Cross-sectional View Research Articles

A Case Study: Investigation of Untreated and Treated 304 Stainless Steel on Corrosion Behaviour

A titanium coating on an iron-based metal surface significantly enhanced its resistance to localised corrosion. The research thoroughly investigated the microstructure and corrosion behaviour of both the untreated and treated 304 stainless steel substrates. The coating’s morphology was meticulously examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), while its chemical composition was determined via energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) was employed in an open circuit potential experiment to evaluate the coating’s resistance to localised corrosion in an alkaline solution. SEM was again utilised to assess the coating’s morphologies and cross-sectional view. The result revealed that untreated samples showed small and large pits on the microstructure, while no pit was detected in treated samples. Only fine dimples and voids were observed for the treated sample. The treated sample exhibited superior corrosion resistance to the untreated sample with a corrosion rate of 0.002348 mm/year and 0.007109 mm/year, respectively. This is attributed to the presence of the coating for a treated sample with curing for 10 minutes. The corrosion rate value is still considered excellent and accepted for stainless steel because the corrosion rate penetration is below 1 mils per year (mpy).

Detection of Disease Features on Retinal OCT Scans Using RETFound

Eye diseases such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD) are major causes of irreversible vision loss. Early and accurate detection of these diseases is essential for effective management. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging provides clinicians with in vivo, cross-sectional views of the retina, enabling the identification of key pathological features. However, manual interpretation of OCT scans is labor-intensive and prone to variability, often leading to diagnostic inconsistencies. To address this, we leveraged the RETFound model, a foundation model pretrained on 1.6 million unlabeled retinal OCT images, to automate the classification of key disease signatures on OCT. We finetuned RETFound and compared its performance with the widely used ResNet-50 model, using single-task and multitask modes. The dataset included 1770 labeled B-scans with various disease features, including subretinal fluid (SRF), intraretinal fluid (IRF), drusen, and pigment epithelial detachment (PED). The performance was evaluated using accuracy and AUC-ROC values, which ranged across models from 0.75 to 0.77 and 0.75 to 0.80, respectively. RETFound models display comparable specificity and sensitivity to ResNet-50 models overall, making it also a promising tool for retinal disease diagnosis. These findings suggest that RETFound may offer improved diagnostic accuracy and interpretability for specific tasks, potentially aiding clinicians in more efficient and reliable OCT image analysis.

Novel variants in DNAH9 are present in two infertile patients with severe asthenospermia.

Asthenospermia is a type of sperm that has malformed sperm with movement disorders that lead to male infertility. DNAH9 is a member of the dynein family and a central part of the outer dynein arm of cilia and flagella. DNAH9 gene defects are associated with primary ciliary dyskinesia and ultrastructural abnormalities in ciliary axial ultrastructure. However, the role of DNAH9 in sperm motility remains unclear, prompting us to investigate its function in spermatozoa. Familial Sanger sequencing showed that sterile males carried homozygous DNAH9 variants (c. 12218A>C, p. N4073T) and compound heterozygous variants (c.8617G>A, p.V2873M; c.11742A>T, p.E3914D), respectively. Transmission electron microscopy revealed these variants resulted in a significant lack of outer dynein arms in the cross-sectional view of the axoneme in both patients. Immunofluorescence results showed that these variants can lead to decline in DNAH9 protein expression, which led to the dysfunction of flagellar ultrastructure-related proteins, including DNAI1, DNAH1 and DNAH10. In conclusion, we identified novel biallelic variants in DNAH9 that likely bring about sharply decreased motility of spermatozoa in the two patients with asthenospermia. Our findings will widen the variant spectrum of known DNAH9 variants involving asthenospermia and further offer more proofs for genetic counseling and diagnosis.

