Experimental Study on the Adhesion of Abalone to Surfaces with Different Morphologies.

To date, research on abalone adhesion has primarily analyzed the organism's adhesion to smooth surfaces, with few studies on adhesion to non-smooth surfaces. The present study examined the surface morphology of the abalone's abdominal foot, followed by measuring the adhesive force of the abalone on a smooth force measuring plate and five force measuring plates with different surface morphologies. Next, the adhesion mechanism of the abdominal foot was analyzed. The findings indicated that the abdominal foot of the abalone features numerous stripe-shaped folds on its surface. The adhesion of the abalone to a fine frosted glass plate, a coarse frosted glass plate, and a quadrangular conical glass plate was not significantly different from that on a smooth glass plate. However, the organism's adhesion to a small lattice pit glass plate and block pattern glass plate was significantly different. The abalone could effectively adhere to the surface of the block pattern glass plate using the elasticity of its abdominal foot during adhesion but experienced difficulty in completely adhering to the surface of the quadrangular conical glass plate. The abdominal foot used its elasticity to form an independent sucker system with each small lattice pit, significantly improving adhesion to the small lattice pit glass plate. The elasticity of the abalone's abdominal foot created difficulty in handling slight morphological size changes in roughness, resulting in no significant differences in its adhesion to the smooth glass plate.

Development and current application status of acupuncture manipulation measuring instrument and operating instrument. / é’ˆåˆºæ‰‹æ³•æµ‹å®šä»ªå’Œæ“ä½œä»ªçš„ç ”åˆ¶åŠåº”ç”¨çŽ°çŠ¶.

Acupuncture manipulation, a crucial component of acupuncture procedures, significantly influences the therapeutic outcomes. Acupuncture manipulation measuring instrument and operating instrument have been developed based on modern technology to objectively characterize manipulation parameters, and achieve standardized and normalized output of acupuncture manipulation. This paper systematically reviews the development and current application status of in vivo acupuncture manipulation measuring instrument, ex vivo acupuncture manipulation measuring instrument, and acupuncture manipulation operating instrument worldwide, and explores key issues that acupuncture manipulation operating instruments need to address for clinical applications, and provides insights into the future prospect of acupuncture robots.

Calibration Method Based on Virtual Gear Artefact for Computer Vision Measuring Instrument of Fine Pitch Gear.

The verification of the correctness, adaptability, and robustness of software systems in modern precision measurement instruments is of great significance. Due to the difficulty in processing and calibrating high-precision fine-pitch gear artefacts, the function verification and accuracy calibration of vision measurement instruments for the fine-pitch gear have become a challenge. The calibration method of the gear vision measurement system based on the virtual gear artefact involves two steps, namely obtaining and applying the virtual artefact. The obtained virtual gear artefact has the same geometric features, error features, and image edge features as the real artefact. The calibration method based on the virtual artefact can complete the correctness verification of the gear vision measurement system, and is superior to the traditional methods in adaptability verification, robustness verification, and fault analysis. In a test, the characteristic error of the virtual gear artefact could be reproduced with the original shape in the evaluation results of the computer vision gear measurement (CVGM) system, while the reproduction error did not exceed 1.9 µm. This can meet the requirements of the verification of the gear vision measurement software. The application of the virtual gear artefact can significantly improve the accuracy and robustness of the computer vision measuring instrument of the fine-pitch gear.

Distinction and Quantification of Noncovalent Dispersive and Hydrophobic Effects.

The possibilities of comparing computational results of noncovalent interactions with experimental data are discussed, first with respect to intramolecular interactions. For these a variety of experimental data such as heats of formation, crystal sublimation heats, comparison with energy minimized structures, and spectroscopic data are available, but until now largely have not found widespread application. Early force field and QM/MP2 calculations have already shown that the sublimation heats of hydrocarbons can be predicted with an accuracy of ±1%. Intermolecular interactions in solution or the gas phase are always accompanied by difficult to compute entropic contributions, like all associations between molecules. Experimentally observed T∆S values contribute 10% to 80% of the total ∆G, depending on interaction mechanisms within the complexes, such as, e.g., hydrogen bonding and ion pairing. Free energies ∆G derived from equilibrium measurements in solution allow us to define binding increments ∆∆G, which are additive and transferable to a variety of supramolecular complexes. Data from more than 90 equilibrium measurements of porphyrin receptors in water indicate that small alkanes do not bind to the hydrophobic flat surfaces within a measuring limit of ∆G = ±0.5 kJ/mol, and that 20 functions bearing heteroatoms show associations by dispersive interactions with up to ∆G = 8 kJ/mol, roughly as a function of their polarizability. Aromatic systems display size-dependent affinities ∆G as a linear function of the number of π-electrons.

