Search Results (91)

Metal Injection Molding (MIM) enables complex orthodontic-bracket geometries but can introduce surface and geometric discontinuities that act as initiation sites for crevice and pitting corrosion. The effect of acidic, kombucha-like exposure on corrosion and repassivation was assessed for MIM-316L brackets relative to a commercial comparator, and the coupling between surface quality (roughness and wettability) and localized damage at scanning electron microscopy (SEM)-identified hot-spots was examined. Kombucha was characterized by pH and titratable acidity. Surfaces were characterized by SEM, areal roughness metrics (R_a, S_a, S_z, and A2), and wettability by sessile-drop goniometry. Electrochemical behavior in artificial saliva was measured using open-circuit potential and cyclic potentiodynamic polarization (ASTM F2129/G59), and a qualitative magnetic check was included as a pragmatic quality-assurance screen. Exposure in kombucha reduced breakdown and repassivation potentials and increased passive current density, with the strongest effects co-localizing geometric discontinuities. Commercial brackets exhibited markedly poorer surface quality (notably higher S_z), amplifying acidity-driven susceptibility. These findings indicate that, under acidic challenges, surface/geometry quality dominates corrosion behavior; non-magnetic-phase compliance and simple chairside screening (e.g., magnet test), alongside tighter manufacturing controls on roughness and edge finish, should be incorporated into clinical and industrial quality assurance (QA). Full article

Background/Objective: Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs) have received widespread attention as effective obesity treatments. However, limited research has examined the perspectives of patients contemplating GLP-1RAs. This study explored perceptions, motivations, and barriers among individuals considering GLP-1RA therapy for obesity treatment, with the goal of informing patient-centered care and enhancing clinician engagement. Methods: Adults completed surveys and interviews between June and November 2025. In this pragmatic mixed-methods study, both survey and interview questions explored perceived benefits, barriers, and decision-making processes. Qualitative data, describing themes based on the Health Belief Model, were analyzed using Dedoose (version 9.0.107), and quantitative data were analyzed using SAS (version 9.4). Participant characteristics included marital status, income, educational attainment, employment status, insurance status, age, race/ethnicity, and sex. Anticipated length on GLP-1RA medication and selected self-reported health conditions (depression, anxiety, hypertension, heart disease, back pain, joint pain), reported physical activity level, and perceived weight loss competency were also recorded. Results: Among the 31 non-diabetic participants who were considering GLP-1RA medication for weight loss, cost emerged as the most significant barrier. Life course events, particularly (peri)menopause among women over 44, were commonly cited as contributors to weight gain. Participants expressed uncertainty about eligibility, long-term safety, and treatment expectations. Communication gaps were evident, as few participants initiated discussions and clinician outreach was rare, reflecting limited awareness and discomfort around the topic. Conclusions: Findings highlight that individuals considering GLP-1RA therapy face multifaceted emotional, financial, and informational barriers. Proactive, empathetic clinician engagement, through validation of prior efforts, clear communication of risks and benefits, and correction of misconceptions, can support informed decision-making and align treatment with patient goals. Full article