УДОСКОНАЛЕННЯ ТЕХНОЛОГІЇ КЕКСІВ З ВИКОРИСТАННЯМ ЛЮПИНОВОГО БОРОШНА

The article is devoted to improving the technology of cupcakes by introducing lupine flour into their recipe. Lupine flour has been determined to be free of cholesterol, gluten and stomach irritants; modern sweet varieties do not contain alkaloids. Due to its low starch content and high dietary fiber content, it has a very low glycemic index (GI) and is recommended as an element in the diet of diabetics or people who want to lose weight, lower blood cholesterol and triglycerides and regulate blood pressure. Lupine flour contains up to 40% protein. Its fractional composition contains salt- and water-soluble proteins - 82-85%, alkali-soluble - 5-8%, insoluble fraction - 9-10%, alcohol-soluble proteins are completely absent. In terms of amino acid composition, lupine protein has a high content of lysine, threonine and leucine compared to other proteins contained in legumes. These amino acids have a positive effect on the young body (lysine and threonine) and are used in the treatment of diseases such as liver disease and anemia (leucine). In the work, 3 samples of cupcakes were developed with a partial replacement of wheat flour with lupine flour. After baking, samples with the addition of lupine flour were determined by organoleptic quality indicators, namely taste, smell, shape, texture, surface, structure and cross-sectional view. Research data showed that the addition of lupine flour in the amount of 15.0%...30.0% significantly improved the texture of the muffins compared to the control sample. The sample of the cake with a partial replacement of wheat flour with lupine flour meets the requirements of a healthy diet to the greatest extent due to the increased content of proteins (22.83%) and the reduced content of carbohydrates (36.33%). In general, the analysis of the chemical composition according to the content of proteins, fats, and carbohydrates showed the advantage of the improved recipes of the "Stolichny" cake, in particular, according to the content of the amino acid composition of proteins and fats, as well as reduced calorie content. Based on the results of the research, it can be concluded that the improved muffins expand the assortment of flour confectionery products for healthy nutrition with the content of essential amino acids in their optimal ratio.

Development of an experimental heterogeneous burn wound model

BackgroundMany research-based burn models rely on creating homogenous burns that are subsequently studied and treated. However, the majority of burn wounds sustained – and in particular those that are combat-related – are heterogeneous in nature, with varying degrees of severity intermixed throughout the entire wound, creating a complex debridement and overall treatment plan. The purpose of this study was to develop a clinically relevant heterogeneous porcine burn wound model. Materials and methodsThis study consisted of 3 anesthetized pigs with up to 6 heterogeneous 10 cm x 10 cm burn wounds. The burns were created using a thermocouple device with a square plate (5 cm x 5 cm) heated to 100 °C applied to the skin at constant pressure. The device was applied for a duration between 2–20 s for each burn segment to create burns of varying severity (superficial, partial-thickness, and full-thickness). Each heterogeneous burn wound consisted of 4 separate 5 cm x 5 cm burns, each with different and randomized burn times. Macroscopic images of the burns were obtained on days 0, 1, and 3. A punch biopsy was collected from each burn segment (1 of each depth) to determine the burn depth on day 0. On day 3, after euthanasia, all of the burns were harvested to give a cross-sectional view of the burn. ResultsHistology demonstrated that heterogeneous burns were created and burn progression was evident during the 3-day follow-up time. The depth of the burn wound significantly correlated with the burn time. By day 3, the 20-second burn wound had the deepest depth at 1003 ± 67 µm while the 2-second burn wound had the shallowest depth of burn at 258 ± 19 µm. Burn heterogeneity was also demonstrated with laser speckle image analysis. By day 3, the superficial blood flow for 20, 15, 12, 9, and 6 s burn times was below 85 AU. The 2 s burn mean flux (138 ± 48 AU) was noticeably different from other groups and well above the intact skin values (102 ± 4 AU). It was also shown that on day 3, at least 1 burn for each burn time resulted in identifiable infection via macroscopic imaging. ConclusionsThe heterogeneity of burn wounds creates a clinical challenge. This model will help to create burns that are more similar to the heterogeneous burn wounds that are seen in clinical practice and will help further research efforts in treating burns.

