Objective Means Research Articles

Microsurgery in Motion: An Objective Assessment of Microsurgical Skill and Efficiency.

High levels of precision, as well as controlled, efficient motions, are important components of microsurgical technique and success. An accurate and objective means of skill assessment is lacking in resident microsurgical education. Here we employ three-dimensional, real-time motion-tracking technology to analyze hand and instrument motion during microsurgical anastomoses. We hypothesize that motion metrics can objectively quantify microsurgical skill and predict the overall level of expertise. Seventeen participants including medical students, plastic surgery residents, and attendings performed two end-to-end arterial microsurgical anastomoses in a laboratory setting. Motion tracking sensors were applied to standardized positions on participants' hands and microsurgical instruments. Motion and time parameters were abstracted using sensor-derived position data. A total of 32 anastomoses were completed and analyzed. There were significant differences in time for task completion and idle time between attendings and junior residents (post-graduate year (PGY)1-3). Path length and working volume consistently differentiated between students and attendings for all phases of an anastomosis. Motion and time data were less able to consistently distinguish attendings from residents stratified by laboratory anastomosis experience. Quantifiable motion parameters provide objective data regarding the efficiency of microsurgical techniques in surgical trainees. These data provide a basis for microsurgical competency assessments and may inform future structured feedback through instruction, instruments, and technological interfaces.

Subjective and objectives measures of frailty among adults with advanced chronic kidney disease: a cross-sectional analysis of clinician misclassification.

Frailty is a recognisable clinical measure of impaired physiological reserve and vulnerability to adverse outcomes that is validated among patients with kidney disease. Practice patterns reveal inconsistent use of objective frailty measures by nephrologists, with clinicians prioritising subjective clinical impressions, possibly risking misclassification and discrimination. The aim of this study was to examine correlations between subjective and objective measures of frailty in a cohort of patients attending routine nephrologist review. Eighty-nine participants attending scheduled review with their primary treating nephrologist (n = 6) were included in cross-sectional analysis. Measured frailty based on Fried phenotype and subjective clinician impression were assessed for congruence using Pearson's correlation analysis and ĸ statistic. Ordinal logistic regression examined patient demographics associated with perceived frailty. Misclassification was explored using descriptive statistics and contingency table analysis. Frailty and prefrailty were prevalent by both objective and subjective means of assessment with minimal correlation between clinician impression and measured Fried phenotype (r = 0.50, P = 0.00, ĸ = 0.25, P = 0.00). Subjective clinician impression misclassified half of participants, influenced by surrogate frailty measures including female sex, comorbidity and reliance on a walking aid. Clinicians were equally likely to over-classify prefrailty as to under-recognise established frailty, with no evidence of systemic misclassification bias. Subjective clinican impression of frailty had a positive predictive value of 19.1% and a negative predictive value of 56.2%. Nephrologists' reliance on subjective clinical impressions that overlook or misclassify prefrailty offers incomplete prognostic assessment and potentially misses opportunities for early intervention.

ANALYSIS OF DENOTATIVE MEANING IN THE NOVEL MIDNIGHT DIARIES BY MALIO HARTIGAN BY SKYSPHIRE

This article discusses the denotative meaning in the novel Midnight Diaries by Malio Hartigan by Skysphire. Denotative meaning is an objective meaning, so the meaning is concrete according to the actual meaning. Denotative meaning is also referred to as lexical meaning, dictionary meaning, or literal meaning. Through this research, the author aims to identify how denotative meaning is used to construct important elements in the novel, such as the depiction of setting, characters, and events. This research will also explore how the literal meaning contained in the text creates a clearer and more purposeful reading experience. This research uses a descriptive qualitative method with text analysis to explore the meaning of language according to literary context. Data were collected through observation of language in the novel and identification of elements containing denotative meaning. The analysis was conducted systematically, starting from coding, context interpretation, to the presentation of findings related to the function of denotative meaning in the novel. The results of the analysis show that this novel uses denotative meaning to clarify the background of the story, describe the conflict experienced by the main character, and create a certain atmosphere that supports the storyline. Through this analysis, readers are expected to understand how denotative meaning functions in shaping the narrative and enriching the reading experience. Furthermore, the analysis shows that the use of denotative meaning helps the reader to understand the narrative. Keywords: text analysis, denotative meaning, novel

Ing-Nouns as a Type of Processual Lexicon: Addressing Issue of Recent Borrowings in Russian

