Experimental Analyses and Predictive Modelling of Ultrasonic Welding Parameters for Enhancing Smart Textile Fabrication.

This study aims to illustrate the design, fabrication, and optimisation of an ultrasonic welding (UW) machine to join copper wires with non-woven PVC textiles as smart textiles. The study explicitly evaluates UW parameters' impact on heat generation, joint strength, and electrical properties, with a comprehensive understanding of the process dynamics and developing a predictive model applicable to smart textiles. The methodological approach involved designing and manufacturing an ultrasonic piezoelectric transducer using ABAQUS finite element analyses (FEA) software and constructing a UW machine for the current purpose. The full factorial design (FFD) approach was employed in experiments to systematically assess the influence of welding time, welding pressure, and copper wire diameter on the produced joints. Experimental data were meticulously collected, and a backpropagation neural network (BPNN) model was constructed based on the analysis of these results. The results of the experimental investigation provided valuable insights into the UW process, elucidating the intricate relationship between welding parameters and heat generation, joint strength, and post-welding electrical properties of the copper wires. This dataset served as the basis for developing a neural network model, showcasing a high level of accuracy in predicting welding outcomes compared to the FFD model. The neural network model provides a valuable tool for controlling and optimising the UW process in the realm of smart textile production.

Nonlinear analysis of a four-dimensional fractional hyper-chaotic system based on general Riemann-Liouville-Caputo fractal-fractional derivative.

In this study, a four-dimensional fractional hyperchaotic model is analyzed based on general Riemann-Liouville-Caputo (RLC) fractal-fractional derivative (FFD). A series of new operators are constructed using three different elements, namely, the general Mittag-Leffler function, exponential decay, and power law. The operators have two parameters: One is considered as fractional order and the other as fractal dimension. The Qi hyperchaotic fractional attractor is modeled by using these operators, and the models are solved numerically using a very efficient numerical scheme. Meanwhile, the existence and uniqueness of solutions have been investigated to justify the physical adequacy of the model and the numerical scheme proposed in the resolution. The numerical simulations for some specific fractional order and fractal dimension are presented. Furthermore, these results obtained via generalized Caputo-Fabrizio and fractal-fractional derivative show some crossover effects, which is due to non-index law property. Finally, these obtained from generalized fractal-fractional derivative show very strange and new attractors with self-similarities.

Smart Synthesis of Trimethyl Ethoxysilane (TMS) Functionalized Core-Shell Magnetic Nanosorbents Fe3O4@SiO2: Process Optimization and Application for Extraction of Pesticides.

In the current study, a smart approach for synthesizing trimethyl ethoxysilane-decorated magnetic-core silica-nanoparticles (TMS-mcSNPs) and its effectiveness as nanosorbents have been exploited. While the magnetite core was synthesized using the modified Mössbauer method, Stöber method was employed to coat the magnetic particles. The objective of this work is to maximize the magnetic properties and to minimize both particle size (PS) and particle size distribution (PSD). Using a full factorial design (2k-FFD), the influences of four factors on the coating process was assessed by optimizing the three responses (magnetic properties, PS, and PSD). These four factors were: (1) concentration of tetraethyl-orthosilicate (TEOS); (2) concentration of ammonia; (3) dose of magnetite (Fe3O4); and (4) addition mode. Magnetic properties were calculated as the attraction weight. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to determine PS, and standard deviation (±SD) was calculated to determine the PSD. Composite desirability function (D) was used to consolidate the multiple responses into a single performance characteristic. Pareto chart of standardized effects together with analysis of variance (ANOVA) at 95.0 confidence interval (CI) were used to determine statistically significant variable(s). Trimethyl ethoxysilane-functionalized mcSNPs were further applied as nanosorbents for magnetic solid phase extraction (TMS-MSPE) of organophosphorus and carbamate pesticides.

Successful treatment of areolar Fox-Fordyce disease with surgical excision and 1550-nm fractionated erbium glass laser.

