Purpose To determine whether wideband late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) and wideband perfusion pulse sequences suppress image artifacts in children in the presence of a cardiac implantable electronic device (CIED). Materials and Methods In the first experiment of this prospective study, unenhanced cardiac MRI was performed at 1.5 T in 18 healthy pediatric participants (median age, 12 years [range, 10-15 years]; 12 [67%] female) with and without a CIED generator taped in the subclavicular and abdominal positions. LGE and perfusion scans were performed with standard and wideband sequences in each state. Three clinical raters adjudicated the presence or absence of clinically relevant image artifacts. Image artifacts were also quantified. In the second experiment, wideband perfusion and LGE MRI scans with gadolinium-based contrast material administration were performed on four pediatric participants (median age, 15 years [range, 15-19 years]; three [75%] female) with CIEDs in situ. Image quality was graded on a five-point Likert scale by clinical raters (3 = clinically acceptable). Myocardial blood flow was also quantified. Results In the participant experiments, standard LGE produced image artifacts in 61.81% (178 of 288) and 37.15% (107 of 288) of myocardial segments for subclavicular and abdominal IPGs, respectively, and were significantly different (P < .001) from wideband LGE (14.68% [42 of 288] and 0%, respectively) for both positions. Quantitative analysis results were consistent with expert adjudication. Wideband cardiac MRI in four children with CIEDs achieved high image quality (median score ≥ 4.0) and mean resting myocardial blood flow value of 1.06 mL/min/g (n = 3). Conclusion Compared with standard LGE and perfusion MRI, wideband LGE and perfusion MRI produced significantly fewer image artifacts induced by CIEDs in pediatric participants. Keywords: Wideband, Pediatric, Late Gadolinium Enhancement, Perfusion, Pacemaker, Defibrillator Supplemental material is available for this article. © RSNA, 2025.

Behavior of damaged reinforced concrete arches retrofitted with corrugated stainless steel arches: Experiment, numerical analysis, and calculation method

Numerical study and controlled generation of double emulsion droplet in a six-way junction microfluidic device using design of experiment method

Dielectric design for sensitivity maximization in force sensors through full-factorial experiment method and desirability function

Research of the temperature correction-based turbine cascade experiment method

Solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) systems can last over five years, making data collection for lifespan predictions time-consuming. Accelerating their degradation is thus essential to advance the development of next fuel cell generations. Accelerated life testing (ALT) reduces the time-to-failure by operating systems outside normal conditions, but it requires a comprehensive understanding of the degradation mechanisms to select proper stressors. Finding critical stressors and understanding their impact on cell aging are also crucial steps in managing and mitigating system degradation. This paper presents an innovative approach to developing ALT protocols for SOFCs through the application of Design of Experiments (DOE) method. A three-parameter two-level full factorial design with a central point is used to investigate the effect of the temperature, and air and fuel humidity as stressors for ALT. Models correlating operating conditions with degradation metrics are developed using an analysis of variance (ANOVA) methodology and their predications compared with three validation tests. The voltage evolution of the twelve 1000 h tests used in this work are presented in Figure 1. All three parameters investigated had a significant impact on the ohmic and polarization degradation rate suggesting that the temperature, and air and fuel humidity are good stressor candidate. Results showed that the effect of a particular stressor on the degradation rate can depend on the value of the other stressors. This emphasizes that the interaction between stressors is significant and should be taken into consideration when developing ALT protocols. Comparison between the model degradation rate predictions and that obtained on three validation tests showed that the simple linear model with interaction used in this work was not sufficient to accurately represent and predict the ohmic and polarization resistance degradation rates. Replicates and additional experiments at different operating conditions should be performed to evaluate the lack-of-fit and test higher order models. A similar data analysis procedure could be performed on results from distribution of relaxation time, equivalent circuit analysis, or microscopic imaging to offer a more detailed overview of the degradation induced by the selected stressors. This work highlights the importance of strategic stressor choice and comprehensive experimental design in defining ALT protocols for SOFCs. Figure 1