Background: Seronegative rheumatoid arthritis (SNRA), defined by the absence of rheumatoid factor (RF) and anti-citrullinated peptide antibodies (ACPA), represents 20–30% of rheumatoid arthritis cases. Once considered a milder phenotype, SNRA is now recognised as a heterogeneous entity in which a substantial subset of patients develops structural progression comparable to seropositive RA. The binary RF/ACPA-based definition is increasingly viewed as insufficient, as the broader anti-modified protein antibody (AMPA) family—including antibodies against carbamylated, acetylated and malondialdehyde–acetaldehyde–modified proteins—indicates that many “seronegative” patients may harbour unconventional humoral autoimmunity undetected by standard assays. Objectives: To synthesise contemporary insights into the epidemiology, immunopathology, diagnostic challenges and therapeutic management of SNRA, with emphasis on erosive versus non-erosive phenotypes and the implications of the AMPA paradigm. Methods: A comprehensive literature search of PubMed, Cochrane Library and Google Scholar identified randomised trials, observational cohorts and systematic reviews, with focus on studies published within the past decade. Results: SNRA displays partially distinct immune features, including lower formation of tertiary lymphoid structures and variable activation of innate inflammatory circuits. However, the traditional adaptive–versus–innate dichotomy is overly reductionist. Growing evidence suggests that unconventional humoral responses directed against non-classical post-translational modifications may be present in a proportion of RF/ACPA-negative patients. Additional qualitative dimensions—such as IgA isotypes and fine-specificity profiles—represent further heterogeneity with potential prognostic significance. Although ACPA remains the strongest predictor of erosive progression, up to one-third of seronegative patients develop erosions within five years. The 2010 ACR/EULAR criteria may delay diagnosis in SNRA. Cytokine inhibitors and JAK inhibitors show largely serostatus-independent efficacy, whereas B-cell and T-cell–targeted therapies demonstrate attenuated responses in SNRA. Conclusions: SNRA is clinically and immunologically diverse. Integrating the AMPA framework is essential for refining classification and prognostication. Distinguishing erosive from non-erosive forms may guide treatment, while future work should prioritise biomarkers predicting progression and therapeutic response. Full article

Natural convection in enclosures heated from both sides is a topic of interest in various space and safety applications in nuclear power reactors. The transient dynamics during natural convection in enclosures is critically dependent on micro-scaled boundary layers and also the timescales of micromixing. In the present work, a square enclosure operating at two high Rayleigh numbers (Ra = 3.27 × 10¹⁰ and Ra = 6.55 × 10¹⁰, with water as the working fluid) have been chosen for study. First, the velocity and timescales were found using Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) simulations for the square enclosure with Ra 3.27 × 10¹⁰ and compared with scaling laws that presently define them. An empirical correlation for heat transfer is then developed for the Ra range (1.3 × 10¹⁰ < Ra < 6.55 × 10¹⁰). Then, an existing DL framework (Proper Orthogonal Decomposition and Long Short-Term Memory (POD-LSTM)) network) is compared qualitatively and quantitatively with the CFD data. The transient data Ra = 6.55 × 10¹⁰ was chosen for this purpose. The scaling laws show a 30% deviation for the predictions of the transient length and time scales as compared to CFD and DL model predictions. Further, accurate results up to 99.6% have been obtained by the DL model when compared with the CFD model. The DL model is also found to require an order of magnitude less time than the one required for a CFD simulation. Full article

To enable remote and automatic monitoring of the farmland soil information, this paper has developed a soil monitoring system based on the Internet of Things (IoT), which mainly involves the development of a gateway server node, wireless sensor nodes, a remote monitoring platform, and photovoltaic (PV) modules. The Raspberry Pi 5-based gateway server periodically sends data acquisition commands to wireless sensor nodes via LoRa, receives soil data returned by sensor nodes, and stores them in a MySQL database. Using a remote monitoring platform, Internet users can monitor real-time and historical soil data stored in the database. The STM32F103C8T6-based wireless sensor node receives data acquisition commands from the gateway server, uses soil temperature and humidity sensors as well as a pH sensor to collect soil status, and then sends sensor data back to the gateway server via LoRa. The system is powered by both PV energy and batteries, which enhances the endurance capability. Experimental results show that the designed system works well in remotely monitoring soil information. Using the proposed query attempt dynamic adjustment (QADA) method, the wireless sensor node dynamically adjusts the number of query attempts, which reduces the data acquisition failure rate from 21–25% to no more than 0.33%. Using the obtained qualitative relationship that the data acquisition delay varies inversely with the LoRa transfer rate, the data acquisition delay can be reduced to less than 67 ms. Full article

