Search Results (133)

Background/Objectives: Pain management during minor surgical procedures in wound care across various etiologies is often underestimated in daily clinical practice. Pharmacotherapy remains the most effective and efficient method for pain reduction. However, growing concerns regarding the side effects of traditional analgesics and distressing psychosomatic experiences highlight the need for innovative non-pharmacological pain management strategies. The use of virtual reality (VR) has been suggested as a potential method to alleviate pain during medical procedures. The aim of this study was to assess the feasibility of virtual reality as a non-pharmacological approach to pain reduction during the debridement and dressing of hard-to-heal vascular wounds. Methods: This prospective observational study included a cohort of 100 patients who were consulted and treated at a specialized wound care clinic in the Podkarpacie region, Poland. Participant selection was based on predefined inclusion criteria. Patients were assigned to two groups: Group A, in which VR goggles were used, and Group B, in which standard care without VR was provided. All wounds were pre-treated with Lignocaine 2% gel for approximately 3–5 min before tissue debridement. Pain intensity was measured before the procedure, during the procedure, and 10 min after completion. A structured research questionnaire was used for data collection, consisting of two parts: sociodemographic data, functional assessment, wound characteristics, clinical scales, and the Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) for pain assessment before, during, and after the procedure. Results: A total of 100 participants voluntarily took part in the study, of whom 49.0% (n = 49) were male and 51.0% (n = 51) were female. The age of participants ranged from 43 to 89 years, with a mean age of 68.02 ± 10.0 years. A statistically significant difference in pain perception was observed between the pre-procedure and intra-procedure phases of wound debridement. The average pain increase in the Group with VR was lower than in the Group without VR (p = 0.006, effect size = 0.32). Conclusion: Pain occurrence and intensity during wound debridement are common challenges in clinical practice. The visual perception of a bleeding and treated wound may contribute to the psychogenic pain component. Virtual reality may serve as a simple adjunctive method to medical procedures by diverting attention away from surgical interventions. Further research, including psychological aspects of non-pharmacological pain management, is necessary in the context of wound care prevention and treatment. Full article

In this paper, a compact multi-split-ring resonator-based antenna is presented for wireless applications. The proposed antenna integrates multiple resonators to achieve multiband operation, where each resonator corresponds to a specific frequency band. A theoretical analysis is conducted to model the equivalent circuit of the proposed antenna, followed by an analytical study to calculate the resonant frequency of each resonator. By integrating these resonators, the proposed antenna achieves a compact size of 23 × 24 × 1.6 mm³ (0.19 × 0.2 × 0.01λ³), resulting in a size reduction of 81.6% compared to a conventional patch antenna, while maintaining gain, improving bandwidth, and providing excellent impedance matching. The proposed antenna covers the 2.4–2.8 GHz (14.55%), 3.25–3.75 GHz (14.28%) and 4.5–7.84 GHz (54.13%) frequency bands, providing acceptable gains of 1.5 dBi, 2 dBi and 3.2 dBi, respectively. The antenna was designed with CST, its performance was verified with HFSS simulations and it was validated with an equivalent circuit in ADS. Finally, the antenna was fabricated to confirm the accuracy and reliability of the simulation results, and it was found that the measurements agreed well with the simulations. This multiband functionality, combined with a compact form factor and simple feed line, makes the antenna cost-effective, easy to manufacture and suitable for various wireless communication applications, including 5G sub-6 GHz mid-band (2.5/3.5/5/5 GHz), RFID (2.45/5.8 GHz), WiMAX (2.4/3.5/5.8 GHz), Wi-Fi 5/6/6E (2.4/5/6 GHz) and WLAN (5.2/5.8 GHz). Full article

A common and simple estimate of variability is the sample range, which is the difference between the maximum and minimum values in the sample. While other measures of variability are preferred in most instances, process owners and operators regularly use range (R) control charts to monitor process variability. The center line and limits of the R charts use constants that are based on the first two moments (mean and variance) of the distribution of the range of normal random variables. Historically, the computation of moments requires the use of tabulated constants approximated using numerical integration. We provide exact results for the moments for sample sizes 2 through 5. For sample sizes from 6 to 1000, we used the differential correction method to find Chebyshev minimax rational-function approximations of the moments. The rational function we recommend for the mean (R-chart constant d₂) has a polynomial of order two in the numerator and six in the denominator and achieves a maximum error of 4.4 × 10⁻⁶. The function for the standard deviation (R-chart constant d₃) has a polynomial of order two in the numerator and seven in the denominator and achieves a maximum error of 1.5 × 10⁻⁵. The exact and approximate expressions eliminate the need for table lookup in the control chart design phase. Full article