Purpose This study aims to optimize the acoustic power level of the APC11x4.7SF unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) propeller using the Taguchi design of experiment approach. This research focuses on enhancing UAV propeller aerodynamic performance simultaneous with reduction in acoustic power level. Design/methodology/approach This study was conducted in two stages. Initially, the blade airfoil (E63) optimization was performed in terms of its maximum camber, maximum camber position and maximum thickness. Later on, three-dimensional blade shape optimization was performed, where the pitch angle of spanwise control stations is defined as the primary geometric parameter. The influence of each parameter on aeroacoustic performance is quantified using the Taguchi method, and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) investigation was used to verify the results upon estimated optimal conditions. Findings For the proposed models, the acoustic power level (APL) of the propeller at optimal conditions is reduced to 109.14, 109.71 and 108.54 dB, compared to the baseline model with 113.50 dB. In addition, the shape optimization was resulted in a 0.049 N increase in thrust and a 4.36 dB reduction in APL. A thrust increase of 4.14% and a noise reduction of 3.84% were achieved, demonstrating the aerodynamic and acoustic effectiveness of the proposed design. These results demonstrated significant improvements in both acoustic performance and thrust compared to the initial propeller design. Originality/value This study provides a novel application of the Taguchi design of experiment approach to aeroacoustic optimization of a UAV propeller, integrating both two-dimensional airfoil and three-dimensional shape optimization. Moreover, the effectiveness of the design of experiment and CFD methods combination for achieving simultaneous improvements in acoustic power levels and thrust has been proposed, together with offering valuable insights for UAV propeller design advancements.

The article is devoted to the discussion of some aspects of computer graphics. The relevance of the research topic is due to the constant growth in demand for high-quality and efficient graphical visualization of data. In this regard, there is a need to understand how graphical systems work. The results of the research can be useful in creating various applications for scientific computing, computational modeling, and educational purposes. The purpose of the study is to implement an original algorithm for graphical construction of an ellipse and analyze the effectiveness of the proposed solution using standard graphical primitives in Python. The study attempts to propose original approaches to implementing individual basic elements of computer graphics and to investigate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithms in comparison with standard (library) solutions based on a specific programming language. Indeed, the quality of a graphical application's visualization directly depends on the algorithms chosen for manipulating graphical primitives. Different methods have their own advantages and disadvantages in terms of accuracy, performance, and application areas. This provides a fertile ground for exploring new ideas in the implementation of graphical objects and conducting a comparative analysis of such algorithms with standard solutions based on a specific programming language. The article focuses on two aspects of the research: the mathematical foundation of the proposed method and its computer implementation. It is well-known that ellipses offer greater flexibility in creating visual elements in gaming software. In particular, elliptic curves are used in image compression algorithms. Traditional compression methods based on rectangular blocks often produce imperfect results. Due to their anisotropy, ellipses allow for more accurate approximation of complex shapes in images. The proposed algorithm relies on the unique property of anisotropy, which allows for easy deformation of ellipses in the desired direction, enabling them to adapt more effectively to the specific features of the image being generated. The research described in the article clearly demonstrated that the ellipse drawing method proposed by the authors consistently outperforms the basic Python method on any number of curves in terms of runtime. The difference in the performance of the program runs allows us to make an assumption about the effectiveness of the original method in experiments with high computational load.

A small-scale three-degree-of-freedom decompression launch experiment method is used to study the flow characteristics in a ventilated cavity at different transverse velocities. The study subjects are three typical head-shaped underwater vehicles: hemispherical, ellipsoidal, and conical. The evolution mechanism of the ventilated shoulder cavity in a vehicle under transverse velocity is investigated, and the effects of transverse velocity and vehicle head shape changes on the cavity are summarized. Research results show that the hemispherical-headed vehicle’s ventilated cavity is prone to cavity pre-positioning, thereby affecting the distribution of the confronted stream surface (CSS) cavity. As the transverse velocity increases, the cavity pre-positioning point disappears, and the degree of deflection in the vehicle’s trajectory increases. The difference between the opposing stream surface (OSS) and the CSS cavities decreases as the cavities shed. The drag effect of the shedding air mass causes a change in the cavity closure angle. At high transverse velocity (vt = 0.6 m/s), the cavity difference between the OSS and CSS of the ellipsoidal vehicle is the largest, and the amount of gas shed at the cavity’s end is the smallest. The initial angle of the closure angle at the cavity end is related to the ability of the air mass near the tube (AMNT) to be drawn in by the head shape of the vehicle. Under the influence of transverse velocity, the shedding cavity deflects toward the OSS. The interaction patterns between the shoulder and tail cavities on vehicles with different head shapes primarily include three modes.

Based on the uncanny valley theory, this study uses the scenario experiment method to explore user acceptance willingness toward AI-generated advertisements and its influence mechanism, and analyzes the roles of perceived eeriness, perceived trust, and perceived effort in this process. The study finds that perceived eeriness has a significant negative impact on user acceptance willingness toward AI-generated advertisements, while perceived trust and perceived effort play a mediating role between perceived eeriness and user acceptance willingness. This study provides a theoretical basis and practical implications for advertising practitioners and technology developers to optimize advertising design.

