Search Results (141)

SCALEeat, a self-contained smart food scale, was developed to offer a convenient solution and replace manual logging with on-device recognition and weighing. The device integrated a Raspberry Pi 5, a camera, and a load cell, identifies foods and computes calories, carbohydrates, protein, and fat from measured weight through the Philippine Food Composition Tables (PhilFCT). Using transfer learning, a MobileNetV3-Large model trained on 25 commonly consumed items from ENNS, this achieved a 97.33% top-1 accuracy on a 300-image test set. Deployed on the prototype, SCALEeat achieved 93.60% accuracy, demonstrating practical accuracy and a lower-friction path to routine dietary assessment. Full article

Background: Although magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) provides excellent soft-tissue contrast for most spinal evaluations, computed tomography (CT) is still always required for preoperative planning to assess osseous anatomy and determine surgical device size, increasing the radiation exposure and workflow complexity. CT-like images enable visualization of precise bone morphology without ionizing radiation. In addition, these images often provide CT myelography-like contrasts, allowing the simultaneous depiction of the spinal canal area (SCA). This study aimed to evaluate whether CT-like images provide measurement accuracy equivalent to conventional CT and MRI for pedicle screw planning and spinal canal area assessment. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed paired lumbar CT and MRI datasets obtained within ≤1 month in 51 patients. Pedicle width and length were measured on CT and CT-like images, whereas SCA was measured on T2 weighed-images and CT-like images. A total of 224 vertebrae were analyzed. Annotated images were independently evaluated by two readers in a randomized order. Inter-modality agreement was assessed using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) and a Bland–Altman analysis. Results: CT-like images demonstrated an excellent agreement with CT for pedicle measurements (ICCs: 0.968–0.985 for width; 0.922–0.966 for length). Mean differences were ≤0.1 mm for pedicle width and approximately 1 mm for pedicle length, which are unlikely to affect screw selection. The agreement with T2WI for SCA was good to excellent (ICCs: 0.766–0.945). Conclusions: CT-like images provide comparable performance for quantitative pedicle assessment and show high agreement for SCA evaluation, supporting comprehensive preoperative assessment with a single MRI examination. Full article

Non-invasive monitoring technologies are increasingly being explored to support cancer care, yet most existing approaches focus on isolated parameters and fail to provide a comprehensive view of patients’ health. This study presents a feasibility evaluation of an IoT-based system designed to detect treatment-related problems in oncology patients through the integration of wearable sensors, physiological measurements, and patient-reported outcomes. A monitoring kit, including a smartwatch, tensiometer, weighing scale, and mobile device, was deployed in a cohort of 26 patients undergoing oncological treatment. Data acquisition followed a structured schedule: continuous physiological recording via the smartwatch, daily blood pressure measurements, weekly weight monitoring, and structured surveys capturing treatment-related side effects. These heterogeneous data were transformed into binary clinical metrics using rule-based feature extraction algorithms, covering conditions such as insomnia, nausea, diarrhea, abdominal pain, headache, weight loss, hypertension, and fever. Clinical specialists labeled the dataset to ensure medical validity. Machine Learning models were then trained to analyze the features and generate alerts for potential treatment complications. The results demonstrate the feasibility of integrating IoT and Artificial Intelligence techniques for continuous, patient-centered monitoring in oncology, paving the way for intelligent decision-support systems that enhance early detection and clinical management. Full article

To improve the accuracy of gravimetric liquid hydrogen flow standard devices, the self-weight of the weighing tank must be minimized, because the total mass of the liquid hydrogen contained in the tank is far smaller than the structural mass of the tank itself, which severely compromises the sensitivity of gravimetric measurement. In this study, a three-dimensional finite element model of a vacuum-insulated liquid-hydrogen weighing tank was developed in ABAQUS. The inner and outer shells were modeled with 06Cr19Ni10 (304) and 06Cr17Ni12Mo2 (316) austenitic stainless steels, and Polyamide 6 (PA6) was used for the internal support. Three operating stages were considered: evacuation of the annulus (interlayer pressure reduced from 0.1 MPa to 0 MPa), pre-cooling to −253 °C, and pressurization of the inner tank (internal pressure increased from 0.1 MPa to 1 MPa). The equivalent stress and deformation were compared for different materials and wall thicknesses to evaluate structural safety and weight-reduction potential. The proposed configuration (inner shell 1.6 mm and outer shell 1.0 mm) achieves a mass reduction of more than 50% relative to the 3 mm minimum wall thickness commonly adopted for cryogenic vessels, while keeping stresses below the allowable limits. This reduction enables the use of higher-resolution load cells and thereby lowering the measurement uncertainty of the liquid hydrogen flow standard device and providing technical support for lightweight and cost-effective design, with potential applicability to other cryogenic tank systems. Full article

