Common Design Research Articles

A 3 MHz Low-Error Adaptive Howland Current Source for High-Frequency Bioimpedance Applications.

Bioimpedance is a diagnostic sensing method used in medical applications, ranging from body composition assessment to detecting skin cancer. Commonly, discrete-component (and at times integrated) circuit variants of the Howland Current Source (HCS) topology are employed for injection of an AC current. Ideally, its amplitude should remain within 1% of its nominal value across a frequency range, and that nominal value should be programmable. However, the method's applicability and accuracy are hindered due to the current amplitude diminishing at frequencies above 100 kHz, with very few designs accomplishing 1 MHz, and only at a single nominal amplitude. This paper presents the design and implementation of an adaptive current source for bioimpedance applications employing automatic gain control (AGC). The "Adaptive Howland Current Source" (AHCS) was experimentally tested, and the results indicate that the design can achieve less than 1% amplitude error for both 1 mA and 100 µA currents for bandwidths up to 3 MHz. Simulations also indicate that the system can be designed to achieve up to 19% noise reduction relative to the most common HCS design. AHCS addresses the need for high bandwidth AC current sources in bioimpedance spectroscopy, offering automatic output current compensation without constant recalibration. The novel structure of AHCS proves crucial in applications requiring higher β-dispersion frequencies exceeding 1 MHz, where greater penetration depths and better cell status assessment can be achieved, e.g., in the detection of skin or breast cancer.

Comparing carbon offsets and livelihood benefits in a long‐term reforestation project: Agroforestry versus native timber versus enrichment planting

Abstract Indigenous People and Local Communities (IPLC) can play an important role in reforestation for climate change mitigation while providing environmental and livelihood benefits. However, there is a lack of direct comparison between different reforestation design's carbon uptake potential and their relevance to community reforestation. We evaluate the carbon capture and survival of the four most common reforestation designs in a 14‐year‐long project in an Emberá community in eastern Panama. We look at native timber mixtures and monocultures, agroforestry, and natural regrowth with enrichment planting. To explain the differences between plots, we compare design, management and environmental characteristics using redundancy analyses (RDA). We then contextualize our results with the project leader's perspectives of success using interviews and workshops. In the first decade, mixtures and monocultures of timber stored on average roughly 3× more carbon than agroforestry and enrichment planting (140 tCO2/ha compared to 40 tCO2/ha and 53 tCO2/ha). The project design had the largest influence on carbon storage and survival with an explanatory power of 31% followed by management and environmental characteristics (14% and 2% respectively). The largest threat to the survival and growth was the risk of fire which caused mortality in more than 2/3 of the plots. Some damage was offset by natural regrowth which accounted for 34% of the total carbon, but the participants generally perceived natural regrowth as being “dirty.” They had a strong preference for agroforestry, particularly coffee (Coffea spp.), a crop with negligible carbon value, but high economic value. ‘Practical implication’: The findings underscore the need to balance carbon sequestration with local economic preferences, integrate community input, mitigate environmental risks and adopt long‐term, holistic approaches for effective reforestation projects.

Patient Surveys Are Used Most Often to Assess Health Care Innovations, Rigorous Methods Are Less Common.

The Agency of Healthcare Research and Quality Healthcare Innovations Exchange (IE) was developed to collect and report on innovative approaches to improving health care. The team reviewed 348 IE innovations including patient-reported satisfaction or experience measures. Innovations most often measured overall rating of care (61% of innovations), followed by access (52%) and provider-patient communication (12%). More than half used patient satisfaction surveys (n = 187) rather than patient experience surveys (n = 64). Innovations using patient experience surveys more often measured specific aspects of patient care, for example, access, versus a general overall rating of care. Most innovations using patient experience surveys administered nonvalidated, homegrown surveys, with few using the Agency of Healthcare Research and Quality-endorsed, psychometrically-tested CAHPS (Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems) survey. The most common study design was postimplementation-only (65%), highlighting that methodological rigor used to assess patient-centeredness in the IE is low. Broad use of patient experience surveys and more rigorous evaluation study designs has increased some over time but is still lacking.