Fox-Fordyce disease (FFD) is a rare chronic disorder characterised by persistent inflammation because of the obstruction of apocrine sweat glands, which is a key factor of pathogenesis. The treatment of FFD is known to be difficult, and the modalities of treatment have not yet been widely studied. We report the successful treatment of a case of bilateral areolar FFD by a combination of surgical excision and 1550-nm fractionated erbium glass laser in an 18-year-old woman. The patient presented with a bilateral areolar eruption of multiple, severely pruritic, 3-4 mm skin- to grey-coloured folliculocentric dome-shaped papules. The initial treatment plan was for bilateral surgical excision of the larger and more highly elevated papules via circumferential dermal excision, which was intended to maintain the areolar contour and minimise distortion. A 1550-nm fractional erbium glass laser was then used to control the remnant lesions. The patient was recurrence-free at 14 months after the final laser treatment, and she was fully satisfied with the treatment results.

Use of radioactive substances in diagnosis and treatment of neuroendocrine tumors.

Radionuclides are needed both for nuclear medicine imaging as well as for peptide-receptor radionuclide therapy (PRRT) of neuroendocrine tumors (NET). Imaging is important in the initial diagnostic work-up and for staging NETs. In therapy planning, somatostatin receptor imaging (SRI) is used when treatment is targeted at the somatostatin receptors as with the use of somatostatin analogues or PRRT. SRI with gamma camera technique using the tracer (111)In-DTPA-octreotide has for many years been the backbone of nuclear imaging of NETs. However, increasingly PET tracers for SRI are now used. (68)Ga-DOTATATE, (68)Ga-DOTATOC and (68)Ga-DOTANOC are the three most often used PET tracers. They perform better than SPECT tracers and should be preferred. FDG-PET is well suited for visualization of most of the somatostatin receptor-negative tumors prognostic in NET patients. Also (11)C-5-HTP, (18)F-DOPA and (123)I-MIBG may be used in NET. However, with FDG-PET and somatostatin receptor PET at hand we see limited necessity of other tracers. PRRT is an important tool in the treatment of advanced NETs causing complete or partial response in 20% and minor response or tumor stabilization in 60% with response duration of up to 3 years. Grade 3-4 kidney or bone marrow toxicity is seen in 1.5% and 9.5%, respectively, but are completely or partly reversible in most patients. (177)Lu-DOTATATE seems to have less toxicity than (90)Y-DOTATOC. However, until now only retrospective, non-randomized studies have been performed and the role of PRRT in treatment of NETs remains to be established.

Understanding the column and batch adsorption mechanism of pesticide 2,4,5-T utilizing alginate-biomass hydrogel capsule: A computational and economic investigation.

Water pollution has remained a pressing concern in recent years, presenting multifaceted challenges in search of effective mitigation strategies. Our study, which targets mitigating pollution caused by 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4,5-T), a significant aquatic pollutant, is innovative in its approach. We have identified adsorption as a promising, cost-effective method for its removal. Our research strategy involves dynamic adsorption utilizing a peristaltic pump and composite beads containing activated carbon and sodium alginate (CA/Alg), a novel combination that mimics industrial processes. To optimize column adsorption, we examine bead stability under varied pH conditions and optimize parameters such as concentration, adsorption time, and pH through batch adsorption experiments, employing experimental design techniques. Additionally, we optimize column adsorption factors, including bead height, circulation time, and flow rate, crucial for process efficiency, and under these optimum conditions (C2,4,5-T = 80 ppm. pH = 2, t = 27h30min, H = 30 cm and D = 0.5 mL/min) the capacity of adsorption equal to 748.25 mg/g. Characterization techniques like SEM, EDX, BET analysis, XRD, and FTIR provide insights into the morphology, composition, surface area (331 m2/g), pore volume (0.11 cm3/g), crystal structure, and functional groups of the CA-P/Alg adsorbent. Theoretical analysis elucidates the adsorption mechanism and interaction with pollutants. Economic analysis, encompassing CAPEX and OPEX estimation, evaluates the feasibility of implementing this cleanup method at an industrial scale, considering initial investment and ongoing operational costs, indicating potential savings of 64 % compared with the activated carbon normally used on the Moroccan market. This comprehensive and innovative approach addresses water pollution challenges effectively while ensuring economic viability for industry-scale implementation.

A hybrid statistical morphometry free-form deformation approach to 3D personalized foot-ankle models.

