Search Results (15,331)

Continuum robots offer inherent compliance and dexterity for operation in confined and unstructured environments; however, achieving hybrid multi-segment functionality typically requires application-specific redesign and tightly coupled architectures. To address this limitation, this study proposes a reconfigurable hybrid continuum robot architecture based around a multi-lumen central integration backbone that supports multiple actuation modalities and robot configurations. The proposed design combines external tendon-driven disk modules for proximal actuation with a pneumatically actuated distal tip, while internal lumens allow routing of pneumatic lines and the insertion of optional stiffening elements without structural interference. The reconfigurability of the architecture is demonstrated through two configurations: Concept-1, a two-segment hybrid system, and Concept-2, a miniaturized three-segment configuration achieved by reducing the disk diameter and extending tendon actuation to the backbone. Experimental evaluations are conducted to characterize segment-wise actuation, coupled deformation behavior, and workspace capabilities, hysteresis response, tip contact force, and phantom-based target reachability. Results show that the integration of tendon-driven and pneumatic actuation significantly expands and reorients the reachable workspace. Additional functional tests showed repeatable loading–unloading behaviour of the tendon-driven segment, a maximum pneumatic tip contact force of approximately 0.45 N, and successful access to five representative targets within a stomach-like phantom using Concept-2. A kinematic model based on a constant-curvature formulation is validated against experimental data, yielding root-mean-square errors (RMSE) of 5.44 mm and 6.12 mm for Concept-1 and Concept-2, respectively. These results demonstrate consistent model accuracy across different configurations and scales. Overall, the proposed architecture enables modular, scalable, and reconfigurable hybrid continuum robots, providing a flexible framework for applications ranging from large-scale manipulation to gastroscopy-inspired minimally invasive procedures. Full article

Background and Objectives: Maintenance of condylar position during bilateral sagittal split ramus osteotomy (BSSRO) is important for preserving temporomandibular joint biomechanics and skeletal stability. During surgery, loss of muscle tone under general anesthesia may alter the condyle–fossa relationship, making accurate repositioning of the proximal segment challenging. Although manual positioning remains the most commonly used intraoperative approach, evidence regarding its ability to preserve the preoperative condyle–fossa relationship remains limited. This study evaluated changes in the condyle–fossa relationship following BSSRO performed with manual proximal segment positioning. Materials and Methods: This single-center retrospective study included lateral cephalometric radiographs of 14 patients (8 females, 6 males; aged 19–29 years) with skeletal Class III malocclusion treated with combined orthodontic treatment and BSSRO. Radiographs were obtained preoperatively (T0), immediately postoperatively (T1), and at the final follow-up examination (T2). Condylar position was assessed using a Cartesian coordinate system, joint space measurements, and the Condyle Position Index (CPI). Statistical analyses were performed using the Friedman and Wilcoxon signed-rank tests (p < 0.05). Results: Significant differences were observed in CPI and anterior joint space measurements across the observation periods. Interval analysis demonstrated increased CPI values and decreased anterior joint space measurements between T1 and T2, whereas no significant immediate postoperative changes were observed. Intra-observer reliability was excellent, with intraclass correlation coefficients exceeding 0.90 for all variables. Conclusions: Manual positioning of the proximal segment during BSSRO may provide acceptable immediate postoperative condyle–fossa stability but may not completely maintain the preoperative condyle–fossa relationship over time. Although no significant immediate postoperative changes were observed, significant changes in the condyle–fossa relationship were identified at the final follow-up examination. These findings support the need for further prospective studies incorporating clinical temporomandibular joint assessment and three-dimensional imaging. Full article

Accurate identification of visually similar targets in Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) imagery is hindered by significant inter-class ambiguity and viewpoint variability. While hierarchical deep learning mitigates these challenges, existing architectures relieve manual design, introducing subjectivity and limiting cross-domain scalability. In this work, we propose an objective, data-driven method for the automated synthesis of hierarchical classification structures. Our approach uses a hybrid inter-class proximity metric that integrates geometric distances between latent-feature-space centroids with empirical misclassification probabilities. Using a hierarchical agglomerative clustering algorithm optimized via an inconsistency coefficient, we synthesize a coarse-to-fine cascade that deploys YOLOv11 for feature extraction and FT-Transformers for specialized identification. Experimental validation on the VisDrone2019 and UAV123 datasets demonstrates that the automatically generated hierarchy achieves a peak F1-score of 94.9%, outperforming the monolithic YOLOv11 model by 0.8% and matching human-designed cascades. Sensitivity analysis indicates an optimal hybrid weight range of 0.4–0.6. The findings confirm that our automated synthesis provides high adaptability and reliability for real-time edge AI deployments, ensuring robust performance in dynamic monitoring environments without requiring manual redesign. Full article