Inertial Measuring System to Evaluate Gait Parameters and Dynamic Alignments for Lower-Limb Amputation Subjects.

The study aims to construct an inertial measuring system for the application of amputee subjects wearing a prosthesis. A new computation scheme to process inertial data by installing seven wireless inertial sensors on the lower limbs was implemented and validated by comparing it with an optical motion capture system. We applied this system to amputees to verify its performance for gait analysis. The gait parameters are evaluated to objectively assess the amputees' prosthesis-wearing status. The Madgwick algorithm was used in the study to correct the angular velocity deviation using acceleration data and convert it to quaternion. Further, the zero-velocity update method was applied to reconstruct patients' walking trajectories. The combination of computed walking trajectory with pelvic and lower limb joint motion enables sketching the details of motion via a stickman that helps visualize and animate the walk and gait of a test subject. Five participants with above-knee (n = 2) and below-knee (n = 3) amputations were recruited for gait analysis. Kinematic parameters were evaluated during a walking test to assess joint alignment and overall gait characteristics. Our findings support the feasibility of employing simple algorithms to achieve accurate and precise joint angle estimation and gait parameters based on wireless inertial sensor data.

Issues in assessing analytical performance specifications in healthcare systems assembling multiple laboratories and measuring systems.

Analytical performance specifications (APS) are usually compared to the intermediate reproducibility uncertainty of measuring a particular measurand using a single in vitro diagnostic medical device (IVD MD). Healthcare systems assembling multiple laboratories that include several IVD MDs and cater to patients suffering from long-term disease conditions mean that samples from a patient are analyzed using a few IVD MDs, sometimes from different manufacturers, but rarely all IVD MDs in the healthcare system. The reproducibility uncertainty for results of a measurand measured within a healthcare system and the components of this measurement uncertainty is useful in strategies to minimize bias and overall measurement uncertainty within the healthcare system. The root mean squares deviation (RMSD) calculated as the sample standard deviation (SD) and relative SD includes both imprecision and bias and is appropriate for expressing such uncertainties. Results from commutable stabilized internal and external control samples, from measuring split natural patient samples or using big-data techniques, are essential in monitoring bias and measurement uncertainties in healthcare systems. Variance component analysis (VCA) can be employed to quantify the relative contributions of the most influential factors causing measurement uncertainty. Such results represent invaluable information for minimizing measurement uncertainty in the interest of the healthcare system's patients.

Parasitic Reflection Eliminating for Planar Elements Based on Multi-Frequency Phase-Shifting in Phase Measuring Deflectometry.

Phase measuring deflectometry (PMD) stands as an extremely important technique for specular surface measurement. However, the parasitic reflection from the rear surface poses a challenge for PMD. To solve this problem, this paper proposes an effective method based on multi-frequency and phase-shifting to search for the correct phase. Firstly, the relationship between the phase error and fringe frequency is adequately investigated. Subsequently, an auxiliary function is established to find the special frequency at which the phase error is zero theoretically and the unwrapped phase is the phase of the top surface exactly. Then, the shape of the top surface can be reconstructed correctly. A standard plane element with a thickness of 40 mm and a flat glass with 19 mm were measured. The experimental results verify the feasibility of the proposed method. Considering the result of the interferometer as a reference, the RMSE of the error map is up to 20 nm for the standard plane element. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method can successfully untangle the superposed reflections and reliably reconstruct the top surface of the object under test.

Prediction Technique and Measuring Device for Coupled Disturbance Forces from Large Equipment in the Spacecraft.