Foot and ankle joint models are widely used in the biomechanics community for musculoskeletal and finite element analysis. However, personalizing a foot and ankle joint model is highly time-consuming in terms of medical image collection and data processing. This study aims to develop and evaluate a framework for constructing a comprehensive 3D foot model that integrates statistical shape modeling (SSM) with free-form deformation (FFD) of internal bones. The SSM component is derived from external foot surface scans (skin measurements) of 50 participants, utilizing principal component analysis (PCA) to capture the variance in foot shapes. The derived surface shapes from SSM then guide the FFD process to accurately reconstruct the internal bone structures. The workflow accuracy was established by comparing three model-generated foot models against corresponding skin and bone geometries manually segmented and not part of the original training set. We used the top ten principal components representing 85 % of the population variation to create the model. For prediction validation, the average Dice similarity coefficient, Hausdorff distance error, and root mean square error were 0.92 ± 0.01, 2.2 ± 0.19 mm, and 2.95 ± 0.23 mm for soft tissues, and 0.84 ± 0.03, 1.83 ± 0.1 mm, and 2.36 ± 0.12 mm for bones, respectively. This study presents an efficient approach for 3D personalized foot model reconstruction via SSM generation of the foot surface that informs bone reconstruction based on FFD. The proposed workflow is part of the open-source Musculoskeletal Atlas Project linked to OpenSim and makes it feasible to accurately generate foot models informed by population anatomy, and suitable for rigid body analysis and finite element simulation.

New Partially Water-Soluble Feedstocks for Additive Manufacturing of Ti6Al4V Parts by Material Extrusion.

In this work, a process chain for the realization of dense Ti6Al4V parts via different material extrusion methods will be introduced applying eco-friendly partially water-soluble binder systems. In continuation of earlier research, polyethylene glycol (PEG) as a low molecular weight binder component was combined either with poly(vinylbutyral) (PVB) or with poly(methylmethacrylat) (PMMA) as a high molecular weight polymer and investigated with respect to their usability in FFF and FFD. The additional investigation of different surfactants' impact on the rheological behaviour applying shear and oscillation rheology allowed for a final solid Ti6Al4V content of 60 vol%, which is sufficient to achieve after printing, debinding and thermal densification parts with densities better than 99% of the theoretical value. The requirements for usage in medical applications according to ASTM F2885-17 can be fulfilled depending on the processing conditions.

An adaptive registration algorithm for zebrafish larval brain images.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Zebrafish (Danio rerio) in their larval stages have grown increasingly popular as excellent vertebrate models for neurobiological research. Researchers can apply various tools in order to decode the neural structure patterns which can aid the understanding of vertebrate brain development. In order to do so, it is essential to map the gene expression patterns to an anatomical reference precisely. However, high accuracy in sample registration is sometimes difficult to achieve due to laboratory- or protocol-dependent variabilities. METHODS: In this paper, we propose an accurate adaptive registration algorithm for volumetric zebrafish larval image datasets using a synergistic combination of attractive Free-Form-Deformation (FFD) and diffusive Demons algorithms. A coarse registration is achieved first for 3D volumetric data using a 3D affine transformation. A localized registration algorithm in form of a B-splines based FFD is applied next on the coarsely registered volume. Finally, the Demons algorithm is applied on this FFD registered volume for achieving fine registration by making the solution noise resilient. RESULTS: Results Experimental procedures are carried out on a number of 72 hpf (hours post fertilization) 3D confocal zebrafish larval datasets. Comparisons with state-of-the-art methods including some ablation studies clearly demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method. CONCLUSIONS: Our adaptive registration algorithm significantly aids Zebrafish imaging analysis over current methods for gene expression anatomical mapping, such as Vibe-Z. We believe the proposed solution would be able to overcome the requirement of high quality images which currently limits the applicability of Zebrafish in neuroimaging research.

Feedstock Development for Material Extrusion-Based Printing of Ti6Al4V Parts.