Background: Increasing evidence suggests that breast milk and its bioactive components, including short-chain fatty acids and the milk microbiome, are influenced by maternal nutrition and body mass index (BMI). Bioactive components transferred to the infant through breast milk play a pivotal role in infant growth and development and have indications in the child’s future short- and long-term health outcomes. This study aimed to assess the impact of maternal pre-pregnancy BMI (PP-BMI) on human breast milk macronutrient composition, short- and long-chain fatty acid profiles, and breast milk microbiome profiles. Approach: This was an exploratory cohort study of forty-four lactating Caucasian women, two to fourteen weeks postpartum, divided into groups based on pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI). Study participants signed informed consent, completed health and nutritional surveys, and provided a breast milk sample. Breast milk samples were subjected to proximate analysis, microbiome identification and short- and long-chain fatty acid extraction and analysis. Results: Maternal age, maternal physical activity, infant birth weight, and time of lactation at sample collection were not significantly different between the maternal PP-BMI groups. PP-BMI was significantly different between the two maternal groups. No significant differences were found between the maternal BMI groups concerning nutritional intake. No differences in breast milk microbiomes were observed in alpha diversity and beta diversity between the maternal PP-BMI groups. For long-chain fatty analysis in breast milk samples, myristic acid was significantly higher in the PP-BMI overweight/obese group while stearic acid was significantly higher in the PP-BMI normal-weight group. Butyric, valeric, and isocaproic acid concentrations in HBM were significantly higher in the PP-BMI normal-weight group and lower or undetectable in the PP-BMI overweight/obese group. Conclusions: Data from this exploratory cohort study indicate that maternal diet and pre-pregnancy BMI may be associated with differences in selected HBM fatty acids. There were no significant differences in microbiomes for alpha and beta diversity in breast milk between maternal PP-BMI groups; however, lower relative abundance was observed in the breast milk of the PP-BMI overweight/obese group. These findings should be interpreted in the context of the study’s limitations, including convenience recruitment from a Facebook group, the modest sample size, and restriction to Caucasian women from a single geographic region. Full article

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly present in medical education, yet its indiscriminate use risks impairing the acquisition of foundational clinical competencies, including clinical reasoning, hypothesis generation, and patient-centered communication, through processes of never-skilling, mis-skilling, and deskilling. This paper presents M3RGE-AI (Responsible, Reliable, and Reflexive use of Generative AI in Medical Education), a conceptual framework for the purposeful integration of AI as a cognitive scaffold in medical training. Drawing on established learning theories, zone of proximal development, deliberate practice, and peer learning, the framework assigns progressively expanding AI functions across training stages, prioritizes Socratic over directive interactions, requires transparent and verifiable sourcing of AI-generated content, and incorporates peer moderation and AI-off assessment checkpoints to mitigate over-reliance. The framework is operationalized through alternating AI-on and AI-off cycles, governance processes, and educator training protocols. Applied within these constraints, AI can shorten feedback loops and broaden clinical exposure while preserving independent reasoning and authentic patient communication. M3RGE-AI offers a theoretically grounded and institutionally implementable model for integrating generative AI into medical curricula without sacrificing the essential human competencies that underpin safe clinical practice. Full article

In the Iberian Pyrite Belt (IPB), long-term persistence of mine waste piles poses environmental challenges. The present work studies the Trimpancho Mining Complex in northern IPB with exposed mine waste and acidic waters in the proximity to the Chança River, a tributary of the Guadiana international river. A multidisciplinary approach is proposed, using hyperspectral reflectance spectroscopy, portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF), multispectral Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) and Sentinel-2 images. Spectroscopic, geochemical and remote sensing methods were applied to characterise the mining area. Comparison of hyperspectral data with spectral libraries were used to validate mineralogy. Multispectral UAV data is used for custom band-ratios and adapted to Sentinel-2 images. Results grouped the samples into four groups. Spectroscopy is indicative of clays (white mica and smectite group), hematite/goethite, jarosite, and arsenopyrite and pyrite (exclusive to the Group 2); iron-rich samples reach maximum reflectance earlier than iron-poor samples. Geochemical studies show an increase in content of heavy metal such as As, Cu, Fe, Pb, and Zn from Group 1 < Group 3 ≈ Group 4 < Group 2, but Group 4 showed elevated Pb and Zn. Custom false colour composition highlighted the groups in UAV and satellite, thus constituting cost-effective tools for finding contamination sources. Full article