Investigating the mechanism of time dependent evolution of vertical graphene nanowalls

This work presents a time dependent multistage growth model for vertical graphene nanowalls (VGN). Factors mediating growth of VGN in both vertical and spatial direction at different stages were discussed. VGN films were deposited on Si (100) substrate using Radio Frequency Plasma-Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition technique by increasing the deposition time systematically for 15 min, 30 min, 60 min, 120 min, and 240 min, respectively. Scanning electron microscopy was carried out in both planar and cross section view to confirm the growth of VGN and quantification of its height. Atomic force microscopy was used to characterize the spatial growth of VGN. Raman scattering and in-plane GIXRD measurements were carried out to characterize the microstructure of VGN, which unveils that the strain relaxation and defects annihilation followed by increase in average crystallite size plays crucial role. Eventually, a schematic diagram was presented for time dependent evolution of VGN at different stages.

Three-dimensional anatomy of a Cretaceous river avulsion

Abstract River avulsions are fundamental mechanisms underlying the construction of fluvial stratigraphy. Although avulsions occur in three dimensions (3-D), interpretations of avulsion deposits in the terrestrial stratigraphic record remain largely based on two-dimensional (2-D) lithologic stacking patterns with little spatial context of the avulsion node location. Moreover, though the genesis of intersecting fluvial ridges observed on Mars is commonly attributed to avulsion, little is known about the history or stratigraphic architecture of these intersections nor the duration of the martian fluvial activity they represent. Here, we analyze a fluvial ridge intersection in the Cretaceous Cedar Mountain Formation of eastern Utah, USA, that we interpret to reflect the evolution of a river channel avulsion node exposed in 3-D. Through integration of digital outcrop models and field characterization, we document recognition criteria for avulsion nodes and reconstruct pre-, intra-, and post-avulsion channel evolution at the node, identifying evidence of channel-bed aggradation and pre-avulsion superelevation. Using a new 3-D stratigraphic modeling approach, we simulate the avulsion and analyze the resultant synthetic stratigraphy in parallel with outcrop exposures to link avulsion processes to stratigraphic products. Our results promote recognition and process-based interpretation of ancient river avulsion deposits observed in cross section and plan view on Earth and Mars and constrain the period of fluvial activity represented by the intersection to the order of centuries rather than more significant geologic time, as has been hypothesized previously.

Development of a Background Filtering Algorithm to Improve the Accuracy of Determining Underground Cavities Using Multi-Channel Ground-Penetrating Radar and Deep Learning

In the process of using multi-channel ground-penetrating radar (GPR) for underground cavity exploration, the acquired 3D data include reflection data from underground cavities or various underground objects (structures). Reflection data from unspecified structures can interfere with the identification process of underground cavities. This study aims to identify underground cavities using a C-GAN model with an applied ResBlock technique. This deep learning model demonstrates excellent performance in the image domain and can automatically classify the presence of cavities by analyzing 3D GPR data, including reflection waveforms (A-scan), cross-sectional views (B-scan), and plan views (C-scan) measured from the ground under roads. To maximize the performance of the C-GAN model, a background filtering algorithm (BFA) was developed and applied to enhance the visibility and clarity of underground cavities. To verify the performance of the developed BFA, 3D data collected from roads in Seoul, Republic of Korea, using 3D GPR equipment were transformed, and the C-GAN model was applied. As a result, it was confirmed that the recall, an indicator of cavity prediction, improved by approximately 1.15 times compared to when the BFA was not applied. This signifies the verification of the effectiveness of the BFA. This study developed a special algorithm to distinguish underground cavities. This means that in the future, not only the advancement of separate equipment and systems but also the development of specific algorithms can contribute to the cavity exploration process.

Automated diagnosis of atherosclerosis using multi-layer ensemble models and bio-inspired optimization in intravascular ultrasound imaging.

