Perineal deformation during forceps, vacuum and OdonAssist™ assisted vaginal deliveries: A simulation study based on advanced image processing.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to analyse influence of the fetal head position and the type of instrument used (forceps, vacuum, OdonAssist™) on perineal deformation, during simulated vaginal deliveries monitored by stereophotogrammetry.

Methods: An exploratory study was conducted using mannequins simulating vaginal births. Fifty simulated deliveries were performed with different fetal head positions and instruments: Pajot's forceps, Kiwi-vacuum, and OdonAssist™.

Multiscale Elastic Modulus Characterization of TiFeMn, an Iron-Titanium-Manganese Alloy Dedicated to Hydrogen Storage.

Hydrogen storage in intermetallic compounds, known as solid-state storage, relies on a phase change by the metal alloy. This phenomenon causes a violent change in volume at the crystalline scale, inducing a change of volume for the millimetric particles and, with time, important stresses on the tanks. It is thus necessary to know the mechanical behavior of the material to report these phenomena and improve the tanks' reliability.

Multicriteria assessment of optical coherence tomography using non-raster trajectories.

This article presents a qualitative, quantitative, and experimental analysis of optical coherence tomography (OCT) volumes obtained using different families of non-raster trajectories. We propose a multicriteria analysis to be used in the assessment of scan trajectories used in obtaining OCT volumetric point cloud data. The novel criteria includes exploitation/exploration ratio of the OCT data obtained, smoothness of the scan trajectory and fast preview of the acquired OCT data in addition to conventional criteria; time and quality (expressed as volume similarity rather than slice-by-slice image quality).

Standing Solitons Tuned by Impurities in Damped Nonlinear Lattices under External Excitation.

Periodic chains of nonlinear oscillators are known to support solitonic solutions within a specific range of physical parameters when damping effect is considered. This Letter investigates the dynamics of stationary solitons in damped nonlinear lattices under external excitation, focusing on the influence of impurities related to the natural frequency of the oscillators. We demonstrate experimentally and numerically that incorporating impurities into externally driven periodic lattices can expand the solitonic stability diagram under high-damping areas and near the Hopf bifurcation of periodic structures.

Influence of experimental conditions on some in-vitro biomechanical properties of the sow's perineum.

The aim of this work was to develop an experimental protocol that takes into account the influence of experimental conditions on these perineal tissues, before determining their mechanical properties. Samples of each perineal tissue layer were obtained from the skin, the vagina, the external anal sphincter (EAS), the internal anal sphincter (IAS) and anal mucosa of freshly dead sows. They were tested in quasi-static uniaxial tension using the Mach-1 testing machine.

Emotional contagion to vocal smile revealed by combined pupil reactivity and motor resonance.

The interplay between the different components of emotional contagion (i.e. emotional state and facial motor resonance), both during implicit and explicit appraisal of emotion, remains controversial.

Clinical practices in the management and follow-up of obstetric anal sphincter injuries: a comprehensive review.

Objectives: To review and compare existing guidelines on the intrapartum management and postpartum follow-up of obstetric anal sphincter injuries (OASIS) METHODS: We conducted a systematic review of clinical guidelines related to OASIS management, focusing on intrapartum care and postpartum follow-up. Searches were performed in July 2024 across multiple databases, including PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library. Guidelines published after 2010 in English were included.

Digestate Improves Stinging Nettle () Growth and Fiber Production at a Chlor-Alkali Site.

Marginal lands have been proposed to produce non-food crop biomass for energy or green materials. For this purpose, the selection, implementation, and growth optimization of plant species on such lands are key elements to investigate to achieve relevant plant yields. Stinging nettle () is a herbaceous perennial that grows spontaneously on contaminated lands and was described as suitable to produce fibers for material applications.

Midterm complications after primary obstetrical anal sphincter injury repair in France.

Background: Incidence of complications following obstetrical anal sphincter injury (OASI) during vaginal delivery are poorly defined. They are only studied in high level maternities, small cohorts, all stages of perineal tear or in low-income countries. The aim of our study was to describe complications after primary OASI repair following a vaginal delivery in all French maternity wards at short and midterm and to assess factors associated with complication occurrence.

Automation of Wilms' tumor segmentation by artificial intelligence.

Background: 3D reconstruction of Wilms' tumor provides several advantages but are not systematically performed because manual segmentation is extremely time-consuming. The objective of our study was to develop an artificial intelligence tool to automate the segmentation of tumors and kidneys in children.

Methods: A manual segmentation was carried out by two experts on 14 CT scans.

Electro-Mechanical Characterization and Modeling of a Broadband Piezoelectric Microgenerator Based on Lithium Niobate.

Vibration energy harvesting based on piezoelectric transducers is an attractive choice to replace single-use batteries in powering Wireless Sensor Nodes (WSNs). As of today, their widespread application is hindered due to low operational bandwidth and the conventional use of lead-based materials. The Restriction of Hazardous Substances legislation (RoHS) implemented in the European Union restricts the use of lead-based piezoelectric materials in future electronic devices.

Impact of white noise in artificial neural networks trained for classification: Performance and noise mitigation strategies.

In recent years, the hardware implementation of neural networks, leveraging physical coupling and analog neurons has substantially increased in relevance. Such nonlinear and complex physical networks provide significant advantages in speed and energy efficiency, but are potentially susceptible to internal noise when compared to digital emulations of such networks. In this work, we consider how additive and multiplicative Gaussian white noise on the neuronal level can affect the accuracy of the network when applied for specific tasks and including a softmax function in the readout layer.