The majority of currently available hand kinematic databases have been gathered using expensive marker-based systems or are restricted to a particular gesture-recognition task, failing to capture the dynamic nature of joints when the hand is engaged with an object. To address this gap, we introduce the RGB-based Hand Joint Kinematics (RGB-HJK) dataset, a publicly available collection of continuous, frame-level 3D joint angle trajectories, recorded while ten healthy adults (six male, four female; age $25.8\pm 3.2$ years; BMI $22.8\pm 2.0$ kg/m²) performed five standardized object interaction grasps: Power Grasp (cylindrical bottle), Tripod Grasp (pen), Static Power Hold (smartphone), Precision Pinch (thin paper), and Lateral Pinch (book). Data were collected using a standard RGB camera and the MediaPipe Hands markerless pipeline at $26.95\pm 0.29$ Hz, a rate that was stable across all subjects. Each participant completed five trials for each grasp type. After filtering using active hold, 28,111 validated frames remained, with a 100% detection rate for all 250 trials. Intra-subject repeatability was good (mean SD $\le 7.9°$ across all joint grasp combinations) and inter-subject variability was within the range expected based on normal anatomical diversity. Importantly, kinematic validation of the Index Proximal Interphalangeal (PIP) joint (61.8° ± 18.4°) showed values consistent with ranges reported in previous studies using instrumented gloves and depth sensors. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) confirmed clear linear separability among the five grasp configurations. Unlike existing datasets, the RGB-HJK method does not compromise the natural sense of touch and is free of hardware occlusions, thereby providing an easily accessible ecological baseline. Full article

Single-index greening trends can misrepresent post-mining recovery because they do not show whether disturbed surfaces are converging toward the spectral conditions of nearby stable vegetation. Here, we present a 22-year (2003–2024) Landsat-based assessment of the Nannihu molybdenum mine (Henan, China) by combining LandTrendr-based disturbance and recovery timing from annual NBR series with a benchmark-relative spectral recovery index (RSRI) and five-epoch random forest land-surface classification used as contextual support. The classifier was trained on 2024 samples and transferred to earlier epochs without independent validation at each epoch. Historical class labels should therefore be treated as approximate contextual support. A five-type recovery pathway typology showed that only 41.8% of mine-affected pixels followed vegetated recovery pathways, while 28.2% stabilized as non-vegetated surfaces and 25.0% remained under persistent disturbance. Even the combined vegetation recovery type had a mean RSRI of only 0.309 (SD = 0.143), suggesting that greening alone does not imply close benchmark-relative spectral proximity to the local stable-vegetation reference. Disturbance magnitude was the feature most strongly associated with RSRI variation (XGBoost SHAP mean, |SHAP| = 0.075). The RSRI quantifies benchmark-relative spectral proximity using local stable-vegetation benchmarks, and it does not measure species composition, biomass, or ecosystem function. This site-specific case study indicates that benchmark-relative spectral assessment can complement conventional greening metrics in retrospective mine monitoring using open-access Landsat archives, with field validation the natural next step toward linking these spectral findings to ecological or functional recovery. Full article

Parkia platycephala pod (PP) is a native feed resource with good nutritional value that can be included in sheep diets as a potential alternative ingredient without impairing the meat quality. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of two feeding strategies differing in forage source and corn processing form, including the use of Parkia platycephala pod and whole corn grain, on the physicochemical characteristics, proximate composition, and mineral profile of sheep meat. For this, the Semimembranosus muscle from the hind legs of twelve castrated male Dorper × Santa Inês sheep was evaluated. The animals were fed two diets: diet 1—without Parkia platycephala pod (30% Tifton hay + 20% ground corn)—and diet 2—with Parkia platycephala pod (30% Parkia platycephala pod + 0% ground corn). A completely randomized design with two treatments and six replicates was used. There was no effect of diet on the physicochemical characteristics, proximate composition and mineral profile of the Semimembranosus muscle (p > 0.05). Therefore, the inclusion of Parkia platycephala pod in sheep diets is recommended, as it does not alter meat quality. Full article

