bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Local Thermal Nonequilibrium Analysis of Boundary Layer Flow of Carreau Fluid Over a Wedge in a Porous Medium
Authors: Kudenatti Ramesh B. , L. Sandhya 
Published: May 2021

AbstractThis work examines the steady two-dimensional mixed convection boundary layer flow of non-Newtonian Carreau fluid embedded in a porous medium. The impermeable wedge is at rest over which the momentum and thermal boundary layers form due to the motion of Carreau fluid with a large Reynolds number. We consider local thermal nonequilibrium for which the temperature of the solid porous medium is different from that of the fluid phase, and hence, a single heat-transport equation is replaced by a two-temperature model. The governed equations for flow and heat transfer are converted into a system of ordinary differential equations using a similarity approach. It is observed that local thermal nonequilibrium effects are dominant for small interphase heat transfer rate and porosity scaled conductivity parameters. It is shown that the temperature at any location of the solid porous medium is always higher than that of the fluid phase. When these parameters are increased gradually, the local thermal equilibrium phase is recovered at which the temperatures of the fluid and solid are identical at each pore. A similar trend is noticed for both shear-thinning and shear-thickening fluids. The results further show that heat exchange between the fluid and solid porous medium is similar to both assisted and opposed flows and Carreau fluid. The velocity and temperature fields for the various increasing fluid index, Grashof number, and permeability show that the thickness of the momentum and thermal boundary layer is thinner.
Isobaric Specific Heat Capacity for Al2O3/Water Ethylene Glycol Mixture Nanofluid
Authors: Hassan Alamir H. , Hassan M. A. M. , Shedid Mohamed H. 
Published: May 2021

Abstract
Specific heat is a vital characteristic of nanofluids. The present work is an experimental assessment for the isobaric specific heat measurements for the Al2O3 nanoparticle dispersed in a base fluid of different mixture of ethylene glycol and water at 30, 40, 50, and 60 vol% based. The experiments were conducted over temperature range from 35 to 105 °C with nanoparticle concentrations of 0.5–2.5 vol%. The results indicated that the specific heat of nanofluid decreases as the nanoparticle volume increases and percentage of ethylene glycol in base fluid increases but increases as the temperature increases. This characteristic demonstrates that the use of nanofluids should be at as high temperature as possible to fulfill a good beneficial effect. A new correlation from the measurements with maximum deviation of 2.2% was found to estimate the specific heat for these nanofluids.
Flexible UVC Wrap for Sanitization of Carry-Home Items
Authors: Hu Jia , Long Steven , Ting Louis 
Published: May 2021

Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has raised concerns on public health and household safety. Contamination of carry-home items by the SARS-CoV2 virus represents a potential risk to households. The common method of manual wipedown of carry-home items using liquid-form disinfectants is not a controlled and standardized process due to differences in operator performance and various surface types and topology. This project aims to develop a cost-effective and convenient UVC sanitization device that accommodates carry-home items of different surface topologies. The device is designed in the form of a flexible wrap and can be manually fabricated using readily available off-the-shelf components. Preliminary testing has shown that the device is capable of producing minimum UVC intensity of 27.17μW/cm2 at 275nm wavelength which exceeds the minimum value of 19.97μW/cm2 required to deactivate the coronavirus in 30 seconds.
Sensor Fused Blood Pressure Measuring Device Capable of Recording Korotkoff Sounds in Inflationary Curves
Authors: Vazquez Enrique Alvarez , Ewert Daniel , Jorgenson Dave , Sand Michael 
Published: May 2021

Abstract
This study describes a non-invasive medical device capable of measuring arterial blood pressure (BP) with a combination of inflationary and deflationary procedures. The device uses the pressure cuff pressure signal, arterial skin-surface acoustics, and photoplethysmography (PPG) to make a sensor-fusion estimation of blood pressure readings. We developed an apparatus composed of 1) a modified off-the-shelf oscillometric blood pressure system, 2) a contact microphone with an amplifier, 3) and high-sensitivity pulse oximeter, and its control electronics.
Characterization of Grasp Performance Using a Sensorized Glove System
Authors: Lee Joshua , Mu Derrick , Hammond Frank L. 
Published: May 2021