In vitro biomechanical properties of porcine perineal tissues to better understand human perineal tears during delivery.

Introduction: Data concerning the mechanical properties of the perineum during delivery are very limited. In vivo experiments raise ethical issues. The aim of the study was to describe some of the biomechanical properties of each perineal tissue layer collected from sows in order to better understand perineal tears during childbirth.

LiNbO Thin Films through a Sol-Gel/Spin-Coating Approach Using a Novel Heterobimetallic Lithium-Niobium Precursor.

Lithium niobate is a lead-free material which has attracted considerable attention due to its excellent optical, piezoelectric, and ferroelectric properties. This research is devoted to the synthesis through an innovative sol-gel/spin-coating approach of polycrystalline LiNbO films on Si substrates. A novel single-source hetero-bimetallic precursor containing lithium and niobium was synthesized and applied to the sol-gel synthesis.

Machine learning solutions for renewable energy systems: Applications, challenges, limitations, and future directions.

The Paris Agreement, a landmark international treaty signed in 2016 to limit global warming to 2°C, has urged researchers to explore various strategies for achieving its ambitious goals. While Renewable Energy (RE) innovation holds promise, it alone may not be sufficient as critical deadlines approach. This field of research presents numerous challenges, foremost among them being the costliness of materials involved.

Advancements and Challenges in Handwritten Text Recognition: A Comprehensive Survey.

Handwritten Text Recognition (HTR) is essential for digitizing historical documents in different kinds of archives. In this study, we introduce a hybrid form archive written in French: the Belfort civil registers of births. The digitization of these historical documents is challenging due to their unique characteristics such as writing style variations, overlapped characters and words, and marginal annotations.

Integration of epitaxial LiNbOthin films with silicon technology.

Development of bulk acoustic wave filters with ultra-wide pass bands and operating at high frequencies for 5and 6generation telecommunication applications and micro-scale actuators, energy harvesters and sensors requires lead-free piezoelectric thin films with high electromechanical coupling and compatible with Si technology. In this paper, the epitaxial growth of 36°Y-X and 30°X-Y LiNbOfilms by direct liquid injection chemical vapour deposition on Si substrates by using epitaxial SrTiOlayers, grown by molecular beam epitaxy, has been demonstrated. The stability of the interfaces and chemical interactions between SrTiO, LiNbOand Si were studied experimentally and by thermodynamical calculations.

Microfabrication of piezoelectric MEMS based on thick LiNbOsingle-crystal films.

Microfabrication procedure of piezoelectric micro electro-mechanical systems based on 5m thick LiNbOfilms on SiO/Si substrate at wafer scale including deep dry etching of thick LiNbOfilms by implementing pulsed mode of Ar/SFgas was developed. In particular, two (YXlt)/128°/90°LiNbO-Si cantilevers with tip mass were fabricated and characterized in terms of resonance frequency (511 and 817 Hz), actuation and acceleration sensing capabilities. The quality factor of 89.

Photo-thermal synergistic excitation: Feasible strategy to detect ethanol for wide bandgap ZIF-8 at low work temperature.

Zeolitic Imidazolate Framework-8 (ZIF-8) material was prepared by chemical precipitation method. The microstructure and physical properties of the as-prepared samples were characterized by XRD, BET, FESEM and UV spectrophotometer. The self-made four-channel measurement device was used to test the gas sensitivity of ZIF-8 material toward ethanol gas under photo-thermal synergistic excitation.

Towards the reconstruction of a global TB history using a new pipeline "TB-Annotator".

Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) has a population structure consisting of 9 human and animal lineages. The genomic diversity within these lineages is a pathogenesis factor that affects virulence, transmissibility, host response, and antibiotic resistance. Hence it is important to develop improved information systems for tracking and understanding the spreading and evolution of genomes.

The paradoxes of Mycobacterium tuberculosis molecular evolution and consequences for the inference of tuberculosis emergence date.

The date of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex emergence has been the subject of long debates. New studies joining archaeological efforts with sequencing methods raise high hopes for solving whether this emergence is closer to 70,000 or to 6000 years before present. Inferring the date of emergence of this pathogen based on sequence data requires a molecular clock.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex drug-resistance, phylogenetics, and evolution in Nigeria: Comparison with Ghana and Cameroon.

In this article, we provide an in-depth analysis on the drug-resistance phenotypic characteristics of a cohort of 325 tuberculosis and characterize by Whole Genome Sequencing 24 isolates from Nigeria belonging to L4, L5 and L6. Our results suggest an alarming rate of drug-resistance of the L4.6.

Six-probe scintillator dosimeter for treatment verification in HDR-brachytherapy.

Background: In vivo dosimetry (IVD) is gaining interest for treatment delivery verification in HDR-brachytherapy. Time resolved methods, including source tracking, have the ability both to detect treatment errors in real time and to minimize experimental uncertainties. Multiprobe IVD architectures holds promise for simultaneous dose determinations at the targeted tumor and surrounding healthy tissues while enhancing measurement accuracy.

Cross-Layer Federated Learning for Lightweight IoT Intrusion Detection Systems.

With the proliferation of IoT devices, ensuring the security and privacy of these devices and their associated data has become a critical challenge. In this paper, we propose a federated sampling and lightweight intrusion-detection system for IoT networks that use K-meansfor sampling network traffic and identifying anomalies in a semi-supervised way. The system is designed to preserve data privacy by performing local clustering on each device and sharing only summary statistics with a central aggregator.