Factors Influencing Interest and Engagement in Biomedical Research Among Community Medicine Residents in India: A Descriptive Cross-Sectional Study.

Introduction Medical science must be based on sound and scientific evidence and requires continuous research. Engaging in research allows students and faculty to explore new frontiers, question existing paradigms, and discover innovative solutions to medical challenges. As a specialty, community medicine plays a pivotal role in addressing public health issues. However, the engagement of community medicine residents in biomedical research remains suboptimal, which may impede the generation of evidence-based practices tailored to the Indian context. This study was conducted to find the interest and engagement of community medicine residents, and factors influencing their interest in biomedical research. Methods An online survey was conducted among community medicine residents of Uttar Pradesh, from February to April 2024, using Google Forms having a semi-structured, pretested questionnaire. Results One hundred and ninety-six residents participated in the study, where females (52.6%; 103/196) outnumbered males (47.4%; 93/196). The majority of participants were third-year residents (40.8%). Most participants seemed interested in biomedical research (83.2%) and thought that Basic Course in Biomedical Research (BCBR) helps conduct research projects (75%). Around half had previous experience in research projects, with cross-sectional studies being the most common (75.9%) study design. Enhancing research skills and a desire to contribute to medical knowledge emerged as primary motivators. On the other hand, the lack of time due to being overburdened with academic and educational activities was seen as the most common barrier to conducting research. Conclusions The majority of participants were found interested in research activities. The opportunity to improve research skills, desire to serve the medical fraternity, and a positive impact on resumes were the leading motivating factors for conducting research. Difficulty in sparing time, little knowledge, and poor support from mentors were found as important barriers.

Top 100 most‐cited scientific articles in regenerative endodontics 2019–2023: A bibliometric analysis

AbstractBackgroundBibliometric analysis is a critical indicator of the influence and relevance of scientific papers, whilst also highlighting key contributors and gaps in knowledge in a scientific field.ObjectivesTo update and analyse the 100 most‐cited papers in regenerative endodontics from 2019 to 2023.MethodsA search of the most‐cited recent papers focusing on regenerative endodontics using journals included in the category, ‘Dentistry, Oral Surgery & Medicine’, in the Clarivate Web of Science database from 2019 to 2023 was performed. Three researchers conducted the study selection and data extraction. Data extraction included publication title and year, authors, number and mean number of citations, institution, country and continent, study design, journal title, keywords and research topic. Citation counts were also collected in Google Scholar and Scopus databases. Graphical bibliometric networks were created using VOSviewer software.ResultsThe number of citations of the 100 most‐cited articles ranged from 6 to 85. Most were published in 2020 (n = 48), principally in the Journal of Endodontics (47%), followed by International Endodontic Journal (13%), Journal of Dental Research (6%) and Dental Materials (6%). Laboratory study was the most common study design amongst the included papers (n = 47), followed by narrative reviews (n = 17) and observational studies (n = 16). The most frequent first author on the top three most‐cited papers was Hacer Aksel, whilst Adham A. Azim (n = 6; 89 citations) contributed most to the top 100 articles. The institution from which most articles originated was the University of Hong Kong (China) (n = 5; 81 citations), whereas the corresponding authors were predominantly from the United States of America (USA) (n = 31; 560 citations). The VOSviewer map of co‐authorship demonstrated research collaborative clusters. ‘Regenerative endodontics’ and ‘stem‐cells’ were the most employed keywords (37 and 36 occurrences respectively).DiscussionThe current study was designed not only to showcase the most influential papers in regenerative endodontics since 2019 but also to provide a better understanding of global research in this area over the last five years.ConclusionsThis bibliometric analysis highlighted papers, authors, institutions and keywords in regenerative endodontics. The 100 most‐cited papers primarily consisted of laboratory studies published in the USA, focusing on evaluating biomaterials and scaffold design strategies in contact with stem cells. Clinical studies and systematic reviews representing higher levels of scientific evidence are currently not the most influential in the regenerative endodontic field.

