What mechanical and proprioceptive structures are involved in quadriceps stretching? Why is it important for patella travel?

Objective: Ely's, Ober's, and modified Thomas' tests are widely used. Stretching the front thigh involves two layers of tissue: the rectus femoris and its overlying fascia lata (FL). However, to our knowledge, no biomechanical study has analyzed these tests.

ACO-based feature selection and neural network modeling for accurate gamma-radiation based pipeline monitoring in the oil industry.

This work presents a novel technique to improve oil pipeline monitoring capabilities, a vital activity in the oil and gas sector. Using Monte Carlo simulations, the work meticulously records data from a pipeline testing environment with various petroleum products and volume ratios. We apply the presented technique to mix four petroleum products-ethylene glycol, gasoline, crude oil, and gasoil-in different volumetric fractions to precisely determine their volume ratios.

Unique Hyperspectral Response Design Enabled by Periodic Surface Textures in Photodiodes.

The applications of hyperspectral imaging across disciplines such as healthcare, automobiles, forensics, and astronomy are constrained by the requirement for intricate filters and dispersion lenses. By utilization of devices with engineered spectral responses and advanced signal processing techniques, the spectral imaging process can be made more approachable across various fields. We propose a spectral response design method employing photon-trapping surface textures (PTSTs), which eliminates the necessity for external diffraction optics and facilitates system miniaturization.

Measuring volume fractions of a three-phase flow without separation utilizing an approach based on artificial intelligence and capacitive sensors.

Many different kind of fluids in a wide variety of industries exist, such as two-phase and three-phase. Various combinations of them can be expected and gas-oil-water is one of the most common flows. Measuring the volume fraction of phases without separation is vital in many aspects, one of which is financial issues.

Global Cardiovascular Risk and Associated Factors in 2792 French Military and Civilian Aircrew.

Cardiovascular (CV) diseases are a major public health issue, the prevention of which plays a key role in promoting flight safety. However, few studies have looked at the determinants of the overall risk of CV morbidity-mortality within the various aeronautical occupations. A monocentric, observational, cross-sectional study was based on the retrospective data collected during 6 mo at the Toulon Aeromedical Center.

Application of frequency characteristic extraction in increasing the accuracy of X-ray based thickness gauges used for aluminum alloys employing GMDH neural network.

Radiation-based gauges have been widely utilized in the industry as a dependable, non-destructive method of measuring metal layer thickness. It is only possible to trust the conventional radiation thickness meter when the material's composition is known in advance. Thickness measurement errors are to be anticipated in contexts like rolled metal factories, where the real component of the material could diverge greatly from the stated composition.

Pharmacy practice in hospital settings in GCC countries: Pharmacists' medication therapy monitoring activities.

Purpose: Our study aims to provide an overview of medication therapy monitoring practices carried out by pharmacists in hospitals across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.

Methods: This is a cross-sectional questionnaire-based study of hospitals located in the GCC. Questions were adopted from the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) national survey.

Bcl-xL targeting eliminates ageing tumor-promoting neutrophils and inhibits lung tumor growth.

Elevated peripheral blood and tumor-infiltrating neutrophils are often associated with a poor patient prognosis. However, therapeutic strategies to target these cells are difficult to implement due to the life-threatening risk of neutropenia. In a genetically engineered mouse model of lung adenocarcinoma, tumor-associated neutrophils (TAN) demonstrate tumor-supportive capacities and have a prolonged lifespan compared to circulating neutrophils.

High-Matching and Low-Cost Realization of the FHN Neuron Model on Reconfigurable FPGA Board.

The main objectives of neuromorphic engineering are the research, modeling, and implementation of neural functioning in the human brain. We provide a hardware solution that can replicate such a nature-inspired system by merging multiple scientific domains and is based on neural cell processes. This work provides a modified version of the original Fitz-Hugh Nagumo (FHN) neuron using a simple 2 term called Hybrid Piece-Wised Base-2 Model (HPWBM), which accurately reproduces numerous patterns of the original neuron model.