Urban traffic congestion remains a persistent global challenge, contributing to significant economic inefficiencies, elevated greenhouse gas emissions, and diminished quality of life. This paper presents a real-world video-based traffic monitoring study combined with a proposed adaptive signal control framework. In the monitoring component, YOLOv11 object detection was applied directly to footage recorded from an overhead bridge position on a 40 km/h road. The model successfully detected and tracked multiple road-user categories, including cars, trucks, buses, motorcycles, cyclists, and pedestrians, yielding 1041 vehicle detections across 25 unique tracked objects. Vehicle speeds were estimated from inter-frame centroid displacement, and a Region of Interest (ROI) occupancy model was used to classify congestion states as High, Medium, or Free Flow using thresholds grounded in Highway Capacity Manual (HCM) level-of-service criteria. The system detected 11 high-congestion frames (3.8%), 184 medium-congestion frames (63.9%), and 93 free-flow frames (32.3%), consistent with moderate congestion observed during the recording period. In the proposed control component, a Proximal Policy Optimisation (PPO)-based reinforcement learning signal controller is designed around the YOLOv11 detection outputs as its state representation. Based on comparable adaptive traffic signal control studies in the literature, the proposed framework is projected to achieve approximately 25% higher peak-hour throughput, 35% shorter queue lengths, and 32% lower average waiting times relative to a fixed-time signal baseline. The detection accuracy (mAP@0.5 = 93.2%) and inference speed (32 FPS) cited are published YOLOv11 benchmarks used as indicative performance references. This work bridges real-world perception and proposed intelligent control, providing a transparent and reproducible methodology for next-generation smart city traffic management. Full article

Street-food grilling is a common occupation in Asia, yet the occupational health risks associated with cooking-generated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) exposure, occurring alongside plausible unmeasured co-exposures such as ambient heat and physical workload, remain under-researched. This study investigated the internal dose of PAH exposure and its association with early biological effects and physiological strain among grill restaurant workers. A cross-sectional study was conducted involving grill workers and 20 age/BMI-matched controls. Urinary 1-hydroxypyrene (1-OHP) was utilized as the primary exposure biomarker. The study assessed early biological effects such as oxidative stress (8-OHdG, F₂-isoprostanes), lung epithelial integrity (CC16), and genotoxicity (BPDE-DNA adducts) via ELISA. Physiological parameters, including blood pressure and heart rate, were recorded to evaluate acute cardiovascular strain. Workers had significantly elevated urinary 1-OHP levels compared to controls (Hodges–Lehmann ratio = 3.66, 95% CI: 1.68–7.12, representing a 3.7-fold median increase), with exposure levels increasing proportionally to smoke proximity. Notably, workers demonstrated a significantly higher median resting heart rate (HL ratio = 1.13, 95% CI: 1.05–1.23; +12.9%) and systolic blood pressure (HL ratio = 1.09, 95% CI: 1.00–1.18; +8.9%) compared to their office-based peers. Although strong correlations were observed among biological effect biomarkers (r_s = 0.42–0.63), there were no significant differences between groups for 8-OHdG, CC16, or BPDE-DNA adducts, suggesting that cardiovascular parameters reflect acute short-term responses, while genomic damage markers may require higher cumulative exposure thresholds to become detectable. The study revealed that grill restaurant workers face substantial internal PAH exposure and significant cardiovascular strain, occurring alongside plausible unmeasured co-exposures including ambient heat and physical workload. The prevalence of chronic cough and elevated heart rate is a critical early warning sign for occupational health. Our findings indicate that current general ventilation is inadequate, highlighting an urgent need for localized engineering controls and comprehensive health surveillance, including cardiovascular monitoring in the service sector. Full article

The scaffold protein RACK1 (Receptor for Activated C Kinase 1) integrates signaling and translation, acting as a core component of the 40S ribosomal subunit. It binds activated Protein Kinase C (PKC) isoforms and membrane receptors. We used an auxin-inducible degron (AID2) system in human HAP1 cells to selectively deplete the free (cytoplasmic) pool of RACK1. The engineered RACK1–mAID–mClover3 fusion was rapidly degraded in the cytoplasm upon addition of 5-phenyl-indole-3-acetic acid (5-Ph-IAA), while the ribosome-bound pool remained detectable in ribosomal fractions, indicating that ribosome association makes RACK1 relatively less accessible to AID2-mediated proteolysis. Upon activation of PKCβII with phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate (PMA), imaging at defined time points revealed closely matched kinetics of PKCβII membrane recruitment and membrane-proximal enrichment of ribosome-bound RACK1, peaking at ~10 min. Our data support a model in which activated PKCβII engages ribosome-bound RACK1 at membrane-proximal sites, consistent with a diffusion–capture mechanism in which PKCβII first accumulates at the membrane and then captures ribosome-bound RACK1, thereby recruiting the translational machinery to sites of signal input for membrane-proximal translation. These findings provide new insights into the spatial organization of translation. Full article