Background/Objectives: We aimed to determine the reliability of simple ultrasound (US) markers and CA-125 measurements in diagnosing peri- and postmenopausal ovarian masses. Methods: The study was conducted in a retrospective setting. The preoperative imaging properties of peri- (PEM) and postmenopausal (POM) ovarian cysts were examined. Based on ultrasound findings, lesions were categorized as either (1) simple cysts, defined as unilocular, anechoic structures without solid components, or (2) complex cysts, characterized by any deviation from this morphology. Imaging characteristics, mass size, and demographic data were matched with histology and CA125 levels. Results: In total, 379 cystic structures (PEM: N = 195, average age: 45.6 years; range: 40–54 years, POM: N = 184, average age 61.2 years; range: 41–88 years) were analyzed. In the PEM group, there were 75 simple (Ø < 5 cm N = 32, Ø ≥ 5 cm N = 43) and 122 complex cysts (Ø < 5 cm N = 29, Ø ≥ 5 cm, N = 93), while in the POM group, 49 simple (Ø < 5 cm N = 9, Ø ≥ 5 cm N = 40) and 135 complex cysts (Ø < 5 cm N = 15, Ø ≥ 5 cm N = 120) were found. In the PEM group, malignancy was detected in complex cysts larger than 5 cm (N = 16, 17.58%). In the POM group, malignancy was present in 40 cases, and 3 of them proved to be smaller than 5 cm. The majority of cysts were functional (54.36%) in the PEM group. In the POM group, serous cysts were the most frequent (38.04%), followed by malignant (21.74%) and mucinous cysts (13.04%). CA125 was elevated in 66 of 217 cases (30.41%); only 23 were malignant (NPV: 0.95, PPV: 0.35). Conclusions: Functional cysts are frequently found among perimenopausal ovarian cysts, with malignancy occurring exclusively in complex cysts exceeding 5 cm in diameter. However, complex cysts of any size carry a significant risk of malignancy in menopause, thus, surgery is recommended. Simple cysts can be followed by serial scans in both groups. CA-125 does not give added value to the detection of malignancy in perimenopausal patients. However, in postmenopausal complex morphology cysts larger than 5 cm, it may give added value to the suspicion of malignancy. Full article

We study the thermodynamic properties of the generalized non-convex multispecies Curie–Weiss model, where interactions among different types of particles (forming the species) are encoded in a generic matrix. For spins with a generic prior distribution, we compute the thermodynamic limit of the generating functional for the moments of the Boltzmann–Gibbs measure using simple interpolation techniques. For Ising spins, we further analyze the fluctuations of the magnetization in the thermodynamic limit under the Boltzmann–Gibbs measure. It is shown that a central limit theorem (CLT) holds for a rescaled and centered vector of species magnetizations, which converges to either a centered or non-centered multivariate normal distribution, depending on the rate of convergence of the relative sizes of the species. Full article

Reconstituted high-density lipoprotein nanoparticles (NPs), which mimic the structure and function of endogenous human plasma HDL, hold promise as a robust drug delivery system. These nanoparticles, when loaded with appropriate agents, serve as powerful tools for targeted drug delivery. The fundamental challenge lies in controlling and estimating the actual drug load and the efficiency of drug release at the target. In this report, we present a novel approach based on enhanced Förster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) to assess particle load and monitor payload release. The NPs are labeled with donor molecules embedded in the lipid phase, while the spherical core volume is filled with acceptor molecules. Highly enhanced FRET efficiency to multiple acceptors in the NP core has been observed at distances significantly larger than the characteristic Förster distance (R₀). To confirm that the observed changes in donor and acceptor emissions are a result of FRET, we developed a theoretical model for nonradiative energy transfer from a single donor to multiple acceptors enclosed in a spherical core volume. The load-dependent shortening of the fluorescence lifetime of the donor correlated with the presence of a negative component in the intensity decay of the acceptor clearly demonstrates that FRET can occur at a large distance comparable to the nanoparticle size (over 100 Å). Comparison of theoretical simulations with the measured intensity decays of the donor and acceptor fluorophores constitute a new method for evaluating particle load. The observed FRET efficiency depends on the number of acceptors in the core, providing a simple way to estimate the nanoparticle load efficiency. Particle disintegration and load release result in a distinct change in donor and acceptor emissions. This approach constitutes a novel strategy for assessing NP core load, monitoring NP integrity, and evaluating payload release efficiency to target cells. Significants: In the last decade, nanoparticles have emerged as a promising strategy for targeted drug delivery, with applications ranging from cancer therapy to ocular neurodegenerative disease treatments. Despite their potential, a significant issue has been the real-time monitoring of these drug delivery vehicles within biological systems. Effective strategies for monitoring NP payload loading, NP integrity, and payload release are needed to assess the quality of new drug delivery systems. In our study, we have found that FRET-enabled NPs function as an improved method for monitoring these aspects currently missing from current drug delivery efforts. Full article