Miniaturized long-wavelength infrared (LWIR) imaging systems are highly desirable for applications such as portable thermal sensing, unmanned surveillance, and medical diagnostics. Conventional refractive optics in the LWIR regime often require multiple lens configurations to extend depth of field (DoF), leading to increased size, weight, and cost. Although existing LWIR metalenses demonstrate competent capabilities, comprehensive approaches to DoF engineering have yet to be explored. Here, we demonstrate a miniature large-DoF camera using a metalens. The designed metalens features a 14 mm diameter aperture and weighs only 0.8 g while maintaining sharp focus over a working distance ranging from 1 m to 22 m. By leveraging subwavelength phase engineering, the metalens achieves high-resolution imaging with low aberration. The integrated camera exhibits an ultra-compact form factor, i.e., 2.3 cm × 2.3 cm × 1.2 cm (length × width × height) and weighs just 25 g. Experimental results confirm the superior DoF performance, enabling clear imaging across varying distances without mechanical refocusing. The advance provides a promising pathway toward ultra-compact, large-DoF LWIR imaging systems for applications ranging from autonomous vehicles to portable medical diagnostics and miniature surveillance devices. Full article

Background/Objective: The effectiveness of blue-light phototherapy (PT) is mainly dependent on the total dose of light (time under PT and amount of skin exposed) received by infants. The primary aim of this study was the development of a novel, flexible, and stretchable device to provide continuous PT treatment, avoiding temporary interruptions that are often observed in practice, such as during breastfeeding, for example. This study evaluated the biocompatibility of a novel, low-cost blanket equipped with light-emitting diode (LED) lamps designed to maintain therapeutic efficacy while facilitating uninterrupted skin-to-skin contact. Methods: Fourteen New Zealand White rabbits, weighing approximately 2.9 kg and aged 4 months, were randomly assigned to an experimental group (TG, n = 7) or a control group (CG, n = 7). The TG received phototherapy directly on the skin (irradiance: 19.3 [13.0–22.0] µW/cm⁻²/nm⁻¹) during two 12 h sessions over consecutive days, while the CG remained under identical conditions with the device turned off. Biochemical, hematological, dermatological, and histological parameters, as well as rectal and skin temperatures, were assessed. Results: The results showed no differences in clinical appearance or histological analysis of skin tissue between the groups. Blood analysis indicated a reduction in absolute monocyte counts in the TG compared to the CG (p = 0.049), though levels remained within normal ranges. Skin temperature was consistently higher in the TG, except during the initial measurement. Rectal temperatures were similar on the first day but lower in the TG on the second day (mean 40.3 ± 0.21 °C vs. 40.7 ± 0.32 °C; p = 0.039). Conclusions: Temperature levels remained within physiological limits for both groups throughout the study. The device demonstrated biocompatibility and caused no adverse dermatological, hematological, or biochemical effects. Full article