3D Lumerical simulation of silicon photodiodes with microholes for high-speed short-reach intra-datacenter interconnects.

3D simulations are conducted using Lumerical software to study the performance of surface illuminated silicon positive-intrinsic-negative photodiodes with microholes. Drift-diffusion equations are solved including the effects of carrier lifetime due to Shockley-Read-Hall and Auger recombination mechanisms, as well as high field mobility. Lumerical's FDTD tool is used to determine the light absorption in the device.

Intelligent Measuring of the Volume Fraction Considering Temperature Changes and Independent Pressure Variations for a Two-Phase Homogeneous Fluid Using an 8-Electrode Sensor and an ANN.

Two-phase fluids are widely utilized in some industries, such as petrochemical, oil, water, and so on. Each phase, liquid and gas, needs to be measured. The measuring of the void fraction is vital in many industries because there are many two-phase fluids with a wide variety of liquids.

Unique Hyperspectral Response Design in High-Speed Photodetectors Enabled by Periodic Surface Textures.

Engineered spectral response in photodetectors combined with advanced signal processing and deep learning-based image reconstruction enables widespread applications of hyperspectral imaging. These advancements in spectral imaging eliminate the need for complex filters and dispersion lenses, benefiting various fields such as remote sensing, astronomy, agriculture, healthcare, forensics, food quality assessment, environmental monitoring, and cultural heritage preservation. We present a spectral response design method using photon-trapping surface textures (PTSTs) to enable system miniaturization by eliminating the need for external diffraction optics and employing detector-only spectral sensors.

Patterns of Accidental and Intentional Alcohol Intoxication Initiation among French Young Adults: A Survival Analysis.

The aim of the study was to explore patterns of accidental and intentional intoxication among French young adults who use alcohol. The study draws on data from the 2017 French Health Barometer. Cox proportional hazards models were used to explore the factors associated with accidental and intentional alcohol intoxication initiation.

Updated estimation of cutaneous leishmaniasis incubation period in French Guiana.

Background: The cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) incubation period (IP) is defined as the time between parasite inoculation by sandfly bite and the onset of the first CL lesion. IP distribution is difficult to assess for CL because the date of exposure to an infectious bite cannot be accurately determined in endemic areas. IP current estimates for CL range from 14 days to several months with a median around 30-60 days, as established by a few previous studies in both New and Old Worlds.

Design and Fabrication of High-Efficiency, Low-Power, and Low-Leakage Si-Avalanche Photodiodes for Low-Light Sensing.

Since the advent of impact ionization and its application in avalanche photodiodes (APD), numerous application goals have contributed to steady improvements over several decades. The characteristic high operating voltages and the need for thick absorber layers (π-layers) in the Si-APDs pose complicated design and operational challenges in complementary metal oxide semiconductor integration of APDs. In this work, we have designed a sub-10 V operable Si-APD and epitaxially grown the stack on a semiconductor-on-insulator substrate with a submicron thin π-layer, and we fabricated the devices with integrated photon-trapping microholes (PTMH) to enhance photon absorption.

Pharmacy practice in hospital settings in GCC countries: Dispensing and administration.

Purpose: To outline dispensing and administration practices in hospital pharmacy across the Gulf Cooperation Councils (GCC) countries' hospitals. Paucity of data in appraising hospital pharmacy practice in GCC regions motivated us to conduct this study.

Methods: A modified survey questionnaire was prepared from the American Society of Health-System Pharmacist (ASHP) survey questions.

Exploring physicians' prescribing behavior in patients with multiple sclerosis in Saudi Arabia: a sequential explanatory mixed-methods.

Background: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is the most common disabling neurological disease in young adults worldwide with majority of patients manifest symptoms between 20 and 40 years of age. The aims of this study are to explore physicians' perspectives, views, and behaviors in diagnosing and treating patients with MS in Saudi Arabia and investigate the prescribing pattern of disease-modifying therapies (DMTs).