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is associated with mitochondrial dysfunction, but studies demonstrating the efficacy of treatments are scarce. We sought to determine whether a mitochondrial-targeted dietary supplement designed for children with ASD improved mitochondrial function and ASD symptomatology using a double-blind placebo-controlled cross-over design. Sixteen children [mean age 9 years 4 months; 88% male] with non-syndromic ASD and mitochondrial enzyme abnormalities, as measured by MitoSwab (Religen, Plymouth Meeting, PA, USA), received weight-adjusted SpectrumNeeds^® (NeuroNeeds, Old Lyme, CT, USA) and QNeeds^® (NeuroNeeds, Old Lyme, CT, USA) and placebos matched on taste, texture and appearance during two separate 12-week blocks. Which product was received first was randomized. The treatment significantly normalized citrate synthase and complex IV activity as measured by the MitoSwab. Mitochondrial respiration of peripheral blood mononuclear cell respiration, as measured by the Seahorse XFe96 (Agilent, Santa Clara, CA, USA) with the mitochondrial oxidative stress test, became more resilient to oxidative stress after the treatment, particularly in children with poor neurodevelopment. The mitochondrial supplement demonstrated significant improvement in standardized parent-rated scales in neurodevelopment, social withdrawal, and hyperactivity with large effect sizes (Cohen’s d’ = 0.77–1.25), while changes measured by the clinical and psychometric instruments were not significantly different. Adverse effects were minimal. This small study on children with ASD and mitochondrial abnormalities demonstrates that a simple, well-tolerated mitochondrial-targeted dietary supplement can improve mitochondrial physiology and ASD symptoms. Further larger controlled studies need to verify and extend these findings. These findings are significant as children with ASD have few other effective treatments. Full article

Depression and anxiety are two common mental health issues that require serious attention, as they have significant impacts on human well-being, with both being emotionally and physically reflected in the increasing number of suicide cases globally. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that about 322 million people around the world experienced mental illnesses in 2017, and this number continues to increase. Cortisol is a major stress-controlled hormone that is regulated by the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis. The HPA axis has three main components, including the hypothalamus, pituitary gland, and adrenal gland, where cortisol, the primary stress hormone, is released. It plays crucial roles in responding to stress, energy balance, and the immune system. The cortisol level in the bloodstream usually increases when stress develops. Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) have been highlighted in terms of creating artificial bioreceptors by mimicking the shape of detected biomolecules, making natural bioreceptor molecules no longer required. MIPs can overcome the limitations of chemicals and physical properties reducing over time and the short-time shelf life of natural bioreceptors. MIPs’ benefits are reflected in their ease of use, high sensitivity, high specificity, reusability, durability, and the lack of requirement for complicated sample preparation before use. Moreover, MIPs incur low costs in manufacturing, giving them a favorable budget for the market with simple utilization. MIPs can be formulated by only three key steps, including formation, the polymerization of functional monomers, and the creation of three-dimensional cavities mimicking the shape and size of targeting molecules. MIPs have a high potential as biosensors, especially working as bioanalytics for protein, anti-body, antigen, or bacteria detection. Herein, this research proposes an MIP-based cortisol biosensor in which cortisol is imprinted on methyl methacrylate (MMA) and methacrylic acid (MAA) produced by UV polymerization. This MIP-based biosensor may be an alternative method with which to detect and monitor the levels of hormones in biological samples such as serum, saliva, or urine due to its rapid detection ability, which would be of benefit for diagnosing depression and anxiety and prescribing treatment. In this study, quantitative detection was performed using an electrochemical technique to measure the changes in electrical signals in different concentrations of a cortisol solution ranging from 0.1 to 1000 pg/mL. The MIP-based biosensor, as derived by calculation, achieved its best detection limit of 1.035 pg/mL with a gold electrode. Tests were also performed on molecules with a similar molecular structure, including Medroxyprogesterone acetate and drospirenone, to ensure the sensitivity and accuracy of the sensors, demonstrating a low sensitivity and low linear response. Full article