In this work, a holistic approach for the fabrication of dense Ti6Al4V parts via material extrusion methods (MEX), such as fused filament fabrication (FFF) or fused feedstock deposition (FFD), will be presented. With respect to the requirements of the printing process, a comprehensive investigation of the feedstock development will be described. This covers mainly the amount ratio variation of the main binder components LDPE (low-density polyethylene), HDPE (high-density polyethylene), and wax, characterized by shear and oscillation rheology. Solid content of 60 vol% allowed the 3D printing of even more complex small parts in a reproducible manner. In some cases, the pellet-based FFD seems to be superior to the established FFF. After sintering, a density of 96.6% of theory could be achieved, an additional hot isostatic pressing delivered density values better than 99% of theory. The requirements (mechanical properties, carbon, and oxygen content) for the usage of medical implants (following ASTM F2885-17) were partially fulfilled or shortly missed.

Study on External Gas-Assisted Mold Temperature Control with the Assistance of a Flow Focusing Device in the Injection Molding Process.

In the injection molding field, the flow of plastic material is one of the most important issues, especially regarding the ability of melted plastic to fill the thin walls of products. To improve the melt flow length, a high mold temperature was applied with pre-heating of the cavity surface. In this paper, we present our research on the injection molding process with pre-heating by external gas-assisted mold temperature control. After this, we observed an improvement in the melt flow length into thin-walled products due to the high mold temperature during the filling step. In addition, to develop the heating efficiency, a flow focusing device (FFD) was applied and verified. The simulations and experiments were carried out within an air temperature of 400 °C and heating time of 20 s to investigate a flow focusing device to assist with external gas-assisted mold temperature control (Ex-GMTC), with the application of various FFD types for the temperature distribution of the insert plate. The heating process was applied for a simple insert model with dimensions of 50 mm × 50 mm × 2 mm, in order to verify the influence of the FFD geometry on the heating result. After that, Ex-GMTC with the assistance of FFD was carried out for a mold-reading process, and the FFD influence was estimated by the mold heating result and the improvement of the melt flow length using acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS). The results show that the air sprue gap (h) significantly affects the temperature of the insert and an air sprue gap of 3 mm gives the best heating rate, with the highest temperature being 321.2 °C. Likewise, the actual results show that the height of the flow focusing device (V) also influences the temperature of the insert plate and that a 5 mm high FFD gives the best results with a maximum temperature of 332.3 °C. Moreover, the heating efficiency when using FFD is always higher than without FFD. After examining the effect of FFD, its application was considered, in order to improve the melt flow length in injection molding, which increased from 38.6 to 170 mm, while the balance of the melt filling was also clearly improved.

Systematic Review of Lumbar Elastic Tape on Trunk Mobility: A Debatable Issue.

OBJECTIVES: To systematically review the literature to analyze the effect of lumbar elastic tape application on trunk mobility, surpassing the minimal detectable change of the used outcome measurement tool, and to analyze the additional effect of applied tension and direction of elastic tape application in low back pain and participants without low back pain. DATA SOURCES: Four databases were used: PubMed, Web of Science, Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro), and Google Scholar. STUDY SELECTION: The inclusion criteria were randomized and clinical controlled trials evaluating the effectiveness of lumbar elastic tape application on trunk mobility. DATA EXTRACTION: Two researchers executed the search and a third author was consulted to resolve disagreements. The methodological quality was scored using the PEDro scale, with studies scoring ≤5 being excluded. DATA SYNTHESIS: Eight out of 6799 studies were included; 5 studied individuals with low back pain, and 3 studied participants without low back pain. Two studies scored low on the PEDro scale and were excluded. None of the reported significant changes in trunk mobility due to elastic tape application exceeded the indicated minimal detectable change. No conclusions can be drawn from the direction and applied tension of elastic tape application. CONCLUSIONS: Based on the results of this systematic review, there is no evidence supporting the effect of lumbar elastic tape application. We recommend consensus in the use of more reliable and valid instruments in future studies.

Predictive and Descriptive CoMFA Models: The Effect of Variable Selection.

Aims & Scope: In this research, 8 variable selection approaches were used to investigate the effect of variable selection on the predictive power and stability of CoMFA models. MATERIALS & METHODS: Three data sets including 36 EPAC antagonists, 79 CD38 inhibitors and 57 ATAD2 bromodomain inhibitors were modelled by CoMFA. First of all, for all three data sets, CoMFA models with all CoMFA descriptors were created then by applying each variable selection method a new CoMFA model was developed so for each data set, 9 CoMFA models were built. Obtained results show noisy and uninformative variables affect CoMFA results. Based on created models, applying 5 variable selection approaches including FFD, SRD-FFD, IVE-PLS, SRD-UVEPLS and SPA-jackknife increases the predictive power and stability of CoMFA models significantly. RESULT & CONCLUSION: Among them, SPA-jackknife removes most of the variables while FFD retains most of them. FFD and IVE-PLS are time consuming process while SRD-FFD and SRD-UVE-PLS run need to few seconds. Also applying FFD, SRD-FFD, IVE-PLS, SRD-UVE-PLS protect CoMFA countor maps information for both fields.