Design of direct-drive permanent magnet synchronous motor for cryogenic valve

This paper presents a novel design of a low-speed and high-torque cryogenic direct-drive PMSM. A new simplified model is proposed to address the inaccuracy of the electro-thermal coupling model of the common cryogenic PMSM design. The coupling model focuses on the influence of the winding copper loss on the resistance, which improves the accuracy of calculating the temperature distribution and resistance value. Compared with FEM, the error of the calculation results is 4.8%. A new design method is proposed to address the problem that the common low-temperature PMSM designs lead to a rise in the copper loss. Measuring the improvement of the magnet performance in low temperature, the method reduces the turns of the coil, which significantly reduces the amount of copper loss. Compared with common methods, the amount of copper loss reduces 29.5%. Furthermore, a prototype is fabricated and tested, the results of which verifies the rationality of the design.

Novel calibration design improves knowledge transfer across products for the characterization of pharmaceutical bioprocesses.

Modern machine learning has the potential to fundamentally change the way bioprocesses are developed. In particular, horizontal knowledge transfer methods, which seek to exploit data from historical processes to facilitate process development for a new product, provide an opportunity to rethink current workflows. In this work, we first assess the potential of two knowledge transfer approaches, meta learning and one-hot encoding, in combination with Gaussian process (GP) models. We compare their performance with GPs trained only on data of the new process, that is,local models. Using simulated mammalian cell culture data, we observe that both knowledge transfer approaches exhibit test set errors that are approximately halved compared to those of the local models when two, four, or eight experiments of the new product are used for training. Subsequently, we address the question whether experiments for a new product could be designed more effectively by exploiting existing knowledge. In particular, we suggest to specifically design a few runs for the novel product to calibrate knowledge transfer models, a task that we coin calibration design. We propose a customized objective function to identify a set of calibration design runs, which exploits differences in the process evolution of historical products. In two simulated case studies, we observed that training with calibration designs yields similar test set errors compared to common design of experiments approaches. However, the former requires approximately four times fewer experiments. Overall, the results suggest that process development could be significantly streamlined when systematically carrying knowledge from one product to the next.

Towards an effective approach for composition of model transformations

Model Driven Engineering (MDE) adoption in the industry suffers from many technical and non-technical problems. One of the significant technical problems lies in the difficulty of building complex transformations from the composition of small and reusable transformations. Another problem resides in developing transformations from scratch in case they are missing. In this paper, we present an approach to how to handle these issues. The approach allows composing reusable transformations to build more complex ones by providing a catalog of prebuilt transformations targeting common architectures, frameworks, and design patterns. To give guidance and simplify the task of developing new transformations, we describe a platform description model of an entire system or a part of it in two views: a UML profile and a set of transformations. We also present three transformation types, each of which handles different abstraction design concerns. Generic transformations are small and reusable to build complex transformations, system-independent transformations are reusable and implement high-level design decisions, and system-specific transformations are not reusable and implement all design decisions needed for a given system. The approach is implemented as a plugin for a UML modeling tool and validated by developing a system that simulates the behavior of a gas station through model transformations built from the composition of reusable transformations.

Optimal designs of accelerated degradation tests with random shock failures and measurement errors

AbstractAccelerated degradation tests (ADTs) are widely used for assessing the reliability of long‐life products. During an ADT, accelerated stresses not only expedite the degradation of test products but also increase the likelihood of encountering traumatic shocks. Moreover, it is important to acknowledge that measurement errors can be inevitable during the observation process of an ADT. Unfortunately, these errors are often overlooked in the optimal design of the ADT, especially when multiple competing failure modes are present. In this article, we propose a new approach to design ADTs when measurement errors exist and test products suffer from degradation failures and random shock failures. We utilize the Wiener process to model the degradation path, incorporating normally distributed measurement errors, and an exponential distribution to fit the time between random shock failures. Given the number of test products and the termination time, we optimize the ADT plans under three common design criteria. The equivalence theorem is used to verify the optimality of the optimal ADT plans. A real‐life example and sensitivity analysis are provided to illustrate our proposed method. The results demonstrate that when competing failure modes are present, the optimal ADT plans, which account for measurement errors, differ significantly from those that do not consider such errors.