This study explores the processual properties of recent borrowed nouns featuring the component -ing-, characterized in this article as a suffix with distinct structural and semantic features. The objective of the research is to delineate various semantic groups of “ingnouns” based on their contextual paradigmatic and syntagmatic relationships, particularly regarding their verbal-nominal functional properties. The material for this analysis is derived from the subcorpora “Social Networks” and “Central Mass Media” of the Russian National Corpus. It is demonstrated that the processual nature of “ing-nouns” is significantly influenced by their form, with bilingualism among Russian speakers identified as a contributing factor to the development of processuality. The processual interpretation of “ing-nouns” is evidenced by the interpretations of their lexical meanings, which reflect the linguistic reflections of speakers, as well as the introduction of the term “process” into the text. Among the verbal syntagmatic connections of “ingnouns,” the governance of the genitive case form with either object or subject meanings is noted, alongside the explication of action manner semantics through association with instrumental case forms or lexemes such as method and mechanism. The active nature of metonymic semantic derivation based on the processual meanings of “ing-nouns” is confirmed.

Free-living monitoring of ALS progression in upper limbs using wearable accelerometers

BackgroundWearable technology offers objective and remote quantification of disease progression in neurological diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Large population studies are needed to determine generalization and reproducibility of findings from pilot studies.MethodsA large cohort of patients with ALS (N = 202) wore wearable accelerometers on their dominant and non-dominant wrists for a week every two to four weeks and self-entered the ALS Functional Rating Scale-Revised (ALSFRS-RSE) in similar time intervals. Wearable device data were processed to quantify digital biomarkers on four upper limb movements: flexion, extension, supination, and pronation using previously developed and validated open-source methodology. In this study, we determined the association between digital biomarkers and disease progression, studied the impact of study design in terms of required sensor wear-time and sensor position, and determined the impact of self-reported disease onset location on upper limb movements.ResultsThe main investigation considered data from a sensor placed on the non-dominant wrist. Participants with higher ALSFRS-RSE scores performed more frequent and faster upper limb movements compared to participants with more advanced disease status. Digital biomarkers exhibited statistically significant change over time while their rate of change was more profound compared to survey responses. Using data from the dominant wrist and changing data inclusion criteria did not alter our findings. ALS disease onset location significantly impacted use of upper limbs. Results presented here were comparable to an earlier study on twenty patients with ALS.DiscussionDigital health technologies provide sensitive and objective means to quantify ALS disease progression. Interpretable approaches, such as the one used in this paper, can improve patient evaluation and hasten therapeutic development.

Repackaging and Repurposing Digital Objects: A Conceptual Model to Understand the Malleability of Politics in Digital Environments

ABSTRACTWith the transition to digital environments, there are new dynamics and practices which need to be understood. In contrast to analogue objects, digital objects and online engagements exist in semi‐fixed digital environments which are subject to change, despite time. This makes digital objects different from analogue objects, as they are more malleable, and subject to having their meaning changed, especially with respect to politics. This paper presents repackaged and repurposed intention as two new practices which leverage the malleability of digital objects in relation to the scene in which they occur. Together, repackaged and repurposed intention provide a scaffold for understanding the way politics, playing out in digital spaces, no longer relies on author intentionality to define the meaning or purpose of their engagements. Our paper explores the potential to shift the meaning of digital objects through two illustrative cases and, in doing so, highlights how the potential to change the meaning of digital objects has important political implications.

“I’ve always felt like I’m on the outside”: identity and social inclusion among young adults with mental illness and complex needs – a qualitative study

ABSTRACT Purpose Addressing social inclusion often involves objective measures and means related to work, education, housing and economy. However, important subjective factors, such as the relationship between identity on social inclusion among young adults with mental illness and complex needs, are understudied. The study objective is to explore how young adults with mental illness and complex needs experience their identity in relation to social inclusion. Materials and methods The study adopted a qualitative, explorative, and participatory design. Seven young adults (three males/four females, aged 22–29) were recruited though Flexible Assertive Community Treatment (FACT) Teams, and semi-structured interviews were conducted. Reflexive thematic analysis was employed in the analysis. Results The analysis resulted in two main themes. Theme one, “Who they are”, included three subthemes: “A lifelong sense of being someone on the outside”, “Feeling different from others”, and “Someone who is worthless and doesn’t matter”. Theme two, “Who they want to be”, included two subthemes “Wanting to be someone else”, and “The need to redefine oneself”. Conclusions This study underlines the importance of working systematically on subjective aspects such as identity, in addition to objective measures, to address social exclusion in a vulnerable and marginalized group. Future directions for research and the development of a more tangible and holistic approach to promote social inclusion are suggested.