Abstract
We present a grasp performance evaluation system that uses a sensorized glove to measure the kinematics and the contact dynamics of human object manipulation. This system is envisioned as an alternative to visual evaluation methods currently used by skilled physicians to determine the severity of functional hand impairments due to blunt trauma (ligament injuries tin the fingers) and neurological disorders (cerebral palsy, stroke, etc.). The proposed grasp evaluation system can benefit physicians and prosthetists by providing an objective, consistent metric to evaluate hand function and potentially reducing the amount of time required for diagnoses. Human subject study involving grasps of daily objects were conducted to demonstrate the system’s ability to accurately measure the kinematics and dynamics of grasping tasks, and generate graphical representations of the grasp contact dynamics with color map visualization.
Enhancing Mimetic Three-Dimensional Modeling and Printing for Presurgical Planning Applications: Improved Soft Tissue Assesments, Analyses and Consolidation Strategies
Authors: Vergen Jorge A. , Iles Tinen L. , Iaizzo Paul A. 
Published: May 2021

Abstract
Mimetic three-dimensional (3D) printing has been shown to enhance presurgical planning and improve patient outcomes. However, data inconsistencies and non-optimized soft tissue data management strategies have impaired efforts to characterize soft tissues and translate biophysical values to 3D printing media durometers and shore values. As a result, finished models are inconsistent and exhibit reduced mimetic qualities. Improving biophysical characterizations of soft tissues, analysis strategies, and consolidation infrastructures are important factors that will improve 3D modeling in a presurgical planning setting. In our ongoing associated studies, both physiologically viable and formalin fixed large mammalian tissues (including human) were assessed using uniaxial and biaxial testing strategies. Biophysical datasets were analyzed using a gated analysis strategy, tailored to data acquisition methods developed within the University of Minnesota Visible Heart® Labs (VHL). A SQL database was then constructed to consolidate analyzed data for future retrieval. This strong preliminary data is a foundation for further development and refinement of future studies. It is our long-term goal that these strategies be improved and adopted to enhance the mimetic qualities of 3D presurgical planning models.
Development of an Oropharyngeal Swab Assembly
Authors: Peng Chengyang , Shen Tao 
Published: May 2021

Abstract
Oropharyngeal (OP) swabbing is a clinical specimen collection method to diagnose the presence of viral infection in the respiratory tract. During the Covid-19 pandemic, OP swab sampling plays an important role in the disease diagnosis. With its advantages in direct visualization of the swab site and less training requirement on medical professionals, OP swab is massively used for COVID-19 specimen collection in many countries. However, patients may demonstrate less tolerance for the OP swabbing by gagging or closing their mouths, which puts the swab tip in contact with the oral palate or tongue and results in defective sampling. Gagging and other involuntary reactions increase the risk to medical workers who are in direct contact with the patients. To solve these issues, this research presents a novel OP swab assembly which can assist adult patients to collect OP swab specimen by themselves or facilitate adults to collect specimens for their children or disable family members. The OP swab assembly has features to mitigate discomforts in the swab procedures as so to reduce involuntary reactions, minimizing specimen contamination. It also has features to keep the mouth open and constrain the motion of the swab tip in the effective sampling area, furtherly ensuring the high quality of the specimen. Experiments were conducted on a standard adult human skull mannequin by using the presented OP swab assembly. The results demonstrated the feasibility and effectiveness of self-collection for OP swabs using the presented assembly and method.
Designing a 3D Printed Bone Simulant for Wire Navigation Training
Authors: Williams Evan , Long Steven , Tatum Marcus , Anderson Donald D. , Thomas Geb 
Published: May 2021