Rock fishways: Natural designs for an engineered world

Globally, fishways have been constructed as a technical solution to reduce the damaging effects of dams and weirs on fish movement. Some common design typologies are rock fishways and nature-like bypasses. While rock fishways are common in Australian rivers, there has been no general evaluation of their effectiveness, location, or costs to demonstrate their success and help guide future investment. Our objective was to develop an Australian inventory of rock fishways to visualise their location, major design elements, capital cost and frequency of evaluation. We also present two rock fishway case-studies that highlight key ecological and engineering design criteria, field evaluation of effectiveness and a summary of construction learnings. In Australia, there were 332 rock fishways, most typologies were lateral-ridge rock ramps (161), random rock fishways (123), nature-like bypasses (13) and hybrid designs (10). Approximately 20% of these have biological monitoring. Trends over time, included: (i) a slight flattening of fishway slope (from 1 V:20H to 1 V:30H) (ii) a progression from dumped loose rock to keyed-in formalised lateral-ridge fishways, increased use of natural sealing and (iii) an emerging tendency to hybrid concrete baffle and rock designs. Construction costs were available for 183 sites, with a total adjusted investment of USD$22 M and although highly variable the average cost per metre differential head was USD$110,000 (range USD$4500–286,000) per vertical-metre making rock fishways one of the most cost-effective designs available. Two field case-studies provided support for passage of a broad size range (15–410 mm long) of fish at a wide range of flows with hydraulic reliability over considerable design life-spans (i.e., >25 years). The publicly-available rock fishway database forms a platform for sharing technical information to promote more effective designs, contributing to continued global development of rock fishways and conservation of freshwater fish communities.

Determining the optimal leading limb for gait initiation in unilateral transtibial amputees: A systematic review.

The selection of the leading limb during gait initiation in individuals with unilateral transtibial amputations can significantly affect various biomechanical parameters. However, there is currently no established recommendation for the suitable leading limb in this population. The systematic review was aimed to propose a preferred leading limb for gait initiation in individuals with unilateral transtibial amputations based on biomechanical parameters. Databases including Google Scholar, PubMed, Science Direct, and ISI Web of Knowledge, were searched. The first selection criterion was based on abstracts and titles to address the research question. A total of seven studies were included in this review, and the Downs and Black's checklist was used by three researchers to assess the risk of bias. The review included a total of 61 adults with unilateral transtibial amputations, with a mean age range of 41 to 64.43 years. The confidence level of the included studies was poor, and the observational cohort was the most common study design (n = 5). Most of the studies were not replicable. Four of the included studies recommended the prosthetic limb as the preferred leading limb. Individuals with unilateral transtibial amputations may experience biomechanical benefits, including a more normal center of pressure path, reduced limb loading, and increased ankle energy generation, when leading with their prosthetic limb during gait initiation. However, further research is necessary to establish a more conclusive recommendation for the preferred leading limb in this population.

A Systematic Review of Adaptive Seamless Clinical Trials for Late-Phase Oncology Development.

Although oncology has seen large scientific and clinical advances over the last decade, it also has one of the lowest success rates for novel agents across therapeutic areas. Adaptive clinical trial design has been a popular option for increasing clinical trial efficiency and the chances of trial success. Seamless clinical trial design are studies in which two or more clinical trial phases are combined into a single study with a pre-specified transition between stages. This integration of phases may enhance efficiency. To understand the precedent for the use of seamless designs, this working group was formed to conduct a comprehensive literature search on seamless clinical trials conducted with confirmatory intent in oncology. Trial design features were extracted into a database and analyzed with descriptive statistics. A literature search identified 68 clinical trials meeting inclusion and exclusion criteria. The most common design feature was a gate on treatment efficacy, where the trial would only proceed to the second stage if sufficient efficacy was observed in the first. The next most common feature was a selection of a dose or treatment regimen. Inferentially and operationally seamless designs were approximately equally represented. Key statistical considerations for seamless phase II/III designs include optimizing design choices by evaluating and comparing operating characteristics across design alternatives as well as showing control of overall Type I error rates. Executing the transition between phases should be evaluated for issues related to accrual, drug production, and procedures to maintain trial integrity. While there are unique statistical, regulatory, and operational considerations for seamless designs they are also uniquely suited to many development settings. These include, for example, addressing dose selection under FDA's Project Optimus and addressing the growing use of biomarkers and personalized medicine approaches in cancer treatment.