Atherosclerosis causes heart disease by forming plaques in arterial walls. IVUS imaging provides a high-resolution cross-sectional view of coronary arteries and plaque morphology. Healthcare professionals diagnose and quantify atherosclerosis physically or using VH-IVUS software. Since manual or VH-IVUS software-based diagnosis is time-consuming, automated plaque characterization tools are essential for accurate atherosclerosis detection and classification. Recently, deep learning (DL) and computer vision (CV) approaches are promising tools for automatically classifying plaques on IVUS images. With this motivation, this manuscript proposes an automated atherosclerotic plaque classification method using a hybrid Ant Lion Optimizer with Deep Learning (AAPC-HALODL) technique on IVUS images. The AAPC-HALODL technique uses the faster regional convolutional neural network (Faster RCNN)-based segmentation approach to identify diseased regions in the IVUS images. Next, the ShuffleNet-v2 model generates a useful set of feature vectors from the segmented IVUS images, and its hyperparameters can be optimally selected by using the HALO technique. Finally, an average ensemble classification process comprising a stacked autoencoder (SAE) and deep extreme learning machine (DELM) model can be utilized. The MICCAI Challenge 2011 dataset was used for AAPC-HALODL simulation analysis. A detailed comparative study showed that the AAPC-HALODL approach outperformed other DL models with a maximum accuracy of 98.33%, precision of 97.87%, sensitivity of 98.33%, and F score of 98.10%.

Corrosion characteristics of PPY/GO/CuO nano-composite powder reinforced epoxy coatings on IF steel

The present study has been designed to test the corrosion performance of epoxy based nano-composite coatings on Interstitial Free (IF) steel. PPy and PPy nano-composite powders were formed by polymerization of pyrrole using ferric chloride oxidant. PPy nano-composite powders were synthesized including Graphene oxide (GO) and Copper oxide (CuO) nano-particles. Four combinations have been undertaken in this study viz. pure PPy, PPy-GO (PG), PPy-CuO (PC) and PPy-GO-CuO (PGC). SEM/EDS and XRD results validated the uniform embedding of nano-particles in the pyrrole matrix during polymerization. Moreover, TGA analysis has also confirmed the enhancement of thermal stability of PPy with the incorporation of nano-particles. Further, epoxy (EP) powder was loaded with different concentration of synthesized composite powders to optimize the weight percent (wt%) of PPy, GO and CuO for testing the corrosion characteristics. The different coating configurations were applied on IF steel samples and electrochemical & salt spray testing have been conducted. It has been concluded that coating configuration EP/P2G0.5C1.0 has shown maximum corrosion protection efficiency (ηPE) of approximately 99 %. Moreover, other three configurations EP/P2, EP/P2G0.5 and EP/P2C1.0 have also shown noteworthy results of ηPE of 85, 96 and 97 % respectively. SEM images for cross-sectional view of coatings have also confirmed the uniformity of coatings on to the IF steel. The suitability of these synthesized coatings has also been verified via adhesion test evidencing no significant change in adhesive strength.

NCPD Tests: Undernutrition, Sarcopenia, Sarcopenic Obesity, and Sarcopenic Undernutrition: A Cross-sectional View on Patients Before Total Joint Arthroplasty.

NCPD Tests: Undernutrition, Sarcopenia, Sarcopenic Obesity, and Sarcopenic Undernutrition: A Cross-sectional View on Patients Before Total Joint Arthroplasty.

Undernutrition, Sarcopenia, Sarcopenic Obesity, and Sarcopenic Undernutrition: A Cross-sectional View on Patients Before Total Joint Arthroplasty.

Diagnostic criteria of malnutrition phenotypes have been recently updated. Uncovering the prevalence of these conditions in patients undergoing hip replacement may be crucial in order to apply the most appropriate diagnostic-therapeutic paths to the right patient at the right time. Sixty patients aged between 60 and 85 undergoing elective hip replacement were recruited. Preoperative measures concerning eating behaviors, anthropometry, physical performance, laboratory parameters, and patient reported measures of pain and function were collected, used to make diagnosis, and explored whether they differed based on malnutrition categorization. Patients undernourished were 18.75%, sarcopenic 13.34%, sarcopenic obesity 4.26%, and 8.88% undernourished and sarcopenic. Well-nourished patients ate more cereals and meat, exhibited lower white blood cells but higher lymphocytes, and reported greater hip-related pain. One in three older patients undergoing elective hip replacement was malnourished. Eating behaviors and leucocytes were the discriminating factors between malnourished and well-nourished. It remains to be established whether malnutrition affects outcome after surgery.