Comparison of Pearson’s and Spearman’s correlation coefficients for selected traits of Pinus sylvestris L.

Summary The Spearman rank correlation coefficient is a non-parametric (distribution-free) rank statistic proposed by Charles Spearman as a measure of the strength of the relationship between two variables. It is a measure of a monotonic relationship that is used when the distribution of the data makes Pearson’s correlation coefficient undesirable or misleading. The Spearman coefficient is not a measure of the linear relationship between two variables. It assesses how well an arbitrary monotonic function can describe the relationship between two variables, without making any assumptions about the frequency distribution of the variables. Unlike Pearson’s product-moment (linear) correlation coefficient, it does not require the assumption that the relationship between variables is linear, nor does it require that the variables be measured on interval scales; it can be applied to variables measured at the ordinal level. The purpose of this study is to compare the values of Pearson’s product-moment correlation coefficient and Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient and their statistical significance for six morpho-anatomical traits of Pinus sylvestris L. (original – for Pearson’s coefficient, and ranked – for Spearman’s coefficient) estimated from all observations, object means (for trees), and medians. The results show that the linear and rank correlation coefficients are consistent (as to direction and strength). In cases of divergence in the direction of correlation, the correlation coefficients were not statistically significant, which does not imply consistency in decision-making. Estimation of correlation coefficients based on medians is robust to outlier observations and factors that linear correlation is then very similar to rank correlation.

Smartphone-Based Pupillometry Using Machine Learning for the Diagnosis of Sports-Related Concussion.

Background: Quantitative pupillometry has been proposed as an objective means to diagnose acute sports-related concussion (SRC). Objective: To assess the diagnostic accuracy of a smartphone-based quantitative pupillometer in the acute diagnosis of SRC. Methods: Division I college football players had baseline pupillometry including pupillary light reflex (PLR) parameters of maximum resting diameter, minimum diameter after light stimulus, percent change in pupil diameter, latency of pupil constriction onset, mean constriction velocity, maximum constriction velocity, and mean dilation velocity using a smartphone-based app. When an SRC occurred, athletes had the smartphone pupillometry repeated as part of their concussion testing. All combinations of the seven PLR parameters were tested in machine learning binary classification models to determine the optimal combination for differentiating between non-concussed and concussed athletes. Results: 93 football athletes underwent baseline pupillometry testing. Among these athletes, 11 suffered future SRC and had pupillometry recordings repeated at the time of diagnosis. In the machine learning pupillometry analysis that used the synthetic minority oversampling technique to account for the significant class imbalance in our dataset, the best-performing model was a random forest algorithm with the combination of latency, maximum diameter, minimum diameter, mean constriction velocity, and maximum constriction velocity PLR parameters as feature inputs. This model produced 91% overall accuracy, 98% sensitivity, 84.2% specificity, area under the curve (AUC) of 0.91, and an F1 score of 91.6% in differentiating between baseline and SRC recordings. In the machine learning analysis prior to oversampling of our imbalanced dataset, the best-performing model was k-nearest neighbors using latency, maximum diameter, maximum constriction velocity, and mean dilation velocity to produce 82% accuracy, 40% sensitivity, 87% specificity, AUC of 0.64, and F1 score of 24%. Conclusions: Smartphone pupillometry in combination with machine learning may provide fast and objective SRC diagnosis in football athletes.

Special Report on the Consensus QIBA Profile for Objective Analytical Validation of Non-calcified and High-risk Plaque and Other Biomarkers using Computed Tomography Angiography

Evidence is building in support of the clinical utility of atherosclerotic plaque imaging by computed tomography angiography (CTA). There is increasing organized activity to embrace non-calcified plaque (NCP) as a formally defined biomarker for clinical trials, and high-risk plaque (HRP) for clinical care, as the most relevant measures for the field to advance and worthy of community efforts to validate. Yet the ability to assess the quantitative performance of any given specific solution to make these measurements or classifications is not available. Vendors use differing definitions, assessment metrics, and validation data sets to describe their offerings without clinician users having the capability to make objective assessments of accuracy and precision and how this affects diagnostic confidence. The QIBA Profile for Atherosclerosis Biomarkers by Computed Tomography Angiography (CTA) was created by the Quantitative Imaging Biomarkers Alliance (QIBA) to improve objectivity and decrease the variability of noninvasive plaque phenotyping. The Profile provides claims on the accuracy and precision of plaque measures individually and when combined. Individual plaque morphology measurements are evaluated in terms of bias (accuracy), slope (consistency of the bias across the measurement range, needed for measurements of change), and variability. The multiparametric plaque stability phenotype is evaluated in terms of agreement with expert pathologists. The Profile is intended for a broad audience, including those engaged in discovery science, clinical trials, and patient care. This report provides a rationale and overview of the Profile claims and how to comply with the Profile in research and clinical practice. Summary StatementThis article summarizes objective means to validate the analytical performance of non-calcified plaque (NCP), other emerging plaque morphology measurements, and multiparametric histology-defined high-risk plaque (HRP), as outlined in the QIBA Profile for Atherosclerosis Biomarkers by CTA.