To guarantee the accuracy of sophisticated equipment in spacecraft, it is essential to evaluate the dynamic forces of vibration sources. In contrast to conventional rigid-based measuring approaches, a method for predicting the interference of dynamic forces from large sources on spacecraft considering vibration coupling is proposed. In addition, a flexible-based dynamic force measuring platform capable of withstanding large masses and mounting large-volume vibration sources is designed. After that, the experiments for calibrating the platform and acquiring unknown terms in the derived theoretical models are detailed. The principle prototype is then manufactured for feasibility verification. It is demonstrated that despite the low fundamental frequency of the measuring platform of 242.8 Hz, the measurement error of the flexible measuring platform is less than 8% when the coupling is taken into account, which is 29% lower than that without coupling. Additionally, the prediction error of disturbance forces is within 17%. As a result, the accuracy of the proposed dynamic force measurement and prediction of large vibration sources considering coupling is substantially improved, providing a good reference for aerospace applications.

The Design, Modeling and Experimental Investigation of a Micro-G Microoptoelectromechanical Accelerometer with an Optical Tunneling Measuring Transducer.

This treatise studies a microoptoelectromechanical accelerometer (MOEMA) with an optical measuring transducer built according to the optical tunneling principle (evanescent coupling). The work discusses the design of the accelerometer's microelectromechanical sensing element (MSE) and states the requirements for the design to achieve a sensitivity threshold of 1 µg m/s2 at a calculated eigenvalue of the MSE. The studies cover the selection of the dimensions, mass, eigenfrequency and corresponding stiffness of the spring suspension, gravity-induced cross-displacements. The authors propose and experimentally test an optical transducer positioning system represented by a capacitive actuator. This approach allows avoiding the restrictions in the fabrication of the transducer conditioned by the extremely high aspect ratio of deep silicon etching (more than 100). The designed MOEMA is tested on three manufactured prototypes. The experiments show that the sensitivity threshold of the accelerometers is 2 µg. For the dynamic range from minus 0.01 g to plus 0.01 g, the average nonlinearity of the accelerometers' characteristics ranges from 0.7% to 1.62%. For the maximum dynamic range from minus 0.015 g to plus 0.05 g, the nonlinearity ranges from 2.34% to 2.9%, having the maximum deviation at the edges of the regions. The power gain of the three prototypes of accelerometers varies from 12.321 mW/g to 26.472 mW/g. The results provide broad prospects for the application of the proposed solutions in integrated inertial devices.

[Measuring the intensity of restraint during care in children: Validation of the Pric scale]. / Mesurer l'intensité de la contention lors des soins chez les enfants : validation de l'échelle Pric.

Restraint is used relatively often during pediatric care. However, no scale has yet been validated to assess its intensity. The study presented here did this for the Procedural Restraint Intensity in Children tool in metrological terms (with some limitations). In the absence of a reference scale in this area, the reliability of this tool was studied under experimental conditions. It is nevertheless the first scale with metrological validation, measuring the intensity of physical constraint. Other work is underway to validate it in real clinical situations.

Pupillometry as a window to detect cognitive aging in the brain.

This study investigated whether there are aging-related differences in pupil dilation (pupillometry) while the cognitive load is manipulated using digit- and word-span tasks. A group of 17 younger and 15 cognitively healthy older adults performed digit- and word-span tasks. Each task comprised three levels of cognitive loads with 10 trials for each level. For each task, the recall accuracy and the slope of pupil dilation were calculated and analyzed. The raw signal of measured pupil size was low-pass filtered and interpolated to eliminate blinking artifacts and spike noises. Two-way ANOVA was used for statistical analyses. For the recall accuracy, the significant group differences emerged as the span increases in digit-span (5- vs. 7-digit) and word-span (4- vs. 5-word) tasks, while the group differences were not significant on 3-digit- and 3-word-span tasks with lower cognitive load. In digit-span tasks, there was no aging-related difference in the slope of pupil dilation. However, in word-span tasks, the slope of pupil dilation differed significantly between two groups as cognitive load increased, indicating that older adults presented a higher pupil dilation slope than younger adults especially under the conditions with higher cognitive load. The current study found significant aging effects in the pupil dilations under the more cognitive demanding span tasks when the types of span tasks varied (e.g., digit vs. word). The manipulations successfully elicited differential aging effects, given that the aging effects became most salient under word-span tasks with greater cognitive load especially under the maximum length. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13534-023-00315-6.