Nondestructive analysis of internal crystallographic structures of Japanese swords using neutron imaging

Crystallographic information and the internal structure of Japanese swords are crucial for understanding their metallurgical characteristics and exploring their making process. By accumulating such information from various swords made in different regions, eras and by different swordsmiths, we believe it will greatly aid in the comprehensive understanding of Japanese swords. We have been investigating Japanese swords using nondestructive analysis methods of neutron Bragg-edge transmission (BET) imaging and neutron tomography. BET provides insights into the crystalline structure of the steel, while the neutron tomography offers cross-sectional views of the sword. In this study, we examined three swords: Kashu Kiyomitsu, Nankaitaro Tomotaka, and Hosokawa Masanori, crafted between the Edo era (ca. 1603–1850) and the Meiji era (1868–1912).Kashu Kiyomitsu, from the early Edo era, exhibited a complex internal structure, with crystallite size of 0.5 µm or less around the cutting tip. Furthermore, other regions with crystallite sizes of 1 µm or larger were observed, extending from the middle area of the blade to the vicinity of the tang. The cross-sectional features of Kashu Kiyomitsu suggest that the sword has a complex structure probably combining low-carbon steel Kawagane and Shingane with a dedicated high-carbon steel for the cutting edge, Hagane. The martensite phase, indicating the quenched area, extended evenly over approximately 4 mm. In contrast, both Nankaitaro Tomotaka, from the late Edo era, and Hosokawa Masanori, from the Meiji era, exhibited relatively uniform crystallographic structures throughout the entire blade. In Nankaitaro Tomotaka, the martensite phase extended over a width of 4–6 mm from the cutting edge, confirming the arch-like boundary between martensite and ferrite/pearlite within the blade. In Hosokawa Masanori, the martensite phase extended over approximately 8–10 mm from the cutting edge, with a wavy pattern along the longitudinal direction. These observations suggest that Nankaitaro Tomotaka and Hosokawa Masanori were made using simpler sword-making techniques compared to Kashu Kiyomitsu.

Pyrene Funtionlized Hollow Porous Carbon/S-Dib Composite As a Cathode for Lithium-Sulfur Batteries

Lithium-sulfur batteries (LiSBs) stand out as promising candidates for the next-generation energy storage system. However, challenges such as the “shuttling effects” of intermediate lithium polysulfides and sluggish conversion between sulfur and lithium sulfide have led to low specific capacity under high current and a shortened cycling life for LiSBs. Extensive research has explored porous carbon materials as hosts for sulfur in LiSBs cathodes. Nevertheless, overcoming the “shuttling effects” and ensuring the uniform deposition of lithium sulfide without using metals or metal-containing species remains a challenge.Taking advantage of its aromatic properties, which promotes robust π-π interactions with sp2-hybridized carbon, pyrene with various functionalized groups emerges as a viable solution for surface modification through non-covalent bonding to carbon. In this study, we present the synthesis of X-pyrene (X=OH, NH2, Cl) modified hollow porous carbon (HPC) serving as a micro-reactor for inverse vulcanization, resulting in the formation of S-DIB/X-HPC (X=OH, NH2, Cl) with a uniform structure. Abundant oxygen-, nitrogen- and chloride interfaces were designed to act as adsorption catalytic sites, accelerating conversion kinetics and mitigating shuttle effects.Hollow porous carbon (HPC) nanoparticles were prepared from ZIF-8 by carbonization at 950 °C under argon atmosphere. (Figure 1a). The cross-sectional view in Figure 1b reveals numerous individual hexagonal structures with abundant internal pores. This structure helps accommodate inverse vulcanization (IV) reactions and ensures the uniform distribution of the final product (S-DIB). To evaluate the adsorption quantity of pyrene on the carbon surface, standard solutions of varying pyrene concentrations in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) were prepared and analyzed using Ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy (UV-VIS). A linear relationship is fitted between the intensity of these peaks with the standard pyrene solution. Therefore, the concentration in the filtrate is verified to be approximately 2 mM, in contrast to the initial concentration of 10 mM before adsorption. This observed concentration decrease implies an effective adsorption of pyrene molecules onto the HPC surface. To further investigate the catalytic effect of Cl-pyrene and NH2-pyrene for sulfur redox reactions, potentiostatic nucleation of Li2S on the HPC, Cl-HPC and NH2-HPC electrodes were conducted to clarify the involved multiphase transition process. As shown in Figure 3, the capacity of precipitated Li2S on Cl-HPC (160.62 mAh gS −1) and NH2-HPC (135.75 mAh gS −1) are both higher than that on HPC (99. 93 mAh gS −1). As a result, superior to S-DIB/HPC, the S-DIB/Cl-HPC cathode exhibits a higher initial specific capacity of 1208 mA h g−1 at 0.1 C and a capacity of 643 mA h g−1 at 3 C, and still retain 913 mAh g−1 while returning to 0.1 C. Furthermore, the S-DIB/NH2-HPC cathode possesses excellent cyclability with a high capacity retention of 652 mAh g−1 at 1 C over 300 cycles, yielding an average capacity decline of only 0.076% per cycle. Additionally, we investigate the impact of native surface groups on the deposition of lithium sulfide and the conversion of polysulfides. Figure 1