Analysis of the necessity of revising the building energy efficiency certificate for non-residential buildings in South Korea

The Building Energy Efficiency Certification (BEEC) program is a crucial government policy aimed at reducing building energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions in numerous countries, including South Korea. This study aims to evaluate the achievable BEEC level by designing a typical building with a construction permit and analyze the appropriateness of the awarded BEEC level. We collected 327 samples of non-residential buildings from South Korea's architectural administration system and established reference building models from these samples. The buildings were categorized into four use types (office, educational, retail, or cultural) and large or small sizes. We evaluated the energy consumption of the reference buildings and assigned them a BEEC level. Retail buildings exhibited the highest energy consumption, followed by office, cultural, and educational buildings. All reference buildings had an energy consumption of less than 260 kWh/m2/yr and were awarded a BEEC level of 1 to 1++, indicating energy efficient buildings. Non-residential buildings, reflecting common design trends, achieved a BEEC level of at least level 1 without additional efforts to enhance energy efficiency. We recommend the South Korean government should revise the current BEEC rating criteria and review the certification evaluation methodology. The results of this study strongly advocate for continuous improvement of the BEEC certification system. This study is expected to enhance the effectiveness of energy efficiency policies for buildings and advance related policies.

Impact of the organ-system integrated curriculum on the research productivity of a Philippine government medical school: An ARIMA-based bibliometric analysis

The organ-system integrated (OSI) curriculum was pioneered in the country by the U.P. College of Medicine (UPCM) in 2004. Data on its impact on research productivity was lacking. This study aims to describe the trends in research productivity of UPCM in a time series and the impact of OSI implementation on publication trends. Relevant electronic databases (PubMed, Scopus, and WPRIM) were searched from the earliest indexed record until December 2023. The auto-regressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) time series analysis was used to compare the actual and predicted trends during the OSI implementation using the pre-OSI trend. A total of 2,705 articles were included. Acta Medica Philippina is the journal with the highest number of publications (n = 420, 20.24%). Although there is a considerable rise in the number of publications utilizing evidence synthesis and qualitative design, observational studies remain as the most common design (n = 293, 2021-2023 period). The leading clinical departments are Neurosciences and Medicine. The departments of Biochemistry and Clinical Epidemiology take the lead among basic sciences departments. Despite the glaring uptrend in publications concurrent with OSI implementation, the actual trend is not significantly different from the predicted trend (LR chi2(1) = 0.37; Prob > chi2 = 0.5432). The OSI curriculum did not significantly change the trend of productivity. Medical curriculum designers should revisit strategies dedicated for research competencies. It is imperative to include activities for qualitative and mixed-methods designs. Future studies should consider relevant critical events in the time series forecasting models and the scientific outputs in the grey literature.

Change Over and Switchback for Experimentation on Large Animals

Among the most common designs, the very randomized design, in randomized blocks and in Latin squares, stands out, however, approaches to alternative designs are not as common in basic books that cover experimental statistics, especially in the approach that was given in this article. The study of Change Over and Switchback designs is a separate chapter within statistics. For experimentation on large animals, alternative tests are widely used, that is, obtaining a sequence of treatments that can make the final cost of this operation viable. There are two types of experimental tests: rotational (Changeover) and reversal (Switchback). The objective of this work was to present the Changeover and Switchback designs.

Tolerance analysis of slat gear rotary actuator in civil aircraft

Abstract The slat gear rotary actuator of civil aircraft needs to meet the requirements of small space and large transmission ratio. The planetary gear system based on triple teeth is a common actuator design, and the design structure is complex, so its tolerance control is also strict. In order to meet the design requirements of its internal structure, this paper presents a deviation analysis method for the internal structure design of a typical civil aircraft slat gear rotary actuator. The results of preliminary tolerance distribution and improved tolerance distribution are analyzed using the Jacobi-based assembly deviation model. By comparing the standard deviation of the analysis results, the validity of this deviation analysis method is verified, which proves that this method can be used to analyze the internal structure deviation of the rotary actuator of slat gear in civil aircraft.