Measuring performance in allied health professional role substitution models of care: a clinician survey.

BACKGROUND: Professional role substitution models of care have emerged as a key strategy to address increasing healthcare demand. Gaining insights from those actively engaged in the process of these models' implementation and evaluation is pivotal to ensuring sustainability and further successful implementation. The purpose of this study was to describe allied-health clinicians' perceptions, practice, and experiences of healthcare performance evaluation in professional role substitution models of care. METHODS: Data were collected via an online platform between 22 June - 22 July 2022 using a combination of convenience and network-based sampling of allied-health clinicians involved or interested in the implementation and evaluation of professional role substitution models of care. Clinicians answered 25 questions which consisted of demographic and targeted questions regarding performance evaluation across six domains of healthcare quality (effectiveness, safety, appropriateness, access & equity, continuity of care, and cost, efficiency, productivity & sustainability). RESULTS: A total of 102 clinicians accessed the survey, with 72 providing complete survey data. Eleven allied-health professions were represented, working across twelve specialities in thirteen hospital and health services. Whilst most allied-health clinicians (93-100%) supported measuring performance in each of the six healthcare quality domains, only 26-58% were measuring these domains in practice. Allied-health leadership support (62.5%), clinician drive (62.5%), consumer engagement (50%) and medical support (46%) were enablers whilst a lack of resources (human, time, financial (47%)), healthcare performance frameworks and/or policies (40%) were identified as barriers. Given the opportunity, clinicians would invest the most financial resources in digital solutions as a core strategy to improve performance evaluation. CONCLUSIONS: Allied-health professionals expressed strong support for principles of performance evaluation, however in practice, performance evaluation is still in its infancy in professional role substitution models of care. Organisations can implement strategies that maximise the enablers whilst addressing barriers identified to improve performance evaluation in these models of care.

Ureteroscopic lithotripsy with pressure-measuring ureteral access sheath for large ureteral stones.

Introduction: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of ureteroscopic lithotripsy with pressure-measuring ureteral access sheath (PM-UAS) for large ureteral stones.Material and methods: A total of 258 consecutive patients with large ureteral stones ≥15 mm was enrolled. They were treated by ureteroscopic lithotripsy with PM-UAS in the oblique supine lithotomy position. The technology can precisely monitor and automatically control cavity pressure. The cavity pressure control value was set at -15 mmHg∼-5 mmHg. The cavity pressure limit value was set at 30 mmHg. Infusion flow rate was set at 100-200 ml/min. Postoperative data such as stone-free rate and complications were analyzed.Results: PM-UAS was successfully implanted in 225 patients at one stage. Eighteen cases of patients who had failed the first surgery were successfully treated with a second operation. Fifty-one cases with stones migrating up to the kidney were converted to flexible lithotripsy. The other 15 cases were converted to percutaneous nephrolithotomy due to significant ureteral stenosis. The operative time was 49.5 ± 11.2 min. The stone-free rates after one month and three months were 87.2% (212/243) and 94.2% (229/243), respectively. Complications from grade I to II were observed in 25(10.3%) patients. No other complications from grade III to V were notedConclusion: The ureteroscopic lithotripsy with PM-UAS is safe and efficacious for large ureteral stones.

Exploring the Performance of an Artificial Intelligence-Based Load Sensor for Total Knee Replacements.