Cardiac contraction motion compensation in gated myocardial perfusion SPECT: A comparative study.

INTRODUCTION: Cardiac contraction significantly degrades quality and quantitative accuracy of gated myocardial perfusion SPECT (MPS) images. In this study, we aimed to explore different techniques in motion-compensated temporal processing of MPS images and their impact on image quality and quantitative accuracy. MATERIAL AND METHOD: 50 patients without known heart condition underwent gated MPS. 3D motion compensation methods using Motion Freezing by Cedars Sinai (MF), Log-domain Diffeomorphic Demons (LDD) and Free-Form Deformation (FFD) were applied to warp all image phases to fit the end-diastolic (ED) phase. Afterwards, myocardial wall thickness, myocardial to blood pool contrast, and image contrast-to noise ratio (CNR) were measured in summed images with no motion compensation (NoMC) and compensated images (MF, LDD and FFD). Total Perfusion Defect (TPD) was derived from Cedars-Sinai software, on the basis of sex-specific normal limits. RESULT: Left ventricle (LV) lateral wall thickness was reduced after applying motion compensation (p < 0.05). Myocardial to blood pool contrast and CNR in compensated images were greater than NoMC (p < 0.05). TPD_LDD was in good agreement with the corresponding TPD_MF (p = 0.13). CONCLUSION: All methods have improved image quality and quantitative performance relative to NoMC. LDD and FFD are fully automatic and do not require any manual intervention, while MF is dependent on contour definition. In terms of diagnostic parameters LDD is in good agreement with MF which is a clinically accepted method. Further investigation along with diagnostic reference standards, in order to specify diagnostic value of each technique is recommended.

Minimum ten-year follow-up of spinal stenosis with degenerative spondylolisthesis treated with decompression and dynamic stabilization.

BACKGROUND: The Dynesys system remains the most widely implanted posterior non-fusion pedicle screw system. Various study designs used in investigations with good to excellent short- and mid-term results have been reported in the current literature. However, there is a lack of information concerning long-term outcomes following treatment for spinal stenosis with degenerative spondylolisthesis. METHODS: The aim of our study was twofold. Firstly, to assess whether the dynamic stabilization in situ with the Dynesys System without bone grafting provides enough stability to prevent progression of spondylolisthesis and secondarily to maintain significant clinical improvement in a long-term follow-up (FU). Therefore, the consecutive patients due to inclusion criterions underwent interlaminar decompression and stabilization with Dynesys instrumentation. Patients were evaluated clinically and radiologically after a minimum FU of 10 years. RESULTS: At FU, the mean low back pain (LBP) post-operatively and leg pain (LP) post-operatively on visual analog scale (VAS) and North American Spine Society (NASS) improved significantly (P<0.001) compared to preoperative examination. The mean value of NASS neurogenic symptoms (19.13% and 4.72%) and activity subscores were 23.13% and 10.74% respectively. In plain and functional radiographs the mean listhesis grade in neutral position was 11.11%, 11.8% in reclination and 11.63% in inclination. There were 17 and 8 patients with progressing degenerative osteochondrosis/listhesis at adjacent segments. CONCLUSIONS: Decompression and single and double level dynamic in situ stabilization with the Dynesys System demonstrate good clinical and radiological long-term results in elderly patients.

Assessment of magnification of digital radiographs in total HIP arthroplasty.

OBJECTIVE: Total hip arthroplasty (THA) preoperative planning requires the calibration of X-ray. We evaluate the magnification in standard pelvis hip X-ray and determine its relation with biometric factors. METHODS: The magnification of 140 THA X-ray were calculated with the known femoral head (MFFH) and acetabular component (MFAC). Gender, age, height, weight, and BMI were correlated to the magnification. RESULTS: The MFFH and MFAC were 113.2 ±â€¯4,4 and 113,4 ±â€¯3,6 respectively. No significant differences by gender and no correlation with height, weight or BMI. CONCLUSION: The X-ray magnification should be calibrated in every institution to improve the accuracy of preoperative planning.