Abstract
Medical simulation has risen in popularity as a method of improving surgical outcomes for less experienced practitioners. In orthopedic surgery, haptic feedback is an essential element of simulation. In the case of Kirschner wire navigation, for example, a steel pin is drilled through cortical bone and into cancellous bone. Currently, many orthopedic simulations use Sawbones polyurethane foam surrogates as a bone simulant (Sawbones, Vashon Island, WA). When designing a simulator, however, creating or modifying an existing mold for cast parts is costly, which can be a critical limitation. A relatively low-cost alternative is 3D printing prototype bone surrogates.
In this experiment, three rapid-prototyped bone samples were printed from light-weight polylactic acid, each with different material densities based on their printing temperature. In a blind test, orthopedic surgeons were asked to drill a Kirschner wire into four bone simulants: three made from polylactic acid, each prepared with different printing temperatures, and a Sawbones control. The surgeons rated their experience with the surface engagement, drill feel, and ability to redirect their wire. The survey found that the densest sample, printed at the lowest temperature, received the highest surgeon rating, with an average score of 13.5/15 ± 2.60; the Sawbones control received the worst rating: 6.5/15 ± 2.96.
Design of Bio-Exoskeleton for Elbow Rehabilitation
Authors: Delgado Pablo , Arachchige Don Thisath Attampola , Gomez Jesus , Miranda Virgil , Yihun Yimesker 
Published: May 2021

Abstract
In this study, a methodology for designing a task-based exoskeleton which can recreate the end-effector trajectory of a given limb during a rehablitation task/movement is presented. The exoskeleton provides an option to replace traditional jointbased exoskeleton joints, which often have alignment issues with the biological joint. The proper fit of the exoskeleton to the user and task are research topics to reduce pain or joint injuries as well as for the execution of the task. The proposed task-based synthesis method was successfully applied to generate the 3D motions of the elbow flexion and extensions using a one degree of freedom (DOF), spatial four-bar mechanism. The elbow joint is analyzed through motion capture system to develop the bio-exoskeleton. The resulted exoskeleton does not need to align with the corresponding limb joint to generate the desired anatomical motion.
Medication Management System Design for Isolated Patient Care
Authors: Abigail Swamidoss Samhith Kethireddy , Alghamdi Bushra , Hickman Ronald L. , Knighton Shanina , Pekarek Miriam , Drummond Colin K. 
Published: May 2021

Abstract
Independent living care for polypharmacy patients can be complicated in those situations with medications that are pro re nata (PRN, “as needed”). Such medication regimen may involve multiple dosing whereby specific drug contraindications might be easily overlooked by hospice and palliative care patients, or by those isolated and not in regular contact with care providers. The goal of this paper is to describe the development steps and current design of a system providing medication decision support for isolated patients. With an increased number of patients living alone or isolated - a situation exacerbated during the COVID19 pandemic – polypharmacy patients may be challenged when PRN (as needed) medications confound what might ordinarily be a routine medication schedule. Central to our medication management system design is the so-called “conversational agent” that when integrated with a natural language processing front- end and classification tree algorithm provide a dynamic framework for patient self-management of medications. Research on “patient need” revealed patients were more likely to embrace the system if the system were autonomous, secure, and not cloud-based.
Neck Movement Classification Using Surface Electromyography: A Novel Linear Algorithm Based on Muscle Coordination
Authors: Zhu Yi , Mahnan Arash , Konczak Jϋrgen 
Published: May 2021

Abstract
With a growing interest in real-time control of prostheses and wearable rehabilitation devices to treat motor dysfunction, there is a need to classify normal and abnormal body movement using kinematic and electrophysiological data. This paper presents a novel linear algorithm that can classify 10 distinct neck movements based on signals of only four surface electromyography (sEMG) electrodes. We here report on data of 5 healthy adults performing the 10 different neck movements: flexion/extension, right/left lateral flexion, right/left rotation, and four multiplanar directions. Surface EMG electrodes were attached to five locations: 1) left and right sternocleidomastoid, 2) left and right trapezius, and 3) the C7 spinal segment as reference. The algorithm yielded an accuracy of 92.5% in classifying six single-planar neck movement directions and an average accuracy of 81.2% in classifying all ten directions. The algorithm's performance was validated by comparing its accuracy with two conventional classification methods: Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) and Artificial Neural Network (ANN). The algorithm has 40% higher accuracy compared to LDA and the comparable accuracy of a three-layer ANN. The linearity and simplicity of the our algorithm enables its deployment on low-cost processors and systems. Future research will be focused on the classification of more complex neck movements and applications in neuromodulation devices.
A Pneumatic Compression Vest for Transthoracic Manipulation of Ventilation-Perfusion in Critical Care Patients with Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome Caused by COVID-19
Authors: Ambrose Alexander B. , Tiziani Lucas , Ward Donald J. , Weinmann Maxwell , Hammond Frank L. 
Published: May 2021