In this work, we developed and characterized a hydroxyapatite (HA) ceramic coating derived from Ucides cordatus crab-shell waste and applied it onto Ti–Al–V titanium substrates for biomedical use. Substrate analysis confirmed an α + β two-phase microstructure and Rockwell C hardness of ~35 HRC; optical emission spectrometry indicated a non-conforming Ti–6Al–4V composition (Al slightly above and V slightly below ASTM F136-18 limits), with expected α-phase predominance. Aqueous synthesis of biogenic HA used CaO (from 800 °C calcined shells) reacted with β-tricalcium phosphate (β-Ca₃(PO₄)₂), followed by deposition onto Ti–Al–V surfaces prepared with or without a thermochemical treatment that homogenized roughness (Ra ≈ 0.587 µm). The coatings were continuous, ~95–98 µm thick, and showed good qualitative adhesion. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) revealed porous, nanocrystalline, acicular morphologies typical of biogenic apatite’s. Energy-Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS) yielded Ca/P ≈ 1.85–1.88, while X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) indicated Ca-enrichment relative to stoichiometric HA. X-ray Diffraction (XRD) confirmed a predominantly hexagonal HA phase with high crystallinity. These results demonstrate a technically and environmentally feasible route to bioactive coatings using marine biowaste, aligning low-cost, local waste valorization with functional performance on titanium implants. Full article

The development of new technologies, improved by advances in artificial intelligence, has enabled the creation of a new generation of applications in different scenarios. In medical systems, adopting AI-driven solutions has brought new possibilities, but their effective impacts still need further investigation. In this context, a chatbot prototype trained with large language models (LLMs) was developed using data from the Santa Catarina Telemedicine and Telehealth System (STT) Dermatology module. The system adapts Llama 3 8B via supervised Fine-tuning with QLoRA on a proprietary, domain-specific dataset (33 input-output pairs). Although it achieved 100% Fluency and 89.74% Coherence, Factual Correctness remained low (43.59%), highlighting the limitations of training LLMs on small datasets. In addition to G-Eval metrics, we conducted expert human validation, encompassing both quantitative and qualitative aspects. This low factual score indicates that a retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) mechanism is essential for robust information retrieval, which we outline as a primary direction for future work. This approach enabled a more in-depth analysis of a real-world telemedicine environment, highlighting both the practical challenges and the benefits of implementing LLMs in complex systems, such as those used in telemedicine. Full article

Studies assessing the long-term effects of brushing with cleaning and disinfecting agents on surface roughness and biofilm accumulation on the three-dimensionally (3D) printed resins remain scarce. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of different solutions and simulated brushing times on the surface roughness and biofilm formation on heat-cured and 3D-printed denture base resins. Discs samples (10 mm × 1.2 mm) were prepared and randomly assigned to brushing treatments using the following solutions: distilled water, disinfectant liquid soap and dentifrice. The specimens (n = 9) were subjected to 10,000, 20,000 and 50,000 cycles to simulate 1, 2 and 5 years of brushing, respectively. The control group consisted of unbrushed samples. Surface roughness (Ra) was measured. Candida albicans biofilm formation was evaluated by counting colony forming units, cellular metabolic activity, and qualitative and quantitative analysis through confocal fluorescence microscopy. A significant increase in roughness was observed in both resins after two years of simulated brushing, mainly with dentifrice. After two years of brushing, an increase in the number of cells and metabolism of C. albicans was observed, in agreement with the fluorescence and biofilm thickness results. Brushing with dentifrice increased the roughness of heat-cured and 3D-printed resins and potentially increased C. albicans biofilm formation. Full article