Anterior High-Resolution Optical Coherence Tomography in the Diagnosis and Therapeutic Monitoring of Ocular Surface Squamous Neoplasia.

Ocular surface squamous neoplasia (OSSN) is the most common tumor of the ocular surface, ranging from mild dysplasia to invasive squamous carcinoma. Traditionally, the diagnosis of OSSN relies on histopathological confirmation followed by a full-thickness biopsy. However, in the past two decades, the therapeutic approach to OSSN has shifted from surgical intervention to topical chemotherapy regimens in clinical settings. This shift emphasizes the need for less invasive or non-invasive methods to diagnose ocular surface pathologies. Among various imaging devices, commercially available high-resolution optical coherence tomography (HR-OCT) has emerged as a powerful tool for the characterization of OSSN. HR-OCT provides an in vivo, cross-sectional view of ocular surface lesions, offering an "optical biopsy" for OSSN with high sensitivity and specificity. It provides valuable information in differentiating intraepithelial or invasive OSSN from other benign lesions. Additionally, HR-OCT can be used to monitor the response to topical chemotherapy and to detect subclinical OSSN during follow-up visits. In this article, the scanning protocol for image acquisition is presented, and image interpretation for OSSN is outlined. This standardized, practical, and reproducible approach is recommended in clinical workflows and is expected to assist clinicians in the management of OSSN.

The correlation between material deformed microstructure and rolling contact fatigue crack propagation of U71Mn rail when matching with CL60 wheel

Deformed microstructure and rolling contact fatigue (RCF) cracks are the two predominant damage characteristics of the field wheel and rail materials from the cross-sectional view. The proportion of two damage characteristics varied under different operating conditions. Thus, this study aims to investigate the correlation between material deformed microstructure and RCF crack propagation of U71Mn rail when matching with CL60 wheel using a twin-disc testing machine. An initial deformed microstructure layer on U71Mn rail material was first obtained by testing under dry condition, and then the RCF crack propagation tests were conducted under water condition. Results indicated that when the crack depth was smaller than the initial deformed microstructure layer depth, the deformed orientation dominated the crack propagation direction; when the depth of crack propagation towards the matrix exceeded the depth of newly formed deformed microstructure region, crack propagation direction dominated the microstructure deformed orientation. The increase in the initial deformed microstructure layer depth would intensify both the crack length and depth, and also would result in thicker newly formed deformed microstructure region. The Pearson correlation coefficient between initial deformed microstructure layer depth and crack depth was 0.998. The influence of initial deformed microstructure layer depth on wear rate was slightly greater than crack depth.

Crashworthiness analysis of novel bidirectional gradient hierarchical double tubes inspired by the leaf tissue

Inspired by the cross-sectional view of leaf tissue, a bidirectional gradient hierarchical double tube (BGHDT) was proposed and its crashworthiness performance was investigated by finite element simulation. The results indicate that the proposed BGHDT has better energy absorption capacity than the conventional hexagon tube under the same mass condition. The folding wavelength of BGHDT is shorter than that of conventional hexagonal tubes, resulting in a larger number of folds. Compared with conventional hexagon tubes, the energy absorption of BGHDT with 3rd hierarchical level increases by 139.39% and its peak crush force (PCF) decreases by 16.29% at the same mass. Finally, the effects of wall thickness and the number of connecting units on the crashworthiness performance of BGHDT are systematically studied.