Evidence is presented for dark energy resulting directly from star formation. A survey of stellar mass density measurements, SMD(a), as a function of universe scale size a, was found to be described by a simple CPL w₀ − w_a parameterisation that was in good agreement with the dark energy results of Planck 2018, Pantheon+ 2022, the Dark Energy Survey 2024, and the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument 2024. The best-fit CPL values found were w₀ = −0.90 and w_a = −1.49 for SMD(a), and w₀ = −0.94 and w_a = −0.76 for SMD(a)^0.5, corresponding with, respectively, good and very good agreement with all dark energy results. The preference for SMD(a)^0.5 suggests that it is the temperature of astrophysical objects that determines the dark energy density. The equivalent energy of the information/entropy of gas and plasma heated by star and structure formations is proportional to temperature, and is then a possible candidate for such a dark energy source. Information dark energy is also capable of resolving many of the problems and tensions of ΛCDM, including the cosmological constant problem, the cosmological coincidence problem, and the H₀ and σ₈ tensions, and may account for some effects previously attributed to dark matter. Full article

We propose a new commercial laser triangulation sensor modification to enable the measurement of slots or bores side distance. The study showed the possibility of extending the sensor depth range for a slot or bore side distance measurement using a bypass of the illumination laser beam compared to a simple single mirror attachment to the sensor probe. We derived relations allowing for evaluation of the modified sensor side measurement range in desired depth based on the sensor parameters and the reflective mirror size and position. We demonstrated the functionality of the proposed measurement arrangement with an attachment to the commercial laser triangulation sensor and assessed the side-wall distance measurement. The results show the correct measurement depth and range prediction and the ability to perform side surface distance measurements at depths of more than 3.5 times the slot size. Full article

Background/Objectives: The Star Excursion Balance Test (SEBT) is a simple and feasible tool for assessing dynamic balance in individuals with knee osteoarthritis (KOA). It has an advantage as it replicates dynamic balance better than other static balance tools. This study aims to determine how reliable SEBT is among people with end-stage KOA, as well as how responsive it is and how well it correlates with performance-based outcome measures after TKA. Methods: Patients on the waiting list for TKA performed SEBT in the anterior, posteromedial and posteriorlateral directions twice within 7 days. The measurements were repeated 6 and 12 months after TKA. The participants completed performance-based outcome measurements (PBOMs) and the Oxford Knee Score (OKS) before and after TKA to estimate correlation. Results: In all directions, the intraclass correlation coefficient range (ICC) was 0.998–0.993, and there were no significant differences between the test and re-test mean SEBT scores. The standard error of measurement (SEM) ranged from 0.37% to 0.68%, and the minimum detectable change (MDC) ranged from 1.02% to 1.89%. The post TKA SEBT results show significant improvement, with a large effect size. There were large-to-medium correlations between SEBT and PBOMs before and after TKA, while OKS correlated only before surgery. The magnitude of change in SEBT, PBOMs and OKS did not correlate. Conclusions: SEBT is an extremely reliable tool for assessing dynamic balance in all three directions of severe KOA patients. It is sensitive enough to detect balance changes at 6 and 12 months post TKA. SEBT cannot be used to reflect the change in functional outcome improvement after TKA. Full article

Functional size measures are widely used for estimating software development effort. After the introduction of Function Points, a few “simplified” measures have been proposed, aiming to make measurement simpler and applicable when fully detailed software specifications are not yet available. However, some practitioners believe that, when considering “complex” projects, traditional Function Point measures support more accurate estimates than simpler functional size measures, which do not account for greater-than-average complexity. In this paper, we aim to produce evidence that confirms or disproves such a belief via an empirical study that separately analyzes projects that involved developments from scratch and extensions and modifications of existing software. Our analysis shows that there is no evidence that traditional Function Points are generally better at estimating more complex projects than simpler measures, although some differences appear in specific conditions. Another result of this study is that functional size metrics—both traditional and simplified—do not seem to effectively account for software complexity, as estimation accuracy decreases with increasing complexity, regardless of the functional size metric used. To improve effort estimation, researchers should look for a way of measuring software complexity that can be used in effort models together with (traditional or simplified) functional size measures. Full article

