of benzoic acid derivatives and quaternary ammonium chlorides-tetrabutylammonium chloride (TBAC) and benzyldimethylhexadecylammonium chloride (16-BAC)-in selected molar ratios were chosen for the study. To investigate the DESs polarity, an optical goniometer and an ET(30) solvatochromic scale based on Reichardt's dye were used. The research demonstrated the high accuracy and precision of the developed procedure. The simplicity of the examination and the availability of basic equipment allow for the implementation of the developed method in routine investigations of DESs.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is fundamentally changing how people work in nearly every field, including online finance. However, our ability to interact with AI is moderated by factors such as performance, complexity, and trust. The work presented in this study analyzes the effect of performance on trust in a robo-advisor (AI which assists in managing investments) through an empirical investment simulation. Results show that for applications where humans and AI have comparable capabilities, the difference in performance (between the human and AI) is a moderate indicator of change in trust; however, human or AI performance individually were weak indicators. Additionally, results indicate that biases typically seen in human-human interactions may also occur in human-AI interactions when AI transparency is low., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Maier, Menold and McComb.)

Polyvinylchloride (PVC) based sealants commonly contain phthalate plasticizers that are emitted into the air over time. The low volatility classifies them as Semi-Volatile Organic Compounds (SVOCs). Empirical relationships are determined for estimation of the diffusion and solid/air partition coefficients for phthalates in PVC materials using data compiled from studies of phthalates in other PVC materials, such as vinyl flooring. The relationships are functions of vapor pressure of the compounds, which are determined from a Clausius-Clapeyron equation. A test chamber was constructed to continuously sample the air and measure the air concentration based on a Solid Phase MicroExtraction (SPME) method. The partition coefficient was tested with dioctyl terephthalate (DOTP) in a PVC-based sealant, in which the results fell within the reasonable error of the value predicted from the empirical relationship. The model is applied to outdoor and manufacturing scenarios to evaluate the effect of temperature and mass transfer coefficient., (Copyright © 2022. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Background: During the onset of the COVID-19 crisis, universities rapidly pivoted to online formats and were often unable to adhere to the best practices of online learning highlighted in prior literature. It is well documented that a variety of barriers impeded "normal" educational practices., Purpose/hypothesis: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the perceptions of first-year engineering students enrolled in an introductory engineering design course during the rapid transition to online working environments. We view students' perceptions through the theoretical lens of workplace thriving theory, a framework that allowed us to capture aspects of education required for students to thrive in non-optimum learning settings., Design/method: This research employed semi-structured interview methods with 13 students enrolled in an introductory engineering design course that relies on project-based team learning. We analyzed interview transcripts using thematic analysis through an abductive approach and made interpretations through workplace thriving theory., Results: Results indicated that students' abilities to thrive are related to four intersecting themes that demonstrate how workplace thriving theory manifests in this unanticipated online setting. These themes demonstrate elements that must be optimized for students to thrive in settings such as this: relationships with others, building and sharing knowledge through interactions, perceptions of experiential learning, and individual behaviors., Conclusion: Our research, viewed through workplace thriving theory, highlights the mechanisms by which students tried to succeed in suboptimal environments. While not all our participants showed evidence of thriving, the factors required for thriving point to opportunities to harness these same factors in in-person instruction environments., (© 2022 American Society for Engineering Education.)