Systems neuroscience has experienced an explosion of new tools for reading and writing neural activity, enabling exciting new experiments (e.g., all-optical interrogation, closed-loop control) for interrogating neural circuits. Unfortunately, these advances have drastically increased the complexity of designing experiments, with ad hoc decisions often resulting in suboptimal or even failed experiments. Bridging model and experiment via simulation can help solve this problem, leveraging advances in computational models to provide a low-cost testbed for experiment design, model validation, and methods engineering. Specifically, we require an integrated approach that incorporates simulation of the experimental interface into computational models, but no existing tool integrates optogenetics, two-photon calcium imaging, electrode recording, and flexible closed-loop processing with neural population simulations. To address this need, we have developed Cleo: the Closed-Loop, Electrophysiology, and Optophysiology experiment simulation testbed. Cleo is a Python package enabling injection of virtual recording and stimulation devices as well as closed-loop control with realistic latency into a Brian spiking neural network model. Notably, it is the only publicly available tool to date simulating two-photon and multi-opsin/wavelength optogenetics. To facilitate adoption and extension by the community, Cleo is open-source, modular, tested, and documented, and can export results to various data formats. Here we describe the design and features of Cleo, evaluate output of individual components and integrated experiments, and demonstrate its utility for advancing optogenetic techniques in prospective experiments using previously published systems neuroscience models.Significance statement The rapid expansion of neuroscience tools offers immense potential but also makes it extremely difficult to select the best tools when planning an experiment. Simulations can help streamline this process, but existing neural simulators lack support for cutting-edge techniques combining optogenetics (controlling neurons with light), electrical recording, microscopy, and closed-loop stimulation. To fill this gap, we developed the opensource software Cleo, which integrates diverse models of these tools and saves researchers the hard work of implementing them ad hoc. Cleo's capabilities are demonstrated through both replication of published experiments and the prototyping of novel ones, providing crucial infrastructure to enhance the synergy between experimentation, modeling, and advanced methods.

The aim of our study was: To establish the effectiveness of an experimental method of teaching swimming to children aged 7-9 in beginner groups in their first year of training, based on the use of active games. Material and methods: The study was conducted among children attending swimming lessons at the Yana Klochkova Municipal Children's and Youth Sports School of Water Sports in Kharkiv. 28 girls and 30 boys participated in the study. The subjects were divided into experimental (EG) and control groups (CG). The groups were identical in terms of gender and age (EG of girls - 15 people, CG of girls - 13 people; EG of boys - 15 people, CG of boys - 15 people). The experiment was conducted during the school year. Its purpose was to verify the developed methodology for teaching swimming to swimmers aged 7-9 years based on the use of outdoor games. The content and methods of the pedagogical experiment corresponded to the general principles of teaching and upbringing in the educational and training process. The author's methodology for teaching swimming to children aged 7-9 years in the initial training groups of the first year of training consisted in increasing the amount of time allocated to the use of outdoor games in the water. When selecting games and recruiting teams, the occupancy of the groups, the swimming training of those involved, their age and gender, the conditions and place of conduct, the available equipment, as well as the tasks were taken into account. The games had rules or conditions, were feasible, corresponded to the preparedness of the subjects, and ended with summing up and identifying the winners. During data collection, the following research methods were used: theoretical analysis and generalisation of data from literary sources; pedagogical experiment; pedagogical testing; methods of mathematical statistics. Results: The study revealed that both the control and experimental groups showed positive dynamics in test results, but the experimental groups showed a significant improvement in all indicators of physical and technical fitness of young athletes (p&lt;0.05). Conclusions: the indicators obtained during the experiment showed a significant improvement in the EG in most indicators of the physical and technical fitness of athletes (p&lt;0.05), in contrast to the control group. This allows us to conclude that the proposed method of using mobile games contributes to improving the physical fitness of children and mastering swimming skills.

Measuring adsorption equilibria: The determination of the maximum binding capacity depends strongly on the method of resin preparation.