Purpose: This article evaluated the decline of registered auditors (RAs) and its impact on the future of the assurance industry in South Africa. Auditors play a critical role in ensuring the transparency, trust, and credibility of financial statements. The decrease in the number of registered auditors has become a pressing issue, raising concerns about the assurance industry’s ability to maintain a sufficient number of registered auditors and continue providing assurance services to public and private entities. Methodology: A qualitative Delphi methodology was employed, involving interviews with RAs who are registered with the Independent Regulatory Board for Auditors (IRBA). Eight RAs participated in structured interviews. This approach enabled the researcher to gather expert opinions, identify emerging trends, and explore challenges and opportunities within the audit profession related to the decline of RAs. Main findings: The decline of RAs is straining client demands, increasing workloads, and leading to a shortage of audit firms, which in turn affects audit quality and methodologies. Audit firms struggle to attract and retain talent due to regulatory burdens, economic pressures, and concerns about work–life balance. These pressures have resulted in higher audit fees, increased compliance costs, and more extensive training requirements. Smaller audit firms are especially impacted, with some downscaling their assurance services or exiting the market entirely. Practical implications: This study underscores the pressing need for regulatory bodies, such as the IRBA, to address the challenges faced by audit firms, particularly in terms of compliance and workforce retention. Proactive strategies are required to preserve the quality and accessibility of assurance services. Contribution: This study contributes to the ongoing discourse on the future of the audit profession by offering grounded insights into how the industry might sustain itself amid a declining number of RAs and changing professional dynamics. Full article

Background: This paper examines the human and safety culture factors of the seemingly intractable problem of foreign object retention in surgery. Objectives: It reports selected findings of the FOR-RaM (Foreign Object Retention—Reduction and Mitigation) research project, which sought to discover and understand challenges to Foreign Object Management across surgical and maternity settings in Irish hospitals and to recommend changes to address these challenges. Methods: This paper presents the findings from surgical settings in one hospital site. A qualitative action research study was conducted with a wide range of stakeholders in the study hospital; the qualitative methods included 18 Semi-structured interviews with hospital staff, structured observations in surgical settings and Action Learning Sets to validate the data collected. Result: The results highlight a number of safety culture and human factors considerations which may facilitate or hinder Foreign Object Management, such as (individual and team) Goals, the Processes required for successful Foreign Object Management, Culture, Teamwork, Information Management, and Training. Full article

Traditional map style transfer methods are mostly based on GAN, which are either overly artistic at the expense of conveying information, or insufficiently aesthetic by simply changing the color scheme of the map image. These methods often struggle to balance style transfer with semantic preservation and lack consistency in their transfer effects. In recent years, diffusion models have made significant progress in the field of image processing and have shown great potential in image-style transfer tasks. Inspired by these advances, this paper presents a method for transferring real-world 3D scenes to a cartoon style without the need for additional input condition guidance. The method combines pre-trained LDM with LoRA models to achieve stable and high-quality style infusion. By integrating DDIM Inversion, ControlNet, and MultiDiffusion strategies, it achieves the cartoon style transfer of real-world 3D scenes through initial noise control, detail redrawing, and global coordination. Qualitative and quantitative analyses, as well as user studies, indicate that our method effectively injects a cartoon style while preserving the semantic content of the real-world 3D scene, maintaining a high degree of consistency in style transfer. This paper offers a new perspective for map style transfer. Full article

This article utilises Max-Neef’s Human Scale Development (HSD) framework (1991) to answer two research questions: what impact does government and community-based social protection (SP) have on UK asylum-seeker wellbeing; how are interactions with all forms of SP, both as giver and receiver, supporting or harming the satisfaction of asylum-seekers’ fundamental human needs at this time? The research study utilised a mixed-methods, collaborative, case study design situated within a refugee and asylum-seeker (RAS) support charity in Southwest England. Methods included peer-led Qualitative Impact Protocol interviews, Photovoice, surveys, and staff interviews. Data were subjected to an inductive, bottom-up process on Causal Map software (version 2, Causal Map Ltd., 39 Apsley Rd., Bath BA1 3LP, UK) and the analysis used the HSD framework. We found eight over-arching themes. The four main needs-violators/destroyers of asylum-seeker wellbeing were dehumanisation, unfreedoms, enforced ignorance, and (re)traumatisation, and the four main needs-satisfiers were common humanity, autonomy and resistance, exerting agency through knowledge exchange, and healing. Five policy and practice-focused bridging satisfiers are recommended to help move individual and collective experience from a negative to a positive state in the research population. Policy and practice should be transparent and evidence-based, efficient and equitable, supportive of participation and productivity, trauma-informed, and multi-agency. Full article