Using tibial sensors in total knee replacements (TKRs) can enhance patient outcomes and reduce early revision surgeries, benefitting hospitals, the National Health Services (NHS), stakeholders, biomedical companies, surgeons, and patients. Having a sensor that is accurate, precise (over the whole surface), and includes a wide range of loads is important to the success of joint force tracking. This research aims to investigate the accuracy of a novel intraoperative load sensor for use in TKRs. This research used a self-developed load sensor and artificial intelligence (AI). The sensor is compatible with Zimmer's Persona Knee System and adaptable to other knee systems. Accuracy and precision were assessed, comparing medial/lateral compartments inside/outside the sensing area and below/within the training load range. Five points were tested on both sides (medial and lateral), inside and outside of the sensing region, and with a range of loads. The average accuracy of the sensor was 83.41% and 84.63% for the load and location predictions, respectively. The highest accuracy, 99.20%, was recorded from inside the sensing area within the training load values, suggesting that expanding the training load range could enhance overall accuracy. The main outcomes were that (1) the load and location predictions were similar in accuracy and precision (p > 0.05) in both compartments, (2) the accuracy and precision of both predictions inside versus outside of the triangular sensing area were comparable (p > 0.05), and (3) there was a significant difference in the accuracy of load and location predictions (p < 0.05) when the load applied was below the training loading range. The intraoperative load sensor demonstrated good accuracy and precision over the whole surface and over a wide range of load values. Minor improvements to the software could greatly improve the results of the sensor. Having a reliable and robust sensor could greatly improve advancements in all joint surgeries.

Comparison of 3D positional accuracy of implant analogs in printed resin models versus conventional stone casts: Effect of implant angulation.

PURPOSE: To study the effect of implant angulation on 3D linear and absolute angular distortions of implant analogs in printed resin models and conventional stone casts. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Three sectional master models with two implants with total inter-implant angulations of 0°, 10°, and 20° were fabricated. For each master model, five conventional stone casts (CS) and printed resin models (PM) were fabricated (n = 5). Test models were made with nonsplinted impression copings and open tray polyether impressions for the CS groups and scan bodies scanned using an intraoral scanner for the PM groups. The physical positions of the implants and implant analogs were measured with a coordinate measuring machine. 3D linear distortion (ΔR) and absolute angular distortion (Absdθ) defined the 3D positional accuracy of the analogs in the test models. Univariate ANOVA was used to analyze data followed by post hoc tests (Tukey HSD, α = 0.05). RESULTS: Mean ΔR was significantly greater for PM10 (73.5 ± 8.9 µm) and PM20 (65.5 ± 33.3 µm) compared to CS0 (16.8 ± 14.1 µm), CS10 (22.2 ± 13.0 µm), CS20 (15.6 ± 19.9 µm), and PM0 (23.9 ± 16.1 µm). For Absdθ, there were no significant differences between test groups. CONCLUSIONS: With conventional stone casts, implant angulation had no significant effect on 3D linear and absolute angular distortions. Amongst printed resin models test groups, angulated implants had significantly greater ΔR. Amongst angulated implants test groups, printed resin models had significantly greater ΔR than conventional stone casts. Compared to the master model, all test groups, regardless of inter-implant angulation, produced greater inter-analog distances.

Contrasting the form and strength of pre- and postcopulatory sexual selection in a flatworm.

Sexual traits may be selected during multiple consecutive episodes of selection, occurring before, during, or after copulation. The overall strength and form of selection acting on traits may thus be determined by how selection (co-)varies along different episodes. However, it is challenging to measure pre- and postcopulatory phenotypic traits alongside variation in fitness components at each different episode. Here, we used a transgenic line of the transparent flatworm Macrostomum lignano expressing green fluorescent protein (GFP) in all cell types, including sperm cells, enabling in vivo sperm tracking. We assessed the mating success, sperm-transfer efficiency, and sperm fertilizing efficiency of GFP(+) focal worms in which we measured 13 morphological traits. We found linear selection on sperm production rate arising from pre- and postcopulatory components and on copulatory organ shape arising from sperm fertilizing efficiency. We further found nonlinear (mostly concave) selection on combinations of copulatory organ and sperm morphology traits arising mostly from sperm-transfer efficiency and sperm fertilizing efficiency. Our study provides a fine-scale quantification of sexual selection, showing that both the form and strength of selection can change across fitness components. Quantifying how sexual selection builds up along episodes of selection allows us to better understand the evolution of sexually selected traits.

Development of a Wideband Precision Electric Field Measuring Sensor.

