A Multi-Phase Analytical Model for Effective Electrical Conductivity of Polymer Matrix Composites Containing Micro-SiC Whiskers and Nano-Carbon Black Hybrids.

Multifunctional polymer composites containing micro/nano hybrid reinforcements have attracted intensive attention in the field of materials science and engineering. This paper develops a multi-phase analytical model for investigating the effective electrical conductivity of micro-silicon carbide (SiC) whisker/nano-carbon black (CB) polymer composites. First, CB nanoparticles are dispersed within the non-conducting epoxy to achieve a conductive CB-filled nanocomposite and its electrical conductivity is predicted.

Evaluating the Utility of Initial Exams in Retinopathy of Prematurity: Proposal of FIRST-ROP Algorithm for a Medium-Risk Cohort.

Purpose: To assess the utility of the first or second examinations for retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) in a medium-risk cohort of infants and to propose an optimization to the current ROP screening guidelines.

Design: Retrospective consecutive study.

Subjects: Infants screened for ROP between January 2017 and August 2023 at three different tertiary-level care neonatal intensive care units.

Multimodal data-based human motion intention prediction using adaptive hybrid deep learning network for movement challenged person.

Recently, social demands for a good quality of life have increased among the elderly and disabled people. So, biomedical engineers and robotic researchers aimed to fuse these techniques in a novel rehabilitation system. Moreover, these models utilized the biomedical signals acquired from the human body's particular organ, cells, or tissues.

Performance enhancement in hydroponic and soil compound prediction by deep learning techniques.

The soil quality plays a crucial role in providing essential nutrients for crop growth and ensuring a bountiful yield. Identifying the soil composition, which includes sand, silt particles, and the mixture of clay in specific proportions, is vital for making informed decisions about crop selection and managing weed growth. Furthermore, soil pollution from emerging contaminants presents a substantial risk to water resource management and food production.

Frailty integration in medical specialties: Current evidence and suggested strategies from the Clin-STAR frailty interest group.

Frailty is a syndrome that can inform clinical treatments and interventions for older adults. Although implementation of frailty across medical subspecialties has the potential to improve care for the aging population, its uptake has been heterogenous. While frailty assessment is highly integrated into certain medical subspecialties, other subspecialties have only recently begun to consider frailty in the context of patient care.

Area-Level Social Deprivation and Cytomegalovirus Seropositivity at the Time of Solid Organ Transplant.

Importance: Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is associated with significant morbidity and mortality in solid organ transplant (SOT) recipients. The risk factors for CMV seropositivity in SOT recipients, including area-level social deprivation in the US, have not been fully characterized.

Objective: To (1) evaluate CMV seroprevalence, (2) assess the recipient characteristics associated with CMV seropositivity, and (3) assess the association of area-level social deprivation index (SDI) scores with pretransplant CMV serostatus.

Deep learning infused SIRVD model for COVID-19 prediction: XGBoost-SIRVD-LSTM approach.

The global impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, while somewhat contained, remains a critical challenge that has tested the resilience of humanity. Accurate and timely prediction of COVID-19 transmission dynamics and future trends is essential for informed decision-making in public health. Deep learning and mathematical models have emerged as promising tools, yet concerns regarding accuracy persist.

Evaluation of zirconia ceramics fabricated through DLP 3d printing process for dental applications.

Zirconia ceramics are versatile materials with remarkable properties such as a high thermal resistance, high fracture strength, and low thermal conductivity. They are chemically inert and highly wear- and corrosion-resistant, making them ideal for a wide range of applications in the aerospace, automotive, and biomedical fields. In dentistry, zirconia ceramics are used for veneers, crowns, bridges, and implants because of their biocompatibility.

HPA-UNet: A Hybrid Post-Processing Attention U-Net for Tongue Segmentation.

Tongue diagnosis is the kernel method of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), and it has been proved that the condition of the tongue can serve as an indicator of a person's health status. To automatically recognize a person's latent diseases by computer vision technology, getting the tongue segmentation from a picture with high precision has significant importance. However, the precision of tongue segmentation images in most prior methods is not satisfactory, which will inevitably result in misjudging.

Ciprofloxacin versus levofloxacin prophylaxis in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation: A randomized trial.

Objectives: We aimed to assess whether there is a difference between ciprofloxacin and levofloxacin as prophylaxis in hematopoietic stem cell transplant (SCT) recipients.

Methods: This is a prospective, randomized trial in patients receiving SCT at Henry Ford Health in the United States of America. We randomly assigned patients (1:1) to receive ciprofloxacin or levofloxacin.

