Coordination of the Lower Limbs of Soccer Players after Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction with Allograft and Autograft during Landing.

Objectives: Quantitative biomechanical tests, along with physical assessment, may be useful to understand kinematics associated with graft types in anterior cruciate ligament surgery, particularly in individuals aiming for a safe return to sport. Methods: Sixty male soccer players in three groups participated in this study. Three equal groups of healthy, auto transplanted and allotransplanted participants, matched for age, gender, activity level and functional status, landed with one foot on a force plate. Their kinematic information was recorded by the motion analyzer and used to describe coordination the variability by measuring coupling angles using vector coding. Results: The coordination variability of the allograft group in the surgical limb was significantly greater than that of the healthy group at least 9 months after the reconstructive surgery of the ACL and at the stage of return to sports, (F (6, 35) = 2.79, p = 0.025; Wilk's Λ = 0.676, partial η2 = 0.32). The coordination pattern in the surgical and healthy limbs of the surgical groups also differed from that of the healthy people, which was more pronounced in the allograft group, (F (6, 35) = 2.61, p = 0.034; Wilk's Λ = 0.690, partial η2 = 0.31). Conclusion: These results show that the allograft group has a different coordination variability at return to sport than the healthy group, so they may need more time for excessive training and competition.

MXene Free Standing Films: Unlocking the Impact of Flake Sizes in Microwave Resonant Structures in Humid Environments.

Microwave communication devices necessitate elements with high electrical conductivity, a property which was traditionally found in metals (e.g., copper). However, in applications such as satellite communications, metals prevent the payload from achieving lightweight and flexible characteristics. Here, we demonstrate the development of MXene film microwave resonators, leveraging MXene's high electrical conductivity and unique mechanical properties. To investigate resonant performance in humid conditions and study the effects of MXene's processing and treatment, MXene films with different flake sizes are prepared and exposed to cyclic humidity. For the large- and small-flake Ti3 C2 MXene films in cyclic humidity, the large-flake film demonstrates higher electrical conductivity, higher resonance quality factor (150 and 35 as unloaded, and loaded), and less fluctuation of performance (≈1.7% total shift in resonance frequency). Further, by implementing MXene films of two different diameters, the correlation between film size and resonant frequency is demonstrated. By introducing an active resonant configuration, the effect of MXene degradation and microwave losses can be compensated. This active feedback loop demonstrates a ≈300 times increase in the quality factor of MXene resonators. As a building block for terrestrial and satellite communication modules, MXene resonators potentiate the replacement of metals in achieving unique electrical and mechanical properties.

Flexible, robust, and high-performance gas sensors based on lignocellulosic nanofibrils.

Gas detection in flexible electronics demands novel materials with superior sensing performance that have high mechanically strength, are flexible, low-cost, and sustainable. We explore a composite sensing nanopaper based on lignocellulosic cellulose nanofibrils (LCNF) as a renewable and mechanically strong substrate that enables the fabrication of flexible, and highly sensitive gas sensors. In the system the hydrophobic lignin covalently bonds to cellulose in the nanofibrils, increasing the nanopaper water-resistance and limiting sensing materials response to humidity. The sensor is composed of polyaniline (PANI) grown on flexible LCNF and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) nanosheets. The proposed structure, at 10 wt% rGO, demonstrated a 10-fold improvement in sensitivity to volatile amines (i.e. ammonia detection down to 1 ppm) while maintaining an acceptable selectivity. Furthermore, we demonstrated the application of the sensing nanopaper in a microwave sensor that paves the path toward flexible, wireless, and high-performance sensing devices.

Smart Superhydrophobic Textiles Utilizing a Long-Range Antenna Sensor for Hazardous Aqueous Droplet Detection plus Prevention.

This paper demonstrates the feasibility of a long-range antenna sensor embedded underneath a liquid repellent fabric to be employed as a wearable sensor in personal protective fabrics. The sensor detects and monitors hazardous aqueous liquids on the outer layer of fabrics, to add an additional layer of safety for professionals working in hazardous environments. A modified patch antenna was designed to include a meandering-shaped resonant structure, which was embedded underneath the fabric. Superhydrophobic fabrics were prepared using silica nanoparticles and a low-surface-energy fluorosilane. 4 to 20 µL droplets representing hazardous aqueous solutions were drop-cast on the fabrics to investigate the performance of the embedded antenna sensor. Long-range (S21) measurements at a distance of 2-3 m were performed using the antenna sensor with treated and untreated fabrics. The antenna sensor successfully detected the liquid for both types of fabrics. The resonant frequency sensitivity of the antenna sensor underneath the treated fabric exhibiting superhydrophobicity was measured as 370 kHz/µL, and 1 MHz/µL for the untreated fabric. The results demonstrate that the antenna sensor is a good candidate for wearable hazardous aqueous droplet detection on fabrics.

Kirigami-Enabled Microwave Resonator Arrays for Wireless, Flexible, Passive Strain Sensing.

Wireless and highly sensitive flexible strain sensors would have widespread application across a number of different fields. Here, the novel combination of two different metamaterials, one mechanical and one electronic, is demonstrated for its potential as such a sensor. An array of split-ring resonators (SRRs) were mounted on a bespoke kirigami sheet. The hybrid kirigami structure was designed specifically for the resonator array, in terms of both its physical dimensions and elastic response. Mechanical tests in concert with finite element modeling confirmed that the hybrid kirigami structure, containing two disparate kirigami motifs, exhibited a high range of strain and out-of-plane rotation without plastic deformation. The microwave sensing was designed to monitor variations in the S11 response of the resonators as a function of out-of-plane kirigami hinge rotation. The mounted array of SRRs on the hybrid kirigami sheet could wirelessly detect changes in strain with high sensitivity (>30 MHz shift in resonant frequency; >30 dB shift in resonant amplitude) over a large range of strain, from 0.6 to 21.3%.

Comparison of Surgical Outcome Between Diabetic Versus Nondiabetic Patients After Lumbar Fusion.

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM) is increasing worldwide. Thereby, an increasing rate of patients with DM are subjecting to spine surgery. Reviewing the literature, a higher rate of surgery-related complications is reported in DM patients. There is no prospective study comparing the outcomes of lumbar fusion surgery in patients with and without DM. We aimed to investigate whether DM is associated with worse patient-reported outcomes, lower fusion rate, and higher complication rate in subjects undergoing spinal lumbar fusion surgery. METHODS: Forty-eight subjects with DM (DM group) and 48 controls (control group) were recruited. Data regarding age, duration of diabetes, comorbidities, fasting blood sugar, HbA1c, insulin dependence, duration of operation and the volume of bleeding, and the number of infused packed cell were recorded for all patients. Pain and functional status of the patients using the visual analogue scale (VAS) and Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) were measured before operation and 2 weeks, 6 months, and 1 year after lumbar spinal fusion surgery. Using lumbar computed tomography scan and anteroposterior and lateral x-ray 1 year after the surgery, fusion was assessed. RESULTS: Fusion rate after 1 year was 78% in the control group and 53% in the DM group (P = .02). Patients with DM had higher VAS scores comparing to controls 1 year after the operation, but the difference was not significant (P = .07). However, comparing the functional status of the subjects, significantly higher ODI scores were found among DM patients comparing to controls (P = .002). CONCLUSION: Rate of fusion among diabetic patients who undergo lumbar spinal fusion surgery is lower than healthy controls. Spine surgeons should consider this to provide the best possible facilities during the surgery to increase the fusion rate in these patients.