Partial Meanings that a Teacher Mobilizes for Learning Limits at the School Level

Objective: The objective of this study is to analyze the partial meanings of the function limit object in a variable that a teacher mobilizes when teaching the Calculus unit at the school level. Theoretical Framework: For the analysis of the partial meanings of the mathematical object, the epistemic configurations proposed by the OntoSemiotic Approach to Mathematical Cognition and Instruction (OSA) were used. Method: The study is qualitative in nature and its methodological design is an instrumental-descriptive case study.. To carry out the analysis of the meanings mobilized by the teacher, a semi-structured interview, teaching material, field notes from class observation and the notes of two students of the course were used. Results and Discussion: The results obtained revealed that the teacher preferentially mobilizes the last two epistemic configurations of the mathematical object and to a limited extent some primary objects of other configurations. Research Implications: The research provides a reflection for the pedagogical practices of teachers regarding the epistemic richness of the mathematical object, mainly to Chilean teachers, who must teach said object promoting all its partial meanings according to the requirements of the Chilean school curriculum. Originality/Value: The research lies in the importance of the pedagogical practices that teachers should consider when teaching said object, in particular, the mathematical richness of the partial meanings of the object.

Features of some counting nouns in modern Russian and their national and cultural specificity

The article examines countable nouns (pyatak, dvushka, etc.), which refer to peripheral means of expressing quantity. In the semantics of such words, the meaning of plurality appears along with a specific subject meaning. There are different approaches to countable nouns (broad and narrow), which entails the problem of the composition of countable nouns, which can be solved by presenting them in the form of a lexical-semantic field. In addition, this vocabulary belongs to the category of nationally specific, which is manifested in its complete or partial non-equivalence in different languages. In the analysis of the material, traditional methods of semasiological study of the word were used: component, definitional, distributional, contextual, discourse analysis, as well as the modeling method. The lexical-semantic field of countable nouns is presented as follows. The core zone includes countable nouns proper, which are lexically and grammatically dependent, in them the idea of ​​quantity is combined with objectivity (ten, dozen, pair). The perinuclear zone contains nouns that name numbers (two, three, ten, etc.). On the periphery are words in which the meaning of quantity is more likely to be guessed, since it is almost completely absorbed by the meaning of objectivity (two, three, etc.). On the deep periphery are nouns with the meaning of "names of persons" (a three-year student, etc.). The article examines the peculiarities of the use of countable nouns in modern Russian. Thus, the sphere of their functioning is mainly colloquial speech (including urban vernacular and partly urban slang). At the same time, a number of countable nouns are used extremely rarely (dozen), while others are used actively and develop new meanings (two). National-specific features of this vocabulary are revealed, due to their partial lack of equivalence.

Multicultural citizenship education and the community of philosophical inquiry

Modern civic education in multicultural society faces two diametrically opposed challenges: universality and diversity. Those who emphasize universality argue that multicultural civic education should be based on universal values, goals, and concepts. However, those who emphasize diversity say that different concepts and ideals should be allowed and respected across cultures, genders, ethnicities, etc. Multicultural education aims to promote the coexistence of people from different cultural backgrounds within a nation. In this article, I seek a way between these two extremes by arguing that civic education in a multicultural society should have philosophical inquiry and dialogue as its pedagogical basis. Providing a path to objective meaning while honoring different cultural contexts and situations. Educational efforts to achieve objectivity while respecting diversity can offer important contributions to building democratic societies that allow people who share diverse interests to interact freely. I justify this middle way by drawing upon Robert B. Brandom’s (1994, 2001) inferentialism, in which the objectivity of meaning is secured through a process of material inference that takes into account different cultural and social contexts. I conclude that the kind of dialogue Brandom has in mind is best realized through the community of philosophical inquiry, with its emphasis on reasonableness and self-correction. Ultimately, the community of philosophical inquiry is the pedagogy needed by multicultural citizenship education.