Purpose. The study aimed to experimentally substantiate and verify the effectiveness of a physical education and health-improving program using korfball in influencing the functional state and social competence of preschool children aged 5–6 years. Materials and methods. Research methods included theoretical analysis, pedagogical observation, pedagogical experiment, testing, biomedical and psychodiagnostic methods, and mathematical statistics. Functional indicators of the cardiovascular system (blood pressure, resting heart rate) and respiratory system (vital lung capacity, respiratory rate) were assessed. Social competence was evaluated using the sociometric method "Two Houses." The study involved 60 children divided randomly into control (n=30) and experimental (n=30) groups. The control group followed the standard program “I am in the World” with elements of sports games, while the experimental group was additionally engaged in the author’s program based on korfball. Results. The program of physical education and health-improving activities using korfball was scientifically substantiated and structured into three stages: adaptive-developmental, preparatory-technical, and active-game. It aimed to improve physical health, functional condition, motor skills, social competence, and value orientations of preschool children. The pedagogical experiment confirmed the positive impact of korfball on cardiovascular and respiratory parameters (decreased HR, increased SBP, DBP, VC, reduced RR) as well as on children’s sociometric status, indicating improved interpersonal relations and group cohesion. Conclusions. The effectiveness of the program was confirmed: korfball contributed to strengthening health, improving the functional state of the cardiorespiratory system, and enhancing social competence in 5–6-year-old children. Children in the experimental group demonstrated better interpersonal relations and higher group cohesion, proving the educational and developmental value of the program.

ABSTRACTBackgroundLong‐acting somatostatin analogues (LA SSAs) are commonly used as first‐line treatment in well‐differentiated low and intermediate grade 1–2 gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumours (GEP‐NETs). As a long‐term treatment option for NETs, treatment preferences should be taken into consideration. The objective of this study is to evaluate the relative importance of different LA SSA treatment features among patients with NETs, clinicians and nurses in Australia.MethodsA discrete choice experiment (DCE) method was used to analyse treatment preferences for NETs, embedded in an online survey. Participants could choose between three hypothetical treatment options: ‘deep subcutaneous injectable treatment’, ‘deep intramuscular injectable treatment’, ‘oral treatment’; and an opt‐out. Each option was described by seven attributes: ‘Progression free survival’ (PFS), ‘symptom control for diarrhoea and flushing’, ‘risk of gastrointestinal (GI) side effects’, ‘frequency of administration’, ‘treatment administration,’ ‘treatment delivery,’ and ‘availability of patient support’. A Mixed Multinomial Logit model (MMNL) was used for analysis.ResultsA total of 54 patients with NETs, 27 clinicians, and 9 nurses completed the DCE (of 33, 26 and 20 planned respectively). The statistical model showed an overall preference for oral administration. ‘PFS’ was the most important attribute, followed by ‘symptom control for diarrhoea and flushing’ and ‘risk of GI side effects’. ‘PFS’ and ‘symptom control for diarrhoea and flushing’ were also found to be more important to healthcare professionals (HCPs, i.e., clinicians and nurses) than patients with NETs, while the attributes ‘symptom control for diarrhoea and flushing’ and ‘risk of GI side effects’ were found to be more important in non‐metropolitan areas (vs. metropolitan areas).ConclusionsAnalysis showed how patients with NETs and HCPs prioritise treatment attributes for NETs differently. Because the duration of use of LA SSA for the treatment of NETs is often long, these differences highlight the importance of involving the patient when making treatment decisions.

Purpose In today's dynamic, hyper-connected and digital age, organizations require digital leadership that can navigate digital transformation challenges while staying creative, agile and competitive. This paper aims to investigate the impact of enabling digital leadership (EDL) and mentoring digital leadership (MDL) on the creative performance of remote workers, as well as the moderating role of remote work intensity on these relationships. Design/methodology/approach To test the research hypotheses, the study administered a questionnaire survey method to remote employees in the Indian IT/ITeS Sector. SmartPLS 4 software version 4.1.0.1 was used to perform partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). Findings Path analysis revealed the significant impact of EDL on remote employees' creative performance. Further, importance-performance map analysis highlighted that enabling open spaces for experimentation, interdisciplinary teamwork and flexible working methods were the most significant indicators of EDL for creative performance. MICOM and multi-group analysis revealed a non-significant moderating role of remote work intensity on the studied relationships. Practical implications For human resource professionals, EDL can help promote remote workers' creativity by developing an open-error organizational culture, championing psychological safety and flattening traditional team hierarchies. Social implications The non-significant moderating effect of remote work intensity reinforce the significance of leadership style rather than remote work arrangement. Originality/value This study is the first to identify the most contributing indicators of EDL for fostering creativity among remote workers in the Indian IT/ITeS sector using the digital leadership framework.