This study develops a domain-adaptive multimodal RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) system to improve the accuracy and efficiency of technical question answering based on large-scale structured manuals. Using Hyundai Staria maintenance documents as a case study, we extracted text and images from PDF manuals and constructed QA, RAG, and Multi-Turn datasets to reflect realistic troubleshooting scenarios. To overcome limitations of baseline RAG models, we proposed an enhanced architecture that incorporates sentence-level similarity annotations and parameter-efficient fine-tuning via LoRA (Low-Rank Adaptation) using the bLLossom-8B language model and BAAI-bge-m3 embedding model. Experimental results show that the proposed system achieved improvements of 3.0%p in BERTScore, 3.0%p in cosine similarity, and 18.0%p in ROUGE-L compared to existing RAG systems, with notable gains in image-guided response accuracy. A qualitative evaluation by 20 domain experts yielded an average satisfaction score of 4.4 out of 5. This study presents a practical and extensible AI framework for multimodal document understanding, with broad applicability across automotive, industrial, and defense-related technical documentation. Full article

Background/Objectives: This systematic review analyzed the epidemiologic and macro/microscopic features of manifestations of hypersensitivity reactions with oral and extra-oral involvement in orthodontic patients with fixed (FAs) or removable (RAs) appliances or clear aligners (CAs), and evaluated them based on patient and treatment characteristics to provide clinical recommendations. Methods: The study protocol followed the PRISMA guidelines and was registered on PROSPERO (CRD42024517942). Results: Thirty-one studies were qualitatively assessed and synthetized, involving 858 subjects (114 males and 714 females, 9–49 years old), of whom there were 86 with a history of allergy, and 743 wearing recorded appliances (FAs = 656, FAs and RAs = 81, intra- and extra-oral RAs = 3, CAs = 3), with a mean treatment duration of 21.5 months (6 weeks–40 months). Among 75 reports, 29 (38.67%), describing burning, gingival hyperplasia, erythema, and vesicles, had oral involvement, while 46 (61.33%) had skin, eye, and systemic involvement, with erythema, papules, conjunctival hyperemia, and vertigo. Positive allergy tests concomitant with the manifestations identified nickel 451 times, cobalt 6 times, titanium 5 times, and chromium 4 times. Management included antihistamines or corticosteroids and removing the offending materials, with treatment discontinuation/appliance substitution. Conclusions: Pre-treatment evaluations, including patient histories and allergy testing, are essential to identify potential allergens and select hypoallergenic materials like titanium or ceramic brackets; regular monitoring and early intervention during treatment are crucial to prevent severe outcomes. Full article

The stylistic emulation of historical building facades presents significant challenges for artificial intelligence (AI), particularly for complex and data-scarce styles like Krakow’s Eclecticism. This study aims to develop a methodological framework for a “typological transcoding” of style that moves beyond mere visual mimicry, which is crucial for heritage preservation and urban renewal. The proposed methodology integrates architectural typology with Low-Rank Adaptation (LoRA) for fine-tuning a Stable Diffusion (SD) model. This process involves a typology-guided preparation of a curated dataset (150 images) and precise control of training parameters. The resulting typologically guided LoRA-tuned model demonstrates significant performance improvements over baseline models. Quantitative analysis shows a 24.6% improvement in Fréchet Inception Distance (FID) and a 7.0% improvement in Learned Perceptual Image Patch Similarity (LPIPS). Furthermore, qualitative evaluations by 68 experts confirm superior realism and stylistic accuracy. The findings indicate that this synergy enables data-efficient, typology-grounded stylistic emulation, highlighting AI’s potential as a creative partner for nuanced reinterpretation. However, achieving deeper semantic understanding and robust 3D inference remains an ongoing challenge. Full article