Quantification of myocardial oxygen extraction fraction on noncontrast MRI enabled by deep learning

Abstract Purpose To develop a new deep learning enabled cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) approach for noncontrast quantification of myocardial oxygen extraction fraction (mOEF) and myocardial blood volume (MBV) in vivo. Materials and Methods An asymmetric spin-echo prepared CMR sequence was created in a 3 T MRI clinical system. A UNet-based fully connected neural network was developed based on a theoretical model of CMR signals to calculate mOEF and MBV. Twenty healthy volunteers (20–30 years old, 11 females) underwent CMR scans at 3 short-axial slices (16 myocardial segments) on 2 different days. The reproducibility was assessed by the coefficient of variation. Ten patients with chronic myocardial infarction were examined to evaluate the feasibility of this CMR method to detect abnormality of mOEF and MBV. Results Among the volunteers, the average global mOEF and MBV on both days was 0.58 ± 0.07 and 9.5% ± 1.5%, respectively, which agreed well with data measured by other imaging modalities. The coefficient of variation of mOEF was 8.4%, 4.5%, and 2.6%, on a basis of segment, slice, and participant, respectively. No significant difference in mOEF was shown among 3 slices or among different myocardial segments. Female participants showed significantly higher segmental mOEF than male participants (P < .001). Regional mOEF decrease 40% in CMR-confirmed myocardial infarction core, compared to normal myocardial regions. Conclusion The new deep learning–enabled CMR approach allows noncontrast quantification of mOEF and MBV with good to excellent reproducibility. This technique could provide an objective contrast-free means to assess and serially measure hypoxia-relief effects of therapeutic interventional strategies to save viable myocardial tissues.

Objective and Subjective Sleep Characteristics of Japanese University Students: Analysis Using Questionnaires and Wearable Trackers

AbstractThe transition from high school to university is characterized by changes in students' social and learning environments, potentially impacting sleep and learning behaviors. To examine the sleep characteristics of university students, this study aimed to (a) measure sleep in a living environment using a wearable tracker; (b) use a self‐administered questionnaire to examine the relationship between objective and subjective sleep; and (c) examine how psychological aspects are related to objective and subjective sleep. Fifty undergraduate and graduate students participated, with 310 sleep records obtained. The objective means total sleep time showed a moderately positive correlation with sleep quantity in the 3‐Dimensional Sleep Scale. Furthermore, we found that mental health, trait anxiety, and quality of life do not correlate with objective total sleep time but are significantly moderately correlated with subjective sleep quantity. The combination of wearable trackers and subjective reports may provide a more precise understanding of university students' actual sleep patterns and how different aspects of sleep behavior are associated with health outcomes.

Using boundary objects to enhance learning in history and develop students’ numeracy capabilities

ABSTRACT Informed citizenship in the 21st Century requires individuals to be numerate. In Australia, all teachers are expected to attend to numeracy inherent in the subjects they teach. Many teachers, however, find this approach challenging and may not see potential benefits for subject learning. Drawing on lesson vignettes and post-lesson interviews, a conceptual approach based on Wenger’s communities of practice was used to analyse the use of boundary objects by four secondary history teachers. Their use of boundary objects was categorised by their attention to the contextual and mathematical meanings of the artefact they used. Findings suggest that there is potential for teachers to concurrently enhance subject learning and develop students’ numeracy capabilities if they attend to both the contextual and mathematical meanings of the boundary objects they use. Research is needed into how numeracy is addressed in curriculum pedagogy courses. One aspect worthy of investigation is how boundary objects can be used effectively in subjects across the curriculum to enhance subject learning and promote numeracy development.

Perceptions of Workplace Ethics Among Academic Staff in South Eastern Nigerian Universities

Higher education institutions are expected by society to produce knowledgeable graduates who will contribute responsibly to their communities and the country as a whole. If concerns about workplace ethics are to be discussed and addressed with meaningful outcomes, a detailed analysis of academics’ perceptions is essential, as they have a significant influence in defining appropriate professional behavior for students. The general objective of the study is to determine workplace ethics: perceptions of academic staff in universities in South Eastern Nigeria. In this study, thirty academic staff members from selected universities in South Eastern Nigeria were surveyed, and their responses were analyzed using qualitative methodologies. Ten items on an in-depth interview form were used. The findings were examined using themes that accurately depicted the respondents’ perceptions. The results indicate that academic staff members view professional ethics as the objective means of achieving the university’s goals. The findings also show that university lecturers view workplace ethics as a tool for controlling faculty members’ attitudes regarding behavior at work. Academic staff members are seen as individuals who play essential roles in organizations, often involved in learning and aiding others in achieving personal growth. The study’s recommendations include the following: raising awareness of unethical behavior should be treated seriously so that no one can claim ignorance. Administrators should engage in intensive awareness creation to help curb unethical issues in learning institutions in order to raise staff ethical sensitivity in universities.