Chromium (VI) is a heavy metal which is the cause of water pollution and toxic effect on the living structures. In this study, the adsorption of Cr (VI) and the removal of other pollution parameters were investigated using natural adsorbent as waste acorn of Quercus ithaburensis (Oak tree) which was produced by valeks industries. The study consists of two experimental parts. In the first part, principal factors affecting the adsorption were investigated by batch experiment methods. Optimum conditions of stirring rate, pH, particular size of adsorbent, starting concentration, amount of adsorbent, mixing time and temperature for effective chromium removal were determined. The best adsorption conditions were found as 10 min contact time at 7 of pH with 550 rpm stirring rate in 100 ml sample volume using 1.00 g of adsorbent. In the second part, adsorption tests were exercised with wastewater under pre-determined optimum conditions for the adsorbent. Experimental studies were taken place on the removal of COD (Chemical Oxygen Demand), SS (Suspend Solid), BOD (Biological Oxygen Demand) and chromium (VI) from composite sample of the tannery wastewater. The outputs of adsorption using oak acorn waste for COD, SS, BOD and chromium (VI) respectively about 1%, 17%, 12.5%, 12% was obtained.

In observational studies, the propensity score plays a central role in estimating causal effects of interest. The inverse probability weighting (IPW) estimator is commonly used for this purpose. However, if the propensity score model is misspecified, the IPW estimator may produce biased estimates of causal effects. Previous studies have proposed some robust propensity score estimation procedures. However, these methods require considering parameters that dominate the uncertainty of sampling and treatment allocation. This study proposes a novel Bayesian estimating procedure that necessitates probabilistically deciding the parameter, rather than deterministically. Since the IPW estimator and propensity score estimator can be derived as solutions to certain loss functions, the general Bayesian paradigm, which does not require considering the full likelihood, can be applied. Therefore, our proposed method only requires the same level of assumptions as ordinary causal inference contexts. The proposed Bayesian method demonstrates equal or superior results compared to some previous methods in simulation experiments and is also applied to real data, namely the Whitehalldataset.

Globally, mobile health (mHealth) tools are becoming more widely available. This provides great benefits for both patients and healthcare providers. However, mHealth adoption is still comparatively low. Furthermore, few studies have examined people's intentions to download mHealth apps. The purpose of this study is to investigate people's propensity to use mobile health apps. The discrete choice experiment method was employed to investigate healthcare application users in Nigeria. Two main features (attributes) of the mHealth applications, subscription cost and data protection, were presented to the 1600 participants in the study. Each feature had two levels: ‘free subscription’ and ‘$20 subscription’ for cost, and ‘data protection’ and ‘no data protection’ for data privacy. The pricing for data protection is $20, equivalent to N39, 058.76 (at the rate of $1 = N1, 502.26), while the free subscription option does not include data protection. A total of 1,600 participants were randomly selected through a web-based survey employing a proportionate stratified sampling technique. Data were analyzed using a conditional logistic regression model in R (Clogit), yielding 43,200 observations (1600 participants’× 18 available choices× 3 alternatives). The results revealed that cost and data protection significantly influenced users’ willingness to download mHealth apps. Specifically, the odds ratio (OR) for paid apps ($20) was 0.498 (95% CI: 0.468–0.530), indicating a reduced likelihood of download compared to free apps, while the OR for data protection was 0.25 (95% CI: 0.232–0.270), suggesting that participants strongly preferred apps that ensured privacy of health data. The model yielded a log-likelihood of –23,165.48 and an R² of 0.113, confirming a good model fit. The findings imply that users are significantly more inclined to adopt mHealth apps that are free and guarantee data protection. Reducing cost barriers and strengthening privacy measures are, therefore, essential strategies for enhancing mHealth adoption in Nigeria and similar contexts.

Systemic social oppression is a chronic, complex, transmissible, and cumulative source of collective trauma that targets groups of people based on shared identities and experiences. While various disciplines rely on collective trauma as a theoretical framework to elaborate on the pervasive impacts of systemic oppression, other disciplines allude to the study and measurement of this phenomenon but neglect to characterize it under this specific framework. Without fully integrating these multidisciplinary perspectives and developing reliable methods of experimentation and data collection, researchers will remain limited in their ability to provide a truly holistic perspective of collective trauma's impact on the health and well-being of marginalized communities. This integrative, interdisciplinary analysis draws from various disciplines to define and conceptualize collective trauma resulting from systemic social oppression. Furthermore, this article seeks to explore how collective trauma contributes to inequities in health and social conditions among historically marginalized groups. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).