Multiresolution eXtended Free-Form Deformations (XFFD) for non-rigid registration with discontinuous transforms.

Image registration is an essential technique to obtain point correspondences between anatomical structures from different images. Conventional non-rigid registration methods assume a continuous and smooth deformation field throughout the image. However, the deformation field at the interface of different organs is not necessarily continuous, since the organs may slide over or separate from each other. Therefore, imposing continuity and smoothness ubiquitously would lead to artifacts and increased errors near the discontinuity interface. In computational mechanics, the eXtended Finite Element Method (XFEM) was introduced to handle discontinuities without using computational meshes that conform to the discontinuity geometry. Instead, the interpolation bases themselves were enriched with discontinuous functional terms. Borrowing this concept, we propose a multiresolution eXtented Free-Form Deformation (XFFD) framework that seamlessly integrates within and extends the standard Free-Form Deformation (FFD) approach. Discontinuities are incorporated by enriching the B-spline basis functions coupled with extra degrees of freedom, which are only introduced near the discontinuity interface. In contrast with most previous methods, restricted to sliding motion, no ad hoc penalties or constraints are introduced to reduce gaps and overlaps. This allows XFFD to describe more general discontinuous motions. In addition, we integrate XFFD into a rigorously formulated multiresolution framework by introducing an exact parameter upsampling method. The proposed method has been evaluated in two publicly available datasets: 4D pulmonary CT images from the DIR-Lab dataset and 4D CT liver datasets. The XFFD achieved a Target Registration Error (TRE) of 1.17 ± 0.85 mm in the DIR-lab dataset and 1.94 ± 1.01 mm in the liver dataset, which significantly improves on the performance of the state-of-the-art methods handling discontinuities.

Optimization of culture medium compositions for gellan gum production by a halobacterium Sphingomonas paucimobilis.

The effect of culture medium compositions on gellan gum production produced by fermentation with a halobacterium Sphingomonas paucimobilis QHZJUJW CGMCC2428 was studied. In this work, a fractional factorial design was applied to investigate the main factors that affected gellan gum production by S. paucimobilis QHZJUJW CGMCC2428. Sucrose was the best carbon source for gellan gum and peptone displayed better inducing effect. Central composite design and response surface methodology were adopted to derive a statistical model for optimizing submerged culture medium composition. These experimental results showed that the optimum culture medium for producing gellan gum was composed of 40.00 (w/v) sucrose, 3.00% peptone (w/v), MgSO4 (w/v), 9.20% KH2PO4 (w/v), 7.50% Na2HPO4 (w/v), 4.30% K2SO4 (w/v), pH 6.8-7.0. The maximal gellan gum was 19.89±0.68 g/L, which was agreed closely with the predicated value (20.12 g/L). After incubated for 72 h under the optimized culture medium in 5-L bioreactor, the gellan gum fermentation reached about 19.90±0.68 g/L, which was higher than that in the initial cultivation medium.

Image registration guided, sparsity constrained reconstructions for dynamic MRI.

It is generally a challenging task to reconstruct dynamic magnetic resonance (MR) images with high spatial and high temporal resolutions, especially with highly incomplete k-space sampling. In this work, a novel method that combines a non-rigid image registration technique with sparsity-constrained image reconstruction is introduced. Employing a multi-resolution free-form deformation technique with B-spline interpolations, the non-rigid image registration accurately models the complex deformations of the physiological dynamics, and provides artifact-suppressed high spatial-resolution predictions. Based on these prediction images, the sparsity-constrained data fidelity-enforced image reconstruction further improves the reconstruction accuracy. When compared with the k-t FOCUSS with motion estimation/motion compensation (MEMC) technique on volunteer scans, the proposed method consistently outperforms in both the spatial and the temporal accuracy with variously accelerated k-space sampling. High fidelity reconstructions for dynamic systolic phases with reduction factor of 10 and cardiac perfusion series with reduction factor of 3 are presented.