Demise of fossil fuels part I: Supply and demand

According to United Nations , the world needs to reduce the emission of CO2 and other global warming gases by 45 % by 2030 and to negligible amount by 2050. According to UN, this is necessary to keep the goal of keeping earth temperature not exceeding 1.5 °C compared to pre-industrial level temperatures.To achieve this objective means reducing the fossil fuel consumption. Fossil fuels are largely responsible for emitting CO2; therefore, without significant reduction in fossil fuels consumption by 2050, the net zero emission by 2050 is not possible.One argument advanced in support of reducing fossil fuels consumption is limited supply. Using the principle of “Peak Oil Theory,” proponents state that fossil fuels is a limited resource and the world will simply run out of it. Based on the available data, we demonstrate that supply of fossil fuels is relatively abundant, and we will not run out of fossil fuels in near term. Using shale formations as an example, we demonstrate how the success of drilling horizontal wells with hydraulic fractures have significantly increased the oil and gas resource available for exploitation. To reduce fossil fuels demand, the available solutions include improving energy efficiency, reducing subsidies on fossil fuels, imposing carbon tax and life choice changes. We discuss some of those alternatives. Fossil fuel supply is relatively abundant and only possible solution to reduce the consumption is to reduce the demand. By comparing developed countries' consumption with developing countries’ consumption, we see a pathway where growth in GDP can be achieved without significant increase in fossil fuels consumption. Because of efficiency gains in energy usage, GDP in developed countries continues to grow without increase in fossil fuels consumption. Faster we reach the efficiency stage in developing countries, easier it would be reduce the fossil fuel consumption in the world.

Dura-based automated vault expansion remodelling (DAVE-R): automated planning of volume expansion in fronto-orbital advancement for trigonocephaly.

Patients with trigonocephaly who underwent FOAR with pre- and post-operative imaging from 2018 to 2020 were identified from a prospectively maintained database. Post-operative scans, normative atlas and whole brain parcellation were registered to the pre-operative images to quantify the change in intracranial volume and morphology (utilising measurement of fronto-orbital advancement and bifrontozygomatic distance) compared to that predicted by the DAVE-R model. Ten patients were included. The DAVE-R model predicted bifrontozygomatic distances of 92.0 + / - 5.14 mm (mean + /SD), which closely matched the post-operative results of 92.7 + / - 6.02 mm (mean + / - SD); (t(d.f. 9) = -0.306, p = 0.77). The fronto-orbital advancement predicted by the DAVE-R method was 11.5 + / - 1.96 mm (mean + / - SD) which was significantly greater than 8.6 + / - 2.94 mm (mean ± SD); (t(d.f. 9) = 3.137, p = 0.01) achieved post-operatively. We demonstrate that the DAVE-R model provides an objective means of extracting realistic surgical goals in patients undergoing FOAR for trigonocephaly that closely correlates with post-operative outcomes. The normative dural model warrants further study and validation for other forms of craniosynostosis correction.

Unsupervised machine learning and cepstral analysis with 4D-STEM for characterizing complex microstructures of metallic alloys

Four-dimensional scanning transmission electron microscopy, coupled with a wide array of data analytics, has unveiled new insights into complex materials. Here, we introduce a straightforward unsupervised machine learning approach that entails dimensionality reduction and clustering with minimal hyperparameter tuning to semi-automatically identify unique coexisting structures in metallic alloys. Applying cepstral transformation to the original diffraction dataset improves this process by effectively isolating phase information from potential signal ambiguity caused by sample tilt and thickness variations, commonly observed in electron diffraction patterns. In a case study of a NiTiHfAl shape memory alloy, conventional scanning transmission electron microscopy imaging struggles to accurately identify a low-contrast precipitate at lower magnifications, posing challenges for microscale analyses. We find that our method efficiently separates multiple coherent structures while using objective means of determining hyperparameters. Furthermore, we demonstrate how the clustering result facilitates more robust strain mapping to provide immediate and quantitative structural insights.