Background: Equipment used to guide surgical incisions has been shown to be a source of bacterial contamination during surgery., Purpose/hypothesis: To compare the culture-positive rates of sterile marking pens used before and after skin preparation for shoulder surgery. It was hypothesized that there will be no difference in culture-positive rates from marking pens used after skin preparation compared with before skin preparation., Study Design: Controlled laboratory study., Methods: Overall, 43 consecutive patients undergoing elective shoulder surgery were enrolled prospectively into this study. Each patient provided 2 samples: study pens (from marking the surgical site incision after skin preparation) and positive control pens (from marking the surgical site incision before skin preparation). In addition, there were 43 negative control pens evaluated (straight from the packaging without any patient contact). Cultures were evaluated at 4 and 21 days, and all positive cultures were further evaluated for speciation, if able. Standard descriptive summaries and Fisher exact tests were used to compare the study samples., Results: The average age of the 43 patients was 54 years (range, 18-76 years). There were 29 (67%) female patients, and 30 (70%) procedures were on the right shoulder. Of the 43 procedures performed, 29 (67.4%) were arthroscopic, 12 (27.9%) were open, and 2 (4.7%) were closed. Of the 43 study pens, 1 culture was positive for Propionibacterium acnes (2.3%). Of the 43 positive control pens, 2 cultures were positive for bacterial growth (4.7%): P. acnes and Gram-positive bacilli (no speciation could be obtained). Of the 43 negative control pens, none of the cultures were positive for bacterial growth (0%). There was no statistical difference in the culture-positive rate between the study pens and the positive or negative control pens ( P ≥ .999)., Conclusion: Study results indicated that sterile surgical marking pens used to plan incisions and to outline anatomic landmarks did not have a higher culture-positive rate compared with pens used on unprepared skin or pens straight from the packaging., Clinical Relevance: As a precaution, sterile surgical marking pens should be discarded after use on the skin surface and not placed on the sterile field., Competing Interests: One or more of the authors has declared the following potential conflict of interest or source of funding: K.M. has received hospitality payments from Zimmer Biomet. M.S. has received education payments from Arthrex and Pinnacle and hospitality payments from Arthrex, Medwest, and Zimmer Biomet. AOSSM checks author disclosures against the Open Payments Database (OPD). AOSSM has not conducted an independent investigation on the OPD and disclaims any liability or responsibility relating thereto., (© The Author(s) 2022.)

This paper reviews the advances made in recent years on modeling approaches and experimental techniques to characterize the mechanical properties of human skin. The skin is the largest organ of the human body that has a complex multi-layered structure with different mechanical behaviors. The mechanical properties of human skin play an important role in distinguishing between healthy and unhealthy skin. Furthermore, knowing these mechanical properties enables computer simulation, skin research, clinical studies, as well as diagnosis and treatment monitoring of skin diseases. This paper reviews the recent efforts on modeling skin using linear, nonlinear, viscoelastic, and anisotropic materials. The work also focuses on aging effects, microstructure analysis, and non-invasive methods for skin testing. A detailed explanation of the skin structure and numerical models, such as finite element models, are discussed in this work. This work also compares different experimental methods that measure the mechanical properties of human skin. The work reviews the experimental results in the literature and shows how the mechanical properties of human skin vary with the skin sites, the layers, and the structure of human skin. The paper also discusses how state-of-the-art technology can advance skin research., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Motor vehicle crashes represent a significant cause of mortality and morbidity for young children. Safely restraining a child is typically more complicated for special cases such as children treated with a hip spica cast. In the current study, hip spica casts typical for treatment of a femoral fracture were applied to a crash dummy representing the size and weight of a 1-year-old child. This spica casted dummy was used to study the performance of 4 rear-facing car seats in a series of simulated frontal impacts., Methods: The restrained, rear-facing dummy was subjected to a frontal crash test at 30 mph (48 kph) per federal guidelines. Two of the tested car seats were specifically designed for transporting children with hip spica casts, while the other 2 were conventional seats capable of accommodating the cast. All seats were installed per the manufacturer's instructions. As a control, tests were performed without a cast using the conventional/standard seats., Results: The lowest overall loading of the dummy's head, neck, and chest occurred during tests with the standard seats. While it was easier to seat the casted child in the spica-specific seats, these designs led to greater loading on the dummy's body. In a spica-specific seat, the chest acceleration values exceeded the federal limit in a test where the seat was installed in a reclined orientation that was within the manufacturer's described positioning., Conclusions: Spica-specific seats more easily accommodate the cast, but conventional seats can provide similar levels of protection in a crash. As cast and seat designs continue to evolve, hospitals might consider having a range of seats available for patient use. It is important to help caregivers make informed decisions on how and when to transport children with hip spica casts., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)