Hepatitis B transmission/reactivation associated with Hepatitis B core antibody and Hepatitis C nucleic acid testing positive organs: A report from the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network Disease Transmission Advisory Committee.

Background: Better access to direct-acting antiviral (DAA) therapy has broadened the utilization of hepatitis C virus (HCV) nucleic acid testing (NAT) positive organs with excellent outcomes. However, DAA therapy has been associated with hepatitis B virus (HBV) reactivation.

Aim: To determine the risk of HBV transmission or reactivation with utilization of HBV core antibody positive (HBcAb+) and HCV NAT positive (HCV+) organs, which presumably required DAA therapy.

A comprehensive review of navigation systems for visually impaired individuals.

Background: This review explores the evolutionary trajectory of navigation assistance tools tailored for the visually impaired, spanning from traditional aids like white canes to contemporary electronic devices. It underlines their pivotal role in fostering safe mobility for visually impaired individuals.

Objectives: The primary aim is to categorize and assess the plethora of navigation assistance solutions available.

Assessment of consolidative multi-criteria decision making (C-MCDM) algorithms for optimal mapping of polymer materials in additive manufacturing: A case study of orthotic application.

Objective: The objectives of this research are twofold. The primary goal is to introduce, investigate, and contrast consolidative multi-criteria decision-making (C-MCDM) approaches. The second objective is the investigation of five alternative additive manufacturing materials.

EEGDepressionNet: A Novel Self Attention-Based Gated DenseNet With Hybrid Heuristic Adopted Mental Depression Detection Model Using EEG Signals.

World Health Organization (WHO) has identified depression as a significant contributor to global disability, creating a complex thread in both public and private health. Electroencephalogram (EEG) can accurately reveal the working condition of the human brain, and it is considered an effective tool for analyzing depression. However, manual depression detection using EEG signals is time-consuming and tedious.

Influence of induction therapy and antiretroviral regimen on outcomes in kidney transplant recipients living with human immunodeficiency.

Purpose: Kidney transplantation has a survival benefit for people with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and end-stage kidney disease, however increased rates of rejection remain an issue. Questions remain regarding the impact of induction immunosuppression therapy and antiretroviral (ARV) choice on long-term outcomes.

Methods: We performed a multicenter retrospective analysis of outcomes in recipients with HIV who received kidneys from donors without HIV transplanted between 2004 and 2019.

Patient years lost due to cytomegalovirus serostatus mismatching in the scientific registry of transplant recipients.

Background: The cytomegalovirus (CMV) mismatch rate in deceased donor kidney transplant (DDKT) recipients in the US remains above 40%. Since CMV mismatching is common in DDKT recipients, the cumulative effects may be significant in the context of overall patient and graft survival. Our primary objective was to describe the short- and long-term risks associated with high-risk CMV donor positive/recipient negative (D+/R-) mismatching among DDKT recipients with the explicit goal of deriving a mathematical mismatching penalty.

Cytomegalovirus IgG is Associated With Physical Function But Not Muscle Density in People With HIV.

Background: Cytomegalovirus (CMV) seropositivity is associated with poor outcomes, including physical function impairment, in people without HIV. We examined associations between CMV IgG titer and physical function in virologically suppressed people with HIV (PWH).

Methods: REPRIEVE is a double-blind randomized trial evaluating pitavastatin for primary prevention of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease in PWH.

Influence of Mental Training of Attentional Control on Autonomic Arousal Within the Framework of the Temporal Preparation of a Force Task.

While temporal preparation has frequently been examined through the manipulation of foreperiods, the role of force level during temporal preparation remains underexplored. In our study, we propose to manipulate mental training of attentional control in order to shed light on the role of the force level and autonomic nervous system in the temporal preparation of an action. Forty subjects, divided into mental training group (n = 20) and without mental training group (n = 20), participated in this study.

Risk Factors Associated with Cystoid Macular Edema among Patients Undergoing Primary Repair of Rhegmatogenous Retinal Detachment.

Purpose: To investigate predictors of the development and resolution of cystoid macular edema (CME) after rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD) repair.

Design: Retrospective cross sectional study.

Subjects: Patients who underwent primary repair of uncomplicated RRD.

Structural perturbations induced by cumulative action of methylglyoxal and peroxynitrite on human fibrinogen: An in vitro and in silico approach.

Methylglyoxal (MGO); a reducing sugar and a dicarbonyl; attaches to the biomolecules (proteins, lipids, and DNA) leading to glycation and accumulation of oxidative stress in cells and tissues. Superoxide anion formed under such conditions entraps free nitric oxide radical (NO) to form peroxynitrite (PON). Nitro-oxidative stress due to PON is well established.