Abstract
Critical Care patients who experience symptoms of Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) are commonly placed on mechanical ventilators to increase the oxygen being supplied to their pulmonary system. If patients’ pulmonary inflammation is severe, they can experience ventilation-perfusion mismatch (V/Q mismatch) where blood flow and gas exchange are mismatched such that oxygen uptake is greatly impaired. In these cases, patients are typically rotated into a prone position to facilitate improved blood flow to segments of the lung that were not previously participating in the gas exchange process. However, proning a patient has a significant risk of complications. The low-cost vest presented in this work is designed to be used as a surrogate to patient proning while also requiring less hospital staff to operate than the proning process. The vest was preliminarily tested on 6 patients with Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) who experienced ARDS and presumptive V/Q mismatch. The results from this preliminary testing show that 5 out of 6 patients showed a significant increase in ventilation-perfusion similar to the effects of proning.
Quantifying Postural Instability with Pose Estimation Software and 3D Depth Extraction
Authors: Piazza Cara , Schroeder Joseph , Lu Chiahao , Erdman Arthur , Johnson Matthew , Cooper Scott E. 
Published: May 2021

Abstract
Patients who suffer from Parkinson’s Disease are more prone to postural instability, a major risk factor for falls. One of the most common clinical methods of gauging the severity of a patient’s postural instability is with the retropulsion test [1], in which a clinician perturbs the balance of the patient and then rates their response to the perturbation. This test is subjective and largely based on the observations made by the clinician. In order to improve postural instability diagnosis and encourage more meaningful therapies for this cognitive-motor symptom, there is a clinical need to enable more objective, quantifiable approaches to measuring postural instability. In this paper, we describe a novel computational approach to quantifying the number, length, and trajectory of steps taken during a retropulsion test or other type of balance perturbation from a single camera facing the anterior side (front) of the subject. The computational framework involved first analyzing the video data using markerless pose estimation algorithms to track the movement of the subject’s feet. These pixel data were then converted from 2D to 3D using calibrated transformation functions, and then analyzed for consistency when compared to the known step lengths. The testing data showed accurate step length estimation within 1 cm, which suggests this computational approach could have utility in a variety of clinical environments.
Helical Needle Suture Inserter Provides Increased Suture Retention Force Compared to a Straight Needle
Authors: Campbell Etse-Oghena Y. , Rylander Christopher G. 
Published: May 2021

Abstract
This paper presents an evaluation of the effect of needle geometry on the strength of a tether made using a barbed suture inserted into phantom tissue using a unique device. This tether is designed to secure an intrauterine device (IUD) to uterine fundus, with the aim of improving retention of IUDs inserted in the immediate postpartum period. A factorial experiment was designed to evaluate the effect of needle geometry on tether strength. Tether strength was characterized by the peak retention force of a suture subjected to a uniaxial tensile load. Experiments were performed using phantom tissue. Two needle geometries and three suture sizes were evaluated. Sutures deposited in phantom tissue with the helical needle had up to 132% increase in retention forces compared to sutures inserted with a straight needle, with more advantage at greater active length. The helical needle provides increased suture retention force and is a suitable tether delivery mechanism for this application.
Optimal Design of a Mechatronic Lever Arm for Pneumatic Exoskeleton: Design and Validation
Authors: Ward Donald , Epstein Brian , Tiziani Lucas , Hammond Frank L. 
Published: May 2021