High-voltage electric field measurement technology has certain applications in electric field measurement of power systems, but due to the limitation of its measurement accuracy and bandwidth, it cannot be used for the measurement of lightning-impulse voltage. In order to calibrate the nonlinearity of the MV-level lightning-impulse voltage measurement system, this paper proposes the design and implementation of a high-precision inductive wideband electric field measuring sensor (EFMS). The influence of the metal shell on the electric field distribution was simulated, and the influence of the electric field non-uniformity coefficient was studied. The characteristics of the EFMS were tested, and the results showed that the EFMS can accurately reproduce the waveform of lightning-impulse voltage and power-frequency voltage, with a proportionality coefficient of 0.05664 V/(kV/m). In mostly uniform and extremely non-uniform fields, the nonlinearity of the EFMS for impulse voltage is less than ±0.25%, and the nonlinearity of the EFMS for power-frequency voltage is less than 0.1%. It is shown that the EFMS can be used for the nonlinearity calibration of ultra-high voltage impulse measurement devices.

Measuring "Where": A Comparative Analysis of Methods Measuring Spatial Perception.

The literature offers various methods for measuring sound localization. In this study, we aimed to compare these methods to determine their effectiveness in addressing different research questions by examining the effect sizes obtained from each measure. Data from 150 participants who identified the location of a sound source were analyzed to explore the effects of speaker angle, stimuli, HPD type, and condition (with/without HPD) on sound localization, using six methods for analysis: mean absolute deviation (MAD), root-mean-squared error (RMSE), very large errors (VLE), percentage of errors larger than the average error observed in a group of participants (pMean), percentage of errors larger than half the distance between two consecutive loudspeakers (pHalf), and mirror image reversal errors (MIRE). Results indicated that the MIRE measure was the most sensitive to the effects of speaker angle and HPD type, while the VLE measure was most sensitive to the effect of stimuli type. The condition variable provided the largest effect sizes, with no difference observed between measures. The data suggest that when effect sizes are substantial, all methods are adequate. However, for cases where the effect size is expected to be small, methods that yield larger effect sizes should be considered, considering their alignment with the research question.

Dimensional Deviations of Horizontal Thin Wall of Titanium Alloy Ti6Al4V Determined by Optical and Contact Methods.

Thin-walled structures are used in many industries. The need to use such elements is dictated by the desire to reduce the weight of the finished product, as well as to reduce its cost. The most common method of machining such elements is the use of milling, which makes it possible to make a product of almost any shape. However, several undesirable phenomena occur during the milling of thin-walled structures. The main phenomenon is a deformation of the thin wall resulting from its reduced stiffness. Therefore, it is necessary to control the dimensional and shape accuracy of finished products, which is carried out using various measuring instruments. The development of newer measuring methods such as optical methods is being observed. One of the newer measuring machines is the 3D optical scanner. In the present experiment, thin-walled samples in horizontal orientation of Ti6Al4V titanium alloy were machined under controlled cutting conditions. During machining, the cutting speed and feed rate were assumed constant, while the input factors were the tool and cutting strategy. This paper presents graphs of deviations in the determined cross-section planes of thin-walled structures using a 3D optical scanner and a coordinate measuring machine. A correlation was made between the results obtained from the measurement by the optical method and those determined by the contact method. A maximum discrepancy of about 8% was observed between the methods used.

Technological Aspects of Manufacturing and Control of Gears-Review.

Gear drives are widely used in various fields and applications due to their properties and capacity. Their versatility, durability, and ability to transmit high torques as well as precision and reliability make them extremely useful in many fields of technology. They are widely used in industrial and energy machinery, vehicle drive systems, aerospace, medical devices, and many other areas. Gears can be manufactured using many technologies. This work focuses mainly on machining with particular emphasis on high-performance new technologies. The process of mathematical modeling of the gear and the machined profile is strongly related to CNC machining technologies. A robust correlation of systems supporting the design and modeling of sliding gears needed for the manufacturing process is presented in the article. It is very important to properly assess gears with correct manufacturing in accordance with a specific standard. The article presents an analysis of available methods for controlling gears using coordinate measurement techniques. Gear machining methods were assessed in terms of the technologies used as well as their productivity and manufacturing tolerance.