Non-Hermitian photonic lattices offer unconventional control over light evolution owing to modal non-orthogonality and the resulting non-normal dynamical response. In this work, we show that a uniform passive waveguide lattice with dissipation confined to one or a few sites near an edge can exhibit an algebraic(nearly linear) decay of optical power—an absorption law forbidden in orthogonal (normal-mode) dissipative systems, where any superposition of eigenmodes yields purely multi-exponential attenuation. We demonstrate that algebraic absorption arises when the input excitation is appropriately tailored to exploit non-orthogonal modal interference, effectively channeling energy toward the dissipative boundary. In particular, under the condition of coherent perfect absorption (CPA) associated with a spectral singularity of the semi-infinite lattice, nearly complete light absorption accompanied by algebraic decay of the optical power can be achieved. Starting from the minimal configuration of a single lossy edge site, we derive compact analytical expressions for the dynamics and identify the conditions under which linear-like absorption emerges. We then extend the analysis to multiple edge-proximal lossy sites. Our results show that simple dissipative photonic lattices, when driven by suitably prepared input states, enable robust sculpting of absorption laws through non-normal dynamics, providing a new route to programmable attenuation. Full article

Reliable cadastral modernization requires distinguishing legally authoritative boundaries, human-interpreted parcel geometry, and image-visible evidence. This study examines the spatial proximity between a human-interpreted parcel boundary layer and unfiltered radiometric edge evidence derived from the same high-resolution orthophoto in Vientiane, Lao PDR. The analysis is not a cadastral accuracy validation and does not treat Canny-derived edges as an independent or higher-accuracy reference. Instead, it quantifies parcel-level boundary-to-radiometric-edge offset as a preliminary image-observability screening layer. For 89,763 parcels, nearest-edge offsets were summarized using mean, median, and upper-tail metrics and examined through spatial clustering, Canny threshold sensitivity testing, and a sample-based visual audit. Across parcels, mean offset values averaged 0.72 m, while median-offset values had a median of 0.21 m. Sensitivity testing showed that absolute offset magnitudes vary with edge-detection thresholds, indicating that the metric should not be interpreted as ISO-style positional accuracy. The mapped clusters, therefore, indicate an elevated boundary-to-radiometric-edge offset, as opposed to a confirmed cadastral error. The workflow is intended to support preliminary prioritization for expert visual review, semantic filtering, cadastral record checking, or field verification. Full article

Background/Objectives: Adherence to the 24-h movement guidelines is generally low in preschool children, and less is known about how proximal family support for children’s physical activity (family PA support) is associated with physical fitness and 24-h movement behaviors. This study aimed to describe guideline adherence and to examine the associations among family PA support, 24-h movement behaviors, and physical fitness in Chinese preschool children. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 2386 Chinese preschool children (4.50 ± 0.86 years, 46.8% girls). Family PA support and 24-h movement behaviors were assessed using parent-reported questionnaires, and physical fitness was assessed using the Chinese National Physical Fitness Evaluation Standard for preschool children. Path analysis was used to examine the overall association pattern, including direct and indirect association estimates, among family PA support, movement behaviors, and physical fitness. Results: Only 12.7% of preschool children met all three 24-h movement recommendations. Compliance was 24.7% for physical activity, 82.7% for screen time, and 76.8% for sleep, indicating that insufficient physical activity was the main barrier to full guideline adherence. Family PA support was positively associated with physical fitness (β = 0.048, p = 0.021), and the combined indirect association estimate involving the three movement behaviors was also statistically significant (β = 0.024, p < 0.001). Among the three movement behaviors, family PA support was most strongly associated with higher MVPA (β = 0.150, p < 0.001), and MVPA showed the clearest positive association with physical fitness (β = 0.155, p < 0.001). Screen time was negatively associated with family PA support (β = −0.088, p < 0.001) but not significantly associated with physical fitness (p = 0.091), whereas sleep showed a small negative association with physical fitness (β = −0.056, p = 0.005). These findings suggest a comparatively stronger role for MVPA within the observed association pattern. Conclusion: Chinese preschool children showed low adherence to the 24-h movement guidelines, with insufficient physical activity appearing to be the main limiting factor. Family PA support may represent a potentially modifiable family-level correlate of preschool children’s physical fitness, with MVPA appearing to play a comparatively stronger role within the observed association pattern. Full article