Modeling water flow and contaminant transport in the unsaturated zone is a difficult task that relies heavily on good hydrodynamic soil characterization. This article presents a complementarity between experimentation, direct modeling and inverse modeling in order to provide a better estimate of the hydrodynamic parameters of stratified alluvial soil in the El Haouareb region of the Kairouane plain in Tunisia. A field sampling campaign was carried out. The samples collected underwent particle size analysis, bulk density measurements and infiltration tests using a mini-Muntz. In parallel, simple evaporation tests were applied to separate strata. In addition, a 2 m soil column was reconstituted and fitted with sensors to monitor water content, tension, temperature and electrical conductivity. An internal drainage test was performed on this monolith. Three methods were applied using experimental data to estimate soil hydrodynamic parameters. In the first method, pedotransfer functions were used (Rosetta platform) based on granulometric results and bulk density. In the second, water tension and water content monitored during the simple evaporation test were used to plot the soil–water retention curve (SWRC) using SWRC-Fit. In the third method, inverse modeling was applied to the internal drainage test. A comparison of the results showed that the inverse method had the lowest RMSE. Uncertainty analysis has been implemented for both the experimental and numerical set up. Full article

The increasing complexity of modern networks and their evolving needs demand flexible, high-performance packet processing solutions. The P4 language excels in specifying packet processing in software-defined networks (SDNs). Field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) are ideal for P4-based packet parsers due to their reconfigurability and ability to handle data transmitted at high speed. This paper introduces three FPGA-based P4-programmable packet parsing architectural designs that translate P4 specifications into adaptable hardware implementations called base, overlay, and pipeline, each optimized for different packet parsing performance. As modern network infrastructures evolve, the need for multi-tenant environments becomes increasingly critical. Multi-tenancy allows multiple independent users or organizations to share the same physical network resources while maintaining isolation and customized configurations. The rise of 5G and cloud computing has accelerated the demand for network slicing and virtualization technologies, enabling efficient resource allocation and management for multiple tenants. By leveraging P4-programmable packet parsers on FPGAs, our framework addresses these challenges by providing flexible and scalable solutions for multi-tenant network environments. The base parser offers a simple design for essential packet parsing, using minimal resources for high-speed processing. The overlay parser extends the base design for parallel processing, supporting various bus sizes and throughputs. The pipeline parser boosts throughput by segmenting parsing into multiple stages. The efficiency of the proposed approaches is evaluated through detailed resource consumption metrics measured on an Alveo U280 board, demonstrating throughputs of 15.2 Gb/s for the base design, 15.2 Gb/s to 64.42 Gb/s for the overlay design, and up to 282 Gb/s for the pipelined design. These results demonstrate a range of high performances across varying throughput requirements. The proposed approach utilizes a system that ensures low latency and high throughput that yields streaming packet parsers directly from P4 programs, supporting parsing graphs with up to seven transitioning nodes and four connections between nodes. The functionality of the parsers was tested on enterprise networks, a firewall, and a 5G Access Gateway Function graph. Full article

Depth image has been widely involved in various tasks of 3D systems with the advancement of depth acquisition sensors in recent years. Depth images suffer from serious distortions near object boundaries due to the limitations of depth sensors or estimation methods. In this paper, a simple method is proposed to rectify the erroneous object boundaries of depth images with the guidance of reference RGB images. First, an RGB–Depth boundary inconsistency model is developed to measure whether collocated pixels in depth and RGB images belong to the same object. The model extracts the structures of RGB and depth images, respectively, by Gaussian functions. The inconsistency of two collocated pixels is then statistically determined inside large-sized local windows. In this way, pixels near object boundaries of depth images are identified to be erroneous when they are inconsistent with collocated ones in RGB images. Second, a depth image rectification method is proposed by embedding the model into a simple weighted mean filter (WMF). Experiment results on two datasets verify that the proposed method well improves the RMSE and SSIM of depth images by 2.556 and 0.028, respectively, compared with recent optimization-based and learning-based methods. Full article