In Paraguay, the genus Manihot is represented by sixteen taxa, six of which are endemic. The study of wild relatives of Manihot has focused on the search for species related to the cultivated variety, with potential for genetic improvement. Manihot takape sp. nov. is a recently described species, so little information is available about its characteristics. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the centesimal composition and morphologically characterize the wild species Manihot takape sp. nov. in order to contribute to the knowledge of the biodiversity of the genus Manihot in Paraguay. The sample was collected in May 2023 in the Boquerón Department, in the Paraguayan Chaco region. The percent composition was determined in freeze-dried samples using the official methods of the Association of Official Analytical Chemists (AOAC); carbohydrates were calculated by difference. For morphological characterization, the weight, length, and diameter of the tubers were measured. The morphology and size of native starch granules were analyzed by means of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) using a ZEISS EVO 15 device (ZEISS, Oberkochen, Germany) with gold plating and high vacuum observation (10,000×). The results showed a high water content (85 g/100 g ± 1) and a low carbohydrate content (20.1 g/100 g ± 0.90), compared to cultivated varieties. Fiber, ash, and protein values were similar to those of other species of the genus. The tubers weighed 110 ± 1 g, measured 6.56 ± 0.31 cm in length, and had a diameter of 5.56 ± 0.12 cm. The starch granules were truncated spherical, with an average size of 12.5 ± 3.0 µm. This study provides valuable information for the conservation and sustainable use of native genetic resources. Full article

Targeted temperature management (TTM), particularly the avoidance of hyperpyrexia, is a cornerstone of intensive care, especially in conditions such as cerebral edema and increased intracranial pressure. Management becomes more complex in pregnancy, where maternal neuroprotection must be weighed against fetal safety. Both invasive and noninvasive methods for temperature control have been described, but evidence regarding their safety in pregnancy remains limited. We present the case of a 24-year-old pregnant woman admitted to the ICU with cerebral edema due to subdural empyema. The Arctic Sun surface cooling system was employed for fever control, with continuous maternal and fetal monitoring. The system effectively maintained normothermia without immediate adverse effects on either the mother or the fetus. However, on the third day of its use, the patient experienced a spontaneous preterm delivery of a stillborn fetus. Although a causal link between surface cooling and preterm labor cannot be established from this single case, the event underscores the need for caution and further investigation. This case highlights both the feasibility and the uncertainties of using advanced TTM devices in critically ill pregnant patients. It emphasizes the importance of multidisciplinary monitoring and the urgent need for evidence-based guidelines to balance maternal benefits with fetal safety. Full article

Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of heated CO₂ and forced-air warming on perioperative temperature in a rabbit model of prolonged pneumoperitoneum. Methods: Thirty-seven New Zealand rabbits, weighing an average of 3.85 kg, were divided into four experimental groups with different warming methods: the control group (CT) underwent unheated pneumoperitoneum (22 °C); another group (HP) underwent pneumoperitoneum with heated CO₂ (36 °C); a third group (FA) underwent unheated pneumoperitoneum but with the use of a forced-air warming device (43 °C) positioned between the animal and the surgical table; and the fourth group of animals (HP + FA) underwent heated pneumoperitoneum with the use of a forced-air warming device. For all animals, the pneumoperitoneum was maintained for 120 min. The animals’ temperature was measured immediately before sedation (I0), at the beginning of insufflation (I1, which was mandatory 60 min after I0), every 15 min during pneumoperitoneum (I2–I9), and 15 min after desufflation (I10). The data were analyzed and compared by Student’s t-test, ANOVA, Pearson’s correlation and linear regression, considering p < 0.05 as significant. Results: There was no difference between the groups regarding weight, temperature at I0, temperature at I1, volume of CO₂ used, or Δt (I0–I1). In all groups, there was a decrease in temperature when comparing the final instants (I9 or I10) with the initial instants (I0 or I1) of the study (p < 0.05). However, the groups that used the forced-air warming (FA and HP + FA) had a smaller decrease in temperature and a higher final temperature, with no difference between these groups. Furthermore, these groups recovered their temperature better after deflation (from I9 to I10). For all groups, a correlation between time and temperature was observed, but in the groups that used a heated mattress, the slope of the linear regression line was smaller. Conclusions: The use of a forced-air warming system (combined or not with the use of heated CO₂) reduced the heat loss during prolonged pneumoperitoneum in a small animal model. This warming method is recommended for preventing hypothermia in laparoscopic surgeries with expected prolonged surgical time. Full article