Evaluation of Visibility of Mandibular Incisive Canal by Using Cone-Beam Computed Tomography: An Observational Study.

Performing surgery on the anterior mandible could harm the mandibular incisive canal (MIC). To prevent it, preoperative radiographic assessment is essential. Aim of our study was to examine the visibility and presence of the MIC along with measurement of the length of MIC by utilizing cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT). Images from 50 subjects, ranging in age from 20 to 60 years, who had their mandibles examined by CBCT were taken from the archive. Reconstructed images included cross-sectional and panoramic views. The canal's visibility was obtained from the mesial to the mental foramen and finally to the incisal extension. The shortest distance between the mesial and distal portions of the canal was determined to be the length of the MIC. To analyze independent samples, t-tests were employed. In 40 cases (80%), the visibility of MIC was seen as bilateral, and in 10 cases (20%), as unilateral. The visible length among the population ranged from a minimum of 0.00 to a maximum of 25.25 mm, with an average of 15.37 ± 5.59. Future research could utilize the differences in prevalence with respect to gender and visibility as a point of reference.

Gauging and Imaging of Pipes using Water-Immersible Ultrasonic Instrumentation System

Abstract The purpose of this research work is to establish the functionality of the novel ultrasonic non-destructive inspection system and accurate gauging of pipes and to locate and visualise flaws in the form of B-Scan cross-sectional view (front-view) of the pipe under test. In this paper, presents a custom-made perspex inspection head assembly integrated with a stand-alone, Li-ion battery-powered and IP67-grade water-immersible ultrasonic instrumentation and gauging system, which enables an efficient assessment of the condition and health of pipes in stringent environments. Extensive inspection was carried out on six samples of 12” Inner Diameter (ID) type carbon steel (CS) pipes with length of 500 mm and having machined wall thickness to simulate loss of wall-thicknesses from 10 % over a length 150 mm of pipe, using 5 MHz spherically focused transducers. Further inspection were carried out on a 12” CS pipe with four notches and four flat bottom holes (FBH) machined on the OD side. Identical flaws were also machined onto 12” CS pipe of total length of 700 mm containing water inside the pipe in flowing condition with water flow rate of 100 litres per minute (LPM). The test results demonstrate the effectiveness of the developed IP67 grade water-immersible ultrasonic pipe inspection and gauging instrumentation system for assessing the condition and health of long-length carbon steel pipes operating in harsh environments.

Evaluating the feasibility of using augmented reality for tooth preparation

ObjectivesTooth preparation is complicated because it requires the preparation of an abutment while simultaneously predicting the ideal shape of the tooth. This study aimed to develop and evaluate a system using augmented reality (AR) head-mounted displays (HMDs) that provide dynamic navigation capabilities for tooth preparation. MethodsThe proposed system utilizes optical see-through HMDs to overlay digital information onto the real world and enrich the user's environment. By integrating tracking algorithms and three-dimensional modeling, the system provides real-time visualization and navigation capabilities during tooth preparation by using two different visualization techniques. The experimental setup involved a comprehensive analysis of the distance to the surface and cross-sectional angles between the ideal and prepared teeth using three scenarios: traditional (without AR), overlay (AR-assisted visualization of the ideal prepared tooth), and cross-sectional (AR-assisted visualization with cross-sectional views and angular displays). ResultsA user study (N = 24) revealed that the cross-sectional approach was more effective for angle adjustment and reduced the occurrence of over-reduction. Additional questionnaires revealed that the AR-assisted approaches were perceived as less difficult, with the cross-sectional approach excelling in terms of performance. ConclusionsVisualization and navigation using cross-sectional approaches have the potential to support safer tooth preparation with less overreduction than traditional and overlay approaches do. The angular displays provided by the cross-sectional approach are considered helpful for tooth preparation. Clinical significanceThe AR navigation system can assist dentists during tooth preparation and has the potential to enhance the accuracy and safety of prosthodontic treatment.