Methods: A sequential explanatory mixed-method approach was used to achieve the study objectives.

Systematic review and meta-analysis of positive long-term effects after intra-articular administration of orthobiologic therapeutics in horses with naturally occurring osteoarthritis.

Equine veterinarians face challenges in treating horses with osteoarthritic joint pain in routine veterinary practice. All common treatment options aim to reduce the clinical consequences of osteoarthritis (OA) characterized by persistent synovitis and progressive degradation of articular cartilage. A range of joint-associated cell types and extracellular matrices are involved in the not yet entirely understood chronic inflammatory process.

Symptoms of Long-COVID 1-Year after a COVID-19 outbreak among sailors on a French aircraft carrier.

Objectives: While persistent symptoms have been reported after the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19), long-term data on outpatients with mild COVID-19 are lacking. The objective was to describe symptoms persisting for 12 months.

Methods: This prospective cohort study on 1767 sailors of an aircraft carrier in which a Covid-19 outbreak occurred during a mission in April 2020 described predefined self-reported symptoms of Long-COVID at 6, 9 and 12 months.

Structural and Functional Characterization of Novel Phosphotyrosine Phosphatase Protein from (Pupal Retina).

A novel pair of protein tyrosine phosphatases in (pupal retina) has been identified. Phosphotyrosyl protein phosphatases (PTPs) are structurally diverse enzymes increasingly recognized as having a fundamental role in cellular processes including effects on metabolism, cell proliferation, and differentiation. This study presents identification of novel sequences of PTPs and their comparative homology modeling from (Dr-PTPs) and complexation with the potent inhibitor HEPES.

A single dose of ciprofloxacin reduces the duration of diarrhea among service members deployed in Africa.

Objectives: To assess the effectiveness of the adjunction of a one-gram single dose of ciprofloxacin to a symptomatic treatment for the early treatment of uncomplicated diarrhea during military operations of the French service members in Africa.

Patients And Methods: This phase IV, multicentric, randomized, open-label, controlled trial was conducted in Chad, Mali, and in Central African Republic. A total of 267 French service members having at least one loose stool in the previous 24 hours were enrolled from May 2015 to June 2016.

The Diagnostic Value of Artificial Intelligence Ultrasound S-Detect Technology for Thyroid Nodules.

This study aimed to evaluate the consistency of ultrasound TI-RADS classification used by sonographers with different ultrasound diagnosis experience in the diagnosis of thyroid nodules and the diagnostic value of using artificial intelligence ultrasound S-Detect technology in the differentiation of benign and malignant thyroid lesions. 100 patients who underwent ultrasound examination of thyroid masses in our hospital from June 2019 to June 2021 and were further punctured or operated on were included in the study. Pathological results were used as the gold standard to evaluate ultrasound S-Detect technology and the value of TI-RADS classification and the combined application of the two in diagnosing benign and malignant thyroid TI-RADS 4 types of nodules, and the consistency of judgments of doctors of different ages is assessed by a Kappa value.

Engineering the gain and bandwidth in avalanche photodetectors.

Avalanche and Single-Photon Avalanche photodetectors (APDs and SPADs) rely on the probability of photogenerated carriers to trigger a multiplication process. Photon penetration depth plays a vital role in this process. In silicon APDs, a significant fraction of the short visible wavelengths is absorbed close to the device surface that is typically highly doped to serve as a contact.

Investigation on the Wilson Neuronal Model: Optimized Approximation and Digital Multiplierless Implementation.

Neuromorphic engineering is an essential science field which incorporates the basic aspects of issues together such as: physics, mathematics, electronics, etc. The primary block in the Central Nervous System (CNS) is neurons that have functional roles such as: receiving, processing, and transmitting data in the brain. This paper presents Wilson Multiplierless Neuron (WMN) model which is a modified version of the original model.