Acute pulmonary embolism (APE) remains a significant cause of mortality and morbidity despite increasing prophylaxis for deep venous thrombosis (DVT). The IVC filter is a temporary or permanent intravascular device that traps migrating thrombi from their origin in the pelvis or a lower limb into the pulmonary vasculature, thereby preventing significant APE. The current and longstanding indications for placing an IVC filter are in patients with documented lower extremity DVT and acute APE who also have absolute contraindications to anticoagulation or have experienced an acute, hemodynamically unstable APE requiring ventilatory and vasoactive support, with limited cardiovascular reserve. Updated guidelines have led to a significant rise in IVC filter placements for specific therapeutic indications of venous thromboembolism compared to prophylactic use. Meta-analyses show that IVC filter placement is associated with a lower risk of subsequent APE but an increased risk of DVT. However, there appears to be no significant reduction in APE-related mortality and no change in all-cause mortality. Early complications after IVC filter placement typically relate to procedural issues and include bleeding or infection at the venous access site, development of arteriovenous fistulas, accidental arterial puncture, and post-procedural access site hematoma or thrombosis. Additional early complications include IVC filter malposition, incomplete expansion, IVC penetration, or guidewire entrapment. Delayed complications may involve DVT below the filter, IVC occlusion due to the filter, IVC filter migration, fracture of one of the IVC filter components, IVC rupture, or IVC thrombosis. Retrieval of IVC filters by simple, advanced, or open techniques should be considered after weighing the risk-to-benefit for the individual patient. Deployment of the IVC filter remains an important component of interventional APE management within the narrow indications currently proposed. Current guidance recommends that an untethered temporary IVC filter should be placed and retrieved once the contraindication to anticoagulation is resolved. Full article

In this work, a miniaturized, automated, and cost-effective ELISA device is designed and implemented, without the utilization of conventional techniques such as pipetting or microfluidic valve technologies. The device has dimensions of 24 cm × 19 cm × 14 cm and weighs <3 kg. The total hardware cost of the device is estimated to be approximately $1200, which can be further reduced through optimization during scale-up production. Three-dimensional printed disposable parts, including the reagent reservoir disk and the microfluidic connector, have also been developed. IL-6 is used as a model system to demonstrate how the device provides an ELISA measurement. The cost per test is estimated to be <$10. The compactness, automated operation, along with the cost-effectiveness of this ELISA device, makes it suitable for point-of-care applications in resource-limited regions. Full article

Background/Objectives: Hip-level amputees face ambulatory challenges due to the lack of a lower limb and prosthetic hip power. Some hip-level amputees restore mobility by using a prosthesis with hip, knee, and ankle joints. Powered prosthetic joints contain an actuator that provides external flexion-extension moments to assist with movement. Powered knee and powered ankle-foot units are on the market, but no viable powered hip unit is commercially available. This research details the development of a novel powered four-bar prosthetic hip joint that can be integrated into a full-leg prosthesis. Methods: The hip joint design consisted of a four-bar linkage with a harmonic drive DC motor placed in the inferior link and an additional linkage to transfer torque from the motor to the hip center of rotation. Link lengths were determined through engineering optimization. Device strength was demonstrated with force and finite element analysis and with ISO 15032:2000 A100 static compression tests. Walking tests with a wearable hip-knee-ankle-foot prosthesis simulator, containing the novel powered hip, were conducted with three able-bodied participants. Each participant walked back and forth on a level 10 m walkway. Custom hardware and software captured joint angles. Spatiotemporal parameters were determined from video clips processed in the Kinovea software (ver. 0.9.5). Results: The powered hip passed all force and finite element checks and ISO 15032:2000 A100 static compression tests. The participants, weighing 96 ± 2 kg, achieved steady gait at 0.45 ± 0.11 m/s with the powered hip. Participant kinematic gait profiles resembled those seen in transfemoral amputee gait. Some gait asymmetries occurred between the sound and prosthetic legs. No signs of mechanical failure were seen. Most design requirements were met. Areas for powered hip improvement include hip flexion range, mechanical advantage at high hip flexion, and device mass. Conclusions: The novel powered four-bar hip provides safe level-ground walking with a full-leg prosthesis simulator and is viable for future testing with hip-level amputees. Full article