Dark-is-More Bias Also in Dark Mode? Perception of Colours in Choropleth Maps in Dark Mode

Dark mode is an increasingly common design option in which a dark screen background is used with light-coloured text and graphic elements. This option is, therefore, also relevant for the design of screen maps. This article examines the question of whether a “light-is-more bias” also applies in dark mode for the display of choropleth maps, analogous to the “dark-is-more bias” with light backgrounds (i.e. that dark colours are associated with greater attribute values). However, the results of an online study with 214 people show that the dark-is-more bias is still clearly the most frequently used strategy. This frequency is slightly lower compared to the light mode, and it is depending on the specific colour scheme for the dark mode and on user’s expertise. The study results also allow general design recommendations for dark-mode colour schemes for maps.

The influence of food tax on island places

Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) are the primary cause of premature mortality in Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICTs), as well as in numerous other jurisdictions worldwide. The Pacific region has declared an NCD crisis and has recommended the implementation of food taxation policies to address the dietary risk factors associated with these diseases. However, the progress in this regard remains uncertain.The review focused on food taxation policies, including excise taxes and tariffs, that were implemented between 2000 and 2020 in 22 PICTs. The key characteristics of these policies were examined. The search for relevant information was conducted using databases, government legal repositories, and broad-based search engines. The identified documents for screening included legislation, reports, academic literature, news articles, and grey literature. Additionally, key informants from each PICT were contacted to gather further data and validate the findings. The results were analyzed through narrative synthesis. Out of the 22 PICTs included in the study, 14 had implemented food taxation policies, and 5 had introduced excise taxes. Processed foods, sugar, and salt were the primary targets of these excise taxes. A total of 84 changes in food taxation policies were identified across all food groups. Among these changes, a total of 279 taxes were identified based on food groups, with 85% being tariffs and 15% being excise taxes. The individual tax rates varied significantly. The most common tax design was ad valorem, followed by volumetric.

Fisheries independent surveys in a new era of offshore wind energy development

Abstract Fisheries independent surveys require rethinking because of increasing spatial restrictions and interactions with offshore wind energy development (OWD). Fisheries, protected species, and environmental data collections have been conducted by scientific institutions to meet societal demands for food security, conservation, and other marine uses. These data collections provide information on key resource measures, essential for fisheries, protected species, and ecosystem management. With the increase in pace and magnitude of OWD's industrialization of marine waters, disruptions in these long-term time series can be expected. These disruptions will impact the ability to support current and future management goals and objectives. This paper presents an expert survey on the perceptions of OWD interactions with common survey designs and survey methodologies in Europe and the U.S., along with a selected sample of 75 fisheries independent surveys in the U.S. and Europe providing an initial assessment and description of potential impacts from OWD. About 72% of the surveys sampled record interactions with operational, planned or future OWD. Four case studies demonstrate efforts to address these interactions within European regions that have operational OWD and the U.S. where development has just begun. Finally, we make recommendations for future research important to continue meaningful scientific-based management advice.

РОЛЬ ВІТРАЖІВ В СУЧАСНОМУ ОЗДОБЛЕННІ ІНТЕР’ЄРІВ ЖИТЛОВИХ ПРИМІЩЕНЬ

Stained glass has attracted the attention of art critics and scientists for centuries. Stained glass art plays a special artistic role in decorating windows, doors, and ceilings. In addition to the traditional use of stained glass windows, they are used in the design of modern interiors. Although stained-glass windows are not a common design solution in interior design, they are increasingly used for their individualization in modern decoration. In the process of researching decorative decoration of modern interiors with the use of stained glass, new techniques and technologies of their implementation, compositional solutions, their color range were considered, and the main features of artistic expression were revealed. In modern interiors of residential premises, you can find stylized decorative and ornamental stylized stained-glass compositions, which are characterized by a linear division of the glass canvas with the use of faceted glass elements. With the help of stained glass windows, the space of the living room is filled with warm or cold, monochrome or polychrome colors, which enhances the visual perception of certain interior elements. Stained glass compositions using traditional and modern production technologies were analyzed and their role in modern interior design was determined.