Abstract
Pneumatically powered, lower limb exoskeletons provide high levels of compliant assistance to a user and add little on-body mass when the power source is located off the body. Such tethered systems are useful to testing the impact of control methods on a user’s metabolic performance and benefit from the pneumatic actuators’ simplicity of control. However, the pneumatic artificial muscle (PAM), a popular lightweight actuator, suffers from a nonlinear relationship between its contraction force, length and actuation pressure, reducing its output capabilities and complicating the design of exoskeletons that implement these actuators. This work describes a mechatronic lever arm system that extends the capabilities of a PAM actuated exoskeleton by configuring the moment arm, joint angle profile to create a torque profile specific to the designers’ requirements. A design optimization shows how the proposed system can tailor the exoskeleton performance without changing the simplistic, on-off pressure control. The specifications and the expected performance of the detailed design is described.
Micromotor-mediated sperm constrictions for improved swimming performance
Authors: Striggow Friedrich , Nadporozhskaia Lidiia , Friedrich Benjamin M. , Schmidt Oliver G. , Medina-Sánchez Mariana 
Published: May 2021

AbstractSperm-driven micromotors, consisting of a single sperm cell captured in a microcap, utilize the strong propulsion generated by the flagellar beat of motile spermatozoa for locomotion. It enables the movement of such micromotors in biological media, while being steered remotely by means of an external magnetic field. The substantial decrease in swimming speed, caused by the additional hydrodynamic load of the microcap, limits the applicability of sperm-based micromotors. Therefore, to improve the performance of such micromotors, we first investigate the effects of additional cargo on the flagellar beat of spermatozoa. We designed two different kinds of microcaps, which each result in different load responses of the flagellar beat. As an additional design feature, we constrain rotational degrees of freedom of the cell’s motion by modifying the inner cavity of the cap. Particularly, cell rolling is substantially reduced by tightly locking the sperm head inside the microcap. Likewise, cell yawing is decreased by aligning the micromotors under an external static magnetic field. The observed differences in swimming speed of different micromotors are not so much a direct consequence of hydrodynamic effects, but rather stem from changes in flagellar bending waves, hence are an indirect effect. Our work serves as proof-of-principle that the optimal design of microcaps is key for the development of efficient sperm-driven micromotors.Graphic Abstract
O deslocamento do olhar: Uma cartografia do silêncio
Authors: Alexsander Cleber 
Published: May 2021

A criação artística, é um processo de trabalho e pesquisa em constante movimento, que por possuir uma natureza expressiva acaba por transpassar as fronteiras entre subjetividade e racionalidade.
As imagens que constituem esse ensaio, tem como intuito ressaltar o espaço entre, celebrando a ausência de fronteiras, apresentando um híbrido entre fotografia e pintura, texto e imagem.
OpenKG Chain: A Blockchain Infrastructure for Open Knowledge Graphs
Authors: Chen Huajun , Hu Ning , Qi Guilin , Wang Haofen , Bi Zhen , Li Jie , Yang Fan 
Published: May 2021

Abstract
The early concept of knowledge graph originates from the idea of the Semantic Web, which aims at using structured graphs to model the knowledge of the world and record the relationships that exist between things. Currently publishing knowledge bases as open data on the Web has gained significant attention. In China, CIPS(Chinese Information Processing Society) launched the OpenKG in 2015 to foster the development of Chinese Open Knowledge Graphs. Unlike existing open knowledge-based programs, OpenKG chain is envisioned as a blockchain-based open knowledge infrastructure.
This article introduces the first attempt at the implementation of sharing knowledge graphs on OpenKG chain, a blockchain-based trust network. We have completed the test of the underlying blockchain platform, as well as the on-chain test of OpenKG's dataset and toolset sharing as well as fine-grained knowledge crowdsourcing at the triple level. We have also proposed novel definitions: K-Point and OpenKG Token, which can be considered as a measurement of knowledge value and user value. 1033 knowledge contributors have been involved in two months of testing on the blockchain, and the cumulative number of on-chain recordings triggered by real knowledge consumers has reached 550,000 with an average daily peak value of more than 10,000. For the first time, We have tested and realized on-chain sharing of knowledge at entity/triple granularity level. At present, all operations on the datasets and toolset in OpenKG.CN, as well as the triplets in OpenBase, are recorded on the chain, and corresponding value will also be generated and assigned in a trusted mode. Via this effort, OpenKG chain looks to provide a more credible and traceable knowledge-sharing platform for the knowledge graph community.