Microplastics (MPs) present in farmland soils, where urban compost has been distributed since 2005, were extracted using a device based on elutriation, a method developed for marine sediments but not yet used in soil. Since (i) fine earth (diameter < 2 mm) is the standard fraction used for soil analysis and (ii) the size of MPs contained in urban compost may exceed that value, MP were recovered from both the entire soil and fine earth. The recovered MPs pieces were weighed, counted, and characterized using FTIR photoacoustic spectroscopy (FTIR-PAS). Both the mass and number of recovered MPs pieces (>34 µm) were comparable to those reported in the literature for soils. Polystyrene, polyethylene, and polypropylene are the primary polymers. Nevertheless, some issues were highlighted: (i) the importance of sampling the soil by volume, and (ii) the need of analyzing the entire soil sample rather than just the fraction below 2 mm, commonly used in soil analysis; (iii) the necessity of breaking up (i.e., by ultrasonication and/or dispersion) soil aggregates that may withstand the elutriation process. Full article

This report analyzes the different standard methods of quantity measurement, which, when applied in the processes of receiving and transferring fuel quantities, lead to discrepancies and accounting losses. Three main factors contribute to these discrepancies: unavoidable errors of measuring devices (calibration uncertainty ranging from 0.1 to 0.5% at best), systematic errors due to non-applied corrections during transactions, and systematic errors due to different regulations, which result in inconsistent conversion rules applied throughout the entire purchase-production-sales chain. Modeling of air buoyancy effects showed that neglecting buoyancy correction can lead to measurable and economically significant discrepancies, especially in large-scale operations. The mass of light petroleum products can be underestimated by up to 0.15%, potentially resulting in approximately $3 million in annual financial losses for a medium-sized refinery processing 10,000 tonnes per day. These findings underscore the necessity of applying buoyancy corrections for conventional weighing, especially for liquid petroleum products (LPP) measured in open systems. Conversely, for LPG weighed in closed, pressurized containers, a constant correction factor (0.99985) applies, but its economic impact is negligible. Therefore, the study recommends omitting this LPG correction unless contractually required, to streamline processes and reduce complexity. Achieving result comparability throughout the entire petroleum supply chain requires implementing uniform quantity calculation provisions using calibrated instruments and standardized methods under different conditions. This necessitates that all measurement results are traceable to reference conditions (mass in vacuum, volume at +15 °C). The proposed algorithms for oil mass and volume measurement and recalculation highlight the need for unified international regulations and a robust system. Full article

With the rise of deep learning technology, intelligent garbage detection provides a new idea for garbage classification management. However, due to the interference of complex environments, coupled with the influence of the irregular features of garbage, garbage detection in complex scenarios still faces significant challenges. Moreover, some of the existing research suffer from shortcomings in either their precision or real-time performance, particularly when applied to complex garbage detection scenarios. Therefore, this paper proposes a model based on YOLOv8, namely HGCS-Det, for detecting garbage in complex scenarios. The HGCS-Det model is designed as follows: Firstly, the normalization attention module is introduced to calibrate the model’s attention to targets and to suppress the environmental noise interference information. Additionally, to weigh the attention-feature contributions, an Attention Feature Fusion module is employed to complement the attention weights of each channel. Subsequently, an Instance Boundary Reinforcement module is established to capture the fine-grained features of garbage by combining strong gradient information with semantic information. Finally, the Slide Loss function is applied to dynamically weight hard samples arising from the complex detection environments to improve the recognition accuracy of hard samples. With only a slight increase in parameters (3.02M), HGCS-Det achieves a 93.6% mean average precision (mAP) and 86 FPS on the public HGI30 dataset, which is a 3.33% higher mAP value than from YOLOv12, and outperforms the state-of-the-art (SOTA) methods in both efficiency and applicability. Notably, HGCS-Det maintains a lightweight architecture while enhancing the detection accuracy, enabling real-time performance even in resource-constrained environments. These characteristics significantly improve its practical applicability, making the model well suited for deployment in embedded devices and real-world garbage classification systems. This method can serve as a valuable technical reference for